Josie Cotton - Convertible Music/From The Hip (1982/1984)

"IT'S NEW TO ME" WEEK (OCTOBER 20-26, 2013)

The gorgeous Josie Cotton was familiar to me only from her appearance in the 1983 movie Valley Girl (a totally bitchin' camp classic around this house) where she and her band play the school prom in one of the movie's final scenes. Is it me or did almost every teen movie in the early '80s have a dance scene in it?

When Rhino put together a soundtrack compilation CD from said movie in 1994, 3 of Josie's songs were on it. I bought that soundtrack CD soon after its release. Here are my earlier thoughts about Josie's songs from that blog entry:

• Johnny, Are You Queer? - Josie Cotton: A fun song heard during the climatic prom scene in the movie. The lyrics were probably more controversial than they should have been because the joke is on the singer, not Johnny: typical teenager "he's not interested in her that way, so clearly he must not like girls" kind of logic.
• He Could Be The One - Josie Cotton: I can't figure out how Cotton wasn't a bigger star. Her retro-60's pop sound is immediately accessible. Cotton sings the entire song as if she's on talking on the phone to her girlfriend, on the verge of a giggle fit, which makes the whole song completely endearing.
• School Is In - Josie Cotton: More pop fun from Josie. This is the antithesis to Alice Cooper's School's Out, sung from the point of you of the girl who is so excited to go back to school (you know the type).

Well, she went 3-for-3 on that disc, so why not check out more of her stuff? I thought her albums would be difficult to find on CD and was ready to go hunting for vinyl, but this 2-fer disc was released in 2002 as is readily available at all the usual online joints. It sat on my Amazon wishlist for a while until I finally ordered it earlier this year. I wasn't disappointed. More bouncy '60s girl group-influenced fun, every bit as good as early Go-Go's, just more popish. The perfectly titled Convertible Music is much better than its follow-up - which could also be perfectly titled for all I know.

According to her website, Cotton continues to work as a musician. I'll go stream some of the newer stuff.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: Convertible Music #147, From The Hip did not chart.
• CashBox: Convertible Music #130, From The Hip did not chart

Tracks:  A total of 21 tracks with a running time of only 67 minutes. In addition to the 3 previously mentioned songs, I'm also diggin' Rockin' Love, So Close, Bye Bye Baby, No Pictures Of Dad, a cover of Tell Him, Jimmy Loves Maryann (featuring guitar work from Lindsay Buckingham), License To Dance, Way Out West, and the cheesy Straight Talk. I'll skip Stop Me, No Use Crying, and Gina (a poor attempt to copy He Could Be The One), and Come With Me.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD:  None. Now I have to find some way to fit a viewing of Valley Girl into today's schedule.