Halloweeen Hits: "X-Ray Vision" Moon Martin (1982)

Here's a lost early MTV classic....... 

Indeed upon his release from the aliens, John Denver was never the same again.........

Moon Martin was a journeyman songwriter and scored some hits for others, namely "Bad Case of Loving You" for Robert Palmer in 1979. "Rolene" from his 1979 album Escape From Domination. was his biggest solo hit.  

Halloween Hits: "Something In My House" Dead Or Alive (1987)

From the follow-up album  to their 1985 super-smash Youthquake, which features the '80s party classic "You Spin Me 'Round (Like A Record)" . This album didn't do as well as Youthquake, but it had a few lesser hits on it, including this song and "Brand New Lover"

However, for sheer terror value, NOTHING can top what Dead Or Alive's lead singer Pete Burns has done to his face in the years since.....

Pete Burns, 1985

Pete Burns, 2010

Halloween Hits: "The Rockin' Ghost" Archie Bleyer (1956)

Archie Bleyer was the founder of Cadence Records, a semi-major '50s independent record label which scored major hits with The Everly Brothers, The Chordettes ("Mr. Sandman") and a young Andy Williams. This was his biggest solo hit.

Halloween Hits: "Boris The Spider" The Who (1967)

From their 1967 album A Quick One, this song influenced countless death metal bands with Juhn Entwhisle's growl of the song's title in the chorus.

A Quick One was released in the US as Happy Jack.

Halloween Hits: "Return Of The Spiders" Alice Cooper (1970)

From his second album Easy Action, "Return Of The Spiders" is some pretty nice early speed metal......

Near mint copies of the rare original Straight label copies of this can fetch over $100

Near mint copies of the  SUPER rare original Bizarre/Reprise label copies of this can fetch over $1,000. 

Halloween Hits: "Alien" Atlanta Rhythm Section (1981)

OK, I'm not sure if anything else beyond the title of this song qualifies it for a Halloween playlist.

This song went to #29 on the Top 40 charts in 1981......

But you had to admire ARS's sense of compassion towards aliens. Especially after we've already seen this.......

Halloween Hits: "D.O.A" Bloodrock (1970)

This is another super creepy song and a heavy metal classic. Single handedly inspiring countless classics such as "Detroit Rock City" Kiss and "One" Metallica. With a lead singer whose voice and style of singing was an irrefutable template for Ronnie James Dio's '80s career.

"D.O.A." is a song written from the perspective of someone dying in a horrific plane crash, inspired by an actual event the band's guitarist witnessed when he was 17. "D.O.A." was Bloodrock's biggest hit (and the song was released as a heavily edited - and sucky - single version) So here it is in it's full 8:25 album length glory. This is from their album Bloodrock 2.

Bloodrock broke up in 1975. 

Halloween Hits: "Timothy" The Buoys (1971)

Without a doubt, "Timothy" The Buoys is one of the CREEPIEST songs to EVER make the Top 40.

The Buoys were a pop group fronted by Rupert Holmes (you might know Rupert Holmes better for the super smash at the end of 1979, "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" and it's follow-up single, the lesser charting lost pop classic "Him".) In 1971 however, Holmes was a struggling 20 year old songwriter desperate for a hit.

Scepter Records (then label home of Dionne Warwick and B.J. Thomas) offered him a deal. They would release a song from him. But they wouldn't promote it.  Holmes was a house songwriter for Scepter and this might have been way for Scepter to release a song from one of their house songwriters without any hint of payola.

Top 40 records need a LOT of promotion. Hundreds of new pop songs glut the airwaves every year and the ones that become the BIGGEST hits usually have a full blown record company promotional campaign behind them. No (or little) promotion means no hit and the kiss of death behind countless failed pop acts. 

Rupert Holmes knew this nightmare scenario. But he happened upon a brilliant idea: Make a song that WILL intentionally get banned off the radio. Following the old saying "There is no such thing as bad publicity", Holmes wrote the lyrics of this song:

Trapped in a mine that had caved in
And everyone knows the only ones left
Was Joe and me and Tim
When they broke through to pull us free
The only ones left to tell the tale
Was Joe and me

Timothy, Timothy, where on earth did you go?
Timothy, Timothy, God why don't I know?

Hungry as hell no food to eat
And Joe said that he would sell his soul
For just a piece of meat
Water enough to drink for two
And Joe said to me, "I'll take a swig
And then there's some for you."

