The Romantics 80s Rock Song WASN'T A Hit Until Used It In A Beer Commercial | Professor of Rock
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ส.ค. 2021
- The story of the Romantics classic power pop 80s smash “What I Like About You”. It actually wasn’t a hit when it first came out, but got a lift from a beer commercial 10 years after it’s first release to become one of the biggest classic rock song’s ever. Wally Palmer and Mike Skill tell the story of the band who had another 80s smash a few years later with Talking In your Sleep.
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#80s #Rock #Story
Hey music junkies and vinyl junkies Professor of Rock always here to celebrate the greatest artists and the greatest 80s vinyl songs of all time for the music community and vinyl community.
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There are certain songs that you’ve heard since you were a child that have reached the pinnacle of rock and pop. Songs that we all know and sing along to whenever they come on and then are stuck in your heard for days after, and you don’t mind because they’re so great. What I Like About You by The romantics is definitely one of those classics. Well it may surprise you to know that What Like About You was not a hit. I mean you’d just assume that it was a number one smash because of how popular it was and still is. and everybody knows it.
But It only went to #49 on the Billboard Hot 100. We just talked about his a few weeks ago… American Girl by tom Petty and the heartbreakers also wasn’t a hit. A headscratcher for sure. What I Like About You was rebased by the american band the Romantics back in 1980. It was written by original band members Wall Palmer who sang and played Rhythm guitar and harmonica, Mike Skill, the lead guitarist and drummer singer Jimmy Parinos who sand lead on the track.
The Romantics were formed in Detroit Michigan in 1977 as a power pop band with influences ranging from early 50s American rock , MC5, The Stooges, Motown, early Bob Seger and Garage rock. Known for their high energy live show and their Iconic look, that included Red leather suits and black vinyl that was a tip of the hat to Motown artists like The Temptations and the four tops. actually the
The band's first show was on at My Fair Lady Club, a Detroit spot, opening for the New MC5 in 1977. It was actually on Valentines Day. The band were road warriors at first, playing venues all over the east coast and midwest. Then they were signed by Nat Weiss’ Nemperor label and they recored their self titled debut in 1979 it was produced by Pete Solley who was a member of Procal Harumph and Whitesnake and later produce records for Oingo Boingo and Motorhead.
Actually The Romantic’s true record debut was the 1978 "Little White Lies” for Spider records followed by the Bomp! single "Tell It to Carrie Both of which were re recorded for their debut.
The first album sold about 200K copies driven by the radio play and concert staple What I like About You which they’d been playing for awhile. The song's "Hey, uh-huh-huh" refrain was influenced by the Yardibirds One under Sideways Down as well as Chuck Berry’s song Back in the USA. - บันเทิง
Poll: Who is the greatest Power Pop band of all time?
Cheap Trick...or Big Star?
I have a hard time understanding what is Power Pop and what isn't. I would have said at the time that Hall and Oates were Power Pop mainly because they were not considered cool at all and even labeled by some as bubble-gum pop because a lot of teenage girls loved them. Same goes for Wham!. Both are more respected now - specifically George Michael and even Andrew Ridgely's solo work, which I really like. Hall and Oates are better understood now for the music and not the image.
XTC
Cheap Trick!!!!!!
Hanson 😜
Everytime this song comes on the radio, I crank it up and sing at the top of my lungs. Love this song's energy.
I was in covers band back in the day. When we played “What I Like About You” everybody would start dancing. People would come up after the song was over and ask us to play it again. This song is timeless. Rock on!
They are such a great and underrated band I think one in a million should’ve been a massive hit that song is so underrated
I agree. So great.
You beat me to this comment! And it's cool to see the Professor agree with you. It's actually my favorite of the Romantics'.
I feel just that way about "Tell it to Carrie". Lots of catchy underrated tunes from this band, presented with unique energy.
I think I’ve played that song in every band I’ve been in for the last 30 some years. People still absolutely lose their shit when you play it. Can’t argue with that.
The Romantics and The Knack kept the Detroit music going into the late 70s and 80s they both rocked the radio 📻
MMMMMMyyyyyy Sharona. I saw a cover band do "Good Girls Don't" at my school, pretty risque lyrics..Since it was the seventies nobody got upset.
