Branches Of Rock
This category will include most subcategories of rock, ie, soft-rock, rap-rock, pop-rock, etc. Everything except heavy metal or grunge.
Song: Hit Me With Your Best Shot!
Artist: Pat Benatar
Album: Crimes Of Passion (1980)
Genre: Alternative Rock
You know, technically, I don’t think Pat Benatar is a forgotten artists per-say. At least not from the standpoint of her music being obscure. However, I do think she’s a forgotten artist from the standpoint of her being a woman within the rock genre. Like rap, the 80s was really tough for female rockers, in a male dominated genre. She had (and still has) the voice for rock music, but unfortunately this very talented rock artist never had a number one, and as far as I know, never been inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame. However, that didn’t stop her from obtaining 4 awesome Top 10 Hits! As I’ve said earlier, I’ve never had any particular interest in borderline hard rock. But, Mrs. Benatar was one of those rare acceptations.
Such Power In Her Voice, Yet She Never Had A #1 Song!
And one of the 4 Top Tens, happens to be today’s song pick. “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” from her 1980s “Crimes Of Passions” album. This song peaked at #9, and in my opinion, is probably one of the most memorable songs of her career. To my understanding, this song was actually her first Top 10 Hit. The song was so popular, it was heard during many sports games and sports commercials. Another hit I loved was her song “Love Is A Battle Field (1989).” I thought the video was awesome too. While I mentioned her video, I want you to check it out. One of the dancers has a striking resemblance to Stephanie Mills. I’ll give you one more favorite. The song “We Belong (1985),” was a badass song back in the day. I used to listen to it all the time. This amazing song reached #5 on the Top 100 Chart.
Song: Come And Get Your Love
Artist: Redbone
Album: Come And Get Your Love (1973) (Single)
Genre: Rock
Maybe I’m wrong? Or maybe I’m right? But, I think I’ve shocked the shit out of my readers on this post! To those who are shocked, what did you think when I said that I love all kinds of music? What did you think I meant when I said that I am culturally diverse when it comes to music? If anything, I hope you’re visiting my blog to gain insight into great classic music that existed, and not simply scrolling down my posts until you see an artist you know. If you do, what’s the point of “discovery” if you’re not looking for it? I digress.
Their Massive One Hit Immortalized Them!
It is unfortunate that if today you’d ask an American contemporary rock fan, “who did they think was the best 70s rock band (or perhaps who did they think had the most popular song)?” Off the top of their head, what do you think would be the likelihood of them picking a Native American band? I would almost bet on zero. Although, I’m really not familiar with each individual band member’s heritage, my understanding is that most were mixed/descendants of a Mexican family tree. Thus, they’ve chosen to call themselves “Redbone,” a Cajun word meaning mixed race. Only 3 of 5 band members are still alive. Peter DePoe, Arturo Perez & Butch Rillera.
To simply say that their song “Come And Get Your Love” was a popular hit, would be a gross understatement in my opinion. The song peaked at #5 on the Hot 100 Charts in 1974. Now, even today, Spotify alone has this song at 132 million plays! And guys, that’s just this single! There are more plays because the same song is on different streaming albums. Do you realize how rare that is, to see a classic song streamed that much? A lot of the most popular classic artists don’t get streaming numbers like that! It really wouldn’t surprise me if we combined all the streaming services and include YouTube, and saw that they’ve amassed 600+ million streams. Seriously, this was a great song! I used to stop and listen to this on the radio all the time.
Song: Dance With Me
Artist: Orleans
Album: Let There Be Music (1975)
Genre: Soft Rock
I can’t remember if I already blogged about this group on my old blog. I guess it doesn’t really matter, there will always be content someone hasn’t seen yet ?. Well, today’s group is a group called “Orleans.” They’ve been around for a really, really long time. In fact, they’ve been performing since about the early 1970s. This is the kind of light rock I’m attracted to. Actually, I guess technically you can make an argument that today’s song leans more towards country. I wouldn’t disagree.
I Love How Well They Harmonize!
Their hit “Dance With Me,” reached #6 in the US, and #5 in Canada. The song eventually hit certified gold! This remains my most favorite song throughout their entire discography. They harmonized so well together, making it one of the most romantic songs by a group (of this genre) (in my opinion). Another major hit I loved from Orleans was their song called “Still The One (1976).” I considered this song to be another masterpiece.
“Still The One” reached #5 in the US and #9 in Canada, and also grabbed gold certification! They just don’t make good music like this anymore, and neither are they playing them anymore. Unfortunately, the two above songs were their greatest accomplishments musically. However, they did have a song called “Love Takes Time (1977)” that reached #11, but I didn’t like it at all. It borderlines the kind of rock I normally don’t listen to. I don’t think the group has made any new material for a while. Most of what I’ve seen were republished songs. It’s a shame they only had 3 major hits, they’re actually a very talented group in my opinion.
