Sunday Night Video Flashback Pt. 52!!!

A whole year?!!! Time flies when you’re getting old. Hope you enjoy this week’s videos.

Also, don’t forget that I take requests and suggestions!!! Just add them in the comment section!

Video Killed The Radio Star – The Buggles

“Video Killed the Radio Star” is a song by the British synthpop/New Wave group The Buggles, released in 1979. It celebrates the golden days of radio, describing a singer whose career is cut short by television. The song topped several music charts and has been covered by many recording artists. It was the first music video shown on MTV in North America and has been widely parodied in popular media.

In an interview, group member Trevor Horn has said that his lyrics were inspired by the J. G. Ballard short story The Sound-Sweep , in which the title character, a mute boy vacuuming up stray music in a world without it, comes upon an opera singer hiding in a sewer. He also felt “an era was about to pass.” The theme of the song is thus nostalgia, which is also echoed in the tone of the music. The lyrics refer to a period of technological change in the 1960s, the desire to remember the past and the disappointment that children of the current generation would not appreciate the past. In the 1950s and early 1960s, radio was an important medium for many, through which “stars” were created.

The music video for the song, directed by Russell Mulcahy, was the first to be shown on MTV, when the music channel debuted on August 1, 1981, at 12:01 A.M. On February 27, 2000 it also became the millionth video to be aired on MTV. At 2:57 in the video, Hans Zimmer can be seen playing a keyboard. Debi Doss and Linda Jardim, who provided the female vocals for the song, can also be seen in the video.

The song was written by Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes and Bruce Woolley. According to an interview given by group member Trevor Horn on BBC Radio 2 Drivetime, Woolley was primarily responsible for the musical content, while Horn wrote most the words. Woolley was responsible for the addition of the words ‘put the blame on VCR’. The first version was recorded by Woolley & the Camera Club (with Thomas Dolby on keyboards) for his album English Garden, which was a hit in Canada. The Buggles later recorded the song and it reached number one in the UK charts the week of October 20, 1979, the first-ever number one for label Island Records. It also would top the Australian charts, and made the Billboard Top 40 in the United States, debuting on December 15 1979 at number 40, remaining there for one week.

It appears on the album The Age of Plastic, where it has an additional piano coda. The complicated arrangement and production of the song, which includes a chorus sung by a group of very high-pitched backup singers, foreshadows Horn’s later career as a producer.

A rare live performance of the song by Horn and Downes came at a ZTT showcase in 1998. In 2004, The Buggles re-united again with Bruce Woolley at Wembley Arena to perform “Video Killed the Radio Star” and another song (“Living in the Plastic Age”) as part of a tribute event to Trevor Horn to raise money for the Prince’s Trust charity. They were joined by Debi Doss and Linda Jardim, who performed the background singing on the original recording. Both Horn and Downes have performed the song live in other acts, including Yes (which Downes and Horn joined for the Drama album and tour in 1980), Downes in the 2006-2009 revival of Asia with John Wetton on lead vocals, and Horn in his band The Producers, also in 2006.

In November 2006, The Producers played at their first gig in Camden Town. A video clip can be seen on the ZTT Records official website of Trevor singing lead vocals and playing bass in a performance of “Video Killed the Radio Star”.

I Can’t Stand The Rain – Ann Peebles

“I Can’t Stand the Rain” is a song written and originally recorded by Ann Peebles. The song would become her biggest hit single (#6 R&B and #38 Pop in the United States in 1973) and one of her most recognizable songs.

Humble Pie recorded the song on their 1974 album Thunderbox.

The song has been frequently covered and sampled since its release in 1973. One popular version was a disco-oriented remake by Eruption. This version became the group’s biggest hit (#18 Pop in the U.S.) when it was released as a single in 1978.

Ronnie Wood covered the song in 1975 on his album Now Look. Lowell George covered the song on his 1979 album Thanks, I’ll Eat it Here. The song was also covered by Bad Manners on their 1993 album Fat Sound, and by Terry Manning added as a live version to the 2006 CD re-release of his album “Home Sweet Home.”

“I Can’t Stand the Rain” was also recorded by Grammy Award-winning singer Tina Turner for her 1984 Private Dancer album, released as the sixth single from the album in early 1985. Turner’s version of the song was also featured on the TV series Eve.

Missy Elliott’s 1997 debut single, “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)”, contains a sample from the song and it serves as the chorus. A version of the song also appears on Sam Moore’s 2006 album, Overnight Sensational with Wynonna, Bekka Bramlett, BeBe Winans and Billy Preston. Seal also recorded a version of the song for his 2008 album Soul.

***This one is not so much a video as it is just the song, but once you hear it you’ll understand why it HAD to be put here.***

Funkytown – Lipps, Inc.

“Funkytown” is a 1980 song created by the disco band Lipps Inc. The song expresses the pinings for a metaphorical place that keeps “me movin’, keeps me groovin’ with some energy”. It became number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, the U.S. Dance and R&B charts, as well as on almost every international chart. In the UK, it became #2 in the singles chart. It has been called the song that saved Disco and hinted towards Nu-disco.

