"Lovin' Every Minute of It" by Loverboy

Top 10 Alert!

Song#:  2436
Date:  08/24/1985
Debut:  59
Peak:  9
Weeks:  21
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  The Canadian band nearly grabbed their first US Top 10 Pop hit with "Hot Girls in Love," the lead single from their third album Keep It Up. The track stalled just shy at #11. However, this title-track first single from their fourth album finally got them in the Top 10 when it reached #9. The song would be their fourth one to reach the Rock Top 10 getting to #3. The hit would help drive the album to #13 and over time it would be a double-platinum seller - their fourth in a row to at least reach that level.

ReduxReview:  This was a good song choice for the band and it paid off for them. I actually would have preferred if this had a heavier rock production, but that might not have worked in their favor. First, the song definitely had a Def Leppard feel to it so beefing up the production may have made it sound way too much like Leppard, therefore it was probably good Lange did not produce it (see below). Second, a rock heavy record may not have done as well as this more pop radio friendly take. Overall, it was a solid moment for the band and it finally got them in the Top 10.

ReduxRating:  7/10

Trivia:  On their previous three LP's, all the tracks were co-written by various members of the band. For their fourth album, they reached out and got a couple of songs that were written by other people. This hit was one of them. It was written by Robert John "Mutt" Lange, who had been having major success producing acts like Def Leppard, AC/DC, and The Cars. Lange would typically produce songs that he wrote, but around this time period his schedule was packed so a few of his songs got picked up by artists and recorded without Lange's participation, as was the case with this song. It was produced by Tom Allom, who stepped into the chair after Loverboy's previous producer, Brian Fairbairn, couldn't do it due to schedule conflicts.

_________________________________________________________________________________

"Four in the Morning (I Can't Take It Anymore)" by Night Ranger

Song#:  2435
Date:  08/24/1985
Debut:  66
Peak:  19
Weeks:  13
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  Night Ranger got their second Top 10 Pop hit with the big ballad "Sentimental Street," the first single from their album 7 Wishes. For a follow-up, this more upbeat track was selected for release. It would do well at Rock getting to #13 while becoming the band's fourth Top 20 Pop entry. The hit would help the album continue to sell and by November it would be certified platinum.

ReduxReview:  While not an excessively strong song, this one was a pretty good choice to follow up "Street." Originally seen as just "Four in the Morning" on the album, the subtitle was added for single release most likely because that chorus line was more recognizable than the actual title. It was a tactic used to help DJs, radio listeners, and record buyers remember and request the song and it seemed to work. The song leans a little towards the pop/rock style of 38 Special, but maybe not quite as catchy. I originally thought it was lower Top 40 material so it surprised me when it got to #19.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia: This song was written and sung by band member Jack Blades. Inspiration for the title came when Blades suddenly woke up at four in the morning with a song idea in his head. The chorus, which starts "I can't take anymore," immediately came to him and he though it was pretty good. However, he didn't want to title the song after that first line of the chorus and started to think about a better title. That's when his inspirational wake up time of four in the morning came to mind and he used that as the title and the opening line of the song. This isn't the first song that was titled after the time of its inspiration and/or writing and its not the most famous one either. That would most likely be Chicago's 1970 #4 hit "25 or 6 to 4." Robert Lamm's ode to writing a song in the middle of the night got its chorus-ending title when he checked his watch at one point during the writing of the song and it was around 25 or 26 minutes to 4 in the morning.  Hmmm...four a.m. seems to be a good time to write a hit song for some folks!

_________________________________________________________________________________

"Be Near Me" by ABC

Top 10 Alert!

Song#:  2434
Date:  08/24/1985
Debut:  76
Peak:  9
Weeks:  22
Genre:  Synthpop



Pop Bits:  This UK band's second album, the more rock-oriented Beauty Stab, didn't set the charts a-fire and performed far less well than their debut LP The Look of Love. By the time Beauty Stab had run its course, the band was down to just two core members - Martin Fry and Mark White. They decided to continue on and hired two new members including the band's first and only female member, Eden (aka Fiona Russell Powell). Although the newbies were credited as members, Fry and White still did the bulk of the work including all the songwriting. The quartet went into the studio and recorded the new album How to Be a...Zillionaire! In the US, this track would be issued out as the first single from the album. The song caught on and soon it would become ABC's first Top 10 hit in the States. It would also be their second #1 at Dance while getting to #11 AC. The hit pushed the album to #30, but it ran shy of becoming a gold-level seller.

