Songs/Albums That Take You Back

[The Burgomaster]

When I was in grade school, some of the popular songs were:

* DELTA DAWN
* TIE A YELLOW RIBBON 'ROUND THE OLD OAK TREE
* SMOKIN' IN THE BOYS ROOM
* SEASONS IN THE SUN

Ah, the memories . . .

[retrorussell]

All those K-Tel/Ronco/Sessions comp albums we collected... gads.

[The Burgomaster]

All those K-Tel/Ronco/Sessions comp albums we collected... gads.

* * * SHUDDER * * *

And why was SPIDERS AND SNAKES by Jim Stafford on most of these compilation albums????

[AndyC]

K-Tel compilations! Now that does take me back. Goofy Greats was my most played as a kid.

Followed by one called 20 Top Hits, which is virtually impossible to Google, being the "John Smith" of album titles. But like Goofy Greats, it had some Ray Stevens content as well. Oh, and this tune....
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfBwsG8ubFw" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfBwsG8ubFw</a>
But my favourite cover, one I still have kicking around the office somewhere is this...

Robbie the Robot sure got around.

[JaseSF]

"Billie Jean" and "Beat It" takes me back to my youth as does "Thriller". Michael Jackson was a huge star when I was a little kid. We had sticker albums with him on it even. Imagining licking Michael Jackson  - I did lick his sticker. Kinda disturbing nowadays given what we now know or suspect anyways  . Baseball cards you name it, we had it with Jackson on it when I was a kid. Aside from Jackson, mainly I listened to my Dad's old Jim Reeves records although he wasn't too fussy with me scratching them all up which I inevitable did. Actually I still like Reeves music to this day and a lot of Jackson's too to be honest.

Cyndi Lauper and Madonna takes me back too as they were very popular in the 80s. Lauper too was involved with WWF wrestling  (remember the rock 'n' wrestling connection?) with makes her stick out more in my memory. Aside from them, it was mainly Duran Duran and canadian rockers Bryan Adams and Corey Hart we listened to as kids.

When videos became more popular though, heavy metal hair bands became all the rage especially Twisted Sister with these rebellious videos for "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock" and Van Halen with "Jump". I recall watching these videos quite a bit with my friends.

The next phase that stands out in my memory was the rap/techno fad of the late 80s with Vanilla Ice, MC Hammer, Run DMC, Technotronic and DEE-LITE bursting on the scene. I associate this era with high school mainly as that was what my friends listened to at the time.

By the 90s though, going to university I got into college music and became more familiar with classic R.E.M., the new groundbreaking Nirvana (who I recall hitting it huge during my first year in university) and bands like Barenaked Ladies and other Canadian classics like Spirit of the West and the Skydiggers. Eventually I would also stumble across punk from the 80s and it had the raw sound I found I liked best of all and it's still the music I most prefer nowadays yet I also love a lot of these others mentioned too. A good tune is a good tune regardless.

[DS]

Alice In Chains Facelift/Dirt sometimes reminds me of when I first got my Sega Genesis.  I had just bought both albums on tape and listened to them often while playing Sonic The Hedgehog.  

Albums by White Zombie, Prong, NIN, Korn and the Crow Soundtrack kind of made up my college days.  It was a time of freedom for me but also a time of frustration and agression.  

[AndyC]

Queen's Gimme the Prize, Nazareth's Hair of the Dog and Instruments of Destruction by Kick Axe all remind me of lifting weights in the basement as a teenager.

[HappyGilmore]

Is it wrong of me to say that I really like Sweet?

Why would you care what anybody else thinks of what you like?  But, yeh, it most certainly okay to say you like SWEET; they were great. 

I like them regardless.  It's just that whenever they're brought up in casual conversation, there's a general look of disgust followed by something like: "Ugh, them? Really?"

[AndyC]

How could anyone hate Sweet?
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrBDivsSe3k" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrBDivsSe3k</a>

[Circus Circus]

How could anyone hate Sweet?
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrBDivsSe3k" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrBDivsSe3k</a>

THE SWEET ARE AWESOME! 

Don't ever be ashamed to say you like the Sweet, as they helped define a decade, blurring the lines between bubblegum pop and hard rock. They had hit song after hit song and inspired a whole new generation of glam rock.

[Allhallowsday]

How could anyone hate Sweet?
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrBDivsSe3k" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrBDivsSe3k</a>

Hey Andy, great minds think alike; I posted that song on page 2 of this thread.    

Anybody remember BADFINGER? 
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=um4pnvJr07A" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=um4pnvJr07A</a> 
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPHGVO1DsPM" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPHGVO1DsPM</a> 
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkAu3ijigeA" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkAu3ijigeA</a>

[retrorussell]

K-Tel compilations! Now that does take me back. Goofy Greats was my most played as a kid.

Oh man, I remember getting that album for my 6th birthday.

I could never understand the appeal of Spiders and Snakes.  Perhaps worse even than Dead Skunk.

I always loved Badfinger.  One of the saddest stories in rock music history though.

[AndyC]

Ah, Dead Skunk takes me back to the early 90s, driving home from the drive-in during the wee hours of the morning. It was maybe half an hour of mostly back road driving back to my place, and we happened to pass by a dead skunk in the middle of the road. I think this might have been back when a CD set called Fun Country came out, so my memory had been refreshed, vis-a-vis that particular song. I don't know if it was my buddy or I who started it, but soon both of us were belting out a chorus of "It's dead, it's in the middle, dead skunk in the middle!"

Sleep deprivation, night driving and too much cola can do strange things to your mind.

[retrorussell]

As dumb as that song is, it's fun to karaoke and stand back and watch all the "WTF!" faces.

[Allhallowsday]

I still have these (pix found online) but mine bought in a convenience store bargain bin of LPs probably in 1980, they were sealed back to back and I'd bet $2.99 or less, and these records were goldmines for my cassette taping days, nigh on 20 years ago when those days ended: 
 

I'd bet there may be recordings on these, not so obvious or overcollected, that I haven't found on any collection since.  However, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes... on Funky Favorites, JIM STAFFORD's "Spiders and Snakes" is included...           

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj76br_aLdQ" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj76br_aLdQ</a>  turn this one way up...

PEGGY LEE
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe9kKf7SHco" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe9kKf7SHco</a> 

PET CLARK!!! 
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKCnHWas3HQ" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKCnHWas3HQ</a> 
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D6iz2Otd2M" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D6iz2Otd2M</a>