MTV debuted on August 1, 1981! Enjoy this look back at the original broadcast with the original VJs introducing themselves.
The original five VJs were Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, JJ Jackson, Martha Quinn, and Alan Hunter.
Vote for Your Favorite Female Rock Singer from the ’80s
We want to know who your favorite ’80s female rocker is! Is it ex-bandmates Joan Jett or Lita Ford formally of the Runaways. Or, perhaps it’s lead singers Patty Smyth from Scandal, Chrissie Hynde from the Pretenders, Debbie Harry from Blondie, Marie Fredriksson from Roxette, or Annie Lennox from The Eurythmics? Or maybe it’s one of the all-female rock bands The Go-Go’s or The Bangles? Or what about sultry Stevie Nicks, rockin’ Pat Benatar, or sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson from Heart?
Classic Scenes from 1980’s ‘Airplane!’
Airplane! is one of the funniest movies ever made! It was released in 1980, and featured the all star cast below. Youtube user Dunderphonic 8-Bit put together 10 minutes of video gold in the video below featuring classic scenes from Airplane!
- Robert Hays as Ted Striker
- Julie Hagerty as Elaine Dickinson
- Leslie Nielsen as Dr. Rumack
- Peter Graves as Capt. Clarence Oveur
- Lloyd Bridges as Steve McCroskey
- Robert Stack as Capt. Rex Kramer
- Lorna Patterson as Randy
- Stephen Stucker as Air Traffic Controller Johnny Henshaw-Jacobs
- Frank Ashmore as Victor Basta
- Jonathan Banks as Gunderson
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as Roger Murdock
- Craig Berenson as Paul Carey
- Barbara Billingsley as Jive Lady
- Lee Bryant as Mrs. Hammen
- Nicholas Pryor as Jim Hammen
- Joyce Bulifant as Mrs. Davis
- Maureen McGovern as Nun
- Kenneth Tobey as Air Controller Neubauer
- Marcy Goldman as Mrs. Geline
- Barbara Stuart as Mrs. Kramer
- Rossie Harris as Joey Hammen
- Norman Alexander Gibbs as 1st Jive Dude
- Al White as 2nd Jive Dude
- David Hollander as the young boy with coffee
- Michelle Stacy as the young girl with coffee
- David Leisure as First Krishna
- Jason Wingreen as Dr. Brody
- Jill Whelan as Lisa Davis
- Ethel Merman as Lt. Hurwitz
- Lee Terri as Mrs. Linda Oveur
- Jimmie Walker as Windshield Wiper Man
- James Hong as Japanese General
- Howard Jarvis as the Man in the Taxi
Clint Eastwood – ‘Go Ahead Make My Day’ Scene from ‘Sudden Impact’
80’s Music Stars – Then and Now
Top Raccoon on YouTube put together the awesome video below featuring an excellent collection of then and now photos of some of the ’80s greatest music stars!
‘80s music stars featured below:
- Jon Bon Jovi
- Madonna
- Billy Idol
- Axl Rose
- Elton John
- Boy George
- Sting
- Phil Collins
- Bonnie Tyler
- Bono Vox
- Eurythmics
- David Bowie
- Sinéad O’Connor
- Gloria Estefan
- Mick Hucknall
- Rick Astley
- Ozzy Osbourne
- Cyndi Lauper
- George Michael
- Eddie Van Halen
- Kim Wilde
- Rod Stewart
- Samantha Fox
- Janet Jackson
- Bruce Springsteen
- Ricky Martin
- Bryan Adams
- Lionel Richie
- Mick Jagger
- Paul McCartney
- Prince
- Hall & Oates
- Susanna Hoffs
- Bananarama
- Tina Turner
- Paula Abdul
- Michael Jackson
- Joan Jett
- Mark Knopfler
- Steven Tyler
- Marie Fredriksson
- Belinda Carlisle
- Chaka Khan
- Tears for Fears
- Olivia Newton-John
- Debbie Gibson
- Richard Marx
- Adam Ant
- Ray Parker Jr.
- Rick Springfield
- Corey Hart
- Stevie Nicks
- Peter Gabriel
- Simon Le Bon
- Debbie Harry
- Lars Ulrich
- Johnny Marr
- Morrissey
- Annabella Lwin
- David Lee Roth
- Pat Benatar
- John Taylor
- Sheila E
- Natalie Merchant
The Cast of Predator – Then and Now (Video)
Predator was released in 1987, and has become one of the most memorable action movies of the last 40 years. Enjoy this look at the cast of Predator then and now.
RIP to cast member R.G. Armstrong (Major General Philips) who passed away in 2012 at the age of 95. Armstrong was 70 years old when the movie was filmed. Another cast member who has passed is Sonny Landham (Billy), who was 46 when the film was made. He passed away in 2017 at the age of 76. And lastly, RIP to Kevin Peter Hall, who played the Predator. Sadly, Hall passed away just a few years after making the movie at the age of 36 in 1991.
