It’s Monday, And Here’s The Video You Deserve: The Link Between Two Comedy Legends
It’s Monday. Yeah. We feel you.
And so, every Monday, we give you a music video. A fun, funny music video. Something that’ll make you smile, make you laugh, make you reminisce, and make you realize that back in the day, music video creators were probably either insane or heavily intoxicated. But were also incredibly entertaining.
We call this feature, The Video You Deserve, and you can find it every Monday on your site for fun, free entertainment and features, QuadCities.com.
And today’s video hearkens back to the decade that was basically ruled by one Eddie Murphy. Because Eddie Murphy was a TITAN in the ’80s. From the time he debuted on “Saturday Night Live” with such memorable characters as Buckwheat, Gumby, Mr. Robinson, James Brown and more, and pretty much single-handedly saved the show from cancellation, Murphy was a phenomenon. He was the driving force behind “SNL’s” revival, he ruled the stand-up comedy scene with hit albums like “Raw” and “Delirious,” and he struck box office gold with a string of massive hits, including “48 Hours,” “Trading Places,” and, of course, the “Beverly Hills Cop” series. Murphy was the epitome of cool in the Reagan years.
Murphy was so cool during that time, that he was able to parlay all that fame into a singing career, and, perhaps because unlike so many other actors throughout music history, he could actually sing, he hit it big on the charts as well. Eddie scored a massive hit in 1985 with a song written and produced by the one and only Rick James. A song that would end up selling over a million copies and landing as the 447th best-selling single of all time on the Billboard charts, and one which… would have a very curious afterlife.
We’re talking, of course, about the sublime “Party All The Time.”
The video has it all. The big hair. The shirtless guitarist in white pants. The two rando dudes in white shirts dancing, one of whom is feeling himself up. And, of course, Rick James, from his orgasmic reaction to Eddie hitting that high note to his swagger and growl, and, of course, his bright orange aura.
Which leads to the afterlife of this song, which wouldn’t be felt until almost two decades later, when Eddie’s brother, Charlie, was hanging around on the set of a little sketch comedy called “Chappelle’s Show,” cracking up Dave and the other cast members with his stories of hanging out with his brother during the peak of his fame, with celebrities like Prince, and… Rick James. Charlie’s particular stories about James, along with a now-signature catch phrase, “I’m Rick James, bitch!” helped propel Dave Chappelle and “Chappelle’s Show” to legendary status in the early 2000s, making Charlie Murphy an intriguing Zelig of sorts who was both closely linked with and a connective string between two legends of comedy who both dominated their decades and changed the genre forever.
But before that, came this, “Party All The Time,” which is actually a pretty bangin’ song with some great funk grooves and brilliant pop hooks, and, of course, the video.
And now, today, HERE is The Video You Deserve…
