"Captured effortlessly That's the way it was Happened so naturally I did not know it was love The next thing I felt was You holding me close What was I gonna do? I let myself go And now we're flyin' through the stars I hope this night will last forever"
More than forty years ago funk band Rufus started performing with a soul singer by the name of Chaka Khan. They spent about 12 years cranking out hits before Khan decided to embark on a successful solo career. ("I Feel For You") One of their signature songs was "Ain't Nobody" which was featured in the movie Breakin' and on its' soundtrack as well. It's definitely my favorite Chaka song of all time and apparently, it's a lot of other peoples as well, as it has been used as an audition song for reality competitions repeatedly.
A few weeks ago it was announced that Rufus and Chaka Khan are among the list of nominees for the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame for 2018. I'm kind of a stickler and think nominees should be rockers. But I'm thrilled to see that make any list that involves public acknowledgment because Rufus with Chaka was fantastic.
Aside from loving this song, it's Monday and I think this is a great way to get you all moving. So here it is:
Being an unapologetic vinyl junkie I was eventually going to get my hands on Garbage's 20th Anniversary remastered double album set. It took me a while but my copy finally arrived this weekend and I have to say, it's most definitely worth every penny. The album art, lyrics sheets and detailing alone really does up the quality and really, who doesn't love colored vinyl?
(Photo: Twitter)
I'll admit, it has been a minute since I've listened to Shirley Manson and the guys and I really don't know why. Their tracks really do stand the test of time and are pretty ageless. I love music that you can't easily put a date on and that is Garbage to a tee. It might be a new song (new music, please???!!) or it could be a decade or two old, it's hard to tell.
This collection offers up all of Garbage's top songs like "Stupid Girl", "Only Happy When It Rains", "Queer" and more. The only thing missing is actually one of my very favorites- "Cup of Coffee". I'm actually not sure why that didn't make the cut so rather than being predictable and going with one of Garbage's critically acclaimed videos, here's "Cup of Coffee" instead.
My Rock & Roll Heaven airs each Sunday 5-7 pm EST on Boom Radio. It features all things rock- classics, lost hits, & everything that falls in between. Listen at DailyBOOM.net. Boom Radio is your old school music authority & streams 24/7 with genre-based programs each evening.
I was having a conversation with someone about music the other day and they said that if they never heard another Journey song for the rest of their lives they'd be okay with that. It made me think a little and I realized that people do seem to have a kind of black or white reaction to the band. It's love or hate ( not even touching the debate over Steve Perry on vocals vs. anyone else) and I suspect it's based on the overkill of songs like "Don't Stop Believin'", "Lovin', Touchin' Squeezin'" and "Faithfully".
I mean, we do realize they had several albums filled hits, right? Journey's catalog of music is massive and filled with a lot of really great songs. I can remember being about ten years old and listening to "Who's Crying Now" on my little transistor radio and being blown away by the vocals. Check out the live clip below and then tell me how much you hate Journey. I dare ya.
"Echoes thunder almost every night Why this prison if we're all alike? Look around you, look at all your friends Tell me, are they just what they pretend? Listen to my story if you have the time Yes, we'll make the difference if we really try Listen, everybody, start to make it right One and all together, feel it from inside Tell me why it echoes every night Why we fight just to find who's wrong or right? Don't let it slide, you can't run and hide Tell me why, oh, won't you please tell me why?"
When Exposé released their second album in 1989- What You Don't Know in the summer of 1989 the trio was bound and determined to prove that they were more than just another freestyle act. Sure they came with some serious floor burning beats, but they also had substance. "Tell Me Why" was the third single released and lyrically, it was about urban gang violence. Gioia Bruno is featured this time out and it was a song that made an impact and showed that the group was socially aware.
It also gave Exposé their 7th top ten hit on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart. The video is still striking to this day and the visuals are pretty timeless. There are close ups of the trio in between random playground footage of grade school kids interacting. Fairly simple concept but it's effective. Check it out below!
"I feel so good when I'm near you That's why I always wanna be close to you I'm so addicted, I'm so addicted To makin' love to you, baby All night long, baby, all night long, long, long, long"
H-Town's "Knockin' Da Boots" is one of my all-time favorite slow jams. The 1993 R&B classic hit Billboard's charts at the height of the New Jack Swing era and it sat near the top for several weeks in the spring of that year. Kristine Huskey, who is now a distinguished attorney and author actually appeared in the video as a dancer.
