2241. “Girls” by Dwight Twilley
Official Uncensored Video (NSFW):
Ah, boobies.
Anyhow, the career of Dwight Twilley raises a sort of interesting philosophical question. Philosophical might be overstating things.
A few months back, I had a series of ongoing conversations about what constituted a “One Hit Wonder.” There were some folks who posited that, even if a group had more than one top 40 hit, if only one of those songs entered the popular consciousness, that group was a one hit wonder.
Dwight Twilley had two top 40 hits. “Girls” from 1984’s Jungle and “I’m On Fire” (coming up next). So, technically, this would make Twilley sort of a two hit wonder…
…except I’m not sure that one could honestly make a case for these songs entering the “popular consciousness.” Don’t get me wrong here, they are both enjoyable songs and Twilley clearly knows his way around a lyric, a hook, a guitar and a vocal, but the songs weren’t *that* huge.
So, does this mean that Twilley actually had no hits? If the “popular consciousness” argument regarding “one hit wonder” status is to be followed, the answer would be “he has had no hits.” Obviously, this is ludicrous. He did have hits. There is evidence to prove it.
I only ever heard this song on the radio when I listened to American Top 40 with Casey Kasem. I remember the video (the censored version) better than I remember the song. I was all of 16 when the song was out, so any video that suggested the shear joy of peeking into the girl’s dressing room (and, better yet, suggested that the girls might be peeking back) was sure to pique my curiosity.
Also, as you’ll discover, I’m a big Tom Petty fan, and Petty’s vocals are featured on the choruses.
I’ll also mention that Twilley seems to be singing “I’m on girls” towards the end as a backing vocal, which has to be a deliberate shout out to his earlier “I’m On Fire” hit.