How did my geekdomosityness (it is a perfectly cromulent word. shuttup) sneak back in today you maybe asking yourself? Well, almost 30 years after its release and after the 10 weeks that it was number 1 on the Billboard Charts, Olivia Newton-John's Physical is once again number 1 on a Billboard Chart. It was ranked THE SEXIEST SONG OF ALL-TIME!!! How cool is that? In honor of that, of course, I am including it today among the other 20 songs. I am going to do this in 1 post, divided in 2. The first 11 songs are coming right up, as soon as Red Robot gets off my Pepsi Truck, (he has been joy riding all morning). Then I am going to take a break, do some cooking and come back with the other 10! So get comfortable, turn your speakers up and enjoy!
Here are Today's 10 Tunes + Physical....
1. Physical - Olivia Newton-John 3:42 (Polar Music International) Here is another song that almost wasn't! After Olivia had recorded it, the night before its release, she called the record company and asked them to pull it because she thought it went too far. They told her it was too late and well, you know the rest of that story. Of course, by today's standards this is like a lullaby, but man o man, when it first came out, it was so hot. Ok, RR get off the truck and spin it! LOVE that opening bass line!!! Olivia has one of THE sexiest, playful voices ever. I just love everything about this song, especially that guitar solo twoard the end. I used to carry this 45 all over NY and ask people (well, DJ type people, not people walking down the street) to play it when it was very first released, before it went to number 1. Geek!! You should hear her newer more "age-appropriate" version of the song. If it is possible, I think THAT version is even sexier than this!
2. Romancing The Stone - Eddy Grant 3:30 (Portrait Records) WOW How very 80s is this song? I totally forgot about this one. "Where da unicorn's da last one at da waterhole"? WHAT? I guess all we needed back then was to know the words of the chorus so we could sing em while we danced! It is good to hear this song again but I will stick to Electric Avenue when I need an Eddy Grant fix! STOP!!! RR is trying to drive the Pepsi Truck into the turntable! You know the rules, even when the song kinda sucks, we gotta let the whole thing play! Oye!
3. True - Spandau Ballet 5:40 (Chrysalis Records) Here's another one for the 100 Coolest Songs list. I love this guy's voice. Ya know, even though I know every word to this song (my friend John Vargas taught me and trust me, they make more sense then the lyrics to Gold) I still am left wondering, WHAT DOES HE KNOW AS TRUE????? So, he went out on a journey, came back, danced around with a pill on his tongue listening to Marvin all night long and this, he says, is the truth that he wants to be known. The best I can gleen from it is the sense of passing time and all we have is this moment that we are in! What do you think RR? Oh crap. He fell off the truck.
4. Private Dancer - Tina Turner 4:04 (Capitol Records) Ya know, these two songs would mix well together. Remember that RR! He just gave me a robotic wink. This song is soooo cool and so sexy. I love that she sings the majority of the song in such a low whisper, like she is confiding in us and then she lets loose and it is back to work at the dance hall! I think this one goes in the Coolest List as well. This whole album is so amazing and is one of the constants that Dave and I pull out and listen to from time to time. It never gets old!
5. There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart) - Eurythmics 4:31 (RCA Records) Annie Lennox is so outrageously talented. The music that she and Dave Stewart made together is some of the best of the 80s. WOW She can do anything with that voice, from the lowest of low notes to the most ethereal of high notes!! Pair that with the orgy of keyboards and synths and it was magic everytime! Listen to the "angel Annie" in the chorus! Ya know, I think Stevie Wonder wandered around from recording studio to recording studio in the 80s with that damn harmonica cause he is on almost everyone's singles from back then. "Hi. I'm Stevie. Did someone call for a harmonica solo?" I actually bought this single for the flip side, Grown-Up Girls after hearing it on WLIR, one of the coolest underground college radio stations.
6. You're The Inspiration - Chicago 3:49 (Warner Brothers Records) Someone really special once put this on a tape for me! I love this song and I loved that part of my life! Oh to feel that way again about someone!
7. If You Don't Know Me By Now - Harold Melvin And The Bluenotes (Philadelphia International Records) Such a great song with one of the most amazing lyrics. How much more honest can you get? If you don't know me by now than you will never know me. And if you don't, then maybe we should say goodbye!! So, incredible. I gotta say, Harold Melvin has one of the greatest soul voices and was so underrated!
