Heartbeat

Don Johnson is better known as a star actor of television and stage; his most famous roles being Sonny Crockett in the '80s TV crime drama Miami Vice, and Nash Bridges in the TV mid-'90s detective drama of the same name. He's also been in dozens of films - don't forget his part as the villain golfer in the Kevin Costner film Tin Cup (did you know Kevin Costner also had a music career, in country music?). In the '80s, many film and TV stars were persuaded to try cranking out a music video or two - examples include Eddie Murphy with "Party All The Time" and Bruce Willis with "Respect Yourself." Johnson had some moderate success with his singing. "Heartbeat" was his only Top 10 hit on the Billboard chart, but it was also a worldwide hit, charting in the UK, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Austria, and other places where Europeans have a deep love for American exports of David Hasselhoff's caliber. Johnson would break the Top 40 one more time, this time with assistance from Barbra Streisand in 1988 with "Till I Loved You."

This song was written by Wendy Waldman and Eric Kaz, who wrote a lot of songs that Linda Ronstadt recorded. Waldman also wrote "Save The Best For Last" by Vanessa Williams.

The video for this song is hilarious, as Johnson tries to act more than he sings (even though his singing is quite decent), resulting in his gesturing constantly as he emotes to the floor, the sky, his shoulder, the air in front of him... Which is not to say that the album Heartbeat wasn't treated seriously. Guest artists who showed up to lend a hand included Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Ron Wood, and the aforementioned Barbra Streisand.