Merry Christmas to everyone!
Exactly forty years ago, on this day in 1983, the Cyndi Lauper single “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 at #80 (December 17)
What many don’t know is that this was actually a cover version…
"Girls Just Want to Have Fun" was a song written, recorded and performed by American musician Robert Hazard, who released it as a single in 1979.
Lauper’s synthed-up 1983 version was her first major single as a solo artist, the lead single from her debut studio album “She's So Unusual”, and turned out to be her breakthrough hit, reaching #2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The song was also a worldwide smash hit, going all the way to #1 in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Chile, and Norway, #2 in the US, the UK and France, #3 in South Africa, the Netherlands, Austria and Zimbabwe, #4 in Italy and Belgium, #5 in Sweden, and #6 in Switzerland and Germany.
And the record sales were surely helped by the MTV award-winning video clip, with a storyline featuring professional wrestler “Captain" Lou Albano in the role of Lauper's father, her real mother, Catrine, playing herself, and Steve Forbert (of “Romeo’s Tune” fame) playing her boyfriend.
Click on the link below to watch it:
Exactly forty-eight years ago this month, Paul Simon released the single “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” (December 1975)
The song with the instantly recognizable repeated drum riff performed by legendary drummer Steve Gadd eventually made it all the way to #1 in the US and Canada, #2 in France, Top 20 in New Zealand, Top 30 in the UK and Top 40 in Australia.
The track from the LP “Still Crazy After All These Years” became one of Paul Simon’s most popular singles, and ended up being his sole #1 hit as a solo artist on the US Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.
Click the link below to watch him perform it at the famous Central Park concert:
Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Paul Rodgers was born in Yorkshire, England, on this day in 1949 (December 17)
He was the lead vocalist of numerous bands, including Free, Bad Company, The Firm, and The Law.
He has also performed as a solo artist, and collaborated with the remaining active members of Queen, as Queen + Paul Rodgers.
Well respected in the industry, Rodgers has been cited as a significant influence on a number of notable rock singers.
In 1991, John Mellencamp called Rodgers "the best rock singer ever".
Freddie Mercury in particular liked Rodgers and his aggressive style.
Rodgers started with Free in 1968, and continues to perform to this day.
In the summer of 2018 Rodgers toured with Jeff Beck.
A poll in Rolling Stone magazine ranked him #55 on its list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time".
In 2011 Rodgers received the British Academy's Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music.
He became a Canadian citizen on 21 October 2011.
Click on the link below to watch classic Free perform “All Right Now”:
Thirty-seven years ago this month, the Pseudo Echo single “Funkytown” went to #1 on the Australian charts (December 1986)
With Brian Canham out front, Pseudo Echo established themselves as Australia’s premier 1980s synth-based new wave band, with slick singles like "Listening", "A Beat for You", and Don't Go".
But their version of the 1980 Lipps Inc. classic from the “Love an Adventure” LP was their biggest hit, also showing record-buying punters that Canham also knew his way around a guitar, smashing out a memorable solo half way through the song.
It was even a Top 10 hit in America, reaching #6 on the US Billboard Hot 100, making it Pseudo Echo’s only US Top 40 hit (same as Lipps Inc.)
In addition to topping the charts in Australia, it was also a hit around the world, going all the way to to #1 in Canada and New Zealand, #2 in South Africa, Top 10 in the UK and Sweden, #11 in Switzerland, #12 in Ireland, #13 in Austria, and #16 in Germany.
It became a dance floor staple of the day, just like the original…
To watch it again, click on the link below:
Exactly forty-seven years ago this month, Blondie released their self-titled debut LP (December 1976)
After forming in late 1974, and becoming an integral part of the burgeoning new music scene (including regular gigs at New York’s happening CBGB club), Blondie recorded a demo in 1975, and then released their debut single “X-Offender” in June 1976.
This album followed six months later.
And despite their live presence in the edgy punk and new wave clubs in the US, the band first broke through commercially 10,000 miles away in Australia.
And it happened when Molly Meldrum played the wrong song on Countdown!
Debbie Harry recalled, “We met Ian [Molly] in 1977... he asked if we had any videos [and] we gave him videos for "X Offender" and "In the Flesh".
