Robert Gordon - "Someday, Someway"

(Not Available on iTunes)

(Debuted June 27, 1981, Peaked #76, 4 Weeks on the Chart)

 Robert Gordon was a kid who grew up in the turbulent 1960s but had an affinity for the rockabilly music from when he first remembered listening to the radio. He was able to bring that raw sound to his recordings, which ironically bridged punk, New Wave and alternative. His first chart success was a collaboration with the 1950s guitarist Link Wray called "Red Hot" that was given a bump after the death of Elvis Presley despite the fact that it wasn't a tribute to him.

"Someday, Someway" was a retro-sounding song written by Marshall Crenshaw, who was similarly interested in music from the past. Opening with a great guitar riff, Gordon rode that through the song and gave it a great vocal. When Gordon's version stalled at #76, Crenshaw recorded it himself (his version was reviewed here last year) and took it into the Top 40.

The Police - "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da"

(Debuted October 25, 1980, Peaked #10, 20 Weeks on the Chart)

For the second day in a row, here's a song that was in the film The Last American Virgin but isn't really remembered for that. Which might be a good thing, as the scene with the song involved teenage boys trying to kill a case of of the crabs by drowning them in a pool. I really don't think Sting and company really had that in mind when they conceived the song.

In fact, when Sting wrote the lyrics, he was trying to make a comment about how people claimed to like high art but then still gravitated to songs like "Doo Wah Diddy" and "Da Doo Ron Ron." They were good songs, but their catchy refrains were essentially gibberish. So, he wrote a song that used some nonsense lyrics. However, once the band's reggae-like rhythms were added and a groove was created for it, it was easy to miss the meaning of the song.

I really don't know if that proved Sting's point or not.

REO Speedwagon - "Keep On Loving You"

(Debuted November 29, 1980, Peaked #1, 28 Weeks on the Chart)

While this is another song that was included in the soundtrack for the film The Last American Virgin, it is better known on its own terms. In 1981, it hit #1 on the pop chart and solidified REO Speedwagon's stature as much more than a live band. Adding the power ballad to their arsenal, it helped gather them more fans than their vaunted live sets ever could.

A listen to the lyrics reveals that the protagonist of the song is borderline possessive. His girl is beginning to look for other men and has begun to act on those impulses. It isn't really said in the song if their relationship has ended or not (though I'm guessing it has), but this poor guy isn't ready to let go of something that once seemed so right. Seen through that lens, the lines "when I said that I loved you, I meant that I love you forever" can be ominous rather than resilient. Dude...she's moving on, you need to let her go. For your own good.

In any case, "Keep On Loving You" was the first #1 hit for a band that was poised to become one of the biggest acts of the 1980s. The song was everywhere in 1981, and soon it seemed that all of their music was pulled out of the vaults because of it. That's good, because certain songs like "Ridin' the Storm Out" were too good to merely be brushed off only when a hurricane or tornado were in the area.

Jim Steinman - "Rock & Roll Dreams Come Through"

(Debuted May 30, 1981, Peaked #32, 16 Weeks on the Chart)

Before it was released as a single by Meat Loaf in 1993, "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" appeared as a Top 40 single for Jim Steinman, who wrote the material that Meat Loaf was spinning into gold. However, when the pair were recording the followup to Bat Out of Hell, Meat Loaf lost his voice and the material eventually appeared as a Steinman solo project. So, "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" was written with Meat Loaf in mind; his recording of the song was essentially righting a wrong that fate played in his life.

Actually, calling it a Steinman solo project is a misnomer. While his name was on the record label for the LP Bad For Good and he was shown in the video singing the words, the vocals were actually recorded by Canadian singer Rory Dodd. It features many of Steinman's signature styles, and listening to it after Meat Loaf finally recorded it...it really needed his wider range to work. That's not to say that Steinman's version was bad; he simply played with the cards he was dealt.

The video below has the shortened single version. On the album's extra EP, the song is faded back in and given a coda that was simply cut off for the single.

