Flashback Friday Song of the Day - The Stroke - Billy Squier

Y'all know that I'm mainly a dance floor guy, but I do love a lot of different types of music, and on occasion I do loves me some good ole fashioned rock and roll.  The year was 1981 and Billy Squier was a dude who came out of nowhere with his classic rock voice and good looks and he definitely turned it up for awhile with this one...

Flashback Friday Song of the Day - Don't You Want Me - Jody Watley

The year was 1987, and former Shalamar singer Jody Watley broke out on her own in a huge way with her eponymous debut album.  The record was chock full of great mid to up tempo R&B tunes that easily worked on dance floors, songs like Looking For a New Love, Some Kind of Lover, Still a Thrill and this one, my personal favorite.  Don't You Want Me clicked on all cylinders, cracking the top ten on the R&B, Dance and Hot 100 charts.  Watley garnered a Grammy for Best New Artist based on this one and deservedly so.  I remember this was out when I had first met my ex, Joe, and we both had copies that got played out big time.  So sit back, click play and groove to this one...

Song of the Day - Rebel Yell - Billy Idol

I used to LOVE Billy Idol, so much so that I saw him in concert on more than one occasion back in the day.  I just happen to share a birthday with the punk rock singer from the 80's who had several nice hits that I loved, including this one.  Idol recently penned an autobiography, Dancing With Myself, which includes the fact that he once lived in Patchogue, NY, where I now reside.  How cool is that?  So happy belated birthday to Mr. Idol!  I actually can't believe I never posted this one before,..

In the midnight hour

She cried more, more, more

With a rebel yell

More, more, more 

Song of the Day - We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off - Jermaine Stewart

Here's a song I've been wanting to post for a few days now, ever since I heard a not so great remake of it on Robin Schulz' recent album, Prayer,  Jermaine Stewart's one and only hit, which came out in 1986, has one of those hooks that is so catchy you can't help but rock out to it whenever you hear it.  In fact, one of the things that iced using this song was that I saw a really good 80's cover band, Oel Amor, last night for my friend Sean's birthday and they covered it, sending the whole crowd into dance mode.  Oh yeah, I remember dancing to this one in my bedroom...

Flashback Friday Song of the Day - Don't Make Me Over - Sybil

Don't make me over

Now that you know

How I adore you...

I was looking for a song to post for today's Flashback Friday and I was all over the place...80's? 2000's?  last year?  rock? dance? disco?  I was so confused and undecided.  I'd gone through probably 50 songs and I wasn't happy with any of them, until this one popped into my head out of nowhere. Sybil's remake of the Dionne Warwick classic was a classic unto itself.  This is a song that I do not own...digitally anyway...and so I haven't listened to it for a long, long time.  

I'd forgotten how good a song Don't Make Me Over is.  The lyrics are so tender and beautiful, the music is soothing, and Sybil's voice!  Love it!  It always reminded me of Diana Ross' voice and I am only remembering that through listening right now.  If you were around in 1989, you're definitely gonna remember this top 20 hit, which beat the original's ranking by one.  So scroll down just a bit, click play, and then get on to whatever you were doing and enjoy this one while your doing it...

   

Song of the Day - Electric Feel - MGMT

Here's a song from psychedelic band MGMT from their 2008 debut album Oracular Spectacular.   Somehow I happened to miss this the first time it came around, but thanks to good ole Spotify, I have now added this track to my ever growing list of tunes on my iPod.  The song, to me, sounds a lot like a certain singer from the 80's who's popularity at the time reached the stratosphere.  Can you guess who I'm talking about?  Check it out and take a stab at it...

Flashback Friday Song of the Day - Under Pressure - Queen w/David Bowie

This week's Flashback Friday song was easy to choose for me.  Pressure is what I'm feeling a lot of these days and I'm always looking for something, anything, to help me to ease that stress.  Sometimes a cool song like this one lightens the mood for a couple of minutes at least and makes you forget. That's one of the great things about music...  

