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Billboard Hits of 1984

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About This Episode

We go back forty years to 1984, a golden year in music history! We remember unforgettable hits that defined the decade to chart-toppers that still resonate today. In this Backtrack, we dive into the top songs from the 1984 Billboard Hot 100.

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Show Notes

Transcript

SpeakerTranscript
JonWelcome back Gen X Grown Up Podcast listeners to this backtrack edition of the Gen X Grown Up Podcast. I am John joining me as always. Of course, this is George. Hey man.
GeorgeHey, how’s it going guys?
JonGood. You know that Moe is here. Hey Moe.
MoHey, how’s it going, everybody?
JonIn this episode, we’re going back 40 years to 1984, a golden year in music history. We’ll remember unforgettable hits that defined the decade to chart toppers that are… We’ll remember unforgettable hits that defined the decade to chart toppers that still resonate today.
JonIn this backtrack, we’re diving into the top songs from the 1984 Billboard Hot 100, which of course means that we put our resident spreadsheet artists to work.
JonGeorge, we’ll talk about that in a second. Got us going.
GeorgeIs that a new term? Spreadsheet artist? Am I working at Subway subsidiary now or something?
JonI think it is.
Moyeah
JonIt’s like, it’s Subway. They don’t think it’s sandwich artists. Yeah, you’re the, they spread mayo, you spread love. That’s what we do.
GeorgeThere we go.
JonThat’s the spreadsheet.
GeorgeI spread statistics.
JonYeah. Very good. Before we get into that though, here at the top of the show, it is time for some fourth listener email. The fourth listener of this episode is Troy T.
MoYeah.
JonThe subject of his email was local radio experience.
MoMm hmm.
JonNow you guys might remember we just put out a rewind of that 2018 backtrack we did and Troy heard it.
GeorgeHmm, right.
JonAnd he has a great story to tell. So here’s what Troy has to say. Fourth listener Troy here. I first learned of your podcast at the Southern Fried Gaming Expo in Atlanta last summer.
MoNice.
JonNice.
GeorgeWow, OK.
Jonah I ran in the Artemis spaceship bridge rooms next door to one of the rooms where I think y’all did the panel.
MoOh, oh yes.
JonAnd I seem to recall generous sharing of leftover pizza.
GeorgeOh, wow, OK.
Moyes Yes.
JonSo not only was Troy a good neighbor and a good recipient of pizza, he also became a fourth listener.
MoSweet.
JonSo Troy, happy to have you.
GeorgeThere we go.
JonHe says the May 16th rewind episode about local radio hit me right between my feels and nostalgia.
Jonout that sounds that’s like a sore spot.
MoYeah.
JonAs a teen, Northwest Indiana, during the mid 80s, I recall listening to our local Jasper County radio stations, all two of them, and the dozens of AM stations out of Chicago.
Moshe
JonI imagine myself as a radio host and would often record mock comedy shows with friends.
MoOf course,
JonI used to do that too. Did you guys ever pretend you were a DJ with your tape deck?
GeorgeI mean, yeah.
Moit’s wicked set, yeah.
JonYeah, yeah, I think everybody did that probably. Troy says, one evening in August 86, my best friend Charlie and I sat down with a jam box with with a built-in cassette recorder, FM tuner, and microphone.
JonWe punched record and spent about an hour scrolling through the entire FM dial and would flip between the tuner and our voices riffing on songs, commercials, news reports, and DJ commentary.
GeorgeNice.
JonIt was basically a two-man MST3K FM.
Monice
Georgenice
Jonah I didn’t edit this because it’s a great story. So it’s a little long, but we’re coming into the back stretch. We made a few other recordings through the years and these bits of unscripted, we made a few other recordings through the years and these bits of unscripted faux radio chaos supplied fodder for family inside jokes that last through today.
MoNice. Oh nice.
JonI still have those tapes and have been carefully transferring them to digital format for safekeeping.
GeorgeThere you go.
JonEven though our audience didn’t extend beyond our circle of friends, we imagined ourselves as quite the local broadcast powerhouse. My friend and co-host Charlie suffered a major stroke in 2020 and passed away in 2023.
GeorgeHmm.
JonBut I’ll always remember us as carefree 16 year olds making an imaginative break into broadcasting with a jam box and rapid fire snark. How sweet.
MoThat’s awesome.
JonHe says thanks for the nostalgia trip guys and maybe we’ll meet up at a future SFGE for more leftover pizza Troy Wow It’s nice of you to have become a fourth listener, Troy, and to remember your friend Charlie in that way and share it with us.
JonIt’s it’s just, it’s so touching. I love when our episodes can remind people of, you know, good things passed in their, in their, in their history. And I certainly remember making those, those just jockey things with a buddy of mine who lived across the street.
MoYeah.
JonI don’t still have them though. I wish I did. Those would be a hoot these days.
JonOkay, Troy, thank you again for writing in. We love it every time our fourth listener takes time to drop us a line. If you would like your email featured here on the show, it is drop dead easy. You can hit us up at podcast at genexgrownup.com. You know, we read every single one, and most of them, like Troy’s, will eventually make the show. All right, time to tune in the 1984 Billboard top 10 list right after this. No, it’s not top 10. Time to tune in the Billboard 100 Time to jump into the body of this backtrack right after this quick break.
JonHa ha! Just fucking bail on it. Just I give up, I couldn’t do it.
GeorgeOh Lord.
JonI see George going, he’s making it difficult. He’s making it difficult. And then I made it easy and you still shaking your head.
JonOnce again, it is what has become our annual look at some of the top hits from the Billboard Hot 100. And what we always do, right? We go back 40 years, and this time 40 years, Beau, I know, to 1984.
GeorgeMm.
JonAnd once you set the stage for us, what was going on in the world in 1984?
MoOh, sure. I mean, 84. I mean, this is awesome. You’re so many things are going on.
JonHmm.
MoSo the Macintosh was launched in 84.
GeorgeMm.
MoMichael Jackson’s hair caught it on fire in 84.
Jonbut’s notable
MoWe all remember that one. ah The Olympics, which we did a podcast on you a few weeks ago, actually.
GeorgeYep.
JonYeah.
GeorgeYeah, we just did.
MoSo that was going on. up the
Jonand And not just any Olympics, but major Olympics that changed the Olympics.
MoOh, major, yeah. and Los Angeles, yep.
JonYeah. Have you ever heard that backtrack? Oh, you got to hear it. I’ve learned so much.
MoDiscovery took its maiden flight that year.
JonMm hmm.
Moah east Yeah, yeah, that was a maiden flight, though.
GeorgeOh.
MoIt was fine. ah Yeah, I know.
JonThat one was okay.
GeorgeBut still, you know.
JonRight. You know what’s coming is the problem, right?
MoYeah. Uh, Ethiopia was going through that big famine that made a lot of news and caused a lot of music and there’s, a lot of activism going around that.
GeorgeHmm.
MoAnd the most important thing, Thomas to take it, I’m sorry. And the most important thing, Thomas to take it tank. I’m having trouble saying that.
GeorgeWhat the fuck are you just getting bailed to like John did?
MoNo, no, no, I’m not going to, I’m going to get through this.
JonAnd that’s all. And that’s the last thing. No more things.
MoNo. And the most important thing, Thomas, the tank engine debuted, which that was, I can’t believe that was that long ago, but that’s what happened in 84. So that should give everyone at least a kind of a feel of what was going on that year.
Georgewhat ah ah the most
JonThomas the Tank Engine.
MoSo, but before we get into the music though, George definitely has done his spreadsheet magic and he’s going to explain the criteria for the songs we chose.
