70's Bubbling Under the Hot 100 song review: "Reason To Feel" by Scuffy Shew (1973)

 

U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 Singles Chart Peak Position No. 112

Backstory: There is literally little to NOTHING known about this anonymous male singer, except for the facts that he released this lone single off of the RCA Records sub label Metromedia Records sometime during 1973. It only got slight radio airplay, and therefore only Bubbled Under. Supposedly, the man only known as Scuffy Shew worked with the Beach Boys on their timeless classic Pet Sounds album and was a best friend of Alex Chilton, lead singer of the really popular 60's pop and rock band, The Box Tops. Shew also wrote a single song for the band, The Association in 1975 on the RCA label. Finally (get this): Shew supposedly voiced the Convict Fox on Disneyland's America Sings ride that was popular during the 70's (though now the ride remains infamous due to a goddamn freaky ass accidental DEATH that occurred there in 1974 when a young woman worker there was literally CRUSHED to death between two separate spinning showroom walls), but that's beside the point.  To this day, nobody really knows who Shew truly is, except for maybe a select small handful of folks.

The review: Well, this guy definitely has quite an unusual singing style and voice (which I honestly LOVE). It's almost like a classic cartoon character, like Bugs Bunny but still not quite. It's quite a unique folk rock and pop song. Honestly, I do think that this deserved to be a bigger hit and bigger success than it was, but with Shew intentionally remaining anonymous and probably not a whole lot of promotion for this single going on (besides a rare poster advertising the single that you can even find on eBay out of all places), I honestly think that this song was destined to flop on the first go. But like I said, I think it's an underrated and unique tune. I do like the guitar work and the production quite a bit.

Final rating: 9/10

80's Hit Song Review: "The Curly Shuffle" by Jump 'N' the Saddle Band (1983)

 

U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Peak Position No. 15 (released in late '83, peaked in early '84)

Backstory: This country pop and novelty swing music group formed and founded by Peter Quinn and T.C. Furlong was formed in Chicago in 1983. This following novelty song based on the classic Three Stooges comedy film series was originally a small regional hit released off of the independent ACME Records label. As the song gained more popularity, it gained the interest of Atlantic Records who eventually signed the group to the label. This following song was sadly their one and only ever hit song. A self titled album was eventually released with many covers and some originals, but it sadly went nowhere as well. However, it definitely sounded a lot different from other Top 40 hit songs from that year, that's for sure! The band still occasionally performs to this day, mostly in thrift native Chicago area.

The review: Now, this was quite the unusual little goody groove, especially for 1984! I liked this song quite a bit when I first heard it, but I liked it even more once I listened to it multiple more times. The swing like horns and trumpets really add a blend of zesty and corny fun to this tune. The imitations and occasional cheesy sound effects are pretty nice as well. But, my favorite part of the song is the fun and fast paced ending. Overall, a really good and unique one of a kind novelty song from this wonderful decade.

Final rating: 8/10

80's Hit Song Review: "Cafe Amore" by Spyro Gyra (1981)

 

U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Peak Position No. 77 (released in late 1980, didn't chart until in early 1981)

Backstory: This American jazz fusion and smooth jazz/ world music band was formed in Buffalo, NY in 1974. The band name is a play on the word "spirogyra" which is a kind of algae which band member Jay Beckenstein learned about back in his school days. In 1977, they released their debut album which included the single, "Shaker Song" which peaked as high as No. 90 on the Hot 100 in 1978. They would release their biggest hit, "Morning Dance" (a Top 40 single) around the same time. This song was their last ever charting Hot 100 single. The band is still together to this day, but sadly 3 members have since passed away: Jim Kurzdorfer, Ted Reinhardt, and Dave Samuels.

The review: This is a great little instrumental song that is perfect for listening to while relaxing or eating an Italian style lunchtime or dinnertime meal (think Fettuccine Alfredo, spaghetti, breadsticks, and a glass of Italian wine or a fancy Italian soda) LOL . I just love the horns, the saxophone, and the occasional flute and the drums in this track. Should've been a bigger hit, but maybe it was a bit too unconventional for an actual "hit" single. Oh well. This ain't no, "Shaddap You Face" Italian novelty style tune though, and that goddamn thing was actually a MUCH bigger hit! LOL.

"Finiculi, Funicula" eating, people. And here's your pizza as well.

Final rating: 8/10

80's Hit Song Review: "I'll Be Around" by What Is This? (1985)

 

U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Peak Position No. 62 

Backstory: This Los Angeles band was formed by some high school friends in the early 80's. After going through some band name changes, they settled on the silly sounding What Is This?, after some neighbors asked that same exact question after hearing them for the first time. Two of the members of this group were actually Michael Balzary, AKA Flea and Hellel Slovak, both of which were also in the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Sadly, Slovak would pass away from an accidental drug overdose in 1988. This single, a cover of the classic 1975 soul and R&B hit by The Spinners, would be their only ever hit single, though it only made it as high as No. 62 on the Hot 100. It was produced by legendary musician and singer, Todd Rundgren, who also produced the entire album as well. They later released a small EP the following year, but it wasn't a success and they broke up soon afterwards.

The review: Although this group didn't really change up the original version of the song, I still love this version as well. I love the guitar work and the loud drums. Overall, just a really solid cover version with great production and sound quality as well.

Final rating: 9/10

Surf Mesa's, "ILY"

 

Peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2020, and was a worldwide success as well. Great dance mix of the classic 1967 Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons song. Mesa is 20 year old Powell Aguirre, originally from Seattle, Washington. A true modern classic of a song.

