What Was The First 1980s Song?

Dreadful things like THIS

Happy New Year, Happy New Decade

The 80s sound was New Wave.

The one in R4 was the first song MTV ever played.

Some would argue "Cars" by Gary Numan, in 1979

To me, it's Blondie's Heart of Glass

The Homecoming Queen's Got A Gun

I was just about to type "Cars." It took me 'til 1982 to realize what a trend it had started, when I became aware of "I Ran."

This was what every gay bar sounded like in the 1980s. Stacks of beer boxes by the pool table and bartenders with no shirt.

This was a hit in gay dance bars in 1981.

Skinny ties. Synthesizers. Sparks.

r12 that still sounds fantastic all these years later. One of the best songs of the 80s. It's the theme song for Wonder Woman 84.

Totally agree with R8, even though it was released in January 1979. I remember being in the car going through a clover leaf when the song came on. It hit like a wall, and I knew music had irrecoverably been changed forever. It was palatable, like a dolly zoom shot in a Hitchcock film.

Blondie made real music. I don't equate "Heart of Glass" with the fakeness of "I Ran," "Cars," or New Order. Does not compute.

R7 & R10 Numan got his sound (and look) from Kraftwerk. Here is [italic] The Model [/italic] from 1978

This.

r17 "fakeness" is not what New Order or Numan were about. Synth-based pop can be just as genuine.

Genuinely awful, r20. '80s pop drove me to classical, where I have stayed, with a very few exceptions.

Cars is a good one. I also like to debate what year the 80s “really” started (as in the 80s as we think of them) and I still maintain its 1983.

There were a ton of big disco songs like “Forget Me Nots” that we’re released in 82. And there was still an excess of 70s shows on the air, etc etc I could go on. Was still a transitional year.

Good for you r21. But you're an anomaly.

'80 still sounded very 70s, as did most of the music from '81. '81 did give us Bette Davis Eyes and Physical, which definitely had more of an 80s sound. By '82 most of the music sounded what would be considered "80s." Madonna also released her first single, "Everybody" in that year.

r21 you shouldn't be on a thread like this if classical is all you listen to.

Yet able to recognize OP's "signature '80s sound" when I heard it, r23. It was the only thing worse than Reagan and AIDS.

Bullshit, r25. You may not like my opinions about "the first 1980s song," but that doesn't mean I don't have a right to express them. I was there then, too.

But if you hated 80s music and only listened to classical you can't really be a part of this conversation. Who the fuck only listens to classical?

R26 speaking of AIDS, it first got the name in early 83, another reason why I choose that year.

A lot of other disco songs were released in 82 but I can’t remember their names — I can sing them but that doesn’t exactly help us here.

No, the 80s sound started in '81 and was firmly established by '82. There were definitely some 70s holdovers in those years, though.

I listened to popular music from the '60s through somewhere in the '80s, asshole. And even when I didn't listen to it actively, it was hard to get away from. And there was some good music, mostly the Police and Talking Heads. But all that Madonnaness...Madonna Ciccone. Madonna Gabriel. Madonna Collins. And New Order, with its noise machinery, may have been the worst.

Madonna also has the distinction of inflicting more pure shit like Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys, and Christina Aguilera on the world.

Please shove a salad of broken Madonna / Britney / New Order CDs up your ass.

Well, others would argue that Madonna made some classic pop songs. New Order is still played today. Just because you're a miserable bitter bitch doesn't mean lots of 80s music wasn't of good quality.

You also sound like an alcoholic, or a white-knuckle dry drunk.

But did either Madonna or New Order make "The First 1980s Song"? That was the question, low-attention-span person.

So? Call your sponsor, r33.

We're providing examples in this thread r34. And you cared enough to respond with your opinion.

The first really 80s song in my opinion was:

Heart of Glass was the most eerie and memorable song of my childhood (early 80s). It still retains that ultra modern quality. Incredibly talented stuff. Blondie are underrated for their contribution to music.

