Hey! Remember the 80's?

Sound the alarm, Episode 200 is here! Yup, Joe and Kari are in disbelief as well. It's been a long road to get to this point, but your hosts are hopefully up to the challenge to bring you a "Greatest Hits" episode. All your favorite segments are here: Coming Around Again, That's What Friends are For, and Just a Bit Outside. Plus, it's all led up to this moment: Joe and Kar...

Episode 199: Joe and Kari are back with more R&B Superstars! Even though they've already reached the letter K in the Joel Whitburn book, they had to turn back a few pages to highlight Regina Belle, since that name has popped up a few times in the podcast. Then it's time to shine a spotlight on Kool Moe Dee, Lakeside, and the one and only Patti LaBelle!  Canadian Singles: The CBC made...

Episode 198: Time to flashback to March 11, 1989, with a look at the ads and articles from Billboard magazine (thank you, Monty Greenly). First up, an ad for a Boy George solo album that started out as an attempt to turn the former Culture Club frontman into a New Jack Swinger. Then, a report on the 1989 Grammy Awards -- which artists received the so-called Grammy Bump, and which new awards caused...

Episode 197: Say goodbye to the shortest month of the year with an episode about the shortest SONGS to hit the Hot 100. Joe and Kari discuss singles from The Georgia Satellites, Glen Campbell, Los Lobos, and Dave Edmunds, among others. And you'll find out which of the Vacation movies is the ONLY one Kari has ever seen. The answer may shock you.  Just a Bit Outside: Two non-top-40 singles are...

Episode 196: In honor of Fat Tuesday, this episode is all about PARTY songs from the 1980's! Whether you like to Party All the Time, or if you prefer just to have the occasional Party Weekend, Joe (mayor of Partytown) and Kari (World Dance Party Coordinator) have got the insider scoop on these Party classics. But the fun doesn't stop there! Kari gets QUIZZED on some of her most beloved 8...

Episode 195: Happy Valentine's Day! Just to switch it up a bit, Joe and Kari are here to talk about some anti-Valentine's songs. Joan Jett and Alice Cooper got a couple top ten hits out of theirs, but there's also room for songs from Freddie Mercury, Joy Division and J. Geils Band that didn't chart quite so high.  Number 195: Looking at some songs ranked on a couple of 200 best...

Episode 194: Break out the champagne! It's time to celebrate 4 whole years of Hey! Remember the 80's! The ever-thoughtful Kari marked the occasion by noting that the traditional gift for 4th anniversaries is Flowers or Ripe Fruit. On the menu for Ep 194: Songs/Bands with flowers or fruits in the name, including the song "One Bad Apple", the Scottish due Strawberry Switchblade,...

Episode 193: First up in Tidbits, a quick review of the recent Yacht Rock Doc "Sometimes When We Touch",  now streaming on Paramount+. Joe gives it a Thumbs Up, and is now rethinking his stance on Ray Parker Jr.  Listener Mail Bag: Thank you to listeners Heidi, Peter and Giovanni for their suggestions. A couple of hits from Martha and the Muffins and Soda Stereo are highlighted, then a l...

Episode 192: Coming Around Again - the segment where we look at songs that charted twice! Duran Duran had a hit in the UK that went all the way to number 2 in 1982. So why did it take 3 years for the song to hit the US charts? NKOTB released an album before Hangin' Tough, but it didn't hit. So how did one of the flop singles become such a success in 1989? Ask Kari.  Just A Bit Outside: J...

Episode 191: The stars have aligned, and Joe and Kari have now BOTH seen the new(ish) Whitney Houston movie, so get ready for a discussion in Tidbits.  The Main Event: Billboard Flashback 1/19/1985. (Feel free to follow along with the issue, you can find it at worldradiohistory.com). A front-page ad from RCA Records doesn't exactly inspire confidence, find out if their money was well-spent on...

Episode 190: Did everyone remember Kari has a book about the R&B charts? We left off on the letter J, so get ready for discussion about a few Joneses, and the Jonzun Crew! Also, name your favorite saxophonist! Who’s Holding Phil Now— your favorite Genesis member also moonlighted as Fixx-er! Send us Fan Mail

Episode 189 is here! Time to close out our look at each year of the 80's with a Supersized Just a Bit Outside segment. Which songs were populating the lower half of the Hot 100 in the last year of the 80's? You know the big hits from acts like Warrant, Surface, and DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, but these selections didn't exactly score a knockout on the charts. Some lesser kno...

