Episode #64: Joystick

Once again, my myopic tendency to dwell in the '60s and '70s half the damn time have forced another one of Star Time's "80s Atonement episodes" in which I play nothing but R&B songs from that forgotten decade. And, as usual, it turns out to be one of the more entertaining shows of recent vintage, with more than one or two sudden realizations. For example, I didn't know how funny Klymaxx's "Meeting in the Ladies' Room" was. I never knew the Staple Singers did a killer Talking Heads cover. And, most crucially, I had no idea how important it is to be curious about mass transit. But thanks to Oran 'Juice' Jones, I do now. And so do you.

Artist	Song	Year	Label
Set 1
Diana Ross	Upside Down	1980	Motown
Fatback	Backstrokin'	1980	Spring
The Whispers	It's a Love Thing	1980	Solar
Shock	Let's Get Crackin'	1981	Fantasy
Evelyn King	Love Come Down	1982	RCA Victor
The Jones Girls	I Just Love the Man	1980	Philadelphia Int'l
Set 2
Sunrize	Who's Stickin' It	1982	Boardwalk
The Pointer Sisters	Automatic	1983	Planet
Dazz Band	Joystick	1983	Motown
Lakeside	Raid	1983	Solar
Midnight Star	Freak-A-Zoid	1983	Solar
The Gap Band	Jam the Motha'	1983	Total Experience
Set 3
Klymaxx	Meeting in the Ladies Room	1984	Constellation
The Staple Singers	Slippery People	1984	Private I
Sheila E.	The Belle of St. Mark	1984	Warner Bros.
Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three	Request Line	1984	Reality
Trouble Funk	Still Smokin'	1985	Island
Cameo	Single Life	1985	Atlanta Artists
Set 4
R.J.'s Latest Arrival	Rhythm Method	1986	Manhattan
Whistle	(Nothing Serious) Just Buggin'	1986	Select
Oran 'Juice' Jones	Curiosity	1986	Def Jam
Michael Jackson	Smooth Criminal	1987	Epic
Sugar Babes	We Rock the Beat	1987	MCA
Janet Jackson	When I Think of You	1986	A&M