And where have 44 years gone?

I wrote about the greatness of music from 1978, so time to discuss the tunes that ushered in the ‘80s. A new decade and new beginnings for me as I finished middle school and entered high school. What an awkward time in a person’s  life- thirteen and fourteen years old.  You go from being the top of the heap to being the lowest of the low. Unless of course  you were pretty and/or a cheerleader.  Then you were popular with the senior guys.  I was neither. I tried out for the JV football cheerleading squad and did not make the cut.  I had braces, mousey brown hair that was neither straight nor curly- but somewhere in between, and boring brown.  In 1980 there were very few hair products like there are now to combat the untameable frizz, and I hadn’t yet discovered Sun-In for that orangey hued hair I had a few years later.  I was neither thin nor chunky. I was just average in every way.  Except for my bratty sassy-ness. I excelled at that. You might wonder why I would want to remember this era? But it’s all about the music- so let’s get on with that!

Popular music was kind of all over the place at this point- with disco being firmly “out” but what exactly was “in”?  The groups that I discussed from 1978 were still producing great stuff- Blondie, The Police, The Cars- this was Benjamin Orr’s sexy dark haired Panorama era – the spillover from Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk that was released in October 1979, as well as cuts from Foreigner 4.  “New Wave” was becoming bigger but plain old rock and roll was not going anywhere.   Bob Seger was huge, as was 38 Special.  Rossington-Collins band was big at the time as the next iteration of Lynyrd Skynyrd after the plane crash that killed or maimed most of the band. Pink Floyd’s The Wall came out. Styx and Queen were huge, as was Christopher Cross and Kool and the Gang. Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers Damn the Torpedoes was released in late 1979 so the gems Here Comes My Girl, Refugee, Even The Losers were all hits in 1980.  Queen was huuuuge in 1980. Another One Bites the Dust was the theme of my freshman class’s homecoming parade float. Here is a list of record albums I received for my 14th birthday in 1980.  I have to laugh at them because ….well, here, you can judge:

Molly Hatchet- Flirtin’ With Disaster

Kansas- Point of Know Return

Lynyrd Skynyrd- Gold and Platinum

Van Halen- Van Halen

Aerosmith- Night in the Ruts

Quite the collection, huh? Like I said, music was all over the place, so no matter what kind you were into there was something for you to enjoy.

I must note that one of the most badass albums of all time with one of the most badass female lead singers of all time was released in 1980 and that would be none other than The Pretenders and Chrissy Hynde.  Mystery Achievement– the airband winning song of 1983 at good old Fredonia High School was on this album, as was the song Precious.  I loved to sing  the lyrics “But not me baby, I’m too precious so Fuck Off!” at the top of my lungs.  Come to think of it, I still like to sing these at the top of my lungs whenever I have the chance.

The other badass-rocking woman-fronted band, Blondie, had a monster hit with Call Me.  Debby Harry was such a style icon and role model.  She was gorgeous, talented, she exuded cool and sang effortlessly.  Can I be her?

Billy Joel was riding the charts in 1980 as was Kenny Rogers with his Greatest Hits album. Remember Lady? And if it’s 1980, we absolutely must, must, must discuss John Lennon. Two words: Double Fantasy.

The beginning and tragic end of an era. As a die hard Beatles fan I always hoped the Beatles would reunite.  My friends and I were stunned, sad, angry, in disbelief. And the songs from this album were everywhere- reminding us of our heartbreak but also of the genius and gift that was John Lennon. And even though this is not at all in my wheelhouse, I have to mention 1980 as being huge for the emerging rap scene. Sugarhill Gang, Kurtis Blow’s The Breaks, Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash were all moving rap music into the mainstream.

I recently read about the closing of yet another LA recording studio, The Record Plant, where Guns & Roses recorded Appetite for Destruction, Fleetwood Mac recorded Rumors, The Eagles recorded Hotel California (Is it 6 yet?). Hugely iconic albums were produced in those hallowed halls.  But like many once mighty institutions, the record industry has collapsed. I guess it has to be looked at in terms of musicians and singers having more control over their product today, but something is missing in the essence of and the communal experience that was once part of the music industry.  I feel like this is all part of the “unwinding”, termed by George Packer of the New Yorker, or disruption of the old ways of doing things, the breaking apart of societal and cultural standards and practices.  The norms and patterns and traditions of the old ways ultimately have to disappear for new things to emerge, but the history that is lost is inestimable.  And sometimes, not always, but sometimes doing things the way they have always been done is not a bad thing.  There are lessons to be learned from the old fashioned way.  

ANYWAY, 1980 was an interesting year for music.  It was varied, just looking at all the music I mentioned above proves that, and emerging and ending and beginning- as trends are in new decades .  Ultimately the music of 1980 was very listenable and very accessible- FM radio played all kinds of music and you could find a channel that played what you were into, or a channel that played a whole variety of styles. One thing that I miss from the era before everything went digital and became curated for individual tastes is the “song of the season”.  Remember when there would be one or two songs of the summer?  Songs that were in heavy rotation, and that  would remind you of a person or an event or experience? A song that you knew all the words to, and so did everyone else? Like literally everyone?  Songs that would forever remind you of an era or certain place in time? I really miss that. Can anyone name a song of the summer of 2024 that we can all sing along to?  

Music was the background of and the soundtrack to the lives of young people at a crazy time to be a teenager.  There was a certain freedom to being young in 1980 that I am not sure exists anymore. We were not over-supervised, we were mostly left to our own defenses, we thought we were older and more adult than we were. We were free to figure stuff out all by ourselves with very little visual evidence of our escapades.  Which isn’t a luxury kids have today.  1980 was a good time to be alive if you were a kid with some freedom, a little money, a voracious appetite for music and a killer boombox! What was your song of the summer of 1980? I’d love to know!

Check out the Billboard Hot 100 from October 18, 1980 courtesy of Charlie’s 80s Attic Radio Station. Rock on friends!