1984 in music.

R.E.M.'s Murmur won 1983. Let's see who wins 1984.

Billboard chart-topping albums of 1984:
Michael Jackson - Thriller (cont. from '82)
Soundtrack - Footloose
Huey Lewis and the News - Sports
Bruce Springsteen - Born in the U.S.A.
Prince - Purple Rain

Billboard chart-topping singles of 1984:
Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson - Say Say Say (cont. from '83)
Yes - Owner of a Lonely Hear
Culture Club - Karma Chameleon
Van Halen - Jump
Kenny Loggins - Footloose
Against All Odds - Phil Collins
Lionel Richie - Hello
Deniece Williams - Let's Heart it For the Boys
Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time
Duran Duran - The Reflex
Prince - When Doves Cry
Ray Parker - Ghostbusters
Tina Turner - What's Love Got to Do With It
John Waite - Missing You
Prince - Let's Go Crazy
Stevie Wonder - I Just Called to Say I Love You
Billy Ocean - Caribbean Queen
Wham! - Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
Hall and Oates - Out of Touch
Madonna - Like a Virgin

What are your top three albums for 1984? We will keep a running tally and eventually have some sort of bracket. For me it would be:
1. The Replacements - Let it Be
2. Metallica - Ride the Lightning
3. Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime

What are some of the forgotten gems from the year? What is overrated? What did you discover at a young age and what did you discover later?

YEARS IN MUSIC • forum.chorus.fm

 

rest of the top 10:
4. u2 - the unforgettable fire
5. rem - reckoning
6. black flag - my war
7. husker du - zen arcade
8. nick cave - from her to eternity
9. the smiths - the smiths
10. roger waters - the pros and cons of hitch hiking

honorable mentions:
black flag - slip it in
bruce springsteen - born in the usa
dio - the last in line
echo and the bunnymen - ocean rain
inxs - the swing
iron maiden - powerslave
marginal man - identity
meat puppets - ii
psychedelic furs - mirror moves
queen - the works
ramones - too tough to die
rush - grace under pressure

stuff to check out:
billy bragg - brewing up with billy bragg
the blue nile - a walk across rooftops
the cars - heartbeat city
cocteau twins - treasure
don henley - building the perfect beast
huey lewis and the news - sports
judas priest - defenders of the faith
lou reed - new sensations
madonna - like a virgin
prefab sprout - swoon
prince - purple rain
sade - diamond life
the scorpions - love at first sting
siouxsie and the banshees - hyaena
talk talk - it’s my life
van halen - 1984
violent femmes - hallowed ground
voivod - war and pain
the waterboys - a pagan place

 

Some heavyweights in '84.

 

van fucking halen

 

1. Prince and The Revolution - Purple Rain
2. Bruce Springsteen - Born in the U.S.A.
3. Don Henley - Building the Perfect Beast

Excruciating cuts:
The Replacements - Let It Be
Metallica - Ride the Lightning

Others I love:
Cyndi Lauper - She's So Unusual
Various Artists - Footloose Soundtrack
Pretenders - Learning to Crawl
Pat Benatar - Tropico

Good ones:
Cocteau Twins - Treasure
The Blue Nile - A Walk Across Rooftops
The Cars - Heartbeat City
The Temptations - Truly for You
Tina Turner - Private Dancer
Van Halen - 1984
Bryan Adams - Reckless
Dan Fogelberg - Windows and Walls
George Strait - Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind?
Steve Perry - Street Talk
Philip Bailey - Chinese Wall
R.E.M. - Reckoning
Wham! - Make It Big
Madonna - Like a Virgin
Sheila E. - The Glamorous Life
Dio - The Last in Line
U2 - The Unforgettable Fire
The Smiths - The Smiths
Run-D.M.C. - Run-D.M.C.
Rush - Grace Under Pressure
Billy Ocean - Suddenly
Iron Maiden - Powerslave
John Lennon and Yoko Ono - Milk and Honey
Sheena Easton - A Private Heaven
Sade - Diamond Life
Various Artists - Ghostbusters Soundtrack
Jefferson Starship - Nuclear Furniture
Glen Frey - The Allnighter
Christine McVie - Christine McVie
John Waite - No Brakes
AC/DC - 74 Jailbreak EP
Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble - Couldn't Stand the Weather
Shannon - Let the Music Play
Teddy Pendergrass - Love Language
The Bangles - All Over the Place

