I'm going back through what comprised my senior year of high school and first semester of college in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Come along for the ride. New posts every day or so mixed in with other things.
February 27, 1985. There was a brief time in the life of WKDA 1240-AM in which it was a "New Rock" station. They switched over from Top 40 right before Christmas in 1982 to become the first commercial New Wave station in the southeast. This would last a year or so and it was a welcome alternative, plus it led to many of the stronger songs making their way over to their sister FM station KDF where we'd get to hear Ozzy Osbourne followed by Psychedelic Furs. Playlists hadn't atrophied into dead demographic studies just yet. Corporation was coming hard and fast though.
I mainly listened to KDF if I wasn't spinning a record from my own collection, but WKDA was my AM dial go to at the time. Once we went on a field trip to see some play at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center during my junior year of high school. I almost missed the bus as the PA announcement wasn't coming through in the Graphic Arts class I was taking, but I got anxious and split to the place outside the gym where the bus was supposed to be. I made it on just in time and was happy to find that my friend Bruno had saved me a seat. He informed me had requested the bus driver tune to WKDA so we got B-52's, Men at Work, A Flock of Seagulls, and more on the way to Nashville.
What does this have to do with February 27, 1985? Not much, but the theme song of this busy day was probably one I first heard on WKDA. The Call's "The Walls Came Down" comes to mind immediately when I think of the Region semi-finals with Riverdale's perfect record on the line.
The Call - The Walls Came Down
If Columbia had taken care of business and won their district tournament the Warriors would have met the Lions in the finals of the Region 4-AAA tournament. But instead, one of the 2 top teams in all of Tennessee would go home early missing out on a sub-state game.
2-27-85 DNJ
A disastrous first quarter where Riverdale allowed future Arkansas Razorbacks player Larry Marks to score 16 would be impossible to overcome. The Oakland gym was full of people that night and I remember the clenched up feeling of doom after that first quarter, but RHS didn't fold. The full court pressure brought the Warriors back, but not enough. I always felt that if the game had only gone 2 minutes more we could have won. I felt the loss deeply. Looking back over my senior year of high school now I see how rabid a fan I had become of my classmates. They had inspired me and had filled the whole basketball season with joy that had stretched unfettered from the very first tip-off. I wasn't ready for the ride to end just yet. I cursed loudly as I stomped out of the Patriots gym remembering my one year as a freshman at Oakland, before moving to Riverdale, and how I had despised gym class in that place. It was if it had come back to attack me once again. An adult admonished me for cursing and I told him to stick it. I regret that now. I was being an immature jerk, perhaps not only wanting the basketball season not to end, but subconsciously knowing that high school for me was almost over and I didn't want that to end either. It was some small solace to me that Columbia after winning the Region 4-AAA tournament would lose their home sub-state game. If you happened to see this semi-final matchup share your memories in the comment section. I would love to read them.
2-28-85 DNJ
2-28-85 DNJ
The crazy thing about the day of February 27, 1985 was after going to school, then going home, and then rushing across town to Oakland High School for the Region 4-AAA game which started at 6PM is that it wasn't over after the Warriors were eliminated. There was something going on at M.T.S.U. that my friends and I had to go see. The Second City was coming with their improvisational comedy to perform for free!
2-26-85 Sidelines
There were no future superstars in the cast we saw that night, but they were funny as the troupe recycled many of their most famous routines. It softened the sting of the basketball game loss. I would go to see them the next year too and found it curious that both shows ended with the question from the audience "where does the light go when you hit the switch" or something to that effect. The answer on both nights was "away" and "off" but I forget which one. I do know that my pal Bruno was the one who asked it in 1986. I still don't know if he was legitimately asking or if The Second City didn't always plant that question with a person as a great show ender. Here is the review of the 1985 performance from Sidelines.
I'm going back through what comprised my senior year of high school and first semester of college in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Come along for the ride. New posts every day or so mixed in with other things.
