Altered Images - Happy Birthday

Altered Images were shooting stars in their native Britain, but barely made a dent in the U.S. market.  The Scottish new wave act released 3 top 30 LPs in the U.K. between 1981 - 83 and scored 9 charting singles, including 6 top 40 hits.  However, in the U.S., we don't believe that they had a charting song or album -- the closest thing the band had to a hit was 1982's "I Could Be Happy," which reached #45 on the Dance charts.

The group formed in 1979 and was led by frontwoman Clare Grogan, who also acted (more on that later).  The band was helped by two influential U.K. artists --   Siouxsie and the Banshees (who received a demo tape and liked it enough to have the band open for them on a few dates) and John Peel (the famous Radio One DJ) who had them on his show a couple of times, which led to an Epic Records recording contract.

"Happy Birthday" obviously caught someone's attention on MTV, as the video did manage to pick up some airplay on the channel.  Interestingly, the song is somewhat atypical of the band's music, as most of the songs on the group's debut album (also called Happy Birthday) are a bit darker.  Still, it comes off as a decent new wave/pop song, and one of the better rock birthday songs recorded.

Although Altered Images remained successful, multiple lineup changes seemed to wear on Grogan, and the band broke up in 1983.  Grogan would go on to have a successful career in acting, appearing mostly in British TV shows (notably Red Dwarf and EastEnders).  Some readers may also recall that she had a starring role in the 1981 Scottish coming-of-age film Gregory's Girl, a film that gets ERV's stamp of approval.

Cool trivia fact:  Altered Images are named after the Dutch design firm that did the artwork for the Buzzcocks 1978 "Promises" / "Lipstick" 45 (Single, for our younger readers).

Novo Combo - Tattoo

Sometimes characterized as an American version of The Police (albeit a much, much, much, much less successful version), Novo Combo released two solid new wave/pop albums in the early 1980s and even generated a bit of airplay on MTV.  However, the band was unable to break through, which of course makes them perfectly suited for ERV.

Novo Combo formed in New York and was composed of several music industry veterans, including Michael Shrieve (drums), who played on the first 8 Santana albums.  Stephen Dees (bass) played with Hall & Oats, while guitarist/singer Pete Hewlett and lead guitarist Jack Griffith rounded out the original lineup.  (Carlos Rios replaced Griffith on the second Novo Combo album.)

"Tattoo" was off the band's self-titled 1981 debut LP.  The album did hit the charts, at #167, and "Tattoo" reached #42 on the Mainstream Rock charts.  However, the group's second effort, 1982's Animation Generation did not do as well, and the band broke up soon afterwards.

The video is a classic early MTV performance piece, and we vaguely remember seeing it.  We particularly enjoyed the super-serious drummer, smoke effects, and Steinberger headless bass (so 1980s).

Rainbow - Can't Happen Here

Make no mistake, Rainbow was Ritchie Blackmore's band.  Founded after Blackmore left Deep Purple in 1975, Rainbow saw a nearly continuous turnover of members until Blackmore broke up the band (to return to a re-formed Deep Purple) in 1984.  Similarly, the band's sound evolved through the years, changing from a classical-influenced hard rock band to a more commercial oriented sound.

"Can't Happen Here" came when the band was firmly seeking commercial success.  The song was off the 1981 Difficult to Cure album, which received mixed reviews (to put it kindly).  Ironically, this more mainstream sound did not generate the huge success that Blackmore had hoped for; the album peaked at #50, while the single did not chart on the main charts in the U.S. (It did hit #13 on the Mainstream Rock charts).

The video is a pretty standard performance piece with some nice additional footage thrown in.  The video features Blackmore and new lead singer Joe Lynn Turner (who replaced the awesomely named Graham Bonnet during the recording sessions for the LP).  Turner would remain with the band until their 1984 breakup.

Rainbow would continue to focus on commercial success in the early 1980s, and would even score their one top 40 single, "Stone Cold" (which reached #40) in 1982.  Readers may also remember "Street of Dreams," which hit #60 on the charts the following year.

Blackmore remained with the reunified Deep Purple until 1994, at which point he re-formed Rainbow.  That version of the band released one album in 1995, which did not chart.  Since the late 1990s Blackmore has been performing as Blackmore's Night with his wife (Candice Night); they are a folk-rock act.

Cool trivia fact:  "Can't Happen Here" was the 52nd video played on MTV.

