My Favorite BAND EVER!!! - The Party

Today, I will be showcasing my hands down, favorite pop group from when I was in high school... The Party!The Party are also the group that I mention and no one knows what I'm talking about. Sigh! Every so often, someone will know them and that makes us friends for life! The Party were, from the top of the above picture, going clockwise, Albert Fields, Deedee Magno, Damon Pampolina, Chase Hampton and Tiffini Hale. All five had starred on the Disney Channel's The New Mickey Mouse Club in 1989 before being spun off as a pop group. This was the height of New Kids on the Block mania, and The Party emulated their format with five singers and dancers, but gave the concept a twist by including two female members. (Rumor has it, two other female cast members, Rocqui Herring and Damon's real-life girlfriend Brandy Brown were also considered.)
Their eponymous debut album was the first release by Hollywood Records, a Disney-owned company that today is the home of Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers, Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato... as well as less mainstream artists like the Plain White Ts, Breaking Benjamin, Atreyu and Marie Digby. The Party's first single, "Summer Vacation" was a poppy rap song that only made it to #71 on the Pop chart, but managed to hit #21 on the Dance Chart. Disney heavily promoted the song and it even received plays on MTV.

The group's second single, "I Found Love" produced by Jellybean Benetez, only made it to #79 on the Pop Chart.

Their third single was the R&B flavored "That's Why":


They performed "I Found Love" and "That's Why (The Power Remix)" on Nia Peeples' Party Machine, for the two people who might remember that!

Finally, a fourth single, "Sugar Is Sweet" was released, but failed to chart:


In 1991, they released In The Meantime, In Between Time, a ten-track disc featuring cover songs and remixes (including the That's Why remix above). While not a real "album" it actually ended up being their greatest success, spawning their only Top 40 hit, "In My Dreams" a dance-y cover of the Dokken hair metal song.

This video was released before En Vogue's "My Lovin' (Never Gonna Get It)" video, but there are a lot of similarities, with the colors and the lights in the background. Of course, En Vogue's song was a classic and "In My Dreams" sort of faded into the ether. It did make it to #34 on the Pop Chart and #35 on the Dance Chart. The deejay at one of my favorite bars when I was in college used to play it for me every time I went there, though so YAY!

The rest of the album was poorly produced. The second single, "Private Affair" was heavily remixed before its release.


A third single, a cover of Elvis Costello's "What's So Funny About Peace, Love & Understanding?" was released, with The Party shortening the name to just "Peace, Love & Understanding."

The group enjoyed touring as the opening act for Hi Five, Vanilla Ice and Taylor Dayne.
In 1992, they released their second studio album, Free, which showcased a more mature sound. Super producer Teddy Riley wrote three songs on the album, including the title track, which was the first single.

Dr. Dre... yes THAT Dr. Dre, pre-The Chronic, wrote and produced the song "Let's Get Right Down To It" which was not released as a single. The second and last single from the album, "All About Love" like "Private Affair" was heavily remixed in its single form. The smooth R&B track would have been a perfect match for the radio at the time, but it failed to take off and Hollywood stopped pushing the album.

Despite the great production on the Free album, the group's connection to Disney and their poppy image ultimately kept older fans from embracing them. Also, pop and dance music started to fade by this point and hip hop, R&B and post-grunge rock had become the driving forces in pop music.
Damon was the first to leave the group. Damon was clearly the heart throb of the group, having been the most popular boy on the Mickey Mouse Club. His presence drew the majority of their fan base, but Damon was also the least musically inclined. He rapped on "Summer Vacation" their first single and also had a solo semi-spoken rap called "Ton of Bricks" on their debut, but as time went on, his contributions were less and less.
The majority of solos went to the other members of the group, especially Deedee and Albert, definitely the two strongest singers. They continued performing as a quartet, notably at Disney World, before calling it quits.

