Each week, I am releasing a list of my 15 favorite songs from the first 15 summers I lived in my beloved hometown of Toms River, N.J. between 1974-88. That takes me from the summer I was 7 until the summer I was 21. Each song from each summer has a special meaning and I will try to convey them as best as I possibly can. So I will rank each summer's hit song memory from Nos. 15 through No. 1. Each song was a hit that peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 between Memorial Day Weekend and Labor Day Weekend. An interesting final note:
This week, it's the Sounds of the Summer of '80:
15. Magic—Olivia Newton-John (#1, August)
In my opinion, not one of Olivia Newton-John's strongest songs, though lots of people liked it enough to be a No. 1 song for four weeks. It grew on me after awhile, thanks to a searing guitar solo by her producer and songwriter, John Farrar, on this record and a haunting vocal that seemed to be one of the few good things to come from the movie "Xanadu" since the film was an absolute bust.
14. Take A Little Rhythm—Ali Thomson (#15, August)
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to that phase of music in the late 1970s/early 1980s called "Yacht Rock," the very smooth-sounding songs that permeated the radio airwaves that you always pictured out on the open sea enjoying a fantastic lifestyle. Thomson is the younger brother of Supertramp's Dougie Thomson and he held his own on this breezy tune that features super saxophone work and has every bit of an adult contemporary hit in it. Pass me another martini, please.
13. Brass In Pocket (I'm Special)—The Pretenders (#14, June)
The thing I loved most about the debut hit in this country for the Pretenders (after this hit No. 1 in the previous winter in the UK) was the sassy that lead singer Chrissie Hynde brought to this song. Great track from the self-titled debut album by the band, it's not too much rock, but it's not really too much New Wave either. This song is somewhere gloriously in the middle and that would make it quite a bit pop. With music starting to mellow out as the '80s approached, some of the New Wave acts needed to make their presences on the chart. This song was perfect timing for the Summer of 1980.
12. Biggest Part Of Me—Ambrosia (#3, June)
Great blue-eyed soul from the Los Angeles-based band Ambrosia. David Pack's lead vocals are every much soulful as that of Bill Medley and Michael McDonald, just not quite as noticeable. The organ work of Christopher North is totally appreciated as in some cases, it's an organ that seems reminiscent to those that you heard growing up at a hockey arena or a baseball stadium. And I've always appreciated the longer version featuring the saxophone of Ernie Watts. It always gets ignored on the single edit of this great song … another of the Yacht Rock genre.
11. Take Your Time (Do It Right)—The S.O.S. Band (#3, August)
Disco may have practically died a hard death the year before, but man, did it have challengers to revive it, even for a short bit. One of those challengers was this iconic early '80s blast from the past jam by Atlanta's S.O.S. Band. By the end of the song, you find yourself uttering, "Let's do it!" Mary Davis' lead vocals are passionate and strong and that elastic, rubber-band sounding musical backdrop with a great horn section standing front and center provided by Sonny Killebrew and B.E. Ellis, "Take Your Time (Do It Right)" is a true summertime jam to get down to.
10. JoJo—Boz Scaggs (#17, August)
Anything with Boz Scaggs' soulful vocals on it is going to make any song better. "JoJo" just sounded like it came from a musical catalog you shopped from, just add vocals to it. Interestingly, the guitar work on this particular record is provided by Steve Lukather of Toto and Ray Parker Jr. Adrian Tapia delivers a strong sax solo that puts this song into the "Yacht Rock" genre as well. I always loved the longer version of this record in which Scaggs sings, "Hey, what do you think of gentlemen wearing mink?" Interesting. I guess we must ask Joe Namath.
9. Atomic—Blondie (#39, July)
This song jams! This song felt like one amazing party and long, rocked-out jam session, opening with that "Three blind mice" vibe. Yes, Debbie Harry delivers lead vocals on this record, but for this record, less is best. Don't get me wrong -- I love her lingering, long-note vocals, singing, "Your hair is beautiful. Oh, tonight … atomic!" It's Disco long after Disco went away, it's R&B, it's New Wave AND it's pop. Also a former No. 1 hit in the UK, "Atomic" was a great bridge for Blondie in between the No. 1 hit "Call Me" and their late 1980 album "Autoamerican." Again, the music makes this song what it was.
8. Clones (We're All)—Alice Cooper (#40, July)
Prior to this song peaking at No. 40 on the Fourth of July 1980 (and never played on American Top 40 because it spent one week in the Top 40 and AT40 was doing a special chart "records" countdown show), this song was always played on WJRZ-FM in Manahawkin and Toms River, my new choice of radio station for the Summer of 1980. What makes this song really, really stand out is the fact it got away from the rock Cooper was famous for. He decided on this album called "Flush The Fashion," he wanted to go New Wave. And this song screams it as the electronic element takes over. It rocks out by the end, though, so it's never forgotten, but still, the best part is in the bridge in which Cooper is having to explain why computers are taking over his world by repeating the line, "I just wanna be myself, I just wanna be myself, I just wanna be myself, be myself, be myself."
