#1 Songs in America
(October 21st)
1980 - "Another One Bites the Dust"
Queen
10/4 - 10/24
1981 - "Arthur's Theme"
Christopher Cross
10/17 - 11/6
1982 - "Jack & Diane
John Cougar Mellencamp
10/2 - 10/29
1983 - "Total Eclipse of the Heart"
Bonnie Tyler
10/1 - 10/28
1984 - "I Just Called to Say I Love You"
Stevie Wonder
10/13 - 11/2
1985 - "Take on Me"
a-ha
10/19 - 10/25
1986 - "When I Think of You"
Janet Jackson
10/11 - 10/24
1987 - "Lost in Emotion"
Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam
10/17 - 10/23
1988 - "Red Red Wine"
UB40
10/15 - 10/21
1989 - "Miss You Much"
Janet Jackson
10/7 - 11/3
Click Here For More 80s Music Fun Facts and Awards
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Happy 80s Birthdays
1940 - Rhoda Gemignani (Actress) Who’s the Boss (Ms. Rossini)
Birthplace: Philadelphia, PA
1941 - Steve Cropper (Guitarist)
Birthplace: Dora, MO
1946 - Lee Loughnane (Trumpeter) Chicago
Birthplace: Elmwood Park, IL
1953 - Charlotte Caffey (Guitarist) The Go Go’s
Birthplace: Santa Monica, CA
1957 - Steve Lukather (Guitarist) Toto
Birthplace: San Fernando Valley, CA
1959 - George Bell (Baseball)
Birthplace: San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic
1964 - Jon Carin (Singer & Songwriter) Pink Floyd
Birthplace: New York City
1976 - Jeremy Miller (Actor) Growing Pains (Ben Seaver)
Birthplace: Covina, CA
Fun Fact!
George Bell (Blue Jays) Won the AL MVP in 1987
* Hit 3 Home Runs on Opening Day the Following Season
1983 - All the Right Moves Premiered in Theaters
* Starring Tom Cruise and Lea Thompson
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October 21st in 80s History
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The Phillies Won theWorld Series
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Other Notable Birthdays
Whitey Ford (Baseball)
October 21, 1928 - October 8, 2020
Birthplace: New York City
Passed Away at Age 91 in His Home Surrounded by Family While Watching the Yankees Play Game 4 of the ALCS
Ford Pitched All 16 Seasons With the New York Yankees
All Star: 10
6x World Series Champion
Cy Young Award Winner (1961)
Elected to the Pro Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974 (2nd Ballot)
Carrie Fisher (Actress)
October 21, 1956 - December 27, 2016
Birthplace: Burbank, CA
Passed Away at Age 60 From Cardiac Arrest
Played Princess Leia in Star Wars
Tony Ganios (Actor)
October 21, 1959 - February 18, 2024
Birthplace: Brooklyn, NY
Passed Away at Age 64 From Heart Failure
Best Known For Playing “Meat” in the Porky’s Franchise
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Passed Away
(On This Day)
Bud Adams (American Businessman)
January 3, 1923 - October 21, 2013
Birthplace: Bartlesville, OK
Passed Away at Age 91 From Natural Causes
Founder and Owner of the Houston Oilers / Tennessee Titans
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80s Movies
(Released On This Day)
1983 - All the Right Moves
Director: Michael Chapman
Starring: Tom Cruise, Lea Thompson, Chris Penn and Craig T. Nelson
Budget: $5.6 Million
Box Office: $17.2 Million
1983 - The Dead Zone
Director: David Cronenberg
Starring: Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Herbert Lom, Anthony Zerbe, Colleen Dewhurst and Martin Sheen
Budget: $10 Million
Box Office: $20.8 Million
1983 - The Right Stuff (limited theaters)
Director: Ed Harris, Scott Glenn, Sam Shepard, Fred Ward, Dennis Quaid, Barbara Hershey
Pamela Reed and Charles Frank
Budget: $27 Million
Box Office: $21.1 Million
1983 - Under Fire
Director: Roger Spottiswoode
Starring: Nick Nolte, Gene Hackman, Joanna Cassidy, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Richard Masur and Ed Harris
Budget: $9.5 Million
Box Office: $5.6 Million
1988 - Mystic Pizza
Director: Donald Petrie
Starring: Annabeth Gish, Julia Roberts, Lili Taylor, Vincent D'Onofrio, William R. Moses, Adam Storke and Conchata Ferrell with Matt Damon (debut)
Budget: $6 Million
Box Office: $12.8 Million
1988 - Bat*21
Director: Peter Markle
