Gold Record Alert!
Song#: 2354 Date: 06/08/1985
Debut: 86
Peak: 34
Weeks: 21
Genre: R&B, Dance, Freestyle
Pop Bits: The three brothers and three cousins that formed Full Force began as musicians and songwriters and came to prominence when they co-wrote, produced, and performed on UTFO's Top 10 R&B hit "Roxanne, Roxanne." They began to branch out into artist development when teenager Lisa Velez auditioned for them and from there Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam was formed. With Full Force writing, producing, and performing, Lisa and her two band mates recorded this song that ended up getting them signed to Columbia Records. The song first caught on in the clubs and it went to #1 on the Dance chart. It would then do well at R&B getting to #8 while crossing over to the Pop chart and getting into the Top 40. It took a while for the song to fully catch on, but the slow roll, consistent sales, and MTV exposure turned it into a gold record. By the time fall came around, the group's self titled debut album would be on shelves.
ReduxReview: This song was quite influential back in the day and continues to be so with artists like The Black Eyed Peas, Pitbull, Kylie Minogue, and others sampling it on their own tracks. It's unfortunate that it ended up getting overshadowed by the more pop-candy coated hits the group would grab later as this is the superior song and their best moment. That early freestyle sound is spot on and it is matched well with the background harmonies and Lisa's innocent vocals pondering a not-so-innocent question. It should have been a much bigger hit in its day. If all you know of Lisa Lisa is "Head to Toe," reach back and grab this one. You'll be glad you did.
ReduxRating: 9/10
Trivia: This song took an usual route on the road to becoming a hit. It seems that it got recorded in '84 with support from a small label called Personal Records. Apparently, a producer discovered the track and wanted it for a compilation album he was assembling that would be titled Break Dancing. The LP would be issued via CBS in Europe and this song started to gain a lot of attention. Soon the song would make it back Stateside in the form of an import and US clubs began spinning the tune. That was when Columbia came calling to sign the band and officially release the single.
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7/10 for me. I'm honestly not too big of a fan of them. But I love "Head to Toe". Also, I wonder when we'll get to a Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine chart entry.
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