1980s in music

Prominent American urban pop acts of the 1980s include Tina Turner, Lionel Richie, Michael Jackson, Donna Summer, Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan, and Diana Ross.

Jackson, Houston, Prince, Madonna, Joel and Springsteen along with U2, Dire Straits, Phil Collins, The Police, Queen, The Rolling Stones and Eurythmics achieved tremendous success worldwide.

Bands such as AC/DC, Queen, Chicago, Def Leppard, Kiss, Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi, Quiet Riot, Scorpions, Europe, Ratt, Twisted Sister, Poison, Dokken, Whitesnake, and Cinderella were among the most popular acts of the decade.

Additionally, a few women managed to achieve stardom in the 1980s hard rock scene, including: Pat Benatar, Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart, and former Runaways members Joan Jett and Lita Ford.

The decade also saw the emergence of a string of guitar virtuosi: Eddie Van Halen, George Lynch, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Randy Rhoads, Jason Becker and Yngwie Malmsteen achieved international recognition for their skills.

While on occasion a song would become a commercial hit or albums would receive critical praise in mainstream publications like Rolling Stone, alternative rock in the 1980s was primarily relegated to independent record labels, fanzines and college radio stations.

[24] Alternative and indie pop movements sprang up in other parts of the world, from the Paisley Underground of Los Angeles (The Bangles, Rain Parade) to Scotland (Aztec Camera, Orange Juice), Australia (The Church, The Triffids), and New Zealand's Dunedin sound (The Clean, The Chills).

[24] American alternative rock bands of the 1980s included Hüsker Dü, The Replacements, Minutemen, R.E.M., Dinosaur Jr., Pixies, and Sonic Youth which were popular long before the grunge movement of the early 1990s.

New singers and songwriters included Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Mark Heard, Lucinda Williams, Patti Smith, Rickie Lee Jones, Terence Trent D'Arby, Stevie Nicks, Suzanne Vega, Cheryl Wheeler and Warren Zevon.

In the late 1980s, the term was applied to a group of predominantly female U.S. artists, beginning with Suzanne Vega whose first album sold unexpectedly well, followed by the likes of Tracy Chapman, Nanci Griffith, k.d.

Music icons such as Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and The Rolling Stones released albums that were often poor quality and critically panned as they attempted to grapple with the changing times.

Contemporary R&B originated in the 1980s, when musicians started adding disco-like beats, high-tech production, and elements of hip hop, soul and funk to rhythm and blues, making it more danceable and modern.

Band, Stevie Wonder, Kool & the Gang, Jeffrey Osborne, Al Jarreau, Carl Carlton, Imagination, Bill Withers, Smokey Robinson, Rick James, Diana Ross, Lionel Richie, James Brown, Earth, Wind & Fire, New Edition, Evelyn King, Patrice Rushen, Lipps Inc., Chaka Khan, Musical Youth, KC and the Sunshine Band, The Gap Band, The Brothers Johnson, Marvin Gaye, The Jets, George Benson, DeBarge, Midnight Star, Deniece Williams, Cheryl Lynn, Club Nouveau, Val Young, Frankie Smith, Linda Clifford, Grover Washington Jr., Stephanie Mills, Jody Watley, Rockwell, Rene and Angela, The Whispers, and Freddie Jackson.

[28] In the mid-1980s, many of the recordings by artists Luther Vandross, Freddie Jackson, Sade, Anita Baker, Teddy Pendergrass, Peabo Bryson and others became widely heard on the new quiet storm radio format.

This combination of R&B style and hip hop rhythms was termed new jack swing, and was applied to artists such as Bobby Brown, Keith Sweat, Guy, Today, Wreckx-n-Effect, Big Daddy Kane, Kool Moe Dee, Heavy D & the Boyz, Tammy Lucas, Nayobe, Abstrac, Deja, Starpoint, and Bell Biv DeVoe.

