The Summer of 1984: Asbury Park’s Glory Days Captured on Video
The summer of 1984 in Asbury Park was a magical time! On June 8, 1984, Bruce Springsteen played a warm-up gig for what was to become the mammoth "Born in the USA" tour, premiering the songs "Glory Days," "Dancing in the Dark," "Darlington County," "My Hometown," and "Born in the USA, on a sweaty night at The Stone Pony.
One week later, Charlie Huffman and his wife, Barb, took a drive through Asbury armed with a video camera and a mission to film his beloved hometown.
The result is a priceless visual of a bygone time, with images of the bumper cars and the Fun House (remember the gorilla?) inside the Palace . One gets wistful hearing the cheery music of the long dismantled merry-go-round in the background! Hoffman even captured the feel of The Boardwalk, Convention Hall, The Beach, The Stone Pony, The Wonder Bar, miniature golf, Tillie, and of course, interviews with locals in all their '80s glory.
It really is something to watch, especially with the Memorial Day weekend coming up!
On Friday morning at 5:30 a.m., Lou and Liz will return to our seaside playground as 94.3 The Point officially kicks off summer live from our New Jersey Natural Gas Asbury Park Boardwalk Studios! Come hang out, and compare and contrast what has changed and what has stayed the same at the the shore!
As usual, your hosts will be on hand every Friday with all kinds of fun-prizes, laughs, coffee (right, Liz?), sun, surf, sand and laughs! The parking is free before 9 a.m., so grab a spot near the Silverball Arcade on 3rd Avenue --maybe check out a pinball machine from the '80s-and join us! Remember, The 94.3 The Point will be there every weekend, too!
Check out the video!