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The 1980s had many genres of music that became popular throughout the decade such as pop, metal, rock, R&B, electronic music, hip-hop, subtypes of disco, and country. Many genres were popular at the beginning of the decade but lost popularity later on. Others gained popularity towards the end of the decade. The 1980s were also known for digital recording, and music was commonly found on cassettes, 8-track tapes, and Vinyls (though the latter two began to lose popularity throughout the decade. MTV (Music Television) was founded on August 1, 1981. MTV showed music videos, live concerts, and interviews with artists and bands, which boosted the popularity of the artists shown. Many well-known songs today were originally recorded in the 1980s, and some are more popular and liked today than in the 80s.
Some of the decade's biggest-selling albums on the Billboard Top 200 Chart were Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A.", AC/DC's "Back in Black", Def Leppard's "Hysteria", and Bon Jovi's "Slippery When Wet."
Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" was released on the 27 of July 1987. It is also on his studio album Whenever You Need Somebody, which was released on November 16, 1987. It is his best-selling album, with over 15 million copies sold worldwide. "Never Gonna Give You Up" was Rick Astley's debut single as a 21-year-old singer, and was a Number 1 Hit in 25 countries.
POP IN THE 80S
POP IN THE 80S
Artists like Michael Jackson, Madonna, Whitney Houston, and Prince gained popularity in the 80s, largely due to MTV. Though the music may have been popular, it wasn't everyone's favorite.
Michael Jackson became more popular with MTV, and released many songs that are still popular today, such as "Billy Jean," "Thriller," and "Beat It" (All November 29, 1982), and is known as the "King of Pop."
Madonna was popular for her songs, actions, and her rebellious image. Some of her top songs in the 80s were "Into The Groove" (1985), "Like A Virgin" (1984), and "Crazy For You" (1985).
Whitney Houston was known as "The Voice" and was an American singer, actress, film producer, and philanthropist. Some of her top songs were "You Give Good Love" (1985), "Saving All My Love for You" (1985), and "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" (1987).
Prince is regarded as one of the best musicians of his time. Three of Prince's Billboard #1 hits were from the 80s: "When Doves Cry", "Let's Go Crazy" (Both 1984), and "Kiss" (1986).
ROCK IN THE 80S
ROCK IN THE 80S
Rock music expanded to many subgenres of rock, such as arena rock, hard rock, industrial rock, and alternate rock. There was a lot of overlap with hard rock and glam metal.
AC/DC, Queen, Chicago, Def Leppard, Kiss, Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi, Quiet Riot, Scorpions, Europe, Ratt, Twisted Sister, Poison, Dokken, Whitesnake, and Cinderella were all popular throughout the 80s (most are hard rock, rock that is loud and aggressive, and often emphasizes electric guitar through distortion. Also, Guns N' Roses started, and Aerosmith and Alice Cooper gained popularity again.
Styx, Rush, Journey, Foreigner, Starship, REO Speedwagon, Heart, ZZ Top, and Aerosmith are arena rock, characterized by radio-friendly music as it was intended to be played for large audiences.
Ministry and Nine Inch Nails are examples of industrial rock, an aggressive mix of rock and electronic.
R.E.M., The Hits, The Feelies, Violent Femmes, Pixies, Hüsker Dü, and The Replacements started as punk, but transitioned to Alternate rock. Other alternate rock bands/artists are Minutemen, Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, and Stevie Nicks. Alternate rock is characterized by mixing multiple genres such as grunge, indie rock, Britpop, gothic rock, and indie pop.
METAL IN THE 80S
METAL IN THE 80S
Metal gained a lot of popularity in the 80s, and is considered to have peaked then. Like rock, it expanded into many genres: glam metal, thrash metal, speed metal, and heavy metal for example. Many bands overlapped heavy and glam metal with hard rock.
Again, AC/DC, Queen, Chicago, Def Leppard, Kiss, Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi, Quiet Riot, Scorpions, Europe, Ratt, Twisted Sister, Poison, Dokken, Whitesnake, and Cinderella were popular throughout the decade, most of them mixing hard rock with ether glam metal (Queen, Bon Jovi) or heavy metal (Dokken).
