Billy Joel’s The Bridge released

First posted 5/9/2011; updated 9/22/2020.

The Bridge Billy Joel

Released: July 29, 1986 Peak: 7 US, 38 UK, 10 CN, 2 AU Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 0.06 UK, 5.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: pop/rock singer-songwriter

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Running on Ice This Is the Time (11/15/86, 18 US, 1 AC, 32 AR, 26 CN, 73 AU) A Matter of Trust (8/9/86, 10 US, 17 AC, 14 AR, 52 UK, 15 CN, 3 AU) Modern Woman (6/7/86, 10 US, 7 AC, 34 AR, 27 CN, 21 AU) Baby Grand (with Ray Charles) (4/4/87, 75 US, 3 AC, 78 AU) Big Man on Mulberry Street Temptation Code of Silence Getting Closer Total Running Time: 40:06

Rating: 3.146 out of 5.00 (average of 11 ratings) Awards:

About the Album: “Riding high on the blockbuster An Innocent Man and with a new jet-setting bride at his side, Billy Joel took full advantage of the high life, as is clear from The Bridge, an album that unwittingly celebrates the excesses of the Reagan years.” AMG He “advantage of his wealth and status, recruiting a hero (Ray Charles)” AMG for a sentimental ode to the piano with Baby Grand, although it is “weighed down by Joel’s vocal affectations.” AMG He also brought in “new wave kid” AMG Cyndi Lauper to duet on Code of Silence and turned to “Sting for inspiration” AMG for Running on Ice. The album also finds Joel “fronting a big band [with] Big Man on Mulberry Street, writing “the catchy but fluffy” AMG Modern Woman for the movie Ruthless People, “and picking up the guitar (A Matter of Trust), just for the hell of it.” AMG “This Is the Time was one of Joel’s most touching and modern songs: his ‘Boys of Summer,’ complete with similar life-is-fleeting sentiments.” DB “You could say that it’s eclectic, but it’s scattershot because it’s just Joel showing off his musical skills” AMG and it can end up sounding like “flabby, hammy R&B.” DB It ultimately ends up “his most uneven since Streetlife Serenade” AMG from 1974. “Nevertheless, Joel still has enough panache and is riding on so much exuberance that The Bridge remains an entertaining listen, especially if it's viewed as a Reagan-era artifact. It just doesn’t compare to what came before.” AMG

Resources and Related Links: Billy Joel’s DMDB Encyclopedia entry AMG All Music Guide review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine DB David Browne (6/07). Blender magazine. Pages 114-5.

R.E.M. Life’s Rich Pageant released

Life’s Rich Pageant R.E.M.

Released: July 28, 1986 Peak: 21 US, 43 UK, 39 CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, -- UK, 3.0 world (includes US + UK) Genre: college rock

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Begin the Begin (16 CO, 31 DF) These Days (24 DF) Fall on Me (8/9/86, 94 BB, 5 AR, 7 CO, 2 DF) Cuyahoga (32 DF) Hyena (32 DF) Underneath the Bunker Flowers of Guatemala I Believe (31 DF) What if We Give It Away? (32 DF) Just a Touch Swan Swan H (24 DF) Superman (11/1/86, 17 AR, 19 CO, 3 DF) Total Running Time: 37:24 The Players: Bill Berry (drums, percussion) Peter Buck (guitar.) Mike Mills (bass, piano, keyboards) Michael Stipe (vocals)

Rating: 4.212 out of 5.00 (average of 27 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “Fables of the Reconstruction was intentionally murky, and Life’s Rich Pageant was constructed as its polar opposite. Teaming with producer Don Gehman, who previously worked with John Mellencamp, R.E.M. developed their most forceful record to date. Where previous records kept the rhythm section in the background, Pageant emphasizes the beat, and the band turns in its hardest rockers to date, including the anthemic Begin the Begin and the punky Just a Touch.” “From the first sonic blastoff of Peter Buck’s opening riff on ‘Begin the Begin,’ it’s clear this was the moment when the darlings of college radio decided: To hell with student unions, we want to fill arenas!” EW’12 “The cleaner production also benefits the ballads and the mid-tempo janglers, particularly since it helps reveal Michael Stipe’s growing political obsessions, especially on the environmental anthems Fall on Me and Cuyahoga.” “The group hasn’t entirely left myths behind – witness the Civil War ballad Swan Swan H – but the band sound more contemporary both musically and lyrically than they did on either Fables or Murmur, which helps give the record an extra kick. And even with excellent songs like I Believe, Flowers of Guatemala, These Days, and What if We Give It Away, it’s ironic that the most memorable moment comes from the garage rock obscurity Superman, which is sung with glee by Mike Mills.”

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for R.E.M. AM AllMusic.com review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine EW’12 Entertainment Weekly (9/27/2012). “Top 100 Albums” Other Related DMDB Pages: Last updated 6/18/2024.

