The Music of the Olympics (1984-1992)
Explicit content warning
06/07/24 • 59 min
In 1984, Christopher Cross added a unique new entry to his discography. "A Chance For Heaven" was selected as the official swimming theme for the Olympics. I bet you didn't even know there was an official swimming theme that year, did you? Neither did we. Discovering that factoid during our episode about Christopher's 1985 album, Every Turn of the World, was enough to send us out on an important quest.
What if we were to discuss the Olympics soundtrack albums for 1984, 1988 and 1992? That's the task that Jeff and Matt decided to tackle on today's episode of The Record Player. It's not an easy one, because none of the three volumes are on streaming. Which means, YouTube to the rescue!
Here's streaming links for all three volumes:
The Official Music Of The XXIIIrd Olympiad Los Angeles 1984
1988 Summer Olympics Album: One Moment in Time
Barcelona Gold (1992) - note that a few songs are not streaming officially, but 12 songs are. You'll get the point. But here's the complete rundown.
This is a wide-ranging discussion that explores the bulk of the first two compilations track-by-track with scattered thoughts on Barcelona Gold, because we were at the clock limit and honestly, the tone of the song curation changed with Barcelona Gold in a way that felt less specific to the Olympics. But where else are you going to find En Vogue and Damn Yankees back to back on the same album? That's a really good question.
There are references along the way to the Ghostbusters soundtrack, the We Are the World album and a bunch of other things -- including the most excellent Little Feat-related tribute album from the '90s, Rock & Roll Doctor: A Tribute to Lowell George. Streaming the Lowell tribute appears to be a bit of a chore -- it's on Apple Music at the very least, but finding it on Spotify was an elusive task.
Anyway, we talk about some things and you've got some fresh listening material to enjoy now as well. Thanks as always for listening and don't forget to visit Jefitoblog for even more thoughts from Jeff. Have a good weekend!
In 1984, Christopher Cross added a unique new entry to his discography. "A Chance For Heaven" was selected as the official swimming theme for the Olympics. I bet you didn't even know there was an official swimming theme that year, did you? Neither did we. Discovering that factoid during our episode about Christopher's 1985 album, Every Turn of the World, was enough to send us out on an important quest.
What if we were to discuss the Olympics soundtrack albums for 1984, 1988 and 1992? That's the task that Jeff and Matt decided to tackle on today's episode of The Record Player. It's not an easy one, because none of the three volumes are on streaming. Which means, YouTube to the rescue!
Here's streaming links for all three volumes:
The Official Music Of The XXIIIrd Olympiad Los Angeles 1984
1988 Summer Olympics Album: One Moment in Time
Barcelona Gold (1992) - note that a few songs are not streaming officially, but 12 songs are. You'll get the point. But here's the complete rundown.
This is a wide-ranging discussion that explores the bulk of the first two compilations track-by-track with scattered thoughts on Barcelona Gold, because we were at the clock limit and honestly, the tone of the song curation changed with Barcelona Gold in a way that felt less specific to the Olympics. But where else are you going to find En Vogue and Damn Yankees back to back on the same album? That's a really good question.
There are references along the way to the Ghostbusters soundtrack, the We Are the World album and a bunch of other things -- including the most excellent Little Feat-related tribute album from the '90s, Rock & Roll Doctor: A Tribute to Lowell George. Streaming the Lowell tribute appears to be a bit of a chore -- it's on Apple Music at the very least, but finding it on Spotify was an elusive task.
Anyway, we talk about some things and you've got some fresh listening material to enjoy now as well. Thanks as always for listening and don't forget to visit Jefitoblog for even more thoughts from Jeff. Have a good weekend!
Previous Episode
Narada Michael Walden on Tommy Bolin
In our first Bonus Track of 2024, legendary artist and producer Narada Michael Walden tells Matt about his time working with the late Tommy Bolin. It's an emotional subject for Narada, but also a period in his career that he retains a lot of love and affection for.
We spoke in November of 2023 as Narada was just about to release his newest solo album, Euphoria. The record features a wealth of exciting new compositions -- and also, a long-in-the-works collaboration with Sting, Carlos Santana and Stevie Wonder.
You can hear "The More I Love My Life," the song which came out of the collaboration and read more about how it happened right here.
Thanks for listening and don't forget to visit Jefitoblog!
If you're listening to this podcast on YouTube, you can also find it wherever you get your other podcasts, including Apple Music and Spotify. Here's a complete list of providers.
Next Episode
The 1974 Project: Harry Nilsson - Pussy Cats
The 1974 Project continues as we welcome back our friend and A&R man Peter Lubin to discuss Pussy Cats by Harry Nilsson. Produced by John Lennon, Pussy Cats is an interesting and at times, unfortunate mile marker in Nilsson's career -- and the guys discuss why that is.
There is once again a great tribute album at the heart of all of this Nilsson stuff for Jeff and Matt, 1995's For the Love of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson. Jeff describes the doors that opened for him as a music fan after he heard that album. We talk about the many peculiarities of Harry's career -- including the fact that he never toured.
How did everyone not die while recording Pussy Cats? Good question. Okay, so that scratches the surface, rather roughly, on some of the areas that we cover in today's episode. All you really need to know is that whether you worship this album, or you've never heard Harry's music, there's something here for everyone. Thanks for listening!
Related:
The Harry Nilsson documentary (which is a great watch and very much worth your time)
An article that Jeff wrote about Pussy Cats for Ultimate Classic Rock
The mega-Nilsson playlist that Matt knew Jeff had somewhere in his digital back pocket. Can you finish it?
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