Featuring the best 80s music videos, TV shows, 80s celebrities and more!
Culturama on YouTube put together the awesome ’80s video tribute below containing scenes and songs from the decade that shaped us all! Their description says it best, “The ’80s were rad! Enjoy this tribute to the sites and sounds of the decade of decadence! So crack open a Bartles & James, a bottle of Grey-Poupon and enjoy!”
Here Comes My Girl was the third single released from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ third studio album, Damn the Torpedoes. The album is considered to be the band’s breakthrough album with the first two singles from the album, Don’t Do Me Like That and Refugee, peaking at numbers 10 and 15 respectively on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming their first top 20 hits on the Hot 100 chart.
Enjoy this look back at the music video for Here Comes My Girl as well as a look back at videos for Don’t Do Me Like That and Refugee!
I remember watching my favorite TV shows in the ’80s and hating when the commercials came on. Now, I’m loving looking back at all of these commercials I remember from my childhood. Watching them is like stepping back into my living room as a kid laying on the floor looking up at our monstrous TV that probably weighed 1,000 pounds. It’s strangely relaxing watching all these commercials from the ’80s. Hope you enjoy them as well.
Enjoy this look back at a collection of memorable commercials from the ’80s!
In 1982, Billy Idol released his self-titled debut album and scored two top 40 hits on the Hot 100 chart with Hot in the City and White Wedding. White Wedding peaked at number 36 on the Hot 100 chart, but went all the way to number four on the Mainstream Rock chart. He re-released White Wedding in the UK in 1985 and it peaked at number six on the UK charts.
Enjoy this look back at Billy Idol’s music video for White Wedding from 1982 as well as awesome live performance from the Savoy theater in NYC back in the day!
On July 7, 1982, Mr. T was a guest on Late Night with David Letterman, and he was not a fan of Dave’s corny jokes. He did a great job portraying the same tough character he played in Rocky III, Clubber Lang. Rocky III had been released a few months before this appearance, and he was still about a year away from starring as B.A. Baracus in The A-Team.
Enjoy this look back at Mr. T on Late Night With David Letterman in 1982!
In 1993, Michael Jackson put on what many consider to be the greatest Super Bowl halftime show of all time. It was an incredible show. Because of Michael’s historic performance at Super Bowl XXVII, the stakes were raised dramatically for future Super Bowl halftime performances. While Michael’s performance was historic and awesome, the greatest halftime performance of all time to us was when ’80s icon Prince performed during Super Bowl XLI on February 4, 2007.
I remember watching this show and being in awe of Prince’s performance. First of all, it was pouring down rain during the performance, but this didn’t bother Prince one bit. It had never rained during a Super Bowl halftime show until then. Prince’s Super Bowl halftime show was a huge safety hazard and if it occurred today, it would probably have never happened. The stage was slippery when dry, but when wet, this particular stage was very slick. Prince along with two of his dancers were wearing high heels and moved around the stage the entire time.
Reportedly, when the director of the halftime show, Don Mischer called Prince the day of the show and said it’s going to be raining during your performance, Prince said, “Can you make it rain harder?”
What transpired that night during the show was without a doubt the best performance we’ve ever seen at a Super Bowl. Prince’s setlist for the show was:
We Will Rock You
Let’s Go Crazy
Baby, I’m a Star
Proud Mary (Creedence Clearwater Revival cover)
All Along the Watchtower (Bob Dylan cover)
Best of You (Foo Fighters cover)
Purple Rain
You can watch the entire show on the NFL’s YouTube channel here, but the best performance from the show was the last song, Purple Rain. Enjoy this look back at the greatest Super Bowl halftime show of all time from one of the ’80s greatest singers/guitarists/musicians of all time, Prince performing Purple Rain live in a downpour!
Over 40 years ago, a 9-year-old kid shared his Coca-Cola with Pittsburgh legend “Mean” Joe Greene in one of the most famous Super Bowl commercials of all time. The commercial ran during Super Bowl XIV in 1980. Reportedly “Mean” Joe had to chug 18 bottles of Coke before he got the shot right.
