2022 Update: Toni Basil won sole ownership of the rights to Mickey, and can now profit off of the song at last. She says she is still going strong and feels she has much more creativity in her lifetime.
Indeed as a kiddie I was completely bowled over by Once in A Lifetime (i.e. the first record I ever bought) and have always thought of Toni Basil as a complete star for helping come up with that nonsense. And obviously had a total crush on her. Me 10 she 37 - times were different then.
2019 update: Toni Basil was credited as a choreographer in Quentin Tarantino's ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD. 75 years old, and the woman is still working her butt off. Good for her!
I hate to be that guy, but it bares mentioning that Tony Basil was not just in "a dance troupe." She was a founding member of The Lockers, one of the very first commercially successful break-dancing acts.
I recognized some breaking moves in that shopping video. I thought to myself that reminds of breakin' the movies from the 80's. sure enough the actor that played turbo was dancing in the background.
I like how he passed over the fact that she was one of the founders of the group that created locking, As in pop n locking, By saying "Oh and she started a dance troupe"...
To be fair, OHW episodes are meant to be short-form history/retrospectives that, if he's pushing it, caps off around the 30 minute mark. If he were to dedicate a proper video to the illustrious career of Toni Basil, it would likely run as long as an official full-length documentary. And Todd is... well, to put it nicely, he's a bit of a procrastinator and seems prone to burnout very easily. He could probably do that if he wanted to, but I imagine if he did, he'd disappear for at least six months minimum to recuperate. What I'm saying is, don't hold it against him for not going into every minute detail for the career of a celebrity you like.
@@cannibalisticrequiem I've watched alot of his one hit wonderlands and like, most of them contain a tonne of just lies. Idk if he just dosent research enough.
@@graceygal2664define research when it comes to bands exactly. It's usually a lot of he said she said speculation and even outside of that I wouldn't represent anything in a video I wasn't sure about for obvious reasons
not only do they not get enough respect, they are currently suing the NFL for essentially forcing them to prostitute them to big doners to the team. as well as paying them next to nothing...
@@jakobbokaj123 Cheerleaders in general are suing the NFL? Or NFL Cheerleaders are suing the NFL? I don't think anyone here is talking about the highest level cheerleaders in the damn world lol
I find there are two kinds of cheerleaders: The sort that do the acrobatics and human pyramids and whatnot...and what the girls at my high school did, Which was stand on the track on Friday nights, looking confused, occasionally clapping and stomping in a halting and unsure fashion, occasionally mumble "Let's go" and then one or two would attempt half a Russian split. Most of them I think were in it for the makeup.
My dad taught me all about Toni Basil's illustrious career when I was like 15 and first getting into 80's music. It was def strange to go from knowing her as "the singer of that obnoxious song my mom sings to wake me up for school" to knowing my dad had a celebrity crush on her. Strange times indeed. He showed me several movies including the ones you listed ostensibly to point her out. Though Easy Rider is a classic that everyone should see. She is a fascinating and mega talented woman. I think my dads crush was well placed. hmmm what a weird sentence I just wrote, the internet takes me to bizarre places.
This is actually a guilty pleasure song for me. I can't help but like it. It reminds me of my elementary school days. It was still going strong on the cheerleading scene in the early 2000's.
I absolutely love this song despite everyone hating it. There's something about "Oh Mickey what a pity you don't understand, you take me by the heart when you take me by the hand" just does something to me
I swear Shopping From A-Z sounds and looks like it belongs on Sesame Street. They could've actually played it during an episode back then and it wouldn't have felt out of place.
Both "Mickey" and "Shopping" sound like they have the kind of lyrics of doo wop and bobby sox fifties or sixties tunes, only set to eighties synthesizer music. It' kind of odd that way.
I think it’s important to remember that while these songs where released on an album - Toni Basil was signed specifically to be a video artist and I think she was the first person to sign a “video” deal and not a “record” deal. I think she was far more interested in exploring a new art medium than making “music”. The music was just one component of the art piece she was making & the videos where also a brilliant way for her to showcase her dance/choreography skills.
Trivia time: Toni Basil briefly dated Jerry Casale of Devo, hence her three Devo covers. One of them, "Space Girls" was based on "Space Girl Blues", an old 70's demo that Devo wouldn't release until the 90's when their basement tape compilation came out. They "borrowed" the first verse lyrics from an old DC comic called Mystery in Space.
Fountains of Wayne isn't really a one hit wonder. They're still around, were and are very popular in the alternative scene; and Stacy's Mom peaked at just 21.
The Talking Heads is my moms favorite band, I owe my love for underground music to her extremely eclectic taste in music and actually accepting to most new music instead of writing it off for not being from her time
God, this song is among the most nostalgic shit I can think of right now. I remember in elementary school gym class that there was a cycle of classic rock and 80's pop that the teacher would play over our pathetic attempts at athleticism. This was one of them. Also, it was used hilariously in Lollipop Chainsaw...which is a great game, sue me.
Fun fact: "Shopping A to Z" was actually covered by Japanese pop artist Shinohara Tomoe in the '90s -- an artist best known for the ridiculously fast-paced song "Ultra Relax," which anime fans know as the second opening theme to the classic show Kodocha (or the only opening theme, if you're most familiar with the English DVD release of the show, since the rights to the first opening theme were unobtainable for overseas use). Shinohara Tomoe's version of Shopping A to Z is actually pretty damned good, too -- I'd say better than Toni Basil's, at the very least, partially due to her retooling of the lyrics to include some more logical Japanese choices for certain letters (though X is still "nothing"!). I think the biggest reason her version is better, though, is because Shinohara Tomoe is pretty much the most hyperactive human being on the planet, so a song like Shopping A to Z is perfectly suited to her extreme energy level and generally child-friendly musical stylings. Her version IS on CZcams, too, so check it out if you're interested: MhX_YmV2cKk
This is an old-ass comment on an old-ass video, but thanks for this 6 years later. I was obsessed with Kodomo no Omocha in middle school and loved the soundtrack to the series. "Ultra-Relax" ruled. I had no idea about this connection!
