Turntable Talk #43 – Spooky Tunes

It’s time once again for Turntable Talk. This is the 43rd round and since it will begin around Halloween, Dave from A Sound Day asked us to “pick a song that you like that is either about a scary story or person, or just sounds kind of spooky or scary to you.” What do you choose?

There are many songs that come to mind. Because my piece will be toward the end of the contributions, I am avoiding the obvious ones: Monster Mash, Werewolves of London, Purple People Eater, Witch Doctor, Thriller, Ghostbusters, etc… I am sure by the time this publishes, at least one or two of these will have been chosen.

I have chosen to go with an odd tune that you may not be familiar with. It was actually a movie song from the 1936 film, Pennies From Heaven. The film starred Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong. He was hired for the film at the insistence of Bing Crosby, Bing was a lifelong student, friend, collaborator and admirer of Armstrong. When the film came out, Armstrong got his own credit during the main titles, making him the first African-American to get featured billing alongside white actors.

According to the Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong, Louis was “playing a bandleader who is hired by Crosby to perform at his nightclub, Armstrong’s “role, as written, makes one cringe,” according to Lawrence Bergreen. Bergreen quotes an exchange between Armstrong and Crosby in the film, comedically playing on the ignorance of Armstrong’s character, who asks for seven percent instead of accepting Bing’s offering of ten percent because his is a seven-piece band, “And none of us knows how to divide ten percent up by seven.

Bergreen writes that this banter dwells “on black inferiority and subservience” but what he doesn’t mention is that Pops (Armstrong) legitimately loved this scene, quoting it in front of friends on one of his later private tapes. One of his last television appearances was made with Crosby on the David Frost Show from February 10, 1971. During the interview portion, Armstrong talks about how much fun they had making the film and though 35 years had gone by. Armstrong quotes the entire “percent” scene, line by line, as it originally appeared in the film. Thus, it’s easy for a white critic to “cringe” while watching Pennies From Heaven but for Pops, funny was funny and he cherished the gags he was asked to deliver.

The lone song that Armstrong has to himself in the film is called “The Skeleton in the Closet.” As you watch this clip, I hope you appreciate the story telling and acting by Armstrong. I love watching him in this. He is completely enjoying himself while performing this. That is why I want you to see the movie scene first. The recording is good, but you certainly lose out by not being able to watch him.

The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong says this about the recorded version: “The “spookiness” of the record gave the arranger the license to use all sorts of unusual harmonies and nonchord tones, things that would sound pretty modern ten years later, but just convey a haunted house spirit when used as they are on this record. ” Give it a listen.

Here are the lyrics:

There’s an old deserted mansion on an old forgotten road
Where the better ghosts and goblins always hang out
One night they threw a party in a manner a la mode
And they cordially invited all the gang out

At a dark, bewitchin’ hour when the fun was loud and hearty
A notorious wall flower became the life of the party
Mmm, the spooks were havin’ their midnight fling
The merry makin’ was in full swing
They shrieked themselves into a cheerful trance
When the skeleton in the closet started to dance

Now a goblin giggled with fiendish glee
A shout rang out from a big banshee
Amazement was in every ghostly glance
When the skeleton in the closet started to dance

All the witches were in stitches while his steps made rhythmic thumps
And they nearly dropped their broomsticks when he tried to do the bumps
You never heard such unearthly laughter, or such hilarious groans
When the skeleton in the closet rattled his bones

A Halloween classic? Probably not. However, it is a fun song that fits right in with Dave’s topic this month. I really hope that you enjoyed it and aren’t upset that I passed on “the usual” hits. The thing I love about Dave’s feature is being exposed to songs that are new to me.

Thanks again to Dave for hosting my favorite monthly feature to write for. I look forward to the next topic.

Thanks for reading!

Turntable Talk #38 – It’s About Time

Dave just wrapped up another chapter of Turntable Talk. This was my contribution:

It is time once again for Turntable Talk hosted by Dave at A Sound Day. For over three years now, he has offered up a musical topic each month for me (and other participants) to write about. This month’s topic is “It’s About Time.”

Dave’s instructions are simple. “Tell us about a song about “time.” It could be one using the word “time” in the title … and there’s no shortage of them… or one that actually somehow explores the passage of, or idea of time.” While this is a topic that is fairly easy, I can’t help but wonder if there will be duplicate submissions.

For example, right off the top of my head I came up with Time in a Bottle from Jim Croce (which I have written about before. Then Time After Time from Cyndi Lauper came to mind. This was followed by Cher’s If I Could Turn Back Time and Huey Lewis’ Back in Time. Before I could shut my mind off Styx Too Much Time on My Hands and Semisonic’s Closing Time entered my mind.

