skol asylum
Footballguy
After a second listen, the Stone Cold song may be a little familiar.
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*** 1980's One Hit Wonders . . . #1 - LIPPS, INC. - Funkytown *** (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Anarchy99
- Start date
Gr00vus
Footballguy
@Anarchy99 - what's the eligibility status of people like Paul Carrack?
Seems like he'd fit under this clause:
- A song by an artist that released a song away from their primary band as a solo artist is considered as a song eligible on its own right.
But, he's been with so many bands with so many hits, it's hard to say he had a "primary" band...
Seems like he'd fit under this clause:
- A song by an artist that released a song away from their primary band as a solo artist is considered as a song eligible on its own right.
But, he's been with so many bands with so many hits, it's hard to say he had a "primary" band...
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zamboni
Footballguy
Gr00vus
Footballguy
zamboni
Footballguy
Gr00vus
Footballguy
zamboni
Footballguy
Anarchy99
Footballguy
THE COMMUNARDS - Don't Leave Me This Way (#40 - 3/7/1987)
How well I remember it: 8 (I remember it pretty well.)
How well I liked it then: 6 (Didn't mind it at the time but a little too poppy / dance.)
How well I like it now: 4 (Not as big a fan as I used to be. Maybe it hasn't aged well?)
The Communards was essentially a Jimmy Somerville vehicle, much like the Bronsksi Beat was. Between those two bands and his solo work, I believe he put out 11 albums.
Never Can Say Goodbye was another popular Communards track and Small Town Boy was the most popular number from the Bronski Beat. All of Somerville's work fits the time period with heavy synth and keyboards and all with pretty much semi-alternative dance elements. I think either people like that sound or they don't with not many people falling in the middle.
The top films of that week were Lethal Weapon, Angel Heart, Evil Dead 2, Raising Arizona, and Hard Ticket To Hawaii (which I have never heard of). The top selling book was Windmills Of The Gods, another Sidney Sheldon offering. U2's The Joshua Tree came out that week.
The most popular tv shows were the tried and true Thursday night stranglehold from NBC: Family Ties, The Cosby Show, Cheers, and Night Court. The #5 slot was Murder, She Wrote.
Oddly enough, that last one played a key role in one of Anarchy's run-ins with law enforcement several years earlier. When I was living in California, I used to watch Murder, She Wrote when it was a new show. The Los Angeles CBS affiliate ran a contest each week where they asked a question about that week's Murder, She Wrote episode. Viewers were instructed to answer the question and send their response to the tv station. There was a small weekly prize (like dinner at a local restaurant) and a bigger drawing of all the weekly winners (I think it was a trip to Hawaii) at the end of the season.
The question for that week that viewers needed to answer was to indicate where the body was hidden in that particular episode. Viewers were instructed to provide our answer on a post card and send it to Post Office Box 1234 in Los Angeles. Well, some of us made an error in our entry. On my post card, I wrote "The body is hidden under the boat by the local pier." and my name and address. Except I wrote P.O. Box 1243 in Los Angeles for the address. That's all I wrote . . . I did not mention anything at all about the Murder, She Wrote contest on the post card.
Little did I know, the post office box I listed was the mailing address for a big commercial bank. They got my post card and didn't know what to do with it, so they called the LA police department, who in turn called the FBI. They actually started a sweep of local piers to see if there was a body stashed away somewhere.
Now imagine me coming home after class one day to be swarmed by armed FBI agents, who took me in for questioning. I got grilled on who the body was, where the body was, how did I know the body was there, etc. I just about pooped in my pants. I told them about the contest, they called the CBS station to verify my story, and they let me go. All that from a transposed post office box number!
How well I remember it: 8 (I remember it pretty well.)
How well I liked it then: 6 (Didn't mind it at the time but a little too poppy / dance.)
How well I like it now: 4 (Not as big a fan as I used to be. Maybe it hasn't aged well?)
The Communards was essentially a Jimmy Somerville vehicle, much like the Bronsksi Beat was. Between those two bands and his solo work, I believe he put out 11 albums.
Never Can Say Goodbye was another popular Communards track and Small Town Boy was the most popular number from the Bronski Beat. All of Somerville's work fits the time period with heavy synth and keyboards and all with pretty much semi-alternative dance elements. I think either people like that sound or they don't with not many people falling in the middle.
The top films of that week were Lethal Weapon, Angel Heart, Evil Dead 2, Raising Arizona, and Hard Ticket To Hawaii (which I have never heard of). The top selling book was Windmills Of The Gods, another Sidney Sheldon offering. U2's The Joshua Tree came out that week.
The most popular tv shows were the tried and true Thursday night stranglehold from NBC: Family Ties, The Cosby Show, Cheers, and Night Court. The #5 slot was Murder, She Wrote.
Oddly enough, that last one played a key role in one of Anarchy's run-ins with law enforcement several years earlier. When I was living in California, I used to watch Murder, She Wrote when it was a new show. The Los Angeles CBS affiliate ran a contest each week where they asked a question about that week's Murder, She Wrote episode. Viewers were instructed to answer the question and send their response to the tv station. There was a small weekly prize (like dinner at a local restaurant) and a bigger drawing of all the weekly winners (I think it was a trip to Hawaii) at the end of the season.