Soft Cell - Tainted Love

Soft Cell were a one hit wonder in the U.S., but the group's music was interesting and influential.  In fact, "Tainted Love" played an important role in early 1980s synth pop, highlighting the soulful, human aspect of a musical style that was sometimes viewed as cold and artificial.  As was the case with so many acts, Soft Cell were much more successful in their home market.  The group had 12 top 40 hits in the UK, including a run of five consecutive top 5 singles, starting with "Tainted Love."

The band consisted of singer Marc Almond and synthesizist (is that a word?) Dave Ball.  The duo met at Leeds Polytechnic (now Leeds Metropolitan University) in 1978.  Soft Cell initially worked scoring music for theater, and soon came to the attention of Stevo (Steve Pearce) a DJ who launched Some Bizzare Records and become a major player in the emerging electronic scene in Britain.  Stevo would become Soft Cell's manager and help them sign a major label deal.

"Tainted Love" comes off the first Soft Cell LP, 1981's Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret.  The song became a monster hit, reaching #1 in many countries, including the UK, while reaching #8 in the U.S.  "Tainted Love" took an unusually long time to peak on the U.S. charts and spent a then-record 43 weeks in the Hot 100.

The original version of the song was recorded in 1965 by Gloria Jones and it was not a hit -- in fact, it failed to chart in either the U.S. or UK.  However, a British club DJ (Richard Searling) came across a copy in 1973 and began playing it, which led to a period of success as a club single.  Jones then re-recorded the song in 1976, but the new version failed to chart, as well.  [As an aside for any hardcore musicologists out there, Jones is best known as the girlfriend of Marc Bolan (T. Rex).  Jones and Bolan had a son (Rolan Bolan) together and Jones was driving the Mini when it crashed, killing Bolan in September 1977.]

Soft Cell released three additional albums after Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret before breaking up in 1984.  Both Almond and Ball have remained in the industry, and there have been periodic reunions in recent years.

The original video for "Tainted Love" features togas and a cricket player.  We don't recall seeing the video much on MTV back in the day, though.

Soft Cell also released a remixed version of the song (with a corresponding video) in 1991, which is below:

Lastly, here is the original version of the song by Gloria Jones:

Santana - Winning

It is nearly impossible to summarize Carlos Santana's long and storied career in a few sentences, so we'll direct readers to Allmusic instead.  (how's that for a cop out?)  Suffice to say that his brand of Latin-influenced rock has been influential since the late 1960s.  It is also worth noting that the band's commercial success has ebbed and flowed through the years.

In general, the 1980s and 1990s (prior to 1999's Supernatural) were not terribly kind to the group, although they did have a few hits here and there.  One such hit was 1981's "Winning" from the Zeebop! album.  The song reached #17 on the charts, while the album hit #9.

I don't recall ever seeing the video on MTV which makes sense as Santana was seen as an older band in the early 1980s.  Additionally, the video itself is a basic performance piece that would not have stood out at the time. However, it is a solid song, highlighted by Santana's signature guitar sound and the strong vocals of Alex Ligertwood (lead singer of Santana from 1979 through 1994, with a bunch of breaks).

One cool aspect of "Winning" is that it is a cover of a song by Russ Ballard.  Ballard is an interesting figure who wrote several great rock songs, but never hit it big on his own.  His songwriting credits include:  "Free Me" (for Roger Daltrey),"You Can Do Magic," (America), "I Know There's Something Going On," (Frida), "New York Groove," (covered by Ace Frehley), and "I Surrender" and "Since You Been Gone" (both covered by Rainbow).

The Santana video:

The original version by Russ Ballard:

The Specials - Ghost Town

Kicking off this year's All Hallows Even festivities is "Ghost Town" by The Specials.  The Specials were a truly innovative band, and one of the first 2 Tone ska bands in the U.K.  Founded in 1977, they combined an updated ska sound with an aggressive punk attitude.  Add in political lyrics, and you have the makings of an important and interesting band.

The group had 7 top 10 hits in the U.K. between 1979 and 1981, without much success in the U.S.  "Ghost Town," a non-album single released in 1981, spent three weeks as the #1 song in the U.K.  Inspired by the economic problems and urban decay of Britain in the early 1980s, the song touched a nerve in the U.K., but remains somewhat unknown in the U.S.

