"Piece of My Heart" by Faith Hill

    Hi everyone, thanks for checking out the Radio Dial today, the first day of December! The featured track that we are cueing up on our CD Walkman right now is a mid ‘90s country rendition of a classic blues rock tune, which served as one of the first hits for a future superstar of her genre. It’s time to put on your cowboy boots and leather fringe jackets for Faith Hill and “Piece of my Heart”!

“Didn’t I make you feel… like you were the only man…”

Most famously associated with Janis Joplin and her band Big Brother and the Holding Company, Joplin’s screaming blues version from 1968 hit US #12 on the pop charts and has gone on to be recognized as a highly influential classic. What many folks don’t realize though, is how many times the song has charted in the US by different artists of disparate genres.

The original was recorded by soul singer Erma Franklin (Aretha’s sister) and predated Joplin’s hit by one year in 1967, peaking at #62 pop and #10 R&B.

Then as the years rolled on, additional artists followed Erma and Janis attempting to strike gold with the track. This included Etta James’ 1978 soulful take, followed by Sammy “The Red Rocker” Hagar in 1982 (whom hit #73 on the hot 100 with his hard rock interpretation), “mall reggae” artist Shaggy’s 1997 version, and the most recent version, a live medley coupled with Joplin’s “Cry Baby”, as recorded by Melissa Etheridge and Joss Stone, a US #32 in 2005.

“Each time I tell myself I think I’ve had enough… well I’m gonna show you baby that a woman can be tough.”

But the most successful modern version following Janis came courtesy of Miss Faith Hill! Taken from her 1993 debut Take Me as I Am, the album introduced us to the sweet angelic nature of this “Mississippi Girl” (see what I did there?), and the future Mrs. Tim McGraw. Faith scored four top 40 country hits from this debut LP, including “Piece”, and “Wild One”, both of which topped the country singles charts, though neither track crossed over to pop. Faith would experience her much deserved pop breakthrough with 1998’s “This Kiss”, a US Pop #7, US Country #1, and even a UK #13, a rare feat for an American country artist to chart that highly in the UK.

I had always wished that “Piece...” would've been pushed to top 40 radio, provided that it received more of a pop radio remix, of course. Country crossover was really starting to come back into vogue then (Shania was on the verge of hitting it big), and maybe if done right, “Piece…” could have been the song to kickstart Faith’s pop music career.

“You’re out on the street lookin’ good… baby deep down in your heart you know that it ain’t right.”

The music video shows Faith catching her boyfriend flirting with another girl, causing her and her friends to leave angrily, only to frequently cross paths at various locals with the boyfriend and his douchey pals. Especially that jerk with the baseball cap. What a dillweed. You'll see what I mean. You’ll hate him too.

Eventually this leads to a confrontation where Faith stands up to the guy, seemingly asserting her frustration to him, although at this point in the song, she is actually telling him to break another little piece of her heart, because in the words of the song… “you know you got it, if it makes you feel good.”

Seems like mixed signals to me. Is she mad, and fed up with his behavior, finally giving him an ultimatum that his loyalties better stay with her, or else? Or is she resigned to her fate of staying with this jerk, but is dealing with it light-heartedly as best she can? Perhaps she isn’t sure herself… Faith… why are you so conflicted????

Now, it’s a little unfair to compare her sunny version of the tune to the legendary earlier versions. Faith’s rendition doesn't have Erma's pained soulful delivery, or Janis' bluesy gut wrenching grit... but it is a worthwhile cover that interprets a more playful lean into the lyrics (with just a hint of bubblegum pop), which fits quite nicely with Faith's style.

“Each time I tell myself that I can’t stand the pain… you hold me in your arms and I start singin’ once again”

So click on the video below and settle in for a very different take on an old classic. We have Faith (yeah, I know…) that you’ll be bopping along by the time the second verse begins. But…it’s okay if you want to smack "baseball cap guy". I understand.

“So come on… come on… come on and take it.

Take another little piece of my heart now baby.”



"Dream A Little Dream" by Mickey Thomas

    Hello friends! A Jefferson Starship vocalist, two teen idols with the same first name, and a modern cover of a pop standard that should have been a top 10 hit, yet never was released as a single. That’s the recipe for today’s spotlighted tune, Mickey Thomas’ 1989 soundtrack contribution “Dream a Little Dream”.

“Stars shining bright above you… night breezes seem to whisper ‘I love you’…”

“Dream a Little Dream” (the movie), starring the two Coreys (Haim and Feldman…like you didn’t know that), the beauteous Meredith Salenger, and Hollywood icons Harry Dean Stanton and Jason Robards, was one of many teen comedies of the ‘80s involving people swapping bodies. This is to mean that person A’s personality was transferred to person B’s body, and vice versa. In fact, “Vice Versa” was another movie of this genre, along with “Freaky Friday”, “Like Father, Like Son”, and “18 Again”!

“Dream a Little Dream” (the song), is an American pop standard written in 1931 by Gus Kahn, Fabian Andre and Wilbur Schwandt, possessing sweet, poetic lyrics which harken back to a classier time which placed greater emphasis on etiquette and romance than in today’s often crass society. The first version of this timeless tune appeared in the same year as its composure as recorded by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra, with Ozzie being best known to folks of my generation through repeats of the classic sitcom “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” – thanks Disney Channel!

The only charting versions to date were a pair of competing recordings released in 1950 by Frankie Laine, and Jack Owens (whom hit #18, and #14, respectively), and then by the oddly credited “Mama Cass with the Mamas & the Papas” (when it was actually a true M&P group recording), which hit #12 in 1968.

