3 Classic Rock Grammy Award Winners From 1985 We Still Stan

It’s important to take a snapshot of a year. When it comes to art and performance, there is so much going on day-to-day that it can be hard to remember what happened earlier in the calendar, let alone the decade or century! But that’s why we created award shows, to mark an inflection point in culture.

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Here below, we wanted to highlight three award-winning rock artists from 1985—a trio of key figures in the middle of the 1980s who helped to shape popular music and culture in the moment and for years to come. Indeed, these are three classic rock Grammy Award-winners from 1985 we still stan.

Tina Turner

When you distill everything down, when you get to the essence of the matter, Tina Turner may have had the best rock singing voice of all time. Sure, the field is packed with the likes of Robert Plant, John Lennon, Ann Wilson, and others, but Turner, when she reached back and catapulted her vocals to the rafters, could rock them all. Her voice at the top of the mountain might create the largest avalanche. And in 1985, she was honored for that talent, taking home the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Song of the Year, among others, for her iconic tune, “What’s Love Got To Do With It”.

Lionel Richie

Lionel Richie had quite a night at the 1985 Grammy Awards. While Turner took home the trophies for Record of the Year and Song of the Year, Richie received Album of the Year and Producer of the Year for his fun-loving LP, Can’t Slow Down, which includes songs like “Hello” and “All Night Long (All Night)”. His smooth vocals and magnetic charm have always been undeniable.

Cyndi Lauper

At the 1985 Grammy Awards, Cyndi Lauper earned a number of marquee nominations, including nods for Song of the Year and Album of the Year. But while she didn’t take any of those trophies home, the eye- and ear-catching Lauper did receive the honor for Best New Artist. That cemented her status as a rising force, thanks to the LP, which included tracks like “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” and “Time After Time”.

Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Cyndi Lauper