Category: History

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Saturday Night Retro

On the last ‘Saturday Night Retro’ I looked back at the great decade that was the 1990s, and I featured one of the hard rockin’ songs of my extended Panama City Beach ‘Summer Of 1990’ – Faith No More‘s “Epic”.

This week I advance forward to 1991. Following a two-month stint over in Al Kharj Saudi Arabia during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm I began what would eventually (and unknowingly) become the final 17 months of my Active Duty Air Force career at the original Homestead Air Force Base (before Hurricane Andrew). After a tumultuous couple of years at work on the base things drastically improved for the better, and I enjoyed a long climb to the pinnacle of my career at that time.

During the Summer of 1991 I turned 24-years-old, and I began my 7TH year in the USAF. I also went on a 2½-week vacation at the end of August including my very first sea cruise ever on NCL (M/S Seaward) with my family as well as a fun tour of various Tampa and Orlando area amusement parks with my brother for a week after that.

Here’s a big-time TV and movie star dude who actually shares my birthday of June 05TH. I was born in 1967. He was born in 1971. He’s Mark Wahlberg, but back during the Summer of 1991 he was better known as Marky Mark. Here he is with his Funky Bunch. Here’s “Good Vibrations’ – the smash hit that made him a star.

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History Life Music

The Major’s Friday Night Disco Party

During the Spring of 1979 I was in the 6TH grade at Magnolia Elementary School right in the middle of my Lanham Maryland neighbourhood.

Magnolia Elementary School, Lanham Maryland
Magnolia Elementary School, Lanham Maryland

The school day began at precisely 9:08 AM, and it ended at precisely 3:08 PM. Magnolia was my school for Kindergarten (1972-1973) and 3RD through 6TH grades (1975-1979). Those last 4 years at Magnolia were perhaps the happiest four years of all of my school years. It would just get miserable for me after that in Junior High and Senior High School (although I do remember occasional pockets of fun and good times during those advanced school years).

In 1979 I was a trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent Boy Scout:

On my honor I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country, and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.

It’s hard to believe that I’m 30 years removed from that part of my life. Some songs remind me of the bad times, but whenever I hear this song play it reminds me of some of those good times that I lived back then during my active preteen years.

Here’s Amii Stewart with her ‘pay all of the bills’ # 1 Platinum Disco SMASH !

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Career God History Life Music Radio Travel

Saturday Night Retro

During the week I listen to The Call at home and in my car, and I listen to one of my iPod Shuffles at work that constains about 60% Christian music and 40% Secular music. On weekends I mostly listen to ‘90s On 9‘ on XM (Satellite Radio).

The 1990s was the greatest decade of music as far as I’m concerned. It was the soundtrack of my crazy life at the time (age 22 to 32). Thanks to God my Life today is far more superiour and worthwhile than it ever used to be; however, I shall never forget where I came from and what I used to be. It is an integral part of the constantly growing root and trunk system that comprises of my Life.

Personally the 1990s wasn’t particularly joyful or even professionally successful for me, but it did have its high points. Orlando was the place to party with my little brother during the late-1990s. It was our central meeting point when he lived up in Jacksonville. The Summer of 1993 was perhaps my personal Woodstock up in the Melbourne / Cocoa Beach area. Luckily it didn’t last very long, and I eventually went back to workin’ for a livin’.  And then there’s the Summer of 1990. Dateline: Panama City Beach. It was the Summer of White Sands and Hard Rock. It was my extended Spring Break – long before it eventually became the college vacation destination that it is today. Although I would never do today some of the things that I did back then I will also never forget the times that once existed. It’s hard to forget when the music of the time plays on and on again.

Here’s one of those hard rockers that pulsated through the airwaves, into the bars, onto the dance floors, and through my ears back during that most memorable Summer of 1990. It was quite the “Epic” Summer as told by Faith No More:

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History Movies Music

The Major’s Friday Night Disco Party

One of the earliest movies that I can ever remember watching at the movie theatre when I was a little kid was the 1977 into 1978 box office smash “Saturday Night Fever” – arguably one of the greatest movies ever made. It featured the music of The Bee Gees, and together they totally defined the Disco era of the late-1970s.

Disco Ball

Some of the great Bee Gees songs from the movie include “You Should Be Dancing”, “How Deep Is Your Love”, “Stayin’ Alive”, and the biggest Disco smash of them all – “Night Fever”. It spent 8 weeks at # 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March, April, and May of 1978, and it went platinum at retail.

Here it is. “Night Fever”. Let’s dance like it’s 1978. We know how to do it.