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By all accounts, Straight Up" by Paula Abdul was not only lucky to become a Great Song of 1989...it was lucky to exist in the first place!
You can't make up a backstory like this:
Paula's mom knew someone whose boyfriend (Elliott Wolf) was a songwriter, and was asked to pass along a demo tape. Mom thought the song was laughably awful, and threw the demo away.
Paula, on the other hand, thought it had possibilities for her debut album, "Forever Your Girl," so she rescued the the demo from the trash, and took it to her record company (Virgin). Unfortunately, they thought it was laughably awful as well.
So Paula made a deal: She would record two songs they wanted her record that SHE thought were awful, if they let her record "Straight Up."
Virgin reluctantly agreed, so on a shoestring budget of $3,000, they set up a recording studio in her apartment's bathroom, and with neighbors knocking on the walls and yelling at her to "shut up," Paula recorded "Straight Up", which was then added to "Forever Your Girl" as an album cut.
The song was issued on the "B" side of the single "Forever Your Girl," with no intention to release it as an "A" side, but then, a radio station in San Francisco started playing it and getting incredible response.
Virgin, FINALLY smelling a hit, pulled promotion from "Forever Your Girl," (which, luckily, was re-issued at a later date and became a Great Song on its own), " and went all-in on "Straight Up," calling it a perfect blend of dance-pop and new jack swing.
Before you know it, the song had become a Top 10 hit in 16 countries... topping the charts in Norway, Canada, and the US, where it was a monster hit on FOUR Billboard Charts: Hot 100 and Dance Singles (#1), R&B/Hip Hop (#2), and Dance Sales (#3)!
"Straight Up" went 'straight up' the charts (and sold millions of copies) so quickly, they hadn't had time to make a video. That was rectified as soon as possible, and it became an MTV hit, with Paula showing off her considerable skills as a dancer and choreographer.
From that point on, Paula Abdul became a force in American music and dance...and "American Idol" was still a few years away!
"Straight Up:" Thanks to Paul Abdul, it went from laughably awful...to a Great Song of 1989!
Tomorrow: Carole tells us what's real.
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