Those Tucker boys from Caroline would be in Nashville with .38 Special to play Municipal on December 13th. This is a classic case of the opening band being on the rise while the headliners had peaked and were starting to go down in popularity. I like both groups so it would have been a great night of Southern rock and roll if I could have gone, but I was still a few years away from enjoying the confines of Municipal. Plus, there was a competing show in town that I would have preferred to attend if able.
Christmas is fast approaching now as it was then, but if you want pictures with Santa Claus these days I don't Hickory Hollow Mall is an option. I spent lots of time at that mall in the late 70's and 80's. It was really a wonderful place for a teenager. This ad, however, is a creepy. I don't think people want "A Touch of Claus", but I would love to see if anyone had photos made with Santa there.
Later in the month you could see some more Southern rock with the partially resurrected Lynyrd Skynyrd; Rossington Collins Band. It became crystal clear a few years later that a reconstituted Lynyrd Skynyrd was what the fans really wanted, but back in 1979/80 the Rossington Collins Band was a huge deal to Southern rock fans. They would end their shows with an instrumental version of the obligatory "Free Bird" and I bet there wouldn't be a dry eye in the place. Mother's Finest and LeRoux were also on the bill.
You could go ice skating at Municipal Auditorium too! I don't really know why a spectator would need to pay 50 cents to watch though. Roller skating was my thing back in 1980 and I always wanted to try ice skating too, but I never have. I doubt my weak ankles would like it.
Check out the stellar lineup you could see at Exit/In during this time. It's amazing.
The Top Ten best selling pop records in Nashville list was always a part of the Sunday Showcase I looked forward to each week. The number one song is Leo Sayer's "More Than I Can Say." The song would never hit the top spot in the US being kept out by "Lady" by Kenny Rogers and Lennon's "Starting Over." The music video for it is interesting. Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust" had been on the Nashville charts for 12 weeks! The Dukes of Hazzard became a smash it during this time and so Waylon Jennings's theme song hits the Nashville Top Ten for the first time. I would switch out my roller skating night from Friday to Saturday just to watch them Duke boys and Daisy...especially Daisy. Kool & The Gang's "Celebration" was heating up the charts and it ended up being the song I associated the most with the upcoming New Year's celebration. Most of these tunes would be played at the skating rink and that's where I came to love Air Supply's "Every Woman In The World." I still have the 45 I bought back then. "Freedom" by Grand Master Flash stands out for me on this list. First, the tune is by Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five so they got the name wrong. Secondly, this is a tune that didn't even hit the top 100 nationally. It didn't even make the top ten R & B charts. But here it is in it's second week in the Top Ten Nashville charts. It would drop out in the next week, but it shows Nashville had a nascent hip-hop rap scene back then. New Life Records, which just closed permanently this year after having been open since April 1, 1976, had to have been a huge reason for this as they could provide fans of the music the records. Nashville was always way more than just country music and I am glad to have grown up right down the road from it.
Some more live music you could see: How about Juke at the Ramada Inn South. I don't know a thing about these guys. They were probably a cover band. I just love the ad mentioning that Tuesday is "Foxy Lady Night" because it looks like the guys in Juke are checking out the foxy ladies.
The best upcoming music concert is Nashville is by an up and coming young guy from Minnesota. He'd had a hit on his last record with "I Wanna Be Your Lover", but massive mainstream success was still a few years away. He would be booed when he opened for The Rolling Stones in 1981. Prince is headed to town on his Dirty Mind tour to play not one, but two shows on December 13th at the Tennessee Theater. Forget Marshall Tucker and .38 Special, this would have been the place to be on that particular night. If I was forced to only own the records of one artist, Prince would probably be the one I would want. My love for his music only grows as the years go by. His tunes always make me feel good. Teena Marie was another one of my favorites from this time too. If you were there that night, please let me know with a comment. He played Municipal the next time he came to town for the Controversy Tour.
I don't have a setlist for either of these shows in Nashville, but a typical Dirty Mind setlist looks like this:
1. Do It All Night
2. Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?
3. Gotta Broken Heart Again
4. Broken
5. When You Were Mine
6. Sexy Dancer
7. Sister
8. I Wanna Be Your Lover
9. Head
10. Still Waiting
11. Uptown
12. Gotta Stop (Messin' About)
13. Dirty Mind
That's it for this week. I hope you enjoyed this post. I'll be back next week with another look back at a random Sunday Showcase. Leave a comment, tell your friends, spread the word, or go outside and take a walk. That's what I'm going to do.
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