GeorgeUh, yeah, basically I took all the songs, put them in a spreadsheet, counted them and then put them on a fucking list. There you go. That’s the whole criteria. Now it’s, it’s not very difficult in this case because billboard did all the hard work for us, right?
Moyou.
GeorgeThey’re the ones who tabulated.
JonMm hmm.
Georgewhat songs were being played on the radio for what length of time and who was number one and that’s what everything here is these are all songs that spent time in the number one spot on the hot 100 so it’s not just songs that just showed up in like spot number 45 on the hot 100 all of these are number one songs that were on the hot 100 for a specific amount of time or more
JonHmm.
GeorgeThe way that all the numbers broke down this year was that they had to meet the criteria of being on the hot 100 number one spot for a minimum of two weeks. We tend to like to do 12 songs just because we have three songs per segment, four segments.
MoYep.
GeorgeAnd it worked out that two weeks was the right number this time.
MoAwesome.
GeorgeSo, uh, it was pretty straightforward. We’ve got a lot of songs to get through. So Mo, I’ll just kick it back over to you and let you get started with the first one.
MoYeah. All right. Well, this first one’s kind of interesting because we’ve already talked about it, right? We talked about it in our 83 top 100 list because, because it was the end of end of the year and it carried over into the following 1984, which was say, say, say by Michael Jackson.
Jonhu Ah-ha.
GeorgeMm hmm. Right.
JonHoldover. OK.
Moand Paul McCartney and the other guy yeah and the old guy.
GeorgeAnd the other guy.
MoLet me do that again. And the song was say, say, say by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson.
JonJust give it a beat. Perfect.
MoYeah.
MoSo I think I said this in the last podcast. This wasn’t my most awesome favorite song.
JonMm hmm.
GeorgeYeah.
JonI remember you saying that. Yeah.
MoYeah. know And it still isn’t even 84 is still was like, yeah, yeah whatever.
GeorgeYeah, it’s, it’s a serviceable song. It feels like the two guys got together and said, we need to make music together because we’re two big icons. And here’s what we came up with inside of a week and a half in a shoe box at the Motown recording studios or wherever they did it.
MoMm hmm. Yeah.
GeorgeUh, the video even felt that way for this song. It was basically like, well, let’s just put a camera in front of them in front of a piano. Oh, let’s have them dancing around. Let’s do all this.
MoYeah. For some reason, the the stories, i hate therere they’re like carneys or something, right?
Georgeit was
Moits It was weird.
Georgethey were They were like the the clowns that didn’t speak like the Marcel Moseau kind of thing, but then they were singing.
MoYeah.
GeorgeIt was just very disorienting at the best, but was ah it was a moderately good effort from two outstanding artists.
MoYeah.
GeorgeSo that’s why it’s good enough to make number one, I guess.
Moyeah
JonYeah. It’s funny you say that it always felt manufactured to me too.
GeorgeMm hmm.
JonSomething about it. Now these are top tier artists, but somehow it felt like a boy band. Like we’re going to cherry pick this guy and this guy and here’s a hit song for them to do.
GeorgeRight.
JonAnd yet, I mean, it’s still, I mean, look, it’s a good song. I’m not going to crap on it, but like Mo, it’s not one of my favorites.
MoYeah. It’s almost like if AI said, you know, Hey, let’s do a song with Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney and make it a pop song. This is the song you would come up with.
JonWhat would it sound like? Yeah, perfect.
Georgeright
JonOkay, let’s move into the next one. So this is another one, as you said, George, two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100.
GeorgeMm hmm.
JonThis is from ah ah my co-host over at 1980s now, huge, huge fan of Duran Duran. And they were on the chart with the Reflex.
JonHere we go.
JonAnd knowing that we were gonna talk about this Duran Duran song, usually I try to look up a little bit of trivia or information about the song. I just went straight to the source. I went to straight to the super fan, Kat, who’s also a longtime listener of the show and a Patreon supporter.
JonAnd I learned something really fascinating. So this version of the song that you’re hearing that we all know and love is not the version that came out on the album.
Moyeah
GeorgeOh, okay.
JonYeah, that’s right. This is a remix. So the song that originally appeared on the Seven and the Ragged Tiger LP was much more muted. It had barely audible, ta-na-na-na, that stuff, and the fla-fla-fla-flex wasn’t in it, and the y-y-y-y-y-y, only one of those in the whole song.
GeorgeOh, really?
MoHmm. Yeah. Wow.
GeorgeOh, wow.
Mowow
JonAnd and this guy, you’ve heard of them, Niall Rogers of Sheik fame,
GeorgeOh, yeah.
MoOh, yeah.
JonHe took, so this was the third single to be released from that album because he had to work on it. Because when they first heard it, like, nah, not a big deal.
GeorgeOkay.
JonHe remixed it, released it, and it just blew up. People loved it. And then, but they buy the album and they go, this doesn’t sound right.
MoRight at all.
JonBut you could buy the 45, it was the radio remix if you wanted it. So many people were disappointed when they bought the album and it wasn’t this song. It was a different version of this song.
GeorgeWow. I mean, it’s, it’s crazy to know that because it’s kind of that thing where the first instance of a thing that you see or hear is the thing that you think is that’s the definitive edition, right?
MoYeah, that’s that’s it, right?
JonThe right version, yeah, yeah.
GeorgeLike if you see a specific actor or actress in a certain movie that you really love, that’s the visual image you have of that person for decades later. And then you see them and they’re like really old and hair falling out or whatever.
GeorgeAnd you’re like, what the fuck happened to that person? Well, time happened to that person.
JonOr if you hear weird owls, or if you hear weird owls of Yoda before you hear Lola, and then you can never hear it the same way again, yeah.
GeorgeRight.
Moyeah
GeorgeExactly. But I don’t think I could hear a more, as you termed, muted reflex.
JonYeah.
GeorgeI don’t think I could enjoy that as much.
JonYeah, it is weird.
GeorgeMaybe i um yeah I’ll go listen to it since because Kat is a goddess and she knows everything about Duran Duran.
MoYeah.
JonOh, I listened.
GeorgeI’ll go listen to it, but i I don’t know if I can enjoy it.
JonIt’s not great. It’s not awesome.
GeorgeIt’s not great.
Jonno
MoThe way the cat say about the original version, she have any comments about it.
JonWell, she had said she bought the album and realized, like she didn’t know all the trivia at the time, there was no internet, but she listened and she’s like, like I fell in love with the one on the radio and perplexed why she was disappointed when she heard it on the album on her little Walkman and then later realized, oh, it wasn’t that one.
MoRight, right.
JonSo she had to record off the radio to get the good one until she could go by the 45.
MoGot it.
GeorgeWow.
JonAll right. So thanks to Kat for her help with that information. Or I would have had nothing interesting to say about reflex, even though I love the song. But, uh, George, I want you to bring us, uh, I want you to wind us up with our third one here.
JonI guess number 10 on our top 12.
GeorgeUh, yeah.
JonYeah.
GeorgeI mean, if you want to list them in some kind of a specific order, it’d probably be number 10, but all three of these were two weeks on the chart.
JonSomething like that. Sure.
JonOkay.
GeorgeSo, you know, kind of, it’s like a tie for 12 through 10.
JonSure.
GeorgeI suppose, uh, this one, uh, however, speaking about time is time after time by Cindy Lauper.
JonHmm.
GeorgeSo I don’t know about you guys, but of this segment, this is my favorite song of the three.
MoOh, absolutely.
JonHmm.
MoYeah.
GeorgeIt’s it’s poignant.
MoFor me too.
GeorgeIt’s soulful. It has a way of burrowing under your skin more than the other songs do.
JonIt does.