Song: Dust In The Wind
Artist: Kansas
Album: Point Of Know Return (1977)
Genre: Soft Rock
I can’t remember if I’ve already written about this on my old blog. I don’t think so. Have you guys read of a band called Kansas? These rock (boarder line country) bands used to crack me up back in the day, because it was so common for them to name themselves after cities. Kansas, Chicago, Baton Rouge, Houston, the list goes on. Maybe it was a pride thing? Wanting everyone to know where they’re from (perhaps). Come to think of it, a lot of their album art had a familiar look as well. Although “Dust In The Wind” was their only #1 hit (also my personal favorite) of their career, they’re quite talented in my opinion. You should also check out their song called “Carry On Wayward Son (1976),” from their “Leftoverture” album. It almost hit made the Top 10 List, but it’s still a great song tho.
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I have to tell yah……… The group “Free,” in my opinion, was one of the many most underrated rock bands in history. As someone who’s in to all kinds of music, I really felt that these guys could sing as a solid rock band. In London, 4 guys decided to come together and form phenomenal rock band; Paul Kossoff, Simon Kirke, Paul Rodgers and Andy Fraiser. In 1968, these 4 guys became “Free.” It’s sad that they broke up within 5 years of getting together. It is unclear exactly why they broke up. I could only imagine it was probably about creative differences.
I guess in the end, it really didn’t matter, as two of the four members died as a result of poor health and drug issues (typical). Free struck gold, with their massive mega rock hit “All Right Now (1970).” The song peaked at #4 on the Top 100 Charts. The song was so popular, it not only made it’s way to a Burger King commercial, it also made Wrigley’s Gum commercial too. Interesting interview I’ve read with drummer Simon Kirke. He shared that “All Right Now,” was actually a song written after a bad gig one night. It was then that the group decided they must increase their tempo. Out of that meeting “All Right Now” was born.
I wonder out of curiosity, how many people remember Tracy Ulman? I would think not that many. Tracy was born in the UK, and she was an extremely successful 80s actress and singer. She had her own TV show, called The Tracy Ulman show. It aired from 1987 thru 1990. It was funny as hell in my opinion. I think she’s talented both as an actress and as a singer. One of my favorite songs she sung (which I also believe (if my memory is correct) was the theme song from that show) was “They Don’t Know (1983),” It was from her debut album “You Broke My Heart In Seventeen Places.” The song hit #8 on the Top 100 Charts. The album was actually cute, it has a 60s sound to it. I don’t think she has made an album in quite a long time. Most are just re releases of her old stuff. Although I think her music was cute, honestly I think I liked her better as an comedian.
Well, I certainly don’t think they meant cool whip ? ?! How many classic fans remember this group? Talk about a weird and eccentric (I guess)! These guys were the kind of group where their music videos were actually more interesting to watch than listening to their music by itself. When I first saw what they looked like, I said to myself WTF? ? They reminded me of those really old Japanese Sci-Fi movies, where aliens come to blow up the planet! ? But, the seventies Sci-Fi look became their trademark. At the moment, I don’t recall any other band that was copying their style at the time.
The groups name is “Devo.” Devo is from Ohio, and got together in 1973. I didn’t even realize they were around that long! I never heard of them before, until I heard their smash hit on the radio. “Whip It (1980),” was a huge popular hit. But, you’d be surprised to know that it did NOT hit #1. In fact, it wasn’t even in the top ten. Whip It peaked at #14 on the Top 100 Charts. However, it hit #8 under “Dance Club Songs,” category. In my opinion, Whip It is the best of all their songs. While I think the song should be historically acknowledged, their music seemed more like a passing fad to me. Their music isn’t the kind of music that most music fans would normally listen to over and over again.
From an art perspective, I absolutely love this album cover. It’s extremely simple, and yet the photo suggests a man who is very mysterious. When I first saw this album cover, it reminded me of the movie Dark Man (1990). You guys remember that movie? Starring Liam Neeson? Great movie.
My pick for today is an 80s artist named John Waite. Now, I don’t think that I can say with certainty that John is a “one hit wonder,” simply because he’s from England, and like in America, we have all these different kinds of billboard categories that sometimes make it difficult to measure artists’ popularity or even success.
However, after sifting throw some charts I get a sense John only had one massive hit across the board (which happens to be my favorite). The song is called “Missing You (1984).” “Missing You” reached #1 in both Canada and the United States. In the UK the song peaked at #9. This one song made him a memorable music legend. Before his solo success, he was in a British rock band called “The Babys.”
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