Song:Steady
Album:Horse Of A Different Color: The Jules Shear Collection (1976-1989)
For a guy who has been around since the 70s with his various bands and writing songs for others, it's hard to believe that Jules Shear's only chart hit was Steady in 1985. He may be best known as the first host of the MTV series Unplugged. He was born Mar. 7, 1952 in Pittsburgh and started out in the glee club at the University Of Pittsburgh. He moved to Los Angeles in 1973 and formed The Funky Kings with Jack Tempchin. They recorded one critically acclaimed but unsuccessful album for Arista in 1976. They split up and Shear started Jules & The Polar Bears. They released two critically acclaimed but unsuccessful albums for Columbia. When a third album was rejected, Shear left Columbia and signed a solo contract with EMI America. Meanwhile, his songs were hits for others. All Through The Night was a top 5 hit for Cyndi Lauper in 1984 and The Bangles had a top 30 hit with If She Knew What She Wants in 1986. He released two albums on EMI and Steady reached #57 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1985. Shear co-wrote Steady with Cyndi Lauper. But the albums didn't sell and EMI dropped him and Shear formed The Reckless Sleepers with Elliot Easton of The Cars. When their only album didn't sell, Shear released the acoustic album The Third Party in 1989. This led to his stint hosting the MTV series Unplugged. He left after 13 episodes. Jules Shear continues to record today. His latest CD More was released by Funzalo Records Sept. 2008. This comp from Razor & Tie is an excellent overview of his career. Here's the video for Steady by Jules Shear.
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