“Stop the Madness” Confuses and Amuses. Stops Nothing.

Trying to find a way to un-glamorize drug use in the mid-1980s, Nancy Reagan and pals cobbled together the song and more importantly the music video for “Stop the Madness”. The song is catchy enough, but sub-par when you consider the money and talent involved with the project. But really the song is just not that important. You see, the awesomeness of the music video more than makes up for the song’s mediocrity. Don’t believe me? Check out a snapshot of the line-up of talent involved: New Edition, Steve Arrington, Nancy Reagan, Tim Feehan, Whitney Houston, David Hasselhoff, Kim Fields, Jon Burford, LaToya Jackson, Kimaya Koepke, Herb Alpert, Linda Stokes, Jackie Ball, Steve Arrington, Toni Basil, Tim Feehan, Tata Vega, Andre Crouch, Sandra Crouch, Casey Kasem, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Boogaloo Shrimp, and the Good Year Blimp.

That is right you read Herb Albert, Kim Fields, and Boogaloo Shrimp in the same sentence. Excited to watch it now?

I am not sure if “Stop the Madness” did anything to stop drug use. Perhaps people who were on drugs watched this video and found the dizzying cast of celebs so confusing that they thought themselves so messed up that they renounced drugs on the spot.

Though related, the music video should not be confused with the CBS PSA series by the same name. In this one, Pat Sajak Wants You to “Stop the Madness”