I'm not about to go through 1300 comments, but a fun bit of trivia is the uniform Toni wears in the video is her cheerleading outfit from her Las Vegas High School days ... twenty years before this came out. "Mickey" is and will always be a banger.
What about Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl"? That's another one I think of when I think of cheerleading songs (no, she's not a one-hit wonder), and it also gets stuck in your head the moment you hear it ("This sh** is bananas/B-A-N-A-N-A-S!") Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn also wrote Exile's "Kiss You All Over"
She also released one record single back in the 1960s. I discovered it by accident while playing old songs on CZcams. The song was called 'Breakaway', and it appeared in a short film she was in with the same title. The B-side was a Graham Gouldman song called 'I'm 28', which is actually really good. As far as I know, that's all the singing she did until the '80s. She also helped launch Weird Al's career, as his first charting hit was 'Ricky'.
I have this vague recollection of one of those Disneyland concert specials where Mickey and Minnie were Toni Basil's backup dancers for this song, so six year old me was also convinced that this song about about being in love with Mickey Mouse. It's the same reason I thought Donna Summer's She Works Hard For The Money was about a waitress, because she performed this song on a Disneyland concert special dressed as a waitress.
As someone who unironically really likes this song, I think you did a great job showing respect for the artist despite not actually enjoying the song or her singing.
Shopping from A to Z. The reaction shot says it all. I lived my teenage years in the 80s. I never heard this song or saw the video before until just now. I want to thank Mtv and all media for never playing it during my lifetime. I’m not angry that I know about it now. It’s important to know the truth.
I recall hearing that Toni turned down "Walk Like An Egyptian". Obviously, that was a huge hit, but I feel like it'd have been so different in Toni's hands than the Bangles, so it's hard to say if it'd be anywhere near as big.
I agree with the "1980 and 1981 aren't really the 80s yet" idea. The movie Heavy Metal seems like a 70's movie that just happened to be released in 1981.
But... video games! In video games the 80s started with Space Invaders in 1978. Everything before that was a 70s-style game. The music 80s... you could make a case with the commercial breakthrough of punk and New Wave in 1977, but that was going on concurrently with the height of disco which is definitely not the 80s. So I guess MTV running the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star" on August 1, 1981 is as good a Big Bang as any. (note, though... that song is from 1978. Video in '79.)
Hmm, the difference between "The Empire Strikes Back" (1980) and "Return of the Jedi" (1983) definitely suggests that the 80s got started somewhere in between. On the other hand... "Raiders of the Lost Ark" seems very 80s to me (even though it's a period piece), and that was 1981.
This song has a special place in my heart. Growing up, I had a brother - Michael - who was older than me and physically I was no match for him. He knew this of course and used this advantage to be quite mean to me at times. But I had one weapon. He absolutely HATED this song and provided I executed my taunt at a safe running distance, when I sung this song to him, in my mind I was getting a punch in.
Your "Hey Toni, you did fine" chant actually made me laugh out loud! Anyway, it's funny - Wayne's World had a hand in reviving a lot of songs for people my age. "Mickey," "Ballroom Blitz" and "Bohemian Rhapsody" were all (sort of) included in the movie and were how we discovered a lot of them in 1992 (I never saw the video for "Mickey" because I didn't have cable as a kid).
I was born in 1998 and knew "Mickey" because it was big when my mom was in her early 20s and it plays on the radio here. I knew "Bohemian Rhapsody" because Queen has remained MASSIVE and inescapable since 1992. But "Ballroom Blitz"... yep I knew that one straight from Wayne's World. I remember watching it for the first time and thinking "that song is incredible"
@@BonJoviBeatlesLedZepQueen's popularity in the US (which I'm going to assume the original commenter is from) basically died after The Game. The Game was a Billboard 200 #1 album, then they never even sniffed the top 20 again. The wake of Wayne's World got Bohemian Rhapsody to #2 (behind Kris Kross's "Jump"), while it peaked at #9 in April 1976.
Toni Basil is a bit like the Buggles in that having more hits would have probably wrecked their very rewarding and lucrative careers later in life (e.g., Toni Basil's choreography, Trevor Horn's producing career, and how Geoff Downes can make money touring with Yes or Asia anytime he wants).
According to Variety, Basil recently gained the copyright to Word of Mouth (the album Mickey is from) and by extension Mickey itself using a provision of the Copyright Act that allows artists to reclaim the copyright after 35 years, presuming the Court of Appeals ruling isn't reversed by the Supreme Court.
She’s a great artist! Dancing and choreography are a huge part of pop music. Her legacy can be seen in Taylor Swift all the way to ultra catchy KPop choreography that is so quirky sometimes it almost seems avant-garde!
I remember when this came out and the promotion around it. It was mostly a novelty in this pop/art factor of as I recall all the songs of the album having a video (I wouldn’t be surprised if modern art museums screened it) and Mickey being a hit was a fluke of this thing meant to be more of an art project.
Shoppin from A to Z was Jeff Bezos' favorite album. Loved it so much he turned it into a company. Forgot to mention she's launched the career of Weird Al.