Starring: Gene Hackman, Danny Glover, Jerry Reed, David Marshall Grant, Clayton Rohner, Erich Anderson and Joe Dorsey
Budget: N/A
Box Office: $3.1 Million
1988 - Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
Director: Dwight H. Little
Starring: Donald Pleasence, Ellie Cornell, Danielle Harris and Michael Pataki
Budget: $5 Million
Box Office: $17. 8 Million
1988 - Tapeheads
Director: Bill Fishman
Starring: John Cusack and Tim Robbins
Budget: $10 Million
Box Office: $343,000
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80s Television
(On This Day)
1983 - Jennifer Slept Here Premiered on NBC
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 13
Starring Ann Jillian
1989 - Kathleen Turner Hosted Saturday Night Live
Musical Guest: Billy Joel
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80s Music
(Albums Released On This Day)
1981 - Bobby and the Midnites
Bobby (Bobby Weir) and the Midnites (Debut Album)
* Singer and Guitarist for The Grateful Dead
1982 - Oh, No! It’s Devo (5th Album)
Devo
Billboard Charts: #47
1983 - Soul Mining
The The (Debut Album)
* Reached #27 in the UK
1985 - Once Upon a Time
Simple Minds (7th Album)
Billboard Charts: #10
1986 - Polka Party!
"Weird Al" Yankovic (4th Album)
Billboard Charts: #177
* Featuring “Living With a Hernia”
1988 - Look Sharp!
Roxette (2nd Album)
Billboard Charts: #23
* Featuring “The Look”
1988 - 2 Hype
Kid 'n Play (Debut Album)
Billboard Charts: #96
1988 - QR
Quiet Riot (6th Album)
Billboard Charts: #119
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80s Sports
(On This Day)
1980 - Game 6 of the World Series
* The Philadelphia Phillies Beat the Kansas City Royals 4 - 1 to Win Their first World Series in Franchise History
Attendance: 65,838
Manager: Dallas Green
MVP: Mike Schmidt
Game 6 Was the Most Watched World Series Game in History
Over 54 Million Viewers
Fun Fact!
The 1980 World Series Was the First Played Entirely on Artificial Turf
1981 - Game 2 of the World Series
* The New York Yankees Beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 3 - 0 at Yankee Stadium to take a 2 - 0 Series Lead
Attendance: 56,505
Tommy John (Yankees) 7 Scoreless Innings
Goose Gossage (Yankees) 2 Scoreless Innings in Relief
1986 - Game 3 of the World Series
* The New York Mets Beat the Boston Red Sox 7 - 1 at Fenway Park (Boston) to Cut the Series 2 - 1
Attendance: 33,595
Bob Ojeda (Mets) 7 Innings (1 ER)
Lenny Dykstra (Mets) Home Run (1st Inning)
1987 - Game 4 of the World Series
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Minnesota Twins 7 - 2 at Busch Stadium (St. Louis) to Tie the Series 2 - 2
Attendance: 55,347
Tim Lawless (Cardinals) 3-Run Home Run (1st Inning)
Greg Gagne (Twins) Home Run
1989 - Bertram Lee and Peter Bynoe Bought the Denver Nuggets
* First African-Americans to Own a Major Sports Team
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In Other 80s News
(On This Day)
1983 - The Metre Was Defined as the Distance Light Travels in a Vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a Second
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Other Notable Dates
(On October 21st)
1973 - Fred Dryer (Los Angeles Rams) Became the First Player in NFL History to Record 2 Safeties in a Game
Did You Know?
Fred Dryer Starred in the 1980's TV Show, Hunter
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<- October 20th October 22nd ->
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1983 - The Meter Was Defined as the Distance Light Travels in a Second
* 1/299,792,458 of a Second
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Headlines
(October 21st)
1980 - Philadelphia Phillies Won Their First World Series in Team History
* Beat the Kansas City Royals
Series: 4 - 2
Game 6 Was the Most Watched World Series Game in History
Over 54 Million Viewers
Fun Fact!
The 1980 World Series Was the First Played Entirely on Artificial Turf
1983 - The Right Stuff Premiered in Theaters
* Starring Ed Harris, Scott Glenn, Sam Shepard, Fred Ward, Dennis Quaid, Barbara Hershey