"Juicy Fruit" by Mtume

Gold Record Alert!

Song#:  1493
Date:  06/18/1983
Debut:  92
Peak:  45
Weeks:  12
Genre:  Funk, R&B



Pop Bits:  Percussionist James Mtume's career got a major boost when he began recording and performing with jazz great Miles Davis in 1972. After his association with Davis ended, Mtume set out to record with his own group. After a couple indie jazz releases, Mtume developed a funk/soul band that featured an old pal from the Davis days, guitarist Reggie Lucas, and vocalist Tawatha Agee. They signed to Epic records and issued their debut LP, Kiss This World Goodbye, in 1978. It didn't set the world on fire, but its follow-up, In Search of the Rainbow Seekers, got enough attention at R&B and Dance to call for a third album. Juicy Fruit would prove to be the band's breakthrough when this title track single would hit #1 at R&B. The song would stay at the top of that chart for eight weeks. Although it would end up being shut out of the Pop Top 40, the song would be popular enough to be certified gold.

ReduxReview:  I remember this being a huge R&B hit back then, but sadly I never got to hear it. Being from a small town where R&B was not one of the local radio formats, chances were slim I was gonna hear this song unless I caught it on TV somewhere or bought it. The group name and song title intrigued me, but I didn't pursue it. I didn't get to hear the song until years later. By that time it sounded like a lesser effort from Prince so I wasn't that hip on it. I do like the tune and recognize its influence, but it's not one of my favorites.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  Triple Shot!  1) Before they hit big with this song, Mtume and Lucas were already Grammy winners. The pair wrote and produced the 1980 Stephanie Mills hit "I Never Knew Love Like This Before" (#6 Pop, #3 R&B). The song would win the Grammy for Best R&B Song.  2) While this song was riding high on the charts, Lucas was busy co-writing and co-producing an album for a new artist by the name of Madonna. He would have a hand in the hits "Lucky Star" and "Borderline," as well as four other tracks on Madonna's hit debut LP.  3) This song has been highly sampled over the years and was used in two other R&B #1 hits. The Notorious B.I.G. used the song in his debut single "Juicy" in 1994 and singer Keyshia Cole used it in her 2007 #1 hit "Let It Go."

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"Stand By" by Roman Holliday

Song#:  1492
Date:  06/18/1983
Debut:  95
Peak:  54
Weeks:  9
Genre:  Swing, New Wave



Pop Bits:  The swing revival sound of this seven-man British band got the attention of Arista Records who signed the band to their offshoot Jive label. They prepared a self-titled debut EP that featured this first single. With lots of interest in retro styles (thanks to the rockabilly revival of The Stray Cats), the song got some attention at radio and on MTV. It was enough to get the single near the top half of the Pop chart. The song would stall at #61 in their UK homeland.

ReduxReview:  I don't mind me some good revival of a style once in a while, but I'm not real crazy about this one. I have a feeling that this band was probably far better in concert than on record where their energy couldn't be fully captured. The song is just okay. It's one that doesn't stick in my head for very long. I know I've got this on an 80s comp that I've played several times, but I couldn't remember a thing about it. Even after hearing it again, it still didn't ring a bell. That's usually not a good sign.

ReduxRating:  4/10

Trivia:  There were rumors that this band was initially a vehicle for singer Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits, who scored 11 Top 10 hits from '64 to '67. Unfortunately, the rumor is not true. When the band began to form in 1980, they did have a bassist named Peter Noone, but it was not the famous singer. In their heyday, Herman's Hermits rivaled the Beatles in popularity and sold out venues all over the place. There is also a famous story that when The Who did their very first US tour in 1967, they were the opening act for Herman's Hermits. This one is true. Hard to believe now.

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"Hot Girls in Love" by Loverboy

Song#:  1491
Date:  06/11/1983
Debut:  60
Peak:  11
Weeks:  16
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  With two successful multi-platinum albums under their belt, Loverboy set out to record their third. Keep It Up would be another hit for them reaching #7. It would eventually go double platinum thanks in part to this first single that just barely missed out on the Top 10. It would be their second #2 Rock hit ("Working for the Weekend" was their first).

