#1 Hits of the '80s....

Well, throughout this blog we have been exploring the many different genres of music. We started with the foundations of music, learning about Renaissance music from the 1400s, on through the Classical era in the 1600s-1800s, and recently have covered several genres from the early 1900s. I thought we would finish out the blog by covering the biggest hits from the 1980s, '90s, and today. This post we will be flashing back to the '80s.....

The 1980s produced a very interesting decade, one that some people treasure, and one that some people try hard to forget. Ronald Reagan was elected the new president; the "Just Say No" campaign on drugs was created; the Cold War finally came to an end; the 1984 Olympics, held in LA, were boycotted by many countries; famous Beatles musician John Lennon is assassinated in 1980 in the US; the "compact disc" (CD's) was unveiled in 1980, and would gradually replace vinyl records; the Space Shuttle Challenger tragically exploded in 1986, with the deaths of 7 people on board; and Michael Jackson was by far the most popular entertainer, introducing several classing '80s trends, including the leather jacket, white glove, and the "Moonwalk."

Music of the 1980s was of a wide variety. There was of course the pop music teens loved thanks to the classic '80s movies. Here are some classic movie scenes from some of the classic movies (which also show off the fun '80s dance moves), just for fun!: Footloose, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Breakfast Club, Back to the Future, Flashdance, and Dirty Dancing.

Anyway, while there were hundreds of songs to choose from to put on the playlist, I though I'd put on the #1 hit in the US from each year of the '80s. So here they are:

1980- "Upside Down" by Diana Ross; '81- "Bette Avis Eyes" by Kim Carnes; '82- "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor; '83- "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson; '84- "I Just Called to Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder; '85- "We Are the World" by USA for Africa; '86- "Papa Don’t Preach" by Madonna; '87- "La Bamba" by Los Lobos; '88- "Don’t Worry, Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin; '89- "Like a Prayer" by Madonna.

Playlist: Songs 21-30