One of my best friends and I bonded over music in the 1980s as friends are apt to do. However, Jonathan and I have always been ridiculously simpatico when it comes to what we consider to be great songs, despite his obsession with Patti Smyth.
Kidding aside, we both loved this tune from a guy named John Hunter, which I’ve always misspelled as Jon Hunter until today. He was with a Chicago-area band called The Hounds, and he had a minor, minor, minor solo hit in 1985 with a song called “Tragedy.”
This was a minor hit, but a major song. One of my all-time favorites of the decade.
And it’s a great video, too. Check it out.
It peaked at No. 39 on February 16 and 23 of 1985, and it was gone just like that. I was able to find this Chicago Tribune article about Hunter’s success with the song and his aspirations to become a great writer. In the article, he talks about getting to move out of his parents’ home and buying a nice car.
Perks.
He never sniffed commercial success again, but God bless America, he contributed a wonderful song to the 1980s catalog. Best I can tell from Google, he’s been a music instructor somewhere in Chicago — and best I can tell from YouTube, the band The Hounds has gotten together at least once over the past few years.
I Love 80's Music! 