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THE BEST MUSIC EVER!

 

Music from the ‘80s has remained popular with people of all ages since the ‘80s. Surpassing other decades, the popular songs of the ‘80s feature a unique quality and a remarkable variety of music styles.

 

Since the ‘80s, music has gradually become more and more corporate and standardized, which is why the incredible music of the ‘80s eclipses and transcends popular music today. Furthermore, music is now categorized into genres to such an extreme degree that people are rarely exposed to different styles of music anymore.

 

This website focuses on the songs from the ‘80s that are still popular today, as well as the ‘80s songs that were not “popular” back then, but  have become beloved classics: Check out the 100 songs on this list: THE BEST SONGS THAT WERE NOT POPULAR IN THE ‘80S.

Welcome To the 80s!

‘80S PLAYLISTS ON SPOTIFY

 

Music from the ‘80s is much more than just the popular songs! For a comprehensive list of all the best ‘80s songs from all music genres, check out...

80S PLAYLIST

2,000 SONGS FROM ALL GENRES:

Rock

Hip-Hop

Country

Metal

R&B

New Wave

Reggae

Dance

New Age

Funk

Jazz

Ambient

Gangsta Rap

Blues

Folk

Inspirational

Soul

Electronic

Orchestral

Punk

Adult Contemporary

Showtunes

The ‘80s had the best music in all categories!!

 

This playlist features songs by all noteworthy ‘80s artists, including artists you may not be as familiar with, such as Iron Maiden, Enya, Eric B. & Rakim, The Smiths, Tracy Chapman, 10,000 Maniacs, New Order, De La Soul, The Clash, Willie Nelson, Indigo Girls, Luther Vandross, Metallica, Orchestral Manoeuvres In the Dark, Reba McEntire, The Cure, Ice-T, Depeche Mode, Black Sabbath, Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, Jungle Brothers, Erasure, Jane’s Addiction, and The Stone Roses (just to name a few).

 

And, of course this playlist also includes songs from the most popular artists, including Madonna, Prince, Journey, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, Def Leppard, Whitney Houston, Duran Duran, Van Halen, Elton John, Richard Marx, Led Zeppelin, Stevie Wonder, Mötley Crüe, U2, Dolly Parton, Tears For Fears, AC/DC, Daryl Hall & John Oates, The Police, Pink Floyd, Patti LaBelle, Eurythmics, Donna Summer, Cyndi Lauper, Pat Benatar, George Michael, Bryan Adams, R.E.M., Queen, Michael Jackson, and many more—all of the best artists from this decade of amazing music!

 

To listen to 2,000 of the best songs from the ‘80s (in a fun “custom order”), check out THE BEST ‘80S PLAYLIST EVER!

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How Were These Songs Ranked?

HOW WERE THESE SONGS RANKED?

 

To compile this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S, what I primarily wanted to measure was staying power: Which songs have sustained in popularity since the ‘80s?

 

First, I had to establish the criteria for inclusion on the list, or there would have been well over 10,000 songs from the ‘80s to narrow to 500. For a song to be eligible for inclusion on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S, it must have entered the United States Billboard Top 40 between January 5, 1980 and November 30, 1989. (For the January 5, 1980 chart, all songs that were already on the chart and ascending were eligible. Songs that entered the U.S. Billboard Top 40 in a December are considered songs from the subsequent year).​

THE U.S. BILLBOARD TOP 40


The “Top 40” comes from the Billboard Hot 100 chart, which is the music industry standard by which a song’s popularity is assessed in the United States. The Hot 100 has been published weekly by Billboard magazine since 1958. In the ‘80s, the Hot 100 was determined by radio airplay and retail sales data. Today the Hot 100 is determined using both retail and digital sales data, plus radio airplay data, and streaming activity data provided by online music platforms.

Casey Kasem

AMERICAN TOP 40

American Top 40 is a weekly radio program that airs internationally and features an ascending countdown of the Top 40 songs on the Hot 100 chart. American Top 40 was created by American disc jockey and radio host Casey Kasem, who hosted the program from its inauguration on July 4, 1970 until August 6, 1988.

 

Casey Kasem left American Top 40 to host a new syndicated radio music program called Casey's Top 40, which debuted on the weekend of January 21, 1989. He hosted that show for nine years, and then returned to American Top 40 on March 28, 1998, and hosted that show again until January 10, 2004. Casey Kasem passed away in 2014.

 

In the ‘80s, every week I and millions of people all over the world listened to Casey Kasem count down the most popular songs in the United States from 40 to 1.

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20 CRITERIA FOR 2,196 SONGS

 

In the ‘80s, there were 2,208 songs that entered the American Top 40 chart. Twelve of those songs are not eligible to be included on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S because even though they charted on American Top 40 in the ‘80s, these songs were originally released in the ‘60s or ‘70s, and are therefore not ‘80s songs. 

 

Eight of these 12 songs are ineligible because they were descending the first chart of 1980 after reaching their peak popularity in 1979. These are songs from the ‘70s that were decreasing in popularity on the January 5, 1980 chart:

Babe — Styx

Half the Way — Crystal Gayle

Heartache Tonight — Eagles

No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)

Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer

Pop Muzik — M

Still — The Commodores

Take the Long Way Home — Supertramp

You’re Only Lonely — J.D. Souther

 

(Click on a song title to play it on Spotify.)

Four of these 12 ineligible songs entered the American Top 40 chart in the ‘80s, but because they had been American Top 40 hits in the ‘60s, they were deemed ineligible for inclusion on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S. These songs from the ‘60s are the exact same recordings that had been hits previously, not remakes or re-recordings:

 

Do You Love Me — The Contours

(an American Top 40 hit in 1962 and again in 1988)

 

Stand By Me — Ben E. King

(an American Top 40 hit in 1961 and again in 1986)

 

Twist and Shout — The Beatles

(an American Top 40 hit in 1964 and again in 1986)

 

What a Wonderful World — Louis Armstrong

(an American Top 40 hit in 1967 and again in 1988)

 

Excluding these 12 ineligible songs leaves 2,196 eligible songs for this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S.

 

The 2,196 songs were scored and ranked based on the following 20 categories, using United States data gathered through December 31, 2023:

 

  1. Retail Sales

  2. Digital Sales

  3. Radio Airplay

  4. Online Streaming

  5. Awards and Nominations

  6. Music Critics’ Lists

  7. Music Industry “Best Of” Lists

  8. Rankings On ‘80s Music Charts

  9. Rankings On Music Charts Since the ‘80s

  10. Uses and References In ‘80s Media

  11. Uses and References In Media Since the ‘80s

  12. Social Media Tracking of Song References

  13. Web Monitoring of Song References

  14. Video Hosting Website Views

  15. Cover Versions

  16. Attested Influence On Other Artists

  17. Music Video Plays

  18. Karaoke Demand

  19. Concert Performances

  20. Backlash (This category represents negative points for songs that decreased in popularity.)

 

Each song was scored based on these criteria, and that is how they were ranked, which is why you can be sure that this is the definitive list of ‘80s pop music.

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80S PLAYLIST
80S PLAYLIST

BEST ‘80S SONGS THAT WERE NOT POPULAR IN THE ‘80S IN THE U.S.

Unfortunately, due to the criteria established (explained in the HOW WERE THESE SONGS RANKED? section), many beloved ‘80s songs were not eligible for inclusion on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S. These 100 songs have become some of the most popular and iconic ‘80s songs. They are not on the list of the TOP 500 POP SONGS OF THE 1980S because they did not enter the American Top 40 chart.

 

This Spotify playlist ranks 100 enduring ‘80s classics that were not “popular” in the ‘80s in the United States. (Please note that even though some of the songs on this list are featured on albums that were released in the ‘70s, these songs were released as singles in 1980, and are therefore ‘80s songs.)

80S PLAYLIST
  1. Three Little Birds — Bob Marley & The Wailers

  2. Should I Stay Or Should I Go — The Clash

  3. Last Christmas — Wham!

  4. Comfortably Numb — Pink Floyd

  5. Crazy Train — Ozzy Osbourne

  6. Boys Don’t Cry — The Cure

  7. Blue Monday — New Order

  8. It’s Raining Men — The Weather Girls

  9. About a Girl – Nirvana

  10. Into the Groove — Madonna

  11. It’s the End Of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) — R.E.M.

  12. Master Of Puppets — Metallica

  13. I Want Candy — Bow Wow Wow

  14. Straight Outta Compton — N.W.A.

  15. Sharp Dressed Man — ZZ Top

  16. Sunday Bloody Sunday — U2

  17. Rebel Yell — Billy Idol

  18. Just Can’t Get Enough — Depeche Mode

  19. Tom Sawyer — Rush

  20. Fight the Power — Public Enemy

  21. I Want To Break Free — Queen

  22. Forever Young — Alphaville

  23. Baby Can I Hold You — Tracy Chapman

  24. Still Loving You — Scorpions

  25. Could You Be Loved — Bob Marley & The Wailers

  26. Hey You — Pink Floyd

  27. The Trooper — Iron Maiden

  28. Love Will Tear Us Apart — Joy Division

  29. What I Like About You — The Romantics

  30. Blister In the Sun — Violent Femmes

  31. How Soon Is Now? — The Smiths

  32. Once In a Lifetime — Talking Heads

  33. Jane Says — Jane’s Addiction

  34. It’s Tricky — Run–D.M.C.

  35. Home Sweet Home — Mötley Crüe

  36. I Wanna Be Sedated — Ramones

  37. Talkin’ Bout a Revolution — Tracy Chapman

  38. I Wanna Rock — Twisted Sister

  39. Mad World — Tears For Fears

  40. London Calling — The Clash

  41. No One Like You — Scorpions

  42. Here Comes Your Man — Pixies

  43. End Of the Line — Traveling Wilburys

  44. Hallelujah — Leonard Cohen

  45. There She Goes — The La’s

  46. Tempted — Squeeze

  47. Closer To Fine — Indigo Girls

  48. Rockin’ In the Free World — Neil Young

  49. New Year’s Day — U2

  50. I Melt With You — Modern English

  51. Redemption Song — Bob Marley & The Wailers

  52. Dancing With Myself — Billy Idol

  53. Through the Fire — Chaka Khan

  54. Hot For Teacher — Van Halen

  55. Handle With Care — The Traveling Wilburys

  56. Trouble Me — 10,000 Maniacs

  57. She Sells Sanctuary — The Cult

  58. Situation — Yazoo [Note: Yazoo is known as Yaz in the U.S.]

  59. And She Was — Talking Heads

  60. I Am What I Am — Gloria Gaynor

  61. Burning Up — Madonna

  62. Peek-a-Boo — Siouxsie and the Banshees

  63. I Don’t Like Mondays — The Boomtown Rats

  64. Bad Reputation — Joan Jett & the Blackhearts

  65. Wouldn’t It Be Good — Nik Kershaw

  66. Learning To Fly — Pink Floyd

  67. Apache — The Sugarhill Gang

  68. Orange Crush — R.E.M.

  69. Meeting In the Ladies Room — Klymaxx

  70. Goodbye To You — Scandal

  71. Lunatic Fringe — Red Rider

  72. Shakin’ — Eddie Money

  73. Rockit — Herbie Hancock

  74. Fire Woman — The Cult

  75. Ain’t Nothin’ Goin’ On But the Rent — Gwen Guthrie

  76. Watermark — Enya

  77. Like the Weather — 10,000 Maniacs

  78. The Killing Moon — Echo & the Bunnymen

  79. Head Like a Hole — Nine Inch Nails

  80. Straight To Hell — Drivin N Cryin

  81. Mr. Brownstone — Guns N’ Roses

  82. If You Say My Eyes Are Beautiful — Jermaine Jackson & Whitney Houston

  83. Teen Age Riot — Sonic Youth

  84. Girls On Film — Duran Duran

  85. All At Once — Whitney Houston

  86. Bizarre Love Triangle — New Order

  87. White Lines (Don’t Do It) — Grandmaster Melle Mel

  88. Dear God — XTC

  89. Fire and Desire — Rick James and Teena Marie

  90. This Woman’s Work — Kate Bush

  91. Just Like Honey — The Jesus and Mary Chain

  92. So Many Men, So Little Time — Miquel Brown

  93. Crash — The Primitives

  94. Goodbye Horses — Q Lazzarus

  95. Strokin – Clarence Carter

  96. Enola Gay – Orchestral Manoeuvres In the Dark

  97. Let the River Run — Carly Simon

  98. Don’t Go — Yazoo [Note: Yazoo is known as Yaz in the U.S.]

  99. Run To the Hills — Iron Maiden

  100. Super Trouper — ABBA

Crucially Iconic Songs
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80s music
80s music

CRUCIALLY ICONIC ‘80S SONGS

 

Fight the Power by Public Enemy

 

This song by American hip-hop group Public Enemy was released in 1989 at the request of American film director Spike Lee, to serve at the musical theme for his film Do the Right Thing. This song has become an enduring anthem about opposition to abusive authority, especially as it pertains to the civil rights of African-Americans, and the United States’ ongoing struggle with systemic racism.

 

Fight the Power is Public Enemy’s best-known song, and is highly regarded as one of the greatest songs of all-time. Public Enemy (now called Public Enemy Radio) is known for socially-conscious, harsh critiques that reflect the frustrations of the African-American community with the government, the media, and other power structures.

 

I Want Candy by Bow Wow Wow

 

This song by English new wave group Bow Wow Wow is a 1982 remake of a 1965 song by American band The Strangeloves (click here). Both versions are well-known for using the Bo Diddley beat, popularized by American musician Bo Diddley, who influenced the integration of the blues with rock and roll music in the ‘60s. The Bo Diddley beat is a syncopated musical rhythm that combines elements of Afro-Cuban and Latin music into a dynamic rock beat, making the music sound more energetic.

 

Bow Wow Wow’s version of I Want Candy was the first and only single from their debut EP The Last of the Mohicans (a reference to their Mohawk hairstyles). The video was played in heavy rotation on American television channel MTV, which launched in 1981, but the song did not enter the American Top 40 chart, and peaked at #62. The song was a hit in the U.K., peaking at #9, and was also a hit in Belgium, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and the Netherlands.

Bow Wow Wow formed in 1980, comprising former members of English post-punk band Adam and the Ants and 13-year-old Annabella Lwin on vocals. The band became popular for a danceable new wave sound, slightly risqué lyrics, and the unique banshee squeals of the teenage vocalist. In 2012, the band members split from Annabella Lwin, found a new singer, and continued to perform as Bow Wow Wow, all of which was done without the consent of Annabella Lwin. Since then, she has performed as Annabella Lwin of the original Bow Wow Wow.

 

WHY AREN’T THESE SONGS IN THE TOP 500?!

Fight the Power and I Want Candy are not on the list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S because they did not enter the American Top 40 chart, and are therefore ineligible for inclusion on that list (explained in the HOW WERE THESE SONGS RANKED? section).

 

However, because these songs have become enduring ‘80s classics, they are included on separate list: THE BEST SONGS THAT WERE NOT POPULAR IN THE 80S (above). On this list, Fight the Power is song #21, and I Want Candy is songs #13.  The 100 (ranked) songs on this list are some of the most beloved ‘80s songs, despite the fact that they were not “popular” in the 1980s. 

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Most Songs

 ARTISTS WHO HAVE THE MOST SONGS ON THE LIST OF THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S

 1. MICHAEL JACKSON* – 14 songs

Billie Jean (#3), Beat It (#31), Thriller (#55), Man In the Mirror (#81), The Way You Make Me Feel (#171), Rock With You (#214), Smooth Criminal (#217), Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ (#241)Human Nature (#315), Bad (#322), P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) (#347), Dirty Diana (#438), and Say Say Say (#455) with Paul McCartney; plus Rockwell’s Somebody’s Watching Me (#402), on which he performs vocals

 

 2. MADONNA – 13 songs

Like a Prayer (#27), Like a Virgin (#47), Material Girl (#56), La Isla Bonita (#141), Holiday (#168), Crazy For You (#228), Papa Dont Preach (#235), Live To Tell (#276), Borderline (#280), Open Your Heart (#371),  Express Yourself (#412), Lucky Star (#436), and Cherish (#489)

 

 3. PRINCE – 11 songs

Kiss (#23), When Doves Cry (#28), Purple Rain (#30), Let’s Go Crazy (#95), 1999  (#113), Little Red Corvette (#117),  Raspberry Beret (#135),  I Would Die 4 U (#330), U Got the Look (#399), and  Sign O’ the Times (#486); plus Stevie Nicks’ Stand Back (#253), on which he plays synthesizers; but not including songs by other artists that Prince wrote: The Bangles’ Manic Monday (#128), Chaka Khan’s I Feel for You (#153), and Sheila E.’s The Glamorous Life (#447)

 4. PHIL COLLINS** – 9 songs

In the Air Tonight (#48), Easy Lover (#183) with Philip Bailey, Against All Odds (#189), Another Day In Paradise (#216), and Sussudio (#383); plus two songs with Genesis:  Invisible Touch (#169) and That’s All (#199); and songs on which he performs backing vocals and drums: Howard Jones’ No One Is To Blame (#363) and Frida’s I Know There’s Something Going On (#494)

 5. GEORGE MICHAEL** – 7 songs

Careless Whisper (#29) [credited to Wham! featuring George Michael], Faith (#51), Father Figure (#174), I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) (#281) with Aretha Franklin, and One More Try (#304); plus two songs with Wham!: Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (#42) and Everything She Wants (#296)

 6. RICHARD MARX – 7 songs

Right Here Waiting (#59) and Hold On To the Nights (#311); plus three songs on which he performs backing vocals: John Parr’s St. Elmo’s Fire (Man In Motion) (#133), and two of Lionel Richie’s songs: All Night Long (All Night) (#68) and You Are (#471); plus two of Whitney Houston’s songs on which he performs backing vocals and guitar: Saving All My Love For You (#120) and Greatest Love Of All (#138)

 7. LIONEL RICHIE* – 7 songs

All Night Long (All Night) (#68), Endless Love (#91) with Diana Ross, Hello (#179), Say You, Say Me (#201), Stuck On You (#306), Truly (#368), and You Are (#471) 

 8. WHITNEY HOUSTON – 6 songs

I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) (#12), Saving All My Love For You (#120), How Will I Know (#125), Greatest Love Of All (#138), One Moment In Time (#258), and So Emotional (#344)

 9. DEF LEPPARD – 6 songs

Pour Some Sugar On Me (#16), Photograph (#99), Rock Of Ages (#157), Hysteria (#275), Love Bites (#288), and Animal (#500)

10. TOTO – 6 songs

Africa (#19) and Rosanna (#297); plus songs on which most members of the band perform: Michael Jackson’s Beat It (#31), John Parr’s St. Elmo’s Fire (Man In Motion)  (#133), Michael Jackson’s Human Nature (#315), and Michael McDonald’s I Keep Forgettin’ (#319) 

11. STEVIE WONDER* – 6 songs

I Just Called To Say I Love You (#80), Part-Time Lover (#233); and Ebony and Ivory (#397) with Paul McCartney; plus Dionne and Friends’ That’s What Friends Are For (#178); and songs on which he plays harmonica: Chaka Khan’s I Feel For You (#153) and Elton John’s I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues (#247)

12. STEVIE NICKS – 6 songs

Edge Of Seventeen (#84) and Stand Back (#253); plus four songs with Fleetwood Mac: Gypsy (#289), Little Lies (#339), Everywhere (#389), and Sara (#413)

 

13. DARYL HALL AND JOHN OATES* – 6 songs

You Make My Dreams (#86), I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do) (#112), Maneater (#159), Out Of Touch (#192), Kiss On My List (#226), and Private Eyes (#310)

14. ELTON JOHN – 6 songs

I’m Still Standing (#131), I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues (#247), Sad Songs (Say So Much) (#396), Little Jeannie (#408), and Candle In the Wind (Live 1986) (#476); plus Dionne and Friends’ That’s What Friends Are For) (#178)

15. STEVE PERRY* – 6 songs

Oh Sherrie (#285); plus five songs with Journey: Don’t Stop Believin’ (#1), Faithfully  (#104), Any Way You Want It (#127), Open Arms (#151), and Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) (#155)

16. JOURNEY – 5 songs

Don’t Stop Believin’ (#1), Faithfully (#104), Any Way You Want It (#127) Open Arms (#151), and Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) (#155)

17. BON JOVI – 5 songs

Livin’ On a Prayer (#2), You Give Love a Bad Name  (#24), Wanted Dead Or Alive  (#110),  Bad Medicine  (#313), and I’ll Be There For You (#364)

18. CYNDI LAUPER* – 5 songs

Time After Time (#10), Girls Just Want To Have Fun (#14), True Colors (#210),  All Through the Night (#267), and She Bop (#497)

19. U2** – 5 songs

With Or Without You (#22), Pride (In the Name Of Love) (#94), I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For (#111), Where the Streets Have No Name (#137), and Desire (#349)
 

20. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN* – 5 songs

Dancing In the Dark (#49), Born In the U.S.A. (#64), I’m On Fire (#165), Glory Days (#225), and Hungry Heart (#332)

21. BELINDA CARLISLE – 5 songs

Heaven Is a Place On Earth (#66) and Mad About You (#470); plus three songs with The Go-Go’s: We Got the Beat (#227), Our Lips Are Sealed (#373), and Vacation (#418)

22. PETER CETERA – 5 songs

Glory Of Love (#251) and The Next Time I Fall (#409) with Amy Grant; plus three songs with Chicago: Hard To Say I’m Sorry / Get Away (#221), You’re the Inspiration (#248), and Hard Habit To Break (#451)

23. QUEEN – 4 songs

Another One Bites the Dust (#5), Under Pressure (#41) with David Bowie, Crazy Little Thing Called Love (#44), and Radio Ga Ga (#495)

24. THE POLICE – 4 songs

Every Breath You Take (#6), Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (#147), Don’t Stand So Close To Me (#282), and King Of Pain (#317)

25. GUNS N’ ROSES – 4 songs

Sweet Child O’ Mine (#8), Welcome To the Jungle, (#32), Paradise City (#96), and  Patience (#204)

26. TEARS FOR FEARS – 4 songs

Everybody Wants To Rule the World (#9), Head Over Heels (#162), Shout (#254), and Sowing the Seeds Of Love (#422)

27. BRYAN ADAMS – 4 songs

Summer of ’69 (#20), Heaven (#40), Run To You  (#249), and Straight From the Heart (#354)

28. JOHN (COUGAR) MELLENCAMP – 4 songs

Jack & Diane (#46), Hurts So Good (#101), Pink Houses (#144), and Small Town (#329)

29. TOM PETTY – 4 songs

Free Fallin’ (#69), I Won’t Back Down (#187), and Don’t Come Around Here No More (#380) with the Heartbreakers; plus Roy Orbison’s You Got It (#334), on which he performs backing vocals and acoustic guitar

30. DURAN DURAN** – 4 songs

Hungry Like the Wolf (#74), Rio  (#382), A View To a Kill (#411), and The Reflex (#419)

31. TINA TURNER* – 4 songs

What’s Love Got To Do With It (#77), Private Dancer (#448), We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome) (#477), and Better Be Good To Me (#490)

32. PAT BENATAR – 4 songs

Love Is a Battlefield (#100), Hit Me With Your Best Shot (#106), We Belong (#123), and Heartbreaker (#161)

33HUEY LEWIS AND THE NEWS* – 4 songs

The Power Of Love (#170), Stuck With You (#407), Do You Believe In Love (#417), and I Want a New Drug (#430)

34. BILLY JOEL* – 4 songs

Uptown Girl (#207), It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me (#220),  We Didn’t Start the Fire (#260), and The Longest Time (#333)

35. CHICAGO – 4 songs

Hard To Say I’m Sorry / Get Away (#221), You’re the Inspiration (#248), Hard Habit To Break (#451), and Look Away (#464)

36. AEROSMITH – 4 songs

Dude (Looks Like a Lady) (#237), Love In an Elevator (#395), and Angel (#444); plus Walk This Way (#45) with Run-D.M.C. [Note: Aerosmith bandmembers Steven Tyler and Joe Perry perform with Run-D.M.C on this remake of Aerosmith’s original Walk This Way, which was an American Top 40 hit in 1977.]

37. MICHAEL MCDONALD – 4 songs

On My Own (#279) with Patti LaBelle, and I Keep Forgettin’ (#319); plus two songs on which he performs backing vocals: Christopher Cross’ Ride Like the Wind (#164), and James Ingram and Patti Austin’s Baby, Come To Me (#283)

38. FLEETWOOD MAC – 4 songs

Gypsy (#289), Little Lies (#339), Everywhere (#389), and Sara (#413)

 

39. JANET JACKSON – 4 songs

Nasty (#290), When I Think of You (#316), What Have You Done For Me Lately (#403), and Miss You Much (#466)

40. WHAM! – 3 songs

Careless Whisper (#29) [credited to Wham! featuring George Michael], Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (#42), and Everything She Wants (#296)

41. VAN HALEN – 3 songs

Jump (#34), Panama (#62), and Why Can’t This Be Love? (#303)

42. EURYTHMICS – 3 songs

Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) (#36), Here Comes the Rain Again (#255), and Would I Lie To You? (#491)

43. DAVID BOWIE – 3 songs

Under Pressure (#41) with Queen, Let’s Dance (#93), and Modern Love (#114)
 

44CULTURE CLUB** – 3 songs

Karma Chameleon (#50), Do You Really Want To Hurt Me (#152), and Time (Clock Of the Heart) (#472)

45. BLONDIE – 3 songs

Call Me (#53), The Tide Is High (#252), and Rapture (#453)

46. KOOL & THE GANG** 3 songs

Celebration (#54), Cherish (#307), and Get Down On It (#440)

47. KENNY LOGGINS* – 3 songs

Footloose (#60), Danger Zone (#182), and I’m Alright (Theme From “Caddyshack”) (#434)

48. REO SPEEDWAGON – 3 songs

Keep On Loving You (#61), Can’t Fight This Feeling (#85), and Take It On the Run (#156)

49. POISON – 3 songs

Every Rose Has Its Thorn (#73), Nothin’ But a Good Time (#270), and Talk Dirty To Me (#336)

50. THE BANGLES – 3 songs

Walk Like an Egyptian (#75), Manic Monday (#128), and Eternal Flame (#305)

51. INXS – 3 songs

Need You Tonight / Mediate (#87), Never Tear Us Apart (#188), and What You Need (#482)

52. THE CARS – 3 songs

Drive (#90), You Might Think (#378), and Shake It Up (#478)

53. DIANA ROSS* – 3 songs

Endless Love (#91) with Lionel Richie, I’m Coming Out (#158), and Upside Down (#242)

54. THE POINTER SISTERS* – 3 songs

I’m So Excited (#92), Jump (For My Love) (#324), and Slow Hand (#473)

55. DON HENLEY – 3 songs

The Boys of Summer (#116) and Dirty Laundry (#414); plus I Can’t Tell You Why (#427) with the Eagles

56. HEART – 3 songs

Alone (#121), These Dreams (#143), and Never (#479)

57. DIRE STRAITS – 3 songs

Money For Nothing (#150), Walk Of Life (#381), and Tina Turner’s Private Dancer (#448)

58. CHAKA KHAN – 3 songs

I Feel For You (#153); plus Ain’t Nobody (#197) with Rufus; and Steve Winwood’s Higher Love (#130), on which she performs vocals

59. THE PRETENDERS – 3 songs

Brass In Pocket (I’m Special) (#186), Back On the Chain Gang (#377), and Don’t Get Me Wrong (#384)

60. CHRISTOPHER CROSS – 3 songs

Ride Like the Wind (#164), Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do) (#177), and Sailing (#245)

61. BILLY IDOL – 3 songs

White Wedding (#160), Eyes Without a Face (#166), and Mony Mony (Live) (#401)

62. AIR SUPPLY – 3 songs

All Out Of Love (#180), Making Love Out Of Nothing At All (#295), and Lost In Love (#369)

63. PHILIP BAILEY – 3 songs

Easy Lover (#183) with Phil Collins; plus Let’s Groove (#172) with Earth, Wind & Fire; and Stevie Wonder’s Part-Time Lover (#233), on which he performs backing vocals

64. KENNY ROGERS* – 3 songs

Islands In the Stream (#212) with Dolly Parton, Lady (#362), and Coward Of the County (#498)

65. THE GO-GO’S – 3 songs

We Got the Beat (#227), Our Lips Are Sealed (#373), and Vacation (#418) 

66. THOMAS DOLBY – 3 songs

She Blinded Me With Science (#342); plus Belinda Carlisle’s Heaven Is a Place On Earth (#66), on which he performs keyboards; and Foreigner’s Waiting For a Girl Like You (#240), on which he performs synthesizers

67. GLENN FREY – 3 songs

The Heat Is On (#367); plus I Can’t Tell You Why (#427) with the Eagles; and Bob Seger’s Against the Wind (#346), on which he performs harmony vocals

* These artists were a part of We Are the World (#203) by USA For Africa, which is not included in these song totals.

** These artists were a part of Do They Know It’s Christmas?  (#236) by Band Aid, which is not included in these song totals.

The ranking of the artists with the same number of songs is based on which artist has the highest-ranking song on the list of the THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S.

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 ARTISTS WHO HAVE TWO SONGS ON THE LIST

* These artists were a part of We Are the World (#203) by USA For Africa, which is not included in these song totals.

** These artists were a part of Do They Know It’s Christmas?  (#236) by Band Aid, which is not included in these song totals.

The ranking of the artists with the same number of songs is based on which artist has the highest-ranking song on the list of the THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S.

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INCREDIBLE VARIETY

On this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S, not only will you find the popular artists you expect, such as Michael Jackson, Prince, and Madonna, but you will also find artists you might not expect (listed below), who also had American Top 40 hits in the ‘80s. You’ll find this kind of variety in popular music only in the ‘80s.

Led Zeppelin

Enya

James Brown

Beastie Boys

The Kinks

Kenny Rogers

Diana Ross

Metallica

Tracy Chapman

Erasure

Mötley Crüe

Roy Orbison

Guns N’ Roses

Eagles

The Sugarhill Gang

Steely Dan

Dolly Parton

Depeche Mode

Anita Baker

R.E.M.

Grateful Dead

Rick James

Paul Simon

Sade

The Rolling Stones

Salt-N-Peppa

The Beach Boys

New Order

Cher

Yes

The Clash

Edie Brickell & New Bohemians

AC/DC

Willie Nelson

Pink Floyd

Marvin Gaye

Aretha Franklin

John Lennon

Blue Öyster Cult

Ratt

Bette Midler

Bob Seger

Neil Diamond

Styx

Los Lobos

Jackson Browne

ZZ Top

Tom Tom Club

Earth, Wind & Fire

Suzanne Vega

Steve Miller Band

Whitesnake

Midnight Oil

The Cure

Juice Newton

Run-D.M.C.

Adam Ant

Talking Heads

Dionne Warwick

Joe Cocker

Van Halen

Kate Bush

The Who

Crosby, Stills, & Nash

Best Of '80s Metal
Best Of '80s Hip-Hop
Best Of 80s Rhythm & Blues
Best Of '80s Country
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SONG TOTALS BY YEAR

Here is the breakdown of the number of songs from each year that are on the list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S:

1984 – 66 songs (13.2%)

1985 – 62 songs (12.2%)

1983 – 58 songs (11.8%)

1982 – 53 songs (10.8%)

1986 – 49 songs (9.6%)

1987 – 47 songs (9.4%)

1981 – 42 songs (8.4%)

1980 – 42 songs (8.4%)

1988 – 41 songs (8.2%)

1989 – 40 songs (8.0%)

Best Of 80s Mild & Mellow
Best Of 80s Dance Club
Best Of 80s College Rock
80spopanimals
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SONGS 501 TO 700: THE 200 SONGS THAT ALMOST MADE THE LIST

 

Here are the 200 songs (ranked from 501 to 700) that almost made the list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S.

 

Click HERE to play THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S plus these 200 songs on Spotify!

It’s noteworthy to mention the artists who have three or more songs among songs 501 to 700:

 

  • Phil Collins has an additional six songs (including three songs with Genesis).

  • Tom Petty has five additional songs (including four songs with the Heartbreakers and one of those with Stevie Nicks).

  • The following artists have three additional songs among songs 501 to 700: Don Henley (including one song with the Eagles), Huey Lewis and the News, Duran Duran, Stevie Wonder, Kool & the Gang, Madonna, Bryan Adams, John (Cougar) Mellencamp, Whitney Houston, and Def Leppard.

501. Talking In Your SleepThe Romantics

502. Land Of Confusion – Genesis

503. Stand — R.E.M.

504. Gimme All Your Lovin’ – ZZ Top

505. What Have I Done To Deserve This?

         Pet Shop Boys with Dusty Springfield

506. The Long Run – Eagles

507. Hip To Be Square – Huey Lewis and the News

508. Save a Prayer — Duran Duran

509. Me Myself and I — De La Soul

510. I.G.Y. (What a Beautiful World) – Donald Fagen

511. On the Road Again – Willie Nelson

512. Secret Lovers — Atlantic Starr

513. Burning Heart – Survivor

514. Together Forever – Rick Astley

515. If You Don’t Know Me By Now – Simply Red

516. Refugee – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

517. Do That To Me One More Time – Captain & Tennille

518. Runaway – Bon Jovi

519. We Don’t Have To Take Our Clothes Off

         Jermaine Stewart

520. 18 and Life – Skid Row

521. A Little Respect – Erasure

522. Lean On Me — Club Nouveau

523. Master Blaster (Jammin’) – Stevie Wonder

524. When I See You Smile – Bad English

525. C’est La Vie — Robbie Nevil

526. Give It Up – KC and the Sunshine Band

527. Woman In Love – Barbra Streisand

528. Poison – Alice Cooper

529. Hold On Loosely - .38 Special

530. Shattered Dreams – Johnny Hates Jazz

531. Cruisin’ – Smokey Robinson

532. Is This Love – Whitesnake

533. Watching the Wheels – John Lennon

534. Brilliant Disguise – Bruce Springsteen

535. Never Say Goodbye – Bon Jovi

536. Magic – Olivia Newton-John

537. Being With You – Smokey Robinson

538. Big Log – Robert Plant

539. Obsession – Animotion

540. Automatic – The Pointer Sisters

541. Don’t Talk To Strangers – Rick Springfield

542. On the Wings Of Love – Jeffrey Osborne

543. Once Bitten Twice Shy – Great White

544. Dress You Up – Madonna

545. Cherry Bomb – John (Cougar) Mellencamp

546. Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car – Billy Ocean

547. Wrapped Around Your Finger – The Police

548. You Give Good Love – Whitney Houston

549. Rhythm Is Gonna Get You

         Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine

550. In Too Deep – Genesis

551. If Ever You’re In My Arms Again – Peabo Bryson

552. Sign Your Name – Terence Trent D’Arby

553. Who’s Crying Now – Journey

554. Please Don’t Go – KC and the Sunshine Band

555. Shining Star – The Manhattans

556. Close My Eyes Forever – Lita Ford and Ozzy Osbourne

557. Too Hot – Kool & the Gang

558. Amanda – Boston

559. Lost In Your Eyes – Debbie Gibson

560. She’s a Bad Mama Jama – Carl Carlton

561. Love Song – Tesla

562. Never Knew Love Like This Before – Stephanie Mills

563. Don’t Do Me Like That

         Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

564. While You See a Chance – Steve Winwood

565. Endless Summer Nights – Richard Marx

566. Say It Isn’t So – Daryl Hall and John Oates

567. Ladies’ Night – Kool & the Gang

568. Never Too Much – Luther Vandross

569. I Need Love – LL Cool J

570. Union Of the Snake – Duran Duran

571. Blame It On the Rain – Milli Vanelli

572. Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves

         Eurythmics and Aretha Franklin

573. Don’t Know Much – Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville

574. Too Late For Goodbyes – Julian Lennon

575. Tarzan Boy – Tarzan Boy

576. Tonight I Celebrate My Love

         Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack

577. When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going

         Billy Ocean

578. When I’m With You – Sheriff

579. Juke Box Hero – Foreigner

580. The Search Is Over – Survivor

581. Good Thing – Fine Young Cannibals

582. I Can’t Drive 55 – Sammy Hagar

583. Heart and Soul – T’Pau

584. Shadows Of the Night – Pat Benatar

585. Guilty – Barbra Streisand & Barry Gibb

586. Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone) – Cinderella

587. Under the Milky Way – The Church

588. Foolin’ – Def Leppard

589. Kiss Me Deadly – Lita Ford

590. When the Children Cry – White Lion

591. The Breakup Song – The Greg Kihn Band

592. If You Love Somebody Set Them Free – Sting

593. Point Of No Return – Exposé

594. The Best – Tina Turner

595. Wild Wild Life – Talking Heads

596. I’ve Got a Rock N’ Roll Heart – Eric Clapton

597. Sara – Starship

598. You Are My Lady – Freddie Jackson

599. Tonight, Tonight, Tonight – Genesis

600. Solid – Ashford & Simpson

601. He’s So Shy – The Pointer Sisters

602. Joanna – Kool & the Gang

603. Things Can Only Get Better – Howard Jones

604. Spirits In the Material World – The Police

605. All I Need Is a Miracle – Mike + the Mechanics

606. You Can’t Hurry Love – Phil Collins

607. Runnin’ Down a Dream – Tom Petty

608. Take Your Time (Do It Right) – The S.O.S. Band

609. Girls, Girls, Girls – Mötley Crüe

610. You Got It All – The Jets

611. New Sensation – INXS

612. Biggest Part Of Me – Ambrosia

613. Carrie – Europe

614. Dancing On the Ceiling – Lionel Richie

615. Songbird – Kenny G

616. I Love a Rainy Night – Eddie Rabbitt

617. Everybody Wants You – Billy Squier

618. What About Love? – Heart

619. The End Of the Innocence – Don Henley

620. Do I Do – Stevie Wonder

621. Seventeen – Winger

622. Just Once – Quincy Jones

623. Longer – Dan Fogelberg

624. Don’t Make Me Over – Sybil

625. I Remember You – Skid Row

626. I Wonder If I Take You Home

         Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam with Full Force

627. It’s a Sin – Pet Shop Boys

628. It’s Only Love – Bryan Adams and Tina Turner

629. Saturday Love – Cherrelle

630. Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around – Stevie Nicks

         and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

631. Let’s Go All the Way – Sly Fox

632. Ain’t Even Done With the Night

         John (Cougar) Mellencamp

633. Who’s That Girl – Madonna

634. Only the Lonely – The Motels

635. Urgent – Foreigner

636. Stray Cat Strut – Stray Cats

637. Tell Her About It – Billy Joel

638. I Won’t Forget You – Poison

639. Metal Health (Bang Your Head) – Quiet Riot

640. Leader Of the Band – Dan Fogelberg

641. Oh Sheila – Ready For the World

642. She’s a Beauty – The Tubes

643. Tomorrow People

         Ziggy Marley and The Melody Makers

644. Devil Inside – INXS

645. Giving You the Best That I Got – Anita Baker

646. Everyday I Write the Book – Elvis Costello

647. R.O.C.K. In the U.S.A. – John (Cougar) Mellencamp

648. The Heart Of Rock and Roll

         Huey Lewis and the News

649. Piano In the Dark – Brenda Russell

650. That Girl – Stevie Wonder

651. Heaven – Warrant

652. Armageddon It – Def Leppard

653. Hands To Heaven – Breathe

654. I Love You – Climax Blues Band

655. Coming Around Again – Carly Simon

656. Notorious – Duran Duran

657. Tuff Enuff – The Fabulous Thunderbirds

658. The Warrior – Scandal

659. Hazy Shade Of Winter – The Bangles

660. Nikita – Elton John

661. Games People Play – The Alan Parsons Project

662. Turn Up the Radio – Autograph

663. Didn’t We Almost Have It All – Whitney Houston

664. All She Wants To Do Is Dance – Don Henley

665. Forever Young – Rod Stewart

666. Heart and Soul – Huey Lewis and the News

667. Rock Steady – The Whispers

668. Never Surrender – Corey Hart

669. Lay Your Hands On Me – Thompson Twins

670. Fallen Angel – Poison

671. Take Me Home – Phil Collins

672. Heartbreaker – Dionne Warwick

673. All Those Years Ago – George Harrison

674. Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone) – Glass Tiger

675. In a Big Country – Big Country

676. Cuts Like a Knife – Bryan Adams

677. One More Night – Phil Collins

678. Here and Now – Luther Vandross

679. Never Gonna Let You Go – Sergio Mendes

680. Foolish Beat – Debbie Gibson

681. We’ve Got Tonight

         Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton

682. Rocket – Def Leppard

683. Where Do Broken Hearts Go – Whitney Houston

684. Your Wildest Dreams – The Moody Blues

685. I Wanna Be Your Lover – Prince

686. You May Be Right – Billy Joel

687. Always – Atlantic Starr

688. Cool Change – Little River Band

689. Keep On Movin’ – Soul II Soul

690. NeverEnding Story – Limahl

691. True Blue – Madonna

692. Xanadu – Olivia Newton-John and

         Electric Light Orchestra

693. Somebody – Bryan Adams

694. Tusk – Fleetwood Mac

695. What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy)

          Information Society

696. The Waiting – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

697. Jane – Jefferson Starship

698. Toy Soldiers – Martika

699. 19 – Paul Hardcastle

700. Don’t Mean Nothing – Richard Marx

Songs That Almost Made the List
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Play the Songs

SONG DESCRIPTIONS

Below is an alphabetical listing of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S. Song descriptions are added periodically.

1999 by Prince — Song #113

867-5309/Jenny by Tommy Tutone — Song #224

9 To 5 by Dolly Parton — Song #76

99 Luftballoons by Nena — Song #243

Abracadabra by Steve Miller Band — Song #175

Addicted To Love by Robert Palmer — Song #184

Africa

Africa by Toto

Song #19

 

Right now, this song is playing on a never-ending loop somewhere in Africa. In 2019, a sound installation powered by solar batteries was set up by Namibian artist Max Siedentopf, in an undisclosed location in the Namib Desert (the world’s oldest desert, roughly 55 to 80 million years old), to play the song for eternity. Africa is a timeless pop staple that surged in popularity in the late-2010s and early-2020s. If this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S measured popularity only since 2017, this song would probably be #1! Africa is the subject of many internet memes, entire Reddit pages, and relentless millennial pop culture references. It is one of the most streamed and digitally downloaded songs of the past few years. According to Billboard magazine, “Internet culture has kind of taken it and really shot it into the stratosphere...people started bonding over their love of this song.” Many recent pop culture moments (detailed below) have spiked Africa’s popularity to an astonishing degree.

 

When asked why the song is experiencing such a wild resurgence, Toto guitarist Steve Lukather said, “I haven’t a f*cking clue and you can quote me on that, but it’s got a great groove. I mean it’s a happy thing. The message of the song doesn’t have anything to do with, ‘Oo baby I love you,’ so there’s no depression there. It’s not political, so there’s no depression there. It’s a fantasy song. It’s like a Disneyland song or whatever. We just went in there and had fun and made this record... People latch onto it. It’s kitschy enough and the lyrics are weird enough that people will remember it.”

 

Africa was recorded by American rock band Toto, and is featured on the band’s fourth studio album Toto IV. Released as the album’s third single, Africa hit #1 on the American Top 40 chart in 1983, displacing Australian rock band Men at Work’s Down Under (song #65 on this list), another ode to a continent. Africa was a major hit in Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, Finland, New Zealand, Italy, Germany, South Africa, and Switzerland.

 

Toto formed in 1977. The band broke up in 2008, but then got back together in 2010, and disbanded again in 2019. Toto’s musical style combines elements of pop, jazz, soul, R&B, and rock. The original six members were reputable session musicians, hired for recording sessions and live performances for a variety of artists, which is how they met and decided to form their own band. Members of Toto worked with American jazz rock band Steely Dan (whose Hey Nineteen is song #298 on this list), American soft rock duo Seals and Crofts, American pop duo Sonny and Cher (Cher’s If I Could Turn Back Time is song #196 on this list), and American blue-eyed soul singer Boz Scaggs. Four of the Toto guys are featured on Michael Jackson’s Thriller album, including two songs on this list: Human Nature, song #315 [see the description of that song for details] and Beat It, song #31. Toto band members also perform on English singer John Parr’s St. Elmo’s Fire (Man In Motion), song #133; American rock band Chicago’s Hard to Say I’m Sorry / Get Away, song #221; and American blue-eyed soul musician Michael McDonald’s I Keep Forgettin’, song #319.

 

The six original Toto members were David Paich (keyboards and vocals); brothers Jeff Porcaro (drums) and Steve Porcaro (keyboards and vocals); Steve Lukather (guitars and vocals); David Hungate (bass guitar); and Bobby Kimball (lead vocals). Mike Porcaro (bass guitar) joined his brothers’ band in 1982. Six additional members were added over the years, as members left and re-joined, and a few of them died. Why the band is named “Toto” depends on which members of the band you ask. In the early ‘80s, some of them said that the band was named after Toto the dog from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. But Jeff Porcaro apparently wrote the word “Toto” on the band’s first demo tapes, in order to distinguish them from other bands who worked in the same studio. And some band members say that “Toto” came from the Latin phrase in toto, which means “all-encompassing” or “in total,” with the significance being that the band members brought together many different styles of music from their extensive experience with other musicians.

