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.

Vain - Beat the Bullet

Long time reader Sam requested Vain (multiple times) and he is right -- "Beat the Bullet" is a solid late 1980s choice for the blog.  So this one goes out to Sam, with my compliments.

Vain came out of the San Francisco hard rock scene of the mid 1980s and was led by singer Davy Vain.  The band formed in 1986 and played regularly in San Francisco and Los Angeles before signing a contract with Island Records in 1988.  Vain's debut album, 1989's No Respect was a solid initial effort and reached #154 on the album charts.  Although the single, "Beat the Bullet" did generate some airplay on MTV, it did not chart.

The group returned to the studio to work on their second LP, titled All These Strangers, but were dropped by their label when Island Records was acquired by PolyGram.  Vain then joined forces with ex-Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler to form Road Crew and recorded an album that generated some recording label interest.  Unfortunately, Adler's drug problems soon put an end to the project.  The band then returned to the Vain moniker and has continued to record and perform to the present day.

Talking Heads - Once In a Lifetime

The 63rd video aired on MTV, "Once In a Lifetime" is now often viewed as one of the most significant songs and videos of the 1980s.  The song was named to the NPR 100 (the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century) while the video has been displayed in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Talking Heads was made up of three friends from the Rhode Island School of Design (David Byrne, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth) who were subsequently joined by Jerry Harrison (who had played in Jonathan Richman's band The Modern Lovers).  The band came out of the vibrant punk/new wave scene at New York's CBGBs, along with the Ramones, Blondie, and Television, among others.

Allmusic characterizes Talking Heads as art-school punks, which is a great description.  The band incorporated punk, new wave and world music influences into something that resembled artistic pop music.  The formula did not always work, but at their best, Talking Heads made some of the most artistic and interesting music of their era.

"Once In a Lifetime" was the lead single off the band's fourth record, 1980's Remain in Light.  While the album sold well and reached #19 on the charts, "Once In a Lifetime" did not break the top 100, peaking at #103.  (It did better in the U.K., where it reached #14.)  Remain in Light was also the third LP where Talking Heads collaborated with Brian Eno, who co-wrote, produced and engineered the album.

The video was one of the craziest, most creative things shown on early MTV.  Choreographed by Toni Basil (of "Mickey" fame), it consists of David's Byrne's crazed marionette-like spasms, which are combined with additional footage in the background.  Somehow, the whole thing comes together, and the result is a musical and visual masterpiece.

Cool trivia fact:  Rolling Stone rated Remain in Light as the 4th best album of the 1980s, and the 39th greatest album ever.

Bruce Hornsby and the Range - Mandolin Rain

Bruce Hornsby and the Range released their well-crafted debut album in 1986.  The Way It Is quickly gained traction, rising to #3 in the U.S. and generating three top 20 hits -- the title cut (a #1 single), "Mandolin Rain" (#4) and "Every Little Kiss" (#14).  Hornsby then went on to win the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1987, and was never heard from again.  OK, the last part is not true, but Horsby's debut album was the commercial high point of his career.  [And for a list of Best New Artist Grammy winners since 1975, check out the BoDeans' "Only Love" post from last June.]

In fact, Hornsby recorded two additional album with The Range (both of which reached the top 20) and had three additional top 40 hits before dropping the band to go out on his own.  In the intervening years, he has worked as a studio musician, recorded a bunch of albums (his more recent work has more of a jazz-influenced sound) and played with the Grateful Dead.

While Hornsby's videos were played in the 1980s, his low key approach (which is apparent in "Mandolin Rain" below) did not fit in well with MTV target market.   Afterwards, his move to a more jazz and bluegrass influenced sound took him out of the mainstream.  However, he remains a talented artist who had six top 40 songs from 1986 - 1990.

Cool trivia fact:  Bruce Hornsby co-wrote two top 10 hits for other artists -- Don Henley's "The End of the Innocence" (#8 in 1989) and Huey Lewis' "Jacob's Ladder" (#1 in 1987).

Mink DeVille - I Must Be Dreaming

In 1985, Mink Deville released Sporting Life, the band's six (and final) LP.  The album contained one of the better unknown ballads from the 1980s - "I Must Be Dreaming," which seemed like a great fit for ERV.

Mink Deville's origins go way back to 1974 when Willie Deville (born as Billy Borsay) formed the band in San Francisco.  Named somewhat randomly after the group's idea of a cool car (a fur-lined Cadillac), Mink Deville first gained notoriety as the house band at CBGB's from 1975 - 1977.  Amazingly, their unique pop/soul style somehow fit in with the new wave and punk groups at the time.

Signed to Capital in 1976, Mink Deville recorded several eclectic albums in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and never quite found their audience.  In fact, few of their albums and singles even charted in the U.S. though they did have some success internationally.  In addition, as members of the band left, Willie Deville replaced them with studio musicians, so by the third album Mink Deville and Willie Deville were virtually indistinguishable.  The Sporting Life was the last album where the Mink Deville name was used, after that it was Willie Deville for all concerts and albums.

Willie Deville would go on to release eight more studio albums, mostly with a soul flavor (in fact, his pop/soul songs with Latin rhythms would come to be called Spanish-Americana music).

Deville sadly died of cancer in New York in 2009.

Cool trivia fact: The pop metal band Giuffria recorded a cover of "I Must Be Dreaming" in 1986, which charted at #52.

