The 1980s remain one of the favorite eras in rock music. With a wide variety of music, these are three of the most empowering rock songs ever released, which all came out in 1985.
Videos by American Songwriter
“St. Elmo’s Fire”
It’s hard not to feel invincible listening to John Parr sing “St. Elmo’s Fire“. Written by Parr and David Foster, the inspiring tune was written for the St. Elmo’s Fire film, also out in 1985. The blockbuster film, with an all-star cast that includes Demi Moore, Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, and others, helped propel “St. Elmo’s Fire” to the top of the charts.
The uptempo tune says, “I can see a new horizon underneath the blazing sky / I’ll be where the eagle’s flying higher and higher / Gonna be your man in motion, all I need’s this pair of wheels / Take me where my future’s lying, St. Elmo’s fire.”
St. Elmo’s Fire” is the only No. 1 of Parr’s career. Also called “St. Elmo’s Fire (Man In Motion)”, Parr was inspired to write the song by seeing a news clip about Rick Hansen, who was traveling the country in a wheelchair on the Man in Motion Tour to raise awareness about spinal cord injuries.
“We Built This City” by Starship
Starship had a No. 1 hit with “We Built This City”, their first single as Starship. Formerly known as Jefferson Starship, the name changed due to legal issues. But Starship hit the ground running with “We Built This City”. The tune is written by Bernie Taupin, Martin Page, Dennis Lambert, and Peter Wolf.
“We Built This City” says, “Say you don’t know me or recognize my face / Say you don’t care who goes to that kind of place / Knee deep in the hoopla, sinking in your fight / Too many runaways eating up the night … We built this city / We built this city on rock and roll.”
In later years, “We Built This City” was panned as being one of the worst songs from the 80s. But to Wolf, it remains a success story.
“It sounded like nothing else on the radio,” Wolf tells GQ. “And [it] had a very in-your-face, hard-edged machine bottom. Yes, I’m proud of it. Sure. The mockery came way later.”
“We Are The World” by Various Artists
“We Are The World” is, without question, one of the most inspiring songs ever released. Written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, more than a dozen artists performed on the song. “We Are The World” raised money and awareness about the massive famine occurring in Ethiopia.
Waylon Jennings, Cyndi Lauper, Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, and Diana Ross are just some of the many artists who sing on “We Are The World”.
“We Are The World” says, “We are the world / We are the children / We are the ones who make a brighter day, so let’s start giving / There’s a choice we’re making / We’re saving our own lives / It’s true we’ll make a better day, just you and me.“
Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images
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