 

Africa was written by David Paich (who performs lead vocals on the song) and Jeff Porcaro, neither of whom had ever been to Africa when they wrote the song. According to Jeff Porcaro, the song is about “a white boy...trying to write a song on Africa, but since he’s never been there, he can only tell what he’s seen on TV or remembers in the past.” David Paich said, “At the beginning of the ‘80s I watched a late-night documentary on TV about all the terrible death and suffering of the people in Africa. It both moved and appalled me and the pictures just wouldn’t leave my head. I tried to imagine how I’d feel about if I [were] there and what I’d do.” Because he’d never been to the continent himself, he based the song’s landscape descriptions on an article in venerable American magazine National Geographic: “I was a big reader of National Geographic. I’ve just always kind of been fascinated with Africa. I just kind of romanticized this story about a social worker that was over there, that falls in love and...is having kind of a paradox, trying to tear himself away from Africa to actually have a life.” David Paich attended Catholic school as a child, where several of his teachers did missionary work in Africa. Their missionary work became the inspiration behind the famous line, “I bless the rains down in Africa.”

 

But some of the Toto guys were not fans of the song originally. Steve Lukather said, “I thought it was the worst song on the album. It didn’t fit, the lyrics made no sense, and I swore that if it was a hit record, I’d run naked down Hollywood Boulevard! That’s how good I am at picking singles! I mean, I love the song now but, to be honest with you, at the time I thought it was really the oddball song on the album. It almost didn’t make the record, and it was a #1 worldwide single, and still gets played everywhere today. No matter where I go in the world, people know that song. It’s bizarre!” Steve Porcaro described the song as a dumb experiment with goofy lyrics that were just temporary placeholders, particularly the line about the Serengeti: “As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti.” Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa, located in Tanzania. The Serengeti is an ecosystem, a geographical region in Africa that spans both Tanzania and Kenya. The Serengeti and Mount Kilimanjaro are both located in the northern part of Tanzania, but you can’t actually see Kilimanjaro from the Serengeti, which is about 200 miles (320 km) away.

 

Toto has released 14 studio albums, seven live albums, one soundtrack album (for the 1984 film Dune, written and directed by David Lynch), 19 compilation albums, and 65 singles. Only 10 of those singles entered the American Top 40 chart, and all except one of those 10 are from the ‘80s. Africa is featured on Toto IV, the band’s fourth (and most commercially and critically successful) album, released in 1982. Rosanna (which is song #297 on this list), was the lead single from Toto IV, and peaked at #2 on the American Top 40 chart. The second single was Make Believe, which peaked at #30. Africa was the third single, and the final single released from Toto IV was I Won’t Hold You Back, which peaked at #10 on the American Top 40 chart. Toto’s other hit songs in the United States are 1978’s Hold the Line, 1980’s 99, 1984’s Stranger In Town, 1986’s I’ll Be Over You, 1986’s Without Your Love, and 1988’s Pamela.

 

Toto IV was the final album with the original Toto lineup, and it received seven Grammy nominations in 1983, winning five of them, including Album of the Year. The other nominees for Album of the Year were American rock musician John (Cougar) Mellencamp’s American Fool, which features two songs on this list: Jack & Diane at #46 and Hurts So Good at #101; American pop musician Billy Joel’s The Nylon Curtain; American jazz/rock musician  Donald Fagen’s The Nightfly; and English pop musician Paul McCartney’s Tug of War, which features his duet with American R&B/pop musician Stevie Wonder, Ebony and Ivory, song #397 on this list. Toto also won 1983’s Record of the Year (which is awarded to the artist, producer, and others who were involved in the actual recording of the song), but not for Africa—The winner of Record of the Year was Rosanna. The other nominees were English jazz/pop musician Joe Jackson’s Steppin’ Out, song #429 on this list; Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder’s Ebony and Ivory; American country singer/guitarist Willie Nelson’s Always on My Mind, song #450; and Greek composer Vangelis’ Chariots of Fire, song #314. Rosanna was also nominated for Song of the Year (which is awarded to the songwriters), but lost to Willie Nelson’s Always on My Mind. The other nominees were Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder’s Ebony and Ivory, American rock band Survivor’s Eye of the Tiger, song #13 on this list; and Donald Fagen’s I.G.Y. (What a Beautiful World), which did not make this list, but came close at #510. Toto was nominated for a Grammy for Best New Artist in 1979, but lost to American disco group A Taste of Honey.

 

Africa has been covered by many artists. The most well-known cover is by American alternative rock band Weezer in 2018, after a teenager’s viral Twitter campaign (@WeezerAfrica) implored the band to do the cover for nearly six months with tweets like, “It’s about time you bless the rains down in Africa,” and the hashtag #WeezerCoverAfrica. Before covering Africa, Weezer covered Toto’s Rosanna (click here) as a way of trolling fans clamoring for Africa. Ultimately, the band gave in to fans’ demand, and Weezer’s version of Africa (click here) peaked at #1 on the U.S. Billboard Alternative Songs chart. Weezer’s video for Africa is a mirror-image parody of their 1994 debut single Undone – The Sweater Song. The parody features American musical comedian “Weird Al” Yankovic as Weezer’s frontman Rivers Cuomo, with his band members replacing Weezer. “Weird Al” is known for his lampoons of hit songs. On January 1, 2019, Weezer performed Africa live on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve (click here). In response to Weezer’s cover of Africa, Toto did a cover of Weezer’s 2001 song Hash Pipe (click here for Toto’s version).

 

Other artists who have covered Africa include experimental collaboration Zo! and Tigallo (featuring American rapper Phonte) in 2008 (click here); American musician Scott Bradlee’s jazz-oriented collective Postmodern Jukebox in 2011 (click here); American Christian rock band Relient K in 2011 (click here); English comedy lounge band The Lounge Kittens in 2016 (click here); American musical comedy duo Ninja Sex Party in 2017 (click here); American soul musician CeeLo Green in 2018 (click here); and jazz vocalist Robyn Adele Anderson, who did a bluegrass version in 2019 (click here).

 

The following songs contain samples or interpolations of Africa:

 

  • 1992’s Steady Me by German pop singer Sandra

  • 1999’s New World by American rapper Nas

  • 1999’s Tempo Critico by Italian rap group Sacre Scuole

  • 2002’s Heart of Man by American rapper Xzibit

  • 2003’s Murder Reigns by American rapper Ja Rule

  • 2007’s Anything by American pop singer JoJo

  • 2008’s Africa by Lebanese-Canadian pop singer Karl Wolf featuring Culture

  • 2009’s The 12 Days of Christmas by American a cappella group Straight No Chaser (which became one of the very first viral videos and made the group famous)

  • 2010’s Huey Newton by American rapper Wiz Khalifa featuring Curren$y

  • 2010’s vaporwave-genre song A1 by experimental electronic musician Chuck Person, aka Oneohtrix Point Never

  • 2011’s Fight for You by American pop singer Jason Derulo

  • 2011’s How I Feel by American rapper Lil B

  • 2012’s Keep Ballin by American rapper Red Café

  • 2013’s Reloaded by American rapper Rich Homie Quan

  • 2016’s Africa by Swedish production duo Bacall & Malo featuring Nigerian singer Prince Osito

  • 2017’s Be Right Back! by American rapper Ezri

  • 2018’s Ocean To Ocean by American rapper Pitbull featuring Rhea

  • 2019’s Selfish by Belgian DJ and record producer Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, with Kosovo-Albanian singer Era Istrefi

 

Africa has been featured in quite a few television shows, including the very first episode of Stranger Things; Scrubs (click here); Family Guy (click here); Community (with American actress Betty White: click here); and South Park (in two episodes of its 20th season: click here and here). In 2013, American pop singer Justin Timberlake and American talk show host Jimmy Fallon performed it in a sketch on The Tonight Show (click here). In 2013, Africa was used by CBS during coverage of the funeral of South African president Nelson Mandela, which even the Toto guys thought was inappropriate: David Paich stated publicly that CBS should have used actual South African music instead.

Against All Odds by Phil Collins — Song #189

Against the Wind by Bob Seger — Song #346

Ain’t Nobody by Rufus featuring Chaka Khan

Song #197

Michael Jackson almost recorded this song for the Thriller album! Producer Quincy Jones wanted Ain’t Nobody, and he almost got it. Rufus keyboardist David Wolinski wrote the song, and the other members of the group didn’t like it, but they recorded it anyway, to be included as a bonus track on the band’s 1983 live album Stompin’ at the Savoy, which was to be the group’s final album because the band members had decided to split up. David Wolinski wanted the song to be released as the album’s first single, and threatened to pull the song from the album and give it to Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson if the band did not agree. Executives at Warner Bros. Records and the band ultimately agreed, and Ain’t Nobody was released in November 1983; it reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard R&B chart and #22 on the American Top 40 chart. The song was also included on the soundtrack for the 1984 breakdancing film Breakin’, and is featured in a sequence in the film (click here).

Rufus was an American funk band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1970. Rufus had 10 American Top 40 hits, including 1974’s Tell Me Something Good (written by Stevie Wonder) and 1975’s Sweet Thing. Chaka Khan joined as lead vocalist in 1972, and quickly became the focus of the band’s image. Chaka Khan became so popular that Rufus became “Rufus featuring Chaka Khan,” one of the most influential funk bands of the 1970s, with four consecutive #1 albums on the U.S. Billboard R&B album chart, and five #1 songs on the R&B singles chart. Chaka Khan signed a solo contract with Warner Bros. Records in 1978, but she remained part of the band until 1982. Chaka Khan’s real name is Yvette Marie Stevens. At the age of 14, she joined the Black Panthers, one of the most influential political organization of the 1960s. Known as the Queen of Funk, Chaka Khan has won 10 Grammy Awards, including two as a member of Rufus—both in the category of Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals: Tell Me Something Good and Ain’t Nobody.

 

Ain’t Nobody has been covered several times, and some of these versions became dance hits around the world. Examples include British singer Jaki Graham’s 1994 version (click here); Jamaican singer/songwriter Diana King’s 1995 version (click here); a 1996 interpolation of the song (click here) for the soundtrack of the film Beavis and Butt–Head Do America by American rapper LL Cool J; Richard X vs. Liberty X’s 2003 song Being Nobody, which combines the lyrics of Ain’t Nobody with the music of Being Boiled by The Human League (whose Human and Don’t You Want Me are songs #404 at #39, on this list, respectively); and the most successful cover of the song, German DJ Felix Jaehn’s 2015 worldwide hit Ain’t Nobody (Loves Me Better) featuring vocals by English singer Jasmine Thompson.

 

In 2018, Ain’t Nobody was adopted by fans of Nottingham Forest Football Club (a professional football club based in Nottinghamshire, England), and the song has previously been used by supporters of Arsenal Football Club, Wales national football team, and West Ham United Football Club. Chaka Khan has two more songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POP SONGS OF THE 1980S: Her biggest solo hit I Feel For You (written by Prince and featuring Stevie Wonder on harmonica), is song #153, and she sings with Steve Winwood on Higher Love, song #130.

Ain't Nobody

Alive and Kicking by Simple Minds – Song #456

 

All Night Long by Lionel Richie — Song #68

All Out Of Love by Air Supply — Song #180

All Through the Night by Cyndi Lauper — Song #267

Alone by Heart — Song #121

Always On My Mind by Willie Nelson — Song #450

Always On My Mind by Pet Shop Boys – Song #459

Always Something There To Remind Me by Naked Eyes — Song #134

America by Neil Diamond — Song #475

Angel by Aerosmith — Song #444

Angel Of the Morning by Juice Newton — Song #370

Def Leppard Vegan

Animal by Def Leppard — Song #500

Another Brick In the Wall (Part II) by Pink Floyd — Song #15

Another Day In Paradise by Phil Collins — Song #216

Brian May Vegan

Another One Bites the Dust by Queen

Song #5

This song is Queen’s biggest hit in the United States, even though its funky disco sound was a major departure in style for this British hard rock band. Another One Bites the Dust actually led to a dwindling of Queen’s popularity in the U.S., as a part of the backlash toward disco in that genre’s dying days. Another One Bites the Dust hit #1 on the American Top 40 chart in 1980, and was a surprise crossover hit, peaking at #2 on two other U.S. Billboard charts: the Hot R&B/Soul Singles chart and the Hot Dance/Disco Club Play chart. Fans of the song who didn’t know the band thought that the singer was black guy. The song was also a hit in Belgium, Ireland, Germany, Canada, Austria, South Africa, Australia, Spain, Israel, Sweden, Switzerland, France, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and the U.K. Another One Bites the Dust is the highest ranking of four Queen songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S, and three of those songs are in the Top 50. The other songs are Under Pressure with English singer/songwriter David Bowie at #41,  Crazy Little Thing Called Love at #44, and Radio Ga Ga at #495.

 

Queen is a British rock band that formed in London in 1970. The band’s music is difficult to classify. Queen’s earliest work is oriented toward hard rock and heavy metal, but the band’s sound evolved dramatically over the years, incorporating elements of symphonic rock, glam rock, operatic pop, arena rock, dance/disco, and rockabilly. The band is known for complex multi-layered vocal harmonies and elaborate, orchestral production values. The original lineup was Brian May (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Roger Taylor (drums, guitar, keyboards, vocals), Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, keyboards, piano, guitar), and John Deacon (bass, guitar, keyboards). Before forming Queen, Brian May and Roger Taylor were in the band Smile, which formed in 1968 and disbanded in 1970. They met Freddie Mercury, who suggested forming a new band. John Deacon join the band in 1971. Freddie Mercury and Brian May wrote the bulk of the band’s material, but all four contributed to the songwriting. In 1991, at the age of 45, Freddie Mercury died of bronchopneumonia, a complication of HIV/AIDS. John Deacon retired from music in 1997. Brian May and Roger Taylor have continued to tour as Queen, with English-Canadian singer Paul Rodgers from 2004 to 2009, and American singer Adam Lambert from 2011 to present.

 

Another One Bites the Dust was written and composed by John Deacon. He plays most of the instruments: bass, lead and rhythm guitars, reversed piano, and extra percussion. “I listened to a lot of soul music when I was in school, and I’ve always been interested in that sort of music,” he told Bassist & Bass Techniques in 1996. “I’d been wanting to do a track like Another One Bites the Dust for a while, but originally all I had was the line and the bass riff. Gradually I filled it in and the band added ideas. I could hear it as a song for dancing but had no idea it would become as big as it did. The song got picked up off our album and some of the black radio stations in the U.S. started playing it...” Brian May contributed some of the sound effects, running his guitar through an Eventide Harmonizer processor. No synthesizers were used when the song was recorded. All of the effects were created with piano, electric guitars, and drums. Sound effects were run through the harmonizer for extra processing. Subsequent tape playback of some of the sounds in reverse and at various speeds added to the song’s unique sound. And of course, Freddie Mercury’s vocals are over-the-top and irresistible. About Freddie Mercury’s vocals, Brian May said, “A fantastic bit of work from Freddie really... Fred just went in there and hammered and hammered until his throat bled... He really was inspired by it and took it to a new height, I think.”

                                                                                    

According to Brian May, “John Deacon, being totally in his own world, came up with this thing, which was nothing like what we were doing. We were going for the big drum sound: you know, quite pompous in our usual way. And Deakey says, ‘No, I want this to be totally different: It’s going to be a very tight drum sound.’ It was originally done to a drum loop. This was before the days of drum machines. Roger did a loop, kind of under protest, because he didn’t like the sound of the drums recorded that way. And then Deakey put this groove down. Immediately Freddie became violently enthusiastic and said, ‘This is big! This is important! I’m going to spend a lot of time on this.’ It was the beginning of something quite big for us, because it was the first time that one of our records crossed over to the black community. We had no control over that; it just happened. Suddenly we were forced to put out this single because so many stations in New York were playing it. It changed that album from being a million-seller to being a three-million seller in a matter of three weeks or so.”

 

John Deacon’s bassline in Another One Bites the Dust was inspired by R&B group Chic’s #1 1979 hit song Good Times. In an interview with the New Musical Express, Chic bass player Bernard Edwards said, “Well, that Queen record came about because that bass player spent some time hanging out with us at our studio. But that’s okay. What isn’t okay is that the press started saying that we had ripped them off! Can you believe that? Good Times came out more than a year before, but it was inconceivable to these people that black musicians could possibly be innovative like that. It was just these dumb disco guys ripping off this rock ‘n roll song.” In 2014, Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers told The Guardian, “John Deacon was with me in the studio when I wrote the damn thing.” Good Times was one of the biggest hits of the summer of 1979. The Sugar Hill Gang’s landmark hip-hop song Rapper’s Delight (song #195 on this list) also uses the bassline of Good Times (Chic members Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards received songwriting credits). Interestingly, when Another One Bites the Dust hit #1 in the U.S., it replaced Diana Ross’ Upside Down (song #160 on this list), which was written and produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards.

 

Queen was reluctant to release Another One Bites the Dust as a single. It was the King of Pop himself Michael Jackson who convinced them that it would be a hit. After attending a Queen concert in Los Angeles, Michael Jackson came backstage. “I remember Michael and some of his brothers in the dressing room going on and on about Another One Bites the Dust. They kept saying we must release it as a single,” Roger Taylor told the magazine in 2009. Freddie Mercury said, “Credit for the song should go to Michael Jackson in many ways. He was a fan and friend of ours and kept telling me, ‘Freddie, you need a song the cats can dance to.’ John [Deacon] introduced this riff to us during rehearsal that we all immediately thought of disco, which was very popular at the time. We worked it out and once it was ready, played it for Michael. I knew we had a hit as he bobbed his head up and down. ‘That’s it, that’s the gravy. Release it and it will top the charts,’ he said. So we did, and it did.”

 

Another One Bites the Dust is notable for other reasons. In the early-‘80s, it was one of the main songs that Christian evangelists alleged contained secret subliminal messages through a technique called backmasking. They claimed that the chorus, when played in reverse, is heard as, “It’s fun to smoke marijuana.” Listen for yourself here. Another One Bites the Dust is also known for its use in the ‘80s as part of the training for medical professionals to provide the correct number of chest compressions per minute while performing CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). The song was chosen because the bassline has close to 110 beats per minute, and 100 to 120 chest compressions per minute is the recommendation of the British Heart Foundation.

 

During an interview on In the Studio with Redbeard, Brian May said, “I always thought there was an instant where we were the biggest thing in the world. Another One Bites the Dust sort of clinched it because it suddenly crossed over to the black/R&B market. Suddenly instead of a million albums, we were [selling] three or four million albums. And at that time, that was about as much as anyone had ever done...” Another One Bites the Dust won an American Music Award for Favorite Rock Single of 1981, beating nominees Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall (Part II) (song #15 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S), and Diana Ross’s Upside Down (song #242). Another One Bites the Dust was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, but lost to Bob Seger’s Against the Wind (song #346). The other nominees were Blondie’s Call Me (song #53), The Pretenders’ Brass in Pocket (song #161), and the Pink Floyd album The Wall, which features Another Brick in the Wall (Part II).

 

Another One Bites the Dust has been sampled and interpolated by many musicians, primarily comedic artists and rappers. The song is sampled in the following songs:

 

Another One Bites the Dust is interpolated in the following songs:

Another One Bites the Dust has been covered by the following artists:

 

  • German Eurodance group Captain Jack for the Queen tribute compilation album Queen Dance Traxx in 1996 (click here)

  • Haitian rapper Wyclef Jean in 1998 (click here)

  • Argentine music duo Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas in 2001 (click here)

  • The cast of American TV show Glee in 2010 (click here)

  • Underground group Hidden Citizens in 2016 (click here)    

 

Another One Bites the Dust was used in a preliminary cut of the 1982 film Rocky III, in a pivotal scene in which Rocky is training for a fight, but because the producers could not get permission to use the song in the film, it was ultimately replaced with Survivor’s Eye of the Tiger (song #13 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S. Another One Bites the Dust is featured in the following movies: 1981’s Modern Romance, 1989’s Sea of Love, 1998’s Small Soldiers, 1999’s 200 Cigarettes, 2000’s Circus, 2001’s The Fast and the Furious, 2010’s Iron Man 2, 2011’s Skateland, 2016’s Everybody Wants Some!!, and of course, the 2018 Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. Another One Bites the Dust has been featured on many TV shows as well, including WKRP in Cincinnati, Fame, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Everybody Hates Chris, American Dad!, My Name is Earl, Cold Case, Family Guy, Lucifer, American Crime Story, and numerous sporting events and reality competition shows.

 

Queen is one of the world’s best-selling bands, with 73 singles, 15 studio albums, 10 live albums, two soundtrack albums, 16 compilation albums, and 11 box sets. Thirteen of Queen’s songs were American Top 40 hits (although two pairs of those songs were “double side” singles, explained below). Queen’s first hit song in the U.K. was Seven Seas of Rhye, which peaked at #10 on the U.K. Singles Chart in 1974, but the band’s first hit in the U.S. and worldwide was 1974’s Killer Queen, which peaked at #12  on the American Top 40 chart.

 

Queen’s biggest worldwide hit is the six-minute rock epic Bohemian Rhapsody, which peaked at #9 in the U.S. in 1975; 16 years later, it re-entered the Billboard chart and peaked at #2, after its use in the 1992 film Wayne’s World (watch the film clip here). In 2018, Bohemian Rhapsody was an American Top 40 hit for a third time and peaked at #33, due to the release of the film Bohemian Rhapsody (American actor Rami Malek won an Oscar for portraying Freddie Mercury in the film). For its original release, the song Bohemian Rhapsody stayed at #1 in the U.K. for nine weeks, from November 1975 to January 1976, and then hit #1 again for another five weeks after Freddie Mercury died in 1991. Bohemian Rhapsody is one of the most popular and best-selling songs of all time, and is widely considered one of the greatest rock songs, which is why it’s odd that originally, it only got as high at #9 on the American Top 40 chart. Similarly, Journey’s 1981 song Don’t Stop Believin’, which is the #1 song on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S, also peaked at #9. Two of the most popular songs of all time barely entered the Top 10 in the U.S. when they were originally released.

 

Queen’s next U.S. hits were 1976’s You’re My Best Friend and 1976’s Somebody To Love, both of which peaked at #16 on the American Top 40 chart. In 1977, We Are the Champions  and We Will Rock You together peaked at #3. We Are the Champions was the intended hit song, with We Will Rock You as the B-side of the single. During the time of vinyl records, songs were released as singles, issued as seven-inch discs that played at 45 revolutions per minute on a record player (they were called “45 rpm singles”). The singles were double-sided, but usually, the A-side was the intended side to be played on the radio. In this case, We Are the Champions was the A-side, and We Will Rock You was the B-side. But radio stations played both sides of the single (often one after the other) and both songs became huge hits, which led to them sometimes being referred to as a double A-side single. In 1978, Queen released Fat Bottomed Girls / Bicycle Race as a double A-side single, because both sides were designated A-sides, with no B-side; which meant that both songs were prospective hits and that neither song would be promoted over the other. Fat Bottomed Girls / Bicycle Race peaked at #24 on the American Top 40 chart.

 

Queen’s next hit was the band’s first #1 song in the U.S., Crazy Little Thing Called Love (song #44 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S), which was not like anything Queen had recorded before: a catchy, ‘50s-style, rockabilly-flavored song in the vein of Elvis Presley. Crazy Little Thing Called Love was the first single released from the band’s eighth studio album The Game, which is Queen’s best-selling album in the U.S. and the band’s only album to reach #1 in the U.S. In October 1980, Queen hit #1 in the U.S. a second and final time with Another One Bites the Dust, also from The Game. After the huge success of the Another One Bites the Dust, Queen made a noticeable shift in music style, adding synthesizers and incorporating elements of disco, R&B, dance, and pop music on the band’s 1982 album Hot Space, in contrast to the traditional hard rock style that fans associated with the band. In fact, Queen had been well-known for a “no synths” rule, and Hot Space was the first Queen album to include synthesizers.

 

Under Pressure (song #44 on this list), was the band’s next hit, an impromptu jam session collaboration with English singer/songwriter David Bowie, who has two more songs on this list: Let’s Dance at #93 and Modern Love at #114. Under Pressure is featured on Hot Space, but it was released as a single seven months before the album was released; the song was a separate project and was recorded before the album and before the controversy over Queen’s new disco-oriented sound. Surprisingly, Under Pressure was not a big hit in the U.S., peaking at #29 on the American Top 40 chart (of course, since the ‘80s, Under Pressure has become one of the most popular songs of that decade). Queen’s next U.S. hit was also from Hot Space: Body Language peaked at #11, but because of its dance/pop sound and more synthetic direction, Hot Space is widely considered by both fans and critics to be a disappointing album. In 1989, Brian May lamented, “We got heavily into funk and it was quite similar to what Michael Jackson did on Thriller. But the timing was wrong. Disco was a dirty word.”

According to AllMusic, the success of Another One Bites the Dust was responsible for a drastic change in the band’s musical style, because it “pushed the members of Queen into some questionable musical decisions in the near future. The most blatant and negative of these was their decision to commit the bulk of their next effort, 1982’s Hot Space, to experimental, dancey funk and electrified soul—a catastrophic move which alienated many longtime fans and effectively killed the band’s career in America. Lucky for them, the rest of the world wasn’t as unforgiving and quickly embraced Queen once again when they retreated to somewhat more familiar (though no less eclectic) hard rock territory with 1984’s The Works.”

Queen’s final hit in the U.S. was from The Works: Radio Ga Ga, which peaked at #16 on the American Top 40 chart, and is song #495 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S). A notable song from this album that was not popular in the U.S. but was popular around the world is I Want To Break Free, which is the #21 song on a separate list on this website: THE BEST ‘80S SONGS THAT WERE NOT POPULAR IN THE ‘80S IN THE U.S. The songs on this list are now some of the most beloved ‘80s songs, despite the fact that they were not “popular” in the 1980s. I Want To Break Free was a big hit in the U.K. and several countries, but why wasn’t it a hit in the U.S.? American television channel MTV banned the video of the song because it features bandmembers dressed in drag, as a parody of the popular British soap opera Coronation Street. According to Brian May in a 2010 interview with National Public Radio, the video was understood as a lampoon in the U.K., but the U.S. audience didn’t get the soap-opera connection and probably interpreted the video as an affirmation of transvestism and Freddie Mercury’s sexual orientation.

 

In 1985, Queen performed at Live Aid, a benefit concert that raised funds for the people of Ethiopia during a devastating famine. The event was held simultaneously in London and in Philadelphia on July 13, 1985. Queen’s 21-minute performance is ranked among the greatest in rock history by various publications and music industry entities. The band’s six-song set includes abbreviated versions of Bohemian Rhapsody, Radio Ga Ga, Hammer To Fall, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, We Will Rock You, and We Are the Champions (but not Another One Bites the Dust!). Watch Queen’s full Live Aid performance here. The climax of the 2018 Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody depicts the Live Aid performance. Watch a side-by-side comparison of the actual Queen performance and the one in the film here.

 

Queen had many more hit songs that were not popular in the United States, including 1979’s Don’t Stop Me Now, 1980’s Play the Game, 1980’s Flash, 1986’s A Kind Of Magic, 1989’s I Want It All, 1991’s Innuendo, and 1995’s Heaven For Everyone, which was released four years after Freddie Mercury’s death and features vocals he had recorded in 1987.

 

Even though Queen’s popularity in the United States dwindled in the late-‘80s, the band sustained its popularity around the world. The renewal of Queen’s popularity in the U.S. began after Freddie Mercury’s death in 1991, prompted by the inclusion of Bohemian Rhapsody in the popular 1992 film Wayne’s World. Queen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. In 2003, Queen became the first band to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame. Brian May and Roger Taylor toured the U.S. as Queen in 2005/2006 (with Paul Rodgers) and again in 2014 (with Adam Lambert). In 2018, Queen was presented a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Another One Bites the Dust

Any Way You Want It by Journey — Song #211

Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do) by Christopher Cross — Song #177

Baby, Come To Me by Patti Austin and James Ingram — Song #283

Baby, I Love Your Way / Freebird Medley 

by Will To Power

Song #284

 

This song combines two rock songs from the 1970s: English-American rock musician Peter Frampton’s Baby, I Love Your Way (which peaked at #12 on the American Top 40 chart in 1976) and American Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Free Bird (which peaked at #19 in 1975; a live version peaked at #38 in 1977). Will To Power is known for dance-pop and freestyle music, which originated in South Florida in the ‘80s. The group’s name comes from a prominent concept of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, first mentioned in his 1883 novel Thus Spake Zarathustra, in which Nietzsche describes the will to power as the unexhausted procreative will of life. Although Nietzsche never precisely defines the concept of the will to power in his work, leaving it open to subjective interpretation, the concept applies to the primary driving force of all life to transcend the self through creative power.

 

Baby, I Love Your Way / Freebird Medley hit #1 in December 1988, and Billboard ranked it the #9 song of 1989. Although sometimes considered a one-hit wonder, Will To Power had another hit song: a remake of 10cc’s I’m Not in Love, which peaked at #9 on the American Top 40 chart in 1990; they also had three hits on the U.S. Billboard Dance Club chart, all  of them in the ‘80s: Dreamin’, Say It’s Gonna Rain, and Fading Away.

 

Peter Frampton’s Baby, I Love Your Way first appeared on his 1975 album Frampton. A live version of the song (click here) was included on his 1976 multi-platinum album Frampton Comes Alive!, which is the version that became popular.

 

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s classic rock anthem Free Bird is often considered the band’s signature song. It is consistently played as the finale of their live performances, and it is their longest song, sometimes surpassing 14 minutes in length when played live. Free Bird was first featured on the band’s 1973 debut album (Pronounced ‘Lĕh–’nérd ‘Skin–’nérd). Free Bird is ranked #3 on Guitar World’s 100 Greatest Guitar Solos. Free Bird is included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll, and it is ranked #193 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2009, it was named the 26th best hard rock song of all time by VH1. Free Bird has been featured in numerous video games, television shows, and movies. Some of the movies are Soylent Green, The Towering Inferno, Sid and Nancy, This Is Spinal Tap, Time Bandits, Spaceballs, Wayne’s World, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, High Fidelity, Speed, Lethal Weapon 4, The Doors, The Last Boy Scout, Forrest Gump, Blood Diamond, Dude, Where’s My Car?, The Full Monty, Napoleon Dynamite, Toy Story 3, and Mad Max: Fury Road. In the Will To Power song, the Freebird lyrics are slightly different: The original line “and the bird you cannot change” was changed to “and this bird will never change.”

Back In Black by AC/DC —  Song #11

Chrissie Hynde Vegan

Back On the Chain Gang by The Pretenders — Song #377

Back To Life

Back To Life (However Do You Want Me) 

by Soul II Soul

Song #268

 

This song peaked at #4 on the American Top 40 chart in 1989, and peaked at #1 for four weeks in the U.K. the same year. The British R&B group Soul II Soul has had over a dozen members over the years; DJ and producer Jazzie B is the only member who has been with the group since its inception in 1988. He said, “Everything about this single was magic. We weren’t trying to follow any trend or fit into any category. We were just doing our own thing... Its shuffling beats were a cross between reggae and what was to become known as hip-hop: breakbeats and electronic sound... [T]his was a moment that put British music back on the map. It also came out at a special time in the industry’s history—just before digital took over and everything seemed to fall apart.” The lead vocals on Back To Life (However Do You Want Me) are provided by guest singer Caron Wheeler, who embarked on a solo career the following year. The song also features the Reggae Philharmonic Orchestra.

 

Soul II Soul’s first hit was Keep On Movin’, which peaked at #11 on the American Top 40 chart in September 1989, but did not make this list. The beat for Back To Life (However Do You Want Me) (which is also used in Keep On Movin’) is based on hip-hop duo Eric B. & Rakim’s 1987 song Paid In Full. Several versions of Back To Life (However Do You Want Me) exist: the original album version is a capella (click here), the first single version adds instrumentation, and the second single version, which is the one that became popular (click here) includes new lyrics and the chorus. There are also various extended remixes and a club mix (click here).

 

Back to Life (However Do You Want Me) has been performed, covered, and sampled many times. In 1991, English pop singer George Michael performed the song with American singer Lynn Mabry at the Rock in Rio 2 music festival (click here), and he continued to perform it throughout his 1991 Cover to Cover tour; and a version of his hit song Freedom! ‘90 (Back to Reality Mix) features an interpolation of the song. Panamanian-American DJ Clue? produced a version featuring American R&B singer Mary J. Blige and American rapper Jadakiss, Back to Life 2001. The song is sampled in American rapper The Game’s However Do You Want It, and American rapper Big Boi’s Shutterbugg. In 2000, VH1 ranked Back to Life (However Do You Want Me) 50th on their list of the 100 Greatest Dance Songs. In 2006, Slant magazine ranked the song 57th on a list of the 100 Greatest Dance Songs. The song won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1990. Soul II Soul has been nominated for five BRIT Awards—twice for Best British Group. Billboard magazine ranked Back To Life (However Do You Want Me) the 42nd most popular song of 1989.

Bad by Michael Jackson

Song #322

 

This song was originally conceived as a duet between Michael Jackson and Prince by legendary producer Quincy Jones (who produced Michael Jackson’s albums Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad, as well as USA For Africa’s We Are the World, which is song #203 on this list). Quincy Jones said that he had pictured the pair battling it out in the video, but Prince declined and said that the song would be a hit without him. In 1997, Prince said, “The first line in that song is, ‘Your butt is mine,’ so I was saying, ‘Who gonna sing that to whom? Because you sure ain’t singing it to me, and I sure ain’t singing it to you.’ So right there we got a problem.”

 

Michael Jackson stated that Bad was based on a true story about a young man living in poverty who went to a private school hoping improve his life, but was murdered by his former friends when he returned home for Thanksgiving break. In his 1988 autobiography Moonwalk, he said, “Bad is a song about the street. It’s about this kid from a bad neighborhood who gets to go away to a private school. He comes back to the old neighborhood when he’s on a break from school and the kids from the neighborhood start giving him trouble. He sings, ‘I’m bad, you’re bad, who’s bad, who’s the best?’ He’s saying when you’re strong and good, then you’re bad.” The Bad video/short film, which is over 18 minutes long, was directed by Martin Scorsese (the renowned director of Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, The Departed, The Wolf Of Wall Street, and many more). It first aired on the CBS prime time TV special Michael Jackson: The Magic Returns in 1987. In the video, Michael Jackson’s mother is played by American soul singer Roberta Flack. In one of his first roles, American actor Wesley Snipes (who would later star in White Men Can’t Jump and the Blade film trilogy) plays the rival gang leader. In 2017, Wesley Snipes told Conan O’Brien that his role was intended for Prince, but that after Michael saw Wesley’s Snipes’ audition, he changed his mind; he said, “I blew Prince out of the water. Michael had told Prince that he had the role, and then he met me and kicked Prince to the curb. Imagine that.”

Martin Scorsese said that the video was a different directing experience for him: “Shooting the big dance scene was the allure of it. Michael was never a person who was overly enthusiastic. He was quiet. Accepting. How should I put it? He was very precise about what he wanted in the choreography. He was concerned, like with any great dancer-—they like to be seen full figure. But that wasn’t the case because I’d planned other things. The use of close-ups, and tracking him. Eventually he understood that. There was never any resistance, but questions. He was open to everything.” The video has similarities to the 1961 film West Side Story. According to dancer/choreographer Toni Basil (whose Mickey is song #405 on this list), “If you look at Bad, that’s taken straight out of West Side Story. If you interview any of those choreographers, you’ll see that Michael looked at West Side Story over and over and over again. If you put the song Cool from West Side Story up against that, you’ll see hunks taken. Not that it wasn’t great, but Michael would never say where he was inspired from.” To see the undeniable similarities, check out Cool from West Side Story here. At the 1988 MTV Video Music Awards, the Bad video was nominated for Best Choreography, as was Michael Jackson’s The Way You Make Me Feel (song #171 on this list), but the winner was his sister Janet Jackson’s video for The Pleasure Principle (which did not make this list, but came close). Watch Janet’s video here.

 

Bad was the second of a record five consecutive #1 songs on the American Top 40 chart from one album. The other #1 songs from the album are I Just Can’t Stop Loving You (which did not make this list), The Way You Make Me Feel (#171 on this list), Man In The Mirror (#81), and Dirty Diana (#438). The Bad album has sold over 35 million copies worldwide. In 2009, on VH1’s 100 Greatest Albums of All Time of the MTV Generation, Bad is ranked #43. On Rolling Stone’s 2003 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, Bad is ranked #202. The Bad album was nominated for six Grammy awards: Album of the Year (losing to U2’s The Joshua Tree, which has three songs on this list: Where the Streets Have No Name at #137, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For at #111, and With Or Without You at #22), Best Pop Vocal Performance – Male (losing to Sting for his album Bring On the Night), Best R&B Vocal Performance – Male (losing to Smokey Robinson for Just To See Her, which did not make this list), and Record of the Year for Man in the Mirror (losing to Don’t Worry, Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin, #394 on this list). Bad won Grammys for Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical, and Best Music Video – Short Form for Leave Me Alone (watch it here). Internationally, the song Bad was a huge hit: It reached #1 in 11 countries, including Ireland, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, and Spain, and it charted in the Top 10 in Australia, Austria, France, Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland, Sweden, and the U.K.

Bad Medicine by Bon Jovi — Song #313

Beat It by Michael Jackson — Song #31

Beds Are Burning by Midnight Oil — Song #300

Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes — Song #57

Better Be Good To Me by Tina Turner — Song #490

Billie Jean by Michael Jackson — Song #3

Borderline by Madonna — Song #280

Born In the U.S.A. by Bruce Springsteen — Song #64

The Boys Of Summer by Don Henley — Song #116

Brass In Pocket by The Pretenders — Song #186

Break My Stride

Break My Stride by Matthew Wilder

Song #181

 

This song peaked at #5 on the American Top 40 chart, and was ranked as the 27th most popular song of 1984. American musician Matthew Wilder said that the inspiration for this song was not a failed romantic relationship, but rather his failed professional relationship with music industry mogul Clive Davis, who was the head of Arista Records at the time. (Clive Davis is credited for making superstars of many artists, including Janis Joplin, Santana, Barry Manilow, Bruce Springsteen, Chicago, Billy Joel, Aerosmith, Pink Floyd, and Whitney Houston.) According to Matthew Wilder, Clive Davis signed him in 1981, but didn’t like any of his work, which prompted him to write Break My Stride. He recorded the song on his own and submitted it to Arista, but Clive Davis’ reaction was, “Interesting song, but not a hit.” (Wrong!) Frustrated, Matthew Wilder then requested that Arista drop him, and he made a deal with Private I Records, and of course, Break My Stride became a huge hit. But Private I Records was involved in some dubious activity: The owner was the subject of a federal investigation (which lasted from 1986 until the charges were dropped in 1996); radio stations were being paid to play the label’s songs, including Break My Stride (in 2000, the owner was indicted for extortion and loan sharking).

 

American rapper and producer Puff Daddy interpolated Break My Stride on 1997’s Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down, with the lyrics, “Can’t nobody take my pride, can’t nobody hold me down, oh no, I got to keep on movin’.” This interpolation is one of the first instances of an artist using a popular song in this way, which became a trend in the late-’90s. Matthew Wilder has had success as a songwriter and producer. He produced American rock band No Doubt’s album Tragic Kingdom, he wrote the song Reflection for American singer Christina Aguilera, and he provided the singing voice of Ling in the 2009 animated movie Mulan (and was nominated for an Oscar for Original Music Score for his work on that film). Matthew Wilder is technically not a one-hit wonder because his follow-up to Break My Stride peaked at #33 on American Top 40 in 1984: The Kid’s American.

Broken Wings by Mr. Mister — Song #126

Buffalo Stance by Neneh Cherry — Song #485

Burnin For You by Blue Öyster Cult — Song #326

Burning Down the House by Talking Heads — Song #230

Bust a Move by Young MC — Song #105

Call Me by Blondie — Song #53

Candle In the Wind (Live 1986) by Elton John — Song #476

This version of Candle In the Wind was recorded live in Australia in 1986, and entered the American Top 40 chart in 1987. It peaked at #6 in early-1988. The original version of Candle In the Wind, which was not released as a single, is on Elton John’s 1973 album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Elton John and his long-time collaborator Bernie Taupin originally wrote this song about American singer/actress Marilyn Monroe (whose real name was Norma Jeane Mortenson). In 1997, they rewrote the lyrics and released a new version, Candle In the Wind 1997, as a tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales, a member of the British royal family known for her charitable work, who died in a car crash in 1997. Elton John performed the song at Princess Diana’s funeral. The 1997 version is one of the best-selling singles of all-time.

Can’t Fight This Feeling by REO Speedwagon — Song #85

Careless Whisper by Wham! featuring George Michael — Song #29

Caribbean Queen (No More Love On the Run) by Billy Ocean  Song #246

Cars by Gary Numan — Song #320

Caught Up In You

Caught Up In You by .38 Special

Song #328

 

This song was written by American rock band .38 Special’s co-founder and guitarist Jeff Carlisi and lead vocalist Don Barnes, with Jim Peterik, who was a member of American rock band Survivor (Survivor’s only song on this list is the huge hit Eye Of the Tiger, at #13). This association became a source of contention. The first American Top 40 hit song for .38 Special was 1981’s Hold On Loosely (which did not make this list, but came close, at #529), which Jim Peterik originally wrote for his band Survivor. When Hold On Loosely wasn’t chosen for Survivor’s album, it was offered to .38 Special, and it became their first hit song, and led to Carlisi, Barnes, and Peterik collaborating and writing more songs for .38 Special.

 

Jim Peterik stated, “There was a lot of resentment that I was writing songs not only for Survivor, but I was writing them with .38 Special too. I’m talking about resentment from my own band, Survivor. What I tried to explain to them, which fell on deaf ears, was that the .38 songs would never have been right for Survivor. They came from another place in me and were very much a product of the synergy of Don Barnes, Jim Peterik, and Jeff Carlisi. All they could see was competition on the charts from someone who wrote the songs for both bands. He explained that he had to meet with the .38 Special guys secretly so that his Survivor band members would not know: “We had to find places to write songs. We couldn’t go to the band house, and at my house, what if one of the guys stopped over? So we went to my mother’s house and wrote in the basement. We were writing Caught Up In You in this gloomy room in my mother’s basement all dark and dank, and we’re writing this hit song. I was feeling like the bad kid playing hooky or something.”

Survivor’s lead guitarist Frankie Sullivan is also a credited writer for Caught Up In You, because, according to Jim Peterik, he demanded credit for the use of a chord progression in the song, which was intended to be used in a Survivor song. Jim Peterik stated, “Even though there was no solid evidence to the similarity, I got .38 to agree to cut him in to the copyright just to avoid a lawsuit.” The highest charting hit for .38 Special is the lostly forgotten Second Chance, which reached #6 in 1989 on American Top 40. (Caught Up In You peaked at #10, and Hold On Loosely peaked at #28.) In 2009, Jeff Carlisi said, “To this day when the name .38 Special comes up, nobody says Second Chance! It was our biggest hit but people always think of Hold On Loosely or Caught Up in You first.”

Celebration by Kool & the Gang — Song #54

Centerfold by J. Geils Band — Song #79

Chains Of Love by Erasure — Song #488

Chariots Of Fire - Titles by Vangelis

Song #314

This electronic piano piece is the only instrumental song on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S. When it was originally released as a single in December 1981, the title was simply “Titles,” but within two months, the title was changed to Chariots of Fire – Titles for easier identification with the 1981 British historical film that it is from, Chariots Of Fire. The film is based on actual events about two religious athletes (a Christian and a Jew) in the 1924 Olympics. In a very well-known scene from the film, the song plays while the athletes run in slow motion. It is also the film’s opening titles sequence, which is why it was originally named “Titles” on the film’s soundtrack. Listen to the full soundtrack here.

 

The film’s title is a reference to a line in the William Blake poem “Jerusalem” (“Bring me my chariot of fire”), which was adapted into the hymn Jerusalem for the film’s soundtrack. The original phrase chariots of fire is found in the 12th book of the Hebrew Bible/Christian Old Testament: 2 Kings 2:11 (“As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven”) and 2 Kings 6:17 (“Then Elisha prayed: ‘O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.’ So the Lord opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw; the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha”). Chariots Of Fire – Titles peaked at #1 on American Top 40 in May 1982, and Billboard ranked it the 12th most popular song of 1982.

 

The real name of Greek composer Vangelis is Evángelos Odysséas Papathanassíou. He is a significant figure in electronic music, notable for adding ambient, jazz, and orchestral elements to his music. The decision for Vangelis to compose a synthesizer-heavy score for a historical film was unheard of at the time because most period films featured traditional orchestral music. Chariots Of Fire won the Academy Award for Original Music Score; the film was nominated for seven Oscars, and won four: Original Screenplay, Costume Design, and Best Picture (beating Atlantic City, On Golden Pond, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Reds). Vangelis also composed the synthesizer-based score for Ridley Scott’s 1982 film Blade Runner (click here).