Get Wet - "Just So Lonely"

(Not Available on iTunes)

(Debuted April 25, 1981, Peaked #39, 9 Weeks on the Chart)

Here's a song that proves the maxim that everything old is indeed new again. At first, "Just So Lonely" sounded like it could have been a relic of the "girl group" sound of the 1960s with some early 1970s bubblegum mixed in. Yet it is infused with a New Wave sensibility. It's possible that the duo Get Wet were paying homage to styles they grew up with, and those were just part of the sound they wanted to project.

In any case, the record was produced by Phil Ramone, who definitely was involved in the recording of those earlier styles. He certainly had a blast putting together the record.

"Just So Lonely" was the only chart hit for Get Wet in the U.S. While they were essentially a duo of Sherri Beachfront and keyboardist Zecca Esquibel, they were supported by a backing band. On "Just So Lonely," there is a guitar solo, a sax part and a rhythm section. Those weren't done on Esquibel's keyboard. Not in 1981, at least.That type of technology was years away from being realized.

The Producers - "What She Does to Me"

(Not Available on iTunes)

(Debuted June 13, 1981, Peaked #61, 6 Weeks on the Chart)

The Producers were an Atlanta-based band that started out as a Beatles cover band called Cartoon. They soon changed direction and espoused a power-pop style that was really suited for the 1980s but really couldn't break out on a larger scale. Despite one Billboard Hot 100 single and some MTV success, the band was unceremoniously dropped by Portrait Records after two LPs. They split up in the early 1990s, but still get together from time to time to play a show.

The bridge of the song mentions a lady named Diana. Since 1981 was the same year that Lady Diana Spencer married Prince Charles and instantly became a worldwide celebrity, the timing was perfect on this song. Although I'm certain that Diana wasn't the same person, the association definitely didn't hurt.

Neil Diamond - "Hello Again"

(Debuted January 31, 1981, Peaked #6, 16 Weeks on the Chart)

As one of the three Top 10 pop singles from Neil Diamond's soundtrack to The Jazz Singer, there are two ways to look at it. That was Diamond's biggest-selling LP, so the three hits represent the artist at his peak. To some, however, it's the moment he decided to drift toward an adult contemporary style after spending a decade and a half flirting with other sounds. I guess it depends on which type of fan you are to figure out which side of the coin you take on that.

To my ears, however, "Hello Again" is a great ballad even if it's a safe performance. It's used in a dramatic scene in the movie, but in my own life there have been a few situations where I happened to find myself in places and situations I'd left behind as I moved on with my life (or, as the line goes, "I put my heart above my head").  But, in the end, when I come back, it's always great to have an open set of arms. It's that feeling that makes me so nostalgic about this particular song. 

Gino Vannelli - "Living Inside Myself"

(Debuted March 21, 1981, Peaked #6, 20 Weeks on the Chart)

"Living Inside Myself" was the third and final Top 40 U.S. pop hit of the career of Canadian singer Gino Vannelli. On the surface, it shares many similarities with his biggest hit, 1978's "I Just Wanna Stop," but when you give it another listen, it is actually a deeper and richer song.

The song was written by Vannelli, and produced by him and his brothers Joe and Ross. It begins with an electric piano, but it doesn't take much time for Vannelli's voice to take center stage. It is raw and emotional, as if he's in physical pain over his situation. Before Vanelli's later flirtations with electronic music, he's content to simply allow his own voice to tell a story, which he does superbly. In fact, there are backing singers here but it's hard to tell unless you really listen for them; that is how much his voice takes command here.

"Living Inside Myself" was also the only Vannelli song that charted higher in the U.S. than it did in his native country. In Canada, it only reached #13. It also peaked at #5 on the U.S. adult contemporary survey.

Stanley Clarke & George Duke - "Sweet Baby"

(Debuted May 2, 1981, Peaked #19, 20 Weeks on the Chart)

George Duke and Stanley Clarke are both renowned as jazz artists, but "Sweet Baby" doesn't sound so much like a jazz composition. It is pure pop, and lodges itself firmly in the head of the listener after the song is over (I mean that in a good way).