H-Town remained popular throughout much of the 90's and were putting the finishing touches on an album when lead singer Keven "Dino" Conner was killed in a car accident along with his pregnant girlfriend. The album was released nearly two years later but without Conner it didn't garner much airplay or distribution. The remaining members of H-Town, Solomon Conner and Darryl Jackson perform some of their classics from time to time.
"Time of season Wipes the tears No rhyme or reason No more fears All the dreamin' Is far behind You are here now Everything's alright"
Is Saigon Kick one of the most underrated bands around? Their fans like to think so. After forming back in 1988 the band finally made a huge breakthrough with their 1992 hit ballad, "Love is on the Way". It made it to number 12 on Billboard's Hot 100 but more importantly, the song got tons of airplay across the country.
Technically, "Love is on the Way" is considered a one-hit-wonder but the band is still around, thirty years after the fact. I realized that I had never listened to a full album of Saigon Kick's and so I gave The Lizard a shot. You should too, it's definitely worth a spin. In the meantime, here's "Love is on the Way".
Are you like me? Do you recognize this song a few seconds in, whenever you do hear it?
Step by step, oh, baby, gonna get to you, girl Step by step, oh, baby, really want you in my world Step! Hey, girl, in your eyes I see your picture of me all the time Step! And, girl, when you smile you got to know that you drive me wild Step by step, oh, baby, you're always on my mind Step by step, oh, girl, I really think it's just a matter of time.
Let's kick this week off with a great dance track by New Kids On The Block. Even if you weren't a fan of bubble gum pop there is probably one song by this iconic boy band that you did secretly like and it might have been "Step By Step". The guys first broke through in 1988 with songs like "Please Don't Go Girl" and "Hangin' Tough" which helped them to develop a rock solid screaming teen girl fan base in record time. By the time "Step By Step" was released in the spring of 1990, NKOTB were already bonafide superstars.
This song takes me back to that window of time just after high school when I was trying to figure out what I really wanted to do with my life. While lost in that confusion I was a die-hard fan of USA network's Dance Party USA. The teen dance program taped about an hour away from me and on a few cool occasions my friends and I piled into an old car and drove to the studio to be guests on the show. As big as NKOTB was in my hometown, it was nothing compared to the love for the boy band that this entire group of kids felt. Maybe it was because the guys had been guests on the show quite often and that strengthened the appeal, but when you walked in you were clearly on NKOTB turf and that was fine with me.
Who was your favorite member of New Kids On The Block? Come on, we both know that you really did have one! In case you need a refresher, check out the video below and report back!
"All you need is your own imagination S20o use it that's what it's for (that's what it's for) Go inside, for your finest inspiration Your dreams will open the door (open up the door)
It makes no difference if you're black or white If you're a boy or a girl If the music's pumping it will give you new life You're a superstar, yes, that's what you are, you know it"
Have you ever watched Paris Is Burning? It's a documentary that focuses on the Drag Ball culture in Harlem in the 80's and even if that's generally your kind of thing, it's definitely worth watching. So much of modern day culture and our phrasology is rooted in those early competitions. Madonna first watched the documentary in the late 80's and eventually introduced it to another type of audience in early 1990, via "Vogue".
Vogueing is the popular dance style that spilled out of the underground NYC clubs and onto MTV in middle America. I mean, I know I was doing it and if you ever found yourself in a club back then you most certainly knew the choreography to the song. Madonna's song ensured that we not only knew what it meant to Vogue, but we also knew how to strike that pose.
The video itself remains one of her best (I think). Shot in stylish black and white, it honors glamorous old Hollywood while paying tribute to the queens that really inspired Madonna. Check out the classic video below.
"Every time I walk away it feels so wrong Tell me why I never stay where I belong Ohhh - Take me home I dream of the town and the blue of your eye Ohhh - Take me home What keeps me loving you It's easy to know when we touch What keeps me loving you It's easy to know when it's love."
