Johnny Mathis • Sending You A Little Christmas

Earlier this fall, Johnny Mathis released a new Christmas album, and somehow, I managed to miss the news. Thankfully, my buddy JD Doyle of Queer Music Heritage did not, and sent me a note to check it out. It is a 'no brainer' that I would, since his first holiday album, 'Merry Christmas', is a favorite of mine. The album was a part of my own holiday soundtrack, for I have been hearing Johnny sing Christmas music all my life. In fact, I remember hearing his Pop songs and his Christmas music on the radio, and in the house. That first holiday album was released 55 years ago, yet I still play it every year. On the new album, Mathis works with such amazing artists as Billy Joel, Natalie Cole, Jim Brickman, Gloria Estefan, Susan Boyle, Vince Gill and Amazy Grant, and delivers another album I think I might be playing every year! This is the list of songs.

01. The Christmas Song (with Billy Joel)

02. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (with Natalie Cole)

03. This Christmas

04. Sending You a Little Christmas (with Jim Brickman)

05. Mary's Boy Child (with Gloria Estefan)

06. This Is a Time For Love

07. Do You Hear What I Hear (with Susan Boyle)

08. Home for the Holidays (featuring The Jordanaires)

09. Merry Christmas Darling

10. Decorate the Night

11. I'll Be Home for Christmas/White Christmas (with Vince Gill & Amy Grant)

12. Count Your Blessings

Now, I thought it would be fun this Christmas morning to let you hear the whole album, and let it be the soundtrack to your Christmas morning. It is a great holiday treat, and I am sure you will love it. So grab your cup of coffee or tea, and start opening your presents. Have a great Christmas day, and enjoy 'Sending You a Little Christmas'.

I must admit, Johnny Mathis has also been a hero of sorts for me. The man was courageous enough to come out of the closet in 1982 in 'Us' Magazine, long before it was the popular or safe thing to do. Handsome, talented, and gay, who could ask for anything more? You can purchase 'Sending You a Little Christmas' from iTunes and Amazon. You can still purchase 'Merry Christmas' from iTunes and Amazon as well. For more about Johnny Mathis, visit his official website. You can also 'like' him on Facebook.

Miami Sound Machine Gets Primitive

In 1985, the sound of dance was being changed by a band out of Florida known as the Miami Sound Machine. The Latin sound was unmistakable, the fresh and crisp beat sounding new from Havana. The center of the group was the husband/wife team of Emilio and Gloria Estefan. They brought their blazing caliente sound to the attention of the public in the mid 80s first through the clubs, with songs like Dr. Beat. Great dance tracks helped to establish a fan base with the album Eyes Of Innocence, released in 1983.



But it was the 1985 release Primitive Love that had the band taking off. The first single off the album was Conga, which made it to #10 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was certified Gold.



That was soon followed by Bad Boy, which made it to #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was also certified Gold in the US, as well as in Australia. It also got the cool video that was a wild case of Cats plays Miami...



You can purchase Primitive Love on iTunes and Amazon. And you can learn more about Gloria Estefan on her official website here.

Billboard Top 5 - 1989

While the 80s were coming to a close, the music was still hitting many a high note. My own life had taken a bit of a back seat, for I was working full-tilt as a freelancer in NYC, and spent much of my time on the road at a variety of trade shows, from Comdex in Las Vegas, to smaller trade shows in Boston, Washington, DC, San Diego, and, well, anyplace with a convention center. I had sworn off dating - I wasn't really very good at it - and instead would work hard, and when I had some free time, visit the family in Delaware. I would hop on AMTRAK with my Sony Walkman in place, playing my cassettes. Somewhere about this time, I might have shifted to the Sony Discman, but I can't be sure...

At this point in musical history, Gloria Estefan was pretty much an unstoppable force. At the beginning of the year, she became a 'solo' act, as the billing became Gloria Estefan, losing the Miami Sound Machine from the title. However, the band, lead by Gloria's husband Emilio, continued to play the dates backing Estefan. The first solo album was Cuts Both Ways, released during the summer. The first single, Don't Wanna Lose You, zoomed up the charts, scoring #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, as well as many other places worldwide. Surprisingly enough, it lands at #5 on the year-end chart. I thought it would score much higher.



Martika was setting a precedent that we are still fighting today. She was the Hillary Duff/Miley Cyrus of her day, moving from teen/tween programming to the record charts. She went from a lead in the show Kids Incorporated to a movie with Mr T to her first album which spawned the hit Toy Soldiers, her only #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Her kiddie pop went fairly unnoticed by me, so I don't really have any fun anecdotes or charming stories. Somehow it lands at #4 on the year-end chart.



The next group brought together two bands that were coming to an end to form what was thought of as a rock supergroup. John Waite was the lead singer for The Babys and this group before moving on to solo success later. Keyboardist Jonathan Cain and bassist Ricky Phillips had played with Waite in The Babys. They were joined by guitarist Neal Schon and drummer Deen Castronovo were part of the Journey lineup as that band was breaking up. As a group, they became known as Bad English, with attitude and big hair to burn. With the second single off their debut album, they topped the Billboard Hot 100 with When I See You Smile, the #3 song of 1989.