Ricky was the second single of his debut, but it was 100% Doug Feiger of The Knack that got Al his big break (yeah, Dr. Demento got him airplay, but Doug got him a record deal...even if it fell flat)
Hey give cheerleaders sine respect. I think it's something like 80% of all female sports injuries are cheerleaders, and while the chants might be easy to repeat, they come with choreographed motions that have to be synchronized with the team, even at the junior level. I absolutely hated cheerleaders in high school and now my friends all tease me as the mom of 2 cheerleaders. My ass is in those stabs every weekend though.
Sounds more like a problem with unskilled failed gymnasts trying to do gymnastics with pom poms. 80% of female "sports" injuries lmao. What an insult to the females who actually craft a skill and protect their bodies while doing it.
@@B3Band That actually is the problem; girls performing difficult and dangerous gymnastics moves without the training or safety equipment that you always see gymnasts using. Especially when talking about the high energy dance/gymnastics routines you often think about, yeah, I have no problem calling that a sport. It's at least as athletic as marching band, which I got my varsity letter in. Now, what the girls at my high school did (stand around in the little fetish costumes, looking confused, occasionally clapping and mumbling "okay, team, go" then bouncing up and down for a second then standing there looking around for half an hour) is A. safer and B. Not remotely a sport.
@@NoNo-uo6rw 1. We had varsity archery and golf teams and the band was at least that athletic, 2. we went to competitions and usually won, and 3. most of the people who came to our Friday night football games were there to see the halftime show rather than our pathetic excuse of a football team.
7:43- she suddenly reminds me of this show I used to watch when I was about five- The Big Comfy Couch. The main character was supposed to be a clown, I think, and she spazzed around just like that. Her outfit and makeup aren't really helping.
1981 was the year Journey released Escape, which is definitely more of an 80’s album than a 70’s album. It’s not as 80’s as Frontiers, but it’s still Porto-80’s arena rock whose influences can be found across the rest of the decade. I think 81 was really the start of the 80’s sound - the beginning of the transition from 70’s disco/soul-inspired pop to new wave and hair metal.
Arena rock was already pretty big in the late 70s, it wasn't a revolution when it peaked in popularity in '81. The styles associated with early MTV predated the channel by a few years but didn't fully break thru in the US until '82.
@@AforementionedAnd I'm willing to bet that the UK synthpop/post-punk/"New Wave" bands got popular because those were the bands that were making music videos. Promo videos for singles were already a big deal in the UK in the 70s, whereas in the US, you just had live performances from The Midnight Special. So yeah, the bands from the market with experience in the format would do a lot better than "hastily assembled mimed performance" video the American bands had to rush out.
I had on MTV all the time in the early-80s, and I actually remember them playing Shopping From A to Z on a fairly regular basis for at least a bit. The song was of course nonsense, but I remember watching it because there were some really mesmerizing dance moves on display. This was before the break dancing movies started coming out, and there was a lot of stuff on there you really didn't see anywhere else.
I saw her first album for $1 in a budget bin a few years ago, I bought it because I like "Mickey" and I think I had recently seen this video for the first time. I think it's actually a really good, fun record that doesn't take itself too seriously. A lot of dance pop is repetitive and gets boring to listen to unless you're actually dancing to it, but "Word Of Mouth" has so much going on and she has such a unique voice.
That's what it was called? I remember watching it. Why did I watch it??? Oh yeah, now I remember. My sister was renting it and I had nothing to do on that day. We were poor back then, but now we're okay-ish.
I actually really like "Mickey". But "Shopping from A to Z" is the most baffling, horrid pop song I have ever heard. Why does this exist? Why did anyone green light her to even record this, let alone release this as a single?
I've been bingeing the whole ohw playlist, and I think the ones that end with "this artist didn't deserve better, but mostly because they didn't actually care that much about pop music and were also wildly successful in this other field" are my favorites.
I was six years old when the song came out and I actually remember it on MTV. I’m in that weird Xennial Age group so I’m too young to enjoy anything generation X but I’m old enough to at least remember the stuff. I’m gonna do a TickTock with this damn song because I just absolutely love it
I just subscribed the other day and I binge watched all the One Hit Wonderland videos this weekend, so I was pleased to see a new video today. Thanks Todd!
Thanks for introducing me to that "Shopping From A to Z" song. It made the partner dancing lesson I have tonight seem like something to look forward to when it's always the dread of my whole week.
i'm surprised no one in here has mentioned this fun fact: walk like an egyptian was originally written and offered to her. however, she turned it down. think about it, she could've been a two hit wonder.
Shoppin from A-Z is also an earworm. I still randomly get "GOOD GIRLS SHOP, BAD GIRLS SHOP" blaring in my head even 4 years after I first heard of it on this video
I watch these videos and I'm just fascinated at how sucessful these "One Hit Wonders" are. Sure they only have 1 hit to their name, but holy shit do they do so much behind the scenes.
One one-hit-wonder from the 80s that went down particularly well in my home country (NZ) was "Break My Stride" by Matthew Wilder. I don't know why it did so well here but seriously if you play that song in NZ everybody will stop what they're doing and sing along. Also Matthew Wilder apparently did the music for Mulan.
Yeah, I can't say that this song is near and dear to me in any way, yet, I immediately, involuntarily began singing along. I can't help it. It's infectiousness is undeniable.
Her later video with the spear gives off some strong Toto Coelo vibes, who are probably another OHW candidate in the already saturated '80s new wave category. I also thought the Monkees' HEAD was unwatchable the first time I tried it, but upon revisit I gotta say it's great, with Basil's dance number a true standout. They filmed the same choreography twice, each take with opposite colors, and spliced it together in a way which is truly trippy. Recommend!
2022 Update: Toni Basil won sole ownership of the rights to Mickey, and can now profit off of the song at last. She says she is still going strong and feels she has much more creativity in her lifetime.