Funkytown is currently playing in the Stockholm City Theater production of “The Three Muskeeters”. The Stockholm City Theater is a very large and well respected theater worldwide.

The song is also featured in the Bell Shakespeare Company’s “Taming of the Shew” at the Sydney Opera House in Australia.

The theme park in the Nickelodeon show “Doug” was named “Funkytown” and the Lipps, Inc. song played whenever an establishing shot of the park was featured.

The song was used in an advert for the Coco Pops “Moons And Stars” Cereal.

In the South Park episode “Towelie”, the character “Towelie” gets distracted while typing on a keypad (while high on marijuana) and instead of inputting the correct passcode, makes the keypad’s tones play the melody to Funkytown.

In episode 1, season 3 of Futurama (episode “Amazon Women in the Mood”), the character “Morbo” dances and sings to Funkytown.

In episode 13, season 1 of Malcolm in the Middle, when Malcolm’s dad tries to teach him how to skate.

In The One Where The Stripper Cries (Friends), with a flashback to the 80s, where Rachel & fat-Monica are dancing.

The song was also featured in Konami’s Beatmania game for the U.S..

The song was featured in Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA, also made by Konami.

This song was featured in the film Shrek 2 when Shrek, Fiona and Donkey arrive in Far Far Away.

This song was featured in the 1999 film Pea Boy when the pea boy, the blowfish, and the candle maker drive to London as they crash through Burger Prince, and Dairy Princess.

It was also used during a 2008 and 2009 ad for the French energy company Areva.

It was also used in Mel Brooks film History of the World, Part I

The Pseudo Echo version was used in the 1987 film Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise.

The Pseudo Echo cover was also used in a 1988 episode of the short-lived “USA Night Flight” series Dynaman.

The Lipps, Inc song was used in an advert for foxybingo.com

In the 2007 movie, Alvin and the Chipmunks, when Alvin, Theodore and Simon first show Dave their musical talents they sing part of the song.

The Iranian Delegation to the 2006 Winter Olympic Games played the song during the opening ceremonies.

On The Simpsons Season 3 Homer admits he couldn’t get this song out of his head . Colonel Homer says “I haven’t felt this way since Funkytown!”

You can hear in Nina Hagen’s song “Cosma Shiva” the bass line from the versus.

Lovely Day – Bill Withers

“Lovely Day” is the title of a popular song from 1977 (see 1977 in music) by the American soul and R&B singer Bill Withers. The song was written by Withers and Skip Scarborough and appears on Withers’ 1978 album Menagerie.

Released as a single in late 1977, “Lovely Day” peaked at #6 on the Billboard R&B chart and at #30 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US in early 1978. It also made the Top 10 in the United Kingdom, where the song reached #7 on the UK Singles Chart. Withers’ version of “Lovely Day” has been re-released as a single in the UK at least twice since the song’s first chart run; in 1987 the song charted again at #92, while a version credited as the “Sunshine Mix” made the UK Top 10 in 1988, rising to #4. This remix was done by a Dutch DJ named Ben Liebrand.

Producer Clarence McDonald also arranged the original 1977 version of the song and played keyboards. Guitars were played by Ray Parker, Jr., Jerry Knight played bass, and Russell Kunkel played drums.

Towards the end of the song, Withers holds a note for 18 seconds. This is believed to be the second-longest note in UK chart history, behind Morten Harket of a-ha’s 20-second note in “Summer Moved On”.

Sunday Night Video Flashback Pt. 51!!!

Whooo Hooo….week 51!!!! Here we go!

It Must Have Been Love – Roxette

“It Must Have Been Love” is a pop song written by Per Gessle and performed by the Swedish pop duo Roxette. The ballad became the duo’s 3rd #1 hit in the United States, and is one of their best-selling releases, leading the single to be certified gold in a number of countries.

The song, included on the soundtrack to the hugely popular film Pretty Woman, rivals “The Look”, “Joyride” and “Listen to Your Heart” as the song most closely associated with them. In 2005, Per Gessle received an award from BMI after the song’s four millionth radio play.

“Christmas for the Broken Hearted”, the song’s original title, was first released in 1987 after EMI Germany asked Roxette to come up with an intelligent Christmas-single. It went on to become a Top 10 hit in Sweden but EMI Germany decided not to the release the track.

This version of the song was not part of any Roxette album until the 1997 re-release of Pearls of Passion, where it was included as a bonus track. The B-side to “Christmas for the Broken Hearted”, “Turn to Me”, also featured as a bonus track.

During the run of chart-topping singles from Look Sharp! Touchstone Pictures approached Roxette’s record label, EMI, and the group about contributing a song to the soundtrack of the upcoming romantic comedy release Pretty Woman, starring Richard Gere and Oscar nominee Julia Roberts. Pretty Woman was released in March 1990 and went on to make more than $460 million worldwide.

