Modern Rock Tracks No. 1s - Concrete Blonde and "Joey"

Led by Johnette Napolitano's distinctive voice, Concrete Blonde tackles the emotional weight of alcohol addiction and its effects on a loving relationship with "Joey"

Concrete Blonde - “Joey”

Weeks atop the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart: 4 (July 14 to August 4, 1990)

Billboard Hot 100 chart toppers during this time:

• New Kids On The Block - “Step By Step” (7/14/90, 3 total weeks)

• Glenn Medeiros feat. Bobby Brown - “She Ain’t Worth It” (7/21/90 and 7/28/90)

• Mariah Carey - “Vision Of Love” (8/4/90)

Alcohol addiction is a son of a bitch. Having seen it myself firsthand over the years, I can speak to the emotional toll it takes on a person, on that person’s friends, and on that person’s family. It’s a wild ride at times: When things are good, it’s like you get the best version of that person and everything is great. When things are bad, you’re left confused and uncertain about your relationship. It can be like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: sometimes you get the best part of someone, and sometimes you get the monster. And is it possible to love them both?

Alcohol abuse and rock and roll go hand in hand, sometimes glorified, sometimes presented as a cautionary tale. I’ll readily admit I don’t often catch the deeper meaning in song lyrics, as I’m a terrible student of poetry (I have a collegiate English degree but absolutely hated the poetry component of that coursework), but it seems pretty clear that the subject of substance abuse was front of mind for Johnette Napolitano when she composed the lyrics for “Joey,” Concrete Blonde’s first and only Modern Rock Tracks #1 hit.

In a 2002 concert and later in her “Rough Mix” book, Napolitano revealed the muse for “Joey” was Wall of Voodoo guitarist Marc Moreland. Wall of Voodoo (whom you might remember from their 1983 Hot 100 #58 hit “Mexican Radio”) would frequently tour with Concrete Blonde in the ‘80s. Eventually, Napolitano and Moreland would become bandmates in the act Pretty and Twisted, which formed in the mid 1990s after Concrete Blonde went on hiatus.

Regardless of what brought them together, it’s clear that Napolitano and Moreland developed a strong connection over the years, and that closeness made her work on “Joey” all the more difficult artistically. Napolitano admitted in a 2013 interview with Songfacts that she struggled to get the words out and recorded for “Joey,” given the emotional heft of the subject matter:

“We did a demo with no lyrics. It was just like scratchy vocals, just me making sounds, basically, where I knew the melody would go. And right away everybody reacted to it. There weren't any lyrics, but there was something about the music that everybody really reacted to. And so we went to England to record the record with Chris Tsangarides, our producer.”

“I knew what I wanted to say, but I wasn't looking forward to saying it. And so it was the last vocal that I recorded (for that album).”

How do you write about something that brings you both pain and happiness? Napolitano somehow finds that balance, singing with deliberate, deep emotion about her love for the individual, her capacity to forgive, and her willingness to be the port in the storm for someone who is battling against an enemy they seem unable to defeat.

And when you said I scared you
Well I guess you scared me too
But if it's love you're looking for
Then I can give a little more

It’s not just the lyrics that drive home the divide between passion and pain; indeed, Napolitano has just the right voice to deliver the complexity of the emotion, striking high notes with both ease and yet with a quiver in her delivery. She’s reached the point where she recognizes she can’t do much more to help him battle through his addiction, but she also realizes her love for him is so strong that she can’t stay angry with him, either.

And I don't want to close the door
And if you're somewhere out there
Passed out on the floor
Oh Joey, I'm not angry anymore

What do you do? Do you leave someone when they’re on a destructive path, or do you continue to stay with them and support them, even at the cost of your own emotional well being? “Joey” tries to tackle that subject matter and, in the end, it seems that Napolitano’s narrator is willing to make that sacrifice, choosing love and support over anger and resentment. It’s up for debate whether that’s the best choice, but ultimately it’s up to the individual. You hold out hope that the person will conquer their demons and move forward, and that’s what Napolitano seems to be working through in this song.