Timothy, Timothy, Joe was looking at you
Timothy, Timothy, God what did we do?

I must have blacked out just around then
'Cause the very next thing that I could see
Was the light of the day again
My stomach was full as it could be
And nobody ever got around
To finding Timothy

Timothy, Timothy, where on earth did you go?
Timothy, Timothy, God why don't I know?

Timothy...

Well, you get the idea of what happened to poor old Timothy.....

The song was wrapped in a nice, bubblegum coated Osmonds-like musical arrangement and the song was sent out to radio. And radio began playing the song.

At the same time, Scepter Records was promoting their new star, Beverly Bremers who had a new single "Don't Say You Don't Remember" Yet somehow, this strange song the label never promoted was getting an awful lot of airplay.  And a lot of requests from young males at a time when such songs were requested mainly by young females.

The story from here takes a fork in the road. It's been said a Scepter A&R guy desperate to get the Beverly Bremers hit on the radio pulled a radio programmer aside, and mentioned what the "Timothy" song was actually about. Another goes the programmer tried to figure out what was the buzz behind this song and almost crapped himself when he heard the lyrics.

The song however was still selling briskly as a 45 RPM single, so not wanting to upset that applecart, Scepter quickly released a press statement claiming the Timothy in the song was actually a mule.

NOBODY bought that one. 

Regardless, the song was quickly removed off many Top 40 playlists (and replaced with the more genteel Beverly Bremers song.)

Nevertheless, this song became one of the biggest hits of 1971. And the radio hasn't played it since....

Halloween Hits: "Monster" Fred Schneider & The Shake Society (1984)

1984 Original Cover

1991 Reissue Cover

Often miscredited to The B-52s, this was a solo single from Fred Schneider. From his 1984 album Fred Schneider & The Shake Society. It was repackaged and re-released on Reprise (try saying that 10 times fast) in 1991.

The music video, as you can imagine was one of the first ones banned by MTV.....

Halloween Hits: "Spooky" Classics IV (1967)

Halloween Hits: "Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman" The Tubes (1981)

From their 1981 LP The Completion Backward Principle. 

Halloween Hits: Chilling, Thrilling Sounds Of The Haunted House - Disneyland Records (1964)

http://www.haunteddimensions.raykeim.com/index361.html

Who could forget this kid classic?

If you grew up in the '60s and '70s (as well as many from the '80s), this record was a part of your childhood. Even if you never owned a copy, you knew all about it's existence because you often had a friend that did.. 

Originally released in 1964, Chilling, Thrilling Sounds Of The Haunted House remains a perennial Halloween holiday classic.

(Kinda like this album, but for Halloween.)

It was re-released in 1973 with an orange jacket and it has been re-released in it's entirety on CD.

Side One of the LP is narrated by the great Laura Olsher, who sadly passed away in June 2012.

Side 1

Side Two has a compilation of classic Disney sound effects. The most famous one is here.

Side 2

Laura Olsher's voice could be heard on many Disneyland story albums........

                              (Let's hear it for the G.E. Wildcat Portable Stereo Phonograph )

.........and even appears as a sample on Ice Cube's 1991 gangsta rap classic "Jackin' For Beats"

Her performance as Mrs. Cratchit in the 1962 Christmas special Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol is another one of her famous roles......

                                  

Scary Toys

Halloween Hits: "Monster Hash" The Toyes (1993)

For those in serious need of Visine and Twinkies..........

Halloween Hits: "I Want My Baby Back" Jimmy Cross (1965)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Cross

Halloween Hits: "Halloween" King Diamond (1986)

King Diamond was the Marilyn Manson of the '80s. A self proclaimed Satan worshipper and frontman of the occult-metal band Mercyful Fate who went solo with a new band in 1986. He plays with both bands today.

If not exactly the most ORIGINAL guy on earth......

Pete Wentz? OK, yeah, he came later.....But see what Satanic music does to you, kids?

King Diamond and Mercyful Fate were popular with hardcore metal fans, but had virtually no commercial rock radio airplay (that darned devil warshipping thang put most major rock radio station managers teeth on edge.) It also didn't help their label, Roadrunner Records (now home to Nickelback.) was still a struggling Dutch independent until the '90s.

This is off King Diamond's first full album, Fatal Portrait. 