Gessle has claimed that “It Must Have Been Love”, by then a two-year-old recording, was chosen because Roxette did not have time to compose and record a new song while touring Australia and New Zealand. Gessle and producer Clarence Öfwerman took the original 1987 recording, had Marie Fredriksson replace a single Christmas-referenced line in the song and added some instrumentation and background vocal overlays to enhance the sound. Gessle claimed the soundtrack producers initially turned down “It Must Have Been Love” but changed their minds after re-editing the film.

Although “It Must Have Been Love” was part of the Pretty Woman soundtrack, the song wasn’t part of a Roxette album until Don’t Bore Us, Get to the Chorus!, their 1995 greatest hits release. The album wasn’t released in the United States until September 26, 2000, with a different track listing.

Though the lyrics refer to a lonely winter’s day after the break-up of a relationship, “It Must Have Been Love” became an international hit in the summer of 1990. It was not the first single released from the Pretty Woman soundtrack but “It Must Have Been Love” became the most successful, spending its first of two weeks at #1 on the Hot 100 in June and onto sales of 500,000 copies in the U.S. Billboard magazine listed “It Must Have Been Love” as the #2 Hot 100 single of the year behind Wilson Phillips’ “Hold On”. The single was released in the UK in June 1990 and peaked at #3, Roxette’s best showing there, and stayed in the UK Singles Chart for 14 weeks. The song was re-released in September 1993 and peaked at #10. It was due to the success of this song that Listen To Your Heart was re-issued in the UK in August 1990. It later became Roxette’s second of three #1 singles in Australia, spending two weeks at the top spot in July 1990, while it also peaked at #1 in Norway, for 12 weeks, and in Switzerland. It also reached the Top 5 in Sweden, Austria and Germany, where the single spent 9 months in the Top 75, while it reached the Top 20 in Italy.

In the CD liner notes for Don’t Bore Us, Get to the Chorus!, Fredriksson remarked, “Our third #1 in th U.S. …not bad for a song that was lying around, gathering dust.” The soundtrack went on to be certified three times platinum by the RIAA, with total Worldwide sales of ten million.While the song went onto receive gold certification in the Austria, Germany, United States, Sweden and New Zealand.

According to Fredriksson shooting the video was a surreal experience.

“… the video was a weird experience. The director wanted all movements in slow motion so I had to lip sync the vocals in double speed. My first lesson in how to sing an emotional ballad Mickey Mouse style. A strange way to make a living.”

-Marie Fredriksson

Turn Up The Radio – Autograph

“Turn Up the Radio” is a song by glam metal band Autograph from the album, Sign in Please.

Released in 1984, “Turn Up The Radio” was Autograph’s only hit, reaching #29 in the Billboard 100 and receiving massive MTV airplay.

The song was also featured on the soundtrack of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, on the fictional radio station, VRock.

A demo version of the song appears on the bands “odds and ends” collection entitled Missing Pieces, featuring a slightly different chorus.

The song was named the 93rd best hard-rock song of all time by VH1.

The Rain – Oran “Juice” Jones

“The Rain” is a 1986 successful crossover single by Oran “Juice” Jones, an R&B singer/rapper from Harlem, New York. The single was his biggest hit and reached number one on the R&B chart for two weeks. The single made it to number nine on the Billboard Hot 100. and the Top 20 in the UK Singles Chart. Jones’s single about a man getting revenge on his girlfriend’s infidelity, produced a novelty, answer record entitled “Thunder & Lightning” by Miss Thang.

Don’t Want To Fall In Love – Jane Child

“Don’t Wanna Fall in Love” is a 1990 hit song for Toronto-born singer/songwriter/musician Jane Child. Released as the first single from her self-titled debut album, the single went to #2 for three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in late April and early May 1990, kept out of the top spot by Sinéad O’Connor’s ballad “‘Nothing Compares 2 U.”

Japanese artist, Kumi Koda, sampled the opening music for her 2004 single, “Chase.”

The song was covered in 2008 by Kimberly Wyatt of the Pussycat Dolls, appearing on the bonus disc for their album Doll Domination.

Sunday Night Video Flashback Pt. 50!!!

The Big 5-0!!!  Hope you enjoy these!

Double Dutch Bus – Frankie Smith

Double Dutch Bus” is a 1981 funk song by Frankie Smith, made famous for its extensive use of the “izz” infix form of slang. The song title represents a combination of two institutions in Smith’s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania neighborhood: the double dutch game of jump rope played by neighborhood kids, and the SEPTA bus system that was a backbone of the local transportation network (and for which Smith had unsuccessfully applied for a bus driving position; the Transpass referred to in the song is an actual SEPTA pass). Smith and co-writer Bill Bloom persuaded contacts at WMOT Records to finance the song, and it was recorded in summer 1981, engineered by Gene Leone. The song rocketed to popularity in a matter of weeks. On the U.S. Billboard R&B chart, it held the number one spot for eight weeks. It also crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number thirty in the summer of 1981.  The record has received two separate gold certifications, one for sales of the 7″ edit, and a second gold record for sales of the 12″ single.

