The Moody Blues - "The Voice"

(Debuted August 8, 1981, Peaked #15, 17 Weeks on the Chart)

The British Invasion brought some significant changes to pop music in the 1960s, but changes in taste and generational shift have a way of altering the landscape. By the early 1980s, many of the bands that came ashore in the wake of The Beatles were nothing more than a pleasant memory. There were exceptions: The Rolling Stones were as vital as ever in 1981, The Who had not yet given their first farewell tour (though they clearly lost something when Keith Moon died) and The Kinks were still making solid albums. In the case of The Moody Blues, they evolved with the times.

In the late 1960s and early 70s, The Moody Blues experimented with classical music as they developed a unique sound. After a short hiatus in the mid 70s that saw various members work on their own projects, they returned in 1978 and featured more of an electronic sound that was more keyboard-oriented. That would be a very good thing as the 1980s dawned.

"The Voice" was the song that led off the group's 1981 Long Distance Voyager LP. It was partially a concept album inspired by the Voyager spacecraft that had made news in 1980-'81, so many of the songs were given an ethereal quality that pointed to the Cosmos. It was written by Justin Hayward, who also sings the lyrics.

Chilliwack - "My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone)"

(Debuted September 26, 1981, Peaked #22, 18 Weeks on the Chart)

Chilliwack is a Canadian group that had been together in one form or another since 1964. Their name was a native term for "going back up," as well as a small town located east of the band's home city of Vancouver. Their lineup fluctuated over the years, with singer/guitarist Bill Henderson being a constant member. Though a fairly continual presence on the hit charts in their own country, Chilliwack managed to get four singles into the Billboard Hot 100 during the 1970s, although none would reach the Top 40.

They finally got that elusive Top 40 American hit with "My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone)" in 1981. It was also their first (and only) #1 single in Canada. The song was a catchy tune, featuring a chant that would remain in the listener's head once it stopped playing. The song brought two more albums and some minor hits, but the band ended up taking a lengthy hiatus in 1984.

The Spinners - "Yesterday Once More/Nothing Remains the Same"

(Debuted February 14, 1981, Peaked #52, 8 Weeks on the Chart)

The Spinners started off 1980 with their biggest hit in years by recording a medley. It combined one hit song from the past with a new song: "Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me, Girl" was a Top 10 hit. Their next single was "Cupid/I've Loved You For a Long Time" and it returned the group to the Top 40. Not wanting to mess up their hot streak, they went to the 1970s and a Carpenters song called "Yesterday Once More" but the good luck didn't stick around.

In all three of these singles, producer Michael Zager was the author of the "new" half of the medley. While releasing the medley was likely overkill, it was probably seen as a "safe" move by Atlantic records. However, the near-disco beat of "Yesterday Once More/Nothing Remains the Same" was out of place in 1981. In fact, it was probably about two years past its expiration date.

One last thing: while John Edwards does a good job singing the words of "Yesterday Once More," he shows once again how great Karen Carpenter's rendition was.

The Korgis - "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime"

(Debuted October 11, 1980, Peaked #18, 18 Weeks on the Chart)

Today's entry features a song I didn't care for when I first heard it. At the time, it was too slow and plodding for my young hyperactive brain to focus on. It wouldn't be until literally decades later that I heard it on a rerun of Casey Kasem's American Top 40 radio shows (here's a list of stations that run the show weekly, complete with links to listen live) in 2008 and heard it with an entirely new perspective. In my case, the experiences of adulthood gave me a deeper appreciation of the lyrics.

Written and sung by Korgis member James Warren, "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" evokes John Lennon's early post-Beatles work both vocally and instrumentally. It's ironic that the song was sitting near its peak position on the chart just as Lennon was murdered. The haunting ballad would be the only chart hit The Korgis would get in the U.S. and would be re-recorded by the band as well as others over the years.

John Lennon - "(Just Like) Starting Over"

(Debuted November 1, 1980, Peaked #1, 25 Weeks on the Chart)

Since the 80s Music Mayhem blog is focusing on the year 1980 this week, there is no more appropriate song to feature today than this one. There really isn't more that I can add about the song that isn't covered (and usually better) somewhere else. Most fans understand the significance of "(Just Like) Starting Over," and how the words took on a different meaning after Lennon's short encounter with Mark David Chapman.

On December 8, 1980 I was 8 years old and had little idea who The Beatles were. So when the news broke about John Lennon's murder, I wasn't really affected by it, but I definitely saw that many around me were. So I listened to what they were saying, and eventually tuned in to his music (and that of his former group) as I grew older. Just a few years later, I was hooked on Lennon's message and was conversant enough in The Beatles' material to know which album most of their songs were on.

I'm sure I'd have eventually gotten around to listen to his material, but Lennon's senseless death was the event that caused me to pay attention to his message. And it's a message that I'm already passing along to my own daughter, who is already listening to my Beatles CDs as she does some of her chores around the house.

