This Jheri Curl June, we’ve unsurprisingly talked a fair amount about artists from Minneapolis; but most of those artists–again, unsurprisingly–had a direct connection to the artist from Minneapolis, Prince. The Jets are a rare example of a Twin Cities R&B group from the mid-’80s that didn’t have the Purple One pulling the strings from behind the scenes. A Mormon, Polynesian American family band, comprised of the eight oldest children of Maikeli “Mike” and Vaké Wolfgramm–no, seriously, I had to crop half of the kids out of the featured image just to make it a manageable size–the Jets actually got started in the late 1970s, performing as “Quasar.” But it wasn’t until 1986, and their Number 3 single “Crush on You,” when the Jets really…took off (BOOOOOM).
I probably hear “Crush on You” at least once a day on the Sirius XM station the Groove, and it never gets old: it’s a frothy, energetic blend of freestyle and classic Minneapolis Jheri Curl, with lyrics (sung by the two youngest Wolfgramms, Elizabeth and Moana) that are exactly as wholesome as you’d expect from a bunch of teenagers in the LDS Church. If you can listen to this and not smile, I hate to break it to you, but you’re probably a sociopath.
We’ve got one more day of Ladies’ Week, followed by one more week of Jheri Curl June. Let’s enjoy it while it lasts. Playlists below!
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