70's, 80's 'Feel Good' Music

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Drive" is a 1984 song by The Cars, the third single from the band's Heartbeat City album and their biggest international hit. It was written by Ric Ocasek and produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange with the band. Lead vocals were sung by Cars bassist Benjamin Orr.
"Drive" was The Cars' highest charting single in the United States, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. On the Adult Contemporary chart, the song went to number one. It reached number five in the UK Singles Chart on its initial release; following its use at the Live Aid concert in 1985 as the background music to a montage of clips showing poverty-stricken Africa, the song was re-released and peaked at number four. It reached number four in West Germany and number six in Canada.
In a retrospective review of the single, Allmusic journalist Donald A. Guarisco praised the song for being "a gorgeous ballad that matches heartfelt songwriting to an alluring electronic soundscape. The music reflects the lyrical tone with a lovely melody that rises and falls in a soothing yet sad fashion."

The Cars - Drive

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"Still Loving You" is a power ballad by Scorpions from their 1984 album Love at First Sting. It was the second single of the album, reaching #64 on Billboard Hot 100. In France, the single sold 1.7 million copies.

Scorpions – Still loving you

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"I Was Made for Lovin' You" is a song by American hard rock band Kiss, originally released on their 1979 album Dynasty. It was released as the A-side of their first single from the album, on the B-side was "Hard Times".
It was the band's second Gold single, selling over 1 million copies. The single was certified Gold in the US on August 16, 1979, and in Canada on August 1, 1979.
"I Was Made for Lovin' You" draws heavily from the disco style that was popular in the US in the late 1970s. Paul Stanley, who co-wrote the song with Desmond Child and Vini Poncia, has stated that it was a conscious effort on his part to prove how easy it was to write and record a hit disco song.

Kiss - I Was Made For Lovin You

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[scbccb]

Foreigner went into the studio with producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange, best known at the time as producer of hard rock band AC/DC. Foreigner's sound wasn't quite as heavy, and the band worked with then-unknown Thomas Dolby to program and play synthesizer. Dolby's work can be heard on "Urgent", along with a saxophone solo by Motown great Junior Walker.

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Marty Balin (born Martyn Jerel Buchwald; January 30, 1942) is an American musician. He is best known as the founder and one of the lead singers of the psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane and its spin-off Jefferson Starship.
In 1981, he released his first solo album, Balin, featuring two Top 40 hits, "Hearts" (#8) and "Atlanta Lady" (#27).

Marty Balin - Hearts

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Waiting For a Star to Fall is a song released by the pop duo Boy Meets Girl in 1988. It was a worldwide hit, and became the duo's signature song.
The song was inspired by an actual falling star that Shannon Rubicam had seen at one of Whitney Houston's concerts at the Greek Theatre. Initially the duo did not consider to record it, and instead submitted the song to Clive Davis for consideration on Houston's next album, but he rejected it, alleging that it didn't suit her. The song was then offered and recorded by Belinda Carlisle for her 1987 release Heaven On Earth at the insistence of her label. But Carlisle disliked the song, and she ultimately refused to include it on the album, though it has circulated in her trading circles for years on a disc of that album's outtakes.
Merrill and Rubicam decided to record the song themselves for their second album Reel Life. Released as a single on June 10, 1988, the song became a hit in the United States, slowly climbing the charts and eventually reaching #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December, and #1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart. Released in the UK on November 30, 1988, the song reached number 9 in the UK charts during January 1989, having entered the chart in December 1988. It also reached #35 on Australia's ARIA Charts in April 1989.
The song was used as the closing track to the 1990 movie Three Men and a Little Lady, and the single was re-released as a movie tie-in, with a new picture sleeve featuring the actors of the film. It peaked at #76 in the UK.
Johnny Loftus of Allmusic remarked that the song was "just classic", and that "the urgency as it drives toward its chorus is a clinic for durable songwriting."

