Deep track today!
Can you name the artist and song:
I’ve been thinkin’ ’bout somethin’ you said
It seems to make no sense to me
That you don’t want nobody’s love
You say you’ll only hurt again
Last Song: “The One I Love” by R.E.M. from Document (1987)
Great job Lynne (@LynneAshton2) and Craig (@cdennis0130)!!!
A simple prop to occupy my time
If you’d like to get this song from Amazon, click on the album cover below:
Can you name the artist and song:
I often pray before I lay down by your side
If you receive your calling before I awake
Could I make it through the night
Last Song: “Stand” by R.E.M. from the album Green (1989)
Think about the place where you live
Wonder why you haven’t before
Hi Everybody! Welcome back to this week’s countdown! If you missed the previous posts, you can check out songs 40-31 and 30-21. Once again, we have a crazy diverse day. We have hair bands, R&B, and pop. And, we also have a Long Distance Dedication! So, let’s Return to the week ending March 25, 1989, and continue the countdown.
We begin today with Poison’s cover of the Loggins and Messina hit, “Your Mama Don’t Dance”. The Loggins and Messina version reached all the way up to #4 in 1972. While Poison didn’t go as high with the song, they did manage to reach #10. This song was kind of a let down for me. But, next year, Poison would release what I feel was their best album – Flesh and Blood.
“Your Mama Don’t Dance” by Poison on Amazon
This is one of those songs that I didn’t recognize by the title, but remembered it when I heard it. This has that classic late-80s New Wavey synthpop sound. This song was a worldwide hit for the Canadian synthpop band.
“I Beg Your Pardon” by Kon Kan on Amazon
Oh Good Lord!!! I forgot that we are now in a point in time where the New Kids were white hot. Well, I was never a part of their target audience, so this is not my thing. They are local to me, so I am happy for their success. Donnie is awesome in Blue Bloods, and I actually do enjoy the A&E show, Wahlburgers. I still haven’t been to one of those restaurants yet. By the way, who would have thought that 26 years after this song, New Kids On the Block would still be touring?!?
“You Got It (The Right Stuff)” by New Kids On The Block on Amazon
“Superwoman” is the second single from R&B singer Karyn White’s self-titled debut album, Karyn White (1988). It became her second U.S. top ten hit and second U.S. R&B number-one hit.
Here is a nice R&B song by Karyn White. She had a nice string of hits in the late ’80s through early ’90s. She then left the music business to start a family. In 2012, she released her first studio album in 17 years – Carpe Diem.
“Superwoman” by Karyn White on Amazon
Here is the second song, of this list, titled “You Got It” (minus “The Right Stuff”). I remember this song very well, but thought this was an older song from the ’60s. This song reached #9, and was Orbison’s first Top 10 hit in 25 years. Unfortunately, Orbison never saw this return to the charts, as he died of a heart attack the previous December at the age of 52. A couple of his Traveling Wilburys played on this song – Jeff Lynne on backing vocals and electric guitar, and Tom Petty on backing vocals and acoustic guitar.
“You Got It” by Roy Orbison on Amazon
Here is another really good R&B hit. This is my favorite song so far today. Anita Baker won a Grammy with this song for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.
“Just Because” by Anita Baker on Amazon
Ugh, I can’t “Stand” this song! I don’t know what it is about R.E.M., but they just irritate me. This song just sounds like an annoying children’s song. I will give them credit for having a unique sound.
Now we’re up to our Long Distance Dedication. This is the feature that reminds us what popular music is all about…songs helping us to express important feelings. Here is a letter from Robert from Nebraska:
Dear Casey,
This dedication is for the most important person in my life. I had the great experience of growing up in Frankfurt, Germany. I was part of military family and we moved quite a few times. I was a quiet, shy boy and I had a few good friends, but always had difficulty being comfortable in groups, especially if girls were present. I never really dated much – until the beginning of my senior year when I met Diana. I had signed up for the bus to take us to an away football game. The buses were crowded and I was forced to sit next to one of the most beautiful girls I had ever seen. Naturally, I was nervous and had trouble even looking as her- not to mention talking to her. During the football game we gave each other side glances and on the trip home we again sat together- not because we had to this time. When we got back to the school, I somehow summoned enough courage to ask for her phone number. The rest, as they say, is history. We became inseparable and did everything together. Eventually, the time came to return to the U.S. for college. We decided to go to school in Nebraska – I just could not imagine being without her. I was leaving the first week of July and she would leave at the end of August. We spent every day until that week in June. These were the best days I had ever had. I was worried that things would not work out while we were apart and these could be the last days I would ever see her. Casey, would you please play “Endless Summer Nights” by Richard Marx. This song reminds me of the great times I spent with Diana and how much she meant to me. Thank you.