I know you've heard it all before
So I don't say it anymore
I just stand by and let you
Fight your secret war

In the end, Moreland’s lifestyle and addictions cost him his life. He passed away in 2002 at the age of 44 due to complications following a liver transplant. As for Concrete Blonde, “Joey” would ultimately be the biggest commercial success for the band. In addition to its monthlong run atop the MRT chart, the song also peaked at #19 on the Hot 100, making it a hit on both alternative and mainstream radio.

Napolitano and Concrete Blonde never replicated the success of “Joey” on the pop charts, though they did continue to maintain a presence on the alternative scene. In an era dominated by male-led alt-rock groups, Concrete Blonde provided a different voice for the masses. The band’s cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Everybody Knows” peaked at #20 on the MRT chart, and the follow-up single to “Joey,” titled “Caroline,” peaked at #23.

The band’s 1992 follow-up album, “Walking in London,” generated two top-10 hits on the MRT chart: “Ghost of a Texas Ladies' Man,” which peaked at #2, and “Someday?” which topped out at #8. The 1993 track “Heal It Up” would finish at #16 on the MRT chart in 1993, the last time the band would chart before their breakup in 1994. The band would reunite two more times in the aughts and early 2010s before dissolving for good.

Concrete Blonde’s legacy may forever be tied to “Joey,” but that’s one hell of a legacy to leave behind. With “Joey,” Napolitano brings the complexity of addiction, love, emotion, and the human experience to the forefront with such beauty and grace, a simple instrumental track laced with power and conviction. For anyone who struggles with alcohol addiction, either directly or through the shared experience with a close friend or loved one, the song will definitely strike a chord in your heart.

Rating: 9/10

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Chart Check: A look at other notable MRT chart songs from this time period

A nice eclectic mix of songs challenged “Joey” for the top spot on the MRT chart but peaked in different parts of the top 10.

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“Give It Up” by Hothouse Flowers: Irish rockers Hothouse Flowers took “Give It Up” all the way to a #2 peak on the MRT chart with a really jazzed-up, keyboard-led track. Hothouse Flowers were a legitimate phenomenon in Ireland, producing the most successful debut album in Irish history in 1988, but this track reflected the highwater point of their popularity in the U.S.

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“Sweet Smell Of Success” by The Stranglers: Longtime British punk rockers The Stranglers never really took off in the U.S. The band’s highest charting album, 1986’s “Dreamtime,” peaked at #172 on the Billboard 200 album chart. But given alternative radio’s penchant for featuring legacy U.K. acts in the early years of the MRT chart, it’s no surprise that this track garnered a fair amount of radio airplay and ultimately finished at #5 behind “Joey.”

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“Kool Thing” by Sonic Youth: Alt-rock progenitors Sonic Youth made the jump to a major label in 1990 with the release of their album “Goo,” which topped out at #96 on the Billboard 200 album chart. The first single from that album, “Kool Thing,” gained significant traction on alternative radio and would catapult the band from underground success to alt-rock royalty in the 1990s. “Kool Thing” became the highest-charting single in the band’s career to date, hitting a #7 peak behind “Joey.”

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“Onion Skin” by Boom Crash Opera: Aussie rockers Boom Crash Opera burned bright in their native Australia, releasing six studio albums and charting regularly there. For whatever reason, the band never found a foothold with U.S. audiences, especially given the successes of other Australian bands like Midnight Oil during this time period. That said, “Onion Skin” is a solid track, and it peaked at #8 on the MRT chart behind Concrete Blonde.

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“Pineapple Face” by Revenge: New Order bassist Peter Hook created a side project called Revenge, and during that band’s brief run, they succeeded in bringing “Pineapple Face” to the alternative music charts. This industrial-rock track peaked at #8 behind Concrete Blonde.

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