Was in a band in the late 80s, did a 20
Minute medley that started with On the Darkside (Eddie and the Cruisers), then Cherry, Cherry (Neil Diamond), Rock in the USA (John Mellencamp) What I like About You (The Romantics), we always got a kick out of covering 4 songs in 20 minutes playing the same 3 chords continuously. Good times, great tunes.
I was a club DJ in the 80's & our Sunday night crowds were a lot more rock n' roll than Friday or Saturday nights.
I used to beat-mix this with John Cougar's R.O.C.K. in the USA, Cherry Cherry by Neil Diamond & Rock Lobster by the B-52s.
A well travelled friend of mine has told me a few times that I was the only DJ he'd ever seen beat-mix rock n roll. 😁😎
used to do R.O.C.K into What I Like About You as well. Good memory
Yeah man
That’s funny, did the same thing but in the late 90’s.
Y'know. I hope the Prof does a video on John Cafferty & Beaver Brown Band, not just for 'On The Darkside' but "(Living in the) C.I.T.Y."
When this album came into the radio station, I thought it was the second coming of the Beatles. I played several great songs off of it. Thank goodness for college radio!
Power pop at it's best.
@@ProfessorofRock College radio never gets enough credit for how much influence they have on what many times might have been undiscovered talent and songs. I was tremendously lucky to have gone to college in Southern California having great college radio stations like Claremont but also what was basically pirate radio back that in KROQ and one of kind Rodney B. with Rodney on the ROQ !!
Can't believe "What I Like About You" didn't crack the top forty-That's a real headscratcher!
This music video was on repeat in the early days of MTV. It was also part of the fraternity party soundtrack in college in the mid- to - late 80’s, early 90’s. Everyone was on the dance floor when this tune came on.
It's one of those songs you know in the first 2 seconds.
One of my favorite songs EVER! Can't imagine why it wasn't a hit at first. It rocks!
This was one of the hottest songs being played when I was at college in the mid to late 80s. It was played at every dance, every frat party - it was the go to high energy song everyone got on the dance floor for. I never knew it wasn’t even a top 10 hit! It should have been.
You nailed it. Great dance song.
I agree, this song was plastered to every party in the 80s, not forgotten at all.
@@ProfessorofRock I was a youngster in the early 80s and I remember this song being played all the time on MTV in the EARLY 80s, not to quibble but I disagree with you premise.
A great memory I have about this song is that the DRUMMER sang lead vocals! As a preteen, this was mind-blowing to me.
Indeed, just like Henley and Collins
Kiss present day journey stampeders ringo too
All singing drummers listed here are great. But none had the speed/tempo of “What I like about you.” Karen Carpenter was a drummer/singer but huge difference in bpm (beats per minute). Which is why this song is iconic.
Looks like he's left-handed, too! 🙂
It was a big deal this and sister christian ha
Great video! I love this channel.
I was at a party in the early to mid 80s and the chick hosting the party had an extensive vinyl collection. We were all, or mostly, an assortment of long haired, Johnny come lately hippie stoners. This guy was dominating the turntable, playing 60s and 70s classic rock and while everyone was digging it, it was a very low energy event. Well, turntable boy had to hit the can and I took over as DJ. I had noticed a Ronantics album and immediately put on What I Like About You. The girls all perked up, started dancing and I was dancing with them. Eventually the other guys started dancing with the chicks and it was a high energy scene. When the turntable king returned from relieving himself, he was told by the hostess that he was relieved of his command and I was in charge and I played every record she had with songs I knew from the clubs. Everyone had a great time, including classic rock guy, who danced with most of the girls. All because I had fallen in love with What I Like About You. Though it didn't last, by the end of the night the hostess was hugging and smooching on me. Good times.
I’m from Detroit, these guys were a staple there in the early 80’s.
I still have a fond memory of waking up to "Talking In Your Sleep" on my brother's very cool and new invention - the cassette tape, alarm clock, when I was 8, I thought it was a pretty cool coincidence.
"One in a Million" -- the follow-up to "Talking In Your Sleep, -- was totally underrated. Great tune.
Not nearly as underrated as the opening track "Rock You Up"
AMEN!!!!
Love that muzic. In heat was a helluva album....fuck bidden
Agreed!
@@smurphftw2008 great song!
Saw them when they opened for the kinks , when this song started hundreds of us flooded the space in front of the stage dancing and having a blast !
