1981 | Classic Hits 24/7

WATCH: Kim Carnes – “Bette Davis Eyes” LIVE on Fridays

05/16/2019

Who remembers ABC’s answer to Saturday Night Live, the short-lived Fridays, which aired on–not surprisingly–Friday nights from April 11, 1980 to April 23, 1982? Like SNL, they also had musical guests, and Carnes was a guest on the September 25, 1981 episode, with William Shatner hosting. Did you know that “Bette Davis Eyes” was written and composed by Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon, and originally released by DeShannon in 1974? …

WATCH: Blue Öyster Cult – “Burnin’ for You” LIVE – 10/9/1981 in Hollywood, Florida

01/28/2019

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Here is a great digital restoration of this LIVE performance by Blue Oyster Cult performing “Burnin’ for You” back in October of 1981 at the Hollywood Sportatorium (yes, that’s an actual venue) in beautiful Hollywood, Florida. First, a little background on the song: “Burnin’ for You” was from BOC’s platinum Fire of Unknown Origin album, released in July of 198 where it went on to hit #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock…

WATCH: Jimmy Fallon & Paul Rudd Recreate Styx Music Video “Too Much Time on My Hands”

10/23/2018

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One of the strangest, and most iconic, music videos of the early MTV era was Styx video for “Too Much Time on My Hands.” The song is the second single released from Styx’s 1981 triple-platinum album Paradise Theatre. and was written and sung by Tommy Shaw, who also plays the lead guitar solo during the break in the song. According to some reports, the inspiration for its lyrics came from Shaw’s…

WATCH: Paul Davis – “Cool Night” on Solid Gold Classic -1981

08/27/2018

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Another great video, this time of Paul Davis with his classic hit, “Cool Night” from 1981. This appearance on Solid Gold Classic (remember the Solid Gold Dancers?) is a “live”performance in that it is in front of a live TV audience, but not performed live, just lip-synced to the record. We tried to find a real “live” performance from back in the day, but no luck. “Cool Night” was released…

WATCH: Nazareth – “Hair Of The Dog” LIVE – Houston 1981 (Son of a Bitch)

04/25/2018

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This is one of those songs that I loved to listen to, but dreaded getting caught by my parents as the term “son of a bitch” while regularly spoken by at least one of the adults in the house, was also considered profanity. And yes, somehow listening to a rock song with profanity was treated the same as me actually saying a swear word, and carried the same punishment. Parents!…

WATCH: Weird Video of Don Felder’s “Heavy Metal (Takin’ a Ride)”

03/12/2018

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Some of you know Don Felder from his days playing slide guitar for the Eagles. It seems that in early January 1974, Felder was called by the Eagles to add slide guitar to their song “Good Day in Hell” and some additional guitar licks to “Already Gone” and the guys liked him so well, the next day they invited to join the band. It was also about that time that…

WATCH: Blue Oyster Cult jams “Don’t Fear The Reaper” LIVE

03/10/2018

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Blue Öyster Cult’s “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” is a single from their smash 1976 album, Agents of Fortune. It was released as a single and went on to become Blue Öyster Cult’s biggest chart success, reaching #7 in Cash Box and #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1976. The critics were mainly positive about the song and, in 2004, “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” was listed at number 405…

WATCH: The Oak Ridge Boys perform “Elvira” over images of “Elvira Mistress of the Dark” – 1980s

03/08/2018

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Well here’s a weird 80’s combination if we ever saw one! Most of you remember the pop/country hit “Elvira” from 1981. (Remember the deep base part of the chorus? “Giddy up oom poppa omm poppa mow mow”) “Elvira” is a song written by Dallas Frazier and went on to became a hit by The Oak Ridge Boys in 1981, and is now considered one of their signature songs. Interestingly, the…

Billy Squier – “In The Dark” in 1981 @ Santa Monica Civic Auditorium (WATCH)

04/20/2017

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Were you fan? Billy Squier rocks the house like only he can in this seldom seen performance of ‘In The Dark’ LIVE at a concert at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, CA on November 20, 1981. “In the Dark” was written and performed by Squier and was the opening track of his triple platinum 1981 album Don’t Say No. It ultimately reached number 35 on the Billboard…

WATCH: REO Speedwagon – ‘Ridin’ the Storm Out’ – 1981 LIVE in Denver

04/19/2017

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Recorded at the McNichols Arena in Denver in 1981, this is a lost live version of the smash ‘Ridin’ the Storm Out” from their 1973 album of the same name. The band was riding a wave of success at that time, having recently released their ninth album, Hi Infidelity, in the fall of 1980. Hi Infidelity spawned four hit singles, including the chart-topping “Keep On Loving You”, plus “Take It…