• Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 38

    Chart Week: February 11, 1984 Song: “I Still Can’t Get Over Loving You” – Ray Parker, Jr. Chart Position: #16, 14th week on the chart. Peaked at #12 the week of February 4. Ray Parker Jr. had a hell of a career. Before he formed his first band, he was in the touring bands for the Spinners, Stevie Wonder, and…

  • Friday Vid

    “Love Is In The Air” – Stella Donnelly covering John Paul Young. OH. MY. GOODNESS. I just ran across this, which is about the most delightful thing I’ve come across in ages. A thoroughly wonderful cover of John Paul Young’s 1978 AM pop radio hit “Love Is In The Air” by Australian artist Stella Donnelly. She looks like she’s having…

  • Friday Playlist

    https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1mpsKVj3178FAsV3a7zz4J?si=0Fs_U0NFS6–2kWaPLJEHfQ A strange weekend in our house. St. P’s always has a four-day weekend surrounding President’s Day. This year is no different. However, CHS does not take any days off. So while C and L get to sleep in today and Monday, M has a normal schedule. It is messing with my head a little for some reason. It being…

  • Friday Vid

    “Rock With You” – Michael Jackson Today was a late start day for CHS, and I have an appointment this morning, so no time for a full playlist. Instead I share this wonderful video and a link to a new site fellow music junkies should absolutely bookmark. Richard Challen is a music journalist who is a regular commentor on Tom…

  • Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 36

    Well crap. When I posted RFTS Vol. 37 last week I did so not realizing I had yet to post Vol. 36. So they are out of order. I apologize for the error. Chart Week: January 30, 1988 Songs: “Push It,” Salt-N-Pepa; “Pump Up the Volume,” M/A/R/R/S Chart Positions: #26, 11th week on the chart. Peaked at #19 the week…

  • Friday Playlist – Something Special

    Something different this week. A few days back I had a sudden memory of a song I had not heard in years. It was just a snippet, but it stuck with me throughout the day. It wasn’t a famous song. It was by an artist I hadn’t thought of in nearly 20 years. When I checked Spotify, the song was…

  • Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 37

    Chart Week: January 30, 1982 Song: “Waiting for a Girl Like You” – Foreigner Chart Position: #2, 17th week on the chart. Spent 10 weeks at #2. Chart geeks like me love the little tidbits that give the history of the charts added context. Highest debut, most hits by one artist in the top ten, biggest drop from #1, etc.…

  • Friday Playlist

    https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6CI01EFpeeP4BoBWwBTGyK?si=GIelrZt2SFSIuLxPuIBvPA “Dance of the Clairvoyants” – Pearl Jam It’s been seven years since we’ve had a new Pearl Jam album. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Their last couple albums were uneven at best, teetering toward mid-life mediocrity at worst. A new album is set for a spring release, and we got the first single this week. It’s different, which…

  • Friday Playlist

    https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5RTUCbIvPfEeb6BwAWoXw7?si=sqRYJzZgSn6IiHhDKKNMBQ “Cheap Regrets” – The Districts Looking through my Liked Songs playlist in Spotify and my iTunes library, I don’t know that I’ve ever listened to this band. Apparently this song is a departure from their usual sound. I really dig its blend of modern dance, classic disco, and indie rock. “It Helped” – Yakima When I think of Scottish…

  • Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 35

    Chart Week: January 15, 1983 Song: “Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy” – Sammy Hagar Chart Position: #27, 6th week on the chart. Peaked at #13 for two weeks in February/March. One of the disappointments of the iHeart Radio Classic American Top 40 channel is that only so many of the old countdowns have been digitized and, thus, countdowns are…