The Best R&B Songs of the 80s

What are the best R&B songs from the 80s?

Rhythm and blues--also known as R&B or RnB--is a popular music genre combining jazz, gospel, and blues influences and was first performed by African-American artists. The 1980s saw the advent of Contemporary R&B has a slick, electronic record production style, drum machine-backed rhythms, and a smooth, lush style of vocal arrangement. Uses of hip hop-inspired beats are typical, although the roughness and grit inherent in hip hop is usually reduced and smoothed out. R&B vocalists are often known for their use of melisma.

Located below you will find a list of some of the best R&B songs of the 1980s. For your convenience, we have included links to the sheet music on Sheetmusicplus.com as well as the CD on Amazon.com whenever available. If you are looking to purchase the mp3 or would like to listen to a sample, then click on either the Amazon, Rhapsody, or iTunes links.

Rhapsody provides both music subscriptions as well as individual mp3s for sale in WMA format and iTunes only provides MPEG-4 audio files for sale. However, Amazon does offer mp3s that are compatible with both Windows Media Player and iTunes. For more information about where to purchase music online, we provide it on our Music Downloads page or our Music Subscriptions page.


These singles are considered among the best R&B songs to hit the charts in the 1980s.

  1. "1999" performed by Prince
     Find it on:  Prince - Prince: The Hits 1 - 1999   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Sheetmusicplus
  2. "All Night Long (All Night)" performed by Lionel Richie
     Find it on:  Lionel Richie - 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Lionel Richie - All Night Long (All Night)   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  3. "Celebration" performed by Kool & The Gang
     Find it on:  Kool & The Gang - Funk Essentials: Celebration - The Best of Kool & the Gang 1979-1987 - Celebration   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  4. "Don't Worry Be Happy" performed by Bobby McFerrin
     Find it on:  Bobby McFerrin - Best of Bobby McFerrin - Don't Worry, Be Happy   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  5. "Ebony and Ivory" performed by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder
     Find it on:  Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder - All the Best - Ebony and Ivory   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  6. "Endless Love" performed by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross
     Find it on:  Diana Ross & Lionel Richie - To Love Again - Endless Love   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  7. "Forever Your Girl" performed by Paula Abdul
     Find it on:  Paula Abdul - Paula Abdul: Greatest Hits - Forever Your Girl   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  8. "Heart & Soul" performed by T'pau
     Find it on:  T'Pau - Heart & Soul: Best of T'pau - Heart & Soul   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  9. "He's So Shy" performed by Pointer Sisters
     Find it on:  The Pointer Sisters - The Pointer Sisters: Hits!   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  10. "How Will I Know" performed by Whitney Houston
     Find it on:  Whitney Houston - Whitney Houston - How Will I Know   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  11. "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" performed by Whitney Houston
     Find it on:  Whitney Houston - Whitney: The Greatest Hits - I Wanna Dance With Somebody   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  12. "I Just Called To Say I Love You" performed by Stevie Wonder
     Find it on:  Stevie Wonder - Stevie Wonder: The Definitive Collection - I Just Called to Say I Love You   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  13. "I Knew You Were Waiting (for Me)" performed by Aretha Franklin and George Michael
     Find it on:  George Michael & Aretha Franklin - Ladies & Gentlemen - The Best of George Michael - I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  14. "If Ever You're In My Arms Again" performed by Peabo Bryson
     Find it on:  Peabo Bryson - Straight from the Heart - If Ever You're In My Arms Again   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  15. "I'm Coming Out" performed by Diana Ross
     Find it on:  Diana Ross - Diana Ross: All the Great Hits - I'm Coming Out   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  16. "I'm So Excited" performed by the Pointer Sisters
     Find it on:  The Pointer Sisters - The Pointer Sisters: Hits!   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  17. "Kiss" performed by Prince
     Find it on:  Prince - Parade - Under the Cherry Moon - Kiss   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Sheetmusicplus
  18. "Living In America" performed by James Brown
     Find it on:  James Brown - Living in America - Living in America   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  19. "My Prerogative" performed by Bobby Brown
     Find it on:  Bobby Brown - Don't Be Cruel - My Prerogative   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  20. "New Attitude" performed by Patti Labelle
     Find it on:  Patti LaBelle - Patti LaBelle: Greatest Hits - New Attitude   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  21. "Nightshift" performed by The Commodores
     Find it on:  The Commodores - The Commodores: Anthology - Nightshift   Amazon CD   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  22. "On My Own" performed by Patti Labelle and Michael McDonald
     Find it on:  Michael McDonald & Patty Labelle - Patti LaBelle: Greatest Hits - On My Own   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  23. "Purple Rain" performed by Prince
     Find it on:  Prince - Ultimate (The Very Best of Prince) - Purple Rain   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  24. "Say You, Say Me" performed by Lionel Richie
     Find it on:  Lionel Richie - 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Lionel Richie - Say You, Say Me   Amazon CD   Amazon MP3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  25. "Sexual Healing" performed by Marvin Gaye
     Find it on:  Marvin Gaye - Midnight Love & the Sexual Healing Sessions - Sexual Healing   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  26. "She Works Hard For The Money" performed by Donna Summer
     Find it on:  Donna Summer - She Works Hard for the Money - She Works Hard for the Money   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  27. "She's a Bad Mama Jama" performed by Carl Carlton
     Find it on:  Carl Carlton - Funk Essentials: Funk Funk - The Best of Funk Essentials, Vol. 2 - She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)   Amazon CD   Rhapsody  
  28. "Slow Hand" performed by the Pointer Sisters
     Find it on:  The Pointer Sisters - The Pointer Sisters: Hits!   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  29. "Somebody's Watching Me" performed by Rockwell
     Find it on:  Rockwell - Hit Me With Your 80's Box - Somebody's Watching Me   Amazon CD   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  30. "Straight Up" performed by Paula Abdul
     Find it on:  Paula Abdul - Paula Abdul: Greatest Hits - Straight Up   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Sheetmusicplus
  31. "Super Freak" performed by Rick James
     Find it on:  Rick James - 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Rick James - Super Freak   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  32. "That's What Friends are For" performed by Dionne Warwick
     Find it on:  Dionne Warwick (With Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder) - Platinum & Gold Collection: Dionne Warwick - That's What Friends Are For   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  33. "When Doves Cry" performed by Prince
     Find it on:  Prince & The Revolution - Purple Rain (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture) - When Doves Cry   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  34. "What's Love Got to Do With It" performed by Tina Turner
     Find it on:  Tina Turner - Tina Turner: The Collected Recordings - What's Love Got to Do With It   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus


The Best Songs Music Line

Find some of the best songs of the 1980s by selecting one of the links below:



Click on any of the links below to find the:



The Best Songs