One Day in Your Life: November 18, 1984

November 18, 1984, is a Sunday. By Congressional resolution, it’s the first day of National Family Week. The New York Times publishes several articles about Baby Fae, the anonymous child who died last Thursday after living 20 days with the transplanted heart of a baboon. The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub tops the Times bestseller list for fiction; Iacocca: An Autobiography, by former Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca ,leads the nonfiction list. Future Avenged Sevenfold bassist Johnny Christ is born, although his parents name him Jonathan Lewis Seward. The Chuck Norris film Missing in Action tops the weekend box office. The New York City Opera’s production of Sweeney Todd closes after 13 performances.

In the National Football League, the Miami Dolphins suffer their first loss of the season to San Diego, 34-28. The San Francisco 49ers are also 11-and-1 after a 24-17 win over Tampa Bay. Tim Lewis of the Green Bay Packers sets a team record with a 99-yard interception return for a touchdown in a 31-6 win over the Los Angeles Rams. Geoff Bodine wins the final NASCAR race of the season, but Terry Labonte wins the Winston Cup championship.

Shows on TV tonight include Hardcastle and McCormick, Murder She Wrote, the theatrical movie Stripes, and the first part of the made-for-TV movie Fatal Vision, dramatizing the Jeffrey MacDonald murder case. On this weekend’s edition of The Dr. Demento Show, “Earache My Eye” by Cheech and Chong tops the Funny Five countdown. Metallica plays Paris and Queensryche plays Buffalo.  Bruce Springsteen plays Lincoln, Nebraska and rushes the season a little bit by closing with “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.” Jethro Tull plays Seattle, and Stevie Ray Vaughan becomes the first white artist to win the W.C. Handy Blues Awards for Entertainer of the Year and Blues Instrumentalist of the Year.

On the Cash Box singles chart, “Purple Rain” by Prince is Number One for a second week. The rest of the top five: “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” by Wham, Billy Ocean’s “Caribbean Queen,” “I Just Called to Say I Love You” by Stevie Wonder, and Chaka Khan’s “I Feel for You,” which features Stevie on harmonica and samples.

The highest debuting new record is Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” at Number 41. Also among the debuts: “Jamie” by Ray Parker Jr., “You’re the Inspiration” by Chicago, and “Bruce” by Rick Springfield, a complaint about being mistaken for another musician named Bruce. A tiny radio station on the windswept prairies of western Illinois is playing them all. Even “Bruce.”