She Drives Me Crazy -Fine Young Cannibals (1989) 7/3/23

Critics LOVED Today's Great Song of 1989: "She Drives Me Crazy" by the English group Fine Young Cannibals.

Almost everyone called it great "party song," and their opinions did not change.

For example: a few YEARS later, All Music Magazine retroactively called it "the most unique, and instantly identifiable beat/tiff combination of the decade."

It's fascinating (at least to me) how they created the iconic drum sound: The song was recorded at Prince's Paisley Park Studio in Minneapolis, but the snare drum was recorded separately. A speaker was then placed on the drum head, while a microphone was placed below. Then the original recording was played through the speaker and re-recorded.

Whether you're into the technical stuff or not, that sort of experimentation can lead to a Great Song--and so it did!

When the single was released from the album "The Raw and the Cooked," The Fine Young Cannibals soon had a worldwide hit on their hands.

"She Drives Me Crazy" was a Top 10 hit in 19 countries, reaching #1 in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Spain.

And, In the US alone, Billboard ranked it in the Top 5 on FOUR separate charts: #1 on the Hot 100 and Dance CLUB Charts, #3 on the Dance SALES Chart and #5 on the Alternative Chart.

(Note: With the way Billboard compiled charts for each radio format in the '80s, this shows that all sorts of radio stations were playing "She Drives Me Crazy," and all sorts of people were buying it, too.)

Also: The video received several nominations at the 1989 MTV Video Awards--including "Best Video."

"She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals: certainly unique...and absolutely a Great Song of 1989! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtvmTu4zAMg

Tomorrow: A Brown Holiday.