During this week in 1980, the nation's No. 1 single was "Magic" by Olivia Newton-John. The song hit No. 1 on August 2, 1980, and stayed at the top spot for four weeks. It was Olivia's third No. 1 single, and came from the movie "Xanadu," which was a box office dud, although the soundtrack did quite well. And Olivia did get to sing and dance with Gene Kelly.Other songs in the Top Five 25 years ago today:
#2 It's Still Rock and Roll to Me -- Billy Joel
#3 Little Jeannie -- Elton John
#4 Cupid/I've Loved You For a Long Time -- Spinners
#5 Shining Star -- Manhattans
6 comments:
Wow, that brought back a flood of memories! I can remember going to see Xanadu at a small downtown theatre in Enid, Oklahoma with my boyfriend, who was about to leave for college. We both drove Volkswagen bugs and when we went on dates it wasn't uncommon for us to get out and push to get the car going. It was a fine summer.
I was five, about to start kindergarten. I knew lots of Carpenter's songs.
Gosh, Xanadu was like the world's longest, worst music video. Ultra-futuristic, roller-skating astral beings wearing bell-bottom. Possibly the most accidentally funny thing ever.
I'm with Nightfly, it was horrific. Wasn't that the beginning of the end of her career?
The only song I actually listen to of the bunch is Billy Joel's. Everything else sucks. Yet, somehow it is comforting to know that the world was still able to create awful pop music 25 years ago, and so it stays the same today.
I neglected to mention that ELO (Electric Light Orchestra) had some good music on the soundtrack, including the title song "Xanadu," which was a joint effort with ELO and ONJ.
If we as Americans could combine disco music and rollerskating a mere 25 years ago, why can't we make similar technological and cultural strides today? What about "bungee-jumping rap music," or some such?
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