I saw Aerosmith open for them (Ray Davies) back in the early 70s. After the show I was freakin' out over Aerosmith because the Stones, at the time, seemed to be fading away so when I said to all my friends 'They re going to be HUGE, the next Stones, everybody chuckled. This song came out at a strange time also and I, again, predicted they were going to take off and while MTV did give them the exposure, it just seemed that no one at that time was into 'power pop', the 2:45 second AM radio hit song. Had this song came out in say '64, during the Brit Invasion, they would have been HUGE chart toppers, a #1 for sure but instead .... ? Their other problem is it was a hard song to follow. Nothing they put out after it was close to the energy of 'WILAY'. The Stones 'Satisfaction' (still my all time #1 fav song) was another high pressure 'Top that, boys' but they did it, came back swingin' with 'Get Off My Cloud' followed by Honky Tonk Women'. They had 'it', a nearly impossible bar to leap over. Ditto for Aerosmith. I hope, for their sake, the commercials and movie $s provided them a good living at least.
Personally, I had a ball with this song, Thanks for the fun and the memories guys !!
I first saw this band live in RIVERSIDE, MO in round 2010. I had the pleasure to meet them and were so classy and friendly. I always thought WHAT I LIKE did hit top 10 and TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP hit #1. To my surprise, they were didn't. It does not matter; this band has left their mark in rock history and are still rocking to this day. HEY!!!
Holy crap! This is a rock anthem! My best memory was that I danced to it with this redhead that I was "in love with" at a frat party. Nothing happened with her because I was to shy to follow thru but it was a beautiful moment. Thank you Romantics!
I remember that it QUICKLY became a #1 smash in Australia. We loved it. The raw energy, the chiming guitars, the harmonica which was very left-field. Song of a generation, like My Sharona.
This song was all the rage when my high school friends and I would sneak into college frat parties in 1980! Pass me a Hamm's, please!
Didn't realize it wasn't a national hit - it certainly got play where I was at the time. Even saw the video on Friday Night Videos back in the day, so it wasn't completely ignored nationally.
It was a big hit in the early 80s, it was on MTV practically on a loop
@@Chasstful Yes, it was the first Romantics song I heard on MTV. I was surprised they didn't play it when they performed in Eugene, OR in the Spring of '83.
If you were in a club and didn't dance, you jumped to the floor when that played!
It's just got that energy that lights you up from the inside out.
I remember "what I like about you" was being played everywhere in 1979. Always on the radio and on college campus bars. I know, I was there
I was a pre-teen kid, but I remember it on the pop stations in Baltimore.
I dance around in the kitchen when this song comes on the radio or my playlist. My teenage son just looked at me sideways when I did it the first time. There's only a handful of songs that will make me dance like I don't care if anyone is watching.
I love that imagine .. picture is worth a thousand words and later your son will always have that imagine .. such is the magic of music .. it is part of the DNA of living life !!
romantics are great....what I like about you....drive to it , dance to it, rock to it, ultimate party song....straight up rock n roll , the way it's meant to be played....one in a million also great song.
I love the song "And We Danced" by the Hooters and "Come Dancing" by the Kinks. Those songs still get me moving,
Nice picks. The Hooters were (actually still are) a truly excellent pop band. Did you know that they wrote "Time After Time" and gave it to Cyndi Lauper?
@@milesian1 - They also played on several songs from her 'She's So Unusual' album! It's most obvious on 'Money Changes Everything'. And I had The Hooters' 'Nervous Night' LP back then. I listened to their song 'Satellite' (from a later album) only recently 😀
@@mightyV444 Nice! I had their first LP, "Amoré," on LP. Lent it to a bandmate and never got it back... Saw them on a double bill with Squeeze at Pier 84 in the summer of '85. Always enjoyed their brand of spirited pop.
The Hooters were a good band
I first heard it in 1980 and I was in love with it! I love everything about it, I can’t believe it didn’t hit number one? Everything you said.
It was a huge hit in Australia when originally released.
sure was, got to no 1 in 1980 i think?
Just google it number 2, thought it was number 1 too. A lot of great power pop in 1980
Was a big fan from the first album, but got a chance to see them at a small venue called Banana's, just north of Chattanooga, TN, maybe 300 seats, in the early 90's, they were so much fun! During breaks they would come down, sit at the tables and have beers, and just hang out with us. They weren't trolling for chicks, or playing the "Rock Star", just genuine dudes having fun doing what they do...Very fond memories!!