The question for that week that viewers needed to answer was to indicate where the body was hidden in that particular episode. Viewers were instructed to provide our answer on a post card and send it to Post Office Box 1234 in Los Angeles. Well, some of us made an error in our entry. On my post card, I wrote "The body is hidden under the boat by the local pier." and my name and address. Except I wrote P.O. Box 1243 in Los Angeles for the address. That's all I wrote . . . I did not mention anything at all about the Murder, She Wrote contest on the post card.
Little did I know, the post office box I listed was the mailing address for a big commercial bank. They got my post card and didn't know what to do with it, so they called the LA police department, who in turn called the FBI. They actually started a sweep of local piers to see if there was a body stashed away somewhere.
Now imagine me coming home after class one day to be swarmed by armed FBI agents, who took me in for questioning. I got grilled on who the body was, where the body was, how did I know the body was there, etc. I just about pooped in my pants. I told them about the contest, they called the CBS station to verify my story, and they let me go. All that from a transposed post office box number!
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zamboni
Footballguy
Small Town Boy is probably one of the most poignant videos of the video era. Good tune - Somerville had some vocal range.
Anarchy99
Footballguy
Carrack had 4 Top 40 singles on his own, so the stuff about being in a band is irrelevant. Squeeze had 7 Top 4 songs. So not a candidate no matter how you slice it.
skol asylum
Footballguy
Oh boy. 0/4. Almost seems like a parody of an 80s song.
zamboni
Footballguy
Used to love the way Pat Summerall previewed it as "Murder......She Wrote" at the end of the NFL on CBS late Sunday games.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnzP1W2vSQI
Gr00vus
Footballguy
I had forgotten about those other 3. So I listened to them just now. Now I remember why I forgot them.
Leroy Hoard
Footballguy
If I'm not mistaken, MTV at the time was playing just about anything that had a video attached. So video play did not always equal radio play.
Anarchy99
Footballguy
A lot of these songs will be for music junkies and not for the masses. There will be a bunch that you will know down the road . . . but if you weren't big into music at the time you probably won't know many. You were only 6 when the 80's started and the huge majority of these songs are never played anymore. I would guess you may know more of the songs from later in the decade.
Rove!
Footballguy
The hot 100 factors in radio play and sales...video play may have been a gap in the formula...
Anarchy99
Footballguy
The way that Billboard has ranked songs has changed many times over the years. They have considered and incorporated sales figures, air play, downloads, and now even streaming. I believe they now consider something like "album sale equivalents" on the album chart. Bottom line, the goal posts have always kept moving.
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Anarchy99
Footballguy
SPIDER - New Romance (It's A Mystery) (#39 - 6/7/1980)
How well I remember it: 3 (I vaguely remember it.)
How well I liked it then: 5 (Didn't love it or hate it.)
How well I like it now: 6 (Like it a little bit more after almost 40 years.)
Spider put out two albums and then changed their band name to Shanghai. All three albums met with lukewarm to modest results. Two of their songs were remade by other artists and did arm better for those artists.
JOHN WAITE - Change hit #16 on the Mainstream Rock chart. SPIDER - Change the original version.
TINA TURNER - You Better Be Good To Me hit #5 on the Hot 100. SPIDER - You Better Be Good To Me the original version.
Anton Figg was the drummer in Spider. He was a session drummer for a bunch of established artists but ultimately landed in a sweet gig with Paul Shaffer in the house band on the David Letterman Show for 30 years.
But the real prize that came out of Spider was keyboardist Holly Knight, who went on to pen songs for a ton of performers. So wrote or co-wrote . . .
AEROSMITH - Rag Doll (#17 in Hot 100)
ANIMOTION - Obsession ((#6)
PAT BENATAR - Love Is A Battlefield (#5)
PAT BENATAR - Invincible (#10)
LOU GRAMM - Just Between You And Me (#6)
HEART - Never (#4)
HEART - There's The Girl (#17)
SCANDAL - The Warrior (#7)
ROD STEWART - Love Touch (#6)
TINA TURNER - The Best (#15)
TINA TURNER - One Of The Living (#15)
Other performers that recorded her songs include Bon Jovi, Ozzy Osborne, Kiss, Meatloaf, Cheap Trick, and Hall & Oates.
Speaking of Hall & Oates, one of the greatest hoaxes I can remember occurred in the town I was from in Connecticut. The town was celebrating its 150th anniversary around the time when Hall & Oates was at their peak. Representatives of the band offered to play a concert to commemorate the event. Over 4,000 people showed up for the show. The town received calls that there was a vehicle problem but the band was on its way. But no one ever showed up. After the fact, it came out that Hall & Oates were never involved at all and someone had faked the entire thing. People were only refunded half their money. LINK
How well I remember it: 3 (I vaguely remember it.)
How well I liked it then: 5 (Didn't love it or hate it.)
