Everybody wanted to be in on the pop music scene in the 1980s. As such, many personalities in the world of television and film tried their luck with singles and albums. And some enjoyed solid success.
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We narrowed this list down to four artists who managed to score pretty big hits as they tried something a little bit different from their day jobs. As for whether those songs hold up well, we’ll leave it up to you to decide.
Tracey Ullman
In this case, the artist in question hadn’t yet done a lot of acting in American projects when she dented the US pop charts. Yet by the time she recorded her debut album, You Broke My Heart In 17 Places, in 1983, Ullman had already made a name for herself in the UK in a series of comedy-based TV shows. For the song that Ullman turned into a big US hit, she turned to Kirsty MacColl, a singer-songwriter who had written and recorded “They Don’t Know” a few years earlier. MacColl helped Ullman out by arranging the backing vocals, and she also performed the last “Baby” in the song (because Ullman couldn’t hit the note). A video that featured a cameo appearance from Paul McCartney didn’t hurt either.
Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy had shown plenty of musical flair on screen throughout the early part of his career. Think of his Stevie Wonder and James Brown impersonations on Saturday Night Live or his wailing of The Police’s “Roxanne” in 48 Hours. Murphy apparently made a $100,000 bet with his comic hero Richard Pryor that he’d record an album. Not only did he do so, but he came away with a Top 5 hit in the US in 1985 with “Party All The Time”. Written and produced by Rick James, the song finds Murphy worrying over a girl who’s more interested in wild times than building a relationship with him. Murphy added another Top 40 hit in 1989 with “Put Your Mouth On Me”.
Don Johnson
Don Johnson had knocked around in Hollywood for more than a decade when he stumbled onto the role of Sonny Crockett in Miami Vice. The show put music at the forefront like no other on television, both in terms of the songs that played over the action and the many music luminaries who guested. It made sense then that Johnson would try his luck at a singing career. And he earned a big hit right off the bat with “Heartbeat”, a Top 10 single in 1986. His on-screen partner Philip Michael Thomas also released an album around the same time, although it didn’t do as well. A few years later, Johnson duetted with Barbra Streisand, whom he was dating at the time, on “Till I Loved You”, another Top 40 hit.
Bruce Willis
Anybody who watched the romantic comedy/drama Moonlighting in the 1980s could probably tell that star Bruce Willis was quite musical. Willis’ character was prone to break out into song at any given moment. By 1987, Willis had added movie stardom to his list of accomplishments. That meant his exposure was at an all-time high, the perfect time to launch a musical career. The Return Of Bruno served as a kind of soundtrack for a musical special that Willis headlined in 1987. Instead of going the pure pop or rock route, Willis indulged his love of R&B on the project. And he ended up with a hit with the song “Respect Yourself”, a cover of The Staples Singers’ classic.
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