Music & Pop Culture
Rock Bands from the 80's
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (1958 – 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. Called the King of Pop, his contributions to music and dance, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades.
The eighth child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene along with his elder brothers as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1964, and began his solo career in 1971. In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music. The music videos for his songs, including those of "Beat It", "Billie Jean", and "Thriller", were credited with breaking down racial barriers and with transforming the medium into an art form and promotional tool. The popularity of these videos helped to bring the then-relatively-new television channel MTV to fame. With videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream", he continued to innovate the medium throughout the 1990s, as well as forging a reputation as a touring solo artist. Through stage and video performances, Jackson popularized a number of complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk, to which he gave the name. His distinctive sound and style has influenced numerous hip hop, post-disco, contemporary R&B, pop, and rock artists.
Jackson's 1982 album Thriller is the best-selling album of all time. His other albums, including Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991), and HIStory (1995), also rank among the world's best-selling. Jackson has won hundreds of awards, making him the most-awarded recording artist in the history of popular music. Jackson became the first artist in history to have a top ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades when "Love Never Felt So Good" reached number nine on May 21, 2014. Jackson traveled the world attending events honoring his humanitarianism and in 2000, the Guinness World Records recognized him for supporting 39 charities, more than any other entertainer.
Aspects of Jackson's personal life, including his changing appearance, personal relationships, and behavior, generated controversy. In the mid-1990s, he was accused of child sexual abuse, but the case was settled out of court for about $25 million and no formal charges were brought. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of further child sexual abuse allegations and several other charges after the jury found him not guilty on all counts.
Thriller
Billie Jean (from Thriller)
Bad
Smooth Criminal (from Bad)
Black or White (from Dangerous)
Remember the time (from Dangerous)
Ghosts
Love never felt so good
Madonna
Material girl
Madonna Louise Ciccone (born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. She achieved popularity by pushing the boundaries of lyrical content in mainstream popular music and imagery in her music videos, which became a fixture on MTV. Madonna is known for reinventing both her music and image, and for retaining a standard of autonomy within the recording industry. Music critics have acclaimed her musical productions which have also been known to induce controversy. Often referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she is cited as an influence among other artists around the world.
Born in Bay City, Michigan, Madonna moved to New York City to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she signed with Sire Records (an affiliate of Warner Bros. Records) in 1982 and released her self-titled debut album the following year. She followed it with a series of commercially successful albums, including the Grammy Award winners Ray of Light (1998) and Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005). Throughout her career, she has written and produced most of her songs, with many of them reaching number one on the record charts.
Madonna's popularity was further enhanced by her film roles; she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Evita (1996) while most of her other films have been panned by critics. Her other ventures include fashion design, writing children's books, and filmmaking. She has been acclaimed as a businesswoman, particularly after she founded entertainment company Maverick (including the label Maverick Records) in 1992 as a joint venture with Time Warner. In 2007, she signed an unprecedented US $120 million 360 deal with Live Nation.
Best Albums:
Like a Virgin (1983)
Like a prayer (1989)
Erotica (1992)
Music (2000)
Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005)
Like a prayer
La Isla Bonita
Music
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American pianist, singer-songwriter, and composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States. His compilation album Greatest Hits Vol. 1 & 2 is the third best-selling album in the United States by discs shipped.
Joel had Top 40 hits in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, achieving 33 Top 40 hits in the United States, all of which he wrote himself. He is also a six-time Grammy Award winner who has been nominated for 23 Grammy Awards throughout his career. He has sold more than 150 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time.
Joel was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (1992), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1999), and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame (2006). In 2001, Joel received the Johnny Mercer Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2013, Joel received the Kennedy Center Honors, the nation's highest honor for influencing American culture through the arts. Except for the 2007 songs "All My Life" and "Christmas in Fallujah", Joel stopped writing and releasing pop/rock material after 1993's River of Dreams. However, he continues to tour, and he plays songs from all eras of his solo career in his concerts.
Piano Man
We didn't start the fire
Uptown girl
She's always a woman
Welcome to the jungle
Guns N' Roses is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, in 1985. The classic lineup as signed to Geffen Records in 1986 consisted of vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Steven Adler. The band has released six studio albums to date, accumulating sales of more than 100 million records worldwide, including shipments of 45 million in the United States, making them one of the world's best-selling bands of all time.
A year after its release, Guns N' Roses' debut album Appetite for Destruction (1987) reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200, on the strength of the hit "Sweet Child o' Mine", their only single to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album has sold in excess of 28 million copies worldwide, including 18 million units sold in the United States, making it the best-selling debut album of all time in the U.S. The success of their debut was followed by the eight-song album G N' R Lies (1988). The cover album "The Spaghetti Incident?" (1993) was the band's last studio album to feature Slash and McKagan. After more than a decade of work and many lineup changes, Guns N' Roses released the long-awaited album Chinese Democracy (2008) which, at an estimated $14 million in production costs, made it the most expensive album to ever be produced in music history. It debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 but undersold industry expectations, despite mostly positive critical reception.
Guns N' Roses have been credited with reviving the mainstream popularity of rock music, at a time when popular music was dominated by dance music and mainstream. Their late 1980s and early 1990s years have been described as the period in which they brought forth a "hedonistic rebelliousness" reminiscent of the early Rolling Stones, a reputation that had earned them the nickname "The World's Most Dangerous Band".
