These are the Best 80's Songs for Weddings to get people on the dance floor! As in previous years, the music defined what is happening in the world. War protest songs were common in the 40's with World War II and again in the 70's with the Vietnam War. This holds true for the 80's also. With the beginning of music television in 1981, teens tuned-in on their TVs to watch music videos on MTV. Apropos to the start of MTV, the first video shown was Video Killed The Radio Star by the Buggles. Times of the Eighties were very prosperous in America. Therefore, many charity events/concerts took place like USA For Africa, Band Aid and Live Aid. With the 1979 Disco Demolition Night at Cominskey Park in Chicago, there was a beginning of new music styles in the 80's. Born from the punk rock style music were New Wave and Synthpop. Bands such as the B52's and Duran Duran can be categorized in the New Wave style music. Also coming from the 80's was many forms of rock and roll such as glam rock, heavy metal, and thrash metal. We commonly refer to many rock bands of the 80's as hair bands. Bands such as Van Halen, Bon Jovi and Def Leppard were formidable 80's mega-rock stars. Run D.M.C also becomes the first rap group to have an album become certified gold.
The Eighties were known for many historical events. The Berlin Wall came down and many eastern countries wanted the freedom and "stuff" of western prosperous countries. Advertising companies created buzzwords for the 80's like yuppies and empty nesters. Western countries were all about consumption. Designer names and particular brand names became status symbols. Everyone was about themselves and greed. Teens' technology improved from Atari to Nintendo and the creation of Super Mario Brothers video game. Hip hop blared on gettoblasters while kids enjoyed watching break dancing by their talented cohorts. Music was also very mobile in teen's society with gettoblasters and the invention of the Walkman by Sony. The explosion of NASA's space shuttle Challenger, the marriage of Prince Charles to Diana and Apple Computer releases the Macintosh all took place in the 80's.
Eighties teens were entertained at the movies with blockbuster hits such as ET - The Extra-Terrestrial, Indiana Jones, The Breakfast Club, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Comedy clubs became popular in the 80's and comedy on TV rose. TV comedy shows such as The Cosby Show, Roseanne and Saturday Night Live. Other popular TV shows included Dallas, Falcon Crest and Dynasty. Eighties teens were also fascinated by Cabbage Patch kids, Pac Man and the invention of the CD (compact disc). The CD outsells vinyl by 1988.
Being former wedding DJs, we've calculated a list of our favorite Songs of the 80's. If you have a special song that you think should be added to our list, please add your song suggestion through the comment section below. Be sure to also check out the song lyric link to find song relevance to what you want for in your song choice. Once decided, we provided a link to iTunes to purchase and Amazon.com to purchase and listen to a sample of each song.
Our Top 5 80's Era songs for weddings are as follows: 1) Endless Love - Lionel Richie & Diana Ross, 2) Don't Stop Believin' - Journey, 3) Hot Hot Hot - Buster Poindexter, 4) Livin' On A Prayer - Bon Jovi, 5) You And I - Eddie Rabbitt & Crystal Gayle.
Best 80's Songs for Weddings
| Song |
Artist |
Format
|
Lyrics
|
iTunes
|
Amazon
|
| 1999 |
Prince |
Rock
|
|
|
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| 867-5309 |
Tommy Tutone |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| 9 To 5 |
Dolly Parton |
Country
|
|
|
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| Abracadabra |
Steve Miller Band |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Addicted To Love |
Robert Palmer |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| All Night Long (All Night) |
Lionel Richie |
R&B
|
|
|
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| Always Something There To Remind Me |
Naked Eyes |
Dance
|
|
|
|
| Another One Bites The Dust |
Queen |
Rock
|
|
|
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| Beat It |
Michael Jackson |
Dance
|
|
|
|
| Billie Jean |
Michael Jackson |
Dance
|
|
|
|
| Bizarre Love Triangle |
New Order |
Dance
|
|
|
|
| Born In The USA |
Bruce Springsteen |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Bust A Move |
Young MC |
Dance
|
|
|
|
| Call Me |
Blondie |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Celebration |
Kool & The Gang |
R&B
|
|
|
|
| Centerfold |
J. Geils Band |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Come On Eileen |
Dexy's Midnight Runners |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Crazy Little Thing Called Love |
Queen |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Do That To Me One More Time |
Captain & Tennille |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Don't Stop Believin' |
Journey |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Don't You Want Me? |
Human League |
Dance
|
|
|
|
| Down Under |
Men At Work |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Electric Avenue |
Eddy Grant |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Electric Slide |
Marcia Griffiths |
Dance
|
|
|
|
| Endless Love |
Lionel Richie & Diana Ross |
R&B
|
|
|
|
| Every Breath You Take |
