Another fun week over at Jingle, Jangle, Jungle who came up with another great set of themes this week. She is also contributing to the A To Z Challenge with her 80s hits and I am thoroughly enjoying listening to all these songs which I know so well having danced to many of them in my 20s....and 30s..well, even now. You should check it out and enjoy some fun tunes but, just so you know, here are her 3 themes for this week.
A SONG WITH "RADIO" IN THE TITLE
A SONG WITH "RAIN" IN THE TITLE
A SONG WITH "RUN" IN THE TITLE
1. VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR-THE BUGGLES-1979
I had no clue this song came out back in 1979 when I was still in High School, Grade 10 to be exact. I just remember dancing to this tune in many disco dance clubs back in the 1980s. There was a big concern that the video would kill music as we know it. Some musicians wanted to have no video and just let us envision what we think the music is about, not be told. Funny, I always hated this group's name because it reminds me of the word buggery....yuck.
2. HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN-THE EURYTHMICS-RELEASED 1983
Yes, "Singing In The Rain" was the very first song that came into my head but I have spoken about the film so often I went with my next choice which is from this group headed by the very weird Dave Stewart and the equally strange Annie Lennox. Annie Lennox has an amazing voice, so unique and versatile who exploded onto the music scene with her androgynous look and orange hair. There is so much more to this fine lady and this band had many hits.
3. RUNAWAY-DEL SHANNON- 1961
I am certain many of you can tell me the history of this song and I know it is considered a true classic. I recall going to a great bar, in Kitchener, Ontario, called Lulu's. Back in the day it laid claim to being the biggest gin joint in the world and the actual longest bar in the world as well. I have no idea, all I know is I enjoyed drinking many zombies there before I actually became one and tried to walk across the dance floor. My best friend and I would spend money on balloons that carried different meanings of which we always chose purple (never white..please I'm as pure as the driven slush) before heading out onto the dance floor. We saw The Byrds(I think there may have been 1 or 2 original band members there) but we also saw Del Shannon, I think, 2 or 3 times. He always played this song and we always danced to it. We would wave to him, if we saw him with our booze-soddened eyes and kept dancing. When we found out he committed suicide, we were very upset and saddened by this and so we would play this song as we had a couple (or more) drinks in his honour.
What can you think up?
Hi, Birgit!
ReplyDeleteI like your Song Challenge picks, dear friend! That Buggles biggie was sampled in the seamless medley of cover fragments released by the Dutch studio-conceived soundalike tribute band Stars On 45. The 7-inch extended length dance single was hot in clubs in the early 80s, and I went to see Stars On 45 at a club in Harrisburg, PA, during that period.
I well remember The Eurythmics "Rain" hit. The music video was played often on the MTV style station where I worked in the 80s.
Yessum, the story of Del Shannon came to a tragic end, but his music and legacy as a great rock & roller live on. Thanks for naming his signature song and its significance in your life. Based on your account of boozy nights dancing at Lulu's, I'd say you would have made an excellent Shady Dell "Dellette." :)
Here are my picks in the Challenge categories:
RADIO SONG: I have two. The first is "On The Radio," a top 5 charting single for Disco queen Donna Summer in early 1980.
The second, this time in the classic 80s hair band/pop metal category, is "Turn Up The Radio" by Autograph. The lead single from their 1984 debut album Sign In Please, "Turn Up The Radio" was released at Christmas, 1984,and reached the top 30 in early 1985. The video was a played in heavy rotation on MTV.
RAIN SONG: I'm going with the obscure novelty hit "Don’t Let The Rain Come Down (Crooked Little Man)" by The Serendipity Singers, a record that brushed the top 5 in the spring of 1964.
RUN SONG: I've got three runs in one - "Run Run Run" by the studio group The Third Rail featuring the lead vocals of Joey Levine, the King of Bubblegum records. (You mentioned going to that Ontario bar called Lulu's. As lead singer of another group, The Ohio Express, Joey Levine has a top 3 hit in the summer of '68 with the song "Down At Lulu's.") In the late summer and early fall of 1967, Joey's "Run Run Run" made it halfway up the BB chart. The record was played frequently on the campus radio station when I arrived to begin my four years of "high and yearning" at Penn State.
Thanks, dear friend BB. I'll see you tamale "At The Movies!"
First paragraph should read "12-inch extended length dance single."
DeleteI’m glad you like my choices and I will need to listen to yours tomorrow when I get a chance. I know the Donna Summer song and her voice was so strong. She truly had an amazing voice and I think she could have done opera if trained. I am honoured to think I could have been a dell rat. I did enjoy imbibing in my day.
DeleteNo clue on radio. I got the movie Radio Days stuck in my head and could not move. Singing in the Rain was first thought too and I also picked Runaway.
ReplyDeleteFunny because I thought of Radio Days but thought it was a movie
DeleteYou saw The Byrds and Del Shannon live? Wow.
ReplyDeleteI know! My friend and I were shocked that they were in Kitchener which is not a huge city by any means. It was a lot of fun.
DeleteI heard this on the radio a few times since I was 9 like it was far out or something. 41 years ago I thought the radio only played serious boring stuff like the news and then boom! I switched this on. Video killed the Radio Star! I got a shock.
ReplyDeleteThat’s a fun memory!
DeleteRush - Spirit of Radio
ReplyDeleteWhitesnake - Crying in the Rain
And Iron Maiden - Run to the Hills!
All three today. Easier to do later in the day when my brain is working.
Even though they are not my favourite type of music, I will take a listen to them
DeleteAnnie Lennox is wonderful! One of my favourite singers.
ReplyDeleteShe is great!
DeleteI've actually heard of two of these, but not the first one. I'll have Del Shannon and Annie Lennox in my head all night, now.
ReplyDeleteThose last 2 are great but I also enjoy the first one.
ReplyDeleteOh, 3 amazing songs. I love "Runaway" as it gets me thinking of the film Song to Song which is a film I really liked though I can understand why many didn't like it but then again, it's a Terrence Malick film. "Here Comes the Rain" is my all-time favorite Eurythmics song as I was 3-5 years old when that song came out as it still feels fresh in my mind.
ReplyDeleteHi sis... I had no idea you were a "regular" at Lulu's. I only ever made it there once to see a blues man named Jimmy Vaughan... Stevie Ray's brother and a legend in his own rite.
ReplyDeleteI hate the fact that certain ultra-popular songs are the first to enter my head when I read your key words. I refer to resort to them and try and come up with something a bit more original. For the word "radio", I've come up with Radio Radio by Elvis Costello and the Attractions, one of his bigger hits. Did you know he is married to Canadian songstress Diana Krall? That's quite the musical pairing. Costello is a true musicologist.
For the word "Rain", I arrived at The Beatles and their song simply called Rain. I love the innovative bass playing of McCartney on this tune.
And for the word "Run" I'm going with Creedence Clearwater Revival's Run Through the Jungle. Love that swamp rock and there aren't many voices for distinctive than John Fogarty's.