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Back to the '80's: June 2009
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Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Scheduling Update

On Thursday we will pick up right where we left off this past Thursday. We will have a Top 10 list as the first post to pick back up our schedule. Thank you and I hope you have enjoyed the Michael Jackson videos.


I'll be typin' at ya later,
Bob the Blogger

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Michael Jackson - You Are Not Alone

Michael Jackson with Janet Jackson - Scream

Michael Jackson - Heal The World

Michael Jackson - Jam

Michael Jackson - In The Closet

Michael Jackson - Remember The Time (Full Version)

Michael Jackson - Black Or White

Michael Jackson - Leave Me Alone

Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal

Michael Jackson - Another Part Of Me

Michael Jackson - Dirty Diana

Michael Jackson - Man In The Mirror

Michael Jackson - The Way You Make Me Feel

Michael Jackson - Bad

Michael Jackson with Siedah Garrett - I Just Can't Stop Loving You

Saturday, June 27, 2009

USA For Africa with Michael Jackson - We Are The World

The Jacksons - Torture

The Jacksons with Mick Jagger - State of Shock


Rockwell featuring Michael Jackson - Somebody's Watching Me

Michael Jackson - Thriller (Full Version)

Michael Jackson - PYT

Michael Jackson - Human Nature

Michael Jackson - Wanna Be Startin' Something

Michael Jackson with Paul McCartney - Say Say Say


Michael Jackson - Beat It

Michael Jackson - Billie Jean

Michael Jackson with Paul McCartney - The Girl Is Mine


Friday, June 26, 2009

Michael Jackson - She's Out Of My Life

Michael Jackson - Rock With You

Michael Jackson - Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

The Jackson 5 - Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)

Michael Jackson - Ease On Down The Road

The Jackson 5 - Dancing Machine


Michael Jackson - Ben


Michael Jackson - Rockin' Robin


The Jackson 5 - Never Can Say Goodbye


The Jackson 5 - I'll Be There

The Jackson 5 - Mama's Pearl/The Love You Save

The Jackson 5 - ABC

The Jackson 5 - I Want You Back

Thursday, June 25, 2009

The Performance of a Lifetime



This is the performance that vaulted the album Thriller into the stratosphere. It was on Motown's 25th Anniversary Show.

Right after I seen this on television, I immediately started trying to learn how to moonwalk. Absolutely remarkable performance.

I'll leave you with this tonight and starting tomorrow I'll be posting approximately 12 videos a day, through Sunday, celebrating the legacy left by the King of Pop.

I'll be typin' at ya later,
Bob the Blogger

Schedule Change


To honor the memory of Michael Jackson, who was such a huge part of the 80's, I will be suspending our Pat Benatar week, to resume at a later date.

I will be posting as many Michael Jackson hit videos and music as I can find.

No matter what you thought of Michael Jackson, you cannot deny his brilliance as an entertainer. Was there any human teenager living in the United States during the 80's that didn't try to learn how to do the Moonwalk?

Many people have tried to say they didn't like Michael Jackson and that they didn't listen to his music. But, somebody certainly listened to and bought his records. You don't have the all time best selling album in the history of the universe (Thriller) by not being popular and not selling records.

So, for the next week we will be celebrating the life and career of Michael Jackson.

I'll be typin' at ya later,
Bob the Blogger




*****MORE BREAKING NEWS*****

August 29, 1958 - June 25, 2009

This hasn't been a good past few days for 80's icons. First Ed McMahon, then Farrah Fawcett and now the King of Pop.

No, he isn't dead. But, TMZ has reported he was rushed to the hospital suffering an apparent heart attack. CPR was performed. I'll update when I can.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sadly TMZ has reported Michael Jackson has passed away. I'm dumbfounded. Shocked. This is extremely sad news, considering how big a presence he was with anybody who grew up in the 80's.

Wow!!!!! What a terrible day. Farrah and Michael both in the same day.

I'll be typin' at ya later,
Bob the Blogger

*****BREAKING NEWS*****

February 2, 1947 - June 25, 2009

More bad news. 70's and 80's icon Farrah Fawcett has died today. She had been battling cancer, but her condition had worsened lately.