XYZ was (and is) one of those 80's hair bands that broke through at the same time as powerhouse acts like GNR and Def Leppard. They were heavy duty enough to become the official house band for The Whiskey A Go Go but never ranked quite well enough on the charts. Not that it matters anyway because lead singer Terry Ilous' band was produced by Don Dokken and their debut album was truly great.
It also holds up. I remember listening to "What Keeps Me Loving You" on repeat back in 1989 and I found myself doing it again just now. For me, it's the kind of power ballad the rivals the best. It's right up there with Whitesnake's "Is This Love" or Def Leppard's "Love Bites", in my opinion. Ilous just takes me there. You know, to that place where you just know you're in the wrong relationship with the wrong person? Of course, you know what I mean.
XYZ as a band, still to this day, rivals some of the best that the late 80's brought us. If you're really lucky you might catch them at a hard rock festival or on a rock cruise! In the meantime check them out below!
In this episode, Mojo interviews Janet Gardner. The Best of Mojo Rocks with Mojo Moomey playing the best in hard rock & metal airs each Wednesday at 9pm EST on Boom Radio found exclusively at DailyBOOM.net.
Boom Radio is your old school music authority & streams 24/7 with genre-based programs each evening.
My Rock & Roll Heaven airs each Sunday 5-7 pm EST on Boom Radio. It features all things rock- classics, lost hits, & everything that falls in between. Listen at DailyBOOM.net.
Boom Radio is your old school music authority & streams 24/7 with genre-based programs each evening.
I'm going to be really honest and tell you that I don't remember New Edition's "Can You Stand The Rain" when it was first getting radio play in early 1989. I think that I was firmly committed to hair bands by then. The song is from the quintet's album Heart Break, their first venture without Bobby Brown. It introduced us to Johnny Gill who does a fantastic job sharing lead vocals with Ralph Tresvant on "Can You Stand The Rain".
So anyway, I heard this song several months back during BET's three part special on the band (which really IS worth seeing) and couldn't tell which era of New Edition it was from. That makes it pretty timeless in my eyes and it also has all of the components of a top-notch slow jam. Check out the video below and tell me, who is your favorite of the guys!
Patrick's Deep Dives airs each Saturday 11am-1pm EST on Boom Radio. It features deep cuts, lost hits, & everything that falls in between. Listen at DailyBOOM.net. Boom Radio is your old school music authority & streams 24/7 with genre-based programs each evening.
When my crimes Will seem almost unforgivable I give in to sin Because you have to make this life livable
Do you guys love Depeche Mode as much as I do? Their Violator album helped to usher in a super successful run on Billboard's charts in 1989 but I actually prefer some of Depeche Mode's earlier tracks more. Back in 1987 they released "Strangelove" which I think is a bit of a lost track here in the states. It was the band's 18th single in the UK but it took them a little longer to catch on here.
"Strangelove" is off of Music For The Masses album and it eventually became the group's very first number one dance track on Billboard's dance charts back in 1987. The video has been shot and edited a few times. I think the one that I found is actually the edited edition for MTV. It features the guys performing and also a model romping around in various stages of undress. The backdrop is Paris and I can't believe how young lead singer, David Gahan is here. Check it out below. Do you remember this song? Was it a big club hit wherever you lived back in 1987?
The Best of T-Bone's Prime Cuts airs each Saturday 1-3pm EST on Boom Radio found exclusively at DailyBOOM.net. Boom Radio is your old school music authority & streams 24/7 with genre-based programs each evening
"I'd like to know more than just your name Did you come here alone or with someone If only you would open up And let me know just where you're comin' from
Are you lookin' for a new love Or does commitment seem to bring you down Is that a look of yes or is it no Please don't tease me, ho...oh..."
Way back in the summer of 1987 Jody Watley's self-titled album was in heavy rotation thanks to a string of catchy singles. "Don't You Want Me" was the third one to be released and it achieved some pretty amazing crossover success. More importantly, it proved that "Looking For A New Love", which had been released several months earlier, was not a fluke. Ms. Watley had arrived, hoop earrings and all.
This song was totally my jam way back then and to a certain degree, it still is thirty years later. "Don't You Want Me" makes you move, which is one of the reasons why Watley lands in the 21st spot on Billboard's Top Dance Artists of All Time list.