Clarke is a member of the jazz fusion group Return To Forever and a well-known bass player who's developed a distinctive style of picking and popping. As for Duke, he's well-known as a jazz musician but has evaded being pinned down by the genre. He's been a keyboardist, a singer, a composer and producer. He used all those talents on the collaborative LP The Clarke/Duke Project, and "Sweet Baby" went higher up the charts than anything they did solo. While those who are jazz fans often bemoan this fact (they feel that the LP didn't let the pair bring out each other's strengths), it is a nice pop composition that is rarely heard any longer.

In a way, that's a shame..."Sweet Baby" would fit in well as an AC song.

The Gap Band - "Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)"

(Debuted February 28, 1981, Peaked #84, 8 Weeks on the Chart)

I'm going to come right out and say it...The Gap Band is much better than many of us realize. For 43 years (1967-2010), they laid down a righteous path of funk and really didn't get a lot of appreciation for doing it. Instead, the band -- made up of the three Wilson brothers from Oklahoma -- received a great deal of respect among the R&B/hip hop crowd but were better known by pop fans as the originators of Robert Palmer's "Early in the Morning" as well as for "You Dropped a Bomb On Me."

After three singles "bubbled under" the pop charts, "Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)" finally placed them in the Hot 100. It was also their first #1 R&B hit. It lays down a classic funk groove and rides it for the full five and a half minutes of the song. There's a video below. Click it and see if you're not ready to hear some more when it's over.

Steve Carlisle - "WKRP in Cincinnati"

(Not Available on iTunes)

(Debuted November 21, 1981, Peaked #65, 9 Weeks on the Chart)

Yes, they released a longer version of the opening theme to WKRP in Cincinnati as a single. Unfortunately, it failed to chart very high; some might say that was because the show -- which began airing in 1978 and was beginning its final season during the chart run -- had been on the air too long at the time and was too "familiar," but the song was actually released as a single in 1979. I'm not sure why it still took two years to reach the national chart, but it definitely deserved better than a #65 peak.

I used to work in the radio business, and WKRP was a great show because it actually "got" what was happening in the industry. Yes, the ensemble cast was great and well-chosen, but the radio-based topics were close to what was really going on (and I wasn't in the business until a decade after the show went off the air). The lyrics of the song basically told the story of Andy Travis (played by Gary Sandy), the fictional station's new program director tasked with turning it around.

Personally, I would have liked to see a single release of the song that played during the closing credits of the show. However, as a nonsensical tune that acknowledged that CBS was going to have an announcer "presell" the next show, it just wasn't meant for a 3-minute version.  

Quincy Jones Featuring James Ingram - "Just Once"

(Debuted August 15, 1981, Peaked #17, 22 Weeks on the Chart)

This week (and all through this year), I'll make a mention of the film The Last American Virgin. While the film may have started off as little more than a standard 1980s comedy where high school buddies are devising ways of getting laid, at some point in the movie a real story broke out that made it a classic (at least, in my opinion). At the very end of the movie, the "good guy" basically gets his heart ripped out by the girl he was crazy about. As he heads off, he's crying; it isn't your standard "happily ever after" ending. Instead, it gives the movie a realism that makes it truly memorable.

And the song that was playing at the time of the not-quite-storybook ending was "Just Once." That alone places it in the pantheon of awesome 1980s movie music, but it really needs to be pointed out that the song itself is great without the visual help. Not only is it a great example of the music that Quincy Jones can come up with, but it boasts a powerful vocal from James Ingram that is just as heatbreaking as the end of the movie. That can't be said about all of the end-credit themes of the decade.

On its own, "Just Once" is a plea from a man for his on-again/off-again squeeze to try and break through the differences between them. While the relationship seems to be beset by a constant series of obstacles, this guy is certain that it can somehow work out. All he needs is just one more chance to prove it, even after all the other chances fell apart. For that reason, it was a perfect ending for The Last American Virgin; though the ending was about as subtle as a kick in the gut, you can be sure he'll still keep a light on for her in his heart despite what happened. Guys are really funny that way.

By the way...while James Ingram had some huge hits in the 1980s, but every one of them was in conjunction with another atrist (or, in the case of "We Are the World," a group of artists).

