1. The 1980s

2. What’s Happening in the 1980s?
February Winter Olympics - Lake Placid, NY. Miracle on Ice team defeats USSR Pro All-Star team
April 12, Summer Olympics - USOC votes to withdraw athletes from Moscow Summer Games
May 18, Mt. St. Helens volcano erupts, killing 57
May 21, Highest grossing film of 1980 The Empire Strikes Back released

3. December 8, 1980 - John Lennon shot and killed by Mark David Chapman
January 20, Ronald Reagan inaugurated as 40th president
April 12, First space shuttle is launched
August 12, IBM introduces the IBM-PC - sold for $1,565
September 21, Sandra Day O’Connor becomes first female Supreme Court associate justice

4. November 13, 1982 - Vietnam Memorial is dedicated in Washington, DC
November 13, Vietnam Memorial is dedicated in Washington, DC. 58,000 names
June 18, Astronaut Sally Ride is first American woman in space
July 13, Live Aid Concert for famine relief
November 20, First version of Windows OS is released
November 20, MLK Jr. Day is observed for the first time as a federal holiday

5. November 28, Challenger Space Shuttle explodes after liftoff, killing 7, including a NH school teacher
August 10, Army General Colin Powell promoted to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff - first African American in that position
November 9, Berlin Wall is knocked down

6. MTV - Music Television
August 1, Arrival of MTV - launched with the words “Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll”
1st video: “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles
Advertise popular artists & their releases
4 types of music video:
Performance - artist in format of a concert
Dance - present music largely in a dance format
Story - tells a story, BUT may/may not have a direct relationship with lyrics
Fantasy - relies heavily on computerized manipulation of visual images that may/may not relate to music

7. MTV continued
MTV adds a whole new dimension to music as an art form - artists can now be seen outside of a concert setting
Started in NYC (in Europe - 1st song on MTV was “Money For Nothing” by Dire Straits. Includes line “I want my MTV”)
Early format was modeled after Top 40 radio - young fresh-faced men & women “VJ’s”

8. MTV continued Early videos were crude promos / concert clips
Record companies made video for a small number of multi-platinum artists - they had big fan bases and could make a huge profit for the company: Michael Jackson, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Phil Collins, Janet Jackson, Prince and Bruce Springsteen

9. MTV continued
After MTV’s programming started to add more Heavy Metal and Rap, the network launched VH1 (Video Hits 1) in focused on a slightly older demographic and played lighter selections of pop music
Both MTV and VH1 started adding TV shows during the late 90s and early 2000s, strongly focusing on reality shows “The Real World”, “Road Rules”, and “Jackass”
9/14/84 - First MTV Music Video Award presented
Alternative to “stuffy” Grammy Awards

10. Michael Jackson Born August 29, 1958 - 8th of 9 children
Jacksons were considered the “First Family of Soul”
Jackson 5 - Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael
Michael debuted with the Jackson 5 in 1968 and started his solo career in 1971
Huge in the 80s with hits “Beat It”, “Billie Jean”, and “Thriller”
First black artist with a video on MTV - “Billie Jean”

11. Michael Jackson
Nine #1 singles as well as topping charts for collaborations: We Are the World by USA for Africa & Say, Say, Say with Paul McCartney
Album Thriller (‘82) still holds the record for bestselling album of all time
Debuted his trademark “moonwalk” during “Billie Jean” on Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever special on NBC
“King of Pop”

12. Madonna Born: Madonna Louise Ciccone on August 16, 1958
From Bay City, Michigan
Gained popularity in the 80s and pushed boundaries with her music videos - sang about taboos
Won Grammy Awards for her albums Ray of Light (‘98) and Confessions on a Dance Floor (‘05)
Writes most of her own songs including: “Vogue”, “Like a Virgin”, “Papa Don’t Preach” and “4 Minutes”

13. Madonna
Actress: Desperately Seeking Susan, A League of Their Own; won a best actress Golden Globe for Evita
Set a record in 2012 for the most #1 albums by a solo artist with her release of MDNA
Huge impact on fashion (1st female to control music & image)
Considered the “Queen of Pop”

