Some songs can really get you to sing. There is just something about them, something ephemeral. But whatever it is, as soon as you hear the rhythms and melodies of the track, you just can’t help yourself.
And that’s exactly what we wanted to dive into here below. We wanted to highlight three songs from back in the day that make people belt out lyrics. Indeed, these are three one-hit wonders from the 1980s so catchy you can’t help but sing along.
“867-5309/Jenny” by Tommy Tutone from ‘Tommy Tutone 2’ (1981)
This track is so catchy that it bucks a modern trend. Today, people don’t know phone numbers. But in the 1980s, a random teenager could likely rattle off 50 just from the top of their head. But even in a modern world where no one remembers those once important seven digits, Tommy Tutone gets us to recall at least one person’s number. Jenny’s. Indeed, Tommy Tutone has us singing Jenny’s phone number out loud at the top of our lungs. We may know emails today and not phone numbers. But we remember Jenny’s.
“The Lady In Red” by Chris De Burgh from ‘Into The Light’ (1986)
This is a slow number. But that’s only because the song wants to get us in a particular mood. An amorous one, a mood that has us feeling those loving feelings. And once we are in that particular state of mind, we want to sing as loudly as possible. We want to sing about a specific person, a person wearing a certain something. Okay, okay, we want to belt out lyrics about the lady in red! Maybe if she hears our ode, she will heed our call. Maybe then fantasy will become reality.
“Hot Hot Hot” by Buster Poindexter from ‘Buster Poindexter’ (1987)
Unlike the slow number above, this song gets you to sing quickly, almost haphazardly. But that’s the glorious point. This is a party song, through and through. It’s a tune you don’t need to have all your wits about you to sing well. In fact, all you need to do is sing one word—HOT—loudly three times over. Buster Poindexter puts a smile on our faces and a song in our hearts. Then all we have to do is shout it out loud and enjoy the rest of the night.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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