Boom.

Pay attention, are you listening? You're my favorite girl Excuse me for the moment, I'm in another world On a mountain, by a fountain, flowers blooming everywhere With Venus and cupid, the picture's very clear It's strange how I can hear a song and easily remember the time of year that it first became popular. The summer of 1987 was loaded with great music and there was one little song that seemed to follow me everywhere that I went.  The System's  "Don't Disturb This Groove " eventually became know as the official song of that summer but that was after it followed me to the Jersey Shore, to Six Flags and it played in the background no matter what store I shopped in at the time. I affiliate " Don't Disturb This Groove"  with car windows rolled down and sunshine. And maybe a bit of Sun In and my big boom box as well.  I love when songs are kind of timeless in that you really can't tell by listening what era that are from. Thi...

All alone, on my knees I pray For the strength to stay away In and out, out and in you go I feel your fire Then I lose my self control How can I ease the pain When I know your coming back again And how can I ease the pain in my heart 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 '90s. 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 city is crowded  My friends are away  And I'm on my own It's too hot to handle So I got to get up and go  It's a cruel, cruel summer  Leaving me here on my own  It's a cruel,  It's a cruel cruel summer  Now you're gone You're not the only one (Revisiting this one) Since Memorial Day weekend is creeping up on us, and it is, like, the unofficial start to summer, it only seems right to take a look at one of the most popular summer songs of the 1980's. I'm talking about Bananarama's " Cruel Summer ".  Not only is this a popular summer track, but it's also probably one of the most easily identified songs to come out of the 80's. I say " Cruel Summer, " and you instantly hear the music, don't you? It instantly brings me back to the Jersey shore in the early 80's. I remember scorching sun, the smell of Coppertone, and this song playing from someone's boom box on the beach. Th...

For many of us, life just seems a whole lot better when we're surrounded by sun, sand, and of course a great big ocean. Salt life is a real thing, and it has been featured in music videos almost since the very start of MTV.  Some of the most memorable visuals by music artists have featured the ocean as a backdrop. Since it's the unofficial start of summer, I thought it would be fun to revisit some old MTV favorites. Each of these videos has a beach theme and really stands out in my memory (hopefully yours too). So here we go and in NO particular order... Belinda Carlisle- "Circle In The Sand" Sundown all around Walking thru the summer's end Waves crash baby, don't look back I won't walk away again Oh, baby, anywhere you go, We are bound together I begin, baby, where you end Some things are forever! This was released in May of 1988 with Carlisle singing as various layered beach scenes flashed behind her. This song came at a time ...

"I  always love a little mystery But now the tensions killing me No place left for words to hide I never thought it could be quite so tough Lips once sealed are splitting up There ain't no secrets to outshine, father time." I can remember walking into a  Listening Booth  store in the middle of my local mall and flipping through their one rack of 12" dance mixes of freestyle/house music and finding a copy of  A'Me Lorain's  " Whole Wide World".  I bought that and a copy of Lisette Melendez's "Together Forever" and felt like I hit the music lottery. Back in 1990, in the middle of suburban Pennsylvania, club music was a novelty rather than a standard. I was 90 minutes from Philly, two hours from NYC and basically just far enough out for stores not to carry a whole lot of dance stuff.  I was still glued to  Dance Party USA  and my friends from the series so I knew what was popping in the clubs. I found a way to get my hands on...

"Something is wrong as I hold you near Somebody else holds your heart, yeah You look at me with your eyes in tears And then it's raining, feels like it's raining Oh no, tears are falling Oh no, tears are falling, whoo oh Oh no, tears are falling, whoo oh I saw you cry And now it's raining (yeah) Looks like it's raining (someone stole your heart) And now it's raining, feels like it's raining." 1984 was a monstorous year for  KISS . Their album Animalize spawned the hit " Heaven's On Fire " and for the first time the hard rock icons were performing and shooting videos without their infamous makeup. It was almost strange to see them all glammed up. Big hair, lipstick and colored spandex replaced their old painted face look and the MTV crowd kind of ate it up.  By the fall of 1985 the boys were back with their 13th studio album,  Asylum,  which didn't do as well as its' predecessor. However, it brought with it one of my a...

And for love's sake, each mistake Ah, you forgave And soon both of us learned to trust Not run away, it was no time to play We build it up and build it up and build it up And now it's solid Solid as a rock That's what this love is That's what we've got I was in the car driving yesterday when  Ashford & Simpson's  "Solid" came on the radio and boy did it take me back. I first remember seeing the video for this song from 1984 while at my grandmother's. It was back when NYC's WPIX would show videos on Saturday afternoon's and aside from loving Billy Idol and the Footloose soundtrack, they also favored R&B acts. The video features the couple ducking out of a rainstorm in what looks like Central Park. They end up singing to each other and random strangers join in. Yeah, I know. It's a bit hokey but what isn't is the relationship and career that Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson shared. While ...

Steve Lukather  ICYMI- We are flashing back to some of DailyBOOM's most popular features. Enjoy this one! Steve ("Luke") Lukather may be best known as a vocalist, guitarist, songwriter, producer, and founding member of the iconic band Toto, but that's just scratching the surface of what he is actually capable of. He started his career as a session musician and you'll find his work, spanning various genres, on more than 1,500 albums. Lukather has spent decades working alongside so many of the industry's best, but Toto is his main job, and cultivating the musical fruits of the bands' labor has been the centerpiece of his prolific career. It was recently confirmed that Toto will be taking an indefinite break after their October 20th show at The Met in Philadelphia and I was lucky enough to catch up with Lukather for a chat about the band winding down, and what's next for him. Check it out below!   Steve ("Luke") Lukather on li...

"Dear I write you this letter To show you how much your love means to me I wish we could be together I need you in my life oh can't you see You promised we would be together But you still haven't answered my letter Oh, oh, I'm sincerely yours The one my heart beats for, the one I adore Oh, oh, I'm sincerely yours The love that you gave I've never felt before." Latin freestyle seems to go hand in hand with Friday, at least in my mind. If Friday is really the day to celebrate the weekend ahead then that means club songs, freestyle and old school house music are the very best way to kick it all off. Let me take you back to 1988 when  Betty Dee  and her girls stepped out from the shadow of  Expose`  and  The Cover Girls  and made their own mark in the dance world.  Sweet Sensation  had the hair, the clothes, and all the moves. But they seemed like the chicks down the street. This was the girl group that you really coul...