Over the next year Terje Fjelde has agreed to listen to nothing but David Foster on his iPod. He’s loaded the thing with over 1,200 songs produced, arranged, composed, and/or played by David Foster. A deal with the devil? He keeps wondering.

“I have a style, but it’s very subtle.”
David Foster, March 1985

“What About Me,” by Kenny Rogers, Kim Carnes & James Ingram. From Kenny Rogers’ “What About Me,” 1984

It may be a little-known fact that David Foster is one of the dominant forces in the history of the modern duet pop ballad, but throughout the last 25 years he has peppered the charts with duets in all flavors, in addition to trios, quadruples, quintripets and whatnots. Oh, yes. It started in the early ’80s, when he played a couple of duet sessions, like, “Baby, Come to Me” and “How Do You Keep the Music Playing?” with Patti Austin and James Ingram and “Love All the Hurt Away” with Aretha Franklin and George Benson.

In 1983, after he produced the Bob Seger tune “We’ve Got Tonight” for Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton, all hell broke loose in terms of power duets. “We’ve Got Tonight” was a monster hit and ever since that, Foster has written and produced up to several duets every single year: John Travolta/Olivia Newton-John, David Foster/Newton-John, Paul Anka/Peter Cetera, Julio Iglesias/Stevie Wonder, Lou Rawls/Tata Vega… and let’s not forget Chicago’s Grammy-winning “Hard Habit to Break,” which is a duet between Peter Cetera and Bill Champlin.

There’s no point carrying on, really — I could continue for days.

Then there’s “What About Me,” Foster and Rogers’ follow-up single to the insanely successful “We’ve Got Tonight.” They topped it in all possible ways. Written by Foster, Rogers and Richard Marx, there’s pretty much a modulation for every verse, chorus and bridge. There are strings, horns, splashing cymbals and toms and a plethora of keyboards. There are not two, but three lead vocalists, all of them had enjoyed substantial chart success in the preceding years and all of them, amusingly, are wondering “what about me?”

So what about “What About Me?” (more…)

SHE’S A MODERN GIRL (na na na na na)

Back in the neon-colored days of the ’80s, Sheena Easton ruled the Adult Contemporary charts with a well-manicured fist. Sheena first began her ascension to fame on the BBC television show The Big Time, a documentary-style program chronicling an unknown singer’s attempt to achieve success in the music industry. Sheena was selected as the program’s subject based on her talent and her potential to become a singing star. EMI Records believed in her enough to give her a recording contract and a producer. Sheena spent the next several months being followed by cameras as she set out to create her very first single, “Modern Girl.”

Despite the television exposure, it wasn’t until “9 to 5,” Sheena’s second UK single, that her career finally started to take off. The song went to #3 on the UK charts, prompting its release in other countries. “9 to 5″ was renamed “Morning Train” in the U.S. to avoid confusion with Dolly Parton’s song of the same name. Regardless of its name, “Morning Train” went all the way to #1 in the U.S. “Modern Girl” was re-released in the UK after an initially disappointing debut and eventually climbed into the Top 10. “Modern Girl” was released as her second U.S. single and topped out at #18. Within months the Scottish newcomer had two huge hits on the charts in multiple countries. These accomplishments were followed by the Academy Award-nominated James Bond theme “For Your Eyes Only” which peaked at #4 in the U.S. and #8 in the UK. All of this led to a well-deserved Grammy for Best New Artist of 1981.

SHE’S GOT THE LOOK

Unlike many other Grammy winners, the supposed “Best New Artist jinx” didn’t seem to apply to Sheena. She continued to deliver numerous hits throughout the rest of the ’80s and into the ’90s. In 1983 she landed several huge hits, including the dance track “Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair),” the #1 country/pop duet with Kenny Rogers, “We’ve Got Tonight” (a Bob Seger cover) and “Almost Over You,” which rose to the top of the Adult Contemporary charts.

(more…)

Zack: I remember when Lenny Kravitz was first thrust upon the music world by a few cynical record company executives. It seemed like he had been designed by a committee to take advantage of all the latest pop-culture trends. Dreadlocks were in, so they gave him dreads. Tattoos and nose rings were still edgy and cool, so those were included. It was like watching a rock-star version of Poochie. One of the talking points that was pushed was that he was a talented songwriter, and every time I heard that spewing from the mouth of some idiot VJ I felt like I’d been taking crazy pills. Some sample lyrics from Lenny’s quill:

We’ve got to hug and rub-a-dub
We got to dance and be in love

Based on his biography, Lenny doesn’t sound like such a bad guy, and this is actually a well-produced video, but I hate hate hate the song.

Robert: I shouldn’t hate Lenny because he’s beautiful, but I do, and it’s because he knows he’s beautiful. He has a few good songs, but I can’t think of any I’ve liked past the Are You Gonna Go My Way album. The title track is one of his best singles, but I’m sure classic-rock fans could tell me note for note who Lenny’s ripping off in this song.

Dunphy: Y’know, I don’t mind “Are You Gonna Go My Way” much. This and “Believe” made the insurgent grunge brigade a little easier to tolerate. Maybe not by much, but still. “We’ve got to hug and rub-a-dub,” while being a fireable offense, certainly had dynamism against “Kill the pain, oh the pain, heroin? Yes, please …”

Jeff: How do I hate thee, Lenny? Let me count the ways. If I had a dollar for every hour Lenny Kravitz has sucked, I’d be … I’d be even richer than Lenny Kravitz, actually, but not by much. How depressing.

(more…)

Although released in late 1977, the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack would be impossible to ignore for much of 1978, with the Bee Gees’ “Night Fever” and “Stayin’ Alive,” as well as Yvonne Elliman’s “If I Can’t Have You,” all reaching #1. At several points during the first half of ‘78, the soundtrack album was selling over 1 million units a week.

Bee Gees - Stayin’ Alive
Bee Gees - Night Fever (w/ More Than a Woman) (more…)