Rewind
Before There Was Supersize, There Was 'Make It Big'
Tuesday's Morning Soul comments thread became a Wham! stan confessional of sorts, including your female SoulBounce editors waxing poetic about how Wham! was the best thing at the time since jelly bracelets. So what is it about Wham! that resonates so deeply for people who are some of the most unlikley targets for sticky sweet British pop music? Following this logic, why weren't Five Star bigger in their day? The answer is two words: George Michael. The same man who dueted with both Stevie and Aretha and was able to hold his own. With regards to Make It Big!, let's forgive them for trying to come out with their second album (stans know that Fantastic was their first) with a bang. "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" was honestly the least impressive of the album's tracks. But let's also not focus on the international hit amongst those with "guilty feet [that] have got no rhythm" either. Instead, let's focus on how Make It Big attained that most elusive and often uninended fame: the "reverse crossover" a/k/a the ability for a non-soul band to become a staple on the "urban" music scene. One of the best things about Wham! were their ability to incorporate their brand of soul with the synth-pop heavily prevalent during the day. And thank God they did because guilty feet need love, too. Wham!: "Freedom"
Wham!: "Like A Baby"
Tags: andrew ridgeley, aretha franklin, george michael, wham
Comments
Everything She Wants was HEAT! I was hanging out with some of my girls 2 years back doing the Big Willona's Birthday thang in NYC and we ended up at a wine bar in Midtown on their 80s night! Everything She Wants came on the speakers and all conversation in the place stopped. All of us multiculti cool kids were singing like we were on Star Search. Too funny!
Stephanie Renee | March 23, 2008 9:35 AM | PermalinkI remember being a young kid and making moms buy me the "everything she wants" 45 LOL..oh when music was music
blknitenmd | March 21, 2008 5:01 PM | PermalinkI will forever stan for George Michael and Wham. I remember listening to "Everything She Wants" back when I was tiny and I still think its one of the best songs ever. George Michael also sang on a duet with Whitney Houston entitled "If I Told You That" a couple of years ago. If ever tours the USA again you can bet for sure that I will be there.
yellowswan | March 21, 2008 5:40 AM | PermalinkDang, I thought I was the only one who know who Five Star was lol.I love that song and I thought they would make it big.I love some George Micheal.I use to think it was a black man singing One More Try when I was younger because they played it on the black radio stations.
Sharonda | March 20, 2008 11:55 PM | PermalinkI miss that era too. Damn I'm dating myself. If you think his duets with Stevie and Aretha are hot you need to hear the duet he did with Mary J Blige. Its a remake of "As" (a stevie joint for those who don't know).
And really the best song on Make it Big was definitely Careless Whisper!
studpoet | March 20, 2008 5:07 PM | PermalinkI miss it as well. Before Market Segmentation chopped everything into bits and pieces, we had more access to different music. I remember seeing the Eurythmics (Love Annie Lennox) on Video Music Box w/VJ Ralph McDaniels.
Danielle | March 20, 2008 1:06 PM | PermalinkI miss that era a lot. You'd hear stuff like George Michael, Expose, Madonna, Taylor Dayne and Phil Collins on black stations and black shows like "Soul Train" ... everybody listened to everything. Hell, even New Kids on the Block covered Black Beat! Now everything seems so black and white and segregated. Kinda sad.
S. Flemming | March 20, 2008 11:56 AM | Permalink