Peter Gabriel hit #1 with “Sledgehammer”

Sledgehammer Peter Gabriel

Writer(s): Peter Gabriel (see lyrics here) Released: April 21, 1986 First Charted: April 26, 1986 Peak: 11 US, 12 CB, 2 GR, 11 RR, 61 RB, 12 AR, 2 CO, 4 UK, 12 CN, 3 AU, 4 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.25 UK, 0.25 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 75.0 video, 92.68 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Peter Gabriel helmed the British progressive rock band Genesis from 1967 to 1975 and then launched a successful solo career. Genesis soldiered on as well with Phil Collins as their front man, becoming hugely successful. In 1986, the band landed its sole #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. It was knocked out of the top slot by none other than Peter Gabriel with “Sledgehammer,” the lead single from So, which became the most successful album of his career. The song took him “from art rock hero and college radio mainstay to full-on pop star.” AMG It was, as he said, “an attempt to recreate some of the spirit and style of the music that most excited me as a teenager – ‘60s soul.” FB To that end, the song featured a brass section led by the Memphis Horns’ Wayne Jackson, who had become “the most sought after ‘horn-for-hire’ of the last 30 years” with an impressive resume that included “expiernece in the house band for legendary record company Stax…with the likes of Otis Redding and Sam & Dave.” LW < Lyrically, the song is full of sexual innuendo. The title itself is a reference to male anatomy as are the terms train, bumper cars, and the big dipper. SF Gabriel said it was “about the use of sex as a means of getting through a breakdown in communication.” FB The “wildly inventive video” AMG directed by Stephen R. Johnson was “possibly the coolest thing that had ever been done in the medium.” AMG It included groundbreaking work with Claymation, stop motion, and pixilation. Gabriel had to spend sixteen hours a day for eight days lying under glass to film it. FB It won a record nine awards at the 1987 Video Music Awards, including Video of the Year, and is the network’s most played video of all time. ME It also won Best British Video at the 1987 Brit Awards. WK Rolling Stone declared it the best-ever music video. LW Gabriel told Rolling Stone he didn’t think the song would have been a hit if it weren’t for the video. “I think it had a sense of both humor and fun, neither of which were particularly associated with me. I mean – wrongly in my way of looking at it – I think I was seen as a fairly intense, eccentric Englishman.” ME Resources: AMG All Music Guide FB Fred Bronson (2007). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (4th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 642. LW Alan Lewens (2001). Popular Song – Soundtrack of the Century. Billboard Books: New York, NY. Pages 157. ME Metro.co.uk (4/25/2016). “Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer is 30 yaears old: 19 facts you didn’t know about the groundbreaking video” by Cameron K. McEwan SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 1/28/2021; last updated 11/25/2022.

Top Gun soundtrack hit #1

Top Gun (soundtrack) Various artists

Released: May 20, 1986 Peak: 15 US, 4 UK, 2 CN, 3 AU Sales (in millions): 10.3 US, 0.6 UK, 19.9 world (includes US and UK) Genre: pop

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Danger Zone (KENNY LOGGINS) (4/24/86, 2 BB, 4 CB, 3 GR, 3 RR, 7 AR, 45 UK, 7 CN, 14 AU, 19 DF) Mighty Wings (CHEAP TRICK) (32 DF) Playing with the Boys (KENNY LOGGINS) (8/16/86, 60 BB, 35 DF) Lead Me On (TEENA MARIE) Take My Breath Away (BERLIN) (6/15/86, 1 BB, 1 CB, 5 GR, 2 RR, 3 AC, 1 CO, 1 UK, 2 CN, 2 AU, 1 DF) Hot Summer Nights (MIAMI SOUND MACHINE) Heaven in Your Eyes (LOVERBOY) (7/17/86, 12 BB, 10 CB, 5 GR, 8 RR, 24 CN, 25 DF) Through the Fire (LARRY GREENE) Destination Unknown (MARIETTA) Top Gun Anthem (HAROLD FALTERMEYER/ STEVE STEVENS) Total Running Time: 38:38

