8 of the 80s: 2/14/13 (1986)...

Welcome back to another trip back to the 80s, and this time I'm returning to 1986, the year Pixar Animation Studios is opened.

Pet Shop Boys - "Love Comes Quickly"
from the album Please (1986)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #62

 
A hauntingly real love song sung by somebody who's been through it all, this song always has had a special place in my heart.

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 Jackson Browne - "In The Shape Of A Heart"
from the album Lives In The Balance (1986)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #70

I love what Jackson has to say about the meaning of a record before his performance. I wish the "industry" would have taken note. This is both a bittersweet and tear-inducing tribute to his late first  wife.

Bananarama - "More Than Physical" 
from the album True Confessions (1986)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #73

The three girls of Bananarama always sounded like they were at a special, fun sleepover party you were invited to.

Billy Squier - "Love Is The Hero"
from the album Enough Is Enough (1986)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #80

Yes, that's Freddie Mercury on backing vocals on this song, the first from the record released after Squier's infamous "dancing in leggings" "Rock Me Tonite" travesty in 1984...

Bad Company - "This Love"
from the album Fame & Fortune (1986)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #85

When Bad Company was going through their late-80s Chicago-esque soft-rock transformation, they released a few passable pop jams like this one.

Jennifer Holliday - "No Frills Love"
from the album Say You Love Me (1985)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #87

Jennifer took this song to the top of the dance chart twice - first in 1986, and then again ten years later, after a lot of shed poundage. I love her either way.

Joe Cocker - "Shelter Me"
from the album Cocker (1986)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #91

I personally really dig Cocker's underrated 1986 album (it also has "You Can Leave Your Hat On").

Anne Murray - "Now And Forever (You And Me)"
from the album Something To Talk About (1986)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #92

The Canadian treasure dips into soft-rock territory with this cosmopolitan effort that would've found a home on any movie soundtrack around that time.

That's a wrap for this romantic slip back to 1986....I'll return tomorrow with another Song of the Day, Candletime, and my top-100 songs of the week. Good night, and Happy Valentine's Day!