The ‘80s were a wild time in music, one that was dominated by a counterintuitive mix of megawatt superstars and acts that rose up for one shining moment and weren’t really heard from again. There were many one-hit wonders whose songs rose high in the charts, and those songs are still major fodder on ‘80s-themed radio stations today.
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But this list focuses on five songs that didn’t go as high up the charts as they should have, from artists who never quite made it back with another track that did any more damage. If you’re hearing these songs for the first time, you might be surprised at just how penetrating they are. And if you have heard them but have forgotten about them, well, you can thank us later for jogging your memory.
1. ”Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime” by The Korgis (1980)
This is the one song on this list that crept into the U.S. Top 20, but it did much better in the United Kingdom, likely due to the home-field advantage for the Great Britain-based Korgis. The song was written and sung by James Warren, who waxed philosophical in the minimalist lyrics about the power to transform yourself via nothing more than the power of the mind. But the choruses have a bit of a downcast feel to them, making the whole enterprise somewhat bittersweet. Many artists of the New Wave used synthesizers in uptempo material, but the dreamy slow-motion of the keyboards on “Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime” pointed forward to genres of music that hadn’t even been created yet.
2. “A Fine, Fine Day” by Tony Carey (1984)
Carey was a keyboardist for the hard rockers Rainbow, and also released music as the Planet P Project in the early ‘80s. In 1984, Carey, releasing music at that point under his own name, found success with a tough slice of life entitled “A Fine, Fine Day,” which was a little like one of Bruce Springsteen’s hard-luck tales from Nebraska married to the synth-rock sound of the era. The youthful narrator of the song speaks about the return to town of his Uncle Sonny, who had disappeared years before under somewhat mysterious circumstances. Carey does an outstanding job of teasing out the story with details that would naturally go over the head of the youngster telling it. But those lyrics make it clear to the adults listening that some shady behavior is at play.
[RELATED: Top 5 One-Hit Wonders That Defined the ‘80s]
3. “Cry” by Godley & Creme (1985)
Kevin Godley and Lol Creme had enjoyed great success with the band 10cc throughout the ‘70s, and then stepped out as go-to video directors when MTV became a big thing in the early ‘80s. The video part came in handy when they came up with an innovative clip for their single “Cry,” using an analog technique to morph the faces singing the song into each other. That landmark video almost overshadows just what a mesmerizing track this is. With a brooding guitar line and vocals that go from restrained to explosive, the song manages to replicate the pent-up (at least for a while) frustration of someone who has discovered that their significant other’s deceit is only matched by their tactlessness.
4. “Welcome to the Boomtown” by David & David (1986)
David Baerwald and David Ricketts released just a single album together, but would collaborate on other projects in the future (most notably Sheryl Crow’s debut album, Tuesday Night Music Club). That one album featured “Welcome to the Boomtown,” which had a lot more on its mind than the typical pop fodder of the day (which might be why it barely cracked the Top 40.) The title is thickly ironic, as the characters who populate the song are living some sort of fun-house mirror version of the high life. The music is tough and highlighted by some wailing, atmospheric guitar, and the chorus is a cathartic cry on behalf of all those lost in the shuffle of the big city. One wonders what this duo could have done if they’d taken another crack at it.
5. “I Don’t Mind at All” by Bourgeois Tagg (1987)
Their name sounded as if it were some kind of political statement, but it was actually the combined surnames of the duo behind the music (Brent Bourgeois and Larry Tagg). Not too many groups in the ‘80s were releasing songs you might call Beatlesque, since everybody was too busy looking forward to brave new worlds. But “I Don’t Mind at All” proves that a supple melody and clever lyrics will always play. The song is about the end of a relationship, with the narrator stating in the refrain that it’s OK with him. But the melancholic tug of the music suggests that he’s only putting a brave face on the pain.
Still from YouTube post “Godley and Creme – Cry”
