The Police “Wrapped Around Your Finger” hit the top 10

Wrapped Around Your Finger The Police

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Van Halen hit #1 with “Jump”

Jump Van Halen

Writer(s): Eddie Van Halen/Alex Van Halen/Michael Anthony/David Lee Roth (see lyrics here) Released: December 21, 1983 First Charted: January 13, 1984 Peak: 15 US, 12 CB, 15 RR, 18 AR, 7 UK, 12 CN, 2 AU, 2 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, 0.4 UK, 3.4 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 92.0 video, 531.36 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “This is heavy metal in excelsis.” MA The song’s riff, which Eddie Van Halen crafted on synthesizer in 1981, WK “is a direct descendent of the Who’s ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again,’ but with sweeter more cogently stated melody.” MA It wasn’t as much of a stretch for guitarist to veer into new territory as some thought. He’d grown up being trained in classical piano and didn’t take up the guitar until his teen years. SF Daryl Hall says Eddie told him he copied the synth part from Hall & Oates’ “Kiss on My List.” Hall said, “I don’t have a problem with that at all.” WK The band initially rejected the song for being too much of a departure from the band’s harder-edged, guitar-based sound. WK Lead singer David Lee Roth thought it would look like the band was selling out for radio airplay. SF However, when the band’s producer, Ted Templeman, heard the song two years later, he said, “It just killed me. It was perfect.” FB He said everyone at Warner Brothers, the band’s record company, “flipped out.” FB He convinced Roth to take a stab at writing some lyrics. According to Roth, he wrote the lyrics in the back of 1951 Mercury low rider while band roadie Larry Hostler drove through the Hollywood Hills, up the Coast Highway, and through the San Fernando Valley. FB Roth had seen a TV news report the night before about a man threatening to jump off a building. He imagined an onlooker shouting “go ahead and jump.” WK Roth opted to turn the phrase into an invitation for love instead of a song about suicide, WK although he’s also said the song is about a stripper. SF He dedicated the song to Benny “The Jet” Urquidez, a martial artist who trained Roth. WK The song was released as the lead single for their sixth studio album, 1984. The band had charted top 40 hits before, but never even hit the top ten. A cheap, but ground-breaking performance video showcased the band’s charisma and playfulness. After the album, Roth went solo, but the band soldiered on with Sammy Hagar at the helm, continuing to be commercially successful. Resources: FB Fred Bronson (2007). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (4th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 584. MA Dave Marsh (1989). The Heart of Rock and Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. New York, NY; New American Library. Page 26. SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 11/13/2019; last updated 10/29/2022.

The Smiths released their debut album

The Smiths The Smiths

Released: February 20, 1984 Peak: 150 US, 2 UK, 65 CN, 77 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, -- UK, -- world (includes US and UK) Genre: college rock

Tracks: Click on a song title for more details. Reel Around the Fountain [5:58] You’ve Got Everything Now [3:59] Miserable Lie [4:29] Pretty Girls Make Graves [3:44] The Hand That Rocks the Cradle [4:38] This Charming Man [2:41] * Still Ill [3:23] Hand in Glove [3:25] What Difference Does It Make? [3:51] I Don’t Owe You Anything [4:05] Suffer Little Children [5:28] * Added to US LP/cassette and UK cassette. Total Running Time: 45:36 Other Songs from This Era: Handsome Devil These Things Take Time Accept Yourself This Night Has Opened My Eyes Back to the Old House Jeane Wonderful Woman The Players: Morrissey (vocals) Johnny Marr (guitar, etc.) Andy Rourke (bass) Mike Joyce (drums)

Rating: 3.930 out of 5.00 (average of 17 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

