Updated Articles and Resources

By Steve Peake, About.com Guide

Power Pop Genre Profile Created: Thursday, May 16, 2013 Updated: Thursday, May 16, 2013
Although its roots reach back to The Beatles and other late-'60s folk rock pioneers and its peak undoubtedly occurred during the early '70s, the melodic rock music genre known as power pop exerted ...
Top Fleetwood Mac Songs of the '80s Created: Tuesday, April 30, 2013 Updated: Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Though known mostly for its peak late '70s period of stardom, romantic drama between bandmates and its members' various solo endeavors, legendary rock band Fleetwood Mac also made several major con...
Top Steve Earle Songs of the '80s Created: Saturday, April 27, 2013 Updated: Saturday, April 27, 2013
Though active for nearly a decade previously as a burgeoning singer-songwriter on the Texas music scene, eclectic country rock artist Steve Earle seemed to emerge suddenly as an important figure du...
Top Deep Purple Songs of the '80s Created: Saturday, April 13, 2013 Updated: Saturday, April 13, 2013
When legendary classic rock band Deep Purple rises up as the subject of discussion among music enthusiasts, the band's initial early '70s period usually receives the lion's share of attention. Thou...
The Replacements Artist Profile Created: Sunday, October 07, 2012 Updated: Thursday, April 11, 2013
Inspired by the energy and reckless abandon of punk rock, Minneapolis band The Replacements combined a power pop fixation with a hardscrabble bar band vibe to become one of the pioneering '80s band...
Profile of Post-Hardcore Underground Rock Band Husker Du Created: Sunday, October 30, 2011 Updated: Tuesday, April 09, 2013
As one of the most challenging and beloved college rock bands of the '80s, Husker Du set the stage for the ensuing explosion of alternative music's popularity. However, the Minneapolis trio also bu...
Top Songs of Pioneering '80s Alternative Rock Band Husker Du Created: Tuesday, April 09, 2013 Updated: Tuesday, April 09, 2013
Initially, Husker Du's songs were short blasts of aggressive guitar, shouted vocals and breakneck tempos. However, as the trio grew and expanded its sound, a greater emphasis on melody and genre ex...
Top Weird Al Yankovic Songs of the '80s Created: Thursday, March 28, 2013 Updated: Thursday, March 28, 2013
Emerging during the '70s as a nerdy wildman partial to the accordion, "Weird Al" Yankovic eventually became a major pop music artist of the '80s by perfecting the novelty song through pop music par...
Top Christopher Cross Songs of the '80s Created: Sunday, March 24, 2013 Updated: Sunday, March 24, 2013
More than 30 years after American singer-songwriter Christopher Cross burst onto the pop music scene seemingly out of nowhere, it may seem hard to believe that this artist reached the high level of...
Christopher Cross Artist Profile Created: Sunday, December 30, 2012 Updated: Sunday, March 24, 2013
As the '80s began, no mainstream pop singer-songwriter made a bigger instant impact than Christopher Cross, whose soft rock-styled debut album became one of the biggest hits of the '80s. Commercial...
Top Bonnie Tyler Songs of the '80s Created: Thursday, March 21, 2013 Updated: Thursday, March 21, 2013
Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler got her start as a somewhat country-tinged soft rock artist, making a mild mark on the late-'70s pop music landscape. However, she truly became a pop superstar after hooki...
Top David Bowie Solo Songs of the '80s Created: Saturday, March 16, 2013 Updated: Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Classic rock legend and reliable stylistic chameleon David Bowie has enjoyed a consistent and exciting career as a solo artist for more than four decades. The English singer-songwriter has recently...
New Romantic Genre Profile Created: Wednesday, February 27, 2013 Updated: Wednesday, February 27, 2013
As a subgenre of the larger earlier-'80s categories new wave and synth pop, the New Romantic movement of the first half of the decade emphasized smooth, debonair visual styles along with crooning v...
Graham Parker Artist Profile Created: Friday, February 22, 2013 Updated: Friday, February 22, 2013
Highly revered British singer-songwriter Graham Parker has built a solid, tremendously active long-term career as both bandleader and solo artist. Although his peak period probably falls in the 10 ...
Ray Parker, Jr. Artist Profile Created: Thursday, February 14, 2013 Updated: Thursday, February 14, 2013
Blessed with a warm, relaxed voice if not an unforgettable one, R&B singer-songwriter and solo artist Ray Parker, Jr. became an important '80s figure and is still highly identifiable with the decad...
Profile of English Synth Pop Singer-Songwriter Howard Jones Created: Sunday, December 11, 2011 Updated: Friday, February 08, 2013
Technologically savvy keyboard master Howard Jones burst onto the the U.K. and U.S. pop music scenes during the early '80s, blending in with but also redefining the new wave and synth pop of the pe...
