Aim for PERFECTION on 80s Album CHURNED Out 5 BIG Hits but KILLED OFF Iconic Band--Professor of Rock

coming up it's 80s power pop at his very best but it didn't come easy for this song in fact it was a lifetime in the making really says how it felt to this band used to kicking out albums on the Fly their first four albums were Breeze to record however their fifth that was a very different story teaming up with a meticulous producer and a master of Sonic sorcery this album took over a year to complete and it took a devastating toll in the band maybe even broke him up for good tempers flared plane tickets were bought to fly home and quit all together and this seven ladies record was in danger of not getting done so was it all worth it well if you've heard the album in today's song you know it was in fact it's Cutting Edge music video is one of the 80s best and actually beat out the biggest selling music video of all time details coming up next on this story hey music junkies professor of rock always here to celebrate the greatest artists and the greatest songs of all time you know if you remember ripping open your box of Cracker Jacks as a kid to discover the prize inside you're going to want to subscribe below right now because this is your channel of deep musical Nostalgia your time machine make sure to click the Bell right now so you can ride with us every single day we also have a patreon you're going to want to check that out we have an additional catalog of content you can even become an honorary producer to help us curate this music history and check out our merch as well all this keeps you the daily channel so it's time for another edition of number one in our hearts this is the show that honors songs that were so undeniably great they absolutely should have been number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart but for whatever reason you know be it lack of marketing or radio play or label support or just share stupidity the song came up short today we're giving this honor to the 1984 cars classic you might think from their fifth studio album heartbeat City you know we've covered the cars so many times before and every time I come back to him I'm reminded so much that they're a band that justifies category throughout their career they consistently defied convention somehow they were both shingles album and an albums band and in the process you know mixing the essentials of new wave and power pop and rock with undeniable Hooks and pop driven sing-along choruses I mean nobody sounds like this man the lineup of course comprised of the late great Rico Classic on guitar and vocals the incomparable Benjamin ore on vocals and bass keyboard extraordinaire Greg Hawks the under appreciated Elliott Easton on guitar one of the best and The Talented David Robinson on drums through their first four records the cars would ride enough classic tracks to film multiple Greatest Hits albums I mean in fact as I said before their debut album is like a greatest hits record a very abbreviated roster uh their iconic catalog includes just what I needed My Best Friend's Girl Moving in Stereo let's go touch and go and Shake It Up [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] such an incredible run by this band all leading up to one of the most memorable records of the entire 80s the Hit Parade that is 1984's heartbeat City I mean this album would boast four top 20 hits on the Hot 100 and then there was a fifth single that reached number 33 five hits on the charts and then on the U.S Rock charts heartbeat City cranked out two number one hits a number three a number 11 and a number 22. heartbeat City it instigates A Rush of power pop exhilaration from start to finish with this Brilliance extending far even Beyond its nostalgic singles so let's reverse back to 1983 after taking a year and a half off the cars reconvened early in the year to get to work on this Monumental album however their longtime producer Roy Thomas Baker he was unavailable you know to take the wheel this time around so while the band worked on demos of their home studio in Boston they held auditions for a new producer as well Steve lillywhite who had previously worked with U2 and Peter Gabriel he was one contender however the band ultimately chose the king Robert John mutt Lang who was renowned for kicking out pristine recordings in his pursuit of Sonic perfection lane two is coming off working with huge names AC DC and Def Leppard just for starters [Music] here's the thing though in order to work with Lang the band had to travel to London and recording sessions were held at nearby battery Studios now initially the difference surroundings created A Renewed excitement within the band but as the cars immersed themselves in the work Their Eyes Were soon open to just what they'd got themselves into here while the baker-led sessions for the first four cars albums were brief and organic Lang employed decidedly arduous overdub heavy process you know exploring every detail of each song In Search of the perfect take Elliot Easton said about it generally for past albums we've rehearsed extensively you know for the album songs and gone in and more or less laid tracks down according to what we just rehearsed we're going about laying on heartbeat City it was a little bit different because we did all the pre-production work with him he was involved at the same time as the other members of the band in the liner notes for the 2018 Expanded Edition of heartbeat City ocasic had this to say about it poor Ben he's a great bass player but mutt had him in there for days weeks and I don't even want to get into the vocals let's try that syllable again them mutt would sit there for two days and edit together for three days five days it was every millisecond it's like Jerry Harrison of the Talking Heads told me one time uh Talking Heads finished the entire classic album in the time it took mutling to do about a half a song not surprisingly Benjamin Orr called heartbeat City the most precise album the band had ever done he said that they spent hours and hours going over the minutia of each song Lang would hear an idea and then have the band do three maybe four more tracks on top of that one track it was that precise I mean every note had to be spot on