It’s Easy To Live In Your Imagination

We have made it to chart week forty-four and this motley crew of singles Bubbling Under the Hot 100 during the 80s.

Vince Vance & The Valiants – Bomb Iran (debuted 11/1/1980, peaked at #101)

In November 1980, the Iran Hostage crisis had been happening for a year, and people were fed up. Some people tied yellow ribbons on trees and held vigils. Others recorded this song – a parody of the Regents/Beach Boys hit of the 60s. I say others because there were multiple ‘bomb Iran’ singles out in the late Fall of 1980. In fact, this was even the first one as supposedly a version came out almost a year earlier. But this 45 was the one that got the closest to the Hot 100.

Fun Fact: Vince recorded a Christmas song in 1989 called All I Want For Christmas Is You, which gets played frequently on Country stations during the holiday season. It is a different song than the one we’re subjected to each year by Mariah. Two Christmas songs. Same title. Different song.

Benny Mardones – Hometown Girls (debuted 11/1/1980, peaked at #103)

The Voice follows up his pedophile kidnapping opus with this pleasant-sounding pop-rocker. On its own, the lyrics are innocuous until you think about Into the Night and hear Benny sing this:

I was up and gone. I disappeared in the night. 

This dude is all about fleeing the scene of the crime.

Molly Hatchet – Beatin’ The Odds (debuted 11/1/1980, peaked at #107)

Well, I wouldn’t be putting down all my money on Southern rock in the 80s to win. Most music of the decade was starting to lose its rural feeling, and this genre was one of the first to be absorbed into corporate rock. The first single released was the title track to their third album and first with Danny Joe Brown singing lead. Its follow-up, The Rambler, will climb to #91.

Rocky Burnette – Fallin’ In Love (Bein’ Friends) (debuted 11/1/1980, peaked at #109)

The son of rock and roll follows up his surprise Top 10 smash, Tired of Toein’ The Line with more late 50/ early 60s-inspired sock hop rock. When I listen to tracks like this, I can’t help but think that it opened the door for Gary U.S. Bonds to have a few hits again.

John Entwistle – Too Late The Hero (debuted 11/7/1981, peaked at #101)

Thunderfingers was on solo album number five by 1981, his first in six years. The album featured Joe Walsh on guitar and Joe Vitale on drums, and he released the epic title track as the first single. It will be the closest John will get to a chart single, but its follow-up, Talk Dirty, received moderate Rock radio airplay.

Rupert Holmes – Loved By The One You Love (debuted 11/7/1981, peaked at #103)

Seven albums. Six different record labels. Such was the momentum-killing recording career of Rupert Holmes, who still somehow managed three Top 40 hits, including the #1 smash, Escape. After the lack of success of this single and accompanying album, Full Circle. Holmes moved on to the playwrighting, debuting on Broadway in 1985 with The Mystery Of Edwin Drood.

Spyro Gyra – Summer Strut (debuted 11/7/1981, peaked at #108)

Buffalo, NY jazz-fusion were on their fifth album, Freetime, by 1981, trying to get back on Pop radio after the #24 peak of 1979’s Morning Dance. The lite funk interplay between Jay Beckenstein’s sax licks and Tom Schuman’s electric piano didn’t get the group back onto the charts. But I bet a few stations played while they were “experiencing technical difficulties.”

Karla DeVito – Midnight Confession (debuted 11/7/1981, peaked at #109)

With the bombast of a Jim Steinman song, Karla covers this 1968 Grass Roots classic from her debut, Is This A Cool World or What? I’m all for it. The Meatloaf connection was strong, and although she didn’t sing on the recorded version of Paradise by the Dashboard Light, she appeared in the video and went out on the Bat Out Of Hell tour.

Zapp – Doo Wa Ditty (Blow That Thing) (debuted 11/6/1982, peaked at #103)

All Roger and Zapp did in the early 80s was put out one funky synth jam after another. All Pop programmers did was ignore it until they were hidden in many hip songs from the 90s onward. This will reach #10 on the Soul charts and first show up as a sample on the Beastie Boys’ #36 charter, Hey Ladies. It will also feature on Paperboy’s  1993 Top 10 single, Ditty.