GeorgeNot that they any of those other songs are bad songs, but this one really tends to stick with you so much so that Cindy Lauper has kind of written the coattails of this song for decades since I mean and not in a negative way like I’m not trying to say she’s you know like abusing or anything like that but she’s done an acoustic version of the song there’s been duets that she’s done performances with other artists with this song
MoYeah. Yeah.
GeorgeAnd it’s just such a beautiful song. They’ve used it in commercials as backtrack stuff and supporting music and other things. It’s just a gorgeous song and it’s so sentimental and so sweet and so melodic.
GeorgeNot necessarily the things you associate with 1980’s Cindy Lauper maybe, but it to me is one of my favorite songs of hers and it shows her true artistic value to the genre.
JonYeah.
MoYeah.
MoYeah.
JonYeah, just as you said, I wouldn’t consider myself a Cyndi Lauper fan, not to say I i don’t like her. ah just I just don’t seek her out. I didn’t buy all of her albums in the day kind of thing. But this song is of the songs of hers I can even think of right now.
JonProbably my favorite, as you said, George, of her songs.
GeorgeMm hmm.
JonAnd it’s because it isn’t the typical party anthem kind of song or, you know, goof off song or it’s a, it’s soulful.
MoYeah.
JonIt’s, it’s heartfelt. And it’s, ah yeah, i I really enjoyed it and still do. Yeah.
GeorgeYeah, it’s going.
MoYes.
MoOkay.
MoNow say this was a song that made me think that, holy crap, she, so she could sing.
JonMm.
MoYou know, cause girls just want to have fun was the big hit off that album, right?
JonYeah.
GeorgeYeah.
MoIt was everywhere. And also you hear this when you’re like, holy cow, she, she can actually sing.
JonThe pipes.
MoI saw, I remember singing you an interview with her and someone mentioned like, you know, you’re singing voice and you’re speaking voice are really different from each other.
Georgeyeah
MoAnd she said that she wished she’d go through life singing, you know, because that’s the voice she likes, you know.
GeorgeYeah, kind of like Mel Tillis with the stutter versus when he sings without it.
JonOh.
MoMm hmm.
JonMm hmm.
Georgeyou know It’s just a different person almost, right?
JonYep.
GeorgeIt’s it’s a beautiful song. i you know You mentioned that it came off of the same album as ah Girls Just Want to Have Fun, which is one of her signature songs. This has now become one of her signatures as well.
GeorgeDon’t forget She-Bop was off of that record as well.
MoYeah.
JonMm hmm.
Georgeah So that record was very pop high energy centric and not unsurprisingly this was the last song of the album that was actually written. So it was almost like maybe it should have been on the next album.
JonMm hmm.
GeorgeBut it got included in this one because they needed, you know, some, they need to fill out the whole side of the vinyl LP.
JonYeah.
MoRight side.
JonYeah, what else do you have, Cindy?
GeorgeRemember when that was a thing?
MoThat’s right.
GeorgeYou’re like, we need two and a half more minutes to get all the grooves on this particular.
MoYeah.
JonYeah.
GeorgeJust crazy. But this song has just endured for so long. I mean, it’s, you know, I just can’t even. Imagine a better song in that group that only made it for two weeks on the Hot 100 at that time.
MoI know that’s surprising.
JonYeah.
MoYeah.
JonYeah.
GeorgeIt feels like it should at least be a, yeah, it should be um a month long on the top spot, maybe.
JonI’m guessing it was the top 10 for a while, but yeah.
MoI would think.
GeorgeLike I would have given it two of Say Say Say’s weeks, I think, and been okay with that.
MoYeah, yeah.
JonYou can have those.
MoYeah, you can have those.
GeorgeYeah, but a solid song.
MoThere’s a couple of those on this list, too, that I think you you could have stole a couple of weeks from, too. So we’ll get to those.
GeorgeFair enough. Yeah.
MoSo these next group of songs we’re talking about were all three weeks at number one. So, you know, better songs, hopefully, right? That’s the idea.
MoSo a couple of things about these next group of songs. One is that they were all three weeks on the charts.
GeorgeMm hmm.
JonOh.
MoAnd they’re all from movies.
GeorgeTrue.
JonOh, yeah.
GeorgeYeah.
JonYou’re right.
MoSo, you know, there you go. A little bit of trivia here. So the first one we’re going to talk about though, is Against All Odds. Take a look at me now in parentheses by Phil Collins.
Mobut okay So this song, um, I mean, what can you say? You know, I was doing a little digging into this and it turns out that it was based on a Phil Collins song that was not his favorite song, it actually.
MoAnd they needed the song for this movie that came out. And so he pulled it back out, pulled it out, redid some of the lyrics, redid some of the music.
GeorgeMm hmm.
MoAnd it turns out to be one of his best known love songs ever.
GeorgeIt goes to show how
JonHmm.
Georgewell, a movie, especially a successful movie, can propel a song into the zeitgeist, right?
MoMhm.
JonYep.
GeorgeAnd all three of these songs, like you talked about, Mo Being From Movies, you cannot help but think of the movie when you think of the songs, except for maybe this one. This may be the one of the three that you don’t think about the movie that much because it wasn’t a super big hit film.
JonHmm.
GeorgeIt was an okay romantic drama kind of thing, but it wasn’t like,
MoNo. Yeah, that’s all right.
JonRight.
Georgethe other two that we’re going to talk about, it wasn’t nearly as popular as those two films were in that same year.
JonThat’s
MoMm hmm.
Jonfair.
GeorgeAnd even though it wasn’t, it just shows, I think, how powerful Phil Collins is, even with a song he doesn’t particularly like himself.
MoYeah.
Moah Right.
GeorgeI mean, It’s my one great regret, I think, when it comes to music, that I never took the opportunity to see that man in concert, either with Genesis or on his own.
MoMm hmm.
JonMm hmm.
GeorgeI never took a chance. He wasn’t anywhere around where I was growing up. I miss that. And, you know, of course we all know health issues, no longer going to tour.
MoYeah, yeah, yeah.
JonYeah, he’s not really performing anymore. Yeah.
GeorgeYeah, just a damn shame. He’s almost one of those guys that I kind of want AI to get better. So I get to see a concert AI version, maybe.
Jonah
Georgebut tremendous song. I love this song.
MoYeah. And you know, the song actually won a Grammy for best male, best pop but for vocal performers by male.
Georgeme
MoAnd it was also offered for a Academy Award. So didn’t win, but it was up for academy war too.
GeorgeRight?
JonYeah.
MoSo, and like you said, George, I totally agree. It’s like, I can’t even tell you who was in that movie off top of my head, but you know, quite honestly.
JonYeah.
MoSo, you know, but that song, I definitely know that song.
JonAnd if you’re listening to this and weren’t alive in 84, you have to understand, like every fourth song on the radio was damn Phil Collins singing. I mean, he was prolific.
MoYeah. He was everywhere. Yeah.
JonHe was in so many hits. And for this to then be well above those, you know, to then to appear on the Hot 100 for so long, for three weeks in a year, and a little bit like the Sidney Lauper song we just talked about, this is another one that’s like, oh, soulful and deep and heavy.
JonAnd that’s, for that reason alone, I like it. And then plus it’s Phil Collins.
MoYep.
GeorgeYou know, I, I, I shouldn’t do this, but being the rated Gen X guy and the movie guy, I gotta go back to what Mo said. Didn’t remember who was in it. Jeff Bridges was the lead in this along with James Wood and an actress who I don’t think really took off Rachel Ward.
JonOh, yeah.
MoOh geez.
MoBut the first two definitely big huge back then.
GeorgeIt was kind of this. Yeah, well, it James Woods, I think, if I remember right, he hired Jeff Bridges, who was an ex-football player, to ah hang out with his wife and then, of course, they fell in love and murder trio kind of bullshit, kind of, you know, fatal instinct, kind of, you know, this is in the 80s.