 

Chariots Of Fire – Titles is often associated with the Olympic Games. It was used prominently at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, and the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Chariots Of Fire – Titles has often been used for comedic effect in movies, television shows, and advertisements, in which characters are running in slow-motion. A notable example is the 1983 film National Lampoon’s Vacation, in a scene in which the Griswold family finally arrives at the fictional theme park Walley World and runs toward the entrance (click here). Other similar uses occur in the films Mr. Mom, Happy Gilmore, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Bruce Almighty, Old School, Kicking & Screaming, and Madagascar.

Cherish by Kool & the Gang

Song #307

This song is the #1 U.S. Adult Contemporary hit of the ‘80s. (The Billboard Adult Contemporary chart was created in 1961 for radio stations that wanted to distinguish themselves from “rock and roll” stations.) Cherish is the third single released from Kool & the Gang’s 16th studio album Emergency, and it quickly became (and still is) a wedding song staple. The first two songs released from the album were Top 10 hits, but they did not make this list: Misled and Fresh.

 

Kool & the Gang is an American band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1964 by brothers Robert “Kool” Bell and Ronald Bell when they were teenagers; the group originated as a traditional jazz group called The Jazziacs. Kool & the Gang had 20 songs on the American Top 40 chart from 1973 to 1987. Cherish peaked at #2 and stayed there for three weeks in 1985, kept from the #1 position by Dire Straits’ Money for Nothing (song #150 on this list). The band’s commercial breakthrough came in 1973 with their fourth album Wild and Peaceful and their first big hit Jungle Boogie, which was later featured in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 film Pulp Fiction.

 

The band’s biggest hit is 1980’s Celebration (#54 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S), which has become the worldwide quintessential song for any kind of celebration. (It was even played to celebrate the return of the 52 American hostages on January 27, 1981 during the Iran Hostage Crisis.) The band has a third song on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S: Get Down On It at #440, and three of their songs came close: Too Hot at #557, Ladies Night at #567, and Joanna at #602. Additionally, three members of Kool & the Gang (Robert “Kool” Bell, James J.T. Taylor, and Dennis Thomas) perform with Band Aid on Do They Know It’s Christmas? (#236 on this list); they and Jody Watley (whose Looking For a New Love is song #356 on this list) are the only Americans that were part of Band Aid.

 

Kool & the Gang was the opening act for American hard rock band Van Halen’s 2012 U.S. tour. Yes, that is an odd combination, but it was the idea of Van Halen’s lead singer David Lee Roth. Van Halen has three songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S: Jump at #34, Panama at #62 (both with David Lee Roth as lead singer), and Why Can’t This Be Love? at #303 (with Sammy Hagar as lead singer). According to Robert “Kool” Bell, “People said, ‘How the hell is that going to work? The rock bad boys of the 1980s and Kool & the Gang?’ We surprised them all. David Lee Roth—he had a vision. He came to me and said: ‘We were hot in the ‘80s with Jump when you had Ladies Night. Our fan base is 60 percent ladies. Come on, Kool, let’s go have a party.’ And that’s what we did, and we shocked everybody.”

Cherish by Madonna — Song #489

Cold Hearted by Paula Abdul — Song #428

The Kinks Vegan

Come Dancing by The Kinks — Song #442

Come On Eileen by Dexy’s Midnight Runners — Song #71

Conga by Miami Sound Machine — Song #223

Coward Of the County by Kenny Rogers — Song #498

Crazy For You by Madonna — Song #228

Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Queen — Song #44

Cruel Summer by Bananarama — Song #250

Cult Of Personality by Living Colour — Song #262

Cum On Feel the Noize by Quiet Riot — Song #198

Dance Hall Days by Wang Chung — Song #374

Dancing In the Dark by Bruce Springsteen — Song #49

Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins — Song #182

Der Kommissar by After the Fire — Song #318

Bono Vegan

Desire by U2 — Song #349

Dirty Diana by Michael Jackson — Song #438

Dirty Laundry by Don Henley — Song #414

Do They Know It’s Christmas? by Band Aid

Song #236

 

This song was a response to the severe famine that ravaged Ethiopia in the mid-’80s. Artists performing on this song who also have songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S include Sting (The Police); Bono and Adam Clayton (U2); all of the Duran Duran guys (Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, Andy Taylor, John Taylor [who plays bass guitar on the song], and Roger Taylor); George Michael; Boy George and Jon Moss (Culture Club); Robert “Kool” Bell, James “J.T.” Taylor, and Dennis Thomas (Kool & the Gang); Phil Collins [who plays drums on the song]; the Spandau Ballet guys; Bob Geldof [who wrote the song] and the other guys from The Boomtown Rats; Paul Young; the Bananarama ladies; and Jody Watley (she and the Kool & the Gang guys are the only Americans). Because David Bowie and Paul McCartney were not available when the song was recorded, they added spoken messages that are included on the alternate extended version of the song (click here).

Do You Believe In Love 

by Huey Lewis and the News

Song #417

 

This song is the first hit for American rock band Huey Lewis and the News. It peaked at #7 on American Top 40 in May 1982. Because their first album (which is self-titled) did not do well commercially, Chrysalis Records informed Huey Lewis and the News that they would be dropped if their second album did not produce a hit; it was strongly suggested that Do You Believe In Love be included on their next album Picture This. The band resisted, but eventually gave in, and this song became their breakthrough hit, which can largely be attributed to American television channel MTV for putting the video in heavy rotation during its first year, when there weren’t a lot of videos available.

 

Do You Believe In Love was written by Robert John Mutt Lange, who has produced albums for AC/DC, Foreigner, The Cars, Def Leppard, Bryan Adams, Michael Bolton, Britney Spears, Maroon 5, Lady Gaga, Nickelback, and his ex-wife Shania Twain. When he wrote the song and submitted it to Huey Lewis and the News, it was titled We Both Believe In Love, but Huey Lewis revised the lyrics and changed the title. Apparently, Robert John Mutt Lange inadvertently ripped off the 1978 song Sweet Talkin’ Woman by Electric Light Orchestra when he wrote Do You Believe In Love. The songs have the same melody and similar opening lyrics (“I was walking down a one way street; Just a looking for someone to meet...” compared to “I was searching on a one-way street; I was hoping for a chance to meet...”) Check out the comparison of the two songs here.

 

This list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S includes three more songs by Huey Lewis and the News: The Power Of Love (#170), Stuck With You (#407), and I Want a New Drug (#430). Three more of their songs came close, but did not make this list: Hip To Be Square (#507), The Heart Of Rock and Roll (#648), and Heart and Soul (#666).

Do You Really Want To Hurt Me by Culture Club — Song #152

Don’t Come Around Here No More by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers — Song #380

Don’t Dream It’s Over by Crowded House — Song #72

Chrissie Hynde Vegan

Don’t Get Me Wrong by The Pretenders — Song #384

Don’t Stand So Close To Me by The Police — Song #282

Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey — Song #1

Don’t Worry, Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin — Song #394

Don’t You (Forget About Me) by Simple Minds — Song #4

Don't You Want Me

Don’t You Want Me by The Human League

Song #39

This song by British synth-pop group The Human League was designated by Rolling Stone magazine the “breakthrough song of the Second British Invasion of the U.S.,” which refers to the period of mid-1982 to mid-1986 when a wide variety of music artists from the U.K. became popular in the U.S., primarily due to the American television channel MTV, which launched in 1981. Don’t You Want Me was a worldwide hit, peaking at #1 in the U.K., and becoming 1981’s best-selling single and the 5th best-selling single of the ‘80s in the U.K. In the U.S., Don’t You Want Me also reached #1, and Billboard magazine ranked it the 6th most popular song of 1982. It also hit #1 in Norway, New Zealand, Belgium, Ireland, and Canada. Ironically, the group’s frontman Philip Oakey did not want the song to be released as a single because he considered it the worst song on the group’s third album Dare, and called it a “poor-quality filler track.” He fought the release of the song, describing it as “a nasty song about sexual power politics,” but he was overruled by executives at the group’s record company Virgin Records.

 

The Human League is an English synth-pop group formed in Sheffield, England in 1977. Originally named The Future, when some founding members left the group in 1980 due to recurring conflicts (and then formed the new wave band Heaven 17), the group changed its name to The Human League, which was inspired by the science fiction board game Starforce: Alpha Centauri. In this wargame, “The Human League” is an empire that wants more independence from Earth. Frontman Philip Oakey, who provides lead vocals and keyboards, is the only member who has been in the group since 1977. In 1980, he saw two 17-year-old girls, Susan Ann Sulley and Joanne Catherall, at a nightclub and recruited them to be background singers and dancers, even though neither of them had any experience singing or dancing professionally. Various musicians were hired to work on Dare and subsequent albums. Since 1987, The Human League has remained a trio composed of Oakey, Sulley and Catherall.

 

Don’t You Want Me is notable for being the first #1 song in the U.S. and the U.K. to use the revolutionary Linn LM-1 drum computer, the first programmable drum machine that sampled real drums rather than creating sounds synthetically. Introduced in 1980, the LM-1 became a staple of ‘80s pop music, and was used in many ‘80s hits, including Stevie Wonder’s Part-Time Lover (song #233 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S), Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s Relax (#213), Michael Jackson’s Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ (#241), Don Henley’s The Boys Of Summer (#116), Culture Club’s Do You Really Want To Hurt Me (#152), Pat Benatar’s Love Is a Battlefield (#100), Irene Cara’s Flashdance...What a Feeling (#26), A-ha’s Take On Me (#7), and Prince’s I Would Die 4 U (#330), Little Red Corvette (#117) and When Doves Cry (#28).

 

The video for Don’t You Want Me was one of the most expensive at that time. Rather than using cheap video tape, which was standard then, it was shot on 35mm film, which gives the video a cinematic look. Philip Oakey credited the video and MTV for making the song a hit: “I don’t think we would have had a #1 if it weren’t for the video and MTV. Trying to interpret songs with video is a real problem, but at the same time, we know that we wouldn’t be here without video.” The video was directed by Steve Barron, who directed many renowned ‘80s videos, including Dire Straits’ Money For Nothing (song #150 on this list) and A-ha’s Take On Me (#7). The video depicts the filming and editing of a murder mystery, with members of the group playing the roles of actors and production staff. In the original video, some of the characters are shot with pistols, but these shootings were later omitted from the video and replaced with slow-motion montages.

 

In 1995, a remix of Don’t You Want Me (click here) by German-American electronic group Snap! was released to coincided with the group’s repackaged “Greatest Hits” compilation (which was originally released in 1988), and this remix was a hit in the U.K. In 2014, the original version of Don’t You Want Me was a hit again in the U.K., peaking at #19 on the U.K. Singles Chart (and hitting #1 in Scotland), due to a social media campaign by fans of Aberdeen Football Club in Scotland, after winning the 2014 Scottish League Cup. The song was routinely chanted at games, with the lyrics changed to “Peter Pawlett baby,” referencing their midfielder. Don’t You Want Me has been covered by many artists over the years, including British rock band The Farm in 1992 (click here), Swedish dance/pop group Alcazar in 2002 (click here), American rock band Neon Trees in 2012 (click here), and American synth-pop group Information Society featuring American pop singer Vitamin C in 2016 (click here).

 

After the worldwide success of Don’t You Want Me, The Human League had five more American Top 40 hits: 1982’s Mirror Man, 1983’s (Keep Feeling) Fascination, 1986’s Human (which was also a #1 song in the U.S. and is song #404 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S), 1990’s Heart Like a Wheel and 1995’s Tell Me When. Prior to the release of Don’t You Want Me, three songs from the 1981 Dare album were hits in the U.K.: The Sound of the Crowd, Love Action (I Believe in Love),  and Open Your Heart. Although not a Top 40 hit in the U.S., the group’s 1984 song The Lebanon is noteworthy for its politically-charged lyrics about the Lebanese civil war, which lasted from 1975 to 1990, and had been exacerbated by an Israeli invasion in 1982. The Lebanon was a hit in the U.K. and is considered a radical departure from The Human League’s synth-pop sound, with its heavy use of bass and rock guitars; in fact, some critics pointed out that the group was violating its “no guitars rule” that they had publicly announced in 1981.

 

The Human League was nominated for a Grammy for Best New Artist in 1983, but lost to Men At Work, who have two songs on this list: Who Can It Be Now? (#211) and Down Under (#65). The other nominees were Jennifer Holliday (who provides vocals on Foreigner’s I Want To Know What Love Is, song #35 on this list), Stray Cats (whose Rock This Town is song #257), and Asia (whose Heat Of the Moment and Only Time Will Tell are songs #109 and #499, respectively). The Human League is still touring. In 2012, the group went on a 35th anniversary tour across Europe and the U.K.

Down Under by Men At Work — Song #65

Dr. Feelgood

Dr. Feelgood by Mötley Crüe

Song #193

This song is Mötley Crüe’s biggest hit. Released in 1989 as the first single from the band’s fifth studio album of the same name, Dr. Feelgood peaked at #6 on American Top 40. In 2009, Dr. Feelgood was ranked the 15th greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1. Lead singer Vince Neil said, “I knew it was a classic from the time I heard that very first ‘bomp bomp bomp bomp.’ That intro just kind of grabs you. This song has been popular for 20 years. It was funny because I was watching VH1 and they had the greatest hard rock songs and Feelgood was 15 or something. I was like, ‘Wow, of all time.’ Then you have Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith and AC/DC and Feelgood. I was like, ‘Wow, that’s cool.’ It’s our signature song in some ways.” Bassist Nikki Sixx said that the song was inspired by drug dealers.

 

Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band that formed in 1981 in Los Angeles, California. The band’s original lineup was Vince Neil (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Mick Mars (lead guitar), Nikki Sixx (bass and keyboards), and Tommy Lee (drums, percussion, and keyboards). Vince Neil left the group from 1992 to 1996, and Tommy Lee left the group from 1999 to 2004. Other than those gaps, the original lineup has remained the same. Nikki Sixx said, “I wanted a band that would be like David Bowie and the Sex Pistols thrown in a blender with Black Sabbath.” He wanted to call the band “Christmas,” but the other band members did not like that name. Mick Mars remembered being called a “a motley looking crew” when he was with a previous band, and with a modified spelling (including two sets of metal umlauts inspired by the German beer Löwenbräu, which the members were drinking at the time), the band decided on the name Mötley Crüe.

 

In the ‘80s, the band members were known for outlandish clothing, high-heeled boots, and heavy make-up, and they were notorious for their decadent lifestyles fueled by alcohol and other drugs, with many widely-publicized incidents, sexual escapades, arrests, and lawsuits, some of which were later revealed to be publicity stunts. In 1984, Vince Neil was charged with a DUI and vehicular manslaughter, and he was sentenced to 30 days in jail (but he only served 18 days) and paid a $2 million fine. In 1987, Nikki Sixx overdosed on heroin and was declared legally dead on the way to the hospital, but he was revived with two shots of adrenaline. By 1989, all of the band members entered drug rehabilitation, except for Mick Mars, who cleaned up on his own. They were all reportedly sober at the peak of the band’s popularity in late-1989, when the Dr. Feelgood album hit #1 and stayed on the U.S. Billboard album chart for 114 weeks. In 1998, Mötley Crüe’s contract with Elektra Records expired, which put the band in total control of its publishing and music catalog; very few music artists own the master license to their material.

 

In 2011, Mötley Crüe toured with Poison for the band’s 30th anniversary and Poison’s 25th anniversary. In late-2011, Mötley Crüe toured the U.K. with Def Leppard. Mötley Crüe has another song on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S: Kickstart My Heart, which was inspired by Nikki Sixx’s almost-fatal heroin overdose in 1987. The band had five more American Top 40 songs: Smokin’ in the Boys RoomGirls, Girls, Girls,  Without You, Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away), and Home Sweet Home ‘91. Home Sweet Home was originally released in 1985, and the original video (click here) was a huge hit on MTV, but the original version of the song did not enter the American Top 40 chart, peaking only at #89, which is why it was not eligible for this list.

 

In 1990, the song Dr. Feelgood was nominated for a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance, but lost to Living Colour’s Cult of Personality (song #262 on this list). Mötley Crüe was nominated for an American Music Award for Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Artist in 1990 (but lost to Guns N’ Roses) and nominated again in the same category in 1991 (but lost to Aerosmith). Mötley Crüe’s album Dr. Feelgood was nominated for an American Music Award for Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Album in 1990 (but lost to Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite for Destruction); in 1991 the album was nominated again in the same category, and won. Mötley Crüe was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006. The band made a guest appearance and performed Dr. Feelgood on an episode of the American TV show Bones in 2009 (watch the clip here). In 2006, Mötley Crüe was ranked 10th on MTV’s list of the Top 10 Heavy Metal Bands of All-Time, and in 2014 Mötley Crüe was ranked 29th on VH1’s 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.

Mötley Crüe played 164 shows on their “final tour” in 2014/2015. Prior to the tour, the bandmembers said that they signed a “cessation of touring” contract which prevented the band from touring under the name Mötley Crüe after 2015. In 2019, the band announced that they were planning to reunite and tour because of a loophole in the “cessation of touring” contract. The band even posted a video of the contract being destroyed.

 

In 2022, Mötley Crüe was part of the Stadium Tour with Def Leppard, Poison, and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts.

 

Def Leppard has six songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980SPour Some Sugar On Me (#16), Photograph (#99), Rock Of Ages (#157), Hysteria (#275), Love Bites (#288), and Animal (#500). Poison has three songs: Every Rose Has Its Thorn (#73), Nothin’ But a Good Time (#270), and Talk Dirty To Me (#336). Joan Jett & the Blackhearts have two songs: I Love Rock ‘n Roll (#25) and I Hate Myself For Loving You (#385).

Drive by The Cars — Song #90

Dude (Looks Like a Lady) by Aerosmith — Song #237

Easy Lover by Philip Bailey and Phil Collins — Song #183

Paul McCartney Vegan

Ebony and Ivory by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder — Song #397

Edge Of Seventeen by Stevie Nicks — Song #84

Electric Avenue by Eddy Grant — Song #271

Endless Love by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie — Song #91

Escape (The Pina Colada Song) by Rupert Holmes – Song #301

Eternal Flame by The Bangles — Song #305

Every Breath You Take by The Police — Song #6

Every Little Step by Bobby Brown — Song #458

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic by The Police — Song #147

Rikki Rockett Vegan

Every Rose Has Its Thorn by Poison — Song #73

Every Time You Go Away by Paul Young — Song #238

Everybody Have Fun Tonight by Wang Chung — Song #416

Everybody Wants To Rule the World by Tears For Fears — Song #9

Everything She Wants by Wham! — Song #296

Everywhere by Fleetwood Mac – Song #389

Expres Yourself

Express Yourself by Madonna

Song #412

 

This song is the second single released from Madonna’s fourth studio album, 1989’s Like a Prayer. Two other songs from that album are on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980SLike a Prayer (#27) and Cherish (#489). Madonna has a total of 13 songs on this list: from her first album Madonna, Holiday (#168), Borderline (#280), and Lucky Star (#436); from her second album Like a VirginLike a Virgin (#47) and Material Girl (#56); from the soundtrack to the film Vision QuestCrazy For You (#228); and from from her third album True BlueLa Isla Bonita (#141), Papa Dont Preach (#235), Live To Tell (#276), and Open Your Heart (#371).

Express Yourself was very well-received by music critics for its message about gender equality and equality for oppressed minorities. It was a hit song around the world, peaking at #2 in the U.S., #5 in the U.K, and #1 in Canada, Italy, Japan, and Switzerland. In her 1997 book Madonna in Her Own Words, she says, “The ultimate thing behind the song is that if you don’t express yourself, if you don’t say what you want, then you’re not going to get it. And in effect you are chained down by your inability to say what you feel or go after what you want.” Madonna later explained further: “The message of the song is that people should always say what it is they want. The reason relationships don’t work is because they are afraid. That’s been my problem in all my relationships. I’m sure people see me as an outspoken person, and for the most part, if I want something I ask for it. But sometimes you feel that if you ask for too much or ask for the wrong thing from someone you care about that that person won’t like you. And so you censor yourself. I’ve been guilty of that in every meaningful relationship I’ve ever had. The time I learn how not to edit myself will be the time I consider myself a complete adult.”

 

Express Yourself is a tribute to the American band Sly and the Family Stone, which had a major influence on funk and psychedelic music in the late-’60s. Sly and the Family Stone is the first major American rock group with a lineup that reflected both racial and gender diversity. Two of the band’s biggest hits are Dance to the Music and Everyday People; both were Billboard Top 10 hits in 1968. In 2010, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Sly and the Family Stone 43rd on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, and three Sly and the Family Stone albums are included on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

 

The Express Yourself video was directed by David Fincher, who also directed the films Alien 3, Seven, Fight Club, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Social Network, and Gone Girl. David Fincher also directed the videos for Steve Winwood’s Roll With It (#454 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S), and Paula Abdul’s Straight Up (#222) and Cold Hearted (#428). David Fincher directed the video for Madonna’s Vogue (which is not on this list because it was released in 1990. In 1989, with a budget of $5 million, Express Yourself was the most expensive music video made up until that time, and it is currently the third most expensive video of all time, behind Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson’s Scream at #1, and Madonna’s Die Another Day at #2. The Express Yourself video is an homage to the 1927 Fritz Lang classic silent film Metropolis, and even features an epigraph from the film at the end of the video: “Without the Heart, there can be no understanding between the hand and the mind.” Metropolis is a German film that is widely lauded as a pioneering work of science fiction. Express Yourself premiered on MTV on May 17, 1989, and was aired every hour on MTV for three weeks. At the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards, Express Yourself was nominated for Best Female Video, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Direction, and Best Art Direction, winning the last three categories. Billboard named it the Best Music Video of 1989, and it continues to be ranked among the greatest videos ever made.

 

Express Yourself was written and produced by Madonna and Stephen Bray, whom Madonna met when she studied dance at the University of Michigan; in 1979, Madonna was briefly the drummer for his band The Breakfast Club (whose song Right On Track was a Top 10 hit in 1987, but did not make this list). She and Stephen Bray formed the group Emmy and the Emmys, but Madonna left the rock-oriented band to pursue music that was more dance-oriented. They still collaborated over the years, most notably on the 1986 song True Blue, which did not make this list; and Into the Groove, which was ineligible for this list because it was never released as a single in the U.S. and therefore didn’t enter the Billboard Top 40—but Into the Groove is the #10 song on a separate list of THE BEST ‘80S SONGS THAT WERE NOT POPULAR IN THE ‘80S IN THE U.S. in the ‘80s, featured on this website. In 2010, Express Yourself was performed by the female characters on the TV show Glee (click here) on an episode devoted to Madonna’s music, titled “The Power of Madonna.” In 2016, Express Yourself was featured in a Pepsi commercial for Super Bowl 50; Pepsi had signed her to a $5 million deal in 1989, but then dropped her because of her controversial video for Like A Prayer, song #27 on this list.

Eye Of the Tiger by Survivor — Song #13

Eyes Without a Face by Billy Idol — Song #166

Faith by George Michael — Song #51

Faithfully by Journey — Song #104

 

Fame by Irene Cara — Song #431

Fast Car by Tracy Chapman — Song #18

Father Figure by George Michael — Song #174

The Final Countdown by Europe — Song #103

The Flame by Cheap Trick — Song #272

Flashdance...What a Feeling by Irene Cara — Song #26

Fool In the Rain by Led Zeppelin — Song #122

Footloose by Kenny Loggins — Song #60

Free Fallin’ by Tom Petty — Song #69

Freeway Of Love

Freeway Of Love by Aretha Franklin

Song #376

This song became American music legend Aretha Franklin’s 15th Top 10 hit on the American Top 40 chart, and earned her an 11th Grammy win for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. Yes, she won in that category 11 times, including for the songs Respect, Chain Of Fools, Bridge Over Troubled Water, and Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing. She won in that category eight years in a row, from 1968 to 1975. She won a total of 18 Grammys and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, and she was the first female performer to be inducted. She received the Grammy Legend Award in 1992, a special award that has only been given to 15 artists (other artists on this list who have received the award are Michael Jackson, Billy Joel, Willie Nelson, Smokey Robinson, and Elton John).

 

Freeway Of Love revitalized Aretha Franklin’s career. She hadn’t had a Top 10 hit since 1973’s Until You Come Back To Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do). Randy Jackson, best known as a judge on the singing competition television show American Idol, plays electric and synthesized bass on Freeway Of Love. The song also features saxophone by Clarence Clemons, who is a member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. Clarence Clemons performs saxophone, percussion, and background vocals on Bruce Springsteen’s album Born In the U.S.A., which has four songs on this list: Dancing In the Dark (#49), Born In the U.S.A. (#64), I’m On Fire (#165), and Glory Days (#225).

 

Aretha Franklin has another song on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S: her duet with George Michael, I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) at #281. See the description of that song for more details of her life. Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves, which she performs with Eurythmics did not make this list of 500, but came close, at #572.

Freeze-Frame by J. Geils Band — Song #492

Funkytown by Lipps, Inc. — Song #63

Genius Of Love by Tom Tom Club — Song #424

Get Down On It by Kool & the Gang – Song #440

Ghostbusters by Ray Parker Jr. — Song #391

Girl You Know It’s True by Milli Vanilli — Song #392

Girls Just Want To Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper — Song #14

Give It To Me Baby by Rick James — Song #338

Give Me the Night by George Benson – Song #463

The Glamorous Life by Sheila E. — Song #447

Gloria by Laura Branigan — Song #108

Glory Days by Bruce Springsteen — Song #225

Glory Of Love by Peter Cetera — Song #251

Goody Two Shoes

Goody Two Shoes by Adam Ant

Song #358

 

When this song was released in 1982, Adam Ant had given up cigarettes and alcohol, and he was never a drug user. Goody Two Shoes is about Adam Ant’s frustration with the media, which is depicted in the video. Often interviewers would be shocked that such a flamboyant personality abstained from the typical indulgences of rock stars, and they would ask him, if he didn’t drink or smoke, then what exactly did he do? He said, “Goody Two Shoes was a sort of ‘answer back’ manifesto and just trying to keep things level-headed because I felt that, and still do, to a degree, that going on stage is creating an illusion. It’s magical and it’s wonderful and I love doing it, but off stage there has to be time out.” Adam Ant (whose real name is Stuart Leslie Goddard) did have one vice, which he spoke about openly: sex. He gained popularity in the U.K. as the lead singer of new wave group Adam and the Ants during the burgeoning punk rock movement in the late-’70s. He and the band developed a cult following when punk rock was transitioning to the post-punk and new wave era, and they were notorious for campy and explicitly sexualized stage performances.

 

Adam and the Ants scored more than a dozen hits in the U.K., including the #1 songs Stand and Deliver and Prince Charming. When the group broke up in 1982, Adam Ant embarked on a solo career and had a few hits in the U.K. Throughout the early ‘80s, he was one of the most popular celebrities in England, known for his outlandish costumes and charisma, but in the U.S., his only ‘80s hit was Goody Two Shoes, which peaked at #12 on the American Top 40 chart, largely because MTV put the video in heavy rotation. Goody Two Shoes peaked at #1 in both the U.K. and Australia.

 

Adam Ant later had two minor hits in the U.S. in the ‘90s: Room At the Top and Wonderful. Adam Ant also worked as an actor in over two dozen films and television shows from 1985 to 2003. There are two different versions of Goody Two Shoes, and two different videos: the single version has a more reverberating drum track, and its accompanying video features Adam Ant dancing alone on a stage (watch it here); the version of the song on his album Friend or Foe sounds notably different, and its accompanying video shows a typical day in the life of Adam Ant, from when he wakes up and gets dressed, to being hounded by the press, to bringing a woman to his bedroom at the end of the day.

George Harrison Vegan

Got My Mind Set On You by George Harrison

Song #291

This song is the last #1 hit on the American Top 40 chart for any member of The Beatles. As a solo artist, George Harrison (who died of lung cancer in 2001) had 13 American Top 40 hits, including two more #1 songs: 1970’s My Sweet Lord and 1973’s Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth). In 1981, All Those Years Ago peaked at #2, but did not make this list. George Harrison’s final solo hit was When We Was Fab, which peaked at #23 in 1988. George Harrison was the lead guitarist of The Beatles, and he was sometimes referred to as “the quiet Beatle.” He broadened the scope of The Beatles’ music by incorporating Indian instrumentation and elements of Hinduism. After the band’s breakup in 1970, he released the triple album All Things Must Pass, which received critical acclaim and includes his most successful hit single My Sweet Lord.

 

Billboard ranked Got My Mind Set On You as the 3rd most popular song of 1988. It was written and composed by Rudy Clark, and originally recorded by James Ray in 1962 (click here). George Harrison had released his commercially unsuccessful album Gone Troppo in 1987, and this simple cover song proved later that year that he could still release a popular mainstream song. (Notably, many of his fans hate this song.) Until The Beach Boys’ 1988 release of Kokomo (song #218 on this list), George Harrison held the record for longest span between #1 hits (14 years). Other members of The Beatles have songs on this list: Paul McCartney’s duet with Stevie Wonder Ebony and Ivory is song #397, and his duet with Michael Jackson Say Say Say is #455; John Lennon’s (Just Like) Starting Over is #462, and Watching the Wheels, which did not make this list, but came close at #533. George Harrison was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: as a solo artist in 2004, and as a member of The Beatles in 1988, when Got My Mind Set On You was #1, making him one of the few inductees to have an active single on a U.S. Billboard chart at the time of induction.

Greatest Love Of All by Whitney Houston — Song #138

Gypsy by Fleetwood Mac — Song #289

Hard Habit To Break by Chicago — Song #451

Hard To Say I’m Sorry / Get Away by Chicago — Song #221

Hard to Say Im Sorry was released as a radio edit single that fades before the Get Away portion of the song starts. On the album Chicago 16, Hard to Say Im Sorry segues into Get Away as one song. The full song is also featured in the 1982 film Summer Lovers, but the film’s soundtrack includes only the radio edit, without the Get Away portion of the song. On this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S, Hard To Say I’m Sorry / Get Away is one of four instances of two merged songs that I felt should not be separated. The others are Soft Cell’s Tainted Love / Where Did Our Love Go at #37, INXSs  Need You Tonight / Mediate at #87, and The Alan Parsons Project’s Sirius / Eye In the Sky at #302. In each case, the first song segues seamlessly into the second song on the original recording, and the band’s intention is for the songs to be a medley.

Harden My Heart by Quarterflash

Song #387

 

American rock group Quarterflash’s lead singer Rindy Ross is also a saxophonist. She plays the sax on this hit song, which peaked at #3 on the American Top 40 chart in 1981. Harden My Heart was originally released as a single (click here) in early-1980 by a band named Seafood Mama, and it was a regional success on radio stations in Portland, Oregon. When the band changed its name to Quarterflash the next year and released a different version of the song, it became a huge hit. The name Quarterflash comes from an Australian slang description of new immigrants as “a quarter flash, three quarters foolish.” The band was originally made up of the married couple Rindy Ross (lead vocals and saxophone) and Marv Ross (guitars), with other members. Having a lead singer who also played saxophone made Quarterflash noteworthy. Rindy Ross said that the saxophone was as an extension of her voice, which helped her express things that she could not express with her voice alone.

 

Harden My Heart was released the same year that MTV went on the air, and the video contains bizarre, random images that have nothing to do with the song: jugglers, flamethrowers, bulldozers, and children in bathrobes at a large makeup vanity table in the desert. Rindy Ross also wears a bathrobe, as well as a leotard and a tuxedo, and the band performs in a water puddle in a warehouse, while dressed-up guys on motorcycles drive around them. It was common in the early days of MTV for artists to put peculiar images in their videos so that they would be memorable. Billboard ranked Harden My Heart the #13 most popular song of 1982. Quarterflash had two other American Top 40 hits (which did not make this list of 500): 1982’s Find Another Fool and 1983’s Take Me To Heart.

Head Over Heels by Tears For Fears — Song #162

Head To Toe by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam — Song #480

Heartbreaker by Pat Benatar — Song #161

The Heat Is On by Glenn Frey

Song #367

This song, featured in the 1984 film Beverly Hills Cop, was co-written by German composer Harold Faltermeyer (who also plays keyboards and bass on the song). He himself had a hit song from the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack, Axel F, which did not make this list, despite being a #1 song. Axel F is the electronic instrumental theme song of Eddie Murphy’s main character Axel Foley. The music video for The Heat Is On was the first one to use clips from a movie interspersed with performance footage.

 

American singer/songwriter Glenn Frey died in 2016. He was a founding member, lead singer, and frontman of American rock band the Eagles. Eagles band member Don Henley (who also has solo songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S: Dirty Laundry at #414, and The Boys Of Summer at #116) also sang lead on many Eagles songs, and wrote most of their songs with Glenn Frey. One song by the Eagles made this list: I Can’t Tell You Why, at #427, on which neither Don Henley nor Glenn Frey sing lead; it is the first single to feature Timothy B. Schmit on lead vocals. After the Eagles broke up in 1980, Glenn Frey had a successful solo career that includes the American Top 40 ‘80s hits The One You Love, Smuggler’s Blues, You Belong to the City, and True Love. The Heat Is On is the highest charting solo single on the American Top 40 chart by any member of the Eagles.

Carl Palmer Asia

Heat Of the Moment by Asia — Song #109

Bryan Adams Vegan

Heaven by Bryan Adams — Song #40

Heaven Is a Place On Earth by Belinda Carlisle — Song #66

Hello by Lionel Richie — Song #179

Here Comes the Rain Again by Eurythmics  Song #255

Here I Go Again by Whitesnake — Song #21

Hey Nineteen

Hey Nineteen by Steely Dan

Song #298


This song is the ninth of 10 American Top 40 hits by American jazz rock band Steely Dan, all between 1972 and 1981, which include Do It Again, Reelin’ In the Years, Rikki Don’t Lose That Number, and Peg. Steely Dan’s only other ‘80s hit is Time Out Of Mind. Hey Nineteen peaked at #10 in 1981. Steely Dan is the duo of Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (piano, keyboards, lead vocals). Donald Fagen’s solo hit I.G.Y (What a Beautiful World) did not make this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S, but it came close at #510. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker together recorded with a variety of different musicians. For example, Jeff Porcaro was a drummer for Steely Dan who later formed Toto; Toto has two songs on this list: Rosanna at #297 and Africa at #19. Also, Michael McDonald played keyboards and provided background vocals for Steely Dan; he has two songs on this list: I Keep Forgettin’ at #319 and his duet with Patti LaBelle, On My Own, at #279.

Steely Dan is named after a dildo from the William Burroughs novel Naked Lunch. Donald Fagen said, “We had to come up with a name in a hurry, and Walter and I were both Burroughs fans, though he was not known at the time. It was an in-joke. Who’s going to know what Steely Dan was? And we figured that, like most of our bands in the past, it would fall apart after three months, so we didn’t think much about it.” Steely Dan’s style includes elements of jazz, pop, and R&B, with cryptic and satirical lyrics. Donald Fagen said that his hope was that songs like Hey Nineteen would be enjoyed by soccer moms in dentist chairs bobbing their heads, unaware of the filthy lyrics. The point of view of Hey Nineteen is of an older man unable to relate to a 19-year-old who doesn’t even know who Aretha Franklin is (“Hey Nineteen, that’s ‘Retha Franklin; She don’t remember the Queen of Soul...”). (Aretha Franklin has two songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S: Freeway Of Love at #376, and her duet with George Michael, I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me), at #281.) Steely Dan broke up in 1981, shortly after Hey Nineteen was a hit, but they reunited for a tour in 1993, and then recorded an album in 2000, Two Against Nature, which won four Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. Steely Dan released a final album in 2003, and continued to tour until Walter Becker died of cancer in 2017. Steely Dan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 2001.

Higher Love by Steve Winwood — Song #130

Hit Me With Your Best Shot by Pat Benatar — Song #106

Thompson Twins Vegan
Hold Me Now

Hold Me Now by Thompson Twins

Song #263

 

This song was an international hit for British pop band Thompson Twins, and reached #3 on the American Top 40 chart. Billboard ranked Hold Me Now as the 24th most popular song of 1984. The song was a big hit in Ireland, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Germany, South Africa, Switzerland, and the U.K.

Initially a new wave group when formed in 1977, Thompson Twins switched to a more mainstream pop sound in 1982. The lineup changed, but the band is most well-known as the trio of Tom Bailey (guitars, keyboards, and vocals), Alannah Currie (drums, percussion, and vocals), and Joe Leeway (keyboards, percussion, and vocals), which was the lineup from 1982 to 1986. Joe Bailey left the band in 1986; the remaining duo of Tom Bailey and Alannah Currie continued to record until 1993—and got married in 1991, but divorced in 2003. The band was named after two bumbling detectives (Thomson and Thompson) from the Belgian comic strip The Adventures of Tintin, a series of 24 comic albums created by Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé; this series of comics was one of the most popular in Europe in the 20th century.

 

Hold Me Now was written by Tom Bailey and Alannah Currie after a heated argument: “Emotionally, it was written as the result of some argument that was resolved between Alannah and myself,” explained Tom Bailey. “We actually decided, well, this is an interesting emotional subject. What it feels like to get back together again after separation and the kind of ideas that come up and the way that emotion and physicality somehow are brought together.”

 

Thompson Twins’ sound typically relied on electronic instruments, but Alannah Currie said that Hold Me Now was different: “It’s such an emotional song [that] we wanted to have that warmth you often can’t get from synthesizers.” Hold Me Now features guitars, xylophones, piano, and Latin percussion. Tom Bailey explained the unusual structure of the song: “Musically, one thing I notice about this song is that the bass line and the chord sequence are the same in the verse as they are in the chorus. There’s no change. The only change is in the amount of instrumentation that goes on top of that. So you could play the same four chord trick around the verse and the chorus continuously. The only time it diverts from that is in the middle eight immediately after the second chorus. So, it’s very repetitive. And of course, although it’s a medium-tempo emotional song, because of its repetition and its groovy-ness, it has one foot in the dance department, as well.” In fact, Hold Me Now was a #1 song on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Club Play chart. The extended dance version of the song, which is almost 10 minutes long, accentuates the intricate song structure (click here).

 

The percussion in Hold Me Now is particularly distinctive. According to Tom Bailey, “Well, that was a trick we discovered. Because when we first started making music with machines, with drum computers and synthesizers, the drum computers made a very robotic, repetitive, machine-like rhythm that’s very impressive and very insistent, but it’s not quite happy enough. It doesn’t give the impression of a party going on. But as soon as you add the tambourines, as soon as you add the cowbells, the cymbals, the marimbas, the tympanies and things, it feels like there’s a human party going on around that very insistent, machine-like rhythm. So that became one of our secrets of technique: Write the drums for the record with the machine, but play the percussion sometimes quite loosely and not in the most accurate sense. Play it loosely around those rhythms and it feels great.”

 

Hold Me Now is Thompson Twins’ only song on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S, and it is the biggest hit of the group’s seven American Top 40 songs. In 1982, prior to their pop hits, the band hit #1 on the U.S. Billboard Dance/Club Play chart with In the Name Of Love. At that time the group had seven members; they then scaled down to a trio and achieved international success. Their other hits in the U.S. were 1982’s Lies, 1984’s Doctor! Doctor!, 1985’s Lay Your Hands On Me, (which did not make this list, but is song #669), 1985’s King For a Day, 1987’s Get That Love, and 1989’s Sugar Daddy. Thompson Twins had additional ‘80s hits in the U.K. and other countries including Love On Your Side, We Are Detective, You Take Me Up, Sister Of Mercy, and Don’t Mess With Doctor Dream.

 

Hold Me Now is featured in the following films: 1998’s The Wedding Singer, 1999’s 10 Things I Hate About You, and 2014’s Better Living Through Chemistry. The song has been featured in many TV shows, including Cold Case, Everybody Hates Chris, The Simpsons, EastEnders, The Blacklist, Scream Queens, New Girl, and Black Mirror: Bandersnatch.

 

Thompson Twins performed Hold Me Now on July 13, 1985 at Live Aid (watch it here), a huge benefit concert that raised funds to help people who were experiencing severe famine in Ethiopia, held simultaneously on stages in Philadelphia and London. After performing Hold me Now on the Philadelphia stage, Thompson Twins performed The Beatles’ Revolution with Madonna on backup vocals and tambourine, and producer Nile Rodgers on guitar (watch it here). According to Rolling Stone magazine, “Forget Queen, U2 and whoever else: This song was the true star of Live Aid. The startling zenith of the follically resplendent U.K. trio’s career, Hold Me Now is an all-timer, the lovers-quarrel lyrics just a shade darker than the gossamer, arpeggiated synth-pop splendor swirling around them. He doesn’t assert himself until the final chorus, but the yelping backing vocals from synth/percussion specialist Joe Leeway—a former Thompson Twins roadie and current uncertified hypnotherapist—steal the show. The sneak-attack MVP of the Wedding Singer soundtrack, too.” Rolling Stone ranked Hold Me Now the #26 song on its list of 100 Best Singles of 1984: Pop’s Greatest Year.

Hold On To the Nights by Richard Marx — Song #311

Holding Back the Years by Simply Red — Song #232

Holding Out For a Hero by Bonnie Tyler – Song #474

Holiday by Madonna — Song #168

How ’Bout Us by Champagne — Song #493

How Will I Know by Whitney Houston — Song #125

Human by The Human League — Song #404

Human Nature

Human Nature by Michael Jackson

Song #315

This song is one of six on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S from the world’s best-selling album, Michael Jackson’s Thriller. The other songs are Billie Jean (#3), Beat It (#31), Thriller (#55), Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ (#241), and P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) (#347). Members of American rock band Toto were involved in the lyrics, arrangement, and recording of Human Nature. The song was originally written by Toto keyboardist Steve Porcaro, who also plays synthesizers and did the arrangement with fellow Toto members David Paich (who performs additional synthesizers) and Steve Lukather (who plays guitar); Toto drummer Jeff Porcaro performs drums on the song. Toto has two songs on this list if THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S: Rosanna at #297 and Africa at #19; Toto band members also perform on three additional songs on this list: Michael McDonald’s I Keep Forgettin’ (#319), John Parr’s St. Elmo’s Fire (Man In Motion) (#133), and Michael Jackson’s Beat It (#31).

 

Steve Porcaro wrote the original lyrics for Human Nature after his daughter had a difficult day at school. He said, “I had written the song for my daughter Heather. Something had happened at school and it just inspired me. I wrote the song while we were mixing Africa and was just tinkering on the piano and wrote Human Nature. Thriller producer Quincy Jones asked the Toto guys for some songs for the album; they submitted a cassette tape with demo tracks on it, which Quincy Jones was not interested in, but the other side of the tape had Human Nature on it, and Quincy Jones inadvertently heard it and loved it. He said, “All of a sudden, at the end, there was all this silence. There was, ‘Why, why, dah dah da-dum dah dah, why, why.’ Just a dummy lyric and a very skeletal thing—I get goosebumps talking about it. I said, ‘This is where we wanna go, because it’s got such a wonderful flavor.’” Even though Toto had not intended to submit Human Nature for consideration, they agreed to let Michael Jackson record it for Thriller. But Quincy Jones was not happy with the lyrics for the verses and asked prolific songwriter John Bettis to rewrite them. John Bettis also wrote the lyrics for three other songs on this list: The Pointer Sisters’ Slow Hand (#473), Whitney Houston’s One Moment In Time (#258), and Madonna’s Crazy for You (#228).

 

Human Nature is famously sampled in the 1993 hit by the R&B all-female group Sisters With Voices (better known as SWV) Right Here (Human Nature Remix), which is a remixed version of the group’s debut 1992 song Right Here. The remixed version was produced by R&B musician Teddy Riley and peaked at #2 on the American Top 40 chart, exceeding the popularity of the original Michael Jackson song, which peaked at #7. The video for Right Here (Human Nature Remix) features brief clips of Michael Jackson performing on his Dangerous World Tour, and the song is included on the soundtrack of the 1993 film Free Willy. Singer/rapper Chris Brown’s 2011 song She Ain’t You samples both Human Nature and Right Here. For an extended remix of all three songs, click here. Jazz legend Miles Davis recorded a version of Human Nature in 1985 (click here), and singer/guitarist John Mayer performed a mostly-instrumental version of Human Nature at Michael Jackson’s memorial service in 2009 (click here​).

Michael Jackson has more songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S than anyone else. In addition to the six songs from Thriller, he has eight more: Man In the Mirror (#81), The Way You Make Me Feel (#171), Rock With You (#214), Smooth Criminal (#217), Bad (#322), Dirty Diana (#438), his duet Paul McCartney, Say Say Say (#455), and Rockwell’s Somebody’s Watching Me (#402), on which he performs vocals.

