Hello friends! Mike and Thomas are back in the groove with another episode of the Jheri Curl Chronicles, our trip through every song that hit #1 (and #2) on Billboard Magazine’s Top Soul Singles chart during the ’80s. We are now fully into 1985, and there’s a very tangled web involving many of the five songs we focus on in this episode.

Here are the songs we’ll be covering:

“Missing You” by Diana Ross (former Motown artist, song was written by Lionel Richie, dedicated to Marvin Gaye, who’d died the year before)

“Nightshift” by The Commodores (current Motown artist, formerly employed Lionel Richie as lead singer/pianist/saxophonist, dedicated to Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson, who’d also died the year before).

“Back In Stride” by Maze featuring Frankie Beverley (a band mentored by Marvin Gaye)

“Rhythm of the Night” by DeBarge (Motown group)

“We Are The World” by USA For Africa (co-written by Lionel Richie and former Motown artist Michael Jackson; song written and sold with the intention of preventing large groups of people from dying)

Of course, a JCC podcast wouldn’t be a JCC podcast without a ton of side trips; so you’ll hear plenty of stuff about…other stuff that I won’t share with you right now because I want you to listen to the podcast!

You can check it out in the player below, OR download it directly, OR stream it via Liberated Syndication, OR subscribe to us on iTunes!

Enjoy!