Back in 1987, there was one song that topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for most of the month of July. That song is "Alone" by Heart. The single was released in May from the album Bad Animals which would come out in June. It would race up the charts and on July 11, 1987 it bumped Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" out of the top spot. It would remain there for three weeks eventually losing the #1 spot to Bob Seger's "Shakedown" on July 26th. So in memory of July 1987, this week's Flashback Video is "Alone" by Heart...

Many people do not know that "Alone" is actually a cover song. It was originally written and released in 1983 by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly's group I-Ten. Impressively, that songwriting duo also wrote such 80s hits as Madonna's "Like a Virgin," Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors," The Bangles' "Eternal Flame," and Whitney Houston's "So Emotional." Very surprisingly, in 1984 it was recorded by John Stamos (yes, Uncle Jesse) as part of his role on the short-lived CBS sitcom Dreams (which he did after leaving his role as "Blackie" on General Hospital) but that would not get the song any notoriety either.

But, in 1987, when Ann Wilson and Heart released their version, it was the perfect combination. "Alone" would end up being Heart's most successful single amongst a strong catalog of hits. It is really the incomparable voice of Ann Wilson that brings this power ballad to life. She starts very subdued in the first verse with only the piano accompaniment and then launches into the chorus. I have always had a soft spot for this song for some reason, though I feel it has an undertone of sadness and pain which puts it on my Most Heartbreaking 80s Songs list. It also ranks on my Top 80s Songs with One-Word Titles list.

Later on, in live performances, Heart would perform an acoustic version of "Alone" which I like even better than the original. It still has Ann Wilson's amazing vocals, but the Nancy's acoustic guitar seems even more fitting. I enjoy this performance so much, I wanted to share it here as well...

Heart - Alone (Acoustic) - Live - The funniest movie is here. Find it

What a tremendous song! "Alone" has been covered several times since including by Celine Dion in 2007, but none can even hold a candle to Heart's version from the 80s. Whenever I hear it, I am reminded of the summer of 1987.

That'll do it for another issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. If you want to see the past issues of Flashback Videos, just type that into the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column and it should give you a list of all of them. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use that Google Search Box to find any past issues or topics you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the Fan Page where I ask you to then click on the "Like" button. Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. You can also follow Old School on Twitter by clicking on the FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER LOGO also in the upper right hand column. This will take you the page and you can just click on the box that says "Follow". Even though the blog only updates a couple times a week, I try to send out daily 80s tweets. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.