That's cool.
This is a terrific song - never realized it had such a hard time at first!
When this first came out, that opening guitar always reminded of The Clash, and that British punk/new wave music of the era. So I assumed The Romantics were a British band. Even the vocals seemed to have an underlying British accent. 🤷🏽♂️
I liked Canadian band the Kings and their hit. Switch into Glide.
"Nothing matters but the weekend
From a Tuesday point of view "
This beat goes on / *"Switchin" to Glide classic 80's party song.
It was a good one for sure.
Another song that was a regular in airplay in Detroit and didn’t hit nationwide. Such a shame.
@@CArchivist at the end of the AM radio for music era. Could listen in across the border at the time. In Canada we hunted the dial for cool stations especially at night. Also video was bring Bands local air play would have never found
It’s actually two separate songs. They get double royalties if it is played!
I don't think I've ever been to a wedding reception where this WASN'T played.
This is the ultimate Karaoke crowd getter!Me & my friend would do this song together & get everyone jumping around ,dancing and singing,killing it,love it!Good times,great memories!
I'd heard this song other times, but it doesn't grab you until you need it. Late 1990's at Markaz Ruba'a (station 4) on the Saudi Kuwaiti border. I picked up a tape from a local vendor in Kafji put it in a tape player I fixed from the trash. Began playing it and someone else yells turn it up and we begin singing 2 different generations of soldiers. It was silent after, the tape player turned down, but the smile was there. Saudis wondered what it was all about.
Thank you, for the memories and the music.
When I was in high school and college (80’s) there was a DJ service that played a lot of our dances. “What I Like About You” was ALWAYS the first song they played for every dance.
When I first heard the song I thought it had already been a classic rock song. It's a testament for its timeless classicness.
Great song and story! I actually discovered this song in 1989 when Michael Morales covered it.
THat's a good version for sure!
Oh man... I'm a life-long music junkie and yet there's only a handful of songs that have me lose my shit the second they play and What I Like About You is one of them. So great. I'm Grad '86 and have great memories of getting my drivers license which meant freedom to drive around just to crank this on the tape player, then jumping about at the parties... my the gals love it! haha Is there anyone that doesn't immediately dance to this?? Fanstastic tune.
My band back in the 80's covered this song for YEARS. It was always a great "dance song" and was so much fun to play! Great memories and good times.
What I Like About You was getting played flat out down here in Australia on Countdown when it first came out .... that song made me become a Drummer .....
You can’t hold a great song down. I remember this song always being popular in the 1980s. If the DJ, wanted to get things moving he throw this record on and the dance floor would instantly be mobbed!
Thanks for the breakdown of a song that everyone takes for granted!
This song got to number 2 here in australia when it was first released. One of my absolute favourite songs ever. Love it!!
Stuns me this high "pent-up" energy song never made it to No #1. No other classic will launch you to the dance floor faster than this " Romantics" gem! Absolutely loved it! Thank you Professor!!!
I always thought "Tempted" by Squeeze (which was also featured in a popular commercial, I think for Burger King in the '90s) was a much bigger hit than it really was since I heard it all the time on TV (and my local radio station would play it as well).
Ya that one didn't hit the top 40 either. Crazy.
@@ProfessorofRock professor...speaking of lost or forgotten music....do yourself a favor and put your headphones on relax close your eyes, breathe deep a few times and play loud....Home Come The Angels by Big Country. It goes by fast but it’s like the sky ripped open and music from another dimension fell out
Also try “Wondergreat” by Big Country a mashup of two Big Country songs that has a guitar that spits fire the whole way through. It’s not even a real song... and yet it exists....unknown to everyone but me.
@Tip Toe What in the hell was all that nonsense? Most of us can’t relate.
Great episode Professor! I loved the song and the video was one of my favorites! It was the first time I ever remember seeing a drummer singing and playing at the same time! Thanks for keeping the music alive Professor!
Just about a perfect song. Hard to believe it didn't initially chart high.
This was truly a dancefloor stomper back in the day and I would literally lose my sh!t every time the DJ would cold drop it into the mix. Ahh.. Clubbing in the 80s.
Watching the drummer singing like that whilst playing the drums gives me a "Dave Clark Five" vibe. I wonder if they took inspiration from the Dave Clark Five? I don't know which group had the drummer singing whilst playing first but it seems quite rare and cool.