Flashback Friday Song of the Day - Hell Is For Children - Pat Benatar

In light of the recent allegations of child abuse against the Minnesota Vikings Adrian Peterson, we check out a classic tune by the inimitable Pat Benatar on the subject...

Song of the Day Finale - Jump (For My Love) - The Pointer Sisters

Well Labor Day Weekend is fast coming to an end and I just had to post one last Pointer Sisters' tune.  This one, to me, is just one of the funnest songs ever recorded.  The song reached #3 on the Billboard charts in 1984 and its name actually changed from simply Jump to add the Jump (for my love) to avoid confusion with the Van Halen song of the same name that was also out that year.  I always thought this one was better anyway!  Enjoy...

Song of the Day - Automatic - The Pointer Sisters

Look what you're doing to me 

I'm mentally at your whim 

All of my defenses down

Today's song comes from the Pointer Sisters' hugely successful Break Out album in 1984.  This gem features the deep vocals of Ruth to perfection, with a very electronic, very 80's music track.  It's one of four top ten hits off the record and stands as one of my personal favorites.  Check it out below and stay tuned for more Pointer Sisters on this very special weekend...

Song of the Day - Dare Me - The Pointer Sisters

Baby make your move

Step across the line

Touch me one more time

C'mon dare me

Dare Me is one of the Pointer Sisters' last great hits, peaking at #11 on the pop charts back in 1985.  It's got a nice dance groove and a very catchy chorus.  Check it out...

Flashback Friday Song of the Day - Neutron Dance - Pointer Sisters

There's no money falling from the sky
'Cause a man took my heart and robbed me blind
Someone stole my brand new Chevrolet
And the rent is due, I got no place to stay
Whoo oooh, whoo oooh

Here's a fun oldie from the Beverly Hills Cop Soundtrack way back in 1984.  The Pointer Sisters, to me, were always a much under-appreciated group even though they had a long string of 13 top twenty hits beginning in the 70's with such great tunes as Fire, He's So Shy, Automatic, Jump (For My Love) and all the way through to their last big one, Dare Me, in 1986. Sadly, June Pointer passed away without much fanfare back in 2006, and with her death, the three sisters faded into a happy yet distant memory.  Enjoy...

Flashback Friday Song of the Day - Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes

rbhsjukebox

If you were around in 1981, then you surely know this song.  Kim Carnes' Bette Davis Eyes was everywhere that year, spending nine weeks at the top of the charts and winning two Grammys, for Song of the Year and Record of the Year.  The typically 80's, mid tempo keyboards combined with Carnes' raspy voice and of course the reference to those famous orbs of the iconic actress made this one irresistible, and when I caught it on Spotify the other day, I knew I had to share it.  Enjoy and Happy Friday! 

Song of the Day - Coal Miner's Daughter - Loretta Lynn

Well, today is Thursday and we are leaving Louisville, Kentucky and heading south towards Nashville, Tennessee.  Since we're going to the country music capital of the world, how could I not post some country music?  Since I'm not really a country music person, there's not a whole lot in my repertoire to choose from. I wanted to post something that was a country classic and it doesn't get much more classic than "The First Lady of Country Music."  God, I remember watching Coal Miner's Daughter over and over when I was younger on HBO.  What a great movie!  And who could forget those Crisco commercials, lol?  Anyway, if you know the movie or even just Loretta Lynn (in which case you probably definitely know the movie), click play and take a listen to this flashback...

Flashback Friday Song of the Day - Listen to Your Heart - Roxette

Listen to your heart
when he's calling for you.
Listen to your heart
there's nothing else you can do.
I don't know where you're going
and I don't know why,
but listen to your heart
before you tell him goodbye.