I immediately discarded those, because I am sure that the other participants would choose one of those. So I dug a little deeper and tried to think of a song that might not be someone’s choice. I narrowed it down to No Time by the Guess Who, Just in Time by Dean Martin, Crying Time from Ray Charles, Time is Tight by Booker T and the MG’s, and my choice.

I chose a song written by Herman Hupfeld! Now everyone knows Herman, right? No. Not really, but I am sure you will know the song. It is a song that was written in 1931 for the Broadway show “Everybody’s Welcome.” It was first recorded by Rudy Vallee in July of 1931. It would be covered by Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Frank and Nancy Sinatra, Natalie Cole, Carly Simon and Bob Dylan (Just to name a few).

While the song was recorded a few times after Vallee’s version, it was 11 years later when it would really get noticed. In 1942, the song was sung by the character “Sam” (portrayed by Dooley Wilson) in the classic film – Casablanca. As Time Goes by is heard throughout the film in short musical breaks.

RCA Victor wanted Dooley to record a version of it to be released to the public. However, a musician’s strike happened between 1942 and 1944, so he was not allowed to do so. Instead, the record label re-released the Rudy Vallee version, which went on to become a number one record (11 years after the original release).

Wiki states: Like many later singers, Wilson in Casablanca starts with “You must remember this, a kiss is still a kiss…”, singing only the verses and refrain (“As time goes by”). He entirely omits the intro that put those “fundamental things” into context: “This day and age we’re living in gives cause for apprehension, With speed and new invention and things like third dimension. Yet, we get a trifle weary with Mister Einsten’s theory, So we must get down to earth, at times relax, relieve the tension. No matter what the progress or what may yet be proved, The simple facts of life are such they cannot be removed.”

The song was voted No. 2 on the AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Songs special. The show commemorated the best songs in film.

The version I chose to feature is by a multi-talented comedian, actor, pianist and singer. His voice was instantly recognizable on radio. He was a guest on many television shows and had some success as a singer. He is, however, probably best known for … his nose. His nickname was “the schnozzola.” I am, of course, talking about the great Jimmy Durante.

The song itself is beautiful. Every artist who has covered it brings their own special take on it. There is something that really hits me when I hear Durante’s version. Despite that raspy voice, there is a sincerity that makes it just a bit better than the other versions. I’m not trying to diss the other versions, but none of them give me goosebumps when I hear them. Jimmy’s version does. For some reason, his voice blends so well with the string arrangement.

Before I post the song, you know I have to say it – “Play it again, Sam!”

In a live version, Jimmy adds the intro that many leave out.

Thanks again to Dave for asking me to participate and for hosting this feature. I’m excited to see the choices of the other writers!

Thanks for reading and for listening!

Happy Birthday, Louis

Today is the 122nd birthday of a jazz legend – Louis “Satchmo” “Pops” “Satch” Armstrong.

A unique voice and a amazing trumpet player, he is synonymous with jazz. Nothing I could write about him would do any justice to his life and legacy, so I thought I would just share a few of my favorite Louis Armstrong songs with you.

I’ve always loved A Kiss to Build a Dream On, but Louis’ version is my favorite.

Another favorite by Louis was actually one that I played at one of the last weddings I DJ’d. I was surprised that they actually asked for his version. La Vie En Rose.

How could I not mention his Grammy winning performance of Hello, Dolly! This song knocked the Beatles out of the number one spot on the charts (a spot they had held with three consecutive songs for 14 weeks!)

His collaborations with the great Ella Fitzgerald are classics. My favorite is from the show Porgy and Bess – Summertime. Both were great scat singers

Yes, it’s out of season, but I LOVE Louis’ version of Winter Wonderland

How could I not include a song that I believe belongs to Louis? NO ONE, in my humble opinion, could ever do it the same justice as he did. The emotion expressed, the beautiful arrangement, and those amazing lyrics – What A Wonderful World.

Here is a version not many are familiar with. Listen to “Pops” Armstrong’s vocal introduction to the song…

Happy Birthday, Satchmo!

Turntable Talk #8 – Best Year In Music?

Once again, Dave from A Sound Day has asked some of us music lovers to participate in another round of Turntable Talk. This time around was a bit of a challenge for me. Dave’s e-mail stated:

“Put your thinking caps on and go through your stacks of records (or scroll thru that I-pod) and … come up with what you think the best year for music was. A tough call of course, thankfully there have been more than a few good ones! I’m interested in what you pick and don’t worry if yours duplicates someone else’s , you still have your reasons which might be different.” He goes on to say, “I think I have a guess on a couple of years that might come up more than once, but we’ll wait and see.”

