1980s Fashion History andLifestyle
The Economy Boom
Advertiser's Acronyms
Acronym Table
Yuppies
Women Dress for Success
The Perfect Suit for the Corporate Ladder
Tom Wolfe Sums up the 80s in - 'The Bonfire of the Vanities'
The Economy Boom
In the 1980s, fashion was influenced by the western economic boom. Youth culture stopped hogging the scene as the teenage market lost impetus. The dominant market was getting older and was also financially secure. Demographics changed the face of society. People were living longer and seemed to act younger at the same time. Old industries died, while new technologies developed and boomed.
Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy Reagan in the USA celebrated presidential success with a style that used fashionable conspicuous clothes and social events to display the affluence of American society to a world audience.
The world was in flux; ever changing. The USSR relaxed rules and opened up to private enterprise. The Berlin wall came down and other eastern bloc countries craved western clothes and liberation.
In Britain Thatcherism promoted privatization and the idea that greed was good was given credence. Temples to modern living, shopping malls sprang up throughout Britain. Western society consumed and consumed.
Margaret Thatcher in her power suits.
Symbol of 1980s fashion for power dressing
Click thumbnail
Designer labels and branding gained impetus. Brand names became status symbols for sports gear and sportswear, perfumes, electrical equipment, cars and fashion designer goods such as clothing, bags, luggage, scarves and spectacles.
The appearance of affluence was reinforced by access to designer label goods.
By the mid-eighties tills rang not with cash, but the increasing use of credit cards. It was all such a relief to the consumer to be able to spend and actively be encouraged to consume after years of recession. Clothing purchases soared. Interiors were decorated. Showing wealth was superficially powerful.
~
Advertiser's Acronyms
Advertisers gave a whole range of acronyms to groups of consumers in the 1980s. Looking at these acronyms does help to understand how advertisers identified recognisable groups in society in the consumer driven world of marketing 1980s fashion.
A typical acronym was DINKY which described an increasing section of society, the couples not necessarily married, but who were 'Double Income No Kids Yet.' The Dinky was the type of consumer that might be targeted for spending on fashion and status symbols like perfume, label goods and stylish kitchen items that might never be used. The couple could even encourage each other in achieving their lifestyle of aspiration. Other labels advertisers favoured include Empty Nesters, Grey Panthers, Ladettes and Tweenies.
Acronym Table for 1980s Fashion and Marketing Terms
Yuppies
Young Urban Professionals
Yummies
Young Urban Mother
Dinkies
Double Income No Kids
Sinkies
Single Income No kids
Minkie
Middle Income No kids
Poupie
Porsche Owning Urban Professional
Swell
Single Woman Earning Lots Of Loot (Miss Yuppie)
Guppies
Greenpeace Yuppies
Bobo
Burnt Out But Opulent
Woopie
Well Off Older People
Jollies
Jet Setting Oldsters With Lots Of Loot
Glams
Greying Leisured Affluent Middle Aged
Deccie
D.I.Y Decorators Who Drag Stipple and Marble
Splappie
Stripped Pine Laura Ashley People
Drabbie
Ethical Urban Quaker With Anti And Pro Views
Dockney
East Docklands London Yuppie
Tweenie
Between 5 And 12 Years Old
Ladettes Young Women Who Act Like Loutish Lads
Grey Panthers Senior Citizens With Opinion
Empty Nesters Couples Whose Children Are Grown Up And Away
Yuppies
Yuppie was a 1980s acronym for 'Young Upwardly Mobile Professional Person'. The word was coined by the advertising industry to capture the essence of a particular type of work hard, play hard, ambitious minded city career person of either sex. The hectic lifestyle of a yuppie meant that after long hours of work, rare free time was spent in a self indulgent way frittering away the cash earned on anything, from expensive make up and perfume, to a bottle of fine champagne. Conspicuous wastage was part of the attitude.
