#1 Songs in America
(November 17th)
1980 - "Lady"
Kenny Rogers
11/15 - 12/26
1981 - "Private Eyes"
Daryl Hall and John Oates
11/7 - 11/20
1982 - "Up Where We Belong"
Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes
11/6 - 11/26
1983 - "All Night Long"
Lionel Richie
11/12 - 12/9
1984 - "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go"
Wham!
11/17 - 12/7
1985 - "We Built This City"
Starship
11/16 - 11/29
1986 - "Amanda"
Boston
11/8 - 11/21
1987 - "I Think We're Alone Now"
Tiffany
11/7 - 11/20
1988 - "Wild Wild West"
The Escape Club
11/12 - 11/18
1989 - "When I See You Smile"
Bad English
11/11 - 11/24
Click Here For More Music Fun Facts and Awards
Happy 80s Birthdays
1942 - Martin Scorsese (Director) Raging Bull, Goodfellas
Birthplace: New York City
1943 - Lauren Hutton (Model and Actress) American Gigolo, Once Bitten
Birthplace: Charleston, North Carolina
1944 - Danny DeVito (Actor) Taxi
Birthplace: Neptune, New Jersey
1944 - Lorne Michaels (TV Producer) Created SNL
Birthplace: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
1944 - Jim Boeheim (Basketball Coach) Syracuse
Birthplace: Lyons, New York
1945 - Elvin Hayes (Basketball)
Birthplace: Rayville, Louisiana
1946 - Martin Barre (English Guitarist) Jethro Tull
Birthplace: Kings Heath, Birmingham, England
1955 - Peter Cox (English Singer) Go West
Birthplace: Kingston upon Thames
1957 - Jim Babjak (Austrian Guitarist) The Smithereens
Birthplace: Salzburg, Austria
1958 - Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (Actress) Scarface, The Color of Money
Birthplace: Lombar, Illinois
1959 - William R. Moses (Actor) Mystic Pizza
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California
1960 - RuPaul (Drag Queen)
Birthplace: San Diego, California
1964 - Mitch Williams (Baseball) “Wild Thing”
Birthplace: Santa Ana, California
1967 - Ronnie DeVoe (Singer) New Edition
Birthplace: Roxbury, Massachusetts
Fun Fact!
Danny DeVito Was Married to Rhea Pearlman (Carla From Cheers) From 1982 to 2017
* DeVito is 4 ft 10 in
On November 17, 1971 President Nixon Said the Famous Lines "I'm Not a Crook" in Defense to the Watergate Scandal
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1989 - Harlem Nights Premiered in Theaters
Director: Eddie Murphy
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx, Danny Aiello, Michael Lerner, Della Reese, Berlinda Tolbert, Stan Shaw, Vic Polizos and Jasmine Guy
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80s Movies
(Albums Released On This Day)
1989 - The Little Mermaid (Animation)
Directors: Ron Clements, John Musker
Starring: Jodi Benson, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Pat Carroll, Kenneth Mars, Samuel E. Wright, Jason Marin, Buddy Hackett, Paddi Edwards, René Auberjonois, Edie McClurg and Will Ryan
Budget: $40 Million
Box Office: $233 Million ($84 Million Domestic)
1989 - Harlem Nights
Director: Eddie Murphy
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx, Danny Aiello, Michael Lerner, Della Reese, Berlinda Tolbert, Stan Shaw, Vic Polizos and Jasmine Guy
Budget: $30 Million
Box Office: $95 Million ($60 Million Domestic)
1989 - All Dogs Go to Heaven
Director: Don Bluth
Starring: Burt Reynolds, Judith Barsi, Dom DeLuise, Loni Anderson, Charles Nelson Reilly, Melba Moore, Ken Page and Vic Tayback
Budget: $13.8 Million
Box Office: $27.1 Million
1989 - Prancer
Director: John D. Hancock
Starring: Sam Elliott, Cloris Leachman, Abe Vigoda, Michael Constantine, Ariana Richards, Rebecca Harrell Tickell, John Duda and Johnny Galecki
Budget: N/A
Box Office: $18.6 Million
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80s Television
(On This Day)
1981 - Over 30 Million Viewers Tuned Into Watch General Hospital to Witness the Wedding of Luke and Laura
* The Highest Rated Daytime Soap Episode in History
TV Guide Ranked it as the Greatest Soap Opera Moment of All-Time
1981 - Skoakie Premiered on CBS
* Made-For-TV Movie
1984 - Ed Asner Hosted Saturday Night Live
Musical Guest: The Kinks
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80s Music
(Albums Released On This Day)
1980 - Double Fantasy
John Lennon & Yoko Ono (5th Album)
Hit #1 on the US Billboard 200 Charts
* Also Hit #1 in UK and Canada
Won a Grammy for “Album of the Year”
1980 - 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs
Dolly Parton (23rd Album)
Billboard Charts: #11
1980 - Grotesque
The Fall (3rd Album)
* Reached #1 in UK Indie Charts
1982 - Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan (4th Solo Album)
Billboard Charts: #52
* #5 in R&B
1984 - Aural Sculpture
The Stranglers (8th Album)