Melba Moore – Love’s Comin’ At Ya (debuted 11/6/1982, peaked at #104)

This single from Melba’s twelfth album, The Other Side of the Rainbow, was her fourth Bubbler out of seven. If Top 40 radio ignored it, it’s their loss. This will peak at #5 on the Soul charts and #2 on the  Dance/Disco Top 80. Folks in the UK dug this funky boogie track as it reached #15 in England.

Devo – Peek-A-Boo! (debuted 11/6/1982, peaked at #106)

When you think about the success of Whip It in late 1980, it’s truly amazing that the single reached #14. Even though we all might remember the video, it scaled that height before the advent of MTV.  The video channel aided in keeping the band on everyone’s mind through the 80s, but Pop radio did not follow suit. They would rack up five Bubblers, with this one as the lead single from their fifth LP, Oh No! It’s Devo.

Firefall – Runaway Love (debuted 11/5/1983, peaked at #103)

The pride of Boulder, CO, tried to update their Country rock sound by mixing in some synth drums and upping the tempo. But programmers couldn’t get past the band’s cultivated laidback image and sound, so they took a pass. This single from their seventh album, Mirror For the World, would be their last release for twelve years.

Southside Johnny & The Jukes – Trash It Up (debuted 11/5/1983, peaked at #108)

John Lyon and his Jersey shore outfit spent a lot of their career shaking off Springsteen comparisons. By their sixth album, they dropped Asbury from their name and some R&B synths and funky beats. The switch might have turned off some old fans, but they should have picked up some new ones. The album, produced by Nile Rodgers, also netted the band a #55 zenith for Get Your Body On the Job.

Pia Zadora – Rock It Out (debuted 11/5/1983, peaked at #110)

There has been a lot of cash thrown behind the idea that Pia has talent. When she failed as an actress, dollars were given to forward a singing career., first in Country, then in Pop. This is a single from her second album called Let’s Dance Tonight. When you listen to it, you will wonder how many people could have been fed with that money rather than it being wasted here.

There are no singles that debuted this week in 1984 that did not chart, with one being this track from Alphaville.

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Sordid Details Following

Not all 80s Bubblers are made the same. Some singles signify an artist trying to get noticed. Some are at the tail end of their career. Some are crossing over from their main genre. And then some are just ahead of their time, to become classics later on. We have them all during chart week forty-three.

Prince – Uptown (debuted on 10/25/1980, peaked at #101)

Prince had a big hit from his second album in early 1980, I Wanna Be Your Lover. It got the record companies off his back and allowed him to do what he wanted while he tried to perfect his musical vision. You were going to come to him, not the other way around. That’s why he followed up his mainstream success with an album called Dirty Mind. This was a powerful shot of New Wave funk, and its lack of cross-over success was a portent of the mellow, risk-free programming that Top 40 radio would subject us to for the next few years. Or maybe they were afraid of this lyric:

“What’s up, little girl? I ain’t got time to play.”
Baby didn’t say too much
She said, “Are you gay?”
Kinda took me by surprise, I didn’t know what to do
I just looked her in her eyes, and I said, “No. Are you?”

David Bowie – Ashes To Ashes (debuted on 10/25/1980, peaked at #101)

This is a stone-cold classic, so you may be wondering why it ends up here. Well, Woman In Love by Barbra Streisand was the #1 song when this debuts. Imagine anyone in 1980 thinking those two songs should be played back to back. Bowie is driving a stick through the heart of the 70s with this one, taking his Space Oddity character, Major Tom, and turning him into a heroin fiend. It was the lead single from his fourteenth album, Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps), and it would go to #1 in the UK.

Fun Fact: The video for the single cost £250,000, making it the most expensive at the time, even more than Thriller three years later. And MTV was still a year away from its debut.

Barry Goudreau – Dreams (debuted on 10/25/1980, peaked at #103)

After the second Boston album, Don’t Look Back, leader Tom Scholz became embroiled in a multitude of legal battles for a long time. So the remaining members, Brad Delp and Sib Hashian, joined guitarist Barry Goudreau and recorded an album together. It sounded like a warmed-over Boston record, and Tom Scholz got so pissed, he kicked Barry out of the band. Barry & Brad would form Orion the Hunter and release an LP in 1984, two years before Boston’s third offering, Third Stage. Delp was allowed to participate in that recording, but Barry was never allowed back in the fold.

