1982: The Last Year Rock Dominated the Pop Charts

UltimateClassicRock ^ | 2/17 | Corey Irwin

[Fiji Hill]

The Monster--Billy Ford & the Thunderbirds (1958)

I'm the monster Rock and Roll,
Hated by all whose hearts are old.
I'm blamed for everything in the book;
Seems I've got the country shook.
Mention my name, they blow their lids,
And nobody loves me but the kids.

I make the critics blow their nuts
The louder they shout, the harder I rock.
All of them saying, I'll soon be dead,
Trying to kill me, cut off my head
But when you cut my head off, Son,
Two will grow where there was one.

The battle was on, the fight began.
A musical war throughout the land.
Scratched their heads and started to think,
Calypso music would make me sink.
Hawaiian ballads and hillbilly, too,
They threw them all into the stew.

Ate them up, and what came out?
Rock-a-hula, rock-a-shout.
Rockabilly and rock-a-sweet,
Nevertheless, it had the beat.
No matter how many fights they stage,
We're living in the new rock age,

I'm the monster Rock and Roll.
The kids all love me, heart and soul.
That's why I'll never be left alone;
When they grow up, I'll have a home.
After the shouting along the ring,
Rock and Roll will still be king!

[lee martell]

Thanks, but I was not the one all that interested in Mellencamp. I was responding to another poster.
I’ve never paid all that much attention to J. Mellencamp.
Different entertainers for different people.

[kelly4c]

Metallica were masters of hypnotic melancholy.

[FreedomPoster]

Rather that gripe and argue about when rock died, I’m going to suggest checking out the Marcus King Band. Marcus is a young kid who does Southern Blues/Rock that’s very recognizable as a continuation of the trail that was started by the Allman Brothers. I’m going to go see him next week.

https://marcuskingband.com/

[Rocco DiPippo]

Bravo! Thanks for posting this. You are absolutely correct.

[Psalm 73]

Joan Jett & the Blackhearts' - Rock ‘n Roll

McCartney - not sine the 70's

The J. Geils Band - not since the 70's

Survivor - Not Rock ‘n Roll

John Mellencamp - Not even close to Rock ‘n Roll

[TermLimits4All]

Well I for one miss the 70’s and 80’s rock music. In fact there was a morning show duo in Detroit that issued “dread” cards. Detroit rockers engaged in the abolition of disco. I was a card carrying member.
Music now isn’t the same but I’m listening to my classic rock and country music almost exclusively.

[real saxophonist]

In college, I was a DJ here.

I had my Jazz show for 3 years, but occasionally I would introduce listeners to new bands

For example, all the jocks would say, R.E.M.? That's one of them PUNK bands,ain't it?

Well, R.E.M. sold how many records, I was a professional musician for 22 years, and Mr. Jock never made the NFL.

[real saxophonist]

Forgot to add, no matter where you are, find a college radio station.

DO NOT listen to commercial radio.

[Political Junkie Too]

In 1982, I was listening to 101 KLOL all the time.

I also listened to the oldies station KFMK 97.8 morning show with Lee Jolly and Chuck Shramek (later the Hale-Bopp guy) as my wake-up station.

-PJ

[Dr. Franklin]

I always thought it was John Cougar. Did he get married or something?

No, a man just can't be a cougar.

[Gay State Conservative]

1950s===> lots of great stuff of all varieties,pop,easy listening,etc,etc

1960s===>*The* classic decade.Rock,pop,folk,etc.

1970s===> Very little worth listening to

1980s===> Some interesting,and fun,stuff released.

[Tired of Taxes]

Joan Jett & the Blackhearts' “I Love Rock ‘n Roll” ... J. Geils Band (six weeks with “Centerfold”), Survivor (six weeks with “Eye of the Tiger”) and John Mellencamp (four weeks with “Jack & Diane”)

Those quote-unquote "rock" songs sounded like pop.

Maybe that's why they reached #1 on the pop charts in '82.

[caver]

Cougar was a stage name.

[Tired of Taxes]

there has been very little good rock music at all since the early 1980’s.

The 1990's had great rock music: Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, etc.

[Tired of Taxes]

Lead Guitar, rhythm guitar, bass, drums. Maybe a keyboard. Played live and loud. THAT is rock and roll, and that sound had its heyday in the 70s and began dying in the 80’s.

But, it returned in the 1990's.

[mmichaels1970]

Rock is dead. Hip hop sucks.

[Chainmail]

I tried your Bandcamp site and it is cluttered with all kinds of weird, amateurish junk - including Hip Hop, which is the musical equivalent of toxic waste.

How is anyone supposed to find original rock and roll without having to wade through all the dreck on that site?

[Night Hides Not]

I’m a baby boomer and that’s what I believe, there has been very little good rock music at all since the early 1980’s.

LOL, my interests in music pretty much stopped at 1981, the year I returned to the States from a 4 year tour in Germany. I lived off base, so I went without TV. To fill what little off time I had, I mixed my own tapes from a library of about 400 albums I acquired over the years.

When I got back home, other pursuits took over, followed by the usual: marriage, kids, work, etc.

Great thing about my time in the Army, was the exposure to a wide variety of music. I became a big fan of Southern Rock and jazz, specifically George Benson and Spyrogyra.

[SamAdams76]

"Ebony And Ivory"? Give me a break if they are counting that as a rock song. Not even close to rock music. In fact "Ebony and Ivory" is one of the schmaltziest pieces of cringe-worthy pop crap you will ever hear. The writer probably considers "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" as a rock song too!

True rock music is album oriented and so many rock artists do not even bother much with promoting singles. They tend to focus on albums and live performances. Led Zeppelin is famous for that, they hated putting out singles and so rarely did so.