Eddie Murphy Impersonating Elvis, James Brown, and Stevie Wonder in ‘Delirious’
In 1983, Eddie Murphy’s stand-up comedy film ‘Delirious’ came out, and to this day, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a funnier stand-up routine. One of our favorite bits from the routine was this one where Eddie impersonates Elvis, James Brown, and Stevie Wonder. His Elvis impersonation is spot-on!
And, of course, Eddie’s the ice cream man is coming skit is one of the greatest comedy skits of all time!
Top 10 Decade Defining Music Videos of the ’80s
Music videos are synonymous with the ’80s, and in this video, WatchMojo features the Top 10 Decade Defining Music Videos of the 1980s! Which video will be number one? Will it be Dire Straits ‘Money For Nothing’? What about A-ha’s ‘Take One Me’? Check out the video below to find out!
Top 10 Defining Moments of the 1980s in America
So many defining moments happened in the ’80s, but WatchMojo managed to narrow it down to the top ten defining moments in America in the 1980s! From MTV to HIV-Aids to the Space Shuttle explosion, the 80s was certainly one of the most influential decades in American history!
The Making of ‘Predator’ Behind the Scenes
Slash: Raised on the Sunset Strip (Documentary)
When it comes to great guitarists from the last 40 years, Slash is definitely in the top ten. Directv and Guitar Center’s documentary, Slash: Raised on the Sunset Strip features interviews with Dave Grohl, Joe Perry, Alice Cooper, Duff Mckagan, Nikki Sixx, Slash himself, and many more. Enjoy!
Stand By Me Cast: Where Are They Now?
Stand By Me was released in 1986, and it has become one of the most memorable movies from the ’80s. It had an all-star cast, but at the time, many of the stars weren’t quite stars yet. So, where are they now? Check out WatchMojo’s look below at the cast of Stand By Me, and where they are now!
Vote For The Top Rock Singer from the ’80s
We want to know who your favorite ’80s rock singer is! Is it Bret Michaels form Poison? Or perhaps Axl Rose from Guns N’ Roses, or the late Jani Lane from Warrant? What about Steve Perry, Journey’s original lead singer, or Sebastian Bach, our favorite lead singer from Skid Row? Or maybe it’s Tom Keifer from Cinderella, or one of the two lead singers from two of the greatest rock bands from the ’80s, Jon Bon Jovi from Bon Jovi, or Joe Elliott from Def Leppard?
Let us know who your favorite is, or if they’re not shown below, write in who your favorite is. We can’t wait to see the results!
Ronald Reagan’s Inaugural Address – January 20, 1981
As we prepare to either re-elect President Donald Trump, or elect a new president, Joe Biden, we thought it would be fun on this day to look back at President Ronald Reagan’s first inauguration address from 1981. Click here for the complete transcript of President Reagan’s speech. With the exception of a couple of years, Ronald Reagan was the President of the United States for the ’80s.
Well, I believe we, the Americans of today, are ready to act worthy of ourselves, ready to do what must be done to ensure happiness and liberty for ourselves, our children, and our children’s children. And as we renew ourselves here in our own land, we will be seen as having greater strength throughout the world. We will again be the exemplar of freedom and a beacon of hope for those who do not now have freedom.
President Ronald Reagan – Inaugural address – 1981
Warrant’s Awesome Live Performance of ‘Heaven’ at the American Music Awards
One thing we always loved about Warrant and Jani Lane was that they sounded as good live as they did on their albums. You can’t say that about a lot of ’80s rock bands. Here’s Jani and the rest of the boys from Warrant performing their hit song ‘Heaven’ live at the American Music Awards in 1990!
The Pretenders – Don’t Get Me Wrong – Music Video
In 1986, The Pretenders released their album ‘Get Close’. The first single from the album was ‘Don’t Get Me Wrong’. It became their second top ten hit on the Hot 100 charts when it peaked at #10. Their first was 1983’s top five hit ‘Back on the Chain Gang’.
The music video below for ‘Don’t Get Me Wrong’ is a tribute to the 1960’s British TV spy series, ‘The Avengers’.
13 Spooktacular Music Videos from the ’80s
The ’80s produced some of the scariest, craziest, and spookiest music videos of all time! Here’s a look at 13 of the spookiest music videos from the ’80s.
