Taylor Dayne’s “Tell It to My Heart” on New Year’s Eve 1987

On the night of December 31st, 1987, I attended a New Year’s Eve party with my parents and my sister. The party was being held at the home of some friends of my parents. There was a fairly large number of people there. During the length of the party, the grownups were in both the living room and the family room, while a group of us kids were hanging out in the master bedroom.

I recall that the windows in that bedroom had gold-colored vertical blinds, which looked somewhat gaudy and tacky. But, seeing those blinds would nonetheless inspire me (years later) to get silver/metallic vertical blinds for my own bedroom. There was also a big-screen tv set in that room. So, we spent most of the night just watching tv, flipping through the channels, and talking about various things. We saw part of the movie called Wildcats (starring Goldie Hawn). We also watched some of the music videos that were being shown on MTV.

One of those videos happened to be for the song “Tell It to My Heart” by Taylor Dayne. And although all of us who were in the room had heard the song before, none of us had actually seen its video. So, we were somewhat  surprised upon seeing what the singer looked like. With her over-the-top hairstyle and heavy makeup, she seemed almost like a bolder version of Madonna. And coincidentally, one part of the video featured the style of dancing known as "Vogueing”, which would go on to be popularized by Madonna’s "Vogue" song (and video) three years later. In fact, the “Tell It to My Heart” video was the first time that I ever saw anyone Vogueing.

Months later, I bought Taylor’s first album (which was also titled “Tell It to My Heart”) in cassette tape format. I still have that cassette, all these years later. The song itself remains one of my all-time favorite songs. It's one of those songs that I must've listened to hundreds of times (perhaps thousands?) over the years. It's got catchy lyrics and an upbeat sound. There’s also a remixed/extended version to the song which I’ve always loved as well. I've included videos for both versions below, with the first video being the song's official video.

Helen Reddy: From “I Am Woman” to “Imagination”

As a singer, Helen Reddy was quite famous during the 1970s. Her popular song “I Am Woman” was undoubtedly not only one of her biggest hits, but was also considered an anthem of the so-called “feminist movement.”

In the 80s, however, Reddy’s music took a different direction from the Easy Listening tunes she was known for in the 70s. The year 1983 saw the release of Reddy’s album titled “Imagination,” which went on to be the last album she recorded that contained original songs. Among the tracks was “Imagination,” which bears the same title as the album. The song has a strong synthpop-ish sound, very typical of songs from the early-to-mid 80s. The midsection of the song features an instrumental part, which works well with the accompanying video to the song:

I have childhood memories of watching this video on tv after school.

There is also an extended version to the song.

Matia Bazar - "Aristocratica"

Matia Bazar is the name of an Italian synthpop/New Wave band that was founded in 1975. The band was originally fronted by a female singer named Antonella Ruggiero (who remained with the band until 1989). One of the band's most popular hits was a song titled “Aristocratica.”

The song dates from 1984, but I personally first learned of the song in 1987 while watching a tv special on European fashion & culture which aired on the HBO network. A short clip of a video to the song was played during part of the tv special.

Unfortunately, the video clip that I originally saw is not available on Youtube (or anywhere else that I've looked). What I remember from that video clip is that Antonella wore outlandish eye makeup and had her hair teased out -- a look similar to the female image on the cover of the band’s “Aristocratica” album:

The geometric green dress on the album's cover was designed by Italian fashion designer Cinzia Ruggeri, and it is known as the “Homage to Lévi Strauss dress”.

The following video features footage of the band performing “Aristocratica” live, interspersed with pictures of the band.

Grace Jones - “I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)”

In contemporary times, fashion and music have seemed to go hand in hand rather often. Fashion has been influenced by musical styles, and musicians have drawn inspiration from fashion trends. At times, there have even been individuals who found success in both the fashion industry and the music industry, thereby fusing together the worlds of fashion and music. That’s the case with the iconic Grace Jones.

Grace was originally a model. She modeled throughout the 1970s, as well as part of the 80s, working mainly in Paris with top designers such as Azzedine Alaia (to whom she was a muse). She was also a muse to Andy Warhol.

In the late 70s, she landed a record deal with Island Records, and she proceeded to record three albums between 1977 and 1979. In the early 80s, however, Grace entered into a collaboration with stylist Jean-Paul Goude which led to a transformation in her look to a more androgynous style. Coinciding with the burgeoning New Wave style of music, Grace’s own music morphed as well. She released two albums in the early 80s, one of them being 1981’s Nightclubbing.

The album contains reworked versions of previously-recorded songs, the most notable of which is “I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango).” The song went on to become one of Grace’s biggest hits. Also, the song was featured prominently in the 1988 film Frantic directed by Roman Polanski.

Incidentally, the video to the song was directed Jean-Paul Goude, with whom Grace was romantically involved for a time.

There is also an alternate video to the song.