Mention 1978 to a music fan, and you'll probably get a bunch of different answers depending on who you ask. A historian of popular music will mention the domination that year of The Bee Gees, who seem to have had a hand in everything popular that year, be it the songs from Saturday Night Fever, writing and/or producing hits for brother Andy Gibb, or Yvonne Elliman, Samantha Sang, and just about anyone else. Or you could mention the hit movie Grease, or the second wave of disco (no doubt fueled by the aforementioned Saturday Night Fever). Then there's the burgeoning punk and new wave scene which still simmered mostly in the underground but artists in that genre were getting a lot of press, such as The Ramones, Sex Pistols, Elvis Costello, Blondie, Television, Talking Heads, and many others. If you're a classic rocker, it would mean arena rock, and the emergence of Tom Petty, the debut from Van Halen, and the very popular Bat Out of Hell album from Meat Loaf.
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| The Cars' frontman, Ric Ocasek (left), and Eddie Money both passed away last week. |
Aside from those emergences came two others who burst upon the scene in 1978: Eddie Money, a wannabe cop from New York City, who decided on music instead because he didn't want to cut his long hair; and Ric Ocasek, a journeyman musician from Baltimore, Maryland who slowly recruited fellow musicians and moving around the country before settling in Boston and fronting a very success Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band.
During the past week, Eddie Money died after a long battle with esophageal stage 4 cancer at the age of 70. Rick Ocasek, suffering from cardiovascular diseases, died of natural causes, found in his New York City apartment, he was 75.
Both musicians pretty much paid their dues in their long search for stardom. Money's family, including his brother, father and grandfather were policemen in New York City. However, training for the NYPD would mean cutting his hair, so he decided not to pursue that path. After serving as a clerk/typist, he decided to pursue music full time. Unlike other male musicians, he wasn't part of a band (the band he had been in rejected him if he went into police work, which back then, was probably a good, safe move!). Money moved out west to San Francisco and played the club circuit there, when legendary promoter Bill Graham signed him to Columbia records. That proved to be his big break, and his self-titled debut was released in December 1977. In early 1978, his debut single, "Baby Hold On" was released and it peaked around May of that year, as I was graduating Montclair State. The song, co-written by Money, borrowed a couple of lines from Doris Day's "Que Sera Sera", was very infectious. It peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was my #18 song of 1978. While that would be the only song of his to make my year-end list, it was just the beginning of this career. The follow-up, 'Two Tickets to Paradise", hit #22 and is one of his more memorable songs.
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| Eddie Money's eponymous album, released in late 1977, contained "Baby Hold On", and "Two Tickets to Paradise" |
Eddie followed that up with his second album, Life For the Taking, of which the lead single, "Maybe I'm a Fool", released in early 1979, also hit #22.
Money had many peaks and valleys in his career. Playing for Keeps (1980) was a relative disappointment, but he had success with this fourth album, No Control (1982)."Think I'm In Love" got into the top 20 on Billbaord and was a nice summertime smash, and "Shakin'" was a big MTV hit, both in 1982. But the next album, Where's the Party? (1983) was a poor performer in spite of the rock radio hit "Big Crash".
Money had his most consistent period of success between 1986 and 1992, with the streak begun by his #4 hit "Take Me Home Tonight" which featured Ronnie Spector, in particular the portion where she sings 'Be my little baby', a line from her group The Ronettes classic hit, "Be My Baby". Other big hits in that era included "I Wanna Go Back" (1987), "Walk On Water" (#9, 1988), and "Peace In Our Time" (#11, 1990), the latter a new released from his Greatest Hits: The Sound of Money set.
Money released three albums in the 1990's, Wanna Go Back, in 2007, and his latest, Brand New Day, in July of this year, with a single, the title track. He leaves his wife and five children. While Money often isn't mentioned with the rock greats, he was a steady performer and put out some good product. While "Baby Hold On" was the only song that made a year-end list of mine ("Think I'm in Love" and possibly "Take Me Home Tonight" should have, in retrospect), many of his songs are still played today.