7. A Lovers Holiday—Change (#40, July)
Like "Clones," this song spent one week in the Top 40, peaking at No. 40 (How come the really memorable, hook-induced records that summer barely reached the Top 40?). Another song left behind from the Disco era, the Italian-based dance act Change has fun on this song and that old-sounding piano makes for a memorable record for generations to come. And those vocals by Zach Sanders of "Schoolhouse Rock" fame? Wow! That guy took over that record and most of us are happy he did so. Change didn't last long, but they definitely helped re-shape the dance music scene after disco's death.
6. Tired Of Toein' The Line—Rocky Burnette (#8, July)
The son and nephew of Johnny and Dorsey Burnette, Rocky Burnette came into his own in the Summer of '80 with the roller-disco favorite "Tired Of Toein' The Line." Outstanding guitar work by Burnette and that raucous musical backdrop reminds me of what the early '50s rock-a-billy sound was like when Johnny and Dorsey were a major part of the scene. In some ways, the younger Burnette was paying homage to his dad and uncle and rockin' out as well. I never have gotten tired listening to "Tired Of Toein' The Lines" all these years later.
5. Against The Wind—Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band (#5, June)
Every so often, Bob Seger shows reflection in life. He did so on his first big hit in 1977, "Night Moves" and later did so in 1986 with the Top 15 hit "Like A Rock." "Against The Wind," the title track from his No. 1 album, always reminds me of looking back, especially the line, "Well those drifter days have passed me now. I've got so much more to think about. Deadlines and commitments. What to leave in, what to leave out?" And I can't think of this song without hearing Paul Harris' piano solo and the harmony vocals of the late Glenn Frey. I also can't think about this song without thinking of "Forrest Gump" and "For The Love Of The Game," two movies that used the song (Janie was the character played by Kelly Preston in "For The Love Of The Game," so it made sense).
4. It's Still Rock 'N Roll To Me—Billy Joel (#1, July)
When I first heard the "Glass Houses" album and heard this song, one song came to mind -- the Cars' classic "Just What I Needed." That song in the Summer of 1978 was hip and here and ready to lead the New Wave era and one of the all-time great debut songs by an act. You can literally hear "Just What I Needed" in key parts of "It's Still Rock 'N Roll To Me," Billy Joel's lament of the changing face of the pop music industry. Richie Cannata's sax solo still shines all these years later and Joel's posturing, while asking questions within the lyrics, will always make this record special as well as that rhythmic musical backdrop.
3. Funkytown—Lipps, Inc. (#1, May)
The first time I ever heard "Funkytown," the first thing that came out of my mouth was "That's a No. 1 song." Even a 13-year-old like myself understood this. Why? That hook … that melody. You walk away humming that hook, that melody. Cynthia Johnson puts vocals on it, but if that record was ever simply an instrumental track, it would have worked, too. Producer and writer Steve Greenberg figured he had new electronic toys to play with, let's go out and find what these sounds are all about. "Funkytown" delivers in a most memorable way. Johnson, by the way, is also playing the saxophone on the song as well. Arguably the most infectious song of the '80s, "Funkytown" hit No. 1 in 28 different countries. It still is important to this day.
2. Steal Away—Robbie Dupree (#6, July)
If not for the song at No. 1, this record may be the most memorable ever in the Yacht Rock genre. It is one of the breeziest songs ever recorded and one of the greatest fade-ins for any record. Carpenter-turned-singer Robbie Dupree made "Steal Away" a summertime memory for me for years and years. It's one of the most playful-sounding tunes as well, as cheery as the summertime days this song was being played on my radio. Personally, I can never thank Robbie Dupree enough for one of my favorite hits as a young teen.
1. Sailing—Christopher Cross (#1, August)
No one was as hot as Christopher Cross was by the Summer of 1980. "Ride Like The Wind" had just missed being a No. 1 hit thanks to Blondie's "Call Me," but how do you follow it up? You follow it up with maybe the greatest record that ever paints a picture of what a day on the water must feel like. Close your eyes and you can see the sails being pushed by the wind in the water, whether it be a bay or the ocean, the guitar backdrop acting like the sun reflection on the placid water, the piano solo providing for those on this sailboat looking out at the water as the land in the background passes by. That is exactly what producer Michael Omartian and the song's writer, Cross, did to always make this record a strict summer song, period. In other words, you can't get more placid and light as "Sailing," the grand-daddy of all the Yacht Rock songs ever recorded.
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