Sorry for jumping ahead a bit, but the singles were not released in the same order in all countries ... Spoiler "Dr. Heckyll & Mr. Jive" was the third single in the U.S., released in September 1983. "Overkill" is one of the greatest singles of the 80s - should have been a #1 (it might win that prize in my 1983 year-end review).
Yep. Overkill is why I think Be Good Johnny didn't have a U.S. release. They were sitting on Cargo for a hot minute and waited until Down Under had run it's course and Business As Usual started to slow down (it was still in the top ten when Cargo debuted) and Overkill came first. Probably should've been their third #1 but it was held off from two gigantic smash singles in the top two. Be Good Johnny as a single would've been another huge hit which would've delayed Cargo further
I honestly think the "Best New Artist" curse is more of a theory than a reality. There have been some headscratchers (A Taste Of Honey winning the same year that saw the debuts of Prince, The Police, Van Halen, Dire Straits, Kate Bush and The Cars being one that is a "WTF" in hindsight) but while there have been acts who fell off the face of the earth shortly after, Men At Work being a prime example as the hits evaporated after their second record... there's also been examples like The Beatles, Carpenters, Carly Simon, Bette Midler, Natalie Cole, Sade, Mariah Carey, Sheryl Crow, Alicia Keys, Maroon 5 and Adele who certainly lived up and delivered onto their promise.
I didn't hear the Bow Wow Wow song "I Want Candy" at the time, especially since it didn't make the Top 40 -- either I wasn't listening to the right stations, or it didn't do well in my part of the country (or a little of both). Anyway, I had to eventually like (or tolerate) this version of the song, as doing so seemed to be a requirement of every girl I dated later on. But I prefer the original. It happened that right around this time I was heavily into '60s music, and there were a lot of covers of '60s songs around this time ('80s up to this point). I realize now that covering songs was just one way to go, but there were enough of them (covers) floating around in the early '80s that I began to wonder if the newer groups had the chops to write their own songs, since covering a song (and not having to write one) could be looked at as an easy way out.
Funny you would say that, because I barely heard "I Want Candy" in Phoenix, but their next "hit" was huge in Phoenix because the local music video station that spun up in March of '83 played the video incessantly. I've gotta remember to talk about Channel 61 when the time comes, because it was a very interesting local oddity and might have been at least partially responsible for a subsequent US #1 single being as successful as it was.
No, there were plenty of big '80s ballads that lacked the massive guitar solo - not that Neil couldn't have pulled one of those off (in fact I wouldn't be surprised if he cut one himself). In fact one of the biggest, most iconic hits of the era was in that traditional, Manilow-esque mold.
Jive is FINALLY releasing late 80’s-90’s classics on vinyl. I had no idea Britney Spears was even a thing anymore but they put out her first five or so albums, but as is a problem sometimes, I had no idea. Now they are on ebay for a small fortune. I found out because of all places, Target has her debut album. I found In The Zone on the bay for a cheap (compared to others) $45 only because it was used. What a fantastic album (it is the one with Toxic). I think that was her last album that had excellent melody with an urban sound. Anyway, hope whoever owns Jive now continues, and puts them out in greater numbers if her stuff is selling out quickly. Will be fun to discuss future Jive/Zomba artists. I thought I was going to have to bail out with little to contribute once we got to the mid 80’s, but this thread continues to be fun, and I’m still familiar with a lot of the material.
My guess is votes for the others cancelled out. The gals in A Taste Of Honey were super talented themselves, though. I've often wondered what might have become of them if they'd hooked up with a more prominent producer and crack songwriters.
No head-scratcher here. Anyone who has, or had heard A Taste Of Honey's debut album will know they deserved it.
Joe Jackson | "Steppin' Out" is one I have yet to comment on though others have brought the song up. As a 12 year old in 1979, "Is She Really Going Out With Him" was a favorite of the year, and I had never been out with anyone in my life! Three years later, and "Steppin' Out" still didn't see me steppin' out, but I loved the song. I saw JJ live mid-September as the single was moving up the charts, and Joe Jackson blew me away. Night and Day became my favorite album, bar none for the rest of my life thus far. Fan boy, here. I really loved the breezy and almost exotic feel of the song for a mid-teen on the prairies. I liked guitar rock plenty, but this non-guitar pop really helped broaden my horizons even more.