Hungry Heart by Bruce Springsteen

Song #332

 

This song is American singer/songwriter Bruce Springsteen’s first Top 10 hit on the American Top 40 chart, which peaked at #5. His first Top 40 hit was Born To Run, which peaked at #23 in 1975. Hungry Heart was the lead single from his fifth album, 1980’s The River. His next album, 1984’s Born In the U.S.A., spawned an astonishing seven Top 10 songs, four of which are on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980SDancing In the Dark (#49), Born In the U.S.A. (#64), I’m On Fire (#165), and Glory Days (#225). The three that did not make this list are Cover Me, I’m Goin’ Down, and My Hometown. Bruce Springsteen originally wrote Hungry Heart for American punk rock band The Ramones, but his manager convinced him to keep the song for himself, because other songs of his had become hits after being given to other artists, such as Blinded by the Light by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, which reached #1 in 1977, and Fire by The Pointer Sisters, which peaked at #2 in 1978.

 

The title Hungry Heart comes from a line in the poem Ulysses by Alfred Lord Tennyson: “For always roaming with a hungry heart.” In a 1981 Rolling Stone readers’ poll, Hungry Heart was named Single of the Year, and Bruce Springsteen won for Best Artist, Best Album (The River), and Best Male Singer. He was nominated for a 1982 Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance—but for the song The River rather than for Hungry Heart. He lost to Rick Springfield for Jessie’s Girl (#43 on this list); other nominees included Rick James for Super Freak (#88), and Rod Stewart for Young Turks (#265).

 

Bruce Springsteen’s voice was slightly sped up on the recording of Hungry Heart, to produce a higher vocal. Hungry Heart is featured in the 1983 film Risky Business starring Tom Cruise, which was the first time a Bruce Springsteen songs was used in a film. It has appeared in many films over the years, including 1998’s The Wedding Singer, 2000’s The Perfect Storm, and 2013’s Warm Bodies. A tradition when performing Hungry Heart live is that the audience sings the first verse and chorus of the song, which started in 1980 at a show in Chicago’s Rosemont Horizon. On the day John Lennon was killed in 1980, he said that he thought Hungry Heart was a great record, and compared it to his song (Just Like) Starting Over (#462 on this list), which was released three days after Hungry Heart.

Hungry Like the Wolf by Duran Duran

Song #74

 

This song by British new wave band Duran Duran was the band’s breakthrough hit in the United States. Of all the songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S, Hungry Like the Wolf probably benefitted the most from American television channel MTV, which launched in 1981. Prior to MTV, a song’s success in the U.S. depended on radio airplay. Hungry Like the Wolf had already been a hit in the U.K. and Australia (as had the band’s 1981 debut single Planet Earth) but it wasn’t until MTV put the Hungry Like the Wolf video in heavy rotation (airing it four or five times per day) at the end of 1982 that it became a radio hit in the U.S. Duran Duran keyboardist Nick Rhodes stated, “MTV got so many requests that people started requesting it on the radio, so it sort of quickly turned around.” Hungry like the Wolf peaked at #3 on the American Top 40 chart in 1983. The song was also a hit in South Africa, Canada, Poland, Ireland, New Zealand, and Italy.

 

The video for Hungry Like the Wolf was directed by Australian Russell Mulcahy (who had previously directed the band’s Planet Earth video, and later directed the 1986 cult classic film Highlander). The video was shot in the island country of Sri Lanka, and features exotic jungles, rivers, temples, and marketplaces reminiscent of the blockbuster 1981 Steven Spielberg film Raiders of the Lost Ark. (Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor described the storyline of the video as, “Indiana Jones is horny and wants to get laid.”) Most of Duran Duran’s videos were shot on 35mm film, which gave them a much more polished and cinematic look than what was standard in the ‘80s. In the video, singer Simon Le Bon’s head rises in slow motion from a river as rain pours down, an homage to a scene from the 1979 Francis Ford Coppola film Apocalypse Now. The night before the video shoot, Simon Le Bon went to a hair stylist for blond highlights, but his hair turned orange, which is why he is wearing a hat in the video. In 1984, the Hungry Like the Wolf video won the very first Grammy award for Best Short Form Music Video, a dual award with Girls On Film, another Duran Duran song that had already been a hit in the U.K. and Australia (as well as New Zealand, Sweden, and Ireland). Girls On Film was not an American Top 40 hit in the U.S., and therefore did not make this list of the TOP 500 POP SONGS OF THE 1980S, but it is song #85 on a separate list featured on this website: THE BEST ‘80S SONGS THAT WERE NOT POPULAR IN THE ‘80S IN THE U.S.

 

Duran Duran is an English new wave band formed in Birmingham (West Midlands, England) in 1978. The group is one of the most prominent of the so-called Second British Invasion of the U.S., which refers to the period of mid-1982 to mid-1986 when a wide variety of music artists from the U.K. became popular in the U.S., primarily due to MTV. When Duran Duran recorded its self-titled debut album in late-1980, the band members were Simon Le Bon (vocals), Andy Taylor (guitar), Nick Rhodes (keyboards), John Taylor (bass), and Roger Taylor (drums). None of the Taylors in the band are related. The band is named after a character in the 1968 science fiction movie Barbarella, starring American actress Jane Fonda as a space traveler. In the film, a scientist named Durand Durand creates a weapon to destroy humanity. Duran Duran has never disbanded, but there have been some changes in line-up. Nick Rhodes is the only band member who has been with Duran Duran since its formation in 1978. Simon Le Bon joined in 1980. John Taylor and Roger Taylor joined the band in 1979; both of them left the band at different times, but re-joined in 2001. Andy Taylor joined the band in 1980, but left in 1986, returned in 2001, and left again in 2006; Andy Taylor is the only one who is not presently a member of Duran Duran. The band released its 16th studio album in 2023, Danse Macabre.

 

Duran Duran has released 16 studio albums, four live albums, four compilation albums, two albums of remixes, two box sets, and 46 singles. Fifteen of those 46 singles were American Top 40 hits, and 13 of them were in the ‘80s. Four of those 13 songs are on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S. In addition to Hungry Like the Wolf, the others are 1982’s Rio  at #382, 1985’s A View To a Kill at #411, and 1984’s The Reflex at #419.

Duran Duran’s other hits in the U.S. are 1983’s Union Of the Snake, 1983’s Is There Something I Should Know?, 1984’s New Moon On Monday, 1984’s The Wild Boys, 1985’s Save a Prayer (Save a Prayer is on the 1982 album Rio, but it was not released as a single in the United States until 1985, after Duran Duran’s live album Arena was released), 1986’s Notorious, 1987’s Skin Trade, 1988’s I Don’t Want Your Love, and 1988’s All She Wants Is. Three of these songs almost made the list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980SSave a Prayer at #508, Union Of the Snake at #570, and Notorious at #656. In 1993, Duran Duran scored two final American Top 40 hits: Ordinary World and Come Undone.

 

In 1985, the band members pursued side projects during a break in their schedule. John Taylor and Andy Taylor joined English singer Robert Palmer (whose Addicted To Love is song #184 on this list) to form The Power Station, along with drummer Tony Thompson of the ‘70s disco band Chic. The Power Station had three American Top 40 hits in 1985: Some Like It Hot, Get It On (Bang A Gong) [a cover of British glam rock group T. Rex’s 1971 hit Get It On], and Communication, none of which made this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S. In 1985, Nick Rhodes, Simon Le Bon, and Roger Taylor formed the group Arcadia, and recorded one album, So Red the Rose. Arcadia had one American Top 40 hit, Election Day, which didn’t make this list either.

 

What is Hungry Like the Wolf about? The song was written collectively by all five of the band members. John Taylor has said that he’s not sure what the song is about, but that it probably has do to with meeting girls and having sex: “Simon likes animal metaphors... To me, it was like wanting to have sex with someone.” Andy Taylor said that Simon Le Bon’s inspiration for the lyrics was the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, which features the Big Bad Wolf. The lyrical repetition of the word “do” at the end of each verse was inspired by the instrumental portions of Canadian singer/songwriter/guitarist Gordon Lightfoot’s 1971 hit If You Could Read My Mind. Hungry Like the Wolf was produced by Colin Thurston, who also produced Kajagoogoo’s Too Shy (song #325 on this list) and Bow Wow Wow’s I Want Candy, which did not make this list, but is song #13 on the previously mentioned list of excluded songs: THE BEST ‘80S SONGS THAT WERE NOT POPULAR IN THE ‘80S IN THE U.S.


Before the band recorded Hungry Like the Wolf in 1982, new synthesizers and sequencers were coming on the market. Guitarist Andy Taylor told Blender magazine, “That track came from fiddling with the new technology that was starting to come in.” He linked a sequencer and a Roland Jupiter-8 keyboard with the revolutionary Roland TR-808 drum machine, which was one of the first drum machines that allowed users to program rhythms using analog synthesis instead of just using preset patterns. The Roland TR-808 quickly became a cornerstone of electronic and dance music, as well as the burgeoning hip-hop movement in the ‘80s, specifically for its deep, booming bass sound. One of the first songs to use and popularize the Roland TR-808 was Marvin Gaye’s Sexual Healing (song #70 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S).

A wide variety of artists from many genres have covered Hungry Like the Wolf, including the following:

  • American alternative rock band Hole in 1995 (click here)

  • American pop/punk band Less Than Jake in 1995 (click here)

  • Finnish punk/rock band Hybrid Children in 1995 (click here)

  • American rock band Guild of Ages in 1999 (click here)

  • Serbian hard rock band Love Hunters in 2002 (click here)

  • American metal band Gothic Knights in 2003 (click here)

  • American group Vitamin String Quartet in 2004 (click here)

  • American metal band Devil’s Radio in 2005 (click here)

  • U.K. pop/punk band Cranial Screwtop in 2007 (click here)

  • American metal band 13 Winters in 2008 (click here)

  • American string band No Strings Attached in 2008 (click here)

  • English pop/punk band Subliminal Girls in 2008 (click here)

  • American industrial rock band Black Light Burns in 2008 (click here)

  • American alternative rock band Amaru in 2010 (click here)

  • English ‘80s retro band The Molly Ringwalds in 2011 (click here)

  • American group Piano Tribute Players in 2011 (click here)

  • British acoustic duo Stu’s Front Room in 2013 (click here)

  • Irish vocal harmony group Mongoose in 2015 (click here)

  • American experimental musical group Hidden Citizens featuring Tim Halperin in 2015 (click here)

  • American horror-rap rocker Jamie Madrox and electropunk musician Little Jimmy Urine in 2019 (click here)

  • English rock band Muse in 2019 (click here)

 

Hungry Like the Wolf is sampled in 2012’s Really Hungry Really Tired by American rock band Truxton, 2015’s Hey Everybody! by Australian rock band 5 Seconds of Summer, and 2018’s 3 Knives by American hardcore punk band Code Orange. In 2013, American guitarist Marco Pigolotti recorded an instrumental acoustic version of Hungry Like the Wolf with both Rio and Save a Prayer (click here). Hungry Like the Wolf is interpolated in 2011’s Your Only Friends Are Make Believe by American rock band Bloodhound Gang, and in 2013’s Strange Melody by American folk singer Jessica Pratt.

 

Animal-torturing-and-slaughtering multinational enterprise Burger King wanted to use Hungry Like the Wolf in advertisements. In 2002, Andy Taylor told Blender magazine, “Burger King has been at us to use it for a commercial ever since it came out. We’ve spent 20 years telling them to f*ck off!” The song is performed in a 2007 commercial for animal-torturing company Old Spice (part of Procter & Gamble, one of the cruelest companies that tests on animals). In 2014, when animal-torturing and baby-killing franchise Yoplait used Hungry Like the Wolf in an ad for its cruel bovine-mammary-secretion-based yogurt, Duran Duran was displeased and issued this statement: “Many of you have written to us, voicing your dismay about the recent license of our song Hungry Like the Wolf, to a yogurt commercial. Please know, Duran Duran [does] not support this usage of [our] music and unfortunately, this particular license was granted without any prior notification to any of us. Had we known, under no circumstances would we have backed it. Thankfully, the ad has now been taken off the air and moving forward we hope to avoid any further situations like this.” Yoplait took the ad off the air, but not because of licensing issues—rather, the company did not want to be associated with the notorious 1983 Diane Downs murder case, which had a resurgence on social media, with people condemning Yoplait for using Hungry Like the Wolf in the 2014 ad because of its association to this horrendous crime.

 

Diane Downs was convicted for the murder of her daughter (age seven) and the attempted murder of her other two children (ages three and eight). According to true crime author Ann Rule, Diane Downs was listening to Hungry Like the Wolf before she shot her three children in her car. Ann Rule also stated that Diane Downs sang the song’s chorus in court while testifying. This scenario is depicted in the 1989 made-for-TV movie Small Sacrifices starring American actress Farrah Fawcett, which is based on the best-selling book of the same name by Ann Rule. According to the website Slicing Up Eyeballs, during the trial, when Hungry Like the Wolf was played in the courtroom, Diane Downs was reportedly tapping her foot and snapping her fingers along with the song. In the movie, the prosecution plays Hungry Like the Wolf in the courtroom in order to demonstrate to the jury that the song motivated her to kill her children. She was convicted of murder and attempted murder, and she was sentenced to life in prison plus 50 years. Yoplait ultimately issued this statement: “When we chose the song, we had no idea of its connection to this terrible event. We take your feedback seriously, and yes, we have decided to remove this ad from the air while we consider other versions. Please know that it may take a couple of days until the ad is fully removed. We’re again sorry that it’s upset you and promise there was no intention to cause such disappointment.”

 

Hungry Like the Wolf has been used in several movies and television shows. In the 2005 animated film Shrek 2, a lampoon of American singing competition show American Idol, called “Far Far Away Idol,” features a performance of the song by the Big Bad Wolf and the Three Little Pigs (click here). The song is also featured in the following films: 1984’s Hot Dog...The Movie, 2002’s Big Fat Liar, 2003’s Old School, and 2011’s Take Me Home Tonight. Hungry Like the Wolf is featured in the opening minutes of Steven Spielberg’s 2018 film Ready Player One. Animated TV series Futurama references Hungry like the Wolf in a 2008 episode (click here). A medley of Hungry like the Wolf and Rio is performed in a 2013 episode of Glee (click here). The song has also been featured in the TV shows The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Lizzie McGuire, and The Shield. Hungry Like the Wolf is featured in the 2020 series finale of the mega-hit sitcom Modern Family, as characters perform their high school skating routine (click here).

To play the U.S. album remix of Hungry Like the Wolf, click here. To play the extended “night version” remix, click here.

Hungry Like the Wolf

Hurts So Good by John Cougar — Song #101

Def Leppard Vegan

Hysteria by Def Leppard — Song #275

I Can Dream About You by Dan Hartman — Song #350

I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do) by Daryl Hall and John Oates — Song #112

I Can’t Tell You Why by Eagles — Song #427

I Can’t Wait by Nu Shooz — Song #406

Chaka Khan Vegan

I Feel For You by Chaka Khan — Song #153

I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues by Elton John — Song #247

I Hate Myself For Loving You by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts – Song #385

Stevie Wonder Vegan

I Just Called To Say I Love You by Stevie Wonder — Song #80

(I Just) Died In Your Arms by Cutting Crew — Song #83

I Keep Forgettin’ by Michael McDonald — Song #319

I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) 

by Aretha Franklin and George Michael

Song #281

 

Aretha Franklin, who passed away in 2018 at the age of 76, had her final big pop hit with this George Michael duet from 1987. Aretha Franklin had only two #1 songs on the American Top 40 chart: this song and her signature song, 1967’s Respect. She has another song on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S: Freeway Of Love at #376. (Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves, which she performs with British pop duo Eurythmics, didn’t quite make this list.) Of course, Aretha Franklin is best known for her music from the ‘60s and ‘70s, but she had quite a few hits in the ‘80s (and a couple in the ‘90s). In the ‘80s, she had nine American Top 40 hits. In addition to the three already mentioned, her other ‘80s hits are Jump To It, Who’s Zoomin’ Who, Another Night, Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Jimmy Lee, and Through the Storm, a very strange duet with Elton John. Additionally, her duet with Whitney Houston It Isn’t, It Wasn’t, It Ain’t Never Gonna Be just missed the Top 40, peaking at #41; if you don’t remember this song, it is worth listening to, especially for the hilarious fake argument between the two divas over a man at the end of the song (“Get real!” “YOU better get real!”)

 

Aretha Franklin’s influence throughout the ‘80s is undeniable. Steely Dan’s Hey Nineteen (song #298 on this list) mentions her (“Hey Nineteen, that’s ‘Retha Franklin; she don’t remember the Queen of Soul”). The video for Whitney Houston’s How Will I Know (song #125 on this list) features a cameo of Aretha Franklin at the 3:59 mark, with the lyric, “I’m asking you, ‘cause you know about these things.” (Note: She isn’t Whitney’s godmother, but at Whitney’s funeral in 2012, Dionne Warwick incorrectly stated that she was, which infuriated Aretha, who told the Associated Press, “She blatantly lied on me...fully well knowing what she was doing.”) Aretha Franklin is also known for her appearance in the iconic 1980 film The Blues Brothers, in which she performs a different version of her 1967 hit Think (watch the scene from the movie here).

 

Here is what Aretha Franklin said about I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me): “The first time I heard George was with Wham! and I liked it then. He had a very unique sound, very different from anything that was out there. When Clive suggested we get together for I Knew You Were Waiting, I was all ready.” This song was not originally written as a duet; it was Clive Davis’ idea for Aretha Franklin and George Michael to record it together. (Music industry mogul Clive Davis is credited for making superstars of many artists, including Janis Joplin, Santana, Barry Manilow, Bruce Springsteen, Chicago, Billy Joel, Aerosmith, Pink Floyd, and Whitney Houston.) In his 1991 book Bare, George Michael said, “Nobody can emulate Aretha Franklin. It’s stupid to try. I just tried to stay in character, keep it simple. It was very understated in comparison to what she did.”

 

This song came after George Michael’s success with Wham! but before his solo career made him a superstar. The Wham! songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S are Everything She Wants (#296), Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (#42), and Careless Whisper (#29), which is technically a solo effort, but credited to “Wham! featuring George Michael.” I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) was released in January of 1987, and George Michael’s album Faith was released in October of that year; songs from that album on this list are One More Try (#304), Father Figure (#174), and Faith (#51). Randy Jackson, best known as a judge on American Idol, plays bass guitar on I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me). The song won a Grammy for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal.

 

Aretha Franklin sang gospel music as a child at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, where her father was a minister. By the end of the ‘60s, she was designated “The Queen of Soul.” Some of her most recognizable songs include 1967’s (You Make Me Feel Like) a Natural Woman, 1967’a Chain of Fools, 1968’s I Say a Little Prayer, and 1971’s Spanish Harlem.

 

Aretha Franklin is the recipient of many honors. She was the first female performer to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (in 1987). She won 18 Grammy awards, she received the Grammy Legend Award in 1992 (a special award that has only been given to 15 artists), and she was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994. She was a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1994, a recipient of the National Medal of Arts in 1999, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005. In 2010 and again in 2013, Rolling Stone magazine ranked her the #1 greatest singer of all time. Her voice was declared a Michigan “natural resource” in 1985. One of her most memorable moments is her performance of the opera aria “Nessun dorma” at the 1998 Grammy Awards, when she stepped in at the last minute for Luciano Pavarotti, who had cancelled because of a sore throat after the show had already begun; watch her breathtaking performance here. In 2018, it was announced that American singer and Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson will play Aretha Franklin in an upcoming biopic, scheduled for release in 2020.

I Know There’s Something Going On by Frida — Song #494

Joan Jett Vegan

I Love Rock ’n Roll by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts — Song #25

I Ran (So Far Away) by A Flock Of Seagulls — Song #124

I Still Haven’t Found What I'm Looking For by U2 — Song #111

I Think We’re Alone Now by Tiffany — Song #348

I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) by Whitney Houston — Song #12

I Want a New Drug by Huey Lewis and the News — Song #343

I Want To Know What Love Is

I Want To Know What Love Is by Foreigner

Song #35

 

This song is the biggest hit for British-American rock band Foreigner. In 1985, I Want to Know What Love Is was a worldwide smash, reaching #1 in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden. Billboard magazine ranked this song the 4th most popular of 1985 in the U.S. In 2011, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it 479th on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Foreigner co-founder Mick Jones told Songfacts: “I Want To Know What Love Is started off on more of a personal level. I’d been through a lot of relationships that eventually failed, and still searching for something that could really endure... It became more of a universal feeling... [I] realized suddenly that I’d written almost a spiritual song, almost a gospel song. Sometimes, you feel like you had nothing to do with it, really. You’re just putting it down on paper, or coming up with a melody that will bring the meaning of the song out, bring the emotion out in the song.” He told Classic Rock magazine, “I always worked late at night, when everybody left and the phone stopped ringing. I Want to Know What Love Is came up at three in the morning sometime in 1984. I don’t know where it came from. I consider it a gift that was sent through me. I think there was something bigger than me behind it. I’d say it was probably written entirely by a higher force.” That higher force was channeled through the New Jersey Mass Choir as well, along with the gospel vocalizing of Jennifer Holliday on what is essentially an enduring spiritual rock anthem.

 

According to Mick Jones, the choir didn’t have the magic during the first recordings, but after gathering in a circle and saying the Lord’s Prayer (found in the Christian Bible, Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4), the choir was electrified: “We did a few takes, and it was good, but it was still a bit tentative. So, then they all got round in a circle, held hands and said the Lord’s Prayer. And it seemed to inspire them, because after that they did it in one take. I was in tears, because my mum and dad were in the studio too, and it was so emotional... I’ll always remember them getting in a circle before we did it and everyone saying the Lord’s Prayer.” Mick Jones knew the song needed a choir. The New Jersey Mass Choir is affiliated with the Gospel Music Workshop of America, an annual international gospel music convention founded in 1967 that brings together people of many faiths from all over the world. The New Jersey Mass Choir recorded its own version of the song in 1985 (click here). American R&B singer and actress Jennifer Holliday also provides vocals on the song. She starred in the Broadway musical Dreamgirls from 1981 to 1983, playing Effie (Jennifer Hudson won an Oscar for playing the same role in the 2006 film version). In 1983, Jennifer Holliday won a Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going from Dreamgirls, which peaked at #22 on the American Top 40 chart in 1982. She also won a 1982 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in Dreamgirls. I Want To Know What Love Is also features keyboards by Tom Bailey of the British band Thompson Twins, whose Hold Me Now is song #263 on this list.

 

Foreigner is a British-American rock band that formed in 1976 and is still together today. Mick Jones (not to be confused with Mick Jones of English rock band The Clash, which has song #163 on this list: Rock the Casbah) is the only original member of Foreigner who has remained with the group from the beginning. Mick Jones performs lead and rhythm guitars, and keyboards, as well as backing and lead vocals. He also produced much of Foreigner’s material, and he produced work for other artists, including Van Halen’s 1986 album 5150 (which features Why Can’t This Be Love?, song #303 on this list), and Billy Joel’s 1989 album Storm Front (which features We Didn’t Start the Fire, song #260 on this list). Foreigner has had 26 band members over the years (not including a dozen who have accompanied the band while touring), and the group has disbanded and reformed several times. Mick Jones formed the band with fellow Brit Ian McDonald and American singer Lou Gramm, later to be joined by Brit Dennis Elliott, and Americans Al Greenwood and Ed Gagliardi. The band’s name came from the fact that half the members were from England and half were from the United States; no matter which country they were in, half of the band would be “foreigners.” Most of Foreigner’s songs were written by Mick Jones and lead singer Lou Gramm together, but according to Mick Jones, I Want to Know What Love Is was his solo composition, which Lou Gramm was not thrilled about because he worried that the song would push the band into the adult contemporary category, away from its traditional rock roots, which had been established in the late-1970s. According to Lou Gramm, while his contribution to the song is uncredited, he was actually responsible for 40% of the writing and composition of I Want To Know What love Is, contrary to what Mick Jones says.

 

I Want to Know What Love Is was the lead single from Foreigner’s fifth album, Agent Provocateur. Foreigner has released nine studio albums, seven live albums, and 20 compilation albums. Foreigner has had 16 American Top 40 hits, including eight songs from the ‘80s, but the only other Foreigner song that made this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S is 1981’s Waiting For a Girl Like You, which is song #240. Foreigner’s other hit songs include 1977’s Feels Like the First Time; 1977’s Cold As Ice; 1978’s Hot Blooded; 1978’s Double Vision; 1979’s Head Games; 1981’s Urgent; 1981’s Juke Box Hero; 1985’s That Was Yesterday; 1987’s Say You Will; and 1988’s I Don’t Want To Live Without You.

 

Foreigner’s self-titled debut album was released in 1977, followed by Double Vision in 1978, Head Games in 1979, and 4 in 1981, which spent 10 weeks at #1 on the U.S. Billboard album chart. Agent Provocateur was released in 1984, followed by Inside Information in 1987. Mick Jones’ released his own self-titled album in 1989, which features the U.S. mainstream rock hit Just Wanna Hold. Lou Gramm has released four solo albums, the first of which is 1987’s Ready Or Not, containing the hit Midnight Blue, which peaked at #5 on the American Top 40 chart. Lou Gramm had another solo hit in 1989 with Just Between You and Me, which peaked at #6 on the American Top 40 chart. Lou Gramm left Foreigner in 1990 and rejoined in 1992, but left again in 2003. Mick Jones stated that he and Lou Gramm split due to communication problems: “I think we really tried hard to save it, but it got to the point when we both realized that to go on would be detrimental for both of us.” In 2002, Lou Gramm and Mick Jones performed together for the last time until 2013, when they performed together after being inducted into the U.S. Songwriters Hall of Fame.

 

I Want To Know What Love Is has been featured in many TV shows over the years, including episodes of Miami Vice in 1985 (click here); Quantum Leap in 1992; Cold Case in 2007 (click here); Modern Family in 2013 (click here); Glee in 2014 (click here); New Girl in 2014 (click here); Orange Is the New Black in 2015; Big Love in 2016; American Horror Story in 2019; and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia in 2019. Movies that feature I Want To Know What Love Is include 2007’s Good Luck Chuck; 2009’s Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel; 2010’s Hot Tub Time Machine; 2011’s Happy Feet Two; 2012’s Rock of Ages (sung by Tom Cruise with Malin Akerman: click here); 2016’s Bad Moms; 2016’s The Boss; 2017’s The Hitman’s Bodyguard; and 2018’s Pacific Rim: Uprising.

Surprisingly, I Want To Know What Love Is has been sampled in several hip-hop and rap songs, including the following:

I Want To Know What Love Is has been covered by dozens of artists, most famously by American singer Mariah Carey in 2009 (click here). Foreigner’s Mick Jones stated, “I think she’s actually retained the integrity of the song. You know, the arrangement is very similar to the original. They haven’t tampered with the song too much. She’s captured a certain emotional thing, a feeling. And you know, it’s always flattering to have people cover your songs. Well, sometimes not so flattering, depending on who it is. But I think she’s put a lot of emotion into it. You can feel that she’s gotten inside of the song.”

 

A wide variety of artists from many genres have covered I Want To Know What Love Is, including the following:

 

  • American comedy rock band Big Daddy in 1985 (click here)

  • Welsh pop singer Shirley Bassey in 1991 (click here)

  • American pop singer Rita Coolidge in 1992 (click here)

  • Filipino pop singer Regine Velasquez in 1996 (click here)

  • Australian pop singer Tina Arena in 1997 (her version was produced by Foreigner’s Mick Jones, and includes a previously unrecorded bridge between the second and third choruses, specifically written for her by Mick Jones; click here)

  • American rock singer Gary Puckett in 1997 (click here)

  • Rappers Against Racism (which includes additional lyrics) featuring Down Low, La Mazz and Scream Factory in 1998 (click here)

  • American contemporary Christian singer Kathy Troccoli in 2000 (click here)

  • American R&B singer Gloria Gaynor in 2001 (click here)

  • American R&B singer Rhona Bennett in 2001 (click here)

  • American country singer Wynonna Judd in 2004 (click here)

  • American Indie pop band La Musique Populaire in 2004 (click here)

  • American pop singer Clay Aiken in 2006 (click here)

  • Spanish singer Julio Iglesias in 2006 (click here)

  • American gospel singer David Phelps in 2008 (click here)

  • Irish stage show group Celtic Thunder in 2008 (click here)

  • South African reggae musician Lucky Dube in 2009 (click here)

  • American soul singer Leela James in 2009 (click here)

  • Filipina pop singer Sarah Geronimo in 2011 (click here)

  • American country singer Kenny Chesney in 2016 (click here)

  • Swedish band Amason in 2016 (click here)

  • Norwegian folk singer Ane Brun in 2017 (click here).

In 2018, all surviving original members of Foreigner performed with the current lineup, starting a series of concerts that year called Foreigner Then and Now. In 2019, they all planned to do it again, but Lou Gramm was too ill to join them. In January 2020, Foreigner announced a 2020 summer tour of the U.S. with Kansas and Europe (who has song #145 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S, The Final Countdown) called Juke Box Heroes, in reference to Foreigner’s 1981 hit song of the same name. For an extended version of I Want To Know What Love Is, which features more of the choir, click here.

I Won’t Back Down by Tom Petty — Song #187

Prince Vegan

I Would Die 4 U by Prince and the Revolution

Song #330

This song was the fourth single released in the U.S. from the 1984 Purple Rain soundtrack, the sixth studio album by Prince, and the first album to feature his band The Revolution. After Prince’s death on April 21, 2016, I Would Die 4 U re-entered the American Top 40 chart, and peaked at #39, which was 32 years after its initial release, when it peaked at #8. In 2012, the Purple Rain soundtrack was added to the U.S. Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry list of sound recordings that are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important.

 

I Would Die 4 U is one of three songs on the album (along with Baby I’m a Star and Purple Rain) that were recorded live at a 1983 show in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Prince later reworked the songs with overdubs and edits. On the album, I Would Die 4 U segues into Baby I’m a Star, which is how they are performed in the film (click here). There is an extended version of I Would Die 4 U that is over seven minutes longer than the original version (which isn’t even three minutes long). This extended version (presently unavailable online) is actually a rehearsal jam with The Revolution and musicians from Sheila E. and her band. On the 1984 Purple Rain tour, the song was a showcase for Sheila E., who was Prince’s opening act and also performed with him on stage. (Sheila E.’s The Glamorous Life, which was written by Prince, is #447 on this list.)

 

There has been much speculation about the meaning of I Would Die 4 U, specifically whether it is about Jesus, the Christian messiah, or about Prince’s own Messiah complex. Some of the lyrics seem to address the Christian understanding of Jesus’ message: “And if you’re evil, I’ll forgive you by and by,” and, “No need to worry, No need to cry, I’m your messiah and you’re the reason why,” and, “I’m not a human, I am a dove, I’m your conscience, I am love, All I really need is to know that you believe.” According to the 2013 book I Would Die 4 U: Why Prince Became an Icon by Touré, Prince intended sexuality to be linked to the worship of God, which is why he incorporated classic Christian messages into his music.

 

Prince has a total of 11 songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980SKiss (#23), When Doves Cry (#28), Purple Rain (#30), Let’s Go Crazy (#95), 1999 (#113), Little Red Corvette (#117),  Raspberry Beret (#135),  I Would Die 4 U (#330), U Got the Look (#399), and  Sign O’ the Times (#486). Prince also plays synthesizers on Stevie Nicks’ Stand Back (#253), and he wrote songs that were hits for other artists: The Bangles’ Manic Monday (#128), Chaka Khan’s I Feel for You (#153), and Sheila E.’s The Glamorous Life (#447).

American pop singer Justin Timberlake performed a portion of I Would Die 4 U at the 2018 Super Bowl halftime show in Minneapolis, Minnesota (Prince’s hometown), during which a projection of Prince was shown and a recording of Prince singing the song was blended with Justin Timberlake’s performance (click here).

If I Could Turn Back Time by Cher  —Song #196

If You Leave by Orchestral Manoeuvres In the Dark — Song #256

I'll Be There For You

I’ll Be There For You by Bon Jovi

Song #364

 

Did you know that American rock band Bon Jovi has won only one Grammy award, and that none of their music from the ‘80s was even nominated for a Grammy? I’ll Be There For You is the third single released from Bon Jovi’s fourth album, 1988’s New JerseyI’ll Be There For You is the band’s fourth and final #1 song on the American Top 40 chart. The others are Bad Medicine (#313 on this list), You Give Love a Bad Name (#24), and Livin’ On a Prayer (#2). Wanted Dead Or Alive is also on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S, at #110. Formed in 1983, the five-man band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 2018. Bon Jovi received the Award of Merit at the American Music Awards in 2004, and lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi and lead guitarist Richie Sambora (who wrote I’ll Be There For You) were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2009.

 

Five songs from the New Jersey album reached the Top 10 of the American Top 40 chart, which is a record for the most Top 10 singles spawned by a hard rock album. In addition to Bad Medicine, the other three Top 10 songs are Born to Be My BabyLay Your Hands on Me, and Living in Sin, none of which made this list. MTV banned the video for Living In Sin because it featured some racy sex scenes; once it was edited, MTV put it in heavy rotation. Despite the huge success of Bon Jovi in the ‘80s, the band didn’t get its first Grammy nomination until 1997, for Best Music Video, Long Form (Live From London). Bon Jovi has been nominated for a total of 10 Grammys, but not for anything from the ‘80s. Bon Jovi has won only one Grammy: Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for Who Says You Can’t Go Home, with country singer Jennifer Nettles in 2007.

I’m Alright by Kenny Loggins — Song #434

I'm Coming Out

I’m Coming Out by Diana Ross

Song #158

 

Diana Ross was reportedly afraid that this song would ruin her career because of its association with the LGBTQIA+ community and “coming out.” When she recorded it, she was unaware that the phrase “coming out” was used as a way to announce publicly one’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Ironically, the idea of I’m Coming Out came to the song's writer Nile Rodgers when he saw three Diana Ross drag queens at a gay club in New York City. The song had a different meaning for Diana Ross, who had just left Motown Records and was “coming out” as an independent artist. But when she was informed that “coming out” was associated with the LGBTQI+ community, she thought that people would think that she was gay and that her career would be ruined. In 2013, Nile Rodgers told British newspaper The Mail on Sunday that I’m Coming Out was written “because of her gay following,” but that he had misled Diana Ross about it: “A DJ told her [the song] was going to ruin her career—people would think she was gay. It was the only time I’ve ever lied to an artist. I said, ‘What are you talking about? That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard in my life!’” It turns out that she had nothing to worry about: I’m Coming Out peaked at #5 on the American Top 40 chart in 1980, and has sustained as an anthem for the LGBTQI+ community for almost 40 years—and at her performances and concerts since the ‘80s, I’m Coming Out is usually the first song she performs.

 

In 1979, Diana Ross hired American music producers Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards to create material for her 10th album Diana, which became her biggest-selling solo album. Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards are the founders of the ‘70s disco band Chic (pronounced sheek), known at that time for the 1978 hit song Le Freak and the 1979 hit song Good Times. Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards wrote and produced music for many artists, including Sister Sledge’s 1979 hit We Are Family; David Bowie’s album Let’s Dance (which includes two songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S: Modern Love at #114 and Let’s Dance at #93); Madonna’s album Like a Virgin (which includes two songs on this list: Like a Virgin at #47 and Material Girl at #56); and the remixed single version of Duran Duran’s The Reflex (#419).

 

I’m Coming Out is sampled in the 1997 huge hit Mo Money Mo Problems by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G. featuring Puff Daddy, Kelly Price and Mase. It’s also sampled in American pop singer Ariana Grande’s Break Your Heart Right Back, from her 2014 album My Everything. In 1994, Diana Ross performed I’m Coming Out while running onto the field at the World Cup at Soldier Field in Chicago; unfortunately, when she kicked the ball, she missed the goal, and the goal came tumbling down (watch it here). Diana Ross has been nominated for 12 Grammys, but she never won a Grammy (unless you count USA For Africa’s We Are the World, song #203 on this list) until she became the recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. In addition to I’m Coming Out, Diana Ross has two more songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S: Upside Down at #242, and her duet with Lionel Richie Endless Love at #91.

I’m On Fire by Bruce Springsteen — Song #165

I’m So Excited by The Pointer Sisters — Song #92

I’m So Excited was an American Top 40 chart hit twice in the ‘80s. The original version peaked at #30 in 1982. A slightly remixed 1984 version was a bigger hit, peaking at #9.​​

I’m Still Standing by Elton John — Song #131

In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins — Song #48

In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel — Song #379

Into the Night by Benny Mardones

Song #443

 

This song was an American Top 40 hit for American pop singer Benny Mardones twice in the ‘80s. The original version of the song was a bigger hit, peaking at #11 in 1980. A slightly different recording of the song became a hit in 1989, after Arizona radio station KZZP did a “Where Are They Now?” segment, and the song became popular again, peaking at #20. The song spent a total of 37 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, breaking the record of 36 weeks set by Laura Branigan with Gloria (song #108 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S) for the song by a solo artist spending the most weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 in the ‘80s.

Into the Night is one of four songs on this list that were American Top 40 hits twice in the ‘80s: Send Me an Angel (#469) by Real Life was a hit in 1984, and again in 1989; Red Red Wine by UB40 (#136) was a hit in 1983, and again in 1988; and I’m So Excited by The Pointer Sisters (#92) was a hit in 1982, and again in 1984. American rock 'n roll singer Chubby Checker was the first to have a song become a hit twice, with The Twist, which was a hit in 1960 and again in 1962. Other artists who have done this include American R&B group The Contours, whose Do You Love Me was a hit in 1962 and again in 1988; American pop duo The Righteous Brothers, whose Unchained Melody was hit in 1965 and again 1990; and British rock band Queen, whose Bohemian Rhapsody was a hit in 1976 and again in 1992. In fact, in 2018, Bohemian Rhapsody became a Top 40 hit a third time, due to the successful film, also titled Bohemian Rhapsody. Queen has four songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POP SONGS OF THE 1980S: Another One Bites the Dust (#5), Under Pressure with David Bowie (#41), Crazy Little Thing Called Love (#44), and Radio Ga Ga (#495).

 

The lyrics of Into the Night have been controversial, because of how it begins: “She’s just 16 years old, leave her alone, they say.” It sounds like an inappropriate relationship. American pop singer Benny Mardones said that the 16-year-old girl in the song was a real person named Heidi, who lived near him and walked his dog Zanky. He said that the relationship was not sexual, and that he looked after Heidi when her father abandoned her and her family. One morning when he had been up all night writing music with a friend, Heidi came and took Zanky for a walk, and Benny’s friend said, “Oh, my God,” and he responded, “Hey, Bob, she’s just 16 years old. Leave her alone,” and they wrote the song right then. But radio stations were reluctant to play the song at first. Benny explained, “When it first was released, R&B stations all over America thought I was black. Then they found out I was white and they dropped the record. White radio was afraid to touch it because they thought it was about me dating a 16-year-old girl at my age. So Polydor Records sent out like 3,000 letters to radio stations across the country explaining what the song was really about. And the song got added and almost instantly started playing all over America.”

Invisible Touch by Genesis — Song #169

Islands In the Stream by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton — Song #212

It Takes Two by Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock — Song #149

It’s My Life by Talk Talk — Song #441

It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me by Billy Joel — Song #220

(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes — Song #78

I’ve Never Been To Me by Charlene

Song #415

How does a song with the lyrics, “I’ve spent my life exploring the subtle whoring that costs too much to be free,” become such a huge hit in the ‘80s? I’ve Never Been To Me was originally released in the United States in 1977, and it barely registered. The song was re-released in 1982 after a Florida radio station started playing it, and it eventually reached #3 on the American Top 40 chart. This song is American pop singer Charlene’s only memorable hit, but she did record a duet with Stevie Wonder: Used To Be, which almost made the American Top 40 chart in 1982. A 2006 CNN poll listed I’ve Never Been To Me as the #4 worst song of all time. It is featured in the 1994 film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and in 2007’s Shrek the Third. It has also been featured on the television shows Will and GraceDesperate Housewives, and Saturday Night Live. In a 2004 episode of The Simpsons, Homer acknowledges that he has been to space, and then replies, “And yet I’ve never been to me.”

Jack & Diane by John Cougar — Song #46

Jeopardy by The Greg Kihn Band — Song #481

Jessie’s Girl by Rick Springfield — Song #43

Jump by Van Halen — Song #34

Jump (For My Love) by The Pointer Sisters — Song #324

Jungle Love by The Time — Song #483

Just Like Heaven by The Cure — Song #115

John Lennon Vegan

(Just Like) Starting Over by John Lennon

Song #462

In 2018, Billboard ranked this song as the 68th most popular song of the last 60 years on its “hottest-of-the-hot” list, in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the pop chart (see the list here). If (Just Like) Starting Over is that high on the Billboard list, then why is it only #462 on this list of of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S? One reason is because the Billboard list only measures this song’s popularity in the ‘80s, while this list measures a song’s popularity from the ‘80s through 2019. Another reason is the timing of John Lennon’s death: This song entered the Billboard Top 40 on November 1, 1980. When John Lennon was shot and killed on December 8, (Just Like) Starting Over was at #8. Then the sales and airplay of this song skyrocketed, which took a few weeks for the chart to reflect (Billboard’s charting is delayed by almost two weeks because of the time it takes to gather the data and generate the rankings). This song hit #1 on December 27, and it stayed there for five weeks. As a result of its amplified sales and sustained popularity, Billboard ranked (Just Like) Starting Over the 4th most popular song of 1981, and the 68th most popular song of all-time, but when was the last time you actually heard this song?

 

(Just Like) Starting Over was the first new recording John Lennon had released in five years. His previous hit was a cover of Ben E. King’s Stand By Me, which peaked at #20 in 1975. Ben E. King’s original 1961 song (click here) was a hit again in the ‘80s, when it was re-released to coincide with its use as the theme song in the 1986 film Stand By Me. John Lennon had taken a five-year recording hiatus to spend time with his wife Yoko Ono and their son Sean, who was born in 1975. (Just Like) Starting Over was the first single released from John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Double Fantasy album; the other songs are Watching the Wheels, which did not make this list, but came close at #533, and Woman, which didn’t make this list. Double Fantasy initially received negative reviews from music critics, but when John Lennon was murdered three weeks after the album’s release, several negative reviews by prominent critics were withheld from publication. The album became a worldwide commercial success, and won a Grammy award for Album of the Year. In 1989, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it 29th on its list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s.

 

During production, John Lennon referred to (Just Like) Starting Over as the Elvis/Orbison track, because of his impersonation of the vocal styles of Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison (whose You Got It is song #334 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S). (Just Like) Starting Over was nominated for a Grammy for Record of the Year, but lost to Kim Carnes’ Bette Davis Eyes (song #57 on this list); the other nominees were Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do) by Christopher Cross (#177), Just the Two of Us by Grover Washington, Jr. (#89), and Endless Love by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie (#91). The original title of the song was Starting Over; at the last minute “(Just Like)” was added to the title because country singer Tammy Wynette’s song Starting Over had just been released, and we all remember that timeless classic.

Just the Two Of Us by Grover Washington, Jr. — Song #89

Karma Chameleon by Culture Club — Song #50

Keep On Loving You by REO Speedwagon — Song #61

Keep Your Hands To Yourself by The Georgia Satellites — Song #398

Kickstart My Heart by Mötley Crüe – Song #167

Kids In America by Kim Wilde — Song #432

King Of Pain

King Of Pain by The Police

Song #317

 

This song is from British rock band The Police’s fifth and final studio album, 1983’s Synchronicity. Synchronicity is the simultaneous occurrence of two or more events that appear meaningfully related but have no discernible causal connection. Synchronicity was first described by Carl Jung (the founder of analytical psychology) in the 1920s; Sting, the lead singer of The Police (who also plays bass guitar, piano, and synthesizers) was inspired by Carl Jung to write King Of Pain, which is about Sting’s separation from his wife. Sting said, “I conjured up symbols of pain and related them to my soul. A black spot on the sun struck me as being a very painful image, and I felt that was my soul up there on there on the sun. It’s just projecting your state into the world of symbolism, which is what poetry’s all about, really.”

 

Sting said that he wrote King Of Pain while in Jamaica with his future wife Trudie Styler: “I was sitting moping under a tree in the garden, and as the sun was sinking toward the western horizon, I noticed that there was a lot of sunspot activity. I turned to Trudie. ‘There’s a little black spot on the sun today.’ She waited expectantly, not really indulging my mood but tolerant. ‘That’s my soul up there,’ I added gratuitously. Trudie discreetly raised her eyes to the heavens. ‘There he goes again, the king of pain.’” Sting was also inspired by novelist Arthur Koestler, who wrote The Ghost in the Machine in 1960s; The Police’s fourth album was named after his book. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, the #147 song on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S, is from that album. The Police have two more songs on this list: Don’t Stand So Close To Me, at #282, and Every Breath You Take (also from Synchronicity), at #6.

 

The Police recorded the Synchronicity album on the Caribbean Island of Monserrat. King Of Pain was a difficult song to record, and the sessions were contentious because Sting didn’t accept most of the suggestions from band members Andy Summers (who plays electric guitar) and Stewart Copeland (who plays drums and percussion). The Police broke up in 1986, but reunited in 2007 for a world tour that ended in 2008. According to Rolling Stone magazine, “Each cut on Synchronicity [is] not simply a song but a miniature, discrete soundtrack.” In a 1983 Rolling Stone readers’ poll, Synchronicity was voted Album of the Year. It is on Rolling Stone’s lists of the 100 Best Albums of the Eighties (#17) and the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (#448).