After their breakup, Hollywood Records released The Party's Over, Thanks For Coming, like In The Meantime..., a collection of leftover tracks including two more covers, "Hot Fun In The Summertime" and "You Dropped A Bomb On Me" as well as several tracks that were actually solo songs done by the remaining individual members without the others' involvement.
Chase and Tiffani actually returned to host The Mickey Mouse Club in its final two seasons, featuring newcomers Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera. Chase later formed the band Buzzfly, formed his own label and has since released a solo album. Tiffani, many years ago, was rumored to be hosting a revived Mickey Mouse Club, but that never materialized and she has remained out of the public eye. Albert released an album under the name Jeune (half of his middle name Jeunepierre) and continues making music. Damon lived in New York and pursued acting along with his long-time girlfriend Brandy Brown. He recently formed a website hoping to discover new talent and has formed an entertainment agency with his father. His relationship with Brandy lasted 10 years, but he is now married to a woman named Jennifer and has a son named Roman. He and Albert reunited as a hip hop group N'Decent Proposal. Deedee has been the most high profile, starring on Broadway in Miss Saigon in the role of Kim. Deedee was the longest running actress to play that part. She recently starred in the touring production of Wicked as Nessarose opposite her husband Cliffton Hall who played lead Fiyero. The two have a son, Kaeden.
Eeeeee! Here I am with Deedee after seeing her in Wicked! With my bedazzled Party shirt! She was so super sweet and signed all the crap I brought along! Also, she's TINY! Swoon!

My Favorite Songs Ever! Boy Pop-erific!

Oh, iPod Shuffle mode! I love when you throw out old gems that I was once obsessed with that I haven't heard in ages and had kinda forgotten about! Recently, it threw out two boy poppy delights... first cutie pie Jesse McCartney's "How Do You Sleep" featuring Ludacris (the SMASH MODE Radio Remix):



Yeah, the video's not much to look at. Here's the real video for the regular version of the song:


I'm not going to write a lot about these songs, as I don't have anything really deep to say. They're cute pop songs that I like dancing to. Jesse McCartney is soooooo cute! How was he not a bigger teen idol? He's way fucking cuter than Justin Beiber has any hope of ever being! Hell, he's actually cuter than Justin Timberlake! And all three Jonas Brothers put together! Eh, oh well.
And next we have "Love Struck" by V Factory. Who the hell are V Factory? Well... nobody, basically. This song came out in 2009 and I was obsessed with it and made it my ring tone and ring back! I would listen to it over and over. It may very well be my favorite boy band song of ALL TIME! I'm not even kidding! Sadly, it just never broke through. It was heavily promoted and was actually pushed heavily in the gay community, with the video being a regular fixture on Logo's Poplab and various club remixes made available. Sadly, it peaked at #70 on the pop chart, so it's relatively obscure even today. (I never changed my ring tone or ring back, but I know it's no longer my ring back, so I guess it got deleted.) Anyway, since then, two members have left the group. Allegedly, the remaining three are carrying on, but they've been working on their debut album for 3 years now, so... y'know, good luck with that. Even so, I LOVE "Love Struck!"

My Favorite Songs Ever - Ready For The World "Oh Sheila"

It's Monday... a RAINY, STORMY Monday, so why don't we have a little dance party to lift our spirits?
Released in 1985, "Oh Sheila" was Ready For The World's breakout single, skyrocketing to #1 on the US Pop, R&B and Dance charts. I'm not sure what else to even say, this song RULEZZZZZZZ!!!! It has a very Prince-y sound, which was fine because Prince was one of the biggest stars in music at that time, probably second only to Michael Jackson in fame and popularity. So while Prince was busy attempting to replicate his sound with his shiteous proteges like Apollonia 6 and Jill Jones, and other artists like Jesse Johnson were also freely ripping from the Prince playbook, Ready For The World came along and out-Princed them all... well, not the real Prince, but all the knock-off! (Speaking of, rumors abounded that "Oh Sheila" was about Prince-protege/girlfriend Sheila E, but lead singer Melvin Riley denies this saying it wasn't about anyone in particular.)

