70's, 80's 'Feel Good' Music

"Lost in Love" is a song recorded by the British/Australian soft rock duo Air Supply. The song was written by group member Graham Russell. The original version of the song appeared on the Life Support album in 1979 and was released as a single in Australia, reaching number 13 on the Kent Music Report. The song was remixed for the album of the same name in 1980 and this version was released as a single in the US, reaching number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The song reportedly took Russell just 15 minutes to write and the single was made in a single afternoon. It was among the first he wrote after returning to Australia from touring with Rod Stewart, yet found little work upon his return. Despite being short of money, Russell went on a retreat to South Australia, where he felt the solitude would help him to write new material.
Air Supply's popularity in their native country during the mid to late 1970s had not been matched elsewhere. Russell travelled to England in 1979, and while there, discovered that the group's Australian record label Big Time Records had sold "Lost in Love" to Arista Records in the United States for distribution. Soon thereafter, their song became a hit on the music charts in the US.
Cashbox described it as "soft rock, with elegant acoustic guitar work, glistening harmonies, light rhythm and electric piano touches." Record World called it a "willowy ballad," saying that "the soft vocals and smooth flow are well-suited for soft -rock fans and A/C -pop."

lost-in-love-529cc7269bfb3.png

Lost In Love - Air Supply​

 
"Make It with You" is a song written by David Gates and originally recorded by American soft rock band Bread, of which Gates was a member. Gates and drummer Mike Botts are the only members of the group to appear on the recording, which was Bread's only No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The song first appeared on Bread's 1970 album, On the Waters. Released as a single that June, it was the group's first top-ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and spent the week of August 22, 1970, at No.1; it also reached No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart. Billboard ranked "Make It with You" as the No. 13 song of 1970, and it was certified gold by the RIAA for sales of over one million copies.
Record World called it "well-constructed soft rock music.

hq720.jpg

Bread - Make it with you​

 
"You Give Love a Bad Name" is a song by American rock band Bon Jovi, released as the first single from their 1986 album Slippery When Wet. Written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, and Desmond Child about a woman who has jilted her lover, the song reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 on November 29, 1986, and became the band's first number-one hit. In 2007, the song re-entered the charts at No. 29 after Blake Lewis performed it on American Idol. Despite the lyrics of the chorus, the song should not be confused with "Shot Through the Heart", an unrelated song from Bon Jovi's 1984 self-titled debut album.

Bon+Jovi+You+Give+Love+A+Bad+Name-95958.jpg

Bon Jovi - You Give Love A Bad Name​

 
Jessica Jay is the name of a Euro House / Bubblegum Dance Pop project from Italy, created by the SAIFAM Group, and marketed mostly in Asia, where she is most well-known.
The Jessica Jay project has been around since 1994 when she released the debut single "Broken Hearted Woman". Since then, various studio vocalists have been attached to this project (typical of SAIFAM dance acts), including Dora Carofiglio, Melody Castellari and Monica Stucchi, though she has been headlined by model Laura Faggiotto who joined the project around 1997.
Jessica Jay's most well-known songs are "Broken Hearted Woman" released in 1994, "Chilly Cha Cha" (1998), and the bubblegum dance single "My Macho" released in 2000. Jessica Jay is also well-known for her English dance-covers of popular Thai, Chinese and Taiwanese songs, hence her popularity in Asian countries.
Jessica Jay is the name of a Euro House / Bubblegum Dance Pop project from Italy, created by the SAIFAM Group, and marketed mostly in Asia, where she is most well-known.
The Jessica Jay project has been around since 1994 when she released the debut single "Broken Hearted Woman". Since then, various studio vocalists have been attached to this project (typical of SAIFAM dance acts), including Dora Carofiglio, Melody Castellari and Monica Stucchi, though she has been headlined by model Laura Faggiotto who joined the project around 1997.
Jessica Jay's most well-known songs are "Broken Hearted Woman" released in 1994, "Chilly Cha Cha" (1998), and the bubblegum dance single "My Macho" released in 2000. Jessica Jay is also well-known for her English dance-covers of popular Thai, Chinese and Taiwanese songs, hence her popularity in Asian countries.
The following biography is likely of the model who headlined the Jessica Jay project (Laura Faggiotto). Faggiotto, often seen with platinum blonde hair, is known to be attached to other bubblegum dance projects, and was featured on the cover of the Barbie Young single "Tarzan & Jane" (1999).
From early childhood, [Jessica Jay] felt a wild passion for music, especially for singing. When she was 17, she began to sing in clubs in her area, always backed by different bands. She perfected her vocal technique and began working as a part-time vocal back-up. At that time she made her first records, achieving great success throughout Europe.
She loves listening to all type of "soft" music from funky and pop to jazz. Her favorite singers are: Aretha Franklin, Anita Baker, Liza Minelli, Barbra Streisand, Natalie Cole and Al Jarreau. She also likes group such as Incognito, U2 and Tears for Fears.
She was a young singer, yet already released two albums. Her first album, "Broken Hearted Woman" has been released under VMP label. The second album was released in November 1998 and was called "Chilly Cha Cha".