All that took is 40 years.
4 decades to fight for your one hit that is a cover
Finally I can buy this song and know that the profits will go to the artist.
Awesome
That makes me so happy.
That might explain why part of the song was covered by Charli XCX for her song in the Barbie movie.
"She did the choreography for Once In A Lifetime"
That's it. She's won me over. I'm forever thankful to this beautiful woman.
she dated david while they were making Remain in Light
Wow, I didn't know that.
Are we sure this was even intended to launch her into a singing career and not just to serve as a demo reel for her as a music video choreographer?
Indeed as a kiddie I was completely bowled over by Once in A Lifetime (i.e. the first record I ever bought) and have always thought of Toni Basil as a complete star for helping come up with that nonsense. And obviously had a total crush on her. Me 10 she 37 - times were different then.
2019 update: Toni Basil was credited as a choreographer in Quentin Tarantino's ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD. 75 years old, and the woman is still working her butt off. Good for her!
Jesse Shade nice! she’s still getting new cheques!
She also was interviewed for CBS Sunday Morning! It aired this morning (2/9/20)
Behold: the cult of work.
Jesse Shade I read this as Todd the first time and I was confused
I really hate your profile picture its such a visually displeasing edit of a picture that always looked hideous
I hate to be that guy, but it bares mentioning that Tony Basil was not just in "a dance troupe." She was a founding member of The Lockers, one of the very first commercially successful break-dancing acts.
I recognized some breaking moves in that shopping video. I thought to myself that reminds of breakin' the movies from the 80's. sure enough the actor that played turbo was dancing in the background.
Man now I know we're in trouble
@@ourbodyislight2829 It's true! One of the other members of the Lockers was Shabba Doo, who starred in both "Breakin'" films.
I was wondering if anyone was going to mention this. I watched the Lockers often in the late 70s on Soul Train and other TV shows.
@Gabriel Schleifer omg, I recognize you from the fact that you comment on a bunch of Rantasmo videos
I like this song with zero shame.
Uzi Patrol me too. I still don't give a fuck.
Uzi Patrol another one for the merry man.
she worked with james brown... i mean maxine waters.
@@meow-zg2fk I protest I am not a merry man
Yep, I especially like the dancing in the video. Toni is fantastic
"X!"
"Nothing!"
That shit is hilarious and you know it is
I always love stumbling upon what are basically ancient shitposts and that line counts
Xanthum Gum!
I like how he passed over the fact that she was one of the founders of the group that created locking, As in pop n locking, By saying "Oh and she started a dance troupe"...
To be fair, OHW episodes are meant to be short-form history/retrospectives that, if he's pushing it, caps off around the 30 minute mark. If he were to dedicate a proper video to the illustrious career of Toni Basil, it would likely run as long as an official full-length documentary. And Todd is... well, to put it nicely, he's a bit of a procrastinator and seems prone to burnout very easily. He could probably do that if he wanted to, but I imagine if he did, he'd disappear for at least six months minimum to recuperate.
What I'm saying is, don't hold it against him for not going into every minute detail for the career of a celebrity you like.
@@cannibalisticrequiem I've watched alot of his one hit wonderlands and like, most of them contain a tonne of just lies. Idk if he just dosent research enough.
@@graceygal2664define research when it comes to bands exactly. It's usually a lot of he said she said speculation and even outside of that I wouldn't represent anything in a video I wasn't sure about for obvious reasons
The chorus of Run-DMC's "It's Tricky" is intentionally patterned after the verse of "Mickey". DMC said this a few years ago.
Now it comes full circle in The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Lol
rip DMC
That's mind-blowing
crazy how much more bounce they're able to give to this simple line
Cheerleaders don't get enough respect. The routines can get downright dangerous. They run the risk of broken necks
not only do they not get enough respect, they are currently suing the NFL for essentially forcing them to prostitute them to big doners to the team. as well as paying them next to nothing...
Hope the cheerleaders win that suit.
@@jakobbokaj123 Cheerleaders in general are suing the NFL? Or NFL Cheerleaders are suing the NFL? I don't think anyone here is talking about the highest level cheerleaders in the damn world lol
I find there are two kinds of cheerleaders: The sort that do the acrobatics and human pyramids and whatnot...and what the girls at my high school did, Which was stand on the track on Friday nights, looking confused, occasionally clapping and stomping in a halting and unsure fashion, occasionally mumble "Let's go" and then one or two would attempt half a Russian split. Most of them I think were in it for the makeup.
Hence cheerleaders are retarded, which sane person would risk their life for something as stupid as chanting for a team...
those are the saddest looking pom poms ever
I'm guessing that Todd's prop budget amounts to "available at the dollar store."
@@edwardphilibin3151 probably haha
My dad taught me all about Toni Basil's illustrious career when I was like 15 and first getting into 80's music. It was def strange to go from knowing her as "the singer of that obnoxious song my mom sings to wake me up for school" to knowing my dad had a celebrity crush on her. Strange times indeed. He showed me several movies including the ones you listed ostensibly to point her out. Though Easy Rider is a classic that everyone should see. She is a fascinating and mega talented woman. I think my dads crush was well placed. hmmm what a weird sentence I just wrote, the internet takes me to bizarre places.
did one of those films happen to be “rockula”?
please tell me she sings shopping a to z to wake you up
Reminds me of my grandpa's celebrity crush on Goldie Hawn! 👍
After playing Lollipop Chainsaw I found my tolerance of Mickey increased.
Alurkerdood same here
Between this and "You Spin Me Round", I'm surprised the game's entire soundtrack didn't consist of OHWL songs
Yeah.... I can't hate this song. I can't, I just got too entranced by the cheese.
anyone see that really butch cheerleader on the right?