Our condolences go out to her friends and family. God bless them.

I'll be typin' at ya later,
Bob the Blogger

Pat Benatar - Shadows of the Night



Another top 20 mainstream and top 5 rock song for Pat Benatar. This song was off her Get Nervous album in 1982. Enjoy!

I'll be typin' at ya later,
Bob the Blogger



Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Pat Benatar - Fire and Ice



I wonder if Katie Perry is a Pat Benatar fan? "Fire and Ice" = "Hot and Cold"......Hmm. The songs don't sound alike but they're definitely built on the same premise.

This was a top 20 mainstream hit, but went all the way up to #2 on the rock charts in 1981. Enjoy!

I'll be typin' at ya later,
Bob the Blogger

Actor of the Week - Eddie Murphy

Eddie Murphy
April 3, 1961 -

Eddie Murphy is, arguably, the most successful Saturday Night Live alumni to move onto the big screen. He absolutely ruled the 80's with hit movie after hit movie.

Murphy was only 19 years old, in 1980, when he landed a spot on Saturday Night Live and he took major advantage of his good fortune. His characters on SNL are legendary and are still as hilarious today as they were back then.

It didn't take Hollywood long to come knocking on Murphy's door, knowing full well he would be box office gold. Murphy's debut movie co-starred Nick Nolte and was called 48hrs. It was a huge hit and his career exploded into the stratosphere afterwards.

Murphy left SNL in 1982 to focus on his big screen career, and as much as everyone hated to see him leave, it was the right move for him.Murphy starred in some of the best comedies of the 80's or any other decade, for that matter. He pretty much couldn't miss throughout the decade, save for possibly The Golden Child, which was panned by critics.

After having one of the most successful decades in the movie business an actor could ever wish for, Eddie moved on into the 90's looking to keep up the success. Right off the bat he hit it big with a 2nd installment of the movie that got the whole ball rolling for him. Eddie returned to the role that made him famous in Another 48hrs.

After this, though, Eddie unfortunately began moving away from his hilariousness and tried to be the romantic lead in films like Boomerang. You won't hear me pan Boomerang too much, though, because it was most peoples first exposure to future mega-star Halle Berry. She looks as good, or better, today as she did way back then in 1992.

The decade of the 90's were hit and miss for Eddie. He'd mix in his usual thigh slapping funny movies, like The Nutty Professor, with clunkers, such as Vampire in Brooklyn.

The new millennium has not slowed Eddie down, although he's not automatic gold like he was in the 80's, he still mixes in plenty of the old type of roles that endeared us to him.

News of a 4th installment of Beverly Hills Cop in 2010 has got me pretty excited. I'll be glad to see Eddie starting his 4th decade of making us laugh.

Eddie Murphy's 80's acting credits:

48hrs (1982)
Trading Places (1983)
Best Defense (1984)
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
The Golden Child (1986)
Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)
Coming to America (1988)
Harlem Nights (1989)

Also the two stand-up comedy tour shows, Delirious in 1983 and Raw in 1987. I'd say that makes a pretty good decade for Mr. Murphy.

I'll be typin' at ya later,
Bob the Blogger

Pat Benatar - Treat Me Right




This was a top 20 hit for Pat Benatar in 1981 off her Crimes of Passion album. Enjoy!

I'll be typin' at ya later,
Bob the Blogger

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Famous in the 80's - Gone Too Soon

This list is comprised of people who were famous in the 80's. It is not a list of people who died in the '80's. The only rules I had for this list was they had to be famous in the '80's and been under the age of 40 when they passed away.


Even though I have them ranked, this was not a competition. I merely ranked them on a combination of fame, shock of their death and personal preference.

I'm sure there are other's who I have missed, but be reminded I had only 10 positions to fill. If there is someone I grossly overlooked, please leave it in the comments, because I'm sure there will be. I compiled this list mainly from recollection and not a tremendous amount of research.

Honorable Mention
Princess Diana

July 1, 1961 - August 31, 1997

I know I only said I had 10 spots to fill, but I had to put Princess Di on this list. She wasn't in the entertainment business, but there is no doubt she was a celebrity, whether she liked it or not.

