Inside the Rock Era has presented 90 of the decade's top AC artists. To start off the Top 10, a woman whose far-reaching talents have made her an icon:
10. Barbra Streisand
Streisand attended the Jewish Orthodox Yeshiva of Brooklyn, New York, where she sang her first solo at age seven. Barbra joined the Freshman Chorus and Choral Club at Erasmus Hall High School. Streisand became a nightclub singer while in her teens, performing at the Bon Soir and the Blue Angel, and starred in several small plays.
Streisand's first television appearance was on The Tonight Show in 1961 and was occasionally on the show PM East/PM West. She then appeared on Broadway in the musical I Can Get It for You Wholesale, which earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical. Barbra recorded her first album, The Barbra Streisand Album, in 1963, which won Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Female Vocal Performance. She earned another Tony nomination when she played entertainer Fanny Brice in the Broadway show Funny Girl and reprised her role in the movie of the same name in 1969, for which she won the Oscar for Best Actress. The soundtrack contains her first big hit, "People", which went to #1.
Streisand went into the stratosphere from there, in albums, movies and plays. At one time, she was the only person ever to have won a Grammy, an Oscar, an Emmy and a Tony award.
In 1980, Streisand enlisted the help of Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, the most successful act in the world at the time. Gibb wrote and produced Guilty, and sang two duets with her. Guilty became Barbra's best-selling album.
Streisand poured herself into the movie Yentyl, in which she both acted in and directed. Her project won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical) and Streisand became the first woman to ever win a Golden Globe for Best Director. She was also nominated for Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical).
In 1985, Streisand returned to her musical-theater roots by recording The Broadway Album, which featured songs by George Gershwin, Rodgers & Hammerstein and Stephen Sondheim. It was a #1 album and was certified Quadruple Platinum. The Broadway Album was nominated for Album of the Year and earned Barbra her eighth Grammy for Best Female Vocal Performance. Streisand won a People's Choice award for Favorite All-Around Female Entertainer.
In 1987, Barbra was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Female Performance at the Grammy Awards. In 1988, she won a People's Choice Award for Favorite All-Time Musical Performer.
In 1992, Streisand won the Grammy Legend Award, and in 1994, she received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2000, Barbra was given the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Oscars for Lifetime Achievement, thus becoming the only person in history to win Lifetime Achievement Awards in both film and music.
Streisand has been nominated for 57 Grammys, winning 15. She has won two Academy Awards and received five nominations, and also won five Emmy Awards and a special Tony Award. Barbra has sold 71.5 million albums in the United States and 140 million worldwide. She is the #1-selling female artist of all-time and also has more Top 10 albums to her credit (32) than any other female artist.
Streisand compiled 13 Top 10 Adult Contemporary hits in the decade. Three were #1's. With her talents stretched in many different directions, it is with awe that we look at Barbra's accomplishments. If she had solely concentrated on music, what could she have achieved? Or, if she had just been an actress, how many more great movies could she have done? If she had only starred on Broadway, what could she have accomplished there? Each of these successes in their own right are amazing. Collectively, Streisand has been phenomenal.
The next superstar is one of the giants of all-time, especially on Adult Contemporary radio. For the 1980's, he ranks at #9:
9. Neil Diamond
Diamond's value as a songwriter added to his viability and in 1966, he signed a deal with Bang Records. "Solitary Man" got the ball rolling, and Diamond followed with a string of successes in the 60's and 70's.
Diamond began the 1980's with a movie role opposite Laurence Olivier and Lucie Arnaz, the remake of the Al Jolson film, The Jazz Singer. Three of Diamond's biggest career hits were on the soundtrack, and Diamond was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his acting. He was also nominated for Best Original Song from a Motion Picture for "Love on the Rocks" and was nominated for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special.
Neil won an ASCAP Award for "America" for the Most Performed Feature Film Standard. Three more smash AC hits followed on the Be Mine Tonight album. "Yesterday's Songs reached #1 for six weeks, the title track was #2 for three weeks and "On the Way to the Sky" hit #4.
In 1982, Neil recorded "Heartlight" for the blockbuster movie E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. "Heartlight" was also included on the album of the same name and Diamond generated two more Top 10 hits from the album--"I'm Alive" and "Front Page Story".
Diamond continued to draw huge crowds to his concerts. Billboard Magazine ranked Neil #1 as the most profitable solo performer of 1986. He ran off a streak of 10 consecutive Top 10 Adult Contemporary hits in the 80's.
Diamond hit #4 with "Turn Around" and #10 with "Headed for the Future".
In January, 1987, Diamond sang the national anthem of the United States at the Super Bowl. The following year, UB40 did a remake of Diamond's ballad "Red Red Wine" that became a huge hit.
