We are the young, we are the young with the modern attitude
Breakin' down the walls, breakin' all the rules
We are the young, tomorrow comes and we might blow away
So we don't worry 'bout the price we pay."
I really loved Dan Hartman back when I was in 8th grade. "I Can Dream About You" was one of my very favorite songs and for as much of a fan as I was (or at least thought I was), I didn't remember"We Are The Young" until Martha Quinn played it on SiriusXM the 80's on 8 the other night. Like, not at all. I'm pretty sure I must have loved it at one point in time in spite of that.
"We Are The Young" was actually Hartman's third and final single to make the charts and it was considered a crossover hit because it first ranked on the dance charts. Hartman's music has lived on long past his short life ended back in 1994. Apparently, the singer died of an HIV related brain tumor after years of living his life as a closeted gay man. Songs like this one and "I Can Dream About You" make me wonder what else Hartman might have given us had he lived longer.
Check out the video for "We Are The Young" below. Does this one ring a bell?
"I go about my business, I'm doing fine Besides what would I say if I had you on the line? Same old story, not much to say Hearts are broken, every day."
Jewel burst on the scene at just the right moment in the '90s. Hairbands and grunge had both died down and R&B was slipping just a little. New Jack Swing and house music were on the sidelines and we were needing something fresh so along came Indie-rock chicks.
Sarah McGlaughin, Shawn Colvin, Paula Cole...the list is endless. One after another they pinned songs designed to tug at our heartstrings as well as our wallets, and it worked. Jewel's "You Were Meant For Me" became a classic almost overnight. Especially if you were college-age and trying to fill a void left by a guy. Oy was kind of the official song for breakups that aren't mutual.
I remember watching Jewel's earliest videos and being mesmerized by the simplicity. There was nothing flashy or glitzy. Almost the exact opposite. The visuals, while stunning, were primarily about this young woman and her guitar. They told a story all on their own. One that's worth revisiting so check it out bek
"You take your road, I'll take mine The paths have both been beaten Searchin' for a change of pace Love needs to be sweetened I scream my heart out, just to make a dime And with that dime I bought your love But now I've changed my mind I'm not your fool Nobody's fool Nobody's fool I'm no fool"
Cinderella's debut album, Night Songs is more than 30 years old. THIRTY! Does that make you feel as old as it makes me feel? I'd say that Cinderella spent a few their early year's lost in a sea of fellow headbangers but when I looked back, they actually did chart pretty well. They were also innovative in that all of their first videos had a continuing storyline.
In their first video, "Shake Me" a Cinderella-type girl was transformed into a bad girl that hung with the band. Her wicked sisters (AKA the polka dot twins) were always nearby. "Nobody's Fool" picks up the story with Cinderella heading to practice with the guys but then leaving in order to make it home by midnight.
"Nobody's Fool" ended up being a really popular power ballad, with tons of radio play. MTV also had the video for it on an every four-hour loop for months. In an era where power ballads by glam rockers were everywhere, this song probably lands in my top five or six.
Madonna dominated both the airwaves and the style of 1986. She had basically reinvented herself for the second time in just a few short years and came out with a super toned body and a cropped do'. The result was a strong and powerful looking woman and that served the message of "Papa Don't Preach" quite well. The whole concept of the video is that of a young woman telling her father that she's pregnant and it was super controversial thirty years ago.
Some groups feared that she was promoting pregnancy while others insisted that the message was that she was against abortion. In the end, Madonna's actual position was almost irrelevant because she opened up dialogue on a conversation that had been taboo. Oh and the song, well it shot to number one on Billboard's charts. Check out the video below!
"People get jealous 'cause we always stay together, yeah, baby.
I guess they really want a love like yours and mine.
Together, forever. I never thought that I could ever be this happy, yeah, baby.
My prayers were answered or you came in the nick of time."
Stacey Q burned up radio request lines in the summer of 1986 with her one hit wonder "Two Of Hearts". I remember the catchy hook, "I need you" being stuck in not just my head, but also my father's! It landed in Billboard's top three and also ended up being one of the biggest songs of the year. It still is one of those tunes that makes it pretty impossible to stay still and I think just about everyone has heard it at least once.
Every now and then Stacey Q will pop up on a stop of the Freestyle Explosion tour and when she does, "Two Of Hearts" is one of the biggest sing-a-long songs of the night!
