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Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Southern Accents

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Southern Accents Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Southern Accents
Released: 1985

Southern Accents Lyrics

There's a southern accent, where I come from
The young 'uns call it country
The Yankees call it dumb
I got my own way of talkin'
But everything is done, with a southern accent
Where I come from

Now that drunk tank in Atlanta's
Just a motel room to me
Think I might go work Orlando
If them orange groves don't freeze
I got my own way of workin'
But everything is run, with a southern accent
Where I come from

For just a minute there I was dreaming
For just a minute it was all so real
For just a minute she was standing there, with me

There's a dream I keep having
Where my mama comes to me
And kneels down over by the window
And says a prayer for me
I got my own way of prayin'
But everyone's begun
With a southern accent
Where I come from

I got my own way of livin'
But everything gets done
With a southern accent
Where I come from

Writer/s: PETTY, TOM
Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Southern Accents

Petty: "That may be my favorite among my songs - just in terms of a piece of pure writing. I remember writing it very vividly. It was in the middle of the night and I was playing it on the piano at home in Encino. I was just singing into my cassette recorder and suddenly these words came out. I was at the point in my career where I was very much trying to find some new ground. I thought I had used up what I had started with and I wanted a new direction. We had lived in California for about 10 years at that point and I started thinking about growing up in northern Florida, which is a lot different from Miami Beach. It's close to Georgia and I came from a real Southern family, and I wanted to address that world. Once I came up with this song, I decided to write an entire album about the theme."

Charles Kelley covered this for his debut solo album, The Driver, which was produced by Paul Worley. The Lady Antebellum member first performed the song with Trisha Yearwood back in 2013 at the Petty Fest in Nashville. "I'd always loved that song, and I always thought it would make a good country song, but I never thought about it necessarily as something Lady Antebellum would do," Kelley told Rolling Stone Country.

Kelley is joined by Stevie Nicks on his version. "It's really funny, when we first started the record, one of the things Paul and I talked about was trying not to maybe have a female harmony singer," he said. "[But Nicks] is the biggest Tom Petty fan. Paul kind of goes through the channels, and somehow it comes back that she wants to sing on it, so I was like, 'Of course. It's Stevie Nicks. Yes. She's going to sing on it.' So I already broke my rule of no females on the record."

Kelley told Radio.com that every time he hears the song, it reminds him of how his father grew up. "He was one of those guys that really did walk five miles to school, and had to work on the farm after school, and did things like that," he said. "So I always kind of picture him in my mind when I'm singing that song."

The Pogues - Sally MacLennane

The Pogues - Sally MacLennane Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Rum Sodomy & the Lash
Released: 1985

Sally MacLennane Lyrics

Well, Jimmy played harmonica in the pub where I was born
He played it from the night time to the peaceful early morn
He soothed the souls of psychos and the men who had the horn
And they all looked very happy in the morning

But Jimmy didn't like his place in this world of ours
Where the elephant man broke strong men's necks when he'd had too many pours
So sad to see the grieving and the people that I'm leaving
And he took the road for god knows in the morning

We walked him to the station in the rain
We kissed him as we put him on the train
And we sang him a song of times long gone
Though we knew that we'd be seeing him again

(Far away) I'm sad to say I must be on me way
So buy me beer and whiskey 'cause I'm going far away (far away)
I'd like to think of me returning when I can
To the greatest little boozer and to Sally MacLennane

The years went by, the times had changed I grew to be a man
I learned to love the virtues of sweet Sally Maclennane
I took the jeers and drank the beers and crawled back home at dawn
And ended up a barman in the morning

I played the pump and took the hump and watered whiskey down
I talked of whores and horses to the men who drank the brown
I heard them say that Jimmy's making money far away
And some people left for heaven without warning

We walked him to the station in the rain
We kissed him as we put him on the train
And we sang him a song of times long gone
Though we knew that we'd be seeing him again

(Far away) I'm sad to say I must be on me way
So buy me beer and whiskey 'cause I'm going far away (far away)
I'd like to think of me returning when I can
To the greatest little boozer and to Sally Maclennane

When Jimmy came back home he was surprised that they were gone
He asked me all the details of the train that they went on
Some people they are scared to croak but Jimmy drank until he choked
Took the road for heaven in the morning

We walked him to the station in the rain
And we kissed him as we put him on the train
And we sang him a song of times long gone
Though we knew that we'd be seeing him again

(Far away) I'm sad to say I must be on me way
So buy me beer and whiskey 'cause I'm going far away (far away)
I'd like to think of me returning when I can
To the greatest little boozer and to Sally Maclennane

Writer/s: SHANE MACGOWAN
Publisher: DOWNTOWN MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Sally MacLennane

This song was inspired by the legendary early 1980s drinking sessions that Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan would take part in with his friends around the bars at Euston railway station before boarding the boat train to Holyhead for the ferry to Dun Laoghaire. "I was always a little envious of Shane, it was almost this ritualistic thing where he'd get stocious and his friends would put him on the train to Ireland," accordion player James Fearnley recalled to The Irish Post December 16, 2013. "A lot from that song had also come from being a barman himself at the Great Ormond Street hospital bar. He knew about watering whiskey down from that I'm sure."

The Sally MacLennane that MacGowan sings of returning to in his "greatest little boozer" is not a woman, but a brand of stout.

The Waterboys - The Whole Of The Moon

The Waterboys - The Whole Of The Moon Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: This Is The Sea
Released: 1985

The Whole Of The Moon Lyrics

I pictured a rainbow
You held it in your hands
I had flashes
But you saw the plan
I wandered out in the world for years
While you just stayed in your room
I saw the crescent
You saw The Whole Of The Moon
You were there in the turnstiles
With the wind at your heels
You stretched for the starts
And you know how it feels
To reach too high
Too far
Too soon
You saw the whole of the moon
I was grounded
While you filled the skies
I was dumbfounded by truth
You cut through lies
I saw the rain dirty valley
You saw Brigadoon
I saw the crescent
You saw the whole of the moon
I spoke about wings
You just flew
I wondered I guessed and I tried
You just knew
I sighed
...but you swooned!
I saw the crescent
You saw the whole of the moon
With a torch in your pocket
And the wind at your heels
You climbed on the ladder
And you know how it feels
To get too high
Too far too soon
You saw the whole of the moon
The whole of the moon!
Unicorns and cannonballs
Palaces and piers
Trumpets towers and tenements
Wide oceans full of tears
Flags rags ferryboats
Scimitars and scarves
Every precious dream and vision
Underneath the stars
You climbed on the ladder
With the wind in your sails
You came like comet
Blazing your trail
Too high too far too soon
You saw the whole of the moon

Writer/s: SCOTT
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

The Whole Of The Moon

Mike Scott sketched out the song in a New York hotel after his girlfriend asked him if it was hard to write a song. The result was a tribute to some artists he admired, including Prince and the writer C.S. Lewis.

