Promo posters as seen on "WKRP in Cincinnati" #88

Albums: Adam & The Ants - Kings of the Wild Frontier (Epic, 1980), The Scooters - Blue Eyes (EMI, 1981), Elvis Costello - Trust (Columbia, 1981)
Episode:  Season 3, Episode 19, "A Simple Little Wedding"
Original air date: Sunday, March 21, 1981


Click here for more WKRP posters!

Editions of Musician Magazine (1976-1985)

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1976

Issue	Date	Cover
1	Oct	(Music America) School Jazz
2	Nov	(Music America) Career Education Center
3	Dec	(Music America) Synthesizers in the Budget

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1977

Issue	Date	Cover
4	Jan	(Music America) Saxophonist
5	Feb-Mar	(Music America) Art Blakey
6	Apr	(Music America) Louis Bellson
7	May-June	(Contemporary Music America) Maynard Ferguson
8	Sept 15 - Oct 30	Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter
9	Nov-Dec 15	Festivals

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1978

Issue	Date	Cover
10	Dec 15-Jan	Charles Mingus
11	Feb 15-Mar	Weather Report
12	May - Jun 15	Ornette Coleman
13	July-Aug 15	McCoy Tyner
14	Oct	George Benson
15	Dec	Chick Corea

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1979

Issue	Date	Cover
16	Feb	Keith Jarrett
17	Apr	Art and Funk
18	June	Pat Metheny
19	Aug	Frank Zappa
20	Sept-Oct	Steely Dan
21	Nov	Brian Eno

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1980

Issue	Date	Cover
22	Jan	Stevie Wonder
23	Mar	The 80's...What's Ahead
24	Apr-May	Bob Marley
25	Jun-July	Bob Seger
26	Aug	Paul McCartney
27	Oct	Jimi Hendrix
28	Nov	Dire Straits
29	Dec	Michael McDonald/Capt. Beefheart

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1981

Issue	Date	Cover
30	Feb	Bruce Springsteen
31	Mar	Steely Dan
32	Apr-May	David Byrne
33	June	The Clash
34	July	Tom Petty
35	Aug	Jim Morrison/The Doors
36	Oct	Grateful Dead
37	Nov	Reggae/Black Uhuru
38	Dec	The Police

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1982

Issue	Date	Cover
39	Jan	The Cars
40	Feb	Ringo Starr
41	Mar	Miles Davis
42	Apr	Hall & Oates
43	May	Eric Clapton
44	June	Nick Lowe/Graham Parker
45	July	Willie Nelson
46	Aug	Pete Townshend
47	Sept	Eddie Van Halen
48	Oct	Steve Winwood
49	Nov	Neil Young
50	Dec	Billy Joel

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1983

Issue	Date	Cover
51	Jan	Joni Mitchell
52	Feb	Joe Jackson
53	Mar	Tom Petty
54	Apr	Bob Seger
55	May	David Bowie
56	June	Andy Summers/The Police
57	July	Bob Marley
58	Aug	The Kinks
59	Sept	Prince
60	Oct	Elvis Costello
61	Nov	Jackson Browne
62	Dec	Keith Richards/Mick Jagger

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1984

Issue	Date	Cover
63	Jan	Midnight Oil
64	Feb	Stevie Wonder
65	Mar	Chrissie Hynde
66	Apr	Laurie Anderson
67	May	Thomas Dolby
68	June	Van Halen
69	July	Michael Jackson
70	Aug	Peter Wolf
71	Sept	Judas Priest
72	Oct	Prince
73	Nov	Bruce Springsteen
74	Dec	David Bowie

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1985

Issue	Date	Cover
75	Jan	U2
76	Feb	Paul McCartney/Rickie Lee Jones
77	Mar	John Fogerty
78	Apr	Mick Jagger
79	May	Jeff Beck
80	June	Phil Collins
81	July	Sting
82	Aug	Brian Wilson
83	Sept	Dire Straits
84	Oct	John Mellencamp
85	Nov	Talking Heads
86	Dec	Joni Mitchell

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Rolling Stone magazine's "100 Best Debut Albums of All Time" (2022 edition)

Back in 2013, Rolling Stone magazine released their picks for the 100 best debut albums (I posted about that list on October 28, 2013). I just noticed that they updated the list in 2022, so let's take a look at the new list as it concerns albums released 1976-85. It is quite a bit different and it should be - different people with different perspectives in a different place in time. 5 albums were dropped from the list; 4 albums were added to the list; 17 albums dropped in ranking; 10 albums moved up. The biggest movers were Violent Femmes (dropping 66 places from 22 to 88) and Madonna (moving up an incredible 80 spots for 96 to 16), while Steel Pulse is introduced to the list at 17.

