Waterfront "Cry"

Even with a million plays on the radio in 1989, I somehow missed "Cry" from the British duo Waterfront. The song hit #10 hit on the Hot 100 and #2 on the Adult Contemporary Charts, but I feel like I've never heard it until today. "Cry" proved to be the band's high-water moment.

Maroon 5 "She Will Be Loved"

"Look for the girl with the broken smile and ask her if she wants to stay a while."

Gregory Abbott "Shake You Down"

This is a real message from my friend Matt. He certainly knows who to ask when he has a bad music-related question. He's inquiring about "Shake You Down" from Gregory Abbott. His 1986 ballad with lyrics written by a drunken teenager hit #2 on the Adult Contemporary Chart.

New Radicals "You Get What You Give"

Marilyn Manson was so upset his name was used opposite Courtney Love in the lyrics of "You Get What You Give" that he threatened to beat up New Radical's lead singer Gregg Alexander. The two later bumped into each other in a grocery store where Alexander apologized to Manson and all was forgiven.

Celine Dion "That's the Way It Is"

How do you know you've worked in Adult Contemporary radio too long? While walking out of work last week, Celine Dion's "That's The Way It Is" blared through the halls of Prudential Plaza. Immediately, I knew all the words...almost like a non-practicing Catholic can instantly recall the lyrics to "One Bread, One Body" once they step into a church.

Hootie & the Blowfish "Only Wanna Be With You"

The assistant chef at the banquet hall where I worked in high school was wrong. While "Only Wanna Be With You" played on the grease-covered radio in the kitchen for what had to be the zillionth time that day, my fellow busboy Steve questioned the lyrics: "I'm such a baby cause the Dolphins make me cry."

Without hesitation, Patrick (the assistant chef) told Steve that dolphins are supposed to make people happy and that they didn't make Hootie happy. Therefore Hootie is a baby. In reality, Hootie (Darius Rucker) sings about the Miami Dolphins and their championship drought in their 1995 song. 

Billy Joel "My Life"

Listen closely to Billy Joel's little ditty "My Life" and you'll hear the vocals of Peter Cetera and Donnie Dacus singing "Keep it to yourself it's my life". Both were members of Chicago in 1978 when "My Life" went to #2 on the Adult Contemporary Chart.

Main Ingredient "Everybody Plays the Fool"

When my high school sweetheart broke up with me to "focus on her studies" and then turned around and got engaged to a her friend from college who always used to call her and ask if she was still dating "that guy" (me), I experienced my first real heartbreak. The breakup kicked me in the balls and knocked me down for a number of years -- after all, I envisioned us marrying and having a couple kids and cats. It was my first real girlfriend and the sting of life without her paralyzed me. I refused to move on because I was convinced she was "the one". Like most wounds, time helped heal mine and I eventually moved on but, man, those were some dark years where I hid from the dating world by working seven days a week. I later adopted the mantra "I don't want to play the fool" thanks to the lyrics from the Main Ingredient song (though I first learned of the tune from Aaron Neville) and those words would later come back and bite me again...and again. Happy April Fool's Day!

Dire Straits "Walk of Life"

My friend John had a grandmother named Florence or "Flo" as he called her. Flo lived with John and his mother in a two-story house about a block from where I lived. I didn't know much about Flo other than she wore bell-bottom pants and she would usually just put the phone down and forget to tell John whenever I called their house. One other thing about Flo -- she usually walked around and mumbled "Whoo. Whoo wee." I don't know why, but she did. Once John got his driver's license, he and I would cruise the streets of Northwest Indiana listening to the radio. When Dire Straits' "Walk of Life" came on the radio, John shared that he called it the "Flo Song" since the song's hook contained the lyrics "Whoo-hoo".

Whitney Houston "Where Do Broken Hearts Go?"

Hard to believe it's been seven years since Whitney Houston died. While she may be gone, her streak of seven straight #1 songs remains. She set that record in 1988 with a song she claimed to hate. Whitney originally refused to record "Where Do Broken Hearts Go?" because she believed the song conveyed no meaning. She said the lyrics leave the question unanswered, according to a 2000 interview. Released in February 1988, the song went to #1 in April. As of today, we still have no idea where broken hearts go.

Air Supply "Here I Am (Just When I Thought I Was Over You)"

Air Supply had a problem on its hands when it released "Here I Am" in 1981. The lyrics (and title) of the ballad were very similar to the band's previous hit "The One That You Love" (with the lyrics: "Here I am the one that you love..."). To remedy this, the Aussie soft rock boys of Air Supply added "Just When I Thought I Was Over You" to the title. Problem solved, right? In 1985, the band released "Just as I Am" to further muddy the waters.