The Arrival of The Smiths “The Smiths were reminiscent of early R.E.M.: they were arty, they appealed to students, had unusual lyrics, plenty of Rickenbacker jangle, an unconventional vocalist, and a healthy contempt for chart formulas.” TB “They looked like nothing else on the UK music scene. Singer Morrissey was the anti-rock star, with a bunch of gladioli hanging out of the back pocket of his jeans and sporting a pari of National Health Service glasses. His lyrics were allusive, anguished, and droll…His melodies were free of blues inflections, one reason why the music sounds so English.” TB Expectations for the Smiths’ debut album were high after “their acclaimed debut single Hand in Glove in 1983.” TG-12 “Pop fans all over the UK thought that their upcoming debut album would be something really spectacular.” TG-12 Recording the Debut Album Unfortunately, the first attempt didn’t go so well. Geoff Travis, the label boss for Rough Trade, paired the band with Troy Tate, the former guitarist with The Teardrop Explodes, as their producer. They recorded fourteen songs together but they “were deemed too bad to release – they just didn’t capture the band’s energetic live sound in a good way.” TG-12 The band turned then to John Porter, who they met while recording a BBC session. The results were “more acceptable…[but] far from great.” TG-12 Nonetheless, the album became what Morrissey humbly called a “landmark in the history of pop.” TG-13 The Reception “Arriving in an era dominated by synth pop and gloomy post-punk, the Smiths’ eponymous debut was the bracing beginning of a new era.” AM “On the surface, the Smiths’ sound wasn’t radically different from traditional British guitar pop – Johnny Marr’s ringing, layered guitars were catchy and melodic – but it was actually an astonishing subversion of the form, turning the structure inside out.” AM Their first album is a showcase for “Morrissey’s morose wit and Johnny Marr’s guitar chime.” RS “Marr’s inventive songwriting was made all the more original and innovative by Morrissey’s crooning and lyrics” AM, “cultivated from a batch of Morrissey’s diaries.” CL The Songs “Writing about unconventional topics, from homosexuality (Hand in Glove) to child molestation and murder, Morrissey had a distinctively ironic, witty, and literate viewpoint whose strangeness was accentuated by his off-kilter voice, which would move from a croon to a yelp in a matter of seconds.” AM “Very few of the songs followed conventional verse-chorus structure, yet they were quite melodic within their own right” AM and the “juxtaposing of [Morrissey’s] lopsided grin of gloom and the light doodling of [Marr’s] almost always perfectly placed guitar was virtually unheard of.” CL “Reference points were rare, apart from Morrissey’s adopted Oscar Wilde demeanor, to which the press clung with a morbid fascination. It remains a delicate set of knowing quaffs and rounded, innocent eyes, beguiling the listener with some wonderfully crafted pop – when they weren’t laughing behind their hands.” CL “While the production of The Smiths is a little pristine, the songs are vital and alive, developing a new, unique voice within pop music. Though the Smiths continued to improve over the course of their career, their debut remains startling and exciting.” AM Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs featured on The Smiths as well as other songs recorded during this era.

Hand in Glove The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Recorded: 2/27/1983 at Strawberry, Stockport, England Released: 5/13/83 (single), The Smiths (1984), Hatful of Hollow (archives: 1983-84), Louder Than Bombs (archives: 1983-87), The Very Best of (compilation: 1983-87, released 2001) B-side: “Handsome Devil” (live) Peak: 19 CO, 12 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 58.79 streaming About the Song: This was the debut single for The Smiths. “The single version has a fade-in and fade-out, and Rourke’s bass is a bit louder in the mix here. The version later included on the album was remixed by John Porter from the original tapes, recorded in 10cc’s Strawberry Studios in early 1983 and has a cold start.” TG-10 Morrissey has said the line “Yes, we may be hidden by rags / But we’ve something they’ll never have” is his favorite of his lyrics. TG-10

