If you are reading this blog, there is a good chance that part of your life was spent enjoying 80s music. There was something truly amazing about that decade, although folks who came before and after would likely disagree. I have written about the 80s a few times: 99 Luftballoons – January 1983 Remembered, My Top 5 Favorite Songs From The 1980s and My Favorite 80s Music Cover Songs. But after watching a video on the most popular hits from 1980-2022, I thought an update would be appropriate.
President Reagan brought an optimism to America that had been missing since the post-war boom. Anything was possible. The economy blossomed under his leadership, and within a short time, the music reflected this. Technology was rapidly changing how music was performed, and also how it was made, stored, and even distributed. Computer technology, blending with advances in video production and editing, gave bands a whole new VISUAL way to promote and distribute their music, through MTV first, and other methods later. FM stations blossomed everywhere, especially on college campuses, making it much harder for large record labels to control which song got the most play. Suddenly, consumers had more far more power to determine what was played on air, and ultimately was the most popular.
But that is just the boring backstory. What about the music itself? The following YouTube video has samples of the most popular music from 1980 forward by month. This post is going to focus on just the first half of the 80s (80-84) - although I may follow-up later with 85-89, the 90s, and 00s. Watch through December 1984, and then continue reading. My thoughts will continue below.
Here are the selections for 1980 and 1981 by month.
Jan 80 - Video Killed The Radio Star - The Buggles
Feb 80 - Another Brick In The Wall Pt II - Pink Floyd
Mar 80 - Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Queen
Apr - Call Me - Blondie
May 80 - Funkytown - Lipps Inc.
Jun 80 - Coming Up - Paul McCartney
Jul 80 - Magic - Olivia Newton John
Aug 80 - Upside Down - Diana Ross
Sep 80 - Another One Bites The Dust - Queen
Oct 80 - Woman In Love - Barbra Streisand
Nov 80 - Xanadu - Olivia Newton John
Dec 80 - Just like Starting Over - John Lennon
Jan 81 - Tide Is High - Blondie
Feb 81 - Celebration - Kool & The Gang
Mar 81 - Woman - John Lennon
Apr 81 - 9 To 5 (Morning Train) - Sheena Easton
May 81 - Stars On 45 - Stars On 45
Jun 81 - In The Air Tonight - Phil Collins
Jul 81 - Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes
Aug 81 - Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield
Sep 81 - Endless Love - Diana Ross & Lionel Richie
Oct 81 - Start Me Up - Rolling Stones
Nov 81 - Physical - Olivia Newton John
Dec 81 - Under Pressure - David Bowie & Queen
The Buggles Video Killed The Radio Star was released in 1979, and has the distinction of being the first song/video broadcast on MTV, which launched on August 1, 1981. It is for that reason VKTRS is remembered fondly as 80s music, when in reality it belongs to the 70s. Much of the first two years are 70s holdovers. Beatles solo acts, disco, Olivia Newton John, Stars on 45 - its not like they are horrible songs. Just not as good as other emerging acts from around the world. Culturally, disco died in 1979. Many folks in the music industry recognized what was happening. But it did take some time to spread throughout the land. As an aside, at the Wikipedia page linked just above, they quote some professor pinhead saying that the anti-disco movement was "homophobic or racist" - good to see things never change. That charge seems laughable considering the idea of being "gay" was not mainstream outside of a few isolated areas. For better or worse, the gay community was in the closet and the doors were locked. If you were gay, you kept it to yourself, and most people didn't even care what you did in private.
Racism - possibly by a few executives, but not by the majority of music fans. People like good music, and the vast majority don't care about the race of the performer. However, the music industry clearly picked winners and losers. Any minority with talent was embraced by middle class white America. MTV, after a slow start, became a major force promoting minority acts. They had to react to demand. One of the few late 70s, early 80s acts I enjoyed was Rick James, who was largely blocked from MTV, claiming it did not fit their audience. Yet they quickly adapted and made superstars out of Michael Jackson, Prince, and others.
No, the rejection of disco was all about the music being awful, repetitive, some have said - soulless, which seems accurate. Nothing about disco was good - fashion, dancing, lyrics, melodies, drugs, literally everything about it was just terrible. America was a better place without it. If there is any doubt about disco, watch the video below. This was a Top 5 song in multiple countries. This is probably the most embarrassing thing you will see for some time.