Swedish pop duo Roxette had a string of hits in the late 80's, early 90's, and this was the one that endured. The song was remade by Belgian dance group DHT in 2005 and it became a worldwide hit again.  That version won over a whole new audience, including one of my former students, who knew every word to the song even though he couldn't speak English yet, and I thought that was just priceless!  Anyway, check out Listen to Your Heart and have a fantastic Friday!

For Nana, My Angel

Ugh, I've been so, so busy lately and I've had so little time to dedicate to any sort of writing, but I cannot let this day end without acknowledging a very special and solemn anniversary.  It was 20 years ago today that my nana, my mother's mother, Mary Randazzo, passed away.

Nana always was and still is one of the most special people in my life.  In many ways, she was like a second mother to me, especially during the couple of years I lived with my grandparents in the early 80's to attend Fordham University in the Bronx.  Nana was so many things, an awesome cook, a loving wife, mother and grandmother, and a selfless caregiver to anyone that ever needed her help.

She had a self-deprecating sense of humor, yet she could hold her own against her husband Joe, my loud-mouthed grandpa with a Sicilian temper, when need be.  All of us kids loved spending time with her.  She fed us, entertained us, and always had a way of making us laugh, never afraid to make a fool of herself just to get a chuckle out of the nine of us grand kids.  She'd serenade us with lines from songs like "Ride a cock horse, to Danbury Cross, to see a pink lady upon a white horse" (we'd all take turns riding her knee as she sang this), and whenever we'd leave her house from a visit, she'd say to my dad, Now George, make me look good," and then she'd appear to push our car out of the driveway with her brute force. These are the kinds of things you never forget.   (I'm smiling right now as I write this...)

This is the only picture I have of my 

nana, from when she was probably in her 20's

I'd love to tell you more about this very special person, but unfortunately I am short on time.  I will get to it, though.  There's so much to say about this wonderful lady who was full of life and full of love and that everybody loved back.  A few weeks ago, when I had my Tarot cards read, the psychic told me that I've inherited a lot of traits from her and that she is out there somewhere looking down on me and rooting me on. I have the opportunity to live a life that she would have liked to live, using the gifts that she passed down to me, and I want to make her proud.  Ever since that day, I've felt a little better knowing that even though she's been gone for 20 years, she's still there, watching over me.  She's my angel...

To see more of what nana was like, check out A Weekend Full of Memories.

Flashback Friday Song of the day - Tell It to My Heart - Taylor Dayne

Earlier this week it was announced that Long Island native and late 80's/early 90's pop star Taylor Dayne will be performing at this year's Long Island Pride Parade in Huntington Village on June 14th.  Taylor always had a powerful set of pipes that worked well on the dance floor and in ballads, too.  The singer's had several big hits, including a cover of Barry White's Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Love Will Lead You Back, I'll Be Your Shelter, With Every Beat of My Heart, and more.

Ever since I heard the announcement, I've been singing some of her tunes in my head, especially this one. Tell It to My Heart is a high-energy dance record that was Dayne's first big hit in 1988.  The video is very reminiscent of Madonna's Lucky Star, and I think it makes a great way to start the weekend!  Enjoy!

  

Song of the Day - Nuclear Season - Charli XCX

This week might just be dubbed an unofficial new music week as I share another one of my friend Sonny's picks on the mix CD he made for me.  This one's by Charli XCX, who appears on Saturday's Song of the Day, Fancy by Iggy Azalea, and it's very 80's.  Check out Nuclear Season...

 

Flashback Friday Song of the Day - Keep On Movin' - Soul II Soul

Our Flashback Friday Song of the Day goes all the way back to 1988 and this kind of percussive groove would become the signature sound for the short-lived, but fantabulous band Soul II Soul, whose sound became popular and would be replicated in many forms for several years throughout the late 80's and early 90's.  Enjoy!

    

Flashback Friday Song of the Day - New Attitude - Patti LaBelle

Here's a feel good song I had forgotten about until I heard it somewhere yesterday.  Ooh, this one got a lot of plays on my record player back in the day, lol.  Happy Friday!