They Was Fab

I am a fan of The Beatles, though, sadly, they were no longer a band well before the 80s. However, their influence is prominent in 80s music.

The band members also went on to do their own solo works of art. Here are my favorite pieces from each Beatle.

John Lennon, as we all know, was cut down early in his life and early in the 80s, though his recordings were still released and hitting the charts after his untimely departure.



Paul McCartney, a highly successful singer/songwriter in his own right, contributed some lovely pieces to the music world in the 80s.



George Harrison, often referred to as the "quiet" Beatle, made some fun music in the late 1980s. Sadly, he died in 2001. My favorite song from the album, Cloud Nine, "When We Was Fab" is an especially fun video because of the many guest cameo appearances, including Ringo Starr.



Ringo Starr did some music after The Beatles, but I'm not aware of any hits of his in the 80s. He did do some acting, though. Here's a clip from a delightfully silly film called "Caveman." Not only did cave people invent music, but they had Ringo to make it into Rock n' Roll!

Out of Spotlight

Daryl Hall and John Oats. It's high-time I wrote something about them. They are the kind of music artists that made a big mark in the 80s, but today you don't know who they are unless you actually experienced the 80s, and that's a shame.

They started out in the 70s, making good use of the air waves, and they worked smoothly into the 80s. It's said that the ladies either went for one or the other of the duo and very rarely both. Me, I'm a Daryl gal.

Their music from the album, "Big Bam Boom," is what got my attention. I'm not usually drawn to dance music, but this album was just fun to listen through. My mom got me the cassette when I got my braces. Two of my permanent teeth had been removed for the procedure and the numbing medicine wore off quickly. Hall and Oates was good medicine to get me through.

By the time my braces were off, however, the duo had gone their separate ways to do solo projects that received little attention. Much of the world forgot their existence.

It doesn't matter though. They put their thumb prints on the 1980s and we know they did.

Y'all right?

It's a cool thing when genres of music cross over one another. When one turns on a station of contemporary pop music, one would hardly expect to hear country, but it has been known to happen, and sometimes with awesome results.

Dolly Parton, a known country western singer, has skipped over the boundaries dividing pop and country several times in her career, enchanting the pop airwaves with her delightful southern twang.

One such song that graced those of us who don't listen to much country was "9 to 5." It was the title soundtrack of a film about three secretaries (one of them being Dolly) and a chauvinist pig for a boss.

When I first tried to see the film on HBO as a kid, I watched how the three women got themselves into a pickle, and then I left the room. I was too fearful that these nice ladies would never get out of this mess and I couldn't bear to watch them dig themselves deeper. When it was over, my brother assured me things turned out fine and it was safe to watch the whole thing next time it came on; after all, Dolly Parton was in it.

Ain't nobody gonna lock up that purty country-pop-star singer!