God, that game rules.
She was 2 years shy of 40 when she released this which is amazing
I love weird women (think bjork, Kate bush, fionna Aplle and company) so there's something incredibly charming about Toni to me
She's very pretty and then yeah her quirkyness is attractive too
That first OMI Cheerleader reference almost flew over my head because of how irrelevant that song is now holy shit
Bryan Smith i mean i liked it a lot and i still remember it, but not very well. Definitely not one of the most memorable #1 songs
I actually remember hearing the metal cover of that song 1st, so for me that's the original
I had completely forgotten about it until Todd played it. How does it have over a billion views?
That song was 5 years ago????
This is actually a guilty pleasure song for me. I can't help but like it. It reminds me of my elementary school days. It was still going strong on the cheerleading scene in the early 2000's.
I was born in 2004, and I still remember the song not sure my parents played it or if it was still around in the late 2000s
I absolutely love this song despite everyone hating it. There's something about "Oh Mickey what a pity you don't understand, you take me by the heart when you take me by the hand" just does something to me
I swear Shopping From A-Z sounds and looks like it belongs on Sesame Street. They could've actually played it during an episode back then and it wouldn't have felt out of place.
She actually did do choreography for Sesame Street!
Maybe it was made with the assumption that if it failed commercially, they could recover the costs by distributing it with Sesame Street.
i can't get enough of weird shit like this. america was so different back then, it's kinda fascinating
It's not exactly a high bar, but Sesame Street's music kicks the crap out of that song.
@@purpleyeseo9519 Of course she did.
The "I stay up too late" cracked me up...
Forgot the gwen stefani cheerleader hit.
@@dentistguba From "Hollaback Girl?"
I think he’s singing Taylor Swift?
Both "Mickey" and "Shopping" sound like they have the kind of lyrics of doo wop and bobby sox fifties or sixties tunes, only set to eighties synthesizer music. It' kind of odd that way.
I think it’s important to remember that while these songs where released on an album - Toni Basil was signed specifically to be a video artist and I think she was the first person to sign a “video” deal and not a “record” deal. I think she was far more interested in exploring a new art medium than making “music”. The music was just one component of the art piece she was making & the videos where also a brilliant way for her to showcase her dance/choreography skills.
Trivia time: Toni Basil briefly dated Jerry Casale of Devo, hence her three Devo covers. One of them, "Space Girls" was based on "Space Girl Blues", an old 70's demo that Devo wouldn't release until the 90's when their basement tape compilation came out. They "borrowed" the first verse lyrics from an old DC comic called Mystery in Space.
5:06 Laurie Anderson!! Now there's a one hit wonder you could cover for 20 minutes without even scratching the surface
Love her!
"Eyy Luucyy, I'm hooome!"
"Oh Ricky, you so fine, you so fine you blow my mind, hey Ricky! Hey Ricky!"
"Oh Lucy, you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind, hey Lucy! Hey Lucy!"
Chrono7654 Oh Lucy, how I love to hear you whine!
"Oh Ricky,
What a pity, you don't understand,
You're playing with my heart
When I can't play with the band."
thirteenfury lol xD
thirteenfury WRONG
one hit wonderland stacy's mom by fountains of wayne
Yes.
NO I LOVE FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE
Victoria Corp I don't get why youre taking offense to it. they are one hit wonders. That doesn't make them bad.
Todd, do it mate. This would be the shit.
Fountains of Wayne isn't really a one hit wonder. They're still around, were and are very popular in the alternative scene; and Stacy's Mom peaked at just 21.
The Talking Heads is my moms favorite band, I owe my love for underground music to her extremely eclectic taste in music and actually accepting to most new music instead of writing it off for not being from her time
Tell you mum'n'em I said "hey".
I'm a huge metalhead, but I'm not ashamed to admit I kind of like this song and this video, and I kind of find Toni Basil attractive in it.
Allerdyne Yes liking Toni Basil is not the thing that you should be ashamed about,you should be ashamed that you refer to yourself as a metalhead!!!
Andrew Mills Why should someone be ashamed of being a metalhead? That makes no fucking sense.
What you being horny has to do with metal? We all have weird fetishes
Allerdyne
There's no reason to be ashamed, listen to what you want and enjoy it.
POSER!!!!!!!!!!
I saw some recent footage of her preforming and she's goddamn incredible.
Toni Basil: * produces a followup single *
Strong Bad: This isn't a song! This is just a lavishly-produced grocery list!
God, this song is among the most nostalgic shit I can think of right now.
I remember in elementary school gym class that there was a cycle of classic rock and 80's pop that the teacher would play over our pathetic attempts at athleticism.
This was one of them.
Also, it was used hilariously in Lollipop Chainsaw...which is a great game, sue me.
One Hit Wonderland episode idea: "Handlebars" by the Flobots
SSJFro I forgot all about that song!
I SUPPORT THIS IMMENSELY
SSJFro That was a hit!?
SSJFro Holy shit, I forgot all about that song. It was my jam back in 9th grade
SSJFro Good band. The entire album that song is from is pretty rad. Very much a relic of Bush era counterculture.
Fun fact: "Shopping A to Z" was actually covered by Japanese pop artist Shinohara Tomoe in the '90s -- an artist best known for the ridiculously fast-paced song "Ultra Relax," which anime fans know as the second opening theme to the classic show Kodocha (or the only opening theme, if you're most familiar with the English DVD release of the show, since the rights to the first opening theme were unobtainable for overseas use).
