In August of 1987 I was visiting some friends in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. It is a small town on the East Side of Madison. Everyone I knew was busy one day so I went to the East Towne Mall. I got there early and the mall was not crowded…yet. But it was about to be packed in a few short hours.
I noticed that the Record Town in the mall had a window display of nothing but Tiffany records. I had heard of her. She had recently been in my area at Woodfield mall near Chicago. The Chicago area news was buzzing about this teenage girl singing in malls across the country for the Summer. That was literally all I knew about her in that moment. The stations that played her music were not stations I listened to.
I went into the record store and asked when the show was going to start. They told me and said that she would be signing autographs after the 20 minute show. I thought to myself I really have nothing better to do so I will see this show. So I grabbed myself a smoothie from Orange Julius and camped out where they were setting up to make sure I had a good spot having no clue what to expect.
I was not the only one doing the early spot plan. But at 17 years old I was also the tallest and oldest of the people who got there early. I was also the only guy.
By the time the show started the mall square area where the stage was set up was packed and the buzz was high. This was before the internet, she had only been doing these shows for a few weeks, and the album just dropped a few weeks prior. But after her Chicago Area mall show “I Think We’re Alone Now” was getting airplay and she was becoming a household name.
There was no band. She sang to a music track for 20 minutes. Her energy was high, the show was great, and she commanded the stage with with solid pop songs and a strong voice that people do not give enough credit to this day. For a few minutes I had fun and all my troubles were forgotten. As a Tommy James fan I absolutely loved her cover of “I Think We’re Alone Now.”
I glanced at my gold Seiko as her closing song was starting. The 20 minutes was almost done. I maneuvered to the record store to beat the crowd, got my album, and got in line for an autograph.
When it was my turn I said to her, “That was great!” She smiled at me and said, “Thank you!” as she signed the album. When she handed it to me, I reiterated. “Your music isn’t supposed to be my scene, but I was happy and that’s rare. If Paul ever needed proof that silly love songs matter, you’re it. Thank you!” She looked at me for a moment, tilted her head, and said, “That. (pause) I. (there was another pause) Thank you.”
Something about that moment made me feel really good as I left the mall with my autographed album. She touched me for 20 minutes and I hoped that in a brief moment I got to return the favor. My joy in the midst of chronic depression felt amazing.
I was outside of the mall walking to my 1977 Monte Carlo when I heard a young black girl crying. She could not have been more than 13 . Her dad was trying to console her and it was not going well. I stopped and eavesdropped. Someone had taken her signed album from her just a few moments ago and ran off. I walked up to the dad and the inconsolable daughter, knelt down a little, and held my freshly signed album in front of her.
“Don’t let anyone take this one, okay?” Her lower lip was still trembling as her eyes widened. She gingerly reached out to it as if I would pull it away at any moment. When it was in her hands, a smile lit up on her tear stained face.
“Okay.” she sniffed.
I stood up. The dad mouthed thank you and started to reach for his wallet. I shook my head, smiled, and walked to my car.
Why I Feel Tiffany is Fem Friday Worthy
Let’s put aside 2 number one singles and 4 top 40 hits and the fact she was the youngest female artist to have a number one album. She did something that mattered with that mall tour. Even though she was an unknown when the tour started, she was starting to top the charts as the tour went on to the point that the following year New Kids on the Block would open for her!
The music was accessible to every person in the mall and so was she.
She was a teenage girl managed by a team of people, but she engaged with her fans genuinely and gave them as much time as she could. That was her character and thoughtfulness. I follow her on social media and she still does this at live shows and events. She also knew, as a teenager, the reality of teenage girls as she found fame.
In Fem Fridays we have spoken of aesthetics a lot. There was a Madonna look, a Blondie look, a Molly Ringwald look and so forth. She was intentional about her look being approachable. In an interview as her star began to rise she spoke to that.
“Looking at my idols, I want to be like them, dress like them and dye my hair like them. But the average teenager doesn’t have $200 to spend on a nice outfit just to be like their role models. I look at people like Madonna–which is not my image–but when she started she had bows. You can get a bow for 25 cents and girls all over were wearing bows. So she started something kids could copy because it’s affordable and that’s very important. You can’t have something that’s real glitzy and glamorous because the kids are just going to say, ‘That’s beautiful but I can’t afford it.’ “
Think about that. A 16 year old girl who was suddenly thrust into fame thought to herself, “People are going to emulate me, I need to make sure my look is affordable!”
There was something else that was happening in relation to her image. Her and another teenage artist named Debbie Gibson were on the rise at about the same time. If you were a teenage girl, you got to see two teenage girls on MTV and all over magazine covers. They were not the oiled up props rolling around rock stars in the images. They were the pop stars wearing clothes like you wore and looking like someone you saw in your school, perhaps even you.
As far as the music itself? I will always defend pop music. When I spoke to Tiffany for less than 30 seconds, I chose the Paul McCartney reference on purpose. “Silly Love Songs” was Paul’s rebuttal to critics who gave him shit for writing lightweight love songs. In a billboard magazine interview he also stated that it has a great base line.
Music snobs and gatekeepers to joy forget something important. Pop music feels good. For a few moments the deep existential dread and troubles melt away and the beat takes you away from it all. That is medicine for the heart and we are in a world with a lot of broken hearts.
The Darker Things
I do not want to dig too deeply into the darker parts of her biography, but as she neared 18 years old the adults were fighting over the money made from her albums and tireless labor. That mall tour? 3 malls a day at a breakneck pace day after day. And everyone fought for their cut with only one looking out for her needs. She was caught in the crossfire between parents and managers wanting their cut secured.
She wanted her freedom from all of it and asked to be an emancipated adult. The judge hearing the case denied her request but did allow her to move in with her greatest champion and advocate. Tiffany moved in with her grandmother.
After she turned 18 she leveraged her legal adulthood in seeking new management.
Her career would continue on and it is a career many will never achieve in their lifetimes. It never returned to the chart topping packing malls and stadiums level, but to this day she is still touring, singing, and accessible to her fans.
Not every powerful woman who made a difference has to have been trailblazing and breaking new ground on the front lines of every battle. Tiffany shows us that every women can do the little things that matter with any privilege that they may have. She used hers to be thoughtful to people’s financial realities and be accessible to those who needed a few moments of connection and joy. Everyone can do little things every day that matters.
And yes, this Gen X entertainer is not only still performing but also creating and adding some positive vibes into the world despite the hardships life sometimes offers. She will be in the Chicago area 6 days before my birthday. Hoping to make it on July 10th in Skokie, Il. Feel free to tip me so I can go.
Dedicated to Erika
Every Feminist Friday is Dedicated to my friend Erika!
Erika died on Christmas leaving behind a family that has immediate needs.
Click here to read the story of how Erika saved my life when we were teenagers.
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