Over My Head (Toni Basil song)

"Over My Head"
Single by Toni Basil
from the album Toni Basil
Released	1983
Recorded	Radialchoice/Chrysalis
Genre	Rock power pop new wave
Label	A&M
Songwriter(s)	Franne Golde, Sue Shifrin
Producer(s)	Mike Chapman
Toni Basil singles chronology
"Shoppin' from A to Z" (1983) "Over My Head" (1983) "Street Beat" (1984)

"Over My Head" is a song by American singer Toni Basil. It was featured on her self-titled 1983 album,[1] and reached number 81 on the Billboard Hot 100[2] and number 4 on the US Dance chart.

Release

"Over My Head" was the second single from Toni Basil's 1983 album Toni Basil.[1][3] The song was released as a 12" record by Chrysalis and Virgin Records.[4] The song was also featured on her 1994 greatest hits compilation The Best of Toni Basil: Mickey & Other Love Songs.[5]

Music video

A music video for the song was released, directed by Basil and Michelle Simmons.[6]

Synopsis

The video starts with Basil dancing in front of several paperback mystery novels, before being zapped into one of the books. She is suddenly featured in a dark room, clad in vampire-like fashion. She then appears on the cover of another mystery novel, before she is shown stuck on train tracks as a train flies over her. The train suddenly becomes a plane. Basil finally escapes the books and continues dancing in front of them.[7]

Accolades

The video was nominated for "Best Choreography" at the first MTV Music Video Awards, in 1984. The video lost, however, to Michael Jackson's "Thriller."[8]

Commercial performance

The song reached number 81 on the Billboard Hot 100, spending a total of 6 weeks on the chart; it was her final single to reach the Hot 100.[2] The song also went to number 4 on the US Dance chart.[9] "Over My Head" was the final charting single that Basil's record label, Radial Choice, had before folding in 1984.[10]

Charts

Chart (1984)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot 100[2]	81
US Dance Songs[9]	4

References

1. ""Toni Basil" album information". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
2. "Toni Basil Chart History". Billboard.com. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
3. "Toni Basil singles". Discogs. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
4. "Single Release info". Discogs. 1983. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
5. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. ""The Best of Toni Basil: Mickey & Other Love Songs" review". Allmusic. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
6. "Billboard magazine article". Google Books. 31 August 1985. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
7. "Music Video". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-20. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
8. "1984 VMA's". MTV. Archived from the original on June 30, 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
9. Gruber, Xaque (8 November 2012). "'Mickey' Turns 30: A Closer Look at the One and Only Toni Basil". Huffington Post. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
10. "Toni Basil's Tenacious Tumble To 'Mickey'". Cuepoint. 15 September 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.