Featuring the best 80s music videos, TV shows, 80s celebrities and more!
In this clip from the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1980, Rodney Dangerfield was at the top of his game when he appeared on the show just two nights before the premiere of Caddyshack, which as we know became one of the funniest movies of all time. In vintage Rodney Dangerfield style, he brings down the house with his self-deprecating humor and jokes!
For those of us who were kids and teenagers in the ’80s, we did things back then that kids today never knew existed. From drinking water out of a garden hose to spending a penny to get 11 cassette tapes mailed to your house, here are 10 things we did in the ’80s that kids today have no idea about!
MEMBERS ONLY jackets! As the Gatlin Brothers say, “When you put it on, something happens to you!” Were you a member of the club in the ’80s? We certainly were!
Desert Moon was former Styx singer-songwriter Dennis DeYoung’s first solo single, and the most successful single of his solo career.
In 1984, Desert Moon peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, and was also a top ten hit on both the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart and the Irish Singles chart. DeYoung actually intended for the song to be a Styx song until the band broke up, and he released it as a single from his 1984 solo album of the same name.
In a recent episode of the 80its podcast, they did a segment where they played two songs, Heart’s ‘Alone’, and Bonnie Tyler’s ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’, and asked which ’80s hit song was a cover? This was a great question because we didn’t think either song was a cover, but the answer was actually ‘Alone’ from Heart.
The song was actually written in 1983 by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, who recorded it themselves under the name i-Ten for their ’83 album called ‘Taking a Cold Look’. Needless to say, their version didn’t become a hit. And, before Heart took the song to number one on the Hot 100 charts in 1987, actor John Stamos and actress Valerie Stevenson recorded it for the original soundtrack of the CBS sitcom ‘Dreams’ in 1984.
‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ was written by Jim Steinman in 1983, and Bonnie Tyler recorded it the same year and took the song to number in the U.S. where it stayed for four weeks. If you thought you remember someone else singing this song in the past, you are correct though. Most notable, Nicki French released a dance remake of the song in 1995, and it became a worldwide hit reaching number two on the Hot 100 charts. Several other bands have covered the song since then as well, but Tyler was the first to record it.
Here are the videos for the songs in question as well as the two other versions of ‘Alone’ and Nicki French’s version as well for comparison. Enjoy!
There wasn’t a dry eye in America when the final episode of M*A*S*H aired on February 28, 1983. The final episode was called Goodbye, Farewell and Amen, and is was over 2 1/2 hours long. The episode had a Nielsen rating of 60.2 and 77 share, and according to a New York Times article in 1983, over 125 million viewers watched the episode.
According to Wikipedia, “Stories persist that the episode was seen by so many people that the New York City Sanitation/Public Works Department reported the plumbing systems broke down in some parts of the city from so many New Yorkers waiting until the end to use the toilet.”
Relive the final scenes from the episode below when everyone says goodbye…
In 1985, Starship released their album Knee Deep in the Hoopla, and scored two number one singles in a row with We Built This City and Sara. Sara was also their first number one song on the AC charts where it spent three weeks at number one. The song was written by Peter and Ina Wolf, but it was named for co-lead singer Mickey Thomas’s wife at the time.
The music video below featured actress Rebecca De Mornay, who at the time was most famous for her role opposite Tom Cruise in 1983’s Risky Business. Enjoy this look back at one of the best-selling singles of 1986!
In 1978, Sammy Hagar wrote and recorded I’ve Done Everything For You and released it as a single in the U.S. Unfortunately, it didn’t chart in the U.S, but it did make it into the Top 40 on the UK Singles Chart peaking at #36.
In 1981, Rick Springfield included the song on his breakout album Working Class Dog after his producer Keith Olsen suggested including one cover song on the album. Working Class Dog also included his iconic ’80s hit single Jessie’s Girl as well as his top 30 hit Love Is Alright Tonite. And, Springfield’s version of I’ve Done Everything For You was the follow up single to his number one hit Jessie’s Girl, and peaked at #8 on the Hot 100 charts in 1981!