February 25, 1985. The Riverdale Warriors begin the 4-AAA Region tournament tonight against Giles County. The region tournament is conveniently at Oakland this season so I'm definitely in the stands.
2-25-85 DNJ story
The Warriors boys team takes care of business against Giles County which will set up a semi-final match against the Columbia Lions. The Lions had lost in their district tournament which put them into the same bracket with Riverdale. Ideally the two teams would have met in the region finals with both teams advancing to the sub-state, but it wasn't to be. The Warrior girls team got eliminated by Giles County and finished 13-13.
I haven't posted any music videos in an awhile so let's roll out an edition of Thursday Tunes for all of the music mad droogies out there. The videos are below, but first a few words on each of them.
Gomez was hyped pretty heavy by some of the customers at Phonoluxe back in the 90's when I worked there. I got their debut and thought it was just okay, but it's really grown on me over the years. Plus the video for "Whippin' Piccadilly" features the great actor Toby Jones. Escalators are scary!!!
Next up is the latest (as of the time of writing) single from Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds "Easy Now" which was filmed in the north London Camden neighborhood. You can use Google Maps to trace actress Milly Alcock's traipse through the area. I really enjoy the vibe of the tune and you can never go wrong as Noel's tunes always have melodies that become pleasantly lodged in your brain. He's coming to play Nashville (really Franklin) in June and I want to go, but the sales are through Ticketmaster so we'll see what transpires. Ticketmaster is the absolute worst. Since I'm on a huge Noel kick, lets dig "Lock All The Doors" which was a tune that was left over from the Oasis era. The video is just rock star kinetics!
De La Soul dominated my car stereo in 1989. 3 Feet and Rising was an instant classic. I was saddened to hear of Trugoy the Dove Plug 2 (David Jolicoeur) passing away on February 12, 2023. And there was a video by them embedded, but it got yanked because Reservoir Media Management thinks the 3 or 4 people that come to this blog don't deserve De La Soul.
So, how about Soul Asylum's cover of the Victoria Williams tune "Summer of Drugs" featuring cameos from the other performers on the benefit album Sweet Release: A Benefit For Victoria Williams. The Stones circa Exile on Main St vibe is top notch.
Dragon Sound "Friends" is by a fake band from a silly movie Miami Connectionwhich came out in 1987, but that doesn't mean it's bad, unless you mean bad as in good. 80's nostalgia is funny sometimes as this song was also featured in the movie Ping Pong Summer which came out in 2014, but was supposed to take place in 1985. It's an okay movie which features Susan Sarandon as a ping pong coach. She actually is an enthusiast of the game having cofounded a chain of ping pong clubs.
I would sometimes buy records just because of the band name or the label the album was on. Masters of Reality's self titled release on Def American checked both boxes for me back in 1989. I was not disappointed as it rocked with a cool swagger.
Last, but not least is "What Is Life" by the great George Harrison. The video is like a sweet hug from someone you love.
Gomez - Whippin' Piccadilly
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Easy Now
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Lock All The Doors
I'm going back through what comprised my senior year of high school and first semester of college in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Come along for the ride. New posts every day or so mixed in with other things.
February 22, 1985. The Riverdale Warriors destroy the Oakland Patriots in their 3rd meeting of the season taking the top spot in district 7-AAA. They will be the top seed in the upcoming regional tournament.
I'm going back through what comprised my senior year of high school and first semester of college in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Come along for the ride. New posts every day or so mixed in with other things.
February 21, 1985. The 7-AAA basketball district playoffs have begun with Riverdale taking on Sparta in the semi-final round. The tournament is held in White County. The now number 1 ranked in the state Warriors have no trouble advancing to the final round where they take on cross town rival Oakland on February 22. I do not remember if I went to this game or the next night's as Sparta was a long drive. I may have rode up there with some friends and just forgotten.