In 1989, Diamond closed out the decade with two more Top 10 songs--"This Time" and "The Best Years of Our Loves".
Diamond has sold over 115 million records worldwide and 48 million in the U.S., remaining one of the industry giants for the last five decades. Neil was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984 and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. He accepted the 2011 Kennedy Centers.
Neil had 10 consecutive Top 10 AC hits to open the decade, and finished with 18 Adult Contemporary hits and 13 Top 10's.
We are now just eight artists away and here's another act that debuted in 1980:
8. Air Supply
This group formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1975. Russell Hitchcock, Chrissie Hammond and Graham Russell met while performing in the Australian production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical, Jesus Christ Superstar. Hammond left to join the group Cheetah and was replaced by bassist Jeremy Paul. Air Supply released their first two albums in 1977 in Australia and opened for Rod Stewart when he toured the country. The group also toured England and the United States.
The album Lost in Love sold two million copies in the U.S. alone. The title song won the B.M.I. Award as the most-played song of 1980 and Air Supply won an American Music Award as the Best Pop/Rock Group.
The group score three monster hits from the album. "Lost in Love" was #1 for six weeks, while "All Out of Love" and "Every Woman in the World' both reached the Top 5.
Air Supply continued their hot streak in 1982 as "Even the Nights Are Better" gave them their third #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and gave Air Supply seven consecutive Top 5 songs in the genre to open their career. They also hit #4 with "Two Less Lonely People in the World".
In just three years, Air Supply had enough gems to make a Greatest Hits album, which included one of their biggest, "Making Love out of Nothing at All". The release of that single helped the album sell five million copies.
It was a whirlwind five years for Air Supply, and they landed yet another Top 5 in 1985 with "Just As I Am" and then had minor AC hits with "The Power of Love" and "Lonely is the Night".
The group could never continue their success into the 90's but as far as the 1980's were concerned, Air Supply was amazing.
The fourth album contained "Lost in Love", which peaked at #13 in Australia. However, the song caught the attention of Clive Davis, the leader of Arista Records. Davis remixed the song and released it in the United States early in 1980. That was all it took for Air Supply to take the world by storm.
In 1981, the group released The One That You Love. Air Supply hit #1 with "Here I Am" and "The One That You Love" was #2 on the AC chart for five weeks. "Sweet Dreams" was another Top 5 song from the album.
Billboard Magazine called Air Supply the most successful group in the 1980's. They were strong across the board, but their main appeal was the Adult Contemporary chart. Air Supply scored 10 Top 5 hits out of 13 releases on the AC format.
At #7, an extremely gifted artist whose lyrics and music were among the best of the decade:
7. Dan Fogelberg
Fogelberg was the son of a high school band director and a pianist. He taught himself to play guitar and piano early in life.
(Please click on the right of the video to skip ad...)
Dan joined his first band at Woodruff High School in Peoria, Illinois, then played local gigs during college at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He played a brief time as a session player before signing a recording contract and releasing his debut album in 1971.
Dan joined his first band at Woodruff High School in Peoria, Illinois, then played local gigs during college at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He played a brief time as a session player before signing a recording contract and releasing his debut album in 1971.
His best all-time album was Phoenix in 1979, but most of that album was also played in 1980 and hence eligible to give Fogelberg credit in this special. "Longer" was the first AC #1 of the Year, and the album also contained "Heart Hotels" as well as several other great album tracks that any AC station worth their salt played, such as "Along the Road".
Fogelberg released the double album The Innocent Age in 1981, which contained many of his best songs. "Leader of the Band" hit #1, while "Hard to Say" was #2, "Run for the Roses "#3" and "Same Old Lang Syne" #8. "Same Old Lang Syne" was based on a real-life accidental meeting with a former girlfriend.
Dan's Greatest Hits album in 1982 contained two new songs--"Missing You" and "Make Love Stay". The latter gave him another #1 on the AC chart while "Missing You" reached #6.
In 1985, Fogelberg released the album High Country Snows, which included a venture into bluegrass. The album contained "Go Down Easy", Dan's 10th Top 10 Adult Contemporary hit of the decade.
In 1987, Fogelberg released Exiles, which gave him another Top 10 hit, "Lonely in Love" and a minor AC hit in "Seeing You Again".
In 2004, Fogelberg was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. He underwent therapy but of course that very seldom works, and after battling the disease for three-and-a-half years, Fogelberg died at age 56 on December 16, 2007.
In tribute to Fogelberg and the entire Fogelberg family, the city of Peoria named a street "Fogelberg Parkway". The street runs along the east side of Woodruff High School, his Alma mater, and where his father was a teacher and bandleader.
