#49 - I'm On Fire

Artist: Bruce Springsteen

Album: Born In The U.S.A.
Video: From YouTube.

This song was featured on the very first album I ever bought (actually a cassette tape).  Bruce Springsteen was, and remains, an all-time favorite of mine.  I've been lucky to see him perform live three times.  Nobody is better in concert than Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band.

New Jersey’s working class hero initially burst into the public consciousness with the 1975 masterpiece “Born To Run”.  Ten years later, his popularity peaked again on a much larger scale with the “Born In The U.S.A.” album.  Baseball, apple pie, Bruce Springsteen and all that.

The album produced a record-tying seven top 10 singles, including “I’m On Fire”, the fourth single released.  A spare, haunting track featuring little more than Bruce’s vocals and a synthesizer, it peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100.  The song has been covered by dozens of artists, ranging from Johnny Cash to John Mayer to Tori Amos.

Clearly, “I’m On Fire” is about a man wrestling with his prurient urges.  But the dark and suggestive lyrics leave the song’s deeper meaning up for debate.  Taken literally, it can be inferred that the protagonist is a pedophile.  I disagree.  I happen to believe the song is multi-layered.

The video won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video in 1985.  The Boss gets to demonstrate some acting chops, portraying an auto mechanic tormented by his desire for a leggy female customer in a white Ford Thunderbird. 

Returning her car, he drives through the city and arrives at her mansion in the hills.  He walks up the stairs to her door and gazes into her open window.  He begins to ring the doorbell, but instead just smiles and shakes his head, placing the keys in her mailbox and walking away.  It’s an interesting look at Bruce’s shy and uncertain side.

#50 - Too Late For Goodbyes

Artist: Julian Lennon

Album: Valotte
Video: From YouTube.

Here's a fun fact: Julian Lennon's father also played music.  Amazing, huh?

In fact, Julian achieved mainstream success at a younger age than The Great John Lennon.  He was just 21 when "Valotte" was released.  It was the best album he ever recorded, and his musical career didn’t develop very much after that.  "Too Late For Goodbyes" was his highest charting single, peaking at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The song has a light and upbeat tempo.  "Valotte" is my favorite song of Julian's, but this one holds its own.  I can definitely hear the family resemblance in the quality of his voice. It just kills me to think of all the great music the world was gypped out of by John’s murder.

While "Too Late For Goodbyes" was on the charts, Julian stated that the lyrics were about a breakup with a girlfriend.  But many have speculated that the song is a reaction to his feelings of being abandoned by his father.  It must be a difficult road to hoe, being the offspring of one of rock ‘n’ roll’s all-time greatest.  I give him credit for choosing a music career and thriving in the face of the constant comparisons.

There’s not much going on in the video, just Julian performing with the band in an empty auditorium.  Every once in a while we see a guy in the hallway, goofing around, making funny movements.  Could it be…?  Nah…

The Forgotten Hits of 1985

In 1985, twenty-seven songs reached #1 in the Billboard Hot 100.  I've already written about five of them.  Twenty more will be featured among the top 50 videos of this countdown.  But there were two #1 hits that didn't make the MTV Top 100 countdown at all.

The first was Whitney Houston's "Saving All My Love For You". Whitney had a huge 1985, as she rose to international prominence with her self-titled debut album.  This song was just the first of a record seven consecutive #1 hits.

The second was Jan Hammer’s instrumental Miami Vice Theme.  To date, it is the last instrumental song to top the chart.  The Miami Vice soundtrack ruled the album charts for eleven weeks in 1985.

I don’t know why these songs didn't make the MTV countdown.  I remember "Saving All My Love" playing on VH-1 all the time.  Was there some exclusivity governing which channel got to play videos back then?  I’m not sure how that would have worked.  I recall the "How Will I Know" video being played in heavy rotation on MTV.

I wondered if it could be because the songs reached #1 late in 1985, so maybe they were part of the 1986 countdown.  But they are not.  And several songs that topped the charts after these two are included in the 1985 countdown.

So, even though these two #1 songs were neglected in MTV’s honor roll, they find their proper recognition where it counts.  Here.  I believe Whitney would have been proud.

#51 - Heaven

Artist: Bryan Adams

Album: Reckless
Video: From YouTube.