8. Holding Out For A Hero - Bonnie Tyler 4:29 (Columbia Records) Another great pairing....Jim Steinman and Bonnie Tyler!!!! Jim Steinman created some of the greatest and most haunting songs of the late 70s and 80s for Meatloaf, Cher, Barbra Streisand and of course Bonnie Tyler! This song is so fast and hard hitting!!! I love it and it fits my mood right now so perfectly! Love the insane drums in this song!!!! I also love how angry she is but still holding onto a hope that a hero will come and save her! Having lived in Lancaster for 16 years now I also have been holding out for a hero as well, but more of the sandwich variety!
9. If You Remember Me - Chris Thompson 2:53 (Planet Records) This is one of my all-time favorite ballads. What an incredible lyric about the end of a relationship. This is someone that HAD to end a good relationship, whatever his reasons and he wants to make sure that the person he left knows how much he loves them! Brilliant!!! Barry Manilow did a very good cover of this song!
10. The Music Of Goodbye - Melissa Manchester and Al Jarreau 3:54 (MCA Records) This is the love theme from Out Of Africa, one of my all-time favorite movies. It was released as a single and then included on a special edition of the soundtrack, which I have searched for since 1986 and have never found. Not only is this a gorgeous movie but the score from it is one of the best I have ever heard! This single captures some of the magic of the score and the pairing of Melissa and Al is genious!
11. Over The Rainbow - Sam Harris 3:01 (Motown Records) This is the song that helped Sam Harris win on Star Search and captured the attention and hearts of everyone watching and cheering him on! Yes, it is a bit over the top but man, listen to his voice. This is a very soulful version of the song and he sells it! He can sing anything!!!
Ok, going to go get some air and go exploring with Dave for awhile. I'll be back to cook and share and listen to some more music.
I'm back. Miss me? Feels like I never left, doesn't it? I am so full, it isn't funny! I made Chicken Primavera with spinach & cheese ravioli!!! This meal is pretty much a heartattack waiting to happen and one you can't have often but man did it turn out great. I cut up boneless chicken breasts into nice sized pieces and sauteed them in a skillet with butter and olive oil. When it was cooked through I removed it from the pan and added sliced onion and minced fresh garlic and diced zuccini. Let that cook till the onion is translucent then I added fresh, steamed asparagus and diced roma tomatoes, I then returned the chicken to the pan and tossed it all together, covered it and let it simmer while I made the sauce. In a separate pan, and here's where it gets unhealthy...I melted butter, added heavy cream and Sargento Velvety Smooth Ricotta Cheese and when the cheese melted down I sprinkled paprika for color and folded in the chicken and vegetables then sprinkled some parmesan cheese and let it simmer for 5 minutes so all the flavors could marry. I put it over the spinach/cheese ravioli and made a pig of myself.
Well, I am stuffed but promised the other 10 songs, so, barring any unforeseen circumstances, here they are folks........(I created two separate music players for the two sets of songs) By the way, it seems that RR has picked up another new habit. Every once in awhile he likes to have a little nip of something! (Doesn't he look guilty in this picture?)
1. Whenever I Call You Friend - Kenny Loggins 3:59 (Columbia Records) This song was supposed to be a duet with Melissa Manchester but, ironically, they could not agree on the best way to present the song, so Stevie Nicks stepped in. Melissa recorded her own version but never released it as a single. The one thing they both seemed to agree on was to not put the name of their singing partner on either of their records! Go figure. This is one time that I really like Kenny's voice all the way through a song and the pairing of the two voices was quite inspired.
2. Lovin' Every Minute Of It - Loverboy 3:30 (Columbia Records) Funny....I had picked the 21 songs for today this morning and many hours later Dave was playing a Loverboy song in his truck. Ok, not so much funny as it is ironic, no? Spin it RR. Oh boy, he just tripped over the tone-arm. I think he might be a little tipsy. I love this song. I haven't heard it in ages. Hair dancing and finger pointing here! When I worked at Macy's Herald Square I had made friends with this wonderful girl named Sherlene and this was one of her favorite songs. I think of her every time I hear this one. Love the ending of the song!!
3. Run To You - Bryan Adams 3:59 (A&M Records) From a great Canadian rock band to a great Canadian rocker! Love Bryan Adams. Such a cool beginning to this one!! That gravely sound of Bryan's voice is soooo cool and the guitar work is outstanding. It is amazing to see him perform because he looks like a little kid and then this voice comes out of him. He looks the same now as he did 26 years ago!
