Occasional Forgotten Video: The Motels, "Suddenly, Last Summer"

Today is the last day of summer. Looking back at the summer-- Microbiology class, my son going to the championship in baseball, lots of good times with both my kids, a great family reunion with my wife and her family, a financially great summer at work-- it's been one of the best and busiest summers of my life. I though I'd end it with one of my favorite summer songs, The Motels' "Suddenly, Last Summer," which was a hit in 1983, the year of one of my other favorite summers.

The roots of The Motels go back to Berkeley, California in 1971. The moved to Los Angeles in the mid-seventies, hoping for better exposure. In 1978, singer Martha Davis and former Tom Petty bandmate Jeff Jourard reformed the band. Their second single, "Total Control" was a top 20 hit in France and Australia (the song was used years later in Jonathan Demme's movie "Something Wild.")

They had a small hit with "Mission of Mercy," and another with "Take the L" ("Take the L out of lover and it's over"). They had a big MTV hit with "Only the Lonely." Their next album, "All Four One" was a breakthrough album for them and yielded the hit "Suddenly, Last Summer."



The Motels did some movie soundtrack songs, but by 1987, Martha Davis decided to break up the band and go solo. She had one top ten hit in Australia, but eventually she reformed the band as "The Motels featuring Martha Davis." They continue to record and perform as such.