Joe Jackson “Steppin’ Out” charted

Steppin’ Out Joe Jackson

Writer(s): Joe Jackson (see lyrics here) First Charted: August 21, 1982 Peak: 6 US, 5 CB, 2 RR, 4 AC, 2 MR, 6 UK, 5 CN, 30 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 24.5 video, 49.8 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Singer/songwriter amd musician Joe Jackson was born in England in 1954. He established himself more as a new wave artist initially with hits such as 1979’s “Is She Really Going Out with Him?” He reached his commercial peak with 1982’s Night and Day, a top 5 album in the UK and U.S. that sported a more jazz-influenced sound. The album also gave him his biggest hit in the United States with “Steppin’ Out,” a song which reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was also a top-10 hit on the adult contemporary and album rock charts as well as in the UK. The song also garnered Grammy nominations for Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance – Male. The song “is a mélange of simple piano hooks, rudimentary electronic treatment and classic vocal pop” AMG with a rhythm track that is “recognizable immediately” AMG and “quaint in its simplicity.” AMG Jackson played all the instruments on the song except for a mimicked snare drum. WK He “was able to sculpt solid pop rooted in traditional pop morays whilst rising about platitudes and cliché and release songs that were catchy, emotional, and heartfelt without getting all saccharin.” AMG Jackson wrote and recorded the Night and Day album in New York City with the intent of represtning the fell of a 24-hour period in the city. “Steppin’ Out” is specifically about “the anticipation and excitement of a drive around the town,” WK taking the listener on a journey through Manhattan via taxi. The phrase “steppin’ out” was actually coined during the 1930s in New York City. SF Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Joe Jackson AMG All Music Guide review by Chris True SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia First posted 10/27/2022.

John Lennon was murdered.

December 8, 1980 John Lennon murdered.

On the evening of December 8, 1980, John Lennon was returning to the Dakota Apartments where he lived in New York City. Mark David Chapman, a Beatles’ fan, fired five bullets from a .38 special revolver at Lennon. The legendary musician was rushed to the Roosevelt Hospital but pronounced dead on arrival at 11:15 pm. He was 40 years old. Famed broadcaster Howard Cosell announced the news on Monday Night Football. Chapman was a 25-year-old security guard from Honolulu, Hawaii, with no prior criminal convictions. He had planned the killing over several months. He was reportedly enraged by Lennon’s rich lifestyle and comment in 1966 that the Beatles were “more popular than Jesus.” Chapman was inspired by Holden Caulfield, the protagonist in J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye, who rages against hypocrisy and phonies. After shooting Lennon, Chapman remained at the scene reading The Catcher in the Rye. Chapman arrived at the Dakota early in the morning of December 8. He talked to the doorman and Beatles’ fans throughout the day. At around 5pm, Lennon was leaving for a recording session at the Record Plant and Chapman approached him and had him sign a copy of Double Fantasy, the latest album from Lennon and wife Yoko Ono. Chapman shot Lennon when he returned home about 10:50pm. Chapman pleaded guilty to the murder and was sentenced to 20 years-to-life. He has been denied parole twelve times since becoming eligible in 2000. Resources and Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: “History Index” for more important dates in music history Dave’s Music Database: “Music Makers’ Birthdays” DMDB encyclopedia entry for John Lennon Wikipedia.org “Murder of John Lennon” First posted 12/6/2023.

Barry Manilow “Copacabana” charted

Copacabana (At the Copa) Barry Manilow

Writer(s): Barry Manilow, Jack Feldman, Bruce Sussman (see lyrics here) First Charted: June 10, 1978 Peak: 8 US, 10 CB, 6 HR, 7 RR, 6 AC, 22 UK, 7 CN, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 16.2 video, 62.35 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Singer/songwriter Barry Manilow was born as Barry Alan Pincus in New York City in 1943. He rose to fame in the 1970s and while he was never a critics’ favorite, he landed 13 songs atop the adult contemporary chart, released thirteen platinum albums, and has sold more than 85 million records worldwide. He built his career mostly on the strength of easy listening ballads such as “Mandy” and “I Write the Songs.” However, “Copacabana,” the third single from his fifth album, Even Now, was an uptempo disco song. It was inspired by a conversation between Manilow and Bruce Sussman, one of the song’s lyricists. They were at the Copacabana Hotel in Rio de Janeiro and wondered if there had ever been a song called Copacabana. Once back in the United States, Manilow suggested to Sussman and fellow lyricist Jack Feldman, who was known for writing music for the stage, that they write a story song to which Manilow supplied the music. The lyrics refer to the nightclub as “the hottest spot north of Havana,” and tell the story of a showgirl named Lola and a bartender named Tony who worked at the club. He is shot in a confrontation and still grieves for him thirty years later when the club has become a discotheque. Now middle-aged, she still dresses in her showgirl attire, but is now a customer who “drinks herself half blind.” WK While the song takes place in the Copacabana district in Rio de Janeiro, there was also a famous nightclub in New York City named after it which did become a disco in the 1970s. SF Manilow had been a regular visitor to the New York City nightclub WK which also had high-profile entertainers such as Frank Sinatra. A 1947 film called Copacabana starred Groucho Marx and Carmen Miranda. SF The song earned Manilow his only Grammy – for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. It also became the basis for a full-length, made-for-TV musical in 1985. In the 1990s, it was expanded into a two-act stage musical which has seen more than 200 productions worldwide. Resources: SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 9/7/2022.