Enjoy this look back at one of the greatest commercials of all time featuring Pittsburgh legend “Mean” Joe Greene!
In 1989, Janet Jackson released her fourth studio album titled Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814. The album spawned seven top five songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart including four number one songs. 1989’s Rhythm Nation was a number two hit on the Hot 100 chart, but hit number one on the R&B chart.
The music video for Rhythm Nation was a massive success. The video won the Best Choreography and Best Dance Video awards at the MTV VMA’s, and Jackson won the Director’s Award, Best Female Video Artist, and the Music Video Award for Artistic Achievement at the Billboard Awards. The long-form video for Rhythm Nation won a Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video, and Slant Magazine listed it among the Greatest Music Videos of All Time in 2003.
Enjoy this look back at both the regular and long-form music videos for Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation from 1989!
Knight Rider ran for four seasons on NBC from September 26, 1982 – April 4, 1986. While David Hasselhoff has remained in the public eye for many years since the show, what about the rest of the cast? In this video, Youtube’s NOSTALGIA HIT gives us a look at the cast of Knight Rider back in the ’80s as well as now.
The cast of Knight Rider consisted of:
DAVID HASSELHOFF as MICHAEL KNIGHT
WILLIAM DANIELS as K.I.T.T.
EDWARD MULHARE as DEVON MILES
PATRICIA MCPHERSON as BONNIE BARSTOW
REBECCA HOLDEN as APRIL CURTIS
PETER PARROS as ‘RC3’ REGINALD CORNELIUS III
RICHARD BASEHART as WINTON KNIGHT / NARRATOR
PHYLLIS DAVIS as TANYA WALKER
LARRY ANDERSON as MICHAEL LONG
ANN TURKEL as ADRIANNE MARGEAUX
ROBYN LIVELY as BECKY PHILLIPS
PAMELA SUSAN SHOOP as MAGGIE
SHAWN ORA ENGEMANN as LONNIE
NANA VISITOR as SANDRA RUSK
ALEX KUBIK as LUGER / SAM / MIKE ZOORMAGIAN
ANNE LOCKHART as JENNIFER SHELL
ALAN OPPENHEIMER as GENERAL DUNCTON
MARY BETH EVANS as CINDY MATTHESON
BRIAN CUTLER as BAR MANAGER
ROBIN DEARDEN as LIBERTY COX
ANGEL TOMPKINS as CONNIE CHASEN / NORA RAYBURN
JOHN CONSIDINE as BOYD LASALLE
LENORE KASDORF as KAREN BENNETT
ROBERT O’REILLY as JAKE SIMPSON
PETER MARK RICHMAN as DR. KLAUS BERGSTROM
JOHN VERNON as CAMERON ZACHARY
KATHY SHOWER as CLAUDIA TORRELL / TORI
JUDY LANDERS as MICKI BRADBURN
JACK STARRETT as HAGEN
LANCE LEGAULT as VERNON GRAY
BARBARA RUSH AS ELIZABETH KNIGHT
CATHERINE HICKLAND as STEPHANIE “STEVIE” MASON
Enjoy this look back at the cast of Knight Rider then and now from NOSTALGIA HIT on YouTube!
Material Girl was the second single released from Madonna’s 1984 Like a Virgin album. It became her fifth top 20 hit on the Hot 100 chart as well as her second number one Dance hit in a row and fourth overall. The song was a huge hit, but the music video was iconic!
In the video, Madonna channeled Marilyn Monroe, taking inspiration from the 1953 movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes where Monroe sings Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend. The music video’s storyline depicts a film producer pursuing Madonna and trying to woo her by flaunting his wealth. The music video was nominated for best female video at the 1985 MTV Video Music Awards but lost to Tina Turner’s What’s Love Got to Do with It. The video for Material Girl was ranked at position 54 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Videos list in 2001.
Enjoy this flashback to 1984 with Madonna and her music video for Material Girl, and just for fun, enjoy a look back at Marilyn Monroe singing Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend in 1953’s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes!