and when they first arrived ocasic ass laying how long they should plan on being in London to record the album and mutt told them you know a couple of months however the band soon realized his policy was I don't care if it takes five years everything is going to be perfect so after six months of seeking that perfection the band was just completely worn out and subsequently they called it good and returned to Electric Lady Studios in New York City there they finished the album's final mixing so as we continue to break down this classic song I do want to thank our sponsor zany I wear the Brana glasses I always wear on here today I'm wearing my real ones zenny's amazing because you can design your own pair of glasses what looks great on you and you can do a virtual try on at their website before you purchase you can add other amazing features for up to eighty percent off regular retail prices just click on the info button right up here to get our best deal [Music] so check this out in all heartbeat City took over a year to complete I mean compare that to previous cars records which they whipped out in only like 30 days or maybe two months at most looking back on the project Rick admitted there were times when we'd fight there were times when people had their plane tickets ready to go home and call it quits there were streaming arguments but then there were also times we were out to dinner together having a good time somehow for the time being they managed you know they keep it all together the band was very pleased with the finished record though as were the fans of heartbeat City [Music] Harpy city was released in March 1984 and it was a monster hit record it went to number three on the billboard 200 it sold over 4 million copies in the US it was the perfectly Polished product for the rising MTV generation big Tunes Radio Ready a quintessential power pop albums for the mid 80s for sure Harpy City like I said produced six singles in all four of which reached the top 20. um magic Drive hello again in today's feature you might think oh it's magic we're gonna drive you home [Music] crazy why can't I have you and Harpy shitty rounded out the six-pack and both were criminally undervalued on the airwaves as well [Music] so you might think it was actually the lead off single for heartbeat City and it got the album off to a fast start accelerated the number seven on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the cash box chart it also reached number 14 on the dance club chart and I went to number one on the mainstream rock chart again a triple threat that's how the cars work internationally you might think it hit number 27 in New Zealand number 24 in Australia number 20 in Sweden number 11 in the Netherlands number eight in Canada and it actually went to number 88 in the UK which was the worst showing of any charting car single in the UK I don't get that you might think is bright New Wave rock and roll with an unforgettable keyboard and guitar riff that gets stuck in your head and it does not go away it just stays there and that's not a bad thing [Music] ocasic you know known for his propensity for quirky lyrics he plays this one a little more straight though though it still has his charm written all over it the song's message simply says you might think I'm crazy but all I want is you [Music] in the end this is just a fast and fun track guaranteed to lock you into pure and unadulterated Joy now the video for you might think it was a game changer for the industry it's one of the first music videos to use computer graphics [Music] [Applause] and the inspiration for the video is actually lifted from a series of National Enquirer commercials that were on TV at the time see if you remember these will Falcon Crest gun down Dallas and Dynasty in the fight for number one the gossip Magazine's ads featured these you know goofy cutout animations of celebrities and it seemed like a a fun concept to explore that's where the inspiration came from it's in the Inquirer what's the story behind The Beatles horrifying plunge into drugs these spots were produced by a special effects company called charlex so the video co-director Jeff Stein he commissioned them to work on it Stein's Vision was to put the band into pop culture scenarios and have an animated ocasic chasing after this girl however getting the band on board that wasn't very easy Stein would explain I met the cars and I told them the bands in the medicine chest and then on a bar of soap and Rick's a fly and one of them said why don't we all just play on a turd in the toilet bowl that was the prevailing attitude and a quote the video features model Susan Gallagher being simultaneously harassed and serenaded by members of the band I think that you're wild from a King Kong size ocasic taking her out to the top of the Empire State Building to the singer peering through a periscope in her bathtub this video is definitely stalker approved if you will [Music] going to the sun fell down it skirts the line between lovesick persistence and outright Obsession but the tone of a song is catchy and quirky enough to make it feel like a fun ride more than anything else like I said after all the two do go together in the end [Music] the video cost came around eighty thousand dollars which at the time was Triple the average budget for a music video across the industry but of course it paid off and it was hard it actually took home video of the Year honors at the first ever MTV Music Video Awards event in the process it beat out Michael Jackson's Thriller also The Police Every Breath You Take Cindy loppers Girls Just Want to Have Fun in Herbie Hancock's rocket some of the most iconic videos ever [Music] foreign course Michael Jackson's Thriller is the biggest selling music video of all time I MJ was cleaning the house on award shows at that moment beating every band an artist but not the cars it's also nominated for five more Awards including best special effects best art Direction viewers Choice best concept video and most experimental video [Music] then at the billboard 1984 Video Music Awards you might think won five more times including once again best video there's no doubt that the music video for you might think it played a massive role in the song's overall success