James Ingram "I Don't Have the Heart"

James Ingram passed away last week, but leaves my generation with some of the smoothest R&B ballads from the '80s and '90s. In particular, I'll always remember Ken Cocker on Chicago's 100.3 WPNT-FM on the air one afternoon sharing the meaning behind Ingram's signature tune, "I Don't Have the Heart". The song encapsulates what some of us may have struggled with at one point.

What set Ingram apart among most of his contemporaries is he sang about love as it really is -- not how it's imagined to be in all those Hallmark Channel movies. Love is as dangerous as it is wonderful. As warm as it could be cold. For love to be complete, it must be reciprocated. The love you give has to be received back. Ingram knows he's not in love with a woman who loves him in "I Don't Have the Heart". He painfully recognizes he cannot return this love. With both a heart that can't love her and a heart that doesn't want to hurt her, Ingram sings of his struggle as gently as he can. The song clearly struck a chord as it went to #1 in 1990 (#2 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Chart).

John Mayer "Your Body Is A Wonderland"

Originally titled "Strawberry Wonderland", John Mayer eventually changed the title of his ode to his first girlfriend to "Your Body Is A Wonderland". The song went on to outperform his debut hit "No Such Thing". With any success comes backlash and "Your Body Is A Wonderland" wasn't immune. Despite winning a Grammy for the tune, critics mocked Mayer for it. This caused him to shelve the song while on tour. Nowadays, Mayer claims he's embraced the song for what it is and has no problem playing it.

Andrew Gold "Lonely Boy"

The first-born captures the hearts and attention of their parents and relatives in a way that no other child can. Sometimes all that love and attention shifts when a second child enters the picture. Just ask Andrew Gold whose lyrics to "Lonely Boy" mirrors his own life (born in 1951 and gained a sister in 1953). The song depicts how the birth of an infant's sister changed the first child's feelings toward his parents -- namely, he's now lonely. Despite all the similarities between Gold's personal life and "Lonely Boy", Gold claims the song isn't about him and his sister (Bryndle) and that he wasn't a lonely boy.

America "A Horse With No Name"

After one Cleveland radio station pulled the Christmas song "Baby, It's Cold Outside" after listeners complained that its lyrics promote date rape, a Louisville radio station promises to play the song all day on Christmas. To each their own, I suppose. In the pre-#MeToo era of 1971, some radio stations banned America's "A Horse With No Name" for its alleged reference to heroin usage. Despite that, the song went to #1 on the Hot 100 and #3 on the Adult Contemporary Charts. 

Blessid Union of Souls "Let Me Be the One"

Is it possible to miss someone before they're gone? According to the lyrics to "Let Me Be the One", the answer is yes. In the catchy tune, lead singer Eliot Sloan also vows "to be a real good man". 

Bob Seger "You'll Accomp'ny Me"

Bob Seger told Rolling Stone: "We need to stop pretty soon and turn it over to the Kid Rocks and Eminems." That quote came in 2011. In 2018, Seger announced he and the Silver Bullet Band will do one final tour before riding off into the sunset.

Heart "Nothin' At All"

"When I asked you how you did it. You just said it was nothing at all."

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".

10,000 Maniacs "These Are Days"

Even though Natalie Merchant sings "These are the days..." in the song's opening line, the title actually is "These Are Days". Any person graduating from high school or college during the early to mid-'90s likely got weepy listening to the lyrics --they're akin to Macklemore and Kesha's current hit, "Good 'Ol Days".

The morning of the final radio show I produced in 2004 combined nearly every imaginable emotion. It's unusual that you know it's your last show but, in this instance, we all knew (even though our bosses didn't tell us) and still promised to do the best show and go out on top. As the hour turned to 9:00 A.M., the show became more music-intensive. At some point in our final hour, "These Are Days" played and a lump formed in my throat. Within minutes, I would no longer work with two of the most talented folks from that little studio where we broadcast the best little radio show (no one in Chicago knew). I learned so much working together during those early hours. Lessons about life, comedy and the power of family happened daily. Heck, at this point, the three of us in that room were family.

By 9:50 A.M., the morning host turned on the mic one last time to say "goodbye" and he immediately broke down in tears. It actually caught me off guard and knocked me out of my emotional state. I had to be strong, I thought to myself. Between tears, he thanked our listeners, thanked management for the opportunity and then signed off. After a quick group hug, the last thing I remember was watching every single phone line into the radio station light up and flash continuously until our boss walked into the studio and escorted us out of the building. It was my first time being "on the beach"...