Songoftheday 11/24/16 - Cold coolin' at a bar and I'm lookin' for some action, but like Mike Jagger said I can't get no satisfaction...

"Funky Cold Medina" - Tone Lōc
from the album Lōc-ed After Dark (1989)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #3 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 11

(Ed. Note: wouldn't you know I forgot this one back in July, so I'll use Thankgiving to catch up...)

Today's Song of the day comes from Los Angeles rapper Tone Lōc, who had been one of the biggest pop successes in the genre, landing a #1 album and a #2 double-platinum single with "Wild Thing".  His second single from the album was a similar comedic bit of un-PC storytelling, "Funky Cold Medina". Written by Young MC (who had his own success later with "Bust A Move") along with Delicious Vinyl label heads/producers Matt Dike and Michael Ross, the single threw a pre-illegal trove of samples (most noticeably Foreigner's "Hot Blooded") to a joke about a drink that makes you do unspeakable things, like a bro'd-up "Love Potion #9", with a touch of transphobia mixed in...

"Funky Cold Medina" became Tone's second top-10 hit on the pop Hot 100 in America in April of 1989. The song also climbed to #7 on Billboard's R&B chart, while the 12" remix made it to #8 on their Dance Club Play list. Internationally, the single reached the top-10 in Australia (#8) and New Zealand (#3), and got to #13 in the UK.

The third single from Lōc-ed After Dark, "I Got It Goin' On", missed the pop chart in the U.S., but was a minor R&B hit at #59 and made the top-40 in New Zealand at #27. A year later, he appeared on the multi-artist public service announcement single "We're All In The Same Gang", which reached the top-40 (it'll be a future SOTD). In 1991, the rapper released his second (and to-date last) studio album, Cool Hand Loc, and the first single "All Through The Night", with vocals from El Debarge, slipped on to the pop chart at #80, while going to a respectable #16 on the R&B list. Since then, he's been more known for his acting and voiceover work.

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...and here's a little tropical Tone Loc at Spring Break on MTV in 1989....

Up tomorrow: New Wave duo seeks a big spender.