Apr 1, 2019
Topics: Pac-Man & the start of the "Gaming" culture,
Zapp, Fame (1980 Film), Eddie Murphy. (Bonus Artist:
hidingtobefound)
1980
1. Jimmy Carter President
2. Jan – The comic strips The Far Side
debuts in newspapers
3. Feb – The XIII Winter Olympics open
in Lake Placid, New York.[1]
4. Feb – The United States Olympic
Hockey Team defeats the Soviet Union in the medal round of the
Winter Olympics, in the Miracle on Ice.
5. Feb - U.S. President Jimmy Carter
announces that the United States will boycott the 1980 Summer
Olympics in Moscow.
6. Apr – Operation Eagle Claw, a
commando mission in Iran to rescue American embassy hostages, is
aborted after mechanical problems ground the rescue helicopters.
Eight United States troops are killed in a mid-air collision during
the failed operation.
7. Apr – Rosie Ruiz wins the Boston
Marathon, but is later exposed as a fraud and stripped of her
award
8. May – A Miami, Florida court acquits
four white police officers of killing Arthur McDuffie, a black
insurance executive, provoking three days of race riots.
9. May – Mount St. Helens erupts in
Washington, killing 57 and causing US$3 billion in damage.
10. May – The Empire Strikes Back is
released.
11. May – Pac-Man, the best-selling
arcade game of all time, is released.
12. May – Vernon Jordan is shot and
critically injured in an assassination attempt in Fort Wayne,
Indiana by Joseph Paul Franklin (the first major news story for
CNN).
13. Jun – The Cable News Network (CNN)
is officially launched.
14. Jun – In Los Angeles, comedian
Richard Pryor is badly burned trying to freebase cocaine.
15. Jun – U.S. President Jimmy Carter
signs Proclamation 4771, requiring 19- and 20-year-old males to
register for a peacetime military draft, in response to the Soviet
invasion of Afghanistan.
16. Jul – The Unemployment Rate peaks
at 7.8%, the highest in four years.
17. Nov – United States presidential
election, 1980: Republican challenger and former Governor Ronald
Reagan of California defeats incumbent Democratic President Jimmy
Carter, exactly one year after the beginning of the Iran hostage
crisis.
18. Nov - Millions of viewers tune into
the U.S. soap opera Dallas to learn who shot lead character J. R.
Ewing. The "Who shot J. R.?" event is a national obsession.
19. Dec - John Lennon is shot and
killed by Mark David Chapman in front of The Dakota apartment
building in New York City.
20. Open Comments:
21. Popular Music Scene
22. Top 3 Singles
23. 1 - "Call Me", Blondie
24. 2 - "Another Brick in the Wall,
Part II", Pink Floyd
25. 3 - "Magic", Olivia
Newton-John
26. Record of the Year: Michael
Omartian (producer) & Christopher Cross for "Sailing"
27. Album of the Year: Michael Omartian
(producer) & Christopher Cross for Christopher Cross
28. Song of the Year: Christopher Cross
for "Sailing"
29. Best New Artist: Christopher
Cross
30. Open Comments:
31. Popular Movies
32. Top 3 Grossing Movies
33. 1 - The Empire Strikes Back
34. 2 - 9 to 5
35. 3 - Stir Crazy
36. Open Comments:
37. Notables:
38. Airplane!, starring Robert Hays,
Julie Hagerty, Leslie Nielsen, Peter Graves, Lloyd Bridges, Robert
Stack, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
39. American Gigolo, directed by Paul
Schrader, starring Richard Gere, Lauren Hutton and Héctor
Elizondo
40. The Blue Lagoon, starring Brooke
Shields and Christopher Atkins
41. The Blues Brothers, directed by
John Landis, starring John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Cab Calloway,
Carrie Fisher, John Candy, Henry Gibson
42. Caddyshack, directed by Harold
Ramis, starring Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight,
Michael O'Keefe, Cindy Morgan, Bill Murray
43. Coal Miner's Daughter, starring
Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones
44. Flash Gordon, directed by Mike
Hodges, starring Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Chaim Topol
45. Friday the 13th, directed by Sean
S. Cunningham, starring Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King and Harry
Crosby
46. Raging Bull, directed by Martin
Scorsese, starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Cathy Moriarty
47. The Shining, directed by Stanley
Kubrick, starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd,
Scatman Crothers
48. Open Comments:
49. Popular TV
50. Top 3 Rated Shows
51. 1 - Dallas
52. 2 - The Dukes of Hazzard
53. 3- 60 Minutes
54. Open Comments:
55. Black Snapshots
56. Ralph Abernathy, president of the
SCLC following the assassination of King in 1968, endorses Ronald
Reagan
57. Nikki Giovanni publishes Vacation
Time: Poems for Children
58. Bernard Shaw stars at CNN:
Shaw is widely known for the question he posed to Democratic U.S.
