The place for great and not-so-great nearly forgotten videos from the decade of Miami Vice, mullets, and acid wash jeans. All praise to the bands, YouTube, and the original posters of these videos.
"Stay With Me Tonight" is a classic pop funk tune from the 1980s that clicks right from the start. The funky bass line, synthesizer melody and eighties drums combine to shape a really strong song. It is not surprising that it was written by Raymond Jones, the keyboardist from Chic who built a second career as a songwriter.
Singer Jeffrey Osborne (no relation to Ozzy) developed a solid career as a funk musician. Born in Providence, Rhode Island, he rose to fame as the lead singer of L.T.D., who are best known for "(Every Time I Turn Around) Back in Love Again," a #4 hit from 1977. Osborne left the group to go solo in 1980 and landed 6 top 40 hits between 1982 and 1987.
"Stay With Me Tonight," was a solid success, reaching #30 on the pop charts and #4 on the R&B charts in 1983, while the album of the same name peaked at #25, and eventually went platinum. The vid appears to have been shot in NYC and plays like an eighties time capsule, complete with roller skates (0:13), old school video editing, and a neon-decorated club where the fashions of the day are on display. We have to say, in spite of the dated look, the clip still has a certain coolness about it that suits Osborne and the song.
Although Osborne's commercial success faded after the 1980s, he remains active in the music industry as of this writing.
The previous time that we discussed Billy Squier was last August, when Squire's amazingly terrible video, "Rock Me Tonight" was featured on the blog. "Rock Me Tonight" is sometimes viewed as the worst major video ever made, and one that may have contributed to the decline of Billy Squier's career and/or Western civilization as a whole.
While Squier continued recording through the mid-1990s, he did not have a top 40 single or album after "Rock Me Tonight," making it an interesting and somewhat sad anecdote. And that would be the end of the Billy Squier story, except ...
Squier's trademark sound was punctuated by a driving beat, something that is particularly evident on his earlier work ("The Stroke," for instance). Bolstered by the superb (and loud) Bobby Chouinard, this strong backbeat would differentiate Squier's songs from many of his contemporaries. In fact, he led off his first solo album -- 1980's Tale of the Tape -- with a drum intro on "The Big Beat" (side 1, song 1).
Having a clean drum break proved to be irresistible to early rap acts, and the drum intro on "The Big Beat" was sampled as early as 1981. Over time, the enthusiasm for the drum line has not waned, and it has been used by artists including: Jay-Z ("99 Problems"), Run-D.M.C. ("Here We Go"), and Alicia Keys ("Girl on Fire'). As of this writing, "The Big Beat" has been sampled in nearly 200 songs, and is one of the 10 most popular samples of all time. Other Squier songs, particularly "The Stroke" are also popular samples.
Unfortunately, this popularity has not translated to a resurgence in Squier's career, and in recent interviews he seems someone ambivalent about the sampling. For readers who are interested, Squier's first two LPs -- Tale of the Tape and Don't Say No are particularly strong and well worth a listen.
We don't recall ever seeing the original video for "The Big Beat" on MTV back in the day, so it definitely qualifies are a rare (and cool) video. We're not totally sure about the yellow pants, though. Also worth checking out: roller skates! (1:20) and an obscure Eraserhead marquee (2:30, but blink and you'll miss it).
The is the Michael Stanley Band's second appearance on ERV as "He Can't Love You" was posted back in October of 2011. (By the by, "He Can't Love You" is a great early video, and was played on MTV on day one.)
The group was formed by Michael Stanley Gee in 1974 (he changed his last name early in his career, as another musician with the surname Gee was already signed to his label). While the band were local heroes in Cleveland and had decent success in the midwest, they never quite broke out at a national level. This is a shame, as the group has a solid straight up rock sound and was known for their high energy shows. In retrospect, they just never got the lucky break that helps launch many careers.