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2022	2013	Artist	Title	Year
-	98	Joe Jackson	Look Sharp!	1979
-	68	Talking Heads	Talking Heads: 77	1977
-	52	U2	Boy	1980
-	41	Boston	Boston	1976
-	38	The Police	Outlandos d'Amour	1978

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2022	2013	Artist	Title	Year
66	-	Sade	Diamond Life	1984
58	-	The Slits	Cut	1979
36	-	X-Ray Spex	Germfree Adolescents	1978
17	-	Steel Pulse	Handsworth Revolution	1978

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2022	2013		Artist	Title	Year
98	76	-22	Devo	Are We Not Men? We Are Devo!	1978
92	89	-3	Yaz	Upstairs at Eric's	1982
89	84	-5	Whitney Houston	Whitney Houston	1985
88	22	-66	Violent Femmes	Violent Femmes	1983
87	63	-24	Cyndi Lauper	She's So Unusual	1983
83	54	-29	Metallica	Kill 'Em All	1983
79	51	-28	The Smiths	The Smiths	1984
75	50	-25	X	Los Angeles	1980
74	48	-26	Modern Lovers	Modern Lovers	1976
70	45	-25	The Jesus & Mary Chain	Psychocandy	1985
64	21	-43	Elvis Costello	My Aim is True	1977
40	27	-13	Van Halen	Van Halen	1978
43	28	-15	The B-52's	The B-52's	1979
37	26	-11	Run-D.M.C.	Run-D.M.C.	1984
30	16	-14	The Cars	The Cars	1978
24	13	-11	Pretenders	Pretenders	1980
23	7	-16	The Sex Pistols	Never Mind the Bollocks	1977

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2022	2013		Artist	Title	Year
62	69	+7	Wire	Wire	1977
60	75	+15	The Go-Go's	Beauty and the Beat	1981
52	64	+12	The English Beat	I Just Can't Stop It	1980
49	81	+32	Gang of Four	Entertainment!	1979
38	40	+2	Television	Marquee Moon	1977
19	20	+1	Joy Division	Unknown Pleasures	1979
16	96	+80	Madonna	Madonna	1983
11	18	+7	R.E.M.	Murmur	1983
9	12	+3	The Clash	The Clash	1979
1	2	+1	The Ramones	The Ramones	1976

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Top 50 Jazz Albums of 1984

According to the December 22, 1984 edition of Billboard magazine. Chart peaks are from that publication's jazz, pop, and R&B album charts, respectively. If the album was released in a year prior to 1984, that information is noted following the album title.

	Album	Artist	Jazz	Pop	R&B
1	Backstreet ('83)	David Sanborn	1	81	21
2	Think of One ('83)	Wynton Marsalis	1	102
3	Future Shock ('83)	Herbie Hancock	2	43	10
4	December ('82)	George Winston	2	54
5	Autumn ('80)	George Winston	7	139
6	Wishful Thinking	Earl Klugh	1	69	18
7	What's New ('83)	Linda Ronstadt	5	3
8	Passionfruit ('83)	Michael Franks	4	141
9	In Your Eyes ('83)	George Benson	1	27	6
10	Jarreau ('83)	Al Jarreau	1	13	4
11	Access All Areas	Spyro Gyra	1	59	41
12	Imagine This ('83)	Pieces of a Dream	4	90	16
13	Winter Into Spring ('82)	George Winston	14	127
14	Ghetto Blaster	The Crusaders	3	79	20
15	Individual Choice ('83)	Jean-Luc Ponty	2	134
16	G Force ('83)	Kenny G	6	62	17
17	Decoy	Miles Davis	1	169
18	Rejoicing	Pat Metheny	4	116
19	Foxie ('83)	Bob James	3	106	45
20	Shadowdance ('83)	Shadowfax	13	145
21	Travels ('83)	Pat Metheny Group	3	62
22	In the Heat of the Night	Jeff Lorber	7	106	44
23	City Kids ('83)	Spyro Gyra	2	66
24	Night Lines	Dave Grusin	4
25	Domino Theory	Weather Report	5	136

