This one is most definitely going to be broken up over 3 or more posts. This covers A-H. Again, from Wikipedia's list.
"10-9-8" by Face To Face -- I vaguely remember this one from MTV. I remember the final line of the chorus: "Isn't it funny -- I never get to 1..."
"19" by Paul Hardcastle -- uh, what about "Rainforest"? Maybe it didn't hit the Top 100. Anyhow. This song helped inspire me as I wrote my term paper for US History about music and the Vietnam War.
"99 Luftballons" by Nena -- fond memories. Never learned exactly what they were saying in German, but I figured the English translation was fairly faithful.
"All I Need" by Jack Wagner -- oh man! Boy, do I remember this one. Brings back memories of WBCY out of Charlotte when I would go over and visit my cousins in Rock Hill.
"And I'm Telling You (I'm Not Going)" by Jennifer Holliday -- vaguely remember. It didn't get much airplay on the stations I listened to.
"Angel Eyes" by Jeff Healey Band -- at first listen, I thought it was a lost Allmans song. I loved it until someone I knew in college said that it was his and his girl's song. I instantly disliked it (of course, I hated her, so....)
"As We Lay" by Shirley Murdock -- again, didn't get much airplay but I do remember it very vaguely.
"Axel F" by Harold Faltermeyer -- I tried SOOOO hard to learn this one on my keyboard.
"Baby Come to Me" by Patti Austin (with James Ingram) -- awesome song.
"Baby, I Lied" by Deborah Allen -- she was a country artist who had this one crossover hit.
"Baby Love" by Regina -- now this one I liked. Vaguely reminiscent of Madonna. And it was a treat to hear it on an aircheck from a Little Rock station featuring Craig O'Neill (thanks, Tal!)
"The Ballad of Jayne" by L.A. Guns -- never heard it, personally. But I did know who LA Guns were, thanks to my metalhead brother.
"Beat's So Lonely" by Charlie Sexton -- got way more airplay on MTV than on my local station.
"Beds Are Burning" by Midnight Oil -- yep. And I have their "Blue Sky Mine" CD. Why? Because my brother and his girlfriend were dissing them after a Saturday Night Live appearance. I took up for them, because I appreciate the fact that they are politically active on issues that matter to Australians. I got the CD for Christmas. Actually, it's not a bad one. I don't spin it often, but......
"Boys Night Out" by Timothy B. Schmit -- I remember this one. I liked it. Of course, any of the Eagles could have sung me the phone book and I would love it.
"Call Me" by Skyy -- I do remember this one, from listening on WHYZ-AM (a damn good R&B station that sadly went away). And from singalongs on the bus with some other folks from either chorus class or biology. Hell if I remember.
"Call to the Heart" by Giuffria -- oh my God. I do remember this one. I don't even know what to say about it. It's cheezariffic.
"Can't Shake Loose" by Agnetha Faltskog -- I remember it VERY vaguely from a play on TBS' "Night Tracks." Didn't get much airplay here.
"The Captain of Her Heart" by Double -- oh man. A very very good song that I just adored. I have a copy and I swear, my brother plays it non-stop. It's enough to make me scream, but I love the song.
"Chariots of Fire — Titles" by Vangelis -- great song. Never saw the film.
"Come on Eileen" by Dexys Midnight Runners -- too-ri-ay.
"Cry" by Godley & Creme -- one HELL of an awesome video. WAAAAAY ahead of its time, with morphing and other things. Good song, too.
"Curly Shuffle" by Jump 'n' the Saddle Band -- love it. I am one of the few females around (apparently) who is an unabashed Stooges fan.
"Da'Butt" by E.U. -- ain't nothing wrong..... (one of my favorite non-disco dance tunes)
"Der Kommissar" by After the Fire -- I liked it a lot.
"Desert Moon" by Dennis DeYoung -- I remember the video very well. I remember it being very sad too. I loved this song. My friend Tee did too. I hate that it wasn't more of a hit than it was.
"Digging Your Scene" by The Blow Monkeys -- you gotta love a band that calls itself The Blow Monkeys. I love the song too.
"Don't Close Your Eyes" by Kix -- spare me. Please. Stab my eyes out.
"Don't Disturb This Groove" by The System --- ohhhhhhhh yeah.
"Don't Give It Up" by Robbie Patton -- thank you, Tal, a hundred times over for your "What About Us?" collections that you gave me. This is one of the gems on there.