What better time than today to bring back a once popular feature of Soulfish Stew, that being a review of a Tennessean Sunday Showcase. Since February 17, 1985 was a Sunday there is a small chance my father bought one and I may have looked through it myself back during my senior year of high school. I would have been disappointed that there was no notice that the Riverdale Warriors boys team had just finished the regular season with an undefeated 22-0 record. I would have been excited to see that WZTV was going to have a The Twilight Zone marathon though. It was one of those shows like Star Trek that my mother would often watch when I was much younger. I didn't enjoy either show much until I hit my teens and then I loved them. Years later I would discover that my mother mainly watched them thinking I would enjoy them, which was not unlike the twist ending both shows often used.
I can't even play Perry Como!!!
I always wanted to go to the Nashville Flea Market hoping to find comic books and baseball cards during my elementary school days and then later I would have hoped to find cool books and records. I never did go to one though. If I did I certainly don't remember it.
The Muppets were coming to Municipal Auditorium in March. I love the Muppets, but this show was aimed more at younger folks if the ad from a previous show is any indication.
The Muppet Show On Tour ad from 1984
Canadian singing legend Anne Murray would play to a sold out Grand Ole Opry House on Monday!
Anne Murray & Dave Loggins
The great General Public would be playing on the very next Sunday at Vandy's Memorial Gym!
General Public
KX 104FM was my favorite radio station in 7th grade. I had switched to Rock 106 by the time 8th grade ended, but that was short lived as Rock 106 changed formats to easy listening almost as soon as I found it on the dial. Then 103.3 KDF became my main station until WRVU 91.1 increased their wattage in the summer of 1985. I don't recall KX 104FM changing their format from Contemporary Hit Radio to Rock Hit Radio at all, but they did for about a year until switching back to CHR. I wish I had tried listening to them then. The reason for the switch was that 96 Kiss and Y107 were killing in the ratings with beloved Nashville deejay Coyote McCloud even jumping ship to Y107. KX 104FM would eventually become a classic rock station before mutating into sports radio which is a fate worse than death.
Disc Jockey song Kicks Delight tune from 1979
Finally let's see what was the Top Ten Nashville pop songs for this week. I never liked "I Want To Know What Love Is" by Foreigner. While, I have mellowed out over the years, it's still painful treacle flavored angst to my ears. Philip Bailey's duet with Phil Collins "Easy Lover" was a banger that I still love. "Boys of Summer" by Don Henley is the best tune on this list.
I'm going back through what comprised my senior year of high school and first semester of college in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Come along for the ride. New posts every day or so mixed in with other things.
February 16, 1985. Johnny Parsley Memorial Gym was rocking as the Riverdale Warriors boys team won their final regular season game 63-50 over Warren County. This gave them a perfect 22-0 mark heading into the district playoffs!! They were the first RHS team to go undefeated in a season and were the only undefeated team in AAA high school basketball. They would be the number 1 seed in the upcoming district tournaments with Sparta their next opponent. I still have my regular season schedule which I stowed away in my yearbook. I had kept up with the wins that year including adding in the March of Dimes Classic tournament win over Overton. 22-0 jack!!! The girls finished their season 11-11.
I'm going back through what comprised my senior year of high school and first semester of college in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Come along for the ride. New posts every day or so mixed in with other things.
February 15, 1985. This is one of those days that I know exactly what I did. I met my cousin Freddy and we went to see Vision Quest at the Martin. He had invited a couple of girls he knew so we all watched the movie, which was great, and afterwards we drove around Murfreesboro in my 1969 Plymouth Fury II. I don't remember the girls's names and I never saw them again. This was the first rated R movie I saw in the theatre, and now that I think about that, it hits me.....the reason why Freddy and the girls came was because they were 16 years old which made me the adult guardian.
I'm going back through what comprised my senior year of high school and first semester of college in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Come along for the ride. New posts every day or so mixed in with other things.
February 14, 1985. It was time to go up the road to Smyrna and see some basketball again with the Riverdale Warriors taking on the Bulldogs. It was fun for me to visit the high school I possibly could have attended if my family had continued living in Smyrna, instead of moving back to Murfreesboro in 1981. The Warriors boys team would continue to be perfect as the regular season was winding down after so many snow delayed games.
