Hilly Michaels

New York session drummer Michaels — who first came to light backing Connecticut auteur Roger C. Reale in the late ’70s — had already played on records by Ian Hunter, Sparks and Ellen Foley by the time he stepped forward as a singing, songwriting solo artist. Although commercially fruitless, the two albums he made at the dawn of the ’80s are giddily over-produced new wave-era pop that have more hooks than a mile of barbed wire. Produced by Roy Thomas Baker, Calling All Girls is the better of the two, with such giddily infectious tunes as “Shake It and Dance,” “U.S. Male” (not the Elvis Presley song) and the title track. For this frenetic confection, Michaels gets assists from an eclectic collection of Foley, Liza Minnelli, former bandmate G.E. Smith, Elton John guitarist Davey Johnstone, Greg Hawkes of the Cars, Dan Hartman and others. Whee!