HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

 

 

CULTURE CLUB

After being kicked out of his gigs with Bananarama, George O’Dowd christened himself “Boy George” and recruited some talented musicians (Mikey Craig, Roy Hay, and Jon Moss) in the London area, and Culture Club was born.

After not hitting with the first two singles from their first album, Kissing to Be Clever, Culture Club released the reggae-inspired "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me", in September of 1982, and scored an international chart topper. Their next two singles were also big hits, the R&B/Smooth Jazz tune, "Time (Clock of the Heart)", and "I'll Tumble 4 Ya," making Culture Club the first group since The Beatles to have three Top Ten hits from a debut album in America. Kissing to Be Clever would eventually sell over 6.5 million records worldwide, and their next album, just over a year away, would be even bigger.

Colour by Numbers was released in October of 1983 and ended up selling over 10 million copies globally.  It spawned four US Top Ten hits ("Church of the Poison Mind,” Karma," "Miss Me Blind," and "It's a Miracle"), and a fifth one in the band’s native UK ("Victims"). Culture Club then won the 1984 Grammy Award for Best New Artist, where George gave a speech via satellite stating, "Thanks America, you've got style, you've got taste, and you know a good drag queen when you see one." This album was also notable for highlighting the band’s lead back-up singer, the phenomenal Helen Terry, and spring boarded her successful career.

As with all meteoric rises, descent must follow, and it did for Culture Club. They had a hit from the soundtrack to the great cult film Electric Dreams, called "Love Is Love", and then sold around two million copies of their next album, Waking Up with the House on Fire. The album had really only one hit single ("The War Song"),  and band member have stated many times that they were exhausted from an enormous world tour the year before, but were pressured to put out a new album for their labels (Virgin and Epic).

George’s drug abuse and internal squabbling took its toll on the band, and Culture Club’s final album (until a failed comeback in 1999), 1986's From Luxury to Heartache yielded only one hit single, "Move Away." By the end of the year, Culture Club was officially a band no more, leaving a legacy of smart, sweet songs and a gallery of bewitching videos.

A glad heart makes a happy face; a broken heart crushes the spirit. - Proverbs 15:13

RUN DMC and JAM MASTER JAAAAAY!

Run–D.M.C.,  in my humble opinion, is one of the most influential acts in the history of hip hop. At a time when most music industry people thought that rap music was a fad or a novelty (if they'd heard of it at all), this group validated the style, language, and culture of urban kids across America (and eventually the rest of the world).

Although a few earlier rap acts had garnered some popularity, before Run-DMC, this group took it to an entriely new level. Theirs was the first rap video ever played on MTV (Rock Box, in 1984). And they were:

• the  first rap artist with gold, platinum, and multi-platinum albums.
• the first rap act to incorporate hard rock/heavy metal guitar into their songs.
• the first rap act to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.
• the first rap act to chart in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 more than once.
• the first rap artists with a Top 10 pop charting rap album (Raising Hell).
• the only rap act invited to perform at Live Aid in 1985.
• the first rap act to perform to sign a major product endorsement deal (Adidas, of course!).

In the 1980's, these college freshmen from Hollis Queens released four albums. All are great, but the third, Raising Hell, was groundbreaking. Produced by Rick Rubin, and featuring Walk This Way, the remake/collaboration with Aerosmith (widely seen as restarting Aerosmith's fading career), this album went triple-platinum and put rap music on the mainstream map.

So today, my tribute to Joseph "Run" Simmons, Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels, and the late, great, Jason "Jam-Master Jay" Mizell!



Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.-Proverbs 3:5

A Few ONE-HIT WONDERS of the 80's!!!

What is a One-Hit Wonder, you ask? There are several definitions, but they typically vary only slightly. General consensus is that a One-Hit Wonder is any musical act that recorded only one song that reached the U.S. Top 40.  Of course, since many musical acts have numerous hits on the other charts, they are not considered one hit wonders.  For examples, there are countless Country, Rap, Blues, Jazz, and Heavy Metal artists that dominated their prospective charts in the eighties, but may not have even had a Top 40 hit (or, perhaps, one Top 40 hit).