The Waterboys were a British group formed in London in 1981 by Mike Scott (guitar/vocals) and Anthony Thistlewaite (multi-instrumentalist). They later added Karl Wallinger (guitar) Steve Wickham (fiddle) and Kevin Wilkinson (drums). This was their first UK Top 40 hit.

The year after this was released, Wallinger left the band to form World Party, who had a #27 US hit with "Ship Of Fools."

When this was re-issued in 1991 it went to #3 in the UK, becoming The Waterboys only British Top 20 hit.

Fine Young Cannibals - Johnny Come Home

Fine Young Cannibals - Johnny Come Home Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Fine Young Cannibals
Released: 1985

Johnny Come Home Lyrics

Nobody knows
The trouble you feel
Nobody cares
The feelin' is real

Johnny,
We're sorry,
Won't you come on home
We worry,
Won't you come on
What is wrong in my life
I must get drunk every night
Johnny,
We're sorry

Use the phone,
Call your mom
She's missing you badly,
Missing her son

Who do you know,
Where will you stay
Big city life
Is not what they say

Johnny,
We're sorry,
Won't you come on home
We worry,
Won't you come on
What is wrong in my life
That I must get drunk every night
Johnny,
We're sorry

You'd better go,
Everything's closed
Can't find a room,
Money's all blown
Nowhere to sleep,
Out in the cold
Nothing to eat,
Nowhere to go

Johnny,
We're sorry,
Won't you come on home
We worry,
Won't you come on
What is wrong in my life
That I must get drunk every night
Johnny,
We're sorry
Won't you come on home
We worry,
Won't you come on home
Johnny
Won't you come on home

Writer/s: Gift, Roland Lee / Steele, David
Publisher: EMI Music Publishing, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Johnny Come Home

"Johnny Come Home" was the Fine Young Cannibals' first single from their debut album. The song follows the story of a runaway who learns the harsh reality of a life on the streets. The title refers to his parents' desperate plea for him to come home and was likely inspired by the 1975 TV documentary about London runaways, Johnny Go Home: The Murder of Billy Two-Tone.

British author Jake Arnott used this title for his 2006 novel about about the Glam-Rock period in early '70s London.

This song was featured in the thrillers Someone to Watch Over Me (1987) and The Handmaid's Tale (1990).

FYC made their television debut performing this song on The Tube, an influential UK music series that introduced an array of future hitmakers, in 1984. It was an important move for the group, who had previously been turned down by nearly every major record label. Shortly after their appearance on the program, they were offered a deal with London Records.

Roland Gift revealed the song's original premise in a Q&A with The Rebel Magazine in 2011: "'Johnny' started off about being black in a white man's world, but it evolved into something more inclusive and better."

Stephen Duffy - Kiss Me

Stephen Duffy - Kiss Me Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Ups And Downs
Released: 1985

Kiss Me Lyrics

In my young life I have received
Callers as though they were Christmas Eve
Disappointed and I don't know why?
She gave me laughter and hope
And a sock in the eye.

In my young life and I know something now.
I've never tried to create a wow
Wows are few frustration more common
Now I can feel it in my soul
That's why I gave the come on...

Kiss Me with your mouth
Your love is better than wine
But wine is all I have
Will your love ever be mine?

Faces fall before my feet
Like blood onto a clean white sheet
When I grow old I won't forget
To innocence my only debt.

Wow I feel so fresh today
Barefoot in the snow to make love in the hay
The stars are bright in the abyss
Now I can feel you in my arms
I explode inside your kiss.

Kiss me with your mouth
Your love is better than wine
But wine is all I have
Will your love ever be mine?

Writer/s: BEYINCE, ANGELA/GARRETT, SEAN/HARRIS, ANDRE/DAVIS, VIDAL
Publisher: EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Kiss Me

The lyrics, "Kiss me with your mouth, your love is better than wine" are from the Song of Solomon in The Bible.

This was produced by J.J. Jeczalik, who was a key member of The Art of Noise.

Duffy was an original member of Duran Duran, but left in 1979 to go solo before Duran Duran exploded onto MTV. Duffy helped create The Lilac Time in 1987. They attracted a college radio following and produced a few albums before breaking up in 1991.

This was Duffy's biggest hit. In America, it became a club favorite and a staple on alternative radio stations though it failed to chart. His only other UK hit was his follow up "Icing On The Cake," which peaked at #14.

Thompson Twins - King For A Day

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Thompson Twins - King For A Day Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Here's to Future Days
Released: 1985

King For A Day Lyrics

King For A Day
I know you well
And I can tell
Something's on your mind
'cause in your dreams
The demon screams
And I know he's going to hurt you blind
(bridge)
You say you hunger for something you can't get at all
And love is not enough anymore
(chorus)
IF I WAS KING FOR JUST ONE DAY
I WOULD GIVE IT ALL AWAY
I WOULD GIVE IT ALL AWAY TO BE WITH YOU
IF I WAS KING FOR JUST ONE DAY
I HAD JUST ONE THING TO SAY
YOU KNOW THAT LOVE IS
ALL WE NEED TO GET US THROUGH
Diamond rings
And all those things
They never sparkle like your smile
And as for fame
It's just a name
That only satisfies you for a while
(REPEAT BRIDGE & CHORUS)
I've heard it said
Or maybe read
Only money makes the world go 'round
But all the gold
Won't heal your soul
If your world should tumble to the ground
(REPEAT BRIDGE)
So listen,
Love is all, love is all, love is all we need
Love is all, love is all, love is all we need yeah.
Love is all, love is all, love is all we need
Love is all, love is all, love is all we need yeah.
(REPEAT CHORUS TWICE)
If I was King
For just one day
For just one thing to say
Love...