ReduxReview:  While leaning a bit more towards synthpop, this song and even the album got ABC back to they style of music they debuted on The Look of Love. I found this song irresistible with its warm chord structure and silky production. I bought the single and then the album when it came out later. The album in particular is underrated in their catalog as far as I'm concerned. It has some lovely tracks like this one along with a few hooky synthpop stompers. It was definitely a bright light after getting through the darkness of Beauty Stab. "Lovely" is not necessarily a word you'd use to describe a synthpop song, but in this case I think it fits very well.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  For this album, Martin and White came up with a concept that gave the band a new look. Both for the album package and for the video to the first single in the UK "(How to Be A) Milllionaire," the band members were turned into cartoon characters similar to the ones found on 70s Saturday morning TV shows.  Apparently, the look was some sort of commentary on the artificiality of the 80s. Gone was the sophisticated gold-suited look ABC donned during their Look of Love days and that seemed to disappoint a chunk of their UK fans. The "Millionaire" single stopped at a tepid #49 while "Be Near Me" stalled at #26. In turn, the album didn't sell all that well. However, they would be back in good graces when they would return to their original look for 1987's Alphabet City. That album would be a Top 10 gold seller in the UK.

_________________________________________________________________________________

"Looking Over My Shoulder" by 'til tuesday

Song#:  2433
Date:  08/24/1985
Debut:  78
Peak:  61
Weeks:  5
Genre:  Rock, New Wave



Pop Bits:  This Boston band headed up by Aimee Mann produced an 80s classic with their debut single "Voices Carry" (#8 Pop/#14 Rock). It helped propel their first album to #19 and reach gold level sales. For a follow-up, this next track was selected. Unfortunately it couldn't gain much ground after debuting on the chart and it fell off after a few weeks.

ReduxReview:  When you come out with something as distinctive as "Voices Carry" (and its famous video), you'd better have something just as interesting to follow it up. Unfortunately for 'til tuesday, this wasn't it. While I like the song just fine, it really didn't make for a good single and was nowhere near strong enough to keep the band aloft after "Voices." I'm not sure why the album opener "Love in a Vacuum" wasn't released as the second single. If paired with another unique video, that song had a shot to do well. The tune had a quirky flavor that was just as memorable as "Voices." Sadly, the label waited to push it out as the third single and by that time it was too late to generate interest and it never charted. Still, this song is one of the better tracks on the album.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  The band's drummer, Michael Hausman, would stay with them until their breakup in 1988. After that, he continued to work as a musician, but also switched hats and turned to artist management. His main client at the start? Aimee Mann, of course! As of this posting, Mann is still a client of Hausman's. Over the years, Hausman's management company has picked up some high-profile clients like Suzanne Vega and Marc Cohn.

_________________________________________________________________________________

"All of Me for All of You" by 9.9

Song#:  2432
Date:  08/24/1985
Debut:  85
Peak:  51
Weeks:  13
Genre:  R&B



Pop Bits:  This female vocal trio made up of high school friends began performing on the streets of Boston and surrounding areas. Their act moved into the clubs along with doing background vocals for other acts including soul star Richard "Dimples" Fields. Thanks to their work with Fields, the trio got signed to RCA Records. Their self-titled debut album would be produced by Fields, who would also co-write most of the songs including this first single. It would be a hit at R&B getting to #5 and that helped the song cross over to the Pop chart where it just missed out on the Top 50. A second single, "I Like the Way You Dance," would get to #30 R&B, but fail to make the Pop chart. They seemed to be on their way, but by '87 they would split due to tensions within the group and with their label.

ReduxReview:  Talk about day-glo 80s - check out the video for this song! It's pretty fab as is this obscure track. The hook is solid and the vocals are quite excellent, especially when lead singer Margo Thunder gets revved up near the end. This song was an R&B hit, but it should have done better at Pop. I think this group was just slightly ahead of their time. In a couple of years there would be a slew of female vocal groups having hits in the same vein as this song. Had 9.9 come along later in the 80s, I think this track would have easily been a Top 20 hit at Pop, if not Top 10.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  One member of the trio, Margo Thunder, had a shot at a music career in her early teens. Following a win at the famous amateur night at the Apollo Theater, she got signed to the Capitol Records subsidiary label Haven. She recorded two singles, which both reached the R&B chart. Her best effort was 1975's "Expressway to Your Heart," which got to #25. Yet despite some promising results, Capitol dropped her. Next up was her stint in 9.9 and two more R&B charters. After that group folded, Thunder would join a new trio named Lady Soul. They were able to record a song for the soundtrack to the 1992 hit movie Sister Act titled "If My Sister's in Trouble." That led to a debut album produced by Maurice Starr that featured the #77 R&B single "Don't Forget About Me." Unfortunately third time wasn't the charm for Thunder and with the tepid results posted by Lady Soul, the trio split. Thunder would continue to work in the music biz and would release an indie solo debut album in 2011 titled R&B 101.

