The Jets - "Make it Real"

(Debuted April 16, 1988, Peaked #4, 20 Weeks on the Chart)

Between 1986 and '88, The Jets had five singles reach the pop Top 10, which might be surprising to those who weren't around in the era. The last of those Top 10 hits was "Make it Real," which would also turn out to be the group's last Top 40 hit before the original lineup splintered apart and focused on other projects and interests. The group didn't break up in the sense that many bands do, since the members are all brothers and sisters. They were eight siblings (out of 17) from the Wolfgramm family, of Tongan ancestry but raised in Minneapolis.

In "Make it Real," the lyrics express a hope that -- on the anniversary of their meeting -- a couple still has a chance to get together. She still holds a flame in her heart, but he wasn't ready to settle down. There are two ways of looking at this: the first one says that she's being vigilant, while the other one wants to tell her to get over him if he isn't calling her back. In addition to reaching the pop Top 10, it was their second #1 single on the adult contemporary chart.

The Jets - "You Got it All"

(Debuted November 15, 1986, Peaked #3, 26 Weeks on the Chart)

At the time, 1987 started off as a really good year for me. I was 14 years old and beginning to experience some of the extra freedom I was being given as a result of showing that I was mature enough to handle it. One of the things I did at that time was a monthly dance my church youth group had that let me go all the way to Syracuse and meet with kids from other towns around Upstate New York. And while there was the regular church-related stuff we had to sit through, there was one reason I really looked forward to the third weekend of every month.

You probably guessed it...there was a girl there. Brenda was a redhead, which has long been a particular weakness of mine. "You Got it All" was a hit around that time, and the song was played at the dances. I must have danced with her to this song at least once, because I still think of her when I hear it.

I haven't seen or heard about Brenda since I graduated from high school. And while I'm sure she's forgotten all about me by now, it would be great to find out how she's doing. Not to see if there's any spark left (after all, I'm happily married with a child and assume she is as well); rather, I'd love to see how a long-lost friend has been spending the last twenty-plus years.

"You Got it All" was one of five Top 10 pop hits for The Jets between 1986 and '88. It was also one of two #1 adult contemporary singles for them as well. The group was a family act, consisting of eight siblings originally from Tonga. The vocals were done by Elizabeth Wolfgramm, who was the same age as I was (well, she still is, come to think of it). The song was written by Rupert Holmes, who hadn't had any hits of his own since 1981's "I Don't Need You" -- featured on this blog back in March -- and had branched out into other music-related interests.

That's the power of music, especially music from your own youth. Even a quarter century later, hearing a song can take you back to a moment in time that would otherwise be lost forever.