Crazy for Swayze: One-hit wonders in '87

The Stuck in the 80s podcast crew has recovered from its holiday coma and is ready to hit the studio again. The next subject we'll tackle: the one-hit wonders of 1987.

(Yes, that means we finally have to confront Patrick Swayze's crime against humanity -- "She's Like The Wind.")

But here's the bigger dilemma: The further we get into the 80s, the more unfamiliar I'm getting with some of these tunes. I feel a disturbance in the force here, as if the schlocky and hellish bubblegum pop of the 90s is reaching back in time and exerting unnecessary and unwanted influence on my beloved 80s music.

Here's a list of potential songs to choose from for this show:

• Swing Out Sister -- "Breakout"
• Wa Wa Nee -- "Sugar Free"
• Patrick Swayze & Wendy Fraser -- "She's Like the Wind"
• The System -- "Don't Disturb this Groove"
• T'Pau -- "Heart and Soul"
• Buster Poindexter -- "Hot, Hot, Hot"
• Pseudo Echo -- "Funkytown"
• Kane Gang -- "Motortown"
• Living in a Box -- "Living in a Box"
• Jon Astley -- "Jane's Getting Serious"
• Bourgeois Tagg -- "I Don't Mind At All"
• Club Nouveau -- "Lean on Me"
• Company B -- "Fascinated"
• Breakfast Club -- "Right on Track"
• Jimmy Davis & Junction -- "Kick the Wall"
• Hipsway -- "The Honeythief"

We'll pick about 7 or 8 songs to feature in the show. Anyone have any favorites? Better yet, anyone have a great story associated with one of the songs? If so, leave us a comment or fire away an e-mail for use in our Reader Mailbag segment.

Comments

[Marissa]

I know some might find this hard to believe, but I didn't see Dirty Dancing until a friend insisted I rent it on VHS. She gushed about Swayze's hotness and, "he wrote and sings the most beautiful love song." Unhuh. Sure...a song that's not fitting for the era. ACK!
I'll have to process the rest of the list when I get home from work :)

[Marissa]

By the way, did anyone catch him on Oprah a few weeks back? He 'surprised' a couple who'd learned ballroom dancing and they were performing the finale dance from Dirty Dancing. He comes walking out like he was fresh from a botox session. Again, I say ACK! I didn't stay tuned in long enough to see if he chimed in with "nobody puts baby in a corner."

Pseudo Echo (still listen to them), Swing Out Sister, Nobody leaves baby in a corner/Road House man himself and ORIGINAL Star Trek loving T'Pau......only in the 80's! What in gods name were we thinking?

[Mike in Austin]

So sorry, forgot to sign the post...

M in A

[Bassnote]

Barbie Girl? That was from the late 90's. How in the hell did that make the list? Pseudo Echo rocks. their follow up to 'Funky Town', a song called 'Living In A Dream', was much better than the Lipps Inc. remake. Definitely put Jon Astley on the list, and Bourgeois Tagg. How about:

(I Just) Died In Your Arms - Cutting Crew
Respect Yourself - Bruce Willis

[Marissa]

Seagram's, Golden Wine Coolers...

[Mike in Austin]

Jungle Juice, Boone's Farm....

[Debra]

I really liked "Jane's Getting Serious". If I am remembering correctly, didn't the melody get used in a Heinz ketchup commercial? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrpP1MHAYVk

[Howard Troxler]

You can't blame the late '80s on the early '90s... maybe at this point you should just put your hands over your ears and go "Nah nah nah nah nah" until Dave Matthews shows up in the space-time continuum...

I love T'Pau.

Also, does Buster Poindexter at least get an asterisk as a "one-hit wonder" given his previous existence?

Next to last, how can VH1 voters actually credit Bon Jovi with the "greatest song of the '80s," as I happen to see while clicking around last night, not that I am revealing anything about how I spent Christmas or anything?

Lastly, am I even allowed over here?

[David P]

Definitely go with Swing Out Sister, T'Pau and Hipsway. I'd also include "Mary's Prayer" by Danny Wilson and "Respect Yourself" by Bruce Willis (which also had one of the Pointer Sisters singing a verse, if I recall correctly).

Where's M/A/R/R/S' "Pump Up the Volume"?