The video, featuring the band driving around in a Vauxhall Cresta through empty London streets is simple but effective, and is a great way to start off the Halloween season.

Many critics view "Ghost Town" as The Specials greatest achievement.  Unfortunately, the band partially disintegrated soon after the song was released, with the three primary singers (Terry Hall, Neville Staple, and Lynval Golding) leaving to form Fun Boy Three.  While The Specials carried on (as The Special AKA) for one album, it was not as successful, and Jerry Dammers (the band's primary songwriter) disbanded the group in 1984.

Saga - Wind Him Up

Way back in the dark days of August 2011 (when we started ERV), the first thing that we did was to compile a list of 35 or so potential videos for the blog, most of which have already appeared.  One name on the list was Saga.  So after sitting in the bullpen for more than two years, the Canadian progressive rock band finally gets its turn.  [As an aside, the bullpen list now has 216 names, and continues to grow.]

Saga formed in Oakville, Ontario (near Toronto) in 1977 and were originally called Pockets.  They released their first record in 1978 and gradually built an audience in their homeland.  The group's third LP, Silent Knight (1980) even charted in Canada (#42), although they remained relatively unknown in the U.S.

This all changed in 1981 when they released the Worlds Apart album.  Two videos from the record went into heavy rotation on your favorite video music channel and Saga became an early MTV success story.  The Worlds Apart LP reached #29 in the U.S. (#22 in Canada), while "Wind Him Up" (#64) and "On the Loose" (#26) both charted.  Saga even won the Juno Award for Most Promising Group of the Year in 1982 (regular ERV readers will now shake their heads knowingly ... another example of the cursed nature of a best new anything award).

Unfortunately, the band's commercial success did not last, but Saga has remained a working band and continues to regularly release albums and tour.  They remain particularly popular in Germany, Scandinavia and Puerto Rico.  As of this writing, Saga has released 21 studio albums and remains active in the industry.

For the blog, we went with "Wind Him Up," an early story video.  While the video was clearly shot on a budget, the band's dramatic flair and storytelling were ahead of their time, and helped generate traction on MTV.

Carl Carlton - She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)

Carl Carlton has been a working musician since the mid-1960s, and had two top 40 hits in his career.  The second big hit was 1981's "She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)" from his shirtless self-titled album (yes, really).  The song reached #22 on the charts, and helped propel the album to the #34 slot, making it the highest charting album (but not single) of Carlton's career.

The video features Mr. Carlton in a Michael Jackson-esque white tux and four swimsuit beauties (Misses Pieces, Gemini, Virgo and Aries if you must ask).  Carlton serenades the women and there is a little bit of dancing involved ... and that's pretty much it.

In any event, "She's a Bad Mama Jama" is a seriously good pop/funk song, written by Leon Haywood.  Haywood's name might not ring a bell, but you know his one hit -- 1975's "I Want'a Do Something Freaky To You."  Younger readers may recognize the melody as "Nuthin' But A G Thang," which samples (essentially covers) the song.

Carlton's first big hit was a cover of "Everlasting Love," which peaked at #6 in 1974.  As an aside, "Everlasting Love" is a great and interesting song that is one of two songs to have broken the top 40 in the 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s.  (The other song to do this is "The Way You Do the Things You Do".)

Carl Carlton remains active to the present day, but has not had another major hit.  In recent years, he has rotated to more gospel-related music.

Marty Balin - Hearts

Marty Balin's "Hearts" is the first of two "jailhouse rock" videos.  The video is a wonderful smorgasbord of early 1980s cheesiness, complete with Alcatraz, a beautiful woman, and a rock star in his underwear.  Amazingly, all of these elements will appear in the next "jailhouse rock" video as well.

As many readers will know, Marty Balin (born Martyn Buchwald) was a founding member of Jefferson Airplane.  He was with the band from 1965 to 1971, and then rejoined Jefferson Starship in 1975.  During his Jefferson Starship days, Balin wrote and sang "Miracles" and sang  "With Your Love" and "Count on Me."

Balin left Jefferson Starship in 1978, and released his cleverly titled solo album, Balin, in 1981.  The Balin LP reached #35 on the album charts and produced the only solo top 40 hits of Balin's career -- "Hearts" (#8) and  "Atlanta Lady" (#27).  No, we don't remember "Atlanta Lady" either.

