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The Wrestling Album.
1985 - The Wrestling Album.
1987 - The Wrestling Album II: Piledriver.
more The Wrestling Album.
way more Helter Skelter.

November 9, 1985 - 2025: 40 years of: The Wrestling Album.

The 80's zenith.

From sci-fi to muscle-cars to action to muscle-men ...the mid-decade ruled. And now, pop-culture gets shocked to a different vibe ...rocking to professional-wrestling. Out of the underground into the spotlights of Madison Square Garden, the World Wrestling Federation corners another arm of show-business.

Fully narrated by Vince McMahon, Mean Gene Okerlund and the always colorful eternal badass Jesse The Body Ventura, wrestlers sing along to poprock and entrance theme-songs.

The "Land Of A Thousand Dances ?!!?" Americana classic gets royal rumbled, while the street soul "Grab Them Cakes" might be Junkyard Dog's slickest move. The humorously addictive "Tutti Frutti" shakes, rattles & rolls ...with an overdriven Okerlund.

Making a notable appearance is the penned by American heritage Rick Derringer, who also provided electric-guitars, all-time classic in "Real American". Originally intended for the U.S. Express tag-team, the track would be switched over to Hulk Hogan and forever cement the 80s Red, White & Blue pride.

Tagging along some of the hippest stars, namely Cindy Lauper, it's 1985 a new wild era is here. Mere months after the inaugural WrestleMania ...HulkaMania is running wild on us. A second rocknroll elimination shall be issued in 1987's The Wrestling Album II: Piledriver LP.

RIP Junkyard Dog (1952-1998)
RIP Captain Lou Albano (1933-2009)
RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper (1954-2015)
RIP George The Animal Steele (1937-2017)
RIP Nikolai Volkoff (1947-2018)
RIP Rick Derringer (1947-2025)
RIP Hulk Hogan (1953-2025)

*
Real American = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZcQZTOeSLc
Land Of A Thousand Dances ?!!? = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7z7ovO9-dw
The Wrestling Album = full LP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlCi9Yr_RyQ&list=PLKfCbyMyyIb-6jdGnmfJ65LUUyR3XBSre
some guy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZAXtuixa6I

September 21, 1987 - 2022: 35 years of: The Wrestling Album II: Piledriver.

The excellence of execution in sports entertainment.

After WrestleMania III's world-record 93000+ hyped Detroit working-class crowd, the World Wrestling Federation would now bodyslam the music-business. After 1985's The Wrestling Album LP, the rocknroll stakes were sky high.

The record blast-off with an AOR cut, Strike Force's "Girls In Cars". All the 80s clichés are there and they are all wonderful. Deep in the wrong neighborhood, the Doctor Of Styles: Slick, raps his strut on "Jive Soul Bro", while the cool, cocky and bad Honky Tonk Man revvs his pink Cadillac from HONKYWOOD thru downtown on the Sun Records-rhythmnblues "Honky Tonk Man". Elvis who ? ...let's shake, rattle & roll !

In the hardrock genre, Jimmy Hart's "Crank It Up" could have been a W.A.S.P. track, the rough hitting title-track "Piledriver" displays Koko B.Ware's strongest asset, his James Brown soulful voice, while the heavymetal thunder of Demolition, devastates everything above sea-level with their jack-hammering cut "Demolition". The LP closes with "If You Only Knew" ...a testosteroned "We Are The World"-type, where 20+ superstars claims to be the best of the beast, by pumping iron in a showing and pushing no count-out exhibition.

Once again Rick Derringer handles all of the guitars, while creator Jim Johnston handles the writing. Derringer's iconic "Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo" gets revamped, courtesy of fan-favorite announcer Mean Gene Okerlund. Johnston would continue for decades with the WWF as creator of 80% of all of the wrestler's entrance theme-songs.

The VHS home-video counterpart is a collection of ...videoclips that embraces the MTV format. Released at the height of the decade's superflux, the WWF's corporation was not only ruling the squared-circle, but headbutting the poprock modus-operandi. They had no chance, no chance in hell !

Rocknroll, TV dinners, pay-per-views, mullets, Reaganomics, arcades and wrestling ...the summum 80s cool culture. The Federation would eventually release more yearly CDs as part of their elaborate product-catalog.

RIP Davey Boy Smith (1962-2002)
RIP Miss Elizabeth (1960-2003)
RIP Sherri Martel (1958-2007)
RIP Randy Macho Man Savage (1952-2011)
RIP Bobby The Brain Heenan (1944-2017)
RIP The Dynamite Kid (1958-2018)
RIP Mean Gene Okerlund (1942-2019)
RIP The Natural Butch Reed (1954-2021)

*
Girls In Cars = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSHJc59jm6s
Piledriver = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFcMZRy4yNI
Honky Tonk Man = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlyM0drxwyk
Demolition = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S43yIrLHbZk
Jive Soul Bro = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypriog7h2OQ
Stand Back = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMFm73OiGqI
Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5mA1_YBufE
If You Only Knew = video
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3zgyy
Piledriver: The Wrestling Album II = full LP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJzdIm1fjqo&list=PLKfCbyMyyIb9cXGJJWdmmLmdXyem_gHbs
Piledriver: The Music Video = full VHS
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x203w4
Slammy Awards in 1987
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bh-J9sRHhyg

more The Wrestling Album:

#Jacques Rougeau