The Puppets- The Way of Life 12”
Here’s a pretty killer dance/disco 12”, released in 1983. The Puppets were a New York/Long Island based dance group, who earned quite a bit of airplay from their lone 12” single. The 12” was released on Quality Records, a Canadian label, and came with generic brown sleeve. You can still find this one kicking around certain record stores if you have the patience to sift through coverless singles. Worth the time!
Rumor has it that The Puppets disbanded while recording a follow up full-length. Would love to hear any unreleased material!
Here’s the breakdown for the single:
The Puppets- The Way of Life 12”
1. The Way of Life (Dance Mix)
2. The Way of Life (Vocal)
3. The Way of Life (Instrumental)
*download it here* (re-ripped 4.15.17)
May 18, 2010 at 9:03 pm
I have always <3 this song… it's on a "Hardest Hits" compilation.
August 25, 2020 at 11:00 am
Who was lead vocals on this song??
May 26, 2010 at 3:07 am
This is the blog that just keeps on giving, this has been one of those records that I have always kept my eye out for but never stumbled across till now….all I can say is, its been well worth the wait!
Thanks very much.
May 31, 2010 at 7:27 pm
Thumbs up to this one as well.
April 10, 2011 at 6:09 pm
Thank you very much for upload this great song!
April 5, 2013 at 8:51 am
Thanks buddy. i was half of The Puppets. We were actually called Burning Puppets. The manager or the record label, I don’t know, but they messed it up. We were furious until we heard it on the radio. So we were The Puppets.
July 23, 2013 at 12:52 am
Hi John, I totally grew up hearing this song, and loved it – my friends and I all knew it very, very well, as they played it frequently on CFNY 102.1 in Toronto (now long gone, but it was the best station ever) ….
I just came across this page when I literally found myself now humming the tune, almost 30 years later. I still create electronic music, now in the “techno” realm, but I still have a soft spot for beautiful melodies and synths like this one. It epitomizes the best of the era. Timeless, in my humble opinion. Naturally I assumed you were Canadian 😀
Any other interesting trivia to share? Synths used? Who the other half is? Any other tunes? Subsequent projects?
December 13, 2013 at 2:01 am
How the hell are you !!! Hope all is well . I’d love to hear from you.
I hope you are working some where in the music industry.
I’m still working in radio after about 20 years with CBS. Ran the engineering
departments of KROCK CBS-FM and the former WNEW.
Herby
April 15, 2017 at 12:54 am
RICHIE! I am such a dolt, I’m answering 4 years later. There is a new film about WLIR called Dare to be Different. Its at the Tribeca Film Festival… April 30th 2017. I’ll be there, I hope we get in touch ASAP and you can go too!
April 16, 2021 at 9:43 pm
Is there anyway to get in touch with John Cannon??? Where is he from??? Anyone know??? It’s for someone suffering from cancer. Thanks for the help.
August 24, 2021 at 11:15 pm
His original post (if it is actually him) is from johncannon@gmail.com
You could try that.
December 20, 2013 at 3:24 am
This song sounded so good when I first heard it on wlir 92.7,the station that dares to be different. I had to go to the record store to get a copy and it was so hard to find a copy. I went to another place and found it.
January 9, 2014 at 6:47 pm
Loved this song and at one time owned the 33 1/3 vinyl . .was browsing at The Wiz on Main street in Flushing NY sometime in 1983 when this song came on . . bought the single asap and played the heck out of it. . .always wondered what happened to this group . .did not realize they are from Long Island NY . . . thanx for the memories and great song !
July 1, 2015 at 2:48 am
YES YES YES! Another forgotten gem. I’m working my way back up the blog, visiting areas I overlooked the first time, and this is a song that had slipped through the cracks of time. I also listened to it on 102.1 from Toronto. This is the epitome of a CFNY song.
October 26, 2016 at 12:40 pm
I remember grooving to this song at Danceteria back in the 80s
super groovy
April 12, 2020 at 7:17 pm
I have always LOVED this song ever since college, when I heard it played on WFNX in Boston. To this day, I still find myself singing it to myself every now and then. Such a great tune! I have searched and searched for it and finally found it here. Wow, I’m SO psyched!