Today’s Song of the Day is “Up Where We Belong” by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes, in honor of Jennifer Warnes’ 75th (!) birthday. While Warnes is best known for her Grammy Award winning performance for this song with Cocker and for the Grammy winning “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” with Bill Medley, she was brought on to this song due to her previous soundtrack successes. She had won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for the song “It Goes Like It Goes” for the 1979 motion picture Norma Rae, and was nominated in the same category in 1981 with “One More Hour” for the 1981 motion picture Ragtime. She had the idea for the song to be a duet that she would perform with Cocker.
As if all these songs were not as successful as it is, Warnes also recorded the song “As Long As We Got Each Other” as a duet with B.J. Thomas for the theme for the TV show Growing Pains.
Along with “Up Where We Belong”, Joe Cocker is known for his cover of the Beatles’ “With a Little Help from My Friends”, as well as his cover of Billy Preston’s “You Are So Beautiful”. And this may not be ’80s, but GenXers may also know his song “(All I Know) Feels Like Forever” from the 1992 film, The Cutting Edge.
“Up Where We Belong” won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, as well as a Golden Globe Award. The song also won Warnes and Cocker the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, and hit #1 (for three weeks running) on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was certified platinum for over two million sales in the United States. In 2020, the song was included on Billboard magazine’s list of the 25 Greatest Love Song Duets.
This song peaked right here at #20, ending the band’s run of four consecutive Top 10 hits in the UK. If the synthesized talking sounds familiar to you, it is taken from a Speak & Spell. Even though this is totally different from “If You Leave”, I like this.
This song, from the film An Officer and a Gentleman, was a world wide smash hit. With this song, Cocker and Warnes were awarded the Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. This song won also both the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.
This song makes me want to party on a tropical vacation.
This song by the Australian group, Icehouse, peaked right here at #17. It was also a top 40 hit in the U.S. peaking at #31. I was not into New Wave back then, so this never crossed my radar.
This was the band’s fourth single. It would eventually become the second hit from their debut LP The Hurting and second UK Top 5 chart hit. This is one of those songs that I didn’t think I knew, but remembered it when I just played it now.
This was the seventh single released by new wave legends, Depeche Mode. This is another song that I would not have cared for back in the day, but I love it now.
Cool song by two old school legends.The late Phil Everly was one of The Everly Brothers, and Cliff Richard was having a great career until The Beatles exploded on the scene. But he had a strong comeback later on. Cliff Richard is the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart history, behind the Beatles and Elvis Presley.
Very cool song! Fun Boy Three never made it big in the U.S., and were only around for a few years. But, they sound really good.
I totally forgot about this one! I guess that can happen when the only song radio stations have been playing for the past 35 years is “True”. This was a top 20 hit in the U.S. as well. and it is way better than “True”!
Here’s one we all know! Upon it’s initial release, this song topped out at #73 on the U.S. charts. Then the song became the love theme for the character Luke Spencer on the popular daytime soap General Hospital. The song then became a #1 hit in the U.S., as well as a worldwide hit. It peaked right here at #11 in the U.K.
This song earned Diana Ross her twelfth Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. Oh BTW, this was written and produced by someone you may or may not heard of – Michael Jackson.
Speaking of Michael Jackson, this was the first single released from his up and coming album, Thriller. At least he got the worst song out of the way! It wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t for all that yapping at the end.
Love this song by Joe Jackson! It peaked at #4, and was Jackson’s highest charting hit in the U.S. This song received a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year in 1983 but lost to “Rosanna” by Toto, which is fine by me.
This song, from Hall & Oates’ eleventh studio album, H2O, was a smash hit, hitting #1 and staying there for four straight weeks. This was a staple on MTV.
This iconic ’80s tune was Toni Basil’s only hit. But, boy was it ever a hit, reaching the top of the charts. The legendary Cheerleader video is considered the very first choreographed dance video.
Unfortunately, I am all too familiar with this song. My mom is the biggest Neil Diamond fan, so this was my life. I do like his early stuff a lot. But, I didn’t care much for his easy listening music. This song was written by Diamond, Carole Bayer Sager and her then-husband Burt Bacharach. They were inspired by the blockbuster movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which Diamond, Bayer Sager and Bacharach had all seen together.
This classic duet is from the film, An Officer and a Gentleman (which I have yet to see). The movie’s producer, Don Simpson, demanded “Up Where We Belong” be cut from An Officer and a Gentleman, saying, “The song is no good. It isn’t a hit.” (Sounds like a Trump tweet. Oh shit, here come the comments and emails!). It’s a good thing Simpson was a movie producer, and not a music producer. The song was a #1 hit in the US for three weeks, won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and the Academy Award for Best Original Song. It also won the BAFTA Film Awards for Best Original Song in 1984. Cocker and Warnes also won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1983.
This is one of those new songs that was placed on a Greatest Hits album. And this song definitely belongs there! I love this ONJ song! It was the first single released off of Olivia’s Greatest Hits Vol. 2, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
I have always loved Laura Branigan’s voice, and I had a huge crush on her. I was devastated when she died in 2004 from a brain aneurysm. This was Branigan’s signature song. It peaked right here at #2, and remained her for three weeks.
“Hello” seems to get all the love out of Lionel Richie’s ballads. But, this one is my favorite. This was also Richie’s debut solo single. It was the first single released off of his self-titled debut album. The song won a Grammy Award for Richie in the category Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. Not a shabby start for a solo career.
Return to the 80s 