Back to the 1980s

  Four decades ago, inspired by a double-feature of two infamous movie musicals — Olivia Newton-John’s Olympian roller-boogie fantasy   Xanadu  and the Village People’s last-days-of-disco debacle   Can’t Stop the Music   — entertainment publicist   John Wilson held the potluck Oscar party   that launched the Golden Raspberry Awards recognizing the very worst in film. The inaugural Razzies took place during a fascinating on-the-cusp age of musical cinema, the late ‘70s/early ‘80s, when hard rock, punk, new wave, glam, disco, and even big-band all merged and mashed — sometimes successfully ( Grease ,   Fame ,   Pink Floyd’s The Wall ), sometimes not much ( Sgt. Pepper ,   The Apple ,   KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park ,   Pennies From Heaven, Popeye , and of course, the two above-mentioned flicks). Xanadu , for what it’s worth, “lost” the Razzie to the Village People (as did Neil Diamond’s even cringey-er nominee,  The Jaz...

  When Olivia Newton-John recorded her 12th studio album,   Physical , 40 years ago, she’d already begun her evolution from wholesome ingenue to sexually assertive pop-rock provocateur — a life-imitating-art metamorphosis not unlike that of her Sandy character in   Grease   — with her previous album, 1978’s   Totally Hot .  But no one, not even the singer herself, was prepared for the sexy image makeover that was ushered in by  Physical ’s title track — when a sweatbanded, hot ‘n’ bothered Olivia straight-up told the object of her desire, “There's nothing left to talk about, unless it's horizontally.” It’s perhaps a tame lyric by 2021 standards, but it was downright scandalous when it was released on Sept. 28, 1981, two days after the singer's 33rd birthday. At first, Newton-John actually rejected “Physical” — which was originally intended for a “macho male rock figure like Rod Stewart,” according its co-writer, Steve Kipner, and later passed over by a...

  August 15, 1987 - 34 Years Ago Today: John Cougar Mellencamp had the Hot Shot Debut at No. 62 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with his single, "Paper In Fire." This self-penned single was the rocker's 16th entry on the Hot 100 and it became his 15th Top 40 and 8th Top Ten when it peaked at No. 9 on October 3, 1987. The single also enjoyed a 5-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart. Backing vocal was provided by Crystal Taliefero.

  August 4, 1984 - 37 Years Ago Today: The Pointer Sisters re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart at No. 87 in its 17th week with their single, "I'm So Excited," taken from both "So Excited" and "Break Out", following its peak of No. 30 on November 27, 1982. This time around, the reissue of the new mix of this single became a Top Ten hit for the trio peaking at No. 9 on October 27, 1984, exactly 23 months following its original peak. It was reissued after the success of its two preceding singles, "Automatic" and "Jump (For My Love)," which peaked at No.'s 5 & 3, respectively. Between 1973-87, the Pointer Sisters scored 27 Hot 100 singles which included 16 Top 40's and 7 Top Tens. Two of their singles, 1978's "Fire" (written by Bruce Springsteen) and 1981's "Slow Hand" peaked at No. 2. "Slow Hand" is their best-charted single spending three weeks in the runner-up position. All three m...

August 11, 1984 - 37 Years Ago Today: Ray Parker, Jr. began a three-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with his single, "Ghostbusters." This self-penned single was the title song from the motion picture starring Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd. This was also Parker's fifth solo chart entry following his departure from the group, Raydio, which he formed in 1977 and scored 5 Top 30 hits including 3 Top Tens.  As a solo artist, Parker scored 9 charted singles which included 7 Top 40's, 2 Top 5's and this No. 1. The B-side to this single was the Instrumental version which earned Parker a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental. 

August 6, 1983 - 38 Years Ago Today: Stray Cats had the Hot Shot Debut at No. 51 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with their single, "(She's) Sexy + 17." This Brian Setzer-penned single was the rockabilly trio's third chart entry and their third Top Ten when it peaked at No. 5 on October 1, 1983. They scored two more singles on the Hot 100 including one additional Top 40.  Vocalist and guitarist, Setzer, formed his own successful swing band a couple of years following the Stray Cats dissolution and has charted one dozen albums including the Top Ten smash album, "The Dirty Boogie," which was released in 1998 and was certified double Platinum. 

  August 8, 1987 - 34 Years Ago Today: Michael Jackson had the Hot Shot Debut at No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with his single, "I Just Can't Stop Loving You." This self-penned song was the highly anticipated leadoff single from his upcoming album, "Bad," which was nearly a five-year wait from his previous album, "Thriller." The song and the album didn't disappoint on the chart as the single became the first of five consecutive No. 1's to be released from the album. It hit No. 1 on September 19, 1987 and the duet vocal was provided by Siedah Garrett. The female portion of the song by Garrett almost came accidentally as she appeared on the demo of the recording while rumored offers for the duet were going out to Barbra Streisand and Whitney Houston, who both turned down the song. Garrett wasn't even made aware that she would be the guest vocalist on the single until the day of the recording. "I Just Can't Stop Loving You,...