April 12, 1986 Belinda Carlisle of The Go-Go's marries actor Morgan Mason.
February 22, 1986 MTV, which has bought the rights to 45 episodes of The Monkees TV series, airs them all in the "Pleasant Valley Sunday" marathon in honor of the group's 20th anniversary. The shows launch a Monkees revival, and the group reforms to tour later in the year.More
February 4, 1986 Janet Jackson, 19, asserts her independence on her third album, Control, where she takes on much of the songwriting and production. With five big hits, including the #1 "When I Think of You," it vaults her into a league with her brother Michael.More
January 20, 1986 After years of campaigning to make Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a federal holiday, Stevie Wonder commemorates the occasion with a star-studded concert celebration in Washington, D.C.More
December 23, 1985 Reno, Nevada residents James Vance, 20 and Raymond Belknap, 18, shoot themselves in a suicide pact after spending hours drinking, smoking marijuana and listening to Judas Priest's Stained Class album. A lawsuit filed by their families claims the track "Better By You, Better Than Me" contains subliminal messages encouraging the suicides, but the case is dismissed.
November 16, 1985 "We Built This City" by Starship hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is later named Worst Song of All Time by Blender magazine.More
November 2, 1985 "Part-Time Lover" hits #1 on the Hot 100, 22 years after Stevie Wonder first topped the chart in 1963.More
November 1, 1985 The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) agrees to some demands made by another initialed organization, the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). As a result, any album deemed to contain offensive lyrics must be issued with a warning label, or the lyrics must be printed on the sleeve. Most record companies go with the labels, which don't seem to hurt sales.More
October 26, 1985 Whitney Houston scores her first #1 on the Hot 100 when "Saving All My Love For You" reaches the top spot. She goes on a remarkable run, with her next six singles all topping the chart.
October 9, 1985 With Steve Barron as their director, a-ha begin filming their music video for "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." at Saint Alban the Martyr Church and Udney Hall Gardens in Teddington, Middlesex, England.
October 8, 1985 Bruno Mars is born Peter Hernandez in Honolulu, Hawaii. His dad calls him Bruno because as a toddler he's chunky like the wrestler Bruno Sammartino. He becomes one of the most popular artists of the streaming era in the 2010s with a run of hits that includes "Grenade," Locked Out of Heaven and "Uptown Funk."
September 19, 1985 Frank Zappa, John Denver and Dee Snider of Twisted Sister testify at a Senate hearing where the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) argue for a ratings system on music. The musicians explain that this is censorship, but the PMRC wins a victory and warning labels are ordered on albums containing explicit lyrics.More
July 13, 1985 The Live Aid concerts take place in Philadelphia and London to raise money for the hungry in Africa. The Beach Boys, The Four Tops, Paul McCartney, Tina Turner, Elton John, David Bowie, The Who, Queen, Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan all take part.More
July 3, 1985 Back to the Future, starring Michael J. Fox as a time-traveling teenager, opens in theaters. When he plays "Johnny B. Goode" in 1955 at the "Enchantment Under the Sea" dance, he gives birth to rock and roll. In the real-life present, a new generation gets a lesson in Chuck Berry from the scene.More
May 18, 1985 After repeated attempts to break through in America, Simple Minds go to #1 with "Don't You (Forget About Me)," which is used in the movie The Breakfast Club.More
May 13, 1985 The Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) holds a meeting in a Washington church where they foment support for their agenda: a ratings system for albums and concerts like those used for movies, and also to keep offensive album covers out of view in record stores. Their efforts lead to warning stickers on albums with offensive lyrics.More
April 22, 1985 Prince releases his seventh album, Around The World In A Day, the follow-up to Purple Rain. It's his first issued on his Paisley Park imprint and primarily recorded at his Paisley Park studios.
April 20, 1985 The Commodores land their first (and only) post-Lionel Richie hit with "Nightshift," which reaches #3 in the US. The song is a tribute to Jackie Wilson and Marvin Gaye.
April 13, 1985 The all-star charity single "We Are The World" hits #1 in America, where it stays for four weeks. The song was conceived in December 1984, recorded in January 1985 and released in March. Its rise to the top of the charts is one of the fastest in history.
March 23, 1985 Billy Joel marries the "Uptown Girl" Christie Brinkley. They remain married for nine years.More
March 16, 1985 "Nightshift" by The Commodores, a tribute to Jackie Wilson and Marvin Gaye, knocks Diana Ross' "Missing You," a tribute to Gaye written by ex-Commodore Lionel Richie, from the #1 spot on the R&B chart.
March 1, 1985 Ford licenses The Beatles "Help!" for a commercial, marking the first time one of their songs is used in a TV ad.
January 28, 1985 With the stars in town for the American Music Awards, "We Are The World" is recorded in Los Angeles, with cameras rolling for the video.More
January 2, 1985 Ron Wood of The Rolling Stones marries his second wife, Jo Karslake, in Buckinghamshire, England, with guests Ringo Starr, Rod Stewart, Jeff Beck, and the other members of the Stones (except Mick).
November 12, 1984 With Chic frontman Nile Rodgers producing, Madonna releases her second studio album, Like A Virgin, her first #1 on the US albums chart.More
October 15, 1984 The Judds, a mother-daughter duo from Kentucky, upend the "Urban Cowboy Movement" with their throwback debut album, Why Not Me. It yields three #1 Country singles: "Girls' Night Out," "Love Is Alive," and "Why Not Me."More
October 13, 1984 Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called To Say I Love You" tops the Hot 100, Adult Contemporary, R&B and UK Singles charts.More
September 14, 1984 At the very first MTV Video Music Awards, Madonna performs "Like A Virgin" in a white wedding gown accessorized by her famous "Boy Toy" belt.More
September 13, 1984 Patti LaBelle makes her feature-film debut in the Norman Jewison drama A Soldier's Story, a WWII-era mystery about the murder of a Black sergeant near a segregated Army base in Louisiana. For her role as blues singer Big Mary, LaBelle wrote and performed the tune "Pourin' Whiskey Blues."
September 7, 1984 With most of her family (including her parents) on the road with The Jacksons' Victory tour, 18-year-old Janet Jackson elopes with James DeBarge from the group DeBarge. The marriage ends eight months later.
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