Is it me or was every 3rd Toto song the name of a girl? Toto had a revolving door of lead singers, so that might explain it. Pamela reached number 22 on the charts and the video was helped by a parade of models. I guess when you throw some jazz horns behind the guitars, the sexy models become art. When the models do the same thing in a heavy metal video, their called tramps. You say tomato, I say…

WATN? Toto officially called it quits on June 5, 2008.

Trivia? Paula Abdul (then unknown) made her video debut in the Toto video Till The End.

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This was truly one of my favorite songs of the 80’s, but the video never lived up to the song. Still not sure why the stalker chick is carrying a picture frame or why the egg has an eyeball in it. But, somebody had an artistic vision and this is the tragic result. The Church deserved better.

Under the Milky Way was from the album Starfish, released in 1988. The song was once voted Best Australian Song of the past 2 decades by readers of a Melbourne newspaper. Considering rock icons ACDC and INXS were in the running, that’s a pretty strong statement.

WATN? The Church have continued to tour and release albums throughout the 90’s and this decade. American chart success has eluded them, but they still have a significant following worldwide.

Trivia: Since the release of Starfish, the Church have refused to issue lyrics with their albums. They believe lyrics should be heard and not read.

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Exactly 20 years ago today, The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 was released. This video isn’t all that remarkable until the shear talent assembled sinks into your brain. Usually, a collection of Rock & Roll Hall of Famers forming a group turns out to be something less than memorable. But the Wilbury’s managed to turn out two pretty good albums with an all star lineup.  Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, and Geoff Lynn made up the group.  The song Handle With Care was originally supposed to be a b-side to a Harrison single. The result was so good, they decided to record a whole album together. They wrote and recorded Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 in only 10 days!

WATN? Petty continues to tour and Lynn has done more producing lately than actual recording. Orbison passed shortly after the release of Wilburys Vol. 1.  Harrison passed in 2001. Dylan is still performing on the “Never Ending Tour.”

Trivia: Petty was added to the group because Harrison left his guitar at Petty’s house.

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Some days, you just need to get your weird on. Nobody helps you do that better than the Johns.  TMBG released Purple Toupee as a single from 1988’s Lincoln album. It looks like it was partly filmed at a flea market I drove by last week.  You can tell their getting warmed up for Birdhouse In Your Soul a few years later (One of my all time favorite videos!).

WATN? Still making great music and touring, they’ve also released several children’s albums. Here Comes Science will be released in 2009.

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