Tell me about 1980s Pop Music

The 1980s became the decade known for its glitz, glam and pop.  The excesses of the 1970s bled into a slightly more self-aware but more colorful culture of synthetic keyboards, big hair, makeup and neon.  1980s pop music was full of infectios grooves and sythesized beats, experimenting with instruments and technology that had never been available before.  However, experimentation means moving through the entire spectrum of what’s possible, and the music pushed the limits that, in retrospect, often now seem cheesy and over-the-top.  Everything – the sounds, the hair, the clothes – now sometimes seems like a ridicuous experiment that no one knew how to stop.

Take 1980s pop music for what it is.  It is tongue-in-cheek, over-the-top ridiculous clothes, dance moves and over-produced synthesizers.  If you can let go and enjoy it – no judgement – it’s fun.  The music and the artists playing it were aware of the ridiculousness.   I mean, just the hair do’s alone are enough to put the entire decade into the realm of, “Are you serious?”   But do you think Flock of Seagulls wasn’t in on their own joke?  Do you think the big hair bands like Twisted sister didn’t realize the kitsch?  That’s the beauty of the 80s music – you simply cannot take yourself to seriously.

It wasn’t all glam and synth though.  The 1980s also had pioneers like Michael Jackson and Prince who embraced the glitter and showmanship but also produced some of the most enduring pop music ever recorded.  You also had the rockers, like the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, and U2 who found a new sound in the 1980s that wasn’t about synthesizers as much as it was delay pedals, kick drums, and just really solid hard-driving rock.  Just take a look at the song that stayed at #1 longeest for each year in the decade:

• 1980 – “Call Me” by Blondie
• 1981 – “Physical” by Olivia Newton-John
• 1982 – “I Love Rock n Roll” by Joan Jett
• 1983 – “Every Breath You Take” by The Police
• 1984 – “When Doves Cry” by Prince
• 1985 – “Careless Whisper” by Wham!
• 1986 – “Walk Like an Egyptian by The Bangles
• 1987 – “Faith” by George Michael
•  1988 – “Roll With It” by Steve Winwood
• 1989 – “Another Day in Paradise” by Phil Collins

That list is a pretty good representation of 80s music.  You’ve got rockers like The Police and Joan Jett mixed in with Wham! and The Bangles.  Shockingly, Michael Jackson is not on the list above.  The list that we think is more indicative of the music is the artists who had the MOST #1 hits.  The table below will give you a better idea of the musical mover and shakers of the 1980s.

• Note: For singer George Michael, if Wham! is included, this would give George Michael 8 #1 Songs.
• Note: For singer Phil Collins, if Genesis is included, this would give Phil Collins 8 #1 songs.

The other big change to the music scene of the 1980s was the birth of MTV (originally short for “music television).  MTV debuted on August 1, 1981 and forever changed how music would be consumed.  As bands began making musis videos, the video often became just as important as the song itself as far as vaulting a song to popularity.  The term “one hit wonder” was also introduced into the popular consciousness, as the 1980s had plenty of them.

Good luck on this quiz!  Moderately difficult – but extremely difficult if you were born after 1970.