Not a lot of bands cover this Grammy winning song from 1987. Retroflection has a male & female team of vocalists who can pull it off though. Since we have been rehearsing it to ultimately add it to our set list and I have been practicing it lately, I thought I would show you how I am playing it.

Not a lot of bands cover this Grammy winning song

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(I've Had) The Time Of My Life 

Nathan East, who was the bassist for Eric Clapton, Michael Jackson, and others performed on the studio recording for this uptempo hit song by Phil Collins. It peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1990. Lee Sklar performed the song on several tours with Phil over the decades. He recorded himself playing along with a recording of this song on tour here (and it's definitely worth a watch):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xLFG7Hz11I

It was a fun song to learn and super fun to play because the bass line is such a distinctive feature of this track.

My daughter, Gemma, encouraged me to play this on the G&L "Honeyburst" because I've been playing my Ibanez so much lately. She thought it was getting a little neglected. LOL!

Nathan East, who was the bassist for Eric Clapton, Michael Jackson, and others

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Something Happened On The Way To Heaven

Because of course! It's sassy. It's funny. It's self-deprecating. And it's all about that you know. Interesting choice of fretless bass for that upright sound. But it helps to make the simple pattern distinctive and retro. The song made it to #1 for 8 weeks and spent 25 weeks in the top 10.

Because of course! It's sassy. It's funny. It's self-deprecating. And it's all about that

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All About That Bass

Learned this one for a sub gig last weekend. Released in 1982, this song made it to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was played heavily on MTV. The video went on to win a Grammy.

Learned this one for a sub gig last weekend. Released in 1982, this song

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Hungry Like The Wolf

This song made it to #2 on the US Adult Contemporary chart in early 1993. It's pretty clear from the sound of it, the bass track was recorded on a keyboard rather than a bass guitar. But touring band features a bass guitar player though, and it sounds great! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9CjwE97AsQ](link)

This song made it to #2 on the US Adult Contemporary chart

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Faithful

When people think of the New Wave/Pop band "Berlin", the songs "Take My Breath Away" and "No More Words" are probably the first two that come to mind. This song did not crack the top 50 when it was released in 1981. It was later released on different labels in 1982 and 1983, when it became the band's first MTV video hit in 1983.

For the bass player, this song is relentless with fast-paced 8th notes throughout the entire song. I started a 1 measure metronome in my earbuds before the song began so I wouldn't miss the first note.

When people think of the New Wave/Pop band "Berlin", the songs

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The Metro

This 1990 hit from Go West made it to #8 in the US and was part of the Pretty Woman soundtrack. It's got that distinctive 80s europop vibe. For bass, this song turned out to be more challenging that I thought. The bass line is performed on a keyboard on the original recording, but I gave it my best shot here.

This 1990 hit from Go West made it to #8 in the US and was part of

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King of Wishful Thinking

Another iconic 80’s smash from the Thompson Twins. Released in January 1984, this song peaked at #11 in the US and #3 in the UK. This one was a bit of a challenge. I picked this up in just a few hours. Before playing it, I did a not-so-exhaustive search for some bass arrangements or charts before giving up and just trying to learn it by ear.

Another iconic 80’s smash from the Thompson Twins

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Doctor! Doctor!

Great song by R.E.M. from 1989. Made it to #1 on the US Alternative and Mainstream Rock Airplay charts. I’ve posted a few other high-energy R.E.M. videos. I’m making good on the promise that there would be more.

Great song by R.E.M. from 1989. Made it to #1

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Stand

Wanted to find a fun little song to try out my new toy. Just got this bass last week. It popped up on my radar because A) it gets great reviews online, B) has a distinctive look which will fit with my 80’s band “Retroflection” vibe, and C) it’s super light weight. Most 5-strings weigh more than the 4-string models because the necks have to be heftier to handle the additional tension. This bass weighs in at 7lbs, which is lighter than most 4-string basses.

I bought it online, thinking I could just return it if it didn’t work out. So far, so good. It’s a keeper!

Wanted to find a fun little song to try out my new toy

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Big In Japan

Certainly one of the biggest songs of the 80's, this is one of the newest songs we've added to our "Retroflection" setlist. People can easily recognize this one by the first 2 beats of the drums. As I have learned, it's also an extremely fun song for the keyboardist to play too.

Certainly one of the biggest songs of the 80's

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Take On Me

This new wave band from London had several high energy hits in the 80's. This song made it to #4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1983, but made it to #2 on the Billboard Rock Top Tracks chart.

Super fun bass line that starts out easy enough. As the song progresses, the riffs get more challenging. Once the bridge, with those 8-measures of thumping B-flats, it kicks right back up again with 8th notes that bounce between different strings. I still don't feel like I've completely conquered this one!

This new wave band from London had several

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One Thing Leads To Another

This song has a groovy and relentless bass line from the first to the last note. The two patterns are fairly simple, a verse and a chorus. Since there are no bridges or variations, this song is pretty easy to learn.

This song has a groovy and relentless bass line from the first

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Love Song

What a great song! This melodic groove made it to #6 on the Hot 100 in 1984. A 5-string bass comes in real handy for this arrangement, as the song starts on the low “E” and goes down from there.

What a great song! This melodic groove made

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Lay Your Hands On Me

This one hit wonder from 1991 was inspired by the fall of the Berlin wall and collapse of the Soviet Union. I hope this song experiences a rebirth soon for a very similar reason!