Enough with the footnotes; here are songs from artists that I consider One-Hit Wonders:

“Mickey” by Toni Basil – was Billboard’s number one single in December of 1982

“Too Shy” by Kajagoogoo – was in the Billboard top five in the spring of 1983

“Double Dutch Bus” by Frankie Smith – a big hit in the summer of 1981

“Tainted Love” by Soft Cell – was a huge Billboard single in the spring of 1982

“99 Luft Balloons” by Nena – the far superior German-language version was a hit in 1984

“Puttin’ on the Ritz” by Taco - was a Billboard top four hit in September of 1983

 “Pee Wee’s Dance” by Joeski Love – a hit inspired by Pee Wee’s Big Adventure in 1985 

Ok, so these songs ought to keep you both humming and cringing for the rest of the week!

And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. - Deuteronomy 6:5

U2 (Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen, Jr.)

U2 formed in Dublin in the late seventies, under the name "Feedback" and their repetoire was primarily covers of great punk bands like The Clash, The Buzzcocks, and The Sex Pistols. After a few name changes and a few years to become more proficient in their craft, they released the album, War in 1983. This was U2's first really political record, containing the stunning singles "Sunday, Bloody, Sunday" and "New Years Day." The band's next album, The Unforgettable Fire, sold well, produced two remarkable singles "Pride (In the Name of Love)" and "The Unforgettable Fire," but received mixed reviews.

Towards the end of 1988, U2 released Rattle And Hum, an excellent live album and documentary/concert film. The record was made up of performances from the Joshua Tree concert tour, but differed from that album because it contained more blues, folk, country tunes, covers from the Beatles and Stones, and even had B.B. King, Benmont Tench and Dylan as guest artists. The film and record was a great way for the band to end the decade because they was beginning to be widespread backlash, due to The Joshua Tree being so enormous and Bono and the Edge becoming so “earnest” and political.  Neither the film nor the album is as self-indulgent as I remember critics claiming them to be back then.

U2 did not release another record in the eighties (thank Heaven), but came back in 1991 with the fantastic Achtung Baby.

For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see. - Psalm 36:9 

1987, U2 released its fifth album, The Joshua Tree, and ruled the world for a while. The album went platinum, gold, and diamond in several countries, selling upwards of 25 million copies, and garnered Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1988. The album's three big hit singles, "With or Without You", "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", and "Where the Streets Have No Name," seemed to stay on the charts and on MTV for like, two years.

MUSIC: 1980 - 1989

On August 1, 1981. 12:01am. A new music channel called MTV went on the air.  It’s first “music video” was “Video Killed the Radio Star” by One-Hit Wonders, The Buggles. Music had become a visual medium like never before...

In my opinion (hey, this is MY blog!), the most significant artists were probably: Michael Jackson (of course), Madonna (duh!), Prince, Culture Club, Genesis, Run-DMC, and the Go-Go’s.

Obviously, there are literally HUNDREDS of artists which contributed considerably to the musical landscape: AC/DC, Cyndi Lauper, Bruce Springsteen, Def Leppard, Whitney Houston, Guns N’ Roses, Dire Straits, Duran Duran, Huey Lewis and the News, Bon Jovi and the list goes on…and on…

However, some acts were able to achieve, and then maintain, a level of both commercial success and artistic quality, while riding the waves of longevity. Then there are many reliable musical acts who pop up, release a couple (or a few) hit singles, disappear for a while, and the return with another hit or two.

 There are One-Hit Wonders, Two-Hit Wonders, and Why-the-Heck-Was-That-Song-a-Hit? Wonders.  I will explore them all (or most of them, anyway) in this blog. Some days I’ll write about a hit single; some days I’ll write about a hit album, yes, album; some days I’ll write about a great musical act (like Erasure), or a crappy musical act (like Joe Dolce).

It will always be ‘80s and it will always be fun!

But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life. - John 4:14   

I wanna rock!!!

Family and friends, as you all may be aware, the Waxing Philosophical Blog has been dormant for quite some time. This will still be true after today’s messages.  However, I am announcing that two, that’s right, TWO new blogs are going live today!

This year-long (!) blog experiment will involve my all new ‘80s Music blog and my all new ‘80s Teen Flick blog. Between the two blogs, I will be writing everyday. Some days, I may log multiple entries at both locations; some days, one entry at both locations. BUT, I hope to write at least one blog entry at one of the two locations. I am doing this for a few reasons: 1) I need to get some fresh writing samples out there; 2) I need to become much more disciplined if I want writing to be a viable career choice in the near future; and 3) I am inundated constantly with ‘80s trivia questions, so I thought I’d share some of my useless knowledge!

If this experiment works out, I have a couple other cool blog ideas on deck for next year!

Thanks. Now…ENJOY!

Here's the link to 80's teen movies blog:

http://anthonys80steenflixblog.blogspot.com/