14. Adult-Oriented Rock AKA “Album-Oriented Rock” (aimed at Boomers)
Not a genre - type of radio play
Rotations represent a wide variety of genres
Effort by radio executives / record labels to standardize FM playlists. Songs on rotation through a playlist - many were never released as singles

15. Adult-Oriented Rock
Bands / Artists - Aerosmith, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Boston, Journey, Meat Loaf, Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, Sting, Tom Petty, U2
U2 is one of the biggest rock bands that comes out of the 80s

16. New Wave More popular in the UK than the US
The Clash / The Police move away from the radical, dangerous parts of Punk music - not as harsh as punk
“New Wave” designated bands that aren’t strictly punk, but are related to punk
Punk music is pushed back underground

17. New Wave
In the US, the term “new wave” was applied to most new pop or pop rock artists that primarily used synthesizers
Bands / Artists: Duran Duran, Culture Club, Soft Cell, Adam Ant, Men at Work, INXS, Flock of Seagulls

18. Hardcore Punk Faster, heavier and more in your face than punk
Simple riff-based songs
Underground scene in big cities: Washington, D.C., NYC, and Boston - also some popularity in Australia, Canada and the UK
Audience at these concerts develops slam dancing / moshing

19. Hardcore Punk
Not much mainstream success - Dead Kennedys had an album reach gold status... after 25 years.
Bands / Artists: Dead Kennedys, The Germs, Black Flag, Bad Religion

20. Techno Electronic dance music Originated in Detroit, Michigan
Direct relation to European “Synth Pop” and Electronic music made famous by Kraftwerk
Use of repetitive electronic rhythms (drum machines), mechanical textures, and minor melodies

21. Techno
Expanded into several different styles: Hardcore, Trance, Acid-House and Tech-House
Artists: 808 State, Blake Baxter, Frankie Bones, Kraftwerk
Develops a lot in the 90s

22. “New” Blues Resurgence in popularity of blues music
Robert Cray - Strong Persuader (‘86) - 5 Grammy Winner; inducted into Blues Hall of Fame (2011)
Stevie Ray Vaughan - Texas Flood (‘83) - 6 Grammy Winner; inducted into Blues Hall of Fame (2000) - killed in a helicopter crash

23. “New” Blues
Eric Clapton - Unplugged (‘90) - 17 Grammy Winner; inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Live Blues and Blues Revue publications were distributed, more outdoor blues festivals were common
“Blues Brothers” movie (1980) - starring Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi - resurgence of John Lee Hooker

24. Heavy Metal
Guitar riffs - weapon of choice; dark/violent lyrics screamed by male singer considered attack to mainstream pop & yuppie culture
Led Zeppelin is a precursor to Heavy Metal (hard rock)
Page interested in occult; accused of adding subliminal satanic messages to some songs (band denied the accusations)

25. Heavy Metal Black Sabbath - one of the first
Tony Iommi (guitar), Ozzy Osbourne (vocals), Geezer Butler (bass), Bill Ward (drums)
Originally Polka Tulk Blues Band - changed their name to Black Sabbath after seeing a billboard with a movie of the same name
Osbourne and Butler wrote the song “Black Sabbath” which sounded ominous and dark and used the “Devil’s Interval”
Songs focused on occult, drugs and Satan worship

26. Heavy Metal Other bands:
Judas Priest — dark “Sabbath” sound, harder, more “metal"
Iron Maiden — “more evil than Priest”; band logo (mascot: Eddie)
Van Halen — “invited the girls and made it a party”
Metallica — return back to the core metal sound

27. Heavy Metal Other influences:
Alice Cooper - shock rock
Kiss - 1st live album and merchandizing
AC/DC - loud and brash

28. Hair (Glam) Metal Mixture of glam rock & heavy metal
Lots of makeup, over-the-top clothing, long styled hair
Heavily distorted guitars and screaming vocals
Converted huge amount of rock fans before popularity declined due to the Grunge movement in the 90s

29. Hair Metal
Borrowed image from artists like NY Dolls & glam rock but music was heavy metal.
Used MTV to promote themselves
Bands: Poison, Warrant, Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard (“bigger is better” especially for hair styles!)
Develops “power/monster” ballad