“Say ‘Good Night’ and kiss me… just hold me tight and tell me you’ll miss me…”

“Dream a Little Dream” (the soundtrack), featured two versions of this classic tune, the first recorded by (Jefferson) Starship vocalist Mickey Thomas as a solo recording, and the other as a duet between Thomas and swing jazz legend Mel Torme, a.k.a. “The Velvet Fog”. The solo Thomas version sounds much like his Starship material of the time... minus vocals from Grace Slick that is. The duet version is taken at a slightly slower tempo, and has more of a jazz influence befitting Torme, though it is still unquestionably a pop/rock rendition contemporary with late 80s pop sounds.

Given that pop radio was very receptive to remakes in the late 80s, (remember big hits like Simply Red’s “If you Don’t Know Me By Now”, The Bangles “Hazy Shade of Winter”, Cheap Trick’s “Don’t Be Cruel”, and Poison’s “Your Momma Don’t Dance”), and the fact that the soundtrack already produced a #1 hit single in Michael Damian’s cover of David Essex’s 1973 hit “Rock On”, “Dream” should have been a natural choice for a follow up single. A missed opportunity by the record label to be sure.

Had “Dream” been issued a single, and amassed some decent chart success, it would have joined the ranks of Falco's "Puttin’ on the Ritz", and David Lee Roth's "Just A Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody" as classic pre-rock era songs that become hits again in the ‘80s. But alas, ‘twas not to be.

“Stars fading, but I linger on, dear… still craving your kiss.”

Below I’ve posted both versions so you can decide for yourself which one would have had a better shot at top 40 success. For now, we’ll just have to enjoy them here, and wonder what could have been.

And from all of us here at the Radio Dial, Happy Thanksgiving! Thanks for checking in on our little parcel on the internet from time to time, we really appreciate YOU! And save a little bit of the cranberry sauce for us… that stuff is killer!

“Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you… sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you…

But in your dreams whatever they be... dream a little dream of me!"

  

 

 

 

 

 





"Eyes without a Face" by Billy Idol

   Happy November, friends! Today, the Dial turns its receiver to capture a signal containing a huge hit from one of the ‘80s most dynamic rockers, a song that seems to have been forgotten by current radio programmers, at least in my personal experience. Turn the calendars back to 1984 for William Michael Albert Broad (we know him as Billy Idol), and his “Eyes without a Face”!

“I’m all out of hope… one more bad dream, could bring a fall…”

“Eyes” was the highest charting single extracted from Idol’s third LP, 1984’s Rebel Yell, reaching US #4 pop, US #5 rock, and UK #18. It would also prove to be Billy’s third biggest hit in the US overall, following 1987’s live rendition of “Mony Mony”, and 1990’s “Cradle of Love”, #1 and #2 pop hits, respectively.

With lyrics concerning a collapsing romance, “Eyes” introduces the listener to a man whom is accusing his lady of being deceitful. He admits he is still in love with the woman he used to know (and that she used to be), even as he acknowledges that the love has gone from her eyes. Even still, the woman continues to have a kind of mental and emotional hold over him.

Eventually, he snaps, and makes some very questionable choices, involving robbery, car theft, drinking and using drugs, and reading what he terms to be “murder books” (!!!), which culminates in him threatening the woman by repeating the line “Say your prayers…” ominously. And all of that happens in the bridge section of the song! *shudder*

“When I’m far from home… don’t call me on the phone… to tell me you’re alone.”

Billy’s expert blend of synthpop and hard rock possesses a brooding and mysterious tone, which is echoed in Idol’s resigned delivery, and a spooky call and response section in the chorus from Perri Lister, Idol’s girlfriend of the time.

In fact, concerning that call and response… Perri is singing a line in French, “Les Yeux Sans Visage”, which is the exact translation of “Eyes without a Face”.

However, for years, I misheard the line as this English sentence…

“Last year’s all we’ve got.”

Since I didn’t own the album, or the lyrics sheet, nor did I hear any disc jockeys mention that the woman was singing in French, my ears interpreted the French words into an English line that seemed to fit the content of the song.

I was sure this meant the woman was trying to let Billy’s character down easy by stating that their time as a couple was in the past, and that they have no future together. Even now, when I listen to “Eyes”, I still hear the line as my original interpretation… old habits die hard, I suppose.

Anyway, I consider “Eyes without a Face” to be Idol’s greatest single, but I rarely catch it on the radio, hence the Radio Dial spotlight. However, I've noticed that it is starting to pick back up on my local Columbus Ohio classic hits and classic rock radio stations. It's still not a common song to hear, but it's nice that it's added back into the playlists.

“Now I close my eyes and I wonder why… I don’t despise…
Now all I can do, is love what was once, so alive in you."

So, take a flashback to one of the more unique sounding top 10 hits of ’84, and click the video below. And while you watch that, consider this… reportedly due to the harsh conditions of the music video shoot, Billy’s contact lenses fused to his eyeballs (!!!!), which necessitated surgery to remove them! This left his eyes bandaged for three days, creating an easy joke regarding how “Eyes without a Face” resulted in a “Face without Eyes”… but I shall take the high road here. (Except I really didn’t… Sorry.)

Anyway, stay tuned to the Dial later this month for a contemporary pop treatment of a 1930’s American standard, featured as the theme song to a late ‘80s teen movie!

Kyle’s Radio Dial… The more you listen, the MORE you remember!

“Eyes without a face… got no human grace… your eyes without a face.”