"Hearts" is a well-produced, lite-rock ballad, with a fitting video.  There is also a lot of Balin -- in a bathing suit, in his underwear, curled up with his acoustic guitar, frolicking on the beach ... you get the idea.

Balin remained active in the industry until his passing, in September 2018.  He released a bunch of material through the years, including solo projects, as well as albums with Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship and even one with the KBC Band (with  Paul Kantner and Jack Casady from Jefferson Airplane).

Tommy Tutone - 867-5309/Jenny

Tommy Tutone was a solid, straight-ahead rock band who came up with the killer single that most bands dream about.  That song, "867-5309/Jenny" shot to #4 on the charts and helped make Tommy Tutone 2 a #20 LP.  Interestingly, that was not Tommy Tutone's only top 40 hit (although they are often considered a one hit wonder) ... but more on that later.

The Northern California band was led by lead singer Tommy Heath and guitarist Jim Keller.  The group was originally called Tommy and the Tu-tones; this eventually was shortened to Tommy Tutone.  While there is some mythology around the song, it was simply a made-up story as there was no Jenny.  The song was co-written by Jim Keller (Tommy Tutone) and Alex Call (who also wrote "Perfect World" for Huey Lewis and the News and "Little Too Late" for Pat Benatar).

As alluded to before, Tommy Tutone had a minor hit in 1980 with "Angel Say No," which was our first choice for the blog.  However, it does not appear that a video was ever made for that song, so we put up an audio clip on the ERV Facebook page.  "Angel Say No," from Tommy Tutone's 1980 self-titled debut album, peaked at #38.

Unfortunately, the band's third album, 1983's National Emotion, barely broke the top 200 album charts and the group broke up.  Jim Keller remained in the industry, while Tommy Health apparently left the music business for a time.  They both have occasionally recorded and performed, and we believe that Tommy Heath has a version of Tommy Tutone together as of this writing.

Cool trivia fact:  The actress in "867-5390/Jenny" is Karen Morton, Playboy's Playmate of the month for July 1978.  For those who are interested, there is an interview with her on the Noblemania blog.

Jefferson Starship - Find Your Way Back

The history of Jefferson Airplane / Jefferson Starship / Starship is a long, meandering stroll down rock and roll lane.  As many readers will know, the band started as Jefferson Airplane in San Francisco in 1965, and was an early psychedelic rock band.  In addition, Jefferson Airplane is notable as one of the first rock bands to feature a female lead singer -- the charismatic Grace Slick.  By the by, Jefferson Airplane was the model for the Dutch band Shocking Blue, who recorded the original version of "Venus" (featured along with the Bananarama cover last January).

In the early 1970s Jefferson Airplane effectively broke into two bands -- Hot Tuna and Jefferson Starship.  Jefferson Starship evolved to become a successful arena rock band in the 1970s and early 1980s, before personnel changes (and a dispute over the name) led to the band becoming Starship in the mid 1980s.  ERV readers should not worry, though, there is no way that a Starship song will ever show up on the blog (with apologies to any fans of "We Built this City" and "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now").

"Find Your Way Back" was from the 1981 Modern Times album.  It was the second album to feature lead singer Mickey Thomas, who joined the band after Marty Balin and Grace Slick quit.  Slick actually rejoined the band late in the recording session for Modern Times and was not in the original promotional materials (this is why the picture of the band at the end of the video does not include her).

The video is loaded with early 1980s goodness, including some sci-fi effects, one really skinny tie (mostly tucked in), and a cool double neck guitar.  We really do enjoy the song and video, in spite of (or perhaps because of) these elements.  Lastly, the song did turn out to be a decent FM hit -- the single hit #29 on the charts, while the Modern Times LP reached #26.

Note that Jefferson Starship's weird video for "No Way Out" was featured on ERV during our All Hallows Even celebration in 2015.

Kool & The Gang - Get Down On It

Although they started as a jazz band in 1964(!), Kool & The Gang are best-known as a funk and R&B outfit from the 1970s and 1980s.  The group was led by siblings Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell  and released their first album in 1969.  In an industry where few acts have any longevity, Kool & the Gang remained successful for the better part of two decades, helped by their willingness to evolve as musical tastes changed.

The band actually had two successful stretches -- a funk period from 1973 to 1975 or so best illustrated by "Jungle Boogie," which hit #4 in 1973, and a smooth R&B period from 1979 through the mid 1980s.  The R&B sound was helped by the new leader singer James "J.T." Taylor, who joined the band in 1979 (and parted amicably in 1988 to focus on his solo career).