Shinohara Tomoe's version of Shopping A to Z is actually pretty damned good, too -- I'd say better than Toni Basil's, at the very least, partially due to her retooling of the lyrics to include some more logical Japanese choices for certain letters (though X is still "nothing"!).
I think the biggest reason her version is better, though, is because Shinohara Tomoe is pretty much the most hyperactive human being on the planet, so a song like Shopping A to Z is perfectly suited to her extreme energy level and generally child-friendly musical stylings.
Her version IS on CZcams, too, so check it out if you're interested: MhX_YmV2cKk
Replying to a two-year old comment here, but I was wondering "who on earth would know something like this" and then I saw the name. :D
This is an old-ass comment on an old-ass video, but thanks for this 6 years later. I was obsessed with Kodomo no Omocha in middle school and loved the soundtrack to the series. "Ultra-Relax" ruled. I had no idea about this connection!
11:42 Jesus christ, start putting up warnings at Meghan Trainor jumpscares.
I cringed so hard I think it counts as a full body workout.
Spongey lmao
Toni’s resume is hella impressive! I had no idea tbh
One Hit Wonderland Suggestion: "867-5309/Jenny" by Tommy Tutone
Idk what you mean. I deadass love cheerleading chants. And this song is what started my love for it lol.
I'm not about to go through 1300 comments, but a fun bit of trivia is the uniform Toni wears in the video is her cheerleading outfit from her Las Vegas High School days ... twenty years before this came out. "Mickey" is and will always be a banger.
What about Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl"? That's another one I think of when I think of cheerleading songs (no, she's not a one-hit wonder), and it also gets stuck in your head the moment you hear it ("This sh** is bananas/B-A-N-A-N-A-S!")
Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn also wrote Exile's "Kiss You All Over"
Hollaback Girl is a glorious, several minute long middle finger directed at Courtney Love.
I feel like that's a cheerleader chant as much as Beck's "Loser" is a rap song. It's an intentional piss take.
@@BonJoviBeatlesLedZep maybe yeah but it sure does sound like it
IIRC, they also wrote that goddamn awful Alice song.
When I was a cheerleader every time we had competition someone did Mickey, I genuinely thought it was like made just for cheer stuff.
She also released one record single back in the 1960s. I discovered it by accident while playing old songs on CZcams. The song was called 'Breakaway', and it appeared in a short film she was in with the same title. The B-side was a Graham Gouldman song called 'I'm 28', which is actually really good. As far as I know, that's all the singing she did until the '80s.
She also helped launch Weird Al's career, as his first charting hit was 'Ricky'.
When I was a kid I thought this song was about Mickey Mouse xD
Erin Curran Same.
Ditto! LOL
I have this vague recollection of one of those Disneyland concert specials where Mickey and Minnie were Toni Basil's backup dancers for this song, so six year old me was also convinced that this song about about being in love with Mickey Mouse.
It's the same reason I thought Donna Summer's She Works Hard For The Money was about a waitress, because she performed this song on a Disneyland concert special dressed as a waitress.
Erin Curran it isn't?
I thought it was about Mickey James!
"I stay out too late" lmao Todd with the shots
I genuinely want to know who thought Shoppin' from A to Z was a good idea. They should have been fired. Out of a cannon. Into the Sun.
As someone who unironically really likes this song, I think you did a great job showing respect for the artist despite not actually enjoying the song or her singing.
When you're done with Cinemadonna, you should review Elvis movies.
Shopping from A to Z. The reaction shot says it all. I lived my teenage years in the 80s. I never heard this song or saw the video before until just now. I want to thank Mtv and all media for never playing it during my lifetime. I’m not angry that I know about it now. It’s important to know the truth.
I recall hearing that Toni turned down "Walk Like An Egyptian". Obviously, that was a huge hit, but I feel like it'd have been so different in Toni's hands than the Bangles, so it's hard to say if it'd be anywhere near as big.
I agree with the "1980 and 1981 aren't really the 80s yet" idea. The movie Heavy Metal seems like a 70's movie that just happened to be released in 1981.
But... video games! In video games the 80s started with Space Invaders in 1978. Everything before that was a 70s-style game.
The music 80s... you could make a case with the commercial breakthrough of punk and New Wave in 1977, but that was going on concurrently with the height of disco which is definitely not the 80s.
So I guess MTV running the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star" on August 1, 1981 is as good a Big Bang as any.
(note, though... that song is from 1978. Video in '79.)
Hmm, the difference between "The Empire Strikes Back" (1980) and "Return of the Jedi" (1983) definitely suggests that the 80s got started somewhere in between. On the other hand... "Raiders of the Lost Ark" seems very 80s to me (even though it's a period piece), and that was 1981.
One Hit Wonderland: "Tarzan Boy" by Baltimora.
This song has a special place in my heart. Growing up, I had a brother - Michael - who was older than me and physically I was no match for him. He knew this of course and used this advantage to be quite mean to me at times. But I had one weapon. He absolutely HATED this song and provided I executed my taunt at a safe running distance, when I sung this song to him, in my mind I was getting a punch in.
songs that last are either really good or a guilty pleasure.
Starlightthedark Or one other category: total crap.
Your "Hey Toni, you did fine" chant actually made me laugh out loud! Anyway, it's funny - Wayne's World had a hand in reviving a lot of songs for people my age. "Mickey," "Ballroom Blitz" and "Bohemian Rhapsody" were all (sort of) included in the movie and were how we discovered a lot of them in 1992 (I never saw the video for "Mickey" because I didn't have cable as a kid).
