I was walking along this weekend and came across a Zoltar machine. This immediately gave me the idea of which film would be the thirteenth issue of my 80s Movie Trailer of the Week feature I call "Preview Review."
The Zoltar machine is, of course, from one of my very favorite movies from the 80s, Big. As you can see from the quick picture I took, it was not the exact same type of machine featured in the movie, but it had the same name and was close enough to give me that cool nostalgic feeling.
Big is the 1988 movie directed by Penny Marshall that stars Tom Hanks as a kid who makes a wish to be "big" that comes true overnight. The Zoltar machine is what seemingly grants the wish and has Hanks' character wake up suddenly in an adult body. Tom Hanks is fantastic in this role which actually landed him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. The film is quite charming and magical and it was also deservedly nominated for Best Original Screenplay. Here is the original trailer for Big...
One of the most iconic scenes of the 80s is when Tom Hanks and Robert Loggia play on a giant piano keyboard. Here is a link to the best video (though poor quality) I could find to watch this incredible scene. According to Loggia, on the day they filmed the famous keyboard scene at F.A.O. Schwartz, he and Tom Hanks noticed that doubles dressed like them were on hand just in case the two could not do the dance moves correctly. It became their goal to do the entire keyboard number without the aid of the doubles. They of course succeeded. The "Walking Piano" used in this memorable scene to play "Heart and Soul" and "Chopsticks" was created by an Italian inventor named Remo Saraceni.
Though it was not a genuine Zoltar machine like in the real movie, I am still happy that I saw the one I did. It reminded me of my favorite decade and one of my all time favorite movies. I think I will watch Big again as soon as I get the chance.
That's all for this issue of Kickin' it Old School. Hope you enjoy the "Preview Review" issues and please let me know if there are any particular 80s movies that you want to see me cover. Thanks as always for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Become a Fan". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. You can also now follow Old School on Twitter by clicking on the FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER LOGO also in the upper right hand column. This will take you the page and you can just click on the box that says "Follow". Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.
Check this out: If you read my very popular Best Classic Arcade Games or Best Nintendo NES Games issues, you would already know my love for the game Super Mario Bros. The song from that game is even the ring-tone on my phone right now. I recently had the pleasure of seeing Dave the Horn Guy perform. What this guy is able to do is quite incredible. I have already posted a link to this on Twitter, but wanted to share with you his performance of the Super Mario Bros. theme song...
Quote of the day: "The only measure of performance is performance. Not effort, not explanation, not reasons why not. If you accept short falls, that's what you'll get." -Lee Thayer
Rickey Hendersonwill be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame today (July 26, 2009). Even though it was announced that he was voted in back on January 12th, I could not let this day past without at least recognizing it in a small way. You see, Rickey is my favorite baseball player of all time and I could probably make this one of the longest issues of Kickin' it Old School if I wanted to with all of the things I could say about him. I won't put you through all of that and I will give you an abbreviated version.
It is commonly agreed on that Rickey Henderson is the greatest leadoff hitter of all time, but I will go as far to say that he is one of the greatest offensive baseball players of all time, period. Rickey rubbed some people the wrong way, but to me he was simply the greatest. Some people considered him a hot dog or cocky, but when you can back it up I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing. He changed the game in a way no player before him really had or any player since him for that matter. There is a great tribute to Rickey being aired right now on the MLB Network titled Rickey Henderson: Leadoff Legend which is very much worth watching for any baseball fans out there. You can find it on YouTube as well (divided into eight parts).
Rickey Henderson began his major league career in 1979 and went on to dominate the 80s and much of the 90s before finally reluctantly calling it quits after the 2003 season. Rickey is the all-time leader in career stolen bases with 1,406 and career runs scored with 2,295. If you ask him which he thinks is more impressive, he will say the runs scored because "You have to score to win." Rickey also holds the record for most home runs to lead off a game with 81 demonstrating another way that he could quickly change a game and the uncommon combination of skills that he possessed.
Rickey broke Lou Brock's single season record for stolen bases (118) back in 1982 when he ended up with 130 and his career record (938) back in 1991. Here is a link to watch the MLB video of the great moment when Rickey stole number 939. He retired with an amazing 468 more stolen bases than Brock who is still in second place on the list. During the 2001 season, Henderson broke three major league career records and reached an additional major career milestone. He broke Babe Ruth's record of 2,062 career walks (which had stood since 1935 & since broken by Barry Bonds), Ty Cobb's record of 2,246 career runs (which had stood since 1928), and Zack Wheat's record of 2,328 career games in left field (which had stood since 1927) and on the final day of the season collected his 3,000th career hit. Rickey ended his career with an on-base percentage of .401 which a statistic that is both underrated and under-reported. He led the league in stolen bases 13 times and averaged over 100 runs scored per season for his entire career. Simply amazing!