Please don't go, please don't go Don't go there tonight It just isn't right You may not come back to me Our future we'll never see You're throwing our life plans away Please don't go
While I technically live near the beach now, that feeling of driving "down the shore" as a kid never fades. It was a once a year occasion that amounted to being just about everything to me and my friends. Wildwood, Ocean City, Seaside Heights were all a possibility and I think that memory of hitting the boardwalk at night as a kid is one that I'll never forget.
Spending 4 hours in the car also meant that we were driving to where the coolest music was. In 1985 I alternated between rock and club music and I think the latter just epitomizes boardwalk fun. The songs blaring in all of the t-shirt shops on the boardwalk were ones that I would never hear on the radio at home. In 1985, Nayobe's "Please Don't Go" was hands down THE club hit of the summer and now even 30 years later it is still identified as one of those songs that remind my generation of summer beach fun.
Even if you have no clue who Nayobe is, I'm going to bet that you'll remember this song.
Jeanette Jurado:
First of all, I'm not at peace with myself or comfortable with myself
unless I'm singing somewhere. If I go too long without singing my
boys are like “Mom!!!” because I'm singing around the house or
I'm singing in the shower full blast (laughing). I have to have some
way to be able to get that out of me, it's like this built up energy
and if I can't go out and sing then I'm not a happy individual. The
second reason is actually getting together with Gioia and Ann. I keep
joking with them about how you hear of maybe once a year girl's
getting together with their friends and planning a girls' weekend. I
get to see them all the time and get paid (laughing)! What's there to
complain about? We go and stay at a nice hotel, enjoy dinner and
catch up on what's going on in each others' lives. The third thing is
the audience, of course. That moment when you first go out on stage
and you just feel the audience and the energy of that room. It really
is, quite addicting. It's really all of those things that keeps me
out there performing regularly.
(Photo: Robert Valesco)
CM:
Onstage I know that you refer to each other as “sisters”. Does it
really feel like a sisterhood to you?
JJ:
It's absolutely true. I have two real-life sisters, no brothers. I'm
the middle of the three. There's nobody that I argue with and love
more. In some ways you can kind of get away with stuff because you
love them so much that you know you're going to come back and work it
out. Ya know, you're sisters so you kind of have to. That's the same
way that it is with Gioia and Ann and I'm glad that we feel
comfortable enough to be horrible with each other sometimes
(laughing). I think it's a healthy thing and whenever there is a conflict between us I do think, “Okay, they're my sisters and I
know we're going to get past this just give it a little time.” and
in the end, we always do.
JJ:
That's a hard one. There was a time when we were in Europe
together, I think we were in Scotland and I was just so young and
homesick. Growing up I was never one of those kids that wanted to
travel the world, I was not even interested (laughing). I thought I
was going to get married and have children and stay in East LA for
the rest of my life so, surprise (laughing)! I was very young and I
was literally having a hard time getting out of bed. I just wanted to
stay in the hotel, order room service and watch CNN because it
connected me to the United States. Had it not been for Annie, who had
to literally at one point go and get a key to my room and force me to
come out- and she yanked me out (laughing) and made me leave. She
said I'd never get this opportunity again and that I had to get out
of bed because she had made reservations to go see this and that. I
think I was literally crying and she would often push me to go and
see things that I thought I had no interest in. Had it not been for
her I probably wouldn't have enjoyed half of the places that we
traveled to.
That
still really sticks out in my mind. I'm so grateful and I always
thank her because without Ann I wouldn't have done half the things
that I did. I'm much different now, but I think then I was just so
young and naive that I didn't realize the golden opportunity that was
right in front of my eyes that I fell into. I just didn't get it. I
just thought, oh this happens to everybody that wants to be a singer
(laughing). I think back now and it's comical, I thought it would
always be there and I'd always be traveling- you know, who doesn't
get a tour bus (laughing)? Because when you grow up and this is what
you wish for this is what happens, right? No. Now I look back and
realize the amazing blessings I had. Just the record company and
having Gioia and Ann and being able to travel. It was all a little
miracle in itself. Now I know! You're young and you think you're just
invincible until you grow a little more and realize you're not.
CM:
When the group disbanded back in 1996, were you ready to move on?