Halloween Hits: "There's A New Sound (The Sound Of Worms)" Tony Burrelo (1953)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Burrello

Halloween Hits: "Butcher Pete (Parts 1 & 2)" Roy Brown (1950)

You might know Roy Brown better as the original singer (and writer) of the classic "Good Rockin' At Midnight" (famously covered by The Honeydrippers in the '80s, who's version became a New Year's Eve party classic.) But in 1950, he released this disturbing little ditty (you can also heard it in the soundtrack of the video game Fallout 3.)

Halloween Hits: "Rex The Hex" The King's Jesters (1958)

The King's Jesters were a big band vocal group from the Chicago area. They were featured frequently on the NBC Radio networks during the '30s and '40s and played with Benny Goodman and other big band leaders.

This single was released on the Chicago area independent, KaHill (or K-Hill) Records. A label I really don't have much information on them other than this is the first 45 RPM single I saw on KaHill. I've only seen KaHill 78s up to that point.

A snazzy little number, if I do say so........

Skull Violins

Halloween Hits: Sounds Of Terror! - Pickwick Records (1974)

Front Cover

I have a copy of this 1974 Pickwick Records story album. And some of it is surprisingly shocking for what would be an ordinary kid's record. Even today, to say NOTHING of 1974.

Label Side One

Label SideTwo

Back Cover

The record starts off with a cheesy re-recording of "Monster Mash" (NOT the original hit. Hey, this is a Pickwick product. What did you expect?) But then it gets downright creepy on Side 2 with several stories, most involving torture of some kind. " Buried Alive", "Keel Hauled" "Burned At The Stake", etc. are super creepy for any little kid with the tortured screams and the effects are really twisted (especially the sizzling sound during "Burned At The Stake").

However the other recordings "Victims Of The Guillotine", "The Exorcism" "The Incredible Giant Crab" and "Curse Of The Zombies" sound hysterical with the fake accents and terrible script. But it should be noted that the writer of this album was soon to be famous screenwriter Frank Daniel, who had just emigrated to America and these sessions were produced by Wade Denning, a big band conductor who became a session producer at Pickwick and also made a few other classic Halloween kids albums, including his most famous, the much tamer Halloween with Kay Lande on Wonderland Records. 

  

                                                              "Buried Alive"

I wish there were more examples I could present, but I'm not sure of the copyright status of this album. So I just present what I can find on the web. I have already digitized this album fortunately if I get some good news.....

SIDE 1

1. THE MONSTER MASH

2. THE WEREWOLF ATTACKS

3. DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE

4. FRANKENSTEIN RETURNS

5. JACK THE RIPPER

6. KING KONG

7. COUNT DRACULA

8. THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN

9. THE MUMMY'S REVENGE

10. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (MP3 Link, courtesy of WFMU Beware Of The Blog)

SIDE 2

1. BURIED ALIVE

2. BURNED AT THE STAKE

3. THE EXORCISM

4. THE INCREDIBLE GIANT CRAB

5. VICTIMS OF THE GUILLOTINE

6. CURSE OF THE ZOMBIES

7. KEEL HAULED

8. THE TORTURE CHAMBER

9. THE BLOB

10. THE NIGHTMARE OF LOST SOULS

"The Bluebird Of Happiness" Jan Peerce (1958 Version)

Folks in the Puget Sound and the Sacramento areas will remember this song as the sign off song of KCPQ-TV 13 Tacoma and KCRA-TV 3 Sacramento before the stations went 24 hours (and filled their overnight schedules with crappy, boring infomercials instead of those awesome old, black and white and made-for-tv movies Kelly Televison used to specialize in for KCPQ in the '80s before KCPQ affiliated with Fox.)

                            (Why am I suddenly craving Spaghetti-O's")

Jan Peerce was an awesome opera singer, ranking right up there with Mario Lanza, Luciano Pavarotti and Enrico Caruso. A really powerful voice - with style to spare. It was MADE for the theater.

And this song is PURE CLASS.

The version on the YouTube video seems to be the mono version. I'm thinking about buying a copy of the Living Stereo version. With the way RCA Victor mastered (and I do mean MASTERED) their old Living Stereo vinyl albums from the late '50s, I'll bet it sounds FANTASTIC!.......

Transylvania Cassette Tape

The choice of music vampires everywhere.........

