# ID this obscure mid-1980s song? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 14, 2012, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-obscure-mid-1980s-song/631423 "2012-08-14T00:55:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-obscure-mid-1980s-song/631423/21 "2012-08-14T13:15:09Z")
My WAG: [Don’t Dream It’s Over](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9gKyRmic20), by Crowded House. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-obscure-mid-1980s-song/631423/22 "2012-08-14T13:32:41Z")
No luck so far. And shame on **Gyrate** for getting “Yah Mo B There” stuck in my head.☹ > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Male voice or female voice? > > Synth pop or top 40 rock? > > What makes you sure you heard it in fall of 1985? > > Did the singer have an accent of any kind that you remember? I’m pretty certain it was a male. I can’t remember the exact genre or whether it had synthesizers, but it seemed to be a middle-of-the-road pop song. The date could be wrong, but I seem to remember hearing it in a couple exact instances that happened in the fall of 1985. I make no claim concerning whether or not the singer had an accent. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-obscure-mid-1980s-song/631423/23 "2012-08-14T13:32:46Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Is it “Rio” by Duran Duran? > > It had to be done. What’s the joke behind this? I’m missing the reference. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-obscure-mid-1980s-song/631423/24 "2012-08-14T13:36:37Z")
> [@Soylent\_Juicy](#): > > What’s the joke behind this? I’m missing the reference. ☹ [This thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=296939) ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-obscure-mid-1980s-song/631423/25 "2012-08-14T13:54:32Z")
Any of these? [Songs from 1985](http://www.who-sang-that-song.com/songs-from-1985.html) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-obscure-mid-1980s-song/631423/26 "2012-08-14T15:03:24Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Random Actual Stab in the Dark: is it “Yah Mo B There” by Michael McDonald and James Ingram? The mere fact of that song’s existence makes me regret the invention of sound recording. _Ptooi._ ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-obscure-mid-1980s-song/631423/27 "2012-08-14T15:28:15Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > The mere fact of that song’s existence makes me regret the invention of sound recording. _Ptooi._ I would have agreed with you until a couple of years ago when I discovered the awesomeness of Ke$ha. That’s when the benefits of sound recording began to outweigh the crap like “Yah Mo B There.” ---
**Author:** ![SykoSkotty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@SykoSkotty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SykoSkotty)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-obscure-mid-1980s-song/631423/28 "2012-08-14T16:20:23Z")
[Stimulation](http://www.rare80s.com/?cat=8) by WaWaNee? ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-obscure-mid-1980s-song/631423/29 "2012-08-14T17:14:56Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > Since the lyrics were indecipherable to your ears, it was slow, and had a minor key feel, how about _Life In A Northern Town_ by The Dream Academy? What’s indecipherable about “Ah Hey Oh Ma Ma Ma / Hum Bay In Do Nyy-a”? ---
**Author:** ![Nom\_de\_Plume](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/85f322/32.png) [@Nom\_de\_Plume](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nom_de_Plume)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-obscure-mid-1980s-song/631423/30 "2012-08-14T17:16:16Z")
If it’s not ‘Reap the Wild Wind’ how about ‘The Heat is On’ by Glenn Frey? [- YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-mU-YSk32I) ---
**Author:** ![Nom\_de\_Plume](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/85f322/32.png) [@Nom\_de\_Plume](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nom_de_Plume)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-obscure-mid-1980s-song/631423/31 "2012-08-14T17:29:30Z")
Or Maybe ‘Silent Running’ by Mike and the Mechanics? (The meter in the chorus, “…can you hear me,” kind of matches “…make it sweet more.”) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ep7W89I_V_g/hqdefault.jpg "Mike & The Mechanics - Silent running") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep7W89I_V_g) ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-obscure-mid-1980s-song/631423/32 "2012-08-14T20:24:19Z")
Still no luck. My consolation is that I have abundant Kesha music to satisfy all my musical needs. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-obscure-mid-1980s-song/631423/33 "2012-08-15T06:32:42Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > No luck so far. And shame on **Gyrate** for getting “Yah Mo B There” stuck in my head.☹ > > I’m pretty certain it was a male. I can’t remember the exact genre or whether it had synthesizers, but it seemed to be a middle-of-the-road pop song. The date could be wrong, but I seem to remember hearing it in a couple exact instances that happened in the fall of 1985. I make no claim concerning whether or not the singer had an accent. Okay, I’m getting somewhere. Have you always lived in Chicago? If not, where did you live when you heard this song? ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-obscure-mid-1980s-song/631423/34 "2012-08-15T08:30:40Z")
[The Fixx, “Saved By Zero?”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOiZP8FS5Ww) ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-obscure-mid-1980s-song/631423/35 "2012-08-15T13:25:58Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Okay, I’m getting somewhere. Have you always lived in Chicago? If not, where did you live when you heard this song? I lived in Peoria, IL, at the time. Yesterday I found [this link](http://319744.forumromanum.com/member/forum/forum.php?action=ubb_show&entryid=1094949790&mainid=1094949790&USER=user_319744&threadid=1144090572) to Billboard’s Top 100 for November 23, 1985. Maybe later I’ll go through the list and listen to the songs I don’t recognize on Youtube one by one. ---
**Author:** ![Polerius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d78d45/32.png) [@Polerius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polerius)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-obscure-mid-1980s-song/631423/36 "2012-08-15T17:51:55Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > There was a song that got considerable airplay on pop stations, I believe in the fall of 1986. It must have had no staying power whatsoever, because I’ve never heard it since then, even though I listen to 80s music stations sometimes. In the chorus, there’s a line that sounds something like “make it sweet more.” (That is NOT the actual line, but that’s what it sounded like to my 10-year-old ears.) The line may have been repeated. The four notes in “make it sweet more” follow the musical scale like this: (1st note) up up down, or maybe it was (1st note) down up down. > > I know this is very minimal information, but I’ve seen other threads like this where somebody actually does identify the song. Any guesses? Could you record yourself humming or singing the song and post a link here? ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-obscure-mid-1980s-song/631423/37 "2012-08-15T18:08:29Z")
Al Bundy had this same [problem](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPeV8zNIkyI) (video) once, on “Married … With Children.” ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-obscure-mid-1980s-song/631423/38 "2012-08-16T02:05:02Z")
> [@Polerius](#): > > Could you record yourself humming or singing the song and post a link here? It goes something like F G A F. (I could be way off.) The first two notes are eighth notes, and the last two are quarter notes. > [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Al Bundy had this same [problem](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPeV8zNIkyI) (video) once, on “Married … With Children.” One of my favorite episodes! ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-obscure-mid-1980s-song/631423/39 "2012-08-16T09:15:26Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > I lived in Peoria, IL, at the time. So we want something that plays in Peoria. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-obscure-mid-1980s-song/631423/40 "2012-08-16T12:15:47Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > So we want something that plays in Peoria. > > 😃 Once. For five minutes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-obscure-mid-1980s-song/631423.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-obscure-mid-1980s-song/631423.md?page=3)