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The Blues Brothers, released in 1980, is a beloved musical comedy film that has become a cult classic. Directed by John Landis, the movie stars John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as "Joliet" Jake and Elwood Blues, two brothers on a "mission from God" to save the Catholic orphanage where they grew up. Jake and Elwood, characters originally developed from a musical sketch on Saturday Night Live, set out to reunite their old R&B band and organize a big concert to raise the $5,000 needed to pay the orphanage's property tax bill. Along the way, they are pursued by the police, the Illinois Nazi Party, and Jake's jilted fiancée (played by Carrie Fisher) trying to kill them, and Jake's jilted fiancée. The film is packed with unforgettable musical numbers featuring some of the biggest names in R&B, blues and soul, including electrifying performances by James Brown, Cab Calloway, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and John Lee Hooker. Set in and around Chicago, the m...

 By Ken Hulsey It's Friday, folks - in case you somehow didn't know. That means it's time for another episode of Friday Night Videos! Now, I usually like to share a little story to explain why I've chosen a particular artist to feature. But this week? I got nothin'. Zilch. Nada. I wish I could regale you with some wild tale about Stevie Nicks - you know, like how we met in a hotel bar one night and totally hit it off. And to make a long story short, we had this hot and heavy weekend together, and she started falling for me, but I just wasn't ready for a serious relationship, so I had to let her down easy. Alas, none of that ever happened.

 Written By: Ken Hulsey In 1984, Carl Macek sought to import a Japanese anime series, the famous Chôjikû yôsai Macross, to the United States for syndication. However, the series was only 36 episodes long, shorter than the standard 65-episode American syndicated show. To remedy this, Macek obtained two additional unrelated series, Chôjikû kidan Southern Cross and Kikô sôseiki Mospeada, and hired a team of writers to weave the three shows into a grand, epic narrative. The resulting story followed three generations living through a mass alien invasion. The final arc would revolve around Robotech pilot Scott Bernard, who was sent back to Earth to organize resistance against the Invid. This time, the aliens were not after a missing warship, but rather intended to harvest Earth's bio-energy in the form of Protoculture (a "Prototype Culture" derived from the Macross series) and enslave the remaining human population

 Written By Ken Hulsey I decided to take a slightly different approach with this week's Friday Night Videos feature. After some consideration, I selected a video that I'm fairly certain you've never seen before. And as per the laws of rock and roll, I must make the obligatory introduction: “You wanted the best and you got the best, the hottest band in the world … KISS!”

 A Christmas Story, a 1983 American Christmas comedy film, is based on the short stories and semi-autobiographical anecdotes of author and raconteur Jean Shepherd. The film is adapted from Shepherd's book In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash, with some elements derived from his story "Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories." Directed by Bob Clark, the film has since become a beloved holiday classic in the United States.

 Written By Ken Hulsey Tonight's Friday Night Videos features Berlin's 1984 hit "No More Words" from their album "Love Life". This was the first music video I remember seeing on the program, with the band taking on the personas of the legendary 1930s outlaws Bonnie and Clyde during a bank heist. Prior to this release, Berlin had found international success with their debut album "Pleasure Victim", which included hits like "The Metro", "(I'm A) Sex", and "Masquerade".

A few weeks ago I began creating yet another mega playlist that I entitled VCCS which stands for Vinyl - Cassette - CD - Streaming. It's a list that reflects my own personal experience with rock music. The list should probably have began with an "R" for radio, but I decided to go with the music that I actually owned on vinyl records. The progression of course then went to cassette tapes (because you couldn't play an LP in a Walkman) then CDs and now via streaming services like iHeart and Spotify. So far I have gotten up to 1984, so if you are a fan of late 70s and early 80s rock you will love this! 10. Duran Duran - Careless Memories 9. Bananarama - Cruel Summer 8. ZZ Top - Legs 7. U2 - Two Hearts Beat As One 6. The Pretenders - Message Of Love 5. Kajagoogoo - Too Shy 4. Def Leppard - Photograph 3. Triumph - Fight The Good Fight 2. Pat Benatar - Precious Time 1. The Police - Can't Stand Losing You

  A few weeks ago I began creating yet another mega playlist that I entitled VCCS which stands for Vinyl - Cassette - CD - Streaming. It's a list that reflects my own personal experience with rock music. The list should probably have began with an "R" for radio, but I decided to go with the music that I actually owned on vinyl records. The progression of course then went to cassette tapes (because you couldn't play an LP in a Walkman) then CDs and now via streaming services like iHeart and Spotify. So far I have gotten up to 1983, so if you are a fan of late 70s and early 80s rock you will love this! 10. The English Beat - I Confess 9. Pat Benatar - Anxiety (Get Nervous) 8. Missing Persons - Surrender Your Heart 7. Heart - How Can I Refuse 6. KISS - Easy As It Seems 5. Journey - Separate Ways   4. ZZ Top - TV Diners  3. Fleetwood Mac - Gypsy   2. The Police - Synchronicity II  1. Depeche Mode - Route 66 Check Out: The Top 10 Pat Benatar Songs Of All Time A four-...

If you have been reading this blog for any period of time you know that one of my favorite ways to pass time is creating playlists. Over the past decade I must have created hundreds of them. Why I keep making the these over and over is a mystery even to me, but I keep making them, deleting them, and making new ones.  A few weeks ago I began creating yet another mega playlist that I entitled VCCS which stands for Vinyl - Cassette - CD - Streaming. It's a list that reflects my own personal experience with rock music. The list should probably have began with an "R" for radio, but I decided to go with the music that I actually owned on vinyl records. The progression of course then went to cassette tapes (because you couldn't play an LP in a Walkman) then CDs and now via streaming services like iHeart and Spotify. So I invite you to take this journey along with me and enjoy listening to VCCS: On a side note I have also opened my own record store via a partnership with Ama...