"Don't Leave Me This Way" by The Communards (lead singer Jimmy Somerville previously fronted Bronski Beat) -- okay, they mention this lame-o remake (give me Thelma Houston's ANY day), but don't mention "Smalltown Boy" by Bronski Beat? Hello?
"Don't Let Him Know" by Prism -- I like this one. Another from the "WAU" collection. Good song!
"Don't Stop the Music" by Yarbrough and Peoples -- Now, I knew about this one before Tal put it on CD for me. Good dance song!
"Don't Worry Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin -- I loathe this song. Hate is not a strong enough word. GAAAK! Someone in college was like, "Well, that's just the island philosophy. Relax because there's nothing you can do to change it." Very Zen-like..... Great, but I still hate the song.
"Double Dutch Bus" by Frankie Smith -- I heard this the other morning for the first time in ages. Holy moly!
"Easy Lover" by Philip Bailey -- I hate Phil Collins, but I love this song. Again, anyone associated with Earth Wind & Fire is an instant great in my book.
"Edge of a Broken Heart" by Vixen -- chick metal at its most grating.
"Everybody Dance" by Ta Mara and The Seen -- oh yeah! I have this song, and I still love it.
"Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" by The Korgis -- another one from the "WAU" files. I didn't know this one, but I do now.
"Fantasy" by Aldo Nova -- MAN! Was this one in heavy rotation on "Night Tracks" -- I still have it.
"Far From Over" by Frank Stallone -- the theme from "STARRCADE" (a wrestling event). Don't ask. But yes, Frankie, you really were "far from over"......
"Fascinated" by Company B -- awesome! awesome!
"Feel It Again" by Honeymoon Suite -- don't know this one, but I know (and have) their "New Girl Now" which got a little rotation on Rock 101 (back in the day when they were a DAMN good station).
"Friends" by Eric B. and Rakim (with Jody Watley) -- and all this time, I thought it was HER song where they guested.
"Friends and Lovers" by Gloria Loring and Carl Anderson -- Shane & Kim's song on "Days of Our Lives" ..... oh my God, the summer days I spent gazing at the screen hooked on those storylines.
"The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" by Timbuk 3 -- FABULOUS!!!!! It came out in either my junior or senior year of school. Little cynics that we were, we hopped right onto this song.
"Funkytown" by Pseudo Echo (cover of Lipps Inc.'s song) -- not.
"Funkytown" by Lipps Inc. -- the REAL deal, and a damn fine dance tune. I think of roller skating whenever I hear this song (and "Another One Bites the Dust" and "Xanadu" and quite a few others).
"Genius of Love" by Tom Tom Club -- one good thing you can say for KIA Cars: they revived my interest in this song!
"A Girl in Trouble (Is a Temporary Thing)" by Romeo Void -- I remember this one, if only for the raised eyebrows among my friends at the song title.
"Girls with Guns" by Tommy Shaw -- that's MontgomerynativeTommyShaw, right?
"Giving It up for Your Love" by Delbert McClinton -- YES!!!!!!!! A great song by a great artist. Any man who can teach the harp to John Lennon is a hero in my book.
"Goin' Down" by Greg Guidry -- I heard this one again for the first time in forever last spring on an internet radio feed. Would love to have it again.
"Grandma Got Run over By a Reindeer" by Elmo and Patsy -- spare me. Please. Wish the reindeer had run over this song instead.
"Heart and Soul" by T'Pau -- I still like Beavis & Butthead's commentary on this video (and I do like the song): "huh huh huh, Call now, $1.99 a minute. huh huh huh. Come to Butthead!"
"Heaven Help Me" by Deon Estus (with George Michael) -- mehhhh. blehhhh.
"Honestly" by Stryper -- now that is not true. They also had "Calling On You" from the same album.
"Hooked on Classics" by Louis Clark conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra -- loved it. I enjoyed trying to figure out where the songs came from.
"Hooked on Swing" by Larry Elgart and His Manhattan Swing Orchestra -- I think I remember this one. But maybe I'm confusing it with something by Jive Bunny and the Mixmasters.
More to come........ (cue Doc Sevrinsen)
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"10-9-8" by Face To Face
-- ...I remember the final line of the chorus: "Isn't it funny ... I never get to 1..."
I never got to 10. I don’t remember the song .... according to my Joel Whitburn book, it was a hit in the Summer of ‘84. Two words: Little Rock. The ‘80s were the most repressive time for contemporary music in Arkansas. As you’ll see throughout my commentary, a lot of songs – some quite surprising – did NOT receive a single minutes’ worth of airplay on the Little Rock stations. And at the time, there were (honestly!) few other contemporary stations.
