The Brief: One doesn’t just listen to “Elvira” from The Oak Ridge Boys. One doesn’t just sing along. One doesn’t just try to sing “ba-oom papa oom papa mow mow” in a voice that only God and Darth Vader could successfully mimic. One experiences “Elvira”. It’s just one of those songs. – If you happened [...]
The Brief: Fine Young Cannibals were a British trio consisting of Roland Gift (vocals), David Steel (bass, keyboards and drum machine) and Andy Cox (guitar). They formed in 1984 in Birmingham, England and remained active until 1992 when they split (except for a brief reunion in 1996 to record a new single for their greatest [...]
The Brief: Our final Midnight Star record of the week is the title track from the 1986 ‘Headlines’ LP. ‘Headlines’ was the third album in a row for the band that was certified Gold, following the double Platinum success of ‘No Parking On The Dance Floor’ and the Gold certification of ‘Planetary Invasion’. It would, [...]
The Brief: After 1985′s LP ‘Vive Le Rock’, Adam Ant rarely played live and did not enter the studio again until 1989. Ant was concentrating on his acting career during that time taking roles in various commercials, TV shows and feature films. The ’89 studio sessions resulted in ‘Manners & Physique’ which, by Ant’s own [...]
The Brief: Our week of Dan Hartman draws to a close with the second of his two contributions to the Fletch soundtrack. The song was written by Dan and his long time collaborator Charlie Midnight. Dan and Charlie began working together in 1983 and continued their relationship up until Dan’s death in 1994. Charlie is [...]
The Brief: As we continue with Dan Hartman week, we are still in the mid-80′s which seemed to be the most successful period of Hartman’s career. Today’s single appeared on the soundtrack for the movie Fletch which starred Chevy Chase. The soundtrack featured several well-known artists in additon to Hartman such as Stephanie Mills, The [...]
Posted in Dan Hartman, FWV 
Tags: 12 Inch, 1985, Chris Lord-Alge, MCA Records, Morales and Munzibai, Pop, UK Pressing 
4 Comments »
The Brief: “We Are The Young” was Hartman’s follow up to his first pop Top 10 single. On the heels of the success of “I Can Dream About You”, this next single also went Top 40 and became the second highest charting pop single of his career. All three of Dan’s singles from the ‘I [...]
The Brief: Guest Blogger: Ric “The song that taught me how to count” That was what George Michael said about “Instant Replay” when he listed it as one of his all-time Top 10. The man behind that disco classic, Dan Hartman, is indeed an influential figure during the disco era. After his 1979 disco anthem, [...]
Posted in Dan Hartman, FWV Tags: 12 Inch, 1984, Jellybean Benitez, MCA Records, Pop, Promo 10 Comments »
The Brief: In June of 1986, the movie Running Scared hit big screens across the US to moderate success, taking in over $38 million during its run. The movie boasted a soundtrack featuring numerous artists favored by Fun With Vinyl including Klymaxx, Ready For The World, New Edition and Patti LaBelle. The most successful single [...]
Posted in FWV, Michael McDonald Tags: 12 Inch, 1986, Bruce Swedien, Louil Silas Jr, MCA Records, Pop 14 Comments »
The Brief: 52nd Street were a British band formed in Manchester in late 1980, they gigged around Manchester while recording demo tapes in local studios looking for their big break. The band enjoyed sporadic success in the UK and the US over the years while undergoing numerous lineup changes. Their most well-known and best selling [...]
Posted in 52nd Street, FWV Tags: 12 Inch, 1986, MCA Records, Morales and Munzibai, Nick Martinelli, Promo, R&B 17 Comments »
The Brief: The only release from ‘Larger Than Life’ that I don’t have on 12″ is “Everything”. None of the releases I’ve ever seen of “Everything” have much in the way of remixes or extended tracks so, I just never picked one up. This was the third of four single releases from the album ‘Larger [...]
The Brief: The 12″ release of “Friends” features an Extended Version and an Instrumental that were remixed by Hank Shocklee, Eric Sadler and Paul Shabazz of The Bomb Squad, a hip hop production team, most famously known for their work with the rap group Public Enemy. The A Side: Friends (Extended Version) 8:05 The B [...]