_________________________________________________________________________________

"Information" by Eric Martin

Song#:  2431
Date:  08/24/1985
Debut:  90
Peak:  87
Weeks:  2
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  This Long Island musician honed his chops in several groups before moving to San Francisco and forming the band 415 (named after the local area code). They did well enough to become openers for big acts like Foreigner and Hall & Oates when they came to town. After a few years of paying dues, the band got offered a deal with Elektra. Redubbed the Eric Martin Band, a self-titled debut album was recorded and released in 1983. The disc didn't go anywhere and by 1985 they decided to call it quits. Martin took a chance on going solo and signed up the Capitol Records. His first work for them was contributing the song "I Can't Stop the Fire" to the soundtrack for the film Teachers. On the heels of that, he recorded his self-titled debut album that was produced by songwriter/guitarist Danny Kortchmar, who recently had success co-writing and producing Don Henley's Building the Perfect Beast. This first single was issued out to promote the LP, but the best it could do was a short two-week stay at the bottom of the chart. Capitol gave Martin a second shot and he pushed out the 1987 album I'm Only Fooling Myself, but it went nowhere and that ended his days at Capitol. However, his next venture would turn out far better (see below).

ReduxReview:  This is a good pop/rock track that has a little soulful feel to its groove. While it wasn't quite as catchy as some of the hits riding the chart at the time, the song was certainly well-written, performed, and produced. It was definitely Top 40-worthy, but for whatever reason the tune just couldn't catch a break.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  After Martin's solo career flatlined, he joined up with three other well-known L.A. musicians to form the band Mr. Big. Martin would be the lead singer and would also contribute songs. They quickly got signed to Atlantic Records and in 1989 issued a self-titled debut album that did quite well. However, their next album, Lean Into It, would prove to be their breakthrough. A song Martin had written as a teen was spruced up and included on the album. "To Be with You" would be issued as a single and it became a #1 gold record in 1992. The hit would help send their album to platinum status. The band's follow-up album couldn't produce another major hit and things quickly died down for the band in the US. However, like the saying goes - they were big in Japan! Mr. Big's career really took off in that country and they ended up securing eleven Top 10 albums and six Top 10 hits. As of this posting, Martin was still with the band and they had recently released the album Defying Gravity in 2017. It got to #9 in Japan.

_________________________________________________________________________________

"Love Theme from St. Elmo's Fire" by David Foster

Song#:  2430
Date:  08/24/1985
Debut:  92
Peak:  15
Weeks:  22
Genre:  Pop, Instrumental, Soundtrack, Adult Contemporary



Pop Bits:  Hit songwriter/producer Foster took his skills over to the film world and supplied the songs and score for the 1985 coming-of-age flick St. Elmo's Fire. The soundtrack was a good seller (#21) thanks mainly to John Parr's #1 hit "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)," which Foster co-wrote. As a follow-up single, this instrumental love theme written and performed by Foster was selected. It was a slow starter, but the track began to catch on and soon it was residing in the Pop Top 20. It did even better at AC reaching #3. The single would be Foster's only solo effort to reach the Pop Top 40. The song would also earn Foster two Grammy nominations; one for Best Instrumental Composition and one for Best Pop Instrumental Performance.

ReduxReview:  This is a lovely little movie theme that ended up being a pretty good single. AC-leaning instrumentals like this typically don't do well on the Pop chart, but it seemed to connect with folks most likely due to the film and the soundtrack's first big hit. Plus, an MTV video that featured scenes from the movie probably boosted it as well. It's not an awesome song, but it's a pleasant theme that still sounds good if it happens to get played in the grocery store or your dentist's office.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  Double Shot!  1) The soundtrack album also contained a vocal version of this song. It was sung as a duet by Amy Holland and Donny Gerrard. The lyrics for the song were written by Cynthia Weil.  2) Years prior to this, Foster reached the Pop chart as a member of two bands. He first got on the chart in 1973 with the Canadian band Skylark. They scored a #9 hit with "Wildflower." After a second album failed to do anything, the band broke up.  Next, Foster was in the L.A. band called Attitudes. Made up of session musicians, they were able to briefly reach #94 on the Pop chart with "Sweet Summer Music" in 1976. The band also folded after two albums. He gave it one more go in 1980 with his band Airplay, but no singles charted from their lone album. However, Foster would recycle an Airplay song called "Stressed Out (Close to the Edge)" for the St. Elmo's soundtrack.

_________________________________________________________________________________