’80s Divas: The Sheena Easton Edition
She took the morning train goin‘ anywhere … and went to No. 1.
Mysteries abound when it comes to ’80s music (like what did Prince really have against “to,” “for” and “you”?), and some of the biggest head-scratchers involve the largely forgotten Scottish beauty who took the “Morning Train” to global superstardom in 1981.
Why doesn’t anyone talk about Sheena Easton anymore?
Why do I never hear her songs anywhere I go unless I’m playing them on Spotify?
Why doesn’t she get more love?
It’s not like she was a one-hit wonder, or some obscure also-ran. At her peak, she was every bit as huge as Belinda Carlisle, an equally beautiful but less gifted singer. (Fun fact: She was born Sheena Shirley Orr, meaning that she shares a maiden name and a professional surname — from her first husband — with two members of the Cars, Elliot Easton and Benjamin Orr, whose band was scoring concurrent hits.)
She went to number one on Billboard’s Hot 100 (with 1981’s “Morning Train [9 to 5],” which I used to own on vinyl), making her one of the few solo UK-bred female singers to do so. Then she sang a hit James Bond theme: 1982’s “For Your Eyes Only,” which I also owned on vinyl. Two years after her 007 alliance, she held her own with…
