80s Song of the Day

80s Song of the Day: Christmas in Hollis by Run-DMC

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Christmas in Hollis by Run-DMC was released November 25, 1987, with Peter Piper as the B side. It was originally released as a single from the Christmas compilation album A Very Special Christmas, which included artists such as Madonna, Pretenders, U2, Sting, and Whitney Houston. Proceeds from the sales of the album were donated to the Special Olympics. Christmas in Hollis was the only original composition on the album.

christmas-in-hollis-variantChristmas in Hollis, which refers to the Hollis, Queens neighborhood where Run-DMC grew up, samples Back Door Santa, a 1968 release by Clarence Carter, as well as holiday classics Frosty the Snowman, Joy to the World, and Jingle Bells.

The song didn’t chart upon its original release. In 2000, it reached No. 78 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

80s Song of the Day: Fresh by Kool and the Gang

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Fresh by Kool and the Gang was released November 24, 1984, with In the Heart as the B side. It was a single from the band’s sixteenth studio album Emergency, which would become their biggest selling album.

fresh-kool-and-the-gangAlthough it wasn’t released until 1984, Fresh dates back to 1978. According to Wikipedia and Songfacts.com, the song is credited for coining the slang “fresh” to mean “cool.”

The song peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was a No. 1 hit on the R&B and dance charts. In the United Kingdom, it reached No. 11 on the UK Singles chart.

80s Song of the Day: Obsession by Animotion

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Obsession by Animotion was released November 23, 1984, with Turn Around as the B side. It was the debut single from the group’s self-titled debut album.

The song originally was written and recorded by Holly Knight and Michael Des Barres in 1983. This version was featured in the 1983 film A Night in Heaven; however, Animotion’s version was by far the big success of the two. It reached No. 5 in the United Kingdom and No. 6 in the United States. Continue reading →

80s Song of the Day: Straight Up by Paula Abdul

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Straight Up By Paula Abdul was released November 22, 1988, with Cold Hearted as the B side. It was a single from Abdul’s debut album Forever Your Girl. Before launching her singing career, Abdul was a cheerleader and dancer for the Los Angeles Lakers and choreographed several popular music videos for artists like Janet Jackson, Debbie Gibson, and Duran Duran.

straight-upStraight Up was a No. 1 hit in the United States and the best-selling single of 1989. A huge hit internationally, the song also went to No. 1 in Norway and Canada and was a Top 5 hit in several other countries, including the United Kingdom, Belgium, Sweden, and Switzerland.

The music video was directed by now famous movie director David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club, The Social Network) and featured comedian Arsenio Hall, whose talk show had premiered a few weeks prior to the video shoot. The video went on to win four 1989 MTV Video Music Awards, including for Best Female Video, Best Dance, Best Choreography, and Best Editing.

 

80s Song of the Day: My Hometown by Bruce Springsteen

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My Hometown by Bruce Springsteen was released November 21, 1985, with Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town as the B side. My Hometown, about Springsteen’s experiences growing up in Freehold, New Jersey, was a single from the album Born in the U.S.A. The B side was a live recording from a December 12, 1975, Springsteen concert on Long Island, New York. Springsteen’s version of the popular Christmas song was previously released in 1981 on a children’s album In Harmony 2.

my-hometown-variantMy Hometown reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the seventh and last Top 10 single from Born in the U.S.A. — a record for the most top 10 singles from an album that stands today, tied with Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814. In the United Kingdom, My Hometown reached No. 9 on the UK Singles chart.

The music video featured a live performance of the song from a concert on the Born in the U.S.A. tour.

80s Song of the Day: 867-5309/Jenny by Tommy Tutone

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867-5309/Jenny by Tommy Tutone was released November 16, 1981, with Not Say Goodbye as the B side. It was a single from the band’s album Tommy Tutone 2.

jennyThe song reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, but perhaps a larger footnote in pop culture history is the movement of prank phone calls it inspired to the number in the song’s title. If you grew up in the 80s and didn’t dial 867-5309 and ask for Jenny at least once, you clearly were not utilizing your rotary phone to its fullest capacity. Those who had the number in various area codes were flooded with calls. For instance:

  • In 1982, WLS radio obtained the number from a Chicago woman, receiving 22,000 calls in four days.
  • In 1982, Southwest Junior High School received up to two hundred calls daily asking for Jenny in area code 704.

Check out Wikipedia for a continuation of this list and, if you still can’t quite remember the phenomenon that was 867-5309 back in the early 80s, read this very cool 1982 People magazine article about it, complete with interviews with members of the band.

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.”

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 →