The Brief: Have you grown utterly sick and tired of hearing a good song on the radio only to have it interrupted by someone breaking in and rapping in the middle of the song? Or do you find that to be totally cool and think that it adds a great element, making the song even [...]
The Brief: Just a little over two years after the release of her solo debut, Jody Watley returned with the album ‘Larger Than Life’ which was released March 27, 1989. The first single chosen to promote the album was “Real Love” which spent two weeks at #1 on the CashBox Top 100 in 1989 but [...]
The Brief: As previously noted, this was the final single release from the ‘Jody Watley’ LP. It was the second of the five single releases that failed to reach the Top 40 despite doing well at dance and R&B. This promo 45 release from Canada features a single remix and instrumental by Francois Kevorkian and [...]
Posted in FWV, Jody Watley Tags: 1988, 7 Inch, Francois Kevorkian, MCA Records, Michael Hutchinson, Promo, R&B 8 Comments »
The Brief: For the release of “Some Kind Of Lover”, Louil Silas, Jr. was brought in to do the remixing for the single releases. This song is the third Watley/Cymone composition paired with Cymone/David Z. production and the 2nd Top 10 hit for that combination of writers and producers from the album. This post contains [...]
Posted in FWV, Jody Watley Tags: 10 Inch, 1987, 7 Inch, Louil Silas Jr, MCA Records, R&B, UK Pressing 12 Comments »
The Brief: The 12″ release of “Don’t You Want Me” features remixes by Francois Kevorkian and Michael Hutchinson. Jody co-wrote this track with Franne Golde and D.P. Bryant. Franne’s songs have appeared on records worldwide including The Pussycat Dolls – “Stickwitu”, Randy Travis – “A Man Ain’t Made of Stone”, Selena – “Dreaming of You” [...]
Posted in FWV, Jody Watley Tags: 12 Inch, 1987, Francois Kevorkian, MCA Records, Michael Hutchinson, R&B 14 Comments »
The Brief: Today features the 7″ release of “Don’t You Want Me” which was Jody’s second Top 10 single (right Marc?) and the third single released from her self-titled solo LP debut. The song was number 55 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the year of 1988. Chic alumni Bernard Edwards was behind the knobs for [...]
Posted in FWV, Jody Watley Tags: 1987, 7 Inch, Francois Kevorkian, MCA Records, Michael Hutchinson, R&B, Timmy Regisford 4 Comments »
The Brief: The second single release from the ‘Jody Watley’ album was “Still A Thrill”. The Andre Cymone/David Z. produced song did not fare as well on pop radio as the first single. It failed to reach the Top 40 despite going Top 10 in the dance and R&B markets. Watley and Cymone share songwriting [...]
The Brief: Back in November I gave you guys a taste of my Jody Watley collection, we’re gonna take the next two weeks and visit the remaining records I have from her. Jody’s birthday is Jan 30, which is on Wednesday of this week so, this will be a mini Jody-bration! “Looking For A New [...]
The Brief: Yesterday sort of marked the end of a period in the existence of Fun With Vinyl. It wasn’t very noticeable but, starting today you will see a slight change in the files that you download from here. I suppose a short back story is required. In early 2010 I began digitizing my record collection. Over [...]
Posted in FWV, Thelma Houston Tags: 12 Inch, 1984, Flyte Tyme Productions, MCA Records, R&B, Steve Hodge 15 Comments »
The A Side: Intimacy (Extended Version) 7:20 The B Side: Intimacy (Radio Edit) 5:33 Intimacy (Suite) 7:20 Intimacy (Bonus Beats) 7:20 The Brief: “Intimacy” was one of two singles released from St. Paul’s debut LP. Neither single registered on the US Billboard charts. Louil Silas, Jr. handled remix duties on this 12″. Here’s wishing you [...]
The A Side: Rich Man (Club Mix) 7:40 The B Side: Rich Man (Radio Edit) 5:35 Rich Man (Instrumental) 6:20 Rich Man (A Cappella) 6:16 Rich Man (Bonus Beats) 6:46 The Brief: St. Paul’s self-titled solo debut was released in 1987, two years after the release of The Family LP. The album was produced by [...]