Writer/s: KAY, JASON/SMITH, TOBY/MCKENZIE, DERRICK/KATZ, SIMON
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Rush - Emotion Detector

Rush - Emotion Detector Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Power Windows
Released: 1985

Emotion Detector Lyrics

When we lift the covers from our feelings
We expose our insecure spots
Trust is just as rare as devotion
Forgive us our cynical thoughts
If we need too much attention

Not content with being cool
We must throw ourselves wide open
And start acting like a fool
If we need too much approval
Then the cuts can seem too cruel

Right to the heart of the matter
Right to the beautiful part
Illusions are painfully shattered
Right where discovery starts
In the secret wells of emotion
Buried deep in our hearts

It's true that love can change us
But never quite enough
Sometimes we are too tender
Sometimes we're too tough
If we get too much attention

It gets hard to overrule
So often fragile power turns
To scorn and ridicule
Sometimes our big splashes
Are just ripples in the pool
Feelings run high

Writer/s: NEIL PEART, GEDDY LEE WEINRIB, ALEX LIFESON
Publisher: OLE MEDIA MANAGEMENT
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Emotion Detector

Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson (Guitar Player, April 1986): "There's always one song that you're terrified of doing. You think it's going to be really tough, and 'Marathon' was the one. We wrote it and thought, 'This song is going to be like pulling teeth once we get in the studio.' Of course, we get into the studio and it's a breeze. And a song like "Emotion Detector," which we thought would be a breeze, was the killer. It was very, very difficult to get the mood right. I'm still not really sold on that song. It never ended up sounding the way I had hoped it would. Half of 'Emotion Detector' was done in one pass. Actually, that song had a whole different solo that took quite a bit of work. We left it, went ahead with some other parts, lived with it for 4 or 5 days, and Neil didn't feel quite right about it. He didn't think that it made the proper kind of statement to the song, so we re-examined it and I gave it another whirl. That was tough. It's one thing to rewrite a rhythm guitar part - you've got stuff to lock onto. But it was so hard to divorce what had been in my head as a solo for three months and come up with something that was a totally different feel. But I am satisfied with the results."

Rush - Middletown Dreams

Rush - Middletown Dreams Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Power Windows
Released: 1985

Middletown Dreams Lyrics

The office door closed early
The hidden bottle came out
The salesman turned to close the blinds
A little slow now, a little stout

But he's still heading down those tracks
Any day now for sure
Another day as drab as today
Is more than a man can endure

Dreams flow across the heartland
Feeding on the fires
Dreams transport desires
Drive you when you're down
Dreams transport the ones
Who need to get out of town

The boy walks with his best friend
Through the fields of early May
They walk awhile in silence
One close, one far away
But he'd be climbing on that bus
Just him and his guitar
To blaze across the heavens
Like a brilliant shooting star

The middle-aged Madonna
Calls her neighbor on the phone
Day by day the seasons pass
And leave her life alone
But she'll go walking out that door
On some bright afternoon
To go and paint big cities
From a lonely attic room

It's understood
By every single person
Who'd be elsewhere if they could
So far so good
And life's not unpleasant
In their little neighborhood

They dream in Middletown

Writer/s: GEDDY LEE WEINRIB, ALEX LIFESON, NEIL PEART
Publisher: OLE MEDIA MANAGEMENT
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Middletown Dreams

Neil Peart (April 1986 Canadian Composer interview): "I used the exact thing which 'Territories' warns against as a device in 'Middletown.' I chose 'Middletown' because there is a Middletown in almost every state in the US. It comes from people identifying with a strong sense of neighborhood. It's a way of looking at the world with the eyeglass in reverse. I spent my days-off cycling around the countryside in the US, looking at these little towns and getting a new appreciation of them. When you pass through them at 15 miles per hour, you see them a little differently. So I was looking at these places and kind of looking at the people in them - fantasizing, perhaps romanticizing, a little about their lives. I guess I was even getting a little literary in imagining the present, past, and future of these men, women, and children. There was that romantic way of looking at each small town, but also each of the characters in that song is drawn from real life or specific literary examples. The first character as basedon a writer called Sherwood Anderson. Late in his life, Anderson literally walked down the railroad tracks out of a small town and went to Chicago in the early 1900s to become a very important writer of his generation. That's an example of a middle-aged man who may have been perceived by his neighbors, and by an objective onlooker, to have sort of finished his life and he could have stagnated in his little town. But he wasn't finished in his own mind. He had this big dream, and it was never too late for him, so he walked off and he did it. The painter Paul Gauguin is another example of a person who, late in life, just walked out of his environment and went away. He too became important and influential. He is the influence for the woman character of song. The second verse about the young boy wanting to run away and become a musician is a bit autobiographical. But it also reflects the backgrounds of most of the successful musicians I know, many of whom came from very unlikely backgrounds. Most of them had this dream that other people secretly smiled at, or openly laughed at, and they just went out and made it happen."

Peart (Guitar For The Practicing Musician, 1986): "There's so much chemistry involved and there's so many intangible things that happen. There are songs where the music has been better than the lyrics or the lyrics better than the music. I think 'Middletown Dreams' is a good marriage of lyrics and music. 'Mystic Rhythms' is another one."

Alex Lifeson (Guitar Player, April 1986): "The original guitar part was laid down, and then Ged redid his bass. Because he had some time to spend, he changed some of the bass patterns. Then the keyboards came on, and suddenly the mood of the song was totally different. So, it was a bit of experimenting when it came to putting down the basic tracks for the guitar. And that one took a couple of rewrites. I'd do something, come back the next day, and they'd say, 'You know, as the night went along, we got a little bit better towards the end there. Why don't we go back to the beginning and look at the guitar part and maybe think about rewriting it?' This was constantly happening."