P.S. Casey, everything did work out. This summer we will celebrate our 25th anniversary with our four wonderful children. Even today this song reminds me of her and that summer after our senior year.
Robert. Here is your long distance dedication
From 1987, that was “Endless Summer Nights” by Richard Marx, a long distance dedication from Robert in Nebraska, to his wife Diana.
Now. On with the countdown.
“Endless Summer Nights” by Richard Marx on Amazon
I had never heard this song before. I do like some songs by Breathe, so I was hoping this would be a pleasant surprise. It’s not bad. Not great either, but far from the worst on this countdown.
“Don’t Tell Me Lies” by Breathe on Amazon
This is the third R&B song today, and it is another winner! This was Vanessa’s first top 40 hit, and first #1 R&B hit.
“Dreamin'” by Vanessa Williams on Amazon
This is, by far, my favorite Guns N’ Roses tune! It is such a perfect rock song. From Steven Adler’s awesome drumming to Slash’s classic guitar sound, to Axl’s voice, which is perfect for this song. They are just firing on all cylinders at this point. I think that if they all got along, kept their s*!t together, they would have survived through the grunge era. Everybody has been waiting for the original lineup to get back together for years. And after Eddie Trunk’s recent interview with Steven Adler, there is a buzz about this happening. I’m not holding my breathe though.
“Paradise City” by Guns N’ Roses on Amazon
Follow @returntothe80sCan you name the artist and song:
Cover me with kisses, baby
Cover me with love
Roll me in designer sheets
I’ll never get enough
Last Song: “The One I Love” by R.E.M.
This one goes out to the one I love
This one goes out to the one I left behind
Geez, I hope the fact that I listed their song “Stand” as the #5 worst hit of the ’80s didn’t break the band up! The following is from their official web site:
“To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band. We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished. To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening.” R.E.M.
In their own words: The guys share their thoughts on why now.
MIKE
“During our last tour, and while making Collapse Into Now and putting together this greatest hits retrospective, we started asking ourselves, ‘what next’? Working through our music and memories from over three decades was a hell of a journey. We realized that these songs seemed to draw a natural line under the last 31 years of our working together.
“We have always been a band in the truest sense of the word. Brothers who truly love, and respect, each other. We feel kind of like pioneers in this–there’s no disharmony here, no falling-outs, no lawyers squaring-off. We’ve made this decision together, amicably and with each other’s best interests at heart. The time just feels right.”
MICHAEL
“A wise man once said–‘the skill in attending a party is knowing when it’s time to leave.’ We built something extraordinary together. We did this thing. And now we’re going to walk away from it.
“I hope our fans realize this wasn’t an easy decision; but all things must end, and we wanted to do it right, to do it our way.
“We have to thank all the people who helped us be R.E.M. for these 31 years; our deepest gratitude to those who allowed us to do this. It’s been amazing.”
PETER
“One of the things that was always so great about being in R.E.M. was the fact that the records and the songs we wrote meant as much to our fans as they did to us. It was, and still is, important to us to do right by you. Being a part of your lives has been an unbelievable gift. Thank you.
“Mike, Michael, Bill, Bertis, and I walk away as great friends. I know I will be seeing them in the future, just as I know I will be seeing everyone who has followed us and supported us through the years. Even if it’s only in the vinyl aisle of your local record store, or standing at the back of the club: watching a group of 19 year olds trying to change the world.”
ATHENS, GA–(Marketwire – Sep 21, 2011)
“During our last tour, and while making Collapse Into Now and putting together this greatest hits retrospective; we started to ask ourselves ‘what next?’,” commented Mike Mills. “Working through our music and memories from over three decades was a hell of a journey. We realized that these songs seemed to draw a natural line under the last 31 years of our working together. The time just feels right.”
R.E.M. is unique in that they are very much still the group of friends from Athens, Georgia that they’ve been since the band formed in 1979. While their career has spanned 15 studio albums and huge global success, the band itself only ever comprised the four original members. The one person to leave this tight-knit group was drummer Bill Berry, who retired two years after suffering a brain aneurysm on-stage during 1995’s “Monster” tour. But not before extracting a promise from his band mates that they would continue on as R.E.M.: “Bill insisted he would stay, if his leaving meant breaking the band up,” remembers Michael Stipe.
