June 1, 1985 Sting releases his first solo album, The Dream of the Blue Turtles. Tracks include "Moon Over Bourbon Street" (inspired by the novel Interview With The Vampire) and "Russians," a song that looks at the Cold War from the perspective of the USSR.
June 1, 1985 The innovative computer-animated video for Dire Straits' "Money For Nothing" debuts on MTV, which is very meta because the refrain in the song (sung by Sting), is "I want my MTV." It wins Best Video at the VMAs and helps the song go to #1 in America.
June 1, 1985 A-ha release their debut album, Hunting High and Low, including their breakthrough hit, "Take On Me."More
May 25, 1985 Wham!'s "Everything She Wants" hits #1 in the US, making them the first group since the Bee Gees to have three #1 hits from the same album.
May 20, 1985 Jon Pardi is born in Dixon, California. Part of a wave of artists that make good-time country songs with modern production (Sam Hunt and Florida Georgia Line are others), he breaks through in 2013 with "Up All Night," a song about a truck, a girl and a dirt road.
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
May 2, 1985 Singer-songwriter Lily Allen is born in London. After a rambunctious childhood that gets her kicked out of a number of schools, she finds a following on MySpace and releases her first single, "Smile," in 2006. It goes to #1 in the UK, followed two years later by another chart-topper, "The Fear."
April 25, 1985 The musical Big River, based on Mark Twain's work and featuring a score by Roger Miller, opens on Broadway. Miller would go on to win a Tony Award for the music.
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.
April 10, 1985 Madonna begins her first tour, the Virgin Tour, in Seattle. Her opening act is a petulant, little-known white rap trio called the Beastie Boys, which gets booed throughout their set.
April 8, 1985 The musical Leader Of The Pack: The Songs Of Ellie Greenwich opens on Broadway (running for 120 performances).
April 7, 1985 Wham! become the first Western pop group to play in China when they perform at the Worker's Gymnasium in Beijing. Footage from their trip appears in the video for their song "Freedom."More
April 6, 1985 Gilbert O'Sullivan wins a two-million-dollar judgment against his manager, Gordon Mills, for royalties owed him on his 1972 smash "Alone Again (Naturally)."
April 5, 1985 Thousands of radio stations play "We Are The World" simultaneously at 10:50 a.m. EST. In the next few weeks, the song goes to #1 in America and the UK.
April 3, 1985 Leona Lewis is born in Islington, London, England. After winning The X Factor UK in 2006, she lands a global hit with "Bleeding Love" in 2008.
March 31, 1985 The first WrestleMania goes down at Madison Square Garden, with Liberace as timekeeper and Cyndi Lauper managing the wrestler Wendi Richter, who wins the Women's Championship with Lauper's help.
March 29, 1985 Jeanne Deckers - known as "The Singing Nun" - and her companion Annie Pécher die in a double suicide at their home. As a Belgian nun, Deckers had a US #1 hit in 1963 with "Dominique," but she left the convent in 1966 and went through a series of setbacks, including devastating financial problems. Deckers is 51, Pécher is 40.
March 28, 1985 Four-year-old Alicia Cook makes her acting debut on the "Slumber Party" episode of The Cosby Show. She'll become famous as Alicia Keys.
March 25, 1985 Stevie Wonder accepts the Oscar for Best Original Song "in the name of Nelson Mandela."More
March 23, 1985 Billy Joel marries the "Uptown Girl" Christie Brinkley. They remain married for nine years.More
March 22, 1985 Alcatrazz's only studio album with Steve Vai, Disturbing the Peace, is released. Produced by Eddie Kramer, the album's lead-off track, "God Blessed Video," attracts a whole new audience years later when it's included on the popular video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
March 21, 1985 In Vancouver, the Canadian wheelchair athlete Rick Hansen begins his "Man In Motion" tour to raise money for spinal cord research. Inspired by his quest, fellow Canadian David Foster works with John Parr to write a tribute song to Hansen for the film St. Elmo's Fire.More
March 17, 1985 Richard Ramirez kills a man and attacks a woman at a house in Rosemead, California, leaving an AC/DC hat behind at the crime scene. Ramirez continues his killing spree and becomes known as the "Night Stalker." When it becomes clear that AC/DC is his favorite band, the group is accused of encouraging crime and devil worship in their music.
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 7, 1985 The song "We are the World" is released as a single, soon achieving massive chart success all around the world. The song, written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson, is recorded for charity to help battle famine in Africa. The supergroup USA for Africa brought together for the recording features a stunning list of big names in music - everyone from Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan to Ray Charles, Cyndi Lauper and Dionne Warwick.
February 28, 1985 Bruce Springsteen wins for Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Songwriter of the Year and pretty much any award he was eligible for in the Rolling Stone reader's poll.
February 26, 1985 Bruce Springsteen wins his first Grammy, taking home the Best Male Vocal Performance award for "Dancing In The Dark." "What's Love Got To Do With It" by Tina Turner wins Song of the Year and Record of the Year.
February 26, 1985 The Judds win their first Grammy Award when "Mama He's Crazy" (their first #1 single) is named Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
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