How well I like it now: 6 (Like it a little bit more after almost 40 years.)
Spider put out two albums and then changed their band name to Shanghai. All three albums met with lukewarm to modest results. Two of their songs were remade by other artists and did arm better for those artists.
JOHN WAITE - Change hit #16 on the Mainstream Rock chart. SPIDER - Change the original version.
TINA TURNER - You Better Be Good To Me hit #5 on the Hot 100. SPIDER - You Better Be Good To Me the original version.
Anton Figg was the drummer in Spider. He was a session drummer for a bunch of established artists but ultimately landed in a sweet gig with Paul Shaffer in the house band on the David Letterman Show for 30 years.
But the real prize that came out of Spider was keyboardist Holly Knight, who went on to pen songs for a ton of performers. So wrote or co-wrote . . .
AEROSMITH - Rag Doll (#17 in Hot 100)
ANIMOTION - Obsession ((#6)
PAT BENATAR - Love Is A Battlefield (#5)
PAT BENATAR - Invincible (#10)
LOU GRAMM - Just Between You And Me (#6)
HEART - Never (#4)
HEART - There's The Girl (#17)
SCANDAL - The Warrior (#7)
ROD STEWART - Love Touch (#6)
TINA TURNER - The Best (#15)
TINA TURNER - One Of The Living (#15)
Other performers that recorded her songs include Bon Jovi, Ozzy Osborne, Kiss, Meatloaf, Cheap Trick, and Hall & Oates.
Speaking of Hall & Oates, one of the greatest hoaxes I can remember occurred in the town I was from in Connecticut. The town was celebrating its 150th anniversary around the time when Hall & Oates was at their peak. Representatives of the band offered to play a concert to commemorate the event. Over 4,000 people showed up for the show. The town received calls that there was a vehicle problem but the band was on its way. But no one ever showed up. After the fact, it came out that Hall & Oates were never involved at all and someone had faked the entire thing. People were only refunded half their money. LINK
Man of Constant Sorrow
Footballguy
Anarchy, these stories are as good as - or better than - the dongs!
FBI - hah!
Good times.
FBI - hah!
Good times.
Gr00vus
Footballguy
Be sure to join us next week for the next episode of Great Moments In Unfortunate Typos.Anarchy, these stories are as good as - or better than - the dongs!
FBI - hah!
Good times.
Man of Constant Sorrow
Footballguy
skol asylum
Footballguy
I'm kind of amazed these songs charted so high. I know I know, gotta put them in their proper time context.
Edit: dongs works as well as songs here.
Edit: dongs works as well as songs here.
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Leroy Hoard
Footballguy
Anarchy99
Footballguy
I just want to get this one out of the way because I got a whole lot of nothing.
GET WET - Just So Lonely (#39 - 5/30/1981)
How well I remember it: 3 (I remember the chorus.)
How well I liked it then: 2 (Didn't like the chorus.)
How well I like it now: 2 (The chorus sounds like a skipping CD playing.)
As I already indicated, they put out one album that was produced by Billy Joel's producer Phil Ramone and features Billy Joel's drummer Liberty Devitto. This song sounds a little similar to Uptown Girl, which would come out 2 years later. Not sure where the Joel connection came from.
The only other info I could find is that the singer from Get Wet at some point met Miles Copeland, brother of The Police's Stewart Copeland, which apparently led to her meeting Sting, which may have led to Get Wet recording and releasing their only album. But there is so little intel available that I should probably just fabricate the back story on the band and it would be way more interesting.
Even the news of the day was severely lacking. The only thing noteworthy was that the CDC reported the first handful of cases of AIDS. Even the movie releases that week were putrid: Possession, Dead And Buried, Polyester, and The Nights The Lights Went Out In Georgia. I never heard of any of them. Raiders Of The Lost Ark would come out two weeks later, so there is that.
One of Tim's favorite non one hit wonder songs was number one that week . . . Bette Davis Eyes. At least the album chart had some decent selections. The Top 5 albums were Hi Infidelity by REO Speedwagon, Paradise Theater by Styx, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap by AC/DC, Arc Of A Diver by Steve Winwood, and Moving Pictures by Rush. If only we could get a Top 5 album chart like that in 2019.
To try to rightsize this stinker of a post, I will dip into a crazy high school story since I was a freshman at the time. I had a wood shop class with perhaps the dumbest individual I have ever met. I mean, this guy was an insult to stupid people. The guy was a stickler on safety. Everyone had to do everything in accordance with strict safety procedures and follow all safety protocols. In one of his safety demonstrations on how to properly utilize a cross cut saw, he showed kids how NOT to hold the wood when cutting it . . . and promptly cut his thumb off.
They put his thumb in ice and rushed him to the hospital, and they were able to successfully reattach his thumb, but he missed the rest of the semester. At this point, I would have only classified him as dumb. But that was just the beginning. When he came back to teach weeks later, he was explaining to people how he accidentally cut his thumb off and gave a blow by blow demonstration . . . AND DID IT AGAIN! So they had to stick his thumb in ice and rush him to the hospital again. The second time didn't go as well as the first, and he only got limited use and mobility of his thumb the second time. Needless to say, the school didn't keep him around to see if he could post the trifecta.
GET WET - Just So Lonely (#39 - 5/30/1981)
How well I remember it: 3 (I remember the chorus.)
How well I liked it then: 2 (Didn't like the chorus.)
How well I like it now: 2 (The chorus sounds like a skipping CD playing.)
As I already indicated, they put out one album that was produced by Billy Joel's producer Phil Ramone and features Billy Joel's drummer Liberty Devitto. This song sounds a little similar to Uptown Girl, which would come out 2 years later. Not sure where the Joel connection came from.
The only other info I could find is that the singer from Get Wet at some point met Miles Copeland, brother of The Police's Stewart Copeland, which apparently led to her meeting Sting, which may have led to Get Wet recording and releasing their only album. But there is so little intel available that I should probably just fabricate the back story on the band and it would be way more interesting.
Even the news of the day was severely lacking. The only thing noteworthy was that the CDC reported the first handful of cases of AIDS. Even the movie releases that week were putrid: Possession, Dead And Buried, Polyester, and The Nights The Lights Went Out In Georgia. I never heard of any of them. Raiders Of The Lost Ark would come out two weeks later, so there is that.
One of Tim's favorite non one hit wonder songs was number one that week . . . Bette Davis Eyes. At least the album chart had some decent selections. The Top 5 albums were Hi Infidelity by REO Speedwagon, Paradise Theater by Styx, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap by AC/DC, Arc Of A Diver by Steve Winwood, and Moving Pictures by Rush. If only we could get a Top 5 album chart like that in 2019.
To try to rightsize this stinker of a post, I will dip into a crazy high school story since I was a freshman at the time. I had a wood shop class with perhaps the dumbest individual I have ever met. I mean, this guy was an insult to stupid people. The guy was a stickler on safety. Everyone had to do everything in accordance with strict safety procedures and follow all safety protocols. In one of his safety demonstrations on how to properly utilize a cross cut saw, he showed kids how NOT to hold the wood when cutting it . . . and promptly cut his thumb off.
They put his thumb in ice and rushed him to the hospital, and they were able to successfully reattach his thumb, but he missed the rest of the semester. At this point, I would have only classified him as dumb. But that was just the beginning. When he came back to teach weeks later, he was explaining to people how he accidentally cut his thumb off and gave a blow by blow demonstration . . . AND DID IT AGAIN! So they had to stick his thumb in ice and rush him to the hospital again. The second time didn't go as well as the first, and he only got limited use and mobility of his thumb the second time. Needless to say, the school didn't keep him around to see if he could post the trifecta.
simey
Footballguy
Joyce is still singing that funky rock with Mother's Finest. They still tour and have a loyal following around the southeast, but what is crazy is the huge following they still have in Europe. Good for them.
Anarchy99
Footballguy
Coming up, a Texas band discovered by ZZ Top's manager. In the meantime, enjoy these 80's commercials from back in the day.
- Stephen King for American Express
- Pebbles Cereal
- Swift Wind Horse Toy From Mattel
- Coleco Hand Held Video Games
- Atari Gaming System
- Pitfall Video Game For Atari
- Rolo Candy
- Simon Game
- Bonkers Fruit Candy
- Cookie Crisp Cereal
- Transformers Toys
- Alpha Bits Cereal
- Bugs Bunny PSA For Shriners Hospital
- Knight Rider Car Set
- Stephen King for American Express
- Pebbles Cereal
- Swift Wind Horse Toy From Mattel
- Coleco Hand Held Video Games
- Atari Gaming System
- Pitfall Video Game For Atari
- Rolo Candy
- Simon Game
- Bonkers Fruit Candy
- Cookie Crisp Cereal
- Transformers Toys
- Alpha Bits Cereal
- Bugs Bunny PSA For Shriners Hospital
- Knight Rider Car Set
Man of Constant Sorrow
Footballguy
These were the 2 biggest for me.
I was a few years younger than you (High school freshman in '83) - so, Atari was perfectly timed for my childhood.
Pitfall was owned by one of my rich friends - he had every game as soon as it came out - and I thought it was the bomb!
The alligators - rope swings - pits (duh) and other obstacles seemed to be from the future - such smokin' graphics! Ha!
I finally got the game for Christmas and proceeded to clobber my little sis over and over until she snapped - stomped the console - which then snapped itself - NOOOOO - thus, no more Pitfall until Easter, when we got a replacement.
Such a holy day it was!
Good times.
Anarchy99
Footballguy
You and my wife both. We had a bunch of gaming systems over the years for all our kids, including the Nintendo Gamecube. Pitfall was her favorite game back in the day, so I had to get a second Gamecube to play in our bedroom when she found out they had a Pitfall game. I became a gaming widow for a while. The game play was totally different, but I believe that in the game you unlock the original game to play.These were the 2 biggest for me.
I was a few years younger than you (High school freshman in '83) - so, Atari was perfectly timed for my childhood.
Pitfall was owned by one of my rich friends - he had every game as soon as it came out - and I thought it was the bomb!
The alligators - rope swings - pits (duh) and other obstacles seemed to be from the future - such smokin' graphics! Ha!
I finally got the game for Christmas and proceeded to clobber my little sis over and over until she snapped - stomped the console - which then snapped itself - NOOOOO - thus, no more Pitfall until Easter, when we got a replacement.
Such a holy day it was!
Good times.
skol asylum
Footballguy
I was going to say that story can't be real, but if these tracks can hit the top 40 anything is possible.
zamboni
Footballguy
Played the crap out of Pitfall, too, but it was so long and tedious running through all those screens.
Was also a big Adventure fan. There's one avatar around here with one of those dragons from the game - the ones that look like oversized ducks. I remember when word got out that you could go into one of the castles and pick up a dot and drag it out, revealing the code. We thought we had split the atom or something.
Man of Constant Sorrow
Footballguy
@TakiToki has the Adventure avatar.
Regarding the secret - iirc, that was the invention of the "Easter egg" in vid games - could be wrong tho - no research.
Good times.
Rove!
Footballguy
Correct according to this@TakiToki has the Adventure avatar.
Regarding the secret - iirc, that was the invention of the "Easter egg" in vid games - could be wrong tho - no research.
Good times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xk7Mg3aqpzM
Man of Constant Sorrow
Footballguy
Anarchy99
Footballguy
Moving on . . .
POINT BLANK - Nicole (#39 - 9/5/1981)
How well I remember it: 6 (I remember the guitar riff.)
How well I liked it then: 5 (Didn't stick around long enough for me to get into it.)
How well I like it now: 7.5 (Actually a decent song.)
Point Blank was a Texas band that released 6 albums from 1976 - 1982. They were discovered by ZZ Top's manager and they have a similar sound. Apparently they were known for being road warriors and performed 200+ gigs a year. The Hard Way also received some airplay. Only the die hards will remember Nicole, but perhaps some of the younger crowd will find it entertaining.
Speaking of video games, around this time, the town I lived in was in an uproar. A rich local businessman applied to build a video arcade and pool hall. Think Noah Vanderhoff of Noah's Arcade from Wayne's World. People were OUTRAGED and fought to block its approval and construction. The town folk made it out like the guy was going to create a seedy gathering place like Porky's Pen in the movie Porky's (which had just come out earlier that year). Oh the horror! Video games would be corrupting the minds of troubled youth and it would become a palace of ill rupute and hedonism. Ultimately, they couldn't find any loopholes to keep the place out, so it got constructed and the place was immaculate. Marple floors, pillars, all top notch like Trump would have done it up. The place was a cash cow and made more money than you could ever spend. Kids flocked and dumped quarters into the games.
That spawned me writing three research papers that all got A+ grades . . . one on the legal battle and ongoing media frenzy in the town (where I interviewed the owner), one on the history of the video game industry (where I learned that one of the country's biggest defense contractors had developed a key piece of technology and was making more money from that than their missile systems), and one on the psychology and impact of kids playing video games and their addictive qualities. Luckily that topic never materialized and is is no longer an issue in today's society as kids are out in their yards playing tag, taking walks, and are never on their couches.
I became a town legend for arcade hockey (the one with players that shot the buck) and air hockey (the one with the round strikers and circular disc). As far as video games went, I was pretty decent at Galaga, Mr. Do, Dig Dug, Space Invaders, Missile Command, Defender, Tempest, Rampage, Gauntlet, Battle Zone, Centipede, Joust, and Time Pilot. Arcade games might stimulate some additional discussion.
Up next, a Canadian rock band charts with a song written by Bryan Adams.
POINT BLANK - Nicole (#39 - 9/5/1981)
How well I remember it: 6 (I remember the guitar riff.)
How well I liked it then: 5 (Didn't stick around long enough for me to get into it.)
How well I like it now: 7.5 (Actually a decent song.)
Point Blank was a Texas band that released 6 albums from 1976 - 1982. They were discovered by ZZ Top's manager and they have a similar sound. Apparently they were known for being road warriors and performed 200+ gigs a year. The Hard Way also received some airplay. Only the die hards will remember Nicole, but perhaps some of the younger crowd will find it entertaining.
Speaking of video games, around this time, the town I lived in was in an uproar. A rich local businessman applied to build a video arcade and pool hall. Think Noah Vanderhoff of Noah's Arcade from Wayne's World. People were OUTRAGED and fought to block its approval and construction. The town folk made it out like the guy was going to create a seedy gathering place like Porky's Pen in the movie Porky's (which had just come out earlier that year). Oh the horror! Video games would be corrupting the minds of troubled youth and it would become a palace of ill rupute and hedonism. Ultimately, they couldn't find any loopholes to keep the place out, so it got constructed and the place was immaculate. Marple floors, pillars, all top notch like Trump would have done it up. The place was a cash cow and made more money than you could ever spend. Kids flocked and dumped quarters into the games.
