Great Rock One Hit Wonders of 1983
It’s that time of the year, at least as far as the trip through 1983 is concerned, where I look back on those who had one song that got my attention and nothing more. In short, it’s time to look at the great rock one hit wonders of 1983.
Now you would think that with a name like Rough Trade, this would be a power chord happy heavy metal band. Unfortunately, there is too much piano in their hit “High School Confidential” to make that even possible. However, the song is memorable enough that it has never escaped my memory after all these years. Maybe it was because when I heard it in ’83, I was amused by the lyrics: “She makes me want to cream my jeans.” Wow, the things that amused my young mind then. Thinking about it though, the song might sound really cool if metalized.
Doctor Demento
Here’s a classic example of how attitudes have changed in the past thirty-three years. Today, if anyone put out a song about a clown who is a peadophile, that person or persons would be hung, drawn and quartered. Things were a bit different in 1983 where a song called “Kinko the Clown” got loads of airplay on the Doctor Demento show. Even then, it was too tasteless for mainstream radio. Back then it got lots of laughs from people who heard it, me included. Today, I see the not funny side about it.
No the Three Stooges didn’t put out any songs in 1983. If they did, I would have bought it because I was a big fan of theirs since I was 12, coitenly, nyuk nyuk! Like most fans of this classic comedy group, my favourite Stooge was Curly. So you can imagine how excited I was when I heard the song, “Curly Shuffle” by the Jump in the Saddle Band. The song is definitely of the swing jazz genre but it is played so well that it rocks! Throwing the phrases and sounds made by Curly into the song take it up even higher. Once again, proof that humour belongs in music. So don’t be a victim of coicumstance!
Naturally, I save the best for last. “Salt in My Tears” by Martin Briley is simply a great rocker, nuff said! Thirty three years on, I still head bang along to it. A great rocking hook and though the guitar solo is mind blowing, it is sufficient here. From a personal historical aspect, this song came out just before I got out of the marines and it immediately had me thinking of an ex girlfriend while I was in and how I wanted to sing the song to her. While I don’t think about her anymore, those lyrics continue to amuse me.
Well those are my choices for the great rock one hit wonders of 1983 and hopefully they’ll bring back some memories for you.
Next post: Triumphs and Tragedies
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This entry was posted on July 24, 2016 at 7:27 pm and is filed under 1980s, Humour, Music, Rock, Uncategorized with tags Classic Rock, Curly Shuffle, Doctor Demento, hard rock, Heavy Metal, Heavy Rock, humour, Jazz, Jump in the Saddle Band, Kinko the Clown, Martin Briley, one hit wonders, parody, Rough Trade, The 1980s, Three Stooges. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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January 26, 2018 at 6:10 pm
[…] Great Rock One Hit Wonders of 1983 [80sMETALMAN’S BLOG, blog] […]
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January 27, 2018 at 4:41 am
That Rough Trade song is one of my favorites! The clown… I guess it could be considered funny in an absurd sense… at first I thought it must have been pre- John W Gacy, but he was arrested in the late 1970s.
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January 27, 2018 at 6:06 am
That Rough Trade song has been going through my mind on and off for the past 30 years or more, great song!
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