The Best Rock, Soul, and Rhythm and Blues Songs from the 80s
The 1980s were an incredible decade for music, with a wide range of genres and styles represented. From rock and soul to rhythm and blues, there were plenty of great songs to choose from. Here are our picks for the best rock, soul, and rhythm and blues songs from the 80s.
Rock
There are a lot of great rock songs from the 80s. Here are some of the best ones.
“Crazy Bitch” – Buckcherry
“Crazy Bitch” is a song by American rock band Buckcherry. It was released in 2005 as the lead single from their third album, 15. The song peaked at number one on the Mainstream Rock chart and at number two on the Alternative Songs chart. It also became a top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number seven.
“Shook Me All Night Long” – AC/DC
“Shook Me All Night Long” is a song by Australian rock band AC/DC, released as the lead single from their eighth studio album, Back in Black (1980). Written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young and Brian Johnson, the song was released in 1980 as a single and reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1981; it was AC/DC’s first US Top 40 hit and their second UK hit single after “Whole Lotta Rosie”. In 2010, “Shook Me All Night Long” was ranked No. 79 on Rolling Stone’s list of the “100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time”, while in 2009 it was ranked No. 2 on AOL Radio’s list of The Top 500 Classic Rock Songs.
The well-known opening guitar riff to “Shook Me All Night Long” was ranked No. 4 by VH1 on its list of the “100 Greatest Guitar Riffs”.[4] In March 2005, Q placed the riff at No. 1 in a list of the “100 Greatest Riffs Ever”, adding that it is one of only three songs where Angus Young plays lead guitar throughout;[5] the others are “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)” and “Let There Be Rock”. In 2009, it was named the greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.
“Satisfaction” – Rolling Stones
“Satisfaction” is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released in 1965. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and produced byAndrew Loog Oldham. Richards’ guitar work on the track is among his most celebrated. The song’s lyrical content originated from Richards’ insomnia-influenced dreams about a man with “big shoes” who Walking around a streetsweeper and kicking at cans.
The Rolling Stones named their upcoming 1965 tour in support of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”, which ample opportunity to play the song nightly during their two-month trek through North America. A live performance of the song was captured on their live album Got Live If You Want It!, which was released later that year. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine placed “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” in the second spot on its list of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time”, calling it “the greatest rock & roll anthem of all time”. In 2006, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for “its influence and significance in shaping the sound of rock and roll”.
Soul
When it comes to soulful songs from the 80s, there are a few that stand out above the rest. Songs like “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers and “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston are two examples of soulful classics that were popular in the 80s.
“Ain’t Nobody” – Chaka Khan
One of the most-sampled songs of all time, “Ain’t Nobody” was originally recorded by Rufus featuring Chaka Khan in 1983. The song hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the second single by Rufus to do so. “Ain’t Nobody” has been covered and sampled by many artists over the years, including LL Cool J, Mary J. Blige, and Whitney Houston.
“I Wanna Dance With Somebody” – Whitney Houston
Released in 1987, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” was the first single from Whitney Houston’s second studio album. The song became a global smash hit, topping charts in multiple countries and winning a Grammy Award for Record of the Year.
With its catchy hooks and feel-good message, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” remains one of Houston’s most popular songs, and is often considered one of the greatest songs of the 1980s.
“Superstition” – Stevie Wonder
“Superstition” is a song by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder, released on October 24, 1972, as the lead single from his fifteenth studio album, Talking Book. The song’s lyrics deal with superstitions and how they can be overcome. It also contains one of the most popular examples of a bass line in funk music. The song was produced by Wonder and written by Wonder and Jeff Beck.
“Superstition” reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for one week and number one on the Cash Box chart for two weeks in early 1973, becoming Wonder’s fourth hit single. It was his first single to reach number one in the United Kingdom, where it spent three weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart in February 1973. In 2001, “Superstition” was nominated for grammy Hall of Fame.
Rhythm and Blues
There are many great songs from the 80s that are still popular today. Rhythm and blues is a genre that was popular in the 80s and is still popular today. In this article, we will be discussing the best rock, soul, and rhythm and blues songs from the 80s.
“Let’s Get It On” – Marvin Gaye
Released in 1973, “Let’s Get It On” was one of Marvin Gaye’s most successful singles. The song helped to solidify his reputation as a sex symbol and established him as one of the most successful R&B artists of the 1970s. The song is a slow, sensual ballad with sexually suggestive lyrics. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.
“Sexual Healing” – Marvin Gaye
Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” was one of the most popular R&B songs of the 1980s. It was written by Gaye, Odell Brown, and David Ritz, and produced by Gaye and Brown. The song was released in 1982 as a single from Gaye’s album Midnight Love. “Sexual Healing” became Gaye’s biggest hit single in several years, reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and becoming his first gold-certified single. The song won a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at the 26th Grammy Awards.
“I Heard It Through the Grapevine” – Marvin Gaye
This song was originally released by Marvin Gaye in 1968, but it was re-released in the 1980s and became a huge hit all over again. The song is about a man who is trying to figure out if his woman is cheating on him, and it’s filled with suspense and sexual tension. It’s one of the most iconic rhythm and blues songs of all time, and it’s still as popular as ever.