Bruce Cockburn – Rumours Of Glory (debuted on 10/25/1980, peaked at #104)

Ottawa native Bruce finally found success in the US with his ninth album, Dancing In the Dragon’s Jaws, and #21 single, Wondering Where The Lions Are. His follow-up long play, Humans, led off with this 45 release, which ends up as a Bubbler. It will land in the Canadian Top 40 at #36.

Yes – Into The Lens (I Am A Camera) (debuted on 10/25/1980, peaked at #104)

Drama, Yes’ tenth album is an od one in the group’s catalog as they absorb Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes from the Buggles into the band after Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman left the group. Prog rock purists thumbed their nose at it. But when listened to it in hindsight, it’s a fantastic blueprint for where the band would travel throughout the 80s. I mean, once they would inadvertently get back together in 1983 after they officially split in 1981. Adding Trevor and Geoff was a superb decision to modernize their sound and cut down on the one-song-per-side album bloat. The Buggles would release their second album in 1981 and include a new recording of this single.

Johnny Van Zant Band – 634-5789 (debuted on 10/25/1980, peaked at #105)

While brother Donnie was getting his band .38 Special off the group, Johnny and his fellas released their debut, No More Dirty Deals. Produced by Al Kooper, it features this boogie rock cover of the 1966 Wilson Pickett classic written by Eddie Floyd & Steve Cropper. Kinds surprised the Blues Brothers didn’t tackle this the first time around. Unfortunately, they would tackle it in Blues Brothers 2000.

Curtis Mayfield – She Don’t Let Nobody (But Me) (debuted on 10/31/1981, peaked at #103)

I think I knew all of Curtis’ solo material, so I was surprised to find this single from an album I didn’t own called Love Is The Place, his twentieth release. To succinctly sum it up, Mayfield gets on the yacht. This 45, co-written and co-produced by Dino Fekaris, would reach #15 on the soul charts.

Jefferson Starship – Save Your Love (debuted on 10/31/1981, peaked at #104)

Now that Mickey Thomas had taken over the band and had a hit with Jane in 1980 [#14], Grace Slick slid her way back in. She joined the group for their follow-up album, Modern Times, which yielded the #29 track, Find Your Way Back (Grace wasn’t on that one.) This was the third single released, a Pete Sears co-write with his wife, Jeanette.

Fun fact: bassist Pete and Jeanette would write the band’s next two Top 40 hits, Be My Lady & Winds Of Change.

Gary Wright – Heartbeat (debuted on 10/31/1981, peaked at #107)

Gary had his first Top 40 hit in five years since the twin #2 peaks of Dream Weaver & Love Is Alive in 1976. The #16 peak of Really Wanna Know You from the LP, The Right Place, was followed up with this catchy pop-rock single that couldn’t get any traction at Top 40 radio. It features backing vocals by David Pack from Ambrosia and Timoty B. Schmit.

Fun fact: Gary has a sister, Lorna, who recorded a soulful Westcoast pop album in 1978 called Circle Of Love.

Spinners – You Go Your Way (I’ll Go Mine) (debuted on 10/31/1981, peaked at #110)

The Spinners had two big comeback hits in 1980, and they tried to parlay that success throughout the decade. This midtempo ballad, written by James Mtume & Reggie Lucas, was the first single from their upcoming album, Can’t Shake This Feelin’, the feelin’ being that the salad days were over. It barely snuck into the R&B Top 40, settling at #39. Had Pop radio not tried to slam the door so hard on 70s artists, this quintet and smooth track might have had a better showing.

Al Jarreau & Randy Crawford – Your Precious Love (debuted on 10/30/1982, peaked at #102)

Here’s a single from the Casino Lights album, a live concert in Montreux, Switzerland, featuring the Yellowjackets, David Sanborn, and Al & Randy dueting on three tracks. This duo adds a little more gospel and jazz into Ashford & Simpson’s sweet sentiment, originally made famous in 1967 by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. It will reach #16 on the Soul charts.

The Jonzun Crew – Pack Jam (Look Out For The OVC) (debuted on 10/30/1982, peaked at #108)

And now, from Boston, we have the Johnson Brothers, not the Brothers Johnson. This trio foresaw that confusion and changed their electro-funk outfit to the Jonzun Crew. They had a handful of minor hits on the Soul charts, this being their first. This 12″ single will climb to #13 R&B and #19 in Germany, where a cult following of the group was formed. Michael Johnson, otherwise known as Maurice Starr (don’t ask), was also busy discovering five young kids from Roxbury called New Edition.