Handsome Devil The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Recorded: 2/4/1983 live at the Hacienda in Manchester; 5/18/1983 at John Peel session for BBC Released: 5/13/1983 (B-side of “Hand in Glove”), Hatful of Hollow (archives: 1983-84) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 23.82 streaming About the Song: The version of this song that was released as a B-side for “Hand in Glove” was recorded live at the Hacienda in Manchester on 2/4/1983. It was also recorded for the BBC at a John Peel session on 5/18/1983. “It’s a great song and a good example of the more energetic early Smiths sound.” TG-10 “The lyrics made this one of the songs accused of having pedophilic tendencies…but Morrissey insisted that the ‘essence of the song’ was in the final two lines – the now-classic: ‘There’s more to life than books, you know / But not much more.’” TG-10

What Difference Does It Make? The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Recorded: 5/18/1983 at John Peel session for BBC, October 1983 at Pluto studio in Manchester, England Released: 1/16/1984 (single), The Smiths (1984), Hatful of Hollow (archives: 1983-84), The Very Best of (compilation: 1983-87, released 2001) B-side: “Back to the Old House,” “These Things Take Time” Peak: 5 CO, 12 UK Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 65.31 streaming About the Song: This was the third single from The Smiths. Its #12 peak in the UK was their highest charter yet. The band, however, wasn’t actually happy about it and dropped it from their setlists. The version recorded for the Peel session is commonly viewed as superior because it captured “the band’s live energy in a much better way.” TG-15

Reel Around the Fountain The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Recorded: 5/18/1983 at John Peel session for BBC Released: The Smiths (1984), Hatful of Hollow (archives: 1983-84) Peak: 35 CO Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 37.62 streaming About the Song: “The album kicks off with one of those controversial songs, with lyrics that were reportedly pedophilic.” TG-13 “Morrissey strongly denied the accusation, and it blew over.” TG-13 “The song was originally planned to be The Smiths’ second single, but when the label heard the new song ‘This Charming Man’…they changed their mind.” TG-13 “Musically, the song starts off with Joyce’s steady drumbeat and then evolves into one of the slower songs on the album. The song also features one of the rare guest appearances on a Smiths record, as Paul Carrack…plays the piano and organ.” TG-13

These Things Take Time The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Recorded: 6/26/1983 at David Jensen session for BBC Released: 1/16/1984 (B-side of “What Difference Does It Make?”), Hatful of Hollow (archives: 1983-84), Louder Than Bombs (archives: 1983-87) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 9.27 streaming About the Song: “This is another one of Morrissey’s lyrics about wanting love and never seeming to obtain it.” TG-41 The song first showed up as a B-side on the 12” version of “What Difference Does It Make?”

You’ve Got Everything Now The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Recorded: 6/26/1983 at David Jensen session for BBC Released: The Smiths (1984), Hatful of Hollow (archives: 1983-84) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 34.26 streaming About the Song: “This, a fairly straightforward pop song, features some really classic Morrissey lyrics…In interviews, he often talked about how he could never imagine working for a living (that is, having a ‘regular’ job), and this song is surely a comment on this, as well as on how he saw the world around him turning more and more materialistic and that riches don’t make people happy.” TG-13

Accept Yourself The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Recorded: 8/25/1983 at David Jensen session for BBC Released: 10/31/1983 (B-side of “This Charming Man”), Hatful of Hollow (archives: 1983-84) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 9.72 streaming About the Song: “This song was planned to be included on the debut album at the time of the recordings with Troy Tate that were later scrapped, but was later placed on this B-side when it was re-recorded with John Porter. The lyrics are pretty straightforward, with Morrissey telling the listeners to be themselves, no matter what. Musically, Marr has admitted that he was heavily inspired by Tamla Motown in general and the Four Tops in particular, which is quite audible in his guitar playing on this song.” TG-11

Still Ill The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Recorded: 9/14/1983 at John Peel session for BBC Released: The Smiths (1984), Hatful of Hollow (archives: 1983-84), The Very Best of (compilation: 1983-87, released 2001) Peak: 37 CO Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 90.91 streaming About the Song: One “could easily think that the lyrics are referring to the hypochondriac tendencies of Morrissey and that might as well be true. But it has also been interpreted as being about him realizing that the dreams he once had were now dead and gone, and there’s also a healthy dose of the typical Morrissey pessimism.” TG-15 “Even Encyclopedia Britannica concludes that ‘songs such as Still Ill sealed [Morrissey’s] role as spokesman for disaffected youth.” TG-15 This was one of the band’s “early live favorites, and the band kept playing it more or less to the bitter end.” TG-15

This Night Has Opened My Eyes The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Recorded: 9/14/1983 at John Peel session for BBC Released: Hatful of Hollow (archives: 1983-84), Louder Than Bombs (archives: 1983-87) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 370.42 streaming About the Song: This is “a true masterpiece which was close to not being released at all.” TG-42 “Recorded live for the September 1983 session for John Peel, this song has only been officially released in this version, even though there’s supposed to be a regular studio version hidden away somewhere (recorded in the summer of 1984 with John Porter) – it was meant to be released as the B-side to the ‘Nowhere Fast’ single that never came to be.” TG-42 “Lyrically, this more or less tells the story of the play, and later movie, A Taste of Honey by Shelagh Delaney, rewritten into a three minute and 41-second pop song, with Morrissey even taking the liberty of borrowing a few lines directly from the script. It’s a heartbreaking story of an unwanted pregnancy, which sees the desperate mother contemplate drowning the baby.” TG-42 “Marr’s marvelous melody fits the lyrics perfectly.” TG-42

Back to the Old House The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Recorded: 9/14/1983 at John Peel session for BBC Released: 1/16/1984 (B-side of “What Difference Does It Make?”), Hatful of Hollow (archives: 1983-84), Louder Than Bombs (archives: 1983-87) Peak: 32 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 18.35 streaming About the Song: This was first recorded for the BBC and that version was released on Hatful of Hollow. It “only features Morrissey and Marr on his acoustic guitar, making it unique in the Smiths catalogue. Marr’s fingerpicked melody is beautiful and melancholic (he reportedly wrote it with his then-girlfriend, now-wife, Angie, in mind), which suits Morrissey’s lyrics about not wanting to think about long lost love.” TG-43 A newly recorded version was released as the B-side of “What Difference Does It Make?” It “features the full band, which doesn’t really suit the song. It’s a lot more beautiful with just the two songwriters doing what they do best.” TG-43

This Charming Man The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Recorded: 9/14/1983 at John Peel session for BBC; October 1983 at Strawberry, Stockport, England Released: 10/31/1983 (single), The Smiths (US LP/cassette, UK cassette, 1984), Hatful of Hollow (archives: 1983-84), The Very Best of (compilation: 1983-87, released 2001) B-side: “Jeane,” “Accept Yourself,” “Wonderful Woman” Peak: 1 CO, 8 UK, 12 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 783.11 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: This was “one of the band’s most famous songs” TG-14 and “was probably the first real ‘pop hit’ the band had, being their first single to enter the charts,” TG-11 reaching #25 in the UK. It went even higher when re-released in 1992, peaking at #8. The song was not featured on the original UK release of The Smiths but was added to the U.S. release and later included on all reissues in the UK and U.S. “Lyrically, it tells the story of a man who gets a flat tire on his bike and then gets a lift by a ‘charming man’ in a ‘charming car,’ a man who eventually asks the biking out that night. However, the biker declines the offer.” TG-11

Jeane The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Recorded: ? Released: 10/31/1983 (B-side of “This Charming Man”) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 5.27 streaming About the Song: “This is actually the only recording made with original album producer Troy Tate that was officially released, and it’s surprisingly non-jangly for an early Smiths song. Indeed, Marr has revealed in later interviews that he did try to get away from the band’s trademark jangle when he wrote this song. It was originally played at a slower pace until Morrissey insisted that they should speed it up a little. The ‘Jeane’ in the song has been rumoured to be Morrissey’s old friend Linder Sterling, but it could be any one of his adolescent friends, really. The song was later covered by Sandie Shaw (as a B-side to her ‘Hand in Glove’ single in 1984) and modern-day protest singer Billy Bragg.” TG-11