Only 36 years old when she died of injuries sustained in a car accident in Paris, Diana was not just England's princess, but the whole world's. She was tremendously giving of her time to charities throughout the world and for that she has been sorely missed.

#10
Jon-Erik Hexum

November 5, 1957 - October 18, 1984

Many of you may not know or remember Jon-Erik Hexum. I, myself, can really only recall seeing him on television a few times when I was young, but his death was so impressionable because of the tragedy of it.

Hexum was a rising Hollywood star who had starred in the television series Voyagers! and was the star of a new series called Cover Up at the time of his death. His future seemed to be very bright.

The tragedy of Hexum's death occurred on the set of Cover Up when, in between shooting scenes, he placed a prop gun filled with blanks against his temple and pulled the trigger, not knowing blanks can also be deadly when shot at such close range.

#9
Heather O'Rourke

December 27, 1975 - February 1, 1988

Most of you will remember Heather O'Rourke as the little girl in the Poltergeist movies. Who could ever forget that haunting image of her in front of a fuzzed out tv saying "They're heeere"?

In 1987 Heather started becoming ill with pain in her abdomen and trouble keeping food down. She was taken to see a doctor and was told she had Crohn's Disease. Unfortunately, this was a misdiagnosis and in reality the young star had an intestinal blockage.

By late January of '88 she had become extremely ill again and was rushed to the hospital. En route to the hospital she suffered cardiac arrest, was resuscitated and later died at the hospital.

The intestinal blockage had caused septic shock, which in turn caused the cardiac arrest. Terribly tragic. She had her entire life ahead of her.

#8
Dominique Dunne

November 23, 1959 -November 4, 1982

Another Poltergeist daughter. Dominique played Heather O'Rourke's older sister in the 1st movie. Her star was definitely on the rise after this breakout role.

Just 5 months after Poltergeist was released, Dunne was tragically strangled to death by an ex-boyfriend whom she refused to reconcile with. She was only 22 at the time of her death.

#7
Rob Pilatus

June 8, 1965 - April 2, 1998

One half of the 80's pop duo Milli Vanilli, Rob struggled with depression and drug and alcohol abuse after the downfall of the lip synching pair.

After several failed suicide attempts, Rob finally overdosed on a deadly cocktail of alcohol and prescription pills at a hotel room in Germany. He was just 32 years old.

#6
Rebecca Schaeffer

November 6, 1967 - July 18, 1989

Rebecca is one of the main reasons Hollywood is so on guard when it comes to stalkers. She was needlessly shot to death standing in the doorway of her home by a lunatic stalker, who had been on her trail for 3 years.

Her career was just beginning to get on a roll after starring in a sitcom called My Sister Sam with Pam Dawber of Mork and Mindy fame. At the time of her death she was preparing for a role in the upcoming Godfather III movie. She was just 21 years of age.

#5
Andy Kaufman

January 17, 1949 - May 16, 1984

Andy was so good at what he done, people actually believed his death was just another elaborate hoax on his part. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

After not being able to kick a persistent cough in late 1983, Andy went to the doctor and was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer. After putting up a brave fight he succumbed to the disease at the age of 35.

#4
Dana Plato

November 7, 1964 - May 8, 1999

Another celebrity felled by the lures of drugs and alcohol. Dana was a huge child actor who starred in Diff'rent Strokes through the early 80's. However, her career never really took off after the shows run ended and Dana fell as low as to star in softcore pornography movies.

She was arrested in 1991 for holding up a video store with a pellet gun. She received 5 years probation and things continued to spiral downward. By the time 1999 rolled around she was living in an RV in Florida with a boyfriend.

After an interview with Howard Stern her and her boyfriend were travelling back out to California and stopped in to see his mother in Oklahoma. After visiting for a bit, Plato told them she was going to lie down in the RV and that was the last they seen her alive.

Plato had overdosed on Vicodin and Soma. Her death was officially ruled a suicide.

#3
John Belushi

January 24, 1949 - March 5, 1982

Sadly, another victim of drugs and alcohol. John Belushi was just hitting his prime in 1982 when he overdosed from a deadly combination of heroin and cocaine called a speedball.

