DAILY DIRT: ‘Pong’ helped punctuate the decade of the ’80s

And so did the hits of Michael Jackson … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 824 of The Daily Dirt.

1. If there’s a decade that may get overlooked by editors of The Daily Dirt it could very well be the 1980s, and that’s a shame.

The 1980s were an integral part of pop culture. Personally, I probably have more fond memories from the 1980s than any other decade. In fact, let’s take a trip down memory lane and examine a handful of things that made the ’90s such a great 10-year period:

Best toy/amusement item of the 1980s: The famous “Pong” video game. Today’s youngsters have no idea of the anguish (and excitement) this game could provide. Although antiquated by today’s advanced e-game standards, “Pong” will forever hold an important place in video game history. Consider it the 1869 Cincinnati Reds to today’s Los Angeles Dodgers. We wouldn’t have today’s Dodgers if the ’69 Reds had not come along first.

Best TV show of the 1980s: Overall, I’ll lean toward “Knots Landing” in what was a quality decade when TV began to truly come of age. Abby. Ewing was simply must-see TV. “Dallas,” “60 Minutes” and “M*A*SH” were superb in their own right, but none had Donna Mills in the weekly lineup.

Best movie of the 1980s: This may surprise some, but I’m going with “Urban Cowboy,” which triggered an explosion in both the “new” country sound of music and the modern cowboy fashion. If not for the ’80s, we may never have seen the emergence of Alabama as one of the supergroups in music history, nor witnessed the re-emergence of jeans as the new casual formal wear. 

Best songs of the 1980s: Just about anything from Michael Jackson at this point in his history, ranging from “Rock With You” to “Billie Jean” to “Beat It” to “Human Nature” to “The Way You Make Me Feel.”

That’s all of the 1980s for today. We’ll resume this conversation on Sunday.

2. I received a note from a reader last week during our daily countdown of my favorite songs from each of the five years I considered the best block of pop music ever — 1965 through 1969.

He asked me what i thought about 1964, and if possible, could I include what I felt were the top hits from that year.

First of all, 1964 was a fine year, too. I felt it helped set the stage for what was to come in in the next few years. If nothing else, ’64 was the stepping stone t that great era we explored a week ago in this space.

Here’s my personal top 10 from 1964:

• 1. “Can’t Buy Me Love,” by the Beatles: One of the Fab Four’s underrated chart-toppers.
• 2. “Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime,” By Dean Martin: Yep, we’re going a little old school here. Dino was a great singer and entertainer.
• 3. “A World Without Love,” by Peter and Gordon: I could never decide who I enjoyed more, Peter and Gordon and Chad and Jeremy.
• 4. “Where Did Our Love Go,” by the Supremes: This was one of three No. 1 songs Diana Ross and the Supremes had in 1964.
• 5. “Baby Love,” by the Supremes: And this was No. 2.
• 6. “Hello, Dolly,” by Louis Armstrong: This was the next-to-last year we actually saw hits from multiple musicians like Armstrong and Martin. Frank Sinatra cracked the top 10 a handful of times through through the fall of 1966, and that was it for that generation of hitmakers.
• 7. “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” by the Beatles: Speaking of No. 1 songs in ’64, the Beatles had six.
• 8. “Come See About Me,” by the Supremes: I know I have mentioned this before, but the one time I saw them in person remains to this day one of my top 10 all-time favorite concerts. My seat was about 15 feet from Diana Ross.
• 9. “There I’ve Said It Again,” by Bobby Vinton: For anyone who did not live through this particular era, it’s hard to explain how huge Bobby Vinton was. 
• 10. “Mr. Lonely,” By Bobby Vinton: His only downside was that he looked like Richard Simmons.

3. The first odds on who will win the 2024 World Series have been released by ESPN BET.

The favorite: Los Angeles Dodgers, 4 1/2 to 1.

The challengers: Atlanta 7 to 1, New York Yankees 9 to 1, Houston 10 to 1, Texas 10 to 1, Philadelphia 10 to 1.

The maybes: Toronto 15 to 1, Baltimore 16 to 1.

Steve Thought O’ The Day – Another reason the 1980s are special. Three of our family’s four children were born in that decade, and a fourth just missed. Geoff was a 1979 arrival, while Sarah, Kaysi and Melissa were ’80s babies.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. He is excited to buy Bob lunch after Mizzou’s dominating performance over tOSU in the Cotton Bowl.