Old-Time Rock ‘n’ Roll:
How The 1980s Embraced 1950s and 1960s Oldies Music
Still Like That Old Time Rock and Roll
Photo: "Jukebox Fifties Rock N Roll Music Edited 2020" by chocolatedazzles is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Bob Seger released Old Time Rock and Roll
in 1979. The song, as are many of Seger’s other hits like Night Moves
and Main Street,
is nostalgic for the past. This tune, written by George Jackson, also judges music popular at the time, calling it soulless. In 1983, the song became very popular when the main character in Risky Business, played by Tom Cruise, dances and lip-syncs to Old Time Rock and Roll
in only a button down shirt and briefs. It’s a memorable scene that many eighties teens mimicked. The scene turned into an MTV video with footage intermingled from a Seger concert. It’s funny how a song that shuns hip music became hip in 1983. Kids of the time may have paid more attention to the visuals than the song’s lyrics. The song, however, resonated with many baby boomers agreeing with the lyrics. One Florida resident wrote to Florida Today stating that rock ‘n’ roll has survived for decades, and will continue to outlive other music fads.