Songoftheday 12/12/15 - I hope you'd find someone to please you someone who'll care and never leave you, but if that someone ever hurts you you just might need a friend to turn to...

"Anything For You" - Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine
from the album Let It Loose (1987)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (two weeks)
Weeks in the Top-40: 14

Today's Song of the Day is from the Cuban-American dance-pop outfit Miami Sound Machine, who with lead singer Gloria Estefan getting star billing for the first time on their 1987 album Let It Loose had scored a trio of top-40 pop hits already with "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You", "Betcha Say That", and "Can't Stay Away From You". The fourth single from the record was the highlight ballad from the record, "Anything For You". Written by Gloria and produced by her husband Emilio, the song was beautiful yet oh, so desperate plea from a woman to her past love, even offering...

I'll give you up
If that's what I should do
To make you happy...

Now that's devotion (I know, I've been there). With a combination of resignation for the state of their relationship, albeit with an open door if any chance re-appeared, the song was a welcome "real-life" style romantic ballad in the wash of shiny-brite 80's glee. As the anthem for ex-lovers pining for their past others, Gloria sold the emotion well, and it became the Sound Machine's biggest hit up to that time, and by far her best ballad moment...

"Anything For You" became Gloria (and the band)'s first #1 pop hit in America in May of 1988. The single also topped Billboard's Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") radio chart for three weeks.  Internationally, the single re-ignited Estefan's career in Britain, where the first three singles didn't hit the chart initially, reaching #10, while reaching #2 in the Netherlands, #10 in Canada, #11 in Australia, and #19 in Ireland. The song also earned Estefan her first Grammy nomination for Pop Group or Duo with Vocals.

(Click below to see the rest of the post)


Here's Gloria and the Miami Sound Machine performing "Anything For You" live at the Olympics in Seoul, South Korea...

The group recorded a Spanish version of the song, "No Te Olvidaré (I Won't Forget You)", which went to #3 on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart...

...Gloria performed "Anything" on her Live By Request appearance in 1998...

...and finally, I'll leave you with her triumphant Vegas stint in 2003...

Up tomorrow: a New York rap star (re-) heads west.