Looking Back: Summer 1987

June

The summer of 1987 kicked off with several upbeat #1 hits. First their was Kim Wilde with her energetic remake of the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hanging On" followed by Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam's first and biggest #1 hit "Head to Toe." Both still sound great today.



Summer's biggest dance pop landed at #1 at the end of June, "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" by Whitney Houston. It was the first single from Whitney's second album, Whitney, and Houston's 4th consecutive #1 hit--a run that would last for three more singles, setting up a still unbroken record seven # hits in a row. "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" is tuneful, joyous, frothy pop at its best and remains one of my favorite singles from 1987. It was the year's fourth biggest hit. Check out her poodle 'do in the video.



Other big hits from June include Atlantic Starr's #1 ballad "Always," Genesis's fifth and final Invisible Touch single, "In Too Deep," and Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive." Somewhat forgotten it would seem was Herb Alpert Featuring Janet Jackson's top 10 hit "Diamonds" (video above). I hadn't even heard this song until recently, and it's not bad. It was produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, so musically it goes quite well along the Control singles of the era. This song is not available on iTunes and was not included on Janet Jackson's 1995 greatest hits collection.

July



With Whitney remaining at #1 for a second week, the only new #1 single for the month of July was "Alone" by Heart, which spent 3 weeks at #1 becoming the year's second biggest hit. It was heart's second (and last) #1 hit, following "These Dreams" from 1986. It's a great '80s big rock ballad.

Instrumental hits are rare, but Kenny G had one in 1987, "Songbird," his biggest single. Expose offered their second single, "Point of No Return;" better than "Come Go With Me," it became their second top 5 hit. The System offered poppy "Don't Disturb This Groove," which you wouldn't be faulted for thinking was titled "Hang This Sign Up on The Door."

August



August is key, for we're finally up to the point in 1987 that I started listening to popular music. And who was there to greet me at this critical juncture? Madonna of course, who had her 6th #1 with "Who's that Girl." The first of two US singles from the movie sountrack, "Who's that Girl" is slightly Spanish-influenced pure '80s dance pop, sounding similar to the music on her album from the previous year, True Blue. The video is one of Madonna's odder ones. She seems strangely serene for her, a frumpily dressed, and the clip seems more of an opportunity to showcase scenes from the film than scenes of her--something that future Madonna soundtrack singles would not do. While not a classic, it is a solid Madonna '80s single.

August had two other #1 hits, "Shakedown" by Bob Seger from the soundtrack to Beverly Hills Cop II, one of the year's biggest hit movies, and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," U2's second #1 hit of the year and a Grammy nominee for record of the year. Like "With or Without You" it's a slow burning rock track that doesn't grab you at first, but sinks in after repeat listens.



"I Want Your Sex" was the height of controversy in 1987. George Michael's first single from his solo debut, Faith, the track and its sexy video pushed the limit of acceptable raciness. A closer listen to the lyrics though shows that those who criticized it probably weren't playing close attention--the song is a celebration of the joy of sex in a committed relationship ("Sex is best when it's one one one"), with Michael writing "explore monogamy" in lipstick on a model. Of course we since learned that he didn't actually want her sex, but that's a story for later.

August was indeed a busy month. Other notable tracks include Suzanne Vega's domestic abuse story, "Luka," also a Grammy nominee for record of the year; "Heart & Soul" by T'Pau, a band named after a Vulcan priestess from Star Trek; "The Pleasure Principle," Janet Jackson's final Control single; Jet's "Cross My Broken Heart"; and "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You," Gloria Estefan's first Let it Loose single, one of four from that album to hit the top 10.

Looking Back: May 1987

May's big hit in 1987 was "With or Without You," U2's first single from The Joshua Tree, which history has judged as "the" classic U2 album. The album, fueled by this #1 hit and follow-up #1 single "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," solidified U2 in the U.S. and worldwide as a rock sensation. Personally, I find the song a bit dull, but It's never been personal favorite. The band looks so young in the video.



Also hitting #1 in May was The Cutting Crew with "(I Just) Died in Your Arms." The British band almost qualified as a one-hit-wonder, save for the fact that they followed this with a top 10 hit that no one remembers. This song is okay, not great.



My favorite song from this month has to be the debut single from Jody Watley, "Looking for a New Love." The song has a lot of energy, and Watley sounds great. It's really too bad she couldn't sustain her fame, because she was pretty good. She did win the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1987. The low-budget video is fairly silly though.



May also saw the release of Madonna's fifth and final True Blue single, "La Isla Bonita." It became her 11th consecutive top 5 hit. The breezy ballad, while not a personal favorite, is decent enough and holds up well.



Bryan Adams was in the top 10 with "Heat of the Night," the first and only top 10 hit from his album Into the Fire. His next album, 1991's Waking Up the Neighbours, would be more successful. The song's actually pretty decent. Finally, Chris DeBurgh hit the top 10 with his slow-dance classic "Lady in Red."

Looking Back: April 1987

I'm behind on my 1987 reviews, but I'm going to catch up. Here's April:

The best thing about April 1987 was Starship's (a.k.a. Jefferson Starship) "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now." The #1 hit was one of the year's biggest, embodies the late '80s rockish-pop sound perfectly, and is taken from the soundtrack to one of those quintessentially late '80s movies, Mannequin. The video is made up entirely of clips from the film, and in fact, tells the movie's whole story.