This particular blog will be one of the last ones to be featured and I do not know if my year will be or has been featured. I plan on writing this KNOWING that the year I have chosen very well may be one that comes up in another post. Before I tell you the year I picked, let me tell you that I had a very difficult time narrowing it down.

My first thought was to go with 1956/1957 because those years were always so unique. You had the birth of rock and roll mixing with pop standards. When I worked at Honey Radio, I loved doing the Top 12 at 12 show when those years popped up because there was such a big variety in what was played. You could go from Elvis or Jerry Lee Lewis to Pat Boone or Nelson Riddle. When I looked at the list of songs, however, were they really the BEST? No.

The same thing can be said for some of the years in the 70’s decades. I looked through many lists and while there were many great songs, there were also a lot of really crappy songs! I just couldn’t really come up with the conviction to pick a year in that decade as the BEST.

One year kept coming up every time I started thinking about it – 1964.

I want you to know before I continue that I was dead set AGAINST 1964 when I read Dave’s e-mail. Why? Well, I felt that it would just be too Beatle heavy and loaded with British Invasion stuff. And it is. On the Top 100 Chart, The Fab Four nabbed 9 spots. 18 spots were held by other British Invasion acts. In total 27% of the Top 100 were British acts. When I really looked at the chart, the more and more I felt like this WAS the year.

1964 really was the year of the Beatles, so let’s discuss them first. They were present almost right from the start as their “Introducing The Beatles” album was released in America on January 10th of that year.

This album preceded Capitol Records “Meet the Beatles” by 10 days and there was a lawsuit surrounding that whole issue. Capitol Records won an injunction and Vee-jay Records was not allowed to put out any more Beatles recordings.

In February of 1964, the Beatles arrived in the US and appeared on Ed Sullivan’s show three times (2/9, 2/16, and 2/23). In March of 64, Billboard magazine stated that the Beatles were responsible for 60% of all single record sales! In a feat that has yet to be matched, on April 4, 1964, the Beatles held the Top 5 spots on the Billboard chart!

A week later, the boys held 14 spots on the Hot 100 Chart! That broke the previous record of 9 spots held by Elvis Presley in 1956.

In May, The Beatles Second Album was released and in July, they would release A Hard Day’s Night in theaters. “I Want to Hold Your Hand” wound up being the #1 song for the whole year of 64 (“She Loves You” was #2) To say that they played a small part in the music of 1964 would be a huge understatement.

Among the other artists that came over from “across the pond” in 64 were Manfred Mann (Do Wah Diddy Diddy), Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas (Little Children and Bad to Me), The Dave Clark Five (Glad All Over, Because, Do You Love Me), Peter and Gordon (A World Without Love), The Animals (House of the Rising Son), The Honeycombs (Have I The Right), Dusty Springfield (Wishin’ and Hopin’), Gerry & The Pacemakers (Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying and How Do You Do It), Chad and Jeremy (A Summer Song), The Kinks (You Really Got Me), and the Searchers (Don’t Throw Your Love Away and Needles and Pins). It is interesting to note that the Rolling Stones debut album was released this year, but no songs appear in the Top 100 for the year.

Once you move away from the British artists, the chart has a nice variety of pop, rock, folk, country, soul, and even a few novelty songs. I think that is what made me ultimately choose this particular year.

It was nice to look over the Top 100 and see Motown represented with some classics. The Supremes hold two of the six Motown songs (Where Did Our Love Go and Baby Love), Motown was female heavy as Mary Wells (My Guy) and Martha and the Vandellas (Dancin’ In The Street) grabbed the next two spots, and the male gender was represented by The Four Tops (Baby I Need Your Loving) and The Temptations (The Way You Do The Things You Do).

While they were not “oldies” at the time, there were some classic songs that are still in hot rotation today on the oldies stations across the country. Roy Orbison had a smash with Pretty Woman in 64, and also had a hit with It’s Over. Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons grabbed three of the Top 100 with Rag Doll, Dawn and Ronnie. The Beach Boys only entry in the Top 100 was I Get Around.

1964 brought us classics like The Drifters Under The Boardwalk, Chapel of Love by the Dixie Cups, Suspicion by Terry Stafford, It Hurts to Be In Love from gene Pitney and Come A Little Bit Closer by Jay and the Americans. Johnny Rivers had a hit with Chuck Berry’s Memphis, Bobby Freeman invited us to C’mon and Swim, Detroit’s Reflections offered up Just Like Romeo and Juliet and the Shangri-Las told us the story of the Leader of the Pack.