A band I played guitar and sax in had our best vocalist, Alton Smith, behind the drum kit. But now and then during every gig we played, he wanted to play “Front Man”. So guess who got to play drums then? Yup. Me.
The Band with Levon Helm, The Eagles with Don Henley, Genesis with Phil Collins, and I’m sure there are a bunch that I’m missing.
Professor you should spotlight the most versatile musician of all time Joe Jackson who still releases great music from covering Duke Ellington, to pop/rock and new wave as well as releasing in 1986 the first studio album recorded live in front of an audience. Did two shows and released the best versions and had the audience hold their applause. So cool at least back then. He was and is so much more then “ stepping out” and
“Is she really going out with him” started out one of the 3 angry young men of rock back in the late 70’s along with Elvis Costello and has done soundtracks for movies, a jazz big band album at the height of his career long before the mid to late 90’s Jazz swing bands were all the rave like Cherry Poppin daddies and squirrel nut zippers and yet Joe did it in 1981. Cool subject …… just saying.
Joe Jackson introduced me to Louis Jordan with his album "Jumpin Jive". He was excellent live.
@@lowellmccormick6991 yeah he was ahead of that New Jack big band sound that hit in the mid 90’s by releasing Jumping Jive 15 years before anyone else. Love that album. Have you heard his album “Duke”. His tribute to Duke Ellington from around 2016?
@@littlewing6231 No, but now that I know about it I will buy it. Thanks. I love the liner notes on the back of the album Jumpin Jive. He says that it is the music his dad played as a musician and what he heard as a kid. He also said that if you like this music go out and buy Louis Jordan records. So I did. That led to my love of swing music.
@@lowellmccormick6991 have you ever heard Joe’s album Laughter and Lust ? From 1990 and my favorite. 1984’s Body & Soul is underrated too. From Laughter & Lust he covered the original Fleetwood Mac bands version of “ oh well” and it’s phenomenal.
I have loved that song since I first heard it, growing up in Gainesville, FL (where classic rock is STILL alive, I hear stuff like this every time I go home). It is a mainstay in my and my daughter's (who took up the classic rock mantle from me, not so much my son) playlists. Great video, always loved The Romantics.
You're description of the channel fits me like a glove. Love the classic music, have no idea what I'm doing in this room.
This song is earworm music. When I hear it on the radio even today, you don't change the channel. My teenage kids love it, many more teenagers will enjoy it.
Thank you.
Lovely to have the Proff meet and eek out stories from our loved songs and the artists who created them.
Adam, Sixty-Eight guns by The Alarm is another overlooked 80s track.
Back in my club days smoking clove cigarettes in parachute pants, a thin tie, hair gel, wine coolers and a Celica Supra, when this song played nobody parked everyone danced. You can't help but feel the energy and let your soul out.
One of those songs that's as much fun to play as it is to hear.
The first time I heard this song was when I was listening to the radio here in Canada in 1980. I immediately loved it and had to have it. I found their self-titled album not long after. So many catchy melodies and riffs on that album and their other albums. They had a cool look too. One of my favourite bands from the 80s!
The wife and I and all of the kids bust out in song whenever this comes on the radio. It’s infectious, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t want to sing along with it no matter what generation they’re from.
I was dancing to this song ever since 1981 🤗 I joined the navy and while in boot camp in Chicago found out the Romantics were in concert a day before graduation,I was seriously thinking about going awol just to see these guys🤔🎵🎶
Professor: If your channel was a university, I would gladly get a PhD here 🤘😎
I would second you on this thought, brother!
I once told The Professor that I have two degrees in music and he is still my favorite Professor!
@@alliswede42 Haha! I like the way you think.
Ha ha. YOu're too kind. Thanks for watching. !
@@alliswede42 I love it. Thank you!
Adam I can't thank you enough for all these amazing stories if I had any extra money I would give it to you but know from the bottom of my heart I love your channel and all of your interviews 😍
I remember What I Like About YOU on MTV back in the day, then they had a big hit with Talking in your Sleep. A guest appearance by someone from Quiet Riot would be interesting. I remember when Come on feel the Noise hit the radio, It opened up the airwaves to heavier music. Bang Your Heeeaaaad! Metal Health will drive you mad 🎶
Good call.
Too bad a couple of those guys are passed. Carlos Cavazo and Rudy Sarzo are the only ones alive from that Metal Health Lineup. Rudy is a great guy and would do a great interview with POR. The guy has a great story. His family came over on a boat from Cuba. The guy's around 70 and still pretty much looks 30 yrs younger. I too remember What I like about You being played on MTV's early years, too bad it didn't hit sooner. Liked their sound.
I love this song!! I’ve loved it from the first time I ever heard it! And then the video, oh man, it’s perfect. When they all stand back jamming together in the groove. It’s just magical. In fact, I’m gonna watch the video right now! Thanks Professor!
❤️💜💚
There was no MTV yet, so what got into the top of the charts was very CONSERVATIVE, with few surprises. In that era, I guess Dire Straits getting Sultans of Swing into the top list was the biggest surprise.
It was THE go-to song for college cover bands in the mid-1980s, even before the Bud Light commercial...an enormous crowd-pleaser that got everyone on their feet at fraternity parties. When I first got Joel Whitburn's pop annuals of the Billboard charts and I got stats on how songs tracked through the Billboard Hot 100, this song's peak rank became one of my favorite trivia questions. It never even made it to Casey Kasem's AT40. Incredible! Glad you dedicated an episode to this song. Totally worthy cause!
I had always enjoyed this song, even waaay before any beer commercials. In high school I helped a classmate write alternate lyrics a la "Weird Al" for a version called "What I Hate About You". I never knew "Talking in your sleep" was this band also.
This song rocketed to #2 on the Australian charts in 1980 and stayed there for 2 weeks
It's the variation on the 1:4:5 chord progression that makes the riff in "what I like about you" so great. 1,2,3 bang! It's the great visceral simplicity of this song that explains why this brand of rock n roll is the .musical equivalent of the knock out punch.
In Australia it’s used in a Fiat ad
Really? That's cool.
ONE OF THE BEST EVER! UNDERATED SONGS AND BANDS JUST INCREDIBLE IAM 73 AND THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN #1 BACK THEN MID LATE 60S. THE COMPANY THAT CONTROLLED THEM BACK IN 1979/1980 NEVER PROMOTED THAT SONG, THEY DESERVED SO MUCH MORE AND PLAY ON RADIO IN 1980. DISCO MAY HAVE PLAYED A ROLE IN THAT? THE ROMATICS JUST LOVE THESE GUYS!
My fondest memories of "what I like about you" was every Saturday afternoon in the late 80's on Channel 9 Wide World of Sport in Australia. It was played as their promo. Fell in love with it instantly and still love it today. Thank you again for the wonderful memories you bring. Keep up the great content 👍
It's HIGH ENERGY and CATCHY LIRICS with GREAT SIMPLICITY and even better "HOOK" - timeless!!!
One in a Million is one of my favourite songs of all time
This was fantastic. Maybe your best researched clip yet. Thank you so much for this!
My wife still does the Snoopy dance all over the place whenever she hears it!
It was a big hit in Australia in 1980.
I remember hearing it still being played at parties and dances for quite a few years after 1980 as well
I was in a 66% covers/33% originals hard rock band in ‘89 and this was one of the songs we played as a party song. Always got people up when the guitar started. Excellent back-story yet again, Prof of Rock!!!
If you see the current line-up of the Romantics with Brad Elvis on drums he's the greatest drummer that you never heard of.
I've seen him. He is awesome.
Yeah awesome I have seen him back in the 90's in Chicagoland with the band Elvis Brothers.
Jimmy Marinos ia irreplaceable.
You can hear the Detroit grittiness in that song. Both What I Like About You and Talking In Your Sleep are great bar band songs we covered. The prior gets people on the dance floor!
That's exactly what it is. Detroit grittiness
You forgot to mention the song, One in a Million!!! 🙂!!!
@@petermuteba6295 oh yeah! Thanks for reminding me of that one
@Tip Toe Some good music came out of the Detroit area
R You Don’t Know /certified grammar police, You're Welcome!!!😁!!!
I remember watching Rock Palace on a Saturday night and they were on. They played Talking In Your Sleep, a song that was pretty inescapble at the time and then at the end of the show they played some catchy upbeat number the drummer sang. I was blown away because it was so unlike the hit we were hearing all the time. Hearing this story shows how ridiculous the labels were and still are. A song that had real crossover appeal they do not support and let them fall into obscurity. I was working at a record store at the time the song was revived from the beer commercial. The label came out with a Greatest Hits album to capitalize on the success of the commercial and I'll never forget my boss asking me the last time I heard that song. I told him the last time I saw a beer commercial. Truthfully, I'd never heard it other then one time on a syndicated late night show.