Mary Jane Girls – Boys (debuted on 10/29/1983, peaked at #102)

One of four Bubblers from this Rick James-produced debut by a female quartet. This synth-funk jam will climb to #29 on the Soul charts, the group’s third straight Top 40 hit.

Timothy B. Schmit – Playin’ It Cool (debuted on 10/27/1984, peaked at #101)

Imagine working your ass off in an established band (Poco) but never reaching that next level. Then one day, you get a call to join the biggest rock band in the world (Eagles), only for them to implode after one album. Welcome to Tim’s world. [Don’t feel too bad. He’ll rejoin the reformed Eagles in 1994 and get payyyyyy-d.] His first solo single, So Much In Love, was on the Fast Times at Ridgemont High soundtrack and peaked at #59 in 1982. This single was the title track to his debut, and it sounds like it could have been featured in that movie as well. J.D. Souther co-wrote the track and sings back up.

The Staple Singers – Slippery People (debuted on 10/27/1984, peaked at #109)

The Staple Singers’ last Top 40 hit was the #1 smash, Let’s Do It Again, in 1975. And then Pop radio ignored them for the rest of time. In 1984 Pops got the kids together for their first album in five years, Turning Point, and it featured this fantastic cover of the Talking Heads’ track from Speaking In Tongues. That they were ignored again by Pop programmers speaks volumes to their tight-fisted conservative playlists where Soul had very few opportunities. It will climb to #22 on the R&B charts and #4 on the Hot Dance/Disco charts.

 

A Pack Of Lies

The mish-mash of tunes Bubbling Under the Hot 100 during the 80s on chart week forty-two continues. All of these artists were a part of a Top 40 hit either as a band or by themselves. Unfortunately, all of these (minus one) didn’t cut it. Let’s review.

Exile – Take Me Down (debuted on 10/18/1980, peaked at #102)

Here’s a band started in the mid-60s, had a huge pop smash in 1978 with Kiss You All Over, and was utterly lost by the turn of the decade. By their 1980 album Don’t Leave Me This Way, it sounded like they wanted to turn towards Country but couldn’t make the total commitment. When Alabama recorded this track for their Mountain Music LP and watched it cross over to the Hot 100, peaking at #18, the group knew which way to go.

Melissa Manchester – If This Is Love (debuted on 10/18/1980, peaked at #102)

And now we have an ordinary ballad from Melissa’s ninth album, For The Working Girl, which probably wouldn’t have even shown up here had it not been for her engaging vocal performance. Co-written by Robbie “Don’t Give It Up” Patton, it will reach the Top 20 on the AC chart, so root canals, beware.

Average White Band – For You, For Love (debuted on 10/18/1980, peaked at #106)

As soon as you hear those jazzy Rhodes chords, you know no one is picking up any pieces anymore. In fact, they are steering their yacht towards the sunrise cause it’s been a long day, and they work to do, if you know what I mean. This was the second single from their 1980 LP, Shine, on their new label Arista. Obviously, the company had no idea what to do with a sophisticated ballad and worthy radio successor to After The Love Is Gone, both co-written by Bill Champlin. It will climb to #60 on the Soul charts and #46 in the UK.

The Dirt Band – Badlands (debuted on 10/18/1980, peaked at #107)

The Dirt Band dropped the nitty-gritty and had a few Top 40 hits in 1980. But this is where the magic ends. This was the second release from Make A Little Magic and the follow-up to the #25 title track. Not sure why Pop radio ignored this catchy little pop-rock ditty.

Nils Lofgren – Night Fades Away (debuted on 10/24/1981, peaked at #109)

This former leader of the band Grin and early 70s Crazy Horse member set out for a solo career in the mid-70s, beginning with his self-titled debut in 1975. It was highly reviewed by Jon Landau that year, but another album by a dude named Bruce. Speaking of which, Nils will join the E Street Band in 1984, just in time for the Boss to become a superstar.

