Kiss would be hitting town on January 11, 1984 with Riot and Vandenberg opening the show. I did not get to see this show, but many of my friends managed to get up to Nashville on a snowy evening. Vinnie Vincent was definitely the highlight as you can tell from the bootleg that has circulated for decades of this performance. The whole band sounds energized with him in the band. I love that he was allowed to play in his style on the older Ace era material. Many people feel like this particular show should have been released as Alive III.
Another big concert was coming to Municipal and it was a head scratcher to me at first, but a little research showed why Huey Lewis and the News would still be an opening act in January of 1984. They were opening for .38 Special, but probably wouldn't be opening for much longer. "Heart and Soul" had hit the Billboard Hot 100 Top Ten in November for Huey Lewis and the News. It was the first single from their album Sports. The second single "I Want A New Drug" was released on January 3, 1984. It would peak at number 6 on the Hot 100 chart. The album would later hit number 1 on the charts.
.38 Special were having a good year too. Their latest album Tour De Force hit number 22 on the Billboard 200 chart and both singles "If I'd Been The One" and "Back Where You Belong" had made the Hot 100 top twenty. Just like Kiss, this is not the first Sunday Showcase review that features the band. Nashville was always a part of their tours. The "Back Where You Belong" video is a nice homage/parody of Hill Street Blues.
Here are Huey Lewis and the News playing at the Rock Palace in January 1984 so this is what they would have sounded like in Nashville. They are not one of my favorites, but they were definitely a tight band.
The Nashville Top Ten is full of songs that have been on the chart for 2 months or more. One thing most of these songs have in common is there were memorable music videos made for them. The one that I liked the most was "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" by Yes.
Adam Ant was coming February 5th with very special guests The Romantics to play the Grand Ole Opry House. I wasn't into him back then. I had one friend who had liked his earlier work, but he said "Strip" was a complete sellout. I think he did go to the concert though. I enjoy Adam's music these days and I like The Romantics first couple of records.
The Ice Capades were coming to Municipal Auditorium on January 8th. Don't forget to use your KX104 discount. Enjoy some brief footage of this blue nightmare when it played Austin, Texas in 1983.
I think I would have rather gone to the Hickory Hollow Brass A to see Lust live. Lust was Ron Keel's first band, but he's gone by this time. My mother worked with a guy who was in the band at one time or another too. He would buy concert t-shirts for me since I wasn't allowed to go see concerts when I was in middle school. The tune "Speed Demon" from the Homegrown compilation is great since it has a NWOBHM vibe. The band pictured below is the version of Lust that released the EP posted on YouTube. Either version of the band was rocking, but that last track on the EP never should have seen the light even in 1984. Band info is included in the videos.
If heavy metal wasn't you thing you could head out to the Nashville Palace and hear Randy Ray and "Nashville" Wednesday through Sunday. You probably know Randy Ray better as Randy Travis. By the early 80's he had been rejected by every label in town, but he didn't give up. He became a cook and a live sensation at the Nashville Palace. An independent live album was released and this finally led to his major label deal with Warners. His album Storms of Life would be released in June 1986 and he would never have to work as a cook again.
That's it for this week's look back through an old Tennessean Sunday Showcase. I hope 2020 is being good to you so far. I'll look through another Sunday Showcase next week, but feel free to drop in anytime.
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