Rush - Grand Designs

Rush - Grand Designs Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Power Windows
Released: 1985

Grand Designs Lyrics

A to be
Different degrees

So much style without substance
So much stuff without style
It's hard to recognize the real thing
It comes along once in a while

Like a rare and precious metal
Beneath a ton of rock
It takes some time and trouble
To separate from the stock
You sometimes have to listen to
A lot of useless talk

Shapes and forms
Against the norms
Against the run of the mill
Swimming against the stream
Life in two dimensions
Is a mass production scheme

So much poison in power
The principles get left out
So much mind on the matter
The spirit gets forgotten about
Like a righteous inspiration
Overlooked in haste
Like a teardrop in the Ocean
A diamond in the waste
Some world-views are spacious
And some are merely spaced

Against the run of the mill
Static as it seems
We break the surface tension
With our wild kinetic dreams
Curves and lines
Of Grand Designs

Writer/s: NEIL PEART, GEDDY LEE WEINRIB, ALEX LIFESON
Publisher: OLE MEDIA MANAGEMENT
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Grand Designs

Geddy Lee on working with Neil Peart's drumming (from Power Windows): "I don't remember any difficulty with that song. One of the best things about playing with the same person for a very long time is you have this kind of telepathic connection in a way. You know each other so well stylistically that there's a whole range of probabilities that you have in common. So if I hear him going in a direction or he hears me going in a direction, we can shift to that direction. I think we've figured out a way to complement each other so that it's comfortable. It's something that comes with time and work. And knowing when to simplify and when not to simplify. Sometimes when a bass player is playing with a rhythmically difficult drum part, that's the time to simplify, help the part cruise by playing more consistently. That can help knit the parts together. At the same time, if there's another drum part coming up where he's going to be more solid and fundamental, that will enable the bass to stretch out a bit and get more active. So it's give and take."

Alex Lifeson (April 1986 Guitar Player magazine interview): "Most of Grand Designs is one guitar that's not even doubled. We may have put it through an AMS [digital processor] at about 40 milliseconds and split it left and right. I know we did that with the bouncing echoes in the first verse, where the main guitar is in the middle and the harmonic line is on the outside. That one's fairly straightforward, except for the acoustic guitars in the second chorus. I was very much influenced by Allan Holdsworth a number of years ago, the way he uses the whammy bar to slur notes and move around. That got me interested in using one and trying to develop a style with one. So many people use it now that it's not that unique, and actually I've started to move away from it a bit. I've gotten a bit lazy with my natural vibrato since I've been relying a lot more on the whammy bar. It's time for a change."

Geddy Lee (Guitar Player interview, April 1986): "Invariably, every time we decide we're going to fade out, we start getting into the fade and everyone loosens up and the track starts getting better. That happened with Mystic Rhythms. The fade-out is about a minute long because we liked every little nuance. The end of Grand Designs is also like that. There are about 7 phrases, and they're all different. None of that was planned; Neil was doing the drum track, and at the end, the sequencers were going and he just kept punching-in and going, basically flailing and hacking through it. Everybody loved it, so we decided to keep it in. Then we had to learn to play it onstage."

Stevie Wonder - Part-Time Lover

Stevie Wonder - Part-Time Lover Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: In Square Circle
Released: 1985

Part-Time Lover Lyrics

Call up, ring once, hang up the phone
To let me know you made it home
Don't want nothing to be wrong with Part-Time Lover
If she isn't with me I'll blink the lights
To let you know tonight's the night
For me and you my part-time lover
We are undercover passion on the run
Chasing love up against the sun
We are strangers by day, lovers by night
Knowing it's so wrong, but feeling so right
If I'm with friends and we should meet
Just pass me by, don't even speak
Know the word's "discreet" with part-time lovers
But if there's some emergency
Have a male friend to ask for me
So then she won't peep its really you my part-time lover
We are undercover passion on the run
Chasing love up against the sun
We are strangers by day, lovers by night
Knowing it's so wrong, but feeling so right
We are undercover passion on the run
Chasing love up against the sun
We are strangers by day, lovers by night
Knowing it's so wrong, but feeling so right
We are undercover passion on the run
Chasing love up against the sun
We are strangers by day, lovers by night
Knowing it's so wrong, but feeling so right
We are undercover passion on the run
Chasing love up against the sun
We are strangers by day, lovers by night
Knowing it's so wrong, but feeling so right
I've got something that I must tell
Last night someone rang our doorbell
And it was not you my part-time lover
And then a man called our exchange
But didn't want to leave his name
I guess that two can play the game
Of part-time lovers
You and me, part-time lovers
But, she and he, part-time lovers
Writer/s: WONDER, STEVIE
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Part-Time Lover

This song is about a cheating couple, and the machinations they go through to keep their affair a secret. They are part-time lovers because they have to keep it on the down-low:

We are strangers by day, lovers by night
Knowing it's so wrong, but feeling so right

The song ends in a twist (or maybe, a tryst), when it becomes clear to the singer that his wife has a part-time lover of her own who is playing the same game.

Wonder says that he has been in a similar position, with a guy calling his home and trying to disguise his voice when Stevie answered it.

Wonder was a pioneer when it came to making and recording music using electronics and computers. This is an early example of digital audio recording, which Wonder put together at his own Wonderland Studios.

According to Wonder, he drew on two songs by The Supremes as a musical influence for this one: "You Can't Hurry Love" and "My World Is Empty Without You."

Syreeta Wright, who was Wonder's wife at the time, sang backing vocals. She co-wrote Wonder's 1970 song "If You Really Love Me" and had her own Top 10 hit with her duet with Billy Preston, "With You I'm Born Again."

Also featured on this track is Luther Vandross, who can be heard humming at the end of the verses.

This reached #1 on the Billboard Pop, R&B, Dance and Adult Contemporary charts, making Stevie Wonder the first artist to score a #1 hit on four different Billboard charts.

When this song reached the top of the US charts, it was 22 years and three months after his first hit, "Fingertips (Part 2)." At the time, this was the longest span between first and last #1s. The Beach Boys would break this record when "Kokomo" took the top spot in 1988.

Wonder contributed to The Woman in Red soundtrack, released in 1984, but In Square Circle was his first full album in five years - something that didn't sit well with Motown boss Berry Gordy. Wonder was working on an important non-musical project at this time: getting Martin Luther King's birthday recognized as a national holiday in America.

Simply Red - Holding Back The Years

Simply Red - Holding Back The Years Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Picture Book
Released: 1985

Holding Back The Years Lyrics

Holding Back The Years,
Thinking of the fear I've had for so long.
When somebody hears,
Listen to the fear that's gone.
Strangled by the wishes of pater,
Hoping for the arm of mater,
Get to me sooner or later,

Nothing ever could, yeah.
I'll keep holding on,
I'll keep holding on,
I'll keep holding on,
I'll keep holding on.

