Decade-Only Dynamos: The Biggest Artists Who Ruled the ‘80s… And Never Charted Again

Some of these acts may surprise you!

(August 19, 2024).  Some of the biggest acts in music history have had chart hits spanning multiple decades.  Elton John, for example, has had Hot 100 hits in the 1970s, ‘80s, ‘90s, 2000s, and 2020s (only missing the 2010s during his long, storied career).  Soon-to-be Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Cher has hits spanning all those decades plus the 1960s.

Even the Beatles, who broke up in 1970, have managed chart hits in the decades that followed (thanks to a combination of re-releases and posthumous “reunions”), including the ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s and, most recently, the 2020s, to go along with the unprecedented success they had in the 1960s. 

But some of music’s greatest acts have had all of their success confined to just one decade —that ten-year time capsule where they captured the proverbial lightening in a bottle as the new decade began (or shortly thereafter), only to experience career apocalypse — at least on the charts — before the flip of the next decennial calendar.

Djrobblog researched what was initially thought to be a short list of these artists — but turned out to be pretty long — and ranked the greatest chart dwellers with multiple hits whose entries were confined to that one decade.  They may have recorded for much longer periods but you wouldn’t know it if your only source was Billboard’s premier ranking of the nation’s most popular music, the Hot 100. 

Since the rock-and-roll era began in 1955, hundreds of artists have fit this interesting category, including, obviously, many one-hit wonders.

But some of the era’s biggest acts, including some with a dozen or more chart entries, had a Hot 100 history that was limited to the decade of their popularity.

Djrobblog has compiled this list for each decade beginning with the 1950s and ending with the 2010s.  This first article in the series presents the list for the 1980s: the 25 biggest acts whose Hot 100 history occurred exclusively between January 1, 1980, and December 31, 1989. 

The rankings are based on a system used by the late Billboard chartologist Joel Whitburn to rank artists in his Top Pop Hits book series.

Before we get to the blog’s list of 25, here are some ‘80s-only artists who just missed the cut, never again seeing chart ink after the decade of neon colors, synthesizers and big hair ended: Cutting Crew, Power Station, Greg Kihn Band, Ready for the World, a-ha, S.O.S. Band, A Flock of Seagulls, and ‘til Tuesday.

All of those acts had multiple chart hits, including huge top-tens and in some cases No. 1s, but never graced the charts in another decade.

Now scroll through the below list of the 25 biggest ‘80s-only acts, presented in countdown order from bottom to top.  Which of these artists have endured the test of time in your opinion?  How many are like a forgotten G.I. Joe figure — forever lodged in the back of your closet, thankful for this bit of nostalgic rescue? 

How many of these acts surprise you by even being on this list?

Twenty-five. Glass Tiger

First H100 entry: 7/12/86 (“Don’t Forget Me”)

Last: 6/18/88 (“I’m Still Searching”)

Twenty-four. Motels

First H100 entry: 4/24/82 (“Only the Lonely”)

Last: 11/9/85 (“Shock”)

Twenty-three. Quarterflash

First H100 entry: 10/17/81 (“Harden My Heart”)

Last: 11/23/85 (“Talk To Me”)

Twenty-two. Billy Squier

First H100 entry: 5/16/81 (“The Stroke”)

Last: 9/30/89 (“Don’t Say You Love Me”)

Twenty-one. John Parr

First H100 entry: 12/15/84 (“Naughty Naughty”)

Last: 1/17/87 (“Blame It On the Radio”)

Twenty. Berlin

First H100 entry: 3/5/83 (“Sex”)

Last: 11/22/86 (“Like Flames”)

Nineteen. Wang Chung

First H100 entry: 2/4/84 (“Don’t Let Go”)

Last: 7/8/89 (“Praying to a New God”)

Eighteen. ABC

First H100 entry: 9/11/82 (“The Look of Love”)

Last: 11/7/87 (“When Smokey Sings”)

Seventeen. Jeffrey Osborne (solo)

First H100 entry: 6/5/82 (“I Really Don’t Need No Light”)

