Back to the 1980s

  August 3, 1985 - 36 Years Ago Today: Eurythmics had the Hot Shot Debut at No. 64 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with their single, "There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)." This was the 8th chart entry for Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart and it became their 7th Top 40 when it peaked at No. 22 on September 21, 1985. This was the second of four singles released from their fourth studio album, "Be Yourself Tonight." It followed the No. 5 peak of "Would I Lie To You?" and preceded the No. 18 peak of their collaboration with Aretha Franklin on "Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves" and "It's Alright (Baby's Coming Back)." The latter failed to crack the Top 40 peaking at No. 78. Please click the following link to view the accompanying video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCdneDxFRYQ 110 110 4 Comments 24 Shares Like Comment Share

August 2, 1980 - 41 Years Ago Today: Carly Simon debuted at No. 70 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with her single, "Jesse." This self-penned song was the leadoff single from her 9th studio album, "Come Upstairs," and her first of 3 albums for Warner Bros. Records. The single was a major hit peaking at No. 11 on November 1, 1980 and remaining on the Hot 100 for 23 weeks becoming her 4th single to be certified Gold for sales in excess of one million copies. It also peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard AC Chart. The follow-up single, "Take Me As I Am," didn't fare quite as well just missing the Hot 100 and "bubbled under" at its peak of No. 102. Her then-husband, James Taylor and their daughter, Sally Taylor, provided backing vocals on "Jesse." Please click the following link to view the accompanying video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiD-XQumQpg

August 2, 1980 - 41 Years Ago Today: Electric Light Orchestra had the Hot Shot Debut at No. 61 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with their single, "All Over The World." This Jeff Lynne-penned song was the second single to chart in the U.S. from the motion picture, "Xanadu," following Olivia Newton-John's "Magic," which began a four-week run at No. 1 on this very day. "All Over The World," was the third of five Hot 100 singles to chart from the film which included 5 Top 20's, three of which were Top Tens including the one aforementioned No.1. "All Over The World" peaked at No. 13 on October 4, 1980. Please click the following link to view the accompanying video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wh3i3vWgPyk

August 2, 1980 - 41 Years Ago Today: Olivia Newton-John began a 4-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with her single, "Magic." This John Farrar-penned song was the leadoff single from the motion picture, "Xanadu," in which she starred. This was Newton-John's 25th single to chart on the Hot 100 and became her 18th Top 40, 10th Top Ten and 4th No. 1. The single also enjoyed a 5-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard AC Chart which was her 10th No. 1 on that particular chart and the longest running AC No. 1 of her career. It was certified Gold for sales exceeding one million copies. Please click the following link to view the accompanying video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnkHf069fvA

August 1, 1981 - 40 Years Ago Today: MTV was launched at 12:01AM EDT. The first music video played was "Video Killed The Radio Star" by The Buggles. The original purpose of MTV was to be "music television" playing music videos 24/7, guided by on-air personalities known as VJs, or video jockeys. The original slogans of the channel were "You'll never look at music the same way again", and "On cable. In stereo." Noteworthy: The second video to be played was Pat Benatar's cover of The Young Rascals 1966 hit, "You Better Run." Benatar benefitted greatly due to her exposure on the video channel as did many young artists who began their recording careers in the late '70s and early '80s. Please click the following link to view the accompanying video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBf0yJVMSzI

MTV VJs Mark Goodman, Nina Blackwood, Alan Hunter, Martha Quinn, and J.J. Jackson (Photo Mark Weiss/WireImage) At midnight on Aug. 1, 1981, Martha Quinn, Mark Goodman, Nina Blackwood, Alan Hunter, and J.J. Jackson stood inside the Loft restaurant in Fort Lee, N.J., to watch music history being made. The now-iconic “moon landing” guitar riff blasted; Warner Cable executive John Lack intoned, “Ladies and gentlemen, rock ‘n’ roll”; the Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star” hit the small screen… and just minutes later, the new cable channel MTV suffered its first technical difficulty. But it didn’t matter. Eventually, everyone in America wanted their MTV, and the music business was forever changed — as were the lives of the five original MTV VJs. Below, Yahoo Entertainment chats with Quinn, Goodman, Blackwood, and Hunter [Jackson died in 2004] about MTV’s early days and what it was like to hold down “the greatest job we'll probably ever have.” Martha Quinn: People say to me, “Will you...

July 30, 1983 - 38 Years Ago Today: Billy Joel had the Hot Shot Debut at No. 38 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with his single, "Tell Her About It." This self-penned song was the leadoff single from Joel's ninth studio album, "An Innocent Man," and the first of 6 hit singles from the album. "Tell Her About It," became Joel's 21st chart entry and his 18th Top 40 hit and 2nd No. 1. It also became his 3rd No. 1 single on the Billboard AC Chart where it enjoyed a 2-week run at the top. Joel's songs reflected his new found bachelorhood as he was recently divorced from his first wife, Elizabeth, and began dating supermodels Elle Macpherson and Christy Brinkley. Joel had said in several interviews that he felt like a teenager again and the songs written for this album just poured out of him in about 6 weeks time. He said, for the first time, he felt like a rock star. The songs he wrote purposely reflected his teen years with the doo-wop sound of ...