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"I Want Candy" and "Kids in America" questions

I

ixnay

In my office this morning the muzak speaker played a remake of the Strangeloves' "I Want Candy". I first remember hearing this version in the early '80s and like it. According to my Whitburn book only the Strangeloves' version made the top 40. Can anyone tell us the history of this remake?

Also, from time to time I hear a song that also has an early '80s adolescent feel to it, titled (I'm guessing here) "Kids in America". "We're the kids in America," it goes in the refrain. Whitburn doesn't have it listed as ever making the top 40 either. Anyone have any facts about this song?

I put this on the CtoC board because I don;t know if these songs would fit any other boards (certainly not Oldies).

ixnay
 
> In my office this morning the muzak speaker played a remake
> of the Strangeloves' "I Want Candy". I first remember
> hearing this version in the early '80s and like it.
> According to my Whitburn book only the Strangeloves' version
> made the top 40. Can anyone tell us the history of this
> remake?
>
> Also, from time to time I hear a song that also has an early
> '80s adolescent feel to it, titled (I'm guessing here) "Kids
> in America". "We're the kids in America," it goes in the
> refrain. Whitburn doesn't have it listed as ever making the
> top 40 either. Anyone have any facts about this song?
>
> I put this on the CtoC board because I don;t know if these
> songs would fit any other boards (certainly not Oldies).
>
> ixnay
>

"Kids In America" was originally recorded by Kim Wilde in the 80s, but was also covered on the Jimmy Neutron soundtrack in 2001.

And I'm guessing the version of "I Want Candy" you heard was Bow Wow Wow's version. I thought it had been at least a minor US hit, although it didn't do as well here as in the UK.
 
The original Bow Wow Wow version of "I Want Candy", as well as a cover of "Kids In America" by Fourth Grade Nothing are featured on the soundtrack to the 1996 Pauly Shore film "Bio-Dome" Perhaps that's what you heard?
 
> > In my office this morning the muzak speaker played a
> remake
> > of the Strangeloves' "I Want Candy". I first remember
> > hearing this version in the early '80s and like it.
> > According to my Whitburn book only the Strangeloves'
> version
> > made the top 40. Can anyone tell us the history of this
> > remake?
> >
> > Also, from time to time I hear a song that also has an
> early
> > '80s adolescent feel to it, titled (I'm guessing here)
> "Kids
> > in America". "We're the kids in America," it goes in the
> > refrain. Whitburn doesn't have it listed as ever making
> the
> > top 40 either. Anyone have any facts about this song?
> >
> > I put this on the CtoC board because I don;t know if these
>
> > songs would fit any other boards (certainly not Oldies).
> >
> > ixnay
> >
>
> "Kids In America" was originally recorded by Kim Wilde in
> the 80s, but was also covered on the Jimmy Neutron
> soundtrack in 2001.
>
> And I'm guessing the version of "I Want Candy" you heard was
> Bow Wow Wow's version. I thought it had been at least a
> minor US hit, although it didn't do as well here as in the
> UK.

This is why people shouldn't just rely on the Whitburn Top 40 book. His "Top Pop Singles" book covers the whole of Billboard's Hot 100 charts.

"I Want Candy" by Bow Wow Wow peaked at #62 in 1982. It was, of course, a bigger hit in their native U.K., peaking at #9 on the Music Week charts. Bow Wow Wow had ten chart singles between 1980 and 1983 in the U.K., but only two also charted in the U.S. (although a third almost made it, getting to #103 on Billboard's "Bubbling Under" list). "I Want Candy" did much better on the Billboard Album Rock chart, peaking at #12. (It would have done as well, if not better, I believe, on the Billboard Modern Rock chart, but that wasn't established until 1988.)

I don't know how the original poster missed "Kids In America" by Kim Wilde, even using the Whitburn Top 40 book, as it peaked at #25 the same year. It did worse on the Album Rock chart (#29). Again, she had much better success in her native U.K., peaking at #2, and starting a string of 28 chart singles, continuing into the 1990s.<P ID="signature">______________


</P>
 
I want Candy may have been #62 in radio play, but remember that "back in the day" when MTV was new, and actually played music videos ad nauseum, that they would have an influence on perception.
Anybody remember "You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon? It was a minor hit, then slipped, then the video came out and suddenly it was a big hit due to the fun nature of the video. People noticed the video and it brought back the song. Very important lesson to record labels. A video CAN influence music, so you want a video for each song you plan on making a hit.



> The original Bow Wow Wow version of "I Want Candy", as well
> as a cover of "Kids In America" by Fourth Grade Nothing are
> featured on the soundtrack to the 1996 Pauly Shore film
> "Bio-Dome" Perhaps that's what you heard?
>
 
Didn't LEN do a remake of Kids In America for a movie a couple of years ago.

