WOW! I just stumbled across this post I did last June! I was on fire that morning. Enjoy the trip down memory lane..

I literally don’t where to start this morning. I went to the hit movie “Rock of Ages” with my wife last night, and it was an incredible experience. I tried to convince her to see it again at the late show, but no luck! We plan to see the musical when it comes to Edmonton this November, and I can’t wait.

I was a clean-cut kid who grew up in the 1980’s, but I loved rock music (and still love it do this day). Many people make fun of 1980’s rock and all the legendary characters that make it up. But do a little exercise for me this morning.

Head over to the website www.pollstar.com and search some classic bands from the 1980’s. Many of them are still touring! Some have had line-up changes, some band members have passed away, and others have gained a little weight, and/or lost a little hair. Some disappeared altogether, and then reappeared only because performing is all they know how to do (and the pay cheque does not hurt either)

But my favourite bands like Def Leppard and Bon Jovi continue to amaze me with their popularity to this day. The cool part is they never left, never conformed to popular trends, and have both been doing it their way for well over 30 years now. That is truly an accomplishment in the ultra-competitive music industry.

If you go to a concert today for one of these bands, children of the 80’s fans are going to the shows now, and a whole new generation is being introduced to the music we loved growing up.

I still remember like yesterday:

• My first Bon Jovi show in 1989 sitting in the 2^nd row on the floor just being in awe
• The first time a friend played the entire Hysteria album by Def Leppard for me, and being hooked ever since
• The first time I heard a note uttered by Steve Perry from Journey, and Lou Gramm from Foreigner, and knowing that I just heard two of the purest voices of our generation
• Hearing Slash strike the first note on his guitar on Sweet Child of Mine for the first time, and knowing that song was going to mean something for many people for generations to come
• Hearing the piano kick in for the first time on Sister Christian and literally getting shivers up my spine
• Watching a friend perform “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” in a karaoke booth at the local festival in front of a large audience and doing very well
• “Car singing” with my best friend countless times and actually imagining we were in those bands! I think I was Richie, and he was Jon!

I will stop there because this list could be several pages long!

The biggest take-a-way of this message is this music bridges the generations, and is still very popular today for many reasons. I think one of the biggest reasons is it takes people back to a very happy time in their lives; simpler times of going to concerts, having fun, and not having a care in the world. Whatever was going on in my life at the time (even to this day) is put on hold during a concert and I just take it all in.

Every other band sounds the same today, and the unique characters of the 1980’s still burn brightly today for the most part. Sure we could have done without Brett Michael’s “Rock of Love Bus”, but you know what I mean!

Trying to narrow it down to one memory today is a very difficult task. I have to go with listening to the 33 inch album single on my record player of  Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name” over and over again in 1987. The music was fun, their energy was incredible, and the song still gets the same reaction from fans to this day. There is a reason this video has nearly 32 million views!

Have a great weekend everyone.