Z: (Zany) 99 Luftballons

“99 Luftballons
Auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont
Hielt man für UFOs aus dem All
Darum schickte ein General“

Yes, I know. I could have picked the English version of this song but what fun would that have been? Plus, I’ve always loved the German version more, even though I have no idea what in the world is being sung.

According to Wikipedia, “American and Australian audiences preferred the original German version, which became a very successful non-English language song, topping charts in both countries.”

The German version reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart but never reached No. 1 thanks to our letter “J” song by Van Halen. The English version “99 Red Balloons” topped the charts in the UK, Canada, and Ireland, but never in the US. Go figure!

Wikipedia Fun Fact: “VH1 Classic, an American cable television station, ran a charity event for Hurricane Katrina relief in 2006. Viewers who made donations were allowed to choose which music videos the station would play. One viewer donated $35,000 for the right to program an entire hour and requested continuous play of “99 Luftballons” and “99 Red Balloons” videos. The station broadcast the videos as requested from 2:00 to 3:00 pm EST on 26 March 2006.”

Well, this is the end of this year’s Blogging from A-Z Challenge. I hope you enjoyed reliving some the greatest songs from 1984. They are still totally rad!

Y: You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)

“You spin me right round, baby
Right round like a record, baby
Right round round round“

I was never a huge fan of this song, but it is one that is really memorable and a huge hit from the ’80s. It has a pretty memorable video too. I mean, remember those fingernails?

“You Spin Me Round” was released as a single in November 1984 and eventually made it to No. 1 in the UK in March 1985. It peaked at No. 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in August 1985. According to Wikipedia, Spandau Ballet’s Gary Kemp described the song as “one of the best white dance records of all time”.

Wikipedia Fun Fact: “According to Burns, the record company was unenthusiastic about “You Spin Me Round”, to such an extent that Burns had to take out a £2,500 loan to record it, then once it had been recorded “the record company said it was awful. It was unanimous – it was awful, it was rubbish.” Burns stated that the band had to fund production of the song’s video themselves.”

X: (Xtra) Here Comes The Rain Again

“Here comes the rain again
Falling on my head like a memory
Falling on my head like a new emotion“

Another tough letter today, so I just picked another of my favorite songs from 1984.

This song is so memorable for me but not in a good way. I remember vividly listening to this song in my mom’s car as we were heading back to school after a field trip. We had seen a movie, which I cannot for the life of me remember, about a guy, high school or college, who was on drugs (it was an anti-drug movie). The scene I remember was the guy sitting on the floor with his head in the toilet throwing up because of the drugs he had taken. He eventually died at the end of the movie. So now, every time I hear this song I think of that scene and that movie that totally freaked me out as a 10 year old.

I do still love the song!

“Here Comes the Rain Again” was released in January 1984 and peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also hit No. 8 on the UK Singles chart, which became The Eurythmics’ fifth consecutive Top 10 hit in the UK.

W: When Dove’s Cry

“Why do we scream at each other
This is what it sounds like
When doves cry“

Today is my favorite Prince song and one of my favorite songs from the ’80s. My MC Fran also loves Prince and this song so she would be happy with today’s choice.

“When Dove’s Cry” was the lead single off of Prince’s hit album, Purple Rain. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five weeks, which kept Bruce Springsteen from hitting No.1, and was the top-selling single of 1984. Rolling Stone magazine ranked it No. 52 on their list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

The video was deemed too sexually explicit by some MTV executives, which is nothing compared to what is out there today, but was released in June 1984 and was nominated for Best Choreography at the 1985 MTV Video Music Awards.