"19" by Paul Hardcastle
Max Headroom’s dad used to play this song through headphones placed atop his wife’s belly.
"99 Luftballons" by Nena
Only one station in Little Rock played this song: KKYK. And they only played the ENGLISH version. Only time I got to hear the German version was on AT40. Somewhere I have the song “99 Dead Baboons”, recorded off an episode of Dr. Demento. late in ‘84 when I got to college (better radio environment) I think 99DB did a better job of translation.
"All I Need" by Jack Wagner
BLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!!!!! “Hey, it’s not fair – Dr. Drake gets to have a side career in music, WHY THE BLOODY HELL CAN’T I??!!”
"And I'm Telling You (I'm Not Going)" by Jennifer Holliday
-- vaguely remember. It didn't get much airplay on the stations I listened to.
Very light airplay. As much as I despised the song, I’m surprised the LR stations didn’t jump all over it... :-p
"Angel Eyes" by Jeff Healey Band
-- at first listen, I thought it was a lost Allmans song.
Memories of my brief career in Adult Contemporary radio. For a brief while, it was in hot rotation on KOTN (Pine Bluff, Ark.). Take or leave.
"As We Lay" by Shirley Murdock
Tale of a biblical encounter told in the first person? Don’t remember this one, otherwise.
"Axel F" by Harold Faltermeyer
-- I tried SOOOO hard to learn this one on my keyboard.
And I tried SOOOO hard to forget this song when it was out. Today, it’s a decent piece of ‘80s camp.
"Baby Come to Me" by Patti Austin (with James Ingram)
It’s okay. Another ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ tune
"Baby, I Lied" by Deborah Allen
BAY-BEH! BAY-BEH! Ewwwwwwwww........
"Baby Love" by Regina
-- And it was a treat to hear it on an aircheck from a Little Rock station featuring Craig O'Neill
Yep, KKYK. Back when they played no more than 15-20 current titles. Well, okay, I think by ‘86 they’d gotten a little more open-minded ... they were maybe going with 20-25. (Early in ‘86 another top-40 station debuted which did major damage to KKYK.
Oh, and the song? Madonna with brunette hair and way less talent.
"The Ballad of Jayne" by L.A. Guns
Was never into the thrash-metal .... and (I admit with a sheepish grin) mildly into the lighter shades of metal at the time.
"Beat's So Lonely" by Charlie Sexton
More of an MTV hit than radio. There were a lot of those in the ‘80s, wonder why?
"Beds Are Burning" by Midnight Oil
It’s an okay song. My favorite song by MO would have to be “Blue Sky Mine” from 1990.
"Boys Night Out" by Timothy B. Schmit
Ah yes, the Little Eagle That Couldn’t. ;-) Sorry, but I couldn’t resist. Why did I make this cruel joke? I can’t tell you why.......
"Call Me" by Skyy
Reminds me of KLAZ “Z-98” in Little Rock, circa 1982-83. The world’s first “churban” radio station (CHR and Urban mixed together).
"Call to the Heart" by Giuffria
bah-dah-DEEEEP! We’re sorry. The number you have reached, Aorta 4-5789, has been disconnected due to non-payment.”
What I remember about the group was that lead singer Greg Giuffria was in the KISS-wannabe glam rock band Angel. They (Angel, not Giuffria) made a couple of LPs in the 1970s, on - curiously enough - Casablanca records.
"Can't Shake Loose" by Agnetha Faltskog
I remember it only from a weekend trip to Baton Rouge in September ‘83.
"The Captain of Her Heart" by Double
Yeah, I like it.
"Chariots of Fire — Titles" by Vangelis
Why do I always feel as if I’m running in slow motion every time I hear this? An overrated exercise in synthesizer excess. Give me Jon (Anderson) & Vangelis over this crap any day.
"Come on Eileen" by Dexys Midnight Runners
Perhaps the ultimate OHW of the ‘80s. I’d proffer my usual (and beaten-to-death) joke about them probably withering away in an old motel lounge, but last time I checked, they just got kicked out of an abandoned Santee, S.C. motel. I think they’re playing out front of an empty truck stop on 301 north of Allendale.
"Cry" by Godley & Creme
But I thought "big boys don't cry."
Eh, so much for practicing what you preach. The things we do for hits...
