David Ricketts

Although they only recorded one album, the California duo of David Baerwald and David Ricketts made some of the finest mainstream pop of the '80s. With its slick surfaces and memorable melodies, 1986's Boomtown was deceptively smooth; beneath the production, the songs were tales of despair and broken dreams in the Reagan era. David + David scored a surprise hit in 1986 with "Welcome to the Boomtown"; it was their only single that charted. Baerwald began a critically acclaimed solo career in 1990; Ricketts has not released anything since Boomtown. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo