Month: November 2016

80s Song of the Day: I Want to Know What Love Is by Foreigner

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foreigner-picture-disc

This 7″ picture disc for I Want to Know What Love Is was released in the UK in 1984.

I Want to Know What Love Is by Foreigner
was released November 13, 1984, with Street Thunder (Marathon Theme) as the B side. It was the lead single from the band’s fifth studio album Agent Provocateur.

The song, which featured backing vocals from the New Jersey Mass Choir and keyboard work by Thompson Twins frontman Tom Bailey, was a worldwide success. It reached No. 1 in several countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

I Want to Know What Love Is was written by Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones. Check out this 2013 interview with Classic Rock magazine where he talks about the making of the song:

“I always worked late at night, when everybody left and the phone stopped ringing. ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’ came up at three in the morning sometime in 1984. I don’t know where it came from. I consider it a gift that was sent through me. I think there was something bigger than me behind it. I’d say it was probably written entirely by a higher force.”

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80s Song of the Day: Our House by Madness

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our-house-uk-picture

The picture sleeve for the UK 7″ release of Our House.

Our House by Madness was released November 12, 1982. The UK release featured Walking with Mr. Wheeze as the B side, while the US release had Cardiac Arrest on the B side. It was the lead single from the band’s fourth studio album The Rise and Fall.

our-house-us-picture

The picture sleeve for the US 7″ release.

The song peaked at No. 5 on the UK Singles chart. It was the band’s biggest hit in the United States, reaching No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 1oo.

Although sometimes regarded as a one-hit wonder in the United States because of the enormous popularity of Our House, Madness released several successful singles in their native UK in the 1970s and 1980s.

Part of the song’s success in the US was owed to the popularity of its music vide on MTV. Watch the song’s music video here.

80s Song of the Day: Hold Me Now by Thompson Twins

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Hold Me Now by Thompson Twins was released November 11, 1983, with Let Loving Start as the B side. It was a single from the band’s fourth studio album Into the Gap.

The song was an international hit. It reached No. 4 on the UK Singles chart and No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also reached the top spot on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play chart.

In an interview with Songfacts.com, Tom Bailey, one-third of the Thompson Twins, explained that he wrote the song with bandmate and then-girlfriend (and later wife) Alannah Currie about their relationship: Continue reading →

80s Song of the Day: You Got It (The Right Stuff) by New Kids on the Block

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You Got It (The Right Stuff) by New Kids on the Block was released November 7, 1988, with a remix of the song as the B side. It was the second single from the group’s second album Hangin’ Tough, after the ballad Please Don’t Go Girl.

The song reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart. A Spanish version of the song, Autentica, peaked at No. 11 on the Spain Singles Chart.

In a 2014 interview with the Manchester Evening News, Donnie Wahlberg, who shares lead vocals on the song with Jordan Knight, gave his thoughts on the song: Continue reading →

80s Song of the Day: Tell It to My Heart by Taylor Dayne

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Tell It to My Heart by Taylor Dayne was released November 6, 1987, with an instrumental version of the song as the B side. It was Dayne’s debut single from her debut album of the same name.

The song took off unexpectedly upon its release, forcing Dayne to complete her album in six weeks. In the United States, the single spent 26 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 7. In the United Kingdom, it reached No. 3.

In 1988, Dayne was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal, Female for the song.

 

80s Song of the Day: You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) by Dead or Alive

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You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) by Dead or Alive was released November 5, 1984, with Misty Circles as the B side. It was a single from the band’s album Youthquake.

The song was a No. 1 hit in the United Kingdom. It the United States, it reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Dead or Alive vocalist and songwriter Pete Burns, who sadly passed away on October 23 of this year at the age of 57, discussed the writing of You Spin Me Round is his 2007 autobiography Freak Unique, citing Luther Vandross as one of the song’s inspirations: Continue reading →

80s Song of the Day: Keep on Loving You by REO Speedwagon

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Keep on Loving You by REO Speedwagon was released November 4, 1980, with Follow My Heart as the B side. It was a single from the band’s ninth studio album Hi Infidelity.

The song was the first REO Speedwagon single to break the Top 50 on the Billboard Hot 100, shooting all the way up to the No. 1 spot. In the United Kingdom, it peaked at No. 7 on the UK Singles Chart.

The music video for Keep on Loving You was the 17th video played on the first day of MTV’s broadcast, on August 1, 1981.

(And yes, you very well may be belting out this song throughout the rest of the day – in the shower, the car, the break room at work.)

80s Song of the Day: Bizarre Love Triangle by New Order

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Bizarre Love Triangle by New Order was released on November 3, 1986, with Bizarre Dub Triangle (a shorter mix of the song) as the B side. It was a single from the band’s fourth studio album Brotherhood.

The song reached No. 5 on the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart and No. 56 on the UK Singles Chart. In 1995, a new mix of the song, included on The Best of New Order album, cracked the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 98.

For more about Bizarre Love Triangle, read my previous post about the song.

80s Song of the Day: Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic by The Police

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Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic by The Police was released on November 2, 1981, with Flexible Strategies as the B side. The song was a single from the band’s fourth studio album Ghost in the Machine, although it dates back to a demo recorded in 1977.

The song was a No. 1 hit in the United Kingdom. In the United States, it reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Continue reading →