Correction (7/25/15): Rick L. informed me that the 1:15 local forecast started on October 1, 1984 (along with a new schedule).
A few weeks ago, I received a CD from Rick L. containing about a hundred songs that were recorded off The Weather Channel from August 1984 to June 1986. As of last week, the artist of a dozen or so of those audio clips was a mystery. So I added them to the Name That Tune page. As of today, most of them have been identified thanks to a few people like James and Matt G.
For this week's post, I thought I'd share all of the identified songs. As you can see, the clips are organized based on when they were recorded. While reviewing these songs, there were three things that surprised me.
The first thing was the number of artists I had never heard of or had never seen before on a Weather Channel playlist. The second thing was the number of songs that were played again in 1986 and 1987. The third thing was that "Daddy's Gonna Miss You" by The Yellowjackets was used. Up until receiving these, I only knew it from the February 2005 playlist.
As you listen to these clips, you will notice that many of them were 75 seconds long. Apparently TWC had only one local forecast flavor from about February 1985 to June 1986, and it was 1:15 long. This changed when the "new" Weather Channel debuted on June 29, 1986, and they went back to one minute local forecasts.
Another thing you might notice are the instrumental versions of songs that were popular at the time. Songs like "Human Nature" (originally by Michael Jackson) and "I Can't Tell You Why" (originally by the Eagles) were covered by well-known jazz artists.
You also had instrumental versions of the original (which I assume came from EP [extended play] albums). These included "All Night Long" by Lionel Richie, "Part Time Lover" by Stevie Wonder, and "Party All The Time" by Eddie Murphy.
TWC also used the theme song from several movies and TV shows during this time. They played the themes from the movie "Terms of Endearment", the TV show "St. Elsewhere," the movie "St. Elmo's Fire," and the TV show "Miami Vice".
One final thing to note is the "America" song by Kodak in the Summer 1985 list. Kodak was a big sponsor at the time, and they used several instrumental cuts of their campaign song at the time. The songs were featured in several promos and (here) as part of the local forecast.
August 1984
- Catching The Sun by Spyro Gyra
- Dancing Shadows by James Last
- Human Nature by George Howard
November 1984
- Angel Of The Night by Alexander Zonjic
- Angoh by Andreas Vollenweider
- Courtship by Bob James
- Dark Star by Dan Siegel
- Fast Lane by Cabo Frio
- Friends And Strangers by Ronnie Laws
- G Force by Kenny G
- I Can't Tell You Why by Kenny G
- In Spiritual Love by Jean-Luc Ponty
- Lotus Blossom by David Sanborn
- Midnight by Bob James
- Modaji by Alexander Zonjic
- Night Drive by Earl Klugh
- Power Wave by Dave Grusin
- Sunset Strut by Jim Walker And Free Flight
- Sweet by Jeff Lorber Fusion
- The Preacher by George Howard
September 1984
- Bright Sky by Jeff Lorber Fusion
- Countin' The Cost by Koinonia
- Delevans by Jeff Lorber
- Dr. Rock by George Howard
- Mr. Cool by The Crusaders
- Much Too Soon by Special EFX
- Pedestrian by Lee Ritenour
- Stride With Ease by Jeff Tyzik
- Target by Tom Scott
- Tropical Legs by Earl Klugh
- True Confessions by Herb Alpert
- Violet Don't Be Blue by Herbie Mann
February 1985
- Always There by Ronnie Laws
- Find It (Hold That Note) by Cabo Frio
- Free And Easy by Tom Browne
- Inside Moves by Grover Washington Jr.
- Make A Wish by Herb Alpert
- Man In The Moon by Yellowjackets
- Night Lines by Dave Grusin
- Oriental Eyes by Herb Alpert
- Ruby, Ruby, Ruby by Bob James
May 1985
- All Night Long by Lionel Richie
- Axel F Theme by Harold Faltermeyer
- Deat Beat by Yellowjackets
- Do Dah by Tim Weisberg
- Flight Feet And Root Hands by Andreas Vollenweider
- Hypnotized by Shakatak
- Imagine This by Pieces Of A Dream
- Japan by Kenny G
- Jet Stream by Grover Washington Jr
- Killing Me Softly by Tim Weisberg
- Los Mambos by Yellowjackets
- Love Wears No Disguise by Chuck Mangione
- Nimbus by Yellowjackets
- Pace Verde by Andreas Vollenweider
- Really Scary by Jeff Lorber
- Sassy Stew by Grover Washington Jr.
- Serengetti Walk by Dave Grusin
- Summer Sky by Shakatak
- Sunset At Noon by Kenny G
- The Preacher by George Howard
- Theme From St. Elsewhere by Dave Grusin
- Theme From Terms Of Endearment by Kent Jordan
Summer 1985
- America Theme by Kodak
- April Love by Earl Klugh
- Daddy's Gonna Miss You by Yellowjackets
- Dancing In The Sun by George Howard
- Fire Fly by Sadao Watanabe
- Forever Hold Your Peace by Special EFX
- Goree Island by Roy Ayers
- Gravity by Kenny G
- Hall Of The Stairs by Andreas Vollenweider
- Hideaway by David Sanborn
- I Can't Tell You Why by Kenny G
- Jet Stream by Grover Washington Jr.
- Last Night Of The Year by Kenny G
- Let's Just Say Goodbye by David Sanborn
- Lisa by David Sanborn
- Maraval by Sadao Watanabe
- Monkey Buttons by Dave Valentin
- No Question About It by Kent Jordan
- Norwegian Wood by Jim Walker & Free Flight
- Part Time Lover by Stevie Wonder
- Pedestrian by Lee Ritenour
- Reflections by Dan Siegel
- San Ysidro by Dave Grusin & Lee Ritenour
- Silverlake by Yellowjackets
- Some Other Time by Earl Klugh
- Target by Tom Scott
- Telephone by George Howard
- The Bird by Dave Grusin & Lee Ritenour
- The Glass Hall by Andreas Vollenweider
- Virgin Island by Kenny G
- Where Are You Now by Dan Siegel
February 1986
- Act Natural by Don Grolnick & Michael Brecker
- Chris by Pat Metheny Group
- Cool Blue by Eurythmics
- Dolphins And Whales Come Home by Mannheim Steamroller
- Dream Ride by George Howard
- G Force by Kenny G
- I'm Your's by Sadao Watanabe
- Kitchen Dance by Dave Grusin
- Miami Vice Theme by Jan Hammer
- Night Glo by Carla Bley
- Nimbus by Yellowjackets
- Oriental Eyes by Herb Alpert
- Sweet by Jeff Lorber Fusion
- The Glass Hall by Andreas Vollenweider
- The Seduction (Love Theme) by James Last
- You're Not Just Flying Theme by United Airlines
June 4, 1986
- Delvans by Jeff Lorber
- Early A.M. Attitude by Dave Grusin & Lee Ritenour
- Islands by Dan Siegel
- Love Theme From St. Elmo's Fire by David Foster
- Rainbow by Sandy Owen
- Rhinos And Elephants by Mannheim Steamroller
- September Nights by Dave Valentin
June 29, 1986
- Amelia by Russ Freeman
- Hall Of The Stairs by Andreas Vollenweider
- It's You by Bob James & David Sanborn
- Party All The Time by Eddie Murphy
- Polo In The Palisades by Russ Freeman
- We Don't Need Another Hero by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra