Tag: Promo

January 29, 2026

Wild Blue – Fire With Fire (US 12″ Promo) (1986)

Burning The Ground Exclusive

Closet 80s is a recurring series spotlighting overlooked and forgotten gems from the decade—songs that may not have dominated the charts but left a lasting impression. These are the records that still spark memories, reward rediscovery, and prove that some of the best ’80s music lived just outside the spotlight.

Wild Blue – Fire With Fire (1986)

Some songs feel inseparable from their moment—and Fire With Fire by Wild Blue is one of those lost 80s gems that deserves another listen.

Released in 1986, Fire With Fire was written specifically for the film of the same name, giving the track an immediate cinematic urgency. The song was written and produced by Chas Sandford, best known for co-writing John Waite’s Missing You. His knack for emotionally direct, radio-ready songwriting is all over this track—polished, dramatic, and built to connect.

Wild Blue were a Chicago-based band fronted by lead singer Renee Varo, whose powerful yet controlled vocal performance gives the song its emotional core. Firmly rooted in the AOR (Album-Oriented Rock) world, Fire With Fire balances melody and muscle, letting the verses simmer before the chorus opens up with conviction and fire.

The song enjoyed strong exposure beyond radio thanks to its music video, which received heavy rotation on MTV. In the mid-’80s, that kind of visibility mattered, and Fire With Fire fit perfectly alongside the era’s emotionally charged rock and pop visuals.

On the charts, the single debuted at #89 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on May 17, 1986, eventually peaking at #71. While it never became a major hit, its MTV presence and AOR appeal helped it leave a lasting impression. The track would later appear on Wild Blue’s debut album, No More Jinx, cementing its place as the band’s defining moment.

Fire With Fire is exactly the kind of record Closet 80s was made for—a song that may not have dominated the charts, but still captures the sound, ambition, and emotion of its time. Turn it up and rediscover a track that proves some fires never really go out.

SIDE A:
Fire With Fire (Edit) 3:30

SIDE B:
Fire With Fire (Long Version) 4:41

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

Chart Performance — Wild Blue: *Fire With Fire* (1986)
Chart	Peak Position	Date
US Billboard Hot 100	#71	1986

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Chrysalis – VAS-2289
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single, Promo
Country: US
Released: 1986
Genre: Pop, Rock
Style: Pop Rock

CREDITS:

Engineer – Gary McGachan
Mixed By – Chas Sandford, Gary McGachan
Producer – Chas Sandford
Written-By – C. Sandford*

NOTES:
For Promotional Use Only

From the forthcoming LP “No More Jinx” and the Motion Picture “Fire With Fire.”

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
for BURNING THE GROUND

THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon Concorde Music Black
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
DAC: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 25 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!

Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by donating using PayPal. I appreciate your help.

January 22, 2026

Cindy Mizelle – This Could Be The Night (US 12″ Promo) (1984)

Burning The Ground Exclusive

Before freestyle took over the clubs, Cindy Mizelle delivered this emotional floor-filler on the Beat Street soundtrack.

Released in 1984, “This Could Be The Night” stands as an early freestyle dance landmark and a key contribution to the influential Beat Street soundtrack. While the film is often cited for helping bring hip-hop and breakdance culture into the mainstream, its soundtrack also documented the parallel rise of freestyle—romantic, melodic, and rooted in the clubs of New York and New Jersey. Cindy Mizelle’s single captured that sound at a formative moment, pairing emotional urgency with dancefloor precision.

Born in Englewood, New Jersey, Cindy Mizelle began singing at a very young age. Raised in the church, she attended First Baptist Church in Englewood with her grandmother and eventually joined the choir, an experience that helped shape her powerful sense of phrasing and control. She attended Dwight Morrow High School and cites the Mizell Brothers—her cousins—and Cissy Houston as key musical influences, grounding her style in gospel discipline and classic soul tradition.