By all accounts, the #6 artist was too shy to sing initially, but he overcame that fear to become one of the top entertainers to this day:
6. Barry Manilow
Manilow went to Eastern District High School near Williamsburg, New York. After graduation, he enrolled in the Julliard performing arts school, working at CBS to pay his bills. While at CBS in 1964, Manilow met director Bro Herrod, who asked him to arrange some songs for a musical adaption of The Drunkard. Instead, Barry wrote an entire original score. Herrod used the work in the Off Broadway musical, which enjoyed an eight-year run at the 13th Street Theatre in New York City.
Manilow worked as a pianist, producer, and arranger. He also began to write commercial jingles, for which he became quite well-known. Manilow wrote jingles for State Farm Insurance ("Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there...") and Band-Aid ("I am stuck on Band-Aid, 'cause Band-Aid's stuck on me!"), for which he sang in a convincing child-like voice. Manilow also sang on commercials for Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper and for the McDonald's "You Deserve a Break Today" campaign. Barry won two Clio Awards in 1976 for his work for Tab and Band-Aid.
In 1967, Manilow was the music director for the WCBS-TV series Callback, then he conducted and arranged for Ed Sullivan's production company, arranging a new theme for The Late Show. Manilow accompanied Bette Midler at the Continental Baths in New York City in 1970 and 1971, and Midler invited Barry to produce her first two albums and be the music director on her tour. The two worked together through 1975. Manilow recorded his first album for Bell Records in 1974.
By 1980, Manilow was a superstar, and he kept rolling through the decade and beyond. The One Voice album in 1979 spilled over into the 80's, giving him two Top 10's on the Adult Contemporary chart that count in this special, the #1 "When I Wanted You" and the #2 "I Don't Want to Walk Without You".
In 1981, Manilow released If I Should Love Again. Two more AC #1's, "The Old Songs" and "Somewhere Down the Road" and the Top 10 "Let's Hang On" gave Manilow an incredible 13 consecutive Top 10 songs on the Adult Contemporary chart dating back to 1978.
In 1984, Manilow released his crowning achievement, 2:00 AM Paradise Cafe, a jazz/blues project of original barroom tunes recorded in one live take in the studio. A documentary of Manilow's recording with jazz legends such as Sarah Vaughn and Mel Torme was shown on Showtime. Manilow and Vaughn were nominated for a Grammy for the song "Blue" for Best Jazz Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. England televised two one-hour concert specials from his shows at the National Exhibition Centre.
In 1985, Manilow left Arista to record for RCA. He released the album Manilow, which contained the minor AC hit "In Search of Love". He then began performing songs and duets in French, Spanish, Portugese and Japanese, among other languages. Barry starred in a 1985 CBS movie based on "Copacabana". He wrote all the songs for the movie and the soundtrack album was released on RCA.
The following year, McGraw-Hill published Manilow's autobiography, Sweet Life: Adventures on the Way to Paradise. He returned to Arista in 1987 and released Swing Street, a mix of after-dark music and techno jazz that contained the minor AC hit "Brooklyn Blues".
In 1988, CBS televised the Manilow special Big Fun on Swing Street, containing songs from his previous two albums. The show was nominated for two Emmys, and won for Outstanding Art Direction for a Variety or Music Program.
In 1988, CBS televised the Manilow special Big Fun on Swing Street, containing songs from his previous two albums. The show was nominated for two Emmys, and won for Outstanding Art Direction for a Variety or Music Program.
In 1988, Manilow performed at the benefit concert That's What Friends Are For, the project started by Dionne Warwick. The 1989 album Barry Manilow began his streak of albums consisting of cover songs. He reached #7 with "Keep Each Other Warm".
Manilow made 44 appearances at the Gershwin Theatre and a best-selling video of the show was released as Barry Manilow Live On Broadway In November of 1989, Manilow performed a benefit concert in Columbia, South Carolina for victims of Hurricane Hugo. The $10 tickets sold out in three hours.
Manilow made 44 appearances at the Gershwin Theatre and a best-selling video of the show was released as Barry Manilow Live On Broadway In November of 1989, Manilow performed a benefit concert in Columbia, South Carolina for victims of Hurricane Hugo. The $10 tickets sold out in three hours.
To help with victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Manilow announced that for every dollar donated by his fans to the Red Cross, Barry would triple the original donation through the Manilow Fund for Health and Hope website. The fund delivered $150,000 in less than 48 hours to the American Red Cross. On October 27, 2011, Manilow made a contribution of $300,000 through his Manilow Music Project to restore the musical program and destroyed instruments in Joplin, Missouri, six months after a tornado destroyed the city.
