8 of the 80s: 4/3/14 (1986)...

Throwback 80's style is here, with eight more nuggets from 1986, the year Geraldo Rivera had a whole television special devoted to opening "Al Capone's Vault", which had a couple of bottles of liquor and nothing else...

Rene & Angela - "Your Smile"
from the album Street Called Desire (1985)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #62
Songwriters: Rene Moore, Angela Winbush

The second R&B #1 from the duo's final album together...

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Midnight Star - "Headlines"
from the album Headlines (1986)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #69
Songwriters: Reggie Calloway, Vincent Calloway, Melvin Gentry, Belinda Lipscomb, Bobby Lovelace, Bill Simmons

The title track to the band's sixth album, it moved them away from their lite-funk work to more new-jack swing, signalling the sound the Calloway brothers would use in their break-off group...

Mai Tai - "Female Intuition"
from the album 1 Touch 2 Much (1986)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #71
Songwriters: Jochem Flutsma Eric Van Tijn

Back in the day I was soooo into Mai Tai (they were right under Five Star in my book), but this was the Dutch soul trio's biggest pop single in the States.

El DeBarge with DeBarge - "The Heart Is Not So Smart"
from the album Rhythm Of The Night (1985)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #75
Songwriter: Diane Warren

Even though this came off of the family's fourth album, soon to be departed El got top billing on this calypso-lite number...

Ashford & Simpson - "Count Your Blessings"
from the album Real Love (1986)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #84
Songwriters: Nick Ashford, Valerie Simpson

The songwriting couple's last Hot 100 hit was this inspirational midtempo shuffler.

Howard Hewett - "I'm For Real"
from the album I Commit To Love (1986)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #90
Songwriters: Stanley Clarke, Howard Hewett

From Howard's first solo record apart from Shalamar, this bears the mark of Clarke's smooth jazz sweetness.

Yarbrough & Peoples - "I Wouldn't Lie"
from the album Guilty (1986)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #93
Songwriters: George Adams, Jimmy Hamilton, Lonnie Simmons

The post-disco duo's sound always reminds me of summer nights in Wildwood.

James Brown - "Gravity"
from the album Gravity (1986)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #93
Songwriters: Dan Hartman, Charlie Midnight

The late great Dan Hartman produced this jam to followup Brown's big pop "comeback" on "Living In America"...