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.
Magazine 60
“Don Quichotte” — 1986, #56 (download)
“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.
