Nice, kind of the Thank Your Lucky Stars to folklore’s Depression Cherry…

“Addicted To Love” is fairly easy to play, but a little nervewracking if your band decides to dress like Robert Palmer and his group for Halloween 1998.

http://billbois.com/images/AddictedToLove.jpg

PRODUCTION CREDITS FOR TODAY’S #1
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“The Greatest Love of All”
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Songwriters: Michael Masser (4th),
Linda Creed (her 1st and only, though she co-wrote these classics:
“The Rubberband Man”, “You Make Me Feel Brand New”, “I’m Stone In Love with You”, “Break Up to Make Up”, “You are Everything”, “Betcha by Golly, Wow”
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Linda Creed died from breast Cancer at the age of 37 in 1986 before this song went to #1.  She is in the Songwriters HOF.
Her family created the Linda Creed Breast Cancer Organization.  According to Charity Navigator, it has a 100 out of 100 rating!   WOW.
https://www.lindacreed.org/
It’s Mission: Our mission is to fight breast cancer through community-based education and referral, support, advocacy and direct service for those who need us.
Unfortunately, COVID has hurt this organization and it has been forced to suspend its services to the women that REALLY need it. 
But, you can donate here: https://lindacreed.org/donate
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Producers: Michael Masser (4th as a producer)
Label: Arista
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((Select Personnel))
Keyboards: Randy Kerber (2nd)
Randy is a composer and orchestrator and arranger.
He’s worked on over 800 films.
Remember this piano sound from the beginner and end of Forrest Gump?  That’s Randy
https://youtu.be/W7voy1vit6Y?t=30
Randy trained Michael Douglas to play piano when he played Liberace in “Behind the Candelabra”
It was Randy who taught Ryan Gosling to play piano for his role in La La Land (Gosling never played before). 
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I learned a few things about today’s song.  I hope you did too.

Lol Clapton sucks

Combining elements of synth pop, with dance beats and rap, the Pet Shop Boys made an instantly classic song. You immediately feel cooler for having heard this song, even if you’re the furthest thing from cool. At least that’s how it sounds and feels to me. The synth riffs are heavy and have a sense of foreboding. The bass line slinks along, adding to that feeling. The beat slams hard. Tennant’s rap/spoken verses may come off as peevish to some, but I find they have the right amount cool detachment. You can sing the melody and chorus till the cows come home. This song puts you smack in the middle of 80’s London, you can feel the grime and rain as if you’re there. A stone cold classic. 10.

[Performer] fired his longterm manager…and replaced him with his father and brother.

As we all know, this is an absolutely foolproof strategy, with maximum returns and minimal drama.

All hail the unsung hero of the “Addicted to Love” video, Azzedine Alaïa, the King of Cling.

But before you do, we must accept that the “Addicted to Love” video is one of the top 10 fashion videos of all time. Like a Patrick Nagel illustration that came to life, Robert Palmer’s backup band members were styled by Harper’s Bazaar editor Liz Tilberis and filmed by Terence Donovan who had worked with Vogue and had a fashion photography pedigree that extended back to the Swinging 60s in London.

“Addicted to Love” featured the 80s longest lasting contribution to fashion, the Little Black Dress. The LBD came to the forefront in the 1980s as women were entering the workforce in new capacities. The Power Suit, replete with huge shoulder pads, quickly became a cliché, and as the workday extended to night, the Power Suit felt out of place at after-work events. Enter the Little Black Dress. The LBD could be accessorized appropriately for the board room, then with a simple change of scarf or jewelry, it could lend itself to dinner out or a night of dancing.

At first I couldn’t confirm that the LBDs in “AtL” are from Alaïa, the claims on the internet range from Alaïa-like to designed by Alaïa. My co-worker at the time called them Azzedine’s, and one of the models mentions him in the video below, so they must be by Azzedine. Azzedine Alaïa was a Tunisian born designer who was called The King of Cling. He was an impeccable tailor, known for his clothes that reveled in the female form, yet were never vulgar. If you ever watched Project Runway and the judges told the designers that they needed to avoid making their women look like street walkers, and instead celebrate a woman’s body, what they were asking for was what Alaïa was masterful at.

The models in the “Addicted to Love” video, though dressed, coifed and made up to a uniformity, weren’t all typical model sized women. Some were a bit more full-figured than sample size at the time, which was about a size six. While Azzedine didn’t expressly design for all body types, his designs flattered all body types. His placement and design of seams accentuated curves and minimized waists without using confining and uncomfortable corsets. Women felt confident in his clothes, yet could spend long hours wearing them, and still feel at ease. He also sent diverse models down the runway. Among his biggest muses was the French-Algerian model Farida Khelfa. Farida had to walk the tightrope of being an international supermodel while being a woman, traveling with an Arab passport, not something easily done in the 1980s.