Rickey Hendersonis a 2x World Series champion (1989 with Oakland and 1993 with Toronto) and was a major contributor to both of those titles. He was the 1990 American League MVP and a 10x All-Star during his illustrious 25-year career. I read a particular quote that I really liked from current Brewers closer Trevor Hoffman who was a teammate of Henderson's in San Diego (and a futer Hall-of-Famer himself), "I don't know how to put into words how fortunate I was to spend time around one of the icons of the game. I can't comprehend that yet. Years from now, though, I'll be able to say I played with Rickey Henderson, and I imagine it will be like saying I played with Babe Ruth." I whole-heartedly agree that Rickey deserves to be in that group of the greatest to ever play the game.
Here is a short video that was produced by a California newspaper regarding Henderson's entrance into the Hall of Fame...
So today, Rickey Henderson will take his rightful spot among the greatest baseball players of all time. The only thing that delayed this day from coming was Rickey's refusal to retire from the game he loved to play. I still cannot believe he was not a unanimous choice for the HOF though he did receive 94.8% of the vote. Those voters that did not choose Rickey should have their voting priviledges taken away from them (and their eyes checked). Rickey is known for talking about himself in the third person and having some interesting speeches and interviews, so his induction speech is highly anticipated. For me, it is highly anticipated for many reasons and the best is that he was my baseball hero growing up. In my opinion, Rickey Henderson was definitely the greatest baseball player of the 80s and even moreso, I would say he was one of the elite baseball players of all time. Like I said, I could have gone on and on about how great a ball player Henderson was, but I will end it with this simple statement. Congratulations, Rickey on your career achievement and thank you for being my baseball hero all these years.
That will do it for this Hall of Fame issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks as always for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Become a Fan". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. You can also now follow Old School on Twitter by clicking on the FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER LOGO also in the upper right hand column. This will take you the page and you can just click on the box that says "Follow". Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.
Check this out: I did an entire issue on "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" back on Rupert Holmes' last birthday. You should definitely go back and check that one out if you missed it. Now, there is a Taco Bell commercial I like that has been playing for the last couple of months that uses that song. I thought I would share that with you here in case you have not fully appreciated it yet...
Quote of the day: When asked if he thought Rickey Henderson was a Hall of Famer, statistician and baseball historian Bill James replied, "If you could split him in two, you'd have two Hall of Famers."
Today (July 23, 2009) is the 58th birthday of actress Edie McClurg. Some of you might be asking, "Who is Edie McClurg?" Hopefully I can refresh your memory because she was in two of my very favorite 80s movies among the 90+ movies and 55+ television episodes she has appeared in during her career as a character actress.
You would probably recognize her voice if you heard her perky Midwest accent. She has done voice over work and has had lots of different roles, but I will always remember her for two in particular. First is as Mr. Rooney's secretary "Grace" in 1986's Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I did an issue of Preview Review on this movie which is worth checking out if you missed it. I surprisingly could not find a video of one of the memorable scenes featuring Edie McClurg, but I did find an audio link so you can hear it...
Then the other is in a small role where she appears for less than 2 minutes in 1987's Planes, Trains and Automobilesas the counter person for a car rental company. I included this in my special Thanksgiving issue on P,T & A which is once again worth checking out if you haven't read that one before. Edie McClurg's short scene in this movie is one of my very favorites of all time. WARNING: It does contain vulgarity. In fact, the scene is exactly one minute long from the time Steve Martin starts his tirade, to the time the car rental associate ends the scene. In that 60 seconds, the word "f***ing" is used (impressively) 18 times! This scene is the main reason why this film received an R rating, but in my opinion it was well worth it (plus they shot an alternate version of the scene without the f-word to be used for television). Edie's line at the end makes the whole scene...
Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Planes, Trains and Automobiles are two of my very favorite films from the 80s and Edie McClurg made a significant contribution to both. You click on this link to her IMDB profile to see everything she has done in her impressive career. Even though she has lots of other solid work to her credit, I will always remember for those 80s moments. Thank you and Happy Birthday, Edie!
That's all for this short issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks as always for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Become a Fan". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. You can also now follow Old School on Twitter by clicking on the FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER LOGO also in the upper right hand column. This will take you the page and you can just click on the box that says "Follow". Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.
Check this out: As you should well know by now, I enjoy a humorous, ironic or seemingly unnecessary sign. Here is one that I came across recently which fits in those categories. Makes me laugh, so thought some of you might too...
Quote of the day: "A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives." -Jackie Robinson
My younger brother was just in town visiting and he reminded me of a series of movies I had not thought about in some time. I decided to make these films the twelfth issue of my 80s Movie Trailer of the Week feature I call "Preview Review."
My brother went through a phase when he was obsessed with kung fu and ninja movies. He watched some of his favorites constantly and that pretty much meant that I ended up watching them quite regularly as well. There is a series of films from the 80s that we were just laughing about because of how bad they were and how often he watched them. The first in the series was from 1981 and called Enter the Ninja. Here is the original trailer for Enter the Ninja...
There were two more films in the "Ninjas" series and, as you probably noticed, none of them are considered to be cinema masterpieces by any stretch of the imagination. Each film starred Sho Kosugi though he did not play the same character in any of them and none of them related to one another in terms of storyline. The second film in the series was from 1983 and called Revenge of the Ninja. This film also starred Sho Kosugi's son Kane Kosugi. Here is the original trailer for Revenge of the Ninja...
