U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Peak Position No. 38, the biggest ever hit for this U.K. based rock band. Ironically enough, they never had a single charting single in their native U.K.
(9/10) for me personally, love this tune! (By the way, the music video audio is in a different key than the album version of the song)
U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 Charts Peak Position No. 120
Backstory: Hardly anything is even known about Wade at all, besides the fact that he released this one and only single of his off of Philips Records in 1967 and that it flopped. It was an answer record to Victor Lundberg's unexpected Top 10 spoken word hit, "An Open Letter To My Teenage Son". Besides that, we know that he is was a Caucasian young man with short, black hair at the time. Who knows what ever became of him?
The review: This is barely even a "song" at all, it's just a spoken word letter with music playing in the background. However, the music sets the serious and even slightly scary at times mood of the letter. Wade explains to parents on how he finds many of the things that they believe in to be rather hypocritical and even very unkind and unfair at certain times. I love it. Yes, seriously. LOL. Definitely an unique oddball track. (Also, the "song" is the exact same "song" on the flip side, the only difference is mono and stereo versions.)
Backstory: This Virginia based country rock band originally formed as a trio in the late 70's and got signed to Warner Bros./ Curb Records. In 1982, they released their first charting single off of their self titled debut album, a minor Country Chart hit called, "(So This Is) Happy Hour" which peaked as high as No. 71 on the Country Charts. This other single was their one and only ever Hot 100 Chart entry, only peaking as high as No. 88 on the Hot 100. Their recording days came to an end, but they still continue to perform occasionally in the Virginia and Washington D.C. areas. The band's violinist, Cecil Hooker, however went on to become a film producer and editor. He has worked on numerous commercials and TV shows, specifically those for CBS.
The review: This is a pretty good and decent country rock tune. Not sure why it stalled so low. It's definitely nothing outstanding, but it's still really good as is. I like the strings and the fun and catchy upbeat rhythms of the guitars and the drum beat. The vocals are pretty fine as well.
Backstory: This American R&B and rock and roll singer was born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1939, but later moved to Norfolk, Virginia sometime during the 1950's. His first hit single, "New Orleans" peaked as high as No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960. After releasing more successful singles in the 60's, he laid low in the 70's, but returned in the early 80's with a comeback hit co-written by Bruce Springsteen and Steven Van Zandt called, "This Little Girl is Mine", which peaked as high as No. 11 on the Hot 100. This following single also did fairly well, almost cracking the Top 20. Bonds still continues to occasionally perform around the country, but stopped thankfully due to the pandemic. In fact, he even updated this song in a Coronavirus out of work twist very recently! Huh.
The review: This is a damn fine pop and old school type rock song with a nice melody. I personally have always really liked this one.
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Peak Position No. 64 (Originally released in 1979, re-charted when it got re-released in 1980)
Backstory: This American funk, R&B, and post disco group from Minneapolis that was signed onto the Casablanca label was formed in 1979 by Steven Greenberg and lasted until 1985. Their main vocalist was Cynthia Johnson. Their first single (and only ever major pop hit around the world) was, "Funkytown", which became a gigantic success all around the world. This second single was their only other Hot 100 entry, stalling at just No. 64 on the charts. They continued to have some more dance club charting singles, but after that, it was all over for them. However, the legacy of their huge smash hit lives on, as it's often referenced in many movies and TV shows.
The review: This is a pretty good and decent disco/ R&B tune, but nowhere near as much as a classic as, "Funkytown" is. I like the bass lines and the occasional strings and the whispering, "Rock, rock, rock, rock it!" voice. Overall, a fairly catchy, fun, and underrated little gem, but nowhere near as great as, "Funkytown" is. Shame they couldn't find more chart success (or more importantly, come up with some better tunes.) But to be fair, disco was pretty much dead by that time anyways.
Backstory: Gabriel already released two self-titled solo albums after splitting from Genesis before releasing this single off of his third self-titled album, commonly referred to as, Melt. Though the song was a Top 10 hit in Gabriel's native U.K., Canada, and in Ireland, it only got to as high as No. 48 in the States. However, it remains one of Gabriel's most popular songs ever to date, along with tunes of his such as, "Shock the Monkey" and, "Sledgehammer" (his only ever No. 1 U.S. hit single). Gabriel still makes and produces music to this very day, along with also donating and helping out in many political and world health organizations.
The review: This is a damn fine song. Though I wouldn't call it one of his all time best songs, it's still definitely a damn good one. With lyrics comparing war and politics to children playing games (along with Kate Bush's repeating the song's title in French, a reference to the long running European game show, Jeux Sans Frontieres) and Gabriel's occasional whistling, this is a very, very unique and catchy tune. Should've made the Top 30. Great and very visual music video for the song as well.
