8 of the 80s: 1/31/13...

Welcome back to this weeks trip back to the 80s, and this time out I'm back to 1984, the year the Apple Macintosh went on sale to the public.

Art of Noise - "Beat Box"
from the album Who's Afraid Of The Art Of Noise (1984)
Billboard peak: #101

Before American pop radio knew what to do with this British electronica pioneer group, R&B stations took over and took this song into the top-10 on the "Black" chart.

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The Manhattan Transfer - "Mystery"
from the album Bodies And Souls (1983)
Billboard peak: #102

Prior to Anita Baker covering the song by Rod Temperton (writer of many of Michael Jackson's hits and member of Heatwave), jazz vocal masters Manhattan Transfer recorded the song for their excellent Bodies and Souls LP.

Jennifer Holliday - "Just Let Me Wait"
from the album Feel My Soul (1983)
Billboard peak: #103

Coming hot off Dreamgirls, Jennifer's first solo album is still awesome, and this nugget became her fourth top-40 R&B single.

Sparks - "With All My Might"
from the album Pulling Rabbits Out Of A Hat (1984)
Billboard peak: #104

One the the Maels' lesser-known singles, it nonetheless made the top-40 on the dance chart, and was more of a straight love song than they're used to. Almost OMDish.

Break Machine - "Street Dance"
from the album Break Dance Party (1984)
Billboard peak: #105

This jammin' track, produced by the guys that brought you the Village People, was huge in Europe, going to #3 in the UK and top-10 all over the continent, but never made it in the States. It's a shame, I love this record.

Lindsey Buckingham - "Slow Dancing"
from the album Go Insane (1984)
Billboard peak: #106

I really liked Lindsey's second album better than his first, with its electronic cool atmosphere. The rest of the country apparently didn't, making this a tiny coda to partner Stevie's mega-success.

The Cure - "The Love Cats"
from the album Japanese Whispers (1983)
Billboard peak: #107

See, Robert Smith wasn't always a moping sop. But definitely a cat person.

Russ Ballard - "Voices"
from the album Russ Ballard (1984)
Billboard peak: #110

I remember MTV giving this video from the former Argent ("Hold Your Head Up") lead singer a huge push only to flop spectacularly, but it's not bad white-boy groove. They must've spent a mint on the clip at the time.

That's it for tonight...I'll be back tomorrow with another Song of the Day, candletime, and my Top-100 songs of the week. Good night!