3 Classic Rock AMA Winners From 1987 We Still Listen to Today

There was a lot to celebrate at the 1987 American Music Awards. The 1980s were in full swing, the decade had separated itself from the 1970s, and the 1990s were still a long ways away. Indeed, it was the delightful center of the era and there were plenty of artists to hold up in high regard.

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Here below, we wanted to look back nearly 40 years in the past and do the same. We wanted to remember three of the rock acts that the 1987 AMAs honored so that we could honor them ourselves. These are three classic rock AMA winners from 1987 we still stan.

Whitney Houston

The 1987 American Music Awards was essentially a party for Whitney Houston. Not only did she perform at the show, not only was she nominated for a slew of awards in a slew of categories, but Houston took home a whopping five trophies by the time the show had concluded, including Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist, Favorite Pop/Rock Album for her self-titled LP Whitney Houston, Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist, Favorite Soul/R&B Album, and Favorite Soul/R&B Video for her track “Greatest Love Of All”. For the woman known as The Voice, it was a veritable coronation.

Lionel Richie

It seems like every award show in the 1980s was handing out trophies to the great Lionel Richie. But in 1987 that was most assuredly the case, as the crooner took home awards for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist, Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist, Favorite Soul/R&B Male Video Artist, and Favorite Pop/Rock Video for his song “Dancing On The Ceiling”. For Richie, who is nearly as recognizable today as he was 40 years ago (thanks to his role as judge on American Idol these days), 1987 was certainly a good year!

Huey Lewis And The News

Music fans today may not remember the name, but in the mid-to-late 1980s, Huey Lewis And The News was a big-time band. They wrote songs like the 1985 tune “The Power Of Love”, which landed on major movie soundtracks like Back To The Future. And in 1987, the group took home trophies for Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group and Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group Video Artist for their efforts. Now is as good a time as ever to dive back in!

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