40 sensational songs from the 1980s

Grab Bag

We have finished with the six major categories. Now comes the lightning round – ten more songs from five more genres, no less brilliant than what has come before.

New Wave

“Call Me” by Blondie (1980)

The song that preceded the aforementioned “Funkytown” at the top of the charts dominated the Spring of 1980. It wasn't released on a Blondie album – instead, it came from the movie American Gigolo. It combined the prodigious (though not immediately complimentary) talents of composer Giorgio Moroder and lyricist/singer Debbie Harry. Like “Funkytown,” a hit song in the early 1980s was bound to be influenced at least a little bit by the echoes of disco. Harry and her band don’t shy away from the beat, but they rock out hard and the effect is overwhelming.

“Burning Down the House” by the Talking Heads (1983)

There were still guitars in “Burning Down the House,” but there were more synths and electronics at play. On top of the funkiest of grooves, the collection of sounds created something new and fresh – the newest of new waves. In other hands, this might have been a mess. In David Byrnes', it was pure pop genius.

“Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper (1983)

The first single from Lauper’s debut album She’s So Unusual. The title was apt. Everything about the song was different. From Lauper’s delivery, which combined childlike joy with adult yearning, to the casting of wrestling icon Lou Albano in the role of her father in the accompanying video. There’s a swirl of synths that kick things off before the eminently danceable beat kicks in. Lauper took a song written by Robert Hazard and turned it into the most danceable feminist anthem of the decade.

“Material Girl” by Madonna (1984/ single 1985)

Madonna’s singles that bookended “Material Girl,” – “Like a Virgin” and “Crazy for You” – both reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, but her signature song only made it to number 2. REO Speedwagon’s “Can’t Fight This Feeling” kept it from the top spot. I say unto you, there is no justice in this world. It could have been worse.

As “Material Girl” began to drop on the chart, Phil Collins’ “One More Night” became number one. I can tolerate Speedwagon, though it is a pale slice of pop compared to the attitude of “Material Girl.” Had it been Phil Collins, well, that would have required harsher language.

Continued on the next slide