John Cougar - "This Time"

(Debuted September 27, 1980, Peaked #27, 16 Weeks on the Chart)

As a young up-and-coming artist, John Mellencamp made several compromises on the way to his big break. First, he was given the name Johnny Cougar by his first manager because he thought "Mellencamp" sounded too ethnic for Americans to handle, despite that fact that he was the personification of middle America. He was also given a reputation as a Hell-raiser which was only partially warranted. Finally, despite the fact that he wrote his own material, his producers and record company had the final say about what his songs would sound like.

When he recorded the LP Nothin' Matters and What if it Did, he was still under that arrangement. Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper produced it, but Mellencamp didn't have a lot of say in what the finished product would sound like despite sinking a huge amount of money into it. Though it produced two Top 40 singles that helped keep his name in the spotlight and  led to his breakthrough American Fool album, he has downplayed the result ever since.

Actually, I like "This Time" as a song. It was a single that stood out among the material around it in late 1980, even if it offered little insight into the material he would bring out once he became famous enough to revert to his given name later in the decade. However, I know from experience that things that were painful to live through aren't always great places to revisit; besides, as his own song, John Mellencamp is free to feel as he wishes about it.

Andy Gibb and Olivia Newton-John - "I Can't Help it"

(Debuted March 29, 1980, Peaked #12, 13 Weeks on the Chart)

As 1980 dawned, both Andy Gibb and Olivia Newton-John were superstars. There were other similarities, too: both were born in England (he in Manchester, she in Cambridge), both were raised in Australia and both were living at that point in the United States. At the time, there was very little downside to having the two perform a duet, so they recorded two that would appear on Gibb's After Dark LP.

After Dark produced three hit singles. Despite having one Top 10 hit and the other two reaching #15 or better, it was a relative disappointment in the face of his first two albums that sold better and produced huge #1 singles. At the same time, Gibb's behavior was becoming erratic due to what turned out to be substance control issues. As a result, Gibb would be dropped from RSO Records' roster. He turned to acting, performing in the Broadway play Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and hosting Solid Gold, as well as turning in guest roles on the shows Gimme a Break and Punky Brewster. Sadly, he passed away in 1988 just five days after turning 30.

Kenny Nolan - "Us and Love"

(Not Available on iTunes)

(Debuted February 21, 1980, Peaked #44, 8 Weeks on the Chart)

Fans of 1970s music have heard Kenny Nolan's work, even those who only know him from his 1977 hit "I Like Dreamin'." He was a writer, producer and session performer before that hit brought him out front. Among his written material are the #1 singles "My Eyes Adored You" by Frankie Valli and "Lady Marmalade" by LaBelle, and his falsetto was heard in Disco Tex and the Sex-o-Lettes' "Get Dancin'." His solo career brought "I Like Dreamin'," followed by the Top 20 "Love's Grown Deep."

"Us and Love" would be Nolan's final chart hit as a performer. While not as memorable as his earlier hits were, it still managed to barely miss the Top 40. A new album appeared in 1982, but Nolan seemed to drop from the new music landscape as fast as he seemed to appear.

The Hooters - "500 Miles"

(Debuted December 9, 1989, Peaked #97, 4 Weeks on the Chart)

For the final entry from 1989, here's a song that was literally charting at the very end of the year. It was on the Hot 100 for exactly four weeks (though one of those weeks was frozen because Billboard releases a double-length holiday issue at the end of the year). When the first survey of 1990 appeared, this song had dropped away.

This is not a version of the 1993 Proclaimers hit "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles);" instead, it's a remake of a song that was written by Hedy West and performed by several acts during the 1960s folk revival including Peter, Paul & Mary, The Journeymen and The Kingston Trio. A version with new lyrics called "500 Miles Away From Home" was a huge country/pop crossover hit for Bobby Bare in 1963.

Featuring backing vocals by Peter, Paul and Mary (clearly heard as the song fades out), the lyrics explain that a man is far from home, out of money and either too proud or too ashamed to return. It ended up being the final Hot 100 listing for the Philadelphia-based band The Hooters before being dropped bu their record label. The new decade saw them gain popularity in foreign countries just as their fortunes flagged in the U.S., so they would focus on the international market before taking a hiatus in 1995.

Tone-Loc - "Funky Cold Medina"

(Debuted March 4, 1989, Peaked #3, 18 Weeks on the Chart)

"Funky Cold Medina" is definitely a relic of the late 1980s. Built on top of a sample (from Van Halen's "Janie's Cryin'"), the song's lyrics mention Spuds McKenzie, the Love Connection TV show and even mentions the decade in one of its lines. A somewhat humorous look at dating, the narrator is relying on a potion to get lucky with the ladies but things keep going wrong. First, his dog gets the action. Next, he picks up "Sheena" at a club only to find out it was another man. Then, he finds a lady who wants to get married, which makes him get up and leave.

While it was a #3 hit, it was very similar in style, tone and subject to Tone-Loc's earlier hit "Wild Thing" and used the same guitar riff as its sample. While the kids definitely knew the difference, others may have thought they were listening to the same song. Even though both singles went platinum and the Loc-ed After Dark LP went to #1 on the album chart, the similarity may have killed his career momentum. He never had another Top 40 hit again.