As you would expect, the ninja movies are very violent and the acting was poor at best. There is a third movie from 1984 called Ninja III: The Domination which also starred Lucinda Dickey who you might know from her role as "Kelly" in Breakin' (1984) and Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo (1985). I could not find the original trailer for this movie at this time, but I will keep looking.
It was funny remembering these movies as I was talking to my brother. I can't believe how many times he watched these horrible movies (or how many times I did for that matter). Though they were ninja movies, they still had some clear 80s stamps on them including some fashions and also the drug dealing storyline in the second movie. This was really the beginning in the 80s of martial arts movies coming into the mainstream, though I really don't recommend watching them to anyone.
That's all for this issue of Kickin' it Old School. Hope you enjoy the "Preview Review" issues and please let me know if there are any particular 80s movies that you want to see me cover. Thanks as always for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Become a Fan". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. You can also now follow Old School on Twitter by clicking on the FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER LOGO also in the upper right hand column. This will take you the page and you can just click on the box that says "Follow". Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.
Check this out: I recently came across a video that recreates the entire Michael Jackson "Thriller" video shot for shot with LEGOs. Not sure why anybody would spend who knows how much time doing this, but the result is at least worth watching once. Hope you enjoy...
Quote of the day: "Be true to your work, your word, and your friend." -Henry David Thoreau
This is the fifteenth issue of my 80s Video of the Week which I call "Flashback Videos." As a reminder, these issues will not include the usual "Check this out" or "Quote of the day" sections at the end like normal issues of Kickin' it Old School usually do.
I was surprised to see that Lisa Lisahad a new studio album, Life 'n Love, released on iTunes this week (July 14th). This is her second solo album since she is better known as the namesake and lead singer for Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam. I remember having a crush on Lisa Lisa (real name Lisa Velez) back in the mid-80s. The first song I distinctly remember was 1985's "All Cried Out" which ranks on my Most Heartbreaking Songs of the 80s list.
Then the group released the platinum album Spanish Fly in 1987. The album would reach #7 on the charts, but included two hit singles which would each impressively reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Both of those songs will be my video choices for this week. This week's first Flashback Video is "Lost in Emotion" by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam...
I always have liked that song. The next song has a funny story attached to it (at least it is funny to me) that I immediately think of every time I hear it. A friend from my neighborhood decided to sing it to a girl that he wanted to ask out. The funny part is that he talked a few of us to be backup singers for him and I imagine we looked very foolish in this attempt. To top it off, the girl told him no. This week's second Flashback Video is "Head to Toe" by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam...
That will do it for this issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. If you want to see the past issues of Flashback Videos, just type that into the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column and it should give you a list of all of them. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use that Google Search Box to find any past issues or topics you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Become a Fan". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.
I was recently watching the often funny and sometimes disturbing show Family Guy. I have seen every episode since it began in 1999 and this was a past episode I was watching in syndication on one of the several channels that now carry the show. There was a scene in which "Stewie" was lamenting about a girl and writing a song to express his emotions. "Brian" came in to witness it and comments on how unoriginal it was to write a song with a girl's name as the title. Here is the scene for you to watch yourself...
After watching that, it made me start thinking about songs from the 80s with girl names in the titles. I decided that would be a good topic for a top 10 list, but I came up with way more than just 10. I am going to give you my top 25 with links to watch the videos for the top 10. Since many are simply titled after a girl's name, many of these same songs appeared on my popular Top 80s Songs with One Word Titles list. Here is OLD SCHOOL'S TOP 10 SONGS FROM THE 80s WITH GIRLS NAMES IN THE TITLE (+ Bonus 15):
25. "Darling Nikki" (1984) by Prince
24. "Who's Holding Donna Now" (1985) by DeBarge
23. "Veronica" (1989) by Elvis Costello with Paul McCartney
22. "Carrie" (1986) by Europe
21. "Nikita" (1985) by Elton John - This song features backing vocals by George Michael and Nik Kershaw
20. "Elvira" (1981) by Oak Ridge Boys - Cover of the 1966 song written by Dallas Frazier and also recorded in 1970 by Kenny Rogers
19. "Venus" (1986) by Bananarama
18. "Luka" (1987) by Suzanne Vega
17. "Sara" (1985) by Starship
16. "Mony Mony" (original release 1981, live version 1987) by Billy Idol - Cover of the 1968 song by Tommy James & the Shondells
15. "Ah! Leah!" (1981) by Donnie Iris
14. "Joanna" (1983) by Kool & the Gang
13. "Sussudio" (1985) by Phil Collins - Not a common girl's name because it was originally just an improvised lyric that ended up sticking in the final version of the song
12. "Amanda" (1986) by Boston
11. "Gloria" (1982) by Laura Branigan
10. "Janie's Got a Gun" (1989) by Aerosmith [link to video]
9. "Oh Sheila" (1985) by Ready For The World [link to video]
8. "Valerie" (original release 1982, remix in 1987) by Steve Winwood [link to video]
There's my list. Any songs that you think I missed? If so, please be sure to leave down in the comments section. This list just covers the 80s, but as "Brian" pointed out in that Family Guy episode, girl names are a major source of song subjects/titles now and for as long as you can remember.