Mills adds: “We have always been a band in the truest sense of the word. Brothers who truly love and respect each other. We feel kind of like pioneers in this — there’s no disharmony here, no falling-outs, no lawyers squaring off. We’ve made this decision together, amicably and with each other’s best interests at heart.”
“A wise man once said — ‘the skill in attending a party is knowing when it’s time to leave,” agrees Michael Stipe. “We built something extraordinary together. We did this thing. And now we’re going to walk away from it. I hope our fans realize this wasn’t an easy decision; but all things must end; and we wanted to do it right, to do it our way. We have to thank all the people who helped us be R.E.M. for these 31 years, our deepest gratitude to those who allowed us to do this. It’s been amazing.”
Buck picks up on his thoughts: “One of the things that was always so great about being in R.E.M., was the fact that the records we made and the songs we wrote, meant as much to our fans as they did to us. It was, and still is, important to us to do right by them. Being a part of their lives has been an unbelievable gift.
“Mike, Michael, Bill, Bertis, and I walk away as great friends. I know I will be seeing them in the future, just as I know I will be seeing everyone that has followed and supported us through the years. Even if it’s only in the vinyl aisle of your local record store, or standing at the back of a club; watching a group of 19-year-olds trying to change the world.”
R.E.M. will release a career-spanning Greatest Hits album through Warner Brothers in November. More information to follow.
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Here is a wrap-up of the Horrible and Great hits of the ’80s. I threw all the songs from my previous lists of each year, and picked my least favorite and favorite songs of the decade.
So, this is basically a Greatest Hits compilation of the Hits – Horrible and Great series.
The Horrible Hits came quite easy to me, and fell right into place. My favorites were a little tougher. They are always rotating in and out. Since I love so much ’80s music, it is difficult leaving some songs off the list.
Well, without further adieu:
Stick with the up-tempo songs, Huey! I loved every song on the Sports album – except for this one. It’s slow, boring, and there’s no feeling in it.
This is one of the most overplayed ’80s songs out there. I’ve heard this song more in the past couple of years than I did during the entire ’80s decade! And it’s not even on my iPod! This may not have made the list if it were not so overplayed. This song is a little to slow for me, but not slow enough to be a good ballad. I can’t change the station fast enough when it comes on the radio.
I love Phil Collins, but this was probably the most overplayed among his overplayed songs.
The Stuck in the 80s guys were told to keep this song off their Horrible list. It did sound like they wanted it on there though. So, I will place it on my list yet again. Is this even a song? It is more like slow torture! Slow, slow torture.
Ah, Ah-Ah-ah, AAAAAAARRRGGGHHHH!!! I can’t stomach this song. It is too boring, and it high on some kind of wuss factor. I’ll have to admit that it was funny seeing Steve Buscemi singing this song at the end of The Wedding Singer:
Unfortunately, since the song was included in the movie, it was also included on the movie’s soundtrack. Why didn’t they leave this song off, and put on “Do You Believe In Love”?
This song is like a whiny “Hokey Pokey”. The only song I liked by R.E.M. was “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?”, and then they disappeared.
Neil Diamond was a great songwriter. But, this was not one of his better songs, that’s for sure! I don’t know why it was remade, and I don’t understand why this was a hit. This is another song that comes on, and I can’t change the station fast enough.
Bruce Hornsby has a unique sound on his piano. Unfortunately, every song I’ve heard by him sounds exactly the same. And they are all horrible. I can’t turn this song off fast enough as soon as I hear it.
Two of the greatest music artists of all time took the biggest dump on the biggest album of all time! Uggh, this song makes me want to rip my ears off and rip all the skin off my face! The “doggon” song bites the big one! Especially when they start yapping in the song. This song should be taken off of all copies of Thriller, and be replaced by “Say, Say, Say”.
How can I be happy when this crap comes on the radio!? Don’t tell me what to do, Bobby McFerrin! I was perfectly happy until this song came on and annoyed the crap out of me. Ooooooo! There’s no instruments. He makes all the sound effects with his mouth! Impressive! If I want that, I don’t have to subject myself to this dreck. I’ll just put on some Police Academy to watch Michael Winslow.
My favorite Debbie Gibson song. Even people who weren’t into the teen music, at the time, liked this song. It is still great today.
I still love this Chicago ballad! This was in the middle of their comeback during the David Foster years. I got sick of “You’re the Inspiration”, but I never got sick of this song. Unfortunately, the band became known more for their ballads. Their rock songs are just as good. But, “Hard Habit to Break” is one of my all time favorite Chicago songs.
This song was a breakthrough for Men At Work, and basically introduced the U.S. to Australia and vegemite sandwiches. This is a fun song, and Colin Haye has a great unique voice. The band had a great string of hits. Will they get back together already?!
