The 1980s began with a backlash against disco music and a movement away the orchestral arrangements that had characterized much of the music of the 1970s. Music in the 1980s was characterized by unheard of electronic sounds accomplished through the use of synthesizers and keyboards, along with drum machines. This made a dramatic change in music.
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Cable was born in the 1980s, and with it came music channel MTV, which had a huge impact on both music and people. Suddenly, creative music videos were being made alongside songs. FYI: the very first video to be aired on MTV was Buggles "Video Killed The Radio Star." By the end of the decade, 60 percent of American households with televisions received cable service.
Heavy metal, Big Hair Bands and Glam metal, experienced extreme popularity in 1980s, becoming one of the most dominating music genres of the 1980s with artists such as Poison, Ratt, Hanoi Rocks, Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, Queen, Whitesnake, Quiet Riot, Bon Jovi all receiving extensive airplay.
Thrash metal appeared and became an underground sensation originating mostly in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City. A few of these acts, such as Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, and Slayer managed to achieve mainstream exposure especially during the early 1990s, and were frequently seen as alternatives to the poppier "glam metal" bands of the day.
Hip-hop, which had emerged in the late 1970s, became increasing more popular and accepted. The early rap heard on ghetto streets was abrasive and laced with hostility toward society. Early important groups are Milli Vanilli, M. C. Hammer, Vanilla Ice, Beastie Boys and L.L. Cool J.
In the U.S., contemporary Christian music gained popularity in the mid-80s with such crossover artists as Amy Grant, Kathy Troccoli, BeBe and CeCe Winans, Michael W. Smith, Stryper, and Petra.
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Top-charting artists of the 1980s include Pat Benatar, Billy Idol, Guns N Roses, Robert Palmer, The Police, Lionel Richie, The Go-Go's, Dire Straits, Duran Duran, Van Halen, Foreigner, John Farnham, Phil Collins, Huey Lewis and the News, Tears for Fears, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, Heart, Juice Newton, The Eurythmics, Def Leppard, Bryan Adams, Queen, U2, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Cher, Rick Springfield, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, Olivia Newton-John, Prince, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Kim Wilde, Laura Branigan, The Cars and Bon Jovi.
Other significant events in music include:
1980: John Lennon is murdered in front of his New York apartment.
1981: Paul McCartney's Wings disbands after over 20 hits.
1982: The Eagles disband. Michael Jackson's Thriller album is released late in the year.
1983: David Bowie's "Let's Dance" hits number one with Stevie Ray Vaughan on guitar.
1984: Jackie Wilson succumbs to a long illness.
1985: "We Are The World" is recorded by 46 U.S. artists in support of suffering people in the USA and Africa.
1986: The Rolling Stones are awarded a Lifetime Achievement Grammy.
1987: Billy Joel tours and records an album in Russia.
1988: Whitney Houston earns her seventh consecutive Number One single. Superstar ensemble The Traveling Wilburys release an album, just before Roy Orbison's passing.
1989: Milli Vanilli wins 1989 Best New Artist Grammy, only to have the award taken back when it is revealed that they did not sing on their own debut album.
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