jessicajay_CD_1368.jpg

Jessica Jay - Chilly Cha Cha​



 
"Daddy Cool" is a song produced and co-written by Frank Farian who had founded the group Boney M. to visually perform to his songs on TV and while touring discos. Farian also provided the male voice parts on the record. The song was included on their debut album Take the Heat off Me. It was a 1976 hit and a staple of disco music and became Boney M.'s first hit in the United Kingdom.
The second Boney M. single, it was released in 1976 and made no major impact at first. After a presentation on the German Musikladen TV show in September that year, the single became a hit, topping several European charts. It reached number six in the UK charts and number 65 in the United States Billboard Hot 100. The single also topped the German charts and reached the Top 20 in Canada. It proved to be the band's major European breakthrough.
"Daddy Cool" was a novelty gimmick record with an unusual, percussive intro by producer Frank Farian doing rhythmic tic-tic-tics and playing on his teeth with a pencil. Farian also sang all male voice parts (Bobby Farrell always danced to full playback). His characteristic deep voice sings: "She's crazy like a fool..." and is answered by the multilayered voices of Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett: "...wild about Daddy Cool". This line has been misheard by listeners as "...what about Daddy Cool", so much so that the band started singing it that way during live performances.The bass riff kicks in and builds to the instrumental theme followed by the repetitive, nursery rhyme-like verse and chorus twice.
The song breaks down into a spoken passage by Farian before it goes back into the bass riff and repeats the verse and chorus for the last time. With its slightly hypnotic, repetitive bassline and strings and likewise repetitive, bright female vocals, the track is highly typical of mid-1970s "Munich disco".
Originally, Hansa Records wanted Boney M.'s cover of Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry" as the A-side of the single but Farian - seeing that his own song was the clear winner when testing both tracks in his discothèque in St. Ingbert – managed to persuade the record company to have it his way. In the US, Hungary and Japan (where the single wasn't released until November), the single was backed by the album track "Lovin' or Leavin'". In East Germany the record was released in 1977, backed by their next hit "Sunny".

R-2368252-1372470699-5766.jpg

Boney M. - Daddy Cool​



MV5BNDI0NmJkYTctNDYwZS00N2RmLWI5ODktODkyZjJjYjAzMmNhXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg

BONEY M. – Sunny​

 
Ace of Base is a Swedish pop group formed in 1987, originally consisting of siblings Jonas, Linn, and Jenny Berggren, with Ulf Ekberg.
"All That She Wants" is a song by Swedish group Ace of Base. It was released in Scandinavia in August 1992, by Mega Records, as the second single from the group's first studio album, Happy Nation (1992), and in the following year, it was released as the first single from the 1993 album The Sign in North America. Produced by Denniz Pop with group members Jonas Berggren and Ulf Ekberg, the drum beat was inspired by the Kayo song "Another Mother". Berggren and Ekberg also wrote the lyrics.
"All That She Wants" is a reggae-pop song that describes a sexually promiscuous woman, with the word "baby" being synonymous with "boyfriend". The song was first recorded in 1991, but went through many revisions before it was officially released.
The song was a commercial success, reaching the top of the charts in many countries, including Denmark, Germany, the UK and Australia. It spent 13 weeks at the top of the Danish singles chart. The single was certified platinum in the United States, where it peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and was one of the best-selling singles of that year. Its music video was directed by Matt Broadley and filmed in Copenhagen, Denmark.

1900x1900-000000-80-0-0.jpg

Ace Of Base - All That She Wants​

 
"Only the Lonely" is a song by American new wave band The Motels, released in April 1982 by Capitol Records as the first single from their third studio album, All Four One (1982). Propelled by a popular music video, it debuted at number 90 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on April 24, 1982. It would ultimately climb to number nine on July 17 of that year where it spent four weeks in that position. On the US Cash Box Top 100, it performed slightly better, peaking at number eight for two weeks. The song is included in the 2006 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories in the fictional power ballad radio station Emotion 98.3.
The Motels initially recorded darker pieces for their anticipated third studio album. However, with the exception of a reworked "Only the Lonely", the rest of the songs were shelved. The unreleased songs would eventually be featured on the 2011 album Apocalypso.
Lead singer Martha Davis wrote "Only the Lonely" on a guitar that was given to her by her late father—an administrator at the University of California, Berkeley, who found the instrument in Stiles Hall on the campus She explained the song's inspiration in an interview with Beyond Race magazine:

"...It's a song about empty success. It came about while the Motels were experiencing critical acclaim, traveling the world, riding in limos, and yet I was probably as sad as I had ever been. I was in a horrible relationship and had not yet recovered from my parents' death (I doubt one ever does). The contradiction of these two worlds was where 'Only the Lonely' lived... bittersweet."
In a 2019 interview, she contrasted the song's development process with her later hit "Suddenly Last Summer"

"'Those two songs couldn't be more opposite," she said. "With ‘Only the Lonely’ I picked up my guitar and (the tune) was sitting there (as if it wrote itself). I played ‘Only the Lonely’ bada-boom, bada-boom.'"

Music video​

The music video for "Only the Lonely" was directed by Australian filmmaker Russell Mulcahy. Martha Davis stars in the vintage-style video as a socialite who is frequenting the bar at a posh hotel. Eventually, a once solitary Davis becomes overwhelmed by the jubilation of an increasingly unstable crowd. The video earned the award "Best Performance in a Music Video" at the American Music Awards.


Critical reception​

In the UK, Geoff Barton of Sounds praised "Only the Lonely" as a "beautifully crafted song, ebbing, flowing, elegiac and containing a supremely sensuous performance from vocalist Martha Davis".

maxresdefault.jpg

The Motels - Only The Lonely-.Extended Mix...​

 
"Somebody's Watching Me" is a song recorded and written by American singer Rockwell, released by the Motown label in December 1983, as the lead single from his debut studio album of the same name. It features uncredited guest vocals by Michael Jackson with Jermaine Jackson performing additional backing vocals. The song became a major commercial success internationally, topping the charts in Belgium, France, and Spain, and reaching the top 5 in Canada, West Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. In the UK, it reached No. 6 and is Rockwell's only top 40 hit on the UK Singles Chart. Rolling Stone magazine called the song "an international and enduring smash hit that, more than 30 years later, remains the perennial paranoia-rock anthem and Halloween mix go-to song."
Rockwell is the son of Motown CEO Berry Gordy. At the time of the recording, Rockwell was estranged from his father and living with Ray Singleton, his father's ex-wife and the mother of his older half-brother, Kerry Gordy. Singleton served as executive producer on the project and would occasionally play demo tracks to Berry Gordy, who was less than enthusiastic about Rockwell's music until he heard the single with Michael Jackson's familiar voice featuring prominently on background vocals.
Produced by Curtis Anthony Nolen, the song features backing vocals by Michael, Randy and Jermaine Jackson, with Alan Murray on percussion.

rockwell-with-michael-jackson-somebody-watching-me-560e9f37-30d3-4a35-8f22-03df0d4b8f88.webp


Music video​

The music video depicts Rockwell at his home taking a shower and having illusions of his every move being surreptitiously recorded by a video camera. Other scenes in the video include Rockwell in a cemetery, the tap water in the shower stall spraying blood, and him having his mail delivered by a mailman who appears to be alive, but is, in fact, undead. The video ends with the mailman handing Rockwell a package and cuts off just before the mailman kills him.

maxresdefault (1).jpg






In 2006, Dutch dance group Beatfreakz recorded a pseudo-cover of the song that samples the chorus but omitted the verses. This version was a top-10 hit in Belgium, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
61ZwyA1m6EL.jpg


 
Last edited:
"Party All the Time" is a song by comedian and actor Eddie Murphy, written and produced by Rick James. It was the lead single from Murphy's 1985 debut musical album How Could It Be. It reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks, behind "Say You, Say Me" by Lionel Richie.
When Murphy informed actor/comedian Richard Pryor that he was doing an album, Pryor offered him a $100,000 bet that Murphy wouldn't be able to do a purely musical album without jokes. In a 2023 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Murphy said that Pryor never paid him the money before his death in 2005. The single was recorded at Rick James's home studio in Buffalo, New York, during what would go on to be named Buffalo's "Six-Pack" storm (named after a quote from Mayor James D. Griffin), where 33 inches of snow and 50 mile per hour wind speeds shut down the city. Originally only planning to stay in Buffalo for a weekend to record the song, Murphy ended up being stuck inside with James for two weeks. In addition to writing and producing the song, James also provided backup vocals.
The song's music video won best urban contemporary video award at the American Video Awards in November 1985.


maxresdefault (2).jpg

Eddie Murphy - Party All the Time​

 
Back
Top