Steve Earle - Copperhead Road

As a country roots rocker in the 1980s, Steve Earle had a challenging time fitting in, not unlike John Hiatt.  Earle was critically acclaimed and flirted with success on both the country and rock charts but ultimately never quite broke through.  However, he recorded a bunch of great music and gradually developed a modest but loyal following.

Earle's 1988 release Copperhead Road was represented a clear break from the more country-oriented sound that preceded it.  A combination of frustration over the Nashville music scene and his liberal politics may have driven the change.  In any event, the result was a unique and really solid country-rock album that reached #56 on the charts.  The single "Copperhead Road" is a classic roots rock storytelling song, and it received some radio airplay at the time.

The video does a fine job of telling the song's story about moonshine, Vietnam and drugs, with a decidedly anti-authoritarian slant.  (I particularly like the intro.) 

In the aftermath of Copperhead Road, Earle's career deteriorated, primarily due to drug use.  His 1990 CD, The Hard Way, is not viewed as one of his better efforts, and he then mostly disappeared from view for several years.  However, he returned to the industry (cleaner) in 1995 and has carved out a solid and interesting path since then.  For readers who are interested, 1986's Guitar Town and 1996's I Feel Alright are especially strong.  ERV also posted an earlier effort, "I Ain't Ever Satisfied" in January 2014.

Earle remains active in the industry as of this writing.

Soul II Soul - Jazzie's Groove

More a community of artists than a static band, Soul II Soul were nevertheless one of the more interesting and creative R&B acts of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Jazzie B (real name: Trevor Romeo) formed the group in London in 1988 with a lineup that included Nellee Hooper and Caron Wheeler among its ranks.  [Carol Wheeler appeared on ERV last December as a backup singer in the Elvis Costello and The Attractions song, "Everyday I Write the Book."]

Soul II Soul's sound was a modern take on traditional R&B and soul.  In particular, by combining samples with modern R&B, they made songs that were more interesting and creative than most R&B on the radio at the time.  The group's first album, Club Classics Vol. One (called Keep On Movin' in the U.S.) was a hit, reaching #14 in the U.S. and #1 in the U.K.  The singles "Keep On Movin'" (#11 in the U.S.) and "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)" (#4) became big hits, and the group appeared to be headed for continued success.

Sadly, Wheeler left the band before the second LP was recorded, and further personnel turnover also had an impact on the group.  While they remained stars in the U.K., they did not have another top 40 hit in the U.S. Jazzie B eventually disbanded Soul II Soul in 1997, although they have reunited and performed in recent years.

For the blog, we skipped right over their two big hits listed above and settled on "Jazzie's Groove," a funky, mostly instrumental song that features samples from Gary Byrd's "Soul Travelin' Pt. I," Beau Dollar's "Who Knows," The Honey Drippers' "Impeach the President" and Pleasure's "Celebrate the Good Things."

Scorpions - No One Like You

For the second "Jailhouse rock" video, we went with a clip that is very close to, and very far away from our first video.  "No One Like You" was shot one year after Marty Balin's "Hearts" video, in the same location (Alcatraz).  However, it is the diametric opposite in terms of style; "No One Like You" is a hard rock ballad, and the video seems more focused on capital punishment than love.

"No One Like You" was the first charting single (in the U.S.) by Scorpions (no 'the'), and it hit #65 on the charts  (and #1 on the Rock Tracks charts).  It was off the Blackout LP, which was the band's eighth album, and highlights just how long it took for the group to break through in the U.S.  Blackout reached #10 on the album charts and was the first of three consecutive top 10 albums for the band.

Scorpions were formed in Germany in the late 1960s by guitarist Rudolf Schenker, who has been the band's only constant member, although lead singer Klaus Meine has been with the group since 1970 (and is the lead singer on all of their albums).  Coincidentally, Schenker and Meine co-wrote "No One Like You."  With its anthemic chords and simpler solo, the song showed the template that Scorpions (and many others) would use in the 1980s.

The video is notable for three things:  1. stock footage of sharks (1:45), 2. Rudolf Schenker's imitation of the album cover (2:53, although the album art was a self portrait of artist Gottfried Helnwein) and 3. Klaus Meine's underwear (3:40 if you wish to avert your eyes).  Oh, and not to give anything away, but it turns out that the whole thing was just a nightmare.

Of course, Scorpions would follow up Blackout with their 1984 smash Love at First Sting, which featured "Rock You Like a Hurricane," one of two top 40 hits for the band (it hit #25, while "Winds of Change" reached #4 in 1991).

While there have been recent rumors about the band's breakup, they appear to be together as of this writing.

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).

T'Pau - Heart and Soul

Although they were stars in the U.K. (where they had 8 top 40 hits), T'Pau were a classic one hit wonder in the U.S., with only "Heart and Soul" breaking the top 40.  The band was formed in Shropshire, U.K. in 1986 and were led by singer Carol Decker.  The group was originally called Talking America but changed their name to T'Pau (a Star Trek character) almost randomly.  It seems that an old episode of the TV show was on in the background while they were debating names, and the word T'Pau stuck in their heads.

T'Pau's demo tapes soon scored them a recording contract with Virgin Records, and the band's debut LP, Bridge of Spies was released in 1987.  Interestingly, the initial release of "Heart and Soul" did not go well.  And then ... it was used in a Pepe Jeans commercial in the U.S. and U.K. and absolutely took off, reaching #4 on both sides of the Atlantic.

While they did not chart again in the U.S., our British readers may remember "China in Your Hand," a #1 song from later in 1987.

The band broke up in 1991, then re-formed in 1998 and continue to perform as of this writing.