Daily Boom Lost Hit: Talk Talk- 'Living In Another World'

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Bon Jovi -' Livin' On A Prayer'

"We've gotta hold on to what we've got.
It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not.
We've got each other and that's a lot.
For love we'll give it a shot."

"Livin' On A Prayer" is most definitely Bon Jovi's signature song, isn't it? I mean if you could only hear them perform one song live, wouldn't that be the one? It was the second single off of the band's epic 1986 release, Slippery When Wet. It also was their second number one song in a row. Those are the facts and statistics, which are all secondary to what this song is all about.

Thirty plus years after "Livin' On A Prayer's" release it's not just about Jon Bon's hair and the story of Tommy and Gina. Instead it instantly walks so many of us back in time to when passing exams and dating the right person were the biggest concerns. It takes me back to tenth grade when I lived in my jean jacket with my Walkman shoved in the pocket. Back to when I only thought that my life was complicated.

This song also shows how timeless a great rock anthem can be. Sure Bon Jovi has made a zillion more albums, but nothing compares to the very first time that you heard "Living On A Prayer", right?

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Regina- 'Baby Love'

"Boy, there's no one home tonight
The timing could be right
To forget the rules
We're out of school until tomorrow
Now, if only you would stay
There's so many games we'd play
Why should we pretend to be just friends
When we could be so much more"

I love when I'm reminded of a song that I've completely forgotten about. Regina's "Baby Love" was one of those. I was watching Totally 80's on Classic MTV the other day when this track came on and I instantly remembered it. "Baby Love" made me think of summer and when I looked it up my memory was right. It was a super popular track in the summer of 1986. One of those songs that were on the radio every couple of hours and you knew all of the lyrics to it even if you didn't like it.

This song peaked at number 10 on Billboard's Hot 100 and paved the way for Regina to have a string of hits on the dance charts in the mid-'80s.

Daily Boom Lost Hit: Starship- 'Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight'

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam -'All Cried Out'

"Don't you know the heart will cause an inferno
Romance up in flames, why should I take the blame
You were the one who left me neglected [I'm so sorry]
Apology not accepted, add me to the broken hearts you collected

Ah, I gave you all of me [gave me all of you]
How was I to know you would weaken so easily
Ah, I don't what to do
I'm all cried out [I'm all] over you [I'm cried out too]"

I was a real sucker for a good tear-jerker break up song when I was a teenager and Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam's "All Cried Out" was really one of my favorites. I can't remember if I was actually going through a break up back when it was first playing on the radio every few hours but I know it was my go-to song if I needed to conjure up a few tears. It parked itself in the 8th spot on Billboard's Hot 100 and remains one of Lisa Lisa's best remembered tunes.

While Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam is no more you can still catch lead singer Lisa Velez often popping up on Freestyle Explosion tours across the U.S., performing the catalog of hits that made her so popular all of those years ago.

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: RUN-DMC - 'It's Tricky'

This speech is my recital, I think it's very vital
To rock (a rhyme), that's right (on time)
It's Tricky is the title, here we go...

I was cruising through Boom's archives yesterday and realized that there hasn't been very much old school rap featured and that is something that I need to correct immediately, starting with RUN-DMC.  While everyone else was semi-obsessed with the boys appearing with Aerosmith in their video for "Walk This Way", I was all about "It's Tricky" the third track off of their Raising Hell album.

 "It's Tricky" was released in late 1986 and got tons of airplay in my area. Plus the video was constantly playing on MTV, in part because of it featuring a cameo with Penn & Teller. Do you guys remember this one? Check out the clip below, 30 years later it's still one of my very favorite RUN-DMC tracks!

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Bananarama- 'Trick Of The Night'

When the day is over

And the work is done

Well it's a different story

As the darkness comes around

I tried to let you know

You're going the wrong way

And the streets you thought

Would all be paved with gold

But when the wind cuts through

You'd even try to sell your soul

Everywhere you go

It's the long way

Bananarama is easily one of the most popular girl groups of the 80's. Songs like "Cruel Summer", "Venus" and "I Heard A Rumor" kept them near the top of Billboard's Hot 100 charts for a few years in the mid-80's. Their True Confessions album from 1986 is probably one of my all-time favorite pop efforts from that era, with "A Trick of the Night" arguably being one of Bananarama's best songs ever. The album version is basically a ballad but when it was released in December of 1986 as a single extra synthesizers and vocals were added in to give it a dance feel.

"A Trick of the Night" was also included on the Jumpin' Jack Flash movie soundtrack. While the song kind of stalled out on the charts it is still considered by many to be one of the ladies best songs, especially in retrospect. Do you guys remember this one?

