Billboard Top 5 - 1982

What a big year for me 1982 was. I had finished my college studies, and in the fall, did a 4 month internship at the Actor's Theater of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky. After spending a couple of years as the Technical Director of the college theater, I was the intern in the shop to build sets for a renown regional theater, and I loved it. The down side, however, was that I had to pack light for the trip, and not bring my music with me. Instead, I had an alarm clock/radio unit that was my only source of tunes, so I heard plenty of the Billboard top 5, starting with Open Arms by Journey. I was a huge fan of Journey, and thought that Steve Perry had one of the most amazing voices from the period. It was so clean, strong and brilliant, you just had to listen to him. Here they are singing the fifth most popular song of the year.



In late 1981, the Australian band Men At Work released their debut album, Business As Usual. It took a few months to really catch on, but with the help of the first single, Who Can It Be Now?, the quirky New Wave music was soon a steady part of the pop music diet, starting with the fourth most popular song of 1982.



Coming in as the third most popular song of the year is Up Where We Belong, sung by Jennifer Warnes & Joe Cocker from the soundtrack of the movie An Officer And A Gentleman. It was written by the greatly talented Jack Nitzsche, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Will Jennings. Warnes became known for have a deft touch with movie theme songs, but her best was this, dueting with the amazing Cocker.



Daryl Hall & John Oates were on quite a roll in the 80s, and had the number 2 song of 1982 with a catchy song Maneater. It was their first single from the album H2O, and while certainly classic pop, it might be one of my least favorite of their songs. But, with the #2 song of the year, here are Hall & Oates.



J. Geils Band was built around guitarist John Geils, who preferred to have his music served with a steady helping of rock and blues. While having been met with critical success, big-time commercial success alluded them until they took a more pop sound, including the mega-hit Centerfold.

Sunday Night with Theo Tams

It should come as no surprise to anyone paying attention that I am a big Theo Tams fan. He's had some news lately, like he is going overseas to perform, which is very exciting. I am hoping that means he might be able to be a bit easier to access his music here in the States, cause I would love to hear it on my radio! And his latest single, Manhattan Blue, is doing well on the charts - his 'old' single, Wait for You, is apparently still on the Canadian charts for over 30-some weeks! And he has a show coming up next weekend in Toronto, which should be a great time for all my fellow fans enjoy muchly. Since I won't be making it to that show, I thought I would pick up some clips from a recent show Tigger was kind enough to video for me - hey, I know she did it for all Theo's fans, but I like to think it was just for me... So here are a few songs from his May 25, 2010, show in Toronto. The first two are both original songs by Theo, starting with Better Than The Last Time, which I really like.



Just A Little Longer is the second original, and like the first, it is just a lovely song. Theo also announced they were starting work on a second album, and I would hope both songs would be on it.



Theo does a magnificent cover of Jann Arden's Good Mother. the song is so engaging, so sweet and tender, and he sings it beautifully.



For more on Theo, check out his official website here.

New Followers - TrannyBeth & Brighton J

Left to right: Brighton J and Beth.

I would like to welcome two new followers to Soundtrack to my Day. First, let me just ask, 'TrannyBeth, what the hell took you so long?!' OK, that might be harsh, but she is one of the major reasons I have a blog at all, and it sure feels nice to have her on board! You can check out her blog Blind As A Bat here. When you visit, check out the gorgeous pictures she takes, as well as those beautiful children she gave birth to. And in case you don't notice from the picture, she is one hot mamma!

Also, a hearty welcome for Brighton J, although, sadly, I don't know much about them. In the 'About Me:' section, it also says Brave Little Pop Star's, and there lists a website of the same name, yet I can't seem to open it. So, all I can offer is a huge hello!

As is the tradition here, I like to welcome people with music. So, this time out the gate, I chose to go with a Little Van Morrison, cause he just amazing. And, since it is Sunday morning, I thought I would go with Van singing Into The Mystic from his Moondance album.

Saturday Rocks - Simon & Garfunkel

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel reunited for a free concert in New York City's Central Park on September 19, 1981, after having split up the highly successful collaboration in 1970. Friends since grade school in Queens, New York, they started performing together as a duo while still in high school. At first they used stage names, referring to themselves as Tom & Jerry, making their first professional recording in 1957. Having met with little success in the music business, they went their separate ways to college. By 1963, they were back together and taking part of the vibrant folk scene in Greenwich Village under their own names, and were signed by Columbia Records. They recorded and released their first album in 1964, only to break up shortly thereafter, when Simon went to England, where he recorded some solo stuff. There he learned of the delayed success of Simon & Garfunkel in the US. The producer of the album had remixed the folk sound to add a more electric sound, making the folk-rock sound come to success. The song was Sound of Silence, and it hit #1 on the charts in January of 1966.



