Wow…another week has flown by. Hope you enjoy the videos!!!
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What I Like About You – The Romantics
“What I Like About You” is the title of a well-known power pop song by the American rock and roll band The Romantics. The song, written by Romantics members Wally Palmar, Mike Skill, Rich Cole, and Jimmy Marinos, is featured on the band’s self-titled 1980 debut album, and was also released as a single. Marinos, the band’s drummer, is the lead vocalist on the song. The band filmed a music video for the song that appeared frequently on MTV during the early 1980s.
“What I Like About You” was written by the group around a guitar part by Skill. The song’s “Hey, uh-huh” refrain was influenced by The Yardbirds’ “Over Under Sideways Down” and Chuck Berry’s “Back in the U.S.A.”. The group recorded the song and the accompaning album at Coconuts recording studio in Miami Beach.
When first released, “What I Like About You” was already a popular song on the Romantics’ concert playlist. In terms of record sales and radio airplay, however, the song was only a moderate success at the time of its release, reaching only Number 48 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was only towards the end of the 1980s, after the song had been licensed for use in television commercials for Budweiser beer, that “What I Like About You” grew to become one of the most popular rock anthems of all time.
“What I Like About You” has become a staple of modern rock, appearing on numerous compilation albums of 1980s pop and rock music hits and heard in frequent rotation on modern rock and classic rock radio. The song is also often played at sporting events, parties, and at bars and clubs. In addition to Budweiser, the song has also been heard promoting products, services, and institutions including the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, Barbie toy dolls, Sea World and T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants. The song was also featured in TV commercials for Hampton Inn, Esurance, Papa John’s Pizza, and Toyota as recently as 2008. The song was also included in the 2004 animated film Shrek 2 and “Surf’s Up (2007).
Channel Ten Australia and Southern Cross Ten used the song to advertise their television channel in 2005-2006. They used three different versions of the song, all performed by Green Dragon. The first was from February – December 2005 was “What I Like About You (Rock Mix). The second, used from December 2005 – February 2006 was “What I Like About You (Dance Mix). The third, used from February – December 2006 was “What I Like About You (R&B) Mix, and this song was again used from December 2006-February 2007 in Ten’s summer promos.
The song was voted #97 on VH1’s television special The 100 Greatest Songs of the 80’s.
Kyrie – Mister Mister
“Kyrie” was a #1 hit song by the 1980s pop/rock band Mr. Mister, from their 1985 album Welcome to the Real World. Released in late 1985, it hit the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in March of 1986, where it was #1 for two weeks. It also hit the top spot on the Billboard Top Rock Tracks chart, where it stayed at #1 for one week, and was also their only #1 single on this chart. In the UK the song peaked at #11 in April 1986.
Kýrie, eléison, which means “Lord, have mercy” in Greek is a part many liturgical rites in Eastern and Western Christianity. Kýrie, eléison; Christé, eléison; Kýrie, eléison is a prayer that asks “Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy”.
The video for this song was directed by Nick Morris, and features the band in performance mixed with footage taken at the tail end of their Fall 1985 tour with Tina Turner.
Africa – Toto
“Africa” is a song by rock band Toto. The song was included on their 1982 album Toto IV, and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in February 1983 and number three on the UK Singles Chart the same month. The song was written by the band’s keyboardist David Paich and drummer Jeff Porcaro. David Paich sings both verses of the song. Bobby Kimball, Steve Lukather and Paich sing the choruses.
Arguably Toto’s most recognizable song, “Africa” hit Number 1 on the Billboard Charts in February 1983. It was almost cut from the Toto IV record prior to its release. Having spent an incredible amount of time producing the tune, the band became so tired of the song that they didn’t want it on the album. The song itself was very different from anything the band had done before, and some members felt that it didn’t sound like Toto.
“I didn’t think it was very good,” said Steve Lukather (Classic Rock Revisited, 2003). “That tells you what can happen when we pick our own singles!”
David Paich, who co-wrote the song with Jeff Porcaro, said that it “could have been the beginning of a solo project [for me] because it was so different. I thought I’d save it…[because] world music wasn’t around then.”
The music video was directed by Steve Barron. The story is of a researcher in a library (portrayed by band member David Paich, looking for clues to a book called Africa. Many scenes include the band performing atop a stack of hardcover books.
Forever Young – Alphaville
“Forever Young” is the title track from German rock/synthpop group Alphaville’s 1984 debut album. Though it was not the group’s highest-charting European hit and failed to reach the American Top 40 despite three separate U.S. single releases, “Forever Young” became something of a pop standard and has been covered by numerous artists since its 1984 debut.
Originally released by Alphaville as a single in 1984, “Forever Young” was available in both its original mix and also in a dance version titled the “Special Extended Mix.” Over the years the band has released several remixes and demo versions of the song.
The song’s music video shows the band performing in one of the halls at Holloway Sanatorium in Virginia Water, Surrey, England. A number of ragged people ranging from children to the elderly awake to observe the band, then walk through a diamond-shaped glowing portal.
Bonus Video!!!
Here’s the “Special Extended Mix” of Alphaville’s “Forever Young.” Enjoy!!!