The Decade 1975-1985 or just the years 1977-1986, or more specifically 1979-1981 or just 1980 itself was great time for music in my opinion. It was the only time in history when all music genres were producing great music at the same time. Disco was great, Rock was great, Country was great, Broadway was great R&B was great, . All at the same time. Broadway had sexy shows like Dracula, A Chorus Line, Dancin, to name a few. Rock had Heavy Metal, Classic Rock. Punk, New Wave. R&B had great tunes at the time. Disco had Sylvester and too many to name. Country had Eddie Rabbit, Willie Nelson, and other crossover stars. I never saw so many genres be to amazing all at once. But it was very segregated, though, the fans stuck to their genres. Classical was great then too, because ballet was very sexy back then - Baryshnikov, ABT, etc. I remember this as a special time for me, just in my opinion in my life.

There were definitely music in the 70s that were more fringe that became the typical sound of the 80's. I mean I think the first 1990's album was 1983's Violent Femmes self-titled. Kraftwerk, Sparks, Blondie, Talking Heads made songs in the 70s that sound like what we think of 80's.

This screams early 80’s to me

Tainted Love

[quote]Genuinely awful, [R20]. '80s pop drove me to classical, where I have stayed, with a very few exceptions.

Well, you seem very happy there, R21, and I hope you stay there.

I love dancing to New Order and one of my best night club experience was just last year when a night club here in Texas did a tribute to them. It was great seeing 19 year olds and 60 year olds dancing in the same place to music they love. So yes people still love New Order and many are still just discovering them.

What about us...we were played at about 12:15 am during the "punk" set of the gay bar .

1978, but way ahead of their time..

Oh, I am happy here, r43. But I don't have to [italic]stay[/italic] in any damned place. I also enjoy this 1977 Ramones' song. Thanks to r45 for reminding me of it. It reminds me not at all of '80s scheiss like "I Ran."

Hungry Heart by Springsteen.

I preferred "Point Blank," r48.

R 42 You need to clarify, Soft Cell’s Tainted Love. Many don’t know it was a cover.

There was no “signature ‘80s sound.”

But OP probably means either synth funk or rock blends with synthesizers, which the Cars had smash success with starting in the ‘70s.

I Feel Love (1977)?

R49, why?

No, “I Feel Love” was innovative, but still very disco-sounding.

R53, I like the story behind the song, for one thing. And then it has that slow dance tempo. It's quite different from the rest of "The River," which is not my favorite of Bruce's albums. None of Bruce was really "signature '80s," in any case. Among other 1980 albums, Jackson Browne's Hold Out is my favorite. But I don't consider it '80s music.

[quote]There was no “signature ‘80s sound.”

And yet...quite a few of us knew exactly what OP was talking about.

To take R5 one step further (back)...Peter Gabriel's "Intruder" is sometimes considered the song that introduced Phil Collins' infamous "gated reverb" drums to the world. To me this cold, thundering, lumbering drum sound was one of the definitive breaks with the 70s, as surely as the technological overload of the Fairlight synthesizer was a break from the warm sound of a Rhodes or a Moog.

Another vote from me for "Just What I Needed" by The Cars, 1977

It wasn't a totally radical shift from the standard pop/rock fare of the day, but there was definitely something about it that was pointing to the future...probably the first American top 40 hit that had that New Wave-ish feel to it, even though nowadays we tend to think of The Cars as more in the Classic Rock camp than the New Wave camp.

Another one for consideration might be Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' "Breakdown", also from '77. Again, something just sounded a little different about it at the time. There was a raw edginess to it that heralded something new coming on the horizon, yet it was still catchy and commercial enough to hit the top 40.

For my money, "Just Can't Get Enough" by Depeche Mode. Before they got all mopey.

R58, Let’s not forget Roxanne by The Police. Rather unusual for 1978. Had that Breakdown vibe. People into 70s rock and roll at that time were scratching their heads at these songs.

