Tag: 1980s

The Fixx | Walkabout

“A London-based new wave group that managed to sustain a successful career in America for several years in the mid-’80s,” reports AllMusic, “the Fixx always flirted with the mainstream with their catchy, keyboard-driven pop.” After several albums and growing success in the US, “The terse, pulsating ‘One Thing Leads to Another’ became a #4 hit.” The band, which had less success in its native UK, “kept their basic, synth-driven sound intact for 1986’s Walkabout, which featured the hit ‘Secret Separation.'”

Starting in E major, the groove-driven title track shifts to G major at 1:12, Bb at 1:44, and finally Db at 3:04. Throughout, the melody features a very un-poppy factor: a very prominent tension 11 in the melody (heard for the first time at 0:16 on the final syllable of “investi-gate“), seemingly leading the way in providing the tense atmosphere so common to the band’s output.

Dan K. Brown deserves a special mention for his imaginative fretless bass lines, which hop and skitter through the track, providing as at least as much drive to the tune as its prominent percussion or Cy Curnin’s distinctive vocals.

Teena Marie | I Need Your Lovin’

“No white artist sang R&B more convincingly than Teena Marie,” notes AllMusic. “Marie grew up in west Los Angeles in a neighborhood that was nicknamed ‘Venice Harlem’ because of its heavy black population. The singer/songwriter/producer was in her early twenties when, around 1977, she landed a job at Motown Records.”

Pitchfork notes that “despite earning (Motown boss) Berry Gordy’s approval, she worked with an assortment of songwriters over nearly three years with no luck. While rehearsing at the label’s L.A. studio one day, Marie finally got the right person’s attention: Rick James, fresh off 1978’s Come Get It!, his debut Top-10 R&B album that would launch his outrageous, sequin-studded ‘Super Freak’ era. The funk-rock svengali took an instant shine to Marie. ‘I expected to see a writer-producer … and instead I found this short, tiny white body sitting at the piano, singing like the gods had come into her spirit.’ Her production and songwriting prowess has been instructive for generations of musicians Marie has influenced over the years … Mary J. Blige, another powerhouse of R&B, cites her as a formative influence constantly. ‘It bugs me out that only 1 out of 20 people knows about Teena Marie.'”

Released in 1980 in a post-Disco era when roller rinks thrived (and, unlike dance clubs, were open to all ages on some nights of the week), “I Need Your Lovin'” clearly bears Rick James’ signature percolating bassline style. The tune’s saturated instrumentation is in high gear from its first measures, but reaches a pinnacle as it transitions from B minor to C minor at 4:11. The strings, horns, and backing vocals duel it out thereafter — both before and after a false ending at 6:11. The track reached #37 (US Pop), #9 (US R&B), and #2 (US Dance). Many thanks to MotD regular Rob Penttinen for this submission!

Stevie Wonder + Dionne Warwick | Weakness

After releasing a string of albums which rank among not only his best but the best of the 1970s as well (Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, Songs in the Key of Life, etc.), Stevie Wonder took on some film scoring work for the 1984 movie Woman in Red. The style Stevie chose for this project wasn’t focused on evocative instrumental music. Rather, he most provided some pop/R&B hits which could stand entirely on their own, propelling the film to larger success in the bargain.

AllMusic reports: ” … still not having completed the official follow-up to Hotter Than July, he recorded the soundtrack to the Gene Wilder comedy The Woman in Red, which wasn’t quite a full-fledged Stevie Wonder album but did feature a number of new songs, including ‘I Just Called to Say I Love You.’ Adored by the public (it was his biggest-selling single ever) and loathed by critics (who derided it as sappy and simple-minded), ‘Just Called to Say I Love You’ was an across-the-board number one smash, and won an Oscar for Best Song.”

“Weakness” is another contribution from our frequent guest mod scout JB. It was only an album track for Stevie and Dionne, but might have made the cut as a single for lesser artists. The track kept a much lower profile than “I Just Called … ” or even the follow-up hit “Love Light in Flight.” But it’s certainly a showcase for Stevie’s unmistakable songwriting, embossed with the high sheen of 1980s arranging and production. Starting in Db major, the tune floats forward on a relaxed, gospel-inflected 6/8 feel and Wonder and Warwick’s world-class vocal blend. At 2:36, a short but mighty multi-key bridge lands us in F major at 2:51.