This song was sampled by Australian pop princess Kylie Minogue with her own hit “Cowboy Style” on the KylieFever2002 Tour”.

This song was famously sampled in Missy Elliott’s 2003 single “Gossip Folks.” It was interpolated by Snoop Dogg on his 2001 single “Snoop Dogg (What’s My Name II)”. Rapper Hitman Sammy Sam sampled it as well in his song “Stepdaddy”. It is commonly mis-attributed to The Gap Band or George Clinton on mp3s found on Peer-to-peer music sharing networks.

A small sample of the song was used during the intro to “Into the Groove” by Madonna during her Sticky & Sweet Tour in 2008.

Another small sample of the song was used during a portion of the film, The Specials.

Mexican Radio – Wall Of Voodoo

“Mexican Radio” is a song written and performed by the band Wall of Voodoo, and produced by Richard Mazda. The track was initially made commercially available on their 1982 album Call of the West.

The song gained notoriety for its line sung and written by lead vocalist Stan Ridgway , “I wish I was in Tijuana / eating barbecued iguana.” A video on MTV in 1982-83 helped as well.

Wall of Voodoo vocalist Stan Ridgway and guitarist Marc Moreland traced the inspiration for the song to listening to high-wattage unregulated AM Mexican radio stations (among them XERF, XEG, and XERB) which, starting circa the 1930s, were received practically around the globe . Some of the stations boasted a million watts, which was 20 times higher than allowed in the US.

Sitting just south of the Rio Grande , these stations avoided American broadcast and trade regulations, and became the medium of favor for countless quacks spouting political rants , selling homemade pharmaceuticals pre-FDA, , self-published manifestos, and may have even been the starting point for Televangelism as we know it. Wolfman Jack started his career in that market, spinning an electic mix of genres

Wall of Voodoo vocalist Stan Ridgway co-wrote with Moreland to finish the song, and added all the verse’s lyrics to Moreland’s enigmatic chorus and guitar lick as well as the catchy “mariachi” harmonica melody in the song’s middle breakdown.

The 7″ single version differs slightly from the album cut, most notably in the way Ridgway’s vocals are mixed, and in the addition of a louder bass drum part in the song’s chorus. The single mix is sometimes called the oleo mix, because Ridgway chants “radio, radio, oleo, radio” at the song’s end, rather than “radio, radio, radio, radio” as he does on the album version.

Other artists have paid homage to the border blaster – ZZ Top wrote “I Heard It On the X” in 1975, and Los Super Seven (with numerous guests) stretched their tribute out to album length with, “Heard It on the X” in 2005, and The Doors with The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat) .

Arizona-based punk rock band Authority Zero featured a cover version on their 2004 album Andiamo with slightly modified lyrics; for instance, “They talk about the U.S. inflation” was replaced with “They talk about the Iraq invasion”.

Kinky, a Mexican electronic/rock band from Monterrey Mexico has covered this song as well. They kept the upbeat rhythm of the song with their own electronic twist and added some lyrics in Spanish. This version is in their album Reina De Lujo, and their Sassy EP, and also is featured in Need for Speed Undercover.

Bruce Lash gave the song the bossa nova treatment on his 2004 album, “Prozak for Lovers II” which also includes easy-listening versions of Nirvana’s “Lithium” and Joan Jett’s “Bad Reputation” among others.

Mike Keneally, a Frank Zappa alumnus, has played the song in live concerts with his band, Beer for Dolphins.

The intro synthesizer was sampled by the hip-hop group Cannibal Ox in the song “Iron Galaxy”.

Atlanta-based band doubleDrive covered the song as a hidden track in their 1000 Yard Stare album.

European metal band Celtic Frost have also covered the song. They put it as the first song on their third album Into the Pandemonium.

South Park Mexican has a somewhat different version of the song, keeping the chorus more or less intact, but writing a completely new set of verses.

The math rock band Polvo contributed a cover of the song to Tannis Root Presents: Freedom of Choice, a 1992 sampler to benefit Planned Parenthood.

A first-person rendition (“I’m a Mexican / On the radio”) appears on the album Graciasland by El Vez, the “Mexican Elvis”.

French band Nouvelle Vague, who specialise in bossa nova covers of New Wave tracks, performed this song live in London on November 25 2006.

Now defunct Pittsburgh, PA band Buzz Poets used to play a hybrid of “Mexican Radio” mixed with “The Beautiful People” by Marilyn Manson.

Dutch band Gruppo Sportivo covered the song on their 1987 album “Back to 19 Mistakes”.

Austin, Texas band Vallejo covered the song on their album “Stereo” in 2002.

