Sly Fox’s Let’s Go All the Way is THE perfect song!

Ending my SPRING OF ‘86 perfect songs with this long lost gem and one hit wonder, Sly Fox’s Let’s Go All The Way.  There were so many outstanding songs, I mean a real bounty of talent and aural greatness, along with a treasure trove of MTV videos from that spring that it was difficult to choose just a few perfect songs.  But what I tried to do is focus on songs that have particular memories associated with them even if they weren’t the hits that everyone automatically thinks of.  And Let’s Go All The Way just hits me, just spins my head around and gives me that feeling in my solar plexus that I felt forty years ago when I was young, twenty, mostly inexperienced and innocent.  Well, mostly innocent, lol.

So Sly Fox and a song that plainly puts it all out there. No guessing what the lyrics are about.  Perfect for randy young people in the 80s to blast from their boomboxes of car radios on sunny days with the windows down, driving with your friends to no place particular other than to buy wine coolers or beer and experiencing life without stress, responsibilities.  Just sheer vitality oozing from every pore. EXCEPT- the song is not actually about sex.  If you listen carefully to the lyrics, they are really about modern culture and disillusionment with systems of power.  The words Let’s Go All the Way meant, according to singer Gary Cooper, to go all the way in following your dreams and visions. 

Sly Fox’s funk and art rock roots ran deep. Gary “Mudbone” Cooper was a vocalist with Parliament- Funkadelic and Michael Camacho was in the orbit of David Bowie. The duo only released one album, Let’s Go All the Way in December 1985. The single Let’s Go All the Way peaked at number 7 on Billboard’s Hot 100 in April 1986 and the video was in heavy rotation on MTV that spring. This song opens with a distinctive synth buzzing that goes right to your core.  It’s difficult to pin one style on the band. How could you categorize them, beyond being basically a one-hit-wonder? New Wave? Synth Pop? Disco? The song also had a hip-hoppy vibe.  Could also work at a rave with that rhythm.  It’s quite an amalgamation of styles but they all worked together to create an instantly memorable and recognizable song.  

Cheers to that magical spring so long ago.  What a gift to be able to look back fondly and remember with love all of the good times.  Don’t forget to tune into the Wax Museum Sunday nights, and get yourself a boombox with a tape player, pop that baby open, put in the cassette and Let’s Go All the Way!!!!!!!!

I also want to make a pitch here for my friend’s mind-blowing Youtube channel, The Wax Museum Network on youtube.  Ronnie Dark, the host, curates trippy rarities from the psychedelic 60s, long forgotten songs from the 70s and 80s and just generally groovy tunes of all sorts. His vast knowledge of all things music is truly astounding and he shares it all on Sunday nights from 7-10 or you can watch archived shows anytime! I will put a link to the channel below.  If you are a serious lover of music and a dedicated fan of vinyl then you MUST check it out.  As the tagline says, don’t be scared, it’s only vinyl!

https://www.youtube.com/@TheWaxMuseumNetwork