Wonderful Woman The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Recorded: ? Released: 10/31/1983 (B-side of “This Charming Man”) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 16.86 streaming About the Song: This is “reportedly about Linder Sterling,” TG-11 an old friend of Morrissey’s. It was “originally called ‘What Do You See in Him?,’ with completely different lyrics, but later transformed into this lovely song. Morrissey later admitted that the song was a bout a woman who was quite the opposite of ‘wonderful,’ but despite her horrible ways, he would still forgive her. The song was recorded with Troy Tate, but this version s the re-recording done with John Porter.” TG-11

Miserable Lie The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Released: The Smiths (1984) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 14.27 streaming About the Song: “This early live favorite starts out slowly, but then suddenly changes tempo and finishes at a much more furious pace. Lyrically, songs like these were part of the reason why the journalists at the time (and the fans) started wondering whether Morrissey’s lyrics were autobiographical or not. Some of them obviously weren’t, but when writing about losing the love of your life or about longing for love, it all seemed a lot closer to home.” TG-14

Pretty Girls Make Graves The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Released: 11/2/1987 (B-side of “I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish”), The Smiths (1984) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 145.24 streaming About the Song: “Taking its title from Jack Kerouac’s The Dharma Bums, the lyrics reverse a more traditional (but nevertheless sad) situation as a girl pressures her boyfriend into having sex with her, though he ends up losing her anyway.” TG-14

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Released: The Smiths (1984) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 15.23 streaming About the Song: “Originally meant to be the album’s title track…this is another one of the alleged ‘pedophilic’ lyrics.” TG-14 It “could be interpreted as being about a man who’s having deeply inappropriate thoughts about a young child. But Morrissey also writes from the eyes of a child, with a lot of disturbing images that could be taken from a horror movie – a piano playing in an empty room, bloody cleavers, wavering shadows.” TG-14 “The song was one of the very first Morrissey and Marr wrote together and was featured on the first demo they made…before Rourke and Joyce joined the band.” TG-14

I Don’t Owe You Anything The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Released: The Smiths (1984) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 76.63 streaming About the Song: “Mike Joyce once claimed that this song was ‘one of the most powerful songs that Morrissey had ever done.’” TG-15 However, one “would have to search for a long time to find a Smiths fan that holds this as her or his favorite.” TG-15 When Sandie Shaw recorded the Smiths’ “Hand in Glove” as a single, she recorded this as the B-side.

Suffer Little Children The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Released: 5/21/1984 (B-side of “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now”), The Smiths (1984) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 21.20 streaming About the Song: This is “one of the oldest songs in The Smiths canon, recorded with original bass player Dale as ‘Over the Moors.’” TG-15 With its “creepy beauty” TB “The song is one of the band’s most powerful both lyrically and musically, although the band played it live just once.” TG-16 It is “also one of the most controversial.” TG-15 It is about “the infamous ‘Moors Murders’ that took place in and around the band’s hometown of Manchester during the mid-1960s.” TB From 1963 to 1965, Myra Hindley and Ian Brady kidnapped and murdered five children. “Some of the families of the victims didn’t like that Morrissey had written a song about their murdered family members, so the album was banned from sales in many of the UK record shops.” TG-16 Morrissey “insisted that his lyrics were meant as a tribute to the children and also met with the families. They withdrew their complaints and the singer even became friends with one of the mothers.” TG-16

Resources/References: AM AllMusic.com review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine TG Tommy Gunnarsson (2021). On Track…The Smiths & Morrissey. Sonicbond Publishing: United Kingdom. CL Colin Larkin (1998). Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums. Virgin Books: London, England. RS Rolling Stone (2005). The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Edited by Joe Levy. Wenner Media, LLC: New York, NY. TB Thunder Bay (2005). Albums: The Stories Behind 50 Years of Great Recordings. Thunder Bay Press; San Diego, CA. Page 226. Related DMDB Pages: First posted 5/22/2010; last updated 9/18/2026.