During the 1980's I was fortunate enough to see some great concerts. Stevie Nicks, Miami Sound Machine, Cindy Lauper, Aerosmith, Rod Stewart, and a few other bands that are either unmentionable or unremarkable.
One band that will always be ingrained in my heart will be Martha Davis and The Motels. The Motels are a New Wave and popular music band from the Los Angeles music scene, best known for the singles "Only the Lonely" and "Suddenly Last Summer", which both hit #9 on the Billboard top 100 in the early 1980s. All for One (1982) was their best-selling album followed by Little Robbers (1983), that went gold in the U.S. and Canada. In January 1983 the band appeared on Saturday Night Live. Martha Davis, the lead singer (vocals, guitar), has put together various versions of the original band that first formed in 1971 that was simply known as The Motels. The latest band members include various musicians, some that have previously performed with the group.
1980s
In nineteen eighty-something, I stood in a long line with a group of my friends at the University of Bridgeport, in Bridgeport Connecticut, to see The Motels in concert. It was a cool evening, in what seems like an eternity ago. It was way before 9-11, it was well before the stock market tanked, even before the dot com bubble and bust. It sounds a bit corny, but cable TV was pretty new and we were just getting used to watching MTV. It was a treat to see what the bands and artists looked like, while watching and listening to your favorite music. One vivid memory is that we all had very large hair at that time, guess it was the style. It was also a little less trouble free time. Computers weren't that common. Sure, businesses had them, but the personal computer was just catching on. Our main concerns at that time were; how much gas we had in our car, did we have rent money, and would there be money left over for beer on Friday.
We took our seats in the auditorium at the University of Bridgeport and the lights went down. Our seats were very close to the stage and you could feel the thick anticipation of the crowd. The new MTV stars were going to be performing right in front of us!
Martha Davis and the Motels took the stage and gave a performance like no other concert I have ever seen. Smoky, sultry, sexy, and incredibly talented. Her voice during the song "Suddenly Last Summer" took the audience into a bluesy melodic trance. The entire performance was like an emotional roller coaster with the songs steered by Martha's voice, taking you for a wild ride.
So started my love of the talent of Martha Davis. Seeing the band on MTV seemed empty compared to the live concert experience. It was void of the emotion we all felt in person. It was difficult to go to The Motels concerts, they were a California band and we were on the East Coast.
1990s
The Eighties turned into the Nineties and I was working in a boring corporate job. Dressed in a suite, I walked into the elevator with a dozen other computer shackled lemmings. On my ride up to the 23rd floor, a strangely familiar song started to play over the music piped into the elevator. Martha Davis's voice sang "Suddenly Last Summer". Hearing that song took me back to a happier time, reminding me that there are many, many, happy times in life. It brought a huge smile to my face.
At this same time, Martha Davis, who had been doing work on movie sound tracks, started playing some old haunts in the Los Angeles area.
2010
Last Summer, one of my friends told me that The Motels were playing in Atlantic City, New Jersey. We took the three hour ride to go see them in an Eighties Revival show. Martha Davis headed up a new version of The Motels which included Nick Johns (keyboards, guitar), Brady Willis (bass) and Tig Moore (drums). During the concert, Martha again, touched the crowd with her vocals. She was beautiful and incredibly talented. After the show, I saw Martha outside of the venue. I went up to her, and momentarily speechless, was just able to shake her hand and utter the words "Thank you".
2011
A few weeks ago, I was walking around a shopping mall. Lost in thought, I heard Martha Davis's voice coming through the speaker system. The Motels song "Suddenly Last Summer" was playing. It made me smile and remember all the great times with my friends, great concerts, and, all the happier times yet to come.
Thank you Martha Davis.
Martha Davis and The Motels continue to tour and have released new songs and CD's available through Itunes and Amazon.
Rae Manchester - Consultant and entrepreneur, Rae E. Manchester has owned several businesses in Connecticut, worked with government agencies and with High ...
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