Tag Archives: Neil Diamond

Artists, Music, Remember That Song?

Remember That Song – 1/25/22

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Can you name the artist and song:

All you’ve got is this moment
Twenty-first century’s yesterday

Last Song: “Love on The Rocks” by Neil Diamond from The Jazz Singer (1981)

Great job sweetpurplejune and Adora (@Adora2000)!!!

First they say they want you
Hear how they really need you
Suddenly you find you’re out there
Walking in a storm

If you’d like to get the song from Amazon, you can click on the album cover below:

Artists, Music, Remember That Song?

Remember That Song – 4/12/21

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Can you name the artist and song:

With so many light years to go
And things to be found
I’m sure that we all miss her so

Last Song: “Hello Again” by Neil Diamond from The Jazz Singer Soundtrack (1981)

Great job sweetpurplejune and Adora (@Adora2000)!!!

Maybe it’s been crazy
And maybe I’m to blame
But I put my heart above my head

If you’d like to get this song from Amazon, click on the album cover below:

Artists, Music, Remember That Song?

Remember That Song: 1/25/18

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Can you name the artist and song:

I’ve been sitting here so long
Wasting time, just staring at the phone
And I was wondering should I call you
Then I thought maybe you’re not alone

Last Song: “Heartlight” by Neil Diamond from the album Heartlight (1982)
Thanks for the suggestion Andy (@Torahguy). And Happy birthday to Neil Diamond who turned 77 yesterday.

A friend is someone you need
But now that he had to go away
I still feel the words that he might say

If you’d like to purchase this song from Amazon, click on the album cover below:

1982, Artists, Music, Top 40

Top 40 Songs This Week – November 27, 1982: Songs 10-1

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Welcome back to this week’s Top 40 Countdown!!! If you missed the previous songs, you can go ahead and check out songs 40-31, 30-21 and 20-11. We are down to our top 10 songs. We have some true classic songs coming up, so let’s get to it. Let’s Return to the week ending November 27, 1982, and wrap up this week’s countdown.

10. “Muscles” by Diana Ross

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.

 

9. “The Girl is Mine” by Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney

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.

 

8. “Steppin’ Out” by Joe Jackson

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.

 

7. “Maneater” by Daryl Hall and John Oates

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.

 

 

6. “Mickey” by Toni Basil

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.

 

5. “Heartlight” by Neil Diamond

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.

 

4. “Up Where We Belong” by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes

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.

3. “Heart Attack” by Olivia Newton-John

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.

 

2. “Gloria” by Laura Branigan

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.

 

1. “Truly” by Lionel Richie

“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.

That wraps up this week’s countdown. I hope you enjoyed it. Did you have any favorite songs this week? Are there any that you got sick of hearing? I’d love to hear from you. Until next time, Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.

Artists, Hits - Horrible and Great, Music

Hits of 1981 – Horrible and Great

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On 11/14/08, Stuck in the ’80s released their Horrible Hits from 1981 podcast.
Here is their list:

10. Physical – Olivia Newton John
9. The Breakup Song – Greg Kihn Band
8. Someone’s Knockin’ – Terri Gibbs
7. Urgent – Foreigner
6. Every Woman in the World – Air Supply
5. Hearts – Marty Balin
4. Elvira – The Oak Ridge Boys
3. Morning Train (Nine to Five) – Sheena Easton
2. Boy from New York City – Manhattan Transfer
1. Bette Davis Eyes, Kim Carnes

You can see the top 100 hits from Billboard that year.

Here is my top 5 (or worst 5) of Horrible songs from that year.

5. Who’s Crying Now – Journey

Although Journey is one of my favorite groups of all time, this is probably my least favorite of their hits. It doesn’t have enough energy, and it’s not a powerful enough ballad like “Faithfully” or “Open Arms”.

4. Boy From New York City – Manhattan Transfer

This song is annoying. It’s almost like they are trying to go for an old World War II USO tour swing sound – but fail miserably. There are many other New York theme songs that are a lot better – most recently, “Empire State of Mind” by Alicia Keys.

3. Hearts – Marty Balin

It’s hard to believe that somebody from Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship would come out with something so crappy! This sounds like one of those horrible “lite” music of the ’70s. It still would have been bad for that time period as well.

2. Sukiyaki – A Taste of Honey

Another boring one! How was this a hit!?! A Taste of Honey was a disco group that disappeared not long after disco died. Now I can see why.

1. Hello Again – Neil Diamond

I love Neil Diamond’s early music as well as his recent music that he has released with producer Rick Rubin. But, this song is too slow moving and a disappointment for me. This sounds a lot like “September Morn'”, which is another boring song. But he redeems himself as you will find in my list of:

Great hits from 1981

5. America – Neil Diamond

This is one of Neil Diamond’s greatest songs. It can still be heard playing today – especially around the 4th of July. It is very patriotic and powerful.

4. The Best of Times – Styx

This is a great power ballad, sung by Dennis DeYoung. It was the first single release from Styx’s classic Paradise Theater album. There was great vocals and guitar in this song.

3. You Make My Dreams – Hall & Oates

This is my favorite Hall & Oates song. You can’t help but tap your hands or feet to this song. It has had a resurgence lately. It was in the movie The Wedding Singer, and more recently in the movie (500) Days of Summer.

2. Lady (You Bring Me Up) – Commodores

This is one of my favorite songs by the Commodores. This was just before Lionel Ritchie went solo. This is a very upbeat and fun song.

1.

9 to 5 – Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton wrote and performed this song for the move Nine to Five, in which she starred in along with Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dabney Coleman. Parton has stated in a number of interviews through the years that when she wrote the song, she devised the clacking typewriter rhythm running her acrylic fingernails back and forth against one another.
A few months after Parton released this song, Sheena Easton had also released a song “9 to 5”, which became a world wide hit. But in the U.S., Easton’s song had to be renamed “Morning Train (Nine to Five)” to avoid confusion.

Here are some songs from the top 100 that did not make my list because they already appear on my list of 1980’s greatest hits:

Another One Bites the Dust, Queen
Whip It, Devo
(Just Like) Starting Over – John Lennon

And here are some honorable mentions that do jump in my top 5 for that year:

Jessie’s Girl, by Rick Springfield
Celebration, by Kool and The Gang
I Love a Rainy Night, by Eddie Rabbitt

Does anybody have their own list of favorites and least favorites? Let us know.