This is it — the Holy Grail of ‘80s music finally makes its appearance at Bottom Feeders. Enjoy another week of artists whose names begin with the letter M, as we continue looking at the bottom three-fifths of the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the Reagan years.
This is Peter McIan’s only hit song, off his album Playing Near the Edge. He’s better known as a producer for bands like Mr. Mister and Men at Work and has written a couple books about home recording.
Don McLean
“It’s Just the Sun” — 1981, #83 (download)
This was the last of three singles from McLean’s 1978 album Chain Lightning. The album actually wasn’t released in the U.S. until 1981 after it had experienced some success oversees. Oh, and I hate “American Pie.” Just had to mention that.
Gerard McMahon
“Count on Me” — 1983, #85 (download)
This was the only charting single from McMahon, off his excellent album No Looking Back. A few weeks ago we had the king of soundtracks, Kenny Loggins. This guy has to be the lost, long-distance fifth cousin of Loggins. He didn’t have any hits from soundtracks, but actually enjoyed making music for movies more than making full albums. He wrote and/or performed songs for Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Spring Break, All the Right Moves, and many more movies and TV shows throughout the years. His most well-known song, though, is probably “Cry Little Sister,” from The Lost Boys (where he’s credited as “Gerard McMann”).
Larry John McNally
“Just Like Paradise” — 1981, #86 (download)
This was Larry John McNally’s only charting single, the first song off his debut album. I think he’s more of a songwriter than a performer anyway, having written songs for artists like Rod Stewart and Bonnie Raitt. His crowning moment, though, has to be when Bruce Willis covered his song “Lose Myself” on the Return of Bruno album (1987). What a proud day that had to be.
Thanks for joining me for Bottom Feeders, where we take a look at approximately 20 songs each week that charted no higher than #41 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the ‘80s. We continue with artists whose names begin with the letter M, in our trek through the ass end of the decade.
Although I believe the album in which “Kayleigh” originates, Misplaced Childhood, is quite good, I never really got into Marillion. So let me instead direct you to their official website which not only is extremely well put together but gives you a wonderful look at the album from the makers themselves.
In a weird one, in May alone, my iPod shuffled to this song six times. So what, you say? Here’s the thing, I probably listen to my iPod on shuffle two hours every weekday — one hour at work and the 30 minute ride to and from work and I listened to the new Marilyn Manson record on that drive for a week straight. So I’m going to estimate that I’ve shuffled for 34 hours that month. I have 9,230 songs on my iPod. Given a generous 12 songs per hour that’s 408 songs played or just a little below 4.5 percent if every song was unique. And “Kayleigh” has come up a whopping six times! Meanwhile I have over 2,000 songs that haven’t ever been shuffled to once even though I’ve owned it for two years. Why this fascinates me, I don’t know, but it does.
Marshall Tucker Band
“It Takes Time” — 1980, #79 (download)
It may sound silly, but I like the Marshall Tucker Band if for no other reason than the fact that there is no one named Marshall Tucker in the band (and yes, as I edit this, this really does sound quite silly). According to their website, Marshall Tucker was actually the man that rented their home right before the band moved in. I’m about to move in the next year or so. I think I’ll leave my name around the house with hopes that the next person will be some aspiring doom metal guitarist with no name for his band. If you see a band from Pennsylvania popping up in the next few years called Electric Steed — I’m that guy!
It’s a magnificent day, as we move on to the most monstrous letter we’ve had in a while: M. After a few quick letters in a row, M will take seven weeks to get through, so get settled in. Ready? Good. It’s time to dig into more Bottom Feeders — songs that charted no higher than #41 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the 1980s.
Mary MacGregor
“Dancin’ Like Lovers” — 1980, #72 (download)
I listened to this song as I was writing the intro, and even though that paragraph is only four lines long, I got through “Dancin’ Like Lovers” three times. Maybe this is what I need to do for every song I don’t like — listen to it over and over and over again — because the more I listened, the more I enjoyed it.
“Dancin’” was MacGregor’s sixth Hot 100 hit, but her only big hit was also about lovers: “Torn Between Two Lovers,” which went all the way to the top as her first single back in 1976.