Chance for me to escape from all I know.
Holding back the tears.
There's nothing here has grown.
I've wasted all my tears,
Wasted all those years.
Nothing had the chance to be good,

Nothing ever could, yeah.
I'll keep holding on,

I'll keep holding on,
I'll keep holding on,
I'll keep holding on
So tight.

Writer/s: HUCKNALL, MICHAEL JAMES/MOSS, NEIL
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Holding Back The Years

Simply Red is singer Mick Hucknall ("Red" was his nickname because of his red hair). He originally recorded this in 1979 with his band The Frantic Elevators.

Hucknall wrote this in his bedroom at his father's house. He was still a teenager.

Simply Red went on to record 10 UK Top 10 hits, including "Fairground" a 1995 #1. In the US, their cover of Harold Melvyn's "If You Don't Know Me by Now" became their second American chart topper and the best selling British single in the US in 1989.

John Mellencamp - Between a Laugh and a Tear

John Mellencamp - Between a Laugh and a Tear Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Scarecrow
Released: 1985

Between a Laugh and a Tear Lyrics

When paradise is no longer fit for you to live in
And your adolescent dreams are gone
Through the days you feel a little used up
And you don't know where your energy's gone wrong
It's just your soul feelin' a little downhearted
Sometimes life is too ridiculous to live
You count your friends all on one finger
I know it sounds crazy just the way that we live

Between a Laugh and a Tear
Smile in the mirror as you walk by
Between a laugh and a tear
And that's as good as it can get for us
And there ain't no reason to stop tryin'

When this cardboard town can no longer amuse you
You see through everything and nothin' seems worthwhile
And hypocrite used to be such a big word to you
And it don't seem to mean anything to you now
Just try to live each and every precious moment
Don't be discouraged by the future forget the past
That's old advise but it'll be good to you
I know there's a balance see it when I swing past

Between a laugh and a tear
Smile in the mirror as you walk by
Between a laugh and a tear
And that's as good as it can get for us
And there ain't no reason to stop tryin'

Between a laugh and a tear
Smile in the mirror as you walk by
Between a laugh and a tear
And that's as good as it can get for us
And there ain't no reason to stop tryin'

When paradise can no longer amuse you

Writer/s: MELLENCAMP, JOHN
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Between a Laugh and a Tear

Scarecrow was Mellencamp's eighth album, and by then he had paid his dues and become one of the most successful musicians in America. Despite his triumphs, he was going through severe emotional difficulties at the time, including a panic disorder. In this song, he explores that dichotomy - how success can simply amplify your emotions, both good and bad.

Mellencamp has a notorious temper, which he says is the result of a condition he suffered from as a child: spina bifida. "I had a hole in my spine and all my nerve endings were on the outside of my body," he told Rolling Stone. "They were all exposed to air, so it's no wonder I go up and down so quickly."

Kool & the Gang - Cherish

Kool & the Gang - Cherish Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Emergency
Released: 1985

Cherish Lyrics

Let's take a walk together near the ocean shore
Hand in hand you and I
Let's Cherish every moment we have been given
The time is passing by
I often pray before I lay down by your side
If you receive your calling before I awake
Could I make it through the night

Cherish the love we have
We should cherish the life we live
Cherish the love
Cherish the life
Cherish the love
Cherish the love we have
For as long as we both shall live
Cherish the love
Cherish the life
Cherish the love

The world is always changing
Nothing stays the same
But love will stand the test of time
The next life that we live in
Remains to be seen
Will you be by my side
I often pray before I lay down by your side
If you receive your calling before I awake
Could I make it through the night

Cherish the love we have
We should cherish the life we live
Cherish the love
Cherish the life
Cherish the love
Cherish the love we have
For as long as we both shall live
Cherish the love
Cherish the life
Cherish the love

Cherish the love
Cherish the life

Cherish the love we have
We should cherish the life we live
Cherish the love
Cherish the life
Cherish the love
Cherish the love we have
For as long as we both shall live
Cherish the love
Cherish the life
Cherish the love

Cherish the love we have
We should cherish the life we live
Cherish the love
Cherish the life
Cherish the love
Cherish the love we have
For as long as we both shall live
Cherish the love
Cherish the life
Cherish the love

Writer/s: KIRKMAN, TERRY
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Cherish

While recording their Emergency album, the band decided to record in the Bahamas at Compass Point Studios in Nassau. While working along the beach, lead singer James "JT" Taylor watched the band members' children happily at play and thought to himself, "How blessed we are. God has been good to us and we should cherish it."

Taylor submitted the idea to the band's bass player Robert "Kool" Bell, who ran with it.

This song had special meaning for Bell, who found out his father was listening to the song when he died in October 1985.

This was featured in the 2009 comedy 17 Again, starring Zac Efron and Matthew Perry.

Ronald Bell, the band's saxophonist and music director, started collecting lots of new music equipment at the time, including a piece included on this track: a drum machine.

Ronald furnished the track and gave it to Taylor to write the lyrics, who said it was the first time he'd ever written a song in one sitting without any changes. Producer Jim Bonnefond did want to overhaul the song with new lyrics, though, and even brought in songwriter Sandy Linzer for the task. But Linzer wasn't having it. "They used maybe a couple of lines in the chorus that I gave them gratis, but I thought the song was perfect," he told Billboard.