> I want Candy may have been #62 in radio play, but remember
> that "back in the day" when MTV was new, and actually played
> music videos ad nauseum, that they would have an influence
> on perception.
> Anybody remember "You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon? It was
> a minor hit, then slipped, then the video came out and
> suddenly it was a big hit due to the fun nature of the
> video. People noticed the video and it brought back the
> song. Very important lesson to record labels. A video CAN
> influence music, so you want a video for each song you plan
> on making a hit.
>
>
>
> > The original Bow Wow Wow version of "I Want Candy", as
> well
> > as a cover of "Kids In America" by Fourth Grade Nothing
> are
> > featured on the soundtrack to the 1996 Pauly Shore film
> > "Bio-Dome" Perhaps that's what you heard?
> >
>
 
I don't know how far back you want to go, but "I Want Candy" was originally written and recorded back in the mid-1960's by singer/songwriter/producer and co-founder of Bang! Records, Bert Berns.

From the link -- http://www.mp3.com/bert-berns/artists/41784/biography.html -- In its brief existence, Bang! was very successful: recording pop-garage rock with the teenage McCoys, getting a Bo Diddley-derived hit with "I Want Candy" by the Strangeloves, and issuing Neil Diamond's first hit singles.
 
And "kids" had a bit of geographic confusion:
"New York to East California"...East California? I guess there IS
an eastern part of the state, but it just sounds weird. File along
with "Daddy was a cop on the East Side of Chicago" by Paper Lace--
"Night Chicago Died". East Side of Chicago= Lake Michigan/

> "Kids In America" was originally recorded by Kim Wilde in
> the 80s, but was also covered on the Jimmy Neutron
> soundtrack in 2001.
>
> And I'm guessing the version of "I Want Candy" you heard was
> Bow Wow Wow's version. I thought it had been at least a
> minor US hit, although it didn't do as well here as in the
> UK.
>
<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by raccoonradio on 09/21/05 07:09 AM.</FONT></P>
 
> I want Candy may have been #62 in radio play, but remember
> that "back in the day" when MTV was new, and actually played
> music videos ad nauseum, that they would have an influence
> on perception.
> Anybody remember "You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon? It was
> a minor hit, then slipped, then the video came out and
> suddenly it was a big hit due to the fun nature of the
> video. People noticed the video and it brought back the
> song. Very important lesson to record labels. A video CAN
> influence music, so you want a video for each song you plan
> on making a hit.
>
>

That's a good point about MTV... I remember in Seattle, the Presidents of the U.S.A had hits like peaches and lump that lived a good life on radio, then they made videos and they resurrected on the radio and lived again. Very good marketing. Reminds me of what country people achieve by having a good song on the country charts, it fades and they re-release it on pop radio and it has a whole new life cycle (sometimes greater than originally) The first real big one that is in the last 10 years or so was Lonestar's Amazed. MONEY MONEY MONEY!!

-Timmy<P ID="signature">______________
Perfection is overrated...
www.marinifamily.org</P>
 
> Didn't LEN do a remake of Kids In America for a movie a
> couple of years ago.
>
I don't know if Len did a cover of "Kids In America", but The Muffs did for the "Clueless" soundtrack in 1995.

Robyn<P ID="signature">______________
"I'm not exactly in the mood for Mozart and all that kinda goings on"...Information Society-"Peace and Love Incorporated"</P>
 
Whitburn alternative (was: Re: "I Want Candy" and "Kids in America" questions)

>
> This is why people shouldn't just rely on the Whitburn Top
> 40 book. His "Top Pop Singles" book covers the whole of
> Billboard's Hot 100 charts.

An online (and free) alternative to Whitburn's books can be found at allmusic.com. For most general queries allmusic has been sufficient in my experience. If you were looking for the names of artists who performed a particular song ("I Want Candy" for instance), allmusic may be the way to go. Its the most complete source of musical information I have found on the net. Though, if you were looking to find out how many weeks a particular song was in the top 10, you would need one of Whitburn's overpriced (though sometimes useful) tomes. Some of the info at allmusic requires registration to view, but it's no more complicated or invasive than, say, setting up an account for a radio message board site. The best part is the price.

www.allmusic.com
 
Your Kim Wilde answer was WILD!

> And "kids" had a bit of geographic confusion:
> "New York to East California"...East California? I guess there IS
>an eastern part of the state but it just sounds weird.

Playing Kimmy Wilde a year before she charted here in the U.S., I will never forget that "East California" line. As I came from the State, I made that comment on the Air more than once!. Here at almost the bottom of Florida, there's South East Florida, and South West Florida. It took me some time to understand what that meant. However I bet there is someone, somewhere, living on the border who claims they do live in East California!
 