 

At the 1984 Grammy Awards, the album won Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, beating Big Country’s In a Big Country, Huey Lewis and the News’ Heart and Soul, Talking Heads’ Burning Down the House (song #230 on this list), and ZZ Top’s album Eliminator, which includes the #352 song on this list, Legs. (In this Grammy category, a song or an entire album may be nominated.) Synchronicity was also Grammy-nominated for Album of the Year, but lost to Michael Jackson’s Thriller (which has six songs on this list); the other nominees (which each have two songs on this list) were David’s Bowie’s Let’s Dance, Billy Joel’s An Innocent Man, and the Flashdance soundtrack. In 2003, The Police were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. American singer/songwriter Lady Gaga performed King Of Pain with Sting at the iHeart Radio Festival in 2011 (click here). In 1984, a music video was made for King Of Pain (click here), but it was released only in Australia.

Kiss

Kiss by Prince and the Revolution

Song #23

Prince’s record company did not like this song, and Prince had to demand that it be included on his album and released as a single! Kiss was the lead single from Prince’s 8th album Parade. It was a #1 hit in the U.S., a huge hit worldwide, and the 19th most popular song of 1986 in the U.S. according to Billboard magazine. Following Prince’s death in 2016, Kiss re-entered the the American Top 40 chart, peaking at #23; it also re-charted in several other countries. Kiss is song #461 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Kiss won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, and it was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song, but lost to Anita Baker’s Sweet Love (song #460 on this list). The week that Kiss hit #1 on the American Top 40 chart, the #2 song was also written by Prince: The Bangles’ Manic Monday (song #128 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S).

 

Originally, Prince created the melody, lyrics, and basic song structure of Kiss, and then gave a demo to his bass player Brown Mark, who needed songs for the debut album of his R&B/funk band Mazarati. After Mazarati and producer David Z worked on the song, Prince decided to record it himself, retaining the rhythm, background vocal arrangement, and background vocals that Mazarati contributed, but removing the bass line, adding the guitar break in the chorus, and replacing their vocals with his own, using his falsetto Camille voice (for information about Prince’s abandoned Camille project, see the description of U Got the Look, song #399 on this list).

 

The final version of Kiss was too minimalist for Prince’s record company Warner Bros., but Prince was insistent that the song be included on Parade and released as the first single. According to David Z, Prince “basically forced Warners to put it out... You could really see the resistance of the corporate power of a major record label to something that was so different from what they were expecting. That record was up against the paranoia of radio and the power of corporate record labels. That time, the record and the artist won. These days, neither one would have had a chance in hell.” David Z also stated, “The power of that track is its ability to pull people in. The listener has to provide a lot of what’s missing. You have to use imagination to listen to that record. It really makes the listener part of the process.”

 

After Prince’s death in 2016, some comments surfaced that he wrote as a guide for the liner notes for his 1993 greatest hits collection. About Kiss, he wrote the following, speaking of himself in the third person: “PRN [Prince Rogers Nelson] after recording this, shelved it because he thought it 2 strange a production 4 human consumption. It was included on the Parade album as an afterthought. PRN thought it never quite worked on that album. Every time he plays it live, he changes the arrangement. Probably still feels the same about the public’s acceptance of the sound. In concert it’s never sounded like the record.”

 

Parade was the fourth and final album to feature The Revolution as Prince’s backing band. The album received acclaim from many music critics, and was widely regarded as a creative comeback after 1985’s poorly-received Around the World in a Day (which features Raspberry Beret, song #135 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S). Parade served as the soundtrack to Prince’s second film Under the Cherry Moon. Prince directed and starred in the film, which was a critical and commercial flop. At the 1986 Golden Raspberry Awards (which  recognizes the worst of cinema each year), the film won Worst Picture (tying with Howard the Duck), as well as Worst Screenplay, Worst Actor and Worst Director (Prince), Worst Supporting Actor (Jerome Benton), and Worst Original Song for ♥ or $ (Love or Money), which was featured in the film and was the B-side of the Kiss single, but was not included on the Parade album. Under the Cherry Moon was also nominated for Worst Supporting Actress and Worst New Star (Kristin Scott Thomas, who would later be nominated for an Oscar for her performance in 1996’s The English Patient). Watch a short clip of Under the Cherry Moon here. Other songs from Parade that were released as singles in the U.S. are Mountains, which peaked at #23 on the American Top 40 chart, and Anotherloverholenyohead.

 

In 1986, just nine months after the release of Kiss, British alternative rock/dance band Age Of Chance released an industrial cover of the song (click here) with much of the lyrics changed. Age Of Chance also released a remix of the song called Kisspower, which includes samples from the Prince original, as well as samples from other ‘80s songs such as Run-D.M.C.’s Walk This Way (song #45 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S), Janet Jackson’s Nasty (#290), Bruce Springsteen’s Born In the U.S.A. (#64) and several others. Due to copyright infringement concerns, Kisspower was released only as a promotional single with a limited number of copies. Had it been widely released, it would have been one of the first mainstream songs to primarily feature music sampling. Six months after Kisspower, Pump Up the Volume (song #293 on this list) became the first mainstream hit song that was made up almost entirely of samples. Kisspower is regarded as a landmark song for sampling, which became prominent in the ‘90s.

 

Kiss has been covered, sampled, and featured in a wide variety of media. In 1988, British synth-pop group Art of Noise released a cover version of Kiss (click here) featuring Welsh singer Tom Jones on vocals, which became a worldwide hit. Kiss is featured throughout the 2006 animated film Happy Feet (watch a film clip here). Kiss is sampled in American hip-hop duo Insane Clown Posse’s 1992 song The Juggla. Kiss is also sampled in American rapper The Notorious B.I.G.’s Would You Die for Me, which appears on his 1999 posthumous compilation album Born Again, and features rappers Lil’ Kim and Puff Daddy. American rapper Lil Wayne interpolated Kiss in his 2007 song Get High Rule the World. American pop band Maroon 5 covered Kiss (click here) on the deluxe edition of their 2012 album Overexposed (but Prince didn’t like it, and told Billboard magazine, “Why do we need to hear another cover of a song someone else did? Art is about building a new foundation, not just laying something on top of what’s already there.”). American singer Kelly Clarkson covered Kiss in 2017 (click here), and American musician Joan As Police Woman covered Kiss in 2019 (click here).Kiss was performed by actors Matthew Morrison and Gwyneth Paltrow on the American TV show Glee in 2011 (click here). And American actress Julia Roberts sings Kiss while in the bathtub in the 1990 film Pretty Woman (click here).

 

The extended version of Kiss (click here) contains much more elaborate instrumentation, adding bass guitar, organ, and horns. Also added are new lyrics, and a hilarious argument (at the 6:15 mark, and picking up again at the very end of the song and fading out) between Prince and American singer/songwriter Jill Jones fighting about...Prince on television! She says, “Oh my God! Isn’t that Prince on television? Is he the strangest looking thing you’ve ever seen or what? Don’t you touch that channel! Leave it alone! Do you value your life?!”

Kiss is Prince’s third of five #1 American Top 40 hits. His first two #1 songs were from 1984’s Purple Rain soundtrack: When Doves Cry and Let’s Go Crazy; his last two #1 songs were 1989’s Batdance, which did not make this list, and 1991’s Cream. Prince has a total of 11 songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980SKiss (#23), When Doves Cry (#28), Purple Rain (#30), Let’s Go Crazy (#95), 1999 (#113), Little Red Corvette (#117),  Raspberry Beret (#135),  I Would Die 4 U (#330), U Got the Look (#399), and  Sign O’ the Times (#486). Prince also plays synthesizers on Stevie Nicks’ Stand Back (#253), and he wrote songs that were hits for other artists: The Bangles’ Manic Monday (#128), Chaka Khan’s I Feel for You (#153), and Sheila E.’s The Glamorous Life (#447).

Kiss On My List by Daryl Hall and John Oates — Song #226

Kokomo by The Beach Boys — Song #218

Kyrie

Kyrie by Mr. Mister

Song #277

Kyrie Eleison, which is a Greek phrase (ἐλέησόν με κύριε) that means “Lord, have mercy (on me),” is a part of many religious rites in Eastern and Western Christianity. In the Christian Bible, the phrase occurs 10 times in the book of Psalms, three times in the Gospel of Matthew, and once in the Gospel of Luke. According to American pop band Mr. Mister’s frontman Richard Page, the entire song is essentially a prayer: “I get a lot of power from meditation, from being still and realizing that what I’m doing is insignificant compared to the universe. That’s what the song is all about.” An urban legend circulated that Richard Page wrote this song while lying in a hospital bed after an assault; in fact, his cousin John Lang (who wrote the lyrics to Kyrie) was the one who was assaulted, but the incident had nothing to do with the song: He said, “Richard Page did write the music and melody, but I am the one who wrote the lyrics. I got the inspiration from singing it as a kid in an Episcopal church in Phoenix.”

 

In contemporary Greek, one of the English translations of the root word kyrios (κύριος) is “Mister,” but the band’s name came about because while working together, they would call each other “Mr. This” and “Mr. That,” which eventually became Mr. Mister. The four-man band (which formed in Phoenix, Arizona in 1982 and disbanded in 1990) consisted of Richard Page (lead vocals and bass guitar), Steve George (keyboards and backing vocals), Pat Mastelotto (acoustic and electronic drums and percussion), and Steve Farris (guitars and backing vocals). Prior to forming the group, Richard Page had worked as a session musician for legendary producer Quincy Jones, and had composed music for Michael Jackson, Rick Springfield, Donna Summer, and Kenny Loggins, all of whom have songs on this list.

 

After the first Mr. Mister album (I Wear the Face) was released in 1984, Richard Page was asked to replace Bobby Kimball as the lead singer of Toto, and later he was asked to replace Peter Cetera as the lead singer of Chicago, but he declined both offers. Kyrie was written in 1984 while the band toured with Adam Ant. In 1985, Mr. Mister opened for Tina Turner on her Private Dancer tour. Mr. Mister also toured with Don Henley, The Bangles, Eurythmics, and Heart. All of the artists named here have songs on this list. Kyrie is the second single released from the band’s second album Welcome to the Real World. It peaked at #1 on the American Top 40 chart, and is ranked as the 9th most popular song of 1986. The first single from the album was an even bigger hit: Broken Wings (which is song #126 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S) also peaked at #1 and is ranked at the 5th most popular song of 1986. Mr. Mister’s Broken Wings was nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, but lost to USA for Africa’s We Are the World (song #203 on this list).

La Bamba by Los Lobos — Song #327

La Isla Bonita by Madonna — Song #141

Lady by Kenny Rogers

Song #362

In the late-‘70s, American singer/songwriter Lionel Richie pitched this song to his group The Commodores, which was known for funk and soul, but the band turned it down. Later, when he decided to compose the song, he wrote it specifically for Kenny Rogers, who was an established country music star. Lionel Richie had been a singer and saxophonist with The Commodores since 1968, and they were known for groovy dance songs, such as Brick House, and also for romantic, easy listening songs, such as Easy and Three Times a Lady. Kenny Rogers said, “The idea was that Lionel would come from R&B and I’d come from country, and we’d meet somewhere in pop.” Lady became one of Kenny Rogers’ biggest hits. In 2012, Lionel Richie said that Lady was his most profitable song, and then added, “I have an estate that Lady bought.” Lionel Richie’s work as producer of the song was his first venture away from The Commodores; he left the group in 1982 and began his very successful solo career.

 

Lionel Richie recorded a version of Lady on his 1998 album Time (click here), and he and Kenny Rogers recorded the song together on Lionel Richie’s 2012 album Tuskegee (click here). Also in 2012, the pair performed the song live at the 2012 concert special ACM Presents: Lionel Richie and Friends in Concert. (Watch Kenny Rogers tell the story—including how Lionel Richie wrote the second verse of the song on the toilet—and perform the song with him here.) Lady spent six weeks at #1 on the American Top 40 chart at the end of 1980. Billboard ranked it the 3rd most popular song of the year. On its end-of-decade chart, Lady is ranked as the 10th most popular song of the 1980s, and it is ranked 47th on The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs (which includes songs from 1958 to 2008).

 

Kenny Rogers has had 21 American Top 40 hits, including his duet with Dolly Parton, Islands In the Stream and Coward Of the County (songs #212 and #498, respectively, on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S). Kenny Rogers also performs on USA for Africa’s We Are the World (#203) which was also written by Lionel Richie (with Michael Jackson). Some of Kenny Rogers’ most recognizable hits include 1977’s Lucille and 1978’s The Gambler.

The Lady In Red by Chris de Burgh

Song #361

 

This song was a worldwide hit in 1986/1987, and was a #1 song in 25 countries, but it has suffered from backlash since the ‘80s. It was voted the 10th most annoying song of all time in a 2000 Dotmusic poll. In 2014 it was voted the third worst song of the ‘80s by Rolling Stone readers (the second worst was The Final Countdown by Europe, #145 on this list; the worst was We Built This City by Starship, #338 on this list). British-Irish singer/songwriter Chris de Burgh omitted this song from his 2012 acoustic album Home, which is a compilation of re-recordings of his favorite songs. He said, “One of the problems of having such a huge worldwide hit like Lady in Red...is that you get pigeonholed, and so the other 250 songs you’ve written and recorded become irrelevant... I do diminish it slightly when performing live. I take the microphone and leave the band and walk through the audience, hugging people. The Lady In Red is featured in the following films: 1988’s Working Girl, 2000’s American Psycho, 2004’s DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story, and 2008’s Baby Mama.

Late In the Evening by Paul Simon — Song #437

Legs by ZZ Top — Song #352

Let It Whip by The Dazz Band — Song #439

Let My Love Open the Door by Pete Townshend — Song #375

Let the Music Play by Shannon — Song #139

Let’s Dance by David Bowie — Song #93

Prince Vegan

Let’s Go Crazy by Prince and the Revolution — Song #95

Let's Groove

Let’s Groove by Earth, Wind & Fire

Song #172

 

This song is one of the last hits for American R&B band Earth, Wind & Fire, one of the few bands that was successful before, during, and after the disco era, with 16 songs that charted on the American Top 40 chart between 1974 and 1983. The band does not consider itself part of the disco genre, even though 1979’s Boogie Wonderland is a disco staple. Other hit songs by Earth, Wind & Fire include 1975’s Shining Star, 1975’s Sing a Song, 1978’s September, and 1979’s After the Love Has Gone.

 

In the late-’70s and early-’80s, disco was undergoing a hostile backlash, and Earth, Wind & Fire founding member Maurice White decided that the band needed to incorporate the emerging electronica sound in their music on their 11th studio album Raise! which was released in 1981. As a result, Let’s Groove is more of a post-disco funk song, with synthesizers and electric guitars. The synthesized voice that begins the song was created using a device called a Vocoder, which predates Auto-Tune by decades, and was also used to alter Cher’s voice in her 1998 hit Believe.

 

Earth, Wind & Fire included elements of disco, R&B, soul, funk, jazz, pop, and rock in their music. Rolling Stone called the band “innovative, precise yet sensual, calculated yet galvanizing,” and stated that the band “changed the sound of black pop.” Earth, Wind & Fire has won six Grammys (nominated for 17 total), including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Earth, Wind & Fire was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and five members of the band were also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. The band is the first African-American act to sell out Madison Square Garden. The music video for Let’s Groove was the first video ever to be played on Video Soul on the American television channel BET (Black Entertainment Television). Billboard ranked Let’s Groove the #33 most popular song of 1982. Philip Bailey (who provides vocals and percussion) was a member of the band from 1972 to 1984 (and rejoined the band in 1987); his duet with Phil Collins Easy Lover is song #183 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S.

Let’s Hear It For the Boy by Deniece Williams

Song #337

 

This song is the second #1 American Top 40 hit from the 1984 film Footloose. (The other is Kenny Loggins’ title song, #60 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S.) In the film, Let’s Hear It For the Boy plays in a scene in which Kevin Bacon teaches Christopher Penn how to dance (click here). The original version of the song is also featured in the 2011 remake of Footloose (click here), but a cover of the song by country music singer Jana Kramer appears on the film’s soundtrack (click here). When American R&B and gospel singer Deniece Williams was offered Let’s Hear It For the Boy, she loved it and the idea for the film, because she grew up in a small town in Indiana where the religious environment was similar to the one in Footloose, where the city council bans dancing and rock music. She said, “If I had come to the film without the music in and they asked me what segment I wanted my song to be in, I would have chosen that segment.”

 

Deniece Williams had a #1 hit with American pop singer Johnny Mathis in 1978, Too Much, Too Little, Too Late, and she had hit in 1982 with It’s Gonna Take a Miracle, which peaked at #10 (but did not make this list). Let’s Hear It for the Boy was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song, but lost to I Just Called to Say I Love You by Stevie Wonder from The Woman in Red (#100 on this list); the other nominated songs were Footloose by Kenny Loggins (#60), Against All Odds by Phil Collins from Against All Odds (#189), and Ghostbusters by Ray Parker Jr. from Ghostbusters (#391). Let’s Hear It for the Boy was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, but lost to Tina Turner for What’s Love Got to Do with It (#77); the other nominees were Sheila E. for The Glamorous Life (#447), Sheena Easton for Strut (which did not make this list), and Cyndi Lauper for Girls Just Want to Have Fun (#14). Let’s Hear It for the Boy was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance category as well, but lost to Chaka Khan for I Feel for You (#153 on this list); other nominees included Shannon for Let the Music Play (#139), and Tina Turner for Let’s Stay Together (which did not make this list).

 

Deniece Williams has won four Grammys in Gospel categories, including for 1987’s I Surrender All and 1988’s I Believe In You. Let’s Hear It For the Boy features background vocals from George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam, who later became the American pop group Boy Meets Girl, with their own hit song Waiting For a Star To Fall (song #321 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S) in 1988. (They also wrote the Whitney Houston songs How Will I Know, song #125, and I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me), song #12).

Life In a Northern Town by The Dream Academy — Song #467

Like a Prayer by Madonna — Song #27

Like a Virgin by Madonna — Song #47

Listen To Your Heart by Roxette — Song #97

Little Jeannie by Elton John — Song #408

Little Lies by Fleetwood Mac — Song #339

Little Red Corvette by Prince — Song #117

Live To Tell by Madonna — Song #276

Livin On a Prayer by Bon Jovi — Song #2

Living In America

Living In America by James Brown

Song #312

 

This song was the last of James Brown’s 44 American Top 40 hits. It’s one of his biggest hits, and it introduced a new generation to his music. James Brown, who died in 2006 at the age of 73, is known as “The Godfather of Soul” because he had a major influence on 20th-century music and dance, with a career that lasted over 50 years. Living In America reached #4 on the American Top 40 chart in 1986. His previous Top 40 hit was 1974’s Papa Don’t Take No Mess, so it had been 12 years since he had a hit song. In the years following the popularity of Living In America, it was sampled in many songs of the burgeoning hip-hop movement without his consent; James Brown was eventually compensated for all unauthorized use.

 

Living In America was written for the fourth film of the Rocky franchise at the request of the film’s director, writer, and star Sylvester Stallone. In 1985, when Rocky IV was released, the Cold War was at its peak. The Cold War was a state of geopolitical tension between the Soviet Union and the United States (along with its NATO allies and others) after World War II. (The term “cold” means that while there wasn’t widespread warfare, there were major regional wars known as proxy wars; the Cold War lasted over 40 years, and ended in December 1991 when the eighth and final leader of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev resigned, granting self-governance to the Republics of the Soviet Union, and handing over power to Russian President Boris Yeltsin.) In Rocky IV, James Brown performs the song right before former heavyweight champion of the world Apollo Creed (played by Carl Weathers) enters the boxing ring to fight Russian Drago (played by Dolph Lundgren). Apollo and Drago are both motivated by patriotism; Apollo dies after being pummeled by Drago. Rocky later defeats Drago in the ring, and gives a victory speech in which he compares the fight to the animosity and possible impending war between the U.S. and the Soviets.

 

Influential blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan (who died in 1990) plays lead guitar on Living In America. Dan Hartman (whose I Can Dream About You is song #350 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S) co-wrote and produced this song, and also plays guitar and keyboards, and provides backing vocals. The Uptown Horns (a well-known horn section that formed in 1980) also perform on this song, as well as on Freeze-Frame by The J. Geils Band’s (#492 on this list), and on Love Shack by The B-52’s (#118 on this list). James Brown won a Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for Living In America. It was nominated for a Grammy for Best R&B Song, but lost to Anita Baker’s Sweet Love (#420 on this list); the other nominees were Janet Jackson’s What Have You Done For Me Lately (#403), Prince and the Revolution’s Kiss (#23), and Luther Vandross’ Give Me the Reason (which was not eligible for this list because it did not enter the American Top 40 chart).

 

James Brown was nominated for a total of eight Grammys; he won three, and received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1992. James Brown ends Living In America with his trademark phrase “I feel good!” which is a reference to his highest charting song and arguably his most well-known, 1964’s I Got You (I Feel Good). Other notable James Brown songs include 1965’s Papa's Got a Brand New Bag, 1966’s It's a Man's Man's Man's World, 1968’s Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud, 1970’s Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine, and 1974’s The Payback.

The Living Years by Mike + the Mechanics — Song #146

The Longest Time

The Longest Time by Billy Joel

Song #333

 

This song is Billy Joel’s tribute to the doo-wop sounds of the 1950s, from his 1983 concept album An Innocent Man, which pays tribute to Billy Joel’s musical influences and the musical styles of the late-1950s and early-1960s. This album was nominated for a Grammy for Album of the Year, but lost to Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Billy Joel provides all vocals on The Longest Time (as well as finger snaps and hand claps); only two instruments are used in this song: a bass guitar and a snare drum played with brushes.

 

Billy Joel has three other songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S: We Didn’t Start the Fire (#260), It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me (#220), and, also from An Innocent Man, Uptown Girl (#207). Billy Joel has had a total of 33 American Top 40 hits (20 of them in the ‘80s), all of which he wrote. He has been nominated for 23 Grammy Awards, and has won six. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, he is the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States. His 1985 compilation album Greatest Hits Vol. 1 & 2, is the third best-selling album in U.S. history (Michael Jackson’s Thriller is #1, and the Eagles’ Their Greatest Hits 1971–1975 is #2).

 

Billy Joel was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. In 2013, he was recognized by the Kennedy Center Honors, the U.S.’s highest honor for artistic influence in American culture. In 2014, Billy Joel became the sixth recipient of the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song from the U.S. Library of Congress. In a 1993 documentary, Billy Joel compares the melodic content of We Didn’t Start the Fire to The Longest Time (which he says is far superior): He said, “Take a song like We Didn’t Start the Fire. It’s really not much of a song... If you take the melody by itself, terrible. Like a dentist drill.”

The Look by Roxette – Song #341

Look Away by Chicago

Song #464

This song is American rock band Chicago’s best-selling single, and Billboard magazine ranked it the most popular song of 1989. If Billboard ranked Look Away as the most popular song of 1989, then why is it only #464 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S? While the Billboard rankings are based on the sales and radio airplay of Look Away in 1989 only, this list of measures the song’s sustainability since the ‘80s by compiling data related to awards and accolades, uses in media, digital downloads, and much more criteria, in addition to sales and radio airplay since the ‘80s. Chicago has three more songs on this list: Hard Habit To Break (#451), You’re the Inspiration (#248), and Hard To Say I’m Sorry / Get Away (#221); all three of those songs feature Peter Cetera on lead vocals, but when he left the band in 1985, other members provided lead vocals. Look Away features keyboardist and guitarist Bill Champlin on vocals.

 

After Peter Cetera’s departure, Chicago’s music changed a bit, most notably with less emphasis on the band’s horn section, which is featured prominently in many of their earlier hits such as 1970’s 25 or 6 to 4, 1972’s Saturday in the Park, 1973’s Feelin’ Stronger Every Day, and 1976’s If You Leave Me Now. Peter Cetera has two songs on this list: Glory Of Love at #251, and his duet with Amy Grant The Next Time I Fall at #409 (which was actually written for Peter Cetera to sing with Chicago, but the writers of the song were not aware that he had left the group in 1985).

 

Look Away was written by prolific songwriter Diane Warren, who’s written 32 Top 10 songs on the American Top 40 chart, including other songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S: DeBarge’s Rhythm Of the Night (#359), Cher’s If I Could Turn Back Time (#196), and Starship’s Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now (#82). Diane Warren said that Look Away was inspired by a friend who had gotten divorced but wanted to remain friends with her ex-husband, even though he was devastated and wanted to get back together. The producer of Look Away Ron Nevison worked with Heart on both Alone (#121) and These Dreams (#143). Before being submitted to Chicago, Look Away was offered to Cheap Trick, who turned it down and chose The Flame (#272) instead.

Look Away
The Look Of Love

The Look Of Love by ABC

Song #299

 

ABC is a British new wave/pop band that formed in 1980. ABC lead singer Martin Fry said that The Look Of Love is “genuinely about the moment you get your teeth kicked in by somebody you love, f*cking off. You feel like sh*t, but you have to search for some sort of meaning in your life.” The lyrics were inspired by a real break-up; and in the second verse, following the lyric, When your girl has left you out on the pavement,” the “Goodbye” is spoken by the actual woman who broke Martin Fry’s heart. The Look Of Love actually has four parts; The Look Of Love (Part One) peaked at #18 on the American Top 40 chart in 1982. Part one is the album version that was released as a single, part two is an instrumental version, part three is a vocal version without the orchestral overdubs, and part four is a short acoustic instrumental portion of the song and includes strings, horns, harp plucks, and a xylophone. To hear all four parts together as one single track (running over 12 minutes long), click here. There is also a 12” extended remix (click here) that hit #1 on the Billboard Dance Club Chart.

 

ABC had five hit songs in the U.S., but The Look Of Love is the only one that has sustained well enough to be included on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S. ABC’s other hits are Poison Arrow, (How To Be a) Millionaire, Be Near Me, and When Smokey Sings. MTV played a big role in ABC’s success in the U.S. by prominently featuring The Look Of Love and these other videos. The Look Of Love is ABC’s biggest hit in the U.K., but in the U.S., ABC’s highest charting song is When Smokey Sings, a tribute to Smokey Robinson, which peaked at #5 in 1987. The band was very vocal about its admiration for Smokey Robinson (who has two songs that almost made this list: Cruisin’ is #531, and Being With You is #537), and Smokey experienced a career resurgence in the ‘80s at the same time ABC was achieving success. His song One Heartbeat was on the American Top 40 chart concurrently with When Smokey Sings, and a few months earlier, Just To See Her had been a Top 10 song (neither of those songs made this list). One of Smokey Robinson’s earlier songs with The Miracles refers to “the look of love”: 1971’s I Don’t Blame You At All contains the lyric, “What I thought was the look of love was only hurt in disguise.”

Looking For a New Love

Looking For a New Love by Jody Watley

Song #356

 

This song peaked at at #2 for four weeks on the the American Top 40 chart in 1987. It was blocked from the #1 position by Cutting Crew’s (I Just) Died in Your Arms (#83 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S) and U2’s With or Without You (#22 on this list). In the song, Jody Watley says, Hasta la vista, baby” (a Spanish phrase that means See you later”), which became very popular and was later used in the 1991 film Terminator 2: Judgment Day, spoken by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character.

 

Looking For a New Love was nominated for two Soul Train Music Awards (Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video and Best R&B/Soul Single, Female). Jody Watley was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for this song (and lost to Aretha Franklin). In 1988, Jody Watley won a Grammy for Best New Artist. (The other nominees were Breakfast Club, Cutting Crew, Terence Trent D’Arby, and Swing Out Sister.) In 2016, Billboard ranked Jody Watley as #21 on a list of the most successful dance artists of all-time (#1 is Madonna, and #2 is Janet Jackson).

 

Jody Watley got her start on the American television show Soul Train at the age of 14. Soul Train aired from 1971 to 2006, and primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, dance, and hip-hop artists, with a predominantly African-American group of in-studio dancers. She became a popular dancer and trendsetter on the show, which led to the formation of the group Shalamar in 1977. Soul Train creator and host Don Cornelius created the group, which had four American Top 40 hits: 1977’s Uptown Festival (Part 1), 1979’s The Second Time Around, 1983’s Dead Giveaway, and 1984’s Dancing in the Sheets, which was on the 1984 Footloose soundtrack. Jody Watley left Shalamar in 1983, but returned to the group briefly in 1996. Jody Watley performs with Band Aid on Do They Know It’s Christmas? (#236 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S); she and Kool & the Gang are the only American music artists to be a part of the mostly British and Irish group (Kool & the Gang’s songs on this list are Celebration at #54, Cherish at #307, and Get Down On It at #440).

 

Watch Jody Watley perform Looking For a New Love on Soul Train here. Looking For a New Love is Jody Watley’s only song on this list; she had five other Top 40 hits in the ‘80s, all of which entered the Top 10 on the American Top 40 chart: Don’t You Want Me, Some Kind of Lover, Real Love, Friends (featuring hip-hop duo Eric B. & Rakim), and Everything. She re-recorded and re-released various remixes of Looking For a New Love in 2005. One of these versions (click here) hit #1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 2005, just like the 1987 original did.

Lost In Love by Air Supply — Song #369

Def Leppard Vegan
Love Bites

Love Bites by Def Leppard

Song #288

 

This song is Def Leppard’s only #1 hit on the American Top 40 chart. Pour Some Sugar On Me (which is the #16 song on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S) only got as high as #2 in 1988, when it was blocked from #1 by Richard Marx’s Hold On To the Nights (song #311 on this list). Love Bites is the fifth single released from the band’s fourth (and most successful) album Hysteria. Billboard ranked Love Bites the 30th most popular song of 1988. It was also a hit in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the U.K.

 

Lead singer Joe Elliott said that “love bites” are what Americans call “hickeys”: “It was a play on words. When somebody chews on your neck, you get a bruise... You guys call them hickeys. We call them love bites. The idea of it was that it’s like, love bites, love bleeds. It was a case of taking it and just showing how the English language is an awkward beast. Many words mean many different things.”

 

Love Bites was written by Robert John “Mutt” Lange, who produced the Hysteria album (as well as Def Leppard’s second album High ‘n’ Dry, and third album Pyromania). Guitarist Phil Collen said, “When he first showed it to us, it sounded a bit country-and-western. Mutt has always been a big fan of country music. He recently produced his wife’s album [Shania Twain’s 1995 album The Woman in Me], and it’s one of the biggest-selling country releases. For Love Bites, we just added Def Leppard guitars to it. There was a harmony guitar thing that me and Steve [Clark] did where we orchestrated the chords. Steve and I jammed the song out with a drum box, and recorded it. The backing track was recorded live, and it ended up on the record... It made my Mum cry. That’s how I knew it was special.” Phil Collen also stated, “Love Bites went to #1 [in October 1988] while we were on tour. We’d never even played Love Bites through as a song when we recorded it, let alone together. We had to take two days off and go into a little studio in Vancouver to learn the song. It’s one of the best songs that Joe [Elliott] sings. It was so high and it was such a problem for him, we were all scared of this song.”

 

Def Leppard is an English rock band that formed in 1977. In 1982, during the recording of the Pyromania album, guitarist Phil Collen joined the band when Pete Willis was fired for excessive alcohol consumption. The other band members at that time were Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Savage (bass guitar), Rick Allen (drums), and Steve Clark (guitars). When Steve Clark died in 1991, he was replaced by Vivian Campbell (songs co-written by Steve Clark before he died appear on the band’s 1992 album Adrenalize).

 

How did the band get its name? Joe Elliott said, “The phrase...first came to me in school in 1975. I was in art class, and I’d begged the teacher...Please can we stop drawing fruit and flowers and vases and stuff? And he said, ‘What do you want to do?’ I said, ‘I want to do posters for rock shows.’ And he said, ‘Fine.’ So I started doing posters for real bands like The Beatles and The Stones and Thin Lizzy and stuff. And then eventually, I started making names up, and ‘Deaf Leopard’ was one of them. It just sounded good. It was spelled correctly when I did it. It only changed to the misspelling that we use these days after the band formed, but I had the name two years before the band.”

 

Rick Allen came up with the album title Hysteria (also a song on the album), a reference to the worldwide media coverage of his 1984 auto accident. He went through the windshield and his arm was ripped off by the seatbelt. Following the accident, the other band members stood by his decision to continue playing the drums: He used a combination electronic/acoustic kit with a set of electronic pedals, which triggered the sounds that he could no longer play with his left arm (via the newly-developed technology Musical Instrument Digital Interface, MIDI).

 

As of 2020, Hysteria is the 44th best-selling album of all time in the United States (and Pyromania is 84th), according to the Recording Industry Association of America. In 2012, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Hysteria #464 on its list of the 500 best albums of all time. Lasting over 62 minutes, Hysteria is one of the longest albums ever issued on a single vinyl record.

 

Def Leppard has six songs on this list of of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S. From the Hysteria album, in addition to Pour Some Sugar On Me at #16 and Love Bites at #288, Hysteria is song #275, and Animal is song #500. The Pyromania album features two songs on this list: Photograph at #99 and Rock Of Ages at #157. Def Leppard had three additional hits in the ’80s that did not make this list of 500: Foolin’, from the Pyromania album, is song #588; and from the Hysteria album, Armageddon It is song #652 and Rocket is song #682. Additionally, Women was a hit on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart.

 

In the liner notes for Hysteria, Def Leppard apologized for the four-and-a-half-year gap between the release of the album and Pyromania, and promised that fans would not have to wait that long again, but later events (including the death of Steve Clark) delayed the next album (1992’s Adrenalize) by even longer, almost five years. Inexplicably, Def Leppard has never been nominated for a Grammy award; however, the band has been nominated for seven American Music Awards, winning Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Artist and Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Album for Hysteria in 1989. Def Leppard is one of only five bands with two original studio albums that have sold over 10 million copies each in the U.S. (the others are The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Van Halen). Def Leppard was finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.

Love Come Down by Evelyn “Champagne” King – Song #457

Love In an Elevator by Aerosmith — Song #395

Love Is a Battlefield

Love Is a Battlefield by Pat Benatar

Song #100

 

Love Is a Battlefield is American rock singer Pat Benatar’s highest ranking of four songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S. The other songs are Heartbreaker at #161, We Belong at #123, and Hit Me With Your Best Shot at #106. Pat Benatar has had a total of 15 American Top 40 hits, and all of them were in the ‘80s. As is surprisingly typical with quite a few songs on this list, Pat Benatar’s record company hated Love Is a Battlefield, and didn’t want to release it as a single. Her producer/guitarist Neil Giraldo (whom she married in 1982) said, “[W]hen [Chrysalis Records] heard it, they went, ‘What are you doing? What is this drum machine thing you did? Why did you create this weird loop? Why did you do this? It’s horrible. What are you doing? I’m not going to release it. It’s wrong.’”

 

The song was written by Holly Knight and Mike Chapman (who together also wrote Tina Turner’s Better Be Good To Me, song #490 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S), and was originally intended to be much slower, with a softer melody and emotional chord changes, but after experimenting with the Linn LM-1 drum computer (the first programmable drum machine that used real drum samples rather than synthesized sounds), Neil Giraldo decided that Love Is a Battlefield should be an up-tempo song. Pat Benatar said, “That was a song written very slow, very methodical, boring. I mean, it was really slow. As soon as I heard it, I went, ‘I don’t understand why this song would be so slow.’ I just heard it done in the up-tempo thing.” Love Is a Battlefield was released as a single from the 1983 live album Live from Earth, although the song itself is a studio recording. The song is different from Pat Benatar’s earlier hard rock sound, with more of an electronic dance aspect. It peaked at #5 on the American Top 40 chart, and hit #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, where it stayed for four weeks. In Australia, Love Is a Battlefield was a #1 song and the 11th best-selling single of 1984. It was a hit song in Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Germany, and the U.K.

 

Pat Benatar’s debut album In the Heat of the Night was released in 1979, generating her first hit song Heartbreaker (song #186 on this list), which peaked at #23 on the American Top 40 chart. The follow-up single We Live For Love reached #27. In 1980, her second album Crimes of Passion was released, and her signature song Hit Me with Your Best Shot (song #106 on this list) peaked at #9. Other notable songs from that album are Treat Me Right, which reached #18, and a cover (click here) of English rock band The Rascals’ You Better Run, which was the second music video played on MTV when it launched on August 1, 1981. MTV apparently chose Pat Benatar's You Better Run specifically to follow the first video it aired, The Buggles’ Video Killed the Radio Star, in order to send a message to the radio industry. Another notable song from Crimes of Passion is Hell Is for Children, which wasn’t released as a single, but garnered attention for its controversial lyrics about child abuse.

 

Pat Benatar’s third album Precious Time was released in 1981, and its lead single was Fire and Ice, which peaked at #17 on the American Top 40 chart; Promises in the Dark followed, and peaked at #38. Her fourth album Get Nervous spawned Shadows Of the Night, which peaked at #13, followed by the hits Little Too Late and Looking for a Stranger, which peaked at #20 and #39, respectively. Live From Earth, released in 1983, was recorded during her Get Nervous world tour, and features live versions of her previous hits, plus Love Is a Battlefield and Lipstick Lies, another studio recording. In 1984, Pat Benatar’s sixth album Tropico was released, and the lead single We Belong (song #123 on this list), peaked at #5 on the American Top 40 chart; the follow-up single Ooh Ooh Song reached #36. Tropico marked a change from her trademark hard rock sound to a softer, more ethereal sound.

 

In 1985, she released her seventh album Seven the Hard Way. Invincible, which was the theme song for the 1985 film The Legend of Billie Jean, peaked at #10 on the American Top 40 chart. Sex As a Weapon, also from Seven the Hard Way, reached #28. Her eighth album Wide Awake in Dreamland features All Fired Up, her 15th and final American Top 40 hit, which reached #19 in 1988. In 1989, her greatest hits compilation was released, Best Shots. After her ‘80s albums, she released four more albums: 1991’s blues-oriented True Love, and then three albums that featured more rock-oriented material: 1993’s Gravity’s Rainbow, 1997’s Innamorata, and 2003’s Go.

 

The music video for Love Is a Battlefield is one of the first to feature dialogue, which furthered the storyline. Pat Benatar plays a rebellious teenager who runs away from home. Overlapping with the music, her father says, “If you leave this house now, you can just forget about coming back!” The video was directed by Bob Giraldi (who also directed the video for Michael Jackson’s Beat It), and features a group dance routine. In the video, Pat Benatar leads a rebellion against the lascivious owner of a nightclub who harasses the dancers working there. The version of the song in the video is different from the original version—a dance club remix created by Jellybean Benitez, who produced and remixed dozens of ‘80s songs. To play the full extended version of the song, click here. The Love Is a Battlefield video was in heavy rotation on MTV, which at that time aired only videos.

 

Love Is a Battlefield is featured prominently in the 2004 romantic comedy 13 Going on 30, in which it is the mantra of the main character (played by Jennifer Garner). In the fantasy film, a 13-year-old from the ‘80s inhabits the body of a 30-year-old in the 2000s. Watch the scene in which she and a group of little girls sing and dance to Love Is a Battlefield here. The film’s soundtrack is almost entirely ‘80s music, and includes Belinda Carlisle’s Mad About You (song #470 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S), Talking Heads’ Burning Down the House (#230), Madonna’s Crazy For You (#228), Soft Cell’s Tainted Love (#37), Rick Springfield’s Jessie’s Girl (#43), and Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) (#12).

 

Love Is a Battlefield has been sampled in several rap songs: American rapper Jumpsteady’s 2005 song Battlefield, Australian rapper Kerser’s 2011 song Battlefield. American rapper Lil Bibby’s 2014 song We Are Strong, and American rapper Pitbull’s 2017 song We Are Strong. Love Is a Battlefield has been covered by a wide variety of musicians. A hip-hop remix of the song (click here), featuring American DJ Kay Gee and American hip-hop artist (at that time) Queen Latifah, plays during the end credits of the 1998 film Small Soldiers, and is featured on the film’s soundtrack. Australian extreme metal band The Amity Affliction covered the song in 2008 (click here). American diva Cher performed Love Is a Battlefield during her three-year engagement at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada from 2008 to 2011 (click here). In 2014, Chris Colfer and Darren Criss covered Love Is a Battlefield in an episode of the TV show Glee (click here).

 

Love Is a Battlefield earned Pat Benatar her fourth consecutive Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance in 1984, following her wins for the album Crimes of Passion, and for the songs Fire and Ice, and Shadows of the Night. (In this Grammy category, a song or an entire album may be nominated.) She was nominated in this category four more times, for Invincible, Sex As a Weapon, All Fired Up, and 1990’s Let’s Stay Together. She was also nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal in 1986 for We Belong.

Fred Schneider Vegan

Love Shack by The B-52’s — Song #118

Lovergirl by Teena Marie — Song #446

Lovesong by The Cure — Song #205

Lucky Star by Madonna — Song #436

Luka

Luka by Suzanne Vega

Song #353

This song is told from the point of view of an abused child, which contrasts with the catchy melody. American singer/songwriter Suzanne Vega explained: “Because I was aiming at such a complex subject, I was aiming for the simplest line to get there. Simple melodies, happy chords. I felt I had to make it accessible because it was such a dark subject.” The video won Best Female Video at the 1988 MTV Video Music Awards; it was also nominated for Breakthrough Video and Best Cinematography. At the 1988 Grammy Awards, Luka was nominated for Song of the Year (but lost to Somewhere Out There by Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram), Record of the Year (but lost to Paul Simon’s Graceland), and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (but lost to Whitney Houston for I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me), which is song #12 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S).

 

After Prince’s death in April 2016, Suzanne Vega revealed a handwritten letter that Prince sent her in 1987: He wrote, “Dearest Suzanne, Luka is the most compelling piece of music I’ve heard in a long time. There are no words 2 tell you all the things I feel when I hear it. I thank God 4 u.”

Mad About You by Belinda Carlisle — Song #470

Making Love Out Of Nothing At All by Air Supply

Song #295

 

Did you ever think that this song sounds a lot like Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse Of the Heart, which is song #33 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S? Both songs are lavish, rock-opera style productions that were written by the same person: Jim Steinman. These songs were originally offered to American singer Meat Loaf, whose record company declined both songs. Meat Loaf hadn’t had a hit since his 1978 songs Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad, which peaked at #11 on the American Top 40 chart, and Paradise by the Dashboard Light, which peaked at #39, from his album Bat Out Of Hell, which were also both written by Jim Steinman. Meat Loaf hit #1 with I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That) in 1993 (also written by Jim Steinman), but can you imagine if Meat Loaf had recorded Making Love Out Of Nothing At All and Total Eclipse Of the Heart? Jim Steinman also wrote Celine Dion’s huge 1996 hit It’s All Coming Back to Me Now. All of these songs convey tragic, over-the-top, emotional power. Making Love Out Of Nothing At All reached #2 on the American Top 40 chart for three weeks in October of 1983, when the #1 song at that time just happened to be Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler!

 

Air Supply is an Australian soft rock duo, consisting of singer/songwriter/guitarist Graham Russell and lead vocalist Russell Hitchcock, who met while performing in a 1975 Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar. Air Supply has two other songs on this list: Lost In Love at #369, and All Out Of Love at #180. Air Supply had additional band members before they achieved international stardom, but eventually they pared down to a duo. “We always had a band, and at that point, they always were in the photos, and they actually shared in everything,” Russell Hitchcock said. “But there were a couple of small squabbles within the band, so we said, ‘Okay, we’ve got to stop this. It’s going to be Russell and [me] from now on.” Air Supply has had a total of eight Top 10 hits in the U.S. The Australian Recording Industry Association inducted Air Supply into their Hall of Fame in 2013.

 

Two members of Bruce Springsteen’s E–Street Band perform on Making Love Out Of Nothing At All: Roy Bittan on piano and keyboards, and Max Weinberg on drums. The song’s guitarist is Rick Derringer, who was the guitarist for American rock group The McCoys, best known for the 1965 hit Hang On Sloopy. These musicians helped make Making Love Out Of Nothing At All sound drastically different from most other Air Supply songs. Making Love Out Of Nothing At All was Air Supply’s last Top 10 hit in the U.S.

 

Bonnie Tyler recorded her own version of of the song (click here) in 1995 (with slightly changed lyrics), produced by—you guessed it: Jim Steinman. In 2012, Making Love Out Of Nothing At All and Total Eclipse Of the Heart were used as a central plot point in the seventh season of the U.S. television show Criminal Minds. In the episode, a pianist tries to convince a victim that he wasn’t her attacker, by claiming that she mistakenly thought she heard him play Total Eclipse Of the Heart (which the attacker had actually played during her attack), because he claims that he had actually played Making Love Out of Nothing At All, and even states that the songs sound similar because they were composed by the same person.

