(Debuted January 18, 1986, Peaked #28, 18 Weeks on the Chart)
Shortly after she dueted with Phil Collins on the #1 hit "Separate Lives," Marilyn Martin managed to get a followup Top 40 hit. Despite that, she's been wrongly tagged as a "One-Hit Wonder" and "Night Moves" has largely been forgotten.
Martin received her recording contract after an executive heard her backing up Stevie Nicks during the recording of her LP Rock a Little and asked her for a demo. She had been doing backing vocals for several years before that, for such acts as Kenny Loggins, Tom Petty and ex-Eagles Don Henley and Joe Walsh. After "Night Moves," Martin's follow-up album and its singles failed, and she returned to session and backup work. By the 1990s, she moved to Nashville, where she's a realtor today.
"Night Moves" is definitely a 1980s tune, with its production, it's ominous synthesizer and a guitar solo that is very much a product of its time. If that's not enough, the video below is more 1980s greatness. It plays like a straight-to-VHS video release, where Martin plays a serial killer. In an era where Miami Vice was lauded for its stylistic approach because of its obvious MTV influence, music videos returned the favor.
Personally, I was surprised she never had any more success after that.
Fully agree! Such a voice, better than nearly all of our professional lady supposed vocalists today. Who played this solo?
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