 I'm digging back in my archives again this evening and I decided to pay homage to both Star Wars and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition that kept my blood pressure up during my teenage years. No, Carrie Fisher never donned her infamous slave bikini outfit in any SI issue, instead this photo was taken on location while shooting images for another popular magazine, Rolling Stone. Back in 1983 the Star Wars sequel Return of the Jedi had just been released and Rolling Stone wanted some fun photos for a special summer edition. So Fisher put on her famous intergalactic swimwear and hit the beach along with Darth Vader, a Gamorrean Guard and an Ewok to play some volleyball and pose for photos. Whether prompted to or not Fisher ended up frolicking in the ocean and the photographer for Rolling Stone was more than happy to capture the moment for posterity.  Check Out: Props From A Galaxy Far Far Away Ten Years Ago Today: Rare Star Wars Photos Posted Online Star Wars: Episode IV A ...

A publicity image from Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) from the collection of  Ken Hulsey Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) and Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) interact during a fiery reunion between old flames in Paramount Pictures release Raiders of the Lost Ark. Ravenwood is in possession of the item Jones needs to locate the famed biblical relic that allegedly holds great power. He must acquire it quickly because Nazi agents aren't far behind.   With Adolf Hitler's Nazis rumoured to have pinpointed the secret resting place of the fabled Ark of the Covenant, the sacred artefact that holds the Ten Commandments, the U.S. government enlists the help of the American archaeologist, university professor, and man of adventure, Indiana Jones. Assumed to contain an unfathomable destructive force, Indiana travels to the dangerous mountains of Nepal, and then, to mysterious Cairo, where he teams up with his old flame, Marion, and his friend, Sallah. But, this is a frenzied race against tim...

Today I am featuring the most-played 80s songs from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from Canada to Mexico. We start off our countdown with a Irish vocalist who is known as much for her hair (or lack there of) as her music and we finish with a live performance by an ample amount of maniacs. 10. Sinead O'Connor - Mandinka (1987) 9. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Dreaming (1988) 8. Fine Young Cannibals - I'm Not The Man I Used To Be (1989) 7. Duran Duran - Girls On Film (1981) 6. Double Trouble feat. Rebel MC - Street Tuff (1988) 5. Bronski Beat - Smalltown Boy (1984) 4. Boy Meets Girl - Waiting for a Star to Fall (1988) 3. Bananarama - I Heard a Rumour (1987) 2. Asia - Heat of the Moment (1982) 1. 10,000 Maniacs - Trouble Me (1989) Check Out: Sounds of the 80s Top Ten Hits (10/20/22) Sounds of the 80s Top Ten Hits (10/13/22) Hot Traxx: The Top Level 42 Songs Of All Time Hot Traxx: The Top Ten Olivia Newton John (1948 - 2022) Songs Of All Time Hot Traxx: The Top 10 Cure Songs Of...

Today I am featuring the most-played 80s songs from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from Canada to Mexico. We start off our countdown with three young ladies from London and end with four young lads from London. Now on to the Countdown! 10. Bananarama - Cruel Summer (1983) 9. Wham! - Young Guns (1983) 8. The Style Council - My Ever Changing Moods (1984) 7. OMD - So In Love (1985) 6. Missing Persons - Destination Unknown (1982) 5. Madonna - Holiday (1983) 4.  INXS - This Time (1985) 3. Huey Lewis and the News - If This Is It (1983) 2. Duran Duran - Save A Prayer (1982) 1. Culture Club - Church of the Poison Mind (1983) Check Out: Hot Traxx: The Top Level 42 Songs Of All Time Hot Traxx: The Top Ten Olivia Newton John (1948 - 2022) Songs Of All Time Hot Traxx: The Top 10 Cure Songs Of All Time Hot Traxx: The Top 10 Blondie Songs Of All Time Hot Traxx: The Top 10 ABC Songs Of All Time Hot Traxx: The Top 10 Pat Benatar Songs Of All Time Hot Traxx: The Top 10 Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Da...

 Today I decided to feature one of my favorite bands from the 1980s. I, like most Americans, first heard of the band in 1985 with their break out hit Something About You. Their style of blending pop, jazz and funk were very appealing and a fresh sound that stood out in an age cookie cutter pop and rock acts. Level 42 was anything but an overnight sensation. By the time Something About You became an international hit the band had already been around for six years and had five studio albums under their belt. Level 42's success was rather short lived here in North America but the band continues to enjoy a loyal following in Europe and still records and performs live. Here are a few of my favorite Level 42 songs: Something About You (1985)(Album - World Machine) Hot Water (1984)(Album - True Colors) Lessons In Love (1987)(Album - Running In The Family) Tracie (1988)(Album - Starring At The Sun) The Chinese Way (1982)(Album - The Pursuit Of Accidents) Children Say (1987)(Album - Runni...

Out of all the bands that emerged in the immediate aftermath of punk rock in the late '70s, few were as enduring and popular as the Cure. Led through numerous incarnations by guitarist/vocalist Robert Smith (born April 21, 1959), the band became well-known for its slow, gloomy dirges and Smith's ghoulish appearance, a public image that often hid the diversity of the Cure's music. At the outset, the Cure played jagged, edgy pop songs before slowly evolving into a more textured outfit. As one of the bands that laid the seeds for goth rock, the group created towering layers of guitars and synthesizers, but by the time goth caught on in the mid-'80s, the Cure had moved away from the genre. By the end of the '80s, the band had crossed over into the mainstream not only in its native England, but also in the United States and in various parts of Europe. The Cure remained a popular concert draw and reliable record-seller throughout the '90s, and their influence could b...