When I was a kid, there were definitely people that cast aspersions on Michael Jackson’s sexuality. In the late ‘70s and ‘80s, the “Michael is gay” rumors were prevalent, to the point that a rumor floated (and was published) that MJ had actually undergone a sex change operation. Allegedly, the sex change was so that… Read More “Human Nature” by Michael Jackson (1982)
I’m sure I’ve mentioned in one of these posts that my grandmother was fairly partial to New York City’s local “Lite-FM” adult contemporary radio station (WLTW/105.1). During my high school years, it wasn’t uncommon for me to get home and hear Michael Bolton or The Carpenters blasting from her stereo. I became familiar with Ace’s… Read More “How Long” by Ace (1975)
The biggest knock against Toto was that at times they sounded generic and sterile, which is a pretty fair knock. However, they were studio professionals and at least in one case (David Paich), they were studio professionals who were the children of widely renowned studio professionals. They didn’t grow up bashing instruments randomly in a… Read More “Hold The Line” by Toto (1978)
Donald Fagen is kind of a dirty old man…and, truthfully, some of his best songs are the ones in which he gets to play (at least I hope he’s playing) a lecherous, kinda creepy dude. There’s nothing creepy about “Hey Nineteen” in and of itself, unless you consider a fella dating someone half his age… Read More “Hey Nineteen” by Steely Dan (1981)
I try to live my life in a way that’s fairly transparent and unapologetic. But there are definitely still occasions during which I am embarrassed or afraid to admit certain things. Which puts me here, where I feel like I have to defend the fact that I like-nay-love a Barbra Streisand song. I could very… Read More “Guilty” by Barbra Streisand & Barry Gibb (1980)
Yes, I realize this is out of order. I’ve been going back and doing some re-rating. In the case of Paul Davis’s “Cool Night”, here was a song I fell in love with after the fact. Way after the fact. 36 or 37 years after the fact. Look, I listened to the radio in 1981… Read More “Cool Night” by Paul Davis (1981)
I’ve been thinking recently about Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson’s oft-repeated assertion that Epic Records wasn’t enthused about the choice of Quincy as producer for Off The Wall, stating that he was “too jazzy”. I can’t verify whether that (or a variation of it) was said or not said, obviously. I wasn’t there, Michael is… Read More “Give Me The Night” by George Benson (1980)
One cool discovery I’ve made in the last few years has been Robert Palmer’s ‘70s discography. I knew of albums like Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley, but hadn’t listened to them. They’re pretty solid records, and they’re steeped in soul and funk, which may not be what you expect if all you know of Palmer… Read More “Give Me An Inch” by Robert Palmer (1975)
I initially knew Robert Palmer as the nattily dressed heartthrob behind The Power Station and the “Addicted To Love” and “I Didn’t Mean To Turn You On” videos. So what a surprise to me when I grew up, further explored his work, and discovered that he was one of the most adventurous blue eyed soul… Read More “Every Kinda People” by Robert Palmer (1978)
Have you folks checked out the Beyond Yacht Rock podcast? It’s awesome. Actually, before that, you might want to check out the Yacht Rock web series, and then jump over to the podcast. One of my favorite elements of the podcast is that there’s a recurring series of mini-sodes called “Yacht Or Nyacht”, in which the… Read More “Don’t Talk To Strangers” by Rick Springfield (1982)
Five Star Jamz 