Flashback Friday Song of the Day - When I'm Gone - Rockell

When I'm gone 
Will you take good care of everything? 
Will you keep wearin' your wedding ring? 
When I'm gone... 

And when I'm gone 
Will you take out all the photographs 
Maybe spend a moment in the past 
When I'm gone... 



Here's one of my all time favorite songs.  If you don't know it, it's in the freestyle genre, though it came out way after that style of music had faded.  When I first heard it, I imagined it to be about someone who was dying, which would have made the song even sadder than the breakup song it already is.  Check it out...

Flashback Friday Song of the Day - Spring Love - Stevie B

Happy Friday!  Today we celebrate Flashback Friday and freestyle with one of the most successful freestyle artists of the entire movement.  Stevie B had a slew of hits in the 80's, beginning with Party Your Body in 1987 and several others in ensuing years, including this one, my personal favorite! Earlier this year, Pitbull even did an updated version of the song, which you can check out right here.

Stevie B - Spring Love Version (MSM) by marceloMSM

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Freestyle Week Song of the Day - I Wonder If I Take You Home - Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force

One of the most popular groups to come out of the freestyle movement was none other than Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam.  Their first album, an eponymous collaboration with rap group Full Force released in 1985, produced three hit songs: I Wonder If I Take You Home, Can You Feel the Beat, and All Cried Out, and in the years that followed the threesome also hit it big with Head to Toe, Little Jackie Wants to Be a Star, and Lost In Emotion.  Here's their very first tune:

 

LISA LISA - i wonder if i take you home by FunkyBoy-69

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Freestyle Week Song of the Day - Together Forever - Lisette Melendez

Here's some classic freestyle from a classic freestyle artist. The year was 1991.  Good enough to get you going on Hump Day...

Together Forever - Lisette Melendez from Forever Freestyle on Vimeo.

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Freestyle Week Song of the Day - Maria - TKA

Wikipedia

Today in Freestyle Week is one of the most successful guy groups of the 80's.  TKA was made up of Tony Ortiz, Louis "Kayel" Sharpe, and Alejandro "Aby" Escoto (later replaced by Angel "Love" Vasquez.  Thus the group's name, TKA.  These boys had it going on back in the freestyle heyday, amassing 11 dance hits, beginning with their first, One Way Love (#8 in 1986), and ending with this one in 1992 (#16).  Check out Maria below, which features the boys performing the tune in more recent years:


 
TKA - MARIA from CampFireFilms on Vimeo.

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Freestyle Week Song of the Day - Come Into My Arms - Judy Torres

This weekend has inspired me to declare a theme for the week, and it's of a genre of music I haven't listened to in a long, long time.  Freestyle music, a Latin-infused form of club music that had a sound all its own, was one of the hottest things to come out of the 80's.  Many freestyle artists flourished during the decade and even for a little while in the 90's, and their tunes are still enjoyed by legions of fans everywhere.

One such fan is my new pal Ricardo.  Ricky is one of the guys I spent the weekend with and he is a big freestyle fan.  During our final cleanup of the cabin yesterday, he popped on a freestyle mix that was slammin'.  Now I just love to clean house to good dance music, and to do it with other people who were jammin' right down with me was extra-fun.

And so I'm going to dedicate this entire week to freestyle music, and I'm going to start with Ricky's favorite freestyle artist, Ms. Judy Torres, who had her fair share of hits back in the day.  Judy is so endeared that not only her music has lived on, but herself, as well.  Today she is a successful radio deejay and still adored by thousands upon thousands of fans, like Ricky and like me.  This one was one of her first, and still a favorite of mine.  Enjoy and Happy Monday!

Come Into My Arms - Judy Torres (iKandy Video Edit) from DJ Kidd Mixx on Vimeo.

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Song of the Day - Hooked On You - Sweet Sensation

I was out at Nuts & Bolts last night and the deejay got into a mix of old school freestyle.  The tunes by those 80's Freestyle girl groups like Cover Girls, Expose, and these gals were among some of the best of that era.  Here's one of my favorites...funky! 

Sweet Sensation Hooked on You by Celtiemama

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Flashback Friday Song of the Day - Can You Feel the Beat - Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam

In the mid-eighties, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam was absolutely fierce! Can You Feel the Beat was the second single off their debut album with rap group Full Force, and it fared best as a dance song, where it peaked at #6 in 1985.


Lisa Lisa Cult Jam - Can You Feel The Be by jpdc11



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Song of the Day - Spring Love - Stevie B.

It is Easter weekend and spring is definitely in the air!  Feels so good!  Here's a perfect song for the season:


Stevie B - Spring Love Version (MSM) by marceloMSM






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Flashback Friday Song of the Day - Hooked on You - Sweet Sensation

Good morning and Happy Friday!  I'm in the mood for a little freestyle today, and here's one of my favorites.    This was the gals first single back in 1986.  Oh so freestyle good!  Enjoy!

Sweet Sensation - Hooked On You (Maxi) by josehiphop

iTunes

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Song of the Day - Do You Miss Me - Jocelyn Enriquez

The radio plays our favorite song 

And that's what keeps me holding on 

Baby do you miss me 

Now that I'm gone

Oh yeah, Freestyle Friday!  Though this one came out in 1996, waaay after the freestyle movement of the 80's, it was rare freestyle fun a few years after the fact.  Jocelyn Enriquez was hot in the mid-nineties, with hits such as this song and another favorite, "A Little Bit of Ecstasy."  She was also one third of the fabulous Stars on 54, along with Amber and Ultra Nate singing the slamming, disco "If You Could Read My Mind" from the hit movie "54."  Ah, the memories!  Happy Friday!  

