"Don't Make Me Over" by Sybil

        Good evening, friends! Thanks for setting aside some time to tune your receivers to the Dial! Tonight we’ve pulled an overlooked and unfairly abandoned hit from the top 40 charts of yesteryear because that’s what we do best! Settle back for Sybil’s new jack swing treatment of a classic Hal David/Burt Bacharach composition, “Don’t Make Me Over”.

“Don't pick on the things I say, the things I do… Just love me with all my faults, the way I love you.  I'm begging you…” 

Marrying Hal and Burt’s classic lyrics describing a woman’s plea for acceptance following her confession of devotion to her lover, with the growing musical genre of new jack swing, “Don’t…” was the lead single from New Jersey based Sybil’s self-titled second LP, released in September of 1989.

New jack swing’s heyday was the late-80s through the mid-90s, and while it was firmly steeped in hip-hop, it also combined elements of classic R&B, contemporary dance pop, funk, jazz, and occasionally, electronica. Sybil’s cover is a mellow example of the genre, far removed from the more aggressive party anthem styles normally associated with the movement, such as Bell Biv Devoe's “Poison”, Color Me Badd’s “I Wanna Sex You Up”, or Bobby Brown's “My Prerogative”.

“Just take me inside your arms, and hold me tight. I'll always be by your side, whenever you're wrong or right... I'm begging you…"

“Don’t” is perhaps best known through its first recording, a slow R&B ballad rendition by soul legend Dionne Warwick, which peaked at US #21 pop and R&B #5 in 1963, however, other acts attempted to scale the Hot 100 with their own covers of the song as well. The first remake to chart was a doo-wop inspired version from 1970 by Brenda and the Tabulations, reaching #77 pop and #15 R&B. A decade later, Jennifer Warnes reached #67 pop with her 1980 soft rock remake. Sybil's interpretation was the fourth charting version of this venerable classic, and the highest charting one as well, at US #20 pop and #2 R&B, besting even Dionne’s classic oldie.

Sybil (full name: Sybil Lynch) ended up releasing mainly classic soul covers during her career, including her takes on Bill Withers' “Lovely Day”, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes' “The Love I Lost”, Al Green's “Tired of Being Alone”, and another David/Bacharach composition, also originally recorded by Warwick, “Walk on By”.

Why don’cha click on the window below and give Miss Lynch’s forgotten hit cover a spin? You may just discover a new favorite take on an old classic! And keep it tuned to the Dial for more great tunes that just don’t get played on current radio stations anymore. Kyle’s Radio Dial… The more you listen, the MORE you remember!

“Don't make me over, (Don't make me over)... Now that I'd do anything for you."

"Farewell My Summer Love" By Michael Jackson

       Greetings, friends! Tonight, we invite you to feast your ears on a modest hit from one of the '80s biggest superstars. A song that has an interesting backstory, despite being largely forgotten in the years since it's release. Read on for the legendary Michael Jackson's 1984 single “Farewell My Summer Love”!

“I found my happiest days... when you came to see your grandma in May,
I bumped into you by the corner store... I told you that you sure looked good, now.”

Since our previously spotlighted song featured vocals from one Janet Jackson, we naturally started thinking about the works of her iconic brother Michael, and what, if any songs of his could deserve a second look. The trouble is that MJ's music has been analyzed ad infinitum as he IS the undisputed “King of Pop”, after all. But then we remembered one track in particular...

Recorded in 1973 (when Mike was but a young lad of fourteen), and supposedly “lost” by Motown, then found and remixed in '84 with added modern instrumentation, “Farewell...” was the title cut from the album of the same name, which contained similarly updated archival material from early in Michael's career.

This was a clever case of Motown seeing an opening, and striking while the iron was hot. Seven (!) smash hit singles had already been extracted from Jackson's Thriller LP since it's November 1982 release, but even on legendary albums, the singles eventually dry up. By the spring of '84, the world was still firmly in the one-gloved grip of “Michael-mania”, but the man himself had no new material out there. So Motown, brilliantly I might add, filled that void with the “Farewell...” album. Unfortunately, the retro-bubble gum title track didn't continue Michael's domination of the top 10, and only peaked at US #38 pop and US #37 R&B. It did, however, do quite well in Europe, reaching UK #7.

“I'll never forget you... And maybe next year when you're out of school...
You'll return, but until you do, baby... Bye, bye, don't turn around... You might see me cry.”

The song follows a plot one might associate with an afterschool special of the era. Boy meets girl, enjoys a summertime romance, girl returns home as summer ends, guy longs for girl but realizes he probably won't see her again. As cliched as this story may be, nearly everyone can identify with it, as young loves often follow the pattern of what Michael sings about here.

I suspect had “Farewell...” been released back in '73, we would now be regarding it as one of Michael's early classics, like “Got to be There”, “Rockin' Robin'”, and “Ben”. But even though Motown's plan to dust off and modernize a classic Jackson cut was ambitious, the remixed track just didn't fit alongside the pioneering work he released on Thriller. It felt like a step backward, which unfairly reduced it to being an obscure 80s musical footnote. (despite being a catchy, guilty pleasure)

Ya know, it's about darn time we discussed some MJ here on the Dial. We've spotlighted the Jackson family rather often, as we've featured The Jacksons' “Torture”, Rebbie's “Centipede”, and our previous review, “Diamonds” by Herb Alpert which featured Janet on vocals. So now Michael finally earns his own spot on the Dial. Mike, this one goes out to you...

“Farewell my summer love, farewell... Girl I won't forget you,
Farewell, my summer love, farewell.”