Missing Persons - Destination Unknown

Well, it is the time of year where ERV rolls out some rare, spooky, and/or atmospheric videos - welcome to our 11th annual All Hallows Even celebration!

First up is Missing Persons' strong 1982 cut, "Destination Unknown."  Long time readers may recall that we featured Missing Persons' cool, artsy video for "Surrender Your Heart" back in 2012.  That entry also does a good job of providing some background on the band, so we'll politely suggest following the link.

"Destination Unknown" is one of Missing Persons older songs and was originally released on the band's 1980 EP (along with "I Like Boys," "Mental Hopscotch" and a cover of the Doors' "Hello, I Love You.")  It was also the second single released from the group's breakout 1982 LP, Spring Session M (unsurprisingly, "Words" was the first single).

From an All Hallows Even point of view, we dig the atmospheric video which feels somewhat dream-like.  Bonus points for the broken mirror, which is prominently featured in the clip. The video did manage to go into rotation on MTV for a time, though we don't think that it was featured quite as much as "Words" was.

While we suspected that Missing Persons could be a one hit wonder, they actually never had a top 40 hit.  "Words" and "Destination Unknown" both peaked at #42, thought the Spring Session M album (an anagram of the band's name) did better, reaching #17 on the charts.

Peter Wolf - Come As You Are

Peter Wolf remains one of the more interesting characters in rock and roll, although we are still a bit sad about his untimely departure from the J. Geils Band -- but more on that later.

Wolf (given name: Peter Blankfield) was born in New York City and moved to Boston to attend art school at Tufts University.  His first roommate?  David Lynch. (Yes, seriously.)  While at Tufts he got into the Boston music scene, which in 1968 led to a job at the new FM rock station in Boston, WBCN.  Wolf became the first nighttime DJ on BCN, going by Woofa Goofa.  However, he soon left the radio station to focus on making it as a rock star with the mighty J. Geils Band.

We've previously posted two great videos from the J. Geils Band - "Love Stinks" and "Come Back," both of which were off the successful Love Stinks LP.  The band's next album, 1981's Freeze Frame, became a #1 album, but a rift in the band soon developed over their musical direction.  Wolf wanted to continue with a more blues rock sound, but the rest of the group favored a more pop/dance direction.  As a result, Wolf left the group in 1983 and ventured out on his own.

"Come As You Are" (no, not the Nirvana song) was the lead single off the 1987 LP of the same name.  It became a hit, reaching #15 on the charts, though it would be Wolf's last top 40 hit.  The video is a tribute to a Bobby Van dance routine from  the 1953 movie Small Town Girl, and is a hoot - typical high energy Peter Wolf.

Cool trivia fact:  Wolf was married to actress Faye Dunaway from 1974-79.

Stevie Wonder - Master blaster (Jammin')

There are not a lot of true music legends, either in general or on ERV, but Stevie Wonder certainly qualifies.  Born as Stevland Hardaway Morris, and blind since shortly after birth, Wonder started in the music industry at 11 (!) and was given the name Little Stevie Wonder by Motown producer Clarence Paul.

While many acts count their top 40 songs or albums, one indication of Stevie Wonder's success is the amount of #1s.  Wonder has ten #1 songs and three #1 albums.  In the 1970s, his music - an upbeat fusion of soul, pop, and R&B - dominated the charts (and was critically acclaimed, to boot).  For example, Wonder has four albums in the Rolling Stone top 500, including three in the top 60. 

His 1980 LP, Hotter Than July may not quite reach the career peaks of his 1970s efforts, but it is still an extremely good record.  The album would peak at #3 and go platinum, while "Master Blaster (Jammin')" would reach #5 on the singles chart.  The song was heavily influenced by Wonder's friendship with reggae legend Bob Marley.  The title is a nod to Marley's 1977 song "Jamming" and the lyrics, envisioning a world at peace, were also likely influenced by Marley.

Wonder continued to have significant commercial success through the 1980s, albeit with a somewhat more commercial sound.  Although his production has decreased in the years since, he remains active in the industry as of this writing, and remains a true living legend.

Kim Wilde - Kids In America

For a time in 1982, and again in 1987, it looked like Kim Wilde might break out and become a pop star in the U.S., but unfortunately the stars did not align for her.  However, she did carve out a long career in Europe and the UK, as well as two breakthrough hits in the U.S.

Wilde was basically born into the music business; her father (Marty Wilde) had several hits in the 1950s and early 1960s before transitioning to a career as an entertainer.  By the early 1980s, Marty was working with his son Ricky.  Kim offered to sing backup vocals in the studio with Ricky, and drew the attention of Mickie Most, the head of RAK Records. Ricky and Marty recognized that this could be a big break for Kim and wrote a song for her: "Kids in America."

The song became a hit in the UK and Europe in 1981, but it was the video, shown on the fledgling MTV cable channel that really drove Wilde's U.S. success.  "Kids in America" peaked at #25 in August 1982 - roughly eighteen months after its UK peak (at #2 in February 1981).  However, Wilde's other singles did not do well in the U.S.; none broke the top 40.  In contrast, from 1981-86, she had nine top 40 hits in her native UK.

Surprisingly, in 1987 Wilde broke through again, this time with a cover of The Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On," which went to number 1.  Although Wilde never had another top 40 hit in the U.S., her career remain strong in the UK throughout the 1990s.  She later became a DJ and TV presenter which continues to the present day.