Post by erik on Nov 13, 2021 18:21:55 GMT -5
Although the new wave band Missing Persons never quite achieved a Top 40 hit like many other bands from new wave's peak of popularity in the early 1980's, they did have some cult success. One such example was the minor hit in this week's Pop Music Hits Spotlight.
WALKING IN L.A. (Missing Persons; Capitol; 1982)—With the 1980’s becoming as big on oldies radio in the 21st century as the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s had been during the 80’s and 90’s, it is not unheard of that bands or artists who either had big hits that got forgotten, or minor hits that became cult classics over time, are suddenly big again on the radio. This has become true of the early 1980’s new wave band Missing Persons. The band, formed at the dawn of the decade in Los Angeles’ new wave scene, included guitarist Warren Cucurillo, and the husband/wife team of Terry and Dale Bozzio, all of whom had worked with the legendary, mercurial Frank Zappa during the second half of the 1970’s. While none of their singles ever made the Top 40 on Billboard’s Hot 100, the group, whose distinguishing feature was Dale’s quirky vocals, attained considerable cult success in new wave circles and on FM rock radio, particularly in New York, San Francisco, and their home town of Los Angeles. Their 1982 album Spring Session M, whose title is an anagram of the band’s name, in fact included a song that became a standard on L.A. radio: “Walking In L.A.”. The song itself is an example of why Missing Persons was only ever a cult band, in that Dale’s vocals, compared to those of Debbie Harry (Blondie), Pat Benatar, Stevie Nicks, or Linda Ronstadt, were sometimes a bit too squeaky to be all that memorable. But while it only managed to peak at #70 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending March 5, 1983, both it and the band’s cult success in the City of Angels was cemented, along with other hits from Spring Sessions M like “Words” and “Destination Unknown” (both of which peaked at #42).
WALKING IN L.A. (Missing Persons; Capitol; 1982)—With the 1980’s becoming as big on oldies radio in the 21st century as the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s had been during the 80’s and 90’s, it is not unheard of that bands or artists who either had big hits that got forgotten, or minor hits that became cult classics over time, are suddenly big again on the radio. This has become true of the early 1980’s new wave band Missing Persons. The band, formed at the dawn of the decade in Los Angeles’ new wave scene, included guitarist Warren Cucurillo, and the husband/wife team of Terry and Dale Bozzio, all of whom had worked with the legendary, mercurial Frank Zappa during the second half of the 1970’s. While none of their singles ever made the Top 40 on Billboard’s Hot 100, the group, whose distinguishing feature was Dale’s quirky vocals, attained considerable cult success in new wave circles and on FM rock radio, particularly in New York, San Francisco, and their home town of Los Angeles. Their 1982 album Spring Session M, whose title is an anagram of the band’s name, in fact included a song that became a standard on L.A. radio: “Walking In L.A.”. The song itself is an example of why Missing Persons was only ever a cult band, in that Dale’s vocals, compared to those of Debbie Harry (Blondie), Pat Benatar, Stevie Nicks, or Linda Ronstadt, were sometimes a bit too squeaky to be all that memorable. But while it only managed to peak at #70 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending March 5, 1983, both it and the band’s cult success in the City of Angels was cemented, along with other hits from Spring Sessions M like “Words” and “Destination Unknown” (both of which peaked at #42).