Paul Hardcastle--19 (1985)

     During the late 60s/early 70's, the war was written about and sung about extensively. After the war, musicians, like the rest of the country did their best to forget what had happened and the war was rarely mentioned until the early 80's. At that point several began not only to take a historical look back, but began to access the toll on the men and women who served during that time. Billy Joel was one of the first singers to deal with the issue with the song, "Goodnight Saigon" from the album, "The Nylon Curtain" in 1982.
     A couple of years later, songwriter/keyboardist Paul Hardcastle was watching a news special called, "Vietnam Requiem" and was struck by how young many of those who died were, and how when HE was 19, he was out in the pubs having a grand time. He was also moved by how many had just been ignored upon their coming home.
      This was the genesis behind the song, "19". From a musical standpoint, it was ground breaking for it's use of processed speech and sampling. He had reached the charts earlier in 1985 with a song called, "Rain Forrest", but this song touched a nerve with a population who was either too young to remember the war, or who were attempting to come to terms with it. At the time there were those who considered the song un-American, but Hardcastle refutes this claim. In fact, many veterans at the time praised the song as an attempt to at least bring to light the plight of many of those who had suffered with the after effects of post-war syndrome.
     He continues to record and release smooth jazz albums. His website can be found here:  http://www.paulhardcastle.com

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Jan Hammer--Miami Vice Theme (1985)

     If you are over 30, you probably remember the effect that the show, "Miami Vice" had in the year 1985. The show was a huge hit and made Don Johnson into a star. It's use of color on the show became a trademark of the 80's (for better or for worse). It had an effect on fashion, as Johnson's pastel t-shirts with white coat and pants ensemble, became a fashion statement in a decade of strange fashion statements. I need to take the time to mention, in full disclosure, that your writer fell prey to that particular statement. Thankfully, all photograph evidence of this has been destroyed. Let's just say that the outfits look great on Mr. Johnson, but were not meant for men who are built like fireplugs.
     In an era where the creative outlets of music and film became fully wedded, the music took on as much of the scenery as the city of Miami itself. This was due mainly to the talents of Jan Hammer. Jan, who moved to the Untied States from Czechoslovakia in 1968 to take advantage of a scholarship from the Berklee School Of Music, was well intrenched in the world of Jazz, then Jazz Fusion. He was one of the pioneers in that genre as one of the original members of the Mahavishnu Orchestra. He released his first solo album in 1975 and then formed, The Jan Hammer Band that next year. For the next several years he traded off solo projects and band albums, including several very good collaborations with guitarist Jeff Beck and also with Al Di Meola.
     To the average Joe however, his most notable work started with Miami Vice. It can be stressful enough to score a movie or one TV show, but he consistently scored a number of pieces for the show. The theme not only gave him his only hit, but opened up a totally new field for him. Since he has scored a number of movies, and continued to record with many artists in jazz and pop fields.

       

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David Foster--Love Theme From St. Elmo's Fire (1985)

     You know, for such a lousy movie,  (and for all who might have 'Brat Pack' revisionist history, 'St. Elmo's Fire WAS a lousy movie) there was some pretty good music that came out of it. The two most memorable were written by Canadian composer David Foster, "St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)" which was sung by John Parr, and it's "Love Theme".
      Foster however has been writing and performing his own music since the early 70's with Canadian groups. The first of those, "Skylark" actually had a top 40 hit with the song, "Wildflower" (#9--1973). Along with studio musician Jay Graydon, they formed the band Airplay who's probably best known for writing and performing the original version of, "After the Love Has Gone" which would later be made famous by Earth, Wind & Fire.
     In the 80's, he turned to writing with some impressive credits such as "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" and "You're the Inspiration" by Chicago, "Who's Holding Donna Now" by DeBarge, "The Best of Me" by Olivia Newton-John, and "The Glory Of Love" by Peter Cetera.
     Although he never stopped composing the last 20 years has also seen him adding producing to his credits producing artists such as Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Brandy,  Josh Groban and many others.

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Harold Faltermeyer--Axel F (1985)

     Harold was born in Munich, Germany and from an early age showed talent at the piano, which eventually earned him a spot at the Munich Music Academy. He began with classical, but took a liking to rock as well playing the organ in his teen years with a combo. His talent caught the eyes and ears of Giorgio Moroder in 1978, who invited the young musician to Los Angeles to play the keys and help arrange the music to the "Midnight Express" soundtrack.
     This began a fruitful partnership where he assisted Moroder in producing music for Donna Summer and others. More importantly he found himself working more soundtracks such as, "American Gigolo" and "Foxes". He got is big break on his own in 1984, creating the music for the movie, "Beverly Hills Cop" in which the single, "Axel F" was taken. The song not only reached #3 on the pop charts here in America, but became a worldwide hit on the pop and dance charts.
     He followed this up by composing the music to the Chevy Chase film, "Fletch" in 1985 and teaming again with Moroder on the soundtrack to "Top Gun" in 1986.
     Faltermeyer continued to work scoring soundtracks for movies and computer games.