For day Yuppies sported wide shouldered jackets and for weekends they wore a Barbour to effect a country aesthetic or a ball-gown to assume the appearance of a more advantaged lifestyle.
Women Dress for Success
One of the strongest looks of the 1980s was power dressing. After John Molloy wrote his book Women Dress For Success in 1975, corporate America took it to heart and women began to abandon the incomplete look of mismatched skirt, sweater or blouse for a full jacketed sober suit. Soon the concept came to Britain and the rest of Europe followed. The book is listed in this library.
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The Perfect Suit for the Corporate Ladder
The aim of female devotees was to rise the corporate ladder. John Molloy promoted the idea that the simple tailored wool suit in neutral navy or slate blue grey, worn with non sexual blouses, imitated uniform of rank, which by design was authoritative.
From research he did with specific social groupings, he maintained that inferiors and clients accepted the word of a female dressed in a suit with better grace than if she were wearing a fashion outfit in an exotic fashion colour that highlighted her sexual allure. In other words sober dressing enabled a women to be taken seriously like a suited man might be and helped her shine in the workplace enough to get promotion rapidly. This led to the concept of power dressing and its influence on all forms of fashion when the shoulder pad dominated every female top garment, from power suits to knitwear, to T-shirts to bed attire.
Tom Wolfe's Book - The Bonfire of the Vanities
Ever the expert at summing up the zeitgeist, Tom Wolfe penned his now famous Dickensian novel 'The Bonfire of the Vanities' which captured the notion of money fever and the use of clothing to indicate the mood of people, attitudes and places.
Do read this book if you want to experience the spirit of the era.
If you like 1980's music this may be the music site for you at all80sradio.com
For related 1980 fashion and also 1990s fashion go to:-
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Shop Perfume Emporium and save up to 70% off on over 7,000 designer fragrances.
Power Dressing
The New Romantics
The Princess of Wales - Diana 1980's Fashion Icon
Go to Part 1 1990s
Go to Part 2 of The 1990s
1980's Hairstyles
New Perfumes After 2000
Fitness Fashion
Online Library 11- 1980-90 Books
Online Library 11 - Diana Books
Ronnie Barker Jokes
Fashion-era Forum
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Fashion-Era.com looks at women's costume and fashion history and analyses the mood of an era. Changes in technology, leisure, work, cultural and moral values. Homelife and politics also contribute to lifestyle trends, which in turn influence the clothes we wear. These are the changes that make any era of society special in relation to the study of the costume of a period.
EVENTS AND TECHNOLOGY
PRESIDENTS
1981 Ronald Reagan
1984 Ronald Reagan
1989 George Bush
Science and technology made terrific strides in the eighties. Large numbers of Americans began using personal computers in their homes, offices, and schools. Columbia, America's first reusable spacecraft was launched in 1981. A sad day in our history was January 28, 1986, when space shuttle Challenger exploded 74 seconds after liftoff at Cape Canavaral, Florida killing all seven astronauts, including school teacher Christa McAuliffe. Research money allowed for studies and new treatments for heart, cancer, and other diseases. Major advances in genetics research led to the 1988 funding of the Human Genome Project. This project will locate the estimated 80,000 genes contained in human DNA. (Try the Timeline)
During this decade Wayne Williams was arrested in Atlanta for the murders of 23 black children, Sandra Day O'Connor became the first woman Supreme Court Justice, 52 hostages were released from their 444 days of captivity in Iran, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial inscribed with 57,939 names of American soldiers killed or missing in Vietnam was dedicated, income climbed more than 20 percent, Ivan Boesky of Drexel Burnham Lambert made headlines with insider trading scandals, Geraldine Ferraro was the first woman presidential candidate, Jesse Jackson was the first black candidate, the stock market tripled in 7 years yet survived the 1987 crash, and televangelist Jim Bakker was sentenced to 45 years for selling bogus lifetime vacations. The sexual revolution encountered a major adversary when Rock Hudson died of AIDS in 1985. Prisons overflowed and violent crime rates which, in 1980, had tripled since 1960, continued to climb with the appearance of crack in 1985. From 1985 to 1990 the use of cocain addiction was up 35 percent, though the number of users had declined. Nancy Reagan's Just Say No campaign had great influence. Toward the end of the decade, President Bush called for a kinder, gentler nation and volunteerism and contributions reached an all time high.