I was (and still am) heavily into Joe Jackson from this general time period, but I prefer the two 1979 albums (Look Sharp and I'm the Man) to Night and Day. I don't dislike Night and Day, I just don't like it as much as the earlier ones. I do like Night and Day more than the 1980 album Beat Crazy. I've never heard Jumpin' Jive except for one song.
Maybe A Taste Of Honey's debut album was good, but when you consider they emerged on one of the biggest years ever for debut artists, they're not the ones most people would name if you did a Family Feud poll to name an artist whose debut album came out in 1978, maybe not even in the top 10
Speaking for myself (and I'm not a journalist, so maybe my opinion doesn't mean squat) - I had not heard of either Prince or Kate Bush at the end of 1978 - I had just barely heard of The Cars (maybe by "Just What I Needed"?) - I would not hear of Dire Straits until 1979 (via "Sultans of Swing" single) and I had heard of Van Halen (by way of "Dance the Night Away" single) and The Police (by way of "Roxanne" single and also possibly "So Lonely" (if I remember correctly)). A Taste Of Honey had had a #1 single at the time. I can see where --- here in 2020, yes you'd say that not many people would know of A Taste of Honey. But we are talking about the beginning of 1979. I can see where there might have been a split vote between some of the other acts (I'd guess between the Police and the Cars).
And, remember, there was widening gulf between rock and R&B/disco in 1978. Fans of one genre certainly heard music from the other genre, but a lot depended on what music you were focused on. A Taste Of Honey was huge in late 1978 because of their hit "Boogie Oogie Oogie". But, after that, they were regulated to the soul chart and radio.
Next is "Up Where We Belong" by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes, #1 from October 31 - November 20, 1982.
From a production standpoint, this song kind of is a blueprint that seems to be followed by countless ballad hits to follow for the net 10 years, that keyboard into, those synth being placed in there in a specific way... it ended up becoming a formula that drove me nuts with it's repetitive style, even though it was done by a myriad of different producers all copying themselves.
"Up Where We Belong" My only response: I hate it so very much. It hit #1 for 2 puke-y weeks in Canada Nov/Dec.
I was Joe Jackson fan and owned a bunch of his albums - Look Sharp!; I’m the Man; Beat Crazy; Night and Day; Big World; and Live 1980-1986. I really liked that he followed his own path. “Steppin’ Out” is great - one of his best. The Grammy nominees were: A Taste of Honey; The Cars; Elvis Costello; Toto; and Chris Rea. I personally think it should have been a slam dunk for Elvis Costello, but I’m biased being a huge EC fan. That being said, I think A Taste of Honey was a worthy winner. They were an excellent R&B group and definitely NOT in the Debbie Boone/Starland Vocal Band category of Grammy embarrassments.
I liked this. I don’t think it’s particularly impressive lyrically or as a tune,, but Joe Cocker’s vocal makes it sound interesting. Of, course Joe Cocker could make “Ring Around the Rosie” sound interesting. On second thought, “Ring” is far more interesting lyrically...
Up Where We Belong It sounds like a movie soundtrack song. Non-offensive, just dull. I've never liked Jennifer Warnes' voice for some reason. Joe Cocker is way past his prime here. He had some great singles in the late 60s/early 70s ("Feelin' Alright", High Time We Went", etc.) And as far as Cocker ballads go, "You Are So Beautiful" walks all over this.
My Chicago comps use to include the 80s hits. But when they came on, I always skipped them. They sound so similar. Too many "simple songs," as trombonist James Pankow accurately observed. Now, my Chicago comps end at about 1978.
And then of course, Ms. Warnes herself . . . On the plus side, though, Mr. Cocker was in the process of pulling himself together after years of living in a drunken, drug-induced haze.
