Songoftheday 3/15/18 - Toss and turn all night in the sheets I can't sleep, night after night don't know what it means...
from the album In the Meantime, In Between Time (1991)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #34 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 2
Today's song of the day comes from the pop-dance group The Party, who were fabricated from members of The New Mickey Mouse Club in the late 1980s. With actor/singers DeeDee Magno, Tiffani Hale, Albert Fields, Chase Hampton, and Damon Pampolina, they were put together by Disney and signed as the first act to their newly-christened Hollywood Records label. Their debut album was released in the summer of 1990, and from it the aptly-titled rap-lite of "Summer Vacation" and its Young MC-style kitsch became their first minor pop hit, reaching #72 on the Billboard Hot 100, but did moderately better in the dance clubs, climbing to #21 on their Dance Club Play charts Then came the island-flavored dance-pop single "I Found Love", which checked in at #79. The third release from the set, "That's Why", was remixed from the album for radio, and did better than the other two, climbing to #55 on the pop chart. Bounding from that success of that hit, Hollywood remixed a few tracks from their debut (and adding the "That's Why" mix) and including a few new songs for their second release In The Meantime, In Between Time. Released in 1990 to tide time for the group to record their second official album, the set took a life of its own and became their biggest seller when the head-turning opening number became a bona fide hit months after its release.
"In My Dreams" was originally recorded by the heavy metal band Dokken, an act with a big following but never one of those Def Leppard-style radio favorites - they never once reached the top-40. Released in 1985 as the second single from their third album Under Lock And Key, the song had an undeniable hook but surprisingly only peaked at #64 on the pop chart (their first and biggest single on the Hot 100). Written by bandmates Mick Brown, Don Dokken, George Lynch, and Jeff Pilson, it nonetheless helped the album reach the top-40 in America and sell over a million copies...
Well, somebody handling the music for Disney must've been a metalhead, and brought this song to the Party, transforming it into a freestyle dance-pop classic that was one of the best Disney-affiliated records to ever emerge. Dee Dee handles the lead vocals for a change, and even breaks into a "Justify My Love"-era Madonna breathy break in the middle...
The Party's cover of "In My Dreams" became their first and only top-40 pop hit in January of 1992. The remixes on the 12" single also helped it rank at #35 on Billboard's Dance Club Play tally. The following year, their "official" second album Free was released, but the lead single and title track "Free" missed the pop chart, but the remixes, done by house music legend Steve Silk Hurley, got it on the dance club list at #40. They (and the New Mickey Mouse Club) parted ways in 1994, but the group (minus Tiffani Hale) reunited in 2013 for some new recordings. Out of the cast/group, Magno has had the biggest profile, appearing on stage (including a Broadway turn as Miss Saigon), and currently voices the character of Pearl on Steven Universe.
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And here's the Party doing a damn respectable job singing live (to track) on Club MTV (with an originally dismissive Downtown Julie Brown)...
Up tomorrow: "Rich" rocker will manage.
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