The Police |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Everybody Have Fun Tonight |
Wang Chung |
Dance
|
|
|
|
| Fight For Your Right |
Beastie Boys |
Rap
|
|
|
|
| Flashdance...What A Feeling |
Irene Cara |
Dance
|
|
|
|
| Footloose |
Kenny Loggins |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Funkytown |
Lipps Inc. |
Dance
|
|
|
|
| Ghostbusters |
Ray Parker Jr. |
R&B
|
|
|
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| Girls Just Want To Have Fun |
Cyndi Lauper |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Hello |
Lionel Richie |
R&B
|
|
|
|
| Hot Hot Hot |
Buster Poindexter |
Dance
|
|
|
|
| Hungry Like The Wolf |
Duran Duran |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Hurts So Good |
John Cougar |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| I Love A Rainy Night |
Eddie Rabbitt |
Country
|
|
|
|
| I Love Rock 'N Roll |
Joan Jett |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| I Melt With You |
Modern English |
Dance
|
|
|
|
| I Ran (So Far Away) |
Flock Of Seagulls |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| I Wanna Dance With Somebody |
Whitney Houston |
R&B
|
|
|
|
| I Want Candy |
Bow Wow Wow |
Dance
|
|
|
|
| I Want To Know What Love Is |
Foreigner |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| I'm Coming Out |
Diana Ross |
R&B
|
|
|
|
| Into the Groove |
Madonna |
Dance
|
|
|
|
| Islands In The Stream |
Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton |
Country
|
|
|
|
| It Takes Two |
Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock |
Rap
|
|
|
|
| Jack & Diane |
John Mellencamp |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Jessie's Girl |
Rick Springfield |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Jump |
Van Halen |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Jump (For My Love) |
The Pointer Sisters |
R&B
|
|
|
|
| Karma Chameleon |
Culture Club |
Dance
|
|
|
|
| Keep Your Hands To Yourself |
Georgia Satellites |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Kiss |
Prince |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Lady |
Kenny Rogers |
Country
|
|
|
|
| Like A Virgin |
Madonna |
Dance
|
|
|
|
| Livin' On A Prayer |
Bon Jovi |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Love Shack |
The B-52's |
Dance
|
|
|
|
| Maneater |
Hall & Oates |
Dance
|
|
|
|
| Maniac |
Michael Sembello |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Mickey |
Toni Basil |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Mony Mony |
Billy Idol |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| My Prerogative |
Bobby Brown |
R&B
|
|
|
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| My Sharona |
The Knack |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Need You Tonight |
INXS |
Rock
|
|
|
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| Once Bitten, Twice Shy |
Great White |
Rock
|
|
|
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| One Thing Leads To Another |
The Fixx |
Dance
|
|
|
|
| Pour Some Sugar On Me |
Def Leppard |
Rock
|
|
- - |
|
| Pump Up the Jam |
Technotronic |
Dance
|
|
|
|
| Push It |
Salt 'N Pepa |
Dance
|
|
|
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| Relax |
Frankie Goes To Hollywood |
Dance
|
|
|
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| Rock This Town |
Stray Cats |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Rock With You |
Michael Jackson |
Dance
|
|
|
|
| Sexual Healing |
Marvin Gaye |
R&B
|
|
|
|
| She Blinded Me with Science |
Thomas Dolby |
Dance
|
|
|
|
| She's A Beauty |
The Tubes |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Start Me Up |
The Rolling Stones |
Rock
|
|
|
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| Straight Up |
Paula Abdul |
Dance
|
|
|
|
| Summer of '69 |
Bryan Adams |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Super Freak |
Rick James |
R&B
|
|
|
|
| Tainted Love |
Soft Cell |
Dance
|
|
|
|
| Take My Breath Away |
Berlin |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Take On Me |
a-Ha |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| The Lady In Red |
Chris De Burgh |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Thriller |
Michael Jackson |
Dance
|
|
|
|
| Total Eclipse Of The Heart |
Bonnie Tyler |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go |
Wham! |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Walk Like An Egyptian |
The Bangles |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Walk This Way |
Run DMC and Aerosmith
|
Rap
|
|
|
|
| We Got The Beat |
Go-Go's |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| What I Like About You |
The Romantics |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Whip It |
Devo |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| White Wedding |
Billy Idol |
Rock
|
|
|
|
| Wild Thing |
Tone-Loc |
Rap
|
|
|
|
| Word Up! |
Cameo |
R&B
|
|
|
|
| Working My Way Back To You |
The Spinners |
R&B
|
|
|
|
| You And I |
Eddie Rabbitt & Crystal Gayle |
Country
|
|
|
|
| You Shook Me All Night Long |
AC/DC |
Rock
|
|
- - |
|
| You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) |
Dead Or Alive |
Dance
|
|
|
|
Best 80's songs list is updated periodically throughout the year. If you have a song that you think should be included, please add your song suggestion through the comment section below.