Boy Meets Girl -- Waiting For A Star To Fall

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"You Light Up My Life" is a ballad written by Joe Brooks, and originally recorded by Kasey Cisyk for the soundtrack to the film of the same name. The song was lip synched in the film by its lead, Didi Conn.
Later, Debby Boone, Pat Boone's daughter, recorded the single, which became an enormous success, topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart for a (then) record-setting ten consecutive weeks. It became the most successful single of the 1970s in the United States, and set a new Hot 100 record for longest reign at No. 1. (Elvis Presley's double-sided "Don't Be Cruel/Hound Dog", then recognized as the longest-running No. 1 of the rock era, spent eleven weeks atop the Billboard Best Sellers chart in 1956, before the debut of the Hot 100.) The record was matched in 1982 by Olivia Newton-John's "Physical", but never surpassed until a 1991 change in chart methodology allowed songs to achieve longer reigns at No.1 ("End of the Road" by Boyz II Men set the new record, thirteen weeks). The single, which was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), also hit #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and reached #4 on the Country chart. The single peaked at #48 in the UK Singles Chart.
Although it was written by Brooks as a love song, the devout Boone interpreted it as inspirational and proclaimed that it was instead God who "lit up her life." This fact was later alluded to when the song appeared in an episode of The Simpsons.
Cisyk's original soundtrack recording was released as a single to bolster sales of the soundtrack, after Boone included her version on her first solo album also entitled You Light Up My Life. (Although the soundtrack was certified gold, peaking at No. 17 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, it never included Boone's version of the song.) Cisyk's single was credited to "Original Cast", not to Cisyk herself, and only reached No. 80 on the Billboard Hot 100. Brooks also released an instrumental version of the song from the soundtrack as a single, but his version failed to chart. Boone's success resulted in Grammy nominations for Best Pop Vocal Performance Female and Record of the Year and won her the 1977 Grammy for Best New Artist and the 1977 American Music Award for Favorite Pop Single. The song earned Brooks the 1977 Song of the Year Grammy (tied with "Love Theme from "A Star Is Born" (Evergreen)") as well as the Best Original Song awards at the 1977 Golden Globe and Academy Awards.
The song ranks #7 on Billboard's All Time Top 100

Debby Boone - You Light Up My Life

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[Baimi]

Crystal Gayle ~ Ready for the times to get better.
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"Talking in Your Sleep" is a popular song by American rock band The Romantics. It was a US hit in 1983 and became a UK hit the following year for British band Bucks Fizz.
The song appeared on the Romantics' 1983 album In Heat and was the Romantics' biggest chart hit, garnering substantial radio airplay and sales. The song reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1984. It also went to #1 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart in the U.S., where it remained on top for two weeks. In Australia, Talking in Your Sleep climbed to #14 on the Australian Singles Chart (Kent Music Report). The song's music video, widely aired at the time on MTV and elsewhere, featured the band performing while surrounded by standing, but seemingly sleeping women who were dressed in lingerie, pajamas, and other sleepwear.
The single was unsuccessful in the UK, but a year later, the song became well-known when pop group Bucks Fizz covered it and reached No.15 on the UK singles chart. Their version was produced by Andy Hill and featured on their fourth album, I Hear Talk. The single was the group's first for nine months and became their biggest hit since "When We Were Young", a year previously. It was also released as a limited-edition EP, which included the live tracks "Twentieth Century Hero" and a cover of Chris de Burgh's "Don't Pay the Ferryman". The B-side, "Don't Think You're Fooling Me" was written and produced by band member Bobby G.

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"Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Michael Masser recorded as a duet single by Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack and released in 1983. It became a big hit for both singers, peaking at number sixteen on the Billboard Hot 100, number five on the Hot Black Singles chart, and number four on the Adult Contemporary chart. In the UK, it peaked at number two. It boosted the careers of both stars and brought them both a return to prominence. Capitol Records's Bob Hart asked Martin Pitts to Direct the official video through One Heart Productions. The video was a performance with the original band in the background at the Capitol studios on Vine Street in Hollywood.

Roberta Flack And Peabo Bryson - Tonight I Celebrate My Love

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"Don't Bring Me Down" is a song by the band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), and is the last track from their 1979 album Discovery. It is their highest charting hit in the US to date.
"Don't Bring Me Down" is the band's second highest charting hit in the UK where it peaked at number 3 and their biggest hit in the United States, peaking at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also charted well in Canada (number 2) and Australia (number 6). This was the first song by ELO not to include a string section.
The drum track is in fact a tape loop, coming from "On the Run" looped and slowed down.
The song was dedicated to the NASA Skylab space station, which re-entered the Earth's atmosphere over the Indian Ocean and Western Australia on 11 July 1979.
On 4 November 2007, Lynne was awarded a BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc) Million-Air certificate for "Don't Bring Me Down" for the song having reached two million airplays.
A common mondegreen in the song is the perception that, following the title line, Lynne shouts "Bruce!". According to the liner notes of the ELO compilation Flashback, he is saying a made-up lyric, "Grroosss," which some have suggested sounds like the Bavarian expression "Grüß Gott." After the song's release, so many people had misinterpreted the word as "Bruce" that Lynne actually began to sing the word as "Bruce" for fun at live shows
A music video for the song was produced, which showed video of the band performing the song interspersed with various animations relating to the song's subject matter, including big-bottomed majorettes and a pulsating neon frankfurter. The band's three resident string players are depicted playing keyboards in the music video.