Manilow had 19 Adult Contemporary hits in the decade, with 12 of those reaching the Top 10 and three #1 songs.
Barry has sold over 80 million records worldwide in his career. In 1978, five of Manilow's albums were on the album chart simultaneously, a feat equalled only by Michael Jackson, Fran Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen and Johnny Mathis. Manilow is a top performer in Las Vegas, having headlined at the Hilton and the Paris Hotels. Manilow has won two Emmys, a Special Tony, four American Music Awards and a Grammy. In 2002, Manilow was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame. In 2009, he was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.
We were all shocked by the amazing voice at #5 first introduced to us in the 80's:
5. Whitney Houston
Whitney began performing as a soloist at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey at age 11. She attended Mount Saint Dominic Academy in Caldwell, New Jersey. Her mother, Cissy, as well as cousin Dionne Warwick and "honorary aunt" Aretha Franklin all had ties to gospel music and Whitney also was exposed to the music of Gladys Knight, Roberta Flack and Chaka Khan.
Houston toured nightclubs where Cissy was performing and occasionally Whitney would perform with her. In 1977, Whitney was a backup singer at age 14 for the Michael Zager Band's single "Life's a Party". The next year, Houston sang on Chaka Khan's hit "I'm Every Woman" and also performed background vocals on albums by Lou Rawls and Jermaine Jackson.
In the early 1980's, Houston began working as a fashion model, appearing on the cover of Seventeen and featured in Glamour, Cosmopolitan and Young Miss. She also worked on an album credited to the group Material and sang lead on a song for a Paul Jabara album. Houston had been offered several recording deals, but her mother declined the offers until Whitney completed high school. In 1983, Arista head man Clive Davis saw Houston perform, which led to a recording contract. Houston made her national television debut on The Merv Griffin Show.
In 1984, Houston recorded a duet with Teddy Pendergrass called "Hold Me", which became a Top 5 R&B hit and a #6 AC song. Davis arranged for Kashif, Jermaine Jackson, Narada Michael Walden and Michael Masser to produce Houston's debut album, which was released in February, 1985. "You Give Good Love" was the lead single and reached #4 on the Adult Contemporary chart. "Saving All My Love for You" was the follow-up and became Whitney's first AC#1 and the start of five consecutive. "How Will I Know" and "Greatest Love of All" continued the streak. "Greatest Love of All" was nominated for Record of the Year at the Grammy Awards. "All at Once" was not released as a single in the United States, but it reached the Top 5 in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Houston opened for Jeffrey Osborne on his national tour. By 1986, the self-titled Whitney Houston reached #1 on the album chart, a year after its release, and stayed there for 14 weeks. The album finished the year #1 on the Billboard year-end charts. Whitney's debut has now gone over 13 million in sales in the United States and 25 million worldwide. It is now on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's Definitive 200 list.
Houston was nominated for four Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female, for "You Give Good Love". She won for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female for "Saving All My Love for You". Houston's performance of the song at the awards show earned her an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program.
Houston received six nominations at the American Music Awards, and she won Favorite Soul/R&B Single for "You Give Good Love" and Favorite Soul/RUB Video for "Saving All My Love for You". Billboard magazine named Houston as the Top New Pop Artist and the Top New Black Artist. "How Will I Know" earned Whitney an MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video. USA Today called Houston's entrance into the music world one of 25 musical milestones of the last 25 years.
The success of Houston's debut carried over well into 1986, and Billboard named it the Top Pop Album and the Top Black Album, and Houston was named the Top Pop Artist of the Year, the Top Pop Album Artist, the Top Pop Album Artist--Female and the Top Black Album Artist. Houston won five American Music Awards for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist, Favorite Pop/Rock Album, Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist, Favorite Soul/R&B Album and Favorite Soul/R&B Video Single for "Greatest Love of All". Houston also won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Female Musical Performer.
With high expectations, the album Whitney was released in 1987. Houston became the first female artist in music history to debut an album at #1 and the first artist ever to debut at #1 in both the United States and U.K. "I Wanna' Dance With Somebody" topped the charts in several countries, including the U.K., Germany and Australia and was also #1 on the AC chart. "Didn't We Almost Have It All" made it five consecutive #1's for Houston in the genre and after "So Emotional" peaked at #8, she scored another #1 on the album with "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" and another Top 10 with "Love Will Save the Day", which gave her 10 consecutive Top 10's on the AC chart to open her career. Whitney has now sold over nine million copies in the U.S. and 20 million worldwide.
Houston was nominated for three Grammys, including Album of the Year, and she earned her second award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "I Wanna' Dance With Somebody". She won another American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist and was nominated for Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist and "I Wanna' Dance with Somebody" was nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Single.