presidential candidate Michael Dukakis at his second Presidential
debate with George H. W. Bush during the 1988 election, which Shaw
was moderating. Knowing that Dukakis opposed the death penalty,
Shaw asked him if he would support an irrevocable death penalty for
a man who hypothetically raped and murdered Dukakis's wife. Dukakis
responded that he would not.
59. Nov - Eddie Murphy made his first
Saturday Night Live appearance, appearing in a non-speaking role in
the sketch "In Search Of The Negro Republican".
60. Jan - Black Entertainment
Television launches in the United States as a block of programming
on the USA Network; it won't be until 1983 that BET becomes a
full-fledged channel.
61. Best R&B Vocal Performance,
Female - Stephanie Mills for "Never Knew Love Like This
Before"
62. Best R&B Vocal Performance,
Male - George Benson for Give Me the Night
63. Best R&B Performance by a Duo
or Group with Vocal - The Manhattans for "Shining Star"
64. Open Comments:
65. Economic
66. New House: 69K
67. Avg. income: 19K
68. New car: 7K
69. Avg rent: 300
70. Postage Stamp: 15c
71. Movie ticket: 2.25
72. Open Comments:
73. Social Scene: Pac-Man,
Arcade, and the birth of the Gaming Culture.
75. "If you’ve never been inside a
“real” arcade, it could be hard to distinguish one from say, oh, a
Dave & Buster’s. Authenticity is a hard nut to crack, but there are
a few hallmarks of the video game arcade of days gone by: first,
they have video games. Lots and lots of video games, and (usually)
pinball machines. They’re dark (so that you can see the screens
better), and they don’t sell food or booze. You can make an
exception for a lonely vending machine, sure, but full meals? No
thanks. There’s no sign outside that says you “must be 21 to
enter.” These are rarely family-friendly institutions, either. Your
mom wouldn’t want to be there, and nobody would want her there,
anyway. This is a place for kids to be with other kids, teens to be
with other teens, and early-stage adults to serve as the ambassador
badasses in residence for the younger generation. It’s noisy, with
all the kids yelling and the video games on permanent demo mode,
beckoning you to waste just one more quarter. In earlier days
(though well into the ‘90s), it’s sometimes smoky inside, and the
cabinets bear the scars of many a forgotten cig left hanging off
the edge while its owner tries one last time for a high score,
inevitably ending in his or her death. The defining feature of a
“real” arcade, however, is that there aren’t really any
left."
76. Open Comments:
77. The years between 1978 and 1982 saw
unprecedented growth across the entire video game industry. A
January 1982 cover story in Time magazine noted that the most
popular machines were pulling in $400 a week in quarters and the
number of dedicated arcades in the United States reached its peak
with around 13,000. Video game cabinets also appeared in grocery
stores, drug stores, doctor’s offices, and even in school
recreation centers. The arcade chain Tilt began opening locations
in the growing number of shopping malls across America. Beginning
with Space Invaders in 1978, a string of now legendary games were
released in rapid succession: Galaxian ('79), Asteroids ('79),
Berzerk ('80), Centipede ('80), Rally-X ('80), Defender ('81),
Donkey Kong ('81), Frogger ('81), Galaga ('81), Ms. Pac-Man ('81),
Dig Dug ('82), Donkey Kong Jr. (('82), Joust ('82), Pole Position
('82), Q*bert ('82), and Tron ('82).
78. Simultaneously, the home console
business blossomed: from the primitive Magnavox Odyssey in 1972,
the concept of home gaming erupted with the Atari 2600 and the
Apple II in 1977, the Intellivision in 1980, the Commodore 64 and
ColecoVision in 1982, and the NES and Sega Master System in
1985.But it was 1980’s Pac-Man, the most successful video arcade
game of all time, released by Midway in the United States, which
had the most lasting effects on the industry and the American
psyche.