The video is crude, but how can you criticize a band that also does choreography while playing their instruments?

The band had one more smash, classic slow jam "Love You Down" which hit #1 on the R&B Chart and #9 on the Pop Chart before the band broke up in 1991. (They reunited in 2004 and have released two additional albums.) "Oh Sheila" was covered by Euro dance "group" Angel City as "Love Me Right" (the chorus was dropped in this version). This version hit #1 on the US Dance Chart and actually hit #11 on the UK Pop Chart... the exact peak position that Ready For The World's hit!

Oh... and this song was also covered by... ME! It's one of my karaoke greatest hits!

Throwback Thursday/My Favorite Songs EVER!!! - Jomanda "Got A Love For You"

Yeah, that's right THREE in one day! This song just randomly popped into my head today and it's been a while since I've posted a MFSE!!! so why not throw it out there today?
Damn, I love house music! Especially early 90s stuff and this was a great one! It hit #1 on the Dance charts and #40 on the Pop chart. Honestly, I was never sure if Jomanda was a woman or group. Turns out, they were a group. They had another Dance #1 when Felix sampled their song "Don't You Want My Love" for his (?) single "Don't You Want Me." Their song "Make My Body Rock" (Dance #6) appeared in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Dance! Online. They released more singles and some of them charted on the Dance charts, but "Got A Love For You" remains their biggest achievement. Sadly, singer Joanne Thomas died in 2003 after a long battle with colon cancer.


Jomanda - Got A Love For You 1991 by KingOfTheFunk

My Favorite Songs EVER! - Stacey Q - Two of Hearts

For WHATEVER reason, Lady Gaga's side ponytail on the Grammys when she performed "Born This Way" reminded me... no, not of Madonna, to whom everyone is comparing Gaga now, but another 80s icon... okay, icon is a strong word... one-hit-wonder, Stacey Q!
See what I'm talking about? What was the deal with the shoulders? Anyhoo... I like "Born This Way." A lot of people don't. It's not ground-breaking. It's nowhere near her greatest song or anything. Elton John must've been smoking crack when he said this song would dethrone "I Will Survive" as the greatest gay anthem of all time. But it's good enough. It's better than that fucking terrible Britney song!
BUT... it will never be a delightful as Stacey Q's smash "Two of Hearts" and there's no chance in hell, I will ever love it as much as I do THAT song! (Click the cover image to view the music video!)

Stacey Swain worked as a performer in the Disneyland Fantasy on Parade show as a "Dutch Puppet" and went on to work as a showgirl/elephant rider for Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, before fronting the band Q. Due to copyright issues, Q changed its name to SSQ, possibly to stand for "Stacey Swain Q." Stacey then signed a solo deal with On The Spot Records, an independent label and released her debut Stacey Q, featuring an early version of "Two of Hearts." This indie release garnered the attention of major label Atlantic which then signed her. She released a major label debut in 1986, Better Than Heaven. Atlantic released "Two of Hearts" as Stacey's first single and it skyrocketed, hitting #3 on the Billboard pop charts. (On The Spot Records also released their version as a single and the two competing singles split her sales, preventing her from reaching #1.)

Stacey Q on Solid Gold:


Stacey had a modest hit with her follow-up "We Connect." She also scored a recurring role on 80s sitcom The Facts of Life as Cinnamon, an actress that initially competed with Tootie for a role in a Broadway show. She performed "Two of Hearts" on the show and returned for a follow-up appearance where she performed "We Connect" and George Clooney's character "George" left to work as her tour manager, thus explaining his exit from the show. NBC considered creating a spin-off starring Stacey and George but it didn't materialize. (She would go on to make appearances on Full House and Mamma's Family.) Of course, she still records and releases music today, but... well, it's no "Two of Hearts!"