The month's other big #1 hit was George Michael & Aretha Franklin's "Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)." The single appears to be a one-off project, as it is not tied to an album by either Michael or Franklin. George Michael would be back in a few months with the lead single from his forthcoming debut solo album Faith, "I Want Your Sex." Following "Careless Whisper," it was his second #1 solo hit.



"Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" was the fourth Genesis single from Invisible Touch, and my personal favorite by them. It's a cool song, with a great production, slightly sinister with hard percussive elements. The video matches the mood well.



American girl group Exposé hit the top 5 with their first single, "Come Go With Me," with epitomized the dance pop sound of the group. Not bad, but better singles would follow. Crowded House hit the top 10 with snoozer ballad "Don't Dream It's Over." And Prince was in the top 10 with "Sign 'O' the Times."

Lookin Back: March 1987

Club Nouveau's "Lean on Me" was the big hit of March 1987. I remember this song being very popular, but frankly it doesn't hold up. It's okay, but too repetitive. It was their only major hit.

Huey Lewis & The News has its third #1 hit with "Jacob's Ladder," which is a pretty typical example of late '80s pop/rock. Not bad, but not that memorable.

Probably the most interesting single from March 1987 was Janet Jackson's "Let's Wait Awhile," the fifth Control single. By 1993 she'd want it "Any Time, Any Place," but this ballad was a blunt message for sexual abstinence. It's hard to remember a time when sex-obsessed Jackson didn't want to do it, which makes this single refreshing when compared to her more recent works like "Throb," "Moist," "When We Oooh," "Sexhibition," "Rope Burn," Etc. The song Also had a lovely black & white video with a new mix of the song. It's even letterboxed, who was doing that back then?



In contrast, the Jets' "You Got It All" has an exceedingly silly video, set in a diner, with the waitress doing the singing. The fashions are fantastic. This is actually a pretty good song--a great typically '80s ballad.



Yet another ballad was big in March, Linda Ronstadt & James Ingram's "Somewhere Out There" from the film An American Tail. It sounds just a little too slow now. The Beastie Boys had their first and biggest hit, "You Gotta Fight for Your Right to Party." Bruce Hornsby hit the top 10 with the lovely "Mandolin Rain," which sounds a lot like his bigger previous hit "The Way It Is." Finally, Peter Gabriel was in the top 10 with "Big Time."

Looking Back: February 1987

February 1987 brought one of the year's biggest hits, Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer," the band's second single from their breakthough album Slippery When Wet, and their and second and ultimately biggest #1 hit, spending 4 weeks at the top. Listening to this song now, it sounds so dated, with rock music going through some big changes in the '90s, largely influenced by grunge pioneers like Nirvana. The "wow wow" sound effect is particularly interesting.

Madonna's fourth True Blue single, "Open Your Heart," became her fifth #1 hit in February, and came packaged with one of her most provocative '80s videos, which followed an adolescent boy lusting for a peepshow stripper. Madonna of course played the stripper, entertaining club patrons first before dancing away into the night with the boy.

My favorite discovery of revisiting February 1987 is Cyndi Lauper's "Change of Heart." I'd never heard this song before, and It's pretty cool. I love the hard drumming and prominent bass keyboards. The song was the follow-up to her 1986 #1 hit "True Colors." She would have only one more top 10 single.

Not much else of interest from the month. Chicago had an Air Supply-sounding ballad, "Will You Still Lvoe Me," Southern rockers Georgia Satellites hit #2 with "Keep Your Hands to Yourself," and Samantha Fox tried to raise heart rates with her dated dance pop "Touch Me (I Want Your Body)"

Looking Back: January 1987

1987 was the year I first started listening to popular music, and in honor of that 20-year anniversary, I've decided to take a monthly look back at what was popular that year. An important caveat though is that I didn't actually start listening until August of 1987, but still, much of what was popular that year I've come to know.

January 1987

Unfortunately, this is kind of a slow start, as the two biggest songs of January '87 haven't proven to be timeless classics, although they are good songs: "Shake You Down," an R&B ballad by Gregory Abbott, and "At This Moment" a traditional pop ballad by Billy Vera and the Beaters. Albeit for a couple of minor follow-ups, it's safe to say these guys were both one-hit wonders. "At This Moment" is notable for becoming popular after serving as a love theme for Alex P. Keaton's first major romance on Family Ties.



Probably the most memorable song from January of 1987 is Janet Jackson's "Control," the title track and fourth single from Control, all of which up to this point made the top 5. "Control" was a rallying cry for female independence, and amidst the R&B balladry and hair band rock of '87, still sounds fresh today--way fresher than the music Janet Jackson records now. The video (below) plays like a short film.



Also notable was Genesis' third Invisible Touch single, "Land of Confusion." It was the album's third straight top 5 hit--two more would follow later in the year. The song has one of the '80s most memorable videos, featuring truly creepy puppets, including two that look suspicously like a former president and first lady, as well as a handful of other then-current world leaders.



Finally, there was the debut single from Robbie Nevil, "C'est La Vie," which he was never able to follow-up successfully, and Duran Duran's "Notorious," a #2 hit and their first single since their 1985 #1 single, "A View to a Kill."