That'll put an end to this issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks so much for reading. If you are interested in reading more of my 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. If you are interested in reading more of my Top 10 lists, please click there for a summary. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Like". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.
Check this out: Here is an interesting ad that I recently saw. It is for a product called the "Boyfriend Body Pillow" and though I can understand the theory behind it, I can't imagine anybody actually purchasing this item. Either way, it is quite amusing and I wanted to share it with you here...
Quote of the day: "I hold it true, whate'er befall; I feel it, when I sorrow most; 'Tis better to have loved and lost, Than never to have loved at all." -Alfred Lord Tennyson
This is the fourteenth issue of my 80s Video of the Week which I call "Flashback Videos." As a reminder, these issues will not include the usual "Check this out" or "Quote of the day" sections at the end like normal issues of Kickin' it Old School usually do.
Michael Damiancelebrated the 20th anniversary of his chart-topping single, "Rock On," with the release of a new 2009 version. A new album, Rock On, that collects the newly recorded version as well as some of his past hits was also released back in March. "Rock On" was a cover of the 1973 David Essex song which was featured in the film Dream a Little Dream and hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June of 1989.
Michael Damian is best known for his role as "Danny Romalotti" on the soap opera The Young and the Restless from 1980 to 1998. That character on the show was not coincidentally a rock star. To commemorate 20 years since it was on the top of the charts, this week's Flashback Video is "Rock On" by Michael Damian...
Also, in case you are curious, here is the video for the new 2009 version of "Rock On" by Michael Damian...
Damian has a couple other 80s connections including recording an early version of the theme song for the television series Saved By the Bell and a recurring role for two seasons on the television series The Facts of Life. Now 47 years old, he has made some return appearances on The Young and the Restless in addition to his new album release. For a number of different reasons, Michael Damian was a contributor to 80s pop culture.
That will do it for this issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. If you want to see the past issues of Flashback Videos, just type that into the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column and it should give you a list of all of them. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use that Google Search Box to find any past issues or topics you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Become a Fan". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.
Today (July 8, 2009) is the 51st birthday of Kevin Bacon, the former teen heartthrob who starred in 1984's Footloose. In celebration of his birthday, I decided to make that film the eleventh issue of my 80s Movie Trailer of the Week feature I call "Preview Review."
I first remember Kevin Bacon from his small role as "Chip Diller" in Animal House (1978). He had a small role in the original Friday the 13th (1980) and a much larger role in Diner (1980). But it was his turn as "Ren McCormick" in Footloose that really got Bacon noticed.
The movie was loosely based on events that took place in the tiny, rural Oklahoma farming community of Elmore City where dancing had been banned for nearly 90 years until a group of high school teens challenged it. It is rumored that the role of "Ren" almost went to several other actors including Rob Lowe, Tom Cruise and Christopher Atkins, but it ultimately went to Bacon and now I cannot picture anybody but him playing that role. Footloose made Kevin Bacon into a star.
Footloose appears on several of my Top 10 lists including most notably my Top Dancing Scenes from 80s Movies and Top 80s Movie Montages. Both of those are worth checking out if you so wish. Now, here is the original trailer for Footloose...
After Footloose, you would think Bacon's career would have launched into the superstardom, but that was not the case. Bacon did not accept his teen heartthrob image and tried to stay away from similar opportunities to play teenagers. He would star in John Hughes' 1988 movie, She's Having a Baby which was a departure for Hughes and not well received. While filming that movie, Bacon would agree to a cameo in another Hughes movie, 1987's Planes, Trains & Automobiles which is one of my very favorite films of the decade. Bacon's role was titled "Taxi Racer" and here is the one minute scene for your viewing pleasure:
Bacon would bounce back in the 90s with appearances in many very successful films including A Few Good Men, JFK, The River Wild, Apollo 13 and Wild Things just to name a few of my favorites. Many of you may have heard of a little game called "6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon" in which you try to connect another Hollywood actor to Kevin Bacon in six or less steps. As an example, you could connect Eddie Murphy to Bacon by saying Murphy was in Beverly Hills Cop with Judge Reinhold who was in Fast Times at Ridgemont High with Sean Penn who was in At Close Range with his brother Chris Penn who was in Footloose with Bacon. It is a fun game which Bacon himself would eventually embrace and he now even has a charity network at www.SixDegrees.org that links people to charities.
Bacon has been a busy actor and he is a musician, too. He and his brother, Michael, have a band called The Bacon Brothers and they have released six albums. He has come a long way from his days as an Omega pledge in Animal House and I highly doubt that he dances around by himself in a barn anymore, but Kevin Bacon will always remain a memorable part of the 80s.