Men at Work – ‘Dr. Heckyll and Mr. Jive’ Music Video (1983)
Rockwell – ‘Somebody’s Watching Me’ Music Video (1984)
Michael Jackson – ‘Thriller’ Music Video (1984)
Kim Carnes – ‘Draw of the Cards’ Music Video (1981)
Landscape – ‘Norman Bates’ Music Video (1981)
The Rolling Stones – ‘Too Much Blood’ Music Video (1983)
Greg Kihn Band – ‘Jeopardy’ Music Video (1982)
Dio – ‘The Last in Line’ Music Video (1984)
Sheena Easton – ‘Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair)’ Music Video (1983)
The Cure – ‘Lullaby’ Music Video (1989)
Oingo Boingo – ‘Nothing Bad Ever Happens To Me’ Music Video (1983)
Eddie Money – ‘Think I’m In Love’ Music Video (1982)
Huey Lewis and the News – ‘Doing It All For My Baby’ Music Video (1987)
Halloween Songs from the ’80s
Here are 13 awesome Halloween songs from the ’80s courtesy of Lindsay Holiday on YouTube!
- Dead Man’s Party — Oingo Boingo
- Hungry Like the Wolf — Duran Duran
- Thriller — Michael Jackson
- Psycho Killer – Talking Heads
- Ghost Town – The Specials
- Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic – The Police
- Somebody’s Watching Me – Rockwell and Micheal Jackson
- Twilight Zone – Golden Earring
- Sweet Dreams – Eurythmics
- Cry Little Sister – Gerard McMann
- Rock Until You Drop – Michael Sembello
- Scary Monsters (& Super Creeps) – David Bowie
- Lullaby – The Cure
Sean Connery – Top 10 Performances of All-Time
WatchMojo put together Sir Sean Connery’s top ten performances of all time, and there are some great performances from the ’80s on the list! In particular, we loved him as Jimmy Malone in 1987’s ‘The Untouchables’! Sadly, Connery passed away on October 31, 2020 while in the Bahamas. He was 90 years old.
25 Things You Missed in Cobra Kai
If you’re not watching the Karate Kid inspired Netflix series Cobra Kai, please do yourself a favor and binge watch it right now. It really is a great show that does an excellent job of honoring the original movie while carrying on the rivalry between Daniel and Johnny. Here’s a look at 25 things you might have missed in the series Cobra Kai.
Elisabeth Shue Reveals She Had Doubts That Ralph Macchio Could Pull Off The Karate Kid
In this short video from the Rich Eisen Show, Rich interviews Ralph Macchio’s co-star from The Karate Kid, Elisabeth Shue, and she drops some great one-liners about the movie and especially the Karate Kid himself, Ralph Macchio. “I could’ve kicked his a$$!” LOL. That’s just one of the things she talks about in the interview. She also talks about how she got started in acting as well as how she was a much better soccer player than Ralph. If you’ve got about three minutes, this one is well worth your time!
The Karate Kid – Behind-the-Scenes During the Tournament Rehearsals
The Karate Kid was one of the most successful movies of the entire decade of the ’80s. It starred Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue, and William Zabka, and made over $100 million at the box office in the U.S. and Canada. Thanks to YouTube user avildsen1221, here’s a look at the rehearsals for the tournament scenes from the 1984 movie. Enjoy!
Guess the ’80s Hit Song
Let’s have some fun ’80s music lovers! Can you guess these 20 songs from the ’80s within the time limit? Give it a try and let us know how you did either here or on our Facebook page. Good luck!
Journey – Only The Young – The Story Behind the Song
Journey’s Jonathan Cain, Steve Perry, and Neal Schon wrote the song ‘Only The Young’ in 1983 and sold it to another one of our favorite ’80s bands, Scandal. Scandal released it on their 1984 Warrior album. Journey also recorded and released the song as a single in 1985, and Journey’s version was included on the soundtrack to the 1985 movie ‘Vision Quest’. Scandal was actually given a large settlement in the legal aftermath of Journey releasing the song themselves.
Journey’s version reached number nine on the Hot 100 charts in March 1985. Scandal didn’t release the song as a single.
The song had a tremendous impact on a 16 year-old boy and subsequently changed Cain, Perry, and Schon’s lives forever:
The first individual outside the band to hear the song was sixteen-year-old Kenny Sykaluk of Rocky River, Ohio, who was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. His mother wrote a letter to the band telling them about her son’s terminal condition, and how big a fan he was of Journey. The band flew to his hospital bedside in Cleveland, Ohio at the request of the Make a Wish Foundation. Along with a Walkman containing the new track, the band also brought Kenny a football helmet signed by the San Francisco 49ers and an autographed Journey platinum record award.