Check out Sammy and Rick’s versions below and let us know which you like the best. And, as a bonus, we’ve got a live performance from Sammy in 2010 where he references Springfield’s version. It’s pretty funny to hear Sammy talk about why Springfield’s version charted higher than his.
Nightrain was the last single Guns N’ Roses released in the ’80s. It was the fifth single released from their 1987 debut album Appetite for Destruction. It wasn’t as commercially successful as the most of the other singles from the album, but it was and still is a fan favorite during their concerts. And, when it comes to legendary concerts from the ’80s, Guns N’ Roses live at the Ritz in NYC in 1988 is one of the greatest concerts of the decade. Here they are live from the Ritz performing Nightrain!
What a cool freaking show! AC/DC’s frontman Brian Johnson has been hitting the road and visiting with some of the biggest names in rock n’ roll.
In this highlight video from season one, Johnson visits with Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason, The Who’s Roger Daltrey, Led Zeppelin great Robert Plant, Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott, Metallica’s legendary drummer Lars Ulrich, and the one and only Sting. This is 17 minutes you’ll definitely want to watch!
In 1984, the Alan Parsons Project released one of the all time great classic rock songs of the ’80s. ‘Don’t Answer Me’ was their last top 20 hit on the Hot 100 charts when it peaked at #15.
The music video below was also one of the more expensive music videos of its time costing over $50,000. The video is presented as a story in the fictional comic book series, The Adventures of Nick and Sugar, set in the ’30s in Florida. According to Wikipedia, “the video took 23 days to film, using a 40-man animation team, and combined traditional cel animation (in the rendering of the figures), stop-motion animation (for the majority of the movements), and even claymation.”
Enjoy a look back at the finished product below!
The true talent of any artist is to be able to stand in front of thousands of fans and sing acapela without any hesitation and without missing a beat. Thus is the brilliance of Billy Joel! In this live performance, Billy performs ‘The Longest Time’ in concert, and it is fantastic!
Chicago was formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. They called themselves the Chicago Transit Authority before shortening the name to just Chicago in 1969. Over the course of the band’s history, they have sold over 40 million units in the U.S. with 23 gold, 18 platinum, and eight multi-platinum albums! They also had five consecutive number one albums on the Billboard 200 charts, and they had 20 top-ten singles on the Hot 100 charts.
The history of Chicago is fascinating, and our decade, the ’80s proved to be the most commercially successful decade of their career as well as their least favorite decade of music personally. Let’s go behind the music with Chicago!
And, as a bonus, we’re featuring some of our favorite songs from the band below as well. Enjoy!
Kurt Russell, Rob Lowe, Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze… what do they all have in common? They are just a few of the sexiest men of the ’80s featured below in this video collection of the 10 Sexiest Men of the ’80s. Have a look and let us know on Facebook who you think is the sexiest man from the ’80s!
When it comes to memorable movie quotes, the ’80s probably has more memorable movie quotes and scenes than any decade in history. From Jack Nicholson’s “Here’s Johnny!” in 1980’s ‘The Shining’ to Clint Eastwood’s “Go ahead… make my day!” in 1983’s ‘Sudden Impact’, the ’80s produced some of the most memorable movie quotes of all time. Check out this awesome collection of movie quotes from the ’80s from Youtube’s mig320 channel!
Remember Toni Basil, the cute cheerleader who stole our hearts with her ’80s hit song ‘Hey Mickey’? Well, check out Toni Basil in 2018 dancing and looking as cute as ever at 74 years old. Yes, you read that right. The woman you see dancing below is Toni Basil at 74 years old, and she looks amazing! In this interview with ‘Inside Edition’, Toni shares what she believes is the true fountain of youth. It’s hard to argue with her assessment.