That'll wrap up another issue of Kickin' it Old School. Hope you enjoy the "Preview Review" issues and please let me know if there are any 80s movies that you want to see me cover. Thanks as always for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Become a Fan". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.
Check this out: Here was an interesting site that I was made aware of by my friends over at The Retroist. For those of you who just can't get enough of the marshmallows in your cereal, there is a website now where you can just order cereal marshmallows. Now you can increase your ratio of marshmallows in your bowl or just eat them alone. This would be perfect for that silly rabbit who is always being told that "Trix is for kids" or that little leprechaun that is protecting his Lucky Charms because now they can order their own direct supply of cereal marshmallows.
Quote of the day: "Any idiot can get laid when they're famous. That's easy. It's getting laid when you're not famous that takes some talent." -Kevin Bacon
As I said in my last issue, with the media circus surrounding Michael Jackson's surprising and sudden passing, I feel there is enough coverage of what is happening now. I thought I would take a couple look backs at some 80s topics regarding the King of Pop.
Most everybody knows that Michael Jackson's 1982 albumThriller is the best selling studio album of all time. It has gone 28x Platinum in the US and has worldwide sales over 100 million. Even more than it's commercial success, the album had a major impact on the music industry as well. There is a great article at Billboard.com which is titled "How Michael Jackson's Thriller Changed the Music Business" and it is well worth reading. Click on that link to take you the article.
An incredible 7 of the 9 songs from Thriller were top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and the album won a record 8 Grammy's as well. Despite that, only two of those seven songs ("Billie Jean" and "Beat It") made it all the way to #1 on the charts. Do you know what album holds the record for most #1 singles? Here's a hint, it is another album by the King of Pop. Yes, the 1987 album Badholds the distinction of having a record-breaking five #1 singles coming from the one album.
That is pretty incredible to me and proves that Jackson deserved the title of King of Pop back in the 80s. The five songs from Bad to all reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 include: "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" (September, 1987) "Bad" (October, 1987) "The Way You Make Me Feel" (January, 1988) "Man in the Mirror" (March, 1988) "Dirty Diana" (July, 1988)
So Bad holds the record for most #1 singles, but there are four other albums from the 80s tied for second with four #1 singles each. Here are the details on those albums.
Whitneyby Whitney Houston was the first album by a female artist ever to debut at #1 on the Billboard Album chart when it was released in 1987. After having three straight #1 singles from her debut album, Houston would break a record held by the Beatles and Bee Gees with 7 consecutive #1 singles. The four from this album include: "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)" [link to video] "Didn't We Almost Have It All" "So Emotional" "Where Do Broken Hearts Go"
Faithby George Michael was also released in 1987 along with Whitney and Bad. It would have also had five #1 singles if "I Want Your Sex" would not have stalled at #2. Here are the four that did make it all the way to #1: "Faith" [link to video] - Also included on my list of Best 80s Songs with One Word Titles list "Father Figure" "One More Try" "Monkey"
The last two were at the end of the decade and carried forward into the early 90s. Forever Your Girl by Paula Abdul was released in 1989 and also just missed a fifth #1 single when "The Way That You Love Me" could not get higher than #3. The four songs that did make it to the top include: "Straight Up" [link to video] - Also included on my Top 80s Songs with the Word 'UP' in the Title list "Forever Your Girl" "Cold Hearted" "Opposites Attract"
Last, is Michael's little sister. Janet Jackson's 1989 album Rhythm Nation 1814 was a huge success lasting all the way until 1991. The album generated an amazing seven Top 5 singles. If two songs that stopped at #2 ("Rhythm Nation" and "Come Back Home") would have made it to #1, that would have made 6 and would have broken her brother's record. Here are the four that did make it to #1: "Miss You Much" [link to video] "Escapade" "Black Cat" "Love Will Never Do"
Those are some impressive albums and all of them were released in my favorite decade. There is a link to a video for at least one of the songs from each album, but I am sure you can find the others if you really want to. Before Thriller, most albums did not even release enough singles to have this sort of success. After Thriller, it became much more normal in 1984 with Springsteen's Born in the USA releasing seven singles, Prince's Purple Rain releasing five and Def Leppard's Hysteria releasing seven. This paved the way for the big albums of 1987 to have the success documented above. Just another example of the tremendous impact that Michael Jackson had on pop music in the 80s.
That will wrap up this issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks as always for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Become a Fan". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.
Check this out: Here is another example of strange billboard placement. This time it is not necessarily the subject matter of the advertising, but pictures that end up side by side. Now I am sure this girl from The Sweat Zone is in pretty good shape, but I don't think she can handle that carrot pointed at her rear end right now. I don't think her thirst it quite that giant. It made me chuckle, so I hope it does the same for you.
Quote of the day: "Don't let other people tell you what you want." -Pat Riley
With the media circus surrounding Michael Jackson's surprising and sudden passing, I feel there is enough coverage of what is happening now. I thought I would take a couple look backs at some 80s topics regarding the King of Pop.
