Music Friday: Lisa Lisa Sings About Her '14-Karat Love' in 1987’s #1 Hit, ‘Head to Toe’

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you great songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam sing about a 14-karat love in their #1 hit from the summer of 1987, “Head to Toe.”

Lisa Lisa (born Lisa Velez) uses jewelry metaphors, pop culture references and what Ad Age magazine called the best advertising slogan of the 20th century to illustrate just how much she cherishes her guy — a guy who used to be her best friend and now is her boyfriend. She sings, “14-karat love, you are my Jewel of the Nile / When we make love, diamonds are forever.”

Penned for a De Beers marketing campaign in 1947 by NW Ayer copywriter Mary Frances Gerety, the brilliant four-word tagline “A Diamond Is Forever” has inspired an Ian Fleming novel, a James Bond flick, an iconic theme song by Shirley Bassey and Lisa Lisa's "Head to Toe."

The Jewel of the Nile was a blockbuster action-adventure movie from 1985 starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner.

The dance number, which zoomed to the top of the U.S. Billboard 100 chart, is one of the iconic dance tunes of the 1980s. It features a Freestyle vibe seasoned with a generous sprinkling of soul, electro-funk, Latin rhythms and hip-hop. It’s the type of song that would come up on a playlist alongside the early work of Paula Abdul, Gloria Estefan and Sheila E.

“Head to Toe” was composed by Full Force, a long-time production and songwriting powerhouse. According to music trivia website SongFacts.com, the girlfriend of Full Force member Paul Anthony blurted out what would become the song’s catchy hook during their gym workout.

Apparently she was so impressed by his physique that she screamed that “she loved him from head to toe.” Anthony brought that nugget to the rest of the group and, before long, a chart topper was born with the unforgettable hook, “Ooh, baby, I think I love you / From head to toe.”

“Head to Toe” appeared on Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam’s Spanish Fly album, a critically acclaimed work that sold more than one million copies and spawned two #1 hits. The other was the memorable “Lost in Emotion.”

The Harlem-based Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam consisted of lead vocalist Velez, guitarist/bassist Alex “Spanador” Moseley and drummer/keyboardist Mike Hughes. The group was assembled and produced by Full Force, which has worked with a long list of top acts, such as Britney Spears, James Brown, Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, La Toya Jackson, Patty LaBelle and Selena.

Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam enjoyed a successful seven-year run from 1984 to 1991. We invite you to check out the official video of “Head to Toe.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

“Head To Toe”
Written by Full Force. Performed by Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam.

Head to toe
I know

Today started with a crazy kiss
On our way home
We were in for a surprise
Who would have known

Who would have thought that we would become lovers
As friends we were so, so tight
Can’t help myself, you make me feel so right
I got to, got to, got to tell you, darlin’

Ooh, baby, I think I love you
From head to toe
Ooh, baby, I think I love you
From head to toe

I think I love you from head to toe
I know

Here today, gone tomorrow
It’s possible, but I doubt it
His kiss is credit in the bank of love
I never leave home without it

He’s different from any boy I know
Body supreme
Bedroom eyes, head back to the side
Please don’t be so mean

14-karat love, you are my Jewel of the Nile
When we make love, diamonds are forever
Top to bottom I love you, I will leave you never
I got to, got to, got to tell you, darlin’

Ooh, baby, I think I love you
From head to toe
Ooh, baby, I’ve got to kiss you
From head to toe

Ooh, baby, I think I love you
You got to know
Ooh, baby, I think I love you
From head to toe

I think I love you from head to toe
You can’t hurry love, you got to take it slow
But my angel, you forget your wings tonight [Heaven up above]
Baby, you got the love

14-karat love, you are my Jewel of the Nile
When we make love, diamonds are forever
Top to bottom I love you, I will leave you never
I got to, got to, got to tell you, darlin’

Ooh, baby, I think I love you
From head to toe
Ooh, baby, I want to kiss you
From head to toe

Ooh, baby, I think I love you
You got to know
Ooh, baby, I think I love you
From head to toe

I think I love you from head to toe
I know

Ooh, baby, I want to kiss you
From head to toe
Ooh, baby, I think I love you
You got to know

Ooh, baby, I think I love you
From head to toe

Credit: Screen capture via Youtube.com.

Back-to-Back: Famous Diamond Mines Yield Two Stones With Combined Weight of 736 Carats

On back-to-back days last week, Lucara Diamonds and Petra Diamonds unveiled gem-quality white diamonds weighing a combined 736.42 carats.

On July 29, Lucara announced the recovery of a 393.5-carat Type IIa gem-quality white diamond from its Karowe Diamond Mine in Botswana.

Just one day earlier, Petra unveiled a 342.92-carat Type IIa exceptional white diamond discovered at its Cullinan mine in South Africa.

Both mines have been in the news lately because of a string of impressive diamonds coming from each location.

In late June, we reported on Lucara’s discovery of a 1,174-carat rough diamond — the third-largest in history and the fourth diamond from Botswana to tip the scales at more than 1,000 carats.

The mining company noted that the stone was actually the largest fragment from a much larger rough diamond that failed to survive the sorting process. Several other similar-color fragments from the main stone weighed 471 carats, 218 carats and 159 carats, for a grand total of 2,022.

Lucara reported that its 393-carat gem is the seventh diamond greater than 300 carats to be recovered at Karowe this year.