That spawned me writing three research papers that all got A+ grades . . . one on the legal battle and ongoing media frenzy in the town (where I interviewed the owner), one on the history of the video game industry (where I learned that one of the country's biggest defense contractors had developed a key piece of technology and was making more money from that than their missile systems), and one on the psychology and impact of kids playing video games and their addictive qualities. Luckily that topic never materialized and is is no longer an issue in today's society as kids are out in their yards playing tag, taking walks, and are never on their couches.
I became a town legend for arcade hockey (the one with players that shot the buck) and air hockey (the one with the round strikers and circular disc). As far as video games went, I was pretty decent at Galaga, Mr. Do, Dig Dug, Space Invaders, Missile Command, Defender, Tempest, Rampage, Gauntlet, Battle Zone, Centipede, Joust, and Time Pilot. Arcade games might stimulate some additional discussion.
Up next, a Canadian rock band charts with a song written by Bryan Adams.
Man of Constant Sorrow
Footballguy
I really liked this at the time, but completely forgot about it until I clicked onto ya linky.
Nice!
Anarchy99
Footballguy
PRISM - Don't Let Him Know (#39 - 3/12/1982)
How well I remember it: 6 (I remember hearing it several times.)
How well I liked it then: 6 (Liked it well enough but wish it was more rocking.)
How well I like it now: 5 (Still thing it needed more kick to it.)
Prism was a Canadian band that seemingly rotated a million people in it. By a million I mean 24. They placed 5 songs in the Hot 100 and had 3 albums make the Billboard Top 200. Don't Let Him Know was penned by Bryan Adams and his writing partner Jim Valance before Adams became a household name. The song actually hit the top of the U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
Around this time, I remember a couple of pranks and practical jokes that were perpetrated by one of the kids at my high school. There was a guy that pretty much was set up and had a career path already. His family owned several businesses that weren't exactly high tech or glamorous. I believe his family owned the trash removal company in town, a junkyard, and a septic system installation and cleaning company. The kid wasn't really that into the education thing and mostly got in trouble.
Way back in the 60's and early 70's, when musical groups and artists started touring, there really weren't many venues for them to play in. So when they hit the road, many of them played at high schools, as they were one of the few places that could host an event for a lot of people. My high school was one of those places, and our auditorium had hosted the likes of The Doors, Simon & Garfunkel, The Byrds, The Animals, The Yardbirds, and Cream.
The auditorium was a big tall brick building, but instead of building it with the bricks aligned in a row, they designed the exterior to have every other brick stick out. So instead of: _________________________________________ on the side of the building (looking from above) it looked like +++++++++++++++++++++++++++. The kid had gotten into mischief so often that they were threatening to expel him. The town needed the high school and the auditorium for some big meeting or special state political event that was going to be held on a Monday. But over the weekend, the kid borrowed a lift and a crane from his family's businesses and did two things: 1) he placed an empty beer can on EVERY brick that stuck out on the auditorium and 2) he used the crane to place car tires over the flag pole and stacked them all the way to the top. The event itself drew press coverage on its own, and the pranks just made it more so. The student body LOLed when we all showed up for school that morning and the administration was appalled. Of course, no one could prove he did it but everyone knew. Classic.
How well I remember it: 6 (I remember hearing it several times.)
How well I liked it then: 6 (Liked it well enough but wish it was more rocking.)
How well I like it now: 5 (Still thing it needed more kick to it.)
Prism was a Canadian band that seemingly rotated a million people in it. By a million I mean 24. They placed 5 songs in the Hot 100 and had 3 albums make the Billboard Top 200. Don't Let Him Know was penned by Bryan Adams and his writing partner Jim Valance before Adams became a household name. The song actually hit the top of the U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
Around this time, I remember a couple of pranks and practical jokes that were perpetrated by one of the kids at my high school. There was a guy that pretty much was set up and had a career path already. His family owned several businesses that weren't exactly high tech or glamorous. I believe his family owned the trash removal company in town, a junkyard, and a septic system installation and cleaning company. The kid wasn't really that into the education thing and mostly got in trouble.
Way back in the 60's and early 70's, when musical groups and artists started touring, there really weren't many venues for them to play in. So when they hit the road, many of them played at high schools, as they were one of the few places that could host an event for a lot of people. My high school was one of those places, and our auditorium had hosted the likes of The Doors, Simon & Garfunkel, The Byrds, The Animals, The Yardbirds, and Cream.
The auditorium was a big tall brick building, but instead of building it with the bricks aligned in a row, they designed the exterior to have every other brick stick out. So instead of: _________________________________________ on the side of the building (looking from above) it looked like +++++++++++++++++++++++++++. The kid had gotten into mischief so often that they were threatening to expel him. The town needed the high school and the auditorium for some big meeting or special state political event that was going to be held on a Monday. But over the weekend, the kid borrowed a lift and a crane from his family's businesses and did two things: 1) he placed an empty beer can on EVERY brick that stuck out on the auditorium and 2) he used the crane to place car tires over the flag pole and stacked them all the way to the top. The event itself drew press coverage on its own, and the pranks just made it more so. The student body LOLed when we all showed up for school that morning and the administration was appalled. Of course, no one could prove he did it but everyone knew. Classic.