With movies, such as Animal House and The Blues Brothers under his belt he was headed for super stardom if he hadn't already achieved it. He was only 33 years old.

#2
Michael Hutchence

January 22, 1960 - November 22, 1997

His name has surfaced quite a bit in the news lately as the details of David Carradine's death emerged. It seems both may have died from a sexual fetish called autoerotic asphyxiation. To spare you the details I will just tell you they were both found hanging by the neck.

Michael Hutchence was the lead singer of INXS, which happens to be one of my personal favorites. He was one of, if not, the best frontman of the 80's. He was 37 at the time of his death.

#1
River Phoenix

August 23, 1970 - October 31, 1993

Here was a former child actor who was still going stronger than ever into his adulthood. His future had no limits. He was already nominated for an Oscar at the young age of 18 for the movie Running on Empty.

Unfortunately he was susceptible to the same vices that took away so many other young talented entertainers. On October 31, 1993 Phoenix collapsed outside a Hollywood nightclub owned by Johnny Depp, called The Viper Room. Phoenix had taken a deadly combination of methamphetamine and opiates called Persian Brown. He could not be resuscitated and sadly died at the age of 23.



All of these deaths were very sad, indeed. But, as you can clearly see, most could have been avoided. It just goes to show you, fortune and fame don't mean everything. I'm sure if those on this list that died of overdoses could come back and talk to everyone, they'd say it's not worth it.

Let it be a good lesson to all of us. Don't do drugs!!!

I'll be typin' at ya later,
Bob the Blogger






Pat Benatar - Hit Me With Your Best Shot



Huge top 10 hit for Pat Benatar off her Crimes of Passion album in 1980. This song has only gained in popularity over the years, due to it being the preffered song of choice to millions of sloppy drunk women in karaoke bars across the world.

I'll be typin' at ya later,
Bob the Blogger

*****BREAKING NEWS*****

Italic
March 6, 1923 - June 23, 2009

I'm sad to report Ed McMahon has died at the age of 86. There is no doubt Mr. McMahon was a huge part of 80's culture. He was perfect as Johnny Carson's sidekick on the Tonight Show.

We also remember him throughout the 80's as the guy who, if you saw ringing your doorbell, could change your life with a huge Publisher's Clearing House check. And don't forget he was the host of Star Search, the show that really started all the American Idol's and America's Got Talent and the such.

Ed will be truly missed. I guess Johnny Carson will be waiting in heaven and he can take Ed's role just this one time and say "Heeeeeeere's Ed!!!".

I'll be typin' at ya later,
Bob the Blogger

Monday, June 22, 2009

Pat Benatar - You Better Run



Minor hit off Benatar's Crimes of Passion album in 1980. Her 1st "real" hit of the 80's. Thanks for indulging me on that last video, though. It was too good a song to leave off.

I'll be typin' at ya later,
Bob the Blogger

Pat Benatar - Heartbreaker



Ok, so I'm bending the rules a bit. I know this song actually came out in '79, but it was Pat Benatar's 1st hit and just about the only one she had outside the decade of the 80's. So, cut me just a little bit of slack on this one and enjoy this great song.

I'll be typin' at ya later,
Bob the Blogger

Artist of the Week - Pat Benatar


Pat Benatar (born Patricia Mae Andrzejewski on January 10, 1953) is a four-time Grammy Award-winning American singer best known for her mezzo-soprano vocal range on hit songs such as "Love Is a Battlefield", "Hit Me with Your Best Shot", and "Heartbreaker". Benatar is one of the top-selling female artists of all-time, and one of the 1980s Top Platinum Album Recipients,[1] according to the Recording Industry Association of America with 12.5 million certified units, including two RIAA-certified Multi-Platinum albums, five RIAA-certified Platinum albums, three RIAA-certified Gold albums, plus 19 Top 40 singles to her credit.

-wikipedia

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Guess Next Week's Artist of the Week

Ok, last week was way too easy. Let's see if this week is any tougher.


