I just remember "Word Up" being ubiquitous enough to merit a Cherry Coke commercial. I can hear the synth and guitar to a Cars version now.Īs far as Cameo goes, I really am speaking a bit out of my realm when it comes to them, so my comparison of the Dazz Band to them may be inapt. I never would have thought of The Cars until you mentioned it. In none of their iterations were they even remotely original - sorta like Yes did with prog, they just made inferior copies of what others were doing. They started out piggy-backing on hardcore '70s funk, then jumped into a Quiet Storm ballad phase, then popped up out of nowhere stealing from hip-hop and '80s phasing. That said, they deserve their place in history for making one #-kicking record.Ĭameo was a whole 'nother ball of wax. The Dazz Band had a couple of other good songs, but they shot their wad pretty quick. "Let It Whip" was the greatest song The Cars never wrote (mainly because The Cars didn't have a singer who could pull this one off). The lyrics would make the older, less rapey, Bill Cosby blanch The only reason I mention it is because the nasally vocals are similar in each of their big hits, Word Up and Let It Whip. This is right up there with anything Cameo ever did. covering a song by Irving Berlin written in the 1920's. Boys II Men also took a stab at it.Īs we roll into the #4's, our first performer is an Indonesian-born Dutch singer that launched his career in Germany and whose name is a Mexican food item. A less catchy version appeared in Pitch Perfect. For you closet Justin Timberlake fans, JT released a remix of Cry Me A River sampling Let It Whip in 2003 (which I admit is pretty catchy). Let It Whip was co-written by Leon "Ndugu" Chancler, who played drums on Michael Jackson's hits Billie Jean and I Just Can't Stop Loving You. The Dazz Band released 14 albums over a 20 year period and are still active today (with different musicians) and played a gig a few months ago. basically when they were no longer major artists). They were fronted by vocalist Skip Martin, who split his time between Dazz Band and Kool & The Gang (after JT Taylor left the band. The album hit #1 on the R&B chart and Let It Whip hit #1 on the R&B singles chart (and won a Grammy Award). The final #5 entry, Dazz had been around for 5 years when they hit the jackpot with their 1982 album Keep It Live. #29 - THE DAZZ BAND - Let It Whip (#5 - 23 Weeks) He remains a widely unappreciated guitar player.Ĭoming up, we switch genres back to a funk / R&B / dance track with S&M overtones from a band from Ohio that has remained active in the industry since 1977. His cancer worsened in 2007 and he had multiple surgeries.
Healey went on to release another 26 solo albums, compilations, and live releases in the 2000's, none of which did much commercially in terms of sales or chart appearances. Here is Healey's version of The Doors' Roadhouse Blues from Road House. Healey is also known for his appearance in the 1989 Patrick Swayze film Road House (SPOILER ALERT: Swayze will be making an appearance of his own in a few songs). His version of While My Guitar Gently Weeps received a lot of airplay (although from one of his other albums). The Jeff Healey Band released 4 rock, rhythm, and blues albums and another of classic covers. Here is a performance of Healey and SRV jamming out on Look At Little Sister. Healey was discovered playing in a blues club by blues guitarists Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert Collins. By the age of 15, he was playing club shows in the Toronto music scene. That didn't stop him from learning to play the guitar at the age of 3. John Hiatt, Gavin DeGraw, and Australian artist Paulini also recorded the song.Ī study in courage and overcoming adversity, Healey lost his eyesight to a rare form of cancer when he was only a year old and later had to have his eyes surgically removed.
Angel Eyes was the 70th best selling song in the U.S. It also contained the track Hideaway, which was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance (a cover of a 1961 Freddie King song). His platinum debut album See the Light produced three radio friendly songs including Angel Eyes, Confidence Man, and the title track. Guitar virtuoso Jeff Healey claims the first spot in the overall Top 30 80's OHW's. #30 - THE JEFF HEALEY BAND - Angel Eyes (#5 - 22 Weeks)
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