In hindsight it is easy to see that the “AtL” video, the fashions, and Alaïa’s dresses in particular, were a harbinger of times to come. Since its release in 1986, the look of the models has been shorthand for how to achieve the day-to-night look. The ease of Alaïa’s dresses can be seen in body-conscious dresses, and the omnipresent athleisure look of today. And the even somewhat narrow inclusivity of the models in the video has a correlation to today. In the 80s our female mannequins wore a 6 or 8, and the plus sized mannequins wore a 14. A few years back during our store remodel we introduced inclusive sizing on our mannequins, so the then current size 2-4 mannequins were augmented by ones wearing size 10, 16, 18 and 22.

Azzedine Alaïa died in 2017, but his impact on the music business is felt today. Among the Number One artists (including Dance/Disco) who wore his clothes are: Grace Jones, Tina Turner, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Beyonce, Solange, Victoria Beckham and Nicki Minaj. He was name checked in a Mariah Carey song, and Alicia Silverstone protested while wearing Azzedine in a Clueless scene.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwaPPIfbkJo

All you straight guys out there admiring the “AtL” back up band since 1986, you can feel better knowing there is some substance behind your objectifying. The models recently were interviewed, and like the AA LBD, their beauty is timeless.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr99RPxyvwM

Take Me Home better than West End Girls? Not on my watch.

https://i.ibb.co/vVY7PbX/am.png

A Friday Sidebar:

I’m going to take shot at something that’s not related to our usual musical discussion. I do not want to offend, so if I could get a hall pass from everybody on this one, I’d appreciate it.

I can’t express how much I appreciate this group. From the kids to the boomers, the lurkers to the regulars, the long-form writers to the quippers – all of you. It’s not inaccurate to say that through sheer goodwill, we have created a unique and very nice place to visit, and that we are more than just digital ships that pass in the night. We are friends. Tom Breihan himself has used the word “community,” and Scott Lapatine has allowed the TNOCS “editorial content” to flow freely. I hope that they both understand how much we appreciate the forum.

So, I often wonder: How could I pay some of the kindness back? Or forward? Or sideways? Sure, I could just Venmo a dollar to each of you … but here’s an idea that might be a karmically better solution.

The calendar says that it’s December. In addition to the usual holiday bustle, it also means that it’s charity season. I was thinking that maybe I could channel some of the aforementioned goodwill into something tangible, and that perhaps some of you would join me.

Against Malaria is a UK based organization that is certified 501(c)(3) in the US. It also has this equivalent status in over 24 other countries. I did my homework: this is among the best-run charities for transparency, effectivity of donation, and minimal overhead-to-disbursement ratio. Sorry; in English: they do good, and they do it responsibly.

Here’s what I have learned about mosquito nets: A proper net costs about USD$2, and lasts for 3 to 4 years, and protects on average two people. From donated funds, Against Malaria has sourced and provided these nets for years, to people in need all over the world. For every 600 nets that are put over heads and beds, one child doesn’t die, and 500 to 1,000 cases of malaria are prevented.

I’d never ask you all to participate without first cross-checking the numbers. I did so. And they are real.

Please visit the TNOCS page at https://www.AgainstMalaria.com/mt58 and perhaps consider donating. If most of the readership of The Number Ones made only the $2 minimum donation, we’d raise enough to make a real difference. It’s the less than the cost of one of those fancy-pants holiday coffees. About the cost of a slice of pizza. It’s two bucks that we all could morph into something much bigger, and literally save a life.

All coming from a totally random collection of weird and wonderful chart-loving nerds? Wow… how great would that would be!

Click and have a looksee. I’ll keep the page active until 12/31. If you donate, thank you for keeping me company over there. And also here at TNOCS. And… inside my head, on those days that I could use a little cheering up, as so many of us do during these challenging times.

Thanks for being patient with this off-topic post. Have a nice weekend, please be careful, take good care of yourselves and each other,

… and good on you all.

Let’s talk about a stretch, my “Greatest Love of All” story is a major stretch of connections, family, both biological and logical, HeLa cells, and vaccines. By the time I am done, it may be even more of a stretch, I dunno, but like life it is layered, even in condensed form. I will try to keep it short, but I’ll probably fail.

In 1951 an African American woman, Henrietta Lacks was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cervical cancer. Within months of her diagnosis, she had succumbed to the cancer. Without her knowledge or permission, pieces of the tumor from her cervix were harvested and given for cancer research. Dr. George Otto Gey was trying to model human cancer in a test tube. While most cancer cells grow and replicate uncontrollably, Henrietta’s cells were the first to grow indefinitely in flasks in Dr. Gey’s lab. Henrietta had rare immortal cells that have impacted billions of humans since 1951.