Here are the hints:

Has one of the most popular songs women like to sing at karaoke bars.
Was a trendsetter in the early to mid-80's for droves of young girls.
Haircut became extremely popular as well.
Before becoming a rock star, was a classically trained opera singer.
Real name is Patricia Mae Andrzejewski.

Good luck and don't cheat and look up the name. I'll be watching and I'll know if you cheat.

I'll be typin' at ya later,
Bob the Blogger

Bon Jovi - Lay Your Hands On Me



#7 hit in 1989. Enjoy!

I'll be typin' at ya later,
Bob the Blogger

Bon Jovi - I'll Be There For You



Giant #1 hit ballad for Bon Jovi in 1989. They were shutting down the '80's with class. Enjoy!

I'll be typin' at ya later,
Bob the Blogger

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Bon Jovi - Born to be my Baby



Reached #3 in 1988. 2nd hit off their New Jersey album. Enjoy!

I'll be typin' at ya later,
Bob the Blogger

Bon Jovi - Bad Medicine



Reached #1 in 1988. Couldn't find the original video in an embeddable form. Enjoy!


I'll be typin' at ya later,
Bob the Blogger

Friday, June 19, 2009

Bon Jovi - Never Say Goodbye



Bon Jovi slowing it down and getting their ballad on. Charted at #11. Enjoy!

I'll be typin' at ya later,
Bob the Blogger

Movie of the Week - The Pick-Up Artist (1987)



With Molly Ringwald being the Actor of the Week, it would have been very easy to choose Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink or The Breakfast Club as Movie of the week. Instead I want try choosing Movies of the Week you may not have seen.

Coming off three big hits in each of the past three years, Molly Ringwald had top billing in this movie. And, deservedly so, considering her co-star was coming off a small role as one of the pretty girls' boyfriends in Weird Science and a failed stint on Saturday Night Live.

Even though Robert Downey Jr. had limited success up to this point in his career, he was the actor who owned every scene he was in. In my mind, this was Robert Downey Jr's true platform to his future success. Some will point to his very next movie, Less Than Zero, also released in '87, as his real star vehicle. Although, I agree he was terrific in that movie also, it was this movie you really started to see his acting chops.

Downey Jr. was the Pick-Up Artist in this movie. He was constantly using these great lines to try and get dates, which I tried myself on more than a few occasions with limited success. I just didn't seem to be quite as smooth as RDJ's character. Go figure.

The plot of the movie is built around Downey Jr's character trying, with no success, to pick up Molly Ringwald. What he doesn't know is Molly's father (Dennis Hopper) is in a bit of a jam with the mob, so Molly's mind is definitely elsewhere.

Figuring this is a good place to get his foot in the door with her, he offers to help. He ends up getting more than he bargained for, which leads to some good movie watching. Will he end up winning her over? Watch it and see.

The cast had quite a few people who were already pretty big or was going to be stars in the near future. Here is a list of actors you may recognize, including the stars, who were in this movie.

Robert Downey Jr.
Molly Ringwald
Dennis Hopper
Danny Aiello
Harvey Keitel
Vanessa Williams
Lorraine Bracco
Victoria Jackson
Christine Baranski

I'll be typin' at ya later,
Bob the Blogger


Bon Jovi - Livin' on a Prayer



If She Don't Know Me is my favorite Bon Jovi song, this one has to be my 2nd favorite. To me this is Bon Jovi's signature song. Reached #1 in 1987. Enjoy!

I'll be typin' at ya later,
Bob the Blogger

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Top 10 Movie Soundtracks of the 80's

Whether it was songs made specifically for a certain movie or songs that were cherry picked to be in the movie, they really knew how to put together great soundtracks in the 80's.


What we didn't know back then was, the songs we were listening to were actually making up the soundtrack to our youth. Who, reading this, doesn't hear certain songs from back in the 80's and have memories, be they good or bad, come rushing back?

To me the thing that makes, not only a good soundtrack, but also, a good album, in general, is the ability to start it from the beginning and let it play. While there is quite a bit to be said for having that one absolutely great song on an album or soundtrack, it is depth of quality that makes an album or soundtrack excellent.

So with that said, let's sit back and countdown the Top 10 Movie Soundtracks of the 80's. I hope you enjoy!

