Blast from the Past: The Lost 80s

What exactly is The Lost 80s? Its those songs from the 80s that are most often overlooked, even by "We play the 80s and MORE!" stations. These are songs that were maybe the second or third hit song by a minor artist. The second hit by a group that is now regarded as a "one hit wonder" because everyone forgets the second one. They're the third- or fourth-tier hits by groups much more famous for other songs. And they're songs that just somehow got lost in the shuffle. What they are not is the number one song then and now in retrospectives. They're not the main ones, the songs you remember. And they're not the songs that really weren't hits in their day, but get played all the damned time now (I Melt With You, Turning Japanese, Just Can't Get Enough, etc., etc. No, this is The Lost 80s:

1. No Myth by Michael Penn - Great song, haven't heard it much, even though he's Sean Penn's brother and Madonna's ex-brother-in-law.

2. Lost in Emotion by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam - Lisa Lisa was popular for about 10 minutes in the eighties, enough time for a string of four or five hits (sometimes with Full Force).

3. Touch Me (I Want Your Body) - by Samantha Fox - Sam Fox had a similarly small run of hits in the 80s, with confections like this one.

4. Love is Like a Rock by Donnie Iris - A minor hit by a minor artist,  but a fun  one, nonetheless.

5. Crazy in the Night by Kim Carnes - A terrific song by an underrated singer, who is much more famous for Bette Davis Eyes.

6. State of Shock by Michael Jackson & Mick Jagger - These two singers couldn't be more famous. But ther duet is relegated to the dustbin of history.

7. Torture by The Jacksons - Not coincidentally from the same album as the one above, The Jacksons are not remembered for this one, which has a video that is torturous!

8. Come as You Are by Peter Wolf - The J. Geils Band was very famous. Its lead singer had a pair of hits including this one, but that's about it.

9. One of the Living by Tina Turner - Everyone knows that Tina Turner was in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, and had a hit song We Don't Need Another Hero from it. But who remembers this one?

10. C'est la Vie by Robbie Nevil - This was one of the many two-hit wonders of the 80s, this one being his more successful. In my next edition, I'll include the other one.

And that will wrap it up  for this week's edition of Blast from the Past. I hope you all got enough out of your weekend. It always seems to become part of the past too quickly, doesn't it? Happy Moonday!

Blast from the Past: Tina Turner!

We've just about reached the end of the 80s (and beyond) divas, and my next Blast from the Past may have to transition to another subject for a while. But before we jump ship, there's one more name to add to the parade of stars featured here over the last many weeks. I was a fan of all of these stars--Pat Benatar, Cher, Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson, Madonna--from the first hit song they had (or that I was old enough to have heard, in the case of Cher). Tina Turner is a different story.



Being a late 60s baby (and thus one of the oldest of the Gen-Xers), I was first introduced to Tina Turner by 70s-era variety shows, such as Sonny & Cher and Donny & Marie. She was like the black Charo or something. To me, she just didn't register as the diva she'd been since the 60s. In the days of three channels on the TV and no internet, I wasn't likely to find out either.



Anyway, I graduated in high school in 1984, the same year that Tina Turner had her outta nowhere supernova of a comeback. With What's Love Got to Do With It? she set MTV, top 40 radio and America on fire. Her album, Private Dancer also made hits with You'd Better Be Good to Me and the title tune. It also is one of those rare albums that is good all the way through.  She followed that with a co-starring role in Mad Max 3: Beyond Thunderdome as Auntie Entity. That produced two more hits, We Don't Need Another Hero and One of the Living.



The next album, Break Every Rule, was a hit too, with Typical Male, Two People and What You Get is What You See. There were really only two more hits, The Best--an anthem for Tina if ever there was one--and I Don't Wanna Fight, which was from the movie based on her autobiography, I, Tina. But even though her second act run of hits isn't all that long, it was enough to cement her as a permanent Diva in the icon stratosphere. She appeared with countless other rock stars and event concerts, and then retired. But I'd still love to see her come back.

Tina Turner on Tour

I love Tina Turner. Her big comeback was in 1984, the year I graduated high school and entered college. MTV was maturing from televised radio into a cultural force, and Tina was a huge part of it. What's Love Got to Do With It? and You'd Better Be Good to Me were staples in my cassette deck, on the jukebox in the college cafeteria. . .they were just everywhere.

And then came Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, where she played "Auntie Entity" and supplied songs for the soundtrack. Everybody remembers We Don't Need Another Hero, but I even had the 45 single (!) of One of the Living, a forgotten hit from the film. And Tina looked fierce in her Entity getup.

Now, after a retirement, Tina Turner is back on tour, and she still looks great. At 69, she puts kids half her age to shame. But the Auntie Entity costume? One. Step. Too. Far.

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