Glam metal was popular in its first wave ranged from 1981-1986 in England and its second wave from 1986-1991 in America.
Heavy metal developed with Ozzy Osbourne, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Dio. Motörhead was a popular speed metal from the 80s.
Thrash Metal has many popular bands: Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, Megadeth, Exodus, Testament, Overkill, Sepultura, Kreator, Destruction, Sodom and Tankard.
PUNK IN THE 80S
PUNK IN THE 80S
Punk became mainstream in the late 70s, and continued until to be so the mid-80s. Many punk bands that are still going today started in the 80s or gained their popularity in the 80s.
Hardcore punk emerged in America in the 80s with popular bands:
Black Flag (pioneered post-hardcore, still popular in the punk scene today.)
Bad Brains (Nirvana, Guns N' Roses, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against the Machine, Deftones, Green Day, and The Offspring have cited them as inspirations.)
Minor Threat (helped start the straight edge movement.)
Suicidal Tendencies (Considered the fathers of crossover thrash [mix of thrash metal and hardcore punk], and their single "Institutionalized" was one of the first hardcore punk music videos to have good airplay on MTV.)
D.O.A. (Considered one of the fathers of Hardcore punk.)
Dead Kennedys (A major defining punk band of the 80s, mainly had songs that mocked political figures and people in authority, as well as songs that criticized pop culture and the punk movement. They are still very popular today in the punk scene.
"California Über Alles" - describes an exaggerated hippy-fascist dictatorship under California Governor Jerry Brown if he were to become president, as well as making references to Nazi Germany ("California, Über Alles" referencing Deutschland Über Alles, "I will be Führer one day / I will command all of you", and "Don't you worry, it's only a shower / For your clothes, here's a pretty flower / Die! On organic poison gas" for example)
"We've Got a Bigger Problem Now" (made in response to Reagan winning the presidency, a remake of "California Über Alles", except this version is more based on fascism and unquestioning faith in authority, "I am Emperor Ronald Reagan / Born again with fascist cravings", "Welcome to 1984! / Are you ready for the Third World War? / You, too, will meet the secret police / They'll draft you and they'll jail your niece", and "Don't you worry; it's for a cause Feeding global corporations' claws /../ Making money for President Reagan / Making money for President Reagan! / And all the friends of President Reagan!" are all examples of that.
MDC (1 of 3 pioneering hardcore punk bands in Texas.)
Crass (mainly promoted anarchy as a way of life, political movement, and a resistance movement, and advocated advocating direct action, animal rights, feminism, anti-fascism, and environmentalism)
Others were Descendents, Bad Religion, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Circle Jerks, Agent Orange, Ramones, the Clash, NOFX, and The Damned; many of which are still popular in the punk scene and producing music today. In the late 80s, pop punk started with Green Day and brought punk back later on, and Operation Ivy was also popular.
COUNTRY IN THE 80S
COUNTRY IN THE 80S
Country singers and bands like Dolly Patron, The Oak Ridge Boys, The Statler Brothers, Kenny Rogers, George Strait, Garth Brooks, Dwight Yoakam, Alabama, Charlie Daniels, Rio Grande Band, and Restless Heart were popular while Eddy Arnold, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams Jr., and Merle Haggard continued to be popular.
Country rock saw a decline after Lynyrd Skynyrd's 1977 plane crash
Music was listened to through a variety of things in the 80s, including 8-track tapes, Cassettes, vinyl records, radio, and MTV. Out of Touch by Daryl Hall & John Oates was released in 1984, and it's popular today.
sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980s_in_music
https://kworb.net/spotify/songs_1980.html
https://www.rockmusictimeline.com/1980-s
https://www.explorepopculture.com/unit-6-1980s/1980s-music
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thriller_(album)#Track_listing
https://www.liveabout.com/whitney-houston-songs-of-the-80s-10234
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