I love it when a random song from the past pops into my head. Just a little while ago, a song called "Just Be Good To Me" started playing in my head. I went looking for it on iTunes. I only found a version done by a Canadian singer named Deborah Cox. Deborah Cox recorded "Just Be Good To Me" in 1995. She's two years younger than I am. I knew the song was older than that, since I remember it playing on the radio when I was a kid. Sure enough, I learned that it was released by the S.O.S. Band in 1983.
The song I remembered. It's hard to find this song without paying an arm and a leg.
Neither iTunes nor Amazon.com had this song available by the S.O.S. Band. If I want it, I have to pay a shitload of money. I like the song, but not that much! Besides, I can always listen on YouTube. I did download Deborah Cox's version, which is pretty good and very faithful to this version.
She's got chops. I read that she used to sing backup for Celine Dion.
Amazon.de does have "Just Be Good To Me" available to download, but I can't download stuff from their store, because I have a U.S. bank account. I would need a German account to access the digital Amazon.de store.
Living in Germany can have its annoying sides. Like, for instance, I am once again locked out of my PenFed account, and I have to call the bank to get it unlocked. But I have to wait until the afternoon, because I'm six hours ahead of PenFed, which is in Virginia. It's even worse when something happens on USAA. They're on central time, there.
Anyway, the S.O.S. band had another hit song back in the day. It's called "Take Your Time, Do It Right". I don't like that one as much as the funky "Just Be Good To Me". For one thing, "Take Your Time" has a tendency to get stuck in my head. It's quite an earworm.
But you sure can dance to it... or do other things.
"High Hopes" is a 1982 era hit.
"The Finest" is another hit by the S.O.S. Band, but I don't remember this one.
The S.O.S. Band stands for Sounds of Success. They got their start in Atlanta, Georgia in 1977. As I sit here listening to their music, realizing that they worked with some famously great producers like Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, I can understand why their sound is so infectious and still pretty great many years later. I've always really appreciated funk, even though I'm about as white as a person can get.
I'll probably be singing that song for the rest of the day.
I must confess that I have never been a big fan of Barbra Streisand as a singer. I know people think she's amazing. I'd rather see her act than listen to her sing, even as I concede that she has a beautiful voice. Her voice is powerful, distinctive, and perfect. On certain songs, I love it. On others, not so much. I didn't like how she sand "Cry Me A River", for instance. But she does a beautiful song called "Songbird" that I've always loved.
Very 70s... but I love it anyway.
I also like "The Way He Makes Me Feel" from Yentl, a movie I have yet to see.
It's very 80s, yet still sounds great 30 plus years later.
I could do without her duet with Celine Dion, who also has a beautiful voice, but is super annoying to me. They can both really sing... but they are both big diva types.
But it's nice to see them working so well together...
I always liked "Woman In Love"...
Here she's singing "Guilty" with Barry Gibb... I could pass on this.
To be honest, I kind of feel the same way about Better Midler. I love watching her act. I think she's funny. Her singing leaves me a little cold, though. I think I really started to dislike her when she sang "From A Distance".... or maybe it was the whole Beaches soundtrack. I loved the movie, but could probably go my whole life without hearing "Wind Beneath My Wings" again.
I will admit that I am not a Celine Dion fan. She has a wonderful voice, but I don't typically like her music that much. It's more the style than the substance that turns me off. However, I did like "Beauty and the Beast", the theme she sang with Peabo Bryson in the early 1990s.
I don't listen to this much anymore, though...
A few days ago, SingSnap had "Beauty and the Beast" on the featured songs list. I decided to try it, not knowing it that well. I posted the female part and forgot about it until this morning, when a Swiss guy named Boerni sang with me and sent me a private message.
I have to say, I got goosebumps when he started singing. He's really good.
Sure gets the holiday weekend off to a nice start!
