Remember the 1985 song “We Built This City” by Jefferson Airplane (Starship)? Not sure? Maybe the official music video will jog your memory:
If you recognized the song, there’s no denying the sense of nostalgia it brings back.
The lyrics describe a city built on rock and roll, but while the song features references to the group’s hometown of San Francisco, the music video had a green screen in the background used to feature much of Fremont Street in Las Vegas, NV. You may have seen such casinos in the video as 4 Queens, Golden Nugget, and the Plaza Hotel & Casino.
“We Built This City” received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group in 1986 and it became one of the most iconic songs of the 1980s.
However, not everyone fell in love with the song. In 2004, VH1 and Blender Magazine named this song the Most Awesomely Bad Song of All Time. Then in 2011, Rolling Stone magazine polled their readers online and “We Built This City” also ended up being voted the worst song of the 1980s.
Love it or hate it, “We Built This City” is just simply one of the classics. We hope you enjoyed watching the video!