# Help identifying an 80s song **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 22, 2018, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-an-80s-song/812894 "2018-04-22T11:26:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Melvin\_Munster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@Melvin\_Munster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melvin_Munster)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-an-80s-song/812894/1 "2018-04-22T11:26:55Z")
I’ve had a snippet of a tune playing mentally for days now and the problem is I can’t figure out what it the hell it is. There’s little to provide other than it’s very similar to “Maneater” by Hall and Oates in terms of rhythmic feel and it may be in the same key or use same melodic intervals. Almost certainly early 80s and with a sort of late night feel to it, maybe slightly hushed vocals and could have a saxophone line though I may be blending it with Maneater. I’m sure it was somewhat of a hit, I’ve certainly heard it before but can’t think of a single lyric. Any guesses? Kinda vague I know. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-an-80s-song/812894/2 "2018-04-22T12:21:20Z")
Not a lot to go on. First thing that comes to my mind is Steppin’ Out by Joe Jackson. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-an-80s-song/812894/3 "2018-04-22T12:30:42Z")
War Baby - Tom Robinson? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-an-80s-song/812894/4 "2018-04-22T12:35:00Z")
[Love Changes Everything](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8dy8tfUCEg) by Climie Fisher. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-an-80s-song/812894/5 "2018-04-22T12:41:05Z")
**Stevie Wonder, Part Time Lover** - [Stevie Wonder - Part Time Lover (Lyrics) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN2AdOjI4FI) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-an-80s-song/812894/6 "2018-04-22T12:57:32Z")
> [@ruadh](#): > > Not a lot to go on. First thing that comes to my mind is Steppin’ Out by Joe Jackson. Methinks you haven’t seen the magic of Straight Dope “name that tune” threads. We’ve gotten the answer on far, far vaguer clues here. This one is positively chock full of info! 🙂 “Part Time Lover” is the obvious answer and the first one to come to mind for me, as well. Another possibility is [“Modern Love”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hDbpF4Mvkw) by David Bowie. I’d lay some money that it is one of these two songs. I would have definitely gone with “Part Time Lover” absent more info, but the whispered vocals and sax parts make me think it may be the Bowie song, though the Stevie Wonder song is much more similar musically to me. ---
**Author:** ![Melvin\_Munster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@Melvin\_Munster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melvin_Munster)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-an-80s-song/812894/7 "2018-04-22T13:05:52Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > **Stevie Wonder, Part Time Lover** - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN2AdOjI4FI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN2AdOjI4FI) 3 cheers for WordMan! Jesus that was quick. Thank you so much. I’ll listen through and it’ll be deleted from my thoughts permanently. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-an-80s-song/812894/8 "2018-04-22T13:12:02Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > **Stevie Wonder, Part Time Lover** - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN2AdOjI4FI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN2AdOjI4FI) Oddly enough, I heard this song while getting gas on my way home from work this morning. ---
**Author:** ![Melvin\_Munster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@Melvin\_Munster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melvin_Munster)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-an-80s-song/812894/9 "2018-04-22T13:14:22Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’d lay some money that it is one of these two songs. I would have definitely gone with “Part Time Lover” absent more info, but the whispered vocals and sax parts make me think it may be the Bowie song, though the Stevie Wonder song is much more similar musically to me. Listening through, no idea where I’d come up with hushed vocal track… It’s belted out pretty decently at parts. And the sax thing was indeed just me mentally combining both songs. I find it kind of hilarious how similar these tracks sound, at least to me. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-an-80s-song/812894/10 "2018-04-22T13:15:42Z")
> [@Melvin\_Munster](#): > > Listening through, no idea where I’d come up with hushed vocal track… It’s belted out pretty decently at parts. And the sax thing was indeed just me mentally combining both songs. I find it kind of hilarious how similar these tracks sound, at least to me. Just for fun, I just checked, and if you just type “song that sounds like Maneater” into Google, it’s certainly not just you. 🙂 (And, like I said, I called it the “obvious answer” because it also sounds quite similar to me.) ---
**Author:** ![Melvin\_Munster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@Melvin\_Munster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melvin_Munster)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-an-80s-song/812894/11 "2018-04-22T13:44:19Z")
> [@ruadh](#): > > Not a lot to go on. First thing that comes to my mind is Steppin’ Out by Joe Jackson. Funny story- that’s not at all the song in my mind as revealed but I just took a listen to that track and it’s another one that I could never identify in a million years but I absolutely get that melody stuck in my head occasionally. 2 for the price of 1 this morning at the SDMB! ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-an-80s-song/812894/12 "2018-04-22T13:46:12Z")
> [@Melvin\_Munster](#): > > 3 cheers for WordMan! Jesus that was quick. Thank you so much. I’ll listen through and it’ll be deleted from my thoughts permanently. My work here is done. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-an-80s-song/812894/13 "2018-04-22T13:50:13Z")
The Luther Vandross back-up vocals on _Part Time Lover_ are a lot of fun. That song is catchy as hell.