There are a lot of things going on in today’s crazy, mixed-up world. We don’t need to enumerate them here, but suffice it to say, it often feels like too much is happening. But what can a person do to get everything around them to melt away? Well, we have one suggestion: pop music from 1984! Certain pop songs have the ability to make the rest of the world vanish. To turn the everyday events around you into candle wax that drips away down the drain. That’s what we wanted to dive into today. Indeed, these are three pop songs from 1984 that demand our focus and push everything else away.
Videos by American Songwriter
“Material Girl” by Madonna from ‘Like A Virgin’ (1984)
Madonna was known as the Queen of Pop in the 1980s and into the 90s. She was must-see TV and must-listen music. And in 1984, she cemented her legacy thanks to her LP, Like a Virgin, which included tons of excellent pop songs, including the bedazzled offering, “Material Girl”. Want to forget about your problems or the news headlines? Put on this song and bask in the shimmering gluttony of it all!
“Footloose” by Kenny Loggins from ‘Footloose’ (1984)
This impossibly catchy tune was released on the soundtrack for the 1984 film, Footloose. Starring Kevin Bacon, the movie centered on dancing. Thus, the excellent soundtrack. And an excellent soundtrack needs an excellent title song. So, put on your dancing shoes and forget about 2025, 2020, 2000, and 1990, and take a trip back to 1984 when electronic drums and synths were all a person needed to get by in the world.
“Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” by Wham! from ‘Make It Big’ (1984)
If anyone knew how to make a pop song, it was George Michael. And he showed that off well before he was a solo artist and a household name. Enter: his duo pop band Wham! and their intensely memorable catalog. At the top of the list is the band’s tune, “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”, a song inspired by a typo on a note hung on a bedroom door. That’s how talented Michael was; he could turn a spelling error into an all-timer.
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