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Journey- 'Why Can't This Night Go On Forever'

"Lost in twilight, the memories
Precious moments, you and me
We've been old friends, all through the years
Picture postcards, sharing tears
What's in our hearts, there's never time, to say
Need you tonight, lover don't fade away
I've seen your city lights
As I walk away."

When I think of 80's groups one of the first that has to come to mind is Journey. Whether they were rocking out or serving up one hell of a power ballad, Steve Perry and the rest of the guys always made a rock solid impression. It's really hard to choose just one favorite Journey song too. It totally depends on my mood on any given day. While I love their earlier stuff, Journey's 9th studio album, Raised on Radio has always been a favorite of mine.

The fifth single off of it, for whatever reason didn't do so great which at the time was pretty shocking to me. "Why Can't This Night Go on Forever" seemed like a pretty solid ballad to me and it was done in the same vein of every other one that charted well- or maybe that was the problem. Maybe back in 1986 we were all looking for something a tiny bit different from the guys. Regardless, it's still a really great song that seems to often be forgotten in Journey's extensive catalog of hits. Check it out for yourself below. Does this song ring a bell?

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Pet Shop Boys - 'Love Comes Quickly'

You can live your life lonely
heavy as stone
Live your life learning
and working alone
Say this is all you want
but I don't believe that it's true
'cause when you least expect it
waiting round the corner for you
Love comes quickly
whatever you do
you can't stop falling
Love comes quickly
whatever you do
you can't stop falling

1986 was the year when The Pet Shop Boys broke through in the states. "West End Girls" shot to the top of the charts and synth music was at the height of its' popularity. The Pet Shop Boys followed up that song with a track called "Love Comes Quickly" that didn't do quite as well on the charts. It still remains one of the band's favorite songs as well as one of mine. "Love Comes Quickly" is about the lack of control you have when falling in love. Suddenly it hits you that the feelings are already there.

Check out this live performance of the song from Wembley in 1989!

Daily Boom Lost Hit: Boston- 'Can'tcha Say You Believe In Me (Still In Love)

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Robert Palmer - 'I Didn't Mean To Turn You On'

"Now I bring you home

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. 

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Force MD's - 'Tender Love'

Longing for some of your tender Love

I'm waiting for the right moment to come
So I can thank you for all the tender love you've given to me

If you were listening to American Top 40 on your radio 37 years ago this week then one of the songs that you might have been waiting to record was the Force MD's "Tender Love". It was sitting in tenth place on Billboard's Hot 100 after becoming one of the best songs to come out of the Krush Groove soundtrack. Those are the details but if you were a teen then you knew this song because it was THE love song of the moment. "Tender Love" generated lots of dedications (remember when that was actually a thing?) from the left coast to the right and to this day it's easily recognized the minute it begins to play.

The Force MD's first connected in Staten Island back in 1981 and despite having some old school hip hop roots it was their ballads that really brought them success. The band was also considered to be very early pioneers of the New Jack Swing movement that really took off in 1990. Sadly, three of the group's original members died of various causes in the late 90's. The remaining members put out their last Force MD's album in 2000. 

Check out "Tender Love" below. I promise that you're going to remember it.

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Kim Wilde- 'You Keep Me Hanging On'

"Why do you keep a comin' around

Playing with my heart

Why don't cha get out of my life

And let me make a brand new start

Let me get over you

The way you've gotten over me yeah

You say although we broke up

You still just wanna be friends

But how can we still be friends

When seeing you only breaks my heart again"

I remember Kim Wilde's "Kids In America" being the second song on a compilation that I owned as a kid. It was sandwiched between Flock of Seagulls and The Waitresses and I absolutely loved it. I couldn't imagine likin g anything more by her until I heard "You Keep Me Hanging On", her remake of the old Supremes classic. It was one of my favorite songs of 1986.

It's funny when I think back to the 80's and how remakes of 60's classics were so normal. The girl groups of that era all loved The Supremes, who at the time seemed absolutely ancient. Now it's the equivalent of a new girl group loving En Vogue. Do the math.

How crazy is that?

Anyway, this remake of "You Keep Me Hanging On" went to number one in the states and it still is a great energized version of the classic. Check out the video below! 