My Favorite Songs EVER! - Jermaine Stewart "We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off"

I know I've discussed this song briefly once before, but even so... Released in 1986, Jermaine Stewart's "We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off" was one of the first pop singles to reflect the change in public thoughts about sex in the aftermath of the AIDS epidemic. It was also a booty-shaking good time! The song was featured on Miami Vice and took off on radio, hitting #5 in the US and #2 in the UK! I can't verify this, but I'm sure it also led to the sales of cherry wine skyrocketing! (The consumption of which, I would assume, led to clothes actually being taken off, so... y'know IRONY!)
Miss Jermaine was born in Columbus, OH (!) and moved to Chicago in the 70s, becoming a Soul Train dancer, alongside Jody Watley. Jermaine went on tour with Jody's group Shalimar as a backup singer and dancer. He later toured as a backup singer for Culture Club which led to his receiving his own record deal. His first album, The Word Is Out, spawned an R&B hit with its title track, co-written with Culture Club's Mikey Craig. It was a modest hit in the US, but I definitely remember it! I probably roller skated to it!


Then came Frantic Romantic, his second album, featuring "We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off." Boy George's flamboyance and Prince's androgyny surely made it more palatable for singers whose sexuality was questionable to attain some degree of success, whereas in the past it surely would not have! Jermaine (along with the flouncy lead singer of Ready For The World, see upcoming MFSE!) managed to score massive pop hits, even though they were clearly FLAMING QUEENS! (Bow down, Adam Lambert!)
Jermaine ended up a one hit wonder on the US pop charts. A few more of his singles achieved moderate success on the R&B charts. Interestingly, he went on to even GREATER success abroad as his third album was actually more successful in Europe than Frantic Romantic had been! A later single "Hot & Cold" was featured over the closing credits of Weekend At Bernies... so there's that.
Frantic Romantic was re-released on CD in October which I, not-surprisingly, missed. (I got that shizz now, though!) It was the first release of the album since 1986 and was enhanced with the 12" extended mixes of "We Don't...," "The Word Is Out," "Jody" (his second single from the album, written about his friend, Jody Watley) and "Dance Floor" (the second song on the album, my second favorite song from it) as well as bonus tracks, "The Word Is Out" (from his first album" and "Brilliance" the original B-side to "We Don't..." I have to say, the 7" Radio Edit would have been a nice inclusion, but I'm not going to quibble!

This is a FAB-U-LOUS clip of him on American Bandstand! Dick Clark introduces him, then Jermaine and his two backup singers/dancers "perform" (you should know what that means by now) "We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off." Dick then interviews the very soft-spoken Jermaine who discusses his pre-solo career, making sure to name check his friends who had helped him get to that point, before performing his sophomore single from that album "Jody"... and he kinda TEARS IT UP! STRANGE' GURL!!!


LOVE!

Sadly, Jermaine's story ended tragically, when he died in 1997 from AIDS-related liver cancer. Um... guess someone DID take their clothes off. Sad clown! Even so, I admire him for being so open and out there! His song "Dance Floor" even features a line about not being locked in a closet! So add him to the list of my gay icons growing up, alongside Lamar from Revenge of the Nerds and Hollywooooooooooood! And C-3PO, cuz, y'know, we ALL know.

So there you go, another of my Favorite Songs EVER!

My Favorite Songs EVER! The Bravery - An Honest Mistake

I'm kind of eschewing my regular themes this week, just because. And I'm going in a different direction with today's MFSE!. The last two were POP-a-liscious 80s tunes, but today I am showcasing 2005's "An Honest Mistake" by The Bravery.
The song came out during a boom in what was called "Electro Clash" which no band seemingly wanted to be referred to as, so let's just call it Electro Rock. The Bravery hit the scene at almost the exact same time as the similar sounding band, The Killers. I loved them both! New Wave mixed with indie rock?! Two great tastes that taste great together! Or... sound great together, I suppose. Whatever, I was too busy shaking my ass to worry about it. However, worth pondering, allegedly the lyrics are about one of the band's members who kissed a male friend but then regretted it... calling it a mistake.This comes as no surprise. I mean do you SEE how much eye makeup they're wearing?! Anyway, enjoy! :


