1980-1989

All Let It Roll episodes covering the music of the 1980s.

Let It Roll Originals

• Grandmaster Flash brought turntablism to Hip-Hop

• The Butthole Surfers, Big Boys, Dicks and Scratch Acid led Texas' crazed punk scene

• Duran Duran Mastered MTV and Ruled In the 80s

• Michael Jackson, Madonna and Prince Topped a Banner Year for Pop in 1984

• George Michael's Brilliant 80's Run Ended With His 90's Rebellion Against His Record Label

• The Record Exec Who Signed Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper and Ruled the 1980s

• The Evolution of American Ska: The Untouchables, Fishbone & The Toasters Led the Way

• 415 Records Brought California Punk & New Wave to the American Market

• Bad Brains' HR Created a New Template for Hard Rock Then Tore It All Down

• Guns N’ Roses Reigned Over the Late 80's and Fell Hard in the 1990s

• Black Flag Pioneered Hardcore Punk

• Joan Jett's Years With the Runaways Laid the Groundwork for Solo Stardom

• Megaforce Records Brought Metallica, Anthrax, Manowar to the Masses

• Freddie Mercury and Queen Earned Rock Immortality

• New Edition & New Kids On The Block Perfected It, *NSYNC & Backstreet Boys Capitalized On It: The Boy Band Formula

• Yo La Tengo Surfed The Indie Rock Wave

• Marley Marl, Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie & The Juice Crew Perfected Hip-Hop In The 1980s

• AC/DC Perfected Hard Rock While Flirting With Punk

• Hardcore Punk Ignored Corporate America

• The Devil, Daniel Johnston and Documentary Film

• The Indie Underground of the 80's from Black Flag to Beat Happening

• The Entrepreneurs of Early Hip-Hop: Sugar Hill & Def Jam

• The Butthole Surfers & the 80's Underground

‘80s Roll

• 80s Roll 20: Queen, Bowie & Jagger and other highs and lows of Live Aid

• 80s Roll 19: Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones led “We Are The World”

• 80s Roll 18: British stars came together wrap up a huge 1984 with “Do They Know It’s Christmas”

• 80s Roll 17: Classic Rockers Like Don Henley, Foreigner and Steve Perry Had a Big 1984 Too

• 80s Roll 16: Bruce Springsteen broke all the way through with Born in the USA

• 80s Roll 15: Tina Turner, ZZ Top, Cyndi Lauper & Madonna at the First Ever MTV Awards

• 80s Roll 14: The Olympics, Lionel Richie, Etta James, Marvin Gaye and R&B Radio

• 80s Roll 13: Madonna comes out of the NYC club scene, 1st House records come out of Chicago, Hi-NRG is go, Electro becomes Freestyle

• 80s Roll 12: R.E.M., Black Flag, Husker Du, the Minutemen and the Meat Puppets charted an alternative course

• 80s Roll 11: Prince's Purple Reign

• 80s Roll 10: The Jackson's Victory Tour was anything but

• 80s Roll 9: Run-DMC revolutionized hip-hop in the year of "Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo”

• 80s Roll 8: Willie Nelson ruled the country music roost but George Strait and the Judds were coming up fast

• 80s Roll 7: Bob Marley's Legend album was the biggest reissue of 1984

• 80s Roll 6: Talking Heads' Movie Stop Making Sense Topped the Field of Rock n Roll Movies in 1984

• 80s Roll 5: Michael Jackson, Annie Lennox, Boy George and Cyndi Lauper at the Grammy Awards

• 80s Roll 4: Van Halen, Def Leppard & Motley Crue Led the Heavy Metal Charge

• 80s Roll 3: Culture Club, The Eurythmics, The Human League, Duran Duran and The Police Led the 2nd British Invasion

• 80s Roll 2: How the Late 70s Disco Implosion and Early 80's Stagnation of AOR Radio Made 1984 Possible

• 80s Roll 1: How Great a Year Was 1984 for Pop Music?

Let Metal Roll

• Melvins and TAD Were at the Forefront of Seattle's Grunge Wave When It Was Still An Indy Phenomenon

• Thrash Metal Rose and Fell, Led by Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth

We Dig VH1’s Metal Evolution

• Metal Evolution Led to Extremes: Grindcore, Death & Black Metal

• Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer and Megadeth Brought Thrash to a Global Audience

• Van Halen and MTV Spawned the LA Glam Metal Scene that Produced Motley Crue, Poison and Guns N Roses

• Iron Maiden and Def Leppard Emerge from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal

TechnoRoll

• TechnoRoll 3.2: Detroit Techno or, George Clinton and Kraftwerk Stuck in an Elevator With a Sequencer

• TechnoRoll 3.1: Chicago House Kicks Off a New Era in Dance Music

• TechnoRoll 2.4: The Stone Roses & Happy Mondays Led a Madchester Scene That Tried to Absorb Rave Into Rock

• TechnoRoll 2.3: DJs Paul Oakenfold, Nicky Holloway and Danny Rampling Break Acid House Big in the UK

• TechnoRoll 2.2: Modern EDM is Born with Detroit Techno, Chicago House, and New York Garage

• TechnoRoll 2.1: A Journey Through Rave Music & Dance Culture

• Technoroll 16: The Acid House Revolution Shakes the UK to its Foundations

• Technoroll 15: Ibiza's Balearic Beat Modeled Modern Dance Music in the 1980s

• Technoroll 13: The Belleville Three Create Techno in Detroit

• Technoroll 12: Frankie Knuckles, Ron Hardy and the Birth of House Music in Chicago

• Technoroll 11: Larry Levan Kept the Dance Music Torch Burning at the Paradise Garage

• Technoroll 10: Afrika Bambaataa Distils Electro and Hip-Hop

• Technoroll 7: Hi-NRG Kept the Dance Going In the Early 80's

We Dig Rock Docs

• Grunge Bands Like Nirvana Drew All Eyes to the Seattle Music Scene

• ZZ Top Took Marshall Amps and Remade Boogie-Blues as Heavy Rock

We Dig Hip-Hop Evolution: The Foundation

• Tribe Called Quest & De La Soul Led the Native Tongues

• Too $hort, MC Hammer, E-40, Digital Underground & 2Pac Brought the Bay

• The 2 Live Crew, Geto Boys and UGK Come Out of the South

• Ice-T, Eazy-E And N.W.A. Bring Gangsta Rap To The Masses

• Run-DMC, Def Jam and Public Enemy Herald The Golden Age

• The Sugarhill Gang & Afrika Bambaataa Put Rap On Wax

CountryRoll

• CountryRoll 8: George Strait, Reba McEntire, & Dwight Yoakum Re-Center Country in the ‘80s, Garth Brooks Blows the Doors Off in the ‘90s

• CountryRoll 7: Willie Nelson & Waylon Jennings Outlaw Country and Dolly Parton’s Pop-Crossover

We Dig Mike Judge’s Tales from the Tour Bus

• Morris Day

• Rick James