Meanwhile, 745 km (462 mi) away at the Cullinan mine, Petra Diamonds was also riding a wave of good fortune. In early June, the mining company unearthed an exceptional 39.34-carat blue diamond that yielded more than $1 million per carat via a special tender on July 12.

The 119-year-old Cullinan Mine (originally known as the Premier Mine) is credited with producing seven of the world’s largest 50 rough diamonds based on carat weight. These include the 507-carat Cullinan Heritage, 599-carat Centenary, 755-carat Golden Jubilee and the largest rough diamond ever discover — the 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond.

Petra noted that the newly discovered 342.92-carat gem is likely to be sold via the company’s tender in September.

The diamonds revealed by the two mining companies last week are both Type IIa stones, which means they are colorless and chemically pure with no traces of nitrogen or boron impurities.

Credits: 393.5-carat diamond image courtesy of Lucara Diamonds. 342.92-carat diamond image courtesy of Petra Diamonds.

Ancient Egyptians Weren’t Far Off When They Celebrated Peridot as the ‘Gem of the Sun’

The Ancient Egyptians mined peridot on the Red Sea island of Zabargad and celebrated the vibrant green stone as the “gem of the sun.” Thousands of years later, modern scientists have proven that August’s official birthstone is truly extraterrestrial, as it has been found embedded within meteorites and scattered across the surface of Mars.

While nearly all of the peridot that you see in your jeweler’s showcase was born deep within the Earth’s mantel, some very special specimens originated in deep space.

Did you know that translucent gem-quality peridot is a prominent part of a stony-iron meteorite called a pallasite? The formation contains large gem crystals in a silvery honeycomb of nickel-iron.

A beautiful example of this phenomenon is seen in the Fukang meteorite, which was discovered near Fukang, China, in 2000. The 2,200 lb (1,003 kg) mass was obtained by a Chinese dealer, who removed a 44 lb chunk from the main mass and exhibited the specimen at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show in 2005.

The photo, above, shows a slice from the Fukang pallasite. The greenish-yellow areas are gem-quality peridot in various shapes, from rounded to angular. They range in size from 5 mm to several centimeters.

The main mass of the Fukang pallasite reportedly contains peridot clusters up to 11 cm (4.3 in) in diameter.

Peridot is also credited with being the first gem to be discovered on another planet. The Mars landing of 2003 revealed that green peridot crystals — in the form of the gem’s less-precious cousin, olivine — cover about 19,000 square miles of the Red Planet’s surface.

In addition to being the official birthstone of August, peridot is also the 16th anniversary gemstone. Colors range from pure green to yellowish-green to greenish-yellow, but the finest hue is green without any hint of yellow or brown, according to the Gemological Institute of America.

The world’s largest faceted peridot weighs 310 carats and is part of the Smithsonian’s National Gem and Mineral Collection.

Credits: Pallasite slice by Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Peridot grouping by Chip Clark/National Gem and Mineral Collection, Smithsonian.

Tokyo Olympic Gold Medal Has a Melt Value of $832, But This One From 1936 Fetched $1.46MM

If the gold medals awarded at this summer's Olympic Games in Tokyo were made of pure gold, each would carry a precious metal value of $35,556. Unfortunately for the 339 athletes who will earn the ultimate symbol of athletic achievement at these Games, the gold medals are actually made of 500 grams of silver overlaid with 6 grams of gold. The melt value is just $832 — far from the $1.46 million paid in 2013 for Jesse Owens' 1936 Olympic gold medal.

There was a time when Olympic gold medals were actually made from pure gold, with the last ones awarded in Stockholm, Sweden, back in 1912. Starting in 1916, the International Olympic Committee mandated that gold medals be made with a 24-karat gilding of exactly 6 grams (.211 ounces).

On rare occasions, Olympic gold medals will appear at auction and this is where their real values are reflected.

Back in 2013, billionaire Ron Burkle plunked down $1.46 million at SCP Auctions for a Jesse Owens gold medal from the 1936 Berlin Olympics. It was the highest price ever paid for a piece of Olympic memorabilia.

Owens’ performance in Berlin was one of the most significant in Olympic history because German führer Adolf Hitler was convinced the Games would showcase what he believed was the superiority of the Aryan race. Instead, the 23-year-old son of an Alabama share cropper embarrassed the German dictator by dominating his athletes with decisive wins in the 100- and 200-meter dash, the long jump and as a member of the 4×100 meter relay team.

In 2019, Goldin Auctions offered for sale a second Owens gold medal from the same Berlin Olympics. That medal was sold to an online bidder for $615,000.

Of the four gold medals captured by Owens, the whereabouts of the other two are unknown. The one purchased by Burkle in 2013 had been gifted by Owens to his good friend, entertainer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. The medal came to SCP Auctions via the estate of Robinson’s wife, Elaine Plaines-Robinson.

The Owens medal sold by Goldin Auctions had been owned by the family of John Terpak, Sr., a weightlifter who met Owens during the 1936 Games. Owens apparently gifted the medal to Terpak in appreciation of his generosity and kindness.

Interestingly, Owens’ 1936 medal is significantly smaller than the ones being awarded in Tokyo. It measures 55mm in diameter (compared to 85mm for the Tokyo medal) is 5mm thick (vs. 7.7mm to 12.1mm thick) and weighs 71 grams (vs. 556 grams).

If Owens' gold medal was made of pure gold it would have a melt value of $4,450. Since it was made primarily of silver, its melt value is just over $442.

Credits: Gold medals courtesy of Goldin Auctions. Jesse Owens photo by N.N., CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.