Mendel, Poul and Beasely were conceived in 1979. Just for the
heck of it I checked around to remember what life was like. I
was surprised about how much I’d forgotten, how much has
changed, and how much has stayed the same.
Music
In 1979 disco was supreme with several hits from The Bee Gees
and Donna Summer. Blondie had their first US #1 with “Heart of Glass” and Rod Stewart
hit #1 with “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy.” Nobody hears anything from
Donna Summer and Rod Stewart is singing old pop standards—and he does it
well.
The Knack’s “My Sharona” was #1 for six weeks. A lot of critics
thought they’d be the next Beatles, but The Knack faded from the scene.
They did not have the knack for more than one hit.
The Sugarhill Gang had a hit single with “Rapper’s Delight” which
marked the commercial birth of hip hop.
TV
The popular TV shows of 1979 were Alice, Charlie’s Angels, Dallas, Diff’rent
Strokes, Disney’s Wonderful World, Happy Days, Hawaii Five-O, Laverne & Shirley,
The Lawrence Welk Sow, Little House on the Prairie, M*A*S*H, Mork & Mindy,
Taxi, The Waltons, and my favorite show, WKRP in Cincinnati. Those characters
really exist! Wheel of Fortune was four years old in 1979.
ESPN started in September, 1979.
The first gay rights march in the U.S. took place in Washington, DC in October,
1979.
Films
The big film of the year was Kramer vs Kramer. Both Dustin Hoffman
and Meryl Streep won Oscars for their performances.
Other top films were: The Amityville Horror; Star Trek: The Motion Picture;
Alien; Apocalypse Now; The Muppet Movie; The Jerk; Moonraker; Love at First
Bite; and Meatballs with Bill Murray.
Other 1979 Trivia
Jimmy Carter was president.
Iraqi President Hasan al-Bakr resigned and was replaced by Saddam Hussein.
The American Pioneeer 11 became the first spacecraft to visit Saturn.
The Chrysler corporation asked the U.S. government for $1 billion to avoid
bankruptcy.