This was not a musical evolution. It was a cultural devolution. You can see it in just this video - a song that truly mocks the movement, yet became a favorite anthem. Look at the clothes, hair - its like, let's not enjoy the beauty of the world. Instead, let's see how ugly we can make it for everyone. And this went beyond the world of disco, as the sad fashion, hair styles, car designs, architecture - everything took a bizarre turn towards the unpleasant. I remember seeing my older sisters going to the disco - both beautiful young ladies, looking like underpaid prostitutes. And that wasn't because they did not have nice clothes, or lacked the ability to put on make up or style their hair. It was done on purpose, because that's what you do!
I have always viewed the 80s as a course correction. Sanity came back to music, fashion, literally everything. People wanted pretty things, and appreciated them again. Yes, there were always exceptions. Just look at how Madonna dressed, performed in the early 80s, to the way she became a decade later. You had many acts who were clean cut, even wearing suits at times. And if they did not want to go that far, that was OK - there was no fashion police. But people seemed to gravitate to those acts that had some sense of style, dare I even say, morality. Songs were written about love, relationships, break-ups - the usual stuff, along with thought-provoking material based on literature, current events, or history. The era - of "She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah" being considered good lyrics was seemingly behind us. Acts would need more than a good thesaurus to write music in the 80s.
The world was rapidly changing. Music lovers wanted more. And with video, fans often saw the performer for the first time, which could be good, but often not so good for aging acts. Was Jessie's Girl a great song, or did millions of females simply like the way Rick Springfield looked? Diana Ross, Lionel Richie, maybe even Barbra are very talented, but it was very unlikely you are driving around town blasting Endless Love on the radio for all to hear. Nor did you stay up late just to see their video.
In the early 80s, cable was still in its infancy. Even by 1990, cable had only reached 57% of US households. But that's still a huge audience, much larger than any single music distribution option that existed before. So MTV by the mid 80s was having a significant impact on what was popular in the US, and the world. And by the mid 70s, over 200 FM radio stations started broadcasting annually. That of course includes the all important college radio stations that often helped push emerging artists.
To finish the thought on the first two years, yes there are songs and groups that I like - Queen and Pink Floyd for instance. However, the first two years were an extension of the 70s, and I don't really consider the majority of these as 80s hits. There were songs released during this time that certainly would qualify, but did not get the recognition they likely deserved. As we move forward, most of these acts will never make it into the most popular category again, as the music floodgates opened to new groups and genres.
Jan 82 - Don't You Want Me - The Human League
Feb 82 - Waiting For A Girl Like You - Foreigner
Mar 82 - Centerfold - J. Geils Band
Apr 82 - I Love Rock 'n' Roll - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
May 82 - Ebony And Ivory - Stevie Wonder & Paul McCartney
Jun 82 - Tainted Love - Soft Cell
Jul 82 -Abracadabra - Steve Miller Band
Aug 82 - Eye Of The Tiger - Survivor
Sep 82 - Come On Eileen - Dexy's Midnight Runners
Oct 82 - Hard To Say I'm Sorry - Chicago
Nov 82 - Who Can It Be Now - Men At Work
Dec 82 - Its Raining Again - Supertramp
You can still see the influence of the 70s here, as traditional rock continued to be a dominant force. But alternative songs and international artists were slowly gaining ground. Starting with the first month, which I believe is the best 80s song on this list. This song was on heavy rotation on MTV. I bet it played every time I turned on the network. And why not? It had a unique sound, and interesting story, great vocals, and a video that was just interesting enough. Take a look.
I used to work late into the night at the Tom Thumb Supercenter in Longview, Texas. I was the nighttime produce manager, which meant I did all the work that wasn't done by the fulltime folks. And the produce manager was a bit of a tyrant, who would show up right before time for me to go and give me some ridiculously laborious assignment that would keep me there way after midnight. I was in high school at the time. So working until 2 am was not conducive to being productive in class. Good thing I had the easiest schedule ever created for my Senior year.