Honorable Mentions
Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club

Here are a couple of the cases in point I was speaking of earlier. Each of these soundtracks had that one really great song, but both lacked depth of quality, in my opinion.

The Pretty in Pink soundtrack had a few good songs on it, but none that really caused any movement on the charts, save for one. "If You Leave" by Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark, better known as OMD, was a huge hit in 1986. When I hear that song visions of Molly Ringwald dance around in my head.



Other notable songs on the Pretty in Pink soundtrack were "Positively Lost Me" by The Rave-Ups, "Pretty in Pink" by The Psychedelic Furs and "Try a Little Tenderness" by Otis Redding, which was actually not on the original soundtrack. They had to add that one in after Jon Cryer done such a good lip-synching job in the movie. One of the classic scenes of the 80's.



The Breakfast Club soundtrack was huge for one reason and one reason only. The Simple Minds "Don't You (Forget About Me)" was an absolute smash in '86. So much so, the stars of the film got together with the band and shot a video for it. Great song, great movie.

#10Italic
The Big Chill


Here is the complete opposite case of the previous two soundtracks. The Big Chill soundtrack was chocked full of one great song after another. The only reason this soundtrack is this far down the list is, the songs are just about all from a different era than the decade of the 80's. I'm pretty sure none of the songs charted due to this soundtrack, but they were all huge hits in the '60's and '70's.

Notable songs on this soundtrack, which by the way can be left on to play all day if need be, are:

"You Can't Always Get What You Want" by The Rolling Stones
"Natural Woman" by Aretha Franklin
"Good Lovin'" by The Rascals
"In The Midnight Hour" by The Rascals
"When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge
"Wouldn't It Be Nice" by The Beach Boys
"Bad Moon Rising" by Creedence Clearwater Revival
"Gimme Some Lovin'" by The Spencer Davis Group
"Joy to the World" by Three Dog Night
"Ain't Too Proud To Beg" by The Temptations
"My Girl" by The Temptations
"I Second That Emotion" by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles
"I Heard it Through the Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye
"A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procul Harum.

See, I told ya. Almost the entire album.

#9
Valley Girl



Valley Girl's soundtrack had one decent song, one good song and one hugely fantastic song.

The decent song was "Johnny Are You Queer?" by Josie Cotton. It was more a novelty song than anything, but still was pretty good. The good song was "A Million Miles Away" by The Plimsouls and has become somewhat of a cult classic, as has the band.

The one HUGELY fantastic song was "Melt With You" by Modern English. Many people today relate this song with Burger King and that's sad. This song was THE New Wave romance song of the 80's. "Melt With You" is one of my personal favorite songs of all time and that's even with the tarnished image of the creepy Burger King guy in my head.

#8
Beverly Hills Cop



You might not know it, but this soundtrack had four pretty big hits come out in 1984. This soundtrack kinda took me by surprise as I was comprising this list. I knew it had that funky sounding instrumental that hit the charts, but I had almost forgotten about the other three songs.

First let's get to that funky instrumental. "Axl F", which was simply named after the lead character in the movie, played by Eddie Murphy. It was all music, no words. Not so easy feat to hit the charts with no words to sing, but Harold Faltermeyer done just that with his magic keyboard and boost from the blockbuster movie.

The other three songs off the soundtrack all charted pretty high and helped this soundtrack to be one of the biggest sellers of 1984. They, in no particular order are:

"Neutron Dance" by The Pointer Sisters
"New Attitude" by Patti LaBelle
"The Heat is On" by Glenn Frye.

#7
Top Gun



This soundtrack was anchored down by two pretty big love songs, one manly action packed song and a pair of classic 60's songs.

The two classic song on the soundtrack were:

"(Sittin' on the) Dock of the Bay" by the late great Otis Redding

"You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" by The Righteous Brothers. Who can ever forget Tom Cruise and his fellow Top Guns using the Righteous Brothers to try and pick up women?

Kenny Loggins had a fairly big hit with the fast paced "Danger Zone", which was perfect for this movie about fighter jets. It's kinda hard to see a fighter jet in action now without hearing this song in the back of your head.