Families changed drastically during these years. The 80s continued the trends of the 60s and 70s - more divorces, more unmarrieds living together, more single parent families. The two-earner family was even more common than in previous decades, more women earned college and advanced degrees, married, and had fewer children.
Important Historic and Cultural Events
Medicare - authored by Senator Ted Kennedy 1980
Toxic shock syndrome caused by Tampons
LINKS
Historical Atlas of the 20th Century | Collection of maps and stats of the 20th century.
Early Information and Technology | Pictures and essays from the National Museum of American History
American History 1860-present | Chronological arrangement of history of this century.
Biography Index | Biography of over 15,000 famous persons.
Genealogy Guide | Helpful guide for locating past people, places and events.
This Day in Life Magazine | Brief look at "this day" in history - Life Magazine.
Time Magazine's "Men of the Year" | Influential persons
The Computer Museum, 1945-1990 | includes timeline of important developments.
ChuckyG's Politics | Contains essays and articles, lists, and links
BOOKS
REF E18.5.U75 Timetables of American History Include history and politics, the arts, science and technology, and other info of interest.
REF E174.D52 Dictionary of American HistoryFrom very brief to multi-page signed entries on topics in American History.
REF E169.1A471872 America in the 20th Century 1970-1979 is covered in volume 8. Typical of Marshall Cavendish, this encyclopedic set is accessible and gives easy to use background information for this decade. Covers from art to transportation.
REF E173.A793The Annals of America Volume 21 covers the early part of this decade. Set contains essays and excepts from important writers and on important topics of the time. Most valuable for this research.
REF N7593,C93 Dictionary of American Portraits Photographs or drawings of important Americans. Brief description of their contribution. Arranged by person.
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ART & ARCHITECTURE:
Eighties was a huge decade for art, art museums, and artists. Artists included mostly moderns i.e, Jasper Johns, Willem De Kooning, Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein, Marisol, Robert Rauschenberg, and Frank Stella. Andy Warhol did a few ads. Artists were trying new arenas and pushing the envelop. During the decade, huge numbers of people protested the Mapplethorpe exhibit at the Corcoran then at the Wadsworth Atheneum. Veterans protested a Chicago Art Institute exhibit that had the flag draped on the floor, Richard Serra's Tilted Arc was removed from NYC's Federal plaza, and Andrew Wyeth's Helga pictures were refused by some museums but in 1987, the Helga paintings were exhibited at the National Gallery of Art, the gallery's first exhibition of works by a living artist.
Auctions of famous art works brought record prices. Early in the decade Picasso's 'Yo' brought 5.4 million. By 1987, Van Gogh's 'Sunflowers' brought $39.9 million while 'Irises" brought $53.9 million dollars! The Museum of Modern Art reopened twice as large as previously, Joseph Hirshhorn left his works to the Hirshhorn Museum (Smithsonian), places like San Antonio built multi-million dollar museums. In March, 1990, in a nighttime art theft at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, thieves made off with 12 works of art, including paintings by Degas, Rembrandt, Renoir, and Vermeer, valued at $100,000,000. Never recovered.
A few famous architectural feats of the 80s were the Menil Collection in Houston by Renzo Piano, Trump Tower, High Museum in Atlanta, Union Station in Washington, and Sunshine Skyway Bridge in St. Petersberg. I.M. Pei, Philip Johnson, and Richard Meier were among the most renowned architects of the period.