On Countdown, they were meant to play "X Offender", but they played "In the Flesh" instead. So our success in Australia was one big mistake."
Keyboard player Jimmy Destri said, “we still thank him to this day" for playing the wrong song. But drummer Clem Burke and guitarist Chris Stein suggested that it may have been a deliberate ploy on the part of Meldrum, because he preferred “In The Flesh” to “X-Offender”.
Whatever the truth is, “In The Flesh” went to #2 in Australia, and off the back of that, the album peaked at #14 in Australia, the only country where it charted.
That success in Australia catapulted the band to their eventual success worldwide, as the band ended their contract with their original label Private Stock Records and signed with Chrysalis in mid 1977.
Chrysalis re-released the album in September 1977.
In 2020, Rolling Stone included Blondie at #401 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Click on the link below to watch “In The Flesh”:
On this day in 1971, David Bowie released the LP “Hunky Dory” (December 17)
Compared to the guitar-driven hard rock sound of “The Man Who Sold the World”, Bowie opted for a warmer, more melodic piano-based pop rock and art pop style on Hunky Dory.
Upon its release, “Hunky Dory” and its lead single "Changes" received little promotion from RCA who were wary that Bowie would transform his image shortly.
Thus, despite very positive reviews from the British and American music press, the album initially sold poorly and failed to chart.
It was only after the commercial breakthrough of Bowie's 1972 follow-up album “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” that “Hunky Dory” itself became a commercial success, peaking at #3 on the UK Albums Chart, and remaining on the chart for 69 weeks.
It also made the charts in Australia, where it peaked at #39.
Retrospectively, “Hunky Dory” has been critically acclaimed as one of Bowie's best works, and features on several lists of the greatest albums of all time.
Within the context of his career, it is considered to be the album where "Bowie starts to become Bowie", definitively discovering his voice and style.
“Changes” and “Life on Mars” are highlights.
Click on the link below to watch a fantastic live rendition of “Changes” from the album:
On this day in 1978, the Alice Cooper single “How You Gonna See Me Now” debuted on the UK Singles Chart at #61 (December 17)
The song written by Alice Cooper, Dick Wagner, and longtime Elton John collaborator Bernie Taupin, appeared on Alice’s album “From the Inside”, which was a concept album about Alice’s time in a New York asylum due to alcoholism.
He has more of a reputation for his hard rock songs, but gee, Alice could really deliver a ballad too.
This one’s no exception…
Great track that peaked at #9 in Australia and the Netherlands, #12 in the US, #16 in Canada, and #19 in New Zealand.
The UK didn’t take to it though, as it’s debut position was also its peak - #61.
Click on the link below to watch:
Jazz, funk, and soul saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. passed away on this day in 1999 (December 17) aged just 56.
Along with George Benson, he is considered by many to be one of the founders of the smooth jazz genre, and throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Washington made some of the genre's most memorable hits.
He performed frequently with other artists, including Bill Withers on "Just the Two of Us", and Patti LaBelle on "The Best Is Yet to Come".
He was also a songwriter, and later became an arranger and producer.
Grover Washington Jr. passed away after suffering a heart attack while waiting in the green room after performing four songs for The Saturday Early Show, at CBS Studios in New York City.
Click on the link below to watch his 1981 song “Just the Two of Us” featuring Bill Withers:
This week in 1981, the Don McLean song “Castles in the Air” broke into the US Billboard Top 40 at #40 (December 12)
"Castles in the Air" was originally recorded in 1970, and was Don McLean’s first American single release, preceding "American Pie", released as the first single from the “Tapestry” album and reaching #40 on the Billboard Easy Listening/Adult Contemporary chart.
McLean later re-recorded and re-released "Castles in the Air"in 1981.
The new version of the song, a slower ballad version compared with the more mid to uptempo version of the original, first appeared on his album “Believers”, and later replaced the original version on some copies of “Tapestry”.
The new version went on to peak at #11 in Australia, #12 in New Zealand, #36 in the US, and #47 in the UK, also hitting the Top 10 on the US and Canada’s Adult Contemporary charts.
