In the 1980s, hard rock bands like Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Poison and Europe found enormous success with their “hair band” music that featured big hair and flashy stage shows. Additionally, these bands gave rise to Christian hair metal subgenre of music.
Reba McEntire and other country artists found an audience for their music through the 1980 movie Urban Cowboy, while Tropicalia bands continued with their revolutionary spirit or attempted to build something entirely new.
The Beatles
John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison rose from Liverpool’s thriving musical scene during the 1960s to become one of the world’s most iconic pop music groups: the Beatles. Drawing influence from American musicians like Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Fats Domino as well as folk singer Bob Dylan and rock composers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller; they broadened rock’n’ roll’s musical potential significantly.
After enjoying modest success as The Quarrymen and later Silver Beetles in Britain, their manager Brian Epstein convinced EMI’s Parlophone label to sign them. Epstein then invited producer George Martin for an audition at Abbey Road Studios in London.
Martin was revered as one of the Five Beatles and his skill in developing their musical talents brought a level of sophistication and professionalism not previously found in this medium. Often called “The Fifth Beatle”, his expertise with recording production contributed significantly to their commercial and artistic success.
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones emerged as the rebellious antidote to the clean-cut Beatles of the British Rock Invasion, earning themselves a reputation with self-consciously dangerous images and an earthy blues-based sound that inspired hard rock and punk bands. Mick Jagger’s preening machismo and latent malice made for a captivating rebellious rock frontman; Keith Richards and Brian Jones created sinewy rhythm guitar lines.
Their first hit, a cover of Chuck Berry’s “Come On,” reached No. 12 on the UK singles chart and helped secure them a contract with Decca Records. Subsequent albums (beginning with 12 X 5 and moving through live Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out!) featured elaborate stage productions such as Jagger swiping an elaborately decorated phallus over an audience.
As The Stones became too large to play clubs, they traveled throughout America for concerts and recording sessions at Chess Studios in Chicago and Hollywood RCA Studios – leading them to release 1978 album Some Girls which helped reestablish their immense popularity among younger listeners. Additionally they appeared on US version of Saturday Night Live that same year and in 1983 they made Hal Ashby concert film Let’s Spend the Night Together.
The Eagles
Established in Los Angeles in 1971, The Eagles quickly rose to become one of the most iconic rock bands ever, remaining among the best-selling acts ever since their formation. Earning five number one singles, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards along with Glenn Frey on guitar/vocals; Don Henley (drums/vocals); and Bernie Leadon (guitar/vocals).
From their groundbreaking 1972 debut eponymous album to One of These Nights (1975) and Hotel California (1979), the Eagles challenged, extended or simply adhered to musical genre and mainstream pop conventions.
On their 1974 album On the Border, Don Felder joined as guitarist. This album produced two top 20 singles – “Take It Easy” and “Witchy Woman”. Following their live album At the Staples Center release and reunion tour in 1999 (accompanied by Selected Works: 1972-1999 box set release), their popularity only continued to increase further with Common Thread: Songs of the Eagles as their live double CD helped introduce them to a whole new generation.
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys were one of the first international pop bands in the 1960s, becoming instantly iconic due to their distinctive sound that resonated with California culture, from cars and girls to surfing and beaches. Composed by brothers Brian, Dennis, Carl Wilson as well as cousin Mike Love and school friend Al Jardine, their sound captured all that California was known for.
Starting off in local bars and cafes, they were inspired by vocal groups like the Four Freshmen and rock and roll legend Chuck Berry, later moving to Capitol Records where they could experiment with their sound creating Surfin’ Safari which became an instantaneous success.
Pet Sounds was truly revolutionary for popular music. A six-month process saw it recorded, featuring an epic symphony called Good Vibrations as its first single, and becoming an international smash hit in 1966. They would later return with another singles compilation called Endless Summer singles in 1974 and continue making albums that continue to influence today’s popular soundscape.
The Monkees
The Monkees were a pop-rock band created for a television series that ran from 1966-1968, featuring Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz as its original members. Although these musicians had limited experience performing together and only received minimal applications when producer Bert Schneider put out an advertisement looking for actors-musicians, their pilot episode proved popular among its test audience and quickly went on air with new episodes being broadcast each season thereafter.
Success of their TV show motivated the group to record several LP albums that proved popular with audiences throughout the 1960s. At first, producer Don Kirshner managed recording sessions without much input from members of the band themselves.
Soon enough, tensions among group members were becoming obvious. Tired of seeing Davy fall for one girl after another on TV show episodes (while his friends helped him chase after them), their motion picture and third album both failed miserably, leading to members undertaking solo projects: Nesmith joined a country music band while Tork taught and sang songs as solo acts.
The Kinks
Though less well known than their contemporaries such as the Beatles or Stones, The Kinks’ amalgam of r’n’b, rock ‘n’ roll, music hall and vaudeville remains just as influential. Ray Davies’ lyrics often contained socially-conscious themes of an aging working class and exploiting those weaker in society; evidenced in their classic songs like “Victoria,” which praises an English Queen from 19th Century for her moral uprightness, or “Lola Versus Powerman and Moneygoround Part One.”
The Kinks were one of the pioneering British Invasion bands to explore hard rock, with early singles such as “You Really Got Me” and “All Day and All Night.” However, their more serious albums such as Face to Face, Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire), Lola Versus Powerman truly set them apart in an industry which often encouraged bands to conform and copy styles and trends for relevance. Their ability to remain true to themselves in an industry that often encouraged imitation was truly astounding.
The Bee Gees
The Bee Gees were one of the most beloved bands ever and were especially recognized for their work on the soundtrack for Saturday Night Fever (1977), helping establish disco as a mainstream genre. These four brothers created rhythmic, danceable music utilizing Barry Gibb’s falsetto vocals for maximum impact and audience participation.
The three Gibb brothers were born on the Isle of Man and raised in Chorlton, Manchester, England. When they relocated to Redcliffe Queensland Australia during the late 50s they changed their name to The BG’s (after Australian speedway promoter Bill Gates introduced them at one speedway event); later a local DJ nicknamed them as The Bee Gees when hearing them sing and promoting them for Chubby Checker.
The success of The Bee Gees inspired an entire generation to emulate them, with bands like Poison and Bon Jovi becoming widely copied. Additionally, Australian artists Olivia Newton-John, Men at Work and Air Supply all found chart success during this decade. Additionally, hard rock artists such as Ratt, Europe and Cinderella rose to prominence.
The Monks
The Monks were a group of young Catholic men living at Citeaux Monastery on the banks of France’s Rhone River, living a disciplined life of prayer, meditation on scripture, fasting, obedience and poverty for God’s glory – along with being extremely talented musicians.
As the 1980s dawned, pop-style country music gained momentum among artists like Kenny Rogers, Ronnie Milsap and Anne Murray. Urban Cowboy further popularized this genre.
Chris Molanphy is a chart expert who uses storytelling, trivia and song snippets to explore the histories behind songs that have dominated charts for half a century or more. What factors make a hit song successful – talent, luck or timing?