80’s Rock

 

In 1981, Mtv began broadcasting 24 hours a day, forever changing the way we consume music.

 

In 1983, the first CD was released, offering many advantages over existing recording media.  List some of the benefits:

 

In the early 80’s, the punk movement tried to restore some of the rebellious nature of rock.

 

Ramones- Song I Wanna Be Sedated. The first punk band.  Most of their songs had the same 3 chords and lasted for 2 minutes.

 

The Clash- Song Should I Stay or Should I Go.  An important punk band out of London.

 

The Talking Heads- Song Burnin’ Down the House.  Made it okay for punk to be smart.  Bridged the gap between punk and pop.

 

U2- Song With or Without You  Started out as a New Wave band.  Lead singer Bono and guitarist The Edge.

 

Michael Jackson- Song Thriller. Began his career singing with The Jackson 5.  Excellent choreographer as well as dancer and singer.  Thriller is the best-selling album of all time.

 

Madonna- Song Like A Virgin  Has a knack for manipulating the media  Changes her image regularly.

 

Prince- Song Kiss  Former funk artist turned pop.  Changed his name to a symbol because of a contract dispute.

 

Bruce Springsteen- Song Born in the USA.  Hailed as the next Bob Dylan  First R&R star to release a CD.

 

Queen- Song We Will Rock You.  Flamboyant lead singer Freddie Mercury.

 

Billy Joel- Song Piano Man.  Experimented with many styles, but is essentially a modern singer/songwriter.

 

Kiss- Song Rock and Roll all Night.  Hard rockers who performed in black and white masks.  Gimmick + Rock = Success.

 

Van Halen- Song Jump.  Most famous member of the band was the guitarist, Eddie Van Halen.  Re-established the electric guitar as the most important instrument in rock ‘n roll.

 

Ozzy Osbourne- Song Crazy Train.  Performed crazy stunts and accepted rumors because they were free publicity.

 

Sugar Hill Gang- Song Rapper’s Delight.  Make the first rap recording.

 

Run D.M.C.- Song Walk This Way.  Helped bring rap into the mainstream with this song performed with Aerosmith.

 

REM- Song It’s the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine).  First alternative band.