With this last installment of the birthday music series, I travel back in time to my pre-teen and teen years. I have to admit that I had a really hard time choosing songs for this post; every time I thought about an artist I wanted to write about, five more popped in my head. I honestly believe I could write a book about the music of my life. For example, I wasn’t able to include the Tom-Tom Club, Salt and Pepa, New Edition, The Art of Noise, Roger and Zapp, Rob Base, Public Enemy, Biz Markie, Kurtis Blow, Erik B and Rakim, or LL Cool J. Or even some of the rock groups I listened to like Queen, Journey, The Talking Heads, and R.E.M. And don’t get me started on the “Quiet Storm” artists, like Peabo Bryson, Freddie Jackson, Anita Baker, Sade, Frankie Beverly and Maze, and Smokey Robinson. Regardless, this post might get long, because I LOVE ALL THE SONGS.
I’ll start with my eight-grade prom. Seems like as good a place as any, and that was also around the time that Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall came out. I went to the prom with a guy whose nickname was Pee Wee. I still don’t know why we called him that, but he was a family friend and cute enough. He wasn’t my boyfriend or anything, but I needed a date at the last minute, and he was it. I borrowed a dress from my older cousin, since I really didn’t have anything formal to wear. My parents had said “NO,” the first time I asked about going, so we had not shopped for a dress. At the last minute they decided to let me go, and kindly escorted me and Pee Wee to the prom. And yes, they stayed with us until it was time to go. The only songs I remember from that night are “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin” and “Human Nature” by MJ, although surely they played other music. :)
The other love of my life during this time was you guessed it, His Royal Badness. By the time I started 9th grade, we had moved from our all-Black neighborhood to a mixed one across town. Cable television had become a serious thing and we had ALL the channels, including MTV and BET. The first video I actually remember watching is Prince’s “Little Red Corvette,” but I’m sure you know that Prince doesn’t do Youtube, so I can’t post it for you here. However, I can’t talk about Prince without mentioning The Time. I loved them just as much as Prince, (well, maybe not JUST as much), and I loved their antics on stage as well as in the movies. My all time favorite is “The Walk,” but since it’s not on Youtube anymore, I’ll post one of my other favorites:
This was also during the time when Donnie Simpson was hosting Video Soul and we would rush off the bus to make sure that we didn’t miss a minute of his show. Here a few favorites I remember from that time period:
I loved Latifah when she was rapping back in the day! And those dancers? In those shorts? Yeah, baaabbby!
What y’all know ’bout this?
Or this?
And this?
These three videos were “Skate Center” music. The Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam song was one of the songs they played for backwards skating because it had a slower tempo. We LIVED for the skate center when I was in high school. It was the one place where all the “cool kids” hung out on Sunday and Wednesday nights during the summer, and we’d behave all week just to get a chance to go. My sister and I knew if we got into trouble and were put on “restriction” for anything during the week, the skate center was a no-go.
Y’all know I love my ballads, and before I get to Luther, I have to pay tribute to a few other artists that captured my love and affection as a kid.
I know you remember James Ingram. He had a couple of duets with Patty Austin and our high school graduation song, “Somewhere Out There,” was based off of a duet with Linda Ronstandt. Yeah, they picked that.
My oldest friend (we are six months apart in age), obviously went to the cooler school, because their graduation song was this:
One of my other favorites is Alexander O’Neal. Alex has been going through some thangs the past few years, but he was an amazing singer in his prime:
I loved myself some Phyllis Hyman. She was beautiful with a voice to match. It broke my heart when I heard that she had committed suicide:
Before I wrap this thang up, I’ve got to include a little more of the funk that defined R&B in the 1980s.
From Atlanta, GA:
And I KNOW y’all remember this group! How could you forget a Black man on tv in a codpiece??
I kinda listened to this one on the down low ’cause it was nasty. LOL! I was too young to know what most of it meant, but I knew I’d get in trouble for listening. The strings, y’all, the strings. They don’t make songs like this anymore.
I’ll end this blog with my all-time favorite ballad by Luther Vandross. I loved this song so much when I was a kid, and I would listen to this song over and over until I had all the words down pat. I also hated it when they played the shorter version on the radio, because I wanted to hear it ALL.
Imma go ahead and say this, regardless of the backlash I may get: They don’t make them like this anymore. No doubt there is “good” music coming out now, but I don’t think we have as many singers as we used to. We have “entertainers.” They look good, they can dance (or not), and they have lots of technology and special effects to cover up their weak vocals. And I can’t remember the last time I heard a full orchestra on a new record. Oh wait, yes I can. D’Angelo’s “Cruisin” had a beautiful string arrangement. And before you tell me that people can’t afford it these days, ask yourselves how many of these new artists have an entourage of 20 or more people on their payroll and ain’t doing nothing but hanging around? Right. I know a big part of it is the music industry and its impetus to crank out a hit every other day. Still, I miss the music of my childhood because it was GOOD music. I know you miss it too.
Anyway, I hope you’ve enjoyed my musical retrospective. Like I said earlier, I could do this for days, but I’ll stop here. This post is a little longer than the other ones, but hey, give me a break, it’s my birthday. :)