Far From Over – Frank Stallone

“Far From Over” is a song that appeared in the 1983 film Staying Alive. The song was written by Frank Stallone and Vince DiCola. Stallone recorded the song for the film and made it into a top-ten U.S. single in September 1983. The song peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming his only major hit. The instrumental version was used as the theme for Starrcade from 1983 to 1987. Also WRAL-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina were used for their Football Fridays broadcasts during the mid-1980s.

Not a lot of info on this one, but hey, it’s Frank Stallone!!!

All I Need – Jack Wagner

“All I Need” is the title of a 1985 song by the American actor Jack Wagner.

Wagner became known for his role as Frisco Jones on the soap opera General Hospital prior to recording the song; he has since had roles on other television programs, such as The Bold and the Beautiful and Melrose Place. “All I Need” was written by Glen Ballard and Clif Magness and produced by Ballard and David Foster. The song proved to be Wagner’s only Top 40 hit to date, peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1985. It remained at the runner-up position for two weeks, behind Madonna’s “Like a Virgin”. The single did, however, spend two weeks atop Billboard’s adult contemporary chart. The ballad is the title-track to Wagner’s 1984 debut album. The song is a romantic plea from Wagner to the one he loves: All I need / Is just a little more time / To be sure what I feel.

In 2009, VH1 ranked “All I Need” #71 on its program 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s.

(SIDE NOTE: How cold is it in the studio they’re playing in that they have to wear jackets and coats?  Nice Mullet BTW Wagner.  LOL)

Sunday Night Video Flashback Pt. 49!!!

Whoo Hooo!!!! Another week!!!

Separate Ways – Journey

“Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” is a song by Journey from their album Frontiers and released as a single on February 5, 1983. It peaked at #8 for six consecutive weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and spent four weeks at #1 on the Top Tracks chart. A driving keyboard anthem, it was written by Steve Perry and Jonathan Cain. Unlike much of Journey’s work of the era, “Separate Ways” has a fast, heavy feel, driven by Neal Schon’s aggressive rhythm guitar part.

The song was written in 1982 during the tour for the Escape album and debuted live at the 1982 Day on the Green concert, about eight months before the Frontiers album was released. On June 26, 1982, Journey played the song live for the first time when singer Steve Perry said “We just wrote this song about two weeks ago.” There were some minor differences in the lyrics on this live debut compared to the final version found on Frontiers. In a 2008 interview, guitarist Neal Schon recalled the first time it was played live: “It doesn’t matter where we put this song because it has always had a strong effect on the audience, all the way back to the first time we played it — before it was even recorded. It was written on tour and we threw it in the set to see how it would go down. The audience had an amazing reaction to it without even knowing what it was.”

Co-writer Jonathan Cain described the song’s origin: “Usually we don’t write songs that far in advance of an album. But on that occasion, Steve [Perry] and I were just working an idea backstage and it all came together. He was working on a bass and I had a guitar, and we just worked out the melody that night and the lyrics the next afternoon. Sometimes you can get lucky and have a song fall together like that.

Schon described the influence for the song’s sound: “A big part of Journey’s influence comes from Motown mixed with R&B and blues, and that’s pretty much where ‘Separate Ways’ is coming from. It’s got a heavier guitar than an R&B song, but I think that’s what makes it sound like Journey.” Co-writer Jonathan Cain echoed these thoughts in a 1983 interview: “We wanted to write something rhythmic and still have a strong and haunting melody. We needed a main rhythm to run through the synthesizer and Steve Smith designed that kind of drum beat to let everything breathe. It’s really a throwback to all of our roots and the Motown sound. Steve [Perry] has always listened to a lot of Motown records, songs with a strong chorus approach. Songs that were real urgent sounding, but still had rhythm and melody.”

The music video for the song was directed by Tom Buckholtz and featured the band playing at the Louisa Street Wharf in New Orleans. It is now infamous for the scenes where the band is pretending to play non-existent instruments, although they do also play their real instruments (including Jonathan Cain playing his Roland Jupiter-8 “up-the-wall”) in the video. The video features over 50 camera moves with full choreography by Columbia Records Art and Creative Services.
It was reported that on the first day of shooting, there was a cold breeze coming off of the Mississippi River, which the wharf was located next to. This made filming all the more difficult on the band and Perry, who was seen retreating to his camper on-site to keep warm.

“Separate Ways” was the first single for which the band shot a video. Previous songs, such as “Any Way You Want It,” “Don’t Stop Believin’,” and others were performances that were taped and edited, and not choreographed music video pieces. The video landed at number 13 on MTV’s 1999 listing of the 25 worst videos, with commentators criticizing Perry’s over-emotive expressions and gestures as well as his unfashionable pink-on-black tank top.

Genius Of Love – Tom Tom Club

“Genius of Love” is a 1981 song by Tom Tom Club from their eponymous debut album, Tom Tom Club.

“Genius of Love” was Tom Tom Club’s second single. Although the album had not been released in North America, over a hundred thousand copies of the single sold as imports from Island Records’s UK, at which point Sire Records made a deal to release the single and the album in North America in late 1981.