Re: Whitburn alternative (was: Re: "I Want Candy" and "Kids in America" questions)

> An online (and free) alternative to Whitburn's books can be
> found at allmusic.com. For most general queries allmusic
> has been sufficient in my experience. If you were looking
> for the names of artists who performed a particular song ("I
> Want Candy" for instance), allmusic may be the way to go.
> Its the most complete source of musical information I have
> found on the net. Though, if you were looking to find out
> how many weeks a particular song was in the top 10, you
> would need one of Whitburn's overpriced (though sometimes
> useful) tomes.

I do use AllMusic a great deal; it's quite useful for finding all the albums that a particular song is on, and that came in very handy when I was putting together a library for a format that has an extensive "lunar" rotation.

But the Whitburn books are indeed just as useful; if you're doing any kind of music research you <u>need</u> them to select songs for testing.<P ID="signature">______________


</P>
 
Re: Your Kim Wilde answer was WILD!

> > And "kids" had a bit of geographic confusion:
> > "New York to East California"...East California? I guess
> there IS
> >an eastern part of the state but it just sounds weird.
>
> Playing Kimmy Wilde a year before she charted here in the
> U.S., I will never forget that "East California" line. As I
> came from the State, I made that comment on the Air more
> than once!. Here at almost the bottom of Florida, there's
> South East Florida, and South West Florida. It took me some
> time to understand what that meant. However I bet there is
> someone, somewhere, living on the border who claims they do
> live in East California!
>


One station that played both "Kids in America" and Bow Wow Wow "I want candy" was KROQ/Los Angeles. In fact those were two huge songs on KROQ in 1982.

I think what Kim Wilde meant by the "East California" lyric is that New Wave music would soon be heard in the rest of the country besides only Los Angeles. "East California" was symbolic as the furthest point West where the music wasn't being played. If I remember correctly the lyric was "From New York to East California there's a new wave coming I warn you".
 
Bottom line, there's NO East or West California

If it's from New York to "East California", why wouldn't it be "West California" to support your theory. And "East California was symbolic as the furthest point West where the music wasn't being played". WHAT??????

> I think what Kim Wilde meant by the "East California" lyric
> is that New Wave music would soon be heard in the rest of
> the country besides only Los Angeles. "East California" was
> symbolic as the furthest point West where the music wasn't
> being played. If I remember correctly the lyric was "From
> New York to East California there's a new wave coming I warn
> you".
>
 
Re: Bottom line, there's NO East or West California

> If it's from New York to "East California", why wouldn't it
> be "West California" to support your theory. And "East
> California was symbolic as the furthest point West where the
> music wasn't being played". WHAT??????


I'm surprised that you don't get my point. The only place in the U.S where New Wave music was getting regular exposure in the early 80s was coastal California. If you were anywhere else in the country you mostly heard "corporate rock" bands like Journey and Foreigner on pop radio.

Maybe nobody calls it "East California", but there technically is an Eastern portion of the state. Most of it is sparsley populated, desert towns like Blythe and Needles or the Sierra Mountain region in NorthEast Cal around Lake Tahoe.


>
> > I think what Kim Wilde meant by the "East California"
> lyric
> > is that New Wave music would soon be heard in the rest of
> > the country besides only Los Angeles. "East California"
> was
> > symbolic as the furthest point West where the music wasn't
>
> > being played. If I remember correctly the lyric was "From
> > New York to East California there's a new wave coming I
> warn
> > you".
> >
>
 
Now it's Coastal California?

Do you happen to remember the coastal Stations covering the 1000 Miles of California's Coast which played this music?



> I'm surprised that you don't get my point. The only place in
> the U.S where New Wave music was getting regular exposure in
> the early 80s was coastal California. If you were anywhere
> else in the country you mostly heard "corporate rock" bands
> like Journey and Foreigner on pop radio.
>
> Maybe nobody calls it "East California", but there
> technically is an Eastern portion of the state. Most of it
> is sparsley populated, desert towns like Blythe and Needles
> or the Sierra Mountain region in NorthEast Cal around Lake
> Tahoe.
>
>
> >
> > > I think what Kim Wilde meant by the "East California"
> > lyric
> > > is that New Wave music would soon be heard in the rest
> of
> > > the country besides only Los Angeles. "East California"
> > was
> > > symbolic as the furthest point West where the music
> wasn't
> >
> > > being played. If I remember correctly the lyric was
> "From
> > > New York to East California there's a new wave coming I
> > warn
> > > you".
> > >
> >
>
 
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