ART AND ARCHITECTURE LINKS
Links to Later 20th Century Art
Art on the Web - from Boston College
American Architecture - Twentieth Century - 1980 to 1989
Digital Archive of American Architecture
Art Subject Guide
Great Buildings Online
Art Glossary from AskArt - The American Artists Bluebook
BOOKS
N 6490 .L792 Visual Arts in the Twentieth Century History of art in the 20th Century which includes all art forms and architecture. Set up chronologically by decade.
REF N 6512 .A578 American Artists: Illustrated Survey of Leading Contemporary Americans Reviews and biographical data on more than 1,000 living American artists.
N 6537 .C48 A2 Beyond the Flower: the Autobiography of a Feminist Artist Autobiography of Judy Chicago
REF NA 712 .L4 20th Century American Architure Photographs and discussions of 200 key buildings.
NA 737 .K32 B73 Kimbell Art Museum Architecture in detail, an examination of the building with photos, drawings and discussion.
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BOOKS & LITERATURE
American was reading. Popular fiction authors included espionage writers Ken Follett, Robert Ludlum, Frederick Forsyth, Martin Cruz Smith, Tom Clancy, and John le Carre. Scott Turow turned the legal thriller around and paved the way for the mega legal thrillers of the 90s, when he wrote Presumed Innocent. Of 13 books which sold over one million copies, Stephen King, Tom Clancy, and Danielle Steele wrote 10 of them. Tom Wolfe, Toni Morrison, Larry McMurtry, James Michener, John Irving, and Alice Walker were among the popular writers of the decade. Non fiction books became best-sellers. All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, (Robert Fulgham), The Beverly Hills Diet (Judy Mazel), Richard Simmons' Never Say Diet Book, and Miss Piggy's Guide to Life helped us get in touch with our inner and outer selves :-) Trump: Surviving at the Top and Iacocca: an Autobiography hit the bestseller lists. Two of my favorite contemporary poets wrote during this decade.
1.
Don't worry, spiders,
I keep house
casually.
2.
Don't kill that fly!
Look- it's wringing its hands,
wringing its feet. To the left, haiku by Issa, 17th century poet Translated by Robert Haas.
Or the beginning of 'Song' by Haas....
3.
Afternoon cooking in the fall sun
who is more naked
than the man
yelling, "Hey, I'm home!"
to an empty house?
In Those Years
In those years, people will say, we lost track
of the meaning of we,of you
we found ourselves
reduced to I
and the whole thing
became silly, ironic, terrible:
we were trying to live a personal life
and yes, that was the only life
we could bear witness to
But the great dark birds of history screamed and plunged
into our personal weather
They were headed somewhere else but their beaks and pinions drove
along the shore, through the rags of fog
where we stood, saying I.
~ Adrienne Rich ~
Published in 1991, but surely speaks to the 1980s generation.
LINKS
Books Critics Loved in the Eighties
1980's Bestsellers
Library of Congress: PS - American Literature, Z - books and libraries.
Books That Define the Time
Cosmos by Carl Sagan
Ironweed by William Kennedy, showing the seamier side of Kennedy's home town, Albany, NY.
In Search of Excellence by Thomas J. Peters & Robert H. Waterman, Jr. - best run companies
1984 - George Orwell's 1949 classic - cheating to mention this, but it was certaining a hot topic during the early decade.
Fatherhood by Bill Cosby - Cosby and Clancy made the big bucks this decade.
The Bonfire of the Vanities - Thomas Wolfe - sociologies use this book for a different 80s viewpoint
Cultural Literacy by E.D. Hirsch, Jr. listing what he believed American's should know to be 'culturally educated.'
The Closing of the American Mind by Allan Bloom
Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow, legal thriller, paved the way for the likes of John Grisham, and brought the American courtroom to our attention.
Official Preppy Handbook - indicative of the fad-crazed logo-happy generation , this book spawned several paradies, and while intended to be satirical, it led the way for what was 'in' and what was 'out'.