The experience of playing the song for Kenny left Steve Perry and Jonathan Cain deeply affected. Perry said, “As soon as I walked out of the hospital room, I lost it. Nurses had to take me to a room by myself.” On the band’s episode of VH1’s Behind the Music, Cain broke down in tears recalling the event, remarking that “children should not have to live with that kind of pain”. Kenny died the next day, with the Walkman still in his hand. The song brought life into perspective for the band and left them humbled. Neal Schon said that Kenny’s death affected Journey by making them re-evaluate the issues that were causing friction inside the band itself. In honor of Kenny Sykaluk, the band used the song as their opener for the Raised on Radio Tour.
via Wikipedia
Remembering Eddie Van Halen, the Greatest Guitarist of our Generation
We’re almost at a loss for words. We lost the greatest guitarist of our generation today as Eddie Van Halen passed away from cancer. Eddie’s death was announced today on Twitter by his son Wolfgang Van Halen:
— Wolf Van Halen (@WolfVanHalen) October 6, 2020
We have been fans of Van Halen since the very beginning and have followed them through the Roth years, the Hagar years, and back to the Roth years. Through it all, the one constant was the Van Halen brothers, Eddie and Alex. We are going to miss you Eddie more than you’ll ever know.
Here’s a look at some of our all time favorite Van Halen videos. To kick off this video tribute, here’s Eddie Van Halen’s iconic Eruption, which we consider one of the greatest guitar performances in history. RIP brother! We’ll never forget you…
80 Facts About the ’80s (Video)
Our friends at Mental Floss have put together an awesome list of 80s facts about the ’80s. In the video below, you’ll find out why Wendy’s fired Clara Peller, the famous “Where’s the Beef?” spokeswoman, as well as 79 other fascinating facts about the our favorite decade, the ’80s. Enjoy!
For a complete list of all the facts below, visit MentalFloss.com!
G N’ R Lies – Brilliant and Controversial at the Same Time
In November of 1988, Guns N’ Roses released their second album called G N’ R Lies. The first four songs were tracks from their previously released EP Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide, and they were also included as bonus tracks on the 2018 reissue of Appetite for Destruction.
However, the other four songs on the album were completely different from anything the band had released before. They were slower acoustic songs that really resonated with fans in the late ’80s due to the popularity of MTV’s Unplugged series, which featured acoustic sets from some of the most popular rock bands of the day.
But, the album wasn’t loved by all. The song One in a Million was widely criticized for being both racist and homophobic. Rose denied these allegations at the time, but by 1992, Rose seemed to have gained new perspective on the song and its lyrics. In one interview, he added, “I was pissed off about some black people that were trying to rob me. I wanted to insult those particular black people.” In his final public comments about “One in a Million” in 1992, Rose stated, “It was a way for me to express my anger at how vulnerable I felt in certain situations that had gone down in my life.”
The only single released from the album was Patience, which remains one of their biggest hits. It was a top five hit on the Hot 100 charts, and a top ten hit on the Mainstream Rock charts. It also finished at number 71 on the Billboard Year-end charts.
The other two new acoustic songs were You’re Crazy and Used to Love Her. The latter was also controversial and considered by many to be misogynistic. According to Wikipedia, contrary to popular belief that the song is about a girlfriend of Axl Rose, the song was written as a joke. Izzy Stradlin stated, “I was sitting around listening to the radio and some guy was whining about a broad who was treating him bad. I wanted to take the radio and smash it against the wall. Such self-pity! What a wimp! So we rewrote the same song we heard with a better ending.”
Here’s a look at four live performances of the acoustic songs from G N’ R Lies!
The Greatest ’80s Tribute Video You’ll Ever Watch
While browsing YouTube for the latest and greatest ’80s related videos to share with ya’ll, we came across one of the greatest ’80s tribute videos we’ve ever seen. It was created by The Vintage Tribute YouTube channel, and we knew we had to share this. Enjoy the greatest ’80s tribute video we’ve ever seen!
10 Things Kids in the ’80s Either Owned or Wanted
If you were a kid or a teenager in the ’80s, you either owned or wanted to own one or more of the 10 things below. Nothing was worse in school than to watch the “cool kids” walk into class with a new pair of Air Jordans or sporting the coolest new Trapper Keeper.
And, what ’80s party was complete without a boombox booming out an ’80s tune from Journey, Bon Jovi, or Run D.M.C.! And what ’80s kid didn’t want a Walkman portable stereo headset? I remember when I got my first Sony Walkman for Christmas. That would have been the best Christmas ever except that honor went to the year I got my Atari 2600. That Christmas remains the best Christmas ever because the ability to have an arcade in your house was the greatest invention an ’80s kid could have dreamed of.
Let’s go back to the ’80s today with 10 things that every kid in the ’80s either owned or wanted to own!
A Pair of Air Jordans
A Trapper Keeper
An Atari 2600
A Swatch Watch
Teddy Ruxpin
Leg Warmers
A Cabbage Patch Doll (or Two)
Slogan T-Shirts
A Boombox
A Walkman
Journey – Behind the Music – Director’s Cut
In this expanded addition of VH-1’s Behind the Music with Journey, the Director’s Cut, check out never before seen footage from the early days of the band as well as hear first hand from the band what it was like to experience the ultimate highs and the ultimate lows as one of the ’80s most popular rock bands.