Click on the link below to watch Don McLean perform it live:
Exactly forty years ago, on this day in 1983, the Cyndi Lauper single “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 at #80 (December 17)
What many don’t know is that this was actually a cover version…
"Girls Just Want to Have Fun" was a song written, recorded and performed by American musician Robert Hazard, who released it as a single in 1979.
Lauper’s synthed-up 1983 version was her first major single as a solo artist, the lead single from her debut studio album “She's So Unusual”, and turned out to be her breakthrough hit, reaching #2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The song was also a worldwide smash hit, going all the way to #1 in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Chile, and Norway, #2 in the US, the UK and France, #3 in South Africa, the Netherlands, Austria and Zimbabwe, #4 in Italy and Belgium, #5 in Sweden, and #6 in Switzerland and Germany.
And the record sales were surely helped by the MTV award-winning video clip, with a storyline featuring professional wrestler “Captain" Lou Albano in the role of Lauper's father, her real mother, Catrine, playing herself, and Steve Forbert (of “Romeo’s Tune” fame) playing her boyfriend.
Click on the link below to watch it:
Exactly forty-eight years ago this month, Paul Simon released the single “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” (December 1975)
The song with the instantly recognizable repeated drum riff performed by legendary drummer Steve Gadd eventually made it all the way to #1 in the US and Canada, #2 in France, Top 20 in New Zealand, Top 30 in the UK and Top 40 in Australia.
The track from the LP “Still Crazy After All These Years” became one of Paul Simon’s most popular singles, and ended up being his sole #1 hit as a solo artist on the US Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.
Click the link below to watch him perform it at the famous Central Park concert:
Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Paul Rodgers was born in Yorkshire, England, on this day in 1949 (December 17)
He was the lead vocalist of numerous bands, including Free, Bad Company, The Firm, and The Law.
He has also performed as a solo artist, and collaborated with the remaining active members of Queen, as Queen + Paul Rodgers.
Well respected in the industry, Rodgers has been cited as a significant influence on a number of notable rock singers.
In 1991, John Mellencamp called Rodgers "the best rock singer ever".
Freddie Mercury in particular liked Rodgers and his aggressive style.
Rodgers started with Free in 1968, and continues to perform to this day.
In the summer of 2018 Rodgers toured with Jeff Beck.
A poll in Rolling Stone magazine ranked him #55 on its list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time".
In 2011 Rodgers received the British Academy's Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music.
He became a Canadian citizen on 21 October 2011.
Click on the link below to watch classic Free perform “All Right Now”:
Thirty-seven years ago this month, the Pseudo Echo single “Funkytown” went to #1 on the Australian charts (December 1986)
With Brian Canham out front, Pseudo Echo established themselves as Australia’s premier 1980s synth-based new wave band, with slick singles like "Listening", "A Beat for You", and Don't Go".
But their version of the 1980 Lipps Inc. classic from the “Love an Adventure” LP was their biggest hit, also showing record-buying punters that Canham also knew his way around a guitar, smashing out a memorable solo half way through the song.
It was even a Top 10 hit in America, reaching #6 on the US Billboard Hot 100, making it Pseudo Echo’s only US Top 40 hit (same as Lipps Inc.)
In addition to topping the charts in Australia, it was also a hit around the world, going all the way to to #1 in Canada and New Zealand, #2 in South Africa, Top 10 in the UK and Sweden, #11 in Switzerland, #12 in Ireland, #13 in Austria, and #16 in Germany.
It became a dance floor staple of the day, just like the original…
To watch it again, click on the link below:
Exactly forty-seven years ago this month, Blondie released their self-titled debut LP (December 1976)
After forming in late 1974, and becoming an integral part of the burgeoning new music scene (including regular gigs at New York’s happening CBGB club), Blondie recorded a demo in 1975, and then released their debut single “X-Offender” in June 1976.
This album followed six months later.
And despite their live presence in the edgy punk and new wave clubs in the US, the band first broke through commercially 10,000 miles away in Australia.
And it happened when Molly Meldrum played the wrong song on Countdown!
Debbie Harry recalled, “We met Ian [Molly] in 1977... he asked if we had any videos [and] we gave him videos for "X Offender" and "In the Flesh".
