Music of the 1980's
Musical Growth
The 80’s incorporated music videos with artists' songs. The music video’s could be viewed on MTV, one of the most popular entertainment channels at that time. The idea of mixing video with music was a big hit and made many albums some of the all-time best sellers. There was a continuation of the electronic sound, however, disco began to lose its popularity as pop began to take the leading role in music.
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Musicians of the 1980's
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson was known for being the "King of Pop." Jackson changed the pop music into something that people could enjoy and also changed "popular culture," what we know as pop culture, today. When Jackson released his album Thriller in 1982, he changed the way pop music sounded. Jackson mixed funk music with pop music to created a new sound. The people loved his new sound and "could not get enough of it." However, Michael Jackson died from cardiac failure due to an overdose in June of 2009. |
Prince
Prince Rogers Nelson is known for being a music producer, songwriter, and a singer in the 1980's. Prince released many albums, including Prince (1979), Dirty Mind (1980), and Controversy (1981), which have created controversy due to their "fusion of religious and sexual themes."Prince then found international fame when he released the album 1999 in 1982 and then went on to create the album Purple Rain in 1984. Recently, Prince has performed for the Grammy Awards and has gone on tours around the world. |
Aerosmith
Aerosmith consisted of the band members: Steven Tyler, Tom Hamilton, Joey Kramer, Joe Perry, and Brad Whitford. The band had rose into the limelight in the 1970's, however, due to drugs the band lost almost all of their popularity. Fortunately, the band made a comeback and "rocked the nation." Aerosmith preceded with "the biggest comeback in music history" by releasing the album Permanent Vacation (1984). By releasing this album they presented a "new version" of themselves by making them appear to have a "bad boy" complex. The group then signed a record deal with Sony in the 1990's. However, the band started to break up after Glen Ballard left during one session. But, Steven Tyler has continued on with a solo career. |
Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston was a singer and then became an actress after she became famous. Houston was a pop star in the 1980's. She received a grammy for her hit song "Saving All My Love for You." Unfortunately, her career got off track when she married Bobby Brown and started abusing drugs. However, she started her acting career in the 1990's by co-starring in The Bodyguard (1992) with Kevin Costner. Houston tried to get back into her singing career, but it never took off like it did before. Whitney Houston died in February of 2012 from an accidental drowning in a hotel room. |