Music Films Films that incorporated dance were
common throughout the 1980’s. For breakdancing,
there wereBreakin’andBreakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo,
both released in 1984.Fame(1980) set the classic
stylings of ballet and modern dance alongside pop
music.Footloose(1984) used dancing as a means of
civilized rebellion at a conservative high school.
Flashdance(1983) depicted the incongruous worlds
of an exotic dancer’s roles as welder by day and
dancer by night, all at odds with her dream of enter-
ing ballet school, andDirty Dancing(1987) told
the coming-of-age story of a girl who learns classic
paired dancing as taught by her attractive teacher,
played by Patrick Swayze.
Impact The 1980’s saw the rise of new music gen-
res, rap/hip-hop in particular, that became main-
stream in later decades. Also, many artists who have
since been acknowledged for their pioneering con-
tributions to the music industry largely began their
careers in the 1980’s. Music audiences and perform-
ers of the decade became increasingly aware of
genre-bending possibilities that were possible and
necessary to keep music a viable form of expression.
Further Reading
Bannister, Matthew.White Boys, White Noise: Mascu-
linities and 1980’s Indie Guitar Rock. Burlington,
Vt.: Ashgate, 2006. Discusses the underground
stylings of the Smiths, R.E.M., the Replacements,
and others as presenting a masculinity different
from that of mainstream rock music.
McCoy, Judy.Rap Music in the 1980’s.Lanham, Md.:
Scarecrow Press, 1992. Charts the evolution of
rap and analyzes the culture, politics, and artists
relevant to the genre. Discusses more than sev-
enty essential rap albums.
Weinstein, Deena.Heavy Metal and Its Culture.Cam-
bridge, Mass.: Da Capo Press, 2000. Examines the
genre from its beginnings through the 1990’s.
Provides a discussion of venues, media, and per-
formers particular to heavy metal.
Dodie Marie Miller
See also Androgyny; Blondie; Bon Jovi; Boom
boxes; Boy George and Culture Club; Break danc-
ing; Cable television; Cher; Compact discs (CDs);
Dance, popular; Demographics of the United States;
Devo; Duran Duran; Fads; Fashions and clothing;
Generation X; Go-Go’s, The; Grant, Amy; Guns n’
Roses; Heavy metal; Hip-hop and rap; Houston,
Whitney; Jackson, Michael; Journey; Latinos; Lau-
per, Cyndi; Leg warmers; Live Aid; Madonna; Mel-
lencamp, John Cougar; Michael, George; Mötley
Crüe; MTV; Mullet; Music videos; New Wave music;
Osbourne, Ozzy; Parental advisory stickers; Pop mu-
sic; Preppies; Prince; Public Enemy; R.E.M.; Richie,
Lionel; Run-D.M.C.; Springsteen, Bruce; Sting; Syn-
thesizers; Teen films; Teen singers; USA for Africa;
U2; Van Halen; Women in rock music.Music videos
Definition Short films featuring a performance of
an artist’s musical work or conceptThe music video became a cultural phenomenon that
changed and revitalized the music industr y and spawned
the creation of cable channels devoted to the music video.The music video can be traced back to the first musi-
cal movie,The Jazz Singer(1927), starring Al Jolson.
Later musical stars, such as the Beatles and Elvis
Presley, also appeared in musical films. Eventually,
artists saw value in creating promotional clips for
music labels to get an idea of their image and music.
Cable companies in the 1980’s were expanding the
number of channels they were offering and needed
to find more content. The music industry initially
had little to do with music videos, which was re-
flected by the primary investors in the launch of
MTV (Music Television): American Express and
Warner Bros. One of the most expensive videos of
the time, “Ashes to Ashes” (1980), by David Bowie,
showed the potential of the medium. These factors,
in combination with the advent of affordable high-
quality video recorders, opened the way for a suc-
cessful launch of an all-music video channel.Early Music Videos MTV first aired on August 1,
1981, with the video for “Video Killed the Radio
Star,” by the Buggles. The clip was indicative of early
music videos, which tended to rely heavily on humor
and camp to promote a song. Many of the videos in
the early 1980’s were imported from England and
Australia, where there had been a faster move to
singles-based music. Both countries had music video
countdown shows, so their artists had an advantage
over American artists. Duran Duran in particular
was well known for its expensive and visually appeal-
ing videos. The band also made the first video to be686 Music videos The Eighties in America