I'm going back through what comprised my senior year of high school and first semester of college in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Come along for the ride. New posts every day or so mixed in with other things.
February 12, 1985. I'm beginning to think I never went to high school during January and February of 1985. It seemed like we were out for ages. Snow was back and spring break was disappearing behind clouds.
The Riverdale Warriors boys team was inching closer to the number 1 ranking.
I'm going back through what comprised my senior year of high school and first semester of college in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Come along for the ride. New posts every day or so mixed in with other things.
February 11, 1985. The Riverdale Warriors were all set to take on the Warren County Pioneers and the Daily News Journal was publicizing it, but the games ended up being cancelled due to....you guessed it...snow once again. Before the snow came in the Red Cross Bloodmobile found some donors at Riverdale including my friend Michele Weber.
The great Leon Corder!!
The game will be postponed due to more snow arriving in Rutherford County
I'm going back through what comprised my senior year of high school and first semester of college in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Come along for the ride. New posts every day or so mixed in with other things.
February 9, 1985. We finally have basketball homecoming at Riverdale on a Saturday night. The oft cancelled game with Manchester was finally on and the Warriors did not disappoint. Homecoming king Archie Hughes scored 33 in a blowout win over the Red Raiders. It was another great display of run and gun basketball with the Warriors boys team going to 20 wins and no losses on the season.
Homecoming Queen & King: Tracy Richardson and Archie Hughes
I'm going back through what comprised my senior year of high school and first semester of college in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Come along for the ride. New posts every day or so mixed in with other things.
February 8, 1985. The Warriors were on the road at White County on this night which worked out good for me. The boys stayed undefeated on the eve of our snow delayed Homecoming game which will be against Manchester on the 9th. Sparta was a little too far for me to go see them play so I was to take in a sneak preview of The Breakfast Club. I would later see The Breakfast Club again in April and this would get mixed up in my memories for decades. I wrote about this on my April 17, 2020 Film Flashback. I think it's one of the best film flashbacks.
Chicks cannot hold their smoke....
February 9, 1985 Daily News Journal report on RHS basketball
I'm going back through what comprised my senior year of high school and first semester of college in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Come along for the ride. New posts every day or so mixed in with other things.
February 7, 1985. Basketball was finally back after being delayed due to snow and fog! The Riverdale Warriors boys team was now ranked number 3 in the state, which was super cool, but the real story on this night was the Warriorettes beating the number 8 Shelbyville team. Here are the newspaper stories and photos from the February 8 Daily News Journal.
I'm going back through what comprised my senior year of high school and first semester of college in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Come along for the ride. New posts every day or so mixed in with other things.
February 5, 1985. Basketball was supposed to back, but the game promoted in the paper would be postponed due to snow and fog. It is a nice write up on the Warriors.
There was another big event tonight that didn't get postponed or cancelled. Iron Maiden brought their "Power Slave" Tour to Nashville tonight. Twisted Sister was the opening act. Iron Maiden would later release a live album from this tour called Live After Death recorded at Long Beach.
I'm going back through what comprised my senior year of high school and first semester of college in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Come along for the ride. New posts every day or so mixed in with other things.
February 4, 1985. When I see the word logjam I think about lumberjacks and not basketball.
I'm going back through what comprised my senior year of high school and first semester of college in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Come along for the ride. New posts every day or so mixed in with other things.
February 2, 1985. It's another night that should have had a basketball game, but the Riverdale versus Manchester match-up is postponed. The Daily News Journal headline though was "Snowfall swamps stores; 8" seen" as people didn't let the weather stop them from their groceries. I probably watched television all day.
I'm going back through what comprised my senior year of high school and first semester of college in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Come along for the ride. New posts every day or so mixed in with other things.
February 1, 1985. Basketball is postponed due to snow, snow, and more snow. I wonder if I was going stir crazy in our house on Shacklett Road? I remember the snow well, but I don't recall being upset about it. One of the nice things about being an only child is you learn to entertain yourself, which is probably what I did during these snow days.
