We love Peter Gabriel ... big time

Here we are, on the eve of Valentine's Day, and it's time to give a shout-out to one of the best 80s musicians when it comes to penning songs about love and angst. (I'm sending out death-lasers from my eyes if you think I'm about to say Lionel Richie. No!). Let's throw a little love to Peter Gabriel, who turns 56 years old today.

Don't give me that puzzled look. We're talking about "In Your Eyes" and "Don't Give Up" for starters. Two, dare we say, classics from the era. Director Cameron Crowe took a long look around before finding the perfect song for his film Say Anything ("Lloyd Dobbler ... all right....") before finally wooing Gabriel to give him the rights for "In Your Eyes." (Gabriel only agreed after being allowed to screen the movie ahead of time.) And you gotta love the simplicity of his duet with Kate Bush on "Don't Give Up." A great song to help rally you from a bad day. ("I've changed my face, I've changed my name. But no one wants you when you lose.")

Lest you doubt the genius of Gabriel, consider his groundbreaking videos for "Sledgehammer" and "Big Time." (Yeah, remember when videos actually broke ground instead of breaking wind?)

These days, Peter Gabriel is taking the higher road with his celebrity by spearheading causes like the Asia Earthquake Appeal, which is raising funds to help survivors from last year's earthquake in Kashmir, Pakistan and northern India. He continues to tour and put on fantastic live shows. (He has several concert DVDS out there including one -- Live and Unwrapped -- released in November.) Gabriel even showed up in Turn, Italy, last week to performing during the opening ceremonies of the Winter Games.

A birthday present for Pete -- top 5 Peter Gabriel songs loved by 80s addicts:
5. Solsbury Hill
4. Red Rain
3. Mercy Street
2. In Your Eyes
1. Don't Give Up

Comments

[Anonymous]

Where's Shock the Monkey? And Games Without Frontiers?

[Em]

An entire post about Care Bears...I dare you! You know one day you're going to draw a blank, and Care Bears are going to seem a like a pretty good idea.

[Steve Spears]

I just promised you the care bear INSIDE the post. We'll see how the story turns out first!

[80sfan]

Shock the Monkey is one of those songs at the top of my list. Also Red Rain always comes to mind when I think of Peter Gabriel. There is just something about his voice on that song that is a bit haunting.

[Steve Spears]

It was hard narrowing it down to 5 songs for this list. So many great songs had to be left out.

[Kevin L.]

Shock the Monkey & Games Without Frontiers were actually released in the 70's as was Solsbury Hill. The other four choices are spot on but for the record, Mercy Street is a tribute to Anne Sexton, an obscure poet who committed suicide. Any mention of Peter Gabriel should also include his work with Genesis as well. Nice to see you recognize him though.

[Anonymous]

I love Peter Gabriel. But in that photo you put up, he's looking a lot like Billy Joel's twin, I'm afraid.

[Cindy Hicks]

My husband and I recently had a renewed interest in Peter Gabriel. We watched Growing Up tour on the Rave channel, went and bought it, and cannot stop watching/listening to it. I plan to go out and get everything else he's done in the last 15 or so years. He is truly amazing in so many ways. I love sledgehammer, but you know, I'd have a hard time picking my favorite because they are all so great. He looks awesome, always has. This picture is one my favorite pictures of him.