Car songs were well represented in 64! Ronny and the Daytonas had GTO, while the Rip Chords sang Hey Little Cobra, and the Hondells had Little Honda. Jan and Dean told us the stories of The Little Old Lady from Pasadena and Dead Man’s Curve, while J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers told us the tragic story of a Last Kiss.

Soul music is represented by The Impressions (I’m So Proud and Keep on Pushing), Joe Hinton (Funny How Time Slips Away), The Tams (What Kind of Fool Do You Think I Am), Jimmy Hughes (Steal Away) and Nancy Wilson (How Glad Am I). If you throw Blues into the “Soul” mix, the great Tommy Tucker song “Hi Heel Sneakers” was out in 1964.

Instrumentally, Al Hirt had a monster hit with Java, The Ventures had Walk Don’t Run 1964, The Marketts had The Outer Limits, and Robert Maxwell had the incredibly cheesy lounge version of Shangri-la. While novelty songs included Jumpin’ Gene Simmons (Haunted House), The Trashmen (Surfin’ Bird) and Roger Miller (Chug-a-Lug).

While Rock was dominant in 1964, there were still some pop (and even folk) songs that made the Top 100 – one of them, doing the “impossible.” Two of the biggest pop hits of the year couldn’t be more different from each other. The third biggest hit of the year belonged to Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong and his Dixieland hit “Hello, Dolly!” Barbra Streisand (who won Album of the year at the 1964 Grammy Awards) had the 11th biggest hit of the year with “People.”

Pop/Folk was also represented by Gale Garnett (We’ll Sing in the Sunshine), The Ray Charles Singers (Love Me With All Your Heart), Dionne Warwick (Walk On By), Al Martino (I Love You More and More Every Day), and Andy Williams (A Fool Never Learns). But the biggest surprise came from an artist who hadn’t had a top 40 record since 1958!

Dean Martin didn’t care for Rock and Roll. With the British Invasion in full swing, there was very little chance of him ever having another hit. His kids loved the new artists. His son, Dean Paul, loved the Beatles. Dean told his boy, “I’m gonna knock your pallies off the charts!” On August 15, 1964 – he did just that with a song that became his NEW theme song, “Everybody Loves Somebody.” (It replaced That’s Amore as his theme song)

The song knocked the beloved Beatles A Hard Day’s Night out of the number 1 spot! It went on to stay at #1 on the Pop Standards Singles Chart for 8 weeks. It also became the theme to his weekly television show in 1965.

I picked 1964 for a few reasons. Despite my initial worry about it being British act heavy, it was the year that introduced us to the Beatles (who changed the music scene forever!). It is also the year that one act held the top 5 spots on the charts (a record that remains in place). It is also the year that my favorite singer of all time bumped the biggest group in music out of the top spot.

It is also a year that encompasses such a vast variety of music. While there may be better songs that appeared before and after 1964, it truly represents a unique time in history. America was still recovering from the loss of a beloved president, there were still Civil Rights issues, and a war in Vietnam. The music of 1964 was a welcome escape from so many things.

Was it all good? No, and that is true of every year. However, as I look at the 100 biggest songs of the year, there are a lot of great songs that have gone on to become classics. There are so many songs that are still looked at as pivotal in the music scene. The fact that many of these songs are still getting airplay today is a statement to just how good they are.

Thanks again to Dave at a Sound Day for allowing me to be a part of this feature. I can only hope that my contribution is worthy of an invite to participate in the next round.

Hello, Louie!

The photo above may be a bit deceiving, in that this blog is NOT about the hit song by the Kingsmen.

It is also not about other famous Louies (or Louis) like comedians:

Louie Anderson

Louis CK

Or trumpet players:

Louis Armstrong

Louis Prima

Or his animated alter ego:

King Louie

Or fictional TV characters like:

Louie the Lilac

Louie De Palma

So just WHO is Louie?!

Well, if you are a regular reader to my blog you know that over the past couple years, my daughter (and now my son, too) like to walk our neighborhood. There is one house where there is an old Bassett hound that is occasionally outside. That dog has been her “puppy friend” for a long time.

We never knew if it was a boy or a girl. We never knew its name. It has been a mystery for some time. Not any more!

Yesterday, as we were walking, her puppy friend was out in the middle of the yard soaking up the sun.

Ella asked to get out of the stroller so she could go up to the fence to say hello. She stood there saying, “Hi Puppy! Come here, Puppy!” The back door of the house opened and a young guy peaked his head out and said, “That’s Louie! He’s too old to be doing a lot of walking. He’ll be ten years old this week.”

I told the guy we had wondered what his name was and were glad to finally know it. Ella must have said, “He’s Louie!” about 40 times and “Hi, Louie!” another 40 times. She was thrilled (as was I) to finally know his name!