Top Howard Jones Songs of the '80s Created: Friday, February 08, 2013 Updated: Friday, February 08, 2013
Known for his shock of blond hair and his skills with the synthesizer, British singer-songwriter Howard Jones became a major figure of '80s music during the middle part of the decade. Alternating b...
Profile of All-Female '80s Pop Band the Bangles Created: Sunday, April 23, 2006 Updated: Saturday, February 02, 2013
Though they originated from L.A.'s Paisley Underground scene, the Bangles became one of the decade's biggest chart-toppers during the mid- to late-'80s, following a decided shift to mainstream pop....
Top Mr. Mister Songs of the '80s Created: Wednesday, January 30, 2013 Updated: Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Though known almost exclusively for three consecutive Top 10 pop hits during the mid '80s (including two iconic number one singles), keyboard-based, post-new wave outfit Mr. Mister sustained a rela...
Mr. Mister Artist Profile Created: Wednesday, January 16, 2013 Updated: Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Though never respected critically and considered to represent only the basest impulses of '80s music, Mr. Mister remains a key artist of the mid '80s. Led by Richard Page and his blue-eyed soul voc...
Billy Ocean Artist Profile Created: Monday, January 21, 2013 Updated: Monday, January 21, 2013
British pop and R&B singer Billy Ocean nimbly referenced his Caribbean roots en route to music superstar status during the mid '80s. Active for the entire decade, Ocean took advantage of his sparkl...
Top Ratt Songs of the '80s Created: Wednesday, January 09, 2013 Updated: Wednesday, January 09, 2013
As one of the most consistent and hard-edged representatives of the L.A.-based hair metal era, Ratt featured a sneering lead vocalist and a muscular, nimble dual-guitar attack. Even so, the band ge...
The Motels Artist Profile Created: Sunday, December 16, 2012 Updated: Thursday, December 27, 2012
As one of several Los Angeles-area bands to thrive in the new wave scene of the early '80s, The Motels also own the distinction of becoming nationally relevant on the strength of a charismatic, sex...
Top Songs of The Motels Created: Thursday, December 27, 2012 Updated: Thursday, December 27, 2012
'80s new wave/mainstream rock band The Motels emerged as one of the era's finest and most successful rock bands fronted by a female lead vocalist. Almost out of necessity, that meant a certain amou...
Top Gloria Estefan Songs of the '80s Created: Wednesday, December 12, 2012 Updated: Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Cuban-American pop singer Gloria Estefan began her singing career during the late '70s with Miami Sound Machine, an ensemble that was limited in its initial success to Spanish-language markets. How...
Top '80s Songs of The Outfield Created: Thursday, December 06, 2012 Updated: Thursday, December 06, 2012
English guitar rock band The Outfield always exhibited what seemed like a far more American sensibility than a British one, favoring big hooks and arena rock guitars in its late-'80s output. For th...
The Outfield Artist Profile Created: Wednesday, May 23, 2012 Updated: Thursday, December 06, 2012
Audiences may not have been aware of it at the time based on the highly accessible mainstream rock sound of The Outfield, but the impossibly melodic trio actually hailed from London, England. Opera...
Top Squeeze Songs of the '80s Created: Thursday, November 29, 2012 Updated: Friday, November 30, 2012
U.K. new wave guitar pop band Squeeze suffered for most of its career from constant personnel changes, but the stalwart songwriting partnership of Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook produced some of ...
Squeeze Artist Profile Created: Sunday, September 16, 2012 Updated: Thursday, November 29, 2012
Although new wave was generally the domain of American artists during the early '80s, U.K. band Squeeze emerged as a unique exception. Featuring a greater emphasis on pop songcraft than many contem...
Profile & Biography of British Singer-Songwriter Kate Bush Created: Sunday, November 25, 2012 Updated: Sunday, November 25, 2012
British singer-songwriter Kate Bush burst onto the U.K. music scene with highly popular hit albums in her homeland. However, as she traversed the '80s Bush managed to remain a major star in Britain...
Top Berlin Songs of the '80s Created: Saturday, November 24, 2012 Updated: Saturday, November 24, 2012
Led by the songwriting of founding member John Crawford and the lead vocals of sexy frontwoman Terri Nunn, American synth pop band Berlin became one of the more engaging acts of the first half of t...
Tears for Fears Artist Profile Created: Monday, November 05, 2012 Updated: Friday, November 16, 2012
Britain's Tears for Fears filled a niche during the first half of the '80s for contemplative, introspective songwriting delivered in the form of impassioned synthesizer-laced, guitar-driven pop son...