Jonof course
MoOkay.
GeorgeThat’s what all the romantic dramas were about, right?
Moe
GeorgeBut yeah, I mean, big name actors in a movie that should have done much better at the box office than it did. But the song kicked ass.
MoYeah.
JonMm-hmm, yeah. I’m not sure what Jeff Bridges’ Kevin Bacon score is on the six degrees of Kevin Bacon, but I can tell you that this next song is a zero degrees of Kevin Bacon score. Because it was featured in the film Footloose, the song of the same name, Footloose, three weeks on the chart in the number one spot, three weeks on the chart in the number one spot, I should add, by the balladeer of the 80s, Kenny Loggins.
JonOkay.
JonI’m gonna start just like we were talking about in the break, just that guitar riff, that. bound line i ran i ran i now It just sets the mood for like, this is a defiant song that goes with that defiant movie about kids that couldn’t dance in town, you know?
GeorgeHmm.
MoYeah.
GeorgeSure.
MoYeah.
JonAnd it has that grindy kind of guitar, not like ah like a metal or hairband guitar, but it’s that rich, deep kind of kind of ah lead guitar in there that just sets the stage for it. And then it turns into what is a, I think arguably a fun 80s pop song, ultimately.
MoYeah. i said Kenny Loggins, he can write just some catchy shit. I mean, his histories are just so, I mean, yeah get your head and they’re like earworms.
JonOh yeah. He’s the man.
MoYou can’t get them out.
GeorgeYeah. He’s, he’s Mr. Theme songwriter, especially for the eighties.
JonMm hmm.
GeorgeLike you think about TV shows and movies. I mean, the man was, yeah, it’s funny because he’s still, you know, playing and performing today.
JonTop gun wherever.
MoYeah.
JonYeah.
GeorgeWe all know and love.
JonHmm.
GeorgeI don’t know if you guys have seen on YouTube, there is a series by Daryl Hall of Hall and Oates fame.
MoYeah, yeah.
JonHmm.
Georgewhere he brings people to his house. and So it’s like Darryl Hall’s house or something. And they do concerts with famous people in the house with like a house band set up and Darryl Hall and whoever the guest is at the time.
MoOh, nice.
JonCool.
MoOh, that’s pretty cool.
GeorgeAnd of course, he had Kenny Loggins on one of the very first ones I ever watched doing Footloose. And it’s just so much fun to see those two guys doing that song together.
MoYeah.
JonI can imagine.
MoOh, I’d have checked that out.
GeorgeIt’s a blast. It’s a really good series. Yeah.
JonYeah. Yeah. I want to see that too. Oh, you mentioned Mo about ah the award season footloose was nominated for an Academy award for best original song in 85.
MoMm hmm.
JonSo the year after it came out, but it lost to Stevie wonder.
Georgeo
JonI just called to say, I love you for a moment in red. That’s pretty good company to be, if you’re going to lose to Stevie wonder is not a terrible guy to lose to ultimately. So it’d be too upset.
Moyeah
JonAll right. Anything else there? other Otherwise, i’ll I’ll pitch to you, George. All right.
GeorgeNot for me.
JonOK, cool. I suppose a bad one to lose to. Let’s move along. Then one more in this segment. And as Mo said, three movie soundtrack songs.
JonGeorge, what do we got?
GeorgeUh, well, if we’re going to talk about movies and theme songs in 1984, you’re not going to go wrong with Ghostbusters by Ray Parker Jr.
JonMm hmm.
GeorgeAlright, well, John and Moe came up with really interesting pieces of trivia for their song, so I felt forced to comply. So while they were talking about their stuff, I went and did a quick little research because I remembered a story from, like, I know around that time, but I must i was probably a little bit older when I first found out about it.
Jonah Peer pressure.
Georgeah This song is actually the subject of a lawsuit from one of my other favorite music artists from the 80s decade.
JonMm hmm.
GeorgeHuey Lewis sued Ray Parker Jr. for plagiarism because he copied the melody on the from Lewis’ 1983 song, I Want a New Drug.
MoWhat?
JonYep. Yep.
JonYep.
JonIt’s copied.
GeorgeI mean, it is.
MoThat’s that yeah that’s.
JonIt’s clearly copied, but I don’t care.
MoYeah. That’s I know really.
GeorgeWell, I mean, you don’t care because it’s a super great song.
JonMm hmm.
GeorgeThe video was directed by Ivan Reitman, just like the movie was a lot of fun.
MoYeah.
JonJoe Spushers. Yep.
GeorgeWe love that film. The song is not a great song.
MoNo, it’s not.
JonIt’s not.
GeorgeTruthfully.
MoIt is not. I totally agree with you a hundred percent.
GeorgeIt’s not, you can tell they slapped that shit together for the film.
JonIt’s, it’s goofy.
GeorgeIf anything is manufactured, like we were talking about with say, say, say, this is absolutely AI written manufactured shit from 84, but
Jono
Mohe Yeah.
Georgeah just the fact that it was part of a lawsuit to me is just really interesting that that didn’t happen more often until probably the 90s when rap started doing more sampling but you know artists were doing this shit all the time way back in the day even Elvis Presley was doing this shit
JonRight.
MoYeah. Yeah.
Jonright
JonYep. Yeah.
MoYeah, it was a, I totally agree. I remember the first time I heard this song, I was like, what the hell? I mean, it’s a good movie theme song, but not like, not for the radio play it got.
MoCause it was on the radio all the time. And I think maybe cause the video had all the famous people in it saying Ghostbusters and I don’t know, maybe that was the reason why, you know, but other than that though, yeah, I totally agree.
GeorgeRight.
MoThis is not an awesome song.
JonI’m going to disagree that it’s a good movie song. It’s a pretty good cartoon theme song.
GeorgeOkay, fair.
JonCause it’s just kind of silly. You know, what like I know Ghostbusters is a comedy, but it was, it wasn’t silly like this.
MoYeah.
GeorgeYeah.
JonAnd so, you know, the, the goofy Ghostbusters dance they’re doing in the street in the video. Cause I don’t know, was something Ray Parker made up on the day?
MoYeah.
JonI don’t know.
MoI made up on the spot.
JonIt fits to the cartoons better than it fits with the movie in my opinion. yeah
Georgebut Just to round it out, you know, I talked about Huey Lewis sued Ray Parker Jr.
JonYes. Yeah.
GeorgeRay Parker Jr. Sued him back.
JonWhat grounds did it say?
GeorgeAlmost 20 years later, Huey Lewis was doing one of those behind the music things from VH1.
MoYeah.
GeorgeAnd apparently he discussed the the settlement and he said some kind of quote along the lines of, well, I know I got a lot of money of something like $30,000. Well, Ray Parker Jr. Sued him for breach of confidentiality.
JonOh, because he disclosed it. He wasn’t supposed to say.
GeorgeYeah.
JonOh, no.
GeorgeSo yeah, I mean just crazy.
JonGotcha.
Georgeyeah they These two guys obviously didn’t like each other. I know which one in my mind had the better career, but at least we got three weeks of people dancing in silly costumes up and down New York sidewalks that were blocked off for film set because Ray Parker Jr stole some baseline from Huey Lewis in the news.
JonWell, yeah. it’s not We did.
MoYeah.
Moyou lose a
JonWho are you going to call anyway? Anybody know?
MoYeah.
JonHas anybody decided?
GeorgeYeah, I’m going to call Huey Lewis, apparently give him his 30,000.
Moyeah
JonYeah. Who are you going to call? Huey Lewis.
JonNow, listener, if you’re paying attention, in the last segment, I said Footloose was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song, but it lost to the next song we have up here in this segment.
MoYes.