I was born in 1998 and knew "Mickey" because it was big when my mom was in her early 20s and it plays on the radio here. I knew "Bohemian Rhapsody" because Queen has remained MASSIVE and inescapable since 1992. But "Ballroom Blitz"... yep I knew that one straight from Wayne's World. I remember watching it for the first time and thinking "that song is incredible"
@@BonJoviBeatlesLedZepQueen's popularity in the US (which I'm going to assume the original commenter is from) basically died after The Game. The Game was a Billboard 200 #1 album, then they never even sniffed the top 20 again. The wake of Wayne's World got Bohemian Rhapsody to #2 (behind Kris Kross's "Jump"), while it peaked at #9 in April 1976.
Holy shit I have such a newfound respect for this woman
I would've thought at least the cool Farfisa organ sound in "Hey Mickey" would've made Todd happy, being a keyboard player and all....:)
Toni Basil is a bit like the Buggles in that having more hits would have probably wrecked their very rewarding and lucrative careers later in life (e.g., Toni Basil's choreography, Trevor Horn's producing career, and how Geoff Downes can make money touring with Yes or Asia anytime he wants).
I am so glad I grew up in the early days of MTV. So many great videos. Micky by Toni Basil is definitely no exception.
One Hit Wonderland: My Own Worst Enemy by Lit
Are Lit one hit wonders, though? They had another hit song in “Miserable”.
According to Variety, Basil recently gained the copyright to Word of Mouth (the album Mickey is from) and by extension Mickey itself using a provision of the Copyright Act that allows artists to reclaim the copyright after 35 years, presuming the Court of Appeals ruling isn't reversed by the Supreme Court.
"i'm bad at everything..." :( oh todd
Hope this doesn't get taken down
Scizor For Hire copyright bots
Invisibilly AA
She’s a great artist! Dancing and choreography are a huge part of pop music. Her legacy can be seen in Taylor Swift all the way to ultra catchy KPop choreography that is so quirky sometimes it almost seems avant-garde!
I remember when this came out and the promotion around it. It was mostly a novelty in this pop/art factor of as I recall all the songs of the album having a video (I wouldn’t be surprised if modern art museums screened it) and Mickey being a hit was a fluke of this thing meant to be more of an art project.
"Oh Toni you did fine, you did fine so you don`t mind" is perfect, nicely done
How many people can say they've worked with Elvis, Bowie, Jack Nicholson, Tarantino, Reese Whitherspoon and Margot Robbie
Shoppin from A to Z was Jeff Bezos' favorite album. Loved it so much he turned it into a company. Forgot to mention she's launched the career of Weird Al.
Ricky was the second single of his debut, but it was 100% Doug Feiger of The Knack that got Al his big break (yeah, Dr. Demento got him airplay, but Doug got him a record deal...even if it fell flat)
Hey give cheerleaders sine respect. I think it's something like 80% of all female sports injuries are cheerleaders, and while the chants might be easy to repeat, they come with choreographed motions that have to be synchronized with the team, even at the junior level. I absolutely hated cheerleaders in high school and now my friends all tease me as the mom of 2 cheerleaders. My ass is in those stabs every weekend though.
I was quite disturbed to hear about your ass stabs. And every weekend at that. You should hire a bodyguard. Or at least an assguard.
Sounds more like a problem with unskilled failed gymnasts trying to do gymnastics with pom poms. 80% of female "sports" injuries lmao. What an insult to the females who actually craft a skill and protect their bodies while doing it.
@@B3Band That actually is the problem; girls performing difficult and dangerous gymnastics moves without the training or safety equipment that you always see gymnasts using.
Especially when talking about the high energy dance/gymnastics routines you often think about, yeah, I have no problem calling that a sport. It's at least as athletic as marching band, which I got my varsity letter in. Now, what the girls at my high school did (stand around in the little fetish costumes, looking confused, occasionally clapping and mumbling "okay, team, go" then bouncing up and down for a second then standing there looking around for half an hour) is A. safer and B. Not remotely a sport.
@@thegardenofeatin5965 varsity letter for band? I wish my school has that lmao
@@NoNo-uo6rw 1. We had varsity archery and golf teams and the band was at least that athletic, 2. we went to competitions and usually won, and 3. most of the people who came to our Friday night football games were there to see the halftime show rather than our pathetic excuse of a football team.
one hit wonderland idea: Let It Rock by Kevin Rudolph ft. Lil Wayne
Also, these requests aren't free. Put up the $ or stfu
7:43- she suddenly reminds me of this show I used to watch when I was about five- The Big Comfy Couch. The main character was supposed to be a clown, I think, and she spazzed around just like that. Her outfit and makeup aren't really helping.
Big Comfy Couch was a great show, and comparing Toni Basil to Loonete the Clown is insulting.
I was so happy to find out he managed to get this back up in Canada
1981 was the year Journey released Escape, which is definitely more of an 80’s album than a 70’s album. It’s not as 80’s as Frontiers, but it’s still Porto-80’s arena rock whose influences can be found across the rest of the decade. I think 81 was really the start of the 80’s sound - the beginning of the transition from 70’s disco/soul-inspired pop to new wave and hair metal.
Arena rock was already pretty big in the late 70s, it wasn't a revolution when it peaked in popularity in '81. The styles associated with early MTV predated the channel by a few years but didn't fully break thru in the US until '82.
@@AforementionedAnd I'm willing to bet that the UK synthpop/post-punk/"New Wave" bands got popular because those were the bands that were making music videos. Promo videos for singles were already a big deal in the UK in the 70s, whereas in the US, you just had live performances from The Midnight Special. So yeah, the bands from the market with experience in the format would do a lot better than "hastily assembled mimed performance" video the American bands had to rush out.
