#28 - Little By Little

Artist: Robert Plant

Album: Shaken 'n' Stirred
Video: From YouTube.

Robert Plant is the distinguished frontman from Led Zeppelin, one of the most influential and innovative groups in the history of rock ‘n’ roll.  You’d never know it from listening to this song.

Plant released his third solo album “Shaken ‘n’ Stirred” in 1985, not that I noticed.  However, I did enjoy his subsequent solo album, 1988’s “Now And Zen”.  And I probably discovered Led Zeppelin sometime after that.  Zeppelin rules, especially when played loud.

“Little By Little” peaked at a robust #36 on the Billboard Hot 100.  It won’t surprise you to learn that I’m mystified by its high placement in the MTV countdown.  The song did spend two weeks at the top of the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, so there’s that.

Maybe I’m being too harsh.  In a vacuum the song is actually kind of OK.  The message is optimistic and hopeful, and I guess the rhythm is decent.  But I expect more this deep in the countdown, and I expect more from Robert Plant.

I found the video odd.  Mimes, equestrians, sheep.  A wedding in a small village.  Probably full of deep meaning that I didn’t understand.  But there were also lots of wide open plains, and I like that.

#29 - Careless Whisper

Artist: Wham!

Album: Make It Big
Video: From DailyMotion.

Today was a great day for the blog - awesome to receive props from an MTV icon.  Regrettably, I've been an infrequent blogger as of late.  But with Martha Quinn in the audience, I need to get my game on.

And good timing, since we have arrived at one of 1985’s most sensuous songs.  I’m pretty sure statistics prove that more furtive makeout sessions were inspired by “Careless Whisper” than any other ballad of the era.  It’s a timeless classic, with tender sensitive lyrics and a killer sax solo. 

This is essentially George Michael’s first effort as a solo artist, although it is technically credited as “Wham! Featuring George Michael”.  It was released a full three years before his first solo album.  It is one of three songs from the “Make It Big” album to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The song features a man wrestling with feelings of remorse following his infidelity.  Hence, “guilty feet have got no rhythm”.  Yes, it is shocking that an internationally acclaimed pop star would be sexually involved with multiple women at the same time.  But possibly this led to his desire to explore monogamy after Wham! broke up.

The video, bookended by sweeping shots of city lights, juxtaposes plenty of face time for the lead singer with scenes of the relationship gone awry.  As his girlfriend catches him cheating, the music explodes into the “tonight the music seems so loud…” sequence.  She flies away on an airplane while the protagonist looks longingly after her.

#30 - Forever Man

Artist: Eric Clapton

Album: Behind The Sun
Video: From DailyMotion.

Here's another legend whose awesomeness I did not appreciate in 1985.  I did not discover the majesty of Clapton until his MTV Unplugged album was released in 1992.  Even today, I'm really only familiar with a small portion of his catalog.

"Behind The Sun" is one of those albums which completely escaped my attention.  Phil Collins collaborated on many of the songs.  I was blissfully unaware of all this in my youth, content to be entertained by songs like this.

"Forever Man" did not enjoy much mainstream chart success, peaking at #26 on the Billboard Hot 100.  However, it was Eric Clapton's first ever music video.  That might explain its high placement in this countdown.  Clapton finally made a video?  Put it in the top 30.

I vaguely remember hearing the song around the time it was released.  Although I wasn’t a fan then, it strikes me as moderately groovy now.  That opening guitar riff is killer. 

The music video is simply Clapton and the band performing on a large circular stage in an empty arena.  No kooky storyline.  The video was directed by Godley & Creme.  That's right, these guys.

#31 - I Want To Know What Love Is

Artist: Foreigner

Album: Agent Provocateur
Video: From DailyMotion.

In the first five years of their existence, Foreigner churned out four multi-platinum albums.  The band authored classic rock staples such as "Hot Blooded", "Cold As Ice", and "Juke Box Hero".  They even topped the pops with their "Foreigner 4" album in 1981.

But it 1985 they reached their peak with "I Want To Know What Love Is".  It is their greatest song and their only number one hit.  It makes grown women weep and has caused the upper lip of many a man to quiver.

