All I Need – Jack Wagner
Soap operas have been launching pads for many singers, actors and actresses. Jack Wagner was no fool and recognized opportunity when it presented itself back in 1985. General Hospital was the biggest soap opera on the air. So big, in fact, that in 1981, the Afternoon Delights hit #33 on the Billboard Top 40 with their novelty song, “General Hospi-tale.” Get it? They switched “tal” with “tale” because they are telling the epic saga of … Read entire article »
Filed under: 1980s
Perfect Way – Scritti Politti
Cupid & Psyche 85 is one of the most exceptional records produced in the 1980s. That’s one big claim, I realize. But the production on that LP is amazingly deep, soulful and funky. If you appreciate great production values and relentless hooks in a synthpop package, spin this record. “Perfect Way” is the big American hit. A song so bouncy and joyous, it reached #11 on the Billboard Top 40 in 1985 transforming Scritti Politti into … Read entire article »
Miami Vice Theme – Jan Hammer
Another instrumental one-hit wonder coming your way today. This one from 1985 takes you back to one of the most influential TV series of all time. I’m not kidding when I write this. Miami Vice was a big deal visually, musically and stylistically. Its influence is still felt today. While we could rhapsodize about the cars Crockett and Tubbs drove (a black 1972 Ferrari Daytona Spyder 365 GTS/4 for Crockett and a 1964 Cadillac Coupe de … Read entire article »
Love Theme from St. Elmo’s Fire – David Foster
If you played the keyboards or piano in the 1980s, you learned the “Love Theme from St. Elmo’s Fire” by David Foster.” Why? One big reason. The girls loved it. It made you appear sensitive and in-touch with the feminine psyche. At least that’s how it remember it now. Back then, it may have been because Demi Moore starred in St. Elmo’s Fire and she was the sexiest woman in the land (her voice alone … Read entire article »
Footloose – Kenny Loggins
I’m a child of the 80s. I know the music, the movies, the books, the TV shows. Besides John Hughes, the patron saint of 80s teen movies (see my list of the “Top 6 Greatest John Hughes Movie/Music Songs”, the patron saint of movie soundtrack hits is Kenny Loggins. Love him or hate him, you have to respect Loggins’ success during the 1980s. Here’s the short list of big hits: Caddyshack – I’m Alright (#7 Billboard hit in … Read entire article »
Working Late – Lone Justice
Editor’s note: Lone Justice is not a one-hit wonder. In fact, they never charted a song in the Billboard Top 40. But they should have… Ever heard of cowpunk? It’s not country. It’s not punk. But for a brief period in the mid-1980s, cowpunk was an active, vibrant sound in Los Angeles bars. And Lone Justice and Maria McKee were the shining lights of the scene. Lone Justice Debut Called “One of Best Albums Ever” by Rolling Stone … Read entire article »
Top 5 Pig Songs for the Swine Flu Pandemic
The porcine plague is real. Swine flu is now circling the globe and spreading quickly. The World Health Organization says we are very close to a full-fledged pandemic. There’s nothing funny about the flu (regular, bird, swine, etc.). Just your run-of-the-mill flu kills 36,000 people each year in the United States alone. But what strikes me as curious about the swine flu epidemic is the concept of “social distancing” described in a story on MSNBC. A … Read entire article »