"High on You" by Survivor

    Hello friends, it’s time once again to kick off a month with another memory jogging spotlight from the Radio Dial! For the start to October, we turn our attention to a top 10 hit from Chicago, IL based Survivor, and their mid ‘80s classic “High on You”!

 

"There you stood… that’ll teach her... to look so good and feel so right. Let me tell you ‘bout the girl I met last night…”

 

Survivor, an ‘80s classic rock mainstay,  features lead vocalist Jimi Jamison, bassist Stephan Ellis, and drummer Marc Droubay, with lead guitarist Frankie Sullivan and keyboardist Jim Peterik. Frankie and Jim are the songwriting team behind “High on You”, and many of Survivor’s other hits.

 

Reaching #8 on both the Hot 100, and the US Mainstream Rock charts in 1985, “High On You” was taken from Survivor’s 1984 LP Vital Signs, which also contained the power pop hit “I Can’t Hold Back” (#13), the tender ballad “The Search Is Over” (#4), and the minor entry “First Night” (US #53). Vital Signs leaned strongly toward the pop spectrum of rock, smoothing out the rougher sound of their earlier hits like “Poor Man’s Son”, and “Eye of the Tiger”, while staying firmly rooted in a “Journey meets Bryan Adams” arena rock sound.

 

A song about the intense attraction that results when two soulmates meet each other, the lyrics of “High on You” feature cinematic imagery like crashing crowds, secret sins, complete intoxication, and screaming in the night, culminating rather grandly in the refrain…

 

“Talkin’ to myself… runnin’ in the heat… begging for your touch in the middle of the street”

 

I was but a lad of eleven years old when this song was a hit, several years out from my own first love, so even though I understood the words to the song, I didn’t really understand them from a life experience standpoint. In fact, lines like “Now I’m screaming in the night” made me question whether EVERYBODY experiences over-the-top dramatic symptoms like that in EVERY romantic relationship.

 

Of course, I soon came to learn that the song was metaphorical, explaining the “in love” euphoria in terms of a drug high, and most of us, no matter HOW deep in love we are with another person, probably are NOT screaming in the night OR begging for their lovers’ touch in the middle of the street. However, I believe it was Bryan Ferry who taught us that “Love is the Drug”, so maybe there is something more to that metaphor after all.

 

Considering that some of my earliest impressions of romance was gleaned via listening to my Mom’s record collection which largely consisted of charming, but saccharine-sweet love songs by the likes of The Carpenters, Barry Manilow, and other sensitive pop stars, “High on You” was rather instrumental in making me view romantic relationships in a different light at the time.

 

I’d also like to point out that the thinly veiled double meaning of the line

“Let me tell you about the girl I HAD last night”

wasn’t lost on me entirely, either. Yes sir, “High on You” made me think about lots of things back then.

 

“Piercing eyes… like a raven… you seemed to share my secret sin…

We were high before the night started kickin' in..."

 

And so, I still return to this forgotten top 10 hit today, and consider it among my favorite Survivor tracks. Last month, I happened to catch it on the radio, after not hearing it over the airwaves since at least the 90s. I knew right away that this great track deserved the Radio Dial’s spotlight.

 

Check it out, and drop me a line if it brings back some happy ‘80s memories for you!

 

KYLE’S RADIO DIAL – The more you listen… the MORE you remember!

 

“I can’t stop thinkin’ about you girl… I must be living in a fantasy world… I’ve searched the whole world over… to find a heart so true… such complete intoxication… I’m high on you!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



"Sukiyaki" by A Taste of Honey

     Hello friends! Thanks for tuning into Kyle’s Radio Dial, the blog that reawakens your musical memories! Today, we turn our spotlight to an early ‘80s smooth R&B classic, itself a cover of an early ‘60s pop hit, which has inspired various future recordings beyond what the original authors intended. Get a glass of sake, settle into something comfy, and listen to A Taste of Honey and “Sukiyaki”. (hey... that rhymes rather nicely!)

 

“It’s all because of you… I’m feeling sad and blue…

You went away… now my life is just a rainy day…”

 

“Sukiyaki”, known in Japan as “Ue Wo Muite Aruko” (translating to “I Look Up As I Walk”), has enjoyed several U.S. top 10 versions. There’s the iconic original by Kyu Sakamoto, which topped the U.S. Hot 100 in 1963, and remains the only Japanese language song to have achieved such a feat on the U.S. charts. In 1994, R&B group 4 P.M. released a soulful rendition of the track, peaking at #8 on the Hot 100 in that year. But the version the Dial is spotlighting today is the early ‘80s hit cover by California based disco act A Taste of Honey.

 

Interestingly, A Taste of Honey’s cover bears a strong influence from traditional Japanese music due to band-member Hazel Payne’s playing of the koto, a traditional Japanese stringed instrument. By contrast, Sakamoto’s original drew its influences from American pop of the pre-British invasion era, and featured no instrumentation associated with The Far East.

 

“Untouchable memories… seem to keep haunting me…

Of love so true… that once turned all my gray skies blue...”

 

Released as a single in 1981, and reaching US #3 pop, US #1 R&B, and US #1 A/C, A Taste of Honey’s soulful reading of the track features  new lyrics which were not a translation of the Japanese originals. Instead the group’s vocalist Janice-Marie Johnson wrote new English words to fit the music, relating the story of a heartbroken woman pining for her former lover. The only Japanese word on the track is Janice’s whispered “Sayonara” which closes the song. It gets me every time… all the feels.