The two biggest hits from this soundtrack came with this first of two great love songs. Loverboy slowed it down just long enough to belt out "Heaven in Your Eyes", proving Loverboy could chart two hit slow songs in a row, after also charting in '86 with "This Could Be the Night".

The second love song was the biggest hit off the soundtrack. "Take My Breath Away" introduced most of world to Berlin, who was fronted by the very pretty Terri Nunn and her trademark multi-colored hair. Great song for the ladies and the men had the added bonus of looking at Terri Nunn sing it.

#6
Cocktail



"Aruba, Jamaica, ooh I wanna take ya to Bermuda, Bahama come on pretty mama."

This soundtrack and The Beach Boys gave us all a lesson in Carribean Island geography. If not for The Beach Boys HUGE comeback hit "Kokomo" I probably never would have known some of these islands existed.

Another song off this soundtrack was big for being minimal. Bobby McFerrin had his breakout hit singing "Don't Worry Be Happy" which was strange for it's lack of music instruments. McFerrin not only sung the song but made every music like sound using just his body.

Robert Palmer had the third HUGE hit from this album with "Addicted to Love". Although the song was a gigantic hit, it was the video that people waiting in front of their televisions with anticipation. Palmer had a bunch of manequin looking models standing around lip synching, dancing and pretending to play instruments. Thanks Robert, all of us hormone driven teenage boys owe you a debt of gratitude.

One other notable song was on this soundtrack. "The Hippie Hippie Shake" was a minor hit for The Georgia Satellites.

#5
Flashdance



Starting with this soundtrack at the #5 position, it's my opinion, there was a fairly big gap coming from #6 to here. These next 5 were easily picked as the top 5, but it was hard choosing which order to put them in.

The Flashdance soundtrack could easily be #1 in some people's opinions and it would be hard to argue against it. The soundtrack charted two huge #1 hits with Michael Sembello's "Maniac" and Irene Cara's "Flashdance...What a Feeling".

Other songs from the movie include:

"Gloria" by Laura Branigan
"Manhunt" by Karen Kamon
"I Love Rock n Roll" by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.

#4
Dirty Dancing



The Dirty Dancing soundtrack was mixed with just the right ratio of classic 60's song to new 80's songs. Classic songs included:

"Be My Baby" by The Ronettes
"In the Still of the Night" by The Five Satins
"Big Girls Don't Cry" by The Four Seasons
"Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" by The Shirelles
"Do You Love Me" by The Contours
"Some Kind of Wonderful" by The Drifters
"Wipeout" by The Surfaris.

It was, however, the soundtrack's more up to date hits that made this soundtrack reach this high on the list. Eric Carmen had a big hit with "Hungry Eyes". Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes had what very well could have been the hit of the year with "(I've Had) The Time of My Life". Even the movies star, Patrick Swayze got in on the act with, the surprisingly good, "She's Like the Wind".

#3
Purple Rain



These last three were very interchangeable. I had a very tough time dropping this soundtrack to #3. Very easily could have been #1. This soundtrack was so huge, the movie was just an add on and a vehicle for the songs. That's saying quite a bit, too, considering the movie was not half bad.

First, songs which were in the movie, but not on the soundtrack by Morris Day and The Time need to be mentioned. I know they aren't officially on the soundtrack, but they still were part of the movie and helped bolster this ranking. "Jungle Love" and "The Bird" were two very good songs from Morris Day.

However, this was Prince's movie and this was definitely Prince's soundtrack. Each of the following songs were just as great as the other in their own way. This group of songs, probably more than any other of Prince's collections, are what made people realize the guy was a musical genius. I'll start from side A and take you through each hit.

"Let's Go Crazy"
"Take Me With U"
"Darling Nikki"
"When Doves Cry"
"I Would Die 4 U"
"Purple Rain"

Hell, that's not a great soundtrack. That would be a great career for most ordinary musicians. Then again, Prince is not an ordinary musician. As stated before, the man's a musical genius.

#2
Footloose



Wow!!! This soundtrack was awesome!!! Where do I start? I guess with the title track.