“Genius of Love” was a huge hit making the top 40 on the US Billboard Hot 100 (Peaking at #31), in the clubs and on the R&B and dance charts, soon earning the Tom Tom Club LP a Gold Sales Award in 1982. Despite its relatively low chart position in the United Kingdom, the song received a great deal of airplay on UK radio and became a club favorite in Britain, helped by the popularity of the accompanying video. A song based on the keyboards-and-bass rhythm in “Genius of Love” was used in a long-running TV advertising campaign in the UK by the Bird’s desserts company between 1985 and 1992, the commercials featuring a spin on the psychedelic animation of the Tom Tom Club video using rudimentary CGI. In 2002 it was also used in a popular TV commercial for Kia cars.

The song’s narrator implies that her boyfriend is a “maven of funk mutation” and compares him to James Brown, Bob Marley, Smokey Robinson, Hamilton Bohannon, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Sly and Robbie, and Kurtis Blow.
Tom Tom Club appeared in the 1984 Talking Heads concert movie Stop Making Sense performing “Genius of Love,” although this incarnation of the group did not include Tina Weymouth’s sisters Laura and Lani. Director Jonathan Demme added “Genius of Love” to the concert primarily so that David Byrne could exit the stage and change into his oversized suit, and he assured Weymouth that the performance would not be included on the final cut of the film. When Weymouth saw an early screening of the film she was thus surprised and irritated to see “Genius of Love,” but Demme refused to change anything before the official release.

The B-side of the “Genius of Love (Long Version)” 12″ vinyl has a lesser-known underground hit called “Yella.” On some pressings, the song is sometimes credited to Mr. Yellow and, on others, it is credited to Yella. It is assumed that this is really the Tom Tom Club using a pseudonym. This cover repeats the chorus: “You’ve got to have a strong heart to live in New York…”.

This song is one of the most sampled rhythm tracks of all time, particularly within the rap/R&B/hip-hop genre, with dozens of unsolicited remixes and versions, most notably Dr. Jeckyl & Mr. Hyde’s “Genius Rap” in 1981; GrandMaster Flash & The Furious Five’s “It’s Nasty” in 1982; Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy” in 1995; and The X-Ecutioners’ “Genius of Love 2002″ in 2002. Also, Mark Morrison’s “Return of the Mack” in 1996.

Other artists have incorporated “Genius of Love” into their works, including: Public Enemy’s “Leave This Off Your Fu*kin Charts,” Redman’s song “Brick City Mashin!,” Cam’Ron’s “Me, My Moms & Jimmy,” 2nd II None’s “Niggaz Trippin’,” Fresh Kid Ice’s “Roll Call,” Tupac Shakur’s “High Speed,” Mark Morrison’s “Return of the Mack,” Busta Rhymes’ “One,” Ant Banks’ “Roll ‘Em Phat,” P.M. Dawns’ “Gotta Be… Movin’ On Up,” Annie’s “Chewing Gum,” Menajahtwa’s “I Ain’t Nasti,” and “Genius E Dub” by Eric Sermon.

Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel produced the animated music video based on the pop art work of James Rizzi, which took off from the cartoony style of the Tom Tom Club album cover.

Radioactive – The Firm

“Radioactive” is a song by English rock band The Firm. It was the first single released from their eponymous début album The Firm, where it was the fifth track. It was written by Paul Rodgers.

A compact and straight-forward AOR rock song from the 1980s, structured with Tony Franklin’s fretless bass hook at the beginning, combined with Page’s guitar scratch on the third line in the verse, Rodgers’ reverbed vocal, and followed by a wah pedal inflected guitar solo. Chris Slade plays a steady drum beat throughout. On live performances, the song was introduced with a drum solo from Slade, leading into Franklin’s opening bass line. Page utilised his 1960’s Botswanna Brown Fender Telecaster guitar featuring a Parsons and White B-string bender, on tour with this song.

Their self-titled album, appearing on Atlantic Records, cracked the Billboard Top 20 on the strength of this single. Jimmy Page broke with the past and participated in the recording for the promotional film clip and single, the first time he had done both since the late 1960s. Page can be seen playing his famous red double-neck 1971 Gibson EDS-1275 guitar for the performance. In March of 1985, MTV began heavily promoting the video clip, although the track was a modest seller, reaching #28 in America and topping the Top Rock Tracks chart for one week. “Radioactive” was also released as a 12″ single and limited edition picture disc.

Paul Rodgers stills performs this song during his solo sets and it appears on the 2007 Paul Rodgers: Live In Glasgow DVD.

What’s Up – 4 Non Blondes

“What’s Up?” is a rock song written by Linda Perry for 4 Non Blondes’ debut album Bigger, Better, Faster, More! (1992). It was released as the album’s second single in 1993. It was very successful in European countries, peaking at #1 in Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, Ireland, Norway and the Netherlands.