very memorable [Music] since its initial run you might think has appeared course in in a few movies and TV shows there's the sure thing in 1985. [Music] Walter yes where the money is Good Luck Chuck there's Glee look at your stomach rolls new girl Regular Show the office brain dead The Goldbergs Animal Kingdom and your place or mine just recently I don't know I've just always been really good at dancing you might think it's also been covered by Adam duritz of accounting crows it's also done by Weezer for the 2011 movie Cars too [Music] I think I think so going back to the main Harpy City for just a minute as you might imagine the lengthy intense recording sessions took a serious toll on ocasic in the band Rick would say he never wanted to make a record like that again and he called it a demoralizing process I mean it's hard to argue with 4 million plus sales some have it at 5 million there's no doubt the album was a smash success for the band but the sheer exhaustion of creating it proved to be the beginning of the end for this band which is really sad or at least the classic era of the cars starting in 1985 the band members they started to redirect their energies on October 25th they released their first Greatest Hits compilation featured the hit song tonight she comes [Music] that same year La the Eastern released a solo albums called change no change although it didn't make much noise commercially then ocasic returned to his solo career with his second outing the side of paradise that one was released in September of 86 and it featured an amazing song the number 15 hit emotion emotion which also uh reached number eight on the AC charts and it went to number one on the top rock tracks chart for all you tears for fierce fans were all in orzobal he played guitar on that one explosion less than a month after ocasic released his Benjamin Orr released his solitary solo record the lace the single stay of the night Outreach number 24 on the Hot 100 number six on the album Rock tracks chart and number two on the AC chart cars they regroup for their final full lineup offering 1987's door-to-door and even though the record featured two top five U.S rock chart tracks uh you are the girl and strapped me in it just couldn't replicate the success of his predecessors topped out at number 26 on the billboard 200. [Music] I'm just not a bad showing but it was the lowest of all the car Studio albums ultimately times were changing in ocasic and Aura were no longer Moving in Stereo just in different directions so the band they broke up at the start of 88. many have speculated that the up and down experience in making heartbeat City that exhaustion was the likely culprit straw that you know broke the camel's back if you will okassa continued his prolific solo career he churned out five more solo albums he also kept busy as a record producer notably with Weezer in 94 we need to cover more of that [Music] despite more Greatest Hits Collections and compilations and a devoted fan base the cars resisted pleas to reunite and then the premature death of Benjamin Orr from cancer in 2000 that seemed to make a reunion permanently impossible however finally in 2010 the four surviving members announced that they were reforming to record a long-awaited seventh studio album move like this released in 2011 featuring The nostalgic and catchy single sad song [Applause] however following a short tour the band went on Hiatus until 2018 that's when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame which they were inducted way later than they should have been [Music] actually inducted by Brandon Flowers they reunited to perform at the induction ceremony and that was to be the car's final performance with ocasic passed away on September 15 2019. so let's go back to you might think at the week it reached number seven on the hall 100 the top five songs on the chart were number five must be blind by Culture Club number four Hold Me Now by Thompson Twins number three Footloose by Kenny Loggins number two Hello by Lionel Richie and the number one Against All Odds Take a Look At Me Now by Phil Collins parentheses song uh we've actually covered that on a previous episode now [Music] foreign [Music] s take a look at me now that's been three weeks at the top of the hot 100. Phil Collins was certainly no stranger to the number one spot especially in the 80s tallied eight career number ones between Genesis and his solo work I mean the man's not hurting for top of the chart hits but you know who is cars they never had one they absolutely deserve top spot honors so what do you think can we have Against All Odds step aside for a solitary week now regardless it's a song that is number one in our hearts for sure from a band that everybody likes everybody adored these guys as was once said in a popular film from about that time the cars are very popular the sportos the motorheads geek Bloods waste waste weebies they all adore him they think he's a righteous dude [Music] hey thanks so much for watching leave us a comment about the cars and you might think what are your memories of the song what do you think of the cars everybody like this band and everybody's a fan how can you not like them what are your favorite songs what should we cover next trying to get an interview with L.A Easton I'm going to do that if you like our content we would love to have you as part of our community make sure to subscribe below click the Bell so you always get what's coming out and check us out on patreon also our merch it's all about keeping the music alive folks until next time three chords and the truth my friends [Music] thank you [Music]

Channel: Professor of Rock

Views: 135,314

Keywords: professor of rock, professor of rock 80s, the cars, vinyl story, classic albums, song story, 80s, pop fix, 80s rock, 80s classic rock, 80s greatest hits, 80s music, 80s hits, 80s nostalgia, new wave, power pop, professor of rock the cars, the cars band, heartbeat city, 1984, benjamin orr, mutt lange, the cars you might think, you might think, you might think music video, the cars documentary, the cars interview, eighties, michael jackson, thriller, mtv, ric ocasek, pop, 84

Id: TAD0J5i2xs4

Length: 22min 50sec (1370 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 22 2023