by Cousin Geoff

Alright, one more fantastically awesome 80s Detroit sports 45 and then I promise I’m done for a while and will go back to more, um, serious takes on good music.  Maybe.

What can I say about this 45?  It was done by Gino Danelli in 1981, the same guy who put out Ain’t No Stoppin’ us Now/Tigers in ‘84.  Cousin Justin tells me that Gino still sings around Detroit these days.  I think that Gino’s next song should be about Cousins Vinyl’s rec league basketball team that was so sweet two years ago - we led the league in techs, ejections, and illegal alley-oop dunks.  We were surely on the same level as these other Detroit sports legends that Gino chose to sing about. 

This one is about Thomas Hearns, one of the most legendary Detroit boxers ever.  Nicknamed The Hitman, or the Motor City Cobra, Hearns still lives in the Detroit area, and is always at the Pistons games these days flashing around. I shook his hand there once.  I said, “Howya doin’ champ!”, as he walked by and he stopped and shook my hand and smiled.  What a great boxer - even though he lost, who could forget his classic fight against Marvelous Marvin Hagler, the most electrifying fight in history?  Known for his tall, lanky build and his aggresive flicker jab, Hearns won world championships in three different weight classes, and is truly worthy of a Gino Danelli song. 

listen to The Hitman, on Trio Three records: