Music of the 1980’s
1980 Hit Songs
 Rock
with You
 Crazy Little Thing Called Love
 Coming Up
 Funkytown
 It's
Still Rock and Roll to Me
 Lost in Love
 Do That to Me One More
Time
Grammy Awards
 Sailing:
Christopher Cross-
record
 Christopher Cross- Album
 Sailing: song
 Disco
continued to sell well in
1980 Songs like Blondie's "Call Me"
 Diana Ross "Upside Down"
 Irene Cara "Fame"
 Listeners
tastes were changing
though
 Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, and
Bob Seger were all becoming
popular
 Captain and Tennille: "Do That to
Me One More Time"
 Kenny
Roger "Lady"
 Christopher Cross "Sailing"---these were "mushy" ballads
that were also very popular
 The
Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's
Delight" became the first rap
record to make the Top
Hundred (peaked at #36)
 Digitally
recorded LP's were
widely marketed for the first
time
 Introduction of the Sony
Walkman (portable stereo)
 The
Walkman changed the
listening habits of the entire
country
 Single handedly responsible for
the boom in cassette sales
during the early 80's
 New
generation was
discovering Jim Morrison and
The Doors (thanks to the movie
Apocalype Now because it
used the song "The End" in it)
 Morrison
became a popular
icon- Rolling Stone Magazine
did a cover story on him
 Headline: "He's Hot. He's
Sexy. He's Dead."
 John
Lennon: assassinated in
New York City by mental patient
 Mark
David
Chapman
1981
 Lady
 Starting
Over
 Kiss on My List
 9 to 5
 Take It On the Run
 Morning
Train
 Slow Hand
Grammy Awards
 Bette
Davis Eyes: Kim Carnesrecord
 Double Fantasy: John Lennon,
Yoko One- album
 Bette Davis Eyes: song
MTV
 MTV:
all music video cable
channel that was relatively
commercial free
 Debut was with Buggles' song
"Video Killed the Radio Star"
 Immediate sensation
 Bars
drew in extra business by
hanging a sign out that said
"We have MTV"
 Original veejays were: Alan
Hunter, Martha Quinn, JJ
Jackson, Mark Goodman, and
Nina Blackwood
 Channel
was originally
dominated by English artists,
because American artists were
not in the habit of making
videos
 Many critics noticed a lack of
black artists
 Disco
backlash: many white
record buyers were considering
anything black to be "disco"
 Black recording artists were
having a tough time crossing
over into the pop world
 Rick
James: Top 20 hit with
"Super Freak"---couldn't get the
video played on MTV
 Prince:
"Controversy" album--was booed off stage while
opening for Rolling Stones at
the LA Coliseum
 Only
two records by black
artists topped the charts in
1981: Diana Ross and Lionel
Richie's "Endless Love" and
"Celebration"
 Blondie experimented with rap
in "Rapture"
 White America
was still
wanting: REO Speedwagon,
Styx, Journey and pop country
Eddie Rabbit and Dolly Parton,
and Daryl Hall and John Oates--

Styx and Hall & Oates
 Also:
Rick Springfield:
Australian actor and musician
 Fluke hit in 1972 with "Speak to
the Sky"
 One of America's leading
heartthrobs
 Had
a regular role as Dr. Noah
Drake on soap opera General
Hospital
 Olivia
Newton-John: "Physical"
 Christopher Cross: "Arthur's
Theme (Best That You Can
Do)"
1982
 Any
Day Now
 Jack and Diane
 Abracadabra
 Hard to Say I'm Sorry
 Gloria
I
Can't Go for That
 Hurts So Good
Grammy Awards
 Rosanna:
Toto-record
 Toto IV: Toto- album
 Always on My Mind- song
 Independent
film: Wild Style
came out this year
 Explored rap music,
breakdancing, and graffiti art
scenes in the black community
of New York's South Bronx
 Grandmaster
Flash and the
Furious Five- rap act that
appeared in the movie
 They released single called
"The Message"
 First
rap hit to comment on the
social issues and pressures
facing urban blacks
 Not
a huge pop hit, but crossed
over just enough to start getting
white people to see that
something was starting to
develop in the ghettos of
America
 Pretty
dull year for American
music:
 Hall and Oates and Lionel
Richie dominated the charts
 John Cougar starting to
become popular
 Steve
Miller and Chicago still
popular from the 1970's
 Joan Jett brought real rock and
roll to the charts
 The
Blasters and The Stray
Cats were popular among
American kids too
 The Go-Go's: products of LA
punk scene
 Frank
Zappa: he and daughter
Moon Unit did "Valley Girl"
 Used "valspeaking" residents of
LA and gave him the biggest hit
of his career
Liberace
 his
chauffeur Scott Thorson
had been his companion
 Filed a lawsuit against
Liberace- wanted his
belongings back
 Liberace denied being
homosexual
 Joan
Jett and The Blackhearts:
"I Love Rock N Roll"
 Paul McCartney with Stevie
Wonder: "Ebony and Ivory"
 Survivor:
"Eye of the Tiger"
 J. Geils Band: "Centerfold"
 Daryl Hall and John Oates:
"Maneater"
1983
 Down
Under
 Billie Jean
 Every Breath You Take
 Maniac
 Total
Eclipse of the Heart
 Say, Say, Say
 Islands in the Stream
Grammy Awards
 Beat
It, Michael Jacksonrecord
 Thriller: Michael Jacksonalbum
 Every Breath You Take- song
 Michael
Jackson: Off the Wall
had been a huge hit in 1979
 Came out with Thriller this year
 Had
6 Top Ten hits on it:
 "Billie Jean"
 "Beat It"
 "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin"
 "Human Nature"
 "PYT"
 "Thriller"
 Quiet
Riot: LA: album "Metal
Health"
 Popularity of heavy metal was
coming
 Spandex pants and big hair
 Styx:
Kilroy Was Here
 Talking Heads: New York artrock combo- "Burning Down the
House" was in Top 10
 REM:
Athens, Georgia- Top 40
with "Murmur"
 The Velvet Underground: had
been popular in the late 60's
 By '85 all records were back in
print, selling better than in the 60's
1984
 Footloose
 Jump
 Time
After Time
 Owner of a Lonely Heart
 Ghostbusters
 Uptown
Girl
 Self Control
Grammy Awards
 What's
Love Got to Do with It: Tina
Turner- record
 Can't Slow Down: Lionel Richiealbum
 What's Love Got to Do with Itsong
 Breakdancing
was everywherein TV commercials, music
videos- even at the opening of
the LA Summer Olympics
 Hollywood
made four lowbudget "Breaksploitation" flicks:
"Beat Street" "Body Rock"
"Breakin'" and "Breakin' 2:
Electric Boogaloo"
 MTV
was a major influence on
music and film
 Quick edits & lighting that had
been just in music videos were
now going into Hollywood filmsBeverly Hills Cop, Footloose,
Streets of Fire, Purple Rain
 Executives
started realizing
that by putting scenes from the
film into the music video, you
could sell a movie better as
well as the soundtrack
 Purple
Rain: blockbuster film
and a multi-platinum album
 Born in The USA: Bruce
Springsteen
 Heavy
Metal:
 Van Halen: 1984 -band's final
album with David Lee Roth
 "Jump"
 "Panama"
 "Hot for Teacher"
 Ratt,
Motley Crue
 "Out of The Cellar"
 "Shout At The Devil"
 Twisted
Sister: "We're Not
Gonna take It"
 RUN-DMC: Joseph Simmons
and Darryl McDaniels
 "Rock Box" mixture of street
raps and metallic guitars
Marvin Gaye
 1983:
"Sexual Healing" comeback
 working on a follow-up to "Midnight
Love" album
 April 1 was shot and killed by his
father in an argument
 Other
big hits of the year:
 Madonna: "Like A Virgin"
 Prince: "When Doves Cry"
1985
 Wake
Me Up Before You Go-Go
 I Feel for You
 Glory Days
 Crazy for You
 Careless Whisper
 One Night in Bangkok
Grammy Awards
 We Are
the World- U.S.A. for
Africa- record
 No Jacket Required: Phil
Collins- album
 We Are the World: song
 Live
Aid, Farm Aid, and
founding of the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame
 Year of the compact disc:
higher priced than turntables
and LPs
 CD
players and CDs were
immediately so successful that
it was predicted that vinyl would
be almost completely obsolete
by the end of the decade
 PMRC:
self appointed moral
watchdog committee formed by
wives of several prominent
politicos
 Began
to pressure record
companies to save the youth of
America by putting warning
stickers on records containing
"offensive" lyrical content
 22
record companies pledged
to slap parental warnings on
any product containing
potentially offensive material
 LL
Cool J: rap's newest superstar
with debut album "Radio"
 Starship's "We Built This City"
 Mr. Mister "Broken Wings"
 Whitney Houston's "Saving All My
Love For You"
 Lionel
Richie "Say You, Say
Me"
 Madonna's: "Crazy For You"
 John Parr: "St Elmo's Fire"
 Huey Lewis and The News':
"The Power of Love"
More top songs
USA for Africa: "We Are The
World"
 REO Speedwagon: "Can't
Fight This Feeling"
 Dire Straits: "Money For
Nothing"
1986
 How
Will I Know
 Kyrrie
 Greatest Love of All
 Live to Tell
 On
My Own
 There'll Be Sad Songs
 Sledgehammer
Grammy Awards
 Higher
Love: Steve Winwood-
record
 Graceland: Paul Simon: album
 That's What Friends Are For: song
 Madonna:
shortened hair and
tried to "class up" her image
 Third album: "True Blue
 The
Bangles: all female
quartet
 Two massive pop hits: "Manic
Monday" - which was written by
Prince
 "Walk Like An Egyptian"
 Bon
Jovi:
 Sounded like a cross between
Bruce Springsteen and a metal
band
 "You Give Love A Bad Name"
 "Livin On A Prayer"
 Metallica:
thrash metal classes
"Master of Puppets"
 Momentum lost when bassist
Cliff Burton died in a bus crash
during the band's Swedish tour
 Miami
Vice's Don Johnson:
Top 5 hit with "Heartbeat"
 Janet Jackson: younger sister
of Michael Jackson
 "Control"
 James
Brown: 4th decade of hits
with “Living In America”
 Paul Simon: South African
musicians on new Graceland
album---“world music” style
 Run DMC: teamed up with
Aerosmith for a remake of “Walk
This Way”
 More
top hits:
 Dionne and Friends “That’s
What Friends Are For”
 Falco: “Rock Me Amadeus”
1987
 Nothing's
Gonna Stop Us Now
 Alone
 Here
I Go Again
 The Way It Is
 Shakedown
 Livin'
on a Prayer
 Everybody Have Fun Tonight
Grammy Awards
 Graceland:
Paul Simon- record
 The Joshua Tree: US- album
 Somewhere Out There- song

Top Albums
Dirty Dancing Soundtrack
 Whitney Houston: Whitney
 U2: The Joshua Tree
 The Beastie Boys: Licensed to
Ill
 Michael Jackson: Bad
 Other
Top Singles:
 George Michael: Faith
 Los Lobos: La Bamba
 U2: With or Without You
 CD
market had sales of over
$102 million
 Bad sold 8 million copies this
year, had 5 Number One
singles- including “Man In The
Mirror” and “Bad”
 Tiffany:
Tiffany Darwinsch
 16 years old
 “Could’ve Been”
 “I Think We’re Alone Now
 Debbie
Gibson:
 “Only In My Dreams”
 “Shake Your Love”
 Grateful
Dead: hit first Top 10 hit
with “Touch of Grey”
 Deadheads complained that the
single was making the band too
popular
 Newcomers were ruining the “vibe”
of he Dead’s concerts
Poison
 Slayer
 These replaced Twisted Sister
and Quiet Riot for the
headbangers
 The
Beastie Boys: debut album by
New York white rap trio was
Licensed to Ill
 Had hit “You Gotta Fight For Your
Right To Party”
 Sold 5 million copies and became
the first rap record to top the pop
album charts
 10
years after Elvis Presley’s
death:
 20,000 fans from around the world
went to Memphis
 Liberace died this year from AIDS
 He had an outrageous sense of
onstage style
1988
 Faith
 Need
You Tonight
 Sweet Child O'Mine
 Hands to Heaven
 One
More Try
 Wild, Wild West
 Groovy Kind of Love
Grammy Awards
 Don't
Worry, Be Happy- Bobby
McFerrin- record
 Faith: George Michael- album
 Don't Worry, Be Happy: Bobby
McFerrin- song
 More
Top Singles:
 Steve Winwood: Roll With It
 Poison: Every Rose Has Its
Thorn
 Chicago: Look Away
Top Albums
George Michael: Faith
 Def Leppard: Hysteria
 US: Rattle and Hum
 Guns N Roses: Appetite for
Destruction
 Bon Jovi: New Jersey
Guns N’ Roses
Changing the face of music
 No lipstick, teased hair, and
spandex
 They had leathers, bandanas
and the look of “fresh from the
gutter”
 Public
Enemy:
 It Takes A Nation Of Millions To
Hold Us Back
 Mixed rage with big beats
 Will
To Power: “Free Baby”
 Disco-muzak of Peter
Frampton’s “Baby I Love Your
Way” and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s
“Free Bird”
 Beach Boys: “Kokomo”
 Bobby
McFerrin: “Don’t Worry,
Be Happy”
 George Bush would try to use
this song as his theme for 1992
campaign
 James
Brown: arrested this fall
 He lead several Georgia state
police cars on a chase while
under influence of PCP
 6 year jail sentence was
reduced to a little over 25
months
1989
 My
Prerogative
 Straight Up
 Giving You the Best that I Got
 This Time I Know It's for Real
 Fight
the Power
 Cold Hearted
 Cherish
Grammy Awards
 Wind
Beneath My Wings:
Bette Midler- record
 Nick of Time: Bonnie Raittalbum
 Wind Beneath My Wings- song
 Phil
Collins: Another Day in
Paradise
 Janet Jackson: Miss You Much
 Richard Marx: Right Here
Waiting
 Madonna: Like a Prayer
Top Albums
Paula Abdul: Forever Your Girl
 Milli Vanilli: Girl You Know It’s True
 Fine Young Cannibals: The Raw and
the Cooked
 Bobby Brown: Don’t Be Cruel
 Madonna: Like a Prayer

 Rap
music very popular now
 Novelty rap singles like Young
MC’s “Bust A Move”
 2 Live Crew
 Tone Loc’s “Funky Cold
Medina”
 Paula Abdul,
Richard Marx, and
New Kids on the Block
 Madonna: Like a Prayer:
strongest album for her to that
point
 Bobby Brown: left New Edition and
came out with “Don’t Be Cruel”
 Harry
Connick Jr.: 22 year old jazz
pianist
 When Harry Met Sally soundtrack
 Guns N’ Roses: “Patience”
 MTV:
came out with MTV
Unplugged
 Debuted in November with singersongwriter Jules Shear