Homeward Bound was the first release off the Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme album. The song was clearly folk, while the instrumentation On the heels of the their new success, 1966 was turning out to be a big year for them. Homeward Bound went to #5 on the US Pop chart.




In 1968, they had success with a traditional English ballad, Scarborough Fair, the date of which is unknown. But many thought it was based on a 17th Century Scottish ballad. Nonetheless, it was in the folk tradition to take on traditional music. Used in the soundtrack to the movie The Graduate, the made it to #11 on the Pop chart.



The Graduate featured another sang that became a strong part of the Pop Culture lexicon. Mrs. Robinson shot up the charts, landing at #1 on the Pop chart. The song went on to earn the Grammy Award as Record of the Year.



The next single was released in 1969 and again earned them at Top 10 single, coming in at #7 on the Pop chart. The Boxer was more an anthem, huge in sound and meaning.



Following the incredible success of the Bridge Over Troubled Water album and single, the pressures of being Simon & Garfunkel seemed to take its toll on the duo. By the end of 1970, the collaboration was ended. However, the record label put out a Greatest Hits collection, with some of the biggest songs of the 60s, as well as some new music. Returning to their folk roots, the song America showed the simplicity as well the beauty of their music and harmonies. While it was far from their most success track with sales, it remains a strong point of their time together.



In the last 40 years, Simon & Garfunkel have reunited for tours and special appearances. One of those was the free concert in Central Park in 1981, where all of these videos were taken. For more information about Simon & Garfunkel, check out their official website here.

Doctor Who - Cold Blood

In the 8th episode of the new Doctor, Cold Blood, a continuation of the last show. You can catch it tonight on BBC America, 9PM/8PM Central. In this episode, we once again have the Doctor, Amy, Rory, Nazarene, the family they encountered, and the Homo Reptilia, a race of lizards who inhabit the center of the Earth.



The Doctor and Nazarene go to the center of the Home Reptilia to try to figure out what is going on. It is a magical place, an entire community built to the specifications of the advanced race, all at the core of the planet.



Not all the reptiles are pleased to see the humans, or 'Apes' as the warrior reptile is wont to call us.



The father of the family has been captured with Amy, while Rory stayed above to keep an eye on the father and daughter, as well as the reptile help hostage to help with the negotiations. However it is the warrior who finds the Doctor, who brings him and Nazarene to the lab.



But something goes amiss on the surface, something Rorey cannot fix.



How will the Doctor maintain the peace between two species as they try to figure out a way to live together? Who will escape to the surface, and who returns home?



How will it end? Guess you better watch to find out. Can the Doctor save everyone, the planet, and the peace? To check out Doctor Who on the web, click here. And watch the trailer below.

REPOST Friday Night Party - Ivri Lider

Originally posted on October 2, 2009, I am reposting this as I had to slip away for a couple of days, and thought it was a good time to revisit the amazing work of Ivri Lider.

Well, it is Friday evening, and I thought perhaps it was time to have a good time, dance and forget the troubles of the week. For that, I present a video that always makes me feel so much better, Bo. The music makes me move, the song charms my heart. And, of course, I also have a long-standing crush on Ivri Lider.



In my first post about Ivri [found here], I posted the more conventional radio version of the song, sung in English. This is the long-play dance version, sung in Hebrew. And God only knows, I am trying to be patient as I wait for Ivri to release the English-language album. And to see him perform live. And maybe, just maybe, for him to realize he wants to fall in love with a man 14 years older than him. Wait, did I just go one step too far?



Ivri has already released a couple of songs in English, mostly songs from movies he has worked on. And "Jesse". I love this song very, very much. I swear it has wormed it's way into my head, and I must listen to it every so often.



So I do understand Ivri will never fall in love with me, but I still adore his music, and would just love to see him performing live. You can hear more of Ivri's music at his official website here.

Sacha Sacket - Viscera Project

A couple of weeks ago, Sacha Sacket announced he was going to offer a new song a week for the next year, calling it the Viscera Project. This week, Sacha out did himself, offering not only a new song, Chalk, but also a video for it. And both can be purchased for a $1 [more should you feel generous in your support of an independent gay singer/songwriter], so it is a great time to step up and check out the work of Sacha Sacket. You can sample the song before you buy it, and can even sample it here:



Give a listen, and if you would like to purchase, either click above, or click here. This is the third installment of the project, the first two being Breed and Give It To The Man. Both can be purchased as well, also $1 each, and both are song only packages. To check out Give It To The Man, click here. For Breed, click here. I am a big fan of Sacha and his music, and would recommend purchasing any or all of them. I know I bought them all so far!