It was during one of these marathon work sessions that the General Manager discovered me still working in the produce room well after midnight. He told me to clock out, and the next day I had my pick of departments, as all volunteered to take me in. The Produce Manager was later fired for stealing, but that is another story.
I would come home, get in bed, and watch MTV until I fell asleep. I probably watched this video a hundred times during those years. It still brings back memories.
Tainted Love and Come On Eileen deserve special recognition as each one made this chart. Soft Cell was definitely an 80s band, but so was Dexy's Midnight Runners. Because here is the key to great 80s music, it was not just one genre of music getting noticed. All types, and from all over the world. including my 2nd favorite from the above, Men At Work, Who Can It Be Now. Quirky, different, and definitely an 80s tune.
There were several good songs that did not make the list above including: Change - John Waite; More Than This - Roxy Music; Don't Change - INXS; Senses Working Overtime - XTC; You Dropped A Bomb On Me - Gap Band; I Ran (So Far Away) - A Flock Of Seagulls; Desperate But Not Serious - Adam Ant;
Now let's look at the most popular songs of 1983.
Jan 83 - Maneater - Daryl Hall & John Oates
Feb 83 - Down Under - Men At Work
Mar 83 - Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
Apr 83 - Let's Dance - David Bowie
May 83 - Beat It - Michael Jackson
Jun 83 - Flashdance What A Feeling - Irene Cara
Jul 83 - Every Breath You Take - The Police
Aug 83 - Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) - Eurythmics
Sep 83 - Total Eclipse Of The Heart - Bonnie Tyler
Oct 83 - Karma Chameleon - Culture Club
Nov 83 - Uptown Girl - Billy Joel
Dec 83 - Say Say Say - Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson
This is a very interesting combination of styles and artists. You can still see the influence of programmers who keep pushing the easy listening style, trying to appeal to a slightly older demographic. I was a Senior in HS/FR in college in 83. None of these songs were playing in my car. Again, does not mean they are bad, just not my cup of tea. And even the videos weren't that interesting, which sometimes explains the popularity of a song.
My selection for the best of this group goes to Men At Work.
And the next best, a distant 2nd place, The Police.
Which songs did not make the most popular list? Catch Me I'm Falling - Real Life; 99 Luftballoons - Nena; True - Spandau Ballet; Gone Daddy Gone - Violent Femmes
And the very best for 1983 not on the list, IMHO, was this song from a group from Ireland called U2.
And now for 1984s popular songs by month.
Jan 84 - Owner Of A lonely Heart - Yes
Feb 84 - Thriller - Michael Jackson
Mar 84 - Jump - Van Halen
Apr 84 - Hello - Lionel Richie
May 84 - Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper
Jun 84 - Against All Odds Take A Look At Me Now- Phil Collins
Jul 84 - When Doves Cry - Prince & The Revolution
Aug 84 - Self Control - Laura Branigan
Sep 84 - I Just Called To Say I Love You - Stevie Wonder
Oct 84 - Ghostbusters - Ray Parker Jr
Nov 84 - Caribbean Queen - Billy Ocean
Dec 84 - Like A Virgin - Madonna
Its so interesting to read through this list, as I immediately have an image in my mind usually from the video of the song. In some cases, I will associate a memory with one. Note first the diversity of the list compared to earlier ones. Michael Jackson, while not my cup of tea, is a dominant force. Prince is making his move. Billy Ocean, who opened for the Pointer Sisters, was actually my very first concert - there were two couples and the women picked the act.
And let's not forget the women - Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, and Laura Branigan. Women would have a huge impact on music in the 80s.
This is really a tough list to pick a top one. much less a top two. But if you have to pick two, here is my first.
And my 2nd pick.
1984 was a really good year for music. Its unfortunate that so many good songs were overlooked when it comes to popularity rankings.
You Might Think - The Cars; Tenderness - General Public; We're Not Gonna Take It - Twisted Sister; Hot For Teacher - Van Halen; Rock You Like Hurricane - Scorpions; Head Over Heels - The Go-Go's; Jungle Love - The Time
The first pick is a no brainer. A Norwegian band whose video took the world by storm.
And my second pick for 1984, all the way from Germany.
Das ist alles für heute!
This is exactly how Boris greeted me after a long absence - obviously with different music.
