Let me take you back to 1985 …
- An unknown singer named Whitney Houston releases her first record.
- Ronald Reagan begins his second term in office.
- Coca-Cola foolishly releases "New Coke."
- "The Cosby Show" and "Miami Vice" rule the small screen.
- "Out of Africa" rules the big screen.
- Microsoft releases its first version of Windows.
- Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Dan Akroyd, Kenny Rogers, Lionel Richie (… Wait! Dan Akroyd!?? Yes, Dan Akroyd! …) team up as USA for Africa to sing "We Are The World."
- And "St. Elmo’s Fire" — of of the worst coming-of-age stories ever put to film — hits mega-plexes across the country.
The song is pretty dreadful … but it’s a piece of art compared to the movie. Have a listen.
Al Olson | Life in the Great Northwest 
All I can say is love the hair. Wondering where this song even came from, I stumbled across this tidbit from some guy on youtube: "Parr was inspired to write this after meeting a paraplegic who was
pushing himself to travel around the world in his wheelchair. It and
its title were simply lifted for the movie, which it has nothing to do
with. St Elmos Fire is the actual name of a solar phenomenon on the
periphery…named for the monk who first discovered it I believe…" That works for me.
The hair is the best! And thanks for the astronomy lesson.
Completely forgot about this song and John Parr and I saw him perform! He opened for Tina Turner in Oakland during her Private Dancer tour. Guess he wasn’t that memorable or I was too excited about Tina! Can’t say I’m crazy about the song, but have to appreciate it more now that I know its inspiration!