Ladies and gentlemen-the Jheri Curl Chronicles podcast is back! Join me and Thomas Inskeep as we discuss all the songs that hit #1 on Billboard’s R&B chart in the 1980s; 5 at a time. Well…make that 6 at a time.
In our last episode, we closed out 1981 with Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Let’s Groove” (before taking a break to talk about some of the #2 hits of 1980 and 1981). Episode 8 brings forth a new year, and new songs. However, one of those songs is patently awful, and would’ve ended the episode if we kept our 5 songs at a time theme. So, Thomas proposed that we add an extra jam to the show, and I happily complied.
Before I forget, and so you’re caught up: make sure you’ve listened to the previous episodes in this series: Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3 | Episode 4 | Episode 5
Episode 6 | Episode 7
Here are the six songs we discuss in this episode:
“Turn Your Love Around” by George Benson
“I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)” by Daryl Hall & John Oates
“Call Me” by Skyy
“That Girl” by Stevie Wonder
“If It Ain’t One Thing, It’s Another” by Richard “Dimples” Fields
“It’s Gonna Take A Miracle” by Deniece Williams
Drilling down a bit, here are some of the sub-topics we talk about during the show.
-“Turn Your Love Around” being the epitome of “Yacht Soul”, boasting instrumental backing from most of Toto, as well as co-write from the future main vocalist of Chicago.
-The unlikely origin of this George Benson hit. (hint: it involves a toilet)
-Airplay: the stunning collaboration of David Foster and Jay Graydon.
-The time Thomas met Daryl Hall, and a recommendation of Hall’s 1993 solo album Soul Alone (AKA Daryl goes kinda new jack)
-Whatever happened to the “telephone break” in R&B records?
-The two awesome songs that got stuck at #2 during “That Girl”’s 9-week reign.
-Did Stevie’s Original Musicquarium show up in stores as a way to allay Stevie’s financial troubles?
-”Ebony & Ivory”
-How Boardwalk Records president Neil Bogart died in the midst of his label’s first #1 record’s run.
-Why songs that call out ugly women named Sadie who might be having Richard “Dimples” Fields’ baby suck.
-Deniece Williams’ stellar episode of TVOne’s UnSung
-Niecy’s classics “Silly” and “Free”-both of which are better than either of her ‘80s chart toppers.
-Sha la la la!
-Of course, we should also give props to our opening and closing songs-Shalamar’s “A Night To Remember” and Junior’s “Mama Used To Say”-songs that didn’t hit the top of the charts, but are definitely near the top of our hearts.
There are a variety of ways you can enjoy this podcast. You can listen in the player below, download the mp3 file directly to your computer or device, stream the show on Liberated Syndication, or you can subscribe to the Blerd Radio family of podcasts on ye olde iTunes. Enjoy!
2 comments
John says:
Aug 18, 2016
This might be my favorite grouping yet, as five of the six songs are solid tracks (I’ll let you guess which one doesn’t fall into that category). A few things:
– LOVE “Call Me”…this was on my K-Tel “Neon Nights” album, and it got some Top 40 airplay in Syracuse, although I believe it was day-parted to evening hours.
– The musical similarities between “If It Ain’t One Thing” and “The Girl is Mine” hurt my head A LOT. It’s like the R&B version of Don Williams’s “I Believe In Love.”
– I remember feeling like there was something almost hypnotic about “That Girl” when I first heard it. It’s a stone-cold classic.
– The whole discussion about “It’s Gonna Take a Miracle” sounding dated actually fit that time period…there was a lot of late-50s/early-60s hits in the early 80s.
I’m gonna be over here renewing my gay card so I can prepare for Thomas’s testimonial for Ms Holliday.
MJ says:
Aug 18, 2016
Never occurred to me that “If It Ain’t One Thing…” and “The Girl Is Mine” sound similar. Ugh…