“How Will I Know” was the song that made Whitney Houston America’s sweetheart. And as calculated as Clive Davis’s plan to make her a superstar were (release a couple of singles that solidified a base of R&B fans before making an all-out pop push), it worked. And it worked with a great song, even if… Read More “How Will I Know” by Whitney Houston (1985)
Tears For Fears is a textbook example of an act that made incredible singles, but their album tracks are uniformly…well, not bad. But significantly weaker by comparison. They were scorching in the summer of 1985, thanks to a trio of fantastic singles. We’ve discussed “Everybody Wants To Rule The World”earlier (damn, almost a year ago… Read More “Head Over Heels” by Tears For Fears (1985)
Loose Ends is a group that doesn’t get enough props. They were one of the first British soul groups to make noise with R&B audiences; as a matter of fact, “Hangin’ On A String” was the first song by a UK act to top the American R&B charts¹. Their sound was familiar and exotic at… Read More “Hangin’ On A String (Contemplating)” by Loose Ends (1985)
Three years before he released his first record as a member of New Edition, and five years before he rubbed us the right way, Johnny Gill had a modest R&B hit with “Half-Crazy”, a piano ballad I (if I remember correctly) overheard one night in my bedroom as my parents were watching the video in… Read More “Half-Crazy” by Johnny Gill (1985)
My high school experience was nothing like anything John Hughes ever captured in a film. For one thing, there were people of color in my high school. Actually, Brooklyn Tech was (and still is) predominantly Asian. And not one of them sounded or acted like Long Duk Dong. Also, I don’t think my high school… Read More “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds (1985)
I don’t have a lot to say about “Don’t Lose My Number”. It was the third single from No Jacket Required, which was his biggest album. He won an Album of the Year Grammy for it. I didn’t actually see it happen; I listened to my mom and stepdad watch it from my room where… Read More “Don’t Lose My Number” by Phil Collins (1985)
I discovered this amazing not-quite-a-hit via Rhino’s (awesomely curated) The Disco Years CD series from the mid ‘90s. Although “Don Quichotte” came a few years too late to “officially” qualify as disco (whatever that means), it’s also not hi-NRG or dance-pop a la Madonna, it’s…it’s absurd is what it is. Absurd synthesizer music with pidgin Spanish,… Read More “Don Quichotte” by Magazine 60 (1985)