I had on MTV all the time in the early-80s, and I actually remember them playing Shopping From A to Z on a fairly regular basis for at least a bit. The song was of course nonsense, but I remember watching it because there were some really mesmerizing dance moves on display. This was before the break dancing movies started coming out, and there was a lot of stuff on there you really didn't see anywhere else.
Did they play it alot and would you say it was a minor hit?
Having "Shopping from A to Z" forever in my brain is one of the great services of this channel.
Awesome episode! I love finding out how successful Toni was. Choreographed the Diamond Dogs tour? She is a gangsta.
I saw her first album for $1 in a budget bin a few years ago, I bought it because I like "Mickey" and I think I had recently seen this video for the first time. I think it's actually a really good, fun record that doesn't take itself too seriously. A lot of dance pop is repetitive and gets boring to listen to unless you're actually dancing to it, but "Word Of Mouth" has so much going on and she has such a unique voice.
I forgot how much I loved this song! Thank you for reminding me about this song Todd :)
Bring It On was released in 2000, and the guy who said that was the movie's villain. Sort of.
That's what it was called? I remember watching it. Why did I watch it??? Oh yeah, now I remember. My sister was renting it and I had nothing to do on that day. We were poor back then, but now we're okay-ish.
the 2000s is basically still the 90s
@@ecliptik8020 yea tbh the 2000s didn't start until 2004
@@fantasticplanet2002 Sept 11th marked the end of the 90's as far as I'm concerned.
I actually really like "Mickey". But "Shopping from A to Z" is the most baffling, horrid pop song I have ever heard. Why does this exist? Why did anyone green light her to even record this, let alone release this as a single?
Some songwriter wanted to publish their grocery list
@@ShawnLevasseur Haha! I guess if she can make it work do you queen!!
....but in this case it most absolutely did not work
please do a one hit wonderland for "all the things she said" by t.a.t.u.
Jack _ wait really?
The Ice Ninja they were produced by someone he already covered
Are you kidding me , man? Not Gonna Get Us, Gomenasai, What About Us...those songs played in the radio all the time when they were famous
@@zoetv2170 I'm guessing in Russia.
@@NefariousDreary in Chile B)
RIP my mom, this was one her favorite songs, five years later...keeping the memory alive, and learning THINGS with Sir Todd of the Shadow Clan.
"You're making a weird meal, lady" made me laugh harder than anything in a LONG time.
I've been bingeing the whole ohw playlist, and I think the ones that end with "this artist didn't deserve better, but mostly because they didn't actually care that much about pop music and were also wildly successful in this other field" are my favorites.
I loved this song when I heard it on Lollipop Chainsaw. Now I wanna get that game again.
Wow! What a career! Mickey is only icing on the cake! If nothing else, a memorable novelty song!
I was six years old when the song came out and I actually remember it on MTV. I’m in that weird Xennial Age group so I’m too young to enjoy anything generation X but I’m old enough to at least remember the stuff. I’m gonna do a TickTock with this damn song because I just absolutely love it
I just subscribed the other day and I binge watched all the One Hit Wonderland videos this weekend, so I was pleased to see a new video today. Thanks Todd!
I like Mickey for the weirdness
The fact that it's a cover of a song "hey kitty" makes me want to find it
Thanks for introducing me to that "Shopping From A to Z" song. It made the partner dancing lesson I have tonight seem like something to look forward to when it's always the dread of my whole week.
Village of the Giants is one of my favorite movies! Mst3k did a commentary on it in season 5 and they do a Toni basil "Mickey" joke
I wish Crow and Servo would riff music videos
"Shoppin' from A to Z" may well be the most wretched "failed follow-up" of anybody you've covered.
It would be really cool if Todd did a mini series of all of David Bowie's personas throughout the years. It would be a super cool tribute to him.
Don't worry, five years later I saw your comment and agree. Solidarity.
i'm surprised no one in here has mentioned this fun fact: walk like an egyptian was originally written and offered to her. however, she turned it down.
think about it, she could've been a two hit wonder.
Upvoted for the Devo and Laurie Anderson references alone. The rest of the video is also legit.
Ngl I love this song. I know exactly what people mean when they say it’s annoying, but I love it
Shoppin from A-Z is also an earworm. I still randomly get "GOOD GIRLS SHOP, BAD GIRLS SHOP" blaring in my head even 4 years after I first heard of it on this video
I watch these videos and I'm just fascinated at how sucessful these "One Hit Wonders" are. Sure they only have 1 hit to their name, but holy shit do they do so much behind the scenes.
One one-hit-wonder from the 80s that went down particularly well in my home country (NZ) was "Break My Stride" by Matthew Wilder. I don't know why it did so well here but seriously if you play that song in NZ everybody will stop what they're doing and sing along. Also Matthew Wilder apparently did the music for Mulan.
Yeah, I can't say that this song is near and dear to me in any way, yet, I immediately, involuntarily began singing along. I can't help it. It's infectiousness is undeniable.
DOUBLE UPLOADS? Damn Todd.
Also, did he has a Twitter? js
Clint Howard Thanks.
"did he has a Twitter" Bruh
Her later video with the spear gives off some strong Toto Coelo vibes, who are probably another OHW candidate in the already saturated '80s new wave category. I also thought the Monkees' HEAD was unwatchable the first time I tried it, but upon revisit I gotta say it's great, with Basil's dance number a true standout. They filmed the same choreography twice, each take with opposite colors, and spliced it together in a way which is truly trippy. Recommend!
Same record label in the UK. Radialchoice. The success of Mickey and Cannibals saved it before they went bankrupt in 1983
I literally first heard this song in "Wayne's world" when Mike Myers and Tia Carrere sing it along in the car
Like myself, anyone who was in college when this song came out, loves it. It's the catchiest toon of all time.