So hereÁ¢€â„¢s my question of the week for you — what the hell is a Á¢€Å“fancy dancerÁ¢€?
IÁ¢€â„¢ve been listening to a lot of Á¢€Ëœ80s funk and R&B lately and I keep hearing that term pop up. There’s One WayÁ¢€â„¢s Á¢€Å“Pull Fancy Dancer/Pull,” Twennynine and Lenny White’s “Fancy Dancer,” and before those two there was the Commodores’ own song from 1976 called “Fancy Dancer.” I still donÁ¢€â„¢t know what a fancy dancer is, though. I assume itÁ¢€â„¢s someone who dances in a non-boring fashion — maybe a person who wears some attention-grabbing clothing or is simply superfly.
However, I do know that IÁ¢€â„¢ve been talking about fancy dancers for the past three weeks now, and every time my unborn child starts kicking my wife, she calls him a fancy dancer. So itÁ¢€â„¢s about time I figured out what the true definition is. Can anyone help? Better yet, were any of you a fancy dancer in the ’80s?
NEW MUSIC FOR THE COLLECTION:
Mai Tai, Mai Tai
Curtis Mayfield, Love Is the Place
House of Freaks, Tantilla
This week, an abbreviated edition centering on the letter Á¢€Å“C,Á¢€ as we continue wading through the muck at the bottom of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the ’80s.
Petula Clark
Á¢€Å“Natural LoveÁ¢€ — 1982, #66 (download)
Also hitting #20 on the country charts, this was ClarkÁ¢€â„¢s 22nd and final Hot 100 hit.
Allan Clarke
Á¢€Å“SlipstreamÁ¢€ — 1980, #70 (download)
Allan Clarke was the lead singer of the Hollies for a good 90 percent of their career. He started releasing solo records in the early Á¢€Ëœ70s but was never really able to muster any real hits on his own.
The Clash
Á¢€Å“Should I Stay or Should I GoÁ¢€ — 1982, #45 (download)
The U.S. charts certainly donÁ¢€â„¢t reflect the immense impact the Clash had on the music world. Twenty-two hits in the UK translated to just three in the States. But this is certainly one of those groups where charting singles really donÁ¢€â„¢t tell the tale at all. IÁ¢€â„¢m going to admit right here that IÁ¢€â„¢m not a fan, and I think Á¢€Å“Should I Stay or Should I GoÁ¢€ is actually a pretty weak song compared to tracks like Á¢€Å“The Magnificent SevenÁ¢€ or Á¢€Å“This Is Radio Clash.Á¢€ And IÁ¢€â„¢m also going to say that I liked Mick Jones better in Big Audio Dynamite. I know many of you are going to wonder what kind of crack IÁ¢€â„¢m on, but hey, IÁ¢€â„¢m just being honest here!
Merry Clayton
Á¢€Å“YesÁ¢€ — 1988, #45 (download)
Merry Clayton sang on Á¢€Å“Gimme ShelterÁ¢€ with the Stones and background vocals on Á¢€Å“Sweet Home Alabama.Á¢€ Even though this was from the soundtrack to Dirty Dancing — a record that pretty much turned everything it touched into gold — Á¢€Å“YesÁ¢€ didnÁ¢€â„¢t really get a lot of airplay.
Linda Clifford
Á¢€Å“Red LightÁ¢€ — 1980, #41 (download)
A disco semi-star, her only Á¢€Ëœ80s hit came from the soundtrack to Fame.
Climax Blues Band
Á¢€Å“Gotta Have More LoveÁ¢€ — 1980, #47 (download)
A shitty song from a shitty group, this is at least better than their massive follow-up Á¢€Å“I Love You,Á¢€ which supposedly even the band didnÁ¢€â„¢t like.
Clocks
Á¢€Å“She Looks a Lot Like YouÁ¢€ — 1982, #67 (download)
In the context of this post, itÁ¢€â„¢s hard not to like this song. In reality, itÁ¢€â„¢s produced pretty poorly and has underdeveloped verses. This was Clocks’ only hit.
Club House
Á¢€Å“Do It Again (Medley With Billie Jean)Á¢€ — 1983, #75 (download)
ItÁ¢€â„¢s amazing how Steely DanÁ¢€â„¢s Á¢€Å“Do It AgainÁ¢€ and Michael JacksonÁ¢€â„¢s Á¢€Å“Billie JeanÁ¢€ fit so well on top of each other. Curiously enough, the same two songs appeared mashed together just a little bit later by the group Slingshot.
Joyce Cobb
Á¢€Å“Dig the GoldÁ¢€ — 1980, #42 (download)
This is such an incredibly bad song. If after listening to this you wish to hire Joyce to perform at a party, just visit her website. It’ll tell you more about her than I ever could.
QUICK HITS:
Best song — Clocks, Á¢€Å“She Looks a Lot Like YouÁ¢€
Worst song — Joyce Cobb, Á¢€Å“Dig the GoldÁ¢€
Next week, we go back to a full-length post and meet some better artists, including my wifeÁ¢€â„¢s favorite of all time!
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