[Sherrie]

Wow, I should know all of these as '87 was the year that I graduated from high school, but most of them don't ring a bell! "She's Like the Wind" of course, was huge. I saw "Dirty Dancing" a huge number of times since I worked at a movie theater that year. "Lean on Me" always takes me back to messy high school drama from senior year, even hearing it today all I can think of is extreme unpleasantness with my skeevy ex-boyfriend and a few equally skeevy "friends" of mine who kept dedicating that song to him on the radio. Yuk.
Was Bruce Willis' "Express Yourself" and "Under the Boardwalk" from 87 or 86? I 'll have to listen to the podcast to see if actually hearing some of these songs brings them back to my memory!

[DenverMatt]

Maybe it is because I am slightly younger than you. But Club Nouveau- "Lean on Me" is the quintessential late 80's pop song. It is one of the few songs that will instantly tranport me back in time. That's not to say I like the song. But it was used by many a a club, sports team, and ,yes, guidance counselor as an anthem in my high school.

The cheese, "postitive message", being a remake from the 60s, vocal effects and rap-lite elements put this bad boy squarely in the 80s.

[malibu]

No no no--the correct title of the Swayze song is "She BREAKS the Wind!"

LOL!

[malibu]

And who could possibly forget S'Express' "Theme from S'Express?"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S'Express

GREAT tune!

[Spears]

Yes, Barbie Girl was indeed 1997, not 1987. My researcher has been sacked, and it has been stricken from the blog post.

And thank god too because that song is truly awful.

[David P]

Oh yeah, and "Right on Track" by the Breakfast Club should be in the show, too.

[jane]

"Jane's Getting Serious" gets my vote. For obvious reasons. If I had a nickel for everytime it was referenced to me back in the day...

[Lisette]

Still love Company B-Fascinated. Every time I hear it, I always think of Friday nights at the roller rink. Damn, I miss those days.

[chase]

If you've ever gone a cruise, you'll instantly associated "hot, hot, hot" with everything "cruise-ish," from the line outside the dining room to the annoying "pool games" the cruise director foists on those lame enough to get pegged as being too lame to turn down a game of "egg toss" ... I hate that song.

[Tom]

I vote for "Breakout","Funky Town", and "Kick The Wall" for the list from 87. If I hear "Lean on Me" Heart and Soul", or "Hot,Hot,Hot" one more time I may go postal! Talk about over played mindless drivel! Yuck! Just my 2 cents...thanks for the vent.

[Mike in Austin]

Lisette, the roller rink on Friday nights? I think we grew up in the same town! I sucked at skating and never got picked for couples skate!

[Al]

Wow, '87 sucked for One Hit Wonders.....give me Gavin Christopher and his electric drums anytime!

[theroux]

Swing Out Sister had the chops for more than one hit, solid album really..."Twilight World" was hit-ish. Company B. did score a second big hit on the dance charts with "Full Circle." I guess it's all in how one defines "hit" and what chart he/she is using.

[Spiky Sandy]

Love Swing Out Sister -- "Breakout" (good driving song) and The System -- "Don't Disturb this Groove" (very sexy!).

[Spiky Sandy]

HATE, HATE, HATE "Hot, hot, hot". That song couldn't suck enough!!!

Forgot about "Mary's Prayer" by Danny Wilson. Good suggestion, David P!

[Carla]

Oh the pain of "Hot, Hot, Hot"... sad to say that was a 'hit' during my senior year of high school. I'm with you Spiky Sandy, but hate isn't a strong enough word!

I was looking through a list of 1987 One Hit Wonders and was surprised to find "Shattered Dreams" by "Johnny Hates Jazz" on there. Now, I loved that song! If it's truly a one hit wonder... please add it to the playlist!

And some people may argue with you on Club Nouveau being a one hit wonder... they did have "Why You Treat Me So Bad" from the same year. It didn't chart as high as "Lean on Me"... but I do remember it being played on the radio all the time!

[Marissa]

Glenn Medeiros ~ Nothings Gonna Change My Love For You. Talk about UBER Cheese and sap. ech!
From what I've read, he's had "hits" doing duets, but his solo work? Nada! You can find him singing in a hotel in Waikiki

[David P]

Wasn't Johnny Hates Jazz an '88 one-hit wonder?