John Mellencamp - Rain On The Scarecrow

John Mellencamp - Rain On The Scarecrow Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Scarecrow
Released: 1985

Rain On The Scarecrow Lyrics

Scarecrow on a wooden cross blackbird in the barn
Four hundred empty acres that used to be my farm
I grew up like my daddy did my grandpa cleared this land
When I was five I walked the fence while grandpa held my hand

[Chorus]
Rain On The Scarecrow blood on the plow
This land fed a nation this land made me proud
And son I'm just sorry theres no legacy for you now
Rain on the scarecrow blood on the plow
Rain on the scarecrow blood on the plow

The crops we grew last summer weren't enough to pay the loans
Couldn't buy the seed to plant this spring and the farmers bank foreclosed
Called my old friend schepman up to auction off the land
He said john its just my job and I hope you understand
Hey calling it your job ol hoss sure dont make it right
But if you want me to Ill say a prayer for your soul tonight
And grandmas on the front porch swing with a
Bible in her hand Sometimes I hear her singing take me to the promised land
When you take away a mans dignity he cant work his fields and cows

There'll be blood on the scarecrow blood on the plow
Blood on the scarecrow blood on the plow

Well there's ninety-seven crosses planted in the courthouse yard
Ninety-seven families who lost ninety-seven farms
I think about my grandpa and my neighbors and my name and some nights
I feel like dying like that scarecrow in the rain

[Chorus]

Rain on the scarecrow blood on the plow
This land fed a nation this land made me so proud
And son I'm just sorry they're just memories for you now
Rain on the scarecrow blood on the plow
Rain on the scarecrow blood on the plow

Writer/s: Mellencamp, John / Green, George Michael
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Rain On The Scarecrow

This song is about the financial difficulties farmers in the Midwest US face; difficulties that can go as far as having their farms repossessed by banks. Mellencamp wrote the song with his friend George Green, who he worked with on many of this tracks, including "Hurts So Good."

"Our songs always came about the same way: talk around the kitchen table," Mellencamp told Rolling Stone. "I had just played 'Small Town' for him. He said, "I don't know why these towns are going out of business" - towns like Freetown and Dudleytown, Indiana. We couldn't figure out why they were disappearing. We did our research and wrote this song - Reagan had been using grain against the Soviet Union and all sorts of other things. Talking to people was heartbreaking. Nobody wanted to lose their farm."

Mellencamp has taken an active role in helping American farmers. Along with Neil Young and Willie Nelson, he regularly plays at the Farm-Aid concerts to help raise money.

Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls

Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Please
Released: 1985

West End Girls Lyrics

West End Girls

Sometimes you're better off dead
There's a gun in your hand
It's pointing at your head
You think you're mad too unstable
Kicking in chairs and knocking down tables
In a restaurant in a West end town
Call the police there's a mad man around
Running down underground
To a dive bar in a West end town

In a West end town a dead end world
The East end boys and West end girls
In a West end town in a dead end world
The East end boys and West end girls
West end girls

Too many shadows whispering voices
Faces on posters too many choices
If when why what how much have you got
Have you got it do you get it
If so how often
Which do you choose
A hard or soft option

In a West end town a dead end world
Meet East end boys and West end girls
In a West end town in a dead end world
The East end boys and West end girls
West end girls

In a West end town a dead end world
Meet East end boys and West end girls
Ooh a West end town in a dead end world
East end boys and West end girls
West end girls

I've said it all before, I'll say it all again
We're all modern men
We've got no future, we've got no past
Here today, built to last
In every city, in every nation
From Lake Geneva to the Finland station

And a West end town, a dead end world
The East End boys and West End girls
Ooh West End town, a dead end world
East End boys, West End Girls
West End girls

You got a heart of glass or a heart of stone
Just you wait till I get you home
All your stopping, stalling and starning
Who do you think you are, Joe Stalin
Sometimes you're better off dead
There's gun in your hand
And it's pointing at your head

In a West end town a dead end world
The East end boys and West end girls
In a West end town in a dead end world
East end boys and West end girls
West end girls

West end girls

Writer/s: TENNANT, NEIL / LOWE, CHRISTOPHER
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

West End Girls

Tennant said in 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh, "We arrived in the studio and Bobby O had programmed Michael Jackson's Billie Jean drum pattern. Chris started to play along and I started playing chords. In terms of the lyrics, the inspiration for West End Girls came from The Message by Grandmaster Flash. I remember once staying at my cousin's house in Nottingham and we were watching some kind of gangster film with James Cagney, and just as I was dropping off to sleep, the lines 'sometimes you're better off dead, there's a gun in your hand and it's pointing to your head' came into my head and I thought 'that's quite good' so I went off to find a pen."

Another influence was TS Eliot's poem The Wasteland. Said Tennant: "What I like about it is, it's the different voices, almost a sort of collage. All the different voices and languages coming in and I've always found that very powerful. So on West End Girls it's different voices. The line 'Just you wait till I get you home' is a direct quotation."

Recorded in one take, this originally missed the UK Top 40 in 1984, though it made #1 in Belgium. The song was re-recorded with producer Stephen Hague. As Stephen explained, "I heard the Bobby O version and thought it had potential. I felt it should be slowed down and the story told a little clearer. Neil and Chris agreed once they'd heard it." The above 2 quotes are also from 1000 UK #1 Hits.

This won the 1987 BRIT Award for Best Single. (thanks, Edward Pearce - Ashford, Kent, England, for all above)

The Firm - Midnight Moonlight

The Firm - Midnight Moonlight Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Firm
Released: 1985

Midnight Moonlight Lyrics

She flies through the night on silver wings
With a smile, no obligation
She says, "Walk with me, I'll take you down
Through the storm to your destination"

She says, "Hold me now, I'll take you there
To the dawning of a new creation"

Midnight Moonlight lady
Bird on the wing, she is flying to greet me
Bird on the wing, she is flying to me

The night is waiting
She must know how I feel
In the neon darkness
She is all that is real

I know it must be a dream
Will she be gone tomorrow
But tonight the world is still
And I can feel no sorrow
But tonight the world is still
And I can feel no sorrow

Midnight moonlight lady
Bird on the wing, she is flying to greet me
Bird on the wing, she is flying to me

She says, "Take me from this wilderness
I want to be where I won't be lonely
Take me from this wilderness
I want to be where I can see
Take me from this wilderness
I want to be where I can be free, yeah"

See the shadows dancing
'Cross the moonlight in her eyes
See a vision forming
And it comes as no surprise
Could it be a warning
That love grows before it dies

See the shadows dancing
'Cross the moonlight in her eyes
See a vision forming
And it comes as no surprise
Could it be a warning
That love hurts before it satisfies

She keeps her secrets with her eyes
Like the moon behind a silver cloud
She holds my memory with her smile
Am I dreaming now, spinning 'round
Let her take it all away

Every time I turn around
I know she is there
Every time I turn around
She's everywhere

Midnight moonlight lady
Midnight moonlight lady

Come on, shine your light on me, baby
I want to learn the secrets of the night
Let the moonlight smile on me, baby
Show me the secrets of the night
Midnight moonlight lady

Bird on the wing, she is flying to me

Writer/s: PAGE, JAMES PATRICK (JIMMY) / RODGERS, PAUL
Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Midnight Moonlight

The Firm were a supergroup comprising vocalist Paul Rodgers (Free, Bad Company), guitarist Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), drummer Chris Slade (Uriah Heep, Manfred Mann's Earth Band), and bassist Tony Franklin (later of Whitesnake and Quiet Riot). The band started when Rodgers and Page casually started recording together. This was the first song they wrote as a pair.