JJ:
I was def ready. We were all
just so miserable in that contract. I didn't think that at the time I
was saying goodbye to Kelly (Moneymaker, who replaced Gioia Bruno in
the early 90's) and Ann. I knew that it wouldn't be goodbye for the
three of us so I was good with that. I knew that wasn't gonna go away.
But we were all just so tired of waiting to be told what we could or
couldn't do. We were also not as young as when we had first started
and so there were other things that had become important to us. Our
freedom being one of them(laughing). I was definitely ready to not be
in that position any more.
CM:
So then you fast forward a decade and you girls decided to reunite.
Was that an easy transition or did it take some pushing?
JJ:
It took a little pushing in the beginning. It was weird talking to
the girls about coming back. I think so much of it for me was
wondering if we would still have an audience, because I didn't know
for sure. I had met a friend that suggested we get back out there and
I called a few booking agents thinking that interest really wouldn't
be there. But once I had conversations with various people that were
still anxious to work with us, then I thought that maybe we were just
missing out on an opportunity to still be doing this. I think some
pushing came between the three of us, actually putting ourselves in
that zone after we had been on our own for so long. We are three very
headstrong women and getting together and making decisions can be
tough. Sometimes what's great for Ann and I may not be the best thing
for Gioia or vice versa and so it's always a compromise. Just like in
any marriage, it's a constant compromise and so it takes a lot of
putting your ego aside. Luckily, we were all ready to do that and so,
here we are. Ann and I still have kids at home to worry about. The
good thing is that Gioia is also a mom (her daughter is 29) so she
really understands those feelings and that love and how important it
is to be present. Somehow it all balances itself out. She knows that
this is the real gig, here at home (laughing).
JJ:
A favorite of mine that didn't get as much attention. Funny enough,
“In Walked Love” I love doing and I love the adult
contemporary genre of our songs. I love being able to sing background
(laughing). I love sitting behind Gioia or Ann and supporting them
because I don't get to do it all the time. I get to sit back and
really hear their voices and work on blending backgrounds and those
are some of my favorite moments and songs. We rate our own
performances on whether or not it was a great blend or the volume of
the band. Those are all of the things I'm actually thinking of
(laughing) and we need to have the full band with us to really figure
out how to tweak our performances in general. We all discuss the
technical part when we get off stage.
It
depends on the audience that we're about to perform for how we pick
our songs and how we get to perform them. When we're doing the
freestyle shows and it's a bunch of people onstage then we only have
a short amount of time and I know the audience is there to hear the
hits. So it's like bam- bam-bam, I'll arrange the show that we're
about to do to please that audience. When we have a show where we
have a live band, then I know it's more relaxed and we have an
opportunity to play around with our arrangements and our song choices
as well. It's a much more personable audience and so we have to be
more personable as well. That gives us a better chance to talk to our
audience, maybe tell them a story about the songs and really just
play off of each other a little bit. I think the audience expects to
see that investment from us at that type of show.
CM:
Expose` shows are generally on the weekend and so what does a typical
weekday look like for you now?
I
don't think that I'm any more technical than Gioia or Ann is but I
have the advantage of working regularly with the band. Most of the
time when we go out on the road I have a closer relationship with
them because I work with them from where I live. I rehearse them and
choose which band members we're going to use and so by the time we
get to the stage there's already a great relationship between me and
the guys. Ann and Gioia will sometimes just be working with them for
that day or two and then they're off. So I keep up the relationship
with phone calls so I'm kind of the link between the three of us and
them.
CM:
I think that our kids are about the same age. Is it as hard for
you to step back and let your boys become more independent? I know I
struggle with helicoptering myself.
JJ:
I struggle every single second of the day. It is so difficult for me
and the fact that my boys are both driving just like, drives me
insane. You pray every time they get in the car and it's so difficult
to let them fly on their own. I keep myself in check because I don't
want to ruin them by being too over protective. It's just hard
because there's no way that you can make sure they're safe once they
go out the door so I have to tell myself that I've done my best. I've
taught them, talked to them and then I shout things to them at least
12 times as they're walking out the door (laughing). These poor kids.
It's my hardest struggle of all, letting them go.
