Songoftheday 12/19/15 - So much for your promises they died the day you let me go, caught up in a web of lies but it was just too late to know...

"Shattered Dreams" - Johnny Hates Jazz
from the album Turn Back The Clock (1988)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 (three weeks)
Weeks in the Top-40: 13

Today's song of the day comes from the British "sophisti-pop" trio Johnny Hates Jazz, led by singer Clark Datchler, who had not been successful with a solo music career. His dad, Fred, was a member of the Stargazers, the first British act to have a #1 hit in the UK with "Broken Wings" in 1953. Hooking up with producer Mike Nocito, who was helping with his solo work, and keyboardist Calvin Hayes, they formed Johnny Hates Jazz, which released their first album in 1987. Their breakthrough single, "Shattered Dreams", was written by Datchler and produced by Hayes and Nocito. With a revamped video shot by director David Fincher (Se7en, Fight Club, Madonna's Vogue video), they crossed over the Atlantic to replicate the top ten success they had in England. A hook-laden trip to broken-heartsville cut through the slick production on the track, and it was the "feel-bad song of the spring"...

"Shattered Dream" became Johnny Hates Jazz's first hit, reaching the runner-up spot on the Hot 100 in May of 1988. That month the song reached #1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening" chart). Internationally, in their native Britain (where is was released a year prior), the record peaked at #5, while going top ten in Canada (#4), Ireland (#3), Germany (#7), Sweden (#7), and Switzerland (#5).

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Here's the original British video from 1987....

Russian singer Sergey Lazarev, who will represent his country in the upcoming Eurovision song contest in 2016, released a euro-disco cover of the song in 2007...

...and lastly, the band performing live in 2014...

Up tomorrow: Turn the lights off for this keyboardist singer/songwriter.