When I say "metal cowboy" the first name that springs to mind for veteran rock fans is singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Ron Keel. Not only has he been a constant on the rock scene with bands like Steeler, Alcatrazz and of course, Keel, but he has sold millions of records and had two albums produced by Gene Simmons. While his resume is impressive it's not complete yet.
The Ron Keel Band released their first album, "Fight Like a Band" back in February to rave reviews. The eclectic mix of metal, southern rock and a bit of country may make the music tricky to categorize but the quality of the music will keep you listening on loop for quite a while. I had a chance to catch up with Ron earlier this week and his stories behind the making of "Fight Like A Band" make its success that much sweeter. Check it out below.
Ron Keel Promo Shot
Ron Keel on his current band:
"The Ron Keel Band formed four years ago when we were all hired to be the house band for a major midwest entertainment complex. It was a $70 million dollar business with a pawn shop, a radio station, and a concert venue. As the house band, we would travel around the country representing that brand and we would back up major acts like Paul Stanley and Jack Blades from Night Ranger. The money was fantastic and I was able to put together my dream team. We had one hell of a ride for about a year with the tour bus, the crew, even the pyro (laughing). Then it imploded and we were left with nothing. They pulled the rug out from under us, pulled the plug and we were left with nothing but each other.
The band was so strong and the chemistry was so great that we decided to stick together and rebrand it as The Ron Keel Band and just keep going. Within weeks of that decision, my wife was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. Most peoples' lives have been touched by cancer and so everyone knows that it's a life changer, you're going to war and you've got to be ready to fight. So I had to be there with her through chemotherapy, radiation and seven surgeries. Everyone always asks how she's doing and Renee is great, we had a happy ending to this story but it was hard. The band was my support group and they stuck with me even though we were looking at a year of not many gigs."
Ron on digging in and creating new music:
"We decided since we couldn't tour that we would get together and write. The songs on "Fight Like a Band"are what came out of that time of hanging tough and hanging together. We were able to create songs that I believe are my best work. I know that I'm supposed to say that with every album you know it's the, 'my kid is the most good looking kid' thing (laughing). In this case, though, it's really true (still laughing), it's my baby and I'm so proud of the end result. I still listen to it every day in my truck because I make music for myself so that I can listen to it and enjoy it. I put it all in perspective a long time ago. I've sold 3 million records and so if you love music as much as I do then come along for the ride.
We spent a long time on the arrangements and how the guitars work together and a bunch of other things that you do to prepare for a session, but I had never sung the vocals on that lead track before with the band. The whole first verse is about fighting like a girl and it was all about my wife getting that diagnosis and deciding to fight and so there I was in the studio just losing it, an emotional wreck while trying to sing that verse. Once I got through that then the rest was fine but it was really an emotional experience singing that song for the first time in the studio. The second verse goes on to tell the story of my life back in the 80's so it's all very autobiographical and personal.
"Good Songs Bad Times" was the first song that we wrote and I don't know how you'd classify it (laughing). It's not country and it's not southern rock, it's just good. These days you kind of have to label stuff so that people know what they're getting but with this new record, I can't tell you exactly what it is other than hard rocking, hard-partying good old rock and roll. I grew up in a time when the term rock-and-roll encompassed everything. I listened to Black Sabbath and The Eagles and both were the same, they were rock-and-roll."
Ron Keel Promo Shot
Ron on how his audience has grown:
"I love that we've got 25-year-olds in the audience just eating it up and loving what the new band is doing without knowing my history or what I did before they were even born. They get to go back and visit where I've been and then they can go along for the ride to wherever we're headed. The old fans have been very tolerant as well. Those people that have followed me since the '80s, that have been around for all the twists and turns that my career has taken and that are still there, just enjoying the music, I'm so grateful for them.
This record really resonates in the heart of all kinds of people. Rock fans, southern rock fans, and even country fans will enjoy it. It's hard and heavy arena rock, but it is also cowboy rock with screaming vocals, screaming guitars and those thunderous drums. It has a little bit of the wild, wild midwest in there too. We had absolutely no preconceived notions of what the album would be or what it would sound like or the direction that the songs would take. We just got together and wrote the best songs that we possibly could. Some of the songs are very reminiscent of the commercial rock that I was known for in the '80s.