Man In the Mirror by Michael Jackson — Song #81

Maneater by Daryl Hall and John Oates — Song #159

Maniac by Michael Sembello — Song #244

Manic Monday by The Bangles — Song #128

Material Girl by Madonna — Song #56

Mickey by Toni Basil — Song #405

Miss You Much

Miss You Much by Janet Jackson

Song #466

 

The key that Janet Jackson wears in a hoop earring on the cover of her 1989 album Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814 is a key to the animal cages on the Jackson family’s estate. She said, “When I was younger, and I was depressed or wanted to cry, I used to go talk to the animals. They’re good listeners, and I always felt they understood. And sometimes I still do that. I talk to my dog.” Sure, prisoners make good listeners, Janet.

 

Miss You Much was the lead single from this album, and the first of a record-setting seven songs from the album to enter the Top 5 on the American Top 40 chart. (Seven songs from her brother Michael’s album Thriller entered the Top 10, but only five of those songs entered the Top 5.) In 2017, Billboard ranked Miss You Much as Janet Jackson’s all-time #1 song, based on chart performance. Miss You Much spent four weeks at #1 (making it the longest running #1 single of 1989) and is ranked by Billboard as the 5th most popular song of 1989. Only Miss You Much and Rhythm Nation were eligible for this list because the other five songs released from this album entered the Top 40 in the ‘90s: Escapade, Alright, Come Back to Me, Black Cat, and Love Will Never Do (Without You).

 

Three songs from Janet Jackson’s album Control are on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980SNasty (#290), When I Think Of You (#316), and What Have You Done For Me Lately (#403). After the huge success of Control, her label’s executives wanted similar songs for her next album, but Janet decided that it would be a concept album addressing social issues such as substance abuse, poverty, and racism. Many music critics still regard Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814 as the peak of Janet Jackson’s artistic accomplishments. Again collaborating with songwriters and record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814 was the best-selling album in the U.S. in 1990. That year, Janet and the album received nine Grammy nominations. She became the first female to be nominated for Producer of the Year.

 

The 30-minute film Rhythm Nation 1814, which aired on MTV to promote the album, won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Long Form; the film features two aspiring musicians whose lives are disrupted by substance abuse. The video for Miss You Much is part of the film. In the film (but cut off at the end of the video for the song), Janet performs a dance routine with chairs that has become iconic. Click here to watch the minute-long chair routine. American pop star Britney Spears said that her 2000 video for Stronger was inspired by Janet’s dance routine with chairs. During Jackson’s 2001 inaugural MTV Icon tribute, Miss You Much was performed by P!nk, Usher, and Mýa, and P!nk performed the video’s iconic chair routine (watch it here). American rapper 50 Cent mentions Miss You Much in his 2007 song Follow My Lead, with the line, “like Janet Jackson said, I miss you much.”

Missing You by John Waite  Song #191

Modern Love by David Bowie — Song #114

Money For Nothing by Dire Straits  Song #150

Mony Mony (Live) by Billy Idol — Song #401

Billy Idol’s original version of Mony Mony was released in 1981, but it did not enter the American Top 40 chart. In 1987, this live version of the song became an American Top 40 hit, peaking at #1.

Morning Train (Nine To Five) by Sheena Easton — Song #365

Mr. Roboto

Mr. Roboto by Styx

Song #355

This song is on American rock band Styx’s album Kilroy Was Here, named after famous graffiti that were prominent in the 1940s. The phrase accompanied a drawing of a bald-headed man with a big nose peering over a wall, with his fingers clutching the wall. Its origin and meaning are debated, but the drawing and phrase were painted in areas of Europe and Japan that the Allies occupied during World War II. (An engraving at the WWII Memorial in Washington, D.C. may be seen here.) In the final lyrics of Mr. Roboto, the narrator reveals that his true identity is Kilroy, after removing his mask.

 

Kilroy Was Here is a concept album that addresses censorship and tells the story of a dystopian future in which rock music is illegal. The character Kilroy is a famous rock star who is sent to a prison for rock and roll misfits, where the prison employees (and the working class in general) have been replaced with “robotos.” Mr. Roboto tells the story of Kilroy’s escape from prison. He overpowers a roboto prison guard and then wears the robot costume to escape unnoticed, and he is thus, Mr. Roboto. Styx’s 1983 tour was a rock opera stage production based on the album. The audience watched a short film (called Kilroy Was Here) at the beginning of each show. Mr. Roboto features these Japanese lyrics:

 

どうもありがとうミスターロボット

(Dōmo arigatō misutā robotto)

また会う日まで

(Mata au hi made)

どうもありがとうミスターロボット

(Dōmo arigatō misutā robotto)

秘密を知りたい

(Himitsu o shiritai)

 

These lyrics translate into English as

 

“Thank you very much, Mr. Roboto

until the day (we) meet again

Thank you very much, Mr. Roboto.

I want to know your secret.”

 

Styx was part of the progressive hard rock sound of the ‘70s, and the band incorporated more pop and soft rock elements into their music in the ‘80s. Mr. Roboto is the only Styx song to make this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S. Some of Styx’s best-known songs include 1975’s Lady, 1977’s Come Sail Away, 1979’s Babe, and three ‘80s songs that did not make this list: 1981’s The Best of Times, 1981’s Too Much Time on My Hands, and 1983’s Don't Let It End.

My Prerogative by Bobby Brown — Song #390

Nasty by Janet Jackson — Song #290

Need You Tonight / Mediate by INXS  Song #87

Need You Tonight segues into Mediate on INXS’s album Kick, with no break between the songs. Need You Tonight was released separately as a single. The video features both songs together, just like on the album; the video is titled Need You Tonight / Mediate. On this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S, Need You Tonight / Mediate is one of four instances of two merged songs that I felt should not be separated. The others are Soft Cell’s Tainted Love / Where Did Our Love Go at #37, Chicago’s Hard To Say I’m Sorry / Get Away at #221, and The Alan Parsons Project’s Sirius / Eye In the Sky at #302. In each case, the first song segues seamlessly into the second song on the original recording, and the band’s intention is for the songs to be a medley.

Never by Heart — Song #479

Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley — Song #52

Never Tear Us Apart by INXS — Song #188

New Attitude by Patti LaBelle — Song #484

The Next Time I Fall

by Peter Cetera and Amy Grant

Song #409

This song is one of five on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S that feature American singer/songwriter/bassist Peter Cetera; the others are Glory Of Love (#251) and three songs by American rock band Chicago: Hard Habit To Break (#451), You’re the Inspiration (#248), and Hard To Say I’m Sorry / Get Away (#221). The Next Time I Fall was actually written for Peter Cetera to sing with Chicago, of which he was an original member, but the song’s writers were not aware that he had left the group in 1985. He was recording a solo album, and decided to record the song as a duet.

 

Amy Grant was known for Contemporary Christian music at that time, although she’d had a minor hit with Find a Way, which peaked at #29 on the American Top 40 chart in 1985. Before Amy Grant would commit to the duet, she vetted the songwriters, because, according to them, she was devoutly religious. In the ‘90s, she would have her own successful solo career, which includes the hit songs Baby Baby, Every Heartbeat, and That’s What Love Is For. The Next Time I Fall was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, but lost to That’s What Friends Are For by Dionne and Friends (#178 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S).

Nighshift

Nightshift by The Commodores

Song #278

This song is a tribute to R&B singers Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson, both of whom died in 1984, at ages 44 and 49, respectively. The Commodores formed in 1968 during their freshman year at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, when two groups (The Mystics and The Jays) joined together. The name of the group was chosen by randomly selecting a word from the dictionary (a commodore is a high-ranking naval officer). After signing with Motown Records in 1972, The Commodores toured with The Jackson Five (featuring Michael Jackson, who has 14 songs on this list) for over two years. Nightshift is the only song by The Commodores on this list (most of their songs are from the ‘70s) and the group’s only hit song after the 1982 departure of lead vocalist and saxophonist Lionel Richie, who left the group to pursue a solo career. He had originally pitched the song Lady (song #362 on this list) to the group, but they turned it down; when he decided to compose the song later, he wrote it specifically for country music star Kenny Rogers, and in 1980, Lady became a huge hit. Lionel Richie then had another huge hit with Diana Ross in 1981, Endless Love (song #91 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S). Lionel Richie has had a total of 16 American Top 40 hits as a solo artist, and seven of them are on this list: You Are (#471), Truly (#368), Stuck On You (#306), Say You, Say Me (#201), Hello (#179), and All Night Long (All Night) (#68).

 

The Commodores had 15 American Top 40 hits while Lionel Richie was with them, including Easy, Brick House, Three Times a Lady, Sail On, Still, Lady (You Bring Me Up), and Oh No. Lionel Richie was replaced by J.D. Nicholas, who had been a backup singer for Diana Ross and a vocalist for the disco/funk group Heatwave. Nightshift peaked at #3 on the American Top 40 chart in 1985, and was the title track from The Commodores’ 11th studio album. It won a Grammy award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. An extended dance version of the song was a hit on the U.S. Billboard Dance Club Chart (click here). In 2010 The Commodores re-recorded Nightshift with new lyrics as a tribute to Michael Jackson on the first anniversary of his death (click here).

 

Nightshift is an homage to Marvin Gaye, who is known as the “Prince of Motown” and the “Prince of Soul.” Marvin Gaye had 40 hits on the American Top 40 chart in the ‘60s and ‘70s, including his duet with Tammi Terrell Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, I Heard It Through the Grapevine, What’s Going On, Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology), Let’s Get It On, Got to Give It Up, and his ‘80s hit Sexual Healing (song #70 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S). Marvin Gaye has been honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and has been recognized by the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Nightshift is also an homage to soul singer Jackie Wilson, who was nicknamed “Mr. Excitement” because he was a dynamic performer and a major figure of early R&B music. Jackie Wilson had 24 hits on the American Top 40 chart in the ‘50s and ‘60s, including Lonely Teardrops, Doggin’ Around, (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher, and Baby Workout.

Howard Jones

No One Is To Blame by Howard Jones

Song #363

 

This re-recorded “radio-friendly” version of No One Is To Blame was produced by English musician Phil Collins, who also plays drums and provides backing vocals. The original version of this song (click here) is on English synth-pop singer Howard Jones’ second album Dream Into Action. Howard Jones said that fans prefer the first version: “It was originally on the Dream Into Action album, and it’s quite stripped down. And I always thought I could probably get more out of the song. It was suggested I work with Phil, and I’d worked with Phil on the Prince’s Trust concerts here in England. And I’ve been in a band and so I knew Phil. So it was really great working with him. But I’ll tell you what, the fans all like the original version best... I think it’s because it’s less slick and it’s got more emotion in it. Personally, I prefer the Phil Collins version. But I understand why they like the first one. On this tour when we’re playing the song, I play the original version. I don’t do the second one.” On its year-end list of the most popular songs of 1986, Billboard ranked No One Is To Blame #44.

Howard Jones was part of the “Second British Invasion of the United States,” which refers to music acts from the United Kingdom who became popular in the U.S. from mid-1982 to late-1986, largely due to being featured on the American cable music channel MTV. Online music database AllMusic describes Howard Jones as “one of the defining figures of mid-‘80s synth-pop.” Howard Jones has had nine American Top 40 hits, including Things Can Only Get Better (which did not make his list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S, but came close, at #603), New Song, What Is Love?, Life In One Day, You Know I Love You... Don’t You?, and Everlasting Love.

Nothin’ But a Good Time by Poison — Song #270

Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now by Starship — Song #82

Oh Sherrie by Steve Perry — Song #285

On My Own by Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald — Song #279

On the Radio by Donna Summer – Song #388

One by Metallica — Song #194

The One I Love by R.E.M. — Song #259

One Moment In Time by Whitney Houston — Song #258

One More Try by George Michael — Song #304

One Night In Bangkok by Murray Head — Song #426

One Thing Leads To Another by The Fixx — Song #425

Only In My Dreams by Debbie Gibson  Song #410

Only Time Will Tell by Asia  Song #499

Open Arms by Journey — Song #151

Open Your Heart by Madonna — Song #371

Orinoco Flow (Sail Away) by Enya — Song #176

Our House by Madness — Song #132

Belinda Carlisle

Our Lips Are Sealed by The Go-Go’s — Song #373

Out Of Touch by Daryl Hall and John Oates  Song #192

Owner Of a Lonely Heart by Yes — Song #286

P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) by Michael Jackson — Song #347

Panama by Van Halen — Song #62

Papa Don’t Preach by Madonna — Song #235

Paradise City by Guns N’ Roses — Song #96

Stevie Wonder
Part-Time Lover

Part-Time Lover by Stevie Wonder

Song #233

 

This song was the first to reach #1 on four different U.S. Billboard charts: pop, R&B, dance club, and adult contemporary. Part-Time Lover was a worldwide hit, and earned Stevie Wonder (whose real name is Stevland Hardaway Morris) his 42nd of a total of 70 Grammy nominations. For this song, he was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, but lost to Phil Collins for the album No Jacket Required (Sussudio, from that album, is #383 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S); the other nominees were Paul Young for Every Time You Go Away (#238), Glenn Frey for The Heat Is On (#367), and Sting for his album The Dream of the Blue Turtles. Stevie Wonder has won 25 Grammy awards (the most ever won by a solo artist), one of which was for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for Dionne and Friends’ That’s What Friends Are For (#178 on this list), on which he sings and plays harmonica.

 

Stevie Wonder has five more songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S: Ebony and Ivory with Paul McCartney (#397), That’s What Friends Are For (#178), I Just Called To Say I Love You (#80), and other songs on which he plays harmonica: Chaka Khan’s I Feel For You (#153) and Elton John’s I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues (#247). Part-Time Lover features American R&B singer Luther Vandross on backing vocals, as well as American R&B musician Philip Bailey (who has two songs on this list: Easy Lover with Phil Collins at #183, and Let’s Groove with his band Earth, Wind and Fire at #172). When Part-Time Lover reached #1, it had been 22 years and three months since Stevie Wonder’s first single reached #1, which was Fingertips (Part 2) in 1963; at the time, this was the longest span between first and last #1 songs, but three years later, The Beach Boys broke this record when Kokomo reached #1 (song #218 on this list).

 

Stevie Wonder was a pioneer for using electronics and computers to make music when the technology was new. Part-Time Lover is an early example of digital audio recording, which he did at his own Wonderland Studios in Los Angeles, California. He said that two songs by American female group The Supremes (featuring ‘80s pop star Diana Ross) were influences for Part-Time Lover: You Can’t Hurry Love and My World Is Empty Without You. Part-Time Lover is on Stevie Wonder’s 20th studio album In Square Circle; it had been five years since his previous album Hotter Than July (although he contributed to the soundtrack for The Woman in Red in 1984, notably with the #80 song on this list, I Just Called To Say I Love You).

 

During the early-’80s, Stevie Wonder was working on an important non-musical project: getting Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday recognized as a national holiday in the United States. Stevie Wonder is an activist; in 2009, he was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace, and he is an outspoken vegan. In 2013, to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the pop chart, Billboard released a list of the All-Time Top Artists, and Stevie Wonder was ranked #6 (The top five are Mariah Carey, Elvis Presley, Elton John, Madonna, and the Beatles at #1). Billboard ranked Part-Time Lover as the 22nd most popular song of 1985. The song was also released as a special 12” version, which you may listen to here.

Pass the Dutchie by Musical Youth – Song #460

Patience

Patience by Guns N’ Roses

Song #204

 

This song is one of four on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S by Guns N’ Roses. The others are Paradise City (#96), Welcome To the Jungle, (#32), and Sweet Child O’ Mine (#8). Three acoustic guitars are played in Patience, and it was recorded in a single session. Patience is on the band’s second album G N’ R Lies, which was released in November 1988. In 1990, that album received a Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance, but lost to Living Colour for Cult of Personality (#262 on this list); the other nominees were Aerosmith for Love in an Elevator (#395), Mötley Crüe for Dr. Feelgood (#193), and Great White for Once Bitten, Twice Shy (which did not make this list).

 

The song One in a Million on the album G N’ R Lies created controversy and accusations of racism and homophobia, because the words f*ggots and n*ggers are used in the song. Lead vocalist Axl Rose (the only band member who has been in the group since it formed in 1985), defended the song and his use of the word n*ggers by claiming, “It’s a word to describe somebody that is basically a pain in your life, a problem. The word n*gger doesn’t necessarily mean black.” Years later, he admitted that he had used the word as an insult towards black people who had tried to rob him. Regarding the allegations of homophobia, Axl Rose stated that he was “pro-heterosexual,” justifying his stance by referring to his bad experiences with gay men. Axl Rose has been the lead singer of AC/DC since 2016. (Two AC/DC songs are on this list: Back in Black at #11, and You Shook Me All Night Long at #17.)

 

Guns N’ Roses had a dispute with the heavy metal band Tesla about credit for Patience. Tesla guitarist Frank Hannon claimed that the song was a rip-off of a Tesla song: “Let me tell you something: Patience... We were label mates with Gun N’ Roses on Geffen... There’s a demo of a song that we wrote called Better Off Without You. It is Patience note for note.” He later stated, “The song is a great song that they wrote themselves, and it is only the end part that has any similar part to the guitar chords we used. I apologize for any controversy or disrespect I may have projected in my joking around...” In 2017 at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, Guns N’ Roses’ performed Patience with American singer P!nk (click here), and also in 2017 in Houston, Billy Gibbons of American rock band ZZ Top performed the song with the band on stage (click here). ZZ Top had been Guns N’ Roses’ opening act for previous tours. (ZZ Top’s Legs is song #352 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S.)

People Are People by Depeche Mode — Song #421

Def Leppard

Photograph by Def Leppard — Song #99

Physical by Olivia Newton-John — Song #107

Pink Houses by John Cougar Mellencamp — Song #144

Pour Some Sugar On Me by Def Leppard — Song #16

The Power Of Love by Huey Lewis and the News — Song #170

Pride (In the Name Of Love) by U2 — Song #94

Private Dancer by Tina Turner  Song #448

Private Eyes

Private Eyes by Daryl Hall and John Oates

Song #310

 

Daryl Hall and John Oates do not like being referred to as “Hall and Oates.” John Oates said, “There isn’t one album that says ‘Hall and Oates.’ It’s always ‘Daryl Hall and John Oates,’ from the very beginning. People never note that. The idea of ‘Hall and Oates,’ this two-headed monster, this thing, is not anything we’ve ever wanted or liked.” Private Eyes is the third of six #1 songs for Daryl Hall and John Oates on the American Top 40 chart. Their other #1 hits are 1977’s Rich Girl, Kiss On My List (song #226 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S), I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do) (#112), Maneater (#159), and Out Of Touch (#192). Interestingly, their highest-ranking song on this list did not make it to #1: You Make My Dreams (#86) peaked at #5 on the American Top 40 chart. Both Daryl Hall and John Oates sing on USA For Africa’s We Are the World, song #203 on this list.

 

Private Eyes is the title track from their 1981 album, and has a similar rhythm to their previous hit Kiss On My List, with the difference being the handclaps in the chorus of Private Eyes, which made it a fan favorite at live shows, as the audience enjoyed clapping along. The guys write most of the songs they perform. Daryl Hall primarily provides lead vocals, keyboards, and guitar, while John Oates primarily provides lead guitar and backing vocals. Daryl Hall is the more prominent member of the duo, but that doesn’t bother John Oates. He said, “He’s a very flamboyant out-front personality, and that’s his style, and that’s really where a lot of his strength lies. I do what I do and I’m satisfied with it. Maybe that’s another reason we’ve been able to stay together is we don’t get in the other’s way personally.”

 

The duo has employed many backing musicians over the years. On Private Eyes, Larry Fast (who plays synthesizers on Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart, song #33 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S) plays synthesizers; Mickey Curry (who plays drums on Bryan Adam’s Run To You, song #249 on this list) plays drums; and G.E. Smith (who was the musical director for Saturday Night Live from 1985 to 1995) provides lead guitar and the guitar solos. Daryl Hall and John Oates are the best-selling music duo in history. In 2003, they were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. Billboard magazine currently has Daryl Hall and John Oates ranked 18th on its list of the greatest artists of all-time.

The Promise by When In Rome  Song #343

Pump Up the Jam by Technotronic

Song #209

This early example of mainstream hip-hop was a worldwide hit in 1989, and yet another example of a music genre that has roots in ‘80s pop. Pump Up the Jam peaked at #2 on the American Top 40 chart; reached the top 5 in the U.K., Australia, Austria, Germany, Sweden, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the Netherlands; and hit #1 in Iceland, Portugal, Spain, and Belgium. In the U.S., Billboard magazine ranked Pump Up the Jam the 13th most popular song of 1989. The song was originally instrumental and titled Technotronic, which became the official name of this Belgian music project that combined European house music with the burgeoning (but mainly underground) hip-hop movement. The original version of the song included samples from American comedian Eddie Murphy’s 1983 stand-up television special Delirious, but lyrics and vocals replaced those samples before the song was released internationally in September 1989.

 

Manuella “Ya Kid K” Komosi is the lead vocalist, but she was not featured in the song’s video or on the original album cover; instead, Congolese fashion model Felly Kilingi mouthed the lyrics in the video and appeared on the album cover. This controversial choice to use a model in place of the actual singer also happened in 1990 with C&C Music Factory’s Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) and with Snap!’s The Power. Ultimately, Ya Kid K was recognized as the actual singer of the song in 1992 when Pump Up the Jam: The Album was repackaged and re-released featuring her on the cover.

 

Technotronic had two more Top 10 singles in the U.S., which are both on this album: 1990’s Get Up! (Before the Night Is Over) and 1992’s Move This. There are countless versions and remixes of Pump Up the Jam that have been released over the years; the German duo DONS released remixed versions of the song in 1998 and again in 2005 (click here), and the 2005 version became a dance hit again, peaking at #1 on the U.K. dance chart. Pump Up the Jam has been sampled, parodied, and featured quite a bit; most notably by rapper Pitbull in the 2009 song B-Day Suit, and in the 1996 film Space Jam, starring professional American basketball player Michael Jordan with the animated Looney Tunes characters (click here).

Pump Up the Volume

Pump Up the Volume by M|A|R|R|S

Song #293

 

This song launched a major turning point in the popularity of music sampling, British acid house music, American house music, and DJ-oriented tracks, which were all starting to make an impact in 1987 when Pump Up the Volume was released in the U.K. A British interpretation of American house music, Pump Up the Volume, became a pop crossover hit worldwide. Pump Up the Volume isn’t the first hit song to feature sampling, but it is the first mainstream hit song made up almost entirely of samples. Sampling became prominent in the ‘90s, and originated in the ‘80s when hip-hop was a burgeoning movement. The title comes from a lyrical sample from I Know You Got Soul by hip-hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, which had been released a few months prior. Pump Up the Volume was a #1 song on the U.S. Dance Club Play chart; it peaked at #13 on the American Top 40 chart, and it reached #1 in the U.K., Canada, New Zealand, Italy, and the Netherlands.

 

M|A|R|R|S was a collaboration between two British groups: alternative rock band A.R. Kane and electronic group Colourbox. The name M|A|R|R|S is an acronym derived from the first names of the primary artists involved in the project: Martyn Young and Steve Young (from Colourbox), Alex Ayuli and Rudy Tambala (from A.R. Kane), and Russell Smith (an associate A.R. Kane member). DJs Dave Dorrell and Chris “C.J.” Mackintosh also contributed to the song, the latter providing most of the scratch mix effects and samples. Because the two groups didn’t get along or work well together when the M|A|R|R|S project started, they decided to record separate songs in separate studios, and then turn over each song to the other group for additional input. Pump Up the Volume was the song the Colourbox guys started, and Anitina (The First Time I See She Dance) was the song the A.R. Kane guys started. The two songs were released on one record to U.K. dance clubs with no artist credit, and Pump Up the Volume became popular, which prompted its release as a commercially-viable single, after the original version was remixed with even more samples. This remix was edited down to a four-minute version, which received radio airplay. The A.R. Kane guys claimed that their contribution to Pump Up the Volume was mostly eliminated from the song, except for an overdubbed guitar sample. The Colourbox guys later tried to continue to use the name M|A|R|R|S, but the A.R. Kane guys wanted payment before they would surrender the rights to the name, and the Colourbox guys did not want to pay. M|A|R|R|S never recorded another song.

 

There are several different versions of Pump Up the Volume. The U.K. radio edit (click here) is the one in the official video, which features newsreel footage of the early Soviet and American space programs, as well as NASA animation of satellites and other spacecraft. Other versions include the original U.K. 12” version (click here), the U.S. 12” remix (click here), and the Bonus Beats version (click here). A slightly different version of the U.K. radio edit is featured in the 1988 film Bright Lights, Big City starring Michael J. Fox (click here): at the beginning of this version, a female emcee says, “Yo, all you homeboys out in Bronx, this one’s for you”; this version also replaces the Mean Machine sample in the U.K. versions (“Automatic, push-button, remote control; synthetic, genetics, command your soul”) with an altered version (“Rhythmatic, systematic, world control; magnetic, genetic, demands your soul”).

 

Due to legal issues, some of the samples used in the original U.K. version were removed and replaced in the U.S. versions. Here is an alphabetical list (by artist) of the most prominent samples used in the different versions of the song:

 

  • Afrika Bambaataa and James Brown’s Unity (Part Three – Nuclear Wildstyle)

  • The Bar-Kays’ Holy Ghost

  • James Brown’s Funky Drummer and Super Bad (Part One)

  • Tom Browne’s Funkin’ for Jamaica (N.Y.)

  • Choice M.C.’s and Fresh Gordon’s Gordy’s Groove

  • Coldcut’s Say, Kids What Time Is This

  • Criminal Element Orchestra’s Put the Needle to the Record

  • D.ST and Jalal Mansur Nuriddin’s Mean Machine

  • Eric B. & Rakim’s I Know You Got Soul

  • Fab 5 Freddy’s Change Le Beat (featuring Beeside)

  • Fred Wesley and The J.B.’s’ More Peas and Introduction to the J.B.’s

  • Graham Central Station’s The Jam

  • Ofra Haza’s Im Nin’Alu

  • Jimmy Castor Bunch’s It’s Just Begun

  • Kool & the Gang’s Jungle Jazz

  • George Kranz’s Din Daa Daa (Trommeltanz)

  • The Last Poets’ Mean Machine (Chant)

  • Lovebug Starski and The Harlem World Crew’s Positive Life

  • Montana Sextet’s Who Needs Enemies (With a Friend Like You)

  • Nuance’s Loveride, Original Concept’s Pump That Bass

  • Pleasure’s Celebrate the Good Things

  • Pressure Drop’s Rock the House (You’ll Never Be)

  • Public Enemy’s You’re Gonna Get Yours (My 98 Oldsmobile)

  • Run-D.M.C.’s Here We Go (Live at the Funhouse)

  • The Soul Children’s I Don’t Know What This World Is Coming To

  • Stock Aitken Waterman’s Roadblock

  • Trouble Funk’s Drop the Bomb and Pump Me Up

  • Whistle’s (Nothing Serious) Just Buggin’

  • Dunya Yunis’ Abu Zeluf.

Three of those sampled artists have songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S: James Brown’s Living In America is #312; Kool & the Gang’s Celebration and Cherish are songs #54 and #307, respectively; and Run-D.M.C.’s Walk This Way is #45. In 1989, Pump Up the Volume was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance.

Purple Rain by Prince and the Revolution —Song #30

Push It by Salt-N-Pepa — Song #119

Puttin On th Ritz

Puttin’ On the Ritz by Taco

Song #496

 

This song was written in 1927 by legendary composer Irving Berlin, who wrote hundreds of songs, many of which have become enduring themes and anthems, such as White Christmas, Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better), There’s No Business Like Show Business, and God Bless America. The phrase puttin’ on the ritz is slang for “dressing up very fashionably,” which was inspired by the opulent Ritz-Carlton hotel company. Indonesian-born Dutch singer Taco’s version of Puttin’ On the Ritz peaked at #4 on the American Top 40 chart, and Billboard ranked it as the 31st most popular song of 1983. The success of Taco’s version made Irving Berlin the oldest living songwriter to have a song in the Top 10; he was 95 at the time.

 

The original version of the 1982 video shows characters in blackface, which was later edited after being banned by several networks (but not by American channel MTV), although some of the characters in blackface can still be seen in the background of the censored version. (Watch the original uncensored version here.) MTV launched in 1981, and very few videos by black artists were featured until English singer/songwriter David Bowie (who has three songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S: Modern Love at #114, Let’s Dance at #93, and Under Pressure with Queen at #41) famously criticized MTV for its lack of videos featuring black artists in 1983. (Watch the David Bowie interview here.) Why would MTV prominently feature a video with blackface, but barely show any videos by black artists? According to the president of CBS Records, he had to threaten to remove all CBS videos from MTV to convince the network to show Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean (which is the #3 song on this list).

 

In the 1930s, it was fashionable for wealthy white people to go to Harlem, a poor black neighborhood where the jazz scene was hot. The lyrics of Puttin’ On the Ritz have been altered over the decades, but the original lyrics referred to people who pretended to be wealthy by “puttin’ on the ritz” and strolling around Harlem. Puttin’ On the Ritz was featured in a 1930 musical of the same name (click here). Clark Gable performs it in the 1939 film Idiot’s Delight (click here), and this performance is included in the 1974 compilation film That’s Entertainment, which was released by MGM Studios to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Puttin’ On the Ritz was a hit for Fred Astaire in 1946 when he performed it in the movie Blue Skies (click here). (Taco pays homage to Fred Astaire with a tap-dance solo in the middle of his version.) Other artists who have recorded versions of Puttin’ On the Ritz include Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman, Judy Garland, Bing Crosby, and Neil Diamond. The Fred Astaire version is parodied in the 1974 Mel Brooks film Young Frankenstein (click here), performed by Gene Wilder as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein and Peter Boyle as The Monster. Puttin’ On the Ritz contains samples of the classic songs There’s No Business Like Show Business, White Christmas, Alexander’s Ragtime Band, Broadway Melody, and Always.

Queen Of Hearts by Juice Newton — Song #372

Radio Ga Ga by Queen — Song #495

Rapper’s Delight by The Sugarhill Gang — Song #195

Rapture by Blondie — Song #453

Raspberry Beret by Prince and the Revolution — Song #135

Red Red Wine by UB40  Song #136

The Reflex by Duran Duran — Song #419

Relax by Frankie Goes To Hollywood — Song #213

Rhythm Of the Night by Debarge — Song #359

Ride Like the Wind by Christopher Cross — Song #164

Richard Marx Vegan
Right Here Waiting

Right Here Waiting by Richard Marx

Song #59

 

Before recording it himself, Richard Marx offered this song to American megadiva Barbra Streisand. “She called and said, ‘I love this music. This melody is gorgeous, but if I’m going to record it, I’m going to need you to rewrite the lyrics because I’m not going to be right here waiting for anybody!’” he told CBS in a 2013 interview. Smart move, Babs!

 

Right Here Waiting is Richard Marx’s best-selling and most recognizable song. It was a worldwide hit in 1989, topping the charts in the United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand. Billboard magazine ranked it the 11th most popular song of 1989 in the U.S. It was also a hit in Belgium, Sweden, Spain, France, Norway, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, the U.K., and the Netherlands.

 

Richard Marx wrote this song for his first wife, American actress Cynthia Rhodes, who appears in the ‘80s films Flashdance, Staying Alive, and Dirty Dancing. In 2010, he told The Indian Express, “I wrote the song for my wife Cynthia, who was in South Africa shooting for a film. We were not married then, and I wanted to meet her because I had not seen her for a few months. But my visa application was rejected, and when I came back, I wrote this song, which was more of a letter from me to her. It was the fastest song I wrote, in barely 20 minutes... I had to ship the track to her. The song was very personal and was not intended to go public. But my friends pursued me to record it.”

 

Richard Noel Marx is an American pop/rock singer, songwriter, and producer. He plays guitar, keyboards, organ, piano, and bass guitar. He began his musical career singing commercial jingles at the age of five. In 1980, when he was 17 and living in Chicago, Illinois, he sent recordings of his original songs to American singer/songwriter Lionel Richie (who has seven songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S). At that time, Lionel Richie was still with funk/soul band The Commodores, but planning to embark on a solo career. Lionel Richie was so impressed that he called Richard Marx and told him that he thought he had the talent to make it big, and said, “I can't promise you anything, but you should come to L.A.” Of course, he seized that opportunity, met Lionel Richie in 1981, and worked for him as a studio musician, providing backing vocals on some of Lionel Richie’s biggest hits, including All Night Long (All Night) and You Are, songs #68 and #471, respectively, on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S. Richard Marx’s session work was extensive in the ‘80s. He played various instruments and provided backing vocals for many artists. He plays guitar and provides backing vocals on two of American megadiva Whitney Houston’s biggest hits: Saving All My Love For You (#120) and Greatest Love Of All (#138). He also provides backing vocals for Barbra Streisand on her 1987 album One Voice.

 

Since 1987, Richard Marx has released 12 studio albums. His most recent album Limitless was released in 2020. He has also released three live albums and 13 compilation albums. His most recent compilation album Stories to Tell: Greatest Hits and More was released in 2021. Fourteen of his 54 singles were American Top 40 hits, and the first seven of them are his biggest hits. In fact, Richard Marx is the first solo artist to have his first seven singles reach the Top 5 on the American Top 40 chart. He is also the first solo male artist to have four singles from a debut album reach the Top 3. From his first album (self-titled Richard Marx), both Don’t Mean Nothing and Should’ve Known Better peaked at #3, Endless Summer Nights peaked at #2, and Hold On To the Nights (song #311 on this list) was his first #1 song.

 

In 1989, with his second album Repeat Offender, he hit #1 a second time with Satisfied, and a third time with Right Here Waiting. His final hit from the ‘80s was Angelia, which peaked at #4. Only Right Here Waiting and Hold On To the Nights are on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S, but two of his songs came close: Endless Summer Nights is song #565, Don’t Mean Nothing is song #700. His U.S. hits from the ‘90s are Too Late To Say Goodbye, Children Of the Night, Keep Coming Back, Hazard, Take This Heart, Now and Forever, and The Way She Loves Me. He also had an adult contemporary hit with Welsh pop singer Donna Lewis, At the Beginning, for the soundtrack to the 1997 animated film Anastasia.

 

Richard Marx has composed hit songs for other artists, including 1989’s Edge Of a Broken Heart by all-female hard rock band Vixen; 2000’s This I Promise You by American pop group *NSYNC; and three hit songs for Australian country music singer Keith Urban: 2005’s Better Life, 2007’s Everybody, and 2011’s Long Hot Summer. Richard Marx also worked with American country singer Kenny Rogers. In 1984, together they wrote the #1 Country music hit Crazy, and they collaborated on the #1 Adult Contemporary hit What About Me?, which also features American pop singer Kim Carnes and American R&B singer James Ingram. All three of them have songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POP SONGS OF THE 1980S: Kenny Rogers has Lady (#362), which was written and produced by Lionel Richie, Islands In the Stream (#212) with American country singer Dolly Parton, and Coward Of the County (#498); Kim Carnes has Bette Davis Eyes (#57); and James Ingram has Baby, Come To Me (#283) with American R&B singer Patti Austin.

 

Right Here Waiting has been covered by an astonishing number of music artists from all over the world:

  • English instrumental rock group The Shadows in 1990 (click here)

  • German composer/organist Franz Lambert in 1994 (click here)

  • American pop singer Gary Puckett n 1997 (click here)

  • American guitarist Michael Chapdelaine in 1997 (click here)

  • American R&B singer Monica with American R&B quartet 112 in 1998 (click here)

  • Romanian pan flute musician Gheorghe Zamfir in 1999 (click here)

  • Italian singer Paola Turci in 2000 (click here)

  • German electronic/trance artists Full Gainer featuring DJ Scotty in 2002 (click here)

  • Singaporean singer A-do in 2002 (click here)

  • Welsh pop singer Bonnie Tyler in 2003 (click here)

  • German electronic/trance group Lightforce in 2003 (click here)

  • American pop singer Donny Osmond in 2004 (click here)

  • Irish pop singer Chris Doran in 2004 (click here)

  • Chinese-American phenomenon William Hung in 2005 (click here)

  • British electronic musician DJ Kambel in 2005 (click here)

  • American pop singer Clay Aiken in 2006 (click here)

  • Spanish pop singer Julio Iglesias in 2006 (click here)

  • German pop music duo Lemon Ice in 2006 (click here)

  • Filipino-American singer/actor Sam Milby in 2007 (click here)

  • Filipino-American pop singer Martin Nievera in 2007 (click here)

  • American R&B singer Alexander O’Neal in 2008 (click here)

  • Scottish-American singer John Barrowman in 2008 (click here)

  • Swedish electronic music group Ultrabeat in 2008 (click here)

  • American pop singer Barry Manilow in 2008 (click here)

  • Philippine pop singer Sarah Geronimo in 2009 (click here)

  • American Christian metal/electronica band And Then There Were None in 2009 (click here)

  • American/Filipino R&B singers Kris Lawrence featuring Jay-R in 2009 (click here)

  • Korean-American pop singer Nicky Lee in 2010 (click here)

  • Australian pop singer Jason Donovan in 2010 (click here)

  • British pop singer Cliff Richard in 2001 (click here)

  • Jamaican reggae singer Sanchez in 2011 (click here)

  • English actress/singer Twiggy in 2011, featuring duet vocals with Richard Marx himself (click here)

  • American pop musician Kurt Schneider in 2012 (click here)

  • Taiwanese singer Van Fan in 2013 (click here)

  • South Korean guitarist Sungha Jung in 2019 (click here)

 

Right Here Waiting has been featured on many reality competition shows such as American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance. Richard Marx performed the song himself in a 2018 episode of the American dating game show The Bachelorette (watch it here). In a 2018 episode of the fantasy comedy The Good Place, the song is lampooned: The show features a demon who requests “something deeply terrible” to inspire the demons to commit evil acts, and Right Here Waiting starts playing, to which the demon responds, “Ah, yeah, that’s the stuff.” (Watch the clip here.) According to vulture.com, the show’s producers had contacted Richard Marx for his approval. He said, “I emailed back the guy who handles the clearances for my songs and said, ‘Go for it.’ A few minutes later my manager...called me. ‘Dude, what the f***?! You can’t let them use your song that way!!!’ We went back and forth and I said, ‘Look, this song will be 30 years old next year. Tens of millions of people have bought it, sung it, learned to play it on the piano... I’ve had widows of soldiers tell me it was ‘Their Song’ between them and their deceased husband, and on and on. Do you really think some fictional character on a TV show making a joke about it affects that?’” He also said, “I have a huge sense of humor about myself, so I thought, f*** it. Maybe some kid watching this show will hear it and go look it up on YouTube and end up loving it. That song is immensely bigger than a 10-second gag on a sitcom.” Right Here Waiting was also satirized by Christian parody band ApologetiX in the 2016 song Nightmare Waiting.

 

In 1986, Richard Marx won a Grammy as part of the team of musicians who worked on the soundtrack for the film St. Elmo’s Fire when it won Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture. He provides background vocals on English musician John Parr’s St. Elmo’s Fire (Man In Motion), song #133 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S. In 1988, Richard Marx was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance for Don’t Mean Nothing. He lost to American musician Bruce Springsteen for Tunnel of Love (which did not make this list). The other nominees were American musician Bob Seger for Shakedown (#468), American singer Tina Turner for Better Be Good To Me (#490), and English singer Joe Cocker for Unchain My Heart. In 1990, Richard Marx was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for Right Here Waiting, but he lost to American singer/songwriter Michael Bolton for the 1990 hit How Am I Supposed to Live Without You. The other nominees were American musician Billy Joel for We Didn’t Start the Fire (#260), American musician Roy Orbison for You Got It (#334), and American musician Prince’s 11th studio album Batman (in this Grammy category, a song or an entire album is eligible to be nominated). In 2004, Richard Marx won a Song of the Year Grammy for American R&B singer Luther Vandross’ Dance With My Father, which they wrote and composed together. Luther Vandross was too ill to perform the song at the award show (he died the following year); Canadian megadiva Celine Dion sang the song accompanied by Richard Marx on piano (watch the performance here).

 

In 2015, Richard Marx married model/actress/TV host Daisy Fuentes. In 2021, he told the Daily Mail, “I’m in love in the most freeing way I’ve ever experienced. It’s a beautiful thing.” They have a podcast called Tequila Talk w/ Daisy Fuentes & Richard Marx, and they are very active on social media, and often post about their healthy lifestyle as physically active vegans to encourage others to enact positive changes in their lives. Richard Marx has become a Twitter celebrity because of his remarkable ability to slay his trolls. In 2021, he released Stories to Tell: A Memoir, in which he reflects on his life and career, as well as his challenges in the music industry for four decades. He and his wife are very involved in philanthropy and activism, including breast cancer awareness, childhood illness and poverty, and animal rights.

Rio by Duran Duran — Song #382

Rock Me Amadeus by Falco — Song #309

Rock Of Ages by Def Leppard — Song #157

The Clash

Rock the Casbah by The Clash — Song #163

Rock This Town by Stray Cats — Song #257

Rock With You by Michael Jackson — Song #214

Scorpions Vegan

Rock You Like a Hurricane by Scorpions — Song #102

Roll With It by Steve Winwood — Song #454

Rosanna by Toto — Song #297

The Rose by Bette Midler

Song #273

 

American singer and actress Bette Midler recorded this song for the film of the same name, in which she stars. The song plays during the closing credits, but it was not written for the film. The film was released in November 1979, but the song was not released as a single until March 1980, and it peaked at #3 on the American Top 40 chart in July 1980. Billboard ranked The Rose the 10th most popular song of 1980. The film chronicles the life of a drug-addicted, self-destructive rock star in the 1960s, and is loosely based on the life of American singer/songwriter Janis Joplin, who released only three albums before she died of a heroin overdose in 1970. Janis Joplin’s most well-known songs are her cover versions of Erma Franklin’s Piece of My Heart when she was the lead singer of the band Big Brother and the Holding Company, which peaked at #12 on the American Top 40 chart in 1968; and a cover of Kris Kristofferson’s Me and Bobby McGee, which reached #1 in 1971. The film was originally titled Pearl, which was Janis Joplin’s nickname as well as the title of her final album, but her family declined to allow the film’s producers to obtain the rights to her story. Bette Midler clarified in 2008 that her performance was based more on her own career than that of Janis Joplin’s. The Rose was nominated for four Oscars, including Best Actress for Bette Midler, her first lead role in a movie (the winner that year was Sally Field for Norman Rae).

 

The Rose was not nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song; it was deemed ineligible because it was not written specifically for the film. Amanda McBroom (who provides harmony vocals on the song) wrote it around 1978 and performed it in clubs. She said, “The Rose is...just one verse repeated three times. When I finished it, I realized it doesn’t have a bridge or a hook, but I couldn’t think of anything to [add].” She was encouraged to submit the song for inclusion on the film’s soundtrack, but the producers hated it, according to Amanda McBroom: “They thought it was dull and not rock and roll and totally wrong. They put it in the reject box.” Janis Joplin’s former producer loved the song, however, and asked the producers to reconsider. When they again declined, he sent the song to Bette Midler. Amanda McBroom said, “She liked it, lobbied in favor of it; and that’s how it got into the film and changed my life forever.” The version of the song featured in the film is piano and vocals only (click here), which is different from the single version of the song, which has more of a focus on orchestration.

 

Bette Midler’s recording career began with her first album The Divine Miss M in 1972. She won a Grammy award for Best New Artist in 1974. Since 1970, Bette Midler has released 14 studio albums and has won multiple awards. The Rose won a Grammy award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance; the other nominees were Donna Summer for On the Radio (song #388 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S), Irene Cara for Fame (song #431), Olivia Newton-John for Magic, and Barbra Streisand for Woman in Love, neither of which made this list. Bette Milder has another song on this list: Wind Beneath My Wings at #465, from the 1988 film in which she stars, Beaches. Other songs for which Bette Midler is known include 1973’s Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy and 1990’s From a Distance. She has also appeared in many films since her debut in The Rose, including Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Outrageous Fortune, Ruthless People, Big Business, For the Boys (for which she received her second Oscar nomination), Hocus Pocus, and The First Wives Club.

 

Other artists who have covered The Rose include Conway Twitty, whose version hit #1 on the Billboard country chart in 1983 (click here); The Hothouse Flowers and The Dubliners, whose version peaked at #2 in Ireland in 1991 (click here); and Westlife, whose version hit #1 on the U.K. singles chart in 2006 (click here). An anonymous version of The Rose is featured in a humorous scene in the 2004 film Napoleon Dynamite, as the title character performs the song in sign-language with other students in a classroom (click here to watch the film clip).