Madness
“The Sun and the Rain” — 1984, #72 (download)
Madness was just monstrous in the UK, even before the U.S. got them with their breakout hit “Our House.” “The Sun and the Rain” was the 17th song out of their first 20 to all go Top 20 in England. The States’ first taste was with the release of the Madness album compiling some recently released material with older hits. “It Must Be Love” went to #33 and “Our House” to #7 in ’83. “The Sun and the Rain” was their only other Hot 100 hit in the U.S.
“Hello, may I speak to Mr. Don Key-Chot, please?” “No, Senior!” Although there’s not much to it, this is really a fabulously catchy number by this French synth-pop group. Their follow-up, “Pancho Villa,” failed to chart.
So it’s been at least nine months, if not more, since I stopped buying ’80s albums. I made a conscious effort to stop spending the cash on records once my son was born last September. But I was recently writing up a future track by a group called Millions Like Us when I realized I knew nothing about them, and my lone 45 didn’t tell me anything either. So I ended up purchasing the CD for a simple penny over at Amazon. Let me tell you how good it feels to not only get “new” music but to get it for a measly little cent. Of course, my ears perk up as I hear cheap CDs calling me, so I end up purchasing like 40 CDs to help me complete my rock and R&B collections. In reality I don’t know how many people would get excited over this mailbox full of CDs I opened on Friday: Joe Cocker’s Unchain My Heart, David Crosby’s Oh Yes I Can, Michael Anderson’s Sound Alarm, .38 Special’s Strength in Numbers, Extreme’s Extreme, and Pete Bardens’ Speed of Light, but damn if it doesn’t get me tingly inside. Ah, the geek in me.
This week we finish up the letter L with another half post to make a clean break. Enjoy these tracks from the ass end of the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the ’80s.
Love and Money
“Halleluiah Man” — 1989, #75 (download)
Love and Money were this funky and soulful Scottish band that was only able to manage this one hit in the US. This was the lead track off their second album Strange Kind of Love. If it wasn’t for the little rap-like breakdown in the middle of the song, it would be easy to mistake this for a Tears for Fears song.
Love and Rockets
“No Big Deal” — 1989, #82 (download)
“No Big Deal” comes from the self-titled 4th album from Love and Rockets, which is all the members of Bauhaus minus Peter Murphy. As opposed to the first three Love and Rockets records, this one is a bit of a mess as Daniel Ash wrote the more poppy songs and David J had more experimental tracks. The mish-mash of sounds makes for a pretty uneven listen and it seems that Love and Rockets understood this as well, as they broke off for solo careers after touring for the album.
Loverboy
“The Kid Is Hot Tonite” — 1981, #55 (download)
“Dangerous” — 1985, #65 (download)
“Lead a Double Life” — 1986, #68 (download)
“Too Hot” — 1989, #84 (download)
Loverboy provided me with one of my favorite moments in TV history when they appeared on the 2005 show Hit Me Baby One More Time and the host announced them repeatedly as “Louverboy!” To this day, anytime we hear Loverboy my wife and I both turn to each other and say “Loooooooverboy!” It’s much funnier than it seems on paper.
Loverboy’s entire hit making career managed to stay in this decade as they had 13 Hot 100 hits starting with “Turn Me Loose” in 1981 and ending with “Too Hot” in 1989. The weird thing for me is that I think they made some pretty excellent albums, but I can really only remember their major hits. I couldn’t have identified the artist of “Dangerous” or the strangely new-wave “Lead a Double Life” if you put a gun to my head. I’ve listened to all of their albums numerous times, but there’s just something about them that doesn’t stick in my head. I do however recognize “Too Hot” which was their final single from the 1989 Greatest Hits record called Big Ones.
So, I took the readers’ challenge (sort of) last week. I said that I knew nothing from Gordon Lightfoot except for the song I posted — “Baby Step Back” — and “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” On Thursday of last week, I borrowed The Complete Greatest Hits, a 2002 Rhino collection of tunes from Mr. Lightfoot, and listened from start to finish.
The first thing I can say is that Gordon really isn’t that bad. It’s not really my type of music, and I doubt I’d ever go back to it again, but that guy is a pretty smooth and mellow cat. I was told specifically that I had to know both “If You Could Read My Mind” and “Sundown.” Well, you got me halfway, at least. I had never heard “If You Could Read My Mind” before. I’m sure of that. “Sundown,” on the other hand, you were correct about — I definitely recognize that tune. I guess I had never heard Gordon’s name with it, because by title alone, it didn’t mean anything to me. The other 16 tunes were completely foreign to me, including the other ’80s track, “Stay Loose.” All in all, I knew 3 songs out of the 20 on the greatest-hits disc, so apparently I still can’t enter Canada.
