Songoftheday 9/8/13 - Don't switch the blade on the guy in shades, don't masquerade with the guy in shades...

Corey Hart - "Sunglasses At Night"
from the album First Offense (1984)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #7 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 15

Today's Song of the Day is the first hit single for Canadian singer/songwriter Corey Hart, who was born in Quebec, but traveled with his family as a child. His first album, First Offense, was released in 1984, and the moody new wave-style first single "Sunglasses At Night" (which bore a little resemblance to the Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)", written by Hart and produced by musician Jon Astley with new-wave knobs star Phil Chapman, became the first hit from the set...

"Sunglasses At Night" became Corey's first top 40, then top-10 pop hit in the US in September of 1984. It also went to #15 on the rock radio chart, as well as scraping the dance club play list at #62. In his native Canada, the record peaked at #4, but not until after it hit in America. He also ended up being nominated for a Grammy for Best New Artist.

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Here's Corey syncing away as the girls (and me) go wild on TV in 1984...

...and again live a bit later (I'm thinking 90s) shaking the arrangement a bit and sounding a little Police-like...

In 2004, N Sync member JC Chasez sampled the keyboard hook on his album track "Come To Me"...

Two years later, the rap group the Federation interpolated the record on their single "I Wear My Stunna Glasses At Night"...

In 2008 Canadian vocalist Divine Brown went to #22 with "Sunglasses", which also cribs from the Hart track...

Lastly, British "grime" rap artist Skepta remade "Sunglasses" into a #64 single in the UK...

Up tomorrow: the unofficial 80's soundtrack "king" hits the last time for Footloose by breaking out.