Selection A4: Cathy Dennis -- Too Many Walls

The only real ground rule I have for this list is that the song I choose must have been released on 45.  The 7 inch 45 wax disc came to prominence in 1949 as a replacement to the 10 inch 78 shellac disc.  It fell out of prominence in the late 80s.  So a song from 1991 would probably not have been released to 45, right?

When I was looking at this song yesterday, I wondered... can I find a 45 for it?  And it turns out, I can.  So it gets to be in the jukebox... so let's roll:

Cathy Dennis, when I say that name, images of bubblegum pop/dance/techno probably comes to mind.  With songs like Come on and Get My Love, Just Another Dream, and Touch Me (All Night Long), Cathy was at the forefront of that early 90s dance scene.  

This song is not a dance song.  Not even close.  It is a song Dennis herself says is the best song of the album (Move to This), with by far the best lyrics.  The other songs are quite vacant, although fun.  And she's right.  It's a song about being with someone, even when others build walls between you.  

The song, musically, was written by Anne Dudley.  You may not have heard of her, but you have heard of the band she is a part of, The Art Of Noise.  It was just an instrumental with strings until Cathy adapted it for her album.  She wrote the thoughtful lyrics.  It went to #8 in 1991 and was her 4th top ten.  Touch Me (All Night Long) was the only top 5 of those four, and it hit #2.

I don't know what it is about slower songs like this.  My wife doesn't picture me as liking songs like this, either.  Anne Dudley always makes music that is pleasing to the ear to me.  And Dennis's lyrics are beautiful as well. The only thing I don't like about this song is that it doesn't sound like it has a real instrument.  They are mostly electronic, except for the strings at the end.  It's obviously not a deal breaker to me, but I could see it being annoying to some.

B4 is an acoustic version.  It's just Cathy and a guitar.  And it is hauntingly beautiful.  She really showcases a good voice here.

Selection A3: Chaka Khan -- Love of a Lifetime

This song, to me, is like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.  The commercials say two great tastes that taste great together.  I've always thought it's crappy peanut butter and crappy chocolate making a passable candy bar.  But in this case, it's two artists I really like adapting to each other.

You know Chaka Khan.  She has 2-3 other strong possibilities to make the Jukebox, with I Feel For You, Ain't Nobody, and This is My Night.  

My other favorite in this song is Green Gartside.  Don't know him by that name?  How about the lead singer of Scritti Politti?  They also have a couple strong possibilities for the Jukebox, including Perfect Way, and Boom! There She Was.  

So what you are getting, essentially, is a Scritti Politti song, with the extraordinary pipes of Chaka Khan on lead.  How these two adapted to each other here is pretty neat.  Green co-wrote and produced a song for Chaka's voice.  I really can't picture Green's whispy voice singing this song, just as I can't picture Chaka singing most Scritti Politti songs.  You also see Chaka stepping out of her soul leanings to make a perfect pop song.  Two great tastes, that taste great together.

I am very fortunate to have heard of this song.  It never made it to the Top 40, getting to #53 before fizzling out.  It did have a strong presence on MTV, and after seeing it there a couple times, I bought the 45.  It's not a song that makes my top 20, but I know I wanted it in the Jukebox.  It just fits here.

The B-side is Coletrane Dreams.  Not much to see here.  But could they have done better?  Destiny, the album these songs come from, had four singles released in 1986 and 1987, with this song by far being the most popular.  While the album went to #25 on the charts, there aren't many strong songs here.  So no, I don't think there was much better to offer.  I don't think selection B3 will get many plays.

Selection A2: The Power Station -- Get It On (Bang A Gong)

It was the Summer of 1985, probably my favorite year musically.  Duran Duran was one of my favorite bands, coming off success with their Seven and the Ragged Tiger album, and the first #1 Bond Theme with A View to a Kill in July.  You'll be hearing more from Duran Duran as I fill the jukebox.

But they split off into two groups for the summer, Arcadia and The Power Station.  John and Andy Taylor, the guitarist/bassist teamed up with Robert Palmer, and Tony Thompson of Chic to form the band, and their first single, Some Like it Hot, hit number 6 earlier in the year.

This is a remake of a 1971 hit by T Rex.  I had never heard this song prior to hearing the Power Station version, as I was 1 at the time.  Needless to say, I like the Power Station version better.  The opening is brilliant.  I had never heard anything like it previously.  The song also has a great driving beat thanks to Thompson, and the Taylors rock out throughout with crunchy guitar and slamming bass.

I of course bough this single when it came out, and it got played a lot.  I got the album from my brother as a birthday gift.  I was shocked he bought it when I saw the cover.  He was going to a Christian college majoring in religious studies.  The cover leaves a little bit to be desired in the modesty department:

Selection B2 is Go To Zero.  It's a pretty good song in its own right, but I've never thought of it as anything but an album track.

Selection A1: Robbie Nevil -- C'est La Vie

This is my favorite song, and will probably be so until the day I die.  The opening, the eighth notes prominent through the song, the bridge (Hey, Jay Jay!).  It just works for me.  Not long after hearing the song (probably on MTV) I owned the 45.  Not long after that, I bought the album (probably a cassette by that time).

This song came out near the end of 1986, and got all the way to number 2 for two weeks.  It made it to number 6 for the 1987 year end countdown, the highest non-number one song of that year.  It was held out of the top spot by Gregory Abbott's Shake You Down, and Billy Vera and the Beaters' At This Moment.  This is truly a tragedy in chart history in my honest opinion.

Robbie Nevil was a writer first, writing for the likes of the Pointer Sisters, El Debarge, and Earth, Wind and Fire. This was his first shot at making his own music.  This could technically be labeled as a remake, however.  To make it weirder, it's a remake of a song he co-wrote for Beau Williams in 1984.

The B side was Time Waits For No One.  It's not a bad song, but it is a B side song for a reason.  Followup singles from the album were Dominoes, and Wot's It To Ya.

What is this?

There is a guy, who calls himself Ron "Boogiemonster" Gerber, who has a show called Crap From The Past.  Recently, he spent two whole years on a feature called "Ron's Dream Jukebox", where he populated his dream jukebox with 45s he would have liked to have had.  This is an homage to that.

What I am going to do is simple.  I am going to write about 2-3 posts a week with songs I would put into my own dream jukebox.  I have a playlist of about 108 songs that will increase as time goes by to choose from.  Starting will be easy, in fact, I know my first 20, and the first 60-80 shouldn't bee too hard.  It's choosing those last 20 or so that will be difficult.

It's a list based on my preferences, and I'll write a little story about why it belongs when I post.  I hope you enjoy it.