ReduxReview:  I thought this was a dumb song. I liked Loverboy's previous singles, but this one was completely lost on me. I considered it insipid horny teenage boy fodder, which it was. And still is. Fortunately it's not as horrible as I remember. It's a solid rock song with a slight blues boogie that did its job in expanding Loverboy's fan base. However, I'd rather listen to their other hits.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  This song was covered by the glam rock band The Cherry Bombz in 1985. The band was made up of members of the Finnish rock bank Hanoi Rocks and singer Anita Chellemah. Chellemah, previously known as Anita Mahaderlan, sang in the British new wave vocal group Toto Coelo (aka Total Coelo in the US). The group had a hit with the oddball tune "I Eat Cannibals" in 1983. The Cherry Bombz released several singles including a remake of this Loverboy song, but nothing caught on and the band broke up the following year. Hanoi Rocks were known in the US, but had not yet broke through on the charts. They issued five albums between 1982 and 1985 before breaking up after their drummer, Razzle, died in a car accident. Mötley Crüe's Vince Neil was driving the car that struck another vehicle. Razzle died at the scene while the two people in the other car suffered major injuries. Neil was charged vehicular manslaughter and DUI.
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"Cuts Like a Knife" by Bryan Adams

Song#:  1490
Date:  06/11/1983
Debut:  69
Peak:  15
Weeks:  14
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  Adams broke through on the Pop chart with the single "Straight from the Heart," taken from his third LP Cuts Like a Knife. The song would become his first Top 10 hit reaching #10. This second title-track single did almost as well, but fell just short of the Top 10. It would reach #6 at Rock. In his home country of Canada, the rocker still hadn't scored a Top 10 hit, but this one got close reaching #12.

ReduxReview:  I wasn't really diggin' Adams when "Straight from the Heart" came out and this one didn't do much to change my mind. I do think this is a better song though. I admit I'm a sucker for most any tune that does a good "na na na" section and it's the best part of the song for me. Beyond that, it's a good rock tune that shows Adams' potential.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  Adams and his writing partner Jim Vallance wrote songs not only for Adams, but other artists as well. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. Earlier in the 80s, Adams and Vallance collaborated with Kiss member Eric Carr on a song titled "Don't Leave Me Lonely." Carr ended up recording a demo of the song for possible inclusion on the 1982 Kiss LP Creatures of the Night. Unfortunately, the style of the song didn't fit with the others selected for the album and it ended up not getting recorded by the band. Adams revived the song and recorded it for Cuts Like a Knife.

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"Rock of Ages" by Def Leppard

Song#:  1489
Date:  06/11/1983
Debut:  75
Peak:  16
Weeks:  15
Genre:  Hard Rock



Pop Bits:  With the help of producer Robert "Mutt" Lange, Def Leppard refined their metal sound and scored a #1 Rock hit (#12 Pop) with "Photograph," the lead single from their third album Pyromania. This next single supplied similar results reaching #1 at Rock and hitting the Pop Top 20. It was a one-two punch that made them worldwide stars and put pop-metal on the map.

ReduxReview:  This was a terrific follow-up song to "Photograph" and another classic in their catalog. Back in the day I actually kind of got sick of these singles from the group as they were so popular in my area and on MTV. The songs just got played to death. So for a long while after I didn't have much interest in listening to Pyromania. Enough time has past that now I can hear these once again and totally love them.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  Double Shot!  1) Mutt Lange is one of the great rock producers, but he is very precise. His want for perfection typically leads to numerous takes of a song. During the recording sessions he would typically begin each take with a count off like "one...two...three...four" and the band would start. While recording "Rock of Ages," there were so many takes that soon Lange was just using nonsensical words for the count off. On one specific take he channeled the German language and said something like "gunter glieben glauchen globen." Again, the words were meaningless, but the band liked it so much that they decided to not edit it out and left Lange's mutterings at the beginning of the song.  2) Apparently, Joe Elliott came up with the song title thanks to a hymn book left by a member of a children's choir that had just used the studio. He saw the hymn titled "Rock of Ages" and though it would fit with a song they had been working up.

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