Rating: 4.172 out of 5.00 (average of 12 ratings) Quotable: -- “A quintessential artifact of the mid-‘80s.” – Chuck Donkers, AllMusic.com Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: Top Gun was “one of the most influential movies of the 1980s.” AZ It was “a highly macho film about wannabe fighter pilots.” AB Its “military posturing and gung-ho heroics blazed a trail through cinemas around the world…snaring the public’s imagination, particularly in America, where the air of invincibility and stunning aerial photography meant the movie pretty much became a two-hour recruiting vehicle for the US Air Force.” AB It propelled Tom Cruise to superstar status, and jetted director Tony…Scott’s career into the stratosphere.” AZ Tim Robbins and Meg Ryans received big career boosts as well. AB It also allowed producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer to perfect their multiplex-friendly blockbuster formula of join-the-dots plot, MTV-inspired visuals and rapid-fire action.” AZ However, the music may have become bigger than the movie. The soundtrack “remains a quintessential artifact of the mid-‘80s.” AM While the movie has no tie to 1984’s Footloose it’s hard for the Top Gun soundtrack not to feel like a sequel to Footloose’s. Both led off with Kenny Loggins’ smashes; his “Footloose” went to #1 on the pop charts while Top Gun’s Danger Zone got to the runner-up spot. Both soundtracks featured multiple follow-up hits, including a second Kenny Loggins’ hit from each soundtrack, although Playing with the Boys stalled at a much less impressive #60, compared to the #22 peak of Footloose’s “I’m Free.” As if those parallels weren’t enough, each soundtrack featured a #1 hit with a female-led vocal – Deniece Williams’ “Let’s Hear It for the Boy” from Footloose and Berlin’s Take My Breath Away from Top Gun. The latter serves as “the centerpiece of the film” AB and the “ninth best-selling single in British chart history.” AB It also won an Oscar for Best Song. Both soundtracks also featured a power ballad with Mike Reno on vocals (the #7 “Almost Paradise” duet with Ann Wilson from Footloose) and his band Loverboy on Top Gun’s #12 Heaven in Your Eyes. Both soundtracks flirted with the 10 million mark for U.S. sales and 20 million worldwide. Ultimately, you have two soundtracks cut from the same cloth that “define the bombastic, melodramatic sound that dominated the pop charts of the era.” AM One of the specific players who made Top Gun huge was Giorgio Moroder, who co-wrote “Take My Breath Away” and “Danger Zone,” after previously writing Blondie’s #1 hit “Call Me” for 1980’s American Gigolo and scoring 1978’s Midnight Express. Harold Faltermeyer, “the man behind ‘The Heat Is On’ from Simpson and Bruckheimer’s previous box-office bonanza, [1984’s] Beverly Hills Cop,” AZ turns in “the electro-instrumental Top Gun Anthem.” AZ It won a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. Then there’s the presence of “up-beat, energetic American AOR stadium pop-rock by bands like Cheap Trick and [the aforementioned] Loverboy, huge names at the time of the film’s release.” AZ “All in all, a landmark soundtrack.” AZ There were a few notable songs that didn’t get included in the soundtrack or movie. The Cars’ “Stranger Eyes” was used in an early trailer for the movie and Bryan Adams was contacted about the use of his song “Only the Strong Survive.” He said no because he thought the film glorified war. AB

Resources: AM AllMusic.com review by Chuck Donkers AZ Amazon.com review by Gary S. Dalkin AB Michael Spilling (editor) (2015). Best-Selling Albums: From Vinyl Records to Digital Downloads. Amber Books Ltd.: London, United Kingdom. Page 116. First posted 1/31/2009; last updated 12/7/2024.

Run-D.M.C. charted with its remake of “Walk This Way”

Walk This Way Aerosmith

Writer(s): Steven Tyler, Joe Perry (see lyrics here) Released: August 28, 1975 First Charted: November 20, 1976 Peak: 10 US, 7 CB, 5 HR, 5 RR, 1 CL, 7 CN, 85 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.2 UK, 0.2 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 29.52 video, -- streaming

Awards for Aerosmith version: Click on award for more details.

Walk This Way Run-D.M.C. with Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler & Joe Perry

Released: July 4, 1986 First Charted: July 26, 1986 Peak: 4 US, 9 CB, 10 RR, 8 RB, 8 UK, 7 CN, 9 AU, 4 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.4 UK, 1.45 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 94.8 video, 651.47 streaming

Awards for Run-DMC version: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “Walk This Way,” about a high schooler losing his virginity, was sung at a fast speed with emphasis on rhyming. The title was inspired by a line in the Mel Brooks’ movie Young Frankenstein. WK While initially released as the second single for Aeromsith’s 1975 album Toys in the Attic, the song didn’t become a hit until after two singles from fourth album, 1976’s Rocks, charted. Then the late-1976 reissue climbed to #10 in the U.S. and established “Walk This Way” as one of Aerosmith’s signature songs and a staple of classic rock radio. A decade later, Aerosmith had fallen on hard times, unraveled by drug and alcohol problems. An attempted comeback with 1985’s Done with Mirrors did little to regenerate interest. However, a New York-based rap group would revive the song – and Aerosmith’s career. DJ Jam Master Jay of Run-D.M.C. frequently cut back and forth between two copies of “Walk This Way” to allow MC’s Run and DMC to add rhymes to the instrumental. When the trio started work on their Raising Hell album, producer Rick Rubin – a fan of metal and rock – suggested they remake the song. The resulting cover is often credited as breaking rap into the mainstream, as it was the first rap song to hit the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. WK The song was instrumental not only in introducing rock into rap music, but opened the possibilities for non-rap acts to include the genre in their music. The song also put Aerosmith back in the spotlight, not just because the band had been covered, but because singer Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry participated in the remake. “Perry acquitted himself quite well, as usual, and Tyler’s snotty snarl prospered in the hip-hop context.” DM The pair also appeared in the classic video which pitted them against Run-D.M.C. as neighbors trying to out-blast each other. By the video’s end, they all perform together on stage. Resources: DM Dave Marsh (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. New American Library: New York, NY. Page 566. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 7/6/2012; last updated 6/18/2023.