By the age of 17, Mizelle was already working professionally as a touring singer. Her early recording credits include vocals on Lemelle’s 1982 single “You Got Something Special,” followed by the 1983 album Pump the Nation with her band Attitude. In 1984, she stepped into the spotlight with “This Could Be The Night,” a freestyle track that aligned her with a genre just beginning to define itself.

Produced by Arthur Baker, the single reflects a producer at the height of his creative reach. Known for shaping the sound of electro and early hip-hop, Baker here adapts his approach to freestyle’s melodic framework. Driving drum machine patterns, pulsing synth basslines, and dramatic keyboard flourishes provide the foundation for Mizelle’s vocal, which delivers yearning and anticipation with clarity and emotional weight. The result is a song built for late-night dance floors, where romance and rhythm collide.

Though “This Could Be The Night” did not dominate the charts, its inclusion on the Beat Street soundtrack gave it lasting visibility and historical significance. In hindsight, the track feels like a bridge—connecting gospel-trained vocalists, club culture, and emerging freestyle into a sound that would soon explode in popularity with artists such as Shannon, Exposé, and Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam.

Beyond her solo work, Cindy Mizelle went on to become one of the most in-demand backing vocalists in popular music. Her résumé reads like a modern music history textbook, with performances alongside Billy Ocean, Chaka Khan, Evelyn King, Mariah Carey, Barbra Streisand, Whitney Houston, Luther Vandross, The Rolling Stones, Steely Dan, Dave Matthews Band, and Alicia Keys. She also wrote music for Aretha Franklin and toured with Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band—an extraordinary range that speaks to her versatility and professionalism.

Today, “This Could Be The Night” remains a compelling snapshot of 1984 freestyle culture: emotional, dance-driven, and full of promise. It also marks an important early chapter in the career of a singer whose voice would go on to shape countless recordings behind the scenes, even as this single continues to glow as a standout moment in her own spotlight.

SIDE A:
This Could Be The Night (Vocal/Extended Version) 6:56

SIDE B:
This Could Be The Night (Instrumental/Dub Mix) 5:18

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Atlantic – DMD 769
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Maxi-Single, Promo, SP (Specialty Records Corporation Pressing)
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: Freestyle

CREDITS:

Arranged By [Co-Arranged] – Carl Sturken, Evan Rogers
Edited By [Edits By] – Albert Cabrera, The Latin Rascals, Tony Moran
Engineer [Mix] – Andy Wallace, Chris Lord-Alge
Producer, Arranged By, Mixed By – Arthur Baker
Written-By – Arthur Baker, Carl Sturken, Chris Lord-Alge, Evan Rogers, Tina B

NOTES:
PROMOTIONAL COPY
NOT FOR SALE

Version of Atlantic LP 80154 – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack “BEAT STREET”.

Artist name is not printed on B side label.

Housed inside company “12 Inch Maxi Single III” die-cut sleeve.

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
for BURNING THE GROUND

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!

Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by donating using PayPal. I appreciate your help.

December 19, 2025

The Weather Girls – Dear Santa (Bring Me A Man This Christmas) (US 12″ Promo) (1983)

Burning The Ground Exclusive

NEW 2025 Transfer
NEW Meticulous Audio Restoration

Original post date: December 13, 2013

“Dear Santa (Bring Me A Man This Christmas)” is a holiday song recorded by The Weather Girls for their 1983 album Success. Paul Jabara and Paul Shaffer wrote the song. It mixes a Christmas theme with a disco-driven sound that fits the group’s early 1980s dance output.

The track had a quiet release. It was issued in the US and the UK as a promotional single and did not chart. This was the case even though a music video was filmed. As a result, the song remained hard to find and easy to miss during its original run.

The Weather Girls began as Two Tons o’ Fun and featured Izora Armstead and Martha Wash. Both singers brought gospel power and strong presence to the dance floor. The duo scored several dance hits, with their biggest success coming in 1982.

That peak arrived with “It’s Raining Men,” a song that became a defining moment in dance music. “Dear Santa (Bring Me A Man This Christmas)” followed soon after and shows the same mix of humor and confidence, set against a festive backdrop.