The Rose

Round and Round by Ratt — Song #264

Run To You by Bryan Adams — Song #249

Kate Bush

Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush — Song #287

Sad Songs (Say So Much) by Elton John — Song #396

The Safety Dance by Men Without Hats — Song #335

Sailing by Christopher Cross — Song #245

Sara by Fleetwood Mac — Song #413

Saving All My Love For You by Whitney Houston — Song #120

Say Say Say by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson — Song #455

Say You, Say Me by Lionel Richie — Song #201

Self Control by Laura Branigan — Song #435

Send Me an Angel by Real Life  Song #469

Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) by Journey — Song #155

Sexual Healing by Marvin Gaye — Song #70

Shake It Up by The Cars — Song #478

Shake You Down by Gregory Abbott — Song #452

Shakedown by Bob Seger — Song #468

She Blinded Me With Science by Thomas Dolby — Song #342

She Bop by Cyndi Lauper — Song #497

She Drives Me Crazy by Fine Young Cannibals — Song #202

She Works Hard For the Money by Donna Summer — Song #208

She’s Like the Wind by Patrick Swayze – Song #308

Shout by Tears For Fears — Song #254

Sign O’ the Times by Prince — Song #486

Sirius / Eye In the Sky by The Alan Parsons Project  Song #302

Sister Christian by Night Ranger — Song #145

Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel — Song #190

Slow Hand by The Pointer Sisters — Song #473

Small Town by John Cougar Mellencamp — Song #329

Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson

Song #217

This song was the seventh single released from Michael Jackson’s 1987 album Bad. Smooth Criminal is featured in Michael Jackson’s 1988 film Moonwalker, which is a collection of long-form videos, primarily songs from the Bad album. The phrase “Annie, are you okay?” is repeated throughout the song. This phrase is used in CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) training courses; as a learning exercise, trainees ask the dummy (traditionally named Annie) this question. The Smooth Criminal video is an homage to the 1953 film The Band Wagon. Michael Jackson is wearing the same costume that Fred Astaire wears in the film (a white suit with a blue-collar shirt underneath and a fedora with a black stripe on it), and the set and dance sequence mimic a scene in the film, in which a bar fight takes place in a 1930s-style lounge (watch the film clip here).

 

The most famous part of the video is the forward lean illusion: Michael Jackson and his dancers appear to defy gravity by moving forward with their feet firmly planted on the ground. In the video, ropes and magnets were used; in live shows harnesses and cables were used, and dancers wore special shoes that were inserted into pegs on the stage floor. Michael Jackson actually patented this technique under U.S. Patent Law in 1993 (the patent expired in 2005).

 

In 2001, American rock band Alien Ant Farm’s version of Smooth Criminal was an American Top 40 hit. In 2012, a version of Smooth Criminal was performed on the American TV show Glee (click here), and that version was also a Top 40 hit. The thumping at the beginning of the song is Michael Jackson’s actual heartbeat, digitally processed through a Synclavier (a digital synthesizer workstation that was popular in the ‘80s).

Michael Jackson has more songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S than anyone else, a total of 14 songs: Billie Jean (#3), Beat It (#31), Thriller (#55), Man In the Mirror (#81), Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ (#241), The Way You Make Me Feel (#171), Rock With You (#214), Smooth Criminal (#217), Human Nature (#315), P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) (#347), Bad (#322), Dirty Diana (#438), his duet Paul McCartney, Say Say Say (#455), and Rockwell’s Somebody’s Watching Me (#402), on which he performs vocals.

Smooth Operator by Sade — Song #215

So Emotional by Whitney Houston — Song #344

Somebody’s Baby by Jackson Browne — Song #400

Somebody’s Watching Me by Rockwell — Song #402

Something About You by Level 42 — Song #423

Southern Cross by Crosby, Stills, & Nash  Song #357

Sowing the Seeds Of Love by Tears For Fears — Song #422

St. Elmo’s Fire (Man In Motion) by John Parr — Song #133

Stand Back by Stevie Nicks — Song #253

Start Me Up by The Rolling Stones — Song #38

Steppin’ Out by Joe Jackson — Song #429

Straight From the Heart by Bryan Adams — Song #354

 

Straight Up by Paula Abdul — Song #222

The Stroke by Billy Squier — Song #206

Stuck On You by Lionel Richie — Song #306

Stuck With You by Huey Lewis and the News — Song #407

Bryan Adams Vegan

Summer of ’69 by Bryan Adams

Song #20

According to Bryan Adams, Summer of ‘69 is about the sexual position, not the year. He said, “A lot of people think it’s about a year, but actually it’s more about making love in the summertime. It uses ‘69’ as a sexual reference.” (Watch him explain in this 2008 clip from American morning TV news program The Early Show here.) He later clarified, “At the end of the song, the lyric says that it’s me and my baby in a 69. You’d have to be pretty thick in the ears if you couldn’t get that lyric.” But according to the song’s co-writer Jim Vallance, a long-time writing partner of Bryan Adams, Summer Of ’69 is not about sex, but rather about nostalgia. Jim Vallance said, “Maybe he was thinking about something completely different...but I was thinking about that amazing summer when I turned 17. There were brand new vinyl albums released by The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Kinks, Janis Joplin, The Band. It was awesome and I’ll never forget it.”

 

The original title of the song was Best Days Of My Life, and according to Jim Vallance, in the original lyrics, “The words ‘summer of ‘69’ only appeared once, right after ‘played it ‘til my fingers bled.’ That was it! The song really was about the summer of 1969! It took us a week or two to fine-tune the lyric. At some point we realized that Summer Of ‘69 was a better title, so we literally ‘shoe-horned’ that phrase into a few more places in the song. At no time do I recall discussing sexual innuendo with Bryan, except for one little thing... When we recorded the demo in my basement, towards the end of the song Bryan sang a little naughty bit: ‘me and my baby in a ‘69.’ We had a laugh about it at the time, and Bryan decided to keep it when he did the final recording a month or two later. Nobody seemed to notice, and that was the end of it until Bryan started introducing the song in concert by saying, ‘This song has nothing to do with the year 1969.’”

 

In a 2013 Rolling Stone interview, Bryan Adams admitted that those summer days he sings about weren’t actually the best days of his life. He was only 10 years old in the summer of 1969; the lyrics of the song were inspired by a memorable summer when he was a teenager. He said, “Yes, I did get my first guitar that summer at the five and dime, and it’s true that I played it until my fingers bled. I did start a band with some of my classmates, and we really did make an effort to get some gigs and make a name for ourselves, but things fell apart and the band broke up.  I actually did meet someone special at the drive-in, and I was sure it was true love, but you know how teenage romances are. It was a very exciting, action-packed summer, but definitely not the best days of my life. The births of my daughters would definitely rank up there as the best days of my life. As would signing my first record deal and playing my first sold out arena show. Then there’s winning my Grammy, my induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, and starting my charitable foundation... [N]othing that happened back then would even make the top ten list of best days of my life now. When I look back now, that summer sure did seem to last forever, but that was all kid’s stuff. Truth be told, Summer Of ‘69 just sounded right lyrically. If I’m really coming clean, I should admit that my buddy Brodie bet me I couldn’t write a hit song with ‘69’ in the title.  Had to prove that hoser wrong, you know what I mean?”

 

Bryan Guy Adams is a Canadian singer/songwriter, guitarist, producer, photographer, philanthropist, environmentalist, vegan, and animal rights activist. Known as “the Groover from Vancouver,” he is one of the most acclaimed singer/songwriters in music history, with a career that has spanned more than four decades. He has toured the world and performed live every year since 1980, often performing over 100 concerts per year. He was born in 1959 in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, to parents from the United Kingdom. About his childhood, Bryan Adams said, “My father was a diplomat in the Canadian foreign service, so we traveled around a lot... I was a polite, well-behaved child. I was also aimless until I discovered music at a young age. After that I would lock the bedroom door, play records, and learn the guitar. Music became my whole life.”

 

Even though Bryan Adams had four #1 songs on the American Top 40 chart, and other songs that were more popular in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Summer Of ‘69 is now widely considered to be his signature song, and arguably his most popular today. After it was released in June 1985 as the fourth single from his fourth album Reckless, Summer Of ‘69 peaked at #5 on the American Top 40 chart, and helped propel Reckless to #1 on the U.S. Billboard album chart in August 1985. Summer Of ‘69 is still a karaoke favorite, and has become Bryan Adam’s most-streamed single, with twice the number of streams on Spotify as his second most-popular song, the 1991 #1 smash Everything I Do (I Do It For You). To determine the 50 best Canadian songs of all time, Canadian online music publication Chart Attack conducted polls of readers, musicians, and music industry professionals in 1996, 2000, and 2005. The only Bryan Adams song to make these lists was Summer Of ’69, ranked 24th in 1996, fourth in 2000, and fifth in 2005.

 

Bryan Adams has been nominated for numerous awards over four decades, including 15 Grammys, winning only once in 1992 for (Everything I Do) I Do It for You—Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves; the song was also nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. At the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards, Summer Of ’69 was nominated for Best Male Video, but lost to Robert Palmer’s Addicted to Love (song #184 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S), but that year Bryan Adams did win Best Stage Performance in a Video for It’s Only Love (which is also from the Reckless album but did not make this list), his duet with Tina Turner, who has four songs on this list: What’s Love Got To Do With It (#77), Private Dancer (#448), We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome) (#477), and Better Be Good To Me (#490).

 

Bryan Adams has been nominated for an astonishing 56 Juno Awards (which honor Canadian music industry achievements) and he has won 18, including Male Vocalist of the Year seven times: in 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1997, and 2000; 1984 Album of the Year for Cuts Like a Knife; 1984 Producer of the Year; 1984 and 1985 Composer of the Year (with Jim Vallance); 1985 Album of the Year for Reckless; Canadian Entertainer of the Year in both 1987 and 1992; 1992 Producer of the Year; 1993 Album of the Year for Waking Up the Neighbors; and Best Songwriter in 1999. He was named Canadian Artist Of the Decade for the ‘80s by the Canadian Recording Industry Association. Bryan Adams was the 2006 inductee into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. In 2010, Bryan Adams received the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award for his part in numerous charitable concerts and campaigns during his career. He has been consistently nominated for Juno awards since the ‘80s; he was nominated for Artist of the Year as recently as 2015, and hosted the 2017 Juno Awards ceremony.

Bryan Adams has had a total of 22 American Top 40 hits, 12 of them in the ‘80s, including Straight From the Heart (song #354 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S), Cuts Like a Knife, This Time, Run To You (song #249 on this list), Somebody, Heaven (his first #1 hit, and song #40 on this list), One Night Love Affair, It’s Only Love (duet with Tina Turner), Heat Of the Night, Hearts On Fire, and Victim Of Love. In the ‘90s, Bryan Adams had 10 American Top 40 hits, including the #1 songs (Everything I Do) I Do It for You, All for Love (with Rod Stewart and Sting), and Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?.

Summer Of ‘69 has been covered by the following artists:

  • American punk rock band MxPx in 1995 (click here)

  • American rock band Bowling For Soup in 2000 (click here)

  • Canadian rock band The Janet Theory in 2001 (click here)

  • English/Irish pop boy band One Direction in 2010 (click here)

  • British pop music act Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers in 2012 (click here)

  • American music project  in Tim Timebomb in 2014 (click here)

  • American rock band Foo Fighters in 2015 (click here)

Bryan Adams performed Summer Of ‘69 during the 2011 Cricket World Cup opening ceremony in Bangladesh (watch it here). In 2018, he performed Summer Of ‘69 as a surprise duet with American pop star Taylor Swift during the final show of her Reputation tour in Toronto, Canada. Taylor Swift says that Summer Of ’69 is one of her favorite songs ever written. She posted the performance on Facebook and wrote, “I didn’t even know Bryan was gonna be in town until last night and I asked him completely last minute if he wanted to come sing!! Pretty evident from the videos (um yes I’m posting another one) that I’m FULLY LOSING IT with excitement, and I can’t thank Bryan Adams enough.” To watch the live duet, as well as some behind-the-scenes footage, click here.

 

Bryan Adams has never married. He has two daughters (Bunny, born in 2011, and Lula, born in 2013) with  Alicia Grimaldi, his former personal assistant who is the trustee and co-founder of his foundation, the Bryan Adams Foundation, which he started in 2006. The foundation “hopes to advance the lives of children through education and to support those in need in a variety of ways via the distribution of grants... It aims particularly to advance education and learning opportunities for children and young people worldwide, believing that an education is the best gift that a child can be given.”

 

In addition to his humanitarian work, Bryan Adams is also an animal rights activist. He says that eliminating all animal products from his diet in 1989 was the best thing he ever did. He says that his life’s motto is, “If you love animals, go vegan.” He frequently discusses being vegan in interviews, and posts about being vegan on Instagram. “I’m not for the killing of any creature, whether it be seals, cows, dogs, anything. So anytime it comes to any kind of animal cruelty, I’m totally against it.” He also talks about going vegan for the planet: “You can’t be a true environmentalist if you eat animals.” In a November 2019 Instagram post, he asserted, “The future is recognizing that killing animals for food is f*cking up the planet.” And he often shares the health benefits of being vegan: “I am always on the move but I have tons of energy because I am plant-based. It is absolutely the best thing you could ever do for yourself. It is a great path.” And he needs that energy: In 2019, this 60-year-old performed 88 live concerts around the world. Bryan Adams released his 14th studio album, Shine a Light, in March 2019. His Christmas EP was released in November 2019. Bryan Adams has three more songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S: Heaven at #40, Run To You at #249, and Straight From the Heart at #354. For a totally awesome extended version of Summer Of ’69, click here.

Summer Of '69

Sunglasses At Night by Corey Hart — Song #185

Super Freak by Rick James — Song #88

Sussudio by Phil Collins — Song #383

Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns N’ Roses — Song #8

Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) by Eurythmics — Song #36

Sweet Love by Anita Baker — Song #420

The Sweetest Taboo by Sade — Song #340

Tainted Love

Tainted Love / Where Did Our Love Go by Soft Cell

Song #37

This song is actually a medley of two songs from 1964, although Tainted Love by itself became one of the biggest hits of the ‘80s. Soft Cell’s Marc Almond said, “We recorded Tainted Love as a long, improvised 12-inch single that at the end morphed into Where Did Our Love Go by the Supremes. It was chopped in two for the 7-inch version, a half for each side. This was the biggest mistake we ever made: Having a cover version on both sides meant we didn’t get any songwriting royalties for the biggest-selling hit of 1981. That must have cost us millions of pounds.”

 

Originally, Tainted Love was released as the A-side of a single, with Where Did Our Love Go as the B-side. Later a version of the two songs together was released (click here), which is an edit of the original extended version (click here) that had been released as a 12-inch single and is almost nine minutes in length. This full version of both songs became very popular in dance clubs, and the edited version of both songs became the preferred version for radio airplay, streaming services, etc.

 

Tainted Love / Where Did Our Love Go is one of five songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S that are actually two-song medleys. The others are Need You Tonight / Mediate by INXS at #87, Hard To Say I’m Sorry / Get Away by Chicago at #221, Baby, I Love Your Way / Freebird Medley by Will To Power at #284, and Sirius / Eye In the Sky by The Alan Parsons Project at #302. In each case, the first song segues into the second song on the original recording. Tainted Love / Where Did Our Love Go is the only one of these six medleys that isn’t featured on the artists’ original album: Soft Cell’s album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret features Tainted Love by itself, and doesn’t even include Where Did Our Love Go as a separate track.

 

Soft Cell is the English synth-pop duo of vocalist/songwriter Marc Almond and electronic musician Dave Ball. Marc Almond called Tainted Love “a mixture of cold electronics with an over-passionate, over-exuberant, slightly out of key vocal.” Dave Ball was a fan of the Northern Soul club scene, a late-‘60s/early-‘70s movement in the United Kingdom that celebrated fast-tempo American R&B music from the ‘60s, and he wanted to do an electronic synth-pop version of an R&B song. American soul singer Gloria Jones’ first version of Tainted Love was released in 1964 (click here) as the B-side to My Bad Boy’s Comin’ Home, a commercially unsuccessful single. A decade later, this version of Tainted Love became popular in the Northern Soul club scene. The song’s sustained popularity prompted Gloria Jones to record a second version of Tainted Love in 1976 (click here). This second version inspired Soft Cell to cover it as an encore at their concerts. Soft Cell’s version features a slower tempo, with synthesizers replacing the more traditional instruments. Marc Almond said, “Dave introduced me to the record and I loved it so much, and we wanted an interesting song for an encore number in our show. Dave loved Northern Soul, and it was a novelty to have an electronic synthesizer band doing a soul song. When we signed with our record company, they wanted to record it. They told us to put bass, guitar, and drums on it, as they said it was too odd. They put it out anyway, and the next thing—It was gathering radio play and then it was #1. I was fascinated that it was originally by Gloria Jones, the girlfriend of Marc Bolan, and I’d always been a T. Rex fan.”

 

Gloria Jones (who was known as the Northern Queen of Soul) was indeed the girlfriend of Marc Bolan, the lead singer of English glam rock band T. Rex, known for 1971’s Get It On, and 1971’s Hot Love. He produced her 1976 version of Tainted Love, and she sang background vocals with T. Rex from 1973 to 1977. Soft Cell’s Marc Almond said, “I was a huge T. Rex fan and had seen Gloria Jones sing with them, so that clinched it. I loved the title and the opening line: ‘Sometimes I feel I’ve got to run away.’ It summed up how I felt. It was 1981 and I was 21, already feeling world weary after some love affairs. I adored the sneering, curled-lip aspect of the song.” Dave Ball said, “When we started on our own version, it felt twisted and strange. That suited us... Tainted Love was a collision of really cheap and really expensive technology.”

 

Blending Tainted Love with the Motown classic Where Did Our Love Go was a spontaneous decision during the recording process. Where Did Our Love Go is the first American Top 40 #1 song by American all-female singing group The Supremes. Billboard ranked it the 10th most popular song of 1964. The Supremes are one of the most commercially-successful acts of Motown Records, an African American-owned record company founded in 1959 that was pivotal in the racial integration of popular music. The Supremes had 12 American Top 40 #1 hits, including 1964’s Baby Love, 1964’s Stop! In the Name Of Love, 1966’s You Can’t Hurry Love, 1966’s You Keep Me Hangin’ On. Kim Wilde’s 1987 cover of You Keep Me Hangin’ On is song #323 on this list. The lead singer of The Supremes was Diana Ross, who has three songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980SEndless Love (a duet with Lionel Richie) at #91, I’m Coming Out at #158, and Upside Down at #242.

 

In the U.K., Tainted Love was a #1 song and the best-selling single of 1981. In the U.S., the song peaked at #8 on the Billboard Top 40, and at the time set a record for the song that spent the most weeks (43) on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in the history of the chart. As a result of spending so much time on the chart, Billboard ranked Tainted Love the 11th most popular song of 1982, even though it spent only three weeks in the Top 10. Tainted Love entered the Hot 100 at #90 in January 1982, appeared to peak at #62 five weeks later, and then fell to #100 the following week. But then it started climbing the chart again. It took 19 weeks for the song to enter the Top 40. Tainted Love became a major worldwide hit. Dave Ball says, “The song was just played in clubs at first, but then it took off, reaching #1 in 17 countries. Girls would chase us in the street. We were living in a dodgy little housing association flat in Leeds and being flown about in Concorde. Then we’d get home to find neighbors had put graffiti over our door and superglued the locks shut.”

 

The original 1981 video for Tainted Love (click here) features Marc Almond in ancient Greek attire singing the song to a little girl. Tainted Love was re-released in 1991 and became a Top 5 hit in the U.K. a second time, seven years after Soft Cell had broken up. (Soft Cell reunited in 2001 until 2003, to tour and record their fifth studio album; Soft Cell reunited again in 2018.) With the 1991 re-release of the song, a new video (click here) was also released, featuring a man who can’t sleep being visited by starry apparitions, while Marc Almond sings in the night sky. In the United States, Tainted Love is Soft Cell’s only hit song, but in the United Kingdom, Soft Cell had nine additional Top 40 songs after Tainted Love, including Bedsitter, Say Hello, Wave Goodbye, Torch, and What!, all from the ‘80s.

Artists who have covered Tainted Love include the following:

  • American punk band The Finger in 1992 (click here)

  • British a cappella group The Flying Pickets in 1992 (click here)

  • American industrial rock band Marilyn Manson in 2001 (click here)

  • German orchestra Palast Orchester in 2002 (click here)

  • American all-female group Pussycat Dolls in 2005 (click here)

  • American a cappella group Straight No Chaser in 2010 (click here)

  • German rock band Scorpions (whose Rock You Like a Hurricane is song #102 on this list) in 2011 (click here)

  • American pop duo Pomplamoose in 2018 (click here).

Tainted Love is sampled most famously in Barbadian singer Rihanna’s 2006 huge hit SOS. It is also sampled in Australian pop duo The Veronicas’ 2007 song Hook Me Up. In 1997, Tainted Love was used in a commercial for Levi Strauss & Co. (click here), directed by American filmmaker Spike Jonze (who would later direct several films, including 1999’s Being John Malkovich, 2002’s Adaptation, 2009’s Where the Wild Things Are, and 2013’s Her).

Tainted Love is sometimes erroneously believed to be about the HIV/AIDS crisis that became an epidemic in the ‘80s, but the song was written in the ‘60s, and the “tainted” love has nothing to do with the disease. Marc Almond, who is a gay man, said, “It was the first time we’d heard about this then-unnamed disease that was affecting gay men in America. It wasn’t an intentional tie-in, but as the record hit the American charts, it took on this other meaning.” In 1985, just a few years after the Soft Cell version of the song was a huge hit, British experimental band Coil recorded a drastically re-arranged, slowed-down version of Tainted Love (click here), meant to be a reflection on the emergent HIV/AIDS epidemic, which is depicted in the video. Marc Almond makes a guest appearance in the Coil video. It’s important to note that in the ‘80s, the subject of AIDS was taboo; U.S. President Ronald Reagan barely mentioned the crisis, even though AIDS was first identified in 1981 (the year Soft Cell’s Tainted Love was released). Reagan did not mention AIDS publicly until 1985 (the year Coil’s Tainted Love was released), even though by then, the epidemic had claimed the lives of over 16,000 people in the U.S. By 1987, over 50,000 U.S. citizens had died due to complications from HIV/AIDS. One of the greatest criticisms of the Reagan administration is its silence about the epidemic. In this milieu, Coil’s version of Tainted Love and the band’s donation of the proceeds to AIDS research are noteworthy; this was the first time in music history that profits were donated to an AIDS-related organization (the Terrence Higgins Trust).

Take It On the Run by REO Speedwagon — Song #156

Take Me Home Tonight by Eddie Money — Song #140

Terri Nunn

Take My Breath Away by Berlin

Song #58

If this dreamy love song by new wave/electropop band Berlin sounds morose to you, that’s because lead singer Terri Nunn was feeling gloomy when she recorded it: “I had no love life at the time. There were no prospects for a relationship. I was alone, sad, and I was going through some personal crises... I was looking for meaning in my life, and I felt like a failure because I had no personal relationship. That’s where I was coming from when I recorded the song. I was singing about the yearning of finding someone who would take my breath away,” she told Deseret News in 2004.

Take My Breath Away peaked at #1 on the American Top 40 chart in 1986, and also hit #1 in Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. It was a hit in Australia, Sweden, South Africa, New Zealand, Canada, France, Finland, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, and West Germany. In 2016, Terri Nunn told news.com.au, “People just have history with that song. It puts people into a zone. I get to watch them go into that zone. If I get to meet them after the show, they want to tell me their story how Take My Breath Away was the soundtrack of something that mattered to them—their first kiss, the first record they bought, their first baby—it’s in their DNA. I know what that’s like. I have songs that changed my life too. They came at a time when I needed them, and I played them over and over. I get it. It’s really cool to have a song like that. It’s an emotional experience.”

 

Take My Breath Away is the love theme from the highest-grossing film of 1986, Top Gun, which stars American actor Tom Cruise as a naval aviator who trains at the U.S. Navy’s Fighter Weapons School at Naval Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California. If the movie seems like military recruitment propaganda to you, that’s because it is. The producers made Top Gun with the cooperation of the U.S. Navy. The Navy got full script approval in exchange for permission to feature the Navy’s aircraft, ships, and bases in the movie. The propaganda was very effective, as evidenced by the major increase in military enlistment following the film’s release.

 

In the film, Take My Breath Away plays during a steamy love scene between Tom Cruise and American actress Kelly McGillis. This scene was not in the original cut of the film, but because test audiences wanted some sex, re-shoots were done, and the scene was added. In fact, the reason the actors are shown in silhouette in the sex scene is because by then, Kelly McGillis had dyed her hair for another role. (Watch the scene from the film here.) Top Gun has sustained in popularity, and is still one of Tom Cruise’s most popular and highest-grossing films. In 2013, it was re-released in IMAX 3D. In 2015, the U.S. Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry, which features films that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

 

The Top Gun soundtrack, which is one of the best-selling movie soundtracks of all time, also features Danger Zone by American musician Kenny Loggins, which is song #182 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S. Two more Kenny Loggins songs (both also from movies) are on this list: I’m Alright from Caddyshack, at #434, and Footloose at #72. American rock band Toto (which has six songs on this list) was originally meant to record Danger Zone, but there was a dispute between Toto’s lawyers and the film’s producers. Canadian musician Bryan Adams (who has four songs on this list) was considered a potential candidate to perform a song for the soundtrack, but he declined because he felt that the film glorified war. The soundtrack includes Top Gun Anthem by German musician Harold Faltermeyer and American guitarist Steve Stevens, which won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance in 1987. The soundtrack also includes Canadian rock band Loverboy’s Heaven In Your Eyes, which peaked at #12 on the American Top 40 chart, but did not make this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S; the only Loverboy song to make this list is Working For the Weekend at #274. The original Top Gun soundtrack also includes songs by American rock band Cheap Trick, American R&B musician Teena Marie, and American pop band Miami Sound Machine, all of whom have one song on this list: The Flame at #272, Lovergirl at #446, and Conga at #223, respectively.

 

Italian composer Giorgio Moroder wrote the music for Danger Zone, and then teamed up with Tom Whitlock to add lyrics, and to compose Take My Breath Away. In 2020, Giorgio Moroder told The Guardian, “My Ferrari was parked behind the studio, with brake trouble. One day a guy, Tom Whitlock, came by and said he was a mechanic and could fix it. Later he said: ‘Oh, and, by the way, I’m also a lyricist. If you ever need some words...’ I was never good at lyrics, so gave him my demos. He wrote words for Danger Zone and Take My Breath Away among others, and the imagery was perfect.” Giorgio Moroder is known as “the father of disco” for his synthesizer work in early electronic dance music, most notably with American singer Donna Summer in the ‘70s. He produced some of her most popular songs during the disco era, including 1975’s Love to Love You Baby, 1977’s I Feel Love, 1978’s Last Dance, 1978’s MacArthur Park, 1979’s Hot Stuff, and 1979’s On the Radio. On the Radio was released in 1979, but peaked at #5 on the American Top 40 chart in 1980, and is the #388 song on this list of THE TOP 500 POP SONGS OF THE 1980S, but it came close, at #541. Donna Summer’s She Works Hard For the Money is song #208.

 

Giorgio Moroder produced the soundtrack for 1980’s American Gigolo, which features American rock band Blondie’s Call Me, song #53 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S. He also composed film soundtracks for 1978’s Midnight Express (for which he won an Oscar for Best Original Score), 1983’s Scarface, 1984’s The NeverEnding Story, and the 1984 restoration of the 1927 film Metropolis. Giorgio Moroder stated that the work he is most proud is Take My Breath Away, for which he won an Oscar for Best Original Song in 1987. He won the same award in 1984 for Flashdance...What a Feeling by American singer Irene Cara, song #26 on this list. In 2020, he told The Guardian, “Take My Breath Away is my favorite work, because of the components and the way Terri sings it. It won best original song at the Golden Globes and my third Oscar. There’s some things you forget but this one felt incredible.” Terri Nunn refused to perform Take My Breath Away at the Academy Awards as part of a medley of the Oscar-nominated songs in 1987. She said that she would perform the song only if she could sing it in its entirety. The song won the Oscar, but wasn’t performed at the show. She says that she still regrets that decision.

 

In 2020, Terri Nunn told The Guardian, “We loved what Giorgio Moroder was doing and begged to work with him, but he was huge. He had worked with David Bowie, Donna Summer, Blondie, and on Flashdance. We could eventually afford him for just one song, No More Words. While we were working with him, he got the contract for Top Gun and wrote Take My Breath Away. He’d tried other singers on it but the film’s producers had turned them all down, so Giorgio suggested us. We hadn’t had big hits, but he could be very convincing and told them: ‘Oh, they’ll be huge.’” No More Words was Berlin’s first American Top 40 hit, peaking at #23 in 1984.

 

Berlin is a new wave band that formed in 1978. Despite its name, Berlin is an American band with no connection to the capital of Germany. The name was chosen to make them seem “exotically European.” The band’s best-known lineup is singer Terri Nunn, bass guitarist and vocalist John Crawford, keyboardist David Diamond, guitarist Ric Olsen, keyboardist Matt Reid, and drummer Rod Learned. Originally called The Toys when formed in 1976, the band made some changes and added Terri Nunn in 1979, but she left the band later that year to pursue an acting career.

 

Terri Nunn appeared in several television shows in the ‘70s and ‘80s, including T.J. Hooker, Lou Grant, Vega$, and James at 15. She is in several movies as well, including the 1978 widely-panned disco comedy Thank God It’s Friday (which also features Donna Summer and her song Last Dance, produced by Giorgio Moroder). In 2020, Terri Nunn told The Guardian, “Before I was in Berlin, I auditioned for the part of Princes Leia in Star Wars. I was 15 but looked 12. Harrison Ford was over 30 but looked 19 or 20 [watch her audition here]. We sat in deckchairs to say our lines. George Lucas, bless him, sent me a letter thanking me and saying: ‘We chose Carrie Fisher, but we’d like to help you.’ He introduced me to Steven Spielberg and all these guys. I was offered the part of Lucy Ewing [on American TV show] Dallas, but the seven-year contract scared me because I really wanted to do music. My mother told me to go with my heart, but my agent was so annoyed with me for turning down Dallas that he dropped me. A year later, I met John Crawford, and joined Berlin.” She said that she was happy that she didn’t get these roles because then her life would not have been about music.

 

After Terri Nunn re-joined Berlin in 1980, Berlin had a minor hit with The Metro, from the album Pleasure Victim. The next single released from the album was the controversial Sex (I’m a...), which was a hit in the U.S. on the Billboard Dance Club and Mainstream Rock charts. Sex (I’m a...) was banned by some radio stations due to its sexually-charged lyrics, which of course, made it a cult hit.

 

In 1984, Berlin finally had an American Top 40 hit with the first song Giorgio Moroder produced for the band, No More Words, from the album Love Life. Almost a year after peaking at #23 on the American Top 40 chart, No More Words was featured in the 1985 film Vision Quest, and was the B-side of Madonna’s huge hit single Crazy For You (song #228 on this list). The video for No More Words, which received a lot of airplay on MTV, is quite elaborate for 1984—a car chase and shoot-out in the vein of the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde, with some interesting twists. No More Words was also a hit on the U.S. Billboard Dance Club and Mainstream Rock charts. Other noteworthy Berlin songs include 1983’s Masquerade, 1984’s Now It’s My Turn, 1987’s You Don’t Know, and 1987’s Like Flames, which were minor hits in the U.S. and other countries.

 

“By 1986 we’d already been together as a band 13 years and were on our third album,” Terri Nunn told The Sunday Express in 2006. “We were approached by the producer Giorgio Moroder... He said, ‘I’ve got this great ballad, it’s going to be the sound of the summer, it’s going to be huge, you have to do it.’ I was happy to go ahead, but John Crawford [Berlin’s founder, primary songwriter, and bass guitarist] hated it. He kept saying it just wasn’t our sound or the right direction for us as a band, and that if we didn’t write it, we shouldn’t record it. But our label [Columbia Records] insisted it wouldn’t hurt us, so we went ahead. The song didn’t go straight to #1. In fact, it couldn’t get any radio play at all, but for some reason, someone at Columbia just wouldn’t give up on it. They pushed it for a month and then it exploded.”

 

Terri Nunn viewed Take My Breath Away as an opportunity for more recognition for the band, but other bandmembers didn’t like it because it wasn’t written or composed by any of them. Berlin was already having problems, and Terri Nunn lamented, “Take My Breath Away came along and that was another reason to fight. John [Crawford] was like, ‘That’s not our song. We have our own songs.’ I said, ‘Who cares? It’s Giorgio Moroder, if he farts, I’ll sing it. I love that guy.’ We fought about that. Then we fought about the fact [that] we had to play it in concerts. John didn’t like that either. We were just fighting to fight.” Berlin disbanded in 1987. “We were just tired,” she said. “We were mad at each other because we’d seen each other for 24 hours a day for the previous six years. Looking back, all we needed was a break, but we were kids, and the record label just wants you to work so they can get their money as long as the gravy train lasts.”

 

Terri Nunn began a solo career in 1991, releasing the album Moment Of Truth. In 1996, she won a legal battle that gave her the rights to the name Berlin, which John Crawford had chosen for the band. She reformed the band with a new lineup, and Berlin began recording and touring in 1997. In 1999, Berlin opened for American all-female rock band The Go-Go’s on their reunion tour. (The Go-Go’s have three songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POP SONGS OF THE 1980S, and lead singer Belinda Carlisle has two solo songs.)

 

In 2004, as part of U.S. music channel VH1’s Bands Reunited series, Terri Nunn reunited with all of the original members of Berlin (watch it here). The band continues to record new material and tour, often with some of the original bandmembers, including John Crawford. In 2020, Berlin released their ninth album, Strings Attached, which includes re-recordings of some of the band’s previous songs, backed by a full orchestra. The new recording of Take My Breath Away features The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and The Slovenia Symphonic Film Orchestra.

 

Take My Breath Away is featured in the following films: 2001’s Ocean’s 11, 2006’s Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (the song plays when the title character sees Canadian-American actress Pamela Anderson on TV for the first time), 2010’s Going the Distance, 2017’s Despicable Me 3, 2017’s Death Note, and 2019’s Corpus Christi. Take My Breath Away is referenced in the 2012 film Captain America: The First Avenger; a character says, “I can think of some folks in Berlin who are about to get very nervous,” and another character responds, “Yep, after they do Take My Breath Away from the Top Gun soundtrack, they’re pretty much through.” Some of the television shows that have featured Take My Breath Away include The King Of Queens in 2002, Dancing With the Stars in 2006, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia in 2007, Glee in 2012 (watch the scene here), and Brooklyn Nine-Nine in 2019. In 1990, the National Basketball Association included Take My Breath Away as part of a tribute to Michael Jordan in an NBA Superstars video documentary.

 

Before Berlin recorded Take My Breath Away, it was offered to American new wave band The Motels, who recorded a demo version, but the Top Gun producers rejected it. The Motels’ demo was released in 2001. A song by The Motels almost made this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980SOnly the Lonely at #634.

 

Take My Breath Away has been covered by many artists representing a wide variety of music genres from all over the world, including the following:

 

  • Italian singer Cristiano Malgioglio in 1986 (click here)

  • French singer/songwriter Gérard Lenorman in 1986 (click here)

  • German singer Ute Berling in 1986 (click here)

  • The London Symphony Orchestra in 1987 (click here)

  • English instrumental rock group The Shadows in 1987 (click here)

  • Taiwanese singer Tracy Huang in 1987 (click here)

  • Turkish singer Neşe Karaböcek in 1987 (click here)

  • Czech singer Petra Janů in 1987 (click here)

  • French pianist Richard Clayderman in 1987 (click here; it’s a medley with British-Irish musician Chris de Burgh’s The Lady In Red, song #361 on this list)

  • Belgian classical guitarist Francis Goya in 1988 (click here)

  • Slovak pianist Peter Breiner in 1990 (click here)

  • British a cappella group The Flying Pickets in 1994 (click here)

  • German electronic dance music DJ Jan Wayne featuring Charlene in Dance in 2002 (click here)

  • U.K. remix artists Soda Club featuring Hannah Alethea in 2002 (click here)

  • American rock band Copeland in 2004 (click here)

  • American singer Jessica Simpson in 2004 (click here; her version was a moderate hit in the U.S., Australia, Belgium, France, and Canada)

  • American rock band My Morning Jacket in 2004 (click here)

  • American singer Diana Ross in 2006 (click here)

  • English musician Gordon Haskell in 2008 (click here)

  • Scottish alternative rock musician Sharleen Spiteri in 2010 (click here)

  • German new age band Gregorian in 2012 (click here)

  • Latin pop group OV7 in 2012 (click here)

  • American rock band We Are Scientists in 2013 (click here)

  • British singer-songwriter Will Young in 2015 (click here)

  • Dutch singer/songwriter Duncan Laurence in 2022 (click here)

In 2013, Take My Breath Away surged in popularity after being sampled in several songs, including American rapper Trick Daddy’s 2012 song They Took My Dog Away, American rapper Juvenile’s 2012 song Take My Breath, American singer Lloyd’s 2012 song Do It Again, and American rapper Brianna Perry’s 2013 song (featuring American singer/songwriter Teyana Taylor) Take My Breath Away.

 

Terri Nunn has remained in the spotlight for more than just music. She hosted a podcast and a radio show. In 2010, she was a guest judge on American reality competition TV show RuPaul’s Drag Race, and mentored the contestants in a singing challenge. Although her acting career didn’t take off, she said that her acting experience helped her with Take My Breath Away: “In acting, I’d learned a lot about channeling emotion. I was alone. I’d been so busy with the band, I’d not had a relationship for four years. So I sang [Take My Breath Away] from a feeling of sadness and longing, and maybe that’s what resonated. It taught me that the most important thing is to sing a song from honesty, whatever it is for me at that time... The thing that people comment on is how sad I sound because I was. I was sad.” Terri Nunn has a Master’s Degree in Applied Human Nutrition. She became a vegetarian at the age of 19, and then became vegan in 2011 after reading The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted by T. Colin Campbell.

 

A sequel to Top Gun was released in 2022. Before the film’s release, when asked if Take My Breath Away would be featured in Top Gun: Maverick, Terri Nunn said, “All we heard was there’s talk that they’re putting it...in the movie, like, he [Tom Cruise] goes into a bar and hears it and says, ‘Oh, I really like that song!’ Which would be very cool!” But it turns out that Take My Breath Away is not featured in the sequel. (The movie does begin with the other huge hit from the original Top Gun, Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins.) Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski explained to CinemaBlend, “Take My Breath Away is an incredible song, but it’s really connected with that relationship (between Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis), you know? So for Maverick...we needed something new.”

 

Terri Nunn told ABC News Radio in 2020, “[Take My Breath Away] was a gift in my life that just keeps on giving. I’m in awe of it because it just keeps going. People never seem to get tired of it. Some things...they take off and they have their own lives. Take My Breath Away...it’s one of those songs, you know?”

Take My Breath Away

Take On Me by A-ha — Song #7

Talk Dirty To Me by Poison  Song #336

Tell It To My Heart by Taylor Dayne — Song #261

That’s All by Genesis — Song #199

That’s What Friends Are For by Dionne and Friends  Song #178

Theme From The Greatest American Hero (Believe It Or Not) by Joey Scarbury

Song #360

 

What TV theme song was a #1 hit in the ‘80s? Not this song. The correct answer is the Miami Vice Theme by Jan Hammer, but when was the last time you heard that song?. The Theme From The Greatest American Hero (Believe It or Not) peaked at #2 in 1981, and unlike most TV theme songs from the ‘80s, it has endured over the decades. This song has been referenced in many TV shows, movies, and advertisements. On a well-known episode of Seinfeld, the character of George sings along to this song as his answering machine message: “Believe it or not, George isn’t at home; please leave a message at the beep. I must be out, or I’d pick up the phone. Where could I be? Believe it or not, I’m not home” (watch the clip here). The song has also been featured on American TV shows Family Guy, Heroes, My Name Is Earl, and Gilmore Girls. It is also featured in Michael Moore’s 2004 documentary Fahrenheit 9/11.

 

The show The Greatest American Hero aired on the U.S. television network ABC for three seasons from 1981 to 1983 (45 episodes total). Aliens give the main character, high school teacher Ralph Hinkley, a red-and-black superhero costume that gives him special powers, and they tell him that it’s his destiny to use the powers to save the world. But he loses the instruction booklet that the aliens give him, and then spends the series trying to figure out how to use the magical powers that come with the costume. The main character was originally named Ralph Hinkley, but shortly before the show debuted, John Hinkley attempted to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan, prompting the show’s producers to squelch all mentions of the main character’s name on the show (loud noises and various tricks were used to muffle the name in episodes that had already been completed), and then the character’s name was changed to Ralph Henley for the rest of the series. The superhero powers were somewhat general, but were similar enough to the abilities of Superman that Warner Bros. (the owner of DC Comics) filed a lawsuit against ABC, which was ultimately dismissed. This song is American singer Joey Scarbury’s only hit.

These Dreams by Heart — Song #143

Thriller by Michael Jackson — Song #55

The Tide Is High by Blondie — Song #252

Time (Clock Of the Heart) by Culture Club  Song #472

Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper — Song #10

Kajagoogoo Vegan

Too Shy by Kajagoogoo

Song #325

 

This song by British new wave band Kajagoogoo was a worldwide hit: It was a #1 song in the U.K. and a hit in Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherlands, and many other countries. It peaked at #5 on the American Top 40 chart. Too Shy is Kajagoogoo’s only hit in the U.S., but in the U.K. the band had several hits, including Ooh to be Ah and Big Apple. Originally called Art Nouveau, the four-man band formed in 1978, but was unsuccessful until lead singer Christopher Hamill (who goes by the stage name Limahl, an anagram of Hamill) joined the group in 1981. The name of the group was then changed to Kajagoogoo, which was derived by phonetically writing out the baby noises ga ga goo goo, with a minor alteration.

 

Soon after Limahl joined the group, he met Nick Rhodes, the keyboardist of English new wave group Duran Duran, who agreed to co-produce the band’s first single Too Shy. After the success of Too Shy, the other band members fired Limahl because they said it was difficult to work with him. Limahl said that the others were envious of him and said, “I was sacked for making them a success.” Limahl had a solo hit in 1984 with The NeverEnding Story from the fantasy film of the same name. The NeverEnding Story peaked at #17 on the American Top 40 chart. Limahl rejoined Kajagoogoo in 2008; the band has been touring Europe ever since. In 2006, Too Shy was ranked #27 on American television network VH1’s 100 Greatest Songs of the ‘80s, and #9 on VH1’s 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the ‘80s.

Total Eclipse Of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler — Song #33

Touch Of Grey by Grateful Dead — Song #231

Train In Vain (Stand By Me) by The Cash – Song #393

True by Spandau Ballet — Song #67

True Colors by Cyndi Lauper — Song #210

True Faith by New Order — Song #461

Truly by Lionel Richie  Song #368

Twilight Zone by Golden Earring — Song #331

U Got the Look

U Got the Look by Prince

Song #399

 

In this song, Prince uses his sped-up “Camille” voice. Do you know about Prince’s abandoned 1986 Camille project and album? Camille was the pseudonym for a feminine alter ego whose identity Prince assumed by disguising his vocals in an artificially pitched-up style, and amplifying his androgynous look. His goal was to release a self-titled Camille album without revealing his identity or his involvement with the project. For unclear reasons, after he completed enough songs for the album, Prince abandoned the project a few weeks before the album’s planned release (although it is speculated that Warner Bros. did not want to release an album without Prince’s image on the cover, or without acknowledging that the album was his work). Some original copies of the album exist, but it is unknown how many (some surfaced for auction in 2016). Several tracks that were originally intended for Camille were included on Prince’s 1987 double album Sign O’ the Times, including U Got the Look. (Prince actually wanted to release a triple album called Crystal Ball, but Warner Bros. forced him to trim the number of songs down to a double album, which became Sign O’ the Times.) Prince later invoked Camille as the guiding force for another abandoned project, The Black Album (apparently, Prince had a spiritual epiphany and became convinced that the project was evil, and he blamed the album on an entity named Spooky Electric, which was a demonic alter-ego brought to life by Camille!). If you ever wondered why Prince sounds the way he does in U Got the Look, that’s his Camille voice.

 

An uncredited Sheena Easton provides vocals on U Got the Look, and Sheila E. plays drums. (Scottish singer Sheena Easton’s Morning Train is song #365 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S, and American singer and percussionist Sheila E.’s The Glamorous Life, which Prince wrote for her, is #447.) This was Sheena Easton’s first performance on a Prince song. She would later record The Arms Of Orion with Prince, for the 1989 film Batman, which peaked at #36 on the American Top 40 chart.

 

Prince didn’t write U Got the Look as a duet, but two years earlier, he had given Sheena Easton the very lascivious song Sugar Walls, which peaked at #9 on the American Top 40 chart in 1984, but did not make this list of 500. Sugar Walls is credited to Alexander Nevermind, a pseudonym used by Prince. He asked her to come in to sing backup on U Got the Look. While she was singing, Prince realized that the song worked better as a duet. Sheena Easton said, “U Got the Look was a track he’d basically finished for himself. It was just a Prince track. He said, ‘Do you want to just come in and sing some backup vocals on the choruses?’ So I went into the studio, and because I didn’t know I was singing against him... I was all over the place, and he said he kind of liked that, so he expanded it into a duet.” The music video was incorporated into the Sign O’ the Times concert film. In 1988, U Got the Look was nominated for a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal, Duo or Group, but lost to I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) by Aretha Franklin and George Michael (song #281 on list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S). U Got the Look was also nominated for Best R&B Song, but lost to Lean On Me by Club Nouveau (song #522).