Bryan Adams is one of many great rock stars from Canada.  I was always a big fan.  "Reckless" was one of the first albums I ever bought.  When I was 14 I went to Target and bought my first six music cassette tapes for $40.  They were: 


"Born In The U.S.A." - Bruce Springsteen
"Vital Signs" - Survivor
"Standing On The Edge" - Cheap Trick
"No Jacket Required" - Phil Collins
"Like A Virgin" - Madonna
"Reckless" - Bryan Adams

So how about a "first albums" tag for this blog?  Great idea.  Done.

"Heaven" made it all the way to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.  It’s kind of like a soft rock song with lyrics about a man unable to believe how lucky he is to be with his woman.  But it also has elements of a power ballad, with a stellar drum riff leading into the chorus, an understated but excellent lead guitar, and Adams’ gravelly voice completing the package.  It’s a hybrid soft rock power ballad.  Totally awesome.

The video features Adams alone on stage, singing to an auditorium with seats filled with televisions.  Adoring fans fill the screens.  In the end, we see him sleeping in front of the TV, the picture having turned to snow.   Was it all a dream?  Is he actually in Heaven?
 
And with that, this blog is halfway finished.  Tomorrow, I have a surprise for you.

#52 - Easy Lover

Artist: Philip Bailey & Phil Collins

Album: Chinese Wall
Video: From YouTube.

Ah, “Easy Lover”.  She’ll get a hold on you, believe it! 

This is a great tune by two key members of legendary bands.  Phil Collins of Genesis and Philip Bailey from Earth, Wind & Fire both bring their A game.  The song is about a woman whose carefree attitude towards romance ends in heartbreak for her lovers.  She’s an easy lover as in “easy come, easy go”. 

“Easy Lover” peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the charts in three countries.  It won an MTV Video Music Award.  Perhaps most importantly, it was frequently used in television ads promoting the very first WrestleMania.

1985 was a very busy year for both artists.  Most 80’s music fans know that Phil Collins released his most successful album, “No Jacket Required”, in 1985.  But Philip Bailey also released a gospel album that year, “The Wonders Of His Love”, right on the heels of 1984’s “Chinese Wall”.

The video features a lot of goofing around between the two Phils.  It’s a video about the making of the video, as we see them rehearsing, dancing and getting made up in the dressing room.  It is enjoyable to see how much fun these guys had working together.

#53 - Tough All Over

Artist: John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band

Album: Tough All Over
Video: From YouTube.

This band is most famous for performing in the Eddie and the Cruisers movies.  They also contributed songs to two Sylvester Stallone movie soundtracks: Rocky IV ("Heart's On Fire") and Cobra ("Voice of America's Sons").  Although they still perform live today, they have not released a studio album since the 80's. 

I used to get John Cafferty mixed up with John Fogerty, just because their names sounded so similar.  He's actually more like a poor man's Bruce Springsteen.

"Tough All Over" peaked at #22 on the Billboard Hot 100.  It’s not a bad song.  It's not really that good either.  I would rate it decidedly adequate.  Does it deserve to be ranked higher than Material Girl and every other video we've talked about so far?  Hmmmm.

The video is mostly a live performance, mixed with scenes from the band's hometown of Narragansett, Rhode Island. 

Finally, you might have noticed a new poll is up.  Since this blog is nearly half finished, we will have to seriously pick up the pace if we're going to crown a best song of 1985 winner.

#54 - Material Girl

Artist: Madonna

Album: Like A Virgin
Video: From YouTube.

“Material Girl”, of course, is a nickname that has stuck with Madonna for decades.  For this reason she has expressed regret over recording the song, but I’m certainly glad she did.  It’s top shelf.

This is the third of four Madonna videos in the 1985 MTV Top 100 countdown.  She also had a fifth smash hit in 1985 that is not included, “Into The Groove”.  That might be my favorite Madonna song of all.

However, she’s not the artist with the most videos in this countdown.  Someone else has five.  Can you guess who it is? 

"Material Girl" peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.  The song has a lasting legacy, both as a celebration of 80’s excess and an assault on mindless consumerism.  Academic stuffed shirts can continue to debate its meaning.  I just think it’s playful and catchy.  Not to mention the effect that the 1985 Madonna had on a 15-year-old boy.  Yipe!

The video pays homage to Marilyn Monroe's performance of "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend"  in the film "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes".  Clad in hot pink dress, fancy jewelry and furs, she coyly rebuffs the advances of a legion of tuxedo-clad men who shower her with gifts.  Although the video is basically a remake, Madonna puts her unique stamp on it.

In the end of the video, the twist is revealed.  Madonna is not a material girl after all.  She is won over by Keith Carradine and his simple flowers and pick-up truck.