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American Hit Radio - 1980's

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Do you ever wonder what happened to your favorite musicians of the past?

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1980's Decade Overview

Any decade that starts with the cold-blooded murder of John Lennon is bound to be ominous. Without a doubt, the party most definitely had ended. With Ronald Reagan implanted in the White House for eight of the decade’s ten years, it was a time to reassess our ideals. Youth culture reacted as though it needed to do penance for the chaos of previous generations. It was as though the ‘Baby Boomers’ threw a twenty-year long party, woke up with a hangover and realized that somebody needed to clean up afterward. Political affiliations varied widely among this new generation, but a common sense of purpose began to set in.

As the first nationally broadcast cable station dedicated primarily to music, MTV proved itself to be the most powerful means of artistic promotion available. For most of the decade, MTV focused on colorful ‘new wave’ acts and corporate rockers, eventually yielding its playlist to include heavy metal and ‘rap’ acts as well. Most pop music avoided any hint of political significance, but a global sense of social awareness resulted in a coalition that unified most recording artists. Popular musicians recognized their positions as figureheads and decided to utilize their influence to enact change. This idealized sense of purpose came to its peak in 1985, with the massive success of Live-Aid, an idea that began as a British Christmas single and grew immensely, all in the name of famine relief. Madonna redefined dance music as a form of self-expression with a sexually aware sense of rebellion that made the previous decade’s disco music appear mute in comparison. By decade’s end, a commercialized form of rhythm and blues would dominate the charts while ‘rap music’ would force our national focus onto issues that left the most comfortably entrenched members of our society feeling rather uncomfortable indeed.