Not a fan:
Jermaine Jackson - Jermaine Jackson
James Blood Ulmer - Odyssey

Targets for Listening
David Bowie - Tonight
Howard Jones - Human's Lib
Rickie Lee Jones - The Magazine
Chaka Khan - I Feel for You
Kool & the Gang - Emergency
Naked Eyes - Fuel for the Fire
Simple Minds - Sparkle in the Rain
Talk Talk - It's My Life
Lloyd Cole and The Commotions - Rattlesnakes
Echo and the Bunnymen - Ocean Rain
Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Welcome to the Pleasuredome
Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime
Youssou N'dour - Immigres
Style Council - Cafe Bleu
Meat Puppets - Meat Puppets II
Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense
Los Lobos - How Will the Wolf Survive?
Sammy Hagar - VOA
Scorpions - Love at First Sting
Chris DeBurgh - Man on the Line
Scandal - The Warrior
Foreigner - Agent Provocateur
Husker Du - Zen Arcade
Ruben Blades and Seis de Solar - Buscando America
Let's Active - Cypress
Del-Lords - Frontier Days
Linton Kewsi Johnson - Making History
Peter Wolf - Lights Out
Lyres - On Fire
The Everly Brothers - EB84
Del Fuegoes - The Longest Day
Ratt - Out of the Cellar
Survivor - Vital Signs
The Time - Ice Cream Castle
Nanci Griffith - Once in a Very Blue Moon
Psychedelic Furs - Mirror Moves

 

Wow some classics this year

 

1. The Blue Nile - A Walk Across Rooftops
2. Prince - Purple Rain
3. The Cure - The Top

 

Blue Nile have really grown into a recent favorite band over the last few years. Hats initially didn't grab me, but once it clicked it really clicked. A Walk Across Rooftops might even top it, depending on the day.

 

1. Price and the Revolution - Purple Rain
2. Bruce Springsteen - Born in the U.S.A.
3. Queen - The Works
4. John Lennon & Yoko Ono - Milk & Honey
5. The Cure - The Top
6. The Replacements - Let It Be

first listens that I dug, could eventually make the list

Bryan Adams - Reckless
Los Lobos - How Will The Wolf Survive?
R.E.M. - Reckoning
Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense
Wham! - Make It Big
Art of Noise - Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise?

 

1984 mix

 

i can’t believe i hadn’t heard purple rain in full before (obviously knew the singles). what the fuck man. fixed that today. it’s so good!!

 

Prince has such a deep and vast catalog that I can't fully fault you, hard to dive in to such overwhelming catalogs sometimes. Purple Rain is so damn good front to back though

 

I have thought the same thing about Prince for several years now - especially when he wasn't on streaming, even if I wanted to do a deep dive, it would require more effort than most are often willing to put forth.

But y'all are right - Purple Rain has to be the undeniable classic. I hope to spend some time with it this week as well.

 

There is some ineffable, magic quality in “I Would Die 4 U” that not a single other synth pop song has ever captured.

 

I think I’ve said a version of this before, but the amazing thing about Purple Rain is the same as the amazing thing about Born to Run: it’s a called shot. He wanted to make an all-timer that would make him one of the biggest stars in the world, and then he just…did it.

 

bruce still needed the rest of the band to do it though. prince just needed himself. a real auteur. damn.

 

I can’t believe those two albums came out in the same year. What’s the closest modern corollary to that?

 

huh? born to run was 75 haha

 

classic Born (in the USA / To Run) messup

 

Ha, misread Chris's post.

My question still stands, though: when's the last time you had two albums that were as culturally dominant as Purple Rain and Born in the USA in the same year?

 

Side note: my favorite bit of musical trivia for 1984 is that there were only five chart-topping albums for the entire year. Purple Rain, Born in the USA, Thriller. the Footloose soundtrack, and Sports by Huey Lewis and the News.

 

i feel like it happens a lot but nothing is coming to mind. luckily i will be looking at every year to point out when it happens haha

re: two albums the size of BUSA and PR

 

Actually there WERE albums where Prince did everything, but in that prime Revolution period, he really did collaborate with Wendy and Lisa a ton. They were much more of a working band than people realize, and you can hear it if you listen because Sign O the Times after he dismissed them has a very different sound.

 

I own all 5 of those and they all fucking rule

 

Yes. Yes they do.

Another fun fact: Thriller was the top selling album in both ‘83 and ‘84. The next album to win two years like that? Adele, 21.