Rodgers told the story of the song to Uncut magazine: "One day he (Page) bought round a cassette and said, 'Would you like to write some lyrics to this?' It was 19 minutes long, it was absolutely fantastic! I said, 'I don't know that I can, can we shorten it?' So we got it down to nine minutes, and he was happy with the results. I said to him, 'It's funny, the chorus seems to have an extra bar in it.' And he goes, 'Well, it does. It's in 9/4.' That's the kind of thing he threw in with Led Zeppelin."

The Hooters - And We Danced

The Hooters - And We Danced Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Nervous Night
Released: 1985

And We Danced Lyrics

She was a be-bop baby on a hard day's night.
She was hangin' on Johnny , he was holdin' on tight
I could feel her coming from a mile away.
There was no use talking, there was nothing to say
When the band began to play and play.

[Chorus]
And We Danced like a wave on the ocean, romanced
We were liars in love and we danced
Swept away for a moment by chance
And we danced and danced danced.

I met my be-bop baby at the Union Hall
She cold dance all night and shake the paint off the walls.
But when I saw her smile across a crowded room
Well I knew we'd have to leave the party soon
As the band began to play out of tune.

And we danced like a wave on the ocean, romanced
We were liars in love and we danced
Swept away for a moment by chance
And we danced and danced danced.

The endless beat she's walking my way
Hear the music fade when she says
Are we getting too close, do we dare to get closer
The room is spinning as she whispers my name

And we danced like wave on the ocean, romanced
We were liars in love and we danced
Swept away for a moment by chance
And we danced, danced, danced.

Writer/s: HYMAN, ROB / BAZILIAN, ERIC M
Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

And We Danced

Eric Bazilian and Rob Hyman are the founding members of The Hooters. They played most of the instruments on Cyndi Lauper's 1983 debut album She's So Unusual, and Hyman co-wrote "Time After Time." The same year, The Hooters released their first album on an independent label and grew their following in the Philadelphia area. When Lauper's album became a huge hit, it got the attention of Columbia Records, who signed the band.

Rob Hyman told us: "Eric and I would take road trips to do writing. We would get away and especially since the band was playing so much, we would just kind of hole ourselves up. In this instance, we went into the Poconos outside the Philadelphia region and we rented a couple little cabins, brought some recording gear, set up a 4-track studio and threw around a lot of ideas. As is often the case for me, I think we did 10 or 12 tracks, and the last thing we did, probably on our last day, was write the chorus to 'And We Danced.' It had a slightly different feel, but materially it was there. That was the strongest bit we brought back from that writing trip. We had that flash - this is something really great, we'll finish it another day. Had we just stayed with it that moment more, maybe we would have done it, but it ended up taking a lot more time. We threw around a lot of verses and rhythmic ideas. It was a different feel, and then it got into more of a rock and roll feel."

The Hooters played this at Live Aid in 1985. They were the first band to perform on the Philadelphia stage, going on after an introduction ceremony that included Joan Baez singing "Amazing Grace." Eric Bazilian told us how they got there: "That was a stroke of genius on the part of our manager, Steve Mountain. He managed to finagle that with Bill Graham and Larry Magid to get us on that stage. Our first record was just coming out, and it was the perfect time. That was our moment in destiny."

The distinctive sound that leads off the song and plays throughout is a Melodica, a combination keyboard/harmonica instrument they played. The band called it a "Hooter," which is where they got their name.

Regarding the images he came up with in the lyrics, Hyman told us: "The Bop Baby on a hard day's night, the union hall - we just felt it was kind of a basic, workingman's rock and roll record. In a sense, a bit of territory that maybe Springsteen or somebody would cover, a little of that nostalgia, a little of the no-frills kind of straight ahead lyrics. I think the ornamentation and the embellishments that the band did with the melodica and the mandolins and the sounds that we were dabbling in put a different flavor to it. But at its heart, it's a simple rock and roll song that evokes some of those same feelings that Chuck Berry or The Beatles had. I think those images were just straight-ahead pictures for us."

In addition to their work with The Hooters, Hyman and Bazilian have written and produced songs for many artists, including Joan Osborne, Ricky Martin, Dar Williams and Jon Bon Jovi. Bazilian wrote Osborne's hit "One Of Us." (Thanks to Rob and Eric for speaking with us. To learn more, check out their websites at www.robhyman.com and www.ericbazilian.com.)

Kurtis Blow - If I Ruled The World

Kurtis Blow - If I Ruled The World Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Best Of Kurtis Blow
Released: 1985

If I Ruled The World Lyrics

Yes yes y'all
The best y'all, yes yes y'all
Huh, huh, huh, huh, yes y'all

If I Ruled The World, was king on the throne
I'd make peace in every culture, build the homeless a home
I'm not runnin', for Congress or the President
I'm just here, to tell the world, how my story went
You see, first it was a dream, I was livin' in Rome
And then I moved to London, bought a brand new home
And everywhere I went, I drew lots of attention
Like a stretch limousine, one of those new inventions
It took a few years 'fore the day had come
But I was ruler of the WORLD ranked number one
So I headed towards Washington to claim the crown
Let the whole world know that, the King was in town
As I, arrived, the crowd started to cheer
And then someone yelled out, "The King is here!"
So I headed toward stage, to make a speech
about the new style of living I was gonna teach, uh-huh

If I ruled the world
Huh-huh, huh-huh uh-huh uh-huh
I'd love all the girls, I love 'em love 'em baby!
Black diamonds and pearls, ooh yeah yeah
If I ruled the world

People started flowin' as they reached for my hand
I said, "Thank you for bringin' me to the Promised Land
But now I must go, say goodbye to everybody
Tonight I'll see you all at my Super Dinner Party"
And late that night, at my Super Dinner Party
I was dancin' to the beat and entertainin' La-Di-Da-Di
The music started endin', it was time for a speech
The crowd started sittin' as I rose from my feet
And this was once a dream, I explained to the crowd
But now, I rule the world, and I feel, so very proud
Excuse me please, for stoppin' this show
I just had to thank you all, huh, and me so
My first day in office, the King on the throne
I spent my first three hours on the telephone
You know with newsmen reporters, and votes too
I had so many calls, I didn't know what to do
You know out that office I continued to work
I signed so many papers, my fingers started to hurt
Then I shook off the pain, say this ain't no thing
'Cause there's nothin' in the world like bein' number one king!