“Oh, Toni, you’re so fine, you’re so fine, you blow our minds, hey Toni!”
On October 23, 2020, during a virtual celebration of the late Tom Petty’s 70th birthday, Jackson Browne performed an incredible acoustic version of ‘The Waiting’, and it was a perfect tribute to the late rock legend. Sit back, relax, and enjoy ‘The Waiting’ like you’ve never heard it before.
In the late ’80s and early ’90s, there were a ton of great, up-and-coming rock bands who were influenced by the Crue, Whitesnake, Bon Jovi, Cinderella and other great ’80s rock bands that were just getting started. Unfortunately for them, Nirvana and the grunge rock scene (along with their record labels and MTV) completely pulled the rug out from under these bands and dashed any hopes they had of ever “making it” big!
One of those bands that should have made it “big” was Wildside, a band formed in 1988 at the height of the Hollywood hair band craze. The band consisted of guitarists Benny Rhynedance and Brent Woods, lead singer Drew Hannah, bassist Marc Simon, and drummer Jimmy D.
Wildside were set up to take over the rock world in the early ’90s when “Capitol Records came calling in August of 1990, and a bidding war between Capitol and Polygram ensued, with Capitol winning the bid for 7 figures and 5 albums. It was the biggest signing of a Hollywood rock band since W.A.S.P. back in 1984.” via last.fm. “With legendary Led Zeppelin record producer Andy Johns at the helm, Wildside recorded their debut CD in secret at Eddie Van Halen’s personal home studio, and also at the renowned A&M studios in Hollywood throughout 1991. Master metal mix-meisters Steve Thompson and Michael Barbierio mixed the CD to near perfection. They had mixed and produced many big hair rock bands in the 80’s. Capitol Records had a slick package to market to the metal masses. How could they lose?”
Grunge… Like so many other great bands just getting started, it was basically over, and according to their biography on last.fm, “in late 1993, after an “upper management shake up” at Capitol Records, all the execs that signed Wildside were “no longer with the company”, including then Capitol President Hale Milgrim. New management at Capitol immediately called it quits for the band in the fall of ’93. Regardless of an iron clad contract and a 5 album deal, new Capitol execs ripped up the band’s contract and said, “Good luck guys, it was nice knowin’ ya!”.
Well, we’re here to introduce you to Wildside if you’re one of the unlucky ones who never heard the band in their prime. And, if you were lucky enough to see them live back in the day, this one is for you as well! Poison, Motley Crue, Cinderella, Ratt were all great bands, but it’s time some of the other great bands that nobody got a chance to hear got their day in the sun as well!
I stumbled across this video tonight while looking for the next video to feature here on the site. At first glance, you might be thinking, “who cares?” But, trust me, it’s well worth the watch. First of all, if you’re like me, you knew someone just like these two metalhead teens from the ’80s. Heck, you might have been one. I was! But, what I love about this video is they shot the footage as if it was going to be posted on the internet or Facebook. They’re talking to the camera and taking you along for a simple jaunt through their neighborhood to their favorite record store.
What is so cool is here we are 30+ years later, and Larry and Darrell are taking us along for the ride as if this just happened yesterday. It’s a true flashback to the ’80s, and we think you’re gonna love it!
*UPDATE* – Check out Larry and Darrell taking the same stroll 30 years later!
Indulge us for a bit. If we could create the ultimate Super Bowl halftime show, it would of course feature nothing but incredible ’80s rock bands singing their biggest hits. Here’s a look at the live performances we would feature during the greatest ’80s Super Bowl Halftime show of all time!
Taking the stage first is Van Halen performing their iconic hit ‘Runnin’ With The Devil’!
Next up is Quiet Riot ready to blow our minds with an incredible performance of ‘Bang Your Head’!
Next, Vince, Tommy, Nikki, and Mick from Motley Crue take us all to the ‘Wild Side’!
Then, get ready for an amazing performance of ‘Back in Black’ from one of the all time great rock bands, AC/DC!