30. Hair Metal [Hollywood, CA] Van Halen - 1978
self-titled album goes platinum 6x over!
David Lee Roth - singer/frontman, unparalleled showmanship
Eddie Van Halen - guitar, revolutionized guitar playing
1980: Metal’s Golden Year
1981: even has its own dance: “head bang”

31. Hair Metal
Def Leppard is 1st HM MTV breakout band, Pyromania (2nd album) = 2nd highest album in 80s behind Thriller
more pop metal: polished sound, crosses into pop charts, success raises the bar for all of HM
Metal becomes fashionable - big sounds=big hair
’82-’83 LA (sunset strip) is Hair Band scene
’83: Quiet Riot gets record deal (unknown until…)
from Metal Health (#1 LP in U.S. - 1st time HM had a song reach #1!)

32. Motley Crue comes out of LA “Decadent” Don’t care about consequences
Go against the grain; debauchery
Pyrotechnics Explosions - shows are “bigger, better, faster, harder, louder”
uses piano to create 1st power ballad
takes albums past 4 million mark in sales

33. Hair Metal
**Most Acclaimed: Guns ’n Roses - transcend “hair band” status with Stones influenced sound; bridge underground and pop audiences Appetite for Destruction (sells unprecedented 15 million copies on 1st pressing!)
frontman/singer: Axl Rose guitar: Slash open for groups like Aerosmith and get a HUGE following “Sweet Child of Mine”

34. The End of Hair Metal
Power ballad leads to Metal ‘selling out’, processed sounds… then ‘unplugged’?? (thanks Tesla…)
The Party is over, a casualty of itself (soften sound loses fan base)
Evidence of the end: Decline of Western Civilization (part 2) “The Metal Years” - decadence had to end
Underground — Thrash Metal
features: Anthrax (NY), Slayer (CA), Megadeth (LA), *Metallica* (1st album Kill ‘em All)

35. Parent Music Resource Center
PMRC wants to censor Heavy Metal
The Filthy 15 — (9 were Heavy Metal songs)
Tipper Gore, wife of (then) Senator, Al Gore,
wants to add warning labels to records
Lead singer of Twisted Sister, Dee Snider, Frank Zappa & John Denver

36. Alternative Umbrella term for underground music
Rejection of commercialism; played in small clubs; recorded for indie labels - non-mainstream
Play a lot on college radio stations, not regular radio play
Bands: REM, Violent Femmes, The Velvet Underground, The Replacements, They Might Be Giants, Sonic Youth, Pixies, Jane’s Addiction, The Cure
Another genre that got pushed aside by the grunge movement of the 90s

37. Technology in the 1980s
5” Compact Disc (CD), later the multi-disc player
Replaces tapes / records
Baby boomers buy CDs to replace the albums they already had
Start to broaden musical tastes
Walkman - personal tape player; new way to listen to music. Before, you couldn’t take it with you
Boom Boxes
Drum Machines / Sequencers - helped with Techno and electronic music
MTV videos - MJ’s “Thriller” changed the way videos were produced forever

38. Live Aid 1984 - BBC reports on the Ethiopian Famine
Bob Geldof wrote the song “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”, contacted musicians and asked them to help record it. Sold as a single to raise money - $24 million
Due to the popularity of the single, Geldof had the idea for the concert
7/13/85 - Started at noon in Wembley Stadium (UK) and continued at JFK Stadium (PA, US) at 8:51am
Phil Collins performed both at Wembley and JFK flying from the UK after his set to PA
Raised 150 million pounds
Artists involved: Phil Collins, Elvis Costello, U2, Sting, Dire Straits, Queen, The Who, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Black Sabbath, RUN- D.M.C, Beach Boys, Santana, Madonna, Eric Clapton - and more!

39. We Are the World - U.S.A. for Africa
Produced by Quincy Jones
Written by Michael Jackson & Lionel Ritchie
recorded Jan. 28, American Music Awards
1st press: 800,000 March 7, sold out in 6 days
rose to #1 on charts within 3 weeks
Artists involved: *Dan Aykroyd, Harry Belafonte, Tay Charles, Kim Carnes, Bob Dylan, Bob Geldof, Hall & Oates, Jackson 5, Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, Bette Midler, Smoky Robinson, Willie Nelson, Kenny Rogers, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen - and more!