Charlie Daniels | Drinking My Baby Goodbye

“Charlie Daniels accomplished something few other musicians did: he made the leap from session musician to superstar,” AllMusic notes. “The song that made him famous was ‘The Devil Went Down to Georgia,’ a roaring country-disco fusion that became an international smash in 1979.” The tune “(introduced) him to millions of listeners and giving him a career that spanned decades. In its wake, Daniels quietly shifted his emphasis from Southern rock to country.” Earlier in his career, “his big breakthrough came when he played on Bob Dylan’s 1969 LP Nashville Skyline, a credit that opened the doors for the multi-instrumentalist to play with Leonard Cohen and Ringo Starr. Daniels parlayed this behind-the-scenes success into fronting his own band … Daniels weathered fashions, trends, and politics to become a beloved American music institution.” Daniels passed away in July 2020 in his mid-80s.

Rolling Stone Australia reviews “Drinking My Baby Goodbye,” Daniels’ 1985 release: “An outlier in a catalog more often associated with good-ole-white-boy anthems and Southern gothic story-songs, this 1985 Top 10 country hit is a dancing-all-over-your-troubles rave-up. It launches with an electric guitar part that, uh, tinkers with the one in Kenny Loggins’ ‘Footloose,’ but Daniels quickly commandeers the lick for himself … Daniels charges at his lines like he’s channeling Jerry Lee Lewis: ‘Pour me another one/I’m finished with the other one!’ But it’s Daniels’ delirious fiddle that moves the crowd and tips you off that this drinking cure might just work.”

This rollicking uptempo country/rockabilly dance hall track is fueled by Daniels’ vocal, which focuses on sung melody but adds a dash of the flow-state rap he made famous with “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.” Daniels’ muscular yet agile double-stop fiddle technique is another central ingredient. A whole-step modulation cuts in at 2:56. Many thanks to Alex G. for yet another great tune!

Nancy Wilson | When October Goes

After his death in 1976, the estate of Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee Johnny Mercer revealed several unfinished lyrics. Singer/songwriter, accompanist, and music director Barry Manilow, who’d befriended Mercer in his final years, was gifted some of these lyrics by Mercer’s widow, Ginger. Mercer’s estate details that one of these lyrics was for “When October Goes.” After setting the words to music, Manilow released the resulting ballad in 1984; the track reached #6 on the US Adult Contemporary charts that year. The tune has since been covered by Rebecca Paris, Kevin Mahogany, Rosemary Clooney, and many more.

AllMusic reports “Diva Nancy Wilson was among contemporary music’s most stylish and sultry vocalists; while often crossing over into the pop and R&B markets … she remained best known as a jazz performer, renowned for her work alongside figures including Cannonball Adderley and George Shearing … By the 1990s, she was a favorite among the ‘new adult contemporary’ market, her style ideally suited to the format’s penchant for lush, romantic ballads; she also hosted the Jazz Profiles series on National Public Radio.” From the JazzIz 2018 posthumous tribute to Wilson: “(her) supple voice, natural ability as a storyteller and willingness to cross musical boundaries made her a sensation in the jazz and pop worlds … (she received) three Grammy Awards during the course of her life — the first in 1965, the last in 2007 … “

Wilson’s version of the tune was released in 1991. It starts in C minor and shifts to Bb minor at 1:51.

Swing Out Sister | Break Out

“… Swing Out Sister‘s music is unashamedly commercial pop,” AllMusic notes. The UK group’s “jazz-tinged arrangements and knack for clever hooks move them closer to the indie dance territory of St. Etienne or late period Everything But the Girl than to the cookie-cutter dance-pop of Kylie Minogue or Paula Abdul.” “Breakout” was the stand-out single from the band’s 1987 debut album, It’s Better to Travel, which AllMusic calls “a dreamy collection of mostly electronic pop songs that manages to sound warmly organic through the judicious use of real strings and horns and Corinne Drewery’s lovely voice, which recalls the throaty purr of vintage Dusty Springfield … ‘Breakout’ (was) one of the finest U.K. pop singles of the late ’80s.”