The Commodores - "Oh No"

(Debuted September 26, 1981, Peaked #4, 19 Weeks on the Charts)

This year marks the 30th anniversary of The Last American Virgin, a film that I feel is sorely underrated because it tends to get tossed in with the other high school-set comedies of the era. Yes, much of the movie's first half deserves that fate, but the film's plot takes an unexpected (and more serious) detour later on that makes it much more memorable. It also has a very good soundtrack, including this song by The Commodres. Fittingly, a song called "Oh No" appears as the movie is getting ready to enter the more serious plotline.

"Oh No" is also notable as the last Commodores hit to reach the Top 40 while Lionel Richie was a member. The tender ballad hit the Top 5 on the pop, R&B and adult contemporary charts. The lyrics expressed dismay that the narrator was falling hopelessly in love, but the object of his affection wasn't all that interested in him. That showed some depth in Richie's songwriting, and was the perfect theme song to use for the love triangle-gone-wrong in The Last American Virgin.

Steely Dan - "Hey Nineteen"

(Debuted November 29, 1980, Peaked #10, 18 Weeks on the Chart)

Steely Dan was always good for obtuse lyrics, and "Hey Nineteen" definitely fits the bill. Ostensibly about a younger girl being seduced by an older man (singer/songwriter Donald Fagen was in his 30s then), he's pointing out the fact that she isn't recognizing the things of his own youth -- she doesn't even recognize an Aretha Franklin song that's playing -- and realizing that he's no longer "with it," so to speak. However, having some tequila (Cuervo Gold) and a substance called "fine Columbian" can help bridge that age gap nicely. Being 1980, I'm fairly certain the Columbian product wasn't Juan Valdez's coffee beans.

Steely Dan was also known for using a wide range of studio musicians to achieve the best possible sound for the band's principal members, Fagen and Walter Becker. They do a great job on "Hey Nineteen," with its jazz-inspired sound that actually detracts from the "creepiness factor" that might actually be picked up by listeners (that's a good thing in this case). The backing singers, including Michael McDonald, add a smooth-sounding echo of the lyrics as the song heads toward its completion.

"Hey Nineteen" was the first single off the Gaucho LP. It was their first Top 10 single since 1974 (yes, none of Aja's three singles went that high on the chart), but the last one they would get. There was one more single before Steely Dan took a decade-and-a-half hiatus.

Lakeside - "Fantastic Voyage"

(Debuted January 31, 1981, Peaked #55,8 Weeks on the Chart)

"Fantastic Voyage" was the only Hot 100 entry for the group Lakeside, but it was the biggest of their 17 hits on the R&B chart between 1978-'90. On that chart, it went to #1 the same week it entered the Hot 100 (January 31, 1981) and stayed there for two weeks. It would later be used in a 1994 Coolio song of the same name.

Lakeside was part of Dick Griffey's Los Angeles-based SOLAR Records, but the band started in the Tri-State area around Cincinnati and Louisville and then relocated to Chicago (where their name was taken) before moving west. They were known for their electric live performances, something that didn't always translate to their studio work. With SOLAR, they were able to write and produce their own material, which they did on "Fantastic Voyage." A great funk groove drives the song and the words make it suitable for a cruise down the avenue. The band's album cover had a different kind of "voyage" in mind, showing the members on a ship and dressed as pirates.

That "pirate ship" motif and period costumes would also be used in the video for the song, shown below.

Electric Light Orchestra - "Twilight"

(Debuted October 24, 1981, Peaked #38, 10 Weeks on the Chart)

After flirting with pop and disco as the decades switched, the Electric Light Orchestra returned to its more progressive roots with its 1981 LP Time. A concept album that had a man from the present (well, 1981) finding himself in the year 2095 and dealing with the changes that have taken place. "Twilight" was the first song after the prologue that began the set, as well as the second single off the album.

At its core, "Twilight" evokes the group's mid-1970s period musically, with the noticeable addition of the synthesizer in addition to the orchestration. Fans would hear more of the electronic stuff in the future and less of the orchestration, so the song was a last hurrah in a way. It barely scraped into the Top 40 before being relegated to the jukebox that rarely gets looked at.