And now, back to the ’80s — enjoy the 20 songs below that charted no higher than #41 on the Billboard Hot 100 during that decade.
Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam (with Full Force)
“Can You Feel the Beat” — 1985, #69 (download)
“Someone to Love Me for Me” — 1987, #78 (download)
These are two of the weaker tracks from Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam compared to megahits “Head to Toe” and “Lost in Emotion.” I think I’ve always been a bit confused as to what role Cult Jam played in the success of the group. I mean, the two guys that make up Cult Jam played the music, but the reality of it is that the six-member posse of Full Force wrote and produced all the material. Since they were artists in their own right, I’m not quite sure why Cult Jam was even necessary. In fact, despite not having any Hot 100 hits of their own, Full Force was actually pretty damn good. Their second album, Full Force Get Busy 1 Time!, is better than any Lisa Lisa album. Either way, there were lots of hands in the mix on all of Lisa Lisa’s music.
Little Richard
“Great Gosh A’mighty” — 1986, #42 (download)
This was Little Richard’s shot at a comeback. Macon, Georgia’s self-proclaimed inventor of rock ‘n’ roll was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of the first class when it opened in 1986. He then hooked up with Billy Preston to help him write this song, which was produced by Dan Hartman and ended up on the Down and Out in Beverly Hills soundtrack. While it wasn’t exactly the comeback he was looking for, he still woooos and yeeeeahs to packed houses all over the world.
We move into year two of Bottom Feeders: The Ass End of the ‘80s, with one of the best weeks we’ve had in a while, in my opinion. How about we continue with the letter L, looking at songs that peaked at #41 or lower on the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the ’80s.
Johnny Lee
“Bet Your Heart on Me” — 1981, #54 (download)
Naturally, after I say this is one of the best weeks we’ve had in a while, we start off with this lump of coal. I’m not quite sure I understand how most country music crossed over into the Hot 100 in the early ’80s. Lee had a pretty massive hit in 1980 with “Lookin’ for Love” (#5), so maybe I can see “Bet Your Heart” charting if it was the follow-up, but it wasn’t. There were four other singles between those two that only hit the country chart. So how does this generic country song become the one that mainstream radio pushes? I guess it’s just about knowing the right people or having the right amount of cash.
There are weeks where I dig this light rock sound from the early ’80s and weeks I don’t. This must be one of those where I do, because I’m groovin’ along to this simple tune, the only solo hit Larry Lee had after leaving the Ozark Mountain Daredevils early in ‘82.
Paul Lekakis
“Boom Boom (Let’s Go Back to My Room)” — 1987, #43 (download)
I’m so happy this missed the top 40 by three spots. “Boom Boom (Let’s Go Back to My Room)” is the type of song Bottom Feeders is all about, so I would have been crushed to not have it here. This is one of two songs in the letter L that I love way more than I should. And I’m going to bet that all of you loved this at one point or another too (this is the place to admit it). If you were between the ages of 15 and 22 in 1987 when this came out you absolutely loved this, because it was probably played at every high-school dance or fraternity party for a year. I can’t imagine how many horny boys and horny girls were awkwardly dry humping each other trying to get some “Boom Boom.” (I was going to add a Paul Lekakis picture to this, but my google search kept turning up pictures of him naked by himself or naked with other men, so I decided to move on).
Judging solely by the comments in the last few weeks, it seems like you thought the letter K wasn’t quite as killer as some other letters of the alphabet. I mean, if Chris X can’t find anything worth talking about two weeks in a row, I know I have some problems. But hey, that’s the way the letter bounces, or something like that. A quick glance at the 12th letter of the alphabet shows four weeks’ worth of songs to pick back up where K ran Bottom Feeders into the ground.
And hey, did you notice the number of this post? Fifty-two! That means one full year of Bottom Feeders! Now, if you want to get technical and point out that I reached my first anniversary at Popdose at the beginning of April (the site’s December “furlough,” a 2008 recap, and a week off prevented me from reaching #52 sooner), you could — but why take away from my fun?
Why is this such a big deal to me? After all, most of the writers contribute much more than I do and, frankly, know way more about music than I do. But see, here’s the thing — unbeknownst to our loving editor-in-chief, Jeff, I start projects like this all the time, get six weeks in, and run out of steam. I always think I’m going to enjoy talking about my passion, but then I realize I don’t have the time or the energy to keep going.