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Van Halen 'Dreams'

"Run, run, run away

Like a train runnin off the track

Got the truth gets left behind

Falls between the cracks

Standing on broken dreams

Never losin' sight, ah

Spread your wings

We'll get higher and higher

Straight up we'll climb

We'll get higher and higher

Leave it all behind"

More than thirty-five years ago this summer Van Halen's "Dreams" was holding pretty steady on Billboard's Hot 100. It was the second single off of the band's 5150 album and it was performed during the Sammy Hagar era of the band. Nearly 20 years after the release of 5150 Hagar finally admitted that "Dreams" is one of his very favorite songs from his days in Van Halen. That might explain why he is prone to perform it in his solo gigs. 

There were actually three different videos made for this song but the MTV generation heavily favored the one that featured the Blue Angels so that became this song's visual calling card. Do you agree with Sammy? Is "Dreams" really one of the best songs that Van Halen has in their catalog? It has actually always been one of my very favorites. I can remember listening to the album when it was first released and thinking that this song was IT. How about you?

Daily Boom Lost Hit: Level 42- 'Something About You'

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Luther Vandross - 'Stop To Love'

"I just wanna be the one that you wanna see

I just wanna have you near me

But you fly away almost everyday

You work a lot but you never stop to love

(Stop) I love you stop (stop)

Come home from the road

(Gotta stop to love)

And let's celebrate (celebrate) the love we got (stop)

Say you're coming home."

Luther Vandross might have one of the most soulful voices to listen to ever. He is quite obviously best remembered for his ballads ("Here and Now", "Superstar", etc.) so I wanted to share something a little different. "Stop To Love" was the first single off of Vandross' fifth album and it was also his first top 20 hit on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. The video from 1986 shows a fun side to Vandross, one that those cloesest to him often talked about. Sadly, the singer's life was cut short after a massive stroke left him comatose for two months in 2003. While Vandross did recover somewhat he never performed in public again and eventually died in July of 2005.

Daily Boom Lost Hit: Cutting Crew- 'The Broadcast'

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Bruce Springsteen - 'Born In The USA'

"Born down in a dead man's town

The first kick I took was when I hit the ground

End up like a dog that's been beat too much

Till you spend half your life just covering up

Born in the U.S.A., I was born in the U.S.A.

I was born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A.

Got in a little hometown jam

So they put a rifle in my hand

Sent me off to a foreign land

To go and kill the yellow man

Born in the U.S.A., I was born in the U.S.A.

Born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A."

Bruce Springsteen's Born In The USA became pretty much an instant hit thanks to the advance buzz created by the first single, "Dancing In The Dark". The summer of 86’ was a tough one on the charts with so many heavy hitters taking aim at the top spot. Both Duran Duran and Prince sat in the number one position for weeks making it impossible for "Dancing In The Dark" to hit any higher than second but that didn't stop Springsteen's fans from multiplying like Cheerios.

This video is also considered the thing that launched the career of Courteney Cox, as she is the girl pulled up onstage to dance with the Boss himself. I remember that summer well because so much of it was spent listening to a ghetto blaster and waiting for opportunities to call in with the hopes of winning a new album. Back then they were given out hourly. A few days after Born In The U.S.A. was released my friend and I were both determined to win. She got through and was caller eight to snag Steve Perry's Street Talk which made me even more determined to get through the busy phone lines. An hour after her win I became caller ten and scooped up my own copy of, you guessed it, Born In The U.S.A. The only thing more memorable than winning it was going together to pick up our albums at the radio station together.

If not for this video being played every three hours until it grew on me, I would never have owned Springsteen's most popular effort ever. Check it out below!

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Force MD's - 'Tender Love'

Longing for some of your tender love

I'm waiting for the right moment to come
So I can thank you for all the tender love you've given to me

If you were listening to American Top 40 on your radio 35 years ago then one of the songs that you might have been waiting to record was the Force MD's "Tender Love". It was sitting in tenth place on Billboard's Hot 100 after becoming one of the best songs to come out of the Krush Groove soundtrack. Those are the details but if you were a teen then you knew this song because it was THE love song of the moment. "Tender Love" generated lots of dedications (remember when that was actually a thing?) from the left coast to the right and to this day it's easily recognized the minute it begins to play.

The Force MD's first connected in Staten Island back in 1981 and despite having some old-school hip hop roots it was their ballads that really brought them success. The band was also considered to be very early pioneers of the New Jack Swing movement that really took off in 1990. Sadly, three of the group's original members died of various causes in the late '90s. The remaining members put out their last Force MD's album in 2000. 

Check out "Tender Love" below. I promise that you're going to remember it.

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Madonna - 'Papa Don't Preach'

"Papa I know you're going to be upset

'Cause I was always your little girl

But you should know by now

I'm not a baby

You always taught me right from wrong

I need your help, daddy please be strong

I may be young at heart

But I know what I'm saying"

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!