Pioneers such as Africa Bambaataa, DJ Kool Herc, Melle Mel, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Whodini, Sugarhill Gang, Doug E. Fresh,[33] Biz Markie and Buffy from the Fat Boys made beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using their mouth, lips, tongue, voice, and other body parts.

In 1982, Melle Mel and Duke Bootee recorded "The Message" (officially credited to Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five),[34] a song that foreshadowed the socially conscious statements of Run-DMC's "It's Like That" and Public Enemy's "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos".

Another boom period for newcomers with new traditionalist styles was in 1989, when artists such as Clint Black, Garth Brooks, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Lorrie Morgan, and Travis Tritt had their first big hits.

In addition to newcomer Whitley, top classic country and influential performers who died during the decade included Red Sovine, Whitey Ford, Marty Robbins, Merle Travis, Ernest Tubb, Wynn Stewart and Tex Williams.

[42] The second generation of British post-punk bands that broke through in the early 1980s, including the Smiths, the Jesus and Mary Chain, the Cure, the Fall, the Pop Group, the Mekons, Echo and the Bunnymen and Teardrop Explodes, tended to move away from dark sonic landscapes.

Even though The Police had their roots in post-punk, their eventual success (four consecutive UK number-one studio albums) and mega-stardom came from being able to pack the biggest stadium rock venues such as Wembley, the Oakland Coliseum and the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro.

[51] According to authors Stuart Borthwick and Ron Moy, "After the monochrome blacks and greys of punk/new wave, synth-pop was promoted by a youth media interested in people who wanted to be pop stars, such as Boy George and Adam Ant".

Notable early gothic rock bands include Bauhaus (whose "Bela Lugosi's Dead" is often cited as the first goth record), Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure, The Sisters of Mercy, and Fields of the Nephilim.

[58] Gothic rock gave rise to a broader goth subculture that included clubs, various fashion trends and numerous publications that grew in popularity in the 1980s, gaining notoriety by being associated by several moral panics over suicide and Satanism.

Boy George and his band Culture Club had great success in both the UK and US charts with major hits like "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me", "Time (Clock of the Heart)" and "Karma Chameleon".

[65][66] Bonnie Tyler had major hits with "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and "Holding Out for a Hero", while Robert Palmer's had two iconic music videos for "Addicted to Love" and "Simply Irresistible".

Other successful synthpop artists of this era included Pet Shop Boys, Alphaville, Soft Cell, Depeche Mode, New Order, Gary Numan, The Human League, Thomas Dolby, Howard Jones, Yazoo, Art of Noise, Bow Wow Wow, Heaven 17, A Flock of Seagulls, OMD, Japan, Thompson Twins, Visage, Baltimora, Ultravox, Kano, Tears for Fears, Eurythmics, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Kajagoogoo, a-ha, Telex, Real Life, Erasure, Camouflage, London Boys, Modern Talking, Bananarama, Yellow Magic Orchestra.

Soda Stereo from Buenos Aires is often acclaimed as the most influential rock band of the 80s alongside the solo careers of Charly García, Luis Alberto Spinetta and the new star Fito Páez from Rosario.

The alterations of the English new wave movement, with its surprising variety of styles, arrived in Brazil through groups and personalities such as Blitz, Camisa de Vênus, Barão Vermelho, Kid Abelha, Paralamas do Sucesso, Ritchie, Lulu Santos, Rádio Táxi, Marina Lima, Engenheiros do Hawaii, RPM, Graffiti, Ultraje a Rigor, Legião Urbana, Ira!, Titãs, Capital Inicial, Nenhum de Nós, Biquini Cavadão, Lobão & Os Ronaldos, Léo Jaime, and innumerous others.

Australian rock band INXS achieved international success during the decade with a series of hit recordings, including the albums Listen Like Thieves (1985), Kick (1987), and the singles "Original Sin" (1984), "Need You Tonight" (1987), "Devil Inside" (1988) and "New Sensation" (1987).