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Rove!
Footballguy
Man of Constant Sorrow
Footballguy
I remember this song, but once again, the story accompanying it is better than the music.
Rove!
Footballguy
Mr. Irrelevant
IBL Representative
Did you figure out an automated way of doing this, or did you literally have to scrape each week's chart manually? I'm looking to do something on a similar theme in the future, but there's no way I have the patience for the latter.
Anarchy99
Footballguy
I did it manually but in reviewing the charts it was pretty easy to rule out a lot of the performers pretty quickly. Any that were on the cusp I just clicked on the artist's name and their chart history would pop up. No doubt about it, it was time consuming. It does require having some time to kill.
Anarchy99
Footballguy
CHERI - Murphy's Law (#39 - 6/5/1982)
How well I remember it: 2 (I barely remember it.)
How well I liked it then: 1 (Not my cup of tea.)
How well I like it now: 1 (Still not a big tea drinker.)
I know, I know, another friggin' dance number. So I will have to fill the void with another story. Cheri was a Canadian based dance duo that put out 3 albums in the early 80's. Murphy's Law topped the Dance chart for 3 weeks. Not much more to tell. They were basically over and done in a year or two. Remember, this is a One Hit Wonder thread, so it's not like all the acts are going to have decades long careers to cover.
So to save things with another quirky story, I have three siblings, and I like to tell people I have one in each category . . . a brother, a sister, and an other. I started out with 2 brothers and a sister, but my oldest brother is now in the "other" grouping. He departed when I was very young (probably 6). I've seen "him" once since then (at our father's funeral 20 years ago). At some point he wanted to change teams and actually applied for gender reassignment surgery. But I am not sure if that ever happened or not. Definitely danced to the beat of a different drum. I only mention it here because "she" took the name Cheri. I don't know more of the story because no one ever told me what happened. But it is weird knowing you have a full sibling that you effectively know nothing about.
How well I remember it: 2 (I barely remember it.)
How well I liked it then: 1 (Not my cup of tea.)
How well I like it now: 1 (Still not a big tea drinker.)
I know, I know, another friggin' dance number. So I will have to fill the void with another story. Cheri was a Canadian based dance duo that put out 3 albums in the early 80's. Murphy's Law topped the Dance chart for 3 weeks. Not much more to tell. They were basically over and done in a year or two. Remember, this is a One Hit Wonder thread, so it's not like all the acts are going to have decades long careers to cover.
So to save things with another quirky story, I have three siblings, and I like to tell people I have one in each category . . . a brother, a sister, and an other. I started out with 2 brothers and a sister, but my oldest brother is now in the "other" grouping. He departed when I was very young (probably 6). I've seen "him" once since then (at our father's funeral 20 years ago). At some point he wanted to change teams and actually applied for gender reassignment surgery. But I am not sure if that ever happened or not. Definitely danced to the beat of a different drum. I only mention it here because "she" took the name Cheri. I don't know more of the story because no one ever told me what happened. But it is weird knowing you have a full sibling that you effectively know nothing about.
Anarchy99
Footballguy
VANDENBERG - Burning Heart (#39 - 3/12/1983)
How well I remember it: 8 (Played a lot back in the day.)
How well I liked it then: 8 (Liked it a fair amount.)
How well I like it now: 8 (Still comes up for me on shuffle play.)
A text book power ballad from a Dutch band that I thought was named after an Air Force Base in California. The song climbed to #5 on the Mainstream Rock chart. The classic rockers on the board will likely remember it. Vandenberg managed to release 4 albums in 6 years before putting out a greatest hits package 16 years after the fact.
Around this time, I was working at a gourmet grocery store in Paul Newman's home town that launched the Newman's Own product line (salad dressing, pasta sauce, frozen pizza, lemonade, juices, popcorn, salsa, and frozen meals). A lot of celebrities would come into the store. One of my favorite days was when Rodney Dangerfield showed up with Sean Connery before they went fishing together. Talk about an odd pairing.
Dangerfield also lived in town (who I ended up interviewing at his home for a school project). Rodney in private was quiet and reserved and suffered from severe depression. But the public Rodney was wild and crazy like his act or in his movies. That day, he went hustling down the aisles grabbing stuff and tossing it to Connery, who was pushing the shopping cart and struggling to keep up. Dangerfield was almost exactly the same as he was in Caddyshack (I'll take a box of those, gimme some of those naked lady tees, gimme 6 of those, gimme 3 of those.) When them rang him up, Rodney said, "Hey kid, do you know what the difference between medium and rare is?" I said I had no idea. He held his hands 6 inches apart and said "This . . . this is medium." Then he moved his hands a foot apart and said "But this . . . this is rare." The pair took their bags of groceries and I remember getting like a $50 tip.