But there are two things that are totally different this time. The first is that you actually comment! That’s a big driving factor, of course. But the real reason I think I’ve been able to not just hold on but enjoy this so much is that it’s a fucking cool thing, isn’t it?
I mean, who the hell does this shit? What sane person says, “Sure, I’ll take two and a half years out of my life to write about the ass end of one of the worst decades of music in history”? Everyone talks about “Welcome to the Jungle,” but no one mentions Lorenzo Lamas’s music career, and for good reason. But everyone needs a purpose, right?
God, I hope this isn’t my only purpose in this world.
Anyway, off my ego-trippin’ soapbox I go, but first a big thanks to those reading and/or commenting who’ve kept me motivated. Now, on to the letter L, as we check out the songs that charted no higher than #41 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the 1980s.
This week we make a clean break from K, with a half post before we move to the 12th letter of the alphabet. Enjoy the tracks below from the ass end of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the ’80s.
Kon Kan
“Puss ‘n Boots — These Boots (Are Made for Walking)” — 1989, #58 (download)
We have our first-ever request at Bottom Feeders. A few weeks ago it was requested in the comments that I include Kon Kan’s “Puss ‘n Boots” in a future post — so here it is! Of course, that’s just the way the ball bounces, since you could pick up the Billboard Hot 100 book and predict every post of the rest of the series and write them up far better than I ever could, way before I do. Hey, don’t get any ideas now. Look me in the eyes. Mine. Mine. Got it?
“Puss ‘n Boots” was the third single from Kon Kan’s quite catchy debut Move to Move. The first single “I Beg Your Pardon” went to #15 and the second single “Harry Houdini” actually failed to chart in the US. No masking the samples used in this song, Mrs. Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made for Walking” and Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song.”
Kool & the Gang
“Steppin’ Out” — 1982, #89 (download)
“Holiday” — 1987, #66 (download)
“Special Way” — 1987, #72 (download)
Kool & the Gang have to rank as the second-greatest R&B act of the ’80s, right behind Michael Jackson, and they’re not even that far behind. Over their career they’ve had 32 songs hit the Hot 100, with another ten for good measure if you count the R&B chart. The greatest thing about Kool & the Gang is that they didn’t really drop off like most R&B/funk artists did by the mid- to late ’80s. Cameo and the Gap Band really started creating crap and almost remaking their own tunes by the close of the decade while Kool & the Gang remained fresh throughout. Of these three “Steppin’ Out” is certainly the most recognizable of the group, though even “Holiday” and “Special Way” are well known. I could listen to Kool & the Gang all day, every day and never get tired of them. They are quite a high point for me in the ’80s.
Welcome again to Bottom Feeders, your weekly look into songs that charted no higher than #41 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the 1980s. This should be a fun week, with more rock ‘n’ roll storytelling on our hands. Download and enjoy some songs, and while you’re at it, give me your Kiss story.
Kiss
“Shandi” — 1980, #47 (download)
“A World Without Heroes” — 1981, #56 (download)
“Lick It Up” — 1983, #66 (download)
“Heaven’s on Fire” — 1984, #49 (download)
“Tears Are Falling” — 1985, #51 (download)
“Crazy Crazy Nights” — 1987, #65 (download)
“Reason to Live” — 1987, #64 (download)
“Let’s Put the X in Sex” — 1989, #97 (download)
“Hide Your Heart” — 1989, #66 (download)
Kiss sets all kinds of marks as part of this series. Their nine tracks here are the most of any artist so far (there will be an artist with ten in the future) but the most remarkable thing is that these are the only nine tracks to chart in the decade. That kind of speaks to the remarkable career they’ve had: not one Top 40 song in the decade and yet the record company kept releasing singles. Now, granted, in most cases the songs you’re hearing were the first off an album and the second one didn’t chart, so the initial impact wasn’t exactly stellar.
As a rock ‘n’ roller at heart, I’m ashamed to say that I’ve never seen Kiss live. I’ll see them on some reunion tour at one point; I think I have to as a rock fan, but I have no need to pick up a kiss record from the ’80s. I’m sure most of you will say the same thing as it’s no secret that Kiss isn’t exactly the greatest studio band in the world.
