December 1984

I've previously written about a few of my adventures during my first semester in college in this post. But as Christmas approaches, I'm reminded of my first winter break in which I returned home for 4 weeks from mid-December 1984 to mid-January 1985; a guest in the house I grew up in. It's a strange feeling, isn't it? I had been home twice during the fall semester, once for a weekend visit and once at Thanksgiving. I didn't often drive home from college because it was a 6 hour drive each way.

Anyhoo, I distinctly remember finishing my first semester of college with an English 101 final, which I finished early then walked across a cold, eerily deserted campus listening to the decidedly un-Christmas tune "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" by J.S. Bach on my trusty Walkman WM-10.

I quickly packed and headed home for the holidays, finding myself a much different person than when I'd left: I had traveled 350 miles to a university where I knew nobody prior to matriculating, I had joined a fraternity, I had met a girl 4½ years older than me who thought we were going to marry (we didn't), I had met another girl 13 days younger than me to which I've been married since 1989, I had experienced ill-fated attempts at growing a mustache and piercing my ear, and, most importantly(?) had completed 17 credit hours. Most all of these events happened in the university's music building, seen here:

Undated postcard. The back caption reads as follows:
MUSIC BUILDING as seen from the terrace of the Art Building.
It is soundproof, air-conditioned, and houses all music education
and music activities including a complete radio studio.

That building was demolished a few years back which is for the best because it was a dump back in the '80s so I can't imagine how bad it must have been 25 years later. Here's what that building looked like the last time I was in Commerce:

November 2013

But I digress (as I'm wont to do). Let's talk about music. When I returned home to my old room to my old bed, I wanted to hear some tunes so I turned on my old Marantz clock radio because my Fisher stereo was left in my dorm room. To my delight, a new local station had gone on the air, KMKS. It was the city's first FM station and its format was adult contemporary, a format which perfectly suited my mood at the time (still does). What follows is a Mixcloud show with an annotated playlist of tunes that remind me of those few weeks at home in December 1984. I specifically remember the Julian Lennon and Jermaine Jackson tunes being played on heavy rotation on my new FM radio station. Good times.  Enjoy.

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"Valotte" Julian Lennon From the album Valotte Written by Julian Lennon, Justin Clayton & Carlyon Morales Produced by Phil Ramone

U.S. Billboard charts peaks:
Hot 100	9
Adult Contemporary	4
Mainstream Rock	2

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"Method of Modern Love" Daryl Hall and John Oates From the album Big Bam Boom Written by Daryl Hall & Janna Allen Produced by Daryl Hall, John Oates, and Bob Clearmountain

U.S. Billboard charts peaks:
Hot 100	5
Adult Contemporary	18
R&B	21
Dance	15
Mainstream Rock	42

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"Do What You Do" Jermaine Jackson From the album Dynamite Written by Ralph Dino & Larry DiTomasso Produced by Jermaine Jackson

U.S. Billboard charts peaks:
Hot 100	13
Adult Contemporary	1
R&B	14

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"Like a Virgin" Madonna From the album Like a Virgin Written by Billy Steinberg & Tom Kelly Produced by Nile Rodgers

U.S. Billboard charts peaks:
Hot 100	1
Adult Contemporary	29
R&B	9
Dance	1

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"Foolish Heart" Steve Perry From the album Street Talk Written by Steve Perry & Randy Goodrum Produced by Steve Perry

U.S. Billboard charts peaks:
Hot 100	18
Adult Contemporary	2

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"Love Light in Flight" Stevie Wonder From the soundtrack album The Woman in Red Written by Stevie Wonder Produced by Stevie Wonder

U.S. Billboard charts peaks:
Hot 100	17
Adult Contemporary	10
R&B	4
Dance	6

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"After All" Al Jarreau From the album High Crime Written by Al Jarreau, Jay Graydon & David Foster Produced by Jay Graydon

U.S. Billboard charts peaks:
Hot 100	69
Adult Contemporary	6
R&B	26

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"20/20" George Benson From the album 20/20 Written by Randy Goodrum & Steve Kipner Produced by Russ Titelman

U.S. Billboard charts peaks:
Hot 100	48
Adult Contemporary	15
R&B	15

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"Missing You" Diana Ross From the album Swept Away Written by Lionel Richie Produced by Lionel Richie & James Anthony Carmichael

U.S. Billboard charts peaks:
Hot 100	10
Adult Contemporary	4
R&B	1

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"Solid" Ashford & Simpson From the album Solid Written by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson Produced by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson

U.S. Billboard charts peaks:
Hot 100	12
Adult Contemporary	34
R&B	1
Dance	15

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"No More Lonely Nights" Paul McCartney From the soundtrack album Give My Regards to Broad Street Written by Paul McCartney Produced by George Martin

U.S. Billboard charts peaks:
Hot 100	6
Adult Contemporary	2
Mainstream Rock	16

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"What About Me?" Kenny Rogers with Kim Carnes, & James Ingram From the album What About Me? Written by Kenny Rogers, David Foster & Richard Marx Produced by Kenny Rogers & David Foster

U.S. Billboard charts peaks:
Hot 100	15
Adult Contemporary	1
Country	70

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"Misled" Kool and The Gang From the album Emergency Written by Ronald Bell, James Taylor & Kool And The Gang Produced by Ronald Bell, Jim Bonnefond & Kool And The Gang

U.S. Billboard charts peaks:
Hot 100	10
R&B	3
Dance	9
Mainstream Rock	1

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"Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four" Eurythmics From the soundtrack album 1984 Written by David Stewart & Annie Lennox Produced by David A. Stewart

U.S. Billboard charts peaks:
Hot 100	81
Dance	2

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