As I promised, no more Jacksons this week, but we will keep plodding through the letter J as we continue to take a look at songs that reached no higher than #41, a.k.a. “the ass end,” on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the 1980s.
Debbie Jacobs
“High on Your Love” — 1980, #70 (download)
Debbie Jacobs had better luck on the dance chart than she did on the Hot 100. She had a few disco hits in the late ’70s and early ’80s, but this annoying track was her highest-charting pop single.
Mick Jagger
“Ruthless People” — 1986, #61 (download)
“Throwaway” — 1987, #67 (download)
Sigh. Well, at least one of these songs is better than anything on the Stones’ 1986 album Dirty Work. “Throwaway” should be the name of the first song here, as that’s all “Ruthless People” is — a limp, sad snapshot of an artist going through the motions. The actual “Throwaway” isn’t all that bad, though it’s still uninspired; it’s a track from Mick’s album Primitive Cool, which features some of the worst cover art of the decade.
The Jags
“Back of My Hand” — 1980, #84 (download)
Here’s probably where you should begin your listening this week — “Back of My Hand” is a superb track from the short-lived Jags. They formed in London in ‘78 and released only two records: 1980’s Evening Standards, which contains “Back of My Hand,” and 1981’s poorly titled No Tie Like a Present. Listening to this song always makes me want to pull out some Knack.