In this rare behind-the-scenes video from the making of Star Wars V: The Empire Strike Back, cameras captured what it was like filming during a major snowstorm in Finse, Norway. There’s also footage of never-before-seen interviews with the cast and crew. This includes interviews with Star Wars creator George Lucas, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels (CP30), and Billy Dee Williams, as well as light-hearted moments between Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill.
Enjoy this look back at rare behind-the-scenes footage from The Empire Strikes Back!
On February 4, 1982, Tom Hanks made his first appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. At the time, he was still a struggling actor who was on the TV sitcom Bosom Buddies with Peter Colari. During this appearance, he talked to Johnny about why he was practicing to be a street juggler as well as about the time he helped the boiler man fix the furnace in his tiny NYC apartment building. It’s really fascinating to watch interviews like this on Carson. Hanks was the same funny guy that we all grew to love in his ’80s movies Splash, Bachelor Party, and The Money Pit, but during this appearance, you could tell that he was working really hard to try and impress Johnny and the audience. Little did he, nor we know at the time that he would become one of the most famous actors of all time.
Enjoy this look back at Tom Hanks’ first appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1982!
Fleetwood Mac’s 13th studio album, Mirage was released in 1982 and included two of Fleetwood Mac’s most memorable songs. Hold Me was the first single released from the album, and it peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The second single released from the album was Gypsy, which peaked at number 12 on the Hot 100 and number four on the Mainstream Rock chart.
The music video for Gypsy was the highest-budget music video ever produced at the time, and it was the very first “World Premiere Video” on MTV in 1982. Enjoy this look back at Fleetwood Mac’s music video for Gypsy from 1982 as well as an incredible stripped down version of Gypsy from Stevie Nicks in 2015.
On February 17, 1982, Mr. Rogers was a guest on Late Night with David Letterman, and he talked about meeting Mr. Robinson from SNL, aka Eddie Murphy. He really was a very nice man who was only concerned with helping children. When he tells the story about someone in the mid-South doing an impression of him telling kids to get their mom’s hairspray and their dad’s cigarette lighter together, his response is priceless… that’ll start a lot of fires.
The respect that Dave shows him is very admirable. Johnny Carson showed the same respect when he had Mr. Rogers on his show as well.
Enjoy this look back at Mr. Rogers on with David Letterman back in 1982, and in case you haven’t seen it, enjoy Mr. Rogers on with Carson as well!
On September 19, 1984, Jason Bateman made his first appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. It’s amazing how calm and grounded he was at only 15 years old. He had so many mannerisms back then that he still has today, and Bateman is one of the few child actors from the ’80s who has enjoyed success during every decade of his life so far. He started his acting career in the early ’80s on Little House on the Prairie, and then moved on to roles in Silver Spoons and The Hogan Family.
These days he’s primarily known for his roles as Michael Bluth in Arrested Development and as Marty Byrde in the Netflix drama Ozark, which Bateman also directs.
Enjoy this look back at Jason Bateman’s first appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson!
The 1988 NBA Slam Dunk Contest is considered to be the greatest slam dunk contest in history. I remember watching this live and being in awe of Jordan and Wilkins.
The competition featured:
The first and second rounds were great, but the final round between Michael Jordan and Dominque Wilkins was fantastic! The two all-time greats went back and forth with memorable dunks!
Enjoy this look back at the 1988 NBA Slam Dunk Contest in its entirety!
On July 13, 1984, David Letterman was a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Carson was always a huge fan of Dave’s. He had him on the show multiple times, and they always got along great. I love their interaction in this interview when Dave tells a joke about the good things that come from earthquakes. The joke doesn’t really go over that well, but Dave and Johnny’s reactions are vintage Letterman and Carson!
Enjoy this look back at David Letterman’s visit with Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1984!
I’ll be back! The Terminator was released to theaters on October 16, 1984. Many consider the first one the best, and we have to agree. Before the first Terminator, we had never seen anything like this. According to Wikipedia, The Terminator’s success is credited with launching James Cameron’s film career and solidified Arnold Schwarzenegger’s status as a leading man in films.