Billboard named her the Top Pop Singles Artist, Female and Houston repeated her win for Favorite Female Musical Performer at the People's Choice Awards. Whitney promoted the album with her Moment of Truth World Tour, one of the ten highest-crossing tours of 1987. Forbes magazine ranked Houston #8 for the highest earning entertainers list.
Billboard named her the Top Pop Singles Artist, Female and Houston repeated her win for Favorite Female Musical Performer at the People's Choice Awards. Whitney promoted the album with her Moment of Truth World Tour, one of the ten highest-crossing tours of 1987. Forbes magazine ranked Houston #8 for the highest earning entertainers list.
On June 11, 1988, Houston joined other musicians to perform at London's Wembley Stadium to celebrate the 70th birthday of imprisoned anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela. She recorded "One Moment in Time" for the 1988 Summer Olympics, which was nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female. Whitney won American Music Awards for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist and Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist and the People's Choice award once again for Favorite Female Musical Performer.
In 1989, Houston formed The Whitney Houston Foundation For Children that has raised funds for the needs of children around the world. The organization cares for homelessness and children with cancer or AIDS. In 1990, Houston was the spokesperson for a youth leadership conference and had a private audience with U.S. President George H.W. Bush to discuss associated challenges.
After the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. on 9/11/01, Houston performed "The Star Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXV on January 27, 1991. Houston donated all her proceeds to the American Red Cross Gulf Crisis Fund. It was a spectacular performance that is ranked #1 on the 25 most memorable music moments in NFL history. VH1 listed Houston's performance as one of the greatest ever on television.
Later in 1991, Houston appeared on the Welcome Home Heroes concert on HBO for soldiers fighting in the Persian Gulf War and their families. It was a free concert before 3,500 servicemen and women and gave HBO its highest ratings ever.
On February 9, 2012, Houston prepared for Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammy Awards party at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. On February 11, Houston was found dead in her hotel bathtub, the victim of an accidental drowning after taking drugs.
Whitney was given an Honorary Doctorate in Humanities from Grambling University in Louisiana in 1988. In 1997, the Franklin School in East Orange, New Jersey, was renamed the Whitney E. Houston Academy School of Creative and Performing Arts. In 2001, Houston was the first artist to be given a BET Lifetime Achievement Award.
Houston was the most awarded female artist of all-time, according to Guinness World Records. She won a total of 417 career awards, including six Grammy Awards, 22 American Music Awards and two Emmys. Houston holds the record for American Music Awards for a female solo artist and shares the record for a single year (1994) with Michael Jackson with eight each. Houston won a record 11 Billboard Music Awards in 1993 and also owns the record for World Music Awards in one year, winning five in 1994. Essence magazine ranked Houston fifth on their list of 50 Most Influential R&B Stars of all-time.
In quantity, Whitney didn't have as many AC hits in the decade as some ranked below her (she started in 1984). But her hits weren't borderline hits but monster smashes. All 11 of her singles in the decade reached the Top 10. Houston sold over 200 million albums and singles worldwide and she is the fourth best-selling female artist in the United States with 55 million albums sold. She is the only female artist to have two #1 albums on Billboard's year-end charts and is behind only Elton John in that department.
And speaking of the piano-playing superstar:
4. Elton John
Reginald Dwight began playing piano at age three and began taking formal lessons at age seven. He loved rock & roll from childhood, when his mother would bring home records by Elvis Presley and Bill Haley & His Comets. Reginald won a junior scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music at age 11. He played Chopin and Bach, and often would play complex pieces back to his instructor after hearing them one time. Where have you heard that before? If you said the movie Amadeus, the story of Mozart, you are correct.
Reginald Dwight was a weekend pianist at the Northwood Hills Hotel at age 15. Dwight went to Pinner County Grammar School until age 17, when he left to begin a career in music.
In 1964, Dwight ran errands for a music publishing company during the day and divided his time at night between solo performances in London and work with a band called Bluesology. Soon, Bluesology was backing artists such as the Isley Brothers and Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles. In 1966, Bluesology began supporting Long John Baldry, with 16 performances at the Marquee Club in London.
Dwight answered an ad in the New Musical Express that asked for a songwriter. Reginald was given a stack of lyrics written by Bernie Taupin, who had answered the same ad. He wrote music to the words, and thus began one of the historic partnerships of the Rock Era. In 1967, Dwight changed his name to Elton John, in tribute to Bluesology saxophone player Elton Dean and Lohn John Baldry.