"Curly Shuffle" by Jump 'n' the Saddle Band
-- love it. I am one of the few females around (apparently) who is an unabashed Stooges fan.
Y’know, over the years I’ve noticed that The Stooges are mostly a male-dominated taste. I’ve always loved ‘em, although Seraphim doesn’t; she’s not above rolling her eyes at me when I sometimes pull up an episode or two from our digital cable on-demand menu. I don’t understand it myself, as I’m normally not a huge afficionado of slapstick. Whoop-Whoop-Whoop! The hospital episode (“Dr. Howard! Dr. Fine! Dr. Howard!”) always makes me howl.
"Da'Butt" by E.U.
Memories of April 1, 1988. The day that I took a country station black for about 20 minutes ... the only 20 minutes I’ve ever been an Urban Contemporary jock. POW-UH FOUR-TEEEEEN!!
"Der Kommissar" by After the Fire
B-b-but I thought it was “After the Fire” by Der Kommissar. That’s what those guys at the record store one block over from the blinking light told me........
"Desert Moon" by Dennis DeYoung
Take it or leave it. By then (fall ‘84) I’d moved to Arkansas State for my sophomore year. The first Rock 103 in Memphis – one of the original Lee Abrams “Superstars” AOR stations – was in its last days. They played it a great deal, and it struck me as a post-“Babe” Cetera Syndrome seizure. I think it was the melancholy feel of the song which kept me from punching over to something else (I like dark songs, go figure). Today, it brings back the early days of being away from home for the first time. First dorm room, independence ... it tasted very, very good.
"Digging Your Scene" by The Blow Monkeys
Liked the name. Song was middling.
"Don't Close Your Eyes" by Kix
The group? Or the breakfast cereal?
"Don't Disturb This Groove" by The System
--- ohhhhhhhh yeah.
I completely and fully concur.
"Don't Give It Up" by Robbie Patton
-- thank you, Tal, a hundred times over for your "What About Us?" collections that you gave me. This is one of the gems on there.
You’re most certainly welcome. I enjoyed putting that one together .... “Songs #11-40 ... classics that we remember, quite popular in their day, but they never made it to most stations’ 'gold' libraries, marking the end of most airplay.”
DGIU is one of my favorite Summer ‘81 classics. It always takes me back to that magical time, my first Summer with a driver’s license!
"Don't Leave Me This Way" by The Communards
What IS a ‘communard’, anyway? Is it a “mentally challenged” person born in the USSR?
Agreed, a complete insult to Thelma H’s original.
"Don't Let Him Know" by Prism
-- I like this one. Another from the "WAU" collection. Good song!
A very, VERY good song.
"Don't Stop the Music" by Yarbrough and Peoples
-- Now, I knew about this one before Tal put it on CD for me. Good dance song!
One of the last urban-flavored songs I embraced before my tastes turned entirely toward the rock side of the room.
"Don't Worry Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin
-- I loathe this song. Hate is not a strong enough word.
Hate is love compared to how I feel about it. Berkeley Breathed viciously dismantled this song in a Sunday Bloom County (R.I.P.) strip from circa early 1989.
"Double Dutch Bus" by Frankie Smith
-- I heard this the other morning for the first time in ages. Holy moly!
Before living in Little Rock, we were in Cape Girardeau, Missouri .... the polar opposite of LR when it came to music playlists. The stations up there at the time were very loose and open-minded about what they added. There weren’t many songs which didn’t make it .... most, alas, were of the flagrantly “urban” idiom, such as “Double Dutch Bus.” Only time I got to hear it was in the Summer of ‘81 when in Alabama visiting the grandparents.
"Easy Lover" by Philip Bailey.
I can stomach early Phil Collins — back when his ego could fit into the back of a Hummer without much difficulty. “Easy Lover” is a great song, any way you slice it .... Phil or no Phil. Even better is the next Philip Bailey single, “Walking on the Chinese Wall.”
"Edge of a Broken Heart" by Vixen
-- chick metal at its most grating.
Is there any which doesn’t grate?
"Everybody Dance" by Ta Mara and The Seen
I don’t remember this ‘un.
"Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" by The Korgis
Love it. Sweetness without the pink packets.
"Fantasy" by Aldo Nova
-- MAN! Was this one in heavy rotation on "Night Tracks" -- I still have it.
Another early ‘80s power-pop masterpiece.
"Far From Over" by Frank Stallone
Ecch. Like it for both of us, I say.
"Fascinated" by Company B
-- awesome! awesome!
