Song of the Day: 'Pink Cadillac' by Natalie Cole

 

This one came on MTV Classic the other day and it led me to either learn -- or perhaps remember:

1. The song was written by Bruce Springsteen and his best-known version was recorded during "Born in the U.S.A." sessions but was left off the album. Instead, it was used as the b-side for "Dancing in the Dark." (The song received moderate airplay on album-oriented rock radio and appeared on the Billboard Top Tracks chart for 14 weeks, peaking at No. 27.) The song was also a prominent concert number during Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." tour.

2. Bette Midler had recorded the original gender flip cover in 1983, but The Boss refused to let her release it because he felt it wasn't a "girl's song." According to the Midler biography "Still Divine" by Mark Bego, Midler was severely disappointed by Springsteen's veto, which forced her to record a new track ("Beast of Burden") for "No Frills" at considerable expense. Midler's August 1984 video release "Art or Bust" video -- comprising footage from the two "De Tour" concerts at the University of Minnesota -- included "Pink Cadillac" as the opening number.

3. At some point Bruce decided to let the song be covered, and according to Cole, "word got back" to her that he "thought it was very cool that a woman could [sing "Pink Cadillac"] and it would come out so great." Cole's version drove to No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988.

Natalie Cole Is Dead at 65

Very sad to wake up to this news. A history of drug abuse and a kidney transplant in 2009 have been mentioned, but no official cause of death has been given. RIP.

Song of the Day: 'Jump Start' by Natalie Cole

When a colleague asks me if "jump start" is one word, two words or hyphenated, they'd better expect me to launch into the chorus of Natalie Cole's 1987 hit single of the same name. While the song was a sub-par Whitney Houston knockoff, Natalie sure had the Newark chanteuse's dance moves down pat.