While she might have been the teen queen of her day, Debbie Gibson, who later changed her name to Deborah Gibson, got her title the old fashioned way, she earned it. She put out her first album at 16, having toured the country playing clubs and bars. On her first album, she had five singles, and all but one landed in the Top 5, and the fifth just missing the Top 20. Expectations were high for the young lady for her second album, Electric Youth. There was no need to worry, as the first single, Lost In Your Eyes, landed at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, her second chart topper, both written by the youngster. Here she is with the #2 song of 1989, Lost In Your Eyes.



Richard Marx broke on to the musical charts in 1987 with the pop/rock song Don't Mean Nothing. He was discovered by Lionel Richie, and was singing background vocals and musician gigs in LA for a variety of artists. He was also writing music, including top hits for Kenny Rogers, Kim Carnes, James Ingram, Freddie Jackson and Chicago, to name a few. This earned him some studio time, and he took full advantage. His second album, Repeat Offender, was a quadruple Platinum selling effort, and much of that success can be attributed to the second single, Right Here Waiting. The touching power ballad caused heart to go all-aflutter, and earned Marx to top single of the year.

Billboard Top 5 - 1988

It is about time I get back to these Billboard posts, cause they make me happy. They will remind me of music I haven't listened to in a while, and some times I haven't thought about. Like, for instance, 1988. I was on my own, living in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and doing freelance work in Manhattan. Mainly my work was based out of Chelsea, with a company named Zink Communications. It was here I met some great friends, men I still keep in touch with. I worked with Mal and Brian, and in a while, James. We worked on 'How To' videotapes, and other projects. Actually, I had met Mal working at the Circle Repertory Theatre Company [damn, back in 1983, I think], but continued on with him for many years on non-theater projects. Although they often had their fair share of drama. Between the clients, who were corporate in nature, and the company paying us free-lancers, there were plenty of great people, and plenty of those who might have lacked a bit of charm. But that is life, right?

This was also back in the day when I had long, curly/wavy hair that was well below my shoulders, my John Lennon round metal glasses, and was wont to wear my shorts and flip-flops to work. Or wear all-black. Or show up to a meeting with the clients and have my hair held up with a pencil. Yeah, that always impressed the clients like AT&T, Northern Telecom, and IBM. It was also the place where one Christmas party, many of the employees had too much to drink, although many of us free-lancers were fairly sober, cause we had work to do. And one of the women in scheduling not only gave me a full-on 'Christmas' kiss on the lips, she also tried to slip me some tongue. I was a bit shocked, as I was not particularly closeted at all, and she was married. I decided to blame the alcohol and ignore the situation, and it was never brought up again. Such is life.

But it is impossible for me to think about 1988 without coming up with the #5 song of the year, Wild, Wild West by the Escape Club. The song was fun, and the boys were sexy, a combination that means only good. I loved the band, and bought the album right away. In fact, I covered them in a post over a year ago, here. So, without further ado, here is the video.



The #4 song on the list is somewhat of an oddity, not only because it tore up the charts and was played at every conceivable chance, but also because of the way it was produced. Bobby McFerrin's Don't Worry Be Happy was kinda magical, but also, there was no instrumentation on it. The incredibly talented McFerrin created all the sound himself, using his voice and a gifted imagination. In many ways, you could consider McFerrin the earliest beat-boxer there was.



I have to be honest with you, when I read the name of the #3 song, I didn't have a clue. When I think of Cheap Trick, I think of rockers from the Live A Budokan album. When I read The Flame, I was like, WTF? Then I found the video and immediately knew the song, cause it was played all the time. It is a good power ballead, but when push comes to shove, I'll take I Want You To Want Me any day of the week.



Billy Ocean had a bit of a spree in the late 80s, scoring several hits, often affiliated with movies. The #2 song was not tied into a film, but it was part of an album that went platinum, helped no doubt bu the big hit Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car. The international Pop sound that Ocean had was natural, as he was born in Trinidad, and lived much of his life in England.



In the 80s and 90s, singer Gloria Estafan ruled the airwaves. Truthfully, I thought, and still think, she has a beautiful voice, rich and full. She started out as the singer for the Miami Sound Machine, and in 1988 was fronting the band, now billed as Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine. With top billing, Gloria had the #1 song of the year according to Billboard with Anything For You. The song was a worldwide hit, topping the charts on both the Pop and Adult Contemporary side.



I have another admission I need to make. Not only was I a fan of Gloria Estefan, I liked this song way better in Spanish, despite the fact I didn't, and still don't, speak or understand the language. (I think Gloria was setting me up for my fascination with all things Ricky Martin. Damn you, Gloria!] And because I am just in that kind of mood, I want to offer up my favorite version of the song, so give it a try should you so desire.



There you have it, the Top 5 songs of 1988 according to the folks at Billboard. Another strong group, well worth listening to. Especially if you have great memories attached, something I am very guilty of. Enjoy.