We took a family walk this evening when I woke up and got to see Louie again. I think I’m going to go to the store and buy a box of dog treats and a birthday card and have Ella hand deliver it to Louie’s owner for his birthday. That dog has brought many smiles to our walks and “10” is a special birthday!

Sunny Side of the Street

One of my favorite commercials on TV right now is the “Spring Into Action” commercial from Kohl’s. There is something about the smile of the little girl as people “hop” by that tugs at the heart strings. It is a wonderful “feel good” commercial. If you haven’t seen it – take 30 seconds and enjoy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlrg98O9Qgg

Kohl’s Spring Into Action

While walking the neighborhood with Ella last week, I noticed a few chalk Hopscotch games on the sidewalk. Rest assured, if the child who had drawn it was out on the porch, I would have hopped along just like the folks in the commercial.

The ad itself is wonderful. I love the song choice in it, as well. The Sunny Side of the Street is a song that is over 90 years old! It was written in 1930 by Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields (although, some say it was written by blues legend Fats Waller). It made its debut on Broadway in the show International Review. The song is considered a jazz/pop standard now and is part of the “Great American Songbook.” It has been recorded by Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Bing Crosby, Benny Goodman, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Count Basie, The Pied Pipers, Doris Day, Keely Smith, Frank Sinatra, Willie Nelson, Tony Bennett, and so many more.

As I thought about this song, I thought about my life. This was me! It wasn’t until Sam and I got together that I began to walk on the Sunny Side of the Street! I crossed over from the “dark and shady” side. I have always loved this song – it’s one of my favorite cuts from Willie Nelson’s Stardust album. If I had to pick a favorite version it would probably be Willie’s version. It’s just so laid back and smooth….

If you want a more “swinging” version of it – try Keely Smith on for size….

Lyrics

Grab your coat and get your hat
Leave your worries on the doorstep
Just direct your feet
On the sunny side of the street

Can’t you hear the pitter pat?
And that happy tune is your step
Life can be so sweet
On the sunny side of the street

I used to walk in the shade
With those blues on parade
But I’m not afraid
This rover crossed over

And if I never had a cent
I’d be rich as Rockefeller
Gold dust at my feet
On the sunny side of the street

I used to walk in the shade
With those blues on parade
But I’m not afraid
This rover crossed over

And if I never had a cent
I’d be rich as Rockefeller
Gold dust at my feet
On the sunny side of the street

Life Lesson

When life has you down, take a stroll on the sunny side of the street!

Saturday Songs

This is the first of at least two blogs today. I chose to write this one first. Amidst all of the chaos in the world, I was reminded of a song that I often turned to when things in my life were less than stellar. Michael Buble’ has been doing video messages on his Instagram page. In one, he began to sing this song … and I felt that it was, indeed, a perfect song for today.

Smile – Nat King Cole

I may have posted this song once before in a blog about Nat King Cole. The song is based on an instrumental melody written by Charlie Chaplin (loosely based on Puccini’s “Tosca”) for his 1936 movie Modern Times. Lyrics were added in 1954 and they were based on lines from the film.

chap

You know what’s difficult to do in difficult times? Smiling. Try it. It’s pretty damn hard. While you and I are sitting in quarantine, knowing what’s going on outside, try smiling. Not the easiest thing, but it is possible. That’s what the song is all about. It tells you to cheer up, tomorrow will be better if you just smile.

You have probably heard that it takes more muscles and it takes more work to frown than it does to smile. So, why work so hard? Smile. Give it a listen:

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What a Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong

This song is from 1967. There are some conflicting stories about who was originally offered the song first. Some say that Tony Bennett was offered the song, but refused. Others say that the song was written specifically for Louis Armstrong, whom the writer of the song was inspired by as he felt Louis was good at bringing people of various race and color together.

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I first came to know this song because of the film “Good Morning Vietnam” starring Robin Williams. It is interesting to note that the song was actually recorded 2 years after the film takes place (Williams’ character, a DJ, plays it on the radio). What made me think about this song was the scene from the movie in which it was played. While it plays, we see soldiers marching, bombs exploding, fighting and chaos in the streets, and more.

The contrast of the music of the song over these scenes are etched in my memory. When I thought about the craziness in the world today, I couldn’t help but think of how, despite all of this, we truly live in a wonderful world. One could easily play this song over scenes from what is going on in the world today. It is important to find the happiness among the sadness. It is important to notice the blue skies, green trees, white clouds, and red roses that are there to enjoy.

The only line that doesn’t fit today – is the line about shaking hands.