JonAnd this of course is, I Just Called to Say I Love You by Stevie Wonder. Also three weeks, number one.
JonOkay.
JonNow we may have to take a little, uh, a little poll of the room here. I know in the break we were talking about these songs and George and I are kind of like, yeah, nice song. Not a huge fan of it really necessarily.
GeorgeYeah.
JonYeah. What about you Mo? How much are you feeling on? I just called to say hello to Stevie Wonder. Great talent.
MoYeah.
JonWhat about this song?
MoI mean, ah I, I’m a, the song is okay. I’ll say that much. I’m not gonna say it’s a great song, but it’s an okay song.
GeorgeYeah.
MoIt’s definitely not my top Stevie Wonder song by a long shot. Um, but, but it’s, you know, yeah.
GeorgeNo.
JonNo, no.
GeorgeSuperstitious, I think.
MoSo, oh my God.
GeorgeRight.
JonYeah.
MoYeah. There’s so much. Um, but it was, it’s an okay song. I said it was just very poppy.
GeorgeMm hmm.
MoI guess that was thing that got me, it was just very, you know, it was like a more of a pop hit than normal, his criminal RMB styles. I liked better, but you know, I mean, it beat out, like you said, it beat out Footloose.
MoIt also beat out Ghostbusters was nominated for that same award too, believe it or not.
GeorgeYeah.
Moyeah So of the choices I had, I think it was the best one.
GeorgeWell, wasn’t against all odds nominated in the same category.
MoYeah, it was. That’s true.
JonMm hmm.
MoI guess it’s a good point.
GeorgeI think I would have picked that as the best song.
MoThat’s a good point. That’s a good point.
JonYeah. hmm. Yeah. I’d have put Footloose above this one, but yeah.
GeorgeOh yeah. Yeah. Footloose a hundred percent above this one. I am. I think I would have gone with Phil Collins a little bit more than Kenny Loggins for me.
MoYeah.
JonUnderstandable.
GeorgeMaybe.
JonYeah. This song is just sappy. It’s just, I just called to say, I love you, baby. That’s why there’s no reason to call. It’s just, it’s just obvious pandering to get a little favor from your lady. It’s not real deeper, soulful or anything. It’s just, yeah.
GeorgeAnd that was, i I had my little hand raised. We have this program where we can raise our hand when we want to make a point. I was just about to say the thing that John just said.
JonYeah.
JonOh, see if you wonder.
GeorgeOf all the people to not be soulful in a song, Stevie Wonder, you feel like, like I’m sure he wrote the song.
MoYeah.
GeorgeI’m sure he did all the melody and everything, but it feels like somebody else wrote it and said, Hey Stevie, will you sing this when your beautiful voice and
MoRight.
JonMm hmm.
Georgeyou know, do me a favor kind of thing. It’s almost like there’s no heart in the song. And I don’t mean that just from the words. I mean that even from the intonations, which are pitch perfect, it’s Stevie fucking wonder, you know, I’m never going to question that man’s pitch.
JonMm hmm.
GeorgeIt’s, you know, melodically, it’s probably perfect. I know no music like Marcus’s ears are probably burning right now.
MoYeah. He’s like, he’s like shaking right now.
Georgeah He’s like, God damn it.
JonOh, i I can hear listeners typing right now, as we’re saying we don’t like this song.
MoYeah.
GeorgeBut, and it’s not that I don’t like it. It’s just, I could take it or leave it. Like when I’m adding songs to my YouTube music playlist that I play in the car when I’m going around, this is not a song I searched for to add to that playlist for some reason.
JonYeah.
MoYeah.
JonThere you go. Yep.
MoYeah.
JonTake it or leave it.
MoRight.
JonRight.
MoBut if it came on the radio, I wouldn’t tune away from it though.
GeorgeI’m i’m sorry, but it’s not.
MoYou know, it was like one of those things, you know what I mean?
GeorgeYeah. No, no. Yeah. It wouldn’t make me change the channel.
MoLike I let it play through, you know, but you know,
JonYeah. 50 50. Yeah.
GeorgeYeah.
JonAll right. Well, let’s move along then. I think we’ve all established. We’re meh on this one.
MoYeah.
JonNo. What’s our next one on the list?
MoSo the next one was, I was actually, I’m very not mad about this one, but it’s Karma Chameleon by The Culture Club.
JonOh, okay.
MoSo this is just a fun song and it’s a fun, they wrote just fun music.
GeorgeMm hmm.
MoYou know, um, they weren’t, I don’t think they were trying to, although if you listen to some of the words of their music, it is get, it gets pretty deep sometimes, but the songs themselves were all very, just, just fun, catchy,
GeorgeA little bit, yeah.
MoHave a good time at a party kind of songs.
Georgedance club music, a hundred percent.
MoYeah.
GeorgeAnd British dance club scene was really big in the, in that mid eighties timeframe that this song comes out in. And they were, especially in England, I mean, here they hit it for three weeks, top of the billboard, hot 100.
GeorgeBut in England, they were one of the most popular things going on at the time.
MoYeah. It was funny. This album actually came out in 83. You know, and Dishon didn’t become popular in the States since for almost a year later, which is, you know, I guess the music video probably came out and I bumped it up.
GeorgeYeah.
MoYou saw it on TV or something.
JonI probably heard this song 800 times. And yet, I don’t know what it’s about. I couldn’t tell you.
GeorgeWell, but did you really, you heard the song, but did you take the time to listen to the lyrics? Cause maybe it’s one of those songs you don’t do that with.
JonWell, that’s it. like I think the lyrics don’t jump out at me as being anything other than melody.
GeorgeRight.
Jonyou know I just know, comma, comma, comma, chameleon.
GeorgeSure.
JonAnd then later, they come and go, come and go.
GeorgeRight.
JonSo apparently, people were coming and going all the time. and
MoYeah.
JonThat’s the karma chameleon. I don’t know what, I have no idea. Cause it never grabbed me in that way to learn what it was about, I guess.
MoYeah, actually, I have here what Boy George said it was about. I just looked it up while we were talking. The song is about the terrible fear of alienation that people have. The fear of standing up for one thing.
MoIt’s about trying to suck up to everybody. Basically, if you aren’t true, if you don’t act like you feel, then you get karma justice. And that’s nature’s way of paying you back.
GeorgeNow, you know, so he’s a karma chameleon.
JonCome and go.
MoYeah.
GeorgeKarma chameleon’s not a name, he’s a chameleon of karma.
MoRight.
JonMm hmm. Okay.
GeorgeAnd I, right, right, exactly.
MoWell, he’s just changing around everybody. And so, yeah.
Jonunderstand Do what everybody wants him to do.
MoRight.
GeorgeYeah. And that totally makes sense given his perspective on life at that point.
MoYeah.
GeorgeThink about the man, you know, basically America, like I remember when the video came out, John, that you talked about, that’s when you might’ve first caught wind of the song.
JonI suppose Yeah.
JonMm hmm.
Georgeah A lot of, a you know, conservative America was very upset at him and his, you know, stylish flamboyant dress, the hair, the makeup, everything.
JonYes. Mm hmm. The jewelry, all that.
GeorgeLike they were, oh, I remember like,
JonYeah.
Georgeinterviews with like farmers going that man son of a bitch.
MoYeah.
GeorgeGod damn it. That’s not even a man. That’s a warm, you know, just total intolerance and non-understanding. I imagine he was probably trying to figure out a lot of this stuff for himself at that time.
GeorgeAnd that song probably meant a hell of a lot to him.
JonAnd putting it in, you know.
MoYeah.
JonYeah, i’ve I’ve thought about and learned more about this song in the last 10 minutes than I did in the last 40 years. So oh I’ll probably hear it differently the next time it comes on my 80s track. So yeah. George, what do we got next? Round out this segment for us, please.