John and Taupin joined Dick James's DJM Records as staff songwriters in 1968. The pair wrote easy-listening tunes for James to give to singers on the record label. One Taupin/John composition, "Can't Go On (Living Without You)" was a contender for the British entry in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1969 for Lulu. Elton also played piano for other artists, including on the song "He Ain't Heavy...He's My Brother with the Hollies. In 1969, Elton wanted to break free from writing for other artists and recorded his first album, Empty Sky.
Soon, John became the hottest artist in the world, as his albums went Platinum, his singles topped the chart and he was one of the most demanded live performers. Elton was clearly one of the dominant performers of the 1970's.
In 1980, John performed a free concert at Central Park in New York City to an estimated 400,000 fans. The success of his album 21 at 33 in 1979 continued into the 80's, giving him the #1 smash "Little Jeannie". The following year, Elton released the album The Fox. Jump Up! followed in 1982, featuring his tribute to John Lennon, "Empty Garden", and the #1 "Blue Eyes".
Elton kept up a steady pace, releasing the album Too Low for Zero in 1983. Elton landed a #2 smash with "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues". In 1984, John released Breaking Hearts, featuring the #2 smash of six weeks "Sad Songs (Say So Much)" as well as the minor AC hits "Who Wears These Shoes?" and "In Neon".
In 1975, Elton received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1992, EJ was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. John then founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation to fund programs for HIV/AIDS prevention, for the elimination of prejudice and discrimination against affected individuals, and for providing services to people living with or at risk of contracting the disease.
Elton became a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in hist year of eligibility in 1994. In 1995, Elton was given the honor of Commander of the Order of the British Empire. John was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II on February 24, 1998 in recognition of his charity work. In 2004, Elton received a Kennedy Center Honor and in 2006, he was given the Disney Legends Award.
In March of 2007, John performed at Madison Square Garden for a record-breaking 60th time on his 60th birthday. On July 1, 2007, Elton appeared at the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium in honor of Diana, Princess of Wales. Elton has been performing in Las Vegas, Nevada on a regular basis for the last several years--he currently is at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace.
John has won six Grammy Awards, including receiving the Legend Award in 1999. He also owns an Oscar, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony Award. Elton has sold over 250 million records in his standout career, making him one of the most successful artists of all-time. His single "Candle in the Wind 1997", written and performed for the funeral of Princess Diana, has sold over 33 million copies, the #1-selling single in history. In his prime, Elton hit #1 on the album chart seven consecutive times.
In the 80's, Elton enjoyed 20 AC hits, with 11 reaching the Top 10. He posted five #1's and another three that reached #2.
We're up to the lofty position of #3 for the decade and it's by the guy who is known for never coming out with two songs that are alike. He's always changing, reinventing himself, and trying new styles:
3. Billy Joel
Joel grew up in Hicksville, New York. His father was a classical pianist and Billy began taking lessons at an early age. As a teenage, Joel learned boxing to he could defend himself against bullies. He was a successful Golden Gloves boxer, winning 22 bouts.
Billy went to Hicksville High School in 1967, helping his single mother pay the bills by playing at a piano bar. As a senior, Billy was one class shy of the number of credits needed to graduate. Rather than go to summer school, Joel began a music career but in 1992, he submitted essays to the school board and was awarded his high school diploma.
Joel was inspired to pursue a musical career after seeing the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. He founded the group the Echoes at age 14. In 1965, the Echoes changed to the Emeralds and then the Lost Souls. In 1967, Billy joined the Hassles and recorded two albums with them.
Joel signed a recording contract with Family Productions and recorded his debut solo album, Cold Spring Harbor, in 1971. His first big success came with the song "Piano Man", and by the end of the decade, Joel was an accomplished star.
But Joel didn't like the label of balladeer, and set out to give his Glass Houses album a harder edge. A track that deviated from the concept was "Don't Ask Me Why{", which reached #1 for Billy on the Adult Contemporary chart. The album was #1 for six weeks in 1980 and Billy won the Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male and the American Music Award for Favorite Pop or Rock Album (Rock is of course now popular since the Rock Era began in 1955.) Joel was also nominated for Album of the Year at the
Grammys and for Favorite Male Artist at the American Music Awards.
Billy selected some of the lesser-known songs from early in his career and performed the live for the Songs in the Attic album. The album reached #8 and sold over three million copies and gave him the #4 AC hit "She's Got a Way".
Joel's next album was The Nylon Curtain, in which he sought to communicate that changes in American politics during the Reagan years meant that "all of a sudden you weren't going to be able to inherit the kind of life your parents had." Work on the album was delayed because of a serious motorcycle accident on April 15, 1982.