This unapologetically bouncy pop tune somehow seemed to know upfront that it would become an international smash hit, scoring top 5 chart positions in the UK, US, Canada, and New Zealand as well as prominent chart performance throughout Europe. The track swung for the fences and succeeded in nearly single-handedly establishing the band as late-80s sophistipop royalty. A whole-step modulation at 3:02 is announced by the boisterous horn section.

Many thanks to not one but two of our regular contributors, Chris L. and JB, who suggested this tune completely independently of one another!

The Pointer Sisters | Jump (For My Love)

“Jump (For My Love)” was released by the American R&B singing group The Pointer Sisters in 1984 on Break Out, their tenth studio album. The track charted in the top ten in numerous countries and was awarded the Grammy Award in 1985 for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The verses and chorus alternate between G major and A major, and a final modulation to F at 3:21.

Julian Lennon | Valotte

Julian Lennon released his debut, Valotte, in 1984, not even a full four years after his father John‘s assassination,” reports Allmusic. “The wounds were still fresh and there were millions of listeners ready to embrace the son of a Beatle, particularly when he sounded remarkably like his father on the stately piano-led ballad ‘Valotte,’ the first single from the album.” At its best, the album “demonstrated a keen ear for Beatlesque pop songwriting, drawing equally from Lennon and McCartney…by any measure the debut of a gifted pop melodicist.”

The staid, calm sound of the album’s lead single differentiated it from the often frenetic pop scene of its release year. A Rolling Stone review called the album simultaneously “exciting and irritating,” given its uncanny similarities to the work of John Lennon. The review noted “a middle-aged sensibility” in the 21-year-old Julian’s work, “reinforced by Phil Ramone’s elegant but often stodgy production, applied to unashamedly youthful themes.” Further demonstrating the multi-generational appeal of the track was its top-ten single status on the Pop and Adult Contemporary charts in both the US and Canada: not exactly a typical trajectory for a new pop artist.

While the tune’s intro and verses are in C major, the choruses progress through several keys of the moment and end on a prominent A major chord (heard for the first time at 0:51 – 1:20). The tune also ends on a sustained A major chord.

Elaine Elias | Through the Fire

In advance of striking out on her own, Brazilian jazz pianist Elaine Elias studied at Juilliard before joining Steps Ahead, “a jazz supergroup featuring Michael Brecker, Peter Erskine, Mike Manieri, and Eddie Gomez. She recorded one album with the group, Steps Ahead, in 1983,” reports AllMusic. Elias has garnered praise as a “versatile pianist and singer who has played straight-ahead jazz, fusion, and Brazilian jazz with equal skill.”

“Through the Fire,” a tune co-written by pop writer/producer David Foster, is best known for its 1984 rendition by R&B singer Chaka Khan, which reached #60 on the US Billboard pop chart, #15 on the Hot R&B/Hiphop chart, and also received substantial Adult Contemporary airplay. Elias covered the tune only a few years later, collaborating with former Return to Forever bandmates Stanley Clarke (bass) and Lenny White (drums) for her cover on her 1986 debut as a leader, Illusions.

Though the tune is primarily in Ab major, Elias provides an interlude in A major between the chorus and the return to the verse (first heard at 1:46 – 2:04). This harmonic shift is emphasized all the more by the suddenly gentler groove, which drops away almost completely at times. At 4:54, the interlude returns again, morphing into an extended outro featuring a solo by Clarke in his distinctively guitaristic electric bass style, shifting to C major along the way.

The Blues Brothers | Rawhide

“Rawhide” was written by Ned Washington (lyrics) and Dimitri Tiomkin (music) in 1958. “The song was used as the theme to Rawhide, a western television series that ran from 1959 until 1966. According to the Western Writers of America, it was one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.

The tune has been covered by Johnny Cash, The Jackson 5, The Dead Kennedys, Liza Minnelli, Oingo Boingo, Sublime, and many other artists. It was featured prominently in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers, where it saved the day as as a last-second substitute opener for an R&B/Blues band haplessly booked into a Country/Western bar. Fortunately, the band had a lot more chops than luck …

The half-step modulation is at 2:13 at the start of a short guitar feature. The tune itself doesn’t begin until the 1:25 mark. Many thanks to MotD regular Rob Penttinen for this submission!