[Spears]

I was the king of roller skating in those days, hence my endless attachment to any song associated with a roller rink. Love live "Super Skate" in Clearwater, which is now a self-storage unit on Hercules Avenue. Oh, the horror.

[Carla]

David P... I think we're both right. After doing some searching... I found that "Shattered Dreams" wasn't released in the US until 1988, but it was already on the charts in the UK in 1987. So it probably wouldn't qualify as one of 'our' one hit wonders for '87. Still a great song!

[Al]

I "legally purchased" these songs today, and was pleasantly surprised.

Kick The Wall is one heck of a brooding break-up song.

Living in a Box is a classic as well, just for silliness.

[Walter Cox]

Some of these tunes I'm drawing a blank on ("kick the Wall"?), but there's some good tunes here. Ah, 1987, the year I moved to Florida. Nostalgia.

Guess I'll be hitting iTunes when my plan lands this afternoon...hopefully on its wheels...

[Clark]

Co-sign on the anti-"Hot, Hot, Hot" sentiments. I'm pretty sure that's the song that plays over and over and over again on the slow elevator ride to Hell...and not because of the heat references.

[Marissa]

I watched the video to "Fascinated" yesterday on youtube. ACK! What a crappy song. I'm pretty sure my friends and I danced to it. I'm also quite sure Long Island Iced Tea was involved.

"Livin' in a Box" conjures up visions of homeless people.
"Break out" makes me think of my sister dancing. Scary!
"Heart and Soul" by T'Pau is one I'd sing quite loudly in the car. Naturally, I thought I was cool because I could do the white girl rap section.

[Sweet Lou]

Sweet Lou's one-hit favs from 1987:
You Don't Own Me - a great cover by the Blow Monkeys, off the Dirty Dancin' soundtrack.

Dead or Alive came out with "You Spin Me Right Round (Like a Record Baby)"

Level 42 did "Lessons in Love" in 1987.

Levert did "Casanova".

Los Lobos did a great soundtrack for La Bamba - not a one-hit but thought I'd mention it.

Midnight Oil did "Beds are Burning"

Pianosaurus did "Eleanor Day" (too obscure?)

Roger came out with "I Wanna Be Your
Man"

Samantha Fox came out with "Naughty Girls Need Love Too" in 1987

Suzanne Vega did "Luka"

Tiffany botched a cover of the Tommy James song "I Think We're Alone Now"

Gotta go search through my records for more ...

-Sweet Lou

[Jeff in Cuba]

I believe "You Spin Me Round" hit the US charts in 1985.

[Sweet Lou]

Thanks Jeff for catching that. You are correct.

[Howard Troxler]

"Luka" was in 1987? Oh, man...

[Spiky Sandy]

I was too happy to see that Napster does song listings by the Billboard Hot 100 tracks from 1956 to present by quarter. Too cool to see what songs were popular in each year. It brought back some incredible memories.

[Spiky Sandy]

Glenn Medieros also had Watching Over You which peaked at 86 in 1987.

Living in a Box had So The Story Goes at peaking at 81.

How about I Want To Be Your Man by Roger?

Stryper had Honestly.

Tiffany also had Could've Been peaking at 86.

How about Yello with the infamous Oh Yeah from Ferris Bueller fame??

Ok this is only Sept-Nov 1987. I could go on, but I won't!!!

Happy New Year everyone!

[Lyndal]

My Australian heart is affronted by the inclusion of Pseudo Echo on the list - they had heaps of hits down here. However for anyone over 30, Wa Wa Nee is the perfect punchline for any joke involving one hit wonders.
As an aside, the first concert I was supposed to see was Pseudo Echo touring on the back of Funky Town. My best friends got busted for shop lifting and were grounded, so we didn't end up going. Instead I saw David Bowie later that year on the Glass Spider tour so I happily have a much more credible first concert story.

[Pat]

Swing Out Sister and T'Pau don't belong on the list. SOS had another hit in the 90s with Am I The Same Girl, and T'Pau had a smaller hit with China In Your Hand.

I love Pseudo Echo's Funkytown. My high school won a local radio contest that had them come and perform for us. They were terrific. I never understood why they were not more successful here.

I have to defend She's Like the Wind. I loved the song before ever knowing who was performing it.

Lean on Me would have to top my list of songs to be included on the podcast. Every time I hear the song, I am in high school all over again. On second thought..I don't want to hear that song.