another reason to love Anderson Cooper

August 08, 2008 Earworm

Stephen Bray and Madonna where cranking out so many tunes in the mid-eighties that they had to start throwing them at other people. One lucky recipient was the UK face of 1985, Nick Kamen. Thanks to a sexy Levi's 501 ad where he stripped down to his boxers and socks, the cover boy of The Face achieved a lascivious level of infamy and someone had the bright idea of a career in pop music. Possessing just the sort of look that left Madonna weak in the knees, she and Bray offered up "Each Time You Break My Heart", a song that sounds like an out-take from "True Blue". To ensure a smooth transition to the charts, Madonna co-produced and left her backing vocals entact. Triangulating six degrees, her co-star from the "Open Your Heart" video, little Felix Howard - another face from The Face, in a small supporting "huh?" role for the video that seems to take place in a gay bar in Boy's Town just before opening time where a captive audience is forced to admire Nick's total embodiment of what was once called the Buffalo look. And yes, there are plenty of stances...

"Each Time You Break My Heart" hit the UK top ten but couldn't move its way beyond the US Dance chart but did find a welcoming home here in earworm central where memories of Kenny singing "Today I Met The Boy I'm Gonna Marry" every time he saw Nick's face keep it in periodic rotation.

If you ever wondered what happened to that little boy from Madonna's video, check fine print of your Kylie Minogue and Amy Winehouse discs. Sadly, that's one pretty face that didn't age well. Last news of Nick was that he's traveling in India, suggesting that a sheep farm may not have happened.


Nick Kamen's biggest hit:


Nick Kamen's other hit:

August 07, 2008 Earworm

One day I'm doing laundry while listening to a Bert Berns collection and then another day I'm reading an email about P.F. Sloan and one thing leads to another and the two experiences meet up on Challenge single 59275. It's there that Yvonne Carroll followed up her P.F. Sloan/Steve Barri composed "Please Don't Go" with a cover of "A Little Bit of Soap", the Jarmels' hit composed by Bert Berns.

Having known that Jarmels single for nearly as long as I've been alive, I'm surprised to find that Yvonne's version has become my favorite over the past few years. There's a lot of pride in her delivery and the band's majesty is crowned with the horn flourishes.

Props must be given to Bert Berns for a composition that can handle such disparate arrangements that includes a Nigel Olsen cover and, of course, for gracefully making room for all five syllables of the word "e-ven-tu-al-ly".

I don't know much about Yvonne Carroll and haven't been able to locate a photograph of her but it's been said that she never made a bad record and, from the few that I've heard, I tend to agree.

August 06, 2008 Earworm

Today's earworm is Yello's 1981 ode to machinery, "Bostitch", because it sounds like it's running at just about the same speed as me. I'm gonna win the race. Oh yeah!

August 02, 2008 Earworm

Like cole slaw, Connie Francis deserves a second chance, and I've been saying so for years. For every inanity such as "Lipstick On Your Collar" there is a "Fallin'" and for every overblown ballad like "Where The Boys Are", there is something like "You're Gonna Miss Me". To find the treasures amongst the dross, you only have to look at the lower end of her chart placements.

"You're Gonna Miss Me" almost closed out 1959 on a downward turn, peaking only at #34, so MGM rushed out the schmaltz of "Among My Souvenirs" in November which, of course, reached the top ten. More's the pity for the general public who failed to notice the knowing smirk in Connie's voice that not only suggested that she had a secret but that you'd never believe where she was keeping it.

But the public seemed to prefer not knowing that Connie was a woman, wishing to keep a pure - and eventually puerile - image prime for victimization during the dangerous days of hot rod delinquency and the morals of America's future being shaken free by the hips of Elvis Presley. That the events of her life - a brutal rape, as yet unsolved after thirty four years, and the bouts of paranoia and depression that followed and persist to this day - completed the image that her audience craved is the cruelest cut of all.

Miss Francis was rushed to hospital on July 23rd, one hour before the curtain was to rise on her Westbury, NY show. While the details are sketchy, doctors say the 70 year old woman is resting comfortably and receiving the best of care...

August 04, 2008 Earworm

Two years and a few days ago, the earworm kicked off talking about White Whale singles: the second of which was "The Habit of Loving You" by Nino and April, their follow up to todays earworm, "All Strung Out". The drug metaphors in both singles are apt as both singles, once you get beyond the strangeness of them, are extremely addictive.

Nino once noted that it was Bones Howe who finally made sense of the many extremes that make up "All Strung Out" - the Spectorisms, the MOR backing vocals, the doo wop on a surfboard moment that ends the first chorus... - and to many, he didn't do that great of a job. But most naysayers do agree that the final product goes a long way in washing away the stench of "Deep Purple". But I'm not a naysayer and I find "Deep Purple" charming and I also think that the best thing about "All Strung Out" is its precariously balanced arrangement because love and addiction both put us in a situation where we're not on solid ground and are sometimes willing to accept less than top grade dosages if it will only quell our desires.

Like a good buzz, "All Strung Out" spread slowly across the country in 1966, peaking at different times and places but only making it as high as #26 on the big chart. I've not found a copy in too many record collections which makes me even more impressed when I find somebody who is actually holding.