Tag: 1980s
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Songs That Soundtracked the AIDS Crisis: Starship’s “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”
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My memories are a sacred place. Some may say I am addicted to nostalgia, and maybe, on some level, I am. But aren’t most people? My visitations to yesteryear are not rooted in the longing to relive the past but rather a way for me to time travel and have…
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RAY NAVARRO
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On December 10, 1989, a significant event in New York City would set the stage for Ray’s remarkable journey. Thousands of activists, many living with AIDS themselves, gathered for the “Stop The Church” demonstration outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Their target: Cardinal John O’Connor, an influential Catholic authority whose statements on…
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DIONNE WARWICK
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2025 will mark the 40th anniversary of Dionne Warwick’s cultural milestone single, “That’s What Friends Are For.” The one-off single, featuring the equally iconic Gladys Knight, Elton John, and Stevie Wonder, “That’s What Friends Are For,” was released as a charity single in October 1985 to support AIDS research. The…
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BRENDA K. STARR
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the 1980s marked a pivotal era in the rise of latino english-speaking recording pop artists who achieved mainstream success. this period witnessed the emergence of gloria estefan, menudo, and lisa lisa & the cult jam broke down barriers by blending dance-pop, soul, and electro music with latin rhythms. this captivating…
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songs that soundtracked the AIDS crisis: sinéad o’connor’s “nothing compares to you”
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is she a skinhead or is she not? why is she bald? why is she all about? these were the questions i remember people asking upon the release of the video for sinéad o’connor’s “nothing compares 2 u.” without any historical context, these questions seem odd, but with sleekly produced…
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DIANA ROSS
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on july 21, 1983, diana ross staged one of the highly significant concert events of the decade. organized by the city and the parks department, with support from ross herself, the benefit concert was a free, open-air performance held at the great lawn in central park, new york city to…
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TINA TURNER
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i dreamed about my mother for the first time in a long time last night. waking from those all-too-real dreams used to leave me wallowing in the quicksand of regret over the loss of control over things we had no control of. but not this time. i spent the rest of…
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When A Menudo Concert Paused Was in El Salvador
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When I pressed play on Menudo: Forever Young on HBO Max , the new docu-series on the iconic Puerto Rican boy band, I didn’t expect to learn something about El Salvador’s history. I was a little too young for Menudo, but for my big sister and others like her who…
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Songs That Soundtracked the AIDS Crisis: Miquel Brown’s “So Many Men, So Little Time”
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“So many men, so little timeHow can I choose,So many men, so little timeHow can I choose” On March 14, 1983, Larry Kramer published his now historic essay entitled “1,112 and Counting” in a bi-weekly gay newspaper, The New York Native. The blistering essay, which also served as an urgent call to…
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OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN
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olivia, i honestly love you. i remember the stereo with the big knob and bright neon dial. every morning i stared at it as my grandmother dressed me for kindergarten. i stared at the dial set on WCAU 98FM and wished the radio played at least one of my favorite…
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SAM HARRIS
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decades before american idol opened the floodgates for the talent show genre of reality tv, there was the ultimate variety 80s show “star search.” hosted by ed mcmahon, “star search” was a weekly hour-long syndicated show billed as “the world’s greatest competition” was an immediate ratings winner with over 25…
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in the summer of 1988, i had a friend named jacqueline who lived next door from us. she was a bubbly preteen just as i was and loved music almost as much as me. what i what think connected us the most was that she too had a mother who…