"Get Down On It" was a solid hit for the band, and peaked at #10.  It was the 5th of 15 top 40 hits that the band would have between 1979 and 1986.  They also had 4 top 40 hits during their earlier funk period, with a multi-year dry spell in between.  While the song was a hit, the video remains rare, partly due to the blurred images and partly due to the fact that early MTV was not friendly to R&B acts -- hence, its inclusion on ERV.

While there have been some personnel changes, Kool & the Gang remain active in the music industry to this day.

"Misled," a damn catchy gem from 1984, was posted as part of ERV's All Hallows Even celebration in 2018.

Phil Collins - I Missed Again

Phil Collins has to be one of unlikeliest rock stars ever.  As many readers will know, Collins started as the drummer in Genesis, then became the lead singer when Peter Gabriel left (and the band couldn't find anyone better to sing).  Over time, Genesis transformed from a progressive rock band to a pop band and became enormously successful.

While the band's commercial success continued to grow, Phil Collin's personal life was deteriorating; he actually took a leave of absence from Genesis to work on his marriage.  Unfortunately, things did not work out and his (first) wife filled for divorce in 1979.  Collins then did what many artists would do under similar circumstances: he poured himself into his work.  The result was a bunch of new songs, some of which appeared on Genesis' 1980 album Duke (most notably,  "Misunderstanding").  Eventually, his record label got word of the material, and offered Collins a solo contract.

Work on the Face Value album began in 1979 and took two years.  While the material was primarily based on  the failure of his marriage, Collins softened the approach over time, and the result was a tremendously successful album.  The Face Value LP hit #7 on the charts, and went on to sell 5 million units in the U.S.  Interestingly, both "In the Air Tonight" and "I Missed Again" peaked at #19 on the U.S. charts.

Collins would go on to have more top 40 hits in the U.S. than any other artist during the 1980s.  He also is one of only three artists to have sold more than 100 million units both as a solo artist and as a member of a band.  The other two?  Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson.  On the personal front, things have not been quite as smooth; Collins was divorced from his third wife in 2008.  Sadly, Phil Collins announced his retirement from music in 2011.

A special shout out to ERV reader Sean, who requested this one a while back.

Below is original video, with Collins playing all of the instruments, air style.

As a special extra, we also have an audio of the demo track of the song, with the original lyrics.  Note that the original title of the song was "I Miss You, Babe."  It is also worth pointing out how much more downbeat the original demo was.

Def Leppard - Let It Go

Although Def Leppard is one of the bands that defined music in the 1980s, there are some rare and semi-rare videos of them.  In this way they are a lot like Bon Jovi, who went up on the blog last September.  And like Bon Jovi, the Leppards were not an overnight success; it took a few years to find their sound.

The band formed in Sheffield, England in 1977 and emerged as part of the new wave of British heavy metal in the early 1980s, alongside such bands as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.  Def Leppard's first album came out in 1980, and it was immediately apparent that they were different from most other metal groups in terms of their melodic, pop-influenced melodies.  In a stroke of good fortune, their sound caught the ear of producer extraordinaire Mutt Lange, who agreed to work on the band's second album, 1981's High and Dry.  [Lange would continue to work with the band on the Pyromania and Hysteria albums, as well.]

High and Dry was a modest success, reaching #38 on the U.S. charts, although "Let It Go" did not break the top 100.  We have to say, High and Dry is our favorite Def Leppard album -- it was a bit rougher than the band's later stuff, but it is really good.

The video was a straight up performance filmed at the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool, England.  In fact, Def Leppard shot "Let It Go," "High and Dry" and the original version of "Bringin' On the Heartbreak" all at the same time ... ah, the innocence of those pre-MTV days.

Of course, Def Leppard would crack the code of pop-metal with their 1983 Pyromania album (the catchy videos on MTV didn't hurt) and become huge stars -- Pyromania and Hysteria (1987) each sold in excess of 10 million units in the U.S.  Unfortunately, the band was also know for their tragedies as well, especially drummer Rick Allen's 1984 car accident (and loss of an arm) and guitarist Steve Clark's death in 1991.

Cool trivia fact:  The working title of "Let It Go" was "When The Rain Falls."