The song went to #15 on the US charts and their debut album hit #18. BUT, like The Killers and every other awesome Electro Rock band that came out at that time, they decided on their second album to ditch the electronics in favor of a more straight forward, guitar-driven sound. Gee, like there aren't already like ALL the other bands in the world that sound like that! At least they had the decency to provide synthier remixes of some of their later singles, but they haven't replicated the success of their first album. I mean, why do bands insist on getting rid of what makes them stand out, in order to sound like every other band in the world? Poor judgement, fellows. Poor judgement.

My Favorite Songs EVER! Vol. 2 (But First...)

Well, I am having a downright shit day! It is most certainly NOT a Wonder Wednesday. My iPad refuses to sync so I was on with Apple support for an hour plus trying to get that sorted out, but in restoring it, it's just filling up with music... music that I will immediately remove. I think I'm a music hoarder. I never get rid of ANYTHING because I just might one day want to hear it again, even though I've had it for years and not listened to it once. I mean, what if I suddenly decide to check out that free folk music sampler? So I have to wait on that and I have the sneaking suspicion I'm still going to have issues after that.

Speaking of issues and Wonder Wednesday, my usual day for discussing things comic book-y, DCU Online isn't working for me. I can't connect to the login server. So that was $50 well spent. I was hoping that it was just because it launched yesterday and maybe there were too many people on it, but I looked on their message board and... uh, I don't think that's it. It got REEEEAAAAAL techy, so I just backed out. I'll have David look at it tonight, but I think I'm just going to return it. I'm really intimidated by it to begin with. The game play is different than WoW or CoH, so I'm already concerned with that and I am also fairly sure that this plays like a "real" video game, which I have never been good at. And it flat-out says "There are some missions you won't be able to complete solo." Weeeeeeeeeell, fuck! Because I hate playing with other people. This goes back to not being good at video games, I'm also not coordinated enough to play AND communicate at the same time.

AAAAAAAAAAAAND, I'm trying to get my credit report situated to buy a new car, but I have two blemishes on it including one involving GMAC and my old Cavalier. But the problem is that GMAC switched over to Ally (or got bought out or whatever) and I'm not in their system anymore. I need my old VIN number or something and this may come as a surprise to you, but I don't keep very good records. Or records at all. Unless you mean the vinyl kind and I keep those quite well. (See the music hoarding discussion above. I'm so going to want to one day hear those "Livin' La Vida Loca" remixes again. Well... I might.)

So yeah, breeeeeeeaaaaathe... In order to cheer myself up, I'm going to post two blogs about stuff I like, including the second edition of My Favorite Songs EVER! I was going to post this next week, but I need it NOW!My second selection is "You Came" by Kim Wilde! Kim Wilde is best... well, pretty much ONLY known in the US for her hits "Kids In America" and "You Keep Me Hangin' On." She also had a moderate hit in the 90s with a cover of Yvonne Elliman's "If I Can't Have You." (Wikipedia says it wasn't released in the US, but it was because I have it, it was played on the radio and in clubs, so... there!) She had a lengthier career in Europe, including scoring two additional hits from her first album after "Kids In America." IRONICALLY, Kim is British for one thing and the song didn't actually do that well on the US charts, peaking at #25. It is, however, considered a New Wave classic and has been covered by over two dozen artists as diverse as MxPx to The Jonas Brothers and of course Alvin & The Chipmunks!

