We've Come a Long Long Way to Be With You

Today's interesting song and video comes from a band fronted by Hamburg-born vocalist Lenny Wolf. The entire band was made up of German musicians and has a Led Zeppelin sound to it. From 1988 here is the band Kingdom Come with "Get it On"...




Lyrics | Kingdom Come lyrics - Get It On lyrics

"Get It On"
Single by Kingdom Come
from the album Kingdom Come
Genre Hard rock
Glam metal
Length 4:23
Label Polydor Records

U.S. Billboard Hot 100 peak: #69
U.S. Mainstream Rock tracks peak: #4

80's Movie Weekend

Long before he was the governator, he was ripping up movie screens and taking on made up creatures like in today's 1987 film where Ahhnold takes on the "Predator"...



why does Apollo Creed always have to die!? Is it a black thing? It's a racist thing against Apollo I think!




Predator

Directed by John McTiernan
Produced by Joel Silver
Lawrence Gordon
John Davis
Written by Jim Thomas
John Thomas
Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger
Carl Weathers
Elpidia Carrillo
Bill Duke
Jesse Ventura
Kevin Peter Hall
Music by Alan Silvestri
Cinematography Donald McAlpine
Editing by Mark Helfrich
John F. Link
Studio Silver Pictures
Lawrence Gordon Productions
Davis Entertainment
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date(s) June 12, 1987 (1987-06-12)
Running time 107 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget US$15,000,000
Box office $98,267,558

The Return of Duran Duran

Happy 11/11/11 day to you! For this peculiar day, I am taking you out of the 80's for a day with a brand new video from one of the bands that dominated the 80's with their music and style and still appears to be going strong today.

It's been years since I featured Duran Duran here in The Excellent 80's with a "Duran Duran December" back in 2008. Well, the gang is back along with all of the gorgeous models that don't seem to have aged a bit since the 80's. Duran Duran released their 13th studio album earlier this year, and (along with director Jonas Akerlund) cleverly used these models (you'll recognize Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Eva Herzigova, and Helena Christensen among others) in their new video for the new release which has a great 80's sound to it. Here is the enjoyable nine and a half minute new video and song for the group entitled "Girl Panic!"...




Lyrics | Duran Duran lyrics - Girl Panic lyrics

"Girl Panic!"
from the album: All You Need is Now
released: 2011

I'll Search Low and I'll Search High. R.I.P. Heavy D

We lost an outstanding voice in the music community on Tuesday afternoon when rapper Heavy D (Dwight Arrington Myers) passed away at his Beverly Hills home. I always enjoyed Heavy D's smooth flow, his non-threatening presence, and his fashion style with the oversized colorful suits he would bust out in many of his videos.

Heavy D was born in Jamaica and raised in New York, and he not only put out albums, but he also collaborated with the biggest of stars including the late Michael Jackson on "Jam," and sister Janet on "Alright." Heavy D also performed the rap to the TV shows "In Living Color," and "MadTV." Along with rapping, Heavy D also perfected his acting chops in bit roles on TV and film including the recently released Eddie Murphy - Ben Stiller flick "Tower Heist."

He always seemed like the kind of guy you could hang out with and just kick it, and he always seemed like the kind of guy that would be good for a laugh and knew how to have fun. His most popular raps were about having fun, dancing, and finding a good woman. I bought his 1989 cassette tape "Big Tyme" which topped the soul albums chart and hit #19 on the pop album charts. Still an outstanding listen to this day, here is a song off that album that made it to #8 on the U.S. R&B charts and #1 on the U.S. rap charts. Here is "Somebody For Me"...




Lyrics | Heavy D & The Boyz lyrics - Somebody For Me lyrics

Here is the theme song to the 1990's hit sketch comedy show "In Living Color" that was sung by Heavy D...



R.I.P. Heavy D... you will be missed...

Me and Romeo Have Never Been Friends

I was a big fan of this song back in 1987 though I don't really recall the video very much. After watching it I'm sorely disappointed I didn't see it more back in 1987. It probably received more airplay on VH1 Soul or BET vs. MTV, but the song was a crossover hit for the R&B group LeVert, which was comprised of Sean and Gerald Levert, the sons of O'Jays founder Eddie Levert, as well as Marc Gordon. I love the hair and I love the shoulder pads the LeVert boys are rocking with their suit jackets for this video for "Casanova"...




Lyrics | Levert lyrics - Casanova lyrics

"Casanova"

by Levert
from the album: The Big Throwdown
released: 1987

U.S. Billboard Hot 100 peak: #5

80's Bullies

I saw this on eBaum's World last week. This is an awesome five minutes of movie clips from great 80's movies that features bullies of the 80's like Chet from "Weird Science," Biff from "Back to the Future," and Billy Zabka in a bunch of movies in which he was always the bully.

Check it out you dork...