Carl Carlton – Baby I Need Your Loving (debuted on 10/23/1982, peaked at #103)

Carl Carton, the man who had hits with a cover of Everlasting Love in 1974 and She’s A Bad Mama Jama in 1981, tries to top them both with his shuffly version of a Motown classic. Released from his album, The Bad C.C., it will reach #17 on the Soul charts and become his only hit in Australia, climbing to #12.

Ray Parker Jr. – It’s Our Own Affair (debuted on 10/23/1982, peaked at #106)

If there’s something ol’ Ray is an expert on, it’s singing about infidelity. But folks said enough is enough. Do you have any other material besides cheating songs, the public asked as they passed on this breezy single. Maybe that’s why everyone went crazy when he wrote a song about busting ghosts.

Marshall Crenshaw – There She Goes Again (debuted on 10/23/1982, peaked at #110)

Another terrific track from a great debut. This was the follow-up to Marshall’s only Top 40 hit as a solo artist, Someday, Someway, which topped out at #36. In my opinion, this is way better and typifies Power Pop during the New Wave years. I guarantee that Lee Mavers of The La’s had this in his head when he wrote There She Goes, title coincidence aside.

James Ingram – Party Animal (debuted on 10/22/1983, peaked at #101)

Pop radio seemed to prefer James’ songs if he was collaborating with someone rather than by himself. Case in point – the lead single from It’s Your Night, his debut album, although he charted five times on the Hot 100. It’s slick, soulful Dance-pop from the QuincyJones camp with a groove that Lionel Richie would have killed for. But it was ignored at Pop radio while clipping up to #21 on the Soul charts. The follow-up, Yah Mo B There will reach the Top 20, but only because he had some help from Michael McDonald.

James had only one true solo Top 40 hit, but it was a big one. In 1990, I Don’t Have The Heart went to #1.

Lani Hall – Never Say Never Again (debuted on 10/22/1983, peaked at #103)

Lani was the lead vocalist for Sergio Mendes & Brasil 66, singing on The Look of Love and The Fool On the Hill. Once Serge started changing band names, Hall left, embarked on a solo career, and married Herb Alpert. She charted only once on Hot 100 in 1981 during her Westcoast era with Where’s Your Angel? [#88] She got the opportunity of a lifetime to sing a James Bond movie theme. Too bad, not many checked out Sean Connery’s return to the role or else this might have received more play.

Fun Fact: Herb Alpert recorded the theme to the 1967 film, Casino Royale making Herb & Lani and the first and only married couple to record Bond songs.

Robin Gibb – Juliet (debuted on 10/22/1983, peaked at #104)

Robin has his first US solo Top 40 hit in 1978 with his cover of The Beatles’ Oh Darling, which will peak at #15. The Bee Gees spent more time writing for other artists and being embroiled in lawsuits; it left more solo time for the Gibb brothers. This single was from the first of three Robin released in the 1980s titled How Old Are You? It will reach #1 in Germany.

Michael Murphey – Don’t Count The Rainy Days (debuted on 10/22/1983, peaked at #106)

The pride of Oak Cliff, TX, who went out to look for his horse Wildfire in 1975, came back in 1982 to ask the Grammarly-challenged question, What’s Forever For? This was the lead single from his eleventh album, The Heart Never Lies,  and reached #9 on the Country charts. It has a gentle air to it and some Yachty vibes but ended up as the last time M2 sniffed the Hot 100.

Phil Collins – In The Air Tonight (debuted on 10/20/1984, peaked at #102)

This is a first in the annals of 80s Bubblers – a song that reached the Top 40 and, upon re-release, ended up here. Why, you ask? Two words – Miami Vice. The track was played during the first episode while Crockett & Tubbs intensely drove at night through the streets. One month later, it showed up here but didn’t have enough juice to re-enter the Hot 100.

Fun Fact: This 45 went Gold, selling over 500,000 copies. The digital download has been certified for 3 Million. Also, it will initially hit #2 in the UK, then enter their Top 40 again in 1988 [#4] and 2007 [#14}.

Julio Iglesias – Moonlight Lady (debuted on 10/20/1984, peaked at #102)

After years of trying, Julio finally broke to the US Pop charts in 1984 with duets with Willie Nelson and Diana Ross. Hey, whatever works. This was the third single from 1100 Bel Air Place, written by Albert Hammond & Carole Bayer Sager. It will slide up to #17 on the AC charts, and the video will be in high rotation when VH-1 debuts at the beginning of 1985.