One thing I was reminded of was the Pepsi advertising campaign that Michael Jackson participated in. In 1984, Pepsi sponsored The Jacksons' Victory Tour. (I still have a commemorative Pepsi can from that year which I have held on to for 25 years for some reason.) In return, Michael and his brothers were to star in two commercials for the company. Jackson had reworked "Billie Jean" for the commercial and entitled it "Pepsi Generation". The song was used as the official jingle for the commercials. Here is the first commercial for you to watch...
During the filming of the second commercial a firework exploded and Jackson's hair caught fire, leaving the singer needing reconstructive surgery. I can still remember the videos of Jackson being taken from the scene on a stretcher with bandages wrapped around his head. The commercials were premiered at the Grammy Awards, with Jackson wearing a hairpiece to cover his burns as he collected a record eight awards.
I had actually been planning to cover this Pepsi commercial as part of an 80s retro commercial issue well before Michael's death, but now it seemed even more appropriate to revisit it.
In the 1984 commercial above, the boy who can dance like Michael is Alfonso Ribeiro. Later that same year, he was cast as Ricky Schroder's best friend in the television series Silver Spoons, but he is probably best known for his role as "Carlton Banks" on the 90s television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. That was one of my favorite shows at the time and Ribeiro's character was a big reason why. He played sort of a 90s version of "Alex P. Keaton" who is another of my all-time favorite TV characters.
Alfonso Ribeiro shows off his dancing skills in selected episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. My favorite is what has now become known as the "Carlton Dance" which he first performs to the Tom Jones song "It's Not Unusual" and you can see that in the video below...
Ribeiro would again show off his dance moves in another episode which would also include some Michael Jackson moves including the famous moon walk. Here is the video from that episode...
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is obviously not an 80s show, but it has a loose connection to the 80s with Ribeiro's "Carlton" character and Ribeiro himself. So even though I started the issue with Michael Jackson which still saddens me when I think about it, I ended it with "Carlton" dancing which always makes me laugh. Hope you enjoyed it, too.
That's all for another issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks as always for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Become a Fan". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.
Check this out: I thought the placement of these two billboards was sort of ironic and humorous, don't you think? Preventing childhood obesity right above a fast food restaurant? I wonder if either of the placements was intentional or if this was just a coincidence.
Quote of the day: "Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it." - Maya Angelou, American poet, writer, historian, educator
This is the thirteenth issue of my 80s Video of the Week which I call "Flashback Videos." As a reminder, these issues will not include the usual "Check this out" or "Quote of the day" sections at the end like normal issues of Kickin' it Old School usually do.
Today (July 1, 2009) is the 64th birthday of Deborah Harry who is best known as the lead singer of the band Blondie. She is often incorrectly referred to as "Blondie" herself, but that is only the name of the band. The band moved into the mainstream in the late 70s and had some big hits in the early 80s.
First was the song "Call Me" which was composed for the soundtrack of the film American Gigolo. Released in February 1980, the track spent 6 weeks at #1 in the U.S., reached #1 in the U.K. and became a hit throughout the world. The song is Blondie's biggest selling single in the U.S. (well over a million copies sold) and was the #1 single of 1980. So this week's first Flashback Video is "Call Me" by Blondie...
Then in November of 1980, the band would release the album Autoamerican which would contain two more big hits. It featured the song "The Tide is High" which was a cover of the 1967 song by the Paragons. The Blondie version would hit #1 on the Billboard chart by the end of January 1981. So this week's second Flashback Video is "The Tide is High" by Blondie...
Then from the same album, the song "Rapture" was released in January of 1981 and would reach #1 on the Billboard chart by the end of March. It is considered one of the first substantial hit singles to involve rap music and the first rap-influenced single to reach number one on the US Billboard Chart. The song includes a short rap interlude in it and while it was not the first single involving rap to be successful, it was the first to top the charts and helped begin rap's slow rise into the mainstream. The video for this song included a dancing Fab Five Freddy who would later go on to host MTV's rap video show called Yo MTV Raps. I have give you the "Pop Up Video" version here which includes some interesting facts about the band and the song. So in celebration of Debbie Harry's birthday, this week's third Flashback Video is "Rapture" by Blondie...
The band broke up after the release of the 1982 album The Hunter. Blondie reformed in 1997 releasing a single which would hit #1 in the UK. The group toured and performed throughout the world over the years following and had the honor of being inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the RockWalk of Fame in 2006. Though I am not necessarily a huge fan of the band myself, that was a well deserved honor. As for the 80s, there were not many bands bigger than Blondie back in 1980 and 1981.
That will do it for this issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. If you want to see the past issues of Flashback Videos, just type that into the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column and it should give you a list of all of them. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use that Google Search Box to find any past issues or topics you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Become a Fan". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.
COPYRIGHT Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.
IMAGES All images on Kickin' it Old School were used with best intentions and are readily available in various places on the Internet and believed to be in public domain. Images posted are believed to be posted within the rights according to the U.S. Copyright Fair Use Act (title 17, U.S. Code.) If you believe that any content appearing on this blog infringes on your copyright, please let me know immediately.