JJ:
Oh my gosh, it's going to sound so corny but I'm just so grateful to
them. I'm grateful that they have a desire to come and see us and
that it's important enough to leave their homes and spend their hard
earned money- whether it's for the first time or the fourth time.
Sharing that time with them means so much to me, now more than ever,
so I'm just really grateful. We did a show recently and it was a
city-run event. The audience wasn't as big as we're used to, the
advertising was a little strange and it was very hot. We performed
and then after the show we actually walked around after the show and
talked to the audience, which we never ever get to do. It was just
the best thing talking to them was so wonderful. It's just like when
I go to see a group that I admire or grew up with. When you meet them
you tell them the story of why they're so important to you and what
their songs remind you of. I love hearing all of that stuff and we so
rarely get a chance to really do it!Even if we're signing autographs
after a show it's not the same. This time we went out to talk and to
connect with as many people as we could as they were leaving. It was
so cool and I wish we could do that more often, have those actual
conversations
when things aren't so crazy and venues aren't rushing to get people
out the door.
"Darkness Imprisoning me All that I see Absolute horror I cannot live I cannot die Trapped in myself Body my holding cell
Landmine Has taken my sight Taken my speech Taken my hearing Taken my arms Taken my legs Taken my soul Left me with life in hell "
1988 brought with it an onslaught of hair bands that took turns dominating the charts. If you weren't an actual fan then being able to distinguish between Whitesnake, Europe and Skid Row was probably damn near impossible. Each power group a lineup of hot men with better hair than most of the girls that I knew. Metallica had been toiling in the hard rock ranks for years but it was the final single off of their fourth album that was a total breakthrough.
"One", an anti-war song skyrocketed into MTV's heavy video rotation almost immediately with a video that alternated between scenes of a supposed war vet sent home to die and actual footage from the 1971 anti-war film Johnny Got His Gun. The strong lyrics along with the black and white visuals helped Metallica to win the very first Grammy in 1989 for a Best Metal Performance.
This is one of those songs that always gives me chills and it's beyond words live.
What's it gonna be 'cuz I can't pretend Don't you want to be more than friends Hold me tight and don't let go Don't let go You have the right to lose control Don't let go
I love when every member of a girl group can hold their own vocally, don't you? Throughout most of the 90's no other girl group seemed to compare to En Vogue. When the ladies (Cindy Herron, Dawn Robinson, Maxine Jones and Terry Ellis) first broke through with "Hold On" off their debut album Born To Sing in 1989 it was immediately clear that they would become a force to reckon with. From that first single on En Vogue found great success with nearly every track that they dropped and it didn't hurt that their videos were as hot as their music.
"Don't Let Go (Love)", released in 1996 on the Set It Off soundtrack is arguably the group's best vocal performance ever and it also marked the end of Dawn Robinson's stint with them. The single sold 1.3 million copies in the states alone and quickly became En Vogue's top international hit. It was also nominated for a Grammy in 1997, at a point when En Vogue's line up and future was in a state of flux.
Years of legal wrangling followed the release of "Don't Let Go (Love)". Maxine Jones and Robinson both embarked on solo careers but fought for the rights to still use the En Vogue name. It was a fairly unsuccessful plight and you can actually catch Ellis, Herron and Rhona Bennett on tour now. The ladies are currently part of the lineup on various 80's tours that are winding their way across the country and yes, they still sound fantastic live!
"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!
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?
The untimely death of Prince has lead to a lot of interesting nuggets circulating across the internet. One of the more interesting things that I've stumbled onto is this demo of "Manic Monday" that was recorded (and never released) by Apollonia 6. Prince originally wrote it for his then-lover Apollonia and her girl group but when their popularity kind of tanked after Purple Rain he instead decided to give it to another girl group- of course The Bangles. We now know that this song launched The Bangles career almost overnight. Take a listen to the demo below, do you think Apollonia 6 would have fared nearly as well?
Every time I think of you I always catch my breath And I'm still standing here And you're miles away And I'm wondering why you left
And there's a storm that's raging Through my frozen heart tonight
I hear your name in certain circles And it always makes me smile I spend my time Thinking about you And it's almost driving me wild
And there's a heart that's breaking Down this long distance line tonight
I ain't missing you at all Since you've been gone away I ain't missing you No matter what I might say
The summer before 8th grade there was one ballad that was constantly on the radio- John Waite's "Missing You". The video stuck in my head too because as a kid I was positive that he was walking down streets in NYC, a place that I was obsessed with. It wasn't until I was much older that I learned that it was actually filmed in LA but on a non-descript street so it could look like any big city at all.
