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Post by beegee3 on Jan 5, 2014 13:59:53 GMT -5
The other day I heard "Convoy" from C.W. McCall, and it got me thinking about songs that, because of their subject matter, really fit in the time they were released (Like releasing "Convoy" in the mid 1970s, when CB radios were all the rage). Two others from the early 80s that I thought of were Buckner & Garcia's" Pac-Man Fever" and Frank and Moon Zappa's "Valley Girl."
Are there any others that come to mind?
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Post by pgfromwp on Jan 5, 2014 14:11:43 GMT -5
The novelty song "Convention '72" was released just before that year's presidential election.
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Post by woolebull on Jan 5, 2014 15:18:02 GMT -5
The other day I heard "Convoy" from C.W. McCall, and it got me thinking about songs that, because of their subject matter, really fit in the time they were released (Like releasing "Convoy" in the mid 1970s, when CB radios were all the rage). Two others from the early 80s that I thought of were Buckner & Garcia's" Pac-Man Fever" and Frank and Moon Zappa's "Valley Girl." Are there any others that come to mind? A few that stand out for me: "The King Is Gone" - Ronnie McDowell "All Those Years Ago" - George Harrison "Heartlight" - Neil Diamond (I'll exclude most movie songs,just because you could put everyone on this list, but this was actually about E.T. and not in the movie) "Eat It - "Weird" Al Yankovic "Do They Know It's Christmas" - Band Aid "We Are The World" - U.S.A. for Africa "Bruce" - Rick Springfield "Candle In The Wind '97" - Elton John And one for the R and R fans out there: "Do The Bartman" - Bart Simpson |
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Post by 80sat40fan on Jan 5, 2014 16:29:56 GMT -5
"Kung Fu Fighting" by Carl Douglas capitalized on the kung fu rage going on in 1974 (btw, did anyone notice on the Premiere cue sheet for this weekend's Top 100 of 1974 countdown, the song is listed as "Kung Foo Fighting"?)
"Disco Duck" by Rick Dees is probably the most famous song to capitalize on the disco craze of the mid to late 1970's (although "Disco Lady" by Johnnie Taylor spent a longer time at #1).
And taking a cue from the title of this thread, "One Moment In Time" by Whitney Houston was the theme from the 1988 Summer Olympics.
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Post by albe on Jan 5, 2014 17:07:40 GMT -5
Night Fever...when saturday nights meant going to the Disco
Mr. Jaws.....Movie that kept everyone out of the water
Rockford Files Theme.....Great TV show (as well as Hillstreet Blues Theme)
Chevy Van....don't make em like that no more
The hustle....dance craze
Jive talkin....only in the 70s
Abraham, Martin and John.....Just when the world was starting to gain some more clarity
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Post by woolebull on Jan 5, 2014 17:14:54 GMT -5
"Banned In The U.S.A" by Luke featuring 2 Live Crew
And two for the "end" of the Cold War:
"Winds of Change" - Scorpions
"Right Here, Right Now" - Jesus Jones
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Post by 1finemrg on Jan 5, 2014 19:06:32 GMT -5
The Streak - Ray Stevens (boogie there, boogie there)
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Post by at40petebattistini on Jan 5, 2014 23:44:04 GMT -5
Good question! It looks like you're asking about recordings connected to mainstream fads and/or specific current events. Convoy, The Streak and Pac-Man Fever are great examples. I hope I can offer a suggestion too.
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Post by mkarns on Jan 5, 2014 23:49:46 GMT -5
"Disco Duck" by Rick Dees is probably the most famous song to capitalize on the disco craze of the mid to late 1970's (although "Disco Lady" by Johnnie Taylor spent a longer time at #1). Speaking of disco, there was an entire AT40 dedicated to it in July 1979 ("Top 40 Songs of the Disco Era"), that could qualify here; it probably could only have been done in 1978-79. Six months later it would have seemed increasingly behind the times. |
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Post by pgfromwp on Jan 6, 2014 7:38:25 GMT -5
CSN&Y released "Ohio" soon after the tragic student protest killings on the Kent State University campus in early May 1970.
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Post by woolebull on Jan 6, 2014 11:32:47 GMT -5
"Kung Fu Fighting" by Carl Douglas capitalized on the kung fu rage going on in 1974 (btw, did anyone notice on the Premiere cue sheet for this weekend's Top 100 of 1974 countdown, the song is listed as "Kung Foo Fighting"?) "Disco Duck" by Rick Dees is probably the most famous song to capitalize on the disco craze of the mid to late 1970's (although "Disco Lady" by Johnnie Taylor spent a longer time at #1). And taking a cue from the title of this thread, "One Moment In Time" by Whitney Houston was the theme from the 1988 Summer Olympics. Speaking of Whitney, while most people now wouldn't realize the significance, her rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner" to hit the Top 40 in 1991 takes me straight back to the Gulf War and to Super Bowl XXV. |
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Post by michaelcasselman on Jan 6, 2014 11:42:25 GMT -5
It may be due to the various remixes and individual station edits, but Styx' "Show Me the Way" from 1991 also takes me back to the Gulf War era.
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Post by woolebull on Jan 6, 2014 11:56:48 GMT -5
It may be due to the various remixes and individual station edits, but Styx' "Show Me the Way" from 1991 also takes me back to the Gulf War era. Absolutely. |
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Post by 80sat40fan on Jan 6, 2014 13:09:11 GMT -5
"Russians" by Sting was released in 1986 when the relations between America and Russia were strained. Only Sting could use the words conditioned, rhetorical, subscribe, Oppenheimer, Krushchev, Reagan, monopoly, ideology, precedent and president in a song and score a #16 hit.
I was going to include the word hysteria in that list but Def Leppard got a Top 10 hit and a #1 album using that word...
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Post by michaelcasselman on Jan 6, 2014 13:15:18 GMT -5
"Russians" by Sting was released in 1986 when the relations between America and Russia were strained. Only Sting could use the words conditioned, rhetorical, subscribe, Oppenheimer, Krushchev, Reagan, monopoly, ideology, precedent and president in a song and score a #16 hit. I was going to include the word hysteria in that list but Def Leppard got a Top 10 hit and a #1 album using that word... Billy Joel managed to squeeze a number one out of Reagan and Krushchev with his "We Didn't Start the Fire", which was a roll-up of pop/political culture up to it's release in 1989. |
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