GeorgeYou know, I’m never going to be able to say the name of this band in any other way after watching Deadpool. This is wake me up before you go go by wham.
MoWhat?
GeorgeOnce again, just like the other songs in this segment, this song spent three weeks at the number one spot.
GeorgeI love this song. It’s poppy. It’s catchy. I fuck you. I don’t care. I love this song. You don’t have to like it. It’s one of those that I don’t give a shit. I will sing this song to the heavens.
JonMm hmm.
GeorgeI can be in the car. Let me put it to you this way. Wham may not have stood the test of time as a band. They may have broken up rather early. There’s a great documentary that just came out this year about the band.
MoYeah.
JonYep.
GeorgeTremendous. Really shows you what those people went through and their lives and everything.
MoHmm.
GeorgeLoved it. But I’m going to tell you something that’s an indisputable fact of the 1980s.
JonOh.
MoOkay.
GeorgeGeorge Michael is the most underrated vocalist of that decade.
MoOh yeah, absolutely. I totally agree with you.
JonYeah. I’m not sure how underrated he is.
GeorgeWhat that man
JonHe’s amazing though. I mean, I think he gets most of his props.
MoWell, we went solo.
Georgewhat he did after Wham and he went solo as Mo was saying, I’m not saying he didn’t get his props.
MoHe got his props.
JonYes. After wham.
MoYeah.
GeorgeHe didn’t get his props as like a Stevie Wonder level vocalist, an Elton John level vocalist.
JonNo, really. You put him up there.
GeorgeI’m going to tell you that man not only had perfect pitch, he had tone for a lifetime. I am so fucking mad at the world that he’s not in it anymore.
MoYeah.
Georgebecause the stuff he did especially, you look at, don’t let the sun go down on me when he does it with Elton John, that performance, that is eye watering.
MoOh, yeah.
JonMm hmm. Beautiful. Yeah.
GeorgeMarcus, who has wanted to put together his own podcast about songs evoking an emotional response, and I told him initially, I don’t know what song I would think of.
JonMm hmm.
GeorgeThat song from Michael from George Michael would always bring a tear to my eye because he it’s just beautiful. And this song is what builds that artist to who he becomes. So yes, I fucking love this song.
JonAll right. Well, we’re going to adjourn the George Michael Appreciation Society long enough to mention that when I hear, but i would do a bug I cannot change the channel fast enough.
Jonbut topa je the bug That goofy shit, I cannot stand this. It’s so, it’s it’s, it’s, it’s cotton candy. It’s poppy. It’s just a little. baooba doop du but it do do but du Nope.
JonI’m out. It’s never for me. Yes. George Michael, great vocalist. And there’s the other guy in Wham. We haven’t even talked about this poor bastard who was on the three weeks just like George Michael.
MoHe’s like Oats.
JonYes. right Yeah. It’s not for me. What about you, Mo?
MoYeah, it’s definitely not one of my favorite songs, especially.
GeorgeHa ha ha!
Moum And the thing is that george he he went out to write a pop song when he wrote this. I mean, and he has enough talent that he’s like, I know how to write a pop song and make it a hit.
Georgesure
JonHe succeeded. Yup.
MoAnd he did. I mean, I think he did. It’s totally what he wanted to accomplish. He, you know, he got the money to go into his own music eventually. But I think he, I think he kind of resented though.
MoI remember seeing his, a documentary talking about him that he kind of resented like how much he had to kind of like give. at this point in his career, you know, again, like to write the pop songs that he definitely weren’t when he wasn’t really feeling like that was like his best work necessarily, you know, the songs he wanted to do, but but it got him where he could write.
JonInteresting.
MoI mean, that’s the thing, like he got him to that place where he could.
GeorgeYeah.
MoBut yeah, not not when it’s on a playlist for me, though.
GeorgeAnd all of that’s fine. You guys are allowed to absolutely be wrong. I don’t have a problem with that whatsoever, but just remember this podcast, this particular episode is the Billboard Hot 100.
GeorgeThe Hot 100 was a hundred percent pop.
JonHmm.
GeorgeThat’s what it was in the eighties.
Motrue
GeorgeIt wasn’t the R and B chart. It wasn’t the country chart.
JonNot yet.
MoTrue.
GeorgeIt wasn’t the rock chart or the heavy metal chart. It was none of that. This was what is pop and popular on the radio. If you spend three weeks, even if it’s not a great song, you’ve obviously attracted an audience of some kind.
MoOh, yeah, absolutely.
GeorgeAnd I don’t know if there was a Paola thing going on, but I’m damn glad there was because without it, I wouldn’t have got George Michael solo without Wham having wake me up before you go go.
JonYeah.
Jonafter this.
MoYeah.
JonYeah. Yeah.
MoAbsolutely.
JonSo the evil of this song is worthwhile for George.
JonComing into this last segment, heavy hitters at this point.
GeorgeHmm.
JonSo ah we were talking again in the break as we usually do.
GeorgeHmm.
MoYes.
JonAnd we’re like, you know, we all were debating about the previous songs and who liked which one and didn’t. These songs, like these are just some damn good songs across the board. This first one we have in the segment, three weeks on the number one spot, Tina Turner, what’s love got to do with it?
JonOkay.
Jonwas the one I just…
JonMan, this song has the opposite effect on me from, uh, would you get a bug that yeah wake but before you go-go?
MoI mean, jeez.
MoYeah.
JonLike when I, when I…
GeorgeAll right. Y’all keep dissing my man. There’s going to be a throw down between Tallahassee and Jacksonville. I’m just saying.
JonWhen I hear the opening, and this kind of starts with just little, little easy, little drum riffs, and it just sneaks in. And then you hear Tina Turner’s voice. I mean, this was peak Tina Turner.
JonI mean, she’s always been amazing, but this is 84.
Moyeah
GeorgeYeah.
JonThis was on the album Private Dancer that came out this year, 84.
MoOh, amazing album.
JonAnd this is like, this isn’t like, like what’s what’s the silly song that’s out now? I love the shape of you. I like the shape of your body. No, no, no. This woman said, The feel of my, like the feel of your touch makes my pulse react.
MoYeah.
JonThat is some damn poetry that talks about how this person makes me feel, not, I like the shape of you.
Moyeah
JonYour body’s got good curves. That’s bullshit. Tina Turner. This was the kind of like, like just sensual love song that she did so well. And this is maybe peak tune to Tina Turner for me.
JonI love this song.
MoYeah. I mean, this, you know, I had to like think about like my dad when he first heard this, he’s like, Tina Turner, because he listened to Tina Turner back in the sixties. You know, I’m like, you know, she was like almost the same age as my dad, which is frightening.
JonMm hmm.
GeorgeHmm. Yeah.
JonYeah.
MoBut the, uh, but that song, like that whole album when it relaunched her whole career again, right?
Jono
MoEveryone knows about that. And I’m sure probably most of us have seen the movie and or something like that. But just this song, her voice is just the perfect, match for this song. I mean, I don’t think anybody else could sing this song like she does. so
JonIt’s gorgeous.
GeorgeI mean, you know, we’re just going to throw superlatives Tina Turner’s way. So I’m going to I’m going to backtrack.
JonYour turn.
GeorgeI don’t know if she wrote this song or not, but.
MoI don’t think she did.
JonNo, I look it up written by Graham Lyle and Terry Britton.
GeorgeEven if she didn’t, she fucking made it her own song.
MoAbsolutely.
JonOh yeah.
Georgeit’s she She grabbed a hold of the lyrics, turned them into something that we could all equate with her life that we knew at that point, right? The whole Ike Turner, wife beating bullshit kind of stuff.
JonYes, you’re right. Mm hmm.
