Paula Abdul - Crazy Cool

You all know her from "American Idol". The ex-Laker cheerleader from San Fernando, California.

She has done alot since being a cheerleader. (And you all thought cheerleaders were BIMBOS) :-) Since breaking into the music scene, Paula Abdul has choreographed the video for Janet Jackson's Control and Tracy Ullman's TV show. In 1988, she released her debut album with great acceptance. The follow-up was OK. But, In 1995, the LP she released, Head Over Heels, simply flopped.

There was, however, two highlights on this LP. The songs My Love Is For Real, which reached #28 on the pop chart, and Crazy Cool, which reached #58.

The remixes to both these song were accepted by clubs nation wide and produce 2 big dance songs for Paula Abdul. Today, I'm posting the lesser known of the two, CRAZY COOL. The video for this song was deemed "TOO HOT" for MTV. I don't understand why, since, they didn't even play videos anymore at this time.

Song taken from the original 12" single on Captive/Virgin 38510
Crazy Cool (Deep Dish's Crazy Cool Remix) 10:08
Song charted on September 23, 1995. Spent 11 weeks on the chart and reached #13

Martha & The Muffins - Black Stations-White Stations

The rock group, out of Toronto, consisted of Martha Johnson and Mark Gane. The name, Martha & The Muffins, was chosen to distance themselves from the aggressive names of many punk bands of the era. According to Mark, it was to be a temporay name until they could agree on something better, but, it ended up sticking for over 7 years.

Over the years, they had numerous personel changes. One member, Jocelyn Lanois, is the sister of Daniel Lanois who is a noted producer of U2 & Peter Gabriel.

In 1984, Martha & the Muffins shortened their name to M+M and released Mystery Walk. This LP gave them their biggest hit. (which is todays post.) It is an anti-racist anthem whose first verse took radio stations to task for refusing to play songs about mixed-race romances. It is ironic that radio stations of the time banned the song from being played on the airwaves. Clubs, however, kept playing the song over and over and it eventually reached #2.

Song taken from the original 12" single on RCA 13802
Black Stations/White Stations (Remix) 6:22
Song charted on May 12, 1984. Spent 16 weeks on the chart and reached #2

Alisha - All Night Passion

With confidence, maturity and an indisputably powerful voice, Alisha stands out as one of music's most dynamic artist. She became a pioneer in the music industy by achieving a successful music career by the age of fifteen. By doing this, Alisha has inspired and paved the way for many of today's young female artists.

This US electronic dance music singer hailed from Brooklyn, New York. In self-titled debut, produced by Mark Berry, was released in 1984. This LP has got to be her best LP to date. It sold over 2 million copies, produced 3 dance floor hits, yet, failed to reach the Top 200 LP chart. Don't ask me how this could be, but it's true.

Today's post is the first release from this LP. "All Night Passion" reached the whopping #103 spot on Billboard's Bubbling under chart. The dance floor had a better reception however, reaching the top 10 during the spring of '84. This was the first of seven hits by Alisha to reach the dance chart, 5 of which reaching the top 10.

Today, Alisha is trying to make a comeback after she took time off to raise a family. Most recently, she has re-recorded this single and released a Hi-NRG version.

Song taken from the original 12" single on Vanguard 72
All Night Passion (Club Mix) - 6:45
Song charted on March 10, 1984. Spent 14 weeks on the chart and reached #4

Red Flag - Count To Three / Give Me Your Hand

Red Flag is a Duo originating from Liverpool, England. The group consisted of brothers Mark & Chris Reynolds, who, in 1979, moved to San Diego.

They first started playin electronic music in 1982, when Mark bought a Roland JUNO-60. They started recording under the name Shades Of May. During 1984, after they recieved offers to play live, the two began to study music and computer technology. During this time, they changed the name to Red Flag. Many would associated this with the flag of the Soviet Union. The brothers, however, insisted that it was taken from a surfers warning flag.

After their first release in 1988, the band was critisized as being a Depeche Mode knock off. I feel however their sound is alot darker and more meaningful than Depeche Mode's.

Today's post is the fourth time the group made and dance chart. At the time, Billboard listed both songs on the 12" as one chart position. On the original 12", Razormaid Remix Service contributed 2 songs, which, I'm including in today's post.

Taken from the original 12" single on Enigma 75545
Count To Three (Razormaid Remix) - 6:48
Give Me Your Hand (Razormaid Mix) - 6:53
Songs charted on June 16, 1990. Spent 9 weeks on the chart and reached #13

Rodney Dangerfield - Rappin Rodney

Rodney Dangerfield was born Jacob Cohen on 11/22/21 in Babylon, Long Island, New York. He was a popular stand-up comedian/actor who coined the phrase "Gets no respect".

He did, however, get lots of respect, with his stand up routine. (He always get me laughing with his one-liners.) He took his stand-up routine to the dancefloor in 1984. Todays post is all about his one liners and just makes me laugh.

I've never seen anybody post this song on the internet. Maybe they just forgot about it. Maybe they never heard it. Well what ever the reason, I'm posting it today in the entire 12" version. Enjoy

Taken from the original 12" single on RCA 13657
Rappin' Rodney (Long Version) - 5:06
Song charted on January 7, 1984. Spent 3 weeks on the chart and reached #70