I don’t recall, Senator.
"Feel It Again" by Honeymoon Suite
I like “New Girl Now” from 1984 much better. FIA is a nice runner-up, though. Takes me back to the little FM station in Osceola, Ark., ROCK 98, a station which delivered northeast Arkansas and part of Memphis from an AOR void when Rock 103 flipped to CHR (“Z-103”) in 1985.
"Friends" by Eric B. and Rakim (with Jody Watley)
With friends like that.............
"Friends and Lovers" by Gloria Loring and Carl Anderson
-- Shane & Kim's song on "Days of Our Lives" ..... oh my God, the summer days I spent gazing at the screen hooked on those storylines.
Seraphim — gawd love her and her sweetness — is hooked on DOOL, as is her mother. Those storylines are getting much stranger. If Shane & Kim were to be around today, I wonder what Their Song would be ... “Calling Occupants From Interplanetary Craft”, perhaps?
"The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" by Timbuk 3
College memories ........ 1986, when I thought things were looking up forever. Events such as Pine Bluff, regretful relationships and losing vital loved ones were not even close to the radar.
Or was Seraphim speaking to me in a paranormal side of the room?
"Funkytown" by Pseudo Echo (cover of Lipps Inc.'s song)
-- not.
In the words of many white Alabama folk in the ‘60s: NEVER.
"Funkytown" by Lipps Inc.
I think it was nicely covered by Towelie playing touch-tone on “South Park.”
"Genius of Love" by Tom Tom Club
-- one good thing you can say for KIA Cars: they revived my interest in this song!
I haven’t heard it on any Kia commercials down our way. Wouldperchance this be one of the commercials for the illustrious KIA! OF! GREER! ? Down here we’re stuck with “#1 Kia Country” and their ads where the two salesmen always deny a so-called ‘factory connection.’
I like GIL. Can’t say Kia is much of genius of cars, tho’. We’ll stick with our Hondas.
"A Girl in Trouble (Is a Temporary Thing)" by Romeo Void
One of those brings-it-all-back songs ... I hear it, and suddenly my first semester at ASU comes flowing back. Sometimes I can even smell the Coty Wild Musk my girlfriend at the time wore.
"Girls with Guns" by Tommy Shaw
-- that's MontgomerynativeTommyShaw, right?
Yup. Montgomerynative is the guy’s first name. At least one would think by listening to Montgomery, Ala. stations any time a Styx record gets played.
"Giving It up for Your Love" by Delbert McClinton
See above comment re Cape Girardeau and its stations playing a lot of great underrated reckids.
This was one of ‘em.
"Goin' Down" by Greg Guidry
So-so early ‘80s glorified-AC.
"Grandma Got Run over By a Reindeer" by Elmo and Patsy
One of the worst Christmas songs ever recorded. An insult to Jesus Christ Himself. But God had the last laugh: Elmo and Patsy are now divorced. So there.
"Heart and Soul" by T'Pau
-- I still like Beavis & Butthead's commentary on this video (and I do like the song): "huh huh huh, Call now, $1.99 a minute. huh huh huh. Come to Butthead!"
“Hey Butthead! Set it on fire!” “Yeah, Beavis. That’d be so cool.” “Fire! Fire! Fire!”
Wait a minute, it’s an okay song. Even better is the non-charted “Bridge of Sighs.”
"Heaven Help Me" by Deon Estus (with George Michael)
-- mehhhh. blehhhh.
Another song in the hot KOTN rotation when I was working there. “Blehhhh” is right.
"Honestly" by Stryper
-- now that is not true. They also had "Calling On You" from the same album.
contemporary christian without the baggage? Dunno. I “honestly” didn’t care much for this even before I learned who these guys were.
"Hooked on Classics" by Louis Clark conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
-- loved it. I enjoyed trying to figure out where the songs came from.
Classics on 45. Only thing missing was an RCA “Red Seal” label.
"Hooked on Swing" by Larry Elgart and His Manhattan Swing Orchestra
-- I think I remember this one. But maybe I'm confusing it with something by Jive Bunny and the Mixmasters.
Lord, no. Jive Bunny should’ve met the same fate as that rabbit in the movie “Roger and Me.” HOS was pretty decent ... the next step in the lemming-like imitation of Stars on 45.
Yeah, "more to come" indeed. We'll be right back after Ed McMahon does his ALPO commercial. (what Ed doesn't know is that Doc has secretly replaced the docile mongrel with a trained pitbull)
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