As for Ocasek, he was bouncing around the country getting experiences and forming bands. In particular, Benjamin Orr, whom he met in Cleveland, developed a friendship. They formed a band, moving from Columbus to Ann Arbor, Michigan before settling in Boston. Their band, called "Milkwood" was more in a Crosby, Stills & Nash folk mode; Greg Hawkes soon joined as well. One album was released, but it didn't sell. A couple other bands followed, including one with Elliot Easton, but went nowhere. With the addition of drummer David Robinson, and retaining the other members from his other endeavors, The Cars were born. The band, which was formed in 1976, worked the New England concert circuit for two years before finally releasing their self-titled debut. Ocasek, the lead singer on many of the songs (Orr also sang lead), broke through in 1978 with two hits from their debut, "Just What I Needed" (sung by Orr) and "My Best Friend's Girl"; both were Billboard top 40 hits. The former landed at #28 on my year-end list for 1978, and was popular just as I had started working at Prudential Insurance, in August of that year, part of the soundtrack to my introduction to the real, working world.
Their style was unique. They merged arena-style pop-rock with the developing new wave, essentially making that non-commercial form of music very assessible. In a sense, they did pave the way for more new-wavish acts like Blondie, The Police and others. Their second effort, Candy-O, released in 1979, was an instant success. "Let's Go", (again with Orr on vocals) was a big hit, and it bettered "Just What I Needed" on my year-end list, coming in at #23 (It peaked at #14 on Billboard).
Panorama, their third effort, released in 1980 was a mild disappointment; however, the single "Touch and Go" with it's quirky 5/4 beat, still managed to get on my year-end list at #46. They rebounded with 1981's Shake It Up. The title track became their first top 10 Billboard hit, peaking at #4 in early 1982. Not only did that song make my year-end list for 1982 (#30), but the follow-up "Since You're Gone" came on my list at #89. I caught the band on tour at Madison Square Garden in early 1982, the only time I would see them live.
Like many bands, Ocasek took time out to record a solo album. Beatitude, the first of seven that he would release. "Something to Grab For" got some airplay on a local radio station, WDHA in Morristown NJ.
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| The Cars' 1984 effort, Heartbeat City, was their most successful album, and yielded five top 30 singles. |
Back with The Cars, the band released their most successful effort, Heartbeat City, which had five top 40 hits to its name. "You Might Think" was the lead single, and its then-innovative video won the first Best Video award at the MTV Video Music Awards, beating out Michael Jackson's landmark "Thriller" in the process. The song reached #7 on Billboard. The follow-up, "Magic" went to #12. The third single, "Drive" was their all-tine biggest, peaking at #3 in late summer of 1984; Benjamin Orr sang lead on it. On my year-end list for 1984, the Cars had two songs on it. "Drive" (#62), and the fourth single, "Hello Again" (#20-Billboard), reached that same position on my year-end list. The fifth single, "Why Can't I Have You", came in at #97 on my 1985 list.
The band's greatest hits album, out in late 1985, contained their final top 10, "Tonight She Comes" (#7 Billboard, #75 on my year-end tally), but the second single, "I'm Not the One" did land at #60 on my 1986 list.
During another band hiatus, Ocasek released his second solo effort, This Side of Paradise, and had his biggest solo single, "Emotion in Motion" which reached #15 on the Hot 100. However, by the time the band came back together for their sixth album, Door to Door, the band had already peaked. It was a relative disappointment. While the band had utilized studio effects on their recent albums, this was a return to their roots, but by 1987, the pop landscape had changed. Their sound appeared more straight-out pop rather than the "hair metal" and budding alternative rock that was dominating the charts at that time. "You Are the Girl", was their final top 20, peaking at #17, and two subsequent singles just barely made the Hot 100. And, for the first time, none of the singles made a year-end list of mine, the first album to have that dubious distinction.
Sensing that their day had passed, the band split up in 1988. However, Ocasek, who had been the band's principal songwriter and producer, had been much in demand in assisting other artists. The band had been a favorite of mine (as witnessed by the many songs of their making my year-end lists) as well as others: A girl I dated in 1985-86 cited the Cars as one of her favorite bands, and in the 1990's, I was one of the "unofficial DJ's" of five getaway weekends in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, and was asked to play something by the Cars several times.
While Ocasek laid low for a couple of years after the Cars' breakup, he became visible again in the 1990's. He released four albums in that decade, and while none of them made much noise, "Don't Let Go", a track from 1993's Quick Change World, landed at #24 on my year-end list which, by that time was heavily laden with alternative rock tracks on it.
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| Weezer's 1994 debut album was produced by Ocasek |
More importantly, Ocasek became a producer for many high-profile bands that decade, including No Doubt, Weezer, Hole, as well as personal faves like Nada Surf, Black 47, The Wannadies, and many others.
