It's A Do Or Die Situation

By Wm. on October 25, 2025

Yesterday afternoon Martha and I drove to Lexington for a bit of shopping. It was a beautiful day--clear sky, high in the low 60s. Our route to the shoe store didn't take me by Transy, though we did skirt the periphery of UK's campus. I remarked as we passed down Maxwell Street that being in Lex in such weather brings to mind strong feelings and memories from the autumns of my college years, particularly the final one, the fall of '85. As I look over this list of 100 songs, I count just about the expected number--35--that peaked during the final four months of the year. They're not evenly distributed, however: 22 of them are in the top 50 of my survey. The music from those months still resonates deeply within.

50. Teena Marie, "Lovergirl" (#4, March)
49. Talking Heads, "And She Was" (#54, November)
48. Survivor, "The Search Is Over" (#4, July)
47. Godley & Creme, "Cry" (#16, October)
46. Kim Carnes, "Crazy in the Night (Barking at Airplanes)" (#15, July)

The second half leads off with something from the beginning of the year, though, a tasty R&B jam from the gone-far-too-soon Teena Marie that ranks considerably higher for me now than it did in the day. I bought that Carnes 45, her last Top 40 hit; I didn't pay attention at the time to an oddity--you really can't hear her singing on the chorus.

Little Creatures had come out in June, but I'm pretty certain I didn't pick it up until around the time we started back to school. James and I played it plenty in our dorm room that fall, so much that it's one of the albums I most closely associate with those months of my life. "And She Was" lasted on the Hot 100 for a cool 20 weeks.

45. Howard Jones, "Like to Get to Know You Well" (#49, November)
44. John Hunter, "Tragedy" (#39, February)
43. Slade, "Little Sheila" (#86, May)
42. Giuffria, "Call to the Heart" (#15, February)
41. Julian Lennon, "Valotte" (#9, January)

I saw HoJo in concert that October, with Marshall Crenshaw as the opener, at a regional state university about ninety minutes away from Transy. Years ago I wrote about that show, how Jones got upset over someone up front who wouldn't shut up during one of his quieter pieces. Hunter and Giuffria have gotten the PastBlast treatment already, but I've said virtually nothing about Julian Lennon in this space to date. As you can see, I like "Valotte" a lot--frankly, I think I was charmed by how much Jude was trying to channel his father. However, the noodling guitar solo that just peters out invariably brings to mind the same thing happening (intentionally, of course) in Stan Freberg's version of "Heartbreak Hotel."

Slade's contribution to the discourse is the highest of the six songs in this series not to break out of the bottom quarter of the Hot 100, though there are still three to go that didn't make it as high as #70.

40. David Bowie & Pat Matheny Group, "This Is Not America" (#32, March)
39. Daryl Hall & John Oates, "Method of Modern Love" (#5, February)
38. John Cougar Mellencamp, "Lonely Ol' Night" (#6, October)
37. Katrina & the Waves, "Do You Want Crying" (#37, September)
36. Don Henley, "The Boys of Summer" (#5, February)

I guess Hall & Oates's spelling lesson is the last hit of theirs that I truly enjoyed--it was a great run. Mellencamp well and truly matured with the release of Scarecrow; I would see him when he came to Rupp Arena the following spring. "Do You Want Crying" is the first of five songs whose real-life peak position coincides with their slot in my rankings.

Didn't see The Falcon and the Snowman in the theaters; not sure it's my kind of flick. "This Is Not America" is another one I'm much more inclined toward than I was at age 21.

35. Pat Benatar, "Invincible" (#10, September)
34. Glenn Frey, "You Belong to the City" (#2, November)
33. Don Henley, "All She Wants to Do Is Dance" (#9, May)
32. Howard Jones, "Things Can Only Get Better" (#5, June)
31. Prince, "Pop Life" (#7, September)

We finally wrap up the "former Eagles" portion of our programming. You might notice these are the third entries for both Henley and Jones (Sting is the only other artist with a trio of tunes); it's not surprising, given that both Building the Perfect Beast (vinyl) and Dream Into Action (cassette) had landed in my collection. Without dwelling on it too long I'd say that "Pop Life" is a top 5 Prince tune for me.

Didn't see The Legend of Billie Jean in the theaters; it might just be my kind of flick, however. I may well find out some day.