Joel recovered from his injuries and went on tour to support the album. Billy filmed his first video special, Live from Long Island, at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York on December 30, 1982. That video was nominated for Best Video Album at the Grammy Awards. The Nylon Curtain reached #7 on the album chart and was nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammys. He scored a minor AC hit with "Allentown" in 1983.
Joel then began work on what would become one of his best albums, An Innocent Man. It was Billy's tribute to rock and roll in the 1950's and 1960's. The album reached #4 and included six Top 30 singles. On Adult Contemporary radio, An Innocent Man became one of the top albums of all-time. Billy reached #1 with "Tell Her About It", which began a streak of seven consecutive Top 10 AC hits for Billy. He then hit #2 for four weeks with "Uptown Girl", #1 with the title track, #1 with "The Longest Time", #1 with "Leave a Tender Moment Alone" and #3 with "Keeping the Faith".
An Innocent Man was nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards, but lost to Michael Jackson's Thriller. Joel was also nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance - Male at the Grammys and for Best Male Video at the MTV Video Music Awards, both for "Uptown Girl". Billy was nominated for Favorite Male Artist and for Favorite Video ("Tell Her About It") at the American Music Awards. In 1985, Joel joined the U.S.A. for Africa project to sing "We Are the World", which raised money to fight famine in Africa.
In 1986, Joel became one of the first American rock acts to play in the former Soviet Union. He did shows in Moscow, Leningrad and Tbilisi. Joel was disturbed when brights lights kept going on, and each time fans were hit with the lights, they froze up and quit cheering. This provoked a rage from Joel, who yelled at the Soviet officials to "knock it off".
Joel recorded the song "Modern Woman" for the movie Ruthless People, which gave him yet another Top 10 on the AC chart. Joel's next album was The Bridge, which included the #1 smash "This is the Time" (Billy's sixth of the decade) as well as "Baby Grand", which he did with the legendary Ray Charles. Later in the year, he completed voice work on Disney's Oliver & Company.
The album Storm Front was released in 1989 and became Joel's first #1 album since Glass Houses. "We Didn't Start the Fire" was nominated for Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male at the Grammys. The song reached #5 on the AC chart.
Joel is now the third best-selling solo artist and the sixth best overall in the United States. He has been nominated for 23 Grammys, winning six, has also won an American Music Award and a Billboard award, and sold over 150 million records worldwide. Joel was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame and given the Grammy Legend Award in 1992 and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. Billy was given the Award of Merit in 1999 from the American Music Awards. In 2002, Joel was named MusicCares Person of the Year. In 2005, Billy received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. On December 12, 2011, Joel became the first non-classical musician to be honored with a portrait in Steinway Hall.
Joel has earned several honorary doctorate degrees--he received the Doctor of Humane Letters from Fairfield in 1991 and from Hofstra in 1997, the Doctor of Music from Berklee College of Music in 1993 and Southampton College in 2000, the Doctor of Fine Arts from Syracuse University in 2006 and the Doctor of Musical Arts from he Manhattan School of Music in 2008.
Joel's next album was The Nylon Curtain, in which he sought to communicate that changes in American politics during the Reagan years meant that "all of a sudden you weren't going to be able to inherit the kind of life your parents had." Work on the album was delayed because of a serious motorcycle accident on April 15, 1982.
Joel released his Greatest Hits Vol. 1 and 2 as a four-sided album and included the new songs "You're Only Human (Second Wind)" and "The Night Is Still Young". The former reached #2 and he hit #13 with "The Night Is Still Young". The compilation has gone over 11.5 million copies sold.
Another of the most successful artists of all-time is the man at #2 for the 80's:
2 . Lionel Richie
Lionel grew up on the campus of Tuskegee Institute. His family moved to Joliet, Illinois and Richie graduated from Joliet Township High School. He accepted a tennis scholarship to Tuskegee and graduated with a major in economics. Lionel briefly attended graduate school at Auburn University.
While at Tuskegee, Richie formed several R&B groups and in 1968, he was the singer and saxophonist with the Commodores. The group signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records in 1968 before moving to Motown Records. Led by Richie, the Commodores recorded a string of hits, including "Easy", "Sail On", "Three Times a Lady" and "Still".
Lionel began working on projects outside the group, writing songs for Kenny Rogers, including "Lady" and recording the classic duet with Diana Ross--"Endless Love". Both those songs were nominated for Song of the Year at the Grammy Awards and reached #1. By 1982, Richie had decided to pursue a solo career and he began the decade as one of the top stars in the world.
In 1983, Richie released the album Can't Slow Down, which is approaching eight million in sales. He continued his #1 streak with "All Night Long", and after the #6 "Running with the Night", returned to the top spot for six weeks with "Hello", #1 for five weeks with "Stuck on You" and #1 for four weeks with "Penny Lover, giving him another 19 weeks at #1 for songs on his second album.
