# 80-76
and we continue our countdown with numbers 80-76!
80. FLASHDANCE…WHAT A FEELING – Irene Cara(Cara/Forsey/Moroder)
Casablanca Single #811440Chart Debut: April 16, 1983 (US)/
June 4, 1983 (UK)
Chart Position: #1 US/ #2 UK
Flashdance was the very first R rated movie I ever got to see in a theater. My mother, bless her, took me and though there were a few breasts and some lesbian jokes, I don’t think the movie warped my little brain as some would think an R rated movie might.
As for the soundtrack, well, hello if it wasn’t one of the best soundtracks of the 80s I’d like to hear what you think were. With the likes of Donna Summer (“Romeo”), Laura Branigan (“Imagination”), Kim Carnes ("I’ll Be Here Where The Heart Is”) not to mention the “Maniac” ditty by Michael Sembello it has it all.Yes, with songs like this a welder by day/dancer by night with dreams of being a ballerina never had it so good. Plus the film gave a very hot lesson on how to eat lobster and massage a penis with your foot under the prying eyes of an ex-girlfriend. Oh, what the 80s taught me.
“Flashdance…What A Feeling” is of course the song that ushered out the movie and the soundtrack. Sung by the luminous Irene Cara – she had a deep voice with just the right amount of sassiness to it. Her biggest hits up to this point were from the Fame soundtrack including the hit title track and my boyfriend’s favorite – the ballad “Out Here On My Own.” But this is the essential Irene Cara.
Sung with gusto and a thumping dance beat, the song begins as a slightly exciting ballad until it explodes. I swear every time I hear it, I am right there with Jennifer Beals' stunt double dancing my way through life. However, now days, the horrid image of the other Jennifer with her big ass parading through my movie also comes to mind…but I just throw on the rest of the soundtrack and J. Lo is long gone by the time Kim Carnes starts crooning. See Irene singing Flashdance live.
79. LOVE’S BEEN A LITTLE BIT HARD ON ME – Juice Newton(Gary Burr)
Capitol Single #5120
Chart Debut: May 22, 1982
Chart Position: #7 US Pop/ #30 US C&W
I would pass Juice Newton off as just a guilty pleasure if I didn’t firmly believe that she is a very talented vocalist, and whenever I hear her songs, I really am quite taken in. In fact I did a bubbatunes compilation of hers which ends up in rotation more often than I care to admit. When I was a kid, I ran out and bought her singles as they came out, I got “Angel Of The Morning” and I bought “Queen Of Hearts” and then I bought the whole album Juice that spawned the singles, since I loved the B-sides as well. But then the next album was released in 1982 and this poppy little piece of country called “Love’s Been A Little Bit Hard On Me” was thrown onto the radio. Of all her singles this is the one I love the most. You will also notice the song debuted on the chart on my birthday - I won't tell you which year I appeared but I thought it was failry interesting that it was the same month and day.
As for the song itself, it is similar to “Queen Of Hearts” but less country than that song – we find Juice singing overdubs like a regular Pat Benatar along with a synthy twinge telling the story of her ill fated romances. Plus the video was a complete riot with Juice’s boyfriend inadvertently causing much damage to Juice’s physique by clumsy mishaps, because, well love was a little bit hard on her. Watch the video!
78. TRUE COLORS – Cyndi Lauper(Tom Kelly/Billy Steinberg)
Portrait Single #37-06247
Chart Debut: September 13, 1986 (US)/ September 20, 1986 (UK)
Chart Position: #1 US / #12 UK
Long before it became a Kodak commercial or a trite Phil Collins cover, Cyndi Lauper owned this ballad. Using the most minimal instrumentation, Cyndi relied on her strong voice to lead us through a subdued anthem about believing in one’s self. Written by Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg – two boys who had begun their career by writing with or for Pat Benatar (“Fire & Ice”, “I’m Gonna Follow You” respectively) the two joined forces in 1984 and wrote “Like A Virgin” which interestingly enough was originally conceived as a ballad and for Pat Benatar. They’ve obviously since become media whores selling “True Colors” and their next Cyndi recorded song “I Drove All Night” to advertising companies but Cyndi has since reclaimed “True Colors” at least as her own – creating a special gay rights anthem - for we gay people are beautiful like a rainbow – or at least I am. Watch the video.
77. THE STROKE – Billy Squier(Billy Squier)
Capitol Single #5005
Chart Debut: June 20, 1981 (US)/
October 3, 1981 (UK)
Chart Position: #17 US / #52 UK
Speaking of gay and beautiful, I had the hugest crush on Billy Squier as a kid. I thought he was so cute and so cool. I always thought he was singing directly to me when he would yelp his little rock songs. In 1981, when “The Stroke” came out, I was but a wee tyke addicted to buying 7” singles. Luckily, the record store sold them 3 for $5 so every time I saved enough allowance, I would beg for a ride to the store and I would get my three 45s. I remember the day I bought this single. My mother drove me to Shopko but she decided to wait in the car, as she didn’t want me wandering all day long in the store, as I had a tendency to do. So I ran into the store, searched and came out with my 3 – this time around we got “Queen Of Hearts” by Juice Newton, Pat Benatar’s “Fire & Ice” and this little oomphy number, “The Stroke.”
Interestingly enough (at least to me Billy ended up touring that summer opening for my girl Patty.)
I was way too young to really understand what Billy was implying or saying but I did know it felt dirty and I liked it. Actually to this day I’m quite surprised the song was ever played on the radio – “Stroke me, stroke! Stroke me, stroke! Say you’re a winner but boy you’re just a sinner now.” What was he saying and why did I like it so much? Apprantly, the real story is the song is about creepy music executives and the stroking of egos but I like to keep my mind more entrenched in the gutter.
As for my Billy, around 1990, I had heard he actually came out as being gay, but now I can't find any proof of it other than his performances in his videos which look a tad bit well, gay. But I really think he is gay and my gay dar is pretty damn good, and I thought he was way back then so the whole line about “make my back bone slide” and the fact I felt he was singing to me only means one thing – my gaydar was pretty intense even as a small child. Watch the performance video (and check out those jeans!) No wonder I'm gay! How many times did the word 'gay' appear in this synopsis???
76. TRUE – Concrete Blonde(Mankey/Napolitano)
IRS Single #53053
Released: 1987
Chart Position: #42 Mainstream Rock US
Johnette Napolitano is a grunge poetess who creates interesting and believable stories in almost every song she writes. “True” is no exception to her brilliant rule, and it’s probably one of her more personal stories. To me and my best pal Lisa, this song became one of our theme songs and lines like, “When I’ve had enough/I’ll get a pick up truck and I’ll drive away/ I’ll take my last ten bucks just as far as it will go…” became something of a mantra for me. I moved to Minneapolis with $20 in my pocket and hopped a bus to LA with less than $50 and no job. But it’s also the line, “If I had a choice I’d take the voice I’ve got cause it was hard to find/I’ve come too far to wind up right back where I started,” really speaks to me. Melodically, “True” is a pop song with a simple guitar line dipping into country twang, but lyrically it’s a power house anthem that uplifts you anytime you to begin to have self doubt, for as long as you’re true those monkeys can never make a mess of you. Watch the video!
Stay true and stay tuned for tomorrow we countdown numbers 75-71!
Labels: Billy Squier, Concrete Blonde, Cyndi Lauper, Irene Cara, Juice Newton, Top singles of the 1980s
posted by swivek @ 1:42 PM
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