Blast from the Past: Class of '84, Girl Groups & Duets!

I'm just about to wrap up my Class of '84 editions of Blast from the Past, and move on to other subjects. But I wanted to get the female-led bands before I quit. Problem is. . .I'm not sure I can scare up enough of that category from that year. But I'm going to give it a shot.

1. Head Over Heels by the Go-Go's - That apostrophe in there always bugged me, but I loved the band. It's hard to believe they really only had about five hit songs. This one is one of my favorites.
2. Cruel Summer by Bananarama - The girl band that refused to harmonize. And Venus was my favorite, but that came later. This was their first all-around hit in the states, though they were much bigger in England.



3. I'm So Excited by The Pointer Sisters - This may not be a band you'd think of when you think of 80s music. But they had a slew of hits around 1984.
4. The Men All Pause by Klymaxx - Never a favorite of mine, and this isn't one of their best anyway. But did I tell you this is a hard list to make?



5. The Warrior by Scandal featuring Patty Smyth - Yes! This was a monster hit, and huge on MTV. It looks silly now, but I guess you had to be there.

And here's where they run out. But I have someplace else to go that I didn't visit: The duets of 1984. And I know I can find five of those!

6. Say, Say, Say by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson - So big, it was the number 3 song of the year (after When Doves Cry by Prince and What's Love Got to Do With it? by Tina Turner. And this one was so much better then Mac & Jack's previous effort, The Girl is Mine.



7. Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer by Kenny Rogers and Kim Carnes - I'm really glad I added duets, because this is one of my favorites. I love Kim Carnes for one thing, but the harmonies in this song just make this one great.
8. Yah Mo B There by James Ingram and Michael McDonald - One of the 80s' goofier song titles, enough to make a joke out of it in The 40 Year-Old Virgin.



9. Almost Paradise by Mike Reno and Ann Wilson - Loverboy and Heart meet to create a schmaltz-fest. I always sang, "Fuzzy pair of dice."
10. Islands in the Stream by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton - Kenny was busy in '84! And getting busy with hot blondes, apparently. This one was huge, and if it sounds kind of like a Bee Gees song, that's because they wrote it.



And there you have it, two categories for the price of one. As you can see, there was really some diversity going on in 1984, even if the girl bands aren't well represented. As I said, I'll take a break from this topic for a while, but before the year is out, I may revisit with different categories, and go over some choice acts I missed.

For now, I hope you had a great weekend. Happy Monday!