I almost started my previous post about the song with the observation that it was the first number one that was the punchline for a dirty joke. (were there any others before this?)
Eric Weissberg has died. He was 80. I recall we talked a bit about him back when we were discussing the Mamas and the Papas on this thread several years ago; Weissberg had been in the Journeymen with John Phillips and Scott McKenzie before Phillips founded the M + Ps. Weissberg was a pre-eminent banjo player whose biggest musical cultural footprint was probably 'Dueling Banjos' from Deliverance, which nearly topped the charts back in 1972 I think.
Funny thing is that "Come On Eileen" passed me by until the mid-90s or so when 80s nostalgia started kicking in. My older siblings didn't listen to it and unlike some stuff from 1983 (Duran, Eurythmics, Bowie, etc...), this didn't seem to stay around on MTV's playlist the way I still saw some of those other videos on the channel 4-5 years later when I was a bit more cognitive. For the longest time it seemed to be more of a Trivial Pursuit question for coming in between two massive MJ classics. Then in the mid/late 90s it seemed to be reappriased as a classic from the early 80s.
on another note.... knowing who Dexy's Midnight Runners are had me be called "old" by a few friends a year or two ago at dinner. My husband is 8 years my junior (32) and we went to dinner with a married couple we're friends with (34 and 29 years old). "Come On Eileen" came on the muzak at the restaraunt and the 29 year old said something like "I like this song, who does it?" and me, the encyclopedia of 80s and 90s music immediately chimed in with "Dexy's Midnight Runners" which led to an open season on me being old for actually knowing the name of this band LOL.
That's the thing -- I did listen to the radio a lot. I had a longish commute to work and always had the radio on. So if I heard this tune, it made zero impression, positive or negative.
Don't talk about The Lovin' Spoonful! They'd probably ignore you for the rest of the evening as if you were brought in from the nursing home.
That's completely understandable. "Come On Eileen" disappeared into the ether pretty quickly following its chart run. I don't believe it got much, if any, recurrent airplay after 1983.
It gets airplay nowadays and I've heard it quite a bit over the last 25 years but I dont remember it at all later in the 80s or early 90s whereas even in 1987 they still were playing Sweet Dreams, Hungry Like The Wolf, Let's Dance and some other big hits from 1983. It seemed to blip off the radar then reemerged once the nostalgia began to kick in for this era and has remained an evergreen since
It probably disappeared more after its chart run because there was so much competition that year. So much music was released in 1983.
It was everywhere...and so was the scruffy little dude in huge overalls look...for a while. Come on Eileen, at least for me, is a tolerable song. It has a certain sing along quality that people like, the tune is simple and easy, yet I never really cared for it much. I did not dislkie the song, it just never struck a chord with me. Regardless of my take on the song, you can't deny it was very popular for a while.
I've been waiting several years to post the following (didn't want to jump ahead), but then I got very busy around Mar. 15-18 (I'm still working through this pandemic). Looking back through the posts, I didn't see this mentioned anywhere (unless I overlooked it), so (apparently) no stole my thunder. Before I state it, want to say that "Africa" is close to being my favorite song of the decade (it probably is my favorite #1). I also like the Weezer cover of it. And I don't get, nor do I care to get, this whole "yacht rock" thing. ==== ==== I remember listening to AT40 the week "Africa" got to #1. If you recall, usually after they played the #3 song, they would go to commercial, and in the lead-in to the commercial, Casey would "tease" the #1 song (e.g., "Coming up...."). On this particular week Casey teased it with "One continent replaces another!". (And yes, before anyone asks, I remember that from 37 years ago. I have never had an interest in collecting old AT40 shows, so I do not have any)
No -- close -- but no. It's been 37 years since Come On Eileen went to #1. 37 years before that is the spring of 1946. WWII ended in the summer of 1945. I get your sentiment, though.
As far as "Baby Come To Me" is concerned --- which is what your post is referring to -- whether or not you heard it definitely depended WHAT radio station you listened to. It was one of those songs that only be played on certain stations which played mellower (or what I call MOR) music.
It's pretty much a rounding error at this point. Also, the war ended September 2nd, 1945. "Eileen" hit #1 on April 17, 1983. That's 37 years and some change. It's just three weeks shy of 37 years since "Eileen" hit #1.
Well, while we're on the subject of "so much time has happened since". several days ago I read that we had just past (March 24 I believe), the point where Elvis had officially been dead longer he was alive... and to put into perspective, same will apply on Feb 7 next year where Lennon will be dead as long as he was alive, and for younger 90s stars, 2021 will also mark the points where Kurt Cobain and Tupac will also have been dead just as long as they were alive. Really sobering to think about
"Come On Eileen" was stymied from the top spot as Musical Youth's "Pass The Dutchie" was #1. Dexys spent two weeks at #2 in mid-January 1983. While the song topped the US charts, in Canada, Thomas Dolby secured his only #1 on any chart any where. It spent 2 weeks at #1. I really liked "She Blinded Me With Science" and Dolby's humor. Pretenders' hit #5 in both US & Canada with "Back on the Chain Gang". It is my favorite song on the chart. I think it still sounds fresh all these years later. Love it! Dire Straits' slightly goofy "Twisting by the Pool" peaked the week before. It was on the radio a lot as I remember, but why would it not have been a summertime single? I reckon fans scoff at it, but I think it a fun song. Was it released as single in the States? or just failed to chart? I can't recall us ever bringing up Stray Cats. I didn't care for this bluesy semi-ballad as much as "Rock This Town", "Stray Cat Strut" ended up as the group's biggest hit here peaking at #3 vs #6 for "Rock This Town" (#3 & #9 hits in the US). Unfortunately, they only had one more top 10 song in both countries in up their sleeves. Thompson Twins' "Lies" was a really fun song. I took to their songs from 1983. They clocked bigger hits in 1984 & 1985, but '83 was their best for my ears. "Lies" made it to #30 south of the border a little earlier than in Canada, but it eventually rode 2 weeks at #12 in the Great White North in May
Mine too! I dare say my top 5 would be rounded out by New Years Day, Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You), Jeopardy and Little Red Corvette.
