Hot Stuff
Whew!
Sittin’ here eatin’ my heart out waitin’
Waitin’ for some lover to call
Dialed about a thousand numbers lately
Almost rang the phone off the wall
While we were listening to Blondie, singing "Hanging On The Telephone", on the stations we wouldn’t listen to was a phenomenon. Disco. Led by its queen, Donna Summer.
It was easy to ignore her. Until "Bad Girls". Yes, suddenly Ms. Summer went rock. Better than all the bands on AOR. Sure, there were disco beats, but oh the POWER!
Four sides. All playable. There was the title track, the slow-burner "Dim All The Lights" and the closer "Sunset People".
And the slam dunk opener "Hot Stuff". Composed by Pete Bellotte, Harold Faltermeyer and Keith Forsey.
The Stones haven’t had an opener this good since "Miss You", and that predates "Hot Stuff". "Hot Stuff" blows out of the speakers and in walks this woman strutting her stuff…
This was Donna Summer’s peak.
But it wasn’t Keith Forsey’s. Who had previously been known as a drummer, hell, he beats the skins on the "Bad Girls" album.
Keith struck gold again, make that platinum, with "Flashdance….What A Feeling". Lady GaGa may wear her outfits, but after this movie hit and the track dominated the airwaves every pre-menopausal woman cut the neck out of her sweatshirt and showed her shoulder. It happened just that fast.
But Keith didn’t only do disco. He cowrote Simple Minds’ iconic hit, "Don’t You (Forget About Me)".
Never mind emerging completely from Giorgio Moroder’s shadow and having huge hits with Billy Idol as a producer.
And let’s not forget cowriting Glenn Frey’s "Heat Is On" from "Beverly Hills Cop".
People will still be listening to Keith Forsey’s music long after the ice has melted beneath Johnny Weir’s skates.
I had no idea he was a reader.
I love my life.
