We counted over 600 of your votes for the best songs of 1984 from your feedback cards a few issues ago, and set Mike Arato, John Matarazzo and Raul Rodriguez to work knitting the winners together. The result is 21 top songs of 1984 in a 15 minute set, jam-packed with overlays and an energy level which won't stop. "Somebody Else's Guy" by Jocelyn Brown starts it out, and the Pointer Sisters have the last word with "Jump." Electronic rhythm and sound are now integrated into practically all of the selections, and there were more songs in the lower 100-120 BPM range than during the recent past… reflecting black/urban radio's growing dominance of what gets played in the clubs. The flow and pace throughout the set keep moving, and should become a real crowd-pleaser for you.
All of the songs in order of play:
Song | Artist | Courtesy 1984 | Writer(s) |
---|---|---|---|
"Somebody Else's Guy" | Jocelyn Brown | Vinyl Dreams | J.Brown |
"Dance Hall Days" | Wang Chung | Geffen/WB | Hues |
"Self Control" | Laura Branigan | Atlantic | G.Bigazzi-R.Riefoli-S.Piccolo |
"The Dominatrix Sleeps Tonight" | Dominatrix | rOAr | S.Arbright-K.Lockie |
"Jam On It" | Newcleus | Sunnyview | M.B.Cenac |
"Watch The Closing Doors" | I.R.T. | RCA | R.Klein-V.Germaise-R.Rodriguez |
"Carribean Queen" | Billy Ocean | Jive/Arista | K.Diamond-B.Ocean |
"Relax" | Frankie Goes To Hollywood | ZTT/Island | Johnson-O'Toole-Gill |
"Lucky Star" | Madonna | Sire/WB (1983) | Madonna |
"Give Me Tonight" | Shannon | Emergency | C.Barbosa-E.Chisolm |
"Swept Away" | Diana Ross | RCA | D.Hall-S.Allen-D.Ross |
"Girls Just Want To Have Fun" | Cyndi Lauper | CBS/Portrait (1983) | R.Hazard |
"Dr. Beat" | Miami Sound Machine | CBS/Epic | E.E.Garcia |
"Din Daa Daa" | George Krantz | Chris Music/Personal (1983) | G.Krantz |
"I Feel For You" | Chaka Khan | Warner Bros. | Prince |
"When Doves Cry" | Prince | Warner Bros. | Prince |
"The Glamorous Life | Sheila E. | Warner Bros. | Sheila E. |
"I Need A Man In My Life" | Katie Kissoon | Jive/Arista | K.Gold-M.Denne |
"Destiny" | Two Sisters | Sugarscoop | T.Pesco-R.A.Rodriguez |
"Two Tribes" | Frankie Goes To Hollywood | ZTT/Island | Gill-Johnson-O'Toole |
"Jump" | Pointer Sisters | Planet/RCA (1983) | M.Sharron-S.Mitchell-G.Skardina |
SPECIAL NOTE TO DJs: Side A runs 15:07, from 104 BPM (beats per minute) to 136 with a dead end.
LeFoxxe is a group of foxxy ladies from New York, and their debut single for Pelstar is called "French Kiss." Mitchel Bachet wrote and produced the song, which was edited by Chris Barbosa. The commercial vocal and dub 12" have been combined here into a special extended version, complete with an overlayable intro and extra breaks. The overall production is pretty slick, and the hookline on target so watch this one go!
Michelle Wallace is next with "You Ought To Know." Michelle is from Boston, and her three Top 10 dance songs ("Happy Days", "It's Right" and "Jazzy Rhythm") probably make her name and voice familiar to you. Richard Bassoff wrote the song, which he produced with Nicky Braddy and Fred McFarlane. Chris Alge did the mix at Unique in New York.
SPECIAL NOTE TO DJs: Side B runs 12:33, from 120 to 121 BPM.
Betty Wright is back with another hit called "Sinderella." This girl can't keep her men straight, and the glass slipper is fitting so well on dance floors from coast to coast. Joe Venneri and Gary Rottger produced, with Jay Mark engineering at Sigma Sound and Jonathan Fearing doing the vocal and dub mix (which have been combined here in this extended version) for the Jamaica commercial 12".
Harold Faltermeyer, Giorgio's protegé-par-excellence, is next with "Stolen Secrets" from the "Thief Of Hearts" original soundtrack album on Casablanca. The intro does magic with Betty Wright's accapella ending, and once the song kicks in, it has dance drive for days. We've added some breaks along the way to the album version.
SPECIAL NOTE TO DJs: Bonus Side 1 runs 16:42, from 131 BPM to 135.
Felecia Harte was born and raised in San Francisco, and has been performing professionally for six years. Her first release ("My Mystical Fire") made some waves in the Bay Area, and she's back with more dance excitement with a new song called "The Pleasure And The Pain." Multi-talented Felecia wrote and produced for Torch.
Model is next with "Love Me." Man Parrish produced the group, and shares writing credit with Beth and Mike Rudetsky. The happy, energetic synth lines are reminescent of "Heatstroke", and the drum breaks indicate clearly that this was a Raul Dance Mix done at Man Made Productions in New York. They'll be humming it after just a few plays.
SPECIAL NOTE TO DJs: Bonus Side 2 runs 12:47, from 127 BPM to 135.
Randy Rider wins the LCD chronograph. Randy plays at The Copa in Houston, TX, and his pressing serial number on Program 6 (#399) matched the lucky winning number for that program. Randy's favorite selections were The Madonna Medley, "Let The Night Take The Blame", "Neutron Dance" and "Let Me Feel It." We've sent Randy the watch that does practically everything. To win the watch, return the postpaid feedback card and include your serial number shown on the upper right hand corner of your Side A/Side B record jacket.