DISQUS

Michael · 1 year ago

Duke was the bookie that wanted to punch Brandon's clock when he couldn't pay up on his wagers. Luckily Nat was there to pay for him.

God, why do I know that?

And I stand beside you in loving all that is unholy about 80's Chicago.

mojo · 1 year ago

Stuff: 1) Great story behind Boston's Third Stage album documented in the book "Hit Men." All the characters in that book are seriously flawed, and Tom Scholz takes his lumps even though he was one of the few dudes who showed any spine whatsoever in that book (except for the mob guys and bodyguards. They showed lots of spine.) 2) Samantha Fox was one of those rare porn-to-Top 40 crossover queens (as opposed to the other way around). Where's the video we are all *really* craving?

Spence · 1 year ago

It's incredibe she turned out to be a lesbian.

jasonhare · 1 year ago

I've been reading "Hit Men," albeit randomly and quite slowly, and making little notations for interesting Chart Attack! references. Obviously I haven't gotten up to the Boston section yet. I did do a lot of reading about the whole Boston saga a couple of years ago when researching "Amanda." Can't wait to read it.

Was Samantha Fox porn? I thought she was just in Playboy and the like.

DwDunphy · 1 year ago

Far as I can remember, Fox was one of Britain's Page Six girls, where on page six of their tabloid newspapers she would demonstrate how she liberated the puppies from the hot pink tube top. The slow descent into nastier bedlinens apparently came after the pop career was over, and I suppose that statement could be interpreted aaaallllll kinds of ways.

rsbrandt · 1 year ago

mojo & dw: wrong on multiple counts. You're confusing the Brisith Page THREE girl Samantha Fox, of pop music fame, with the American porn actress Samantha Fox, star of "Dracula Sucks!" and other classics.

rsbrandt · 1 year ago

Brisith? Forsooth!

British, of course.

Beau · 1 year ago

I know the Georgia Satellites spawned from several intelligent Atlanta-area bands such as the Brains, but I can't help wondering if we'll eventually have a Chart Attack with Baird's "I Love You Period." Because I just wanna hold you in parentheses.

So if I'd bought a DX7 -- or, more accurately, my parents had bought me a DX7 -- back in the day, would I have a fully functional vintage instrument worth thousands of dollars or a funky-looking paperweight?

jasonhare · 1 year ago

"I Love You Period" peaked at #26. No soup for him!

Beau · 1 year ago

Please, please, exclamation point (though I'm making it sound like a question)?

MatthewBolin · 1 year ago

Jason, you left out the best part of Billy Vera's post-hit "sucess": he was the bandleader on the short-lived late-night ABC talk show hosted by Rick "Disco Duck" Dees! Can you hear the goosebumps I still get while writing that?

Also, would the parenthetical part of song titles seem any better to you, if they were officially referred to as "careless whispers"? Like--"Touch Me.....psst! I want your body...don't tell anyone that last part, okay?"

Speaking of that, while I was getting together versions of "Careless Whisper" for my Wham! series, I found out that one Latin band had recorded a version, and had labelled it on their album as "Carless Whisper". I was hoping that the lyrics had been changed to something like "And I'm never gonna drive again/We'll just have to use my bus pass".

jefito · 1 year ago

My favorite Vera "acting" gig was his appearance in the 1987 Blake Edwards "classic" "Blind Date." One of these days, we'll do a Cutouts Gone Wild! on the soundtrack.

DwDunphy · 1 year ago

I found it amusing, but only slightly, that Vera's song on Family Ties would open up a second career of sitcom theme song writing (Empty Nest, The King Of Queens, My Personal Nightmare Coma)...

Pj · 1 year ago

Geezus, I just discovered this blog (via Hype Machine) and AWESOMENESS. RSS feed, come to me!!!

Carrie · 1 year ago

"Keep Your Hands To Yourself"...what a great, if quaint, little ditty about female empowerment. Girlfriend doesn't like it like that, and she aims to tell your sorry ass what's what. I'll take this over L'il Kim.

Old_Davy · 1 year ago

I was in a bar many years ago and the band said they were bringing out the lead singer's son to perform. Now the band was pretty good, but when a little kid stepped on the stage and took the microphone, I knew we were all in big trouble. I rushed to the bar to get another beer so I could endure the next three minutes or so.

What happened next is still imprinted strongly in my brain. The band starts the riff to "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" and this little boy - no more than 4 years old - did a KILLER vocal on it. He knew every word and simply NAILED his performance.

The line "That's when she told me the story about free milk and a cow" takes on a whole new meaning coming out of the mouth of a 4 year old. The audience howled and gave the kid a standing O. It was the highlight of the night.

Bastard_Number_1 · 1 year ago

This is one of the better weeks that you've looked at here. Only two songs didn't deserve the top 10 - "we're ready" and "touch me". I give no shit for liking Chicago. I think Peter Cetera is one of the best pop vocalists ever, so I love all of Chicago's 80's music.
The highlight of these 10 is definitely "Keep Your Hands to Yourself".The Georgia Satellites were so underrated...I mean "Battleship Chains" is such an awesome track.

Anyway, yes - that Samantha Fox video was pretty awkward. I loved the fact that she tried twice to get the audience to stand up and not one person did.

EightE1 · 1 year ago

I defy Jon Bon Jovi to hit the high notes in "Livin' on a Prayer." These days I think he just lets the audience take them.

Rob
EightE1

Philomath · 1 year ago

Are you sure that's not Eli Manning in the Glass Tiger video? I swear the lead singer looks just like him. Or maybe the 18 hours of Super Bowl coverage last week is still affecting my brain.

ckd · 1 year ago

Billy Vera also appeared in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across The Eighth Dimension in the minor part of "Pinky Carruthers".

Ray · 1 year ago

While this Samantha Fox most definitely became famous posing topless as a Page 3 girl in the British tabloids,she is not to be confused with Samantha Fox, the brunette porn starlet of the mid-late 1970s. For one thing, our perky Brit poptart was born in 1966, and most certainly was not doing porn at age ten!

rsbrandt · 1 year ago

Once the Satellites appeared on a national radio call-in show, but I never had the chance to ask them my question about that song: "You guys were trying to be Jerry Lee Lewis, weren't you?"

jefito · 1 year ago

They were really trying to be the Faces -- and they almost got there. Their third album is excellent.

Amram · 1 year ago

I" want to make fun of this song. It seems like making fun of Bon Jovi is the right move. But I defy any of you (yes, any of you!) to hit those notes with the same strength as Mr. Bongiovi — especially with that brutal key change. Mike & I do a snippet of this song during our Acoustic ’80s set, and the “Liiivin’ on a Praaaaaayer!” right before the guitar solo is just so painful — both for me and the audience. How painful? I lower the key a full step, and it still hurts everyone involved."

Why should we be impressed?

A bad song is a bad song and all the half-step key changes in the world isn't going to change that.