Vowing that he would never reunite The Cars again (and the full band couldn't reunite anyway, since Benjamin Orr died in 2000), he gave the remaining members of the band the option to reunite if they so desired. That brought the attention of Todd Rundgren, who got Easton, Hawkes and two new members together as "The New Cars", which released an album in late 2006 and toured, playing classic Cars and Rundgren solo material.
That brings us to the "blog era". In 2011, as I was researching songs to add to my currents playlist, I discovered a song by The Cars, "Sad Song". Initially thinking it was the New Cars lineup, I went to Google and sure enough, it was the original band (minus the deceased Orr), fronted by Ocasek, back together again. The new album, Move Like This, debuted at #7 on the Billboard 200. The song, which sounds like they picked up right where they left off in 1988, reached #13 on my blog in 2011, and yes, the band made my year-end list yet one more time, with the tune coming in at #96 on my 2011 tally.
Video for "Sad Song" by The Cars, from their 2011 reunion album "Move Like This"
The reunion was short-lived, though and the band split once again, reuniting very briefly in 2018 when the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This year, after undergoing surgery, Ocasek died shortly thereafter, of "natural causes". He had been married three times and had six sons.
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| Ocasek in 2019 |
While Ocasek (and Money, for that matter), may not be top "household names", at least when compared to other rock stars, their contributions have been many, and their music will definitely live on.
SUMMER DELAY: My tabulations for the SNS "Song of the Summer" have been made. I was originally going to publish it with this blog, but due to the passings of Money and Ocasek, it will be the focus of next week's issue.
CURRENT BRIEFS: Foster the People take a second week at the top with "Imagination", while Nick Waterhouse moves into the runner-up spot with "Song For Winners". They are the only bullets in the top 10, although "Go" by the Black Keys, inches back up to #3; the song is still at the top at Adult Alternative, and finally makes the top 10 on the Alternative chart at Billboard. Winnetka Bowling League, while dropping again to #39 on the Alt chart (although still bulleted), inches up again to #8. Debuting is the latest from the LA punk band The Regrettes, "I Dare You". After a few mid-charters here, the band is poised to repeat the SNS top 5 success of "Come Through"; this one has more radio support than any of their other singles thus far. Dominic Fike, from Naples, Florida debuts with the current Alternative #1 song, "3 Nights". Meanwhile there's a clash of seasons, as yet another song with "summer" in the title, Haim's "Summer Girl" enters. Their "Forever" reached #6 on my blog back in 2013 (was it that far back?). In contract, sibling act AJR enters with "Dear Winter", as the band goes for their third top 10 in a row here.
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100
September 15, 2019
| This Week | Last Week | ARTIST-Title | Weeks on List |
| 1 | 1 |
NUMBER ONE:
(Single Only)
(2 weeks at #1)
|
10 |
| 2 | 2 | Nick Waterhouse - Song For Winners | 9 |
| 3 | 4 | The Black Keys - Go | 14 |
| 4 | 5 | Fitz and the Tantrums - I Need Help | 11 |
| 5 | 6 | Band of Skulls - Love is All You Love | 12 |
| 6 | 3 | The Horrors - Point of No Reply | 14 |
| 7 | 7 | Amber Arcades - Something's Gonna Take Your Love Away | 14 |
| 8 | 9 | Winnetka Bowling League - Kombucha | 15 |
| 9 | 11 | Tommy James - I Think We're Alone Now (Acoustic) | 7 |
| 10 | 8 | Donna Missal - Transformer | 10 |
| 11 | 17 | Cage the Elephant - Social Cues | 8 |
| 12 | 14 | Fitz and the Tantrums - Don't Ever Let Em | 11 |
| 13 | 18 | Øffguard - Lights | 6 |
| 14 | 15 | Zac Brown Band - Someone I Used to Know | 10 |
| 15 | 10 | Shannon Marsyada - Caught Falling | 11 |
| 16 | 13 | Kungs ft Olly Murs and Coely - More Mess | 12 |
| 17 | 20 | Brittany Howard ft. Terry Crews- Stay High | 8 |
| 18 | 22 |
TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:
Album: New Age Norms
|
11 |
| 19 | 12 | Lil Nas X ft Billy Ray Cyrus - Old Town Road | 11 |
| 20 | 24 | Absofacto - Dissolve | 13 |
Songs with the greatest increase in favorite
points over the prior week.
● Songs
with 25 or more plays on my iPod.
▲ Songs with 50 or more
plays on my iPod.
¨ Songs with 100 or more
plays on my iPod.
The “Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100” is a list
of current and recent song playlist which I am listening to.
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