"My Town" is off the Michael Stanley Band's 1983 You Can't Fight Fashion LP, which was the band's last major label release. The album reached #64 on the charts, while "My Town" hit #39. The tune is a love song to Cleveland, which the video underscores.
The Michael Stanley Band remained together until 1986, but finally broke up as they were simply unable to continue economically. They have reunited periodically, and Michael Stanley remains active in the music industry to the present day.
It goes without saying that MTV had a seismic impact on the music business; by 1982 or so, MTV was one of the most influential factors in the industry. However, the video music channel showed its importance virtually right from the start, even when it was not widely carried on cable systems. Of course, the early impact was a bit hit or miss, but it did show the tremendous potential of the channel.
One early success story was the Tarney-Spencer Band's single, "No Time to Lose." Australians Alan Tarney (guitars, vocals) and Trevor Spencer (drums) rose to prominence as members of Cliff Richard's backing group in the early 1970s, and went out on their own in 1975. They released three LPs, the last one being 1979's Run For Your Life. The album was a modest success, reaching #184 in the U.S., while the single "No Time To Lose" peaked at #84. Soon afterwards, A&M dropped the band, and the duo broke up.
MTV picked up the "No Time To Lose" video (roller skates and all) in 1981, and a re-released version of the single reached #74 on the charts -- 2 years after the group broke up. Unfortunately, Tarney and Spencer had moved on with their careers, and no attempt was made to reunite as far as we know.
Interestingly, both Alan Tarney and Trevor Spencer would go on to become producers, and remain in the industry to the present day. Trevor Spencer moved back to Australia and is a Perth-based producer, while Alan Tarney remained in the U.K. Tarney is best known for his work with a-Ha -- he co-produced the band's first three LPs, including Hunting High and Low (which included the huge hit, "Take On Me.")
Ian Hunter's "All of the Good Ones Are Taken" is another video that fits in perfectly in the ERV neighborhood, and there are a bunch of cool factoids associated with the vid to boot.
We'll start with Ian Hunter, your basic under-appreciated musician. Hunter started his career as the frontman for Mott the Hoople, a groundbreaking English glam rock band that never quite broke out. Mott the Hoople are best known for their 1972 classic, "All the Young Dudes" (written for the band by David Bowie). Hunter left Mott in late 1974 and embarked on a solo career that was critically acclaimed, but generally flew under the radar of the listening public. In particular, Hunter's 1979 LP, You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic is viewed by many as a rock classic (and totally goes on my list of greatest album titles).
"All of the Good Ones Are Taken" comes from the 1983 album of the same name -- note that the album contained two versions of the song (fast and slow) The video is set to the fast version of the song (the slow version can be found here, for interested readers). It is also worth pointing out that the sax solo is performed by Clarence Clemons, who does not appear in the video.
The video is pitch perfect in my humble opinion and is notable for the presence of Carol Miller (she is the blonde with the side ponytail). Miller is a famous NY DJ (WPLJ, WNEW-FM and now Q104.3) and one of your author's favorite DJs ever. The butler is played by Arthur "Captain" Haggerty, a famous animal trainer and actor. And, of course, we have to call out the presence of roller skates (!) at 1:14. All this adds up to a fun, rare video of a good and nearly forgotten song.
Cool trivia fact: ERV reader Corkey pointed out the Martin Briley, whose song "Salt of My Tears" was posted on ERV in October 2011 can be seen (well, the back of his head can, at least) at 0:31.
Cool trivia fact #2: Hilly Michaels, who appeared on ERV in February ("Calling All Girls"), played drums on the All of the Good Ones Are Taken LP, and co-wrote one of the songs on the album, as well.
Originally called the Greenwood, Archer and Pine Street Band, after their neighborhood in Tulsa, the Gap Band produced some of the catchiest funk this side of Rick James. The band was centered around three brothers -- Charlie, Ronnie and Robert Wilson, who started playing music in the late 1960s. They eventually moved to LA, and released their first album in 1974. However, it wasn't until the early 1980s that the band really took off.