Posted in FWV, St. Paul Tags: 12 Inch, 1987, Louil Silas Jr, MCA Records, MPLS, R&B, Tom T 6 Comments »
The A Side: Precious Love (Tongue In Groove Mix) 6:48 Precious Love (Dub Instrumental) 5:00 The B Side: Precious Love 5:14 Precious Love (Instrumental) 4:45 The Brief: Jody Watley’s second solo LP release was ‘Larger Than Life‘ in 1989 and “Precious Love” was the fourth and the final single to be released from the album. [...]
Posted in FWV, Jody Watley Tags: 12 Inch, 1990, Brian "Chuck" New, MCA Records, Promo, R&B, The Dynamic Duo 9 Comments »
The A Side: Most Of All (Remix) 8:15 The B Side: Most Of All (7″ Version) 4:10 Most Of All (Dub) 7:20 The Brief: The final single that Jody Watley released from her debut LP came over a year after the release of the album. “Most Of All” did well on the R&B and Dance [...]
Posted in FWV, Jody Watley Tags: 12 Inch, 1988, Francois Kevorkian, MCA Records, Michael Hutchinson, R&B 13 Comments »
The A Side: Some Kind Of Lover (Extended Version) 7:18 The B Side: Some Kind Of Lover (Instrumental) 7:18 Some Kind Of Lover (Dub) 4:18 The Brief: “Some Kind Of Lover” got Jody Watley back on track on the pop charts as it earned her a second third Top 10 single. The Charts: Chart Debuted Debut [...]
The A Side: Still A Thrill (Extended Version) 8:39 The B Side: Still A Thrill (Radio Edit) 6:15 Still A Thrill (Instrumental) 5:16 Still A Thrill (A Cappella) 4:41 Still A Thrill (Bonus Beats) 4:34 The Brief: Jody Watley’s follow up to “Looking For A New Love” didn’t fare as well on the pop charts, [...]
The A Side: Looking For A New Love (Extended Club Version) 7:28 The B Side: Looking For A New Love (Radio Edit) 5:06 Looking For A New Love (Instrumental) 7:28 Looking For A New Love (A Cappella) 5:06 Looking For A New Love (Bonus Beats) 4:33 The Brief: A Grammy Award Winner as Best New [...]
The A Side: The Lover In Me (Extended Version) 6:59 The B Side: The Lover In Me (Radio Edit) 5:20 The Lover In Me (Instrumental) 6:59 The Brief: Sheena Easton’s first LP for MCA Records was entitled ‘The Lover In Me’ and was released in 1988. The Gold selling album featured a bevy of heavy [...]
The A Side: Ceramic Girl (Extended Version) 8:48 The B Side: Ceramic Girl (Radio Edit) 4:17 Ceramic Girl (Instrumental) 8:48 Ceramic Girl (A Cappella) 3:35 Ceramic Girl (Bonus Beats) 4:22 The Brief: Almost one year after its release, the self-titled debut LP from Ready For The World began losing steam on the charts, one last [...]
Posted in FWV, Ready For The World Tags: 12 Inch, 1986, Louil Silas Jr, MCA Records, R&B 4 Comments »
The A Side: Digital Display (Extended Mix) 7:43 The B Side: Digital Display (Radio Edit) 5:43 Digital Display (Instrumental) 7:43 Digital Display (A Cappella) 4:11 Digital Display (Bonus Beat) 4:11 The Brief: In the fall of 1985, one song was in constant rotation on radio stations around the United States, “Oh Sheila” by Ready For [...]
Posted in FWV, Ready For The World Tags: 12 Inch, 1985, Louil Silas Jr, MCA Records, R&B 25 Comments »
The A Side: Don’t Get Stopped In Beverly Hills (Special Mix) 7:37 The B Side: Don’t Get Stopped In Beverly Hills (Instrumental) 7:37 Don’t Get Stopped In Beverly Hills (Dub Version) 7:40 The Brief: We continue our string of soundtrack songs by the group Shalamar. Today’s post is the song “Don’t Get Stopped In Beverly Hills” [...]
Posted in FWV, Shalamar Tags: 12 Inch, 1984, Louil Silas Jr, MCA Records, R&B, Soundtrack 3 Comments »
The A Side: Deadline U.S.A. (Mixed by John “Jellybean” Benitez) 5:58 Deadline U.S.A. (Dub Version) 4:50 The B Side: Giorgio Moroder – Knock Me On My Feet 3:02 The Brief: To all freedom loving people everywhere, join me in wishing happy Independence Day to the United States of America. For everyone celebrating today, here’s wishing [...]
