New Jersey Stage - July/August 2014 | Page 17

Once I had the era defined for my purposes, I started thinking about what sorts of things led to the end of Lite Rock’s chart success. What happened in 1982, specifically, that would lead to bands like Ambrosia and Little River Band finding themselves shut out of the music scene? Obviously, tastes change. So that was part of it. But the other thing that happened in 1982 was the emergence of MTV, which really became a cultural force. And, with all due respect, Randy VanWarner and Robbie Dupree just were not built for MTV. As I thought of ideas for a follow up to Drink A Toast To Innocence, I knew that I wanted to do something that had more of a specific theme than just “Early MTV.” Were there sub-genres that were particularly important to the