Song of the Day 6/14: Baltimora, “Tarzan Boy”
After that ’80s-sounding song yesterday, I got to wondering what would be the most ’80s song ever — the one that best embodied the sound of the decade, for good and ill. Online lists mostly look for the best ’80s songs, so you get hits by Michael Jackson and Madonna, and that Simple Minds tune from “The Breakfast Club” and Mark Knopfler’s “Money for Nothing.” I, however, humbly submit this tune. You might not recognize the name, but you’ve almost certainly heard the chorus — the one that goes “o-o-OH-o-o-o-o-OH-o-o,” like Tarzan’s call, hence the title.
Consider all these great ’80s features: It’s got an artificially generated disco beat, courtesy of its roots in Italian pop. It’s got an artificial front man — the guy dancing around in the video is Jimmy McShane, who fronted the band on stage but sang backup vocals. The lead vocal is by producer/songwriter/keyboard player Maurizio Bassi. It was a global hit in an increasingly international market — it reached No. 1 in several countries in 1985 before reaching America, where it topped out at #13 but stayed on the charts for six months because, like Madonna and MJ, it was a dance-club hit. Add in video production that looks as dated as the audio production sounds.
To top it off, it was so disposable it would have been entirely forgotten had it not made a comeback 10 years later after being used in a mouthwash commercial. I assert that a song could not possibly be more ’80s than this.
Oh, shoot, I forgot to issue an Earworm Warning. Oh, well. Anyway, that’s my choice for Most ’80s-est Song of the ’80s. You can nominate yours in the comments.