Great song and it deserved more airplay back in the day. Always liked "Talking In Your Sleep" a fab 80's tune.
Enjoyed the interview. I have this song on vinyl and still love hearing it. I’m from Australia and this song was a very big deal here.
I saw The Romantics on American Bandstand (late 79 or early 1980) and immediately went out and bought the record. At that time I was bewildered that it wasn't and bigger hit. Now I know that its all about the record companies ability to market the single - ala My Sharona.
While I agree that "What I Like About You" wasn't a massive hit when it was first released in 1979, I would argue that it had already become a huge rock radio staple long before the beer commercials in the late 80s. When The Romantics released "Talking in Your Sleep" in 1983, it shot up to #3 on the charts and made The Romantics a household name. At that point, many rock and pop stations started playing "What I Like About You" a lot more often to piggyback the success of "Talking in Your Sleep", causing both songs to get tons of airplay.
What I like about you- is an 80's classic, I can not believe it didn't do better on the charts. But on the flipside the song has a longevity that I would rather have. Rasing a glass to The Romantics today... cheers!
Ya they are one of those bands that you forgot were so good.
Hey! Oh yeah, this was my favorite in song in high school, even went to go see The Romantics in concert. Such great memories. Definitely the kind of song that as soon as you hear it, you love it and want to get up and dance and sing along. How can you not jump during “when you go up, down…”? Love the whispered lyrics at the end, too. It just goes to show that being a number one hit doesn’t always correspond to being popular and well loved. Thanks so much for this video!
Great song! I played guitar in a band during the late '80s and early '90s that did this tune as the last song in our first set. A real crowd favorite and a blast to play. The other guitarist nailed the vocals and screams to a tee. Still holds up 40 years later.
When I was a kid on MTV they always played Talking in your Sleep, which I thought was alright but the singer’s sleepy face annoyed me. Then I saw what I like about you after, and I always thought the drummer was a badass and so cool, like animal from the muppets or something, but I too didn’t really appreciate the song until the bud light commercials really ingrained it in my head, now it’s a favorite I play it for my kids. Whatever happened to the drummer he was the coolest part of the band!
Back in the day when you put your party mix together it was a MUST to include some Romantic's. The band is more than a hit single. If you go back and listen to the full album's they are packed with songs with this vibe. Party / Date night music that was clean, well produced and filled with up beat messages. Great band
In Los Angeles, this was a local hit from the time it was released.
I don't even remember this being a part of a beer advertising campaign.
KROQ the local alternative radio station would play it all the time. And if you went out to a club in Hollywood, it was in rotation, too. (For instance, at the Hollywood Palladium, or the Seven Seas on Hollywood Boulevard).
I seem to remember that this song, and "Turning Japanese" by The Vapors would always immediately fill the dance floor.
The 1980's in Los Angeles, (especially the early 1980's) were simply a fantastic time
I bought my first Romantics audio cassette in 1984; went on to buy earlier records since;
1st concert at Darien Lake Amphitheater in Western NY, then at the Tralf in Buffalo after graduating in 1986.
Was a member of the Fan Club, had all my buttons on my HS jacket; would love to see them again; missed many opportunities!
MY ALL TIME FAVORITE BAND!
I would walk 1000 Miles by the proclaimers was actually a hit in the 1980s in the UK but didn’t come to the US until the 1990s when the Johnny Depp movie Benny and Joon came out
Best party song of all time! We kicked off so many parties with this one.
WHAT?!?!?!? I bought it when it came out....and I live in the middle of Texas! It was on the radio here!
First song I danced with my husband to the night I met him , May 1983.
This reached number 2 in the Australian charts when it was released.
I was a club DJ in the 80's & our Sunday night crowds were a lot more rock n' roll than Friday or Saturday nights.
I used to beat-mix this with John Cougar's R.O.C.K. in the USA, Cherry Cherry by Neil Diamond & Rock Lobster by the B-52s.
A well travelled friend of mine has told me a few times that I was the only DJ he'd ever seen beat-mix rock n roll. 😁😎
Love the band and the track! Great video!