Cool trivia fact #2:  The dark-haired guitarist (with the Gibson Explorer) is Pete Willis, who was fired from the band in 1982 for alcoholism.  He was replaced by Phil Collen (not the one from Genesis), who remains in the band to the present day.

Franke and the Knockouts - Sweatheart

Franke (no i) and the Knockouts were a New Jersey band, founded in 1980 by Franke (also no i) Previte.  Between 1981 and 1982, the band had 3 (!) top 40 singles, with "Sweatheart" as the highest charting hit, at #10.  [Since we know that it will come up, the two other hits were 1981's "You're My Girl," which reached  #27 and "Without You" from 1982, which peaked at #24.]

While the band's first two LPs both broke the top 50, their third album did not chart, and the band broke up in 1986.  End of story, right?  Well, not quite ...

After the breakup, Franke Previte was looking for a recording contract when an old friend contacted him.  Jimmy Ienner, former president of Millennium Records was producing the soundtrack for a movie and wanted Previte's help for the final number.  Previte co-wrote a song for the film, and had another song that was used, as well (although both songs were performed by other artists).  The film was called Dirty Dancing (some readers may have heard of it) and the soundtrack became a hit (18 weeks as the #1 album in the U.S. in 1987).  We posted more on this story on the "Hungry Eyes" entry, which includes the original and cover versions of the song.

And that, my friends, is how Franke and the Knockouts are connected to Dirty Dancing.  Unfortunately, Previte did not have another big hit, but a 2010 Reuters article indicates that he remains active in the industry (mostly helping young songwriters) and is living comfortably off the royalties (which are generating a mid-six figure annual revenue).  Nice to have a happy ending at ERV.

Cool trivia fact:  Tico Torres, who went on to fame and fortune as the drummer in Bon Jovi, played drums on Franke and the Knockouts third album, 1984's, Makin' the Point.

Adam and the Ants - Stand and Deliver

One of the more theatrical bands to come out of the late 1970s punk / new wave movement in the U.K. was Adam and the Ants.  The band started as an art / punk band, evolved more towards glam / new wave, and put out several solid singles (and a bunch of great videos at a time when this was rare).  The band was known for their striking look and soon emerged as one of the leaders of the new romantic movement in Britain.

Interestingly, while Adam and the Ants never charted in the U.S top 100, they had 7 top 10 hits in their native U.K., including two #1s (and yes, "Stand and Deliver" is one of them; "Prince Charming" was the other).  "Stand and Deliver" was the lead single from the third (and final) Adam and the Ants album, Prince Charming, which was released in 1981.

The following year Adam broke up the band, although he continued to work with guitarist Marco Pirroni, and began recording under the name Adam Ant.  [As an aside, this has led to some confusion over whether a song is Adam Ant and or Adam and the Ants, not that it makes a ton of difference.]  Ant continued to have success in the U.K., and even had some U.S. chart successes, helped by MTV.  However, Ant decided to focus on acting after his 1985 album, Vive Le Rock and he effectively left the music industry for the rest of the 1980s.  Subsequently, he continues to sporadically record music (and tour).  Amazingly, we believe that his  more recent efforts (albums in 1990, 1995 and perhaps 2012) are surprisingly good, and worth a listen.

So without further ado, here is the dandy highwayman himself.

More coolness:  a brief making of video for "Stand and Deliver."  Note that we have added a Making of label to the right, for those who are interested.

The Sherbs - We Ride Tonight

Long time readers will remember that ERV loves Halloween, and we put up a few Halloweeny videos last year before the holiday.  [As an aside, last year's videos can be found by clicking the All Hallows Even tag here or to the right.]

This year's All Hallows Even tribute starts with a classic by The Sherbs.  This is the band's second appearance at ERV; "I Have the Skill" was featured in June, 2012.  In short, The Sherbs were the re-formed version of Sherbert, a successful Australian pop band who changed their name, updated their sound, and released two albums in the early 1980s.

"We Ride Tonight" was from the second solo record, 1981's Defying Gravity.  The song hit #26 on the U.S Mainstream charts, but did not break the Billboard top 100.  The LP did not do well, and the band broke up soon afterwards.

The video has an eerie feel to it, no doubt inspired by the keyboard intro and unusual bridge.  Both of those sections of the song feature the motorcycle vs. strange people in robes scenes that make the video perfect for this time of year.  The remainder of the video features that band performing, often in close-up.  All-in-all, it seemed like a good way to start the season.

