What is so great about the music of the 80s? Why is it so memorable? And how can that iconic style be recreated?
In case you aren't sure what the big names of the time were, Madonna, Abba, Jennifer Rush, Diana Ross, Dexy's Midnight Runners, and Billy Joel were some of the stars in that era. Here is a list of some of the top charts from the 80s!
Don McLean; Crying
Barbra Streisand; Woman In Love
Abba; Super Trouper
Culture Club; Karma Chameleon
Dexy's Midnight Runners With The Emerald Express; Come On Eileen
Billy Joel; Uptown Girl
UB40; Red Red Wine
Jennifer Rush; The Power Of Love
Elaine Paige & Barbara Dickson; I Know Him So Well
Sister Sledge; Frankie
Survivor; Eye of the Tiger
Frankie Goes to Hollywood; Relax
Kylie Minogue; I Should Be So Lucky
Yazz & The Plastic Population; The Only Way Is Up
Glenn Medeiros; Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You
Diana Ross; Chain Reaction
Rick Astley; Never Gonna Give You Up
From these songs, you might notice some aspects that make 80s music what it is. Starting with genre, there is a wide range of influences, but the most popular genres seem to fit into descriptions of Pop, rock, folk rock, soul, and disco. Though some other styles were also around during the decade, such as Heavy Rock, but they didn't dominate the top billboard hits like some of the other genres. Nonetheless, a lot of people could define the 80s as being more free in the choice of music genre. Artists had so many influences that you really could listen to just about any style and still be "in". This gives fluidity to our music options, we can use the contrasts between rock and pop to show different emotions running through our production.
Another thing about 80s music; power ballads are huge! They combine hard rock elements with more acoustic components. They have dramatic vocals and guitar solos, but will add acoustic instruments and sentimentality. Along that line, a lot of 80s songs have a theme of love. This is great for us because elements of love are a huge part of our show and its plot. Technology was a huge component in the 80s so electronic synthesizers were readily available to just about anybody. This influence can be heard in the music with a lot of synth and electronic instruments.
As a person not alive during the decade, or from the U.K. even I knew a lot of these popular songs. Some of them are iconic in a good way (I have fond memories of hearing Eye of the Tiger at high school basketball games). Some of them are iconic in a silly way (like how Rick Rolling is such a popular joke). The style is definitely nostalgic to people of all ages with songs like these. Even the sappy love songs seem to be partying and powerful. Emulating that in our production will be key to evoking that feeling that 80s music is known for.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_zHQ6kFuQ0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc-P8oDuS0Q
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