* Reached #14 in the UK
1986 - Darkness Descends
Dark Angel (2nd Album)
1986 - Infected
the The (2nd Album)
* Reached #14 in the UK
1986 - Think Visual
The Kinks (22nd Album)
Billboard Charts: #81
Reached #81 on the US Billboard 200 Charts
1986 - Saint of the Pit
Diamanda Galás (4th Album)
* Reached #26 on UK Indie Charts
1987 - You Can Dance (Remix Album)
Madonna
Billboard Charts: #14
* #1 in Club Dance Songs
Over 5 Million Copies Sold Worldwide
1989 - The Incredible Base
Rob Base (First Solo Album)
Billboard Charts: #50
1989 - Perfect Remedy
Status Quo (19th Album)
* Reached #49 in the UK
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80s Sports
(On This Day)
1984 - Golden State Warriors Guard, Purvis Short Scored 59 Points Against the New Jersey Nets
* The Nets Beat the Warriors 131 - 114 at the Oakland Coliseum
Attendance: 7,784
1985 - The New York Jets Beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 62 - 28 at Giants Stadium in New York
Spread
Jets -4.5
O/U 42.0
Ken O’Brien (Jets)
367 Yards Passing 5 td’s
Al Toon (Jets)
6 Receptions 133 Yards 1 TD
1985 - Darrell Waltrip Won the NASCAR Sprint Cup
1987 - George Bell (Blue Jays) Won the American League MVP Award
Runner Up: Alan Trammell (Tigers)
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Other Notable Dates
(On November 17th)
1800 - The United States Congress Held Its First Session
* Took Place in Washington D.C.
1858 - The City of Denver Was Founded
1871 - The NRA (National Rifle Association) Received Its Charter
1968 - The Famous “Heidi Game”
* NBC Decided to Pull Away From the Raiders - Jets to Start the Movie Heidi (Shirley Temple) on Time
The Raiders Came Back and Won in Dramatic Fashion and Nobody Saw it Live on TV
1973 - President Nixon Said the Famous Lines “I’m Not a Crook”
2019 - The First Known Case of COVID-19 Was Traced to a 55-Year-Old Man in China
* Visited a Market in Wuhan, Hubei Province
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<- November 16th November 18th ->
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Fun Fact!
Harlem Was Incorporated in 1660 Under the Leadership of Dutch Colonial Peter Stuyvesant
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1984 - Air Jordans Were Introduced to the Public
* Went On Sale April 1, 1985
Price: $65
1984 - “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” by Wham Hit #1 on the US Billboard Charts
* #1 Song in America from November 17 - December 7
Also Hit #1 in the UK, Belgium, Netherlands, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Australia and Iceland
Fun Fact!
Wham! Formed in Bushey, England in 1981
I'm Not a Crook
On November 17, 1968 The Viewing Audience of the New York Jets and Oakland Raiders Game Missed the Raiders Winning in Dramatic Fashion Because NBC Decided to Start the Movie Heidi Instead Starring Shirley Temple
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November 17th in 80s History
Other Notable Birthdays
Rock Hudson (Actor)
November 17, 1925 - October 2, 1985
Birthplace: Winnetka, Illinois
Passed Away at Age 59 From Complications of AIDS
* One of the First Celebrities to Disclose His AIDS Diagnosis
One of the Most Popular Movie Stars From the 1950’s and 1960’s
Tom Seaver (Baseball)
November 17, 1944 - August 31, 2020
Birthplace: Fresno, CA
Passed Away at Age 75 From Complications of Lewy body Dementia and COVID-19
MLB Seasons: 20
Position: Pitcher
Career Wins: 311
Losses: 205
ERA: 2.86
Strikeouts: 3,640
All-Star: 12
Cy Young Award: 3 (1969, 1973, 1975)
World Series Champion: 1969 (New York Mets)
Elected to the Pro Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992 (Highest Vote Getter at the Time)
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Passed Away
(On This Day)
Esther Rolle (Actress)
November 8, 1920 - November 17, 1998
Birthplace: Pompano Beach, Florida
Passed Away at Age 78 From Complications of Diabetes
* Had 17 Siblings
Best Known For Playing Florida Evans on Good Times
Bo Schembechler (Football Coach)
April 1, 1929 - November 17, 2006
Birthplace: Barberton, Ohio
Passed Away on November 17, 2006 at Age 77 From Heart Disease
* Head Coach of the University of Michigan From 1969 to 1989
Won 13 Big Ten Championships
"Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" Became the #1 Song in America
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The Heidi Game
Headlines
(November 17th)
1980 - John Lennon & Yoko Ono Released Their 5th Album
Title: Double Fantasy Album
U.S. Billboard Charts: #1
Canada: #1
* Featuring "Starting Over"
Double Fantasy Won a Grammy For “Album of the Year”