TV Dinners

I kind of like to forget that ZZ Top ever made this song, but I saw this video posted recently on Grantland's worst music videos of all-time story and had to at least post the video in here as well. With some crazy 80's style computer generated graphics check out the bearded boys with "TV Dinners"...




Lyrics | Zz Top lyrics - Tv Dinners lyrics

"TV Dinners"

Single by ZZ Top
from the album Eliminator
B-side "Cheap Sunglasses"
Released 1983
Format 12", cassette
Recorded 1982
Genre Rock
Length 3:50
Label Warner Bros.
Writer(s) Billy Gibbons
Dusty Hill
Frank Beard
Producer Bill Ham


Chart (1983) Peak position
UK Singles Chart #67
U.S. Billboard Top Tracks #38

80's Movie Weekend

Anytime you can have a movie featuring Ogre (Donald Gibb) from the Nerds' movies and a young Forest Whitaker, AND the awesome acting of Jean-Claude Van Damme, then you know you have a hit! This was actually a pretty entertaining movie and one of the bigger hits from 1988. Here is "Bloodsport."

the trailer...



if you just want to skip to the end and check out the final fight,well here it is... you break my record, now I break you like I break your friend!



Bloodsport

Directed by Newt Arnold
Produced by Mark DiSalle
Yoram Globus
Menahem Golan
Screenplay by Christopher Cosby
Mel Friedman
Sheldon Lettich
Story by Sheldon Lettich
Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme
Donald Gibb
Leah Ayres
Music by Paul Hertzog
Cinematography David Worth
Editing by Carl Kress
Jean-Claude Van Damme (uncredited)
Studio The Cannon Group
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date(s) February 26, 1988 (1988-02-26)
Running time 92 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $1.1 million
Box office $11.8 million (USA)[1]

Get Ready Tonight

A happy Friday to everyone! Last month was the first time I featured the band Shalamar in The Excellent 80's with "Dead Giveaway" and "Dancing in the Sheets." This month I'm back with an earlier hit of theirs from 1982. It's a very rudimentary video for a popular song (especially in the UK where it peaked at #6). Featuring the original Shalamar lineup of Jeffrey Daniel, Howard Hewett and Jody Watley, here is "A Night to Remember"...




Lyrics | Shalamar lyrics - A Night To Remember lyrics

"A Night to Remember"

Single by Shalamar
from the album Friends
B-side On Top of the World
Released June 12, 1982 (UK)
Format 7" single 12" single
Genre Funk, post-disco
Length 5:08
Label SOLAR Records
K 13162
Writer(s) Nidra Beard, Dana Meyers, Charmaine Sylvers
Producer Leon Sylvers III

U.S. Billboard peak: #44
UK peak: #6

Can't We Try Just a Little Bit Harder?

Today I bring you a slow beautiful duet with the Canadian Kenny Rogers and his partner, Darryl Hannah. Seriously, look and tell me I'm not right. OK, if you want to get all technical about it, it's some hoser from Canada, eh, named Dan Hill and some babe named Vonda Shepard. I've never heard of Dan who I would say is more a combination of Lionel Richie and Kenny Rogers, but if you ever watched the show "Ally McBeal," then you should remember Vonda Shepard as the singer at the local bar where the gang would go to blow off some steam. But in 1987, the duo came up with this Billboard top 10 hit. Here they are with "Can't We Try"...




Lyrics | Dan Hill lyrics - Can't We Try lyrics

"Can't We Try"

by Dan Hill with Vonda Shepard
from the album: Dan Hill
released: 1987

U.S. Billboard Hot 100 peak: #6

The Return of Beavis and Butthead

I realize the idiot teens from MTV was a 90's thing, but they reviewed many an 80's video. So in honor of their valiant return to MTV this past week, here is a look back at a few of their 80's music video related reviews... huh, huh huh...

Beavis and Butthead take on Ratt's "I Want a Woman"...



B&B on Grim Reaper's "Fear No Evil" from 1985...



Finally the boys take on Hall & Oates "Maneater"...

Girl, It's Been a Long Time That We've Been Apart

Happy 11-1-11 day! Today's song obviously came out before the Billboard 100 really started recognizing the greatness of heavy metal music. Easily my second favorite from the German rock band formed in 1965 known as the Scorpions, today's song reached only #65 (it was a #1 hit on the U.S. Rock Tracks chart though). Here is the over-shadowed little brother of "Rock You Like a Hurricane." It's their 1982 hit "No One Like You"...




Lyrics | Scorpions lyrics - No One Like You lyrics

"No One Like You"
Single by Scorpions
from the album Blackout
Released March 1982
Recorded late 1981, Dierks Studio, Stommeln-Cologne, Germany
Genre Heavy metal
Length 3:57
Label Mercury, Universal
Writer(s) Rudolf Schenker, Klaus Meine
Producer Dieter Dierks

U.S. Billboard Hot 100 peak: #65
U.S. Rock Tracks: #1