And, rounding out our last three acts are Ratt with ‘You’re In Love’, Skid Row with an amazing performance of ’18 and Life’. I swear, Sebastian Bach sounds better live than he does on vinyl! And, our grand finale comes from Guns N’ Roses performing the song that started it all for them, ‘Welcome to the Jungle’!
Enjoy this look at all seven live performances!
We hope you enjoyed the show! Now, we return you to 2023 and the reality that live performances just ain’t what they used to be… Long live the ’80s!
Who are the most iconic female lead singers of the ’80s? MsMojo on YouTube answered this question in the video below. We agree with most of the singers on the list, but we’re not sure we agree with the order. Check it out and let us know who you would have ranked number one!
In 1980, the Village People scored their last number one single of their career when ‘Can’t Stop The Music’ hit number one in Australia. It was also a top 20 hit in the UK. Here in the U.S., it was a top 40 disco song peaking at #27 on the Billboard Disco Singles charts.
Of course, they’re mainly known for their two top five hits from the late ’70s, ‘Y.M.C.A’ and ‘In the Navy’!
Unlike a lot of other ’80s hair metal bands, White Lion didn’t get their start on the Sunset Strip in California, but rather in Europe. Check out our friends from YouTube’s Rock N’ Roll True Stories and this episode about the rise and fall of White Lion. And, as a bonus, check out some of our favorite music videos from the band including ‘Wait’, ‘When the Children Cry’, and ‘Radar Love’!
MTV today is nothing like it was in the ’80s. When the channel premiered in the ’80s, it was the first time that most music fans had ever seen their favorite artists “in person” unless they had been fortunate enough to attend one of their concerts. Throughout the ’80s, MTV focused almost exclusively on music videos rather than MTV’s reality show focus of today.
The first MTV Video Music Awards was held on September 14, 1984 and was hosted by Dan Aykroyd and Bette Midler. The coveted Video of the Year winner was The Cars’ music video for You Might Think!
The second annual MTV Video Music Awards was held on September 13, 1985 and was hosted by Eddie Murphy. Don Henley’s music video for The Boys of Summer won the Video of the Year.
In 1986, the MTV Video Music Awards moved from Radio City Music Hall in New York City, where it had been held the previous two years, to two locations simultaneously, The Palladium in New York City, and Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. This was also the first year that MTV’s VJs, “Downtown” Julie Brown, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, Martha Quinn and Dweezil Zappa hosted the show on September 5, 1986.
And, the winner of the 1986 Video of the Year went to Dire Straits for Money For Nothing! This was kind of an upset considering A-ha’s music video for Take On Me won eight out of eleven awards it was nominated for including the Viewer’s Choice award.
In 1987, the awards show moved exclusively to Universal Amphitheatre, where it would stay until 1992 when it moved to UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion. ’87 was also the last year the MTV VJs hosted the show. The VJs were “Downtown” Julie Brown, Carolyne Heldman, Dweezil Zappa, and Kevin Seal.
One video dominated the awards in ’87! Peter Gabriel’s music video for Sledgehammer won a record-setting ten awards including the Video of the Year award!
In 1988, Arsenio Hall began his four-year stint as host of the show. Need You Tonight/Mediate from INXS won five out of nine nominations including the Video of the Year. This was also the year that Michael Jackson was awarded with the Video Vanguard Award. In 1991, the award was actually renamed the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.
The last MTV Video Music Awards of the ’80s was held on September 6, 1989. In ’89, four new categories were added to the ceremony (Best Heavy Metal Video, Best Rap Video, Best Dance Video, and Best Post-Modern Video). The first ever Best Heavy Metal Video went to Guns N’ Roses for their music video for Sweet Child O’ Mine. And, the Video of the Year award went to Neil Young for his controversial music video for This Note’s for You, which featured a Michael Jackson lookalike whose hair catches fire, and parodied corporate rock and the pretensions of advertising. The title of the song itself mocked Budweiser’s ‘This Bud’s for You’ ad campaign.
