Sherry Kean -- I Want You Back

 

Hello and welcome back to another article of Reminiscings of Youth where I describe one of my old favourites from Canada, the United States or Great Britain when I was but a (not-so-) wee lad. For this edition, we have some good ol' very 80s Canadiana for you.

I was always hearing Toronto-born Sherry Kean's "I Want You Back" in 1984 on the radio and what stood out to me the most along with the fact that it contained a decade's version of Tropicana music mixed in with the synths was Kean's distinct voice. I can't quite describe it but it has a quality that I think a lot of singers would envy because no one else could emulate it. It's just a shame that "I Want You Back" was the only hit for Kean when it hit No. 19 on the RPM chart.

After a number of months of hearing "I Want You Back" on the radio, I finally got to see Kean in the music video for the song, and once again, I was struck by her distinct beauty. She looked like an 80s version of a 20s flapper girl, and for that matter, she had a passing resemblance to actress/singer Pauley Perrette, aka Abby Sciuto from "NCIS".

According to her Wikipedia profile, Kean made a shift into country music and for the last number of years has been a tour guide at the McCulloch Heritage Centre in Pictou, Nova Scotia.

Now, since I couldn't find out in which month "I Want You Back" was released, let's go with what was being released in October 1984.

Crystal King -- Ai wo Torimodose!! （愛をとりもどせ!!）

ALFEE -- Koibito Tachi no Pavement (恋人達のぺイヴメント）

Kiyotaka Sugiyama & Omega Tribe -- Riverside Hotel