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oday's Great Song of the '80s has been described as a cross between New Wave Rock, Blue-eyed Soul, and Celtic folk.
Sounds like an impossible combination, but the British group Dexy's Midnight Runners pulled it off with "Come On Eileen."
You can clearly hear ALL of those influences--especially heavy on the Celtic--when the fiddle starts playing the old Scottish ballad, "Beleive Me If All These Endearing Young Charms."
In case you've ever wondered, Eileen was fictional. For years, the rumor was that she was a childhood friend--tuned romantic partner of co-writer Kevin Rowland, but Kevin says she was just a composite to help him make a point about Catholic oppression. Did anyone actually catch that point?
If you're not of a certain age, you might be wondering about the mention of "Poor old Johnnie Ray." Johnnie was a popular singer who had a number of hits in the pre-rock era. This was rather remarkable, since Johnnie was almost totally deaf! (Click the link below to hear "Cry," his Great Song of 1951)!
When "Come On Eileen" was released from the album "Too-Rye-Ay," it became a worldwide hit!
As 1982 crossed into 1983, it charted in 14 countries, and reached #1 in their native UK, as well as Ireland, Australia, Belgium, Switzerland, South Africa, and here in the US! In Canada, it just missed at #2.
VH-1 has ranked "Come On Eileen" at #18 on their list of the "Greatest Songs of the '80s.
Unfortunately, they also named it the Third Greatest One-Hit Wonder of All Time--conveniently forgetting that Dexy's Midnight Runners had several other hits in the UK and Europe).
"Come On Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners was a :Great Song of 1982-83, and probably one of the best New Wave/Blue-Eyed Soul/Celtic Folk songs of all time! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BODDyZRF6A
Johnnie Ray ("Cry"): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNe3gH1lpNc
Tomorrow: Deniece's Boy.
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