MoYeah.
Georgeah She went on very quickly around this same time period to star in the Mad Max movie that we know.
MoYeah.
GeorgeAnd that really, she did that whole soundtrack essentially.
Moyeah
JonMm hmm.
MoYeah.
JonThat’s right. Thunderdome.
GeorgeIt was like this was the album and this was the time where she took charge of her life and her career in a way that she was not able to do when she was younger. And I think it was empowering to a lot of people, I’m sure mostly to women, but to me as well, because anytime you feel like You’re not getting your due or somebody’s not reciprocating that love emotion that you feel or anything.
MoYeah.
GeorgeYou just want to scream at them when something’s going wrong. What the fuck is love got to do with it? Asshole.
JonYeah.
MoYeah.
Jonyeah
GeorgeAnd just ah this song is just so beautiful at bridging those emotional gaps in our lives that it’s no wonder that it was number one on the chart.
GeorgeThe only sad thing is that it wasn’t number one for longer.
Jonlonger.
MoYeah.
JonYeah.
MoYeah. I agree. And I tell you, this is also one of those songs like we talked about the early ones that were like, I don’t even know what that song is about. You know, like, we didn’t care.
JonYeah. Oh, it’s very clear.
GeorgeRight.
MoThis one, youre we you care about the lyrics in this song.
GeorgeYeah.
MoYou know, you’re listening to the lyrics in this song.
JonYeah, yep.
MoSo it ah is I can’t say enough good things about this one.
JonHow can you not follow her voice? It’s just it’s so velvety and, and soulful and strong.
MoYeah.
Georgeyeah
JonI think you mentioned George, she was kind of feeling more empowered. And I think you can hear that in her vocals on this whole album, especially on this track.
JonOkay. Let’s shift gears. We’re stepping it up now. The next one has been on the and top. Next one has been number one on the list for even longer than any of the others we’ve talked about so far, including Tina Turner.
GeorgeYeah. So this one is been on the, it was on the top spot for five weeks.
JonOh,
GeorgeNumber one spot jump by Van Halen. You fucked me up by taking my five weeks thing.
Jonoh that was, it was your intro. Sorry. All right. If you want a different intro, you can do it. I don’t care.
GeorgeNo, it’s fine.
JonI was looking for a way to transition.
GeorgeSo Mo talked a little bit about how the last song had lyrics that you absolutely knew where they were taking you. I don’t know that I feel that way about jump, to be honest with you.
MoYeah, yeah, I’m with you.
JonNo, no.
GeorgeIt’s kind of like the other songs we’ve talked about before, where we’re not really sure what it meant like John was about Karma Chameleon. and ah We talked extensively about this album in a in a previous podcast.
GeorgeWas that this year even that we did Jump’s 84? Probably, right?
JonYeah, I think so, because it was a 40 year anniversary of 1984.
GeorgeBecause this is for you. Yeah, I mean, I think this was the song that introduced me to Van Halen.
JonYeah, I think so.
Georgeum It certainly was the video that introduced me to Van Halen with David Lee Roth doing the splits mid-air and everything and the flying around on wires with Eddie Van Halen and his guitar.
MoOh, yeah.
MoLet’s yeah.
Georgeit was It was just a fun song. I loved it.
MoYeah.
GeorgeAnd I’m happy that it spent five weeks at number one. It’s another one that I could have seen spend a couple of more weeks, maybe not eight, but probably like six or seven would have been about right for me.
Georgeum It’s just a powerhouse of a guitar song.
JonYeah.
GeorgeIt.
Mohe
Georgeit I don’t even know that I need lyrics, although David Lee Roth screaming into the microphone is beautiful. I don’t know if I need him with this song.
MoYeah, it’s just a good point.
GeorgeIt’s Eddie Van Halen it like his best almost.
MoYeah. And for some reason, this song makes me think of summer of that year. I don’t know why.
GeorgeYes.
JonOh yeah.
GeorgeA thousand percent.
JonOh, of course.
MoYou know, not any other season.
JonRight.
GeorgeYeah.
JonDrive with the windows down.
MoIt’s just summer, that song, you heard it everywhere outside.
JonYep.
GeorgeYep.
MoYou know, I think I agree with you 100% George. This is just another one of those just fun songs.
GeorgeMm hmm.
MoYou’re not really getting too deep. It’s just a great song, great melody. You just enjoyed listening to it. And that’s all it took. I mean, it wasn’t trying to be more than it was, right? Which is just a really, just a great song.
GeorgeRight.
JonYeah, and…
GeorgeIt’s one of those songs that even Crispin Glover can dance to.
Jonyou know I saw a little trivia in here that this the the basis of this song was written in 81 by Eddie Van Halen, but rejected by the other members of the band. They said, nah, it’s not really for us.
Georgeyeah
JonAnd then a few years later, their producer asked him, well, listen again, you know look at some other things around it and turned it into a song. So three years later on the 1984 album, Yeah, turns out Eddie was right.
JonIt’s a damn good song.
GeorgeYeah, I was going to say, i maybe I could understand it in that time context, but at this point, what we know about Eddie and the whole group, how do you ever argue about music with Eddie Van Halen?
Jonhe Right. Don’t second guess Eddie.
Moyeah Yeah, exactly.
GeorgeThat’s just fucking stupid.
JonYep. We know he’s right now.
GeorgeAll right, Mo, you got the honors.
Jonah
GeorgeThe last song on our list to talk about, if those of you haven’t figured out what it is from 1984, Mo’s about to clue you in.
MoOh.
MoHmm.
JonYep.
MoYeah.
Jonyep
MoSo yeah, this is one of the ones that when we go through the list, I’m like, I really want to introduce the song. So I asked this one specifically.
GeorgeWe were writing back and forth that our messaging happened.
MoYeah. like
GeorgeI was like, I don’t care. They’re all great songs. I’ll announce whatever. Mo’s like, I want this song.
MoThis is the one I want. And that song is when doves cry by Prince.
MoI mean, come on. I mean, five weeks.
JonCome on!
MoI, I, you know, one, I mean, I’m a huge Prince fan.
JonCome on!
MoI actually saw the concert, this concert.
GeorgeMm hmm.
MoI saw, I saw the purple rain concert. It was, this song was is just a phenomenal song.
GeorgeOh.
MoI mean, it tells the whole story of the movie, kind of like in, it in one song, basically you kind of get the whole gist of the movie.
GeorgeYeah.
MoIt our fee it was just a great song. I can’t think of more things to say about it.
JonWhen I hear it, i hear I hear what I think of Prince in this song. A little raw, a little gritty.
MoHmm.
Jona little, but yet very tonally amazing. And i think I think that’s what Prince wanted this to be, ultimately. And it kind of is almost, in my mind, a microcosm of what I think of him as an of of ah as ah and artist in this song, because he has all those facets to him. ah And it’s all here in this song, and Jesus.
MoYeah.
JonGo, George.
GeorgeYou know, for me, this song, like you said, John, it’s kind of an epitome of Prince and who he was, especially in the eighties.
JonHmm.
GeorgeHe’s had an unfair amount of talent, right?
MoOh, but by far, by far, five people could have that much talent spread out and they’d all be great.
JonIt’s ridiculous.
GeorgeThe motherfucker, I mean, so I’m going to tell you how much talent Prince has.
JonIt’s.
GeorgePrince does the Super Bowl halftime show.
MoYeah.
GeorgeHe starts singing Purple Rain and God makes it fucking rain in the middle of the song in an open air stadium.
JonRain.
MoThat’s right.
JonWhat a.
GeorgeBecause God’s like, it’s fucking Prince.
JonHmm.
GeorgeHe’s singing Purple Rain.
JonI mean right.
GeorgeI got to make it rain and the lights were purple.
