Made it Stick

Although George Duke first made his mark as a jazz instrumentalist, late-1970s classics like Reach for It, Don't Let Go, and Follow the Rainbow made it clear that he could also be an expressive R&B singer. But he didn't want to handle all of the lead vocals himself; so during that period, his role was that of a producer/keyboardist/songwriter who was more than happy to share the lead vocals with Lynn Davis, Josie James, and others. Davis enjoyed a lot of exposure on R&B stations when, in 1979, Duke featured her on "I Want You for Myself," the haunting single that made Master of the Game one of his best-selling albums.

Habit Forming Made Easy

One of the most powerful anti-war statements ever put on film, this gut-wrenching story concerns a group of friends who join the Army during World War I and are assigned to the Western Front, where their fiery patriotism is quickly turned to horror and misery by the harsh realities of combat. Director Lewis Milestone pioneered the use of the sweeping crane shot to capture a ghastly battlefield panorama of death and mud, and the cast, led by Lew Ayres, is terrific. It's hard to pick a favorite scene, but the finale, as Ayres stretches from his trench to catch a butterfly, is one of the most devastating sequences of the decade. The film won Oscars for Best Picture and for Milestone's direction – and trivia buffs should note that the actors were coached by future luminary George Cukor, while Ayres became a conscientious objector in World War II.