There are always predominant themes in my lyrics and one is the struggle to survive and the right to be who you are and to express yourself. "Fight Like A Band" is really about the struggle to survive and then the struggle to succeed. We're all in the same boat. We all want to be happy and there are so many songs on this record that embody that."
Ron on his extensive love of music:
"When I first heard the term heavy metal, as it pertains to music, I thought it sounded cool and I wanted to do that. It sounded so exciting and wild to me. The music that I was listening to at the time was Van Halen, Led Zepplin, Sabbath and the other first generation of metal bands. They really struck a note with me and I wanted to hear the music louder, faster and stronger. I love the excitement and electricity of metal and arena rock in general.
As I matured I needed to explore different musical landscapes. I grew up playing the blues, jazz and even classical music. I was classically trained and listening to all of those British bands like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. I just love music. I'm never going to write a jazz album or a classical piece, that's not me (laughing), I'm a regular guy. I'm making music for the common man and the common woman. Songs that mean something and make you feel something, and also entertain you. This is entertainment and it's supposed to be fun. You want to make them feel something but you also need to take them away from the daily grind. Music can be an escape and for a lot of us, it's a sanctuary."
Ron on what keeps him making music after all of these years:
"The same burning desire that I had when I was 2 years old, or when I was 17 years old, I'm the same guy. I'm a little more mature, a little smarter and I've got a lot more experience, but that drive to succeed has always been there. It's what I'm all about. The business has changed completely, it's not the 80's and we're not selling millions of records anymore. It's much more difficult to sell music because people think that it's free. They wouldn't even consider spending a dollar on a song so it's a really tough business to make a living in. What drives me is the desire to succeed, not the desire to sing and play because I can always do that, I can go right downstairs and grab my guitars and sing and play. I always will do that, but success is the thing. Success for me right now is having a record like this one out, being able to touch the media and the fans, and then still travel the world. I still believe, even at this age, that the best is yet to come. I've got to believe that. I know that father time wins every day and one of these days he's going to catch my ass, but not today. I know that there is more time behind me than there is in front of me at this stage of the game, but I'm happy, healthy, I've got a great band and we've got great opportunities in front of us."
New Music Food Truck rolls into Boom Radio and brings with it the best unsigned and new artists each Thursday night at 8pm EST. Listen exclusively at DailyBOOM.net. Boom Radio is your old school music authority & streams 24/7 with genre-based programs each evening.
There was a point in time when I was in tenth grade where I couldn't escape Motley Crue, nor did I want to. I probably saw the Video for "Home Sweet Home" a thousand times in 1985 and my reaction was always the same. I stopped whatever I was doing to watch it as if I'd never seen it before. It's not like they were MY group and like I had a low key obsession with them because I didn't. But I loved Theatre of Pain and at the time I appreciated every cut off of the album.
I wasn't alone either. Not only were the boys extremely popular but they really did help to usher in the whole hair band thing. Groups like Motley Crue helped to grab our attention and then Def Leppard, Whitesnake, RATT and a bunch of others helped to hold it. The video for "Home Sweet Home" features a look at life on the road for the band back in 1985 and it gave the MTV generation a clue about just how many people were being turned on to the idea of glam rock- enough to drop money on tickets. Check it out below. Do you remember the first time you saw it?
Even if the name Starpoint doesn't exactly ring a bell I'm going to bet that if you're an 80's music fan then at least one song by the funk band will be familiar. "Object Of My Desire" first cracked the charts back in 1985 and it enjoyed tons of radio play as well. Starpoint was originally from Maryland and gradually shifted a funk sound in the early 80's to more of an R&B vibe by the time they released their 1985 album Restless.
Starpoint's Renee Diggs might just be one of the most underrated female voices of the decade that focused on the likes of Whitney Houston and Madonna. Sadly, Diggs died in 2005 at the age of 50 due to a heart problem and complications from her long-running battle with Multiple Sclerosis. Check out the video below to catch Starpoint at their very best!
Today we're going to go all the way back to 1984 for our daily throwback. Jermaine Stewart had just released his very first album, post-Shalamar and the title track was also the first single. "The Word Is Out" is actually still a great dance track even if it's not Stewart's most popular. Most people will remember him first for "We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off" which hit the top of Billboard's charts a few years later in 1986.