Sweet Child of mine
Paradise City
November rain
Metallica is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California. The band's fast tempos, instrumentals, and aggressive musicianship placed them as one of the founding "big four" bands of thrash metal, alongside Anthrax, Megadeth, and Slayer. Metallica was formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement posted by drummer Lars Ulrich in a local newspaper. The band's current line-up includes founders Hetfield (vocals, rhythm guitar) and Ulrich (drums), longtime lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, and bassist Robert Trujillo. Lead guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassists Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton, and Jason Newsted are former members of the band. Metallica collaborated over a long period with producer Bob Rock, who produced all of the band's albums from 1990 to 2003 and served as a temporary bassist between the departure of Newsted and the hiring of Trujillo.
The band earned a growing fan base in the underground music community and won critical acclaim with its first four albums; the third album Master of Puppets (1986) was described as one of the most influential and heaviest thrash metal albums. Metallica achieved substantial commercial success with its eponymous fifth album—also known as The Black Album—which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. With this release the band expanded its musical direction, resulting in an album that appealed to a more mainstream audience.
Metallica has released nine studio albums, four live albums, five extended plays, 26 music videos, and 37 singles. The band has won nine Grammy Awards and five of its albums have consecutively debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. In 2012, Metallica formed the independent record label Blackened Recordings and took ownership of all of the band's albums and videos. The band is currently in production of its tenth studio album, slated for a 2015 release.
Enter Sand man
Master of Puppets
Fade to black
Nothing else matters
Where the streets have no name
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono (vocals and guitar), The Edge (guitar, keyboards, and vocals), Adam Clayton (bass guitar), and Larry Mullen, Jr. (drums and percussion). U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music. Throughout the group's musical pursuits, they have maintained a sound built on melodic instrumentals. Their lyrics, often embellished with spiritual imagery, focus on personal themes and sociopolitical concerns.
The band formed at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency. Within four years, they signed with Island Records and released their debut album Boy. By the mid-1980s, U2 had become a top international act. They were more successful as a touring act than they were at selling records until their 1987 album "The Joshua Tree" which, according to Rolling Stone, elevated the band's stature "from heroes to superstars". Reacting to musical stagnation and criticism of their earnest image and musical direction in the late-1980s, U2 reinvented themselves with their 1991 album, "Achtung Baby", and the accompanying Zoo TV Tour; they integrated dance, industrial, and alternative rock influences into their sound, and embraced a more ironic and self-deprecating image. They embraced similar experimentation for the remainder of the 1990s with varying levels of success.
U2 have released 13 studio albums, and are among the all-time best-selling music artists, having sold more than 150 million records worldwide. They have won 22 Grammy Awards, more than any other band; and, in 2005, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility.
One
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Beautiful day
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi (born John Francis Bongiovi, Jr.), pianist and keyboard player David Bryan, and drummer Tico Torres. In 1986, Bon Jovi achieved widespread global recognition with their third album, Slippery When Wet. The band's fourth album, New Jersey was equally successful in 1988. After touring and recording non-stop during the late 1980s, the band went on hiatus following the New Jersey Tour in 1990, during which time Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora both released successful solo albums. In 1992, the band returned with the album Keep the Faith. Their 2000 single "It's My Life", which followed a second hiatus, successfully introduced the band to a younger audience. Bon Jovi have been known to use different styles in their music, which has included country for their 2007 album Lost Highway. On March 12, 2013, Bon Jovi released their 13th studio album, What About Now.
Thus far, Bon Jovi has released 13 studio albums, plus two compilations and two live albums. They are one of the world’s best-selling bands of all time, having sold more than 100 million records worldwide and performed more than 2,700 concerts in over 50 countries for more than 34 million fans. Bon Jovi was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006. The band was also honored with the Award of Merit at the American Music Awards in 2004, and as songwriters and collaborators, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora were inducted into Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2009.
Livin' on a prayer
Blaze of Glory
It's my life
Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, producer, and model. In 2009, Guinness World Records cited her as the most awarded female act of all time. Houston was one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 200 million records worldwide. She released six studio albums, one holiday album and three movie soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum or gold certification. Houston's crossover appeal on the popular music charts, as well as her prominence on MTV, starting with her video for "How Will I Know", influenced several African American women artists who follow in her footsteps.
Houston's 1985 debut album Whitney Houston became the best-selling debut album by a woman in history. Her second studio album Whitney (1987) became the first album by a woman to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Houston was a mezzo-soprano, and was commonly referred to as "The Voice" in reference to her exceptional vocal talent. During the 1980s, MTV was coming into its own and received criticism for not playing enough videos by black artists. With Michael Jackson breaking down the color barrier for black men, Houston did the same for black women. She became the first black woman to receive heavy rotation on the network following the success of the "How Will I Know" video.
On February 11, 2012, Houston was found dead in her guest room at The Beverly Hilton, in Beverly Hills, California. The official coroner's report showed that she had accidentally drowned in the bathtub, with heart disease and cocaine use listed as contributing factors. News of her death coincided with the 2012 Grammy Awards and featured prominently in American and international media.
I want to dance with somebody
I will always love you
I'm every woman
Queen of the Night