Kickin' it Old School - 80s Pop Culture
. This immediately gave me the idea of which film would be the thirteenth issue of my 80s Movie Trailer of the Week feature I call "Preview Review." 
As you can see from the quick picture I took, it was not the exact same type of machine featured in the movie, but it had the same name and was close enough to give me that cool nostalgic feeling. 
Here is 
will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame today (July 26, 2009). Even though it was announced that he was voted in back on January 12th, I could not let this day past without at least recognizing it in a small way. You see, Rickey is my favorite baseball player of all time and I could probably make this one of the longest issues of Kickin' it Old School if I wanted to with all of the things I could say about him. I won't put you through all of that and I will give you an abbreviated version. 
is the greatest leadoff hitter of all time, but I will go as far to say that he is one of the greatest offensive baseball players of all time, period. 
Rickey rubbed some people the wrong way, but to me he was simply the greatest. Some people considered him a hot dog or cocky, but when you can back it up I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing. He changed the game in a way no player before him really had or any player since him for that matter. There is a great tribute to Rickey being aired right now on the MLB Network titled Rickey Henderson: Leadoff Legend which is very much worth watching for any baseball fans out there. You can find it on YouTube as well (divided into eight parts).
began his major league career in 1979 and went on to dominate the 80s and much of the 90s before finally reluctantly calling it quits after the 2003 season. Rickey is the all-time leader in career stolen bases with 1,406 and career runs scored with 2,295. If you ask him which he thinks is more impressive, he will say the runs scored because "You have to score to win." Rickey also holds the record for most home runs to lead off a game with 81 demonstrating another way that he could quickly change a game and the uncommon combination of skills that he possessed.
Here is 
He broke Babe Ruth's record of 2,062 career walks (which had stood since 1935 & since broken by Barry Bonds), Ty Cobb's record of 2,246 career runs (which had stood since 1928), and Zack Wheat's record of 2,328 career games in left field (which had stood since 1927) and on the final day of the season collected his 3,000th career hit. Rickey ended his career with an on-base percentage of .401 which a statistic that is both underrated and under-reported. He led the league in stolen bases 13 times and averaged over 100 runs scored per season for his entire career. Simply amazing!
is a 2x World Series champion (1989 with Oakland and 1993 with Toronto) and was a major contributor to both of those titles. He was the 1990 American League MVP and a 10x All-Star during his illustrious 25-year career. I read a particular quote that I really liked from current Brewers closer Trevor Hoffman who was a teammate of Henderson's in San Diego (and a futer Hall-of-Famer himself), "I don't know how to put into words how fortunate I was to spend time around one of the icons of the game. I can't comprehend that yet. Years from now, though, I'll be able to say I played with Rickey Henderson, and I imagine it will be like saying I played with Babe Ruth." I whole-heartedly agree that Rickey deserves to be in that group of the greatest to ever play the game.
will take his rightful spot among the greatest baseball players of all time. The only thing that delayed this day from coming was Rickey's refusal to retire from the game he loved to play. I still cannot believe he was not a unanimous choice for the HOF though he did receive 94.8% of the vote. Those voters that did not choose Rickey should have their voting priviledges taken away from them (and their eyes checked). Rickey is known for talking about himself in the third person and having some interesting speeches and interviews, so his induction speech is highly anticipated. For me, it is highly anticipated for many reasons and the best is that he was my baseball hero growing up. In my opinion, Rickey Henderson was definitely the greatest baseball player of the 80s and even moreso, I would say he was one of the elite baseball players of all time. Like I said, I could have gone on and on about how great a ball player Henderson was, but I will end it with this simple statement. Congratulations, Rickey on your career achievement and thank you for being my baseball hero all these years.
. Some of you might be asking, "Who is Edie McClurg?" Hopefully I can refresh your memory because she was in two of my very favorite 80s movies among the 90+ movies and 55+ television episodes she has appeared in during her career as a character actress. 
She has done voice over work and has had lots of different roles, but I will always remember her for two in particular. First is as Mr. Rooney's secretary "Grace" in 1986's Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I did an 
as the counter person for a car rental company. I included this in 
were two more films in the "Ninjas" series and, as you probably noticed, none of them are considered to be cinema masterpieces by any stretch of the imagination. Each film starred Sho Kosugi though he did not play the same character in any of them and none of them related to one another in terms of storyline. The second film in the series was from 1983 and called Revenge of the Ninja. This film also starred Sho Kosugi's son Kane Kosugi. Here is the original trailer for Revenge of the Ninja...
There is a third movie from 1984 called Ninja III: The Domination which also starred Lucinda Dickey who you might know from her role as "Kelly" in Breakin' (1984) and Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo (1985). I could not find the original trailer for this movie at this time, but I will keep looking.
had a new studio album, Life 'n Love, released on iTunes this week (July 14th). This is her second solo album since she is better known as the namesake and lead singer for Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam. I remember having a crush on Lisa Lisa (real name Lisa Velez) back in the mid-80s. The first song I distinctly remember was 1985's "All Cried Out" which ranks on 
25. "Darling Nikki" (1984) by Prince
18. "Luka" (1987) by Suzanne Vega
13. "Sussudio" (1985) by Phil Collins - Not a common girl's name because it was originally just an improvised lyric that ended up sticking in the final version of the song
7. "867-5309 (Jenny)" (1982) by Tommy Tutone [
3. "Jack and Diane" (1982) by John Cougar Mellencamp [
1.(tie) "Billie Jean" (1982) [
celebrated the 20th anniversary of his chart-topping single, "Rock On," with the release of a new 2009 version. A new album, Rock On, that collects the newly recorded version as well as some of his past hits was also released back in March. 