    

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Falco--Rock Me Amadeus" (1985)

    Johann Hölzel was born in Vienna in 1957. He quit school at the age of 16, and after serving the Austrian army at the age of 17, moved to Germany to make a go of it as a musician. The pianist/guitarist spent time in various groups there and in Austria, along the way picking up the name "Falco" in honor of a famous East German skier.
     His first chart success was 1982's, "Der Kommissar" (which means the inspector) and loosely inspired a song of the same name which became a one off hit for the British rock band, "After the Fire" in that same year. I say loosely because although it was the same musically, the lyrically were very different, which most would never pick up on since Falco's version was entirely in German. After a second album, he began experimenting with singing in English.
     The result of this was the song, "Rock Me Amadeus" in 1985. Inspired by the 1984 movie, "Amadeus", it became the first number 1 song on the American charts by a German speaking artist. The song was spoken in German and English, but there is not a full English version, and it's album version (which clocks in at 8 minutes) is a mini-biography of the great composer.
     As opposed to many who think the song was a one-hit wonder, he actually had another top 20 single with,"Vienna Calling" (#18) later that year. Although it was the last of his success here in the states, he continued to do well in Europe up to his death in 1998 from injuries caused by a car accident in the Dominican Republic.

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The Dream Academy--Life in a Northern Town (1985)

     The story of The Dream Academy began with the meeting of singer/guitarist Nick Laird-Clowes and keyboard player Gilbert Gabriel in the late 70's. They formed a duo called the Politics of Pop which emphasized different musical textures such as strings and woodwinds. They met and invited multi-instrumentalist Kate St. John to be a part of the group. With her addition, they changed the name to The Dream Academy and spent the next couple of years developing their sound. They were rejected by many record companies when Warner Brothers took a chance in 1985.
     The suits and Warner wasn't convinced of the marketability of  the first single, "Life in a Northern Town" and attempted to change it by adding a drummer, but Laird-Clowes and Gabriel dug in their heels and refused to change it. The song, released in the fall of 1985, made it up to number 7 on the charts, and the debut album it was on made it to the top 20. A follow up, "The Love Parade" found it's way to the top 40 the next year. Those were the only two hits here in the US, with the last showing on the top 100 coming in 1986 with a song off of the soundtrack to the movie, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off". Oddly enough the group never toured until 1991, years after they were relevant, then split up.
     The song itself was about Nick Drake, the British singer-songwriter of the early 70's. It's sound perfectly captured the melancholia of the tragically short life of Drake. It was a striking difference in sound from everything that was around it at the time, and of course like the best songs of any era, it cannot be pigeon-holed into a certain era.

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DeBarge--Rhythm of the Night (1985)

     Three of the DeBarge boys, Randy, Mark, and El, had been bouncing around different groups in Grand Rapids MI throughout the 70's when deciding to join forces along with older sister Bunny. Their older brothers, Tommy and Bobby were in the group Switch, which had done well by late in that decade. Thanks to family friend (and Switch bandmate) Gregory Williams who sent a demo of the fledgling group to Berry Gordy Jr., The DeBarges were signed to Motown in 1979.
     They spent over a year traveling with Switch learning about the business, from a musical and business standpoint. It was in 1981, when Tommy and Bobby joined their siblings in recording their debut album. The next year, 18 year old brother James joined the group, and also reached the charts that year. This began a three year stretch where they racked up 5 top 40 hits and three top 40 albums including their biggest hit in 1985.
     "Rhythm of the Night" was written by Diane Warren which was included in the Motown produced movie, "The Last Dragon". It was a top notch year for the group, which drew four singles, two of them reaching the top 10. Unfortunately, it was also a peak for the group. Although the next album was mainly a vehicle for El, who was not only emerging as a star, but because of drug problems, was also one of the most reliable, but that would soon change as well. Bunny was offered a solo contract as well, and by the end of the 80's the group had disbanded. The travails of the family has been well documented, but for a three year period they were on top of the heap.    

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Commodores--Night Shift (1985)

    By 1985, The Commodores were limping along. The move towards a more middle of the road R&B sound had alienated their fans who were used to the straight up funk of Machine Gun, Brick House, and Too Hot Ta Trot. Those who were a fans of Lionel Richie's ballads had already abandoned ship for the most part as well. as he crafted a very successful solo career throughout the 80's. They had not had a top 40 hit in 4 years, since 1981's, "Oh No".
     Having been moved to write a song in honor of Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson who both had passed the year before, "Nightshift" is a brilliant song that far outshown what the group had been doing since Ritchie left, and except for a couple of R&B hits over the next couple of years, would never do again. Am not a fan of 1980's production value overall, but just like Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight" and Joe Jackson's, "Stepping Out", the atmosphere of the song just lent an otherworldly feel that suited the lyrics perfectly. A more than fitting way for a band to bow out.

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a-ha -- Take On Me (1985)

     There was a day not so long ago that artists from around the world wanted to "make it" in the US music market. Although still true, there are many examples of artists who have become worldwide stars without a lot of help from the American listeners. A-ha is one of those groups. Obviously, "Take On Me" was a huge hit stateside, and it's follow up, "The Sun Always Shines On TV" was also in the top 20. After that however they fell off of the Billboard charts except for one more #50 showing in 1986 ("Cry Wolf")

      The song was released initially in 1984 and went nowhere outside of their native Norway. It was the next year, when coupled with a groundbreaking video directed by Steve Barron using pencil sketch/animation/live action combo called rotoscoping. It shot up #1 and the video still remains a favorite of 80s fans. For the US the ride was short, but in the rest of the world, A-ha was just getting warmed up as the group released a series of singles that went top ten in many markets all the way up to 2000, and even later in Norway and Germany. The group went on a four hiatus in the 90's and then regrouped again until final retirement last year.

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