I wonder if the 1980′s holds the record for most one hit wonders for an entire decade. It has to, right? I can think of five right now off the top of my head and this is over 20 years ago! Anyways, we should recognize some of these bands and musicians that help us look back on the 80′s and realize how obnoxiously fun and horribly out of style it was.
FLOCK OF SEAGULLS
HIT SONG: “I Ran”
“And I ran, I ran so far away.
I just ran, I ran all night and day.
I couldn’t get away.”
No shit, they were a flock of sea gulls since they kind of picked up and flew away forever after their enormous one hit wonder “I Ran”. Funny how they named themselves Flock of Seagulls and looked like, well, a flock of new wave 80′s sea gulls.
DEF LEPPARD
HIT SONG: “Pour Some Sugar On Me”
“(pour some sugar on me)
Ooh, in the name of love
(pour some sugar on me)
C’mon fire me up
(pour your sugar on me)
Oh, I can’t get enough”
Now, Def Leppard was no one hit wonder but their success is pretty much confined to the 80′s decade, a little in the late late 70′s. But their huge hits were “Hysteria”, “Love Bites” and “Pour Some Sugar On Me”, all hit singles from their most successful album, Hysteria, a record that, unbeknownst to us all, sold over 15 million copies worldwide. Whatever happened to ya, Def?
JODY WATLEY
HIT SONG: “Everything”
“I was too blind to see
When you belonged to me
You were my everything
Now I’d give anything
To feel the love you bring
You were my everything”
Before J-Lo and Beyonce there was Paula Abdul and Jody Watley, a dancer/singer that nobody seems to remember anymore. She started off as a professional dancer for Soul Train and then her second album, Larger Than Life, was pretty much larger than life, blowing her up. After that, Jody went bye-bye. Destiny’s Child redid her “Sweet Sixteen” track back in 1999 but that was 10 years ago. Apparently, she’s back to recording her own brand of R&B.
BILLY OCEAN
HIT SONG: “Caribbean Queen“
“Caribbean queen
Now we’re sharing the same dream
And our hearts they beat as one
No more love on the run”
After his 1984 global blockbuster single “Caribbean Queen”, Billy Ocean kept delivering with “Get Outta My Dreams”, “Loverboy” and “When the Going Gets Tough”. After that, it was as if Billy fell into the ocean because nobody’s seen, heard or said a word about the “Caribbean Queen” voice since.
DEBBIE GIBSON
HIT SONG: “Electric Youth”
“Electric youth
Feel the power, you see the energy
Comin up
Coming on strong
The future only belongs
To the future itself/in the hands of itself
And the future is
Electric youth
Its true you cant fight it
Live by it
The next generation…”
Well, Debbie was huge in the late 80′s because it seemed there was another music video of her on MTV every week. Nowadays, not so much although she’s still a prominent figure on Broadway, appearing in such shows as Beauty and the Beast, Les Miserables and Grease. She also keeps making music but chooses to release them on her own label, Espiritu Records. Hopefully her lyrics have matured from that “Electric Youth” hook