I see trees of green
Red roses too
I see them bloom
For me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

I see skies of blue
And clouds of white
The bright blessed day
The dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

The colors of the rainbow
So pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces
Of people going by
I see friends shaking hands
Saying, “How do you do?”
They’re really saying
“I love you”

I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more
Than I’ll never know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

Yes, I think to myself
What a wonderful world

Oh yeah

Favorite Films – The 80’s

This blog is a continuation of a series I started earlier this week. Somebody had the idea to post a list was to consist of your favorite films from each year of your life. So, you start with your birth year and move ahead year by year and list all the films from each year. A post from the Avocado site came up in my “Reader” list of blogs that had the same principle, but with one exception – you can only pick one movie from each year. My last blog focused on my favorites from the 1970’s and this one will feature the 1980’s.

I have a feeling that there will be more movies per year for me to pick from in this decade.

1980 was a year for sequels. Burt Reynolds and Jackie Gleason returned for another adventure in Smokey and the Bandit II, Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker faced off in The Empire Strikes Back, and Christopher Reeve was back as Superman in Superman II. We were first introduced to Jason in the first of many installments of the Friday the 13th franchise. Queen provided the theme song for the film Flash Gordon. A few years before he was dealing with a Delorean, Robert Zemeckis directed Kurt Russell and Jack Warden in Used Cars. Jack Nicholson yelled “Here’s Johnny!” in the Shining and Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda, and Lily Tomlin dreamed of knocking off their boss in Nine to Five.

I mentioned in the last blog that I had a feeling it would be more difficult to pick just one movie per year as I headed into the 80’s. That was proven to be true as I looked over the movies for 1980 and saw three of my all-time favorites were released. ANY three of these could easily be my one pick for the year for the following reasons (1) all three of them have an amazing cast (2) all three of them are funny (3) all three of them are all full of great movie lines! I want to break the rules and make this a three way tie! Alas, I have to pick just one.

The first runner up – Caddyshack. Such a funny movie that is quoted every day on golf courses all across the country! Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Bill Murray, and Chevy Chase all combine their talents to make this such a funny movie! Second runner up – The Blues Brothers. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd are Jake and Elwood Blues. It is a comedy of epic proportions and has one of the best soundtracks ever. Also, very quotable.

The pick for my favorite, though, has to be THE most quoted movie of the ’80s – Airplane! “I am serious. And don’t call me Shirley!”

Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, Peter Graves, Leslie Nielsen, Robert Hayes and SO many more! The Zucker Brothers brought us this comedy, a direct rip-off of a film called Zero Hour (look for the comparison on YouTube), and it is a joke after joke laugh riot. Having serious actor say these comedy lines straight makes the line even more funny! The scenes with “Johnny” are worth the price of admission!

1981 brought us some great films. Some of my favorite action movies from ’81 include Burt Reynolds in Sharky’s Machine, and Sylvester Stalone and Billy Dee Williams in Nighthawks. Adventure films included stop-action creatures from Ray Harryhausen in Clash of the Titans and our introduction to Indiana Jones with Harrison Ford starring in Raiders of the Lost Ark (the face melting scene still creeps me out!).

1981 was full of comedies, some better than others (Remember Ringo Starr’s Caveman?!). Dudley Moore was brilliantly funny in Arthur. The Muppets return for fun in The Great Muppet Caper. Chevy Chase, Dabney Coleman, and Nell Carter appear in the underappreciated Modern Problems. George Hamilton plays dual roles in a film I recently blogged about, Zorro The Gay Blade. Not his best, but I still laugh at Jerry Lewis’ Hardly Working. And Mel Brooks offered up History of the World Part I (and left many of us longing for Part II).

Stripes starring Bill Murray, John Candy, and Harold Ramis comes in as a close second here. It could easily be THE favorite for this year. It is still funny today, and I find myself quoting it often. Just edging it out as my favorite is The Cannonball Run.

Burt Reynolds leads an all star cast in the race across the country! Silly fun and many funny lines. Dom Deluise, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. Farrah Fawcett, Bert Convy, Jamie Farr, Roger Moore, Jack Elam, Adrienne Barbeau, Peter Fonda, Terry Bradshaw, Mel Tillis, and so many more star in this comedy, which will always remain one of my favorites!

In 1982, Sylvester Stallone introduced us to Rambo in First Blood while Harrison Ford starred in Blade Runner (which finally just recently got a sequel). ET phoned home, Sean Penn was stoned out of his mind in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and Scott Baio had super powers in Zapped! Airplane II: The Sequel recycled some old jokes and was not as good as the original. Michael Keaton drove Henry Winkler crazy in Night Shift. Creepshow was creepy (and had a cool cameo from Stephen King). A favorite from this year is Steve Martin’s Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, which is shot in black and white and Steve interacts with old movie stars.