Despite the title, the song does not contain the phrase “what’s up?”, but has “what’s goin’ on?” in the chorus. This is due to the 1971 R&B song and album “What’s Going On”, by Marvin Gaye, which they feared would be confused with their song. They kept the name “What’s Up?”.

On VH1’s 100 Greatest One-hit Wonders, “What’s Up?” ranks #94. It also ranks at #16 on Blender’s list of the “50 Worst Songs Ever”. Similarly, it is ranked #19 on Spinner.com’s list of the “Top 20 Worst Songs Ever.”

The song received considerable airplay success. It reached number fourteen on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and went gold, but peaked higher throughout the rest of the world, reaching number one in Germany and Ireland , while reaching number two in the United Kingdom and Australia. The song was remixed by DJ Miko in 1994, reaching number six in the United Kingdom.

Sunday Night Video Flashback Pt. 48!!!

Happy August!!!

V

Highway to Hell – AC/DC

“Highway to Hell” is a song by the hard rock band AC/DC. It is the opening track of the group’s 1979 album Highway to Hell and the twelfth track on AC/DC Live.

The song was written by Bon Scott, Angus Young and Malcolm Young while the main guitar riff was created by Malcolm Young. The track has become one of the most famous songs in rock history. AC/DC had made several studio albums before and was constantly supporting them by going on a grueling tour schedule.

The song and album’s title supposedly came after a reporter asked bandmembers if they could describe what life was like being constantly on tour. Angus replied that it was “a fucking highway to Hell” (a potently ironic contrast to Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven”). He stated in the magazine Guitar World that when you are out on the road on a bus sleeping with a guy’s smelly sock in your face, it’s like you’re on the highway to hell. Rumours persisted that the band members were satanists, and this comment, and the album cover depicting Angus with devil horns and tail only added fuel to the fire. (The band has denied having anything to do with Satanism, Malcolm having even commented that “me mum would kill me for that!”) Nevertheless, this and other songs brought AC/DC its first million-copy-selling album, and sent Highway to Hell to #17 on the charts. Scott would be found dead in the back of a friend’s car just over six months later. The success of the Highway to Hell song and album set AC/DC on track to record its most famous album and tribute to Bon, Back In Black, one year later. The song “Highway to Hell” is part of the The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list.

The single was certified Gold by the RIAA for sales in excess of 500,000.

Bad, Bad Leroy Brown – Jim Croce

“Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” is the title of a song written by American folk rock singer Jim Croce. Released from his 1972 album Life and Times, the song was a Number One pop hit for him, spending two weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1973.

The song is about a man from the south side of Chicago who, due to his size and attitude, has a reputation as the “baddest man in the whole damn town.” One day, in a bar, he makes a pass at a pretty, married woman, whose husband proceeds to beat Leroy brutally in the ensuing brawl.

His inspiration for the song was a friend he met in his brief time in the Army:

I met him at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. We were in lineman (telephone) school together. He stayed there about a week, and one evening he turned around and said he was really fed up and tired. He went AWOL, and then came back at the end of the month to get his pay check. They put handcuffs on him and took him away. Just to listen to him talk and see how ‘bad’ he was, I knew someday I was gonna write a song about him.

Croce explained the chorus reference to Leroy Brown being “meaner than a junkyard dog”:

Yeah, I spent about a year and a half driving those $29 cars, so I drove around a lot looking for a universal joint for a ‘57 Chevy panel truck or a transmission for a ‘51 Dodge. I got to know many junkyards well, and they all have those dogs in them. They all have either an axle tied around their necks or an old lawnmower to keep ‘em at least slowed down a bit, so you have a decent chance of getting away from them.

The song inspired Queen vocalist Freddie Mercury to write the song “Bring Back That Leroy Brown” for the band’s third album, Sheer Heart Attack, released a year after Croce died.

“Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” was released in April 1973 and peaked at number one on the American charts three months later. It was still on the charts on September 20 when Croce died in a plane crash in Natchitoches, Louisiana.

Frank Sinatra recorded a cover version of the song, which reached number 83 on the pop charts. Country music artist Anthony Armstrong Jones released a cover on Epic Records in 1973, reaching #33 on the U.S. county charts with it.

Love Will Tear Us Apart – Joy Division

Love Will Tear Us Apart” is a song by the British post-punk band Joy Division. “Love Will Tear Us Apart” was written in August and September of 1979 and was debuted when the band supported Buzzcocks on their UK tour in September and October 1979, and it is one of the few songs in which singer Ian Curtis played guitar (albeit somewhat minimally). The lyrics are perceived to reflect the problems in Ian Curtis’ marriage to Deborah Curtis, as well as his general frame of mind in the time leading up to his suicide in May 1980. Deborah Curtis had the phrase “Love Will Tear Us Apart” inscribed on Ian Curtis’ memorial stone.

