October 9, 2016 - The Kings - This Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide (1980)

Hey Judy, Get Trudy...I was around 13 when this song appeared on the scene. What a way to kick off the 80s. I loved it the first time I heard it. Strangely, I never owned a copy of it. The 45, at least the American release, split the song a/b sides. Who would want to flip the record? These songs are meant to be next to each other, not on opposite sides. I believe I recorded it off the radio using our handheld tape recorder. It was on WLS all the time. It ends on the dot so the DJ never ruined it by breaking in too soon. Check out the video, you can tell these guys loved what they created, a total crowd pleaser. One of the greatest one-hit wonders of all time, I never tire of it.

This Beat Goes On is the first half of the tune. Meat and potatoes two-string mini barre chords, then the new wave keyboard comes in. Great rhymes abound, Donna - wanna - Toronto. The vocals are progressively modified, adding more reverb and delay as the song progresses. The part that begins I have lots of friends that I can ding at anytime is exciting and really raises the ceiling. There is such joy in this song, fun times, going out and acting crazy. Another great line - Hey ladies, you crazies, well me and Zero request you in the Mercedes. I always wondered who this Zero was. The singer then announces this time I'm switchin' to glide, foreshadowing the next half of the two-fer. Lunatics Anonymous, that's where I belong...I used to think he was saying Lunatics are not honest. A few repeated lines of this beat goes on and then we head into...

Switchin' To Glide...after all the craziness, it's time to recover...save up your energy because nothing matters but the weekend, from a Tuesday point of view. Glide through the week until the craziness is unleashed again. Listen to the line balancin in my head...love it! Drums pounding, crazy keyboard swoops, vocals all reverbed out. I finally found some way outta this hole ya know, outta this hole! Magical stuff.

I don't know what else to say, other than I am so happy this song exists. The Kings are from Oakville, Ontario, CANADA. I wish I could have seen them in 1980 somewhere in Canada. They are still an entity, so there's still a chance.