The Long Ryders - I Want You Bad

This is the second appearance on ERV for The Long Ryders; the superb "Looking for Lewis and Clark" was posted on our little blog in October, 2013.

Regular readers will recall that The Long Ryders were a roots rock act associated with the LA Paisley Underground scene.  They made a bit of a ripple on the college radio scene in the middle part of the 1980s, but never quite found their audience.

"I Want You Bad" was the lead single of the group's 1987 LP, Two Fisted Tales.  It is a cover (more on that below), but highlights the band's style and musicianship.  Unfortunately, we don't believe that either the LP or single charted.

While The Long Ryders remained well-regarded by critics, their big breakthrough never happened and in 1987 and the strenuous touring schedule finally did the band in.  Bassist Tom Stevens and guitarist Stephen McCarthy left the group by year end, and the remaining members (vocals/guitarist Sid Griffin and drummer Greg Sowders) chose not to continue.  However, the group did re-form in 2014, and plans to tour and perform some more as of this writing.

As mentioned above, "I Want You Bad" is a cover of an NRBQ song, below.  NRBQ is an influential and eclectic rock band who are known for their live shows.

Ray Parker, Jr. and Raydio - A Woman Needs Love (Just Like You Do)

Ray Parker, Jr. formed Raydio in 1977 with with Vincent Bohnam, Jerry Knight, and Arnell Carmichael.  The group's smooth pop/funk quickly led to success, with "Jack and Jill" and "You Can't Change That" as strong examples of their style.

First among equals bands, where there is one dominant member, often have trouble staying intact and Raydio was no exception.  By 1980, the group was called Ray Parker, Jr. and Raydio; this only lasted around a year before Parker left Raydio to go out on his own.

"A Woman Needs Love (Just Like You Do)" was off the last Raydio LP of the same name, and the success of the song and album likely encouraged Ray Parker, Jr. to go solo.  The single reached #4 on the charts, while the album peaked at #13 and went gold.

While the song picked up a significant amount of airplay on pop and adult contemporary radio, we don't recall ever seeing it on MTV.  The combination of the soft pop sound and MTV's initial positioning as a new wave/rock video channel probably account for this.  However, the vid is an awesome timepiece -- from the time Parker gets out of his Porsche, we were hooked.  Smooth, relaxed love advice never sounded so good (at least in 1981).

As regular readers will know, Parker's solo career go off the a strong start, with "The Other Woman," featured in our All Hallows Even celebration of 2014.  However, his career was inconsistent from there, though he did score a #1 hit in 1984 with "Ghostbusters."

The Hooters - Day by Day

After a long, bumpy road, Eric Bazilian and Rob Hyman finally saw significant success with The Hooters 1985 Nervous Night LP.  The album peaked at #12 on the charts and went double platinum; it also featured all three of the group's top 40 singles.

In fact, the Bazilian/Hyman partnership (sounds dirty but isn't) dates back to the early 1970s when they met as students at Penn.  Their first group (Baby Grand) recorded some decent material, but did not break through.  [Baby Grand also recorded the original version of "Never Enough" which was covered by Patty Smyth in 1987 and featured on ERV in April, 2014.]

Bazilian and Hyman formed The Hooters in 1980 and played extensively in the Philadelphia music scene before breaking up in 1982.  However, the group re-formed the following year and released their first (independent) album.  Their big break came when an old friend (Rick Chertoff from Baby Grand) asked Bazilian and Hyman to work with him on Cindy Lauder's She's So Unusual album.  The success of that project led to The Hooter's signing with Columbia Records.

Many readers will be surprised that "Day by Day" was the highest charting single from Nervous Night -- it hit #18 on the charts.  The song (co-written with Chertoff) is pretty typical of the band's music from this period -- upbeat roots rock, with some new wave and folk elements, to boot.

Sadly, Nervous Night was the peak of The Hooter's success.  Though their material remained strong, the albums did not sell as well.  The band broke up in 1995, but has reunited from time to time in the intervening years.  

Note that The Hooters excellent and underrated "Karla with a K" was featured on ERV in March, 2012.

The B-52's - Private Idaho

New wave and surf rock might seem like an odd combination (ok, it is an odd combination), but somehow the B-52's hit on a sound that was pure campy fun.  Sounding simultaneously  modern and vintage, the band sported an odd look that included the high beehives that gave the band its name.  Combine that with some seriously catchy material, and it is not surprising that the group made a name for itself in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The B-52's emerged out of the growing Athens, Georgia music scene, and would soon be joined by fellow Athenians R.E.M.  However, the group's sound was more Devo or Talking Heads than southern rock.  After forming in 1976 with little musical training, the band had progressed enough to make a demo of "Rock Lobster" in 1978.  That song would go on to become an independent hit, and would lead to recording contracts with Warner Bros. and Island Records.

"Private Idaho" was off the B-52's second LP, 1980's Wild Planet.  The single hit #74 on the charts (the group's second charting single, after "Rock Lobster"), while the album hit #18.  From there, things became more challenging -- the next few albums did not do as well, and founding guitarist Ricky Wilson (whose sister Cindy was also in the band) died of an AIDS-related illness in 1985.

As many readers will know, that wasn't the end of the story.  The B-52's 1989 comeback album, Cosmic Thing, became a huge surprise hit and led to a second period of success.  The group remains active as of this writing, though there have been some personnel changes and periods of inactivity through the years.