The ’89 show is also remembered for a couple other reasons. First, Andrew Dice Clay’s stand-up routine included adult versions of classicdef nursery rhymes, which led to MTV executives banning him from ever appearing on MTV again. And, second, according to Wikipedia, Def Leppard’s live performance of Tear It Down would be the last live appearance of guitarist Steve Clark before his death on January 8, 1991.
L.A. Guns have been releasing some great rock songs since the late ’80s, and one of their best songs and hits was The Ballad of Jayne from their 1989 album Cocked & Loaded. It peaked at #33 on the Hot 100 charts and #25 on the Mainstream Rock charts. It’s since become one of the better rock ballads of the last 30 years.
The song was said to have been written about Jayne Mansfield. In 2009, VH1 ranked the song at #93 on their list of the 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the ’80s!
Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away) was track number ten from Motley Crue’s 1989 Dr. Feelgood album. It was the fourth single released from the album and peaked at #19 on the Hot 100 charts and #13 on the Mainstream rock charts.
The music video below centers around lead singer Vince Neil leaving New York City to join the rest of the Crue in Los Angeles for rehearsal.
In 1981, REO Speedwagon scored their second top five hit of their career when Take It On The Run peaked at number five on the Hot 100 charts. It was the second single released from their 1980 Hi Infidelity album. The first single, Keep on Loving You hit number one on the Hot 100 charts.
In 1982, Pat Benatar scored a top 20 hit on the Hot 100 charts with Shadows of the Night. It was the first single released from her 1982 album Get Nervous. It was also her second top five rock hit when it peaked at #3 on the Mainstream Rock charts.
The music video for Shadows of the Night centers around Benatar as a riveter dreaming about being a flying ace who helps fighting Nazis in World War II. It features Judge Reinhold as a pilot and Bill Paxton as Nazi radio operator. Benatar’s T-6 Texan aircraft is named “Midnight Angel”, a phrase also used in the song itself with a different meaning (“And now the hands of time are standin’ still/Midnight angel, won’t you say you will”). via Wikipedia.
In 1982, Canadian band Sheriff released their first and only album. It was a self-titled album that produced one major hit. In 1983, they released the song When I’m With You. It peaked at #61 on the Hot 100 charts, but in 1988, the song was re-released as a single, and it hit number one on the Hot 100 charts. How?
Six years after “When I’m with You” had been a chart hit in Canada, Las Vegas DJ Jay Taylor began playing the song. KRXY DJ Gabe Baptiste also started playing “When I’m With You,” and listener response was positive. As a result, Capitol Records re-released the song. It subsequently became No. 1 in the United States in February 1989.
via Wikipedia
Wanted Dead or Alive was the third single released from Bon Jovi’s 1986 Slippery When Wet album. It peaked at number seven on the Hot 100 charts and finished 1987 at number 74 on the year end Hot 100 charts.
In Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet Special Edition, Jon and Richie perform the acoustic version of “Wanted Dead or Alive” live, and before singing they mention they wrote the song in Richie’s mother’s basement a year ago (1985 or 1986) and Richie says “Mom, this is for you” and Jon thanks her by saying “Thanks for Richie’s mom for not doing the laundry the day we wrote this song, it’s called ‘Wanted Dead or Alive'”. In this version, Richie and Jon take turns singing during the second and the last verse. The guitar solo is performed on one of Sambora’s trademark multi-neck 12-string Ovation guitars, rather than switching to an electric guitar for the solo and last verse of the song.
via Wikipedia
In 1981, Stevie Nicks teamed up with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around, her debut solo single from her first solo album, Bella Donna. It peaked at number three on the Hot 100 and number two on the Rock charts.
The album spawned three more top 40 hits for Nicks with Leather and Lace with Don Henley, Edge of Seventeen, and After the Glitter Fades.
