Since I love all things ‘80s and never actually left the decade, I am creating my list of the most iconic, defining pop songs between 1980 and 1989. It’s my blog and I can do what I want. And it’s helping me stall from doing the exercise and work I am supposed to do today. These are NOT my favorite ‘80s songs. Most of these songs wouldn’t make my top 10 list of favorite songs. These are the songs that I think were indispensable to the decade – the ones that captured the sound, the vibe, and became the timeless classics. Here we go!
“Every Breath You Take” by the Police
This song appeared on the Synchronicity album and I believe is the 2nd most played radio song of all time (behind John Lennon’s “Imagine”). It was the hit of the summer of 1983 and I believe it was #1 for 8 weeks. It’s a great song not just because it’s catchy, but because it captures that feeling of being obsessively in love. Sting and the Police were obviously a big part of the 1980s, but it’s the deceptive simplicity of the song that makes it such an earworm. Technically, it is the most successful song of the 1980s.
“Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson
It’s a classic bass line that Jackson admitted to ripping off from the great Hall & Oats song “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do).” The Quincy Jones production is so smooth and that Rod Temperton/Jackson/Jones music of the early ‘80s was Jackson’s best. His music declined significantly once Temperton was gone. Oddly, Quincy Jones didn’t like the song and wanted it cut off of the Thriller album. The song had a very unique, smooth vibe and Steve Baron made an iconic video to match the song which really helped to kick off the mega success of both Jackson and MTV. Jackson wrote the song about a stalker, which is also what Every Breath You Take is about. I can still remember the exact moment I first heard it. I was on a ferry heading for Seattle, and it was riveting. Like many of Michael Jackson’s songs, the lyrics have him portraying himself as a victim. He’s often confessing things, complaining, or a victim in a lot of his songs going all the way back to his music with “The Jacksons.” Freud would have a field day with that.
“Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns N’ Roses
This song exploded in August of 1988. It was everywhere and GNR became THE band that year. Of all the heavier rock songs, I think this one wins because the band had a bigger following and more “credibility” than a lot of hair metal and heavy metal bands. The unforgettable guitar lick that opens the songs and carries it was just a practice exercise that guitarist Slash came up with. It mixes sentimentality with hard rock and ends on a more ominous note than it starts out with. I like the song, but it takes me back to a period in my life where life really began to suck super bad.
“Tainted Love” by Soft Cell
Along with the Human League and Gary Numan, around 1981 we began to get a glimpse of what New Wave was going to sound like. There are more cool examples like Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart” or bigger hits like Devo’s “Whip It,” but Tainted Love was not only synth heavy but had the heavy British accent to go along with it. It sounded space-age to me and the “beep beep” sound repeated in the song still sounds good.
“Careless Whispers” by George Michael
Even though it was on Wham!’s Make it Big album, it was called a George Michael song–a precursor to his eventually going solo. The lyrics of the song are so adult and sound so autobiographical and true that it is very surprising that George wrote it when he was 17 and had never been in that kind of a deep relationship. Many people older and more experienced would never be able to come up with lyrics that convincing and emotional. The song is beautiful, sad, wistful, and beautifully sung by Michael. But of course, it’s that unforgettable sax solo which makes it a regular listen in elevators and lounges around the world. I love the video which captures the song perfectly and was filmed in Miami. The humidity wrecked havoc on George’s hair which is why he wears a hat in parts of the video. He flew his sister to Miami to fix his hair and it cost $10,000. It’s considered the most expensive haircut ever. This is also the first song I ever danced with a girl to. She asked me. I’d like to thank that girl (who wishes to remain nameless) right now for validating my masculinity in an 8th grade dance at Twality Jr. High.
“Do You Really Want to Hurt Me” by Culture Club
You may not remember, but there was a whole big androgynous craze in the mid-1980s. Marilyn, Dead or Alive, Annie Lennox, Prince, Michael Jackson and Boy George played around with gender. America was shocked that evening when Culture Club appeared on “Solid Gold.” I remember that night watching this geisha girl who called herself “Boy.” Of course, shortly thereafter it became clear that Boy George was a boy. But it’s also the song itself with a very unusual mellow introduction, a Sade-like smooth middle, and then a funky bass-driven middle part. The whole “Kissing to Be Clever” album is still one of my favorites of the 1980s and isn’t dated at all. It’s a wild mix of calypso, rap, smooth jazz, and I don’t know what else. It’s a beautifully produced album that captures the comfort with classic soul music that a lot of white ‘80s music had–particularly from England.