The Cycles of American History by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
Books About Books
REF PN50 .L574 Literature and Its Times Profiles notable literary works and the historical events that influenced them. Vol. 5 covers 1960- .
REF Z1003.2.C66 American Literacy 4-6 page essays on 50 books that define the American culture.
REF Z1219.C96 1905 (annual) Book Review Digest Indexes and abstracts book reviews. Use it to find books written during the period and their reviews
Children's Book Award winners of the eighties:
Newbery Award Winner - Began in 1922 (most distinguished children's book of the previous year)
1980: A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal, 1830-1832 by Joan W. Blos
1981: Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson
1982: A Visit to William Blake's Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers by Nancy Willard
1983: Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt
1984: Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary
1985: The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley
1986: Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
1987: The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
1988: Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman
1989: Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman
Caldecott Award Winner - Began in 1938 (most distinguished children's picture book of the previous year)
1980: Ox-Cart Man, illustrated by Barbara Cooney; text: Donald Hall
1981: Fables by Arnold Lobel
1982: Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg
1983: Shadow, translated and illustrated by Marcia Brown; original text in French: Blaise Cendrars
1984: The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot by Alice & Martin Provensen
1985: Saint George and the Dragon, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman; text: retold by Margaret Hodges
1986: The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
1987: Hey, Al, illustrated by Richard Egielski; text: Arthur Yorinks
1988: Owl Moon, illustrated by John Schoenherr; text: Jane Yolen
1989: Song and Dance Man, illustrated by Stephen Gammell; text: Karen Ackerman
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EDUCATION
A 1980 study by UCLA and American Council on Education indicated that college freshmen were more interested in status, power, and money than at any time during the past 15 years. Business Management was the most popular major.
American education came under fire during the 1980s. Liberals cried out against budget cuts and rising student costs. School districts offered teachers exams and exit exams became a part of graduating for Education majors. Conservatives like E.D.Hirsch, Jr. and William Bennett advocated a return to the classics for college students and back to the basic skills for public school students. An attempt was made to improve the teacher quality by raising salaries slightly. Efforts to censor books tripled in the eighties. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , The Grapes of Wrath, and Catcher in the Rye were among books banned in New York State. Roget's Thesaurus banned sexist categories: mankind becamehumankind; countryman became country dweller. Columbia University, the last all male Ivy League school, began accepting women in 1983. President Reagan endorsed a constitutional amendment to permit school prayer. It was defeated.
LINKS
Blackwell Museum | Blackwell History of Education website
History of American Education Web Project
ERIC document - Higher Education in the Eighties | Abstract, order full article from your local library
Books
REF E173.A793 Annals of America Vol. 19, p. 120-124 includes two entries - one on forced busing to achieve educational integration, and the other "Survival of the Catholic Urban School."
REF E174.D52 Dictionary of American History Vol. 2, This multi-volume set has a very good entry under "Education".
LA11.L8 1972 Our Western Educational Heritage The final long chapter contains history of American educational system.
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FADS, FASHION, & LIFESTYLES
Team sports for kids were really popular beginning in the seventies and going through the present. Eighties' mothers ran carpool after work, kids had after school and week end cheerleading, baseball, football, soccer, gym, dance, jazz, you name it!
Nerd's became a hot commodity in the 1980s. Wealthy and brainy computer wizards like Stephen Wozniak helped. So did movies like Revenge of the Nerds, Lucas, Stand by Me, and Peggy Sue Got Married. TV joined the nerd ranks with ABC's hit series Head of the Class. Food of the 80s included the popular fast food places like Taco Bell and McDonald's McDLT and McRib. Kids loved Sweetarts, Skittles, Nerds, Runts, Hubba Bubba Chewing Gum, and Five Alive.
Collectibles were big in the 80s. Smurf and E.T. paraphernalia, Cabbage Patch dolls, camcorders, video games (Nintendo, Pac Man, Game Boy), Rubik's Cube, Teenage Mutant Nija Turtles, and Barbies (now Hispanic, Black, Asian) were big. New were discount air fares, lite foods, aerobics, minivans, talkshows, and Valley Girls (grody to the max).