The HeLa cells named after the first two letter’s of Henrietta’s first and last names, enabled scientists to perform tests on human cells outside the body. Henrietta’s cells have gone into space, subjected to the effects of radiation after nuclear bomb testing and were used in AIDs research. In the 50s the HeLa cells were important in the development of the Polio vaccine, that is where my story comes in.

Growing up there was a family of friends that lived in an extremely small-town south of my hometown. Their mother was my Mom’s best friend, and for almost every one of the six kids in our family, there was a counterpart in their family of seven who were good-best friends. Growing up the oldest girl was my sister’s best friend, the next oldest, my other sister’s life-long bestie. There are other connections down the line. The second youngest sister was the subject of my story about “Money for Nothing” and the youngest will get a shoutout on Friday. The boy that was a year younger than me was my good friend. We shared the love of Elton John music, and in college we saw Elton in concert.

D, like the rest of his family, was smart, active, and had a great sense of humor. If he saw the last sentence he’d add that he was also good looking, good looking and funny, don’t forget that Bix. He also had Polio. Polio vaccines were around since 1950 in other countries. In the US two different vaccines were approved in 1955, by Jonas Salk, and an oral vaccine by Sabin in 1961. For whatever reason, the vaccine was too late for my friend, not that it stopped him. Out of college he developed computer software, met a girl and started a company. By the summer of 86 he was well on his way to his first million and first and only marriage. Statistics show that if I DJ your reception, your marriage will be long lasting, my friend was among the first statistically.

D never forgot his roots, and though he had the money, their wedding was typical for our small towns. It was not in a fancy hotel, but in the local Community Center, a simple white building which stood next to the local ballfield. The main floor was an open space with a large kitchen in the back. The basement had additional seating and bathrooms. It was insufferably hot in the summer and took a while to warm up in the winter. The town itself was two blocks by three blocks. About one-sixth of the town was occupied by the Community Center and the ballfield, and it likewise dominated social life. It was a place for weddings, funerals, and anniversaries. I’ve attended more post funeral get togethers there than any other place in my life.

But I’ve only DJ’d one wedding reception there. I packed my pick up with my equipment and crates of albums, and CDs and drove 150 miles as a gift to my friend to be his DJ. I played all the big Top 40 hits, many we have discussed. I had a CD of Polkas to cover the people who wanted Polkas, but I also played a Los Lobos song, “Serenata Nortena” and people did the Polka. I played the big songs that we’d dance to in High School, including some Elton John. Every once in a while I’d have to stop the music to allow the sound system to cool down, but that gave everyone ample time to hit the kegs or sneak outside for something harder. D and his wife danced to almost every song and allowed me to choose whatever, whenever.. However, as I was setting up, they asked for my suggestion on first dance. After I gave them a few options, they decided on “The Greatest Love of All.”

D and his wife are retired now and spend most of their free time biking and dancing. With vaccines in the news, between Covid and Anti-vaxxers, I often think of my friend. I was thinking of him tonight when my sister posted a link in our family group text. I had heard of Henrietta Lacks and the HeLa cells before, but only in passing. However, from my sister’s link I learned that the HeLa cells have been used in Covid-19 research where the scientists found out Henrietta’s immortal cells were not infected well by the virus. What they have learned from her cells has shaped treatment of Covid-19, so once again Henrietta is shaping science and medicine.

What does the song say? “Learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all.” I’ve never asked my friend if he regrets that he never had the Polio vaccine. While I have wondered, I’d never asked. He has lived his life as if his Polio didn’t exist. But since the research done with Henrietta’s cells has led to a vaccine that saved more than 17 million people from being paralyzed by Polio, I’d hazard a guess that he would debate any anti-vaxxer and would be all for taking whatever Covid vaccine is available to him. Word on the street is that Mayo Clinic will be starting to vaccinate employees this week.

So “The Greatest Love of All” is probably everything the TNOCS crew will say it is, good and bad. I rank it higher because of that summer wedding 34 years ago. My one change would be to the lyric. “Learning to BE yourself is the greatest love of all.” That truth is as immortal as Henrietta Lacks and her cells.

Guess it was a shit year for country

A decent cover of one of their not that good songs. It totally fits her style though. I see why she chose it.

I’m hoping this is truly a case where the sum of the parts is much better than any individual pieces we’ve heard so far. One thing we know for sure now though is that the cover image is terrible.

yo la tengo is overrated..

Please god no more politics

you can’t argue that she isn’t reintroducing herself