4. I'll Be There - The Jackson 5 3:35 (Motown Records) "I'll Be There with an unselfish love and respect too" Every time I hear this song I picture the animated Jacksons performing it! I used to have a couple of cardboard records that were on the backs of different cereal boxes and I think this was one of them. I know I had another Jackson 5 song for sure but I'm not about this one.
5. Because Of Love - Janet Jackson 4:11 (Virgin Records) Couldn't leave out baby sister, now could I? Such a fun song!! Chair dancing already!! I used to love playing this when I DJed. Such a smooth, fun groove to it and I love all of the backing group Janet did on this one! You can just tell she was dancing around when she recorded it.
6. All She Wants To Do Is Dance - Don Henley 4:23 (Geffen Records) WOW I totally forgot how this song starts. SOOOOOOO freakin' cool!! Even RR is dancing to this one. He is going to fall down soon!! I love the lyrics to this song, there are all kinds of gang-land references and terrorist references set against this dizzy chic that just wants to keep dancing! Social commentary set to a killer beat!! I am totally chair dancing off that primavera sauce!!
7. Mr. Big Stuff - Jean Knight 2:27 (Stax Records) And the fun just keeps on coming! This is another one of the magical summer vacation songs! I love how Ms. Knight is totally putting Mr. Stuff in his rightful place and knocking him down quite a few pegs in the process! I am seeing Doc (from the Love Boat) dancing in his platforms and 20 pound fro again! GREAT horns!!
8. Thief Of Hearts - Melissa Manchester 3:39 (Casablanca Reocrds) This is the title track from the movie of same name and is a fantastic pairing of Giorgio Moroder's music and Melissa Manchester's lyrics. There is an unmistakable sound to any Giorogio Moroder song, bright, crisp keyboards and drum machines. I can remember going nuts the first time I heard this in a club in NY. The DJ had an advanced copy so I wasn't even aware it existed. I immediately ran to the booth and said, "that's Melissa Manchester isn't it?" He had gotten two copies of the promo remix single and he gave me one. A good night!
9. Everyday I Write The Book - Elvis Costello & The Attractions 3:54 (Columbia Records) This is my second favorite Elvis Costello song (the first being his cover of "She" from Notting Hill). Really working up a little sweat here, I haven't stopped chair dancing all night! I love that kinda reggae sound and the xylophone is so cool. Not a sound you normally hear in a pop song. Man, there was some great music in the early 80s. This song reminds me of Brooklyn College days.
10. Pride (In The Name Of Love) - U2 3:45 (Island Records) Probably my favorite U2 song so far (cause ya know they are gonna do something else brilliant)! Bono and the boys are the penultimate genious' of getting important messages out to the entire world wrapped neatly in an amazingly memorable (and catchy) song! I recently watched an entire concert they did last summer on YouTube and was blown away. I would love to see them live (not sitting in front of my computer. You know what I meant. shuttup)
It has been quite a day. Olivia was number 1 again, the new Baman/Piderman video (look it up on YouTube) was finally put up, Piderman talked to Baman and hopefully the dark cloud cast by the Big Blue Monster will go the hell away. Listen, if you try the primavera, let me know what you think of it. When I was in Brooklyn College I watched someone make it once and I have never forgotten it. It was the first time someone other than a relative showed me how to prepare a dish and though I had to improvise a bit tonight, it came out just as good as I remember it being the first time. Not a whole lot you can say that about! I hope you enjoy the music and I'll see you tomorrow! Make that meal for someone you love this weekend! (Gotta put RR in his little bed. He passed out on the desk awhile back. Some robots just can't hold their booze!)
OMG What a great mix!Gary. Speaking of ONJ and Physical, I like that she tried to unsex the song with crazy video. I am sure she or her handelers did this to appeal to a larger audience and I believed it worked! Again, this is only my theory. I love Bryan Adams but I remember when he had a little disco ditty caled Let me take you dancin!! Yowza!!!! My sister and I used to Lip Sync to "I'll be there" and after my mom died it became our little anthem. I love Elvis Costello and I am still tryingto figure out what some of his lyrics (mean)!!! lol... Great Stuff Gary!!!
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