The combination of Nancy Reagan's elegance and Princess Di's love of fashion, stimulated a return to opulent clothing styles. Power dressing was in. Madonna was a big influence on young fashion. Anne Klein, Perry Ellis, Donna Karan, and Calvin Klein were designers for the 80s. Film continued to influence and inspire clothing. The Flashdance look had young and old in tank tops, tight-fitting pants or torn jeans, and leg-warmers. Teens not wearing designer clothes opted for Michael Jackson's glove or Madona's fishnet stockings, leather, and chains. Older women wore the Out of Africa look popularized by Meryl Streep. Image won over reality and tanning salons thrived. Sneakers were so popular (and necessary) and the price so high that the Los Angeles Police Department accused shoe companies of cashing in on the easy drug money picked up by inner city kids. The shoe companies, like Nike, claimed the cost of high technologies needed to create the shoes was responsible for the huge jump in price. Kids like to do their own thing - see hairdos in pictures as evidence!
During the eighties, Americans continued to travel around their own country - using every mode of transportation. Trips to Colorado for a mountain vacation were popular in summer as well as winter. Traveling was often in RVs.
LINKS:
Costumer's Manifesto | Links to world wide of fashion . Good ones
www.80s.com | Great variety on this 80s server
The Bad Fads Museum | Fashion, collectibles, activities, events.
Power Dressing | defined in the 1980's
BOOKS:
REF E169.1.P19 Panati's Parade of Fads, Follies and Manias Arranged by decade, includes fads, dance crazes, radio, tv, popular books and songs.
E169.1.S9733 Culture as History : The Transformation of American Excellent source for this topic. Events which transformed the social, political and cultural face of America in this century. Society in the Twentieth Century
REF GT510 .B6713 20,000 Years of Fashion Chapter XIII covers 1960-1983. With illustrations and photographs.
GT605.H35 Common Threads: A Parade of American Clothing Includes an overview of the 20th century, then chapters on contributors to changes in fashion.
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MUSIC & MEDIA
Cable was born and MTV, orginally intended to be promos for albums, had an enormous impact on music and young people. The digital compact disc (cd) revolutionized the music industry. Dances learned on MTV included slam dancing, lambada, and break dancing. Harlem's gay Black and Latino males imitated the beautiful jet set with their (then underground) Vogueing, a 'pose' dance popularized by Madonna incorporating the struts and stances of high fashion models.
Pop, rock, new wave, punk, country, and especially rap or hip hop became popular in the 80s. Rap was new in the late 80s and 90s. It had started in prison 20 years earlier by jailed black inmates who, in the absense of instruments, turned poetic meter into musical rhythm. The early rap heard on ghetto streets was abrasive and laced with hostility toward society. Early important groups are Milli Vanilli, M. C. Hammer (great site, but it takes time), Vanilla Ice, and L.L. Cool J. There are great links on the Internet for music of the 80s listed below. Here are a very few of my favorite from the top hits of the decade:
YEAR TITLE ARTIST
1980 Please Don't Go - single K.C. and the Sunshine Band
1980 The Wall - album Pink Floyd
1981 Woman in Love - single Stevie Wonder
1981 Greatest Hits- album Kenny Rogers
1982 Ebony & Ivory - single Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder
1982 Tattoo You - album Rolling Stones
1983 Let's Dance - single David Bowie
1983 Flashdance - album Sound Track
1984 To All the Girls I've Loved Before - single Julio Iglesias, Willie Nelson
1984 An Innocent Man - album Billie Joel
1985 Night Shift - single The Commodores
1985 Born in the U.S.A.- album Bruce Springsteen
1986 That's What Friends are For - single
Group
1986 Whitney Houston - album Whitney Houston
1987 Give me Wings - single Michael Johnson
1987 The Joshua Tree - album U2
1988 Got My Mind Set on You - single George Harrison
1988 Dirty Dancing - album Soundtrack
1989 Better Man - single Clint Black
1989 Nick of Time - album Bonnie Raitt
LINKS
Music of the 80s | You don't want to miss this searchable site of song lyrics.