All during the month of October, I'll be posting a Halloween themed post each day

Bob Marley & The Wailers: Early Music

Here's a nifty little compilation of some of Bob Marley & The Wailer's earliest recordings (with Peter Tosh.) Released in 1977 as Bob Marley was making his mark on American FM rock stations and people everywhere were discovering this strange new music called "reggae". Whereas back then, punk was loud, fast and snotty, reggae was the mellow, laid back stuff your stoner next door neighbour played loudly on his stereo every Sunday morning.

While on the surface, this might look like your typical major label budget compilation (Calla was the hard funk/Caribbean music imprint of CBS Records) to cash in on a big trend by reissuing a current superstar's early material, this album is surprisingly well mastered with some instantly catchy tunes ("Wings Of A Dove", "I'm Still Waiting") and excellent liner notes on the back cover.

On this one, you hear more of a '60s soul influence (these sessions were recorded in the late '60s, before Marley's more rock-influenced Island albums in the '70s that made him a superstar) and Bob Marley could have easily scored a few '60s US hits if CBS were actively looking in Jamaica for exciting new music. Which they weren't (NOBODY outside of Island and a few specialty labels were doing that.) These recordings are reissued material Bob Marley & The Wailers recorded for New World Disc Records. It's a necessary companion to Bob Marley's greatest hits album Legend.
And the perfect soundtrack for a Sunday morning.....

Lost '80s Pop Classic Week: "Rock Me Tonite" Billy Squier (1984)

Well, let me put it this way. Billy Squier was cool. SUPER COOL. At one time, he REALLY was the most popular solo rock artist in the early '80s in America, At one time eclipsing Bryan Adams, George Thorogood and Pat Benatar COMBINED. And if you don't believe it,  I'll remind you:

 But in 1984, something went wrong......Horribly wrong

He was at the peak of his career when he released Signs Of Life, and from all indicators, it was going to be ANOTHER blockbuster album. And it was. This baby shipped platinum straight from Capitol Records on pre-orders ALONE. And a catchy new song hit the airwaves, "Rock Me Tonite" and all was going according to plan.

And then MTV aired the World Premiere Video of "Rock Me Tonite".......

....and you could hear the sound of a million jaws collectively hitting the floor.

For one thing, EVERYTHING was wrong with the video. Famous heterosexual rock guitarists just weren't supposed to prance around in ripped tank tops and pajama bottoms. Or dry hump the floor. Or wear ANYTHING pink. Or stumble around with the band like a drunken drag queen (with a PINK guitar.) It was a TOTAL image clash from the Billy Squier of just a year ago then. Fans scratched their heads and said "What the fu.....?"

And it was proof positive a HUGELY successful music career can be destroyed almost overnight by just ONE bad music video.

And Billy Squier, who once HEADLINED stadiums was suddenly reduced to playing much smaller music venues. (His loyalest fans were still plentiful, but the mainstream fans had all but instantly deserted him.) Over ONE video......

The next few years were rough as he tried to live down the "Rock Me Tonite" video. He released an album in 1986 Enough Is Enough which was a far more serious effort in an attempt to recover from the video debacle and return to form. But rock radio and MTV had mostly ignored it. They were too focused on the hair metal bands who, ironically, pranced around in ripped tank tops and pajama bottoms. Dry humped the floors. Wore ANYTHING pink. And stumbled around like a drunken drag queens.

Some even had PINK guitars.

His comeback finally came in 1989 with the release of Hear And Now, which scored him his first #1 rock hit since "Rock Me Tonite" called "Don't Say You Love Me"and things looked good again....

But Seattle grunge came and soon wiped everyone off the map.

He left Capitol in the early '90s and the music business for the most part, doing nature conservancy work but he still makes occasional appearances at Classic Rock shows....... 

Tears For Ullman

What happens when you play a Tracey Ullman 45 at the wrong speed (33 1/3 RPM)?

MAGIC!

Play this video.......

"Gangnam Style" Psy (2012)

At History's Dumpster, it doesn't have to be old to get tossed in. Pop fads are being created all the time.  There's no reason to make it purely nostalgia. If it were, it would get boring for me as the blogger here. Quickly.

Today, we look at the craze known as "Gangnam Style", an internet meme gone berserk lately. What is it?