Kenny Loggins had a blockbuster on his hands with "Footloose". Singing this great song to kick the soundtrack off really got the ball rolling. Next came:

"Let's Hear it for the Boy" by Denise Williams
"Almost Paradise" by Mike Reno and Ann Wilson
"Holding Out for a Hero" by Bonnie Tyler
"Dancing in the Sheets" by Shalamar
"(I'm Free) Heaven Helps the Man" by Kenny Loggins
"Metal Health (Bang Your Head)" by Quiet Riot
"Hurts So Good" by John Mellancamp
"Waiting For a Girl Like You" by Foreigner.

Like I said.......Wow!!! Just put the soundtrack in and let it go.

#1
Last American Virgin



This is my #1 for several reasons. First and foremost is the quality of the songs on the soundtrack. From one to the other it is full of great songs, not just good songs. Secondly, I don't think there was ever a movie that made better use of each song within the context of the scenes they showed up in. Almost every song on this soundtrack was perfect for the scenes they were in. Whoever had that job deserves a cookie or something. Let's to the list of great songs.

"Oh No" by The Commodores
"Whip It" by Devo
"Open Arms" by Journey
"Keep On Loving You" by REO Speedwagon
"I Will Follow" by U2
"I Know What Boys Like" by The Waitresses
"De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" by The Police
"Just Once" by James Ingram
"Are You Ready For the Sex Girls?" by Gleaming Spires
"That's the Way (I Like It)" KC and The Sunshine Band
"Better Luck Next Time" by Oingo Boingo
"Since You're Gone" by The Cars
"Shake It Up" by The Cars
"In the Flesh" by Blondie.

Perfect. From beginning to end, perfect. As I stated before, each of these songs showed up at the most opportune times within the context of the movie, to boot. The other songs not listed were perfect in their spots also, just not the hits these listed songs were.

Well, I hope you liked the list. Agree? Disagree? Let me know in the comments.

I'll be typin' at ya later,
Bob the Blogger




Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Bon Jovi - You Give Love a Bad Name




EXPLOSION!!!!!!!!! That's what happened for Bon Jovi when this song hit the air waves. Every girl in America aged 13 and up fell in love with Jon Bon Jovi. The song hit #1 in '86 and propelled them to a 20+ year music career. I'd say that's a big song. Enjoy!

I'll be typin' at ya later,
Bob the Blogger

Actor of the Week - Molly Ringwald


Molly Ringwald
Feb. 18 1968 -

The Princess herself. Molly ruled the 80's when it came to great teen movies. Girls all around the world related to her teenage frustrations, and they came in droves to watch her on the big screen.

Back in the 80's you were either a Molly Ringwald man or an Ally Sheedy man. I was an Ally Sheedy man. That not to say I disliked Molly, I just liked Ally more. That being said, Molly was the teen superstar way more than Ally was.

Molly's acting credits were a virtual list of hit after hit throughout the 80's. As she got older, though, the novelty kind of wore off. Bad decisions, when it came to taking roles, in the early '90's bogged her career down tremendously. She turned down Julia Robert's role in Pretty Woman, Jodie Foster's role in The Accused and Demi Moore's role in Ghost. Ouch!!!

Molly ended up moving to France for a spell, acting in the French cinema. She has recently made somewhat of a comeback here in the good 'ole US of A by playing the mother in, the very appropriately cast, The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Who would know more about being an American teenager than Molly? We wish her all the best.

Molly's acting credits in the '80's:

Diff'rent Strokes (1979-1980) (TV)
The Facts of Life (1979-1980) (TV)
Tempest (1982)
Packin' it in (1983) (TV)
Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983)
Sixteen Candles (1984)
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Surviving (1985) (TV)
Pretty in Pink (1986)
Tall Tales and Legends (1986) (TV)
P.K. and the Kid (1987)
King Lear (1987)
The Pick-Up Artist (1987)
For Keeps? (1988)
Fresh Horses (1988)


Bon Jovi - Wanted Dead or Alive



This was definitely one of Bon Jovi's better songs. Great song with mostly just Jon's voice and the acoustic guitar. Matter of fact, their acoustic version of this is just as good, if not better. The song reached #7 on the charts. Enjoy!

I'll be typin' at ya later,
Bob the Blogger