Posted in FWV, Shalamar Tags: 12 Inch, 1984, Jellybean Benitez, MCA Records, R&B, Soundtrack 4 Comments »
The A Side: Yo Mister (Extended Version) 6:32 The B Side: Yo Mister (Radio Edit) 5:20 Yo Mister (Instrumental) 4:05 I Can Fly (Extended Version) 6:17 The Brief: The commercial 12” release of Patti Labelle’s “Yo Mister” was remixed by Chris Lord-Alge. The Billboard Charts: Chart Debuted Debut Pos. Peak Pos. Wks on Chart Hot [...]
The A Side: Yo Mister (Miss Thing’s Club Version) 8:43 The B Side: Yo Mister (Miss Thing’s Radio Version) 5:49 Yo Mister (Miss Thing’s Instrumental) 5:49 The Brief: For Patti Labelle’s 1989 album ‘Be Yourself’, Prince contributed two songs: “Yo Mister” and “Love 89” which was co-written with Sheena Easton. “Yo Mister” was the second [...]
Posted in FWV, Patti Labelle Tags: 12 Inch, 1989, Frankie Knuckles, MCA Records, Promo, R&B 10 Comments »
The A Side: I’d Rather Spend The Bad Times With You Than Spend The Good Times With Someone New (Radio Mix) 3:48 I’d Rather Spend The Bad Times With You Than Spend The Good Times With Someone New (Dub Version) 7:15 The B Side: I’d Rather Spend The Bad Times With You Than Spend The [...]
Posted in FWV, Thelma Houston Tags: 12 Inch, 1984, Flyte Tyme Productions, MCA Records, Promo, R&B 18 Comments »
The A Side: Fantasy and Heartbreak (Dance Mix) 6:40 The B Side: Fantasy and Heartbreak (LP Version) 5:04 Fantasy and Heartbreak (Dub Version) 6:21 The Brief: Track #3 on the ‘Qualifying Heat’ LP by Thelma Houston is “Fantasy And Heartbreak”. This is the second of two songs that were written and produced by Monte Moir [...]
Posted in FWV, Thelma Houston Tags: 12 Inch, 1984, Flyte Tyme Productions, Latin Rascals, MCA Records, R&B 10 Comments »
The A Side: (I Guess) It Must Be Love (Extended Version) 8:59 The B Side: Working Girl 4:53 The Brief: The UK 12” release of Thelma Houston’s “(I Guess) It Must Be Love” has an extended version that differs from the US promo and album versions. The Billboard Charts: Chart Debuted Debut Pos. Peak Pos. [...]
Posted in FWV, Thelma Houston Tags: 12 Inch, 1984, Flyte Tyme Productions, MCA Records, R&B, UK Pressing 4 Comments »
The A Side: (I Guess) It Must Be Love 3:59 The B Side: (I Guess) It Must Be Love 7:20 (I Guess) It Must Be Love (Instrumental) 9:25 The Brief: The first track on Thelma Houston’s ‘Qualifying Heat’ LP is “(I Guess) It Must Be Love” which was written and produced by Monte Moir. Today’s [...]
Posted in FWV, Thelma Houston Tags: 12 Inch, 1984, Flyte Tyme Productions, MCA Records, Promo, R&B 3 Comments »
The A Side: (I Guess) It Must Be Love 7:20 You Used To Hold Me So Tight 5:42 Fantasy and Heartbreak 5:04 I’d Rather Spend The Bad Times With You Than The Good Times With Someone New 6:00 The B Side: Shake You 4:04 Generate Love 4:34 Love Is A Dangerous Game 4:09 What A [...]
The A Side: If You Asked Me To 3:56 The B Side: If You Asked Me To (Dub) 4:08 If You Asked Me To (Instrumental Suite) 4:14 The Brief: This song is a favorite of the Fun-Wife so, when I saw this promo 12” I picked it up for her. The song is from Patti [...]
The A Side: Love Overboard (Extended Version) 6:00 The B Side: Love Overboard (Instrumental) 6:00 The Brief: For their 1987 single “Love Overboard”, Gladys Knight and the Pips enlisted the masterminds of Midnight Star, Reggie and Vincent Calloway, to write and produce for them. The result was the first Top 40 hit for the group [...]