for some strange reason i started thinking about rachel sweet and her ultra sweet voice. in 1978 and '79 i used to listen to her "fool around" album over and over. funny thing, i thought she was so great, but no one i ever knew ever heard of her. my friend mark stephens and even bought a pair of pumps (yes that's right) because on the back on one of her singles she was wearing pumps with jeans and we thought that was the "t".
sidebar- we wore those pumps to 3 parties and 2 shows (including rachels sweet and grace jones). mine were spectator pumps-mockup above. we had so much fun fooling around and thought we were "the shit".
anyway, she ushered in the 80's with a remake of "everlasting love" with rex smith. the sales went nowhere, but i love that song, both the original and their remake.
here is what i found about her on wikipedia
rachel disappeared for a few years and then re-emerged with an appearance in john waters' "cry baby" playing the granddaughter of polly bergen(in voice only). she also did the first music video in 88 for the original "hairspray". you can see her "hairspray" video(circa 1988) here
here's what one reviewer said:
This one brings back the memories. Rachel Sweet was a 16 year old junior at Firestone High School in Akron, Ohio, when FOOL AROUND was released. I had lived in Akron for fifteen years at the time, and something was in the air, the feeling that the town, a truly miserable place to live, was going to break out musically, with bands like Devo and Tin Huey and The Bizarros getting major label deals and expatriate Chrissie Hynde waiting in in the wings. Rachel Sweet, in such esteemed company, was almost an afterthought to the self-consciously hip among us, given that her pop stylings never approached the avant guard, cutting edge groove that groups like Chi Pig were able to toss off. It is accordingly remarkable to listen to FOOL AROUND, some three decades later, and to be floored by how good it sounds from beginning to bonus-track(s) end.
read full review here
if you haven't heard of rachel sweet or haven't heard her for awhile, i would recommend it. hava listen. as a matter of fact, i would urge you to download the tracks of fool around and see if it doesn't really stand the test of time. tunes like "who does lisa like" and 'stay awhile" are in my eyes(ears) simply spectacular..
who knows, maybe she was only fooling around. even now, 30 years later, i think she's pretty damn sweet.
1 comment:
I think you've come up with a new muscial category: "Pre-retro," because she really seems to be anticipating a retro movement of the future. Couldn't you imagine "B-A-B-Y" coming out of the mouth of Amy Winehouse?
LOVED the song...didn't think it got enough airplay when it came out.
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