MoYeah, purple.
GeorgeIt was fucking eerie.
MoPerfect.
GeorgeBut. Years later, I kind of did this weird little deep dive on a show that was moderately popular on Amazon called Upload and the actress who was in that, her name is Andy Allo.
GeorgeI found out she was a protege, one of the last proteges of Prince.
JonHmm.
MoOK.
GeorgeShe has a song called People Pleaser that is 100% pure big brass balls funk type of song. When Dove’s Cry feels like the amuse-bouche to what she did later on.
GeorgeAnd she’s not nearly as popular as Prince for obvious reasons, he’s fucking Prince.
JonMm hmm.
MoYeah.
GeorgeBut I love the fact that even decades later, that man’s talent and influence is still shining down. I’m gonna say that even more so than some of the other greats that you might…
GeorgeWe talked about Paul McCartney at the very beginning of the podcast.
MoYeah.
GeorgeTremendous talent.
MoYes.
GeorgeVery influential. Is he more influential than Prince?
JonNope, no, no.
GeorgeFuck no, he’s not.
MoNo, no.
GeorgeNot even fucking close. I mean, fucking Prince.
JonYeah.
MoYeah.
Jonah period
MoLet me tell you that, that guitar solo at the beginning, the really quick, you know, you hear that you boom, you go right to the song.
Georgee
JonMm hmm.
MoI mean, it’s like, just as few notes, not even that long. It’s really short actually, but it just pulls you right into the song.
GeorgeYeah.
MoAnd this was Rolling Stone ranked. This is number 37 of its greatest 500 songs of all time, of all time, of every song out there.
JonOf all time.
MoSo.
GeorgeI don’t know what the first 36 are, but they better be fucking good. That’s all I know.
JonI’m sure there’s probably some more prints in that top 36, I’m going to tell you.
Georgeah might be And even if he didn’t sing it, he probably fucking wrote it.
MoThat’s true.
GeorgeThat guy’s got a fucking library that nobody’s even seen of a million fucking written songs. Apparently it’s just, it’s un-fucking fair that I am.
MoYeah.
JonHe releases more albums posthumously than he did when he was alive. He’s still putting out albums.
Georgei’ I’m fucking six foot tall, fat, white, you know, old as shit, got diseases. This motherfucker will live forever.
MoYes.
GeorgeGod damn, he was awesome.
MoYeah. he Amazing.
Jonoh And this was also five weeks and you noted here, ah George ended the year, number one at the end of the year was the number one closing out the year too.
MoYeah.
GeorgeMm hmm.
MoSo.
Jonyeah Mm. Mm. Mm.
MoYou want me to go up right into the question now?
JonWay to go, Prince. Sure.
MoOK.
JonYeah, perfect.
MoYeah, I mean, so he was he was just freaking great.
JonYeah.
MoSo let me ask you guys, what were you? Where were you in 1984?
JonMm.
MoLike, what were you doing? I was just curious.
Jonoh Let’s see, I would have been about 14, I guess.
MoHmm.
JonSo what is that? 9th grade, a freshman or something in school. I was done with my Atari and playing with Atari computers at that point.
JonAnd yeah, in band, yeah. but All the interests that I had later in life, I started picking up around that time.
Moand Okay.
JonSo yeah, 84, influential for Gen Xers like us.
MoHow about you, George?
GeorgeMm. Yeah.
GeorgeUh, would have been eighth grade for me. Uh, let’s see. Um, starting to get recognized in baseball world.
JonMm hmm.
GeorgeUm, starting to get really pissed off that I didn’t have a driver’s license yet.
JonYeah.
Georgeuh working at our grocery store and um trying to figure out really uh I think what I might want to do coming into high school because that was around the corner for me I started high school
MoOh right.
Jonyeah
Georgeuh 85 um so yeah i i was because i was in a very small like 40 kids or less middle school uh and i graduated to 73 kids in high school ah but um i think i was trying to figure out if things were going to get bigger and better they did to a degree um but boy the music certainly made me feel like everything was bigger
JonMm hmm.
MoOh, yeah, for sure.
JonYeah. How about you, Mo?
Mois ah Because for me, these songs especially have a lot of me because I was entering my senior year of high school. So ah this was like hanging out with friends, listening to music.
JonMm hmm. Yep.
MoI mean, this is these things that we listened to you know all the time. Now, my graduating class had a couple more people than George’s. I think we had like 750 something people in my graduating class.
JonMm hmm. Yeah, few more. Just a few more. Like yeah is that’s like 10 times. He’s like 74 years. He had 740 or something.
GeorgeYeah, yeah, my senior class was like 73, 74.
Mo750 something.
Jon10 times. Wow.
GeorgeYeah.
MoYou know, uh, working part time at this drug store to, you know, or some extra cash. But yeah, they said thinking about college SATs. I mean, that’s, that was my 84.
JonMm, yeah. Well fourth listener, tell us what were you doing at 84? How are these songs influential to you? You disagree with some of our opinions on? You can’t disagree with the ratings. They were absolutely number one and super popular, but ah we’d love to hear from you.
MoYes.
JonHit us up at podcast at genxgrownup.com. Also, before we leave, I have two more brand new patrons that I would like to welcome to the fold.
MoTwo.
JonSince we last had time to speak, Brian Nintendo, appropriately named, joined us on Patreon, as well as I’m going to do my best to pronounce this.
MoNice.
JonIt has a U with two dots over it. Gunner Mueller. I think that’s right.
GeorgeMmm.
JonRight way to say that.
GeorgeOh, that’s an 80s bad guy name right there.
Jonum
JonGunner Mueller, I will get you.
MoI’m thinking this like he should be like Gunnar Muir or something like that, but OK.
GeorgeDamn you James Bond.
JonMight be. Either way, Brian and Gunner, Gunner, Mueller, whatever it is, we are so happy to have you here. And apologize for mispronouncing your name if that’s what I did.
MoYeah.
Jonah Look, both of these fellows took the time to head over to genexgrownup.com slash Patreon and sign up for a regular monthly pledge to help support us financially. Keeps the lights on, keeps this application we use to record the show running.
JonAnd we love that you did and love that you joined our roster of supporters.
GeorgeAnd since nobody else picked up on this, we mentioned a couple of times that in the breaks we’re discussing these songs and our thoughts and stuff we might talk about.
JonAh, mm-hmm.
GeorgeJohn ends up releasing a lot of that behind the scenes content on Patreon that you can only get
JonMm-hmm.
GeorgeIf you sign up to become a Patreon at patreon dot.com slash genex, run up genex, run up.com slash patreon. Doesn’t fucking matter. Go over there. Give me a dollar. John’s getting all the dollars.
GeorgeI need a dollar now, especially after he he like totally denigrated wham.
JonIt’s a dollar, it’s simple.
GeorgeFuck that guy. I need the dollar.
JonI’m not sure if that’s exactly what I did. I’m gonna turn it off now. Okay, I’m done.
JonI apologize to Wham George. I don’t think both of you are taking the time to hang out with me for this episode. I know everybody loves the musical episodes and this probably will be no different. Fourth listener, thanks for tuning in. That’s gonna wrap it up for this episode.
JonAnother one coming your way very shortly after a couple rewands. Until then, I am John. George, thank you so much for being here.
GeorgeWham.
JonMo, you know I appreciate you.
Mobig voice
JonFourth, let’s search you. We all appreciate most of all. We can’t wait to talk to you again next time. by Bye Very quick promo.
GeorgeSee you guys.
MoTake care, everybody. Mm hmm.
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About The Author

Mo As someone who barely manages to squeeze in as a GenXer my memories include more of the 70's than those younger GenXers. Reading and movies are my passions with some video gaming thrown in there for good measure!

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