79. Audio Clip:
80. Question: What do you say about the
following criticisms: Ingrains scripts of violence and aggression
into the psyche. / Too much sex, nudity, and mistreatment of women.
/ Poor portrayal of race / Addiction leading to health problems and
obesity.
81. Music Scene
82. Black Songs from the Top
40
83. 4 "Rock with
You" Michael Jackson
84. 8 "Funkytown"
Lipps Inc
85. 13 "Cruisin"
Smokey Robinson
86. 14 "Working My Way
Back to You/Forgive Me, Girl" The Spinners
87. 18 "Upside Down"
Diana Ross
88. 19 "Please Don't
Go" KC and the Sunshine Band
89. 21 "With You I'm Born
Again" Billy Preston and Syreeta
90. 22 "Shining
Star" The Manhattans
91. 23 "Still"
Commodores
92. 29 "Cupid/I've Loved
You for a Long Time" The Spinners
93. 30 "Let's Get
Serious" Jermaine Jackson
94. 35 "Ladies'
Night" Kool & the Gang
95. 36 "Too Hot"
Kool & the Gang
96. 37 "Take Your Time (Do
It Right)" The SOS Band
97. 38 "No More Tears
(Enough Is Enough)" Barbra Streisand & Donna
Summer
98. 42 "Special
Lady" Ray, Goodman & Brown
99. 43 "Send One Your
Love" Stevie Wonder
100. 44 "The Second Time
Around" Shalamar
101. Vote:
102. Top R&B Albums
103. Jan - Off the Wall
Michael Jackson
104. Feb - The Whispers
The Whispers
105. Apr - Light Up the Night
The Brothers Johnson
106. May - Go All the Way
The Isley Brothers
107. Jun - Let’s Get Serious
Jermaine Jackson
108. Jul - Cameosis
Cameo
109. Jul - diana Diana
Ross
110. Sep - Give Me the Night
George Benson
111. Oct - Love Approach
Tom Browne
112. Oct - Zapp Zapp
113. Nov - Triumph The
Jacksons
114. Nov - Hotter Than July
Stevie Wonder
115. Vote:
116. Key Artists: Roger Troutman and
Zapp
117. Roger Troutman (@ 29 yrs. old)
singer, composer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and
producer.
118. Born and raised in Hamilton, OH,
the fourth child of nine, he gravitated toward music at an
extremely early age; he was only five years old when he received
his first guitar.
119. By 11, he was playing in local
bands with one of his brothers.
120. Influenced by old-schoolers B.B.
King, Jimmy Reed, Chuck Jackson, and Junior Walker, and
then-current chart-toppers The Temptations, Wilson Pickett, and the
Beatles, by the late '60s, Roger had added Hammond organ to his
resumé of instruments, and 2 more brothers.
121. Like many of his generation, Roger
and his brothers became enraptured by such funk/rock artists as
Jimi Hendrix, the Isley Brothers, Stevie Wonder, and
Funkadelic.
122. By age 26, the band was playing
shows all over the U.S. and Canada. The group added another
Troutman brother to their ranks ((4 in total), Terry, who went by
the nickname of "Zapp," and that soon became the group's new
name.
123. Shortly thereafter, Bootsy
Collins' brother, Phelps "Catfish" Collins, happened to catch a gig
by Zapp, who put them in touch with Bootsy, who then brought them
to the attention of George Clinton. Clinton promptly signing the
group to his own custom label, Uncle Jam.
124. Clinton got Roger (Not Zapp) a
performance spot at a 1979 Awards show and declared “Roger Troutman
as the most talented musician” he'd ever seen in his life. Roger’s
performance created a buzz for Zapp's self-titled debut release,
issued in 1980.
125. Audio clips
126. After the 1980 release of Zapp's
debut album, tensions rose between Roger Troutman and George
Clinton. Troutman's solo album “The Many Facets of Roger” was
primarily funded by Clinton and Clinton was experiencing financial
troubles due to his poor management skills and shifting tastes in
music.
127. Troutman could see the disarray
surrounding Clinton and severed their partnership by accepting a
higher offer for the album from Warner Bros. and cut Clinton out of
the picture.
128. Clinton's view was, "…I paid for
it. I don't like to go into it on the negative side, but it cost
about 5 million [dollars], and a lot of people's jobs and what we
consider as the empire falling". - The financial loss from the
rupture with Troutman is credited as one of the factors that
derailed Clinton's musical career and sent Funkadelic into
hiatus.
129. On Sunday morning, April 25, 1999,
Roger Troutman was fatally wounded as a result of an apparent
murder-suicide that was orchestrated by his older brother, Larry.
Roger was shot several times in the torso by Larry as he exited a
recording studio. Larry's body was found in a car a short distance
away from the murder scene. There were no witnesses at the time,
and Larry's motive for the murder of Roger remains unclear. Larry
had been experiencing increasingly severe financial problems
managing the family-run business. Larry might also have been bitter
after Roger fired him as manager of his music career, a position
Larry had held for several years.
130. After Troutman's death, Ice Cube
said that "More Bounce To The Ounce" introduced him to hip-hop. "I
was in the sixth grade, we'd stayed after school. We had this dude
named Mr. Lock, and he used to bring in his radio with these
pop-lockers. He used to teach [the dance group] the L.A. Lockers,
and he would do community service in after-school programs. He knew
a lot of kids and introduced them to all the new dances, he put on
that song 'More Bounce', and they started pop-locking. And I think
from that visual, from seeing that, it was my first introduction
into hip-hop. Period. I didn't know nothing about nothing. I hadn't
heard 'Rapper's Delight' yet. It was the first thing that was
really fly to me. They started dancing, and since 'More Bounce'
goes on forever, they just got down. I just think that was a rush
of adrenaline for me, like a chemical reaction in my brain.”
131. Open Comments
132. Black Movies: Fame
133. Blending elements of straight
drama, music, and dance, FAME shadows a group of gifted students
(including singer Irene Cara, dancer Gene Anthony Ray, and composer
Lee Currieri) during their time at New York's prestigious High
School of Performing Arts, where they're learning the skills they
need to succeed. The film -- which won two Oscars for its music
(including a Best Original Song statuette for the title track
"Fame" -- spawned a 1980s TV series of the same name that allowed
several of its young stars to reprise their roles and gave Debbie
Allen a much more prominent role as a no-nonsense dance
teacher.
134. Critical response: Gene Siskel of
the Chicago Tribune, "When the kids perform, the movie sings, but
their fictionalized personal stories are melodramatic drivel."
- Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times, "Fame is a genuine
treasure, moving and entertaining, a movie that understands being a
teen-ager as well as Breaking Away did, but studies its characters
in a completely different milieu."
135. Audio Clips
136. Open Comments
137. Black Television: Eddie Murphy –
The Young Prince
138. Edward Regan Murphy, (@ 19 yrs.
old), Comedian, actor, screen writer, film producer, and singer? He
was the dominant comedic voice during the 1980s.
139. Born and raised in NYC, parents
split when he was 3, father died when he was eight, lived in foster
care for a year, and began doing stand-up comedy after listening to
"That Nigger's Crazy", by Richard Pryor, when he was 15.
140. Doing impersonations of Al Green
at talents shows helped him land gigs at late night clubs.
141. After the 79-80 season of SNL
wrapped for summer break, the show had a major shakeup. OG
Producer, Lorene Michaels and the OG cast left. After the new
producer was hired, she had 2 months to re-cast the show.
142. In September 19-year-old Eddie
contacted the show and repeatedly pleaded for an audition. 2 months
later he made his national television debut.
143. Audio Clips
145. “If you grew up watching Eddie
Murphy chomping on a cigar as Gumby or getting gunned down in a
hail of bullets as Buckwheat on Saturday Night Live, or better yet,
dropping F-bombs as the cool-cat star of 48 Hrs., Trading Places,
and Beverly Hills Cop, it’s hard to wrap your head around the fact
that there’s a whole generation out there that has no clue just how
funny and dirty he once was. When they think of Eddie Murphy — if
they even think of him at all — it’s as the donkey from the kiddie
franchise Shrek, or the once-dangerous comedian desperately
searching for laughs in fart gags and fat suits in The
Klumps.”
146. Audio Clips
147. Open Comments
148. Question: Is Eddie funny or
formula?
149. Vote: Favorite Pop Culture thing
for the year?