If you've been living under a rock (and with things as crazy as they are in the world, I can't really blame you.) "Gangnam Style" is a video and funny dance by pudgy Korean rap star Psy and currently the fastest rising song on today's Top 40 charts:

http://cclamp.radioandrecords.com/rrwebsite20/Members/Charts.aspx?ChartId=1

Flash mobs doing the Gangnam Style dance pop up everywhere regularly and the dance had been a regular feature of morning talk shows. People everywhere seem to love it, as videos of them dancing to it keep popping up everywhere on YouTube.

You could call it The Macarena of 2012.

And in a way, "Gangnam Style" has finally opened up the door for one of the richest known sources of sometimes excellent undiscovered pop music, known as K-Pop (Korean Pop). But I also worry if K-Pop will be pigeonholed by "Gangnam Style" There's far more to it than just this song. MUCH more. But knowing how the record and radio industry work, they always look for copycats of The New Big Thing and never really dig deeper for the hidden gems, which K-Pop has no shortage of

On the other hand, it could usher in a K-Pop music revolution, Having been a fan for years, it's about time.

Here's one of my favourites from Loveholic, a 2004 K-Pop classic, titled - what else? "Loveholic". It's a pop song sung entirely in Korean, but I like the melody. And the lead singer's hair in lights.....Nice touch.

And while for some people, the bowlegged side to side stepping with arms folded looks stupid. But so does every other dance really. And you have to admit, the song is fun relief in a sea of Justin Bieber, OneRepublic and Carly Rae Jepsen tunes that flood the Top 40 airwaves today.

For now.

There will come a time when we'll all get sick of it (some folks already are.) But for now, enjoy it while it's here.

Just don't make any YouTube videos. Please. You don't look as cool as Psy. Please......

Lost '80s Pop Classic Week: "All Is Forgiven" (Red) Siren (1989)

For today's BONUS lost classic, we feature a band that no one knew what to make of when they came out. Were they metal? Were they pop? The music was metal looks and guitars, but Madonna-like vocals, lyrics and hooks. Mercury Records thought they had a blockbuster.

The band is Siren. And I still remember the early promo hype Mercury Records made over this 1989 album. First, it was supposedly the very first major label studio album that wasn't mastered on tape, but totally to digital hard drive - something that would be eventually be standard in the recording industry.

As for Siren, things didn't go so good. First, they were forced to legally change their name to Red Siren (reportedly after another band named Siren threatened to sue.) The first pressings of their All Is Forgiven LP/CD (under the name Siren) quickly became collector's items.

After a second single "One Good Lover" stalled in the lower reaches of the rock charts, they disbanded. Red Siren's bassist Jon Brandt went on to play in Cheap Trick briefly, but not much is known of the other members of the band.

That's how it goes in rock n' roll sometimes. So enjoy this little chestnut.....

Lost '80s Pop Classic Week: "Hanging On A Heart Attack" Device (1986)

AWESOME lost one hit wonder....and some of the biggest '80s hair of any non-glam metal band you'll ever see!!

Device was a band formed by Holly Knight. She was the writer of some of the biggest hit songs of the '80s, including "Love Is A Battlefield" (Pat Benatar), "Better Be Good To Me" (Tina Turner) and "Obsession" (Animotion). Plus many others too numerous to count.....

This was Device's only hit.

Lost '80s Pop Classic Week: "More Than Just The Two Of Us" Sneaker (1981)

For this morning's Lost '80s Pop Classic Week Moments of Mush selection, I really cranked up the AC (as in "Adult Contemporary".)

If you REALLY want to get a woman in her '40s excited and asking "WHO SINGS THAT?" and "MY GOD, I HAVEN'T HEARD THIS SONG IN AGES!", whip this one out.

Sneaker was a one-hit wonder band of West Coast session musicians from the '70s and early '80s (the "If Toto Can Do It, We Can Too!" school.) They played on recording sessions for Steely Dan (and The Dan thanked them by writing them a tune, "Don't Let Me In" on their self titled debut album, where this tune comes from as well.)

Their name was inspired from a Steely Dan song, "Bad Sneakers".

Swatches

RIP Andy Williams (1927-2012)

Legendary pop singer Andy Williams has passed away today after a long battle with cancer

His hits included "Moon River", "Can't Get Used To Losing You" and the holiday classic "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year".

One of the CRAZIEST records I own is "Get Together with Andy Williams". Where Andy Williams takes on '60s rock music. Here's his rendition of "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In" with help from his proteges, The Osmonds

                                

Farewell Andy....You will be missed......