One of the best scenes in the movie was the police station shootout when the terminator comes for Sarah Conner and utters his famous line, “I’ll be back!” Enjoy this look back at the police station shootout scene from The Terminator in 1984!
In 2002, two of the ’80s biggest stars, Cher and Cyndi Lauper, teamed up together to perform Cher’s ’80s hit single If I Could Turn Back Time. The concert was called the VH-1 Divas Las Vegas: An Honors Concert For The VH-1 Save The Music Foundation, and it aired live from the MGM Grand Las Vegas on May 23, 2002. In addition to this awesome performance from Cher and Cyndi, another ’80s icon, Stevie Nicks performed Wear My Ring Around Your Neck as a tribute to Elvis.
Enjoy this look back at three awesome ’80s superstars performing live during the 2002 VH-1 Divas concert in Vegas!
In 1986, Carol Burnett and a few of her famous friends teamed up for an hour-long music and comedy special. One of the funniest sketches of the night was a sketch between Carol Burnett and Robin Williams called The Funeral. Robin plays a man named Marcus, an eccentric friend of the deceased, who tries to comfort his friend’s widow, played by Burnett. Needless to say, his comforting skills aren’t exactly the best.
Enjoy this look back at Carol Burnett and Robin Williams in a sketch called The Funeral in 1986!
In 1985, Johnny Carson was a guest on Late Night with David Letterman. Johnny comes out and almost sits down before going backstage to retrieve something. A few seconds later, Carson comes back out with a cardboard desk that he puts together before sitting down saying he only performs well behind a desk. It was a hilarious entrance for an awesome interview between Johnny Carson and David Letterman.
Enjoy this look back at Johnny Carson visiting with David Letterman in 1985!
Back to School was released to theaters on June 13, 1986. It starred Rodney Dangerfield, Keith Gordon, Sally Kellerman, Burt Young, Terry Farrell, William Zabka, Ned Beatty, Sam Kinison, Paxton Whitehead and Robert Downey Jr. In the movie, Rodney Dangerfield stars as Thornton Melon, a self-made millionaire and businessman who goes back to college to help motivate his son, who was thinking of dropping out, to stay in college.
In this scene, Melon dispenses the truth about starting a new business during his first economics class in college. Enjoy this look back at Rodney Dangerfield going back to school!
I have no idea what local channel this interview was for, but it’s fascinating to watch. The interview is taking place at Rodney Dangerfield’s club Dangerfield’s in Manhattan back in 1980. It’s both a behind-the-scenes interview as well as the entire interview all-in-one. I have to admire all four actors for their patience and demeanor before and during the interview. It basically feels like no one there really knows what is going on, including the interviewer, but strangely enough, it’s very entertaining to watch.
Enjoy this look back at a very early interview with the stars of Caddyshack, Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Murray, and Ted Knight!
This is fantastic! Youtube user kingofkungfu2002 put together an awesome video that features a huge collection of famous movie stars from the past dancing to the music of Kenny Loggins’ Footloose. This is so much fun to watch, and it’s brilliantly done!
Here’s a list of the movies featured in the video:
It’s A Wonderful Life, Dirty Dancing, Don’t Knock The Rock, Gold Diggers Of 1935, Good News, Dames, Babes On Broadway, Panama Hattie, Follow The Fleet, Bye Bye Birdie, Lady Of Burlesque, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Show Boat (1951), I Love Melvin, Meet Me After The Show, Down To Earth, Viva Las Vegas, A Date With Judy, Footloose, Moon Over Miami, Hello Dolly, The Gold Rush, Flower Drum Song, Mary Poppins, West Side Story, The Kid From Brooklyn, Les Girls, Easter Parade, Guys & Dolls, Royal Wedding, 42nd Street, Sweet Charity, White Nights, The Affairs Of Dobie Gillis, Three Little Words, Let’s Be Happy, Blue Skies, Singin’ In The Rain, Lullaby Of Broadway, The Seven Little Foys, Broadway Melody Of 1940, Tea For Two, Call Me Madam, Sun Valley Serenade, Words And Music, It’s Always Fair Weather, The Band Wagon, Alexander’s Ragtime Band, Down Argentine Way, Les Demoiselles De Rochefort, Saturday Night Fever, Flashdance, On The Town, The Little Princess, Stormy Weather, Hit The Deck, Excuse My Dust, Pennies From Heaven, The Great American Broadcast, Damn Yankees, Broadway Melody Of 1938, You’re My Everything, Look For The Silver Lining, Sensations Of 1945, White Christmas, Lovely To Look At, Deep In My Heart, A Damsel In Distress, There’s No Business Like Show Business, You’ll Never Get Rich, The Barkleys Of Broadway, Evergreen, Honolulu, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Hollywood Canteen, The Belle Of New York, Star!, Broadway Rhythm, The Gang’s All Here, Anchors Aweigh, Breakin’.