Electric Light Orchestra - Don't Bring Me Down

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"Don't Leave Me This Way" is an R&B/soul/disco song written by Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, and Cary Gilbert. First charting as a hit for Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, an act on Gamble & Huff's Philadelphia International label in 1975, "Don't Leave Me This Way" was later a hit single for both Thelma Houston and The Communards.

The Communards - Don't Leave Me This Way

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"I Only Want to Be with You" is a rock-and-roll song by Mike Hawker and Ivor Raymonde. It was the first solo single released by British singer Dusty Springfield under her long-time producer Johnny Franz. It has since been recorded by many artists and has charted several times.
In 1976, the Bay City Rollers covered the song, and their version is the most commercially successful to date. In both the UK and the US, they tied Dusty Springfield's chart rankings from 12 years earlier. However, in the US they spent five weeks longer on the chart.
The song was also covered by The Tourists, a band which included Annie Lennox on vocals. This was the band's first, and biggest hit.
In 1988, Fox covered the song as "I Only Wanna Be With You" for her album I Wanna Have Some Fun. It was released as the second single in the United States and Europe from her third studio album I Wanna Have Some Fun (1988). The song was another hit for Fox, reaching number 16 in the United Kingdom and number 31 in the United States. The music video does not have a plot, but scenes include Fox hunting through trash cans, dancing, fireworks, and the singer in bed with her bespectacled lover.
Television shows Fox performed the song on include Top of the Pops in 1989 and Viva el espectáculo on TVE1 in 1990.

The Tourists - I Only Want To Be With You

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[Crane]

Crystal Gayle .... a legendary country singer

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[Crane]

Johnny Horton ....... another classic country star.

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[Crane]

The Mansion You Stole by Johnny Horton

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"On My Own" was a Billboard #1 hit duet by singers Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald when it was released as a single in 1986. It was released from LaBelle's first platinum album, Winner in You and was written and produced by Burt Bacharach and his former wife Carole Bayer Sager. The song was originally recorded by singer Dionne Warwick for inclusion on her album Friends. It is unclear why the song was not included on the final tracklist. The song was based on a relationship that had reached its end with both parties going their separate ways in a melancholy state with the occasional option of coming back together again one day.
It was often stated the two performers were in separate cities when they recorded their individual parts which were then "married" during mastering. This was reflected in the music video produced to promote the song, which depicted LaBelle and McDonald performing the song simultaneously on different coasts. The singers were shown on separate sides of a split screen, each singing the song while walking through apartments which had identical layouts but different decor and furniture. The views from their respective porches, where they finished the song, made clear their separation by the continent.

On My Own -- Patti LaBelle & Michael McDonald

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"There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)" is a 1986 single by Billy Ocean. The song was written and produced by Wayne Brathwaite and Barry Eastmond; Ocean was also credited as a co-writer for the song. It appears on Ocean's 1986 album Love Zone, which was released on Jive Records. The song went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week beginning July 5, 1986, where it remained for one week, becoming the 600th song to ascend to that position. It also topped the adult contemporary and R&B charts in the United States that same summer.

Billy Ocean - There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)

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"Stuck with You" is the title of a hit single by Huey Lewis and the News, written by guitarist Chris Hayes and lead singer Huey Lewis, released in 1986. It was the first single from the band's fourth album, Fore!. The song spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 from September 20, 1986, through October 10, 1986. The single was the band's second number-one hit on the Hot 100 chart, following "The Power of Love" in 1985. The song reached number 12 on the UK Singles Chart.
The music video for "Stuck with You" was filmed in the Bahamas and features Keely Shaye Smith. The island that Lewis and Smith wind up on is a small island about ten miles from Paradise Island in Nassau. The video was filmed on land, on water, underwater and from the air. The band, the crew and all the extras used in the island barbecue scene had to stay on a barge moored off the island so that they wouldn't be seen.
The video was directed by Edd Griles, who had previously directed the band's video for "The Heart of Rock & Roll" as well as Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" and "Time After Time".

Huey Lewis - Stuck with you

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"Human" is a song recorded by British synthpop band The Human League. It was released as the first single from their 1986 album Crash. The track was written and produced by US producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.
"Human" became the second million-selling number-one single for The Human League on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 (after "Don't You Want Me") and their second chart-topper on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart (after "(Keep Feeling) Fascination"). Jam and Lewis' R&B-based production was also popular on American urban radio, bringing the Human League into the top ten of the U.S. R&B chart for the first time. In the UK, where R&B was less popular "Human" peaked at number eight in the UK singles chart.
It was a welcome success for the Human League, who were starting to suffer from creative stagnation and a slight decline in fortunes after a hugely successful start to the 1980s.

The Human League - Human

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