And frome the same year, and in the same "I've got a Casiotone keyboard and I'm not afraid to use it to create an earworm" vein, Pete Shelley's "Homosapien."

"The Big Ship" (1975).

For me, "Rapture"! Blondie again!

Fame

R12 beat me to it. I think Blue Monday defines the 80s .

R51, if nothing else, the SNARE sound—and its ever-present reverb—of the 1980s is the decade’s signature sound. It instantly identifies the era in which such songs were produced. And yes, it lasted for the first couple of years in the 90s.

But anyway, this is the most correct answer to the OP’s question:

[quote] There were definitely music in the 70s that were more fringe that became the typical sound of the 80's. I mean I think the first 1990's album was 1983's Violent Femmes self-titled. Kraftwerk, Sparks, Blondie, Talking Heads made songs in the 70s that sound like what we think of 80's.

The first “80s-sounding” song is definitely from the 70s. I don’t know what song that would be, though. Devo were recording things in their basement in the early to mid-70s that sound like early 80s New Wave.

The person thinks the first 80s song was Phil Collins’s “In The Air Tonight” must have been born after the turn of this century.

For some reason, Joe Jackson's "Steppin' Out" gives me a strong 80s feel.

"Telecommunications" by A Flock of Seagulls.

The Manhattan Transfer - "Boy From New York City"

Cheap Trick ("I Want You to Want Me") was one of those 70s songs going into the 80s sound.

The first #1 single in the U.S. in 1980 was Escape (The Pina Colada Song) by Rupert Holmes, soon to be replaced in the top spot by Please Don't Go, K.C. and the Sunshine Band, on January 5, 1980.

What was the “Manhattan Transfer” anyway? Not the band, but the name. It came from a book or a movie, right? Was it ever identified as any specific station in the public transit system? I’ve always wondered about this.

R72, Manhattan Transfer was a 1925 novel by John Dos Passos.

Some excellent choices here - for me, the first song I remember hearing that sounded like something new was the Motels' "Only the Lonely". Oddly I remember also thinking it sounded somehow old-fashioned but I can't explain why.

I also apparently can't post links.

Thanks for all your input.

1980 was still pre-MTV (which debuted in August 1981, right?). Big #1 hits of 1980 included Another Brick in the Wall (Pink Floyd), Just Like Starting Over (John Lennon), Rock With You (MJ), Woman in Love (Barbra), Upside Down (Diana), Another One Bites the Dust (Queen), and Lady (Kenny Rogers). Oh yeah, don't forget the #1s Do That To Me One More Time (The Captain and Tennille) and Sailing (Christopher Cross)!

[quote] the first song I remember hearing that sounded like something new was the Motels' "Only the Lonely". Oddly I remember also thinking it sounded somehow old-fashioned but I can't explain why.

It sounds old fashioned because it uses a lot of major-seventh chords, reminiscent of early 70s singer-songwriter fare (and maaaaybe some pop standards of the 40s?). I assume that’s what you’re referring to, because the “production” of that song (arrangement and mixing) is pure 80s.

Suddenly Last Summer (Motels) sounded old-fashioned, too.

All roads lead to Funkytown.

[quote] Suddenly Last Summer (Motels) sounded old-fashioned, too.

Never heard this one before, listening now. It is similar to “Only the Lonely” in that it sounds like it could’ve been composed in the early 70s and been an “AM Gold” hit, if you can imagine it with an arrangement more typical of that period (e.g. lose the synths and the very 80s-style distorted electric guitar). The main riff, played toward the bottom end of the keyboard, has a weird note in it that’s typical of the more melodically daring late 60s/70s pop compositions. It also has a keyboard right in the beginning that sounds like a xylophone—another late 60s/early 70s staple.

R77, yes, that must be it - I was aware the the way the song was "finished" seemed new but that the song almost made me think of torch-era ballads from the 40s. "Suddenly Last Summer" was similar.

I don't know enough about how music is composed to figure things like this out.