My top pick for 1982 has got to be Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

I didn’t care for the first Star Trek film, but this one was excellent. Again, we have the original cast back on the Enterprise. This film goes back to the original series for a tie in. Ricardo Montalban played the character on the series and now, years later, he finds Kirk and plans to get his revenge. It is a great story, and the film has a powerful ending. The best of the entire series in my opinion. Montalban is just amazing in this movie!

The scene with William Shatner screaming “Khan!” – how can you not love it?

I can already sense the backlash I am going to get for my pick from this year, please remember this is MY list and not yours!

In the comedy category, 1983 had Michael Keaton stepping in for Teri Garr in Mr. Mom. Gary Busey, Marsha Warfield, and Mr. T are a riot in DC Cab while Bob and Doug McKenzie (Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis) get their first feature film in Strange Brew. Dan Aykroyd takes on “mom” in Doctor Detroit while Rodney Dangerfield takes on his mother-in-law in Easy Money. 1983 also introduced us to the Griswold family as they make their trip to Walley World in National Lampoon’s Vacation.

The Skywalker’s were back for the third part of the original trilogy in Return of the Jedi, while Christopher Walken woke from a coma with psychic powers in The Dead Zone. And who can forget Al Pacino’s thrilling performance in Scarface? My pick for favorite of this year is a holiday classic – A Christmas Story.

So why this film? Because it remains one that I faithfully watch every Christmas. Who can’t relate to the way the Parker boys feel as Christmas approaches? While it is set in the 1940’s, their excitement mirrors what every child feels during the holidays. It’s a classic! I had the chance to see the Christmas Story house this year (and blogged about it) and it was fun to walk through.

As I looked over my list from ’84, I once again see more comedies than other genres. Eddie Murphy went to Detroit to film Beverly Hills Cop, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis took on the spiritual realm in Ghostbusters. Michal Keaton and Joe Piscopo are mobsters is Johnny Dangerously. We meet the first batch of recruits in the first Police Academy movie, while Cannonball Run II fell flat, despite a great cast. Sight gags and puns galore were seen with Val Kilmer in Top Secret, and we first met Sarah Connor in the first Terminator movie.

1984 was the year the Detroit Tigers last won a World Series. I will never forget the excitement of that series or the season that led up to it. Perhaps that is why my favorite flick from 1984 is The Natural.

Robert Redford is Roy Hobbs and he is an amazing ball player. The film is based on a 1952 book by Bernard Malamud. (Spoiler, in case you haven’t seen it) In the book, Hobbs strikes out at the end. However, in the movie, there is an amazing homerun that knocks out the lights and sparks fly all over the place – one of my favorite endings!

“Knock the cover off the ball ….”

My list of favorites from this year is not too long. Not that there weren’t some great films released, because there were, but many of them didn’t make an impact on me. I enjoyed the James Bond film A View to a Kill (Roger Moore as Bond), Harrison Ford in Witness, and Chevy Chase as Fletch. The “Brat Pack” film The Breakfast Club was released with your “stereotypical high school teens”. The Goonies was one I watched once. It was ok, but I didn’t see the hype that everyone else did. As stupid as it was, Transylvania 6-5000 always made me laugh. Jeff Goldblum, Ed Begley Jr., John Byner, Geena Davis, and Michael Richards are all part of the cast, and there are some funny (and some very dumb) scenes.

Who would have thought that a board game could inspire a very funny film? Clue came out in 1985 and had three different endings (it varied on wherever you saw it). Christopher Lloyd, Tim Curry, Martin Mull, Madeline Khan, Michael McKean, Eileen Brennan, and Lesley Ann Warren play the various people from the game and it is just a blast to watch. This easily could be my pick, but there is one film that stands out far above the rest.

As someone who always loved stories about time travel, I was hooked immediately by the trailer for Back to the Future. It remains one that I can watch over and over today.

There is just SO much to love about this film!!! Great story. Great characters (and a great cast). Comedy. Suspense. Good music and a cool car that when it hit 88 miles per hour, you saw some “pretty serious sh*t!”

1986 really doesn’t have a stand out film for me. I enjoyed Top Gun with Tom Cruise (it also has a sequel coming out). Little Shop of Horrors was an ok movie (Steve Martin as the dentist is a high light). Tough Guys had some good scenes, but with big stars like Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas, I expected more. One Crazy Summer had some funny scenes, but wasn’t a laugh out loud riot. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was good. I loved the premise of this kid skipping school and doing all that he did … and still making it home before his folks found out (what kid didn’t want to do what Ferris did?!).