 

In order to clear the rewritten cover for inclusion on A Taste of Honey’s 1980 LP “Twice As Sweet”, the copyright holders of the original song stipulated that Johnson was not to receive songwriting credit or payment for her efforts.

 

No doubt the album sales of “Twice As Sweet” were largely driven by the success of the “Sukiyaki” single, (by far the biggest hit from the LP), so even if Janice wasn’t directly paid for her new English lyrics, you could argue that she indirectly was, since the LP probably wouldn’t have sold as well without the rewritten cover tune, resulting in a smaller paycheck for Janice overall.

 

“If only you were here… you’d wash away my tears…

The sun would shine… and once again, you’d be mine all mine…”

 

Then there’s the question as to if Johnson was able to get payment from groups that interpolated or sampled her lyrics in later recordings. Slick Rick’s 1985 hip hop classic “La Di Da Di” famously uses a verse of Janice’s lyrics, as does Snoop Dogg’s 1993 cover of the same tune. Other soul and hip hop artists including Salt N Pepa, Bone Thugs N Harmony, Mary J Blige, and Raphael Saadiq have interpolated portions of “Sukiyaki” in their own output as well, with Saadiq’s tune “Ask of You” having the greatest chart impact of this group, reaching US #19 pop and US #2 R&B in 1995. Unless I’m able to make contact with Janice directly, I doubt I’ll ever know for sure if she received any credit or royalties from these later recordings.

 

Typically, to accompany my reviews, I provide a link to the spotlighted song’s music video when available, but in this case, I’ve decided to provide footage of A Taste of Honey’s 1981 appearance on Soul Train. This lovely Japanese inspired performance of their classic hit is beautiful in any language, and let’s be honest here… Don Cornelius is just THAT SMOOTH. Enjoy… and, you’re welcome.

 

KYLE’S RADIO DIAL – The more you listen… the MORE you remember!

 

“But in reality… you and I will never be…

Cause you took your love away from me…

You took your love away from me…

Sayonara.”

 

"Love or Let Me Be Lonely" by Paul Davis

    Good morning, friends! Today, we point the Dial's receivers toward one of our favorite years to revisit, 1982, as we bring you Paul Davis' mellow hit "Love or Let Me Be Lonely".

“Oh, love… or let me be lonely… part time love I could find any day…”

Stalling at US pop #40, “Love…” was to be Davis’ final hot 100 entry, though it did reach as high as US #11 on the adult contemporary charts. It was the third and final single released from Paul’s 1981 Cool Night LP, as the smooth and romantic title track (US #11, AC #2), and the nostalgic “’65 Love Affair” (US #6, AC #5) preceded the release of “Love…”

 

A remake of a top 10 hit by The Friends of Distinction, the original was released in 1970, and featured a pop-soul arrangement very much in the style of The Fifth Dimension.

 

Davis’s 1982 cover accentuates the doo-wop style backing harmonies from the original, which might trick the unfamiliar listener into assuming that Paul is actually remaking a 1950’s pop song. He also slows the tempo a bit and changes the instrumentation toward a country informed soft rock sound, reducing the original’s sunny and poppy vibe, and revealing the lovelorn desperation behind the lyrics.

 

Despite its successes, Davis didn't appreciate the pure pop direction that his label Arista pushed him in with the Cool Night LP, so he declined to release any more albums of new material. Personally, I consider it a great album for fans of 80s pop and soft rock, and its hit tracks sound great alongside similar material of the era by the likes of Dan Fogelberg, Hall & Oates, Kenny Rogers, Alabama, Toto, and Ambrosia.

 

“So don’t defy… Mother Nature’s ways… make it a love… a love that’s here to stay.”

 

As the 80s rolled on, Paul made his mark in the country music field as a duet partner and songwriter with 1986’s “You’re Still New to Me” (with Marie Osmond) and 1988’s “I Won’t Take Less Than Your Love” (with Tanya Tucker and Paul Overstreet), both of which reached us #1 on the country singles chart. He also worked with Dan Seals, writing Dan’s country chart toppers “Meet Me In Montana” (’85), and “Bop” (’86), the latter of which just missed the top 40 at #41, and was spotlighted by our very own Radio Dial blog on October 7, 2013!

 

Years after the Cool Night LP had been deleted by Arista, I miraculously found a cassette copy of the album in a discount bin around 2002 at my local Meijer store. Yes, that late! It’s clear that the store was clearing out all of their remaining cassette tapes, and I normally wouldn’t have bothered to look, but I’m glad I did, as I snagged my own copy of this forgotten gem of 80s pop rock. I practically wore the tape out that summer too.

 

Sadly, Mr. Davis passed away one day after his 60th birthday, on April 22, 2008. We salute you, Paul, for the many classic tunes you gave us over the years, from your first hit “A Little Bit of Soap”, through “I Go Crazy” and “Sweet Life”, all the way up to your Cool Night singles, and your country contributions beyond. A hearty tip of the hat to you, sir, and much peace in the afterlife.

 

“I could live without love if I wanted to, in this lonely room…

But I don't want to so I leave it up to you to wash away my gloom."