White Town "Your Woman"

"Todd, you have to hear this song. It sounds like someone used your old shitty Casio keyboard to make a song." 
     -My friend Pat's review of "Your Woman" from White Town (circa 1997)

Eddie Murphy "Party All The Time"

Remember the time Eddie Murphy had one of the biggest songs on the radio? It actually happened in 1985 when "Party All The Time" spent three weeks at #2 on the Hot 100. The song featured Rick "Superfreak" James on backing vocals. My mom and our neighbor Judy spent a good portion of the summer of 1985 singing along to the song, but they changed the lyrics to "My mom likes to party all the time..." 

The Wallflowers "One Headlight"

"I'll take Pardiddle for $1000, Alex." 

Terrence Trent D'Arby "Wishing Well"

Think about it: you throw some spare change into a mall fountain and make a wish. Good luck with that.

Tina Turner "Open Arms"

No, Tina Turner didn't remake Bryan Adams' signature ballad "Open Arms". However, she did release an original song in 2004 with the same title that charted throughout the world including at home in the States on the Adult Contemporary Chart.

Lionel Richie "Running with the Night"

Richard Marx owes Lionel Richie a beer or two for helping launch his career. Marx provided backup vocals for a handful of Lionel's tunes including "Running with the Night" in 1983. After Marx became a household name (and a staple of Adult Contemporary radio), Lionel appeared as a background vocalist on "The Way She Loves Me".

Jefferson Starship "Miracles"

If you want to get a song on the radio, record companies create a "radio edit" of the original song. In the case of "Miracles" from Jefferson Starship, the original version of the song clocked in at just under seven minutes and contained a verse about going down on a woman. After receiving a haircut, the radio edit of "Miracles" dropped the sexual lyric and the length of the song fell to 3:25.

The Rembrandts "I'll Be There for You"

If I never had to hear this song again, I'd be just fine with it.

Paul Simon "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard"

Just what law did "me and Julio break down by the schoolyard"? Singer and songwriter Paul Simon doesn't know -- he wanted to leave that up to the imagination of the listener.

Lionel Richie "Don't Wanna Lose You"

History labeled Lionel Richie's Louder Than Words album a commercial disappointment with lackluster sales of 28,000 copies. Despite that, Adult Contemporary radio stations finally had a new Lionel song to spin: "Don't Wanna Lose You". While the album didn't do much, the song peaked at #2 on the Adult Contemporary Chart in 1996.

Dan Fogelberg "Rhythm of the Rain"

Dan Fogelberg remade The Cascades' ballad "Rhythm of the Rain" and turned it into a #3 hit on the Adult Contemporary Chart in 1990.

Hanson "Where's the Love"

Riding the wave of "MMMBop", the pop band Hanson released the song "Where's the Love" in late-1997. Today, the three brothers of Hanson continue making music some 25-plus years after the mega-success of their debut album, Middle of Nowhere.

Janet Jackson "Again"

If you conducted a study of the words that children first learn to say, the order would look something like this: momma, dada, no, more, night night, again. The word again is one of those that kids always say after you do something that makes them belly laugh.    

Toto "Rosanna"

SIGN OF THE TIMES

It was the early-2000s and I worked for an Adult Contemporary radio station in Chicago.  My Program Director at the time ordered me (and other DJs) to fade out the ending of the song "Rosanna" from Toto before the guitar solo.  Why?  He said because "soccer moms don't like guitars".

Carly Simon "Give Me All Night"

You might be too young to understand this, but...

The sound I hear while listening to "Give Me All Night" makes me think the cassette player is about to "eat" my tape.  The song sounds like it's slower than it should be and a bit garbled.

Monica "For You I Will"

Despite Monica's success with "For You I Will" (peaked at #3 on Adult Contemporary Chart, #4 on Hot 100 in 1997), the song from the Space Jam Soundtrack will go down as one that immediately made me change the radio station.

Paul Simon "Father & Daughter"

Originally featured in The Wild Thornberries Soundtrack, Paul Simon re-released"Father and Daughter" for his 2006 Surprise album.  The song also gets plenty of spins during wedding receptions, so could Bob Carlisle kindly leave the dance floor?

Huey Lewis & The News "Perfect World"

Huey Lewis' career extended well past 1988, yet that was the last year the pop-rock band charted a Top 10 single.  Huey and the boys did it with the brassy and reggae-filled song "Perfect World" -- a song that peaked at #3 on the Hot 100 (#2 on the Adult Contemporary Chart).  

Culture Club "It's A Miracle"

With a funky beat, "It's A Miracle" from Culture Club quickly became yet another hit from Culture Club.  The song was the group's fifth single from their Colour By Numbers album.

Bruce Hornsby & The Range - "The Valley Road"

"The Valley Road" was a Top 10 hit in 1988 for Bruce Hornsby & The Range.  A year later, he re-recorded the catchy tune with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in a more country/Bluegrass style.  The result: a Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Recording in 1990.