This song got a lot of people into Duran Duran. The exposure on MTV didn’t hurt either. I liked it when it came out because the video reminded me of Raiders of the Lost Ark. But, even without the video, the song itself is really good.
This was Madonna at the peak of her career. This is my favorite song by her.
This is a great song without the video. But, much like “At This Moment” is linked with Family Ties, “Here I Go Again” will forever be linked with the video and Tawny Kitaen. How many of us guys wished that we were that car?!? 24 years later I still love this song. It stands the test of time for me.
A perfect rock anthem. This is a fun song, that really rocks, and is still popular today. With all the great smash hits that Def Leppard has, this is one of the best.
A really emotional song that packs quite a punch. Paul Carrack sounds great. The music and message are just awesome.
The ultimate ’80s song from the ultimate ’80s movie. You can’t think of one without the other. It even has staying power as this song is played while the losing American Idols are being booted. This song does get played alot, but somehow I cannot get sick of it.
“Don’t Stop Believin'” is one of my all time favorite songs, even after all these years. Everybody still gets into this song. And a new generation has even found it, as it became extremely popular from the television show Glee. Don’t Stop Believin’ this song will live on forever.
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Well, here is the final Hits of the Decade – Horrible and Great.
I hope you all enjoyed the articles as much as I enjoyed compiling them. In case you missed any, here are the links to each of the years. Feel free to comment on them, and leave your own lists:
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
On 8/6/10, Stuck in the 80s released their Horrible Hits of 1989 podcast. Here is their list:
10. Hangin’ Tough – New Kids On The Block
9. Buffalo Stance – Neneh Cherry
8. If I Could Turn Back Time – Cher
7. Girl You Know Its True – Milli Vanilli
6. Toy Solider – Martika
5. Stand – R.E.M.
4. If You Don’t Know Me By Now – Simply Red
3. Baby, I Love Your Way / Freebird – Will To Power
2. I’ll Be There for You, Bon Jovi
1. Wind Beneath My Wings – Bette Midler
You can see the top 100 hits from Billboard that year.
Here is my list of Horrible Hits:
This song sounds too much like a Bruce Hornsby song, which I am not fond of. “The Heart of the Matter” was a way better song off of this album.
Much like “Sweet Child O’ Mine”, this is the type of song that should be in my wheelhouse. But I just didn’t like it at all. It just gives me a headache.
This is a little too sappy for me – and I didn’t even see “Beaches” (the movie from which this is from). Sheena Easton did a way better version of this song.
This song did nothing for me. I don’t know why it was a hit.
Ditto. Real Blah
Although the last couple of songs were “blah”, I would prefer “blah” to annoying!
It’s like a whiney “Hokey Pokey”. The only song I liked by R.E.M. was “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?”, and then they disappeared.
These poor saps. If they came on the scene more recently, instead of 20+ years ago, all they would have needed was autotune. Then they would have been just as successful. Which is not a good thing.
I don’t even like the Peter Frampton version, let alone this one!
Boring! “If you don’t know me byzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I love Phil Collins, but this was probably the most overplayed among his overplayed songs.
There were also some great hits that year:
Now we’re talking! One of my all-time favorite Guns ‘N’ Roses songs. This was the perfect song for them. Axl sounds like this song belongs to him, Slash is awesome. And now that I’ve been watching Celebrity Rehab, I am very impressed with Steven Adler’s drumming in this song.
Roxette burst on to the scene with this song. This was a fun and unique song. Roxette’s first 2 albums were great.
A great ballad by this awesome band. Susanna Hoffs sounds great.
These two unique voices sound great together. Cetera was still going strong post-Chicago, and Cher was in the middle of one of her several comebacks. One of my favorite duets of the decade.
I had the cassingle of this song, and played it over and over. I kind of ruined the song for myself, but I could not get enough of it. “Look Away” was my favorite Chicago song for a while.
Another great duet from this year. Ann Wilson has such an incredible voice. And Cheap Trick’s Robin Zander sounds really good with her.
Alice Cooper was great in the ’70s. But he had a pretty good revival in the late ’80s. This is probably my favorite song by him.
This was Madonna at the peak of her career. This is my favorite song by her.
My favorite Debbie Gibson song. Even people who weren’t into the teen music, at the time, liked this song. It is still great today.
Not only was this my favorite song of the year, but it may be one of my favorite songs of the entire decade. A really emotional song that packs quite a punch. Paul Carrack sounds great. The music and message are just awesome.
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