BoDeans "Good Things"

One of the mastermind's behind Prince's music helped launch the BoDeans into a new direction. A trip to meet producer David Z. at Paisley Park Studios in Minneapolis turned out the BoDean's hit "Good Things" in 1991. Later in the '90s, the Fox television show Party of Five helped turn the band a household name when it chose to use "Closer to Free" as its theme song.

Janet Jackson "Love Will Never Do (Without You)"

Originally thought of as a duet with Prince, "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" is the last single from Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 -- her wildly successful album that charted seven Top 5 singles. Only four artists have ever achieved this feat. Rhythm Nation 1814 managed to be a pioneer in another category -- it became the first album to chart #1 hits in three successive years: "Miss You Much" (1989), "Escapade" and "Black Cat" (1990), followed by "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" in 1991.

Marc Cohn "True Companion"

Overlooked by his hit "Walking in Memphis", Marc Cohn's follow-up ballad, "True Companion", is worthy of a listen. With his deep and convincing voice, Cohn beautifully paints a song that any couple in love should embrace as their own.

Richard Marx "Chains Around My Heart"

The mercurial Richard Marx actually has a sense of humor. He recently posted to Twitter and Instagram that he went to the dentist -- not for his teeth, but to hear some of his music.

Shanice "Saving Forever for You"

How do you envision the third re-boot of Beverly Hills, 90210? It's said to feature the majority of the original cast in an unconventional take on a re-boot. Guess we'll just have to speculate and wonder whether the Peach Pit has a gluten-free menu. The original show helped introduce artists and music to the show's fans -- so much so that the show released Beverly Hills, 90210 The Album which included hits like "Love Is" from Vanessa Williams & Brian McKnight and "Saving Forever for You" from Shanice.

Simply Red "Something Got Me Started"

While working as an intern at a radio station, my first real conversation with the afternoon host still sticks with me nearly 30 years later. After staring me up and down, he politely asked: "Why the hell do you want to work in this business? My advice is to get out now." That happened in 1995 -- arguably during radio's better days. To this date, I bring that story up whenever young people ask me about working in radio. I make it a point to re-state how someone gave me that unsolicited "advice" when I was an 18 year-old intern. While I never want to discourage someone from chasing their dream, I also feel the need to describe why someone would share that advice to me.

Cathy Dennis "Touch Me (All Night Long)"

Cathy Dennis arrived on the music scene in 1990 with hits like "Just Another Dream" (featuring a guy who sounds remarkably like Rick Astley) followed by the dance club hit "Touch Me (All Night Long)". Years later, Dennis moved into songwriting and is partially responsible for Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Out of My Head" and Britney Spears' "Toxic". In 2015, her voice turned up in "Runaway (U & I)" for the EDM group Galantis.

Mariah Carey "I Don't Wanna Cry"

The first four songs Mariah Carey released went to #1 on the Hot 100. "I Don't Wanna Cry" was the fourth of her four straight first-place finishers. The only other band to accomplish this? The Jackson 5.

Shanice "I Love Your Smile"

"Don't look at me when you smile. Those crooked teeth make me sick." Who do you think uttered those caustic words to me? No, it wasn't the neighborhood bully or even my brother. It also wasn't some kid at school. Nope, those words stuck me in the face during dinner one night from my grandfather. My grandpa was a man who didn't mince words. He spoke his mind and occasionally stepped on toes. At the time, Grandpa was adamant I get braces and uttered the phrase: "Get that kid braces!" nearly every time my parents and I were within earshot of him. My parents eventually agreed and not because my grandpa offered to pay for them.

Whereas most 7th graders were getting their braces off, but I was just getting them put on and wasn't happy about it. I didn't have terrible teeth, but they did need alignment. My biggest fear was getting head gear -- proudly worn by nerdy characters in many 1980s sitcoms. This fear led me to call the Orthodontist's office where I pretended to be a curious parent. I eventually hung up when the receptionist peppered me with questions about my identity. Despite my objections, I wore braces all the way until my sophomore year of high school (September 21, 1992 to be exact). As fate would have it, nearly the day after I had my braces removed (and confidence restored), my hormones decided to flare up and enlisted numerous pimples and white heads to participate in driving my confidence way back down.

While I never fully forgave my grandfather for making me feel so ugly during a time when we all felt our ugliest, I did later thank my grandparents for reminding my parents to get my teeth fixed.

Today, whenever I watch TV, I feel like I'm bombarded with TV commercials for people with "missing or failing teeth" and I'm thrilled to have those days in my past. Grandpa could've change the way he delivered his message, but whatever...

Enya "Caribbean Blue"

You would NEVER expect to hear New Age artist Enya on an Alternative radio station, yet that actually happened. The Irish musician whose music is synonymous with a massage parlor soundtrack, actually hit #3 on the Alternative Chart with "Caribbean Blue" in 1991.

