Songoftheday 1/28/13 - Just a Steeltown girl on a saturday night lookin' for the fight of her life, in the real-time world no one sees her at all they all say she's crazy...

Michael Sembello - "Maniac"
from the albums Flashdance (Original Soundtrack) and Bossa Nova Hotel (1983)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (two weeks)
Weeks in the Top-40: 16

Today's Song of the Day was the second huge smash from the movie Flashdance from 1983. The title theme, Irene Cara's "Flashdance...What A Feeling", went to #1 in May of that year. The following single from the set was by Philadelphia native and singer/songwriter Michael Sembello's "Maniac", a track used in the 80's movie standard "training sequence" where Jennifer Beals got all sweaty and stuff. Michael used to play with Stevie Wonder, and was on many of his 70's classic albums...

"Maniac" topped the pop chart in the US in September of 1983, while going to #6 on Billboard's dance chart. It even reached the top-40 on the rock radio chart (at the time, that format was more dance-friendly), as well as the adult-contemporary (soft-rock) list. However, in the UK, and song stalled under the top-40 at #44. Weird.

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I can't not post this song without the bear-tastic lipsynch performance of Michael on American Bandstand. Grr!

...and Solid Gold...

 ...and here he is actually singing with mentor Stevie Wonder...

In 1995, German hard rock group Sargant Fury covered the song...

French girl-pop group L5 took on "Maniac" in 2002..

...as did Swedish singer Mans Zemerlow in 2007...

Canadian violinist Eric Speed did a fun version of the track in 2011...

...while Swedish jazz artist interpreted the song the same year...

In 2009 producer Timbaland interpolated the song on his album track "The One I Love" with Keri Hilson..

Jason Derulo did the same with his own "Maniac"..

 
Lastly, last year European electro act Moullinex covered the song with avant garde performer Peaches...

Up tomorrow: British Invasion veterans take a trip to Motown.