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Song of the Day - Point of No Return - Exposé

One of our local radio stations on Long Island, "Party 105," runs (or used to run?) something called "Freestyle Fridays," a weekly hour-long flashback to the great freestyle music of the 80's. Since I am a big fan of that style of music, I thought I'd bring a lil' bit of that here to John's World.

"Point of No Return" was one of the first big hits by freestyle girl group Expose' and it has an easily recognizable synthesizer run. Typical of the freestyle music of the time, it's fast moving, catchy and oh so danceable! Just click play and enjoy!

Happy Freestyle Friday!








Image Source: RobsRecordsCDsDVDs

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Song of the Day - Together Forever - Lisette Melendez

It's Freestyle Friday on John's World today, with one of the best tracks of the era! BTW, whatever happened to Lisette? I used to LOVE her!








Image Source: Planet Lyrics

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Song of the Day - When I'm Gone - Rockell

Source: Last-fm

I was so disappointed that there is no video for this song! I thought I'd change things up a bit today and go a little back in time, to 1999, with this great, great song. It's a little after the popularity of the genre back in the 80's, but this one is bona fide freestyle, and I don't think it ever became as popular as it could have been.

I've never really quite been sure what the song is about, whether she's dying or whether they're breaking up somehow. I'm still not exactly sure but I love the song!





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M is for The Mexican

He's called Fernandez
Livin' on a gun
Dreams of Santa Anna
Fighting in the sun

Long before David Guetta there was a deejay/producer named John "Jellybean" Benitez. Jellybean had a few hits back in the 80's, including "Who Found Who?" with Elisa Fiorillo and "Sidewalk Talk" with then girlfriend Madonna. (Jellybean played the part of Miss M's boyfriend in her "Borderline video.)

This one was more of a club than a pop hit, in fact it was Jellybean's first #1 Dance song. I used to play my 12" single of "The Mexican" out! The song is a cover of an earlier tune by a band named Babe Ruth and Janita Haan, who sang the song originally, sang on this one, too! I haven't heard this one in a long time, and I still remember the words...









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N is for Plenty of Great Songs

Happy Saturday everyone! Well, we're up to the letter "N" in our quest to finally get through this long overdue Z to A Blogger's Challenge, and like I've done with other letters before, the letter "N" has quite a few noteworthy musical connotations for me...



N is for Naughty Girls (Need Love, Too)

Before Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, and Kim Kardashian there was Samantha Fox. Samantha Fox was a British poster model back in the 80's who turned to music with the help of Full Force (famous for working with Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam). It's funny, my brother and I loved her for very different reasons....he always had her on his wall and I always had her in my CD player, lol. Samantha had several club and pop hits, and this was one her biggest.







N is for Nu Nu

"What's a Nu Nu?," you ask. Well it's a very catchy, doo woppy song from an artist called Lidel Townsell from back in 1992. Some of you may remember it....it's very catchy and one of those types of songs you'll be singing for hours after you listen too it. Check it out:







N is for Neutron Dance

"Someone stole my brand new Chevrolet
and the rent is due I've got no place to stay"

That's my favorite line from this one! The Pointer Sisters used to be hella cool back in the day, and this one was one of their biggest hits, from the movie "Beverly Hills Cop," with Eddie Murphy. Nothing but fun!!!!







N is for Never

Since this post is for so many songs and my musical tastes have always been across the board, I wanted to share one here that's rockin'. Heart is comprised of the Wilson sisters, beautiful voiced Annie and guitarist Nancy. They had several great songs back in the 70's and 80's and this one is hands down my all time favorite!


Heart - Never by EMI_Music





N is for Nobody's Supposed to Be Here

Love, love, love this one. This was THE dance anthem back in 1998, and it still fills dance floors whenever it's played. Awesome dance song!







N is for No Reason to Cry

The last "N" song of the day is a freestyle song by one of the princesses of the genre, Ms. Judy (pronounced "Hoodi") Torres. A new friend of mine, Jeremy, who I found out has great taste in music, and I were talking about freestyle yesterday and he told me that he met Judy one time. Joe and I used to love her and this song.... It is sooooo freestyle! Unfortunately there weren't too many vids to choose from with this one, and this one getes cut off a little at the end, but it's a live performance that's slammin'.





Well, I could go on and on with more "N" songs: N is also for No Frills Love, Not Myself Tonight, Nothing Really Matters, None of Your Business, No Woman, No Cry and so many more. In the meantime, I hope you've enjoyed the "N" songs I've shared here. I know I did. Have a great day!
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Song of the Day - Can You Feel the Beat - Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam

Does anyone out there remember Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam? During the freestyle movement of the 80's, a lot of people considered them to be one of its top acts, though I never really placed them within the same realm as other freestyle groups like TKA, Sweet Sensation, Noel, the Cover Girls, and so many others. I always felt that Lisa Lisa's music was different and that they were in a league unto their own.

In 1985, the threesome released an eponymous album together with rap group/producers Full Force and scored big with two hot dance songs ('I Wonder if I Take You Home' and this one) and their first of what would be three Top Ten singles, the heartfelt ballad, 'All Cried Out.' This was one of my favorites, with fast moving beats and a great hook. So take a look and a listen to 'Can You Feel the Beat":




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