"Say Hello to Ronnie" by Janey Street

Song#:  2073
Date:  10/06/1984
Debut:  76
Peak:  68
Weeks:  5
Genre:  Pop, Rock



Pop Bits:  New York-born Janey Street (aka Janey Schramm) honed her skills around town as a teenager performing with her own band. A chance meeting with another musician, Dennis Pereca, led to them becoming a duo called Janey & Dennis. They got signed to Warner Bros. and issued a folk/blues oriented self-titled debut album in 1970. While their live performance were greeted well, the album didn't sell. They moved to Capitol Records and recorded a second LP, but it ended up shelved and that was the end of the duo. Street concentrated on a solo career and struggled for a few years before a song of hers got picked up for use on the TV show Fame. That led to a deal with Clive Davis and Arista Records. Street then recorded her solo debut album titled Heroes, Angels & Friends. All the tracks were written or co-written by Street including this first single. The song was able to get on the Pop chart, but for only a short period. Her next single, "Under the Clock," ended up getting some good attention at AC and the song made it to #18 on that chart. Unfortunately, Pop radio didn't pick it up and the tune failed to chart. The results seemed encouraging, but then soon after a move to California, Street found out that Arista dropped her from their roster. That ended Street's major label recording days. This song remains her lone Pop chart entry.

ReduxReview:  This reflective tune nearly sounds like something Springsteen might have come up with, except his would have been better and more epic. But I do mean that as a compliment because this is a good tune that plays like a slice of life like a lot of Springsteen songs. It's kind of a bummer it didn't catch on more, especially on Rock radio. This seemed like a natural fit for the format. She sounds good too. Her voice and music had shades of Rickie Lee Jones via Joan Jett. It's too bad Street never fully caught on. I think she had some good stuff to offer. I remember the name, but I know I never heard her song back in the day. In fact, I didn't realize Janey Street was a woman. For some reason, I thought it was the name of a hard rock band! It's actually a good name for one! Well, at least I've now discovered her.

ReduxRating:  7/10

Trivia:  After being dumped by Arista, Street had a difficult time maintaining her music career. Although she would get occasional work through publishing companies for film and TV music, it wasn't enough to pay the bills. In between she had to do other work which included painting houses, serving at Cracker Barrel, and even a gig being a clown. However, there were bright spots along the way including the great Ruth Brown recording one of Street's songs for her Grammy nominated 1999 album A Good Day for the Blues. Street was later finally able to release a new album in 2009 with the blues-oriented The Street Less Traveled. She then signed with the Blue Élan label and released a new album in 2016.

_________________________________________________________________________________