For this holiday season, I have given this disco banger a meticulous new audio transfer. It brings new clarity to a track that has long deserved a closer listen.

SIDE A:
Dear Santa (Bring Me A Man This Christmas) (Vocal) 6:30

SIDE B:
Dear Santa (Bring Me A Man This Christmas) (Instrumental) 6:14

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Columbia – AS 1790
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Promo, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1983
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul
Style: Hi NRG, Disco

CREDITS:

Executive-Producer – Charles Koppelman
Producer – Paul Jabara
Written-By – P. Jabara*, P. Schaffer*

NOTES:
Demonstration Not For Sale
Taken From The Columbia/Entertainment Co. LP “Success” BEC 38997

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
for BURNING THE GROUND

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!

Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by donating using PayPal. I appreciate your help.

December 18, 2025

Bobby Brown – “Every Little Hit” Megamix (US 12″ Promo) (1989)

Burning The Ground Exclusive

When Bobby Brown released Don’t Be Cruel in 1988, he didn’t just dominate radio—he owned the dance floor. Even years after its initial release, the album continued to generate club interest, and one of the more intriguing artifacts from that era is the promo-only single “Every Little Hit (Megamix)”, issued in the United States as a promo single sent out to radio stations, and DJ record pools.

Unlike a standard commercial release, Every Little Hit (Megamix) was created strictly as a DJ tool, servicing clubs and radio mix shows that were hungry for nonstop Bobby Brown energy. Rather than focusing on a single track, the megamix stitches together highlights from Don’t Be Cruel, effectively functioning as a rapid-fire celebration of the album’s biggest moments. It’s Bobby at full throttle—hooks stacked on hooks, beats barely given time to breathe, and an overall sense that this was designed to keep dance floors moving without interruption.

Megamixes like this were a staple of the late ’80s and early ’90s club scene. They served multiple purposes: a sampler for casual listeners, a transition-friendly weapon for DJs, and a reminder of just how many hits an artist had accumulated in a short period of time. In Bobby Brown’s case, the format made perfect sense. Don’t Be Cruel was packed with chart-toppers and club favorites, and hearing them collide in one continuous mix only reinforced how dominant his run truly was.

Because it was promo-only, Every Little Hit (Megamix) never received the kind of widespread recognition that his commercial singles did. It was not found in record store bins, and many fans never knew it existed unless they were plugged into club culture or radio at the time. That scarcity has helped turn it into a bit of a cult item today—especially among collectors who appreciate the unique role promo 12″s played in shaping how dance music was heard and experienced.

Every Little Hit (Megamix) stands as a snapshot of an era when remix culture was booming, DJs were tastemakers, and record labels understood the power of the club. It may not be the most talked-about Bobby Brown release, but it’s a fascinating reminder that sometimes the most exciting records were the ones never meant for the general public—only for the booth, the floor, and those lucky enough to hear them in the moment.

SIDE A:
“Every Little Hit” Mega Mix (Club Version) 8:58
A.1 Every Little Step
A.2 On Our Own
A.3 Don’t Be Cruel
A.4 My Prerogative

SIDE B:
“Every Little Hit” Mega Mix (Radio Edit) 6:11
B.1 Every Little Step
B.2 On Our Own
B.3 Don’t Be Cruel
B.4 My Prerogative

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: MCA Records – L33-18116
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Promo
Country: US
Released: 1989
Genre: Hip Hop
Style: RnB/Swing

CREDITS:

Co-producer – Bobby Brown (tracks: A.4, B.4)
DJ Mix [Megamix] – Steve Anderson
Executive-Producer – Louil Silas, Jr.*
Producer – Gene Griffin (tracks: A.4, B.4), L.A. And Babyface* (tracks: A.1 to A.3, B.1 to B.3)

NOTES:
Includes special edits of “Every Little Step”, “On Our Own”, “Don’t Be Cruel” and “My Prerogative”. Inspired by Bobby’s mega hit “Dance… Ya Know It!” and “Don’t Be Cruel” albums.

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
for BURNING THE GROUND

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!

Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by donating using PayPal. I appreciate your help.