Pennsylvania might have been the most difficult state to make a choice of artist.
Why did I choose Live, one of the ironically worst live bands I've ever seen?
Because I know they had an off night. Everyone has that.
But also, this single - which is one of my favorite by the band - was their first as Live - they had previously been known as Physical Affection and were a popular local band in York, PA, and the surrounding area. From the album Mental Jewelry, released on December 31, 1991, it was a 1992 MTV hit.
If your band's name is Live, you better not suck live.
And on most nights, they did not.
Woodstock '99 sucked in general, so they were actually a bright spot there.
His backing band is not really just the Destroyers.
They are the Delaware Destroyers.
And indeed, born in Wilmington, Delaware in 1950, Thorogood is still touring as of this writing - which is pretty impressive. His original songs and gravelly voice blend nicely with the American music landscape.
This 1985 rock radio hit - his biggest to that date, although he'd have bigger later - was originally written by Thorogood as a country song for George Jones, but EMI insisted that the Delaware Destroyers record it as a rock song.... and it paid off huge. It remains a live staple to this day, forty years later.
I mentioned that it remained a live staple to this day.
That's because it is. This recording is from last month, in Albany, NY. And he still sounds truly great.
A lot of people assume that I don't like Bon Jovi.
This is NOT true. The first album by the New Jersey icons is actually a pretty solid pop/metal classic. And this song - one of the singles from that album - is the first song I heard by them. Written by Jon Bongiovi (yep. I used his Christian name), it was a Hot 100 hit in 1985.
And yes, they were destined to be much bigger.
Is this a song they still play? Not sure about that, but they sure did in 1986. Again, they were pop/rock, not metal, and as soon as you come to that conclusion, this is a solid song.
The Northern Mariana Islands was always going to be the hardest day for me.
You see, not a lot of popular music has come from there.
Thankfully, we had American Song Contest, and the 670 had a representative in Sabyu, who had moved to the 206 from the 670 - 20-6-70.... get it? - with Chief Javi, and together they performed love letters to their home island of Saipan.
I'd do a live version of this song, but c'mon - this is already live. And pretty fun.
Because Pia Mia was clearly the only artist I could choose, and I have been wanting to post about this real outlier of a single of hers.
She was discovered by Babyface on YouTube.... who helped her get a real record deal and even a hot 100 hit.
What she lost was her creative control, so she left Interscope Records and started self-releasing music. This song was less hip-hop and more country.... and I gotta say, it suits her. Her voice is huge.
When I say her voice is huge, perhaps it's better if I feature a live version of the song....
And R. City are from there, hailing from St. Thomas. Sure, they do record in Atlanta, but they are from the USVI.
I think that's pretty cool.
This song is by far their biggest hit, hitting the top 10 in the US and worldwide. Toni Tennille gets a songwriting credit because the chord progression in the chorus is straight out of 'Do That To Me One More Time", no joke.
Anyway, the song itself was NOT written by Adam Levine, so that's something.
They also don't need Adam Levine around to perform the song - which the duo co-wrote as well. In fact, I think it flows better without him and retains more of a reggae flair.
I have been holding this song back for a long while. I go back and forth on it, honestly. I don't always love the song, but I always like it. And, as I write this, I am in a love period.
Tori Amos grew up in Baltimore, and since today is Maryland day, I felt it was time to uncork it.
This was one of Amos's biggest hits - a breakthrough of sorts in the UK. She had bigger pop hits but no song did better on alternative radio.
And it's about.... cornflakes? No, "cornflake girl" is slang for someone close to you who betrays you - specifically used around the practice of female genital mutilation. And now you know.
The song itself is something of an upbeat waltz and you're going to be tapping your toes to this song for the rest of the day. You're welcome.
And she made two videos for the song - her insistence. She WANTED two DIFFERENT videos. The US version featured Amos driving a truck full of women.
The UK version is much better. It's kind of a reverse Wizard of Oz situation where Dorothy goes to hell.
Not shockingly, her 1997 performances of the song live sounded just like the record. Well, not identical. It's a little different. But the flair and sound are still there.
And, kind of shockingly, the 2015 performances also sound like the record, but with glasses.
She actually seems to perform it with more personality here.
She does still perform, by the way. Here she is in 2023, still sounding incredible.