Lyrics Database | 61,000 song lyrics. Search by keyword.
Hits & Misses of the 80s | Pretty good list with album covers, bios, from an MTV fan
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland | neat site includes lots of rock history..
Nostalgia Central | Alphabetical list of popular musicians and groups from the 1980's
BOOKS
A Chronicle of American Music 1700-1995 - ML200.H15 - Arranged by year, historical highlights, world cultural highlights, American art and literature, music - commercial and cultural.
Music Since 1900 - ML197.S634 - Arranged by day, includes important premiers and musical events.
The Great American Song Thesaurus - ML128.S37L4 - Arranged by year, summary of world and musical events, list of important songs.
Show Tunes 1905-1985 - ML390.S983 - Features important composers. Lists their shows and the published music for each show.
Illustrated History of Popular Music - ML3470 .M36 - 20 volumes covering the music, events, and people of Rock.
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THEATER, FILM, & TELEVISION
In 1981, VCR sales rose 72% in 12 months. By 1989, 60 percent of American households with televisions received cable service. Huge or memorable movies of the decade included On Golden Pond, Tootsie, Arthur, Stephen Spielberg Movies like E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, The Big Chill, Flashdance, Beverly Hills Cop, Out of Africa, Back to the Future, Cocoon, The Breakfast Club,Platoon,Star Trek, Good Morning Vietnam, Fatal Attraction, Rain Man, and Driving Miss Daisy.
Broadway revivals were important during the 80s. Revival musicals like West Side Story, The Music Man, Anything Goes, Me and My Gal, Brigadoon, Grand Hotel, Gypsy, and The King and I all did well at the box office. Sell-out musicals were ahead for La Cage aux Folles, Sunday in the Park with George, Andrew Lloyd Webber's mega hits Cats, Starlight Express, Les Miserables, and The Phantom of the Opera. Dramas included M. Butterfly, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, and Walk in the Woods. In 1980, the American Ballet Theater turned 40 and Mikhail Baryshnikov became director.
TV innovations and trends included anti-family sitcoms like Roseanne and Married...with Children; tabloid tv with Geraldo, Phil, Sally, and Oprah; stand-up comics included Gary Shandling, Jane Curtin, George Carlin, Jackie Mason, Bill Cosby, Jerry Seinfeld, and Tracy Ullman; info-tainment included Nightline with Ted Koppel, CNN Cable News,and 20/20 with Hugh Downs and Barbara Walters. 60 Minutes which had first aired in 1968 was bigger than ever. It was a media decade with superstars. The decade of the sitcom, here is a list of the top ten TV shows of 1989.
Cosby Show Cheers Roseanne A Different World America's Funniest Home Videos
Golden Girls The Wonder Years Empty Nest 60 Minutes Unsolved Mysteries
LINKS
The Oscars | Everything you about everyone and everything that's ever won an Oscar
TV Retro | Favorite tv shows from yesteryear, plot summaries, more
Media History Project | the whole Twentieth Century
Movies of the 80's | an alphbetical list with plot summary and casts, from Nostalgia Cental
Television of the 80's | Nostalgia Central site for television.
Library of Congress browse area: PN1700 - PN2300
BOOKS
Encyclopedia of Television - PN1992.18 .M874 - A comprehensive examination of the people, organizations, technology, and productions that have made television a major influence of the 20th Century.
Illustrated Who's Who
of the Cinema - PN1998 .A2 I48 - Brief entries by name, including photos.
Variety Movie Guide - PN1995 .V3456.500- Films with basic information and brief synopsis