The bass line, aside from a short pre-chorus section, is the same measure repeated throughout the song. But it’s a tricky rhythm. I can’t imagine playing it while jumping around like the band does in their music video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MznHdJReoeo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MznHdJReoeo)

There are 2 low “D”s played in this song, well suited for a 5-string bass.

This one hit wonder from 1991 was inspired by the

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Right Here Right Now

This is a huge pop song from the mid 90's that has received new attention as the soundtrack to recent "Staples" ads promoting their sign and banner printing services.  Although it's from a Scandinavian dance band, this iconic song has a reggae feel with many of the bass notes played on the up beats.

This is a huge pop song from the mid 90's that has received

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The Sign

Several members of “[Retroflection](https://retroflection.band)” expressed enthusiasm adding this song to our set list for future gigs. They didn’t have to twist my arm. It’s a fun song, with a funky bass line. I’m looking forward to playing this one with them.

While I was recording this song near the end, my wife walked by the open door to my office. Of course, I had to ham it up for her 🙂

Several members of “Retroflection” expressed enthusiasm

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You Make My Dreams

Although the new Miley Cyrus song, “Flowers”, is many years away from being a retro hit, our band’s drummer made the suggestion that “Party In The USA” could fit the brand of “Retroflection”. He’s right. That song is one the younger crowd at our events would enjoy since many of them grew up listening to it. To them, this song is “Retro”. Shocking that the kids who grew up with Hannah Montana are now old enough to get into bars!

Like Cyrus’s current single, this song has a simple chord structure that is the same for both verse and chorus (F# – A# – D#).

Although the new Miley Cyrus song, “Flowers”, is many years

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Party In The USA

This 80’s smash hit song was rated as the #1 song “[written in tribute](https://jukeboxtimemachine.com/2021/03/22/songs-written-in-tribute-1-when-smokey-sings-by-abc/)“: 

I’ve been trying to learn this song by ear and have become obsessed with it lately. Tabs and notations for this song don’t exist — at least I couldn’t find any. As a result, I had to listen to it numerous times to try to figure out what is going on with the bass track. The song sounds like a hybrid of a synth bass and a bass guitar. In fact, it may have been recorded with both — using the synth bass for most of it.

This 80’s smash hit song was rated as the #1 song

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When Smokey Sings

While driving my younger daughter, Gemma, to the airport this weekend as she headed back to school, she asked me if I heard the new Miley Cyrus song. I said, “No, I didn’t know she had one.”

She said, “That’s because it just came out yesterday.” Then she played it.

It hooked me on the first listen. This song is pure pop, and for me, seemed oddly familiar. It took a while, but I finally realized this song strikes me as very similar to “Beautiful Life” by Ace Of Base, a song released in 1995.

It’s catchy, hooky, fun, and pretty easy to play.

Gemma at CU/Boulder, this is for you. ❤️

While driving my younger daughter, Gemma, to the airport

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Flowers

It’s a new year and our band is always looking to add new songs to the set list. As a largely 80’s cover band, you can’t get much more “80’s” than this one — the song that launched MTV in 1981.

As much as I love this song, it’s always haunted me a bit. I became a radio personality in high school and pursued a career in commercial broadcasting out of college. For nearly 20 years, I worried my career would be destroyed by some video technology. Fortunately, that never happened. We can discuss what “killed” the radio star, but I would argue it was a lot of things, but not “video”.

It’s a new year and our band is always looking to add

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Video Killed The Radio Star

R.E.M. put out some high energy tunes in the 80’s and 90’s, including this song which became an unofficial theme song for the Denver Broncos, as I recall.

R.E.M. put out some high energy tunes in the 80’s

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Orange Crush

A classic 80’s smash from The Human League! It sounds to me like this song was recorded with a synth bass, rather than a bass guitar. Since it’s in Db, a 5-string in standard tuning works great. I dialed in a little synthy effect into the amp to try to replicate the original tone.

A classic 80’s smash from The Human League! It sounds

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Human

This time of year, everyone thinks of “Last Christmas”, “Do They Know It’s Christmas”, “All I Want For Christmas Is You”, etc. But those are the biggies.

This song is one of my guilty pleasures. I would probably deny how much I love this song to strangers, but the bass line in this song is just so insanely funky. The groove on this song really makes it unforgettable.

Another song that might come close is “This Christmas” by Jeffrey Osborne. But only close. Maybe.

This time of year, everyone thinks of “Last Christmas”

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Christmas Wrapping

The [Professor Of Rock](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ntu--PTL8g&t=19s) called this one of the greatest hidden gems of the 1980s. Absolutely! Hidden is right! Just try to find this song on streaming music services. I really had to go fishing to find this one. Not sure why this song is so hard to find. It’s been a major part of some movie soundtracks, including “There’s Something About Mary”.

The band broke up long ago, each member going in different directions. The bass player on the original, Ged Grimes, joined Simple Minds. The singer-songwriter went on to work with Natalie Imbruglia, Demi Lovato, and others.

This remains an amazing song and I have to confess that, when I hear those first 3 words, I can’t turn off the song until the end.

The Professor Of Rock called this one of the greatest hidden gems

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Mary's Prayer

Our band has recently added another Billy Idol song to our set list. While scrolling through other hits, this one popped up. Great song! But not sure if the tempo would match the other high energy songs we play. Still, a great song, with a cool bass groove.

Our band has recently added another Billy Idol song

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