Richie won two Grammys, including Album of the Year, and was nominated for Song of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocalist for "Hello" and Song of the Year and Record of the Year for "All Night Long".
Lionel won six American Music Awards--Favorite Male Artist, Favorite Male Artist - Soul/Rhythm & Blues, Favorite Male Video Artist, Favorite Male Video Artist - Soul/Rhythm & Blues, Favorite Video and Favorite Video - Soul/Rhythm & Blues and was also nominated for four more--Favorite Album, Favorite Album - Soul/Rhythm & Blues, Favorite Male Artist and Favorite Male Artist - Soul/Rhythm & Blues at the American Music Awards. In 1984, Lionel performed "All Night Long" at the closing ceremony of the Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
In 1985, Richie recorded "Say You, Say Me" for the movie White Nights, which won him an Oscar for Best Original Song from a Motion Picture and gave him his ninth Adult Contemporary #1 in 10 releases, an incredible feat. He also collaborated with Michael Jackson to write "We Are the World" for the U.S.A. for Africa project.
Lionel released Dancing on the Ceiling in 1986, which yielded the Top 3 hits "Dancing on the Ceiling", "Love Will Conquer All" and "Ballerina Girl". The latter two gave Richie his 10th and 11th #1 AC hits of the decade. Richie won four American Music Awards: Favorite Male Artist, Favorite Video, Favorite Male Artist - Soul/Rhythm & Blues and Favorite Male Video Artist - Soul/Rhythm & Blues.
Richie has sold over 100 million records worldwide, has won five Grammys among 13 nominations, six American Music Awards, an Oscar and a Golden Globe.
We've heard from 99 great AC artists, which leaves just one. He's a former First Edition member who became a superstar as a solo performer:
Rogers began his career in the mid 1950's with the doo-wop group the Scholars. He released a solo single in 1958 called "That Crazy Feeling" before joining a jazz group called the Bobby Doyle Trio. The Trio recorded for Columbia but they too disbanded in 1965.
Kenny then worked as a producer, writer and session musician for other performers including Mickey Gilley and Eddy Arnold. In 1966, Rogers joined the New Christy Minstrels as a singer and double bass player.
Group members Rogers, Mike Settle, Terry Williams and Thelma Camacho left the Minstrels to form the First Edition. They had several hits including "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town", "Something's Burning" and "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)".
When the First Edition broke up in 1976, Rogers began his solo career in earnest. He tasted minor success with songs like "Lucille" and "The Gambler" in the 70's.
In 1980, Rogers' duet with Kim Carnes--"Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer" became a big hit, reaching #1 on the Popular chart and #2 for four weeks on the Adult Contemporary chart. Rogers also hit the Top 10 with "Coward of the County" and "Love the World Away", which he recorded for the popular "Urban Cowboy" Soundtrack.
Later in the year, Lionel Richie wrote the song "Lady" which Rogers took to #1, Kenny's sixth straight Top 10 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Richie also wrote and produced Kenny's 1981 album Share Your Love. Rogers won an American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist.
Rogers recorded the duet with Dottie West, "What Are We Doin' in Love" and had a smash #1 with "I Don't Need You" from the Share Your Love album. Kenny continued his hot streak with the #1's "Share Your Love with Me" and "Through the Years". In 1982, Rogers released Love Will Turn You Around, with the title track once again reaching #1 and also featured in Kenny's movie Six Pack. "A Love Song" also hit the Adult Contemporary Top 10.
Once again, Rogers won an American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist. Following that album, Rogers worked with producer David Foster in the 1983 recording of "We've Got Tonight" with Sheena Easton, which was #2 for five weeks. Kenny followed that up with another #2 on the AC chart, "All My Life".
Later in the year, Rogers enlisted the help of the Bee Gees to produce Eyes That See in the Dark. The group originally wrote "Islands in the Stream" for Marvin Gaye in an R&B style, but changed it to suit Kenny. The song was a platinum-seller and topped the AC chart for four weeks. "Islands in the Stream" was the last country single to reach #1 on the overall chart for 17 years, until Lonestar did it in 2000 with "Amazed". The duet sold over two million copies in the United States.
"This Woman" reached #2 and the title track was #4. All three singles were written and produced by the phenomenal Bee Gees. Rogers joined Parton in 1984 for a holiday album and television special, Once Upon a Christmas, and did another duet with Parton in 1985--"Real Love".
There you have it, The Top 10 AC Artists of the Decade*, wrapping up The Top 100. We hope you have enjoyed the special, a comprehensive look at the Adult Contemporary Artists who shaped music in the 1980's.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.