It’s Tricky by Run-D.M.C. was released on February 8, 1987, with Proud to Be Black as the B side. It was the final single from the group’s third album, Raising Hell. Continue reading
hip hop
80s Song of the Day: Rapture by Blondie
Rapture by Blondie was released January 12, 1981, with Walk Like Me as the B side. It was the second single from the band’s fifth studio album Autoamerican. Continue reading
80s Song of the Day: Christmas in Hollis by Run-DMC
Christmas in Hollis by Run-DMC was released November 25, 1987, with Peter Piper as the B side. It was originally released as a single from the Christmas compilation album A Very Special Christmas, which included artists such as Madonna, Pretenders, U2, Sting, and Whitney Houston. Proceeds from the sales of the album were donated to the Special Olympics. Christmas in Hollis was the only original composition on the album.
Christmas in Hollis, which refers to the Hollis, Queens neighborhood where Run-DMC grew up, samples Back Door Santa, a 1968 release by Clarence Carter, as well as holiday classics Frosty the Snowman, Joy to the World, and Jingle Bells.
The song didn’t chart upon its original release. In 2000, it reached No. 78 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
80s Song of the Day: It Takes Two by Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock
I wanna rock right now
I’m Rob Base and I came to get down
I’m not internationally known
But I’m known to rock the microphone
It Takes Two by Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock was released on August 2, 1988, with an instrumental version of the song as the B side. It was a single from the album It Takes Two. Continue reading
80s Song of the Day: Hey Ladies by the Beastie Boys
There’s more to me than you’ll ever know
And I’ve got more hits than Sadaharu Oh
Tom Thumb, Tom Cushman or Tom Foolery
Date women on TV with the help of Chuck Woolery
Hey Ladies by the Beastie Boys was released on July 25, 1989, with Shake Your Rump as the B side. It was a single from the album Paul’s Boutique. Continue reading
80s Song of the Day: Walk This Way by Run DMC
It wasn’t me she was foolin
Cause she knew what was she was doin
when she told me how to walk this way
Walk This Way by Run DMC was released on July 4, 1986, with King of Rock as the B side. It was a single from the hip hop group’s album Raising Hell. The song was a cover of an Aerosmith song originally released in 1975 and featured Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry on guest vocals and guitar, respectively. Continue reading
80s Song of the Day: Bust a Move by Young MC
So on the beach you’re strollin’ real high rollin’
Everything you have is yours and not stolen
A girl runs up with somethin’ to prove
So don’t just stand there bust a move
Bust a Move by Young MC was released on May 22, 1989, with Got More Rhymes as the B side. It was a single from the rapper’s debut album, Stone Cold Rhymin’.
Bust a Move was Young MC.’s biggest hit. It reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was a No. 1 hit in Australia.
Watch the music video for the song.
45 RPMs: N.W.A Express Yourself
Blame it on Ice Cube… Because he says it gets funky
When you got a subject and a predacit
N.W.A’s been in the news a lot lately, thanks to the success of the movie Straight Outta Compton, their recent induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and reunion at Coachella over the weekend.
N.W.A
Straight Outta Compton LP
45 RPMs: Beastie Boys Brass Monkey
I drink Brass Monkey and I rock well
I got a Castle in Brooklyn (that’s where I dwell)
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the release of the Beastie Boys‘ debut album Licensed to Ill. Like so many others, I’ve been obsessed with this entire album since 1986, and I always come back to Brass Monkey as one of my top tracks.
Brass Monkey was the second single released from Licensed to Ill with Posse in Effect as the B side. The song reached No. 48 on the Billboard Hot 100, which surprised me; I would have guessed it had charted higher. I remember this song being huge among my circle of friends when Licensed to Ill first came out. 
Of course, we were teenagers at the time, and I’m sure anything involving partying and alcohol seemed incredibly cool and intriguing, even if we had absolutely no idea at the time exactly what Brass Monkey was. (It was long thought the Beasties were rapping about a combination of malt liquor and orange juice, but in a 2014 interview, Mike D challenged everything we know to be real and true in this world by stating it was actually about a pre-mixed cocktail of dark rum, vodka, and orange juice. Say what?) Continue reading
Eighties Grooves 