Episode 188: In our look at (almost) each of the years of the 1980's, Joe and Kari are up to Episode 188, which means it's time to check out an event from 1988; the year Celine Dion sang the winning song in the Eurovision contest. While the song "Ne partez pas sans moi" might not ring any bells, it's a song that led to Celine becoming the international superstar that we no...

Episode 187: Time to celebrate the year 1987 by investigating some of the albums that were released in 1987! Teen queen Debbie Gibson burst onto the scene in that year, but even though she was young, it wasn't exactly an overnight success. Out of the Blue was a smash, but just how involved was young Debbie in the making of the record? (Answer: very!)  Three seasoned vets joined forces to reco...

Episode 186: There were soundtracks a'plenty in 1986! Yes, there was Top Gun, Pretty in Pink, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but those have already been discussed, so it's time to check out movies like About Last Night, Out of Bounds, and Back to School. Heavy hitters like John Waite and Adam Ant are represented, and other acts like JD Souther, Nancy Shanks and Jude Cole are up for d...

Episode 185: First up in Tidbits, a review of the performances from this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Duran Duran, Pat Benatar, and Eurythmics performed. Some sounded better than others, do you agree with Joe and Kari’s assessments? Episode 185 is all about 1985, particularly the debut of brand new music video channel VH1. The first VJs included Don Imus and Sha Na Na? Plu...

Episode 184: First up in tidbits, Joe and Kari pay tribute to the iconic Irene Cara, who we sadly lost this past weekend. Her music inspired many conversations between Joe and Kari, both on and off the air, and she will be missed.  Since it's episode 184, your hosts are looking at 1984 for significant events in Pop Music, and what could be bigger than the first ever MTV Video Music Awards? Be...

In celebration of episode 183, Joe and Kari rank the songs that peaked at number 83 on the Hot 100 throughout the 1980's. Songs from The Tourists, Carly Simon, Blue Oyster Cult, and Quarterflash are included, but only one song can take the top spot. Here's a hint: it's from a sister act!  Just a Bit Outside: The segment that focuses on songs that didn't quite make the Top 40 is...

Episode 182 is chock full of tidbits! Kari gives a mini-review of the new Weird Al movie, and listener Blair shares his thoughts on the Mötley Crüe/Def Leppard/Joan Jett tour.  Billboard Flashback: Since this is episode 182, Joe and Kari travel back to November 1982 to flip through an old issue of Billboard Magazine. They find ads and articles for acts like George Clinton, Planet Patrol, and Joni...

Episode 181: You got the Sands Preview episode a few week's back, and now it's time for the Sands REview! Joe and Kari have all the details of the festival of the year (and the scratchy voices to prove how much fun they had). Find out which acts lived up to the hype as your hosts discuss the performances by Lou Gramm, Cutting Crew, Samantha Fox, and others, including a very special surpr...

Rocktober is here! Get ready to bang your head to some of the best HARD ROCK of the 80's! Actually, Joe and Kari are not the biggest hard rock fans and cannot confirm they are the BEST, but these are definitely some of the biggest names of the decade: Metallica, Dokken, and Lita Ford. You'll need a neck brace by the end of the episode! Coming Around Again: Spotlighting songs that were re...

Episode 179: Joe and Kari present a podcast episode devoted to pioneers of Power Pop and Paisley Underground! (This episode is brought to you by the Letter P: and look, over in tidbits, it's Prince!)  Marshall Crenshaw, The Three O'Clock, Rain Parade and Paul Collins' Beat are a few of the acts discussed. And Hoodoo Gurus might have a funny name, but there is nothing funny about the...

Episode 178: Hello, listeners! Did you know that Sep. 15 - Oct. 15 marks Hispanic Heritage Month? It's a perfect time to highlight some of the musicians that were hitting the charts in the 80's that are of Hispanic heritage. Some of these acts will be very familiar to you (Gloria Estefan/Miami Sound Machine, Menudo, Sheila E.) and some might be new to you (Juan Gabriel, Nayobe) but one t...

Episode 177: In this week’s episode, Joe and Kari welcome a very special guest: DJ Jake Rudh! You may know him from his Transmission specials (broadcast on Twitch), but Jake has been in the DJ business for over 30 years, and is a club and radio DJ in the Minneapolis area. He was kind enough to let Joe and Kari ask him all sorts of questions about his amazing career, including questions about some...

Episode 176: The segment "Just a Bit Outside" covers all the songs that hit the Hot 100, but never made it to the Top 40. Joe and Kari's TIRELESS effort to cover all of these songs continues in Episode 176, and this week's contenders include a singer-songwriter that is one of Joe's faves, a legendary R&B musician and icon, the artist that co-wrote one of the biggest hi...