Song of the Day: 'Kiss and Tell' by the Breakfast Club

Finally got around to watching "Madonna and the Breakfast Club," Guy Guido's breathtaking look at the Material Girl's path to stardom now streaming on Amazon Prime. The documentary features rare audio and photos dating back to her late 1970s arrival in New York -- WHO recorded phone calls in 1979??? -- interspersed with present-day interviews with the XY principals and re-enactments brought to life by Jamie Auld, whose stunning resemblance to Ms. Ciccone has to be seen to be believed. (Most of us are familiar with the Pretenders and Benatar-esque songs that eventually were released on "Pre-Madonna," but this is filled with songs from way before then, including her earliest and punkiest songwriting efforts.) Unlike past biopics and the stories we've been fed for decades, this film portrays Madonna as a fiercely determined but caring person rather than the cold-hearted maneating user of lore. And given that ex-boyfriend/bandmate Dan Gilroy, ex-roommate/bandmate Ed Gilroy and ex-bandmate (and unrequited love interest) Gary Burke were all interviewed at length and spoke highly of her as a person and an artist, it leads me to believe this is probably the fairest depiction yet. (And lest you think Bray's absence from the film means anything, he's has nothing but KIND THINGS to say about his former flame and collaborator. He was probably too busy getting nominated for a Tony for "The Color Purple.") 

Although considered just a one-hit wonder of sorts now, it was also nice reliving that the band that gave Madonna her first break -- Dan helped her learn the drums and guitar before she tired of being a backup player and formed Emmy with Detroit pal Stephen Bray -- had its moment after she left. With Bray joining the fold (sort of in her drumming absence), the Breakfast Club had a huge Top 10 hit in "Right on Track." And their cover of "Expressway to Your Heart" and today's song of the day, "Kiss and Tell" -- the album's most romantic number -- were also in heavy rotation back in the day. Don't want to spoil the film for you. But suffice to say Madonna was happy for their success, too. 

P.S. It's not entirely clear to me why, but the after receiving a Grammy nomination for best new artist -- ironic for a band that formed in 1979 -- and a successful debut album, the Breakfast Club's sophomore album was shelved and the group broke up. (A cover of the Beatles' "Drive My Car" was their last effort, recorded for the Corey(2) vehicle "License to Drive" soundtrack in 1988.) In 2016, however, tracks from the unreleased effort were released as an EP fittingly called "Percolate." Struck me as cute when I saw on the credits that Niki Haris had sang backup, making it a complete Madonna U affair!

Looks like sensitive Gary Burke had exited the club by this point.

Song of the Day: 'Shine a Light' by the Breakfast Club

Madonna may not be able to remember what happened in her pre-fame life. But Alexandra Serio has put together an impressive timeline of the major events in Ms. Ciccone's rising career from 1978 through 1983 that's definitely worth a look HERE. In it, she points us to three songs from Madonna's Breakfast Club period -- none of that Otto Von Wernherr bullshit -- on which she sings lead. Although her phrasing is a bit off, "Shine a Light" definitely does just that -- on her burgeoning skills as a pop star. Enjoy.

And ...



This (live?) version of "Burning Up" by her post-punk, post-Breakfast Club band, Emmy and the Emmys, is really raw and really a trip -- and not the one featured on "Pre-Madonna." 

Sheedy, Ringwald Talk 'Breakfast Club' at SXSW

To kick off the March 26 theatrical re-release of "The Breakfast Club," Ally Sheedy and Molly Ringwald stopped by South by Southwest this week to discuss their classic film:

Sheedy, 52, who now volunteers as a teacher at LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts, said the movie's message was a loving one. "You do matter, we are interested in you, and we're going to tell your story," she said, adding that she was a bit lonely after production wrapped.  

The film chronicles five teens subjected to spend Saturday in detention at the fictional Shermer High School in Illinois. Played by Ringwald, Sheedy, Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall and Judd Nelson, the students aren't all initially friends, but become close by day's end.  

"The movie has this message that in spite of people's differences, there is something unifying in the experience of growing up and trying to find yourself," Sheedy said. "I think things are much more complicated and much more difficult right now than they were in the world of Shermer High School. It's a different world." 

A blonde Ringwald said she recently saw the movie with her teenage daughter and was surprised to find that her daughter most related to Hall's character, Brian Johnson. Nicknamed "the Brain," Johnson was a straight-A student who attempted suicide after flunking an assignment in shop class. 

"She felt that I had too many expectations on her," Ringwald, 47, said. "It was this incredible moment where I realized I was the parent." 

"It's surreal. I don't know how this happened!" Ringwald told People, of being three decades removed from filming the movie, which she said was a remarkable time for her. "I was really loving the work that I was doing. [Director] John [Hughes] and I had a symbiotic, respectful relationship. I didn't know I'd be talking about it 30 years later! But it was a great experience." 

Keep reading HERE.

'The Breakfast Club' Headed Back to Theaters for 30th Anniversary

Just in time, before Judd Nelson really does die! Read HERE.

P.S. I wanna go with Matthew Rettenmund. He wrote about "The Breakfast Club" as part of his application to get into the University of Chicago. 

'The Breakfast Club' Met 30 Years Ago Today

I can remember going to see this during my senior year of high school-- February 1985 -- like it was yesterday. A true classic worthy of all the college-entrance essays and theses written about it. That said, I'd be lying if I didn't confess that I'm more likely to get sucked into watching "Sixteen Candles" or "Pretty in Pink" if I flip by them on the boob tube on a lazy afternoon. Maybe it's just too real to take on an annual basis -- I think we could all relate to one of the characters, but perhaps even more painful was that we could all relate to more than one of the characters. Or maybe it's something more romantic than that -- like the fact that Jake's still my dream man and Michael can't quite get over Andrew McCarthy.

Curious what others have to say ...
 

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