On Countdown, they were meant to play "X Offender", but they played "In the Flesh" instead. So our success in Australia was one big mistake."
Keyboard player Jimmy Destri said, “we still thank him to this day" for playing the wrong song. But drummer Clem Burke and guitarist Chris Stein suggested that it may have been a deliberate ploy on the part of Meldrum, because he preferred “In The Flesh” to “X-Offender”.
Whatever the truth is, “In The Flesh” went to #2 in Australia, and off the back of that, the album peaked at #14 in Australia, the only country where it charted.
That success in Australia catapulted the band to their eventual success worldwide, as the band ended their contract with their original label Private Stock Records and signed with Chrysalis in mid 1977.
Chrysalis re-released the album in September 1977.
In 2020, Rolling Stone included Blondie at #401 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Click on the link below to watch “In The Flesh”:
On this day in 1971, David Bowie released the LP “Hunky Dory” (December 17)
Compared to the guitar-driven hard rock sound of “The Man Who Sold the World”, Bowie opted for a warmer, more melodic piano-based pop rock and art pop style on Hunky Dory.
Upon its release, “Hunky Dory” and its lead single "Changes" received little promotion from RCA who were wary that Bowie would transform his image shortly.
Thus, despite very positive reviews from the British and American music press, the album initially sold poorly and failed to chart.
It was only after the commercial breakthrough of Bowie's 1972 follow-up album “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” that “Hunky Dory” itself became a commercial success, peaking at #3 on the UK Albums Chart, and remaining on the chart for 69 weeks.
It also made the charts in Australia, where it peaked at #39.
Retrospectively, “Hunky Dory” has been critically acclaimed as one of Bowie's best works, and features on several lists of the greatest albums of all time.
Within the context of his career, it is considered to be the album where "Bowie starts to become Bowie", definitively discovering his voice and style.
“Changes” and “Life on Mars” are highlights.
Click on the link below to watch a fantastic live rendition of “Changes” from the album:
On this day in 1978, the Alice Cooper single “How You Gonna See Me Now” debuted on the UK Singles Chart at #61 (December 17)
The song written by Alice Cooper, Dick Wagner, and longtime Elton John collaborator Bernie Taupin, appeared on Alice’s album “From the Inside”, which was a concept album about Alice’s time in a New York asylum due to alcoholism.
He has more of a reputation for his hard rock songs, but gee, Alice could really deliver a ballad too.
This one’s no exception…
Great track that peaked at #9 in Australia and the Netherlands, #12 in the US, #16 in Canada, and #19 in New Zealand.
The UK didn’t take to it though, as it’s debut position was also its peak - #61.
Click on the link below to watch:
Jazz, funk, and soul saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. passed away on this day in 1999 (December 17) aged just 56.
Along with George Benson, he is considered by many to be one of the founders of the smooth jazz genre, and throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Washington made some of the genre's most memorable hits.
He performed frequently with other artists, including Bill Withers on "Just the Two of Us", and Patti LaBelle on "The Best Is Yet to Come".
He was also a songwriter, and later became an arranger and producer.
Grover Washington Jr. passed away after suffering a heart attack while waiting in the green room after performing four songs for The Saturday Early Show, at CBS Studios in New York City.
Click on the link below to watch his 1981 song “Just the Two of Us” featuring Bill Withers:
This week in 1981, the Don McLean song “Castles in the Air” broke into the US Billboard Top 40 at #40 (December 12)
"Castles in the Air" was originally recorded in 1970, and was Don McLean’s first American single release, preceding "American Pie", released as the first single from the “Tapestry” album and reaching #40 on the Billboard Easy Listening/Adult Contemporary chart.
McLean later re-recorded and re-released "Castles in the Air"in 1981.
The new version of the song, a slower ballad version compared with the more mid to uptempo version of the original, first appeared on his album “Believers”, and later replaced the original version on some copies of “Tapestry”.
The new version went on to peak at #11 in Australia, #12 in New Zealand, #36 in the US, and #47 in the UK, also hitting the Top 10 on the US and Canada’s Adult Contemporary charts.
Click on the link below to watch Don McLean perform it live:
