(Editor’s Note: This is the 100th and final post in my countdown, thus concluding a 100-day journey that honestly has been the most fun series I’ve written about. In a way I’m sad. I’m sure I’ll do future countdowns on MoranAlytics, but for me nothing will be more fun than reliving 80’s music) When I … Read More
“There’s nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do.”Also, there’s also nothing that 98 other songs on this countdown could ever do to prevent Toto’s Africa from being my second-favorite song of the 1980s. Africa is the most delightfully catchy and polished tune of the decade I can think of, and trust me … Read More
What takes a good or even great song and transcends it into an all-time favorite usually entails encompassing a personal connection—a vivid memory forever linked in your mind. I was born in 1971 and grew up in a home where my Motown/Oldies-loving father pretty much detested any music from the 80s. That wasn’t limited to … Read More
As a youth Lionel Richie was tremendously timid. A blurb from Songfacts.com explains a young Richie. “When he was young, Richie watched beautiful women walk past but was too shy to talk to them. He thought to himself, “Hello, is it me you’re looking for.” Man, I don’t know about all that. Richie may have … Read More
One must give Billy Ocean a lot of credit. Back in the 80’s he (or perhaps Jive Records) was pretty savvy marketing dude. In 1984 he recorded a song using several titles over different parts of the world, changing literally just one word for each. It’s confirmed he released African Queen and European Queen. Who … Read More
I don’t know about you guys, but for me nothing facilitates homicide-thirsty adversarial gangs coming together to form a bond more than the art of dancing to Eddie Van Halen guitar riffs and the King of Pop vocals on a momentous record. Like every wannabe Michael Jackson fanatic out there in the 80s, I owned … Read More
I’m just going to come out say it— Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) by Phil Collins is my favorite sentimentally sad ballad of the 80s. When I’m being kicked to the curb or just overall feeling like shit as it pertains to my relationship, it’s my undisputed go-to song for that … Read More
I can already sense the skeptics chirping. “If you had to put a Bryan Adams song in your countdown and especially in the Top 10, why the hell did you pick Heaven?” I readily admit there’s a handful of Adams tunes more universally appreciated that better stood the test of time. Summer of ’69, Everything … Read More
He had several others, but Footloose is the crowning achievement for Kenny Loggins— the undisputed, undefeated King of movie soundtrack hits. How you feel about the song, released in 1984 probably varies but one thing’s assured —Loggins’ Footloose is one of the most distinguishable dance songs of the 80s, if not all-time. Deal with it, … Read More
I’m going to throw this out there, and it’s likely an opinion not shared by many. Rocky III was my favorite movie of the 1980s. Yes, in a decade that featured Brat Pack cult classics Pretty in Pink, St. Elmo’s Fire, Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club as well as memorable giants Back to the … Read More
