60 YEARS OF THE ROCK ERA. This update: 1980.

60 YEARS OF

ROCK

(1955-2015)

1980

    

 

   

-Paul McCartney is jailed for 10 days for possession of a half pound of marijuana.

-2 owners of Studio 54 are sentenced to prison for income tax evasion.

-Bon Scott, lead singer of AC/DC, dies in London.

-Pink Floyd's 'The Dark Side Of The Moon' becomes the longest charting album in the US.

-Gary Numan & then Blondie release the 1st commercially available home rock videocassette. 

-Brian Johnson is announced as AC/Dc's new lead singer.

-Elvis Presley's doctor is indicted for overprescribing drugs to the rock star.

-Peter Criss quits Kiss. Eric Carr will replace him soon after.

-Trevor Horn & Geoff Downes join Yes.

-Joy Division's Ian Curtis is found dead. 

-Kurtis Blow enters the US R&B chart, on its way to becoming rap's 1st gold single. 

-'The Blues Brothers' movie premieres in NYC.

-Donna Summer is the 1st act to sign with the new Geffen label. 

-David Bowie has his theatrical debut, playing the lead role in "The Elephant Man".

-John Lennon & Yoko Ono begin recording 'Double Fantasy' in New York. 

-John Bonham of Led Zeppelin dies. Led Zeppelin disbands.

-John Lennon releases "Starting Over", his 1st record for 5 years, as he turns 40 years of age.

-December 8: John Lennon is assassinated outside his home in New York's Dakota building.

-John Lennon ends 1980 at #1 on both the singles & albums charts in the US & UK.

 

   

    

    

  

  

Studio 54 closed its doors in 1980, as the Disco Era came to an end. Rap was now beginning to gain strength. Kurtis Blow's "The Breaks" doesn't sample, choosing instead to use a new music track made for the rap song. Record sales decreased and piracy was increasingly becoming a concern. AC/DC emerged with a new lead singer and attracted its best sales ever for 'Back In Black'. Pat Benatar and Chrissie Hynde became the new decade's "rock chicks". The Cure dropped a seminal goth rock song. Barbra Streisand and Diana Ross enjoyed their best sales in decades, working with The Bee Gees (the former) and Chic's Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards (the latter). By year's end, tragedy shook music fans with the assassination of John Lennon by a fan.