"Rock On" was a cover of the 1973 David Essex song which was featured in the film Dream a Little Dream and hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June of 1989.
is best known for his role as "Danny Romalotti" on the soap opera The Young and the Restless from 1980 to 1998. That character on the show was not coincidentally a rock star. To commemorate 20 years since it was on the top of the charts, this week's Flashback Video is "Rock On" by Michael Damian...
has a couple other 80s connections including recording an early version of the theme song for the television series Saved By the Bell and a recurring role for two seasons on the television series The Facts of Life. Now 47 years old, he has made some return appearances on The Young and the Restless in addition to his new album release. For a number of different reasons, Michael Damian was a contributor to 80s pop culture.
Kevin Bacon, the former teen heartthrob who starred in 1984's Footloose. In celebration of his birthday, I decided to make that film the eleventh issue of my 80s Movie Trailer of the Week feature I call "Preview Review." 
Elmore City where dancing had been banned for nearly 90 years until a group of high school teens challenged it. It is rumored that the role of "Ren" almost went to several other actors including Rob Lowe, Tom Cruise and Christopher Atkins, but it ultimately went to Bacon and now I cannot picture anybody but him playing that role. Footloose made Kevin Bacon into a star.
For those of you who just can't get enough of the marshmallows in your cereal, there is a website now where you can just order cereal marshmallows. Now you can increase your ratio of marshmallows in your bowl or just eat them alone. This would be perfect for that silly rabbit who is always being told that "Trix is for kids" or that little leprechaun that is protecting his Lucky Charms because now they can order their own direct supply of cereal marshmallows.
Thriller is the best selling studio album of all time. It has gone 28x Platinum in the US and has worldwide sales over 100 million. Even more than it's commercial success, the album had a major impact on the music industry as well. There is a great article at Billboard.com which is titled 
holds the distinction of having a record-breaking five #1 singles coming from the one album.
by Whitney Houston was the first album by a female artist ever to debut at #1 on the Billboard Album chart when it was released in 1987. After having three straight #1 singles from her debut album, Houston would break a record held by the Beatles and Bee Gees with 7 consecutive #1 singles. The four from this album include:
by George Michael was also released in 1987 along with Whitney and Bad. It would have also had five #1 singles if "I Want Your Sex" would not have stalled at #2. Here are the four that did make it all the way to #1:
Forever Your Girl by Paula Abdul was released in 1989 and also just missed a fifth #1 single when "The Way That You Love Me" could not get higher than #3. The four songs that did make it to the top include:
1989 album Rhythm Nation 1814 was a huge success lasting all the way until 1991. The album generated an amazing seven Top 5 singles. If two songs that stopped at #2 ("Rhythm Nation" and "Come Back Home") would have made it to #1, that would have made 6 and would have broken her brother's record. Here are the four that did make it to #1:
Pepsi advertising campaign that Michael Jackson participated in. In 1984, Pepsi sponsored The Jacksons' Victory Tour. 
(I still have a commemorative Pepsi can from that year which I have held on to for 25 years for some reason.) In return, Michael and his brothers were to star in two commercials for the company. Jackson had reworked "Billie Jean" for the commercial and entitled it "Pepsi Generation". The song was used as the official jingle for the commercials. Here is the first commercial for you to watch...
Later that same year, he was cast as Ricky Schroder's best friend in the television series Silver Spoons, but he is probably best known for his role as "Carlton Banks" on the 90s television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. That was one of my favorite shows at the time and Ribeiro's character was a big reason why. He played sort of a 90s version of "Alex P. Keaton" who is another of my all-time favorite TV characters.
Deborah Harry who is best known as the lead singer of the band Blondie. She is often incorrectly referred to as "Blondie" herself, but that is only the name of the band. The band moved into the mainstream in the late 70s and had some big hits in the early 80s.
from the same album, the song "Rapture" was released in January of 1981 and would reach #1 on the Billboard chart by the end of March. It is considered one of the first substantial hit singles to involve rap music and the first rap-influenced single to reach number one on the US Billboard Chart. The song includes a short rap interlude in it and while it was not the first single involving rap to be successful, it was the first to top the charts and helped begin rap's slow rise into the mainstream. The video for this song included a dancing Fab Five Freddy who would later go on to host MTV's rap video show called Yo MTV Raps. I have give you the "Pop Up Video" version here which includes some interesting facts about the band and the song. So in celebration of Debbie Harry's birthday, this week's third Flashback Video is "Rapture" by Blondie...