Zucchero & Paul Young "Senza una Donna (Without A Woman)"

Known as the "Father of Italian Blues", Zucchero Fornaciari released "Senza una Donna" in 1987. Upon its re-release in 1991, the song adopted English lyrics as well as English singer Paul Young. The song's lyrics seem to say "Scent of a Woman", but it's actually the song's title "Senza una Donna".

Glenn Frey "Part of Me, Part of You"

The little-remembered song, "Part of Me, Part of You", from Glenn Frey's Strange Weather album found a second home on the Thelma & Louise Soundtrack. Still don't remember it? I didn't think so. When you've run through 1450 posts on this blog (cheap plus), you start to get desperate....

Paula Abdul "Rush Rush"

One of the greatest ballads of the 1990s came courtesy of former Los Angeles Lakers cheerleader Paula Abdul. It was her first ballad and record company executives feared releasing it. The song exceeded all expectations: it song sat atop the Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary Charts for a good portion of the summer of 1991. I wonder how many people were inspired to play the violin thanks to this tune...

Bette Midler "Night and Day"

When you think Bette Midler, you probably associate her with New York, right? She's actually Hawaiian. The Honolulu-born actress, comedian and singer followed up her huge hit "From A Distance", with the ballad "Night and Day" in 1991.

Michael Jackson "Black or White"

The following is an actual exchange between me and a female colleague during our radio station's Christmas party in 2001.

Me: "I don't know about you, but I feel like everyone in our age group is getting married, having kids, or becoming a priest (my friend Ross had just revealed to me that he planned to enter the monastery)."
Her: "Totally! Well, except none of my friends have joined the priesthood."
Me: "How about nuns. None of your friends decided to become a nun?"
Her: "Nope."
Me: "Hmmm...well, my circle of friends keeps shrinking and your group of friends keeps shrinking. Maybe we should hang out sometime..."
Her: "I have nice boobs."
Me: (Believing that she just said: "I have nice boots", I looked down at her shoes before replying since she was wearing boots) "Yeah, I like the black ones."
Her: (silence)
Me: "You know, the black ones that go to the knee?"
Her: (silence as she takes a long sip of her drink)
Me: "They're like those sexy black ones that come down to knee..."
Her: (more painful silence)
Me: (I keep replaying the last five minutes of our conversation wondering what the hell just went wrong.)
Her: "I said I have nice BOOBS!"
Me: "Boobs? Wait, you said boobs??? Oh, shit. I thought you said you have nice BOOTS!"
Her: (walks away)

Peabo Bryson "Can You Stop the Rain?"

Robert Peapo Bryson changed his name to Peabo when he was 14 years old after starting his career singing backup with Al Freeman and the Upsetters. Freeman couldn't pronounce the West-Indian name "Peapo", so alas Peabo Bryson was born. A mainstay in '80s and '90s R&B music, Bryson also crossed over onto the Adult Contemporary Chart with songs such as "Can You Stop the Rain?".

Aaron Neville "Somewhere, Somebody"

Most DJ's avoid the radio station's phone lines at all costs...instead they answer only when they're conducting a contest. I, for one, always enjoyed answering the phones because you just never knew who was going to call...especially when working the overnight shift (midnight until 5am). After the bars closed, you'd get your drunken requests for songs, sobbing teenagers who just broke up with their significant others and freaky calls from curious perverts with creepy voices who asked if I liked my back scratched by long painted fingernails (true story). Most radio stations also had their "regulars" -- folks who knew everyone by name and checked in daily. Somewhere in Chicago, somebody named Margie places daily phone calls to my radio station and (for the past 20 years) has said the same three things (usually followed by giggles):

• "Hey, good looking, thanks for the weather."
• "Are you gonna be here tomorrow?"
• "Will you play The Carpenters?"

Lisa Stansfield "Change"

Please don't call British pop singer Lisa Stansfield a one-hit-wonder. Yes, most of us remember "All Around the World", but she also turned in a multi-format hit in 1991 with the upbeat song "Change". This dance club favorite was a hit across the globe and even was remixed again in 2006.

Jude Cole "House Full of Reasons"

A Midwestern boy with a dream to make it in the music business, Jude Cole dropped out of high school at 18 and boarded a prop plane bound for Southern California. Unlike many stories that start this way, Cole's story is quite different. Not only did he make it as a writer, performer and singer in the '80s and '90s, but Cole took what he learned from the music business and moved behind-the-scenes. He helped move the needle of the rock group Lifehouse from an unknown to a multi-platinum success story. Cole now serves as the manager of the rock band Lifehouse as well as actor Keifer Sutherland. At the end of 2017, Jude released his first album in years. Oh, and Jude happens to be married to Lori Pfieffer, the younger sister of Michele Pfieffer.

Roxette "Joyride"

"Hello, you fool, I love you. Join the joyride."