The song was first released in April 1980 and, after Curtis’ suicide that May, became the band’s first chart hit, reaching number 13 in the UK. It also debuted at #1 in New Zealand in June 1981. The band postponed their US tour after his death, performed a few short sets as The No-Names, then finally renamed the group as New Order. “Love” was re-released in 1983 and reached number 19 on the UK charts and re-appeared at #3 in New Zealand during March 1984. In November 1988, it made one more Top 40 appearance in New Zealand, peaking at #39. “Love Will Tear Us Apart” appears on the Substance compilation album. It was first recorded for a John Peel session in November 1979, then re-recorded in January 1980 and March 1980. It is the latter version that appears on Substance. The January 1980 version originally appeared as the single’s B-side.

In 1995, to publicise the release of Permanent, the track was reissued, complete with a new remix done by Arthur Baker and a new radio edit, also known as the Permanent Mix. On September 24, 2007, the single was again reissued, in its original configuration. This time, it was to publicise the Collector’s Edition re-issues of the band’s three albums. Although the single was now issued on the Warner label, it retained all the classic Factory packaging, down to the FAC 23 catalogue number.

“Love Will Tear Us Apart” has remained popular and was listed by NME magazine as the best single of all time in 2002. The song was listed by Rolling Stone magazine at number 179 in its top 500 songs of all time. In May 2007, NME placed it at number 19 in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever, one place ahead of another Joy Division song, “Transmission”. The song reached number 1 in the inaugural Triple J Hottest 100 music poll of 1989 and again in 1990. When being interviewed for New Order Story, Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys stated that “Love Will Tear Us Apart” was his favourite pop song of all time. He also mentioned several New Order songs in the same dialogue.

The song has also been used in television programs and in films, such as the 2001 film Donnie Darko, in a pivotal scene before Donnie has to leave his girlfriend in order to save her. The song is included in the indie film Wristcutters, which takes place in an afterlife for people who have committed suicide. It was also included in a film about the Manchester music scene, 24 Hour Party People, during several scenes about the band and Curtis’ suicide. It is heard in the Doctor Who episode “School Reunion.” The film Series 7: The Contenders features a music video for the song which characters explain as being part of a school project. Their homemade music video is in the style of a cheaply made ’80s video with actors dressed in stereotypical goth fashion. In the sci-fi comedy radio series Undone, the song is performed as a chime on an ice cream van.[

“Love Will Tear Us Apart” was eventually performed by New Order (though not for 18 years after Curtis’ suicide) and has been covered by many artists including, Nerina Pallot, Hawksley Workman, Calexico, The Cure, Swans, Unbroken, Nouvelle Vague, Heavens, Fall Out Boy, Worm is Green, José González, Red Mecca, Yat-Kha, Stanton Miranda, U2, Arcade Fire, Squarepusher, David Trust & The Weathermen, Honeyroot, Chris Edwards, Susanna and the Magical Orchestra, Moonspell, The Blood Divine, Simple Minds, Oysterband with June Tabor, Paul Young, Jamie Cullum, Nick Cave, Michelle Darkness feat. Hanna Pakarinen, Evelyn Evelyn and In the Nursery. The song “Let’s Dance to Joy Division” by UK act The Wombats was inspired by “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” as is obvious from the parodied cover of The Wombat’s single.

Serbian rock musician, journalist and writer Dejan Cukić wrote about “Love Will Tear Us Apart” as one of the forty-six songs that changed history of popular music in his 2007 book 45 obrtaja: Priče o pesmama.

In the video for the song, at the very beginning, the door that swings open and shut has the initials of the band members carved into it. The video was shot by the band themselves as they recorded the song. It includes production errors with colour being ‘browned out’ at some points. Due to another production error the vocals as sung by Curtis during the video didn’t come out as intended. The song as originally recorded in the video sounds much more like that in their Peel Session. Curtis re-recorded the vocals separately with the hint of melancholy that helps make it distinctive. The oddly-shaped guitar played by Ian Curtis is a Vox Phantom (Often wrongly believed to be the Vox Mark III).

Suedehead – Morrissey

“Suedehead” was the debut solo single from Morrissey, released in February 1988.

The single charted higher than any of the singles released by his former band The Smiths, reaching number five in the UK Singles Chart, and remains one of Morrissey’s most well-known songs. It charted at #30 in The Netherlands. The lead track was featured on Morrissey’s debut album Viva Hate and the compilation album Bona Drag; the latter of which also featured the B-side “Hairdresser on Fire”. The artwork of the single features a photo taken by Geri Caulfield at a Smiths gig at the London Palladium.

Suedeheads were a subculture that grew out from the original 1960s skinhead movement. The lyrics of the Morrissey song are unrelated to that topic.

The NME gave the single a very positive review, awarding it ‘Single of the Week 2′ saying that “his vocals hit a pitch that turns your stomach with queasy delight. It makes you feel vulnerable and provokes emotions you’ve forgotten about.” In the 1988 NME Year in Review the song was described as “The best No. 1 ‘88 never gave us”