“With or Without You” by U2
This makes the list because it was kind of the beginning of UK new wave and soul starting to disappear from the charts. By 1988 and 1989, it was pretty much gone. It was replaced by harder rock, the Teddy Reiley Atlanta New Jack crap, and rap. U2 had already been around but this first single off of arguably the 1980s most defining album, The Joshua Tree, made my broken-hearted Spring Break of 1987 a wee bit better. The song is one that we can all relate to at times in our life and the slow build to the crescendo before it fades out more quietly again is lovely. Edge’s guitar part is so simple but so memorable and captures that U2 sound perfectly. He talks about using notes sparingly and viewing each note as “expensive.” The song that launched them into the stratosphere from the album that launched them into mega-stardom belongs on this list.
“Born in the USA” by Bruce Springsteen
It’s probably no one’s favorite Springsteen song, but it captured mid-1980s vividly. Dying small-towns and ignored Vietnam Vets finding their voice lent power to the lyrics and of course it was made to be an ironic anthem–the kind of a whole stadium could sing along to–and they did! This was used by Ronald Reagan to rally the country, which made Springsteen mad because it’s not a song about American triumph, but about America’s forgotten people. It’s definitely a powerful song and Springsteen’s final scream at the end is as raw and real as it gets.
“Walk This Way” by Run DMC
I loathe this song and was not into Run DMC. But this song has to be on the list of iconic songs because it brought rap into the commercial mainstream, brought rap to MTV, resuscitated Aerosmith’s dying career, and gave rap credibility within the rock audience. An old Aerosmith song was re-imagined by the groundbreaking Run DMC. It was produced by Rick Rubin who went on to have an incredible career. MTV was criticized heavily for avoiding black artists and it wasn’t until this 1986 song and video that black music got it’s own shows and heavy rotation.
“Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” by Cindi Lauper. This song was so full of melody and pep, I thought she was a British act when it came out in 1983. I find the song annoying now, but it captured the positive, colorful sound of a lot of ‘80s music. Full of melody, full of interesting little sounds, and sung by a colorful character which the ‘80s was full of (Adam Ant, Boy George, Madonna, Prince, Michael Jackson, Billy Idol, David Lee Roth etc.). She’s So Unusual was her first and best-selling album. The Hooters were the backing band on the album. “Time After Time” is the better song, but GJWHF gets the nod.
“Take On Me” by A-ha. It’s still one of the best music videos ever made, and the song makes the list because it is the quintessential, catchy ‘80s pop song. The Norwegian trio would never have a bigger hit even though they would go on to make many more albums over 30 years. The irony is that this simple, catchy, stripped-down song is nothing compared to some of the gorgeous ballads that guitarist and writer Pal Waaktar-Savoy has written. Songs like “Love’s Never a Forever Thing,” “Summer Moved On” and “Hunting High and Low” are just a few of the truly gorgeous pieces of music Pal has written. But he will always be remembered for Take on Me and it’s peppy, Scandinavian cartoon sound.
“What’s Love Got to Do With It” by Tina Turner. There always has to be an old veteran that makes a comeback in any decade. Tina Turner’s Private Dancer album was a monster and she emerged as a strong, empowered woman after having lived in the abusive relationship with Ike Turner. She ended up selling out large arenas she never could have with Ike, became a Buddhist, and moved to Zurich. This song was her comeback hit and just has that classic ‘80s sound; lots of melody, interesting transitions and sounds, and a talented artists playing and singing. I’ll always associate it with July 4 at Fort Vancouver in 1984.
“Purple Rain” by Prince. I remember buying the album and wondering what was with this slow, gospel-like song. Then the song continues to build and build and Prince’s voice gets more urgent and strained, until it ends up in one of the all-time classic blistering guitar solos in rock music history. The 8 minute song was too long for the radio, but stations played it anyway. It was at this point that we all realized that Prince was not only an amazing guitarist but maybe one of the greatest rock guitarists in all of rock history. He had the greatest vocal range of any singer. His deep voice and low notes are very resonate, but he has a lovely tenor voice also, an amazing falsetto, and then there’s the “insane man scream” as Dave Grohl calls it. The song was an amazing climax to the song and the movie. But tell me which song on the radio in the last 20 or 30 years comes close to this level of musicianship, passion, and complexity? Despacito? Please.
Well that concludes my overview of the 12 songs that define the 1980s which was fun and meaningful to exactly one person: me.
What song do you think exemplifies the 1980s that I missed?