Brian May Vegan

Under Pressure by David Bowie and Queen — Song #41

Up Where We Belong by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes — Song #229

Upside Down by Diana Ross — Song #242

Uptown Girl by Billy Joel — Song #207

Vacation

Vacation by The Go-Go’s

Song #418

 

This song peaked at #8 on the American Top 40 chart in August 1982. American new wave all-female band The Go-Go’s have two other songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S: We Got the Beat at #227 and Our Lips Are Sealed at #373. Lead singer Belinda Carlisle has two solo songs on this list: Heaven Is a Place On Earth at #66 and Mad About You at #470.

 

In the iconic video for Vacation, The Go-Go’s are water skiing, but it is blatantly obvious that they are not actually in the water. Guitarist Jane Wiedlin said that they were actually drunk toward the end of the shoot, when they were on the water skis: “Well, we were at the A&M sound stage, and it was a big budget video, because of course by that time we were really popular, because it was our second album, and our first album had sold like, I don’t know, over two million copies or something. So we had a lot of money to do the video, which was the first time for us, because the other videos we just spent, like $5,000 on or something. And it was fun, but it was a way of working that we weren’t accustomed to. And I remember it being a really long day, like a 14-hour day, and about eight hours into it we all were getting really bored and restless, so we started drinking. But by the time they actually shot the scene where we’re on the water skis, skiing one-handed and waving and stuff, we were all really looped. It’s so funny, if you look at us, look in our eyes in those parts, we’re all like cross-eyed drunk. Go-Go’s always made fun of everything. So of course, we were making fun of the whole thing all along. And we were very resistant to following orders, or to acting, because we weren’t actors. But yeah, even thought we had become America’s sweethearts, we were still basically punk rockers at heart.”

 

Vacation has been featured in many films, including 2004’s Fahrenheit 9/11, 2011’s Jack and Jill, and 2003’s From Justin To Kelly, and on the TV shows The Simpsons, Scrubs, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Rugrats, Scream Queens, and Glee.

Venus by Bananarama  Song #351

A View To a Kill by Duran Duran — Song #411

Voices Carry by ’Til Tuesday — Song #292

Waiting For a Girl Like You by Foreigner — Song #240

Waiting For a Star To Fall by Boy Meets Girl — Song #321

Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go by Wham! — Song #42

Walk Like an Egyptian by The Bangles — Song #75

Walk Of Life by Dire Straits – Song #381
 

Walk This Way by Run-D.M.C.  Song #45

Walking On Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves — Song #129

Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ by Michael Jackson — Song #241

Wanted Dead Or Alive by Bon Jovi — Song #110
 

The Way It Is by Bruce Hornsby and the Range — Song #154

The Way You Make Me Feel by Michael Jackson — Song #171

We Are the World by USA For Africa

Song #203

 

Artists who perform on this song who also have songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S are Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, Kim Carnes, Bruce Springsteen, Daryl Hall and John Oates, Kenny Loggins, Tina Turner, Diana Ross, Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, The Pointer Sisters, Dionne Warwick, James Ingram, Billy Joel, Bette Midler, Huey Lewis and the News, Steve Perry, Kenny Rogers, Sheila E., Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, Lindsey Buckingham (of Fleetwood Mac), and Smokey Robinson.

We Belong by Pat Benatar — Song #123

Grace Slick

We Built This City by Starship

Song #266

This song is one of the most hated songs in music history. It has appeared on several “worst song of the ‘80s” and “worst song of all time” lists. A 2011 Rolling Stone magazine online readers’ poll named We Built This City as the worst song of the ‘80s, and the margin was so large that, according to Rolling Stone, it could be the biggest blow-out victory in the history of the Rolling Stone readers’ poll. In August 2016, GQ magazine (Gentlemen’s Quarterly) named We Built This City the worst song of all time, referring to it as “the most detested song in human history.” Blender magazine (which is now defunct) in conjunction with American television network VH1, ranked this song as the worst on a 2004 special The 50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs...Ever. Blender stated, “It purports to be anti-commercial but reeks of ‘80s corporate-rock commercialism. It’s a real reflection of what practically killed rock music in the ‘80s.” In compiling the data for my list of the Top 500 Pop Songs Of the 1980s, one category was backlash, which factored in the negative reaction to songs over the years, and no song on this list was affected more than We Built This City—despite the fact that it was a #1 song on the American Top 40 chart, and was ranked as the #14 song of 1985 by Billboard magazine.

 

We Built This City was the first single the band released under the name Starship. The band originally formed as Jefferson Airplane, whose first album Jefferson Airplane Takes Off was released in 1966. Known for psychedelic rock, Jefferson Airplane’s most well-known hits are White Rabbit and Somebody To Love. In the early ‘70s, they began recording as Jefferson Starship after some members left the group. In 1984, legal issues forced the band to become Starship, with Grace Slick as the only original member. When this song hit #1, Grace Slick was the oldest woman to sing lead vocal (shared with Mickey Thomas) on a #1 single in the U.S. Grace Slick was 46 at the time; this title was previously held by Tina Turner, who was 45 when What’s Love Got To Do With It (song #77 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S) hit #1, and was later claimed by Cher, who was 52 when her 1998 song Believe hit #1.

 

Which city is the one referred to in We Built This City? The spoken-word interlude mentions the Golden Gate Bridge and “the city by the bay” (and the band’s hometown was San Francisco). But then there is a reference to “the city that rocks,” (which Cleveland, Ohio is known as), and then “the city that never sleeps” (which New York is known as). And what about the line in the song “Marconi plays the mamba”? The mamba? The mamba is the deadliest snake in the world. Is it “mambo”? The mambo is a Cuban dance style. Marconi is Guglielmo Marconi, an Italian credited as the inventor of radio (who was awarded the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics for his contribution to wireless telegraphy), but in the song, is he playing the mambo or the mamba? Neither makes any sense! We Built This City was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group, losing to Money for Nothing by Dire Straits (#150 on this list).

We Built This City

We Didn’t Start the Fire by Billy Joel

Song #260

 

Did this song play a role in the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989, which eventually led to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991? When asked if he deliberately intended to chronicle the Cold War with We Didn’t Start the Fire, Billy Joel responded, “It was just my luck that the Soviet Union decided to close down shop [soon after putting out the song].” The Cold War was a state of geopolitical tension between the Soviet Union and the United States (along with its NATO allies and others) after World War II. (The term cold means that while there wasn’t widespread warfare, there were major regional wars known as proxy wars; the Cold War lasted over 40 years, and ended in December 1991 when the eighth and final leader of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev resigned, granting self-governance to the Republics of the Soviet Union, and handing over power to Russian President Boris Yeltsin.)

 

Billy Joel wrote the lyrics of this song first, before the music, which he rarely does, and he said that is why the melody is bad: “It’s one of the worst melodies I’ve ever written. I kind of like the lyric though... If you take the melody by itself, terrible, like a dentist drill... It’s like a mosquito buzzing around your head.” He also said that this song is a nightmare to perform at concerts because he has a difficult time remembering all of the lyrics. Blender magazine (which is now defunct) in conjunction with VH1, ranked this song as the 41st worst of all-time on a 2004 special The 50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs...Ever; Blender compared We Didn’t Start the Fire to a term paper scribbled the night before it’s due. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Record of the Year, but lost to Bette Midler’s Wind Beneath My Wings (song #465 on this list oTHE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S); the other nominees were She Drives Me Crazy by Fine Young Cannibals (#202), The Living Years by Mike + The Mechanics (#146), and The End of the Innocence by Don Henley (which did not make this list of 500, but came close at #619). Billy Joel has three more songs on this list: Uptown Girl (#207), It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me (#220), and The Longest Time (#333).

We Didn’t Start the Fire hit #1 on the American Top 40 chart in December 1989. Beginning with Harry Truman and ending with the cola wars (yes, that’s Coke versus Pepsi), the lyrics are a dizzying stream-of-consciousness list of 118 items (including real people and events, with several references to the Cold War) starting in 1949 (the year Billy Joel was born) through 1989, when the song was released. Billy Joel got the idea for the song because he had just turned 40, and a young person remarked that nothing had happened in the ‘50s, which prompted him to think about the problems that his generation inherited. Here is a list of all 118 references, including years and explanations, courtesy of Wikipedia:

“The following list includes longer, more descriptive names for clarity. Events from a variety of contexts—such as popular entertainment, foreign affairs, and sports—are intermingled, giving an impression of the culture of the time as a whole. There are 118 events listed in the song.

 

1948

  • Harry Truman wins the presidential election following a partial term after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

  • Doris Day debuts in film in Romance on the High Seas, featuring the popular song It’s Magic.

1949

  • Red China: The Communist Party of China wins the Chinese Civil War, establishing the People’s Republic of China.

  • Johnnie Ray: The rock and roll progenitor signs his first recording contract with Okeh Records.

  • South Pacific, the award-winning musical, opens on Broadway.

  • Walter Winchell, an influential radio and newspaper journalist, begins to denounce Communism as the main threat facing America.

  • Joe DiMaggio signs a record-breaking $100,000 contract with the New York Yankees.

1950

  • Joe McCarthy, a U.S. Senator, gains national attention and begins his anti-Communism crusade with his Lincoln Day speech.

  • Richard Nixon is first elected to the United States Senate.

  • Studebaker, a popular automobile company, begins its financial downfall.

  • Television becomes widespread throughout Europe and North America.

  • North Korea invades South Korea, beginning the Korean War.

  • Marilyn Monroe appears in five films, including The Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve.

1951

  • The Rosenbergs, married couple Ethel and Julius, are convicted of espionage.

  • H-Bomb: The United States is developing the hydrogen bomb as a nuclear weapon.

  • Sugar Ray Robinson, a champion boxer, defeats Jake LaMotta in the “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.”

  • Panmunjom, a border village in Korea, is the location of truce talks between the parties of the Korean War.

  • Marlon Brando is nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in A Streetcar Named Desire.

  • The King and I, the musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein, opens on Broadway.

  • The Catcher in the Rye, a controversial novel by J. D. Salinger, is published.

1952

  • Dwight D. Eisenhower is elected as President of the United States in a landslide.

  • Vaccine for polio is successfully developed by Jonas Salk.

  • England’s got a new queen: Princess Elizabeth succeeds to the throne as Queen Elizabeth II and is crowned the following year.

  • Rocky Marciano defeats Jersey Joe Walcott, becoming the world heavyweight boxing champion.

  • Liberace first broadcasts The Liberace Show.

  • Santayana goodbye: George Santayana, philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist, dies.

1953

  • Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union, dies.

  • Georgy Maksimilianovich Malenkov succeeds Stalin for six months.

  • Gamal Abdel Nasser acts as the true power behind the new Egyptian nation as Muhammad Naguib’s minister of the interior.

  • Sergei Prokofiev, a popular Russian composer, dies.

  • Winthrop Rockefeller and his wife Jievute are involved in a highly publicized divorce.

  • Roy Campanella, a baseball catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers, receives the National League’s Most Valuable Player award for the second time.

  • Communist bloc: The East German uprising of 1953 is crushed by the Volkspolizei and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany.

1954

  • Roy Cohn resigns as Joseph McCarthy’s chief counsel and enters private practice.

  • Juan Perón is at the height of his power as President of Argentina before a coup the following year.

  • Arturo Toscanini is at the height of his fame as a conductor, performing regularly with the NBC Symphony Orchestra on U.S. national radio.

  • Dacron is an early artificial fiber made from the same plastic as polyester.

  • Dien Bien Phu falls: The fall of this French/Vietnamese camp to Việt Minh forces leads to the creation of North Vietnam and South Vietnam as separate states.

  • Rock Around the Clock is a hit single released by Bill Haley & His Comets.

1955

  • Albert Einstein dies at the age of 76.

  • James Dean achieves success with East of Eden and Rebel Without a Cause, but dies in a car accident at the age of 24.

  • Brooklyn’s got a winning team: The Brooklyn Dodgers win their first and only World Series before their move to Los Angeles.

  • Davy Crockett, a Disney television miniseries about the legendary frontiersman, was a huge hit and inspired a short-lived “coonskin cap” craze.

  • Peter Pan, recently featured in a Disney animated feature, is also the subject of a stage musical starring Mary Martin, broadcast on NBC live and in color.

  • Elvis Presley signs with RCA Records on November 21, beginning his pop career, going on to earn a reputation as the “King of Rock and Roll.”

  • Disneyland opens as Walt Disney’s first theme park.

1956

  • Brigitte Bardot appears in her first mainstream film And God Created Woman and establishes an international reputation as a French “sex kitten.”

  • Budapest, is the site of the Hungarian Revolution.

  • Alabama is the site of the Montgomery bus boycott, one of the pivotal events in the civil rights movement.

  • Nikita Khrushchev makes his famous Secret Speech denouncing Stalin’s “cult of personality.”

  • Princess Grace Kelly appears in her last film High Society, and marries Prince Rainier III of Monaco.

  • Peyton Place, the best-selling socially scandalous novel by Grace Metalious, is published.

  • Trouble in the Suez: The Suez Crisis increases as Egypt nationalizes the Suez Canal.

1957

  • Little Rock, Arkansas is the site of a standoff between Governor Orval Faubus and President Eisenhower over the Little Rock Nine attending a previously whites-only high school.

  • Boris Pasternak, the Russian author, publishes his novel Doctor Zhivago.

  • Mickey Mantle is in the middle of his career as a famous New York Yankees outfielder and American League All-Star for the sixth year in a row.

  • Jack Kerouac publishes his novel On the Road, a defining work of the Beat Generation.

  • Sputnik becomes the first artificial satellite, launched by the Soviet Union, marking the start of the space race.

  • Chou En-Lai, Premier of the People’s Republic of China, survives an assassination attempt.

  • The Bridge on the River Kwai is released, and receives seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

1958

  • Lebanon is engulfed in a political and religious crisis that eventually involves U.S. intervention.

  • Charles de Gaulle is elected first president of the French Fifth Republic following the Algerian Crisis.

  • California baseball begins as the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants move to California.

  • Starkweather homicide: Charles Starkweather killed eleven people, mostly in Lincoln, Nebraska.

  • Children of Thalidomide: Many pregnant women taking the drug Thalidomide had children born with congenital birth defects.

1959

  • Buddy Holly dies in a plane crash with Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. Joel prefaces the lyric with a Holly signature vocal hiccup: “Uh-huh, uh-huh.”

  • Ben-Hur starring Charlton Heston, wins eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

  • Space Monkey: A rhesus macaque and a squirrel monkey become the first two animals to be launched by NASA into space and survive

  • Mafia leaders are convicted in the Apalachin meeting trial, confirming it as a nationwide conspiracy.

  • Hula hoops sales reach 100 million as the latest toy fad.

  • Fidel Castro comes to power after a revolution in Cuba.

  • Edsel is a no-go: Production of this much-advertised car marque ends after only three years due to poor sales.

1960

  • An American U-2 spy plane piloted by Francis Gary Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union, causing the U-2 Crisis of 1960.

  • Syngman Rhee is rescued by the CIA after being forced to resign as leader of South Korea.

  • Payola, illegal payments for radio broadcasting of songs, are publicized by Dick Clark’s testimony before Congress and Alan Freed’s public disgrace.

  • Massachusetts senator John F. Kennedy beats Vice President Richard Nixon in a presidential election.

  • Chubby Checker popularizes the dance The Twist with his cover of the song of the same name.

  • Alfred Hitchcock thriller Psycho becomes a landmark in graphic violence and cinema sensationalism. The screeching violins heard at this point in the song are a trademark of the film’s soundtrack.

  • Belgians in the Congo: The Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville) was declared independent of Belgium.

1961

  • Ernest Hemingway commits suicide after a long battle with depression.

  • Adolf Eichmann, a “most wanted” Nazi war criminal, is convicted in Israel for crimes against humanity during World War II.

  • Stranger in a Strange Land, written by Robert A. Heinlein, is a breakthrough best-seller with themes of sexual freedom and liberation.

  • Bob Dylan is signed to Columbia Records after a New York Times review by critic Robert Shelton.

  • Berlin’s separation into West Berlin and East Berlin is cemented when the Berlin Wall is erected.

  • The Bay of Pigs Invasion, an attempt by United States-trained Cuban exiles to invade Cuba and overthrow Fidel Castro, fails.

1962

  • Academy Award-winning film Lawrence of Arabia, starring Peter O’Toole, premiered.

  • British Beatlemania: The Beatles become the world’s most famous rock band.

  • Ole Miss: Southern segregationists rioted over the enrollment of black student James Meredith at the University of Mississippi.

  • John Glenn flew the first American manned orbital mission termed “Friendship 7.”

  • Liston beats Patterson: Sonny Liston knocks out rarely defeated Floyd Patterson in the first round of the world heavyweight boxing championship.

1963

  • Cardinal Giovanni Montini is elected to the papacy and takes the papal name of Pope Paul VI.

  • Malcolm X incites controversy, including his statement that “the chickens have come home to roost” about John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

  • British politician sex: British Secretary of State for War John Profumo has a scandalous sexual relationship with showgirl Christine Keeler.

  • JFK blown away: President John F. Kennedy is assassinated.

1965

  • Birth control: Griswold v. Connecticut challenges a Connecticut law prohibiting contraceptives.

  • Ho Chi Minh: Operation Rolling Thunder begins, with the first U.S. combat troops deployed in South Vietnam in opposition to North Vietnamese president Ho Chi Minh.

1968

  • Richard Nixon back again: After losing to Kennedy in 1960, former Vice President Nixon is elected President in 1968.

1969

  • Moonshot: Apollo 11 becomes the first successful human landing on the Moon.

  • Woodstock music festival attracts 400,000, as a touchstone of the counterculture movement.

1972–1975

  • Watergate: The Republican burglary of the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters at the Watergate office complex leads to the resignation of President Nixon.

  • Punk rock: Raucous bands such as The Ramones and the Sex Pistols are founded.

1976–1977 (Note: an item from 1976 is put between items from 1977 to make the song scan better.)

  • Menachem Begin becomes Prime Minister of Israel and negotiates the Camp David Accords with Egypt’s president.

  • Former California Governor Ronald Reagan begins a presidential campaign in 1976, and is elected in 1980.

  • Palestine: The ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict escalates as Israelis establish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

  • Terror on the airline: Numerous aircraft hijackings take place, including an Air France flight diverted to Uganda, where the plane was stormed in Operation Entebbe.

1979

  • Ayatollahs in Iran: The Iranian Revolution replaces secular Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi with Islamic rule by ayatollahs led by former exile Ruhollah Khomeini.

  • Russians in Afghanistan: The Soviet Union deploys its army into Afghanistan, beginning a decade-long war.

1981–1982

  • The television game show Wheel of Fortune hires Pat Sajak and Vanna White before becoming widely popular in syndication.

1983

  • ​Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space by flying aboard Challenger on the STS-7 shuttle mission.

  • Heavy metal suicide: Heavy metal songs such as Suicide Solution and Better By You, Better Than Me are blamed by the families of fans who committed suicide.

  • Foreign debts: Persistent trade and budget deficits lead to numerous countries defaulting on their debts.

  • Homeless vets: Veterans of the Vietnam War, including many disabled in the service, are becoming homeless and impoverished.

  • AIDS: The immunodeficiency disease caused by HIV emerges as a pandemic.

1984

  • Crack cocaine became a widely used form of the drug in impoverished inner cities.

  • Bernie Goetz shoots four young black men he claimed were trying to mug him on a New York City subway, but is cleared of attempted murder charges.

 

1988

  • Hypodermics on the shore: Medical waste was found washed up on the beaches of Long Island, New Jersey, and Connecticut after being illegally dumped at sea.

1989

  • China’s under martial law: China declares martial law, resulting in the use of military forces against protesting students to end the Tiananmen protests.

  • Rock-and-roller cola wars: Soft drink giants Coke and Pepsi each run marketing campaigns using rock & roll and popular music stars.”

 

Wikipedia: We Didn’t Start the Fire

Belinda Carlisle

We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome) by Tina Turner – Song #477

 

We Got the Beat by The Go-Go’s — Song #227

Welcome To the Jungle by Guns N’ Roses — Song #32

We’re Not Gonna Take It by Twisted Sister — Song #219

West End Girls by Pet Shop Boys — Song #142

What Have You Done For Me Lately by Janet Jackson — Song #403

What I Am by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians — Song #445

What You Need by INXS — Song #482

What’s Love Got To Do With It by Tina Turner — Song #77

When Doves Cry by Prince and the Revolution — Song #28

When I Think Of You

When I Think of You by Janet Jackson

Song #316

 

This song is the third of six singles released from the album Control, all of which were American Top 40 hits. Three of those songs are on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S: In addition to When I Think Of YouNasty is #290 and What Have You Done For Me Lately is #403; thee other three songs are Control, Let’s Wait Awhile, and The Pleasure Principle. Janet Jackson also has a song from her Rhythm Nation album on this list: Miss You Much at #466. When I Think Of You is Janet Jackson’s first of 10 #1 songs on the American Top 40 chart. After When I Think of You reached #1, it made Janet and her brother Michael Jackson the first (and to date, the only) siblings to have solo #1 songs on the American Top 40 chart.

 

When I Think of You hit #1 in October 1986 when Janet Jackson was 20 years old, making her the youngest solo artist to have a #1 song on the American Top 40 chart since Stevie Wonder hit #1 in 1963 with Fingertips (Part 2) when he was 13. Tiffany surpassed her the next year with I Think We’re Alone Now, song #348 on this list, which hit #1 when she was 16; Debbie Gibson also surpassed Janet Jackson when, in 1988, Foolish Beat (song #680) hit #1 when she was 17. Janet Jackson had released two albums prior to Control: Janet Jackson in 1982 when she was 16, and Dream Street in 1984 when she was 18, both overseen by her father and manager Joseph Jackson, and both widely considered bubblegum pop. Janet Jackson declared, “I just wanted to get out of the house, get out from under my father, which was one of the most difficult things that I had to do.” She teamed up with songwriters and producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who wrote When I Think Of You with Janet Jackson and also produced it. The duo helped Janet blend R&B and pop into a unique, radio-friendly sound. Before Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis teamed up with Janet, they wrote most of the songs for the Control album for Sharon Bryant of Atlantic Starr (whose Secret Lovers did not this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S, but came close, at #512), but Sharon Bryant wasn’t interested.

 

The video for When I Think Of You was directed by Julien Temple, who directed videos for Depeche Mode, David Bowie, The Kinks, Whitney Houston, Billy Idol, Duran Duran, Culture Club, Stray Cats, Bryan Adams, The Rolling Stones, and Tom Petty (all of whom have songs on this list). The video for When I Think Of You was choreographed by a then-unknown Paula Abdul, who also appears in the video. Paula Abdul broke out as a major star in 1989; she has two songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S: Straight Up at #222 and Cold Hearted at #428. The video for When I Think Of You is based on an edit of the dance remix version of the song (click here), instead of the album version (click here).

 

Billboard magazine stated that Janet Jackson’s “accessible sound and spectacularly choreographed videos were irresistible to MTV, and helped the channel evolve from rock programming to a broader, beat-driven musical mix.” Control was nominated for a Grammy for Album of the Year, but lost to Paul Simon’s Graceland (which features You Can Call Me Al, #294 on this list); the other nominees were Peter Gabriel’s So (which features In Your Eyes, song #379, and Sledgehammer, song #190); Steve Winwood’s Back In the High Life (which features Higher Love, song #130); and Barbra Streisand’s The Broadway Album. Billboard ranked When I Think Of You the #32 most popular song of 1986.

Where the Streets Have No Name by U2 — Song #137

Whip It by Devo — Song #98

White Wedding by Billy Idol  Song #160

White Wedding was originally released as a single in 1982, but it did not enter the American Top 40 chart. In 1983, it was re-released and became an American Top 40 hit, peaking at #36. It was again re-released in 1985, but failed to enter the American Top 40 chart.

Who Can It Be Now? by Men At Work — Song #211

Why Can’t This Be Love? by Van Halen  Song #303

Wild Thing by Tone Lōc — Song #386

Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Midler — Song #465

The Winner Takes It All by ABBA — Song #173

Wishing Well by Terence Trent D’Arby

Song #345

 

American singer Terence Trent D’Arby (whose real name is Terence Trent Howard) said that his 1987 album Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D’Arby was the most important album since the Beatles’ 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Wishing Well, which hit #1 on the American Top 40 chart, is on that album. The album won a Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, and Terence Trent D’Arby was nominated for a Grammy for Best New Artist, but lost to Jody Watley (whose Looking For a New Love is song #356 on this list). Three other songs from this album were released as singles: Sign Your Name (which didn’t make this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S, but it came close, at #552), Dance Little Sister, and If You Let Me Stay, which were minor hits in the U.S., but were bigger hits in the U.K.

 

Terence Trent D’Arby (who later changed his name to Sananda Francesco Maitreya) trained as a boxer, and won a Florida lightweight championship in 1980; he enlisted in the U.S. Army, but was formally court-martialed and dishonorably discharged after going absent without leave in 1983. In 1999, Terence Trent D’Arby filled in as lead singer for Australian rock band INXS at the official opening of Sydney Stadium in Australia (click here), a major venue for the Sydney Olympics. INXS lead singer Michael Hutchence (who committed suicide in 1997), was a friend of his. (INXS has three songs on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S: Need You Tonight / Mediate at #87, Never Tear Us Apart at #188, and What You Need at #482.)

 

The line “I want to be your midnight rambler” in Wishing Well is a reference to the Rolling Stones’ 1969 song Midnight Rambler. The Rolling Stones have one song on this list: Start Me Up at #38. Terence Trent D’Arby said, “I am a disciple of The Stones and their fathers, the Chicago blues. I see my work and most of rock as an evolution of the roots and branches of the urban blues.”

With Or Without You by U2 — Song #22

John Lennon

Woman by John Lennon – Song #366

Word Up! by Cameo — Song #234

Working For the Weekend

Working For the Weekend by Loverboy

Song #274

This song by Canadian rock band Loverboy only got as high as #29 on the American Top 40 chart in 1982, but it has become the band’s most memorable song, despite the fact that Loverboy had several other songs that charted much higher. This is a great example of how the song rankings on this list more accurately reflect the popularity of the songs from the ‘80s through today, rather than how popular the songs were in the ‘80s alone. Although Working For the Weekend is the only Loverboy song to make this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S, the band had nine American Top 40  hits, including Turn Me Loose; Hot Girls in Love; This Could Be the Night from the Top Gun soundtrack, Heaven in Your Eyes; and Lovin’ Every Minute of It. The latter four songs all peaked at #12 or higher on the American Top 40 chart. Loverboy’s second most memorable song is Turn Me Loose, which peaked at only #35! The Lovin’ Every Minute of It video opens with a scene in which a hotel lounge band performs a terrible version of Working For the Weekend. The Working For the Weekend video opens with the band members discussing (for almost two and a half minutes) how they came up with the title of the band’s second album Get Lucky.

 

Loverboy formed in 1979 with original members Mike Reno (lead vocals), Paul Dean (guitar), Doug Johnson (keyboards), Scott Smith (bass), and Matt Frenette (drums). The band maintained its original lineup until 2000, when Scott Smith died in a sailing accident, and Ken “Spider” Sinnaeve replaced him in 2001; he and the four original band members are still touring, which Loverboy has done consistently since 1979. The band’s name came from an advertisement for American cosmetics brand CoverGirl in a fashion magazine, which then became “Coverboy” and ultimately “Loverboy.” The band’s 1980 self-titled debut album was a huge hit in Canada as well as in the U.S. In 1980, Loverboy toured with Cheap Trick, ZZ Top, Kansas, and Def Leppard, and when Get Lucky was released in 1981 (which includes Working For the Weekend), the band was the opening act for Journey (whose 1981 song Don’t Stop Believin’ is the #1 song on this list). In 1982, Loverboy received six Juno Awards (Canada’s highest award for music), a record that still stands today: Loverboy won Group of the Year, Album of the Year, and Single of the Year—but it was for Turn Me Loose rather than Working For the Weekend.

 

Working for the Weekend has been used in many movies, television shows, and video games throughout the years. Most famously, it plays during a very popular 1990 Saturday Night Live sketch in which Patrick Swayze and Chris Farley compete in a dance-off to become Chippendales dancers (watch it here). The song is also featured in the 2001 film Zoolander (watch the clip here). The song has also appeared in the films Ladder 49, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Herbie: Fully Loaded, and Click. TV Shows that have used Working For the Weekend include Scrubs, Family Guy, Regular Show, and Aqua Teen Hunger Force. In 2014, the song was featured in a RadioShack Super Bowl commercial. In 2013, Will Ferrell, as his Anchorman character Ron Burgundy (from the 2004 film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy), performed a parody of Working for the Weekend on the American talk show Conan, saying that he had been asked by Toronto Mayor Rob Ford to cover the song as part of his campaign for re-election; the altered lyrics parody Rob Ford’s substance abuse scandal (click here).

Annie Lennox Vegan

Would I Lie To You? by Eurythmics — Song #491

You Are by Lionel Richie — Song #471

You Better, You Bet by The Who — Song #487

You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon  Song #294

You Dropped a Bomb On Me by The Gap Band — Song #433

You Give Love a Bad Name by Bon Jovi — Song #24

You Got It by Roy Orbison — Song #334

You Got It (The Right Stuff) by New Kids On the Block — Song #449

(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!) by Beastie Boys — Song #148

You Keep Me Hangin’ On by Kim Wilde

Song #323

This song has been recorded by several artists, and each version sounds completely different. English pop singer Kim Wilde’s 1987 version of this song is the third to hit the American Top 40 chart. In 1966, American female singing group The Supremes hit #1 with their version (click here), which became the group’s eighth of nine #1 songs. In 2004, The Supremes’ version of You Keep Me Hangin’ On was ranked #339 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. American rock band Vanilla Fudge covered You Keep Me Hangin’ On a year after The Supremes, and this psychedelic rock version (click here) peaked at #6 on the American Top 40 chart. A similar arrangement was used in a version​ by British rock singer Rod Stewart on his 1977 album Foot Loose & Fancy Free (click here). Vanilla Fudge’s drummer Carmine Appice, who was Rod Stewart’s drummer at that time, said, “When I was with Rod, he always said to me, ‘I wish I had done that song. It’s such a great song the way you guys did it.’ I said to Rod, ‘Why don’t you do it? I’m in the band. It will give you an excuse to do it.’ So we put together an arrangement a little different than The Fudge. It was similar in that it was slowed-down, but the whole middle section was a piano and orchestra thing. When we did it live, it came out tremendous. When I was on stage in 1977, playing You Keep Me Hangin’ On with Rod, I was thinking how 10 years before I was on arena stages playing it with The Fudge.” Rod Stewart has one song on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S: Young Turks at #265.

 

Aretha Franklin (who has two songs on this list: Freeway Of Love at #376, and her duet with George Michael, I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me), at #281) recorded a version of You Keep Me Hangin’ On for her 2014 album Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics (click here). Kim Wilde’s 1987 version of You Keep Me Hangin’ On hit #1 on the American Top 40 chart. Her version was another complete re-working of the original Motown version by The Supremes. The song became the biggest hit of Kim Wilde’s career, reaching #2 in the U.K., where she had eight Top 10 hits; in the U.S., she had only two hit songs (the other is Kids In America, #432 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S). In the U.S., Kim Wilde’s version of You Keep Me Hangin’ On was ranked by Billboard as the #34 song of 1987. In 2006, Kim Wilde recorded yet another version of this song (click here) with the German singer Nena (Nena’s band, also called Nena, has a song on this list: 99 Luftballoons at #243). Even country music singer Reba McEntire did a dance version of this song in 1996 (click here), which is her only dance hit, reaching #2 on Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.

You Make My Dreams by Daryl Hall and John Oates — Song #86

You Might Think by The Cars — Song #378

You Shook Me All Night Long by AC/DC — Song #17

You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) by Dead Or Alive — Song #239

Young Turks by Rod Stewart — Song #265

Your Love by The Outfield — Song #200

You’re the Inspiration by Chicago — Song #248

50 FAVORITE SONGS FROM THE 80S

(picked and ranked by 80spopanimals)

 

Songs in pink have descriptions below.

  1. Don’t You (Forget About Me) Simple Minds

  2. Time After Time – Cyndi Lauper

  3. Fast Car Tracy Chapman

  4. Fools Gold [12-inch version] – The Stone Roses

  5. Drama! [krucial mix] – Erasure

  6. Love’s Recovery – Indigo Girls

  7. Verdi Cries – 10,000 Maniacs

  8. Digging Your Scene [U.S. mix] – The Blow Monkeys

  9. Closer To Fine Indigo Girls

  10. Photograph Def Leppard

  11. Like the Weather – 10,000 Maniacs

  12. Just Like Heaven The Cure

  13. Storms In Africa – Enya

  14. Stand Back Stevie Nicks

  15. Love Is a Stranger – Eurythmics

  16. I Ran (So Far Away)  A Flock Of Seagulls

  17. Run Runaway – Slade

  18. The Dream (Hold On To Your Dream) – Irene Cara

  19. Head On – The Jesus and Mary Chain

  20. Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)  Enya

  21. Heat Of the Moment  Asia

  22. Borderline [U.S. remix]  Madonna

  23. Twilight Zone  Golden Earring

  24. Elephant Stone – The Stone Roses

  25. Sit Down – James

  26. Little Jeannie  Elton John

  27. Made Of Stone – The Stone Roses

  28. On Your Shore – Enya

  29. Let’s Go Crazy – Prince and the Revolution

  30. Total Eclipse Of the Heart – Bonnie Tyler

  31. Tonight Is What It Means To Be Young – Fire, Inc.

  32. Greatest Love Of All – Whitney Houston

  33. Close To Me – The Cure

  34. Lover Come Back To Me [extended remix] – Dead Or Alive

  35. On the Loose – Saga

  36. (Forever) Live and Die – Orchestral Manoeuvres In the Dark

  37. All Through the Night – Cyndi Lauper

  38. The Winner Takes It All – ABBA

  39. Something About You [Shep Pettibone remix] – Level 42

  40. Space Age Love Song – A Flock Of Seagulls

  41. World Leader Pretend – R.E.M.

  42. Forever Young – Alphaville

  43. Talkin’ Bout a Revolution – Tracy Chapman

  44. You Happy Puppet – 10,000 Maniacs

  45. Like a Prayer [Immaculate Collection version] – Madonna

  46. Head Over Heels – Tears For Fears

  47. Fool In the Rain – Led Zeppelin

  48. Alphabet St. – Prince

  49. Just the Two Of Us – Grover Washington Jr.

  50. Evening Falls – Enya

80s music
80s music

Fools Gold by The Stone Roses 

 

This synthesis of rock, funk, and dance music by British rock band The Stone Roses was released in 1989. It was the band’s first song to reach the top 10 of the U.K. Singles Chart, peaking at #8. Although Fools Gold was a non-album single, it is included on their later compilation albums. It was a hit in the U.S. on the Alternative Airplay chart and Dance Club Songs chart. The band was part of the Madchester music scene (in Manchester, England), which combined alternative rock and psychedelic rock with electronic dance music and rave music. The full version of Fools Gold is almost 10 minutes long. For the full version of the song, click here. For the official video, with an edited version of the song, click here.

Storms In Africa by Enya

 

This song appears on Irish musician Enya’s 1988 album Watermark, which contains elements of Celtic, ambient, and new age music. Enya is one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Watermark also features Orinoco Flow (Sail Away), which is song #176 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S. Storms In Africa features African hand drums and rototoms, and Gaelic lyrics. For the original version, click here. For the rearranged “pop” version with English lyrics, titled Storms in Africa (Part II), click here.

80s music
80s music

Run Runaway by Slade

 

British rock band Slade was hugely popular in the United Kingdom, especially during the glam rock period of the 1970s, but this song was the band’s only major hit in the United States. In 1984, Run Runaway peaked at #20 on the American Top 40 chart. In the U.K., Slade had several hits and six #1 songs, including 1973’s Cum On Feel the Noize, which was a U.S. hit for American heavy metal band Quiet Riot in 1983. Quiet Riot’s version (click here) is song #198 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S. Slade has influenced many music artists, with a unique sound that uses elements of heavy metal, glam rock, progressive rock, and pop.

Digging Your Scene by The Blow Monkeys

 

This is one of the very first songs about HIV/AIDS (although the video, which was in heavy rotation on MTV in 1986, gives no indication about the song’s subject matter). Digging Your Scene is English new wave band The Blow Monkeys’ most successful song, and was a hit in Australia, Germany, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and the U.K. It peaked at #14 on the American Top 40 chart, and was a hit on U.S. Dance Club Songs chart as well. The U.S. single version is a little longer than the original version, and adds more from the female backup singers (click here). For the extended dance version of the song, click here.

80s music
80s music

Lover Come Back To Me by Dead Or Alive 

 

This 1985 song was a hit in the U.K., Germany, Switzerland, Australia, Italy, Ireland, Japan, and South Africa, but it was not a hit in the U.S., although it was a moderate hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. This song is featured on Dead Or Alive’s second album Youthquake, which also features the group’s biggest hit You Spin Me Round (Like a Record), song #239 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S. Dead Or Alive was an English dance/pop band formed in 1980 in Liverpool, England. Lead vocalist and songwriter Pete Burns was the only original member who stayed with the group until it disbanded, after his death in 2016. For the official video/single version, click here. There are two extended versions: click here and here.

Space Age Love Song by A Flock Of Seagulls 

 

This song, which peaked at #30 on the American Top 40 chart in 1982, was the follow-up to the huge hit I Ran (So Far Away), song #124 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S. The original video features English new wave/synth-pop band A Flock Of Seagulls performing in the fog, but another video (click here) features scenes from the 1991 film Career Opportunities starring Jennifer Connelly. In 2018, all four original members of A Flock Of Seagulls reunited for the first time since 1984, and recorded an orchestral version of Space Age Love Song with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra (click here).

80s music
80s music

Talkin’ Bout a Revolution by Tracy Chapman 

This song by singer/songwriter/guitarist Tracy Chapman is from her self-titled debut album, released in 1988. The song was an international hit but wasn’t much of a hit in the U.S. The mostly-acoustic album (which also features Fast Car, song #18 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S) garnered widespread critical acclaim, received seven Grammy nominations (winning three: Best New Artist, Best Contemporary Folk Album, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for Fast Car), and is one of the best-selling albums of all time. For the official video of Talkin’ Bout a Revolution (which is a live version), click here.

Alphabet St. by Prince

This song is not one of Prince’s most memorable, but it was a Top 10 hit on the American Top 40 chart in 1988. It was the first single and the only Top 40 hit from Prince’s 10th studio album Lovesexy. The original video (click here) features an edited version of the song that was released as single, and is only two minutes and 30 seconds long. The video contains hidden messages. For example, after the end of the first verse (“She’ll want me from my head to my feet”), a very quick message flashes: “Don’t buy The Black Album. I’m sorry.” (For the details, see the description for U Got the Look, song #399 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S.) The album version of Alphabet St. (click here) is more than twice as long as the edited version, and features lots of samples and a rap by American singer/dancer Cat Glover.

80s music
80s music

Hooked On Classics by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

 

Yes, a medley of classical favorites set to a dance beat was a Top 10 hit on the American Top 40 chart in 1981! Billboard ranked it the 56th biggest hit of that year. Composers featured include Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, J.S. Bach, and many more. The five-minute song (listed as Hooked On Classics Parts 1 & 2 on the album) is part of a series created by British musical arranger Louis Clark (who arranged music for English rock band Electric Light Orchestra) with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, one of the most prestigious ensembles in the U.K. The series was criticized by classical music purists, but its popularity revived interest in classical music.

 

What follows is a list of all the pieces featured in the song.

 

  • 0:01 Piano Concerto no. 1 in B flat minor Op 23 – Tchaikovsky

  • 0:09 Flight of the Bumblebee – Rimsky-Korsakov

  • 0:36 Symphony no. 40 in G minor – Mozart

  • 0:57 Rhapsody in Blue – Gershwin

  • 1:20 Karelia Suite Op 11 – Sibelius

  • 1:40 Symphony no. 5 in C minor Op 67 – Beethoven

  • 1:55 Toccata in D minor – J.S. Bach

  • 2:16 Serenade no. 13 in G major – ‘Eine Kleine Nachtmusik’ – Mozart

  • 2:23 Symphony no. 9 in D minor Op 125 – Beethoven

  • 2:38 Overture to William Tell – Rossini

  • 2:54 Voi che sapete (aria), Le nozze di Figaro – Mozart

  • 3:08 Romeo & Juliet Fantasy Overture – Tchaikovsky

  • 3:23 Trumpet Voluntary – Clarke

  • 3:36 Hallelujah Chorus – Handel

  • 3:43 Piano Concerto in A minor Op 16 – Grieg

  • 4:13 March of the Toreadors – Bizet

  • 4:28 1812 Overture – Tchaikovsky.

On the Loose by Saga

 

This song peaked at #26 on the American Top 40 chart in 1983, after the music video had been in heavy rotation on MTV. Canadian band Saga opened for British rock band Jethro Tull on their North American tour in 1982. While On the Loose is Saga’s only hit song in the U.S., the band was very popular in Germany from 1981 to 2014, where most of the band’s 22 studio albums were successful. Saga was also popular in Puerto Rico; the band played its final concert in 2018 in San Juan.

80s music
80s music

A Life Of Illusion by Joe Walsh

This song by American singer/songwriter Joe Walsh is featured on his fifth solo studio album There Goes the Neighborhood. Joe Walsh plays guitar, piano, keyboards, and bass guitar. He was a member of American rock band the Eagles from 1976 to 1980, when the band broke up. He rejoined the Eagles when the band got back together in 1994. The Eagles’ I Can’t Tell You Why (on which Joe Walsh performs synthesizer, electric organ, and electric piano) is song #427 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S. A Life Of Illusion, which features mariachi trumpets, was released as a single in 1981. It was a #1 song on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, and peaked at #34 on the American Top 40 chart.

19 by Paul Hardcastle 

If you live in the U.S., and you don’t remember 19 by Paul Hardcastle, that may be because it was censored. This song is about the Vietnam War and the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that is common among Vietnam veterans. It features samples from news reports and interviews with soldiers from the 1982 television documentary Vietnam Requiem. The title comes from the documentary’s claim that the average age of an American combat soldier in the Vietnam War was 19, as compared to 26 in World War II. Worldwide, 19 was a huge hit. It was a #1 song in 13 countries, but it peaked at only #15 on the American Top 40 chart. British musician Paul Hardcastle claimed that the reason the song was not more popular in the U.S. is because in 1985, several U.S. radio stations claimed that the song was anti-American, and refused to play it. The refusal of radio stations to play it of course negatively impacted its chart position and popularity. There are many different versions of the song that incorporate different portions of the documentary: original versionsingle version (original video)extended versionalbum versiondestruction mix“final story” version, and even an all-version mash-up.

80s music
80s music

Candy by Cameo

This song was the follow-up to American funk group Cameo’s huge hit Word Up! (song #234 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S). Candy peaked at #21 on the American Top 40 chart in 1987. For the original video/single version, click here. For the full version, click here. Legendary jazz saxophonist Michael Brecker is featured on this song. Candy has been sampled in many songs, most notably American rapper 2Pac’s 1996 song All Bout U, and American singer Mariah Carey’s huge hit from 2001 Loverboy, on which Cameo performs with her.

Because I Got It Like That by Jungle Brothers 

 

This song by American hip-hop trio Jungle Brothers is from their 1988 debut album Straight Out the Jungle. They are considered pioneers of the fusion of jazz, hip-hop, and house music. For the official video/album version, click here. For the remix, click here.

80s music
80s music

No More Words by Berlin 

This song is American new wave band Berlin’s first American Top 40 hit. Berlin would later score one of the biggest hits of the ‘80s: Take My Breath Away (song #58 on this list oTHE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S) from the 1986 film Top Gun. Almost a year after peaking at #23 on the American Top 40 chart, No More Words was featured in the 1985 film Vision Quest, and was the B-side of Madonna’s hit single Crazy For You (song #228). The video for No More Words is quite elaborate for 1984, and received a lot of airplay on MTV—a car chase and shoot-out à la Bonnie and Clyde with some interesting twists.

Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah) by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts 

 

This song is a remake of the 1973 song by British glam rock singer Gary Glitter (click here for his version). Joan Jett’s version is on her debut self-titled solo album, which was released in 1980. Joan Jett and her producer had financed the album independently, but no major record label was interested in releasing it! They decided to fund the album pressing themselves, and then sold copies directly to concert-goers and record stores. Because the album sold well, Boardwalk Records became interested, and the album was re-released as Bad Reputation in 1981. Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah) didn’t become a hit until 1982, after Joan Jett scored one of the biggest hits of the ‘80s: I Love Rock ‘n Roll, song #25 on this list of THE TOP 500 POPULAR SONGS OF THE 1980S. Joan Jett & the Blackhearts also have I Hate Myself For Loving You at #385 on the list. Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah) peaked at #20 on the American Top 40 chart.

80S PLAYLIST
80S PLAYLIST
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