From humble beginnings, the song builds powerfully into a thundering declaration of love desire.  The questioning verses in the opening blend into the earnest "in my life..." pre-chorus, which explodes into the titular chorus.  The second time around, that chorus features a gospel choir.  Talk about piling on. 

The song can be interpreted as a longing for romantic love, or it can be seen as a hunger for a spiritual connection to the divine.  It can also be viewed as a complete and total ass-kicking power ballad.

The video features the New Jersey Mass Choir performing with the band.  Scenes of rehearsal are interspersed with ordinary people going about their daily lives, seemingly deep in thought, united in their want of love.

#32 - Radioactive

Artist: The Firm

Album: The Firm
Video: From YouTube.

I had no awareness of this band in 1985.  Until just now, my only association was a John Grisham novel made into a Tom Cruise movie.  Either that, or The Fixx was misspelled.

But apparently, The Firm was a genuine British rock supergroup.  Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin.  The lead singer of Bad Company.  People from other 70's bands.  I guess they were going for a Traveling Wilburys Lite sort of thing.  Or they would have been, had the Wilburys existed in 1985.

"Radioactive" was their big smash hit, soaring all the way to #28 on the Billboard Hot 100.  It's a terrible song.  Dippy lyrics, lame music, haunted house sound effects.  The robotic repetition of the song's title.  Siri sings with greater emotion.

Anyway, The Firm broke up for good in 1986.  Fortunately, Jimmy Page had his experience of creating one of the greatest bands of all-time to fall back on.  Not that I had any idea about Zeppelin in 1985...of course, that was a weird thing about the year.  I've already covered my confusion about rock 'n' roll legends and their poor 1985 performaces.

The video is as forgettable as the song.  Just the band playing on an empty stage with a bunch of flashing strobe lights.  No storyline.  Poor.  Placed ridiculously, inappropriately high by MTV at #32. 

#33 - The Old Man Down The Road

Artist: John Fogerty

Album: Centerfield
Video: From YouTube.

John Fogerty was sued for releasing this song, because it sounded a lot like "Run Through The Jungle", a song by Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR).  You know who the lead singer and founder of CCR was?  JOHN FOGERTY.

Ridiculous.  It is an original.  From whom else would you have to hidey-hidey-hide?  The Grim Reaper, of course, cleverly disguised as "The Old Man Down The Road".

Peaking at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100, this was the highest charting song from Fogerty's comeback album.  The song "Centerfield" is a timeless classic, but oddly it whiffed on both the MTV countdown and the Billboard top 40.

The video is a long sequence shot, beginning in the swampiest of jungle swamps.  The camera settles on a friendly kemosabe, who lifts a blanket to reveal a speaker with extension cord attached.  As the scene progresses, a variety of colorful characters are found along the path of this unusually lengthy cord.

After passing a couple having a picnic, a cheerleader at a call box, motorcycle riders, a pregnant woman, and a grave digger, the cord finally ends with Fogerty himself in a somewhat residential neighborhood, rocking out on his gee-tar.

#34 - Head Over Heels

Artist: Tears For Fears

Album: Songs From The Big Chair
Video: From DailyMotion.  With annoying ads at the beginning and end, but it is the complete video.

This is the first of multiple appearances by Tears For Fears on this countdown.  TFF was kind of a big deal in 1985.

"Head Over Heels" was the third single from the "Songs From The Big Chair" album, and it peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.  It’s a nifty tune.  The album name is a reference to Sybil, the character with multiple personality disorder who sought the comfort of her analyst's "Big Chair".

This is also the second consecutive video in the countdown filmed in Toronto, following Corey Hart.  That's just the type of in-depth research I go the extra mile to provide for you.

The video takes place in a library, an innovative setting for a music video.  Roland Orzabal carries a ridiculously large stack of books and sings loudly to an embarrassed librarian, blatantly disregarding the posted “SILENCE” sign.  Even the monkey in the Red Sox jersey has the decency to keep his yap shut.

Over the course of the video, wacky hijinks ensue, with all the band members getting into the act.  It ends dramatically on the lyric “funny how time flies”, with Orzabal and the librarian transform into an elderly couple, drinking tea and studying in a dignified manner.