Balance - "Breaking Away"

(Debuted July 11, 1981, Peaked #22, 17 Weeks on the Chart)

Balance was a New York City-based pop-rock group that consisted of Peppy Castro (who was part of the 1960s group The Blues Magoos), guitarist Bob Kulick and keyboardist Doug Katsaros, with bass player Dennis Feldman and drummer Chuck Burgi joining after their self-titled first LP was recorded. Though they only managed one Top 40 hit and two chart singles, the members have contributed to a lot of music as touring performers and session players over the years.

"Breaking Away" was their biggest hit, a very tasty slice of early 1980s pop that was both radio friendly and appealed to the record buyers of the era. Despite Peppy Castro's psychedelic roots, the rest of the band was solidly grounded in the rock style and that showed in their performance of the song.

Styx - "Too Much Time on My Hands"

(Debuted March 21, 1981, Peaked #9, 19 Weeks on the Chart)

Styx is one of those bands who have very rabid fans and detractors who are just as rabid. They were a study in contrasts: too theatrical to be a hard rock band, too rock-influenced for a progressive band, able to knock out the ballads as well as the straight-ahead rockers. There was a lot that could be loved or hated about the group.

The concept album Paradise Theater was one of their finest moments. Using a defunct theater in the city's hometown of Chicago as a corollary for America between the Roaring 20s and the recent past, it had its share of theatrics as well as a healthy dose of guitar-driven rock. "Too Much Time on My Hands" was squarely in the latter group, though it was infused with a synthesizer that was integral to the overall sound and a great performance on the drums by John Panozzo. The song was written by Tommy Shaw, who also sings lead and lends a memorable guitar solo in the instrumental bridge.

There's a story in the lyrics as well, as Shaw sings about hanging out at a bar all day long and trying to seem like the most popular guy around. And he believes it, too...that is, as long as he's picking up the tab. That is something that can be extrapolated to represent many members of the "Me" generation, as well as the politicians who try to be all things to all people. For a band whose critics claimed was all pomp and theatrics, there's actually some depth to "Too Much Time On My Hands."

Sheena Easton - "Modern Girl"

(Debuted May 9, 1981, Peaked #18, 18 Weeks on the Chart)

"Modern Girl" had two different chart histories. In the U.K., it was Sheena Easton's first single and was issued as she was set to appear on the BBC program The Big Time. The show eventually helped push the single (as well as her followup single "9 to 5") into the Top 5. In the U.S., it was the followup single, as "9 to 5" -- retitled "Morning Train (9 to 5)" in the states to avoid confusion with Dolly Parton's hit -- was Easton's first Stateside hit.

"Modern Girl" is something of an updated version of a feminist anthem like "I Am Woman." This time, however, she's not saying she's as good or can do anything better; instead, she's living life on her own terms and doing her own thing. If she wants to just sit around her house after a long day at work and watching TV, that's okay. It's exactly what men have been doing for years.

Devo - "Working in the Coal Mine"

(Debuted September 5, 1981, Peaked #43, 12 Weeks on the Chart)

"Working in the Coal Mine" has been recorded several times since 1966, when it was first performed by Lee Dorsey. That version went to #8 on the pop chart and is undoubtedly the best-known version of the song. When Devo recorded it in 1981, it was kept off the LP New Traditionalists by their record label, so leader Mark Mothersbaugh let it be included on the soundtrack of the animated film Heavy Metal, where it was part of the final segment "Taarna." Interestingly, it would be the only charting single from the soundtrack, despite the presence of several big-name artists.

The song was written by Allen Toussaint, a New Orleans native who'd been writing, recording and producing since the 1950s. His influence has long been felt in the music business, even if it hadn't been overt. "Working in the Coal Mine" appeared shortly after he had done a two-year hitch in the Army, which might have helped inspire the song. There weren't that many coal mines to be found in the Mississippi delta area where he grew up.

Devo's version of the song is a radical reworking that strips the New Orleans-flavored rhythm and reworks it to fit the group's brand of post-modern electronic wizardry. They were able to bring what had been a familiar song into a new decade and put their own unique stamp on a relatively "old" standard.