80's Music Video of the Day: "Knocked Down, Made Small (Treated Like A Rubber Ball)" by Was (Not Was) (1983)

 

U.S. Bubbling Under the Hot 100 Charts Peak Position No. 109

Good, underrated pop rock/ New Wave style tune. (8/10) for me, personally. Fun, interesting music video for the song as well. Good stuff overall. From their album, "Born To Laugh At Tornadoes".

60's Bubbling Under the Hot 100 Song Review: "Go Go Radio Moscow" by Nikita the K and the Friends of Ed Labunski (1967)

 

U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 Charts Peak Position No. 105

Backstory: Hardly anything is known about this incredibly short lived oddball novelty music act, but from what I do know, Ed Labunski was a record producer and a radio DJ. This single was the only ever single that the Nikita the K act ever even released at all, off of the Warner Bros. Records label. The b side, titled, "The Spoiler" is apparently an instrumental garage rock type tune. Sadly, according to some sources, Ed died in a car accident in April of 2016, though I don't know if it's necessarily true or not.

The review: This is a pretty gosh darn funny and creative break in novelty radio station kind of record. Should've gone onto the Hot 100. I love the little snippets of Blues Magoos and the The Seekers songs here and there. Even the recording of this single is really cool and must've taken quite a bit of skill. Overall, a fine novelty tune.

Final rating: 8/10

R.I.P. Manny Loiacano (1946-2021)

 R.I.P. to the brilliant and kindhearted man who started up the short lived pop and doo pop group Unipop in the early 80's. You were such a great man and father and grandfather to many, Manny. R.I.P.

I already made a review of Unipop's minor 1982/ 1983 hit, "What If (I Said I Love You)" a while back. So, check it out when you can and leave your tributes and respects for Manny either here or there.

80's Music Video of the Day: "When You Were Mine" by Mitch Ryder (1983)

 

U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Peak Position No. 87

Underrated cover version of a 1980 Prince song. A winner in my opinion. Produced by John Mellencamp. Interesting video as well. Takes place in the big city and a nightclub.

80's Music Video of the Day: "Loveline" by Dr. Hook (1982)

 

U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Peak Position No. 60, their final ever Hot 100 song entry.

9/10 for me, underrated soft rock song, in my opinion, soft and sweet. This is actually a cover of an Eddie Rabbitt song. Much softer than their earlier work from the 70's, however. I love the sweet and relaxing melodies of this tune and the flute and the soft acoustic guitars.

80's Hit Song Review: "Ronnie's Rapp" by Ron and the D.C. Crew (1987)

U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Peak Position No. 93 (Released in late '86, peaked in January or February of '87)

Backstory: This incredibly short lived novelty music act was the brainchild of Miami, Florida based radio DJ and voice over artist, Mark Moseley. He originally made and produced this rap style song spoken in the style of than president Ronald Reagan on his radio show, where it received enough local airplay to attract the interest of Profile Records. It was then released and distributed nationally where it actually became a very minor hit. Surprisingly, despite some popular in the dance clubs as well, it never charted on that specific chart. After Moseley's act ended, Moseley went on to do more voice overs, especially those for cartoons and animated movies such as: The Simpsons Movie and Disney's straight to DVD sequel, Mulan II, replacing Eddie Murphy. Moseley is still active and doing well to this very day.

The review: Alright, I'm not gonna lie. I love this goddamn thing. Yes, it's cheesy as heck, but I think it's clever and the production and beat is really good for an one off local radio station. Not surprised that it stalled low on the charts, but this should've been a bigger hit in my honest opinion. Call me crazy, but I don't care. The Reagan impersonation is spot on, and the beat is catchy AF. A winner in my book. Maybe slightly less funny than Genesis's, "Land of Confusion" video, though. LOL.

Final rating: 9/10

80's Music Video of the Day: "Living On Video" by Trans-X (1983 or 1984, I believe)

 

U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Peak Position No. 61 (In 1986, this wasn't released as a single here in the States until a couple of years later. This was a bigger hit in other Countries.

6/10 for me, not a bad song, but very outdated, in my opinion. Got to love those cheesy synths. LOL.

So, Borat 2 is coming out!

 

Kinda can't believe it after 14 years that this finally happens again! But I'm very excited and hyped as well! In my opinion, Sacha Baron Cohen is a comedic genius.

80's Hit Song Review: "Love Light" by Yutaka (1981)

U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Peak Position No. 81 (Note: This song was originally released in his native Japan in 1978, so technically, yes it is in fact a 70's song.)

Backstory: Japan born Yutaka Yokokura discovered Brazilian music and smooth jazz at an early age and moved to the States during his young adult years to attend college. He had an opportunity to work with the Japanese fusion jazz group Hiroshima. In 1978, he released this album which didn't make it into the U.S. airwaves until 3 years later in '81. It only became a minor hit and was his only ever charting single in the States. He released a follow up album 7 years later in '88. 

The review: This is a fine song with a relaxing melody and fine vocals by both Yokokura and Patti Austin (yes, Patti Austin!) I really like the traditional Asian melodies mixed in with the cool saxophones. Should've been a bigger hit.

80's Music Video of the Day: "It's Inevitable" by Charlie (1983)

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)

60's Bubbling Under the Hot 100 Song Review: "Letter From A Teenage Son" by Brandon Wade (1967)

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.)

Final rating: 9/10

80's Hit Song Review: "Bad, Bad Billy" by Snuff (1983)

U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Peak Position No. 88

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.

Final rating: 7/10

80's Hit Song Review: "Out of Work" by Gary "U.S." Bonds (1982)

U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Peak Position No. 21

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.

Final rating: 8/10

80's Hit Song Review: "Rock It" by Lipps Inc. (1980)

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.

Final rating: 7/10

80's Hit Song Review: "Games Without Frontiers" by Peter Gabriel (1980)

U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Peak Position No. 48

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.

Final rating: 8/10