Lost '80s Pop Classic Week: "Don't Shut Me Out" Kevin Paige (1989)

Here's a two-hit wonder from 1989, Kevin Paige was poised to become "the next George Michael" (along with COUNTLESS other male pop acts that year, including Donny Osmond, - of all people - because he also had a similar George Michael-y sounding pop comeback hit himself that year.)

Who knew being "the next George Michael" would be a compliment that has it's boot on entirely another foot today?

After "Don't Shut Me Out" (and it's follow-up "Anything I Want", also Top 20) Kevin Paige completely vanished from the pop scene as quickly as he came. He became a house songwriter for Zomba Records before taking that always lucrative detour of faded pop stars - Contemporary Christian music.

Here's Kevin Paige's BIZARRE conservative Christian reworking of John Lennon's "Imagine"

Wow......Just.....WOW.......

Lost '80s Pop Classic Week: "Twist In My Sobriety" Tanita Tikaram (1988)

Tanita Tikaram was all of 19 years old when she recorded this song. But she had the voice and words of someone far beyond her age. This was from her apropos titled album Ancient Heart.

But being 19 and singing material this far advanced probably created a bit of an uncomfortable match. Her follow up albums reflected a more pop direction, which didn't sit well with American fans expecting another "Twist In My Sobriety".

She still performs and records and has a new album out, Can't Go Back. This is her new single "Dust On My Shoes".....

The Firedrake

.......and meanwhile, somewhere in rural China.......

Someone turns on a shortwave radio and looks for the BBC, Radio Free Asia or the Voice of America. But instead hears this

Meet the Firedrake.

The Firedrake is a long and complex (you could call it intentionally annoying and you wouldn't be too far off the mark) piece of music used by the Chinese government to jam foreign radio broadcasts critical of Beijing.

What makes Firedrake so effective is how thoroughly the cacophony of noise in the piece covers up the foreign broadcasts. It renders everything unintelligible. Even if the foreign broadcaster were to turn up their transmitter wattage to override the Firedrake jamming, it's still no match for the Firedrake's wall of noise.

Not that turning up their transmitter power would have worked anyway. The Firedrake jamming signals are so powerful, they can not only be heard in every nook and cranny in China, but heard CLEARLY around the world, using transmitter powers of several million watts each.

    

You might be wondering why the Chinese would even deal with shortwave radio in the internet age. But again, there's really TWO Chinas. And two Great Firewalls. There's the big modern, upscale and urban China in massive cities like Shanghai and Beijing. They have the internet and cell phones. And the Great Digital Firewall. But the vast majority of people live in the still very rural areas and are considered "peasant class". They have old radios. And Firedrake. They also are fairly uneducated and provide the vast majority of the farming labour. If you were running a totalitarian government, you don't want to have them hear anything that would make them QUESTION the life you have prescribed for them now would you?  

And that's the purpose of Firedrake. It keeps the airwaves status quo. And the Chinese people (and everyone else around the world) safe from any bad thoughts about Beijing....... 

"I'm A Gummi Bear (The Gummy Bear Song)" Gummibär (2007)

I'm speechless.......

Lost '80s Pop Classic Week: "Everybody Dance" Ta Mara & The Seen (1985)

I remember first hearing this song on "C-89" KNHC 89.5 FM Seattle back in 1985 and I could have sworn the lyrics went:

Everybody`s dancing

In the nude across the nation

I'll bet you didn`t know

Which left my teenage male mind in 1985 wondering "Where?!...WHERE??!! FILL ME IN!! WHAT DOES THIS CHICK KNOW THAT THE REST OF US DON'T??"

What a drag when I finally pull up the lyrics online almost 20 years later to find the actual lyrics were:

Everybody`s dancing

With a new determination

I bet you didn`t know

Ta Mara & The Seen came out at a lucky time in rock 'n roll history. When Minneapolis was the Seattle of it's day (just like Seattle in the early '90s, ANYTHING that was big in Minneapolis, preferably connected to Prince in some way, got signed to a record deal in 1984/85. Ta Mara & The Seen were produced by Jesse Johnson of The Time, who also was Prince's band in the movie Purple Rain.)

Nothing was heard from Ta Mara & The Seen again.....But they left behind an instant '80s party classic....