Taco Ockerse, known mononymously as Taco, is an Indonesian-born Dutch musician and entertainer who started his career in Germany.
"Take My Breath Away" is a song written by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock for the 1986 film Top Gun, performed by American new wave band Berlin. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song in 1986.
"Fame" is a song written by Michael Gore (music) and Dean Pitchford (lyrics) and released in 1980, that achieved chart success as the theme song to the Fame film and TV series. The song was performed by Irene Cara, who played the role of Coco Hernandez in the original film. It was also her debut single as a recording artist. The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1980, and the Golden Globe Award the same year. In 2004, it finished at number 51 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema.
"99 Luftballons" is a song by the West German band Nena from their 1983 self-titled album. An English-language version titled "99 Red Balloons", with lyrics by Kevin McAlea, was also released by Nena on the album 99 Luftballons in 1984 after widespread success of the original in Europe and Japan. The English version is not a direct translation of the German original and contains lyrics with a somewhat different meaning. In the US, the English-language version did not chart, while the German-language recording became Nena's only US hit.
Blue Skies is a 1946 American musical comedy film directed by Stuart Heisler and starring Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, and Joan Caulfield. Based on a story by Irving Berlin, the film is about a dancer who loves a showgirl who loves a compulsive nightclub-opener who can't stay committed to anything in life for very long. Produced by Sol C. Siegel, Blue Skies was filmed in Technicolor and released by Paramount Pictures. The music, lyrics, and story were written by Irving Berlin, with most of the songs recycled from earlier works.
"Always on My Mind" is a ballad written by Wayne Carson, Johnny Christopher, and Mark James, first recorded by Brenda Lee and first released by Gwen McCrae in March 1972. Lee's version was released three months later in June 1972. The song has been a crossover hit, charting in both the country and western and pop categories. Elvis Presley's recording was the first commercially successful version of the song.
"Sexual Healing" is a song recorded by American singer Marvin Gaye from his seventeenth and final studio album, Midnight Love (1982). It was his first single since his exit from his long-term record label Motown earlier in the year, following the release of the In Our Lifetime (1981) album the previous year. It peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is listed at number 198 on Rolling Stone's list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. "Sexual Healing" is written and composed in the key of E-flat major and is set in time signature of 4/4 with a tempo of 94 beats per minute.
"All Night Long (All Night)" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lionel Richie from his second solo album, Can't Slow Down (1983). The song combined Richie's Commodores style with Caribbean influences. The single reached number one on three Billboard charts (pop, R&B and adult contemporary). In the UK, it peaked at number two on the singles chart.
"The Wayward Wind" is a country song written by Stanley Lebowsky (music) and Herb Newman (lyrics), and first recorded by American singer Gogi Grant in 1955, and released in 1956. Grant's version reached No. 1 on both the Cash Box charts, where it remained at No. 1 for five weeks, and the Billboard charts, remaining at No. 1 for six weeks, ending Elvis Presley's seven-week run at No. 1 with "Heartbreak Hotel". It remained in the top 10 for fifteen weeks, and was ranked as the No. 5 song for 1956 according to Billboard. It became a Gold record. Members of the Western Writers of America chose the song as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.
"The Loco-Motion" is a 1962 pop song written by American songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King. "The Loco-Motion" was originally written for R&B singer Dee Dee Sharp, but Sharp turned the song down.
"For All We Know" is a soft rock song written for the 1970 film Lovers and Other Strangers, with music by Fred Karlin and lyrics by Robb Wilson and Arthur James. Both Royer and Griffin were founding members of the soft rock group Bread. It was originally performed, for the film's soundtrack, by Larry Meredith. The best known version of the song is by American pop duo the Carpenters which reached No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 1 on the US Billboard Easy Listening chart in 1971. The song was also a hit for Shirley Bassey at the same time in the United Kingdom. It has since been covered by various artists, including Petula Clark.
"How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" is a song co-written in 1982 by Doug James and Michael Bolton. The track was originally recorded by Laura Branigan in 1983, charting at number one in both the US and Canadian Adult Contemporary charts. Bolton later recorded his own version of the song that topped the US Billboard Hot 100 and became a worldwide hit.
"We've Got Tonite" is a song written by American rock musician Bob Seger, from his album Stranger in Town (1978). The single record charted twice for Seger, and was developed from a prior song that he had written. Further versions charted in 1983 for Kenny Rogers as a duet with Sheena Easton, and again in 2002 for Ronan Keating.
"Let's Face the Music and Dance" is a song published in 1936 by Irving Berlin for the film Follow the Fleet, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and featured in a celebrated dance duet with Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The jazz song has also been covered by various artists years following its release, including Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Mel Torme, Todd Gordon and others.
"Magic" is a song by American R&B singer Robin Thicke. The song was produced in 2008 for Thicke's third studio album, Something Else. Its live instrumentation varied; including conga, horn and violin. The song's lyrics refer to a someone reversing their lovers past hurts in relationships, and uses magic metaphors. The song was written by him along with his ex-wife Paula Patton and James Gass. The track was sent to radio on May 20, 2008 and is the album's lead single.
"The Way He Makes Me Feel" is a popular song from 1983 performed by Barbra Streisand. The song is featured in the film adaptation of the play Yentl, in which Streisand starred and sang most of the music. The lyrics were written by Alan and Marilyn Bergman, with music by Michel Legrand.
Puttin' On the Ritz is a 1930 American pre-Code musical film directed by Edward Sloman and starring Harry Richman, Joan Bennett, and James Gleason. The screenplay was written by Gleason and William K. Wells based on a story by John W. Considine Jr. It was the first of many films to feature the popular song "Puttin' On the Ritz", which was written and published by Irving Berlin in 1929.
"Heaven on the 7th Floor" is a pop song that became a 1977 hit single for British singer Paul Nicholas. It was his biggest U.S. hit, a track from his eponymous debut LP. The song spent three weeks at number 6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. during November and December of that year. "Heaven On The 7th Floor" became a Gold record. It reached number 49 in Canada.
Blue Skies is a studio album of phonograph records by Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire released in 1946 featuring songs that were presented in the American musical film Blue Skies. Like Song Hits from Holiday Inn, the entire 78 rpm album would be composed of Irving Berlin songs written specifically for the film. This was the first release of one of Astaire's greatest songs, "Puttin' On the Ritz", on shellac disc record.
After Eight is the debut album by Indonesian-born Dutch singer and songwriter Taco Ockerse, mononymously known as Taco. The record, released in 1982 by RCA Records, contained his biggest hit, a synth and New Wave driven take on the Irving Berlin standard "Puttin' on the Ritz". However, in addition to six covers of classic pop songs, he co-wrote five original songs.