But my favorite memory of the place was a day Paul Newman showed up. When he wasn't acting, he was an active race car driver. He showed up in a racing jacket and sun glasses and unfortunately went to pay at the register next to mine. To tell you how far back we are going, it was a push button register where you had to push down big clunky register keys and literally ring up each individual item with a lever. Bar coding was still years away. The other thing that most people won't remember is that back in the day, people could go to stores and not pay for anything at the point of purchase. Most local residents had accounts and would sign essentially an IOU and at the end of the month the store would send out a statement for that month's purchases.
So Newman sauntered up (he was mostly shy and reserved), put out his grocery items, and a girl rang them all up. When she was done, he told her to just put it on his account and he started to leave. She said he had to fill out the form first and she needed to know what name to list it under. He whispered softly that the name was Newman . . . and she asked if that was with a U or a W. He said with a W and started to leave. Once again, she stopped him and said he had to sign the paper (which he did).
Of course, I was ready to explode with laughter that she didn't know who he was. After he left, I mentioned to her that I loved working there because so many famous people shopped there. She was like, yeah right, name one. I told her Paul Newman came in all the time. She went off on how that was her favorite actor, she had seen all his movies, and she wanted to know when he typically would stop by and got all excited that someday she might get to meet him. I told her not only did she already meet him, she had gotten his autograph. She was still clueless and didn't understand what I was talking about, so I reached into her register drawer and showed her his signature. Then she wanted to kill me for not alerting her to the fact that it was him when he was there.
As another weird real life moment, I took music lessons for years in the house next door to Newman's house (I played the cello of all things). So between the music lessons and the store, he would at least acknowledge me when we would bump into each other.
Up next, a song by a male singer without much backstory that put out two albums in the mid-80's and apparently is now a music instructor at the University of Chicago.
How well I remember it: 8 (Played a lot back in the day.)
How well I liked it then: 8 (Liked it a fair amount.)
How well I like it now: 8 (Still comes up for me on shuffle play.)
A text book power ballad from a Dutch band that I thought was named after an Air Force Base in California. The song climbed to #5 on the Mainstream Rock chart. The classic rockers on the board will likely remember it. Vandenberg managed to release 4 albums in 6 years before putting out a greatest hits package 16 years after the fact.
Around this time, I was working at a gourmet grocery store in Paul Newman's home town that launched the Newman's Own product line (salad dressing, pasta sauce, frozen pizza, lemonade, juices, popcorn, salsa, and frozen meals). A lot of celebrities would come into the store. One of my favorite days was when Rodney Dangerfield showed up with Sean Connery before they went fishing together. Talk about an odd pairing.
Dangerfield also lived in town (who I ended up interviewing at his home for a school project). Rodney in private was quiet and reserved and suffered from severe depression. But the public Rodney was wild and crazy like his act or in his movies. That day, he went hustling down the aisles grabbing stuff and tossing it to Connery, who was pushing the shopping cart and struggling to keep up. Dangerfield was almost exactly the same as he was in Caddyshack (I'll take a box of those, gimme some of those naked lady tees, gimme 6 of those, gimme 3 of those.) When them rang him up, Rodney said, "Hey kid, do you know what the difference between medium and rare is?" I said I had no idea. He held his hands 6 inches apart and said "This . . . this is medium." Then he moved his hands a foot apart and said "But this . . . this is rare." The pair took their bags of groceries and I remember getting like a $50 tip.
But my favorite memory of the place was a day Paul Newman showed up. When he wasn't acting, he was an active race car driver. He showed up in a racing jacket and sun glasses and unfortunately went to pay at the register next to mine. To tell you how far back we are going, it was a push button register where you had to push down big clunky register keys and literally ring up each individual item with a lever. Bar coding was still years away. The other thing that most people won't remember is that back in the day, people could go to stores and not pay for anything at the point of purchase. Most local residents had accounts and would sign essentially an IOU and at the end of the month the store would send out a statement for that month's purchases.
So Newman sauntered up (he was mostly shy and reserved), put out his grocery items, and a girl rang them all up. When she was done, he told her to just put it on his account and he started to leave. She said he had to fill out the form first and she needed to know what name to list it under. He whispered softly that the name was Newman . . . and she asked if that was with a U or a W. He said with a W and started to leave. Once again, she stopped him and said he had to sign the paper (which he did).
Of course, I was ready to explode with laughter that she didn't know who he was. After he left, I mentioned to her that I loved working there because so many famous people shopped there. She was like, yeah right, name one. I told her Paul Newman came in all the time. She went off on how that was her favorite actor, she had seen all his movies, and she wanted to know when he typically would stop by and got all excited that someday she might get to meet him. I told her not only did she already meet him, she had gotten his autograph. She was still clueless and didn't understand what I was talking about, so I reached into her register drawer and showed her his signature. Then she wanted to kill me for not alerting her to the fact that it was him when he was there.
As another weird real life moment, I took music lessons for years in the house next door to Newman's house (I played the cello of all things). So between the music lessons and the store, he would at least acknowledge me when we would bump into each other.
Up next, a song by a male singer without much backstory that put out two albums in the mid-80's and apparently is now a music instructor at the University of Chicago.
zamboni
Footballguy
Remember this one well - good tune.
Not that I hear their name much, but always reminds me of this scene.
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