The only film that stands out to me from 1986 is one that you may question. It gets the my pick as favorite for sentimental reasons. The Three Amigos starring Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short. I don’t care how many times El Guapo yells “It’s a sweater!”, I laugh! But that is not why I picked this one. Back when my oldest son was just diagnosed with autism, we were watching this movie. There is a scene where the Amigos are sitting around a campfire and they begin to sing the song “Blue Shadows”. My son walked to the TV and just stared. He loved that song. At that time, we had no idea if he would ever really speak more than a few words. He would watch this scene over and over! I even have it on my iPod because it makes me think of him.

After the song, we used to have to wait for the turtle to say “Goodnight, Ned” before we had to rewind that scene.

1987 offered up some classics. Who wasn’t freaked out by the rabbit scene in Fatal Attraction? Even though you saw it coming, you cried when Richie Valens died in La Bamba. Louis Armstrong’s What A Wonderful World was given new life on the radio thanks to Robin Williams in Good Morning, Vietnam. “Nobody gets outta here without singing the blues” is one of my favorite lines from Adventures in Babysitting. Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks team up for a Dragnet movie that misses the mark. Danny Glover and Mel Gibson first teamed up for Lethal Weapon and Kevin Costner played Elliot Ness in The Untouchables. We also enjoyed the fairy tale The Princess Bride and Mel Brooks parodied Star Wars and space movies with Spaceballs (“We Break for Nobody!”

If you loved Airplane, but have never seen Amazon Women on the Moon, you need to. It’s as silly as Airplane and has some very funny scenes. For years, I’ve joked that I’d like my funeral to be like a roast. I said I would want people to share funny stories about times we shared together. In this film, there is actually a funeral that is a roast – with a dias that includes Steve Allen, Slappy White, and other comedy greats!

My 1987 favorite goes to Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.

This is just one of the best John Hughes films. You get every emotion watching this film. There are times that are laugh out loud funny and there are times where you are wiping tears from your eyes. Steve Martin and John Candy are just great together. This film makes me miss John Candy. He was such a great actor.

In 1988 Dirty Harry returned in The Dead Pool, Tom Hanks wished he was Big, and Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall were Coming to America. Bruce Willis starred in the first Die Hard and Michael Keaton was Beetlejuice. I was impressed by the interaction between humans and cartoons in Who Framed Roger Rabbit and (as a Monty Python fan) loved John Cleese and Michael Palin in A Fish Called Wanda.

With my favorite movie that kicked off this decade (Airplane), it should come as no surprise that my pick from 1988 is The Naked Gun starring Leslie Nielsen.

Shortly after Airplane, the Zucker brothers created Police Squad. It was a short lived TV show starring Leslie Nielsen as Lt. Frank Drebin. It aired just 6 episodes. The show is the premise for the movie. George Kennedy replaced Alan North and OJ Simpson (pre-murder trial) also starred. Ricardo Montalban plays the villain in this and is just great. Not as many lines as Airplane, but just as funny!!

“It’s Enrico Palazzo!!”

As I come to the last year of this decade, I am faced with the same issue I had with the first year. I have many favorites from this year and wonder just how I can pick only one movie as a favorite!

Comedies included Eddie Murphy in Harlem Nights, Weird Al Yankovic starred in his first film UHF, John Candy was Uncle Buck in another John Hughes film, and Charlie Sheen was Wild Thing in Major League (“Just a bit outside!”). Bernie is dead, but he still has quite an adventure in Weekend at Bernie’s. Jack Palance plays a wonderful bad guy in Tango and Cash and the Griswold’s host Christmas in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. And I can’t forget to mention that Doc Brown and Marty McFly return in Back to the Future II (which some people hate because it goes back and forth from time to time – but that’s what I love about it! That, and the fact that they reshot original scenes from Part I and then had the characters interact within that scene.)

Two films that really stand out from 89 are not comedies, but adventure movies. The runner up for my favorite is Tim Burton’s Batman. As a fan of the 1966 Batman, I was excited to see how this film would be portrayed. Michael Keaton played Batman and I thought he did ok. Jack Nicholson as the Joker was amazing! I loved his interpretation of the character (though I still believe Cesar Romero is the best). It was really well done. This brings me to my favorite film of 1989 – Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

In the Indiana Jones series, I always felt this was the strongest of them all. Harrison Ford is again great as Indy, but his father, played by Sean Connery, steals the scenes. I can easily see my dad and I fighting with each other like these two do if we ever were off on an adventure like this. I just love their interactions with each other. They are both just perfect in this film. The final scene is also just a picture perfect ending!

So with that, let’s ride into the sunset. When we return, let’s dive into the 90’s, ok?

Thanks for reading!