As for the song itself, it still kinda tugs at my heart strings just a little. It's also timeless and I think it holds up as one of the best ballads to come out f the 80's.
But I can see you- Your brown skin shinin' in the sun You got your hair combed back and your sunglasses on, baby And I can tell you my love for you will still be strong After the boys of summer have gone
I remember back in 1984 when Don Henley's "The Boys Of Summer" was first released I was kind of mesmerized by the video. It might have been the first time in my life that I realized that I loved black and white videos and let's face it, when you fast forward 3+ decades the footage still holds up. It's timeless. When I was 13 I couldn't imagine the concept of being middle age and reflecting back on my younger years as this video depicts. Thirty sounded old and forty was as good as dead because it seemed so far off. Ironically, reflecting back is exactly what Daily Boom now does seven days a week so I guess there really was something to that notion when this video was first made.
"The Boys Of Summer" seems like an important part of just about everyone's summer musical diet so here ya go, enjoy it!
Kip Winger. Just stare at the photo for a minute because doing that will likely drag you back in time. I stumbled onto an interview with the rocker in a (GASP) 25-year-old issue of Sassy magazine and was kind of sucked in. I was 17 when he and his band, Winger, first broke through and even then he struck me as smarter than the average bear. I'm not sure what drives this interview more, his intelligence or the reporter's love for him. I think you had to be there to be sure.
But he is smart and back then he had a clear direction of what the bands' second album would be. It was pieced together in a pretty painstaking way, which I appreciate. I've loved their catalog of music over the years, but Winger's self-titled debut remains my favorite. It was one of those albums that I played almost all the way through and it followed me everywhere. It was in my Walkman, in my stereo, playing on the bus to school and then one of the things that we listened to at the end of the night at work.
Winger was everywhere. That first album spawned four singles and spent well over a year on Billboard's Hot 200 album chart. It also recently was named one of Rolling Stone's Top 50 metal albums of all time, kind of proving that this band still stands out from the mountain of hair bands that came and went over the years.
Winger has released several albums over the years and they are still together and touring as I type. I could have chosen several videos to feature but I need to take you guys back to "Headed for a Heartbreak" but done with the Colorado Symphony. It's still gorgeous, don't you think?
I have to admit, I had completely forgotten about Lisa Fisher's "How Can I Ease The Pain" until MTV Classic played it's stunning video the other day. Whatever I was doing at the time, I stopped to watch every second of it. This, is easily one of the very best ballads of the 90's. When it was released back in 1991 Fisher kind of skyrocketed to success. She was the IT girl and was expected to follow "How Can I Ease The Pain" with years of equally gut-wrenching ballads. Her Grammy win for the track only reinforced that notion.
So where has Fisher been for the last 25 years? The answer is everywhere. She has toured, dueted and provided backing vocals for Tina Turner, The Rolling Stones, Patti Labelle, Chaka Khan... you get the idea. She also does tour on her own and sounds even better live. Few songs from the 90's connect with heartbreak quite like "How Can I Ease The Pain".
The video to Boy Meets Girl's "Waiting For a Star to Fall" was on tv this morning and while it's not a song that I often think of, it's one that drags me back to a point in time. This was one of those songs that you couldn't escape during the summer of 1988. It was on in the car. On in the grocery store. On in the mall. And, that was a good thing because it just made your life a bit better whenever you heard it. Great melody, great lyrics written and performed by a then-happily married couple. It was all good and whenever I heard the song I wanted a little piece of that "all good-ness".
The story behind "Waiting For a Star to Fall" is interesting because Shannon Rubicam and George Merrill originally wrote it and submitted it to Whitney Houston's people. They passed on it but Belinda Carlisle's people grabbed it up and literally made her record it. She hated the song and fought hard to keep it off of her album.
At that point, Rubicam and Merrill decided to record it themselves and then added it to their second Boy Meets Girl album. The result? A smash hit and the group's ONLY hit so in the end, they must have been glad that no one else ended up using their song.
Check out the video below. The little blonde girl is actually Rubicam and Merrill's daughter!
