Retro Video of the Week: "King of Rock" by Run-D.M.C.

Yesterday was the 35th anniversary of the release of rap and hip hop pioneers Run-D.M.C.'s second album, King of Rock.  Produced by legendary hip hop producers Russell Simmons (yes, the Russell Simmons) and Larry Smith, King of Rock was the first rap album that was ever released on CD.  

The group wanted to broaden its musical abilities and broaden its audience, and Smith helped the group live up to the album's name, using his group and session musicians to add drums and guitars to certain songs to give them more of a "rock" feel.  The result was a classic rap album that pushed Run-D.M.C. closer to the brink of superstardom and mainstream success -- which they would achieve with their next album, 1986's Raising Hell.

But let's bring it back to King of Rock.  The album went platinum in the U.S., and it featured several songs that made it into the Top 20 on the Billboard R&B charts:  the title track (#14), "You Talk Too Much" (#19), and "Can You Rock Like This" (#19).  For this week's Retro Video of the Week, I'm picking the title track because, not only is it a great song, but it has a great video featuring loveable Letterman mainstay Calvert DeForest -- better known as Larry "Bud" Melman -- as a security guard at a rock and roll museum who tries to tell Run and D.M.C. that they "don't belong in here," before they prove otherwise.