Phil Collins, Elton John, and Gloria Estefan dominated Adult Contemporary radio back in the 1980s and '90s, yet have disappeared from modern radio. Seemingly, the only time you ever hear them is at the grocery store or your local CVS. This blog remembers the music, the stories and the quirky characters from my days working in Adult Contemporary radio.
If the Lifetime/Netflix thriller Youpremiered in 1987, you could add "Love Power" to the show's soundtrack. The Dionne Warwick and Jeffrey Osborne duet touches on two lovers who never quite get over one another -- even a psychic in Los Angeles said so! In the twisted drama You, Penn Badgley plays the lead character Joe Goldberg who falls in love with Beck, a customer he meets at his bookstore. Joe ultimately stalks Beck by using social media to learn everything he can about her, her family and friends. Joe does any and everything (including masturbating in the bushes and committing multiple murders) to make Beck all his (insert diabolical laugh). Shocked at the amount of fans who fell for Joe, the real-life Badgley took to Twitter to remind these troubled souls that Joe is, um, a killer. Love Power: it rules us and fools us.
I once worked with a fascinating guy who worked as a radio DJ at two different stations in the same city. Because of that, his Program Director made him change his name so as to not confuse the listeners. Since it was a rock station, he decided to use the name Ron Dezvous.
"Walk on By" was originally done by Dionne Warwick, but numerous other artists have taken their turn with the song. Isaac Hayes, Seal, and Cyndi Lauper recorded their own respective versions, but it was Melissa Manchester who took the song to the Top 10 in 1989. In her version, Manchester holds a note for nearly 14 seconds with the lyric "Walk on"...
Here is a short list of Dionne Warwick's friends: Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, and Elton John. That aside, when a throw-down happens among songs about Friends, I much prefer the theme song to The Golden Girls.