Let’s look at how the decade unfolded for Kiss. Unmasked was the first album of the decade and featured “Shandi” as the first single. It was the last with Peter Criss as the credited drummer though he didn’t actually play on the album. The album has more of a pop feel than the more popular Kiss records but hadn’t yet went to the pure ’80s sound.
Music From ‘The Elder’ was released in 1981 and ended up spawning probably the best single out of all the tracks here, but it was Kiss’s worst-selling album. It was also the last record they made with Ace Frehley until Psycho Circus.
Without touring, they came right back in 1982 with Creatures of the Night which is probably the strongest album of the decade for Kiss which of course means that it had no singles chart. The catchy as hell “I Love It Loud” comes from this album though and that became a concert staple. This was the first album with Vinnie Vincent on guitar.
Welcome as usual to Bottom Feeders, your weekly look at the ass end of the Billboard Hot 100 charts in the ‘80s. This week we “kihntinue” to look at artists whose names begin with the letter K.
“This Time” is a duet with Shanice Wilson featured on Kiara’s debut, To Change and/or Make a Difference. The track was written by Charlie Singleton of Cameo and went to #2 on the R&B charts.
Greg Kihn Band
“Happy Man” — 1982, #62 (download)
“Every Love Song” — 1982, #82 (download)
“Love Never Fails” — 1983, #59 (download)
“Love and Rock & Roll” — 1986, #92 (download)
Here are four of the seven Greg Kihn tracks to hit the Hot 100 in the decade. The Greg Kihn Band was always missing something: the majority of the singles are good songs, but these minor hits are lacking a catchiness that would have kept them climbing. I personally love “Every Love Song” but the rhythm never really progresses anywhere. “Happy Man” and “Love Never Fails” are in the same boat for me — they have a chorus with some potential to be a sing along, but they just never make it there. My only real problem with “Love and Rock & Roll” is that it’s the name of the album as well. I mean, after four consecutive albums with “kihn” someplace in the title (Rockihnroll, Kihntinued, Kihnspiracy, Citizen Kihn) they decide to not bother anymore and really, the “Rock & Roll” part was already used. It certainly screams out that their creative peak had passed.
This was the only charting single from McMahon, off his excellent album No Looking Back. A few weeks ago we had the king of soundtracks, Kenny Loggins. This guy has to be the lost, long-distance fifth cousin of Loggins. He didn’t have any hits from soundtracks, but actually enjoyed making music for movies more than making full albums. He wrote and/or performed songs for Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Spring Break, All the Right Moves, and many more movies and TV shows throughout the years. His most well-known song, though, is probably “Cry Little Sister,” from The Lost Boys (where he’s credited as “Gerard McMann”).
Although I believe the album in which “Kayleigh” originates, Misplaced Childhood, is quite good, I never really got into Marillion. So let me instead direct you to their 
Loverboy
Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam (with Full Force)
We have our first-ever request at Bottom Feeders. A few weeks ago it was requested in the comments that I include Kon Kan’s “Puss ‘n Boots” in a future post — so here it is! Of course, that’s just the way the ball bounces, since you could pick up the Billboard Hot 100 book and predict every post of the rest of the series and write them up far better than I ever could, way before I do. Hey, don’t get any ideas now. Look me in the eyes. Mine. Mine. Got it?
Kool & the Gang have to rank as the second-greatest R&B act of the ’80s, right behind Michael Jackson, and they’re not even that far behind. Over their career they’ve had 32 songs hit the Hot 100, with another ten for good measure if you count the R&B chart. The greatest thing about Kool & the Gang is that they didn’t really drop off like most R&B/funk artists did by the mid- to late ’80s. Cameo and the Gap Band really started creating crap and almost remaking their own tunes by the close of the decade while Kool & the Gang remained fresh throughout. Of these three “Steppin’ Out” is certainly the most recognizable of the group, though even “Holiday” and “Special Way” are well known. I could listen to Kool & the Gang all day, every day and never get tired of them. They are quite a high point for me in the ’80s.
Kiss sets all kinds of marks as part of this series. Their nine tracks here are the most of any artist so far (there will be an artist with ten in the future) but the most remarkable thing is that these are the only nine tracks to chart in the decade. That kind of speaks to the remarkable career they’ve had: not one Top 40 song in the decade and yet the record company kept releasing singles. Now, granted, in most cases the songs you’re hearing were the first off an album and the second one didn’t chart, so the initial impact wasn’t exactly stellar.