Sadly Stewart only put out a handful of albums before his death to AIDS-related liver cancer in 1987. If you go back through his catalog of work, Stewart had some great stuff, starting with "The Word Is Out".
"I feel so unsure As I take your hand and lead you to the dance floor As the music dies Something in your eyes Calls to mind a silver screen And all its sad goodbyes
I'm never gonna dance again Guilty feet have got no rhythm Though it's easy to pretend I know you're not a fool I should have known better than to cheat a friend And waste a chance that I'd been given So I'm never gonna dance again The way I danced with you"
I miss just about every radio friendly song containing a sax solo. It's like the calling card for any 80's song that still gets airplay. A great sax solo can turn a song into a bonafide hit. "Careless Whisper" is one of those songs. It is unmistakable. Twenty seconds in you know exactly what song it is. I remember my dad first bringing the single home all kinds of excited. It was by this new British group called Wham and I HAD TO listen to it, immediately. He insisted and I couldn't understand his overwhelming need to share it.
Then it started and I totally got it. It really WAS different and it really was a musical moment for me. One of the first songs that I remember really hitting me on a deep level. It wasn't superficial bubble gum pop. It wasn't a great synth beat with no meaning. It was deep and it was the first time that I ever had a song show me just how music connects people.
George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley had written it years earlier and while it was technically released as George's first solo single, it's known as a Wham song. It appears on their Make It Big album and was performed by them from the very start. I know you already know the song, but how does it make you feel?
You told me goodnight's not enough for you I'm sorry, baby I didn't mean to turn you on No, I didn't mean to turn you on You read me wrong I wasn't trying to lead you on Not like you think I didn't mean to turn you on"
I think when most people think of Robert Palmer they almost immediately picture his "Addicted to Love" video, with him looking suave as several cloned women pretend to play instruments behind him. It's a visual that, even 30 years after the release of his Riptide album, is still etched into pop culture's history. It's classic, timeless, and back then everyone absolutely loved Palmer. While I really liked "Addicted to Love", my favorite song off of the album is actually the single that followed it.
"I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" hit the charts in early 1986 and I loved it immediately. Instead of girls with slicked back hair, this video featured women that looked like they were runway ready and the song itself has always felt a bit tongue-in-cheek, especially with Palmer singing it. It fit his image back then and the extended dance mix can still crush a lot of other 12" tracks out there.
Ironically, Palmer wasn't the only one to record "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On". Cherrelle did it first and Mariah Carey had a version decades later, but it's Palmer's that is the best known of all.
"We are strong No one can tell us we're wrong Searching our hearts for so long Both of us knowing Love is a battlefield
You're begging me to go Then making me stay Why do you hurt me so bad It would help me to know Do I stand in your way Or am I the best thing you've had
Believe me Believe me I can't tell you why But I'm trapped by your love And I'm chained to your side."
Pat Benatar is a female rock legend by probably just about anyone's standards, but believe it or not my favorite song by her features that nifty drum beat. Of course, I'm talking about "Love Is A Battlefield" (which is still fantastic to this day if you're lucky enough to hear it live). The 1983 hit is one of Benatar's best charting songs and it also earned her a fourth Grammy. The video also helped to put her into MTV's record books because it is the first one ever aired that featured a real storyline, with speaking parts.
Now the video is really well down but watching Benatar dance has always seemed a bit odd to me. But the song itself is really pretty fantastic. A great rock song with a beat that makes it hard to stay still and lyrically, well, we have all been there. Love is hard. Check out the classic video below!
"Don't put your head on my shoulder Sink me in a river of tears This could be the best place yet But you must overcome your fears In time we could've been so much more But time is precious I know In time we could've been so much more The time has nothing to show because Time won't give me time And time makes lovers feel Like they've got something real But you and me we know We got nothing but time"
When Culture Club's "Time (Clock Of The Heart)" was first released back in 1982 it was basically a stand-alone single that just so happened to really take off. It eventually hit number two on Billboard's Hot 100 and that paved the way for the London new wave group to break through in the U.S. Culture Club went to have numerous hits such as "Miss Me Blind" and "Karma Chameleon" but I think that "Time" might be the one that has held up the best. As for the group itself, Culture Club does still perform with lead singer Boy George and they are spending this summer touring the states.