	Album	Artist	Jazz	Pop	R&B
26	Bodies and Souls ('83)	The Manhattan Transfer	10	52	38
27	Modern Times	Steps Ahead	11
28	Scenario ('83)	Al Di Meola	8	128
29	Time Exposure	Stanley Clarke	10	149	52
30	Low Ride ('83)	Earl Klugh	2	38	27
31	Now	Patrice Rushen	7	40	4
32	Steppin' Out	George Howard	9	178	39
33	Caverna Magica ('82)	Andreas Vollenwieder	8	149
34	On the Line ('83)	Lee Ritenour	12
35	Love Explosion	Tania Maria	13
36	Target ('83)	Tom Scott	9
37	An Evening with Windham Hill Live ('83)	Various Artists	18
38	Scenes in the City	Branford Marsalis	11	164
39	Banded Together	Lee Ritenour	6	145
40	Third Generation ('83)	Hiroshima	10	142	50
41	Offramp ('82)	Pat Metheny Group	1	50	43
42	Rendezvous	Sadao Watanabe	2		37
43	Marathon	Rodney Franklin	15	187	54
44	Breakin' Away ('81)	Al Jarreau	1	9	1
45	Past Light ('83)	Will Ackerman	20
46	Jammin' in Manhattan	Tyzik	15	172	35
47	The Two of Us	Ramsey Lewis & Nancy Wilson	6	144	42
48	Fill Up the Night ('83)	Sadao Watanabe	19
49	Sound System	Herbie Hancock	7	71	34
50	Come With Me ('83)	Tania Maria	28

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Speaking of jazz albums from 1984, why don't you give Dr. Smooth's flashback a listen:

Counting down the Top 50 of '84 - Albums #5 - 1

(or, more accurately, my favorite albums released in 1984)

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Difford & Tilbrook
Difford & Tilbrook

Produced by:	Tony Visconti, E.T. Thorngren, Chris Difford, & Glenn Tilbrook
Billboard 200:	55
CashBox 200:	25
Rolling Stone 100:	33

• Billboard: "sleeker, more expansive pop feel"
• Rolling Stone (★★★): "chock full of Tilbrook's typically jaunty pop tunes"
• Smash Hits (6 out of 10): "plenty of rewards."
• Record Mirror (++): "a disappointment"

Top 3 Tracks
"Love's Crashing Waves"
"Action Speaks Faster"
"Man for All Seasons"

The songwriting duo from Squeeze put out this album after the group split up (temporarily) in the early '80s. Compared to the duo's usual fantastic writing, the songwriting on this release isn't that great, but even the best material couldn't hold up to the slick, flat production given here. However, this came out in the summer of 1984 and I listened to it non-stop, so I'm very familiar with all the tunes and arrangements. Difford & Tilbrook should have been more well known in the US, but this wasn't the release that would gain them that fame and recognition.

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Big Bam Boom
Daryl Hall & John Oates

Produced by:	Daryl Hall, John Oates & Bob Clearmountain
Billboard 200:	5
CashBox 200:	7
Rolling Stone 100:	5

• Billboard: "The hit machine rolls on"
• CashBox: "substantial pop that is constantly anchored by a big funk sound."
• Rolling Stone (★★★★): "the most solid Hall and Oates album in years"
• Stereo Review: "a stiff, slightly awkward record - not a must."
• Robert Christgau: B

U.S. Billboard charted single:	Hot 100	R&B	Dance	AC	Rock
Out Of Touch	1	24	1	8	1
Method of Modern Love	5	21	15	18	5
Some Things are Better Left Unsaid	18	85		17	16
Possession Obsession	30	69	20	8

Top 3 Tracks
"Some Things are Better Left Unsaid"
"Method of Modern Love"
"Out of Touch"

This album was a marked departure for the group as they updated their "blue-eyed soul" sound to match the times. Lots of synths, sequencing, echo, and dance beats in a louder and noisier setting than we were used to with these guys. Now it sounds like every other dance/hip-hop album from the late '80s, so I guess these guys were actually ahead of their time in terms of sonic originality.