If I ruled the world
Huh huh huh huh, huh-huh huh-huh
I'd love all the girls, I love 'em love 'em baby!
Black diamonds and pearls, ooh yeah yeah
If I ruled the world, whoa yeah
If I ruled the world

Now I rule the world and now, I'm on top
And I'm rollin' with folks that could never be stopped
And I'm here to let you know this is where I belong
And to you sucker emcees that sing my song
And it's a song that's strong about right and wrong
And I'm rock it to you baby baby all night long
And it's a song about love, and happiness
In a world of peace, and you know that's fresh
Now I'm the king, and I want you to know
That I'm the Master Blaster Rapper who's runnin' the show

And to all of you rappers in every country
You better stop what you're doin', and listen to me
'Cause we gotta stop war, and use unity
To fight crime and hunger and poverty
'Cause the African baby is dyin' overseas
While you sucker mission politicians bustin' out Z's
Huh, twenty million people all unemployed
While the rich man try to play Pretty Boy Floyd
While the working class just struggles hard
Try to make ends meet against all odds
While the poor man can't even deal with life
You know he tried to escape, and smoked the coke on the pipe

And it's time for a change, to a better way
'Cause the sun has gotta shine through the cloudy day
So listen up world, while I teach this class
And take heed to the message or we ain't gonna last
'Cause I know, the solution, is the contribution
Of woman and man to just join the revolution
That'll take your brain to a higher plane
And help you deal in a world that's gone insane
With the problems that I know we can stop
From the ruler of the world and the man on top
But the years went by, and time was up
And the ruler of the world had ran out of luck
And all the people at the time who said they were my friends
Didn't know me when my job had come to an end
They came up to my face, as happy as can be
He was running his mouth like, Muhammad Ali
So I shook his hand calmly as I headed to the door
On my way to the ghetto to treat once more

If I ruled the world
I'd love all the girls, I love 'em love 'em baby!
Black diamonds and pearls, ooh yeah yeah
If I ruled the world, yeah
If I ruled the world, if I ruled the world
I'd love all the girls, I'd love 'em love 'em baby!
Black diamonds and pearls, ooh yeah yeah, oh yeah yeah
If I ruled the world, whoa yeah
If I ruled the world, yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah

I'd love all the girls, you know I'd love 'em love 'em baby!
Diamonds and pearls, ooh yeah yeah, oh yeah yeah
If I ruled the world, yeah yeah yeah yeah baby baby
If I ruled the world, if I ruled the world
I'd love all the girls, yes you, you, you and you
Black diamonds and pearls, where those diamonds, where those pearls?
If I ruled the world
If I ruled the world
I'd love all the girls, I'd love 'em love 'em baby

Writer/s: KURTIS WALKER, KURTIS BLOW, AARON O'BRYANT, AJ SCRATCH, DAVID REEVES, DAVY D, N. JONES, L. SMITH
Publisher: UNIVERSAL MUSIC PUB GROUP, RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

If I Ruled The World

This was the first time a sample loop was used on a Hip-Hop record. With the help of producers J.B. Moore and Robert Ford, Kurtis was the first to use a drum machine, and the first to use a sampler, which was a $250,000 Fairlight machine. For this, they used an AMS sampler and created a loop. A loop is continuous play of a section of a record, usually the break. If you have a drum loop of one bar, you can loop it to play it repeatedly so there's no pause between the loop and it sounds like a continuous drum beat.

Kurtis was the first rapper signed to a major label. With the backing of Mercury Records, he and his producers were able to afford these expensive drum machines and samplers and pioneer their use on Hip-Hip records.

The song they sampled was "Pump Me Up," which was released in 1982 by a Go-Go group from Washington, DC called Trouble Funk. They looped the percussion section that plays after the chorus of "Pump, pump, pump me up."

Kurtis: "We used this machine to sample a whole section of a record. That's how the DJs used to play, they used to take the sections of a record and repeatedly play them. You'd have 2 records of the same song and keep the break going by looping it with your turntables. You'd play the records over and over and have just the break play for 5 minutes, and that's what we used to rap over - the DJ extended the break. That whole concept evolved into the studio. When we started making records we wanted to keep that funky loop going, that funky break and that quick mix so we could rap over it."

Before drum machines, rap songs used live musicians, which limited what they could accomplish in the studio. Using these machines had drawback, however, that Kurtis explains: "Drum machines revolutionized the whole industry, but it made the music sound mechanical and electronic. There wasn't a live drummer, the soul of a live band was lost. In the '70s, when we first started with Hip-Hop, we'd have a whole band come in. Now, musicians come in and record onto a track. When that evolution happened, things got mechanical. When the sample loop came around we used to sample old records in the '70s, those breaks we used to play in Hip-Hop, that Cool Herc and all the old DJs used to play. Those breaks were live drummers and when you sampled and looped it, it made the live drummer feel come back into the music, so it brought the soul back into the music. The sample loop revolutionized the music industry once again by bringing soul back into the music with a live drummer."

This was used in the 1985 movie Krush Groove, one of the first movies based on Hip-Hop culture. Kurtis was in the movie along with Run-D.M.C., The Fat Boys, LL Cool J, New Editon and The Beastie Boys. Kurtis worked on the soundtrack to the album and was also producing The Fat Boys and working on his own album at the time. They shot the film in 3 weeks.

Nas covered this as "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)" in 1996, and it became his biggest hit. Says Kurtis: "They sent me a tape of the song, I heard Lauryn Hill in the background and I knew it was her. I played it over and over, it was incredible. I knew it was going to be a mega-hit." (thanks to Kurtis for speaking with us about this song)