Entering the music video age of the ’80s by DJ Craig

Bonnie Lamrock March 6, 2015 News

Story by DJ Craig

Friday, March 6, 2015

We continue our 10-part series chronicling the evolution of American popular music in the 20th century, 1900-1999, which looks at the music that was popular during each decade and what influenced that popularity.

This week we turn our attention to the century’s next-to-last decade.

1980-1989 – High Times and a New Music Video Age

The election of Ronald Reagan ushered in a new political era. Fortunately, he survived and recovered from an assassination attempt in 1981, the same year that also saw the assassination of Egyptian Anwar Sadat.

A severe recession in 1981-82 was followed by a strong economic recovery that continued through most of the decade. Even a record stock market crash in October 1987 marked only a temporary interruption in the high times that made “yuppies” (young upwardly-mobile professionals) a symbol of the era.

The July 1981 wedding of Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer captured a worldwide audience of hundreds of millions. The 1985 death of Rock Hudson alerted Americans to the scourge of AIDS that would claim nearly 100,000 American lives by the end of the decade. The space shuttle Challenger exploded after takeoff in 1986, killing its seven astronauts, including teacher Christa McCauliffe. (I’ll bet many readers remember exactly where they were when this tragedy was announced.)

Steven Spielberg’s epic “E.T., The Extra Terrestrial” was the movie phenomenon of the decade, while “Star Wars” sequels and other movies such as “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Back to the Future,” “Platoon,” and the warm Kevin Costner baseball classic “Field of Dreams” captured the attention of millions.

On television, situation comedies made a strong comeback with the huge success of “The Cosby Show” and “Cheers”; while prime-time soap operas “Dallas” and “Dynasty” won over audiences. “Hill Street Blues” was TV’s top drama and “The Wonder Years” became an enduring favorite. American entertainment habits continued to be transformed by technology and by 1988 over half of all households subscribed to cable TV and had a videocassette recorder.

Broadway lit up with the long-running productions of “Cats,” “Les Miserables” and “Phantom of the Opera.”

In sports, the San Francisco 49ers topped the NFL and the Los Angeles Lakers won five NBA titles. Mike Tyson took over as the heavyweight boxing champion, John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors battled for supremacy in tennis, as Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert ruled the women’s court.

The Top Artists and Songs of the 1980s

One of the most important musical events of the 1980s was the rise of music video, led by MTV, starting in 1981. The program became so popular that by mid-decade pop artists were all defined by their videos.

Equally momentous was the emergence of the compact disc. By 1987, CD sales soared by nearly 100 percent to exceed 100 million units, and the following year they surpassed vinyl album sales for the first time.

Michael Jackson’s late-1982 album “Thriller” smashed all records with total sales of more than 40 million units, leading to his self-proclaimed King of Pop title. Madonna was the era’s foremost female icon with her trend-setting styles and on the strength of her seven No. 1 hits, including “Like a Virgin” and “Who’s That Girl.” Bruce Springsteen hit new heights with his 1984 album “Born in the U.S.A.,” rivaled only by U2 with 1987’s “The Joshua Tree.” Whitney Houston became an instant pop-music goddess with her mid-decade chart-topping hits “Saving All My Love for You” and “Greatest Love of All.”

The popularity of “big-hair” rockers Aerosmith, Van Halen and Heart surged by the middle of the decade, while newcomers Def Leppard and Bon Jovi set the stage for the boom in heavy-metal and hard-rock bands like Motley Crue, Whitesnake, Poison and Guns N’ Roses. British bands Duran Duran, the Eurythmics and Culture Club rose to the top of the American charts.

The Cars with “Shake It Up,” the Talking Heads with “Burning Down the House,” the Police with “Every Breath You Take,” and the B-52’s with “Love Shack” went from playing in clubs and college-town bars to filling arenas. Youngsters New Edition, New Kids on the Block and Debbie Gibson found phenomenal success among teeny boppers. And at decade’s end, the finely choreographed music videos of Janet Jackson, Milli Vanilli and Paula Abdul inspired a resurgence in dance music.

Boosted by the hugely popular “Purple Rain” soundtrack, Prince was the 1980s No. 1 R&B star, followed by the enduring Stevie Wonder. The blues welcomed two brilliant stars in Stevie Ray Vaughan and Robert Cray. Country music’s top-sellers of the 1980s were Willie Nelson (“Always on My Mind”), Conway Twitty (“Slow Hand”) and Merle Haggard (“I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink”); with Randy Travis and the Judds ranking as the hottest new artists. Trumpet virtuoso Wynton Marsalis became the most important new jazz giant to hit the scene in decades.

At the end of the 1980s, a gradual transformation began — the minority within mainstream pop music (women, country, rap and “alternative” rock) would become the majority in the century’s last decade. We’ll see how that played out next week.

This week’s question

Michael Jackson’s massive success with his 1982 album “Thriller” was simply unimaginable, with seven of its nine tracks reaching the Billboard Hot-100 top-10. Which of the following Jackson songs from that album made it to No. 1 and later became a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame hit? A) “Billie Jean,” B) “Man in the Mirror,” C) Dirty Diana,” or D) “Black and White”?

Source: mpaysonroundup / DJ Craig

MJ-UPBEAT.COM

Cool ‘THRILLER’ Article On MJ-UPBEAT: http://home.mj-upbeat.com/2014/11/21/flashback-friday-where-were-you-when-thriller-premiered/