Don Johnson’s ‘Heartbeat’ - Your thoughts?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by thnkgreen, May 2, 2021.

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  1. thnkgreen

    thnkgreen Sprezzatura! Thread Starter

    Location:
    NC, USA
    I know zero about Don Johnson’s music career, being familiar only with Miami Vice. One day I stumbled across the track ‘Heartbeat’ on YouTube and... well.... guilty pleasure... I like it. Anyone else like this track, or any of Don’s music? Any other favorite tracks? I couldn’t find any threads on the subject.

    Also, is that Dweezil Zappa on the solo of ‘Heartbeat’?

     
  2. Bill007

    Bill007 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boynton Beach, Fla
    I remember liking the song very much. Pure 80s.
     
  3. LeBon Bush

    LeBon Bush Hound of Love

    Location:
    Austria
    First heard it on the video game Grand Theft Auto V as a teen and liked it quite a bit. Bought the Heartbeat LP some time ago and it's not too shabby, either. The track "Heartache Away" is a true standout in my book:

     
  4. DPK

    DPK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southeastern U.S.
    Google says "Yes, it is."
     
  5. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    When Johnson's version came out, I thought it was weak sauce compared to the original by Wendy Waldman, who co-wrote it. Hers came out 4 years earlier. Oh, and Peter Frampton does the guitar solo:

     
    Last edited: May 2, 2021
  6. LeBon Bush

    LeBon Bush Hound of Love

    Location:
    Austria
    I forgot the track "Star Tonight", written by Bob Seger and featuring Willie Nelson on backing vocals:

     
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  7. LeBon Bush

    LeBon Bush Hound of Love

    Location:
    Austria
    Sounds almost like a Pat Benatar song - thanks for sharing, I didn't know this before :righton:
     
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  8. Barney_Tabasco

    Barney_Tabasco Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    still have this on vinyl somewhere. I like it!
     
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  9. LeBon Bush

    LeBon Bush Hound of Love

    Location:
    Austria
    Yeah, me too! :agree:
     
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  10. Don also co-wrote some s0ngs with Dickey Betts.
     
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  11. DanaDotCom

    DanaDotCom Forum Resident

    Location:
    Syracuse NY
    Helen Reddy also recorded "Heartbeat". It's the closing track on her '83 album Imagination.
     
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  12. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    honestly? it's not my cup of Earl Grey...
     
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  13. sillycornelius

    sillycornelius Forum Resident

    Location:
    Raleigh
    I'm just here to thank you for creating a Don Johnson "Heartbeat" thread. Didn't see that one coming. And I had no idea Dweezil played the solo so thanks for that as well! :righton:
     
  14. zipzapzopzoup

    zipzapzopzoup Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    Same here, except for the being a teen bit. I have strong memories of Don and Miami Vice from the 80s (I was 8 in 86), but had no idea he sang too!
     
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  15. piston broke

    piston broke Forum Resident

    I remember expecting to hate it - which was a bit of premature adjudication as I liked it on first listen, and still dig it out occasionally.
     
  16. kouzie

    kouzie Forum Resident

    Location:
    Batavia, IL
    IIRC, Stevie Ray Vaughan is on one of the album tracks as well.
     
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  17. curbach

    curbach Some guy on the internet

    Location:
    The ATX
    Don’t sleep on the other Miami Vice guy. He released an album too :rolleyes:
     
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  18. mtvgeneration

    mtvgeneration Forum Resident

    Location:
    CA
    Best pop-rock song by any famous actor turned solo artist.
     
  19. Solly Bridgetower

    Solly Bridgetower Elton is my golden God of music. Deal with it.

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    Two of them, actually. And they both suck. Real bad.
     
  20. saturdayboy

    saturdayboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    Are you sure about that? There’s quite a few to chose from.

    I remember thinking it was decent pop song when it came out, but wondering shouldn’t the chorus go “I’m listening for a heartbeat” ?
     
  21. saturdayboy

    saturdayboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    We need an answer to this!!!
     
  22. Fullbug

    Fullbug Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle
    There's an obscure Tom Petty song on that record, if I recall correctly.
     
  23. mtvgeneration

    mtvgeneration Forum Resident

    Location:
    CA
    Not entirely, but it's up there and Google "best songs by actors" digs it up in a select top-of-the-page batch. There probably are some other very good pop-rock songs by actors that I haven't heard, less likely to have become big hits.
     
  24. manicpopthrill

    manicpopthrill Forum Resident

    Location:
    ICT, Kansas
    It’s god awful, but we used to have fun parodying/making fun of it so there’s that. Good for a laugh.
     
  25. Duke Fame

    Duke Fame Sold out the Enormodome

    Location:
    Tampa, FL
    Dweezil talks about it at about the 2:10 mark of this video from earlier in the year. The video was for a guitar sale of his.

     
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