"Party Train" is from 1983's Gap Band 5: Jammin', the last of 4 straight gold or platinum albums for the band. While the song peaked at #3 on the R&B charts, it surprisingly did not break the top 100 on the Billboard pop charts. The album peaked at #28, although it did hit #2 on the R&B album charts.
The video is classic Gap Band -- flashy, exuberant and fun. Yes, the Wilsons loved their cowboy hats and boots (they were, after all, from Tulsa). However, the video is just a crazy, funky California beach scene. With the exception of Charlie Wilson's ill-advised (really small) bathing suit, this clip is a winner. And there is even dancing with roller skates (briefly, around 4:37).
Although the Gap Band's popularity declined after the 1980s, they continued to perform until Robert Wilson's untimely death from a heart attack in 2010.
Y&T was a band that was playing the right kind of music at the right time, but somehow never really broke through. The band formed in Oakland in 1974, and were named after the Beatles LP, Yesterday and Today. After they signed to A&M in 1980, they shortened their name to Y&T, probably because it sounded more metal. They would go on to release six radio-friendly hard rock albums in the 1980s, but somehow never found their audience, in spite of the fact that their high energy live shows were legendary. In retrospect, much of the blame likely lies with the label, as A&M had few hard rock bands (and seemingly had no idea how to promote them).
"Summertime Girls," from the 1985 album Down for the Count was the closest thing to a genuine hit that Y&T had, but it peaked at #55 on the Billboard charts, so the band does not even count as an official one hit wonder. The video is a cheesy masterpiece of 1980s fun, complete with lots of girls in bikinis, a few metal babes, and roller skates. And, we found a version that includes the somewhat rare 30 second intro.
While the band broke up in 1991, they reformed in 2001 and are still performing, although we believe that the only original member left is singer/guitarist Dave Maniketti.
Picking the strongest song from Dire Straits classic album Making Movies is almost like picking your favorite finger. The LP (justly ranked as the 52nd best album of the 1980s by Rolling Stone) is incredibly solid from start to finish, and well worth a listen for any 1980s music fan.
We eventually settled on "Skateaway," partly for sentimental reasons, as it was the first song that we heard from the album. Coincidentally, it was the only single from Making Movies to chart in the U.S., reaching #58, while the LP hit #19. The song is classic Dire Straits, with a great beat, cool lyrics and interesting, artistic guitar work by Mark Knopfler.
The song was inspired by a girl on roller skates in New York City, and the somewhat dated video (featuring "it girl" Jayzik Azikiwe) does reflect the story line. We liked that the band is barely present in the video, and when they do appear, it is a humorous, awkward moment. (We especially liked that the Stratocaster gets better lighting and more air time than the band).
Dire Straits would go on to have tremendous success with the somewhat more commercial-sounding Brothers in Arms, but in my opinion Making Movies was their masterpiece.
George Benson got his musical start playing ukulele at age 7, and later became an successful jazz guitarist. By the late 1970s, he was an established star, and his music had evolved into something new -- not jazz, not quite disco, but something that fit in well with the emerging R&B movement.
In 1980, Benson had the smarts or good fortune (or both) to collaborate with Rod Temperton and Quincy Jones. Quincy Jones went on to become one of the biggest record producers in the world. Tempeton co-wrote the Michael Jackson songs "Off the Wall," "Rock with You" and "Thriller" (all produced by Jones), along with "Stomp" by The Brothers Johnson.
The resulting song, "Give Me the Night," became Benson's biggest hit, and rose to #4 on the charts. It also hit #1 on the R&B charts. The video received little airplay, partly due to the fact that it predated MTV by a good year or so, and partly because MTV was not very friendly to R&B acts in its early days. It also may have something to do with the roller skates. Just sayin'.
Cool trivia fact: supposedly, Quincy Jones suggested the echo on Benson's guitar that drives the sound.
