Songoftheday 5/9/13 - I can hear the things that you're dreamin' about when you open up your heart and the truth comes out...

The Romantics - "Talking In Your Sleep"
from the album In Heat (1983)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #3 (three weeks)
Weeks in the Top-40: 15

Today's song of the day is by Detroit power-pop quartet the Romantics, who mixed retro swagger with new wave production to bring a different kind of "rockabilly" to mainstream radio. After a couple of nowhere singles were released, with the help of producer and former member of an incarnation of Procol Harum Pete Solley, the band released their self-titled debut album in 1980. The first single from it, the rockin' "What I Like About You", missed the top-40 but went on to become one of the biggest rock cult classics of the beginning of the decade.

After trudging along without another hit single and two minor hit albums, the Romantics along with Solley at the helm recorded their fourth effort In Heat. The first single, "Talking In Your Sleep" featured guitarist Wally Palmar on lead (as opposed to drummer Jimmy Marinos from their last hit), and with a sexy video ripe for MTV they broke big in America...

"Talking In Your Sleep" became a huge hit for the band, reaching #3 on the pop chart, #2 on rock radio, and also topped Billboard's Dance club chart at the end of 1983. Their album also managed to reach the top-20, and became their best-selling long player...

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Later that year, the British campy pop vocal group Bucks Fizz covered the song and had the hit that eluded the Romantics in that country. reaching #15...

In 1996 rap kids Kris Kross (with recently passed Chris Kelly) interpolated the bassline of the song for their track "Da Streets Ain't Right"...(NSFW)

Ten years down the road, Greek dance act Dimension X updated the song for the clubs, and I admit I really dig this with Tasos Fotladis on vocals...

Snoop Dogg also reinterpreted the chorus for his 2009 song "Secrets" featuring Kokane...

Here's the chart-topping dance version of the single...

Up tomorrow: Pursuing the evening....