America – Special Girl (debuted on 10/20/1984, peaked at #106)

Perspective was the twelfth album by America and the last one before they reformed ten years later. It’s an interesting mix of New Wave and Westcoast, and if you listened to this track, you would probably have no idea who it was. Maybe not until the harmonies in the chorus. It might not be Sister Golden Hair, but it’s an oddity from a lost period in their career. Meat Loaf covered this on this 1986 album, Blind Before I Stop.

 

The Rats And Snakes Will Never Fade Away

Here we are rummaging through those 80s Bubblers during chart week forty-one. Shall we?

Atlanta Rhythm Section – I Ain’t Much (debuted 10/11/1980, peaked at #101)

Here’s a sextet from Atlanta (Doraville, specifically) who had racked up six Top 40 hits in the 80s. As the decade turned, they released their ninth album, The Boys From Doraville, and completely struck out. The band believed that their record label gave up on them and promptly left to sign with Columbia, where they would score the #29 hit, Alien, one year later.

Sammy Johns – Falling For You (debuted 10/11/1980, peaked at #103)

The pride of Charlotte, NC, tries to recapture some of his 1975 glory when his single Chevy Van reached #5 with a ballad that sounds a little less skeevy. But no matter; if you see this dude pull up in a G10 Nomad, run in the opposite direction.

The Bay Brothers – Baby Don’t Give Up (debuted 10/11/1980, peaked at #108)

The Bay Brothers were not brothers or had the last name of Bay. Discuss. Actually, they were a group led by the Brooklyn duo of Lou Hokenson and Ernie Sorrentino. They recorded a handful of singles for Millennium Records, and this soulful midtempo track was their most significant success. It was followed up by a Yachty take on Junior Walker’s What Does It Take (To Win Your Love).

Jet – Stranded In The Moonlight (debuted 10/17/1981, peaked at #105)

Here’s a Chicago sextet led by a husband and wife, kind of a midwest Quarterflash minus the sax playing. It’s just enough of an off-center pop-rock song that should have picked up more spins by programmers. Led by folk singer Michael P. Smith and his wife Barbara Barrow, the group disbanded after one album, and Michael picked his solo career back up, recording music until his death in 2020, six months after his wife.

The Pretenders – Louie Louie (debuted 10/17/1981, peaked at #110)

Hold on a second. Before you pass this by, this is not a cover of the Kingsmen classic. It’s a Chrissie Hynde original and one that is forgotten within their catalog. This horn-laden Stax rave-up was the only song from their second album, Pretenders II to sniff around the Hot 100, an album that featured stone classics such as Message Of Love, Talk of the Town, and I Go To Sleep. After an audacious debut in 1980, pop programmers totally fell asleep. It took a year full of tragedy to get the States to notice them again.

Cheryl Lynn & Luther Vandross – If This World Were Mine (debuted 10/16/1982, peaked at #101)

Cheryl was four years removed from her roller-skating classic Got To Be Real but still in the capable hands of Luther for this tender ballad. This duet was initially recorded by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, peaking at #68 in 1968. It will soar to #4 on the R&B charts.

We don’t have any Bubbler from 1983 this week. But a lady originally from Bay City, MI, lands on the chart at #109. The track, Holiday, will climb onto the Hot 100 and peak at #16, after which Madonna will peel off seventeen straight Top 10 smashes.

Marc Anthony Thompson – So Fine (debuted 10/13/1984, peaked at #101)

I really love this upbeat slice of synth-funk and marvel at the fact that it got stuck here as a Bubbler. Some just fall through the cracks. He’d release one more solo album in 1989 before forming the collective Chocolate Genius in the late 90s, collaborating with Marc Ribot, Vernon Reid, and John Medeski, to name a few. he also turned with Springsteen in 2006 as part of the Seeger Sessions Band.

Anne Murray (with Dave Loggins) – Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (debuted 10/13/1984, peaked at #103)

God bless Anne Murray, still trying to cross over to Pop radio long after her window was closed and musical trends moved on. This duet with Dave Loggins will reach # 1 on the Country charts and #10 on the AC charts. So if you went to the dentist in Nashville in 1983, your teeth were probably drilled to the gentle sounds of this ballad.