Earth, Wind & Fire - Let's Groove

Earth, Wind and Fire were perhaps the most successful funk/pop act of the 1970s, with six consecutive top five albums.  "Let's Groove" was on the last of those, 1981's Raise.  Although the single and album sold well, critics were less enthusiastic, and in retrospect, this album marked the beginning of the end for the band.

Maurice White, the main creative force behind Earth, Wind and Fire, co-wrote "Let's Groove," and he was clearly searching for an updated sound.  He used a vocoder to create the intro; this funky futuristic vibe is accentuated by the video.  In particular, we love the costumes and the video effects (the video was made using the classic Scanimate computer system, commonly used in the 1970s and early 1980s).

"Let's Groove" peaked at #3, while the Raise LP peaked at #5.  In my book, it is noteworthy that even during their descent, E, W & F were still churning out some really solid music.

While the band soldiered on, they did not have any top 40 hits after 1982, and their album releases became less frequent, as well.  However, they continue to perform (with Maurice White) to this day.

Prism - Don't Let Him Know

Prism's "Don't Let Him Know" seems like the perfect follow-up to Bryan Adams, as their one U.S. hit was actually written by Adams and Jim Vallance.  The history of Prism, however, goes all the way back to the early 1970s, when producer Bruce Fairbairn and songwriter Jim Vallance formed the band.  Over time, Prism became successful north of the boarder, with ten top 100 hits between 1977 and 1981.

Even when Vallance started working with Bryan Adams, he remained active (as a songwriter) with Prism, and in the summer of 1981, Vallance and Adams wrote "Don't Let Him Know" for Prism.  Vallance has subsequently stated that the song was influenced by "Bette Davis Eyes," and we think that you can hear that, especially in the drums.  In any event, "Don't Let Him Know" would go on to be Prism's only top 40 hit in the U.S., making them an official one-hit wonder (although, to be fair, they had three other songs that broke the U.S. top #100).

We don't think that an official video was ever made for the song (if any readers know of one, please let us know in the comments).  As a result, we have gone with a clip from Solid Gold, although, sadly, the Solid Gold Dancers do not make an appearance.  Prism broke up in 1982, although the band later re-formed and continues to play to this day.

Coll trivia fact:  Bruce Fairbairn would go on to become a hugely successful record producer for Krokus, Loverboy, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, and AC/DC among others until his untimely passing in 1999.

Kim Carnes - Bette Davis Eyes

"Bette Davis Eyes" is another non-rare song and video, on the blog because it is a cover, something that may surprise many of our readers.  While the last 'songs that you didn't know were covers' entry -- Joan Jett's "I Love Rock and Roll" was a huge hit, "Bette Davis Eyes" was even bigger.

Kim Carnes (sometimes thought of as the female Rod Stewart due to her blonde hair and raspy voice) had a solid, interesting career even before the success of "Bette Davis Eyes."  She started in the New Christie Minstrels, singing folk songs in the late 1960s, then went out on her own as a singer / songwriter.  She gradually became successful , and really broke out in 1980.  In that year, her duet with Kenny Rogers, "Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer" hit #4, while Carnes' cover of a Smokey Robinson & The Miracles song, "More Love" hit #10.

But her cover of Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon's "Bette Davis Eyes" became a hit on an entirely different scale.  The song was originally recorded in 1974 by Jackie DeShannon as a pop / jazz song (yes, really).   DeShannon, best known for "What the World Needs Now Is Love" and "Put a Little Love in Your Heart," knew Carnes -- they appeared together in a 1967 film, C'mon, Let's Live a Little.  However, it was Donna Weiss who pitched the song, as a fallback after Carnes passed on her newer composition.  

Carnes' version of "Bette Davis Eyes" spent 9 weeks at the top on the Billboard charts (non-consecutive, as it was interrupted for one week by the "Stars on 45 Medley.")  Billboard named in as the #1 song of 1981, and it won a Grammy Award for Song of the Year.  How's that for a hit single?

Unfortunately, Carnes was not able to follow it up with another big hit, although she did have a sting of successful singles through 1986.  As her performing career waned, she transitioned to songwriting, eventually moving to Nashville, where she lives (and writes) to this day.

And the original Jackie DeShannon version ...

(Amazing, huh?)

Note that Carnes' "Voyeur" was posted on ERV in May 2014.