Fun fact: The Motels first recorded Take My Breath Away (for the Top Gun soundtrack) but movie producers rejected it and gave the song to Berlin to record (who took it to #1).

All these song titles, are bringing up some great memories, as I was in the 9th grade at the beginning of 1980. Although it was recorded in 1978, the first B-52's album, is what started the 80's for me.

1980 Part 2 =

Part 3 =

Part 4 =

I would've went with this one =

Best New Artist Grammy winner of 1980: Christopher Cross

John Lennon - Woman

Wow, I didn’t know there was an official music video for “9 to 5”.

That song is a weird one—it doesn’t sound like New Wave obviously, and it doesn’t sound like the (increasingly poppy) mainstream Country of the time. It sounds mostly like a sitcom theme song, sort of like The Facts Of Life.

Islands in the Stream (1983, Kenny and Dolly), written by the BeeGees

By the early 80s music was fun again. Along with the New Wave/British invasion/synth-pop and goth- many artists who had been dormant for years were recording again. It was a great time.

As music changed from the sounds of 70s music to that of the 80s, there were transitional songs that bridged the gap. So they may have 80s elements but were not quite yet 80s music. The first 80s song would need to be one that is distinct from late 70s music.

Daryl Hall & John Oates - Kiss On My List

A song like Funkytown is considered Disco and Funk, so still rooted in the 70s. Pop Muzik, on the other hand, is a song that is New Wave and Synthpop.

Funky Town (Lipps, Inc)

I'm Coming Out (Diana Ross)

Also, Wake Me Up (Wham!), Material Girl (Madonna).

"Love Plus One," Haircut 100.

The '80s was a time for dance / club music.

The Clash, London Calling, etc., Rock the Casbah. Gives me 80s feels.

I think OP meant a song released during the year 1980 which, looking back, was characteristic of what become the sound of the 80s as a decade.

Agreed R99. I think some folks are just naming songs at random.

"Wake Me Up" from '84 & "Material Girl" from '85?

Why not just say Janet's "Miss U Much" from '89 & be done with it?

Toy Soldier (Martika) and all of the Milli Vanilli hits.

Talking Heads - Psycho Killer

or

Blondie - Call Me

Here's the year-end Hot 100, Billboard, for 1980. I would say "Call Me" and "Cars" gave us the first flavor of the '80s.

Oh definitely Pop Muzik by M

M, "Pop Muzik" from 1979

[quote]Funky Town (Lipps, Inc)

That wasn't an 80s song as most would define it. It was the last gasp of the disco era.

R99: Thank you!

Come On Eileen - DMR

Roxy Music was the first "80s" band.

Released in 1981.

The Unguarded Moment by The Church was released in 1981. Big hit for them and I always liked the lyrics.

I love this article from The Onion. They were satirizing 1976’s “Disco Inferno” and probably a few other songs, too. Not 1980s, but I just had to pass the article along. It’s timeless,

Anyone remember "Kids in America?" It came out in '81 and I remember it went into heavy rotation on KROQ in L.A.

1983, Thriller, by Michael Jackson.

R113, I didn’t know that song until a cover of it was included on the Clueless soundtrack.

Where were music videos played before MTV?

Abba - Super Trouper

Roxy Music - Same Old Scene

The first 80s sounding music was The Cars Just What I needed . The first 90s sounding music was Soul II Soul's Back to Life.

Eurythmics felt early 80’s. Synth and gender non conformity. Sweet dreams were made of that.

The cool kids were listening to French synth pop. Voyage voyage by Desireless. Still holds up.

R116: Videos were played on different variety shows and music shows: Midnight Special, Soul Train, Bandstand, etc. Casey Kasem had a show called America's Top Ten in 79-80 that played two or three videos. Nothing like MTV in 81.

Go-Go's "We Got The Beat" from October, 1980.

Didn't become a hit for another year or two, but it's definitely an 80s song.

R12---A colored light dance floor and aroma of poppers wafting by...