Enjoy this look back at famous movie stars from the past dancing to Kenny Loggins’ Footloose!
If you’ve never seen this, we highly recommend you drop everything and check out one of the funniest literal music videos you’ll ever see! It’s an incredible literal (parody) version of Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart music video, and it’s brilliant! With lines like, “Staring at the swim team gets you killed by a gang of dancing ninja men who know who to twirl” and …”And they shouldn’t fence at night, or they’re going to hurt the gymnasts”, you’re gonna love this!
Enjoy this look back at the literal version of Bonnie Tyler’s music video for Total Eclipse of the Heart, and for reference, we’ve got the original music video as well!
In 1985, Laura Branigan released her fourth studio album titled Hold Me. She released three singles from the album, Spanish Eddie, Hold Me, and Maybe Tonight. Spanish Eddie was a moderate hit on the charts in the US, peaking at number 40 on the Hot 100 charts, and number 29 on AC charts. She also covered Alphaville’s song Forever Young on the album. Another notable song from the album was the song I Found Someone that Michael Bolton and Touch keyboardist Mark Mangold wrote originally for Branigan and was later covered by Cher in 1987.
Enjoy this look back at Laura Branigan performing Forever Young live in concert in 1986 as well as I Found Someone from Solid Gold in 1986, and in case you’ve never seen it, enjoy her music video for Spanish Eddie!
There are so many great individual scenes in 1988’s Beetlejuice, but one of the all time great scenes is when the dinner party is interrupted by an outbreak of Day-o, the Banana Boat Song. Catherine O’Hara does an incredible job in this scene along with the other members of her dinner party who are forced against their will to dance and sing along to the song.
Enjoy this look back at the Day-o (Banana Boat Song) dinner party scene from 1988’s Beetlejuice!
In 1986, Sam Kinison appeared on Saturday Night Live in one of the funniest sketches we’ve ever seen. Kinsion plays Carl Best, a pre-school teacher who is hosting a parent-teacher conference with Mr. and Mrs. Geebler, the parents of one of his students named Sarah. The meeting starts out civil enough, but soon Mr. Best tells the Geeblers how he really feels about “stupid” Sarah. It’s Kinison at his best!
Enjoy this look back at Sam Kinison as teacher Carl Best on Saturday Night Live back in 1986!
Full Metal Jacket was released in the United States on June 26, 1987 and grossed over $120 million worldwide. The film was based on the 1979 novel The Short-Timers and follows a platoon of United States Marines through their boot camp training in Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina.
In this scene from the movie, Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, played by Lee Ermey asks Private J.T. “Joker” Davis, played by Matthew Modine, if he believes in the Virgin Mary. Needless to say, Sergeant Hartman did not like his answer at the beginning, but once Joker stands up for himself, the Gunny changes his mind.
Enjoy this look back at the Virgin Mary scene from 1987’s Full Metal Jacket!
In 1986, Jonathan Winters’ cable TV special was called Jonathan Winters on the Ledge, and one of the skits starred Robin Williams and Winters. It was called Eddie’s Diner, and the diner specialized in some very unique dishes like permafrost monkey sausage. You never knew what to expect when the two of them got together!
Enjoy this look back at Jonathan Winters and Robin Williams in Eddie’s Diner from the 1986 TV special Jonathan Winters on the Ledge!
