#1 Songs in America
(January 18th)
1980 - "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)"
Rupert Jones
1/12 - 1/18
1981 - "(Just Like) Starting Over"
John Lennon
12/27 - 1/30
1982 - "Physical"
Olivia Newton-John
11/21 - 1/29
1983 - "Down Under"
Men at Work
1/15 - 2/4
1984 - "Say Say Say"
Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson
12/10 - 1/20
1985 - "Like a Virgin"
Madonna
12/22 - 2/1
1986 - "That's What Friends Are For"
Dionne & Friends
1/18 - 2/14
1987 - "Shake You Down"
Gregory Abbott
1/17 - 1/23
1988 - "Got My Mind Set On You"
George Harrison
1/16 - 1/22
1989 - "My Prerogative"
Bobby Brown
1/14 - 1/20
Click Here For More Music Fun Facts and Awards
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Happy 80s Birthdays
1933 - John Boorman (Filmmaker) Hope and Glory
1943 - Paul Freeman (Actor) Raiders of the Lost Ark (René Belloq)
1954 - Ted DiBiase (Wrestler) “Million Dollar Man”
1955 - Kevin Costner (Actor) Field of Dreams
1956 - Tom Bailey (Musician) Thompson Twins
1961 - Jeff Yagher (Actor) Shag
1961 - Mark Messier (Hockey)
1962 - Alison Arngrim (Actress) Little House on the Prairie (Nellie Oleson)
1964 - Brady Anderson (Baseball)
Fun Fact!
Kevin Costner Was Born in Lynwood, California and Raised in Compton
* Kevin's Dad Was and Electrician and His Mom Was a Welfare Worker
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Headlines
(January 18th)
1981 - The Plasmatics Lead Singer, Wendy O. Williams Was Arrested in Milwaukee For Pretending to Masturbate With a Sledgehammer On Stage
* Unfortunately She Passed Away in 1998 From a Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound to the Head at Age 48
"That's What Friends Are For" Became the #1 Song in America
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Other Notable Dates
(On January 18th)
1896 - An X-ray Machine Was Exhibited For the First Time by H. L. Smith.
1911 - Eugene B. Ely (Pilot) Became the First Person to Land an Aircraft on a Ship
* Landed His Plane On the USS Pennsylvania in the San Francisco Bay
1958 - Willie O’Ree Became the First Black Player in NHL History
* Made His Debut With the Boston Bruins
1990 - Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry Was Arrested for Drug Possession
* Caught Smoking Crack During an FBI Sting
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January 18th in 80s History
1986 - “That’s What Friends Are For” by Dionne Warwick and Friends Became the #1 Song in America
#1 Song in America from January 18 - February 14
* Also Hit #1 in Canada and Australia
The Song Raised Over $3 Million Dollars For AIDS Research
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1983 - The IOC (International Olympic Committee) Restored Jim Thorpe's Olympic Medals For the Pentathlon & Decathlon 70 Years After They Were Taken From Him For Being a Paid Athlete
* Was Paid $25 by a Semi-Pro Baseball Team
1989 - Stevie Wonder (38) Became the Youngest Singer Inducted Into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
* Inducted by Paul Simon
Other Inductees
The Rolling Stones
The Temptations
Otis Redding
Dion
Phil Spector
Bessie Smith
The Ink Spots
The Soul Stirrers
Sheena Easton
On January 18, 1981 Sheena Easton Released Her Debut Album, Take My Time Featuring "Morning Train"
Other Notable Birthdays
Curt Flood (Baseball)
January 18, 1938 - January 20, 1997
Passed Away at Age 59 from Pneumonia
* 3x All-Star
7x Gold Glove
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Passed Away
(On This Day)
Tony Verna (TV Producer)
Passed Away on January 18, 2015 at Age 81 from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Invented Instant Replay
* First Used in the Army-Navy Game in 1963
Glenn Frey (Singer)
Passed Away on January 18, 2016 at Age 67 from Rheumatoid Arthritis, Acute Ulcerative Colitis, and Pneumonia
Co-Founder of The Eagles
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80s Movies
(Released On This Day)
1980 - Windows
Director: Gordon Willis
Starring: Talia Shire, Joseph Cortese and Elizabeth Ashley
Budget: N/A
Box Office: $2.1 Million
1980 - Just Tell Me What You Want
Director: Sidney Lumet
Starring: Ali MacGraw, Peter Weller and Alan King
Budget: N/A
Box Office: $2 Million
1983 - Lianna
Director: John Sayles
Starring: Linda Griffiths, Jane Hallaren and and Jon DeVries
Budget: $300,000
Box Office: $1.5 Million
1985 - The New Kids
Director: Sean S. Cunningham
Starring: Shannon Presby, Lori Loughlin, Eric Stoltz and James Spader
Budget: $6 Million
Box Office: $199,000
1985 - That's Dancing! (Dance Documentary)
Director: Jack Haley Jr.
Starring: Mikhail Baryshnikov, Ray Bolger, Sammy Davis Jr., Gene Kelly and Liza Minnelli
Budget: N/A
Box Office: $4.2 Million
* The Film Featured a Complete Dance Routine of "If I Only Had a Brain" by Ray Bulger in His Last Film Appearance
80s Television
(On This Day)
1986 - Harry Dean Stanton Hosted Saturday Night Live
Musical Guest: The Replacements
1986 - The Redd Foxx Show Premiered on ABC
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 13
1988 - Home (Talk Show) Premiered on ABC
Seasons: 7
1989 - A Fine Romance Premiered on ABC
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 12
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80s Music
(Albums Released On This Day)
1980 - Just Testing
Wishbone Ash (10th Album)
Billboard Charts: #179
1980 - Metamic
John Foxx (10th Album)
Billboard Charts: #179
1981 - Take My Time
Sheena Easton (Debut Album)
Billboard Charts: #24
* Featuring “Morning Train (9 to 5)”
1982 - Mystical Adventures
Jean-Luc Ponty (22nd Album)
Billboard Charts: #44
1983 - Cuts Like a Knife
Bryan Adams (3rd Album)
Billboard Charts: #8
1986 - Made to be Broken
Soul Asylum (2nd Album)
Singles Released
1986 - “These Dreams”
Heart
#1 song in America from March 22 - 28
* Also hit #1 in Canada
Fun Fact!
Heart’s First #1 Song Was “Magic Man” (1975)
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80s Sports
(On This Day)
1981 - Phil Smith and Phil Mayfield Became the First Base Jumpers to BASE Jump From All 4 Categories When They Jumped Off a Houston Skyscraper
* The 4 Categories are Buildings, Antennae, Spans (Bridges), and Earth (Cliffs)
1981 - Bjorn Borg Won His Second Straight ATP Masters Grand Prix Title
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