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Learning to Crawl

The Pretenders

Produced by:	Chris Thomas
Billboard 200:	5
CashBox 200:	4
Rolling Stone 100:	1

• Rolling Stone: ★★★★
• Trouser Press: "100 percent Hynde. And it's fine."
• CashBox: "one of early 84's success stories"
• Billboard: "strong songs, crack performances"
• Smash Hits (5 out of 10): "a patchy comeback LP"
• Robert Christgau (A-): 'I'm not the kind I used to be/I've got a kid, I'm thirty-three' is certainly a quotable quote, and whether rock-and-rolling her baby or growling at fat cats Chrissie Hynde backs it up."
• High Fidelity: "contains some of the Pretenders' finest music to date"
• Stereo Review: Best of the Month

U.S. Billboard charted singles:	Hot 100	Rock
Back on the Chain Gang	5	4
My City was Gone		11
Middle of the Road	19	2
Time the Avenger		6
Show Me	28	8
Thumbelina		57

Top 3 Tracks
"Middle of the Road"
"Time the Avenger"
"My City was Gone"

This is The Pretenders' greatest album and a more complete album than any they previously released, including their spectacular debut (yeah, I said it). Plus, this music has aged well. The song My City was Gone is especially poignant to me now because it makes me think of the town I grew up in which has undergone significant changes and decay over the years.

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Like a Virgin
Madonna

Produced by:	Nile Rodgers, Steve Bray, & Madonna
Billboard 200:	1
CashBox 200:	1
Rolling Stone 100:	1

• CashBox: "a healthy dose of disco-rock"
• Billboard: "This second album brings considerable muscle"
• High Fidelity: "Madonna pulls off the neat trick of outstripping her own fast start."
• Rolling Stone (★★★½): "Rodgers wisely supplies the kind of muscle Madonna's sassy lyrics demand."
• Smash Hits (8 out of 10): "a good all-American dance album"
• Stereo Review: "sounds thin to me - not terrible, but predictably commercial"
• Robert Christgau: B 

U.S. Billboard charted single:	Hot 100	Dance	AC
Like a Virgin	1	1	29
Material Girl	2	1	38
Angel	5	1	5
Dress You Up	5	3	32

Top 3 Tracks
"Material Girl"
"Like a Virgin"
"Dress You Up"

No sophomore slump here. Madonna brought in Nile Rodgers to produce, found a great bunch of dance tunes, put a sexy "Boy Toy" picture on the cover, and gave the whole package an ambiguous, suggestive, slightly controversial (at the time) title. With this album, Madonna moved from pop singer to pop icon. Madonna doesn't have a great voice, but she knows how to put together a package (e.g., the backing band for much of the album is freakin' Chic for chrissakes) and, with a few missteps, this album transcended the existing concepts of dance-pop and set the stage for dance music in the late '80s.

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Stop Making Sense
Talking Heads

Produced by:	Talking Heads & Gary Goetzman
Billboard 200:	41
CashBox 200:	29
Rolling Stone 100:	16

• Rolling Stone (★★★★): "a solid artistic statement from a band that's starting to have as much as they've given their listeners."
• Stereo Review: "a great live performance"
• Robert Christgau (B+): "a soundtrack, albeit for the finest concert film I've ever seen"
• CashBox: "an electrifying LP"
• Billboard: "sustains remarkable polish"

Top 3 Tracks
"Found a Job"
"Once in a Lifetime"
"This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)"

Simply put, this album represents the best concert movie ever filmed.

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These are my personal top 10 albums released in 1984. The following criteria was used on a very slippery sliding scale:

• How often I enjoyed the album at the time of release
• How often I've enjoyed the album over the years since release
• My opinion of the overall quality of the album

The top tracks for each album are solely my opinion.

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Other album charts from MFD (formats vary):

• 1976 (17 albums, 3 posts) Top album: Songs in the Key of Life
• 1977 (10 albums, 1 post) Top album: Saturday Night Fever
• 1978 (19 albums, 1 post) Top album: 52nd Street
• 1979 (50 albums, 6 posts) Top album: I Am
• 1980 (10 albums, 2 posts) Top album: Glass Houses
• 1982 (82 albums, 10 posts) Top album: Rio
• 1983 (83 albums, 4 posts) Top album: North of a Miracle
• 1985 (25 albums, 5 posts) Top album: Cupid & Psyche 85