The Eighties in America Music: Popular Musicians 1129
Act Members Notable 1980’s Songs Notable Facts
U2 Paul “Bono” Hewson, Dave
“The Edge” Evans, Adam
Clayton, Larry Mullen, Jr.
“I Still Haven’t Found What
I’m Looking For,” “Where
the Streets Have No Name,”
“With or Without You”The briefcase with the lyrics
for U2’s 1981 albumOctober
was stolen, requiring Bono to
come up with lyrics in the
studio. The briefcase was
found and returned to Bono
in 2004.Van Halen* David Lee Roth, Eddie Van
Halen, Michael Anthony,
Alex Van Halen, Sammy
Hagar
“Jump,” “Panama,” “Why
Can’t This Be Love”Both Van Halen brothers were
trained in classical music as
children.Steve Winwood “Higher Love,” “Valerie,”
“While You See a Chance”
As a teenager Winwood sang
lead and played organ on the
Spencer Davis Group’s 1967
hits “Gimme Some Lovin’”
and “I’m a Man.”“Weird Al” Yankovic* “Eat It,” “I Love Rocky
Road,” “I Want a New Duck”
Yankovic’s career as rock’s
premier parodist was
launched when his “My
Bologna,” a parody of the
Knack’s “My Sharona,” was
played on the nationally
syndicated Dr. Demento radio
show in 1979.ZZ Top Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill,
Frank Beard
“Gimme All Your Lovin,”
“Legs,” “Sharp Dressed Man”ZZ Top’s best-known videos
were mini triumph-of-the-
underdog narratives that
featured the band members
and a trio of glamorous
women as fairy godparents.Arsenio Orteza