Her cover of The Supremes "You Keep Me Hangin' On" was far more successful in the US, becoming her only stateside #1. But once again, follow up success eluded her here, a common struggle for foreign artists in this market. In Europe, however, she was popular enough to land the gig as Michael Jackson's opening act on his 1988 tour!
The first single from her next album was "You Came." The song was written by Kim with her brother Ricki, after the birth of his first child. It hit #1 in Denmark (woo hoo!) and #3 in England, Ireland, Norway and Switzerland and did nearly as well across Europe. It didn't crack the Top 40 in America, topping out at #41. I definitely heard the song at the time, but since it wasn't very successful, it didn't make that big an impression on me.

In college however, I found it on an old promotional compilation and it was love at second listen! It isn't produced by SAW, but it is very much in the same vein. Poppy, Euro, 80s electro pop! I just love it! (Forgive the silly "Nemesis Presents" intro!)

Kim Wilde - You Came


Is it just me, or does she bear a strong resemblance to Kim Basinger AND Rebecca Romijn? The tour footage from the video is actually from the Michael Jackson Bad tour as this song was her big hit at that time.
In 2006, she recorded a delightful rocked up version of her signature hit!



I love this version just as well! This song really encouraged me to explore her music more. I have her Greatest Hits and while I don't like ANY of the songs MORE than "You Came" there are still some pleasant singles that I never would have heard otherwise.

Tune In Tuesday - My Favorite Songs EVER! Vol. 1

This is a new feature. It won't be weekly or anything, although there will probably be another one next week, but I've decided to showcase my absolute favorite songs of all time. Hopefully, they will be diverse and interesting. They're probably all gonna be hella gay, though. None moreso than my inaugural feature...

Kylie's debut international single, " Should Be So Lucky!" Prior to this song's release, she'd been a beloved soap opera star in her native Australia. I get the impression soap operas are a lot bigger deal in other countries. On the show Neighbors, Kylie played Charlene, a mechanic (!) opposite heartthrob Jason Donovan who played Scott. The couple was so dear to the Australians that when they finally tied the knot on TV, it was treated in the press almost like a real royal wedding! Jason Donovan also launched a successful musical career and shared a duet with Kylie, "Especially For You" which appear on both their albums.DAAAAAAAAAYUMMMM! That is MAYBE the scariest mullet ever!

Kylie appeared at a live benefit, and although not technically a singer, she sang "I Got You Babe" with one of her Neighbors co-stars. When the audience demanded an encore, she asked the band if they knew the Little Eva classic "The Loco-Motion." She sang it and a recording of it was released as a single, spending seven weeks atop the Australian pop charts... the highest selling Australian single of the year! (I've read that it was the highest selling Aussie single of the decade, but... I dunno, that sounds fishy.)With that song's success, her record label arranged for her to travel to England to work with British producers Stock, Aitken and Waterman (SAW) who'd produced the hits "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)" by Dead Or Alive and "Venus" by Bananarama. The producers... forgot she was coming. So while Kylie waited in the lobby, they slapped together THE FINEST PIECE OF POP MUSIC EVER. Kylie recorded the song in less than an hour and left. The rest is history!

I Should Be So Lucky


The song debuted on the British charts at #9 but quickly rose to #1, where it remained for eight weeks! In Australia, it became the highest selling single of 1988. It hit #1 in many countries and in Japan was named "Record of the Year!"
Her debut album followed. Her second single "Got To Be Certain" debuted at #1 in Australia and made it to #2 in England. She followed that with a newly SAW-produced recording of "The Loco-Motion" which was also a massive hit and her first major hit in the US, hitting #3 for two weeks. "I Should Be So Lucky" was released here as the follow-up to "The Loco-Motion" but only made it to #28 (#10 on the Dance Charts).

Kylie wasn't able to replicate the success here of another SAW-production, Rick Astley, but her debut album is a frothy, bubble gum pillow fight! I can listen to it from start to finish... except I always rewind and listen to "I Should Be So Lucky" like 40 times in a row! It may not have been as successful here, but it's still one of her signature hits that she performs on nearly all of her tours!