Last: 10/29/88 (“She’s On The Left”)

Sixteen. Night Ranger

First H100 entry: 1/15/83 (“Don’t Tell Me You Love Me”)

Last: 10/29/88 (“I Did It For Love”)

Fifteen. DeBarge

First H100 entry: 2/5/83 (“I Like It”)

Last: 1/18/86 (“The Heart Is Not So Smart”)

Fourteen. The Go-Gos

First H100 entry: 8/29/81 (“Our Lips Are Sealed”)

Last: 10/6/84 (“Yes or No”)

Thirteen. Bananarama

First H100 entry: 7/2/83 (“Shy Boy”)

Last: 12/10/88 (“Love, Truth & Honesty”)

Twelve. Thompson Twins

First H100 entry: 1/22/83 (“Lies”)

Last: 12/9/89 (“Sugar Daddy”)

Eleven. Mr. Mister

First H100 entry: 3/17/84 (“Hunters of the Night”)

Last: 10/31/87 (“Something Real”)

Ten. Tiffany

First H100 entry: 8/29/87 (“I Think We’re Alone Now”)

Last: 4/22/89 (“Radio Romance”)

Nine. Irene Cara

First H100 entry: 6/14/80 (“Fame”)

Last: 8/25/84 (“You Were Made For Me”)

Eight. Men at Work

First H100 entry: 7/10/82 (“Who Can It Be Now?”)

Last: 7/20/85 (“Everything I Need”)

Seven. Wham! (*excludes recurrent Christmas re-entry)

First H100 entry: 8/20/83 (“Bad Boys”)

Last: 11/29/86 (“Where Did Your Heart Go?”)

Six. Christopher Cross

First H100 entry: 2/16/80 (“Ride Like The Wind”)

Last: 11/23/85 (“Charm the Snake”)

Five. Bangles

First H100 entry: 1/25/86 (“Manic Monday”)

Last: 7/22/89 (“Be With You”)

Four. Eurythmics

First H100 entry: 5/14/83 (“Sweet Dreams”)

Last: 11/25/89 (“Don’t Ask Me Why”)

Three. Culture Club

First H100 entry: 12/4/82 (“Do You Really Want to Hurt Me”)

Last: 7/5/86 (“Move Away”)

Two. Survivor

First H100 entry: 2/23/80 (“Somewhere in America”)

Last: 3/4/89 (“Across the Miles”)

One. Air Supply

First H100 entry: 2/9/80 (“Lost in Love”)

Last: 7/27/86 (“Lonely Is the Night”)

Every one of those acts’ first and last Hot 100 entries occurred in the 1980s, and Air Supply is the biggest of them all, based solely on Hot 100 singles chart performance. Wham! is asterisked because they’ve had a recurring entry since the 2010s with “Last Christmas.”

Any surprises?

Oh, and if you’re curious about other big name artists you thought were ‘80s-only acts and didn’t see on the list, there are many near-misses, that is, musicians whose entire chart output occurred in the ‘80s except for one stray entry that occurred in another decade — either before or after — which eliminated them from contention. 

Here are those acts and the songs that prevented them from joining the above list (some of these artists also charted as part of other entities in earlier decades, as noted below):

1. Pat Benatar (“Heartbreaker,” debuted on 12/22/79… the last Billboard chart of the 1970s, all other chart appearances were in the ‘80s)
2. Ray Parker, Jr. (“All I’m Missing Is You,” 1990, as featured artist on single by Glenn Medeiros); also charted with Raydio in the ‘70s
3. Fine Young Cannibals (“I’m Not Satisfied,” 1990)
4. Mike + the Mechanics (“Word of Mouth,” 1991); Mike Rutherford charted with Genesis in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s
5. Stevie Winwood (“One and Only Man,” 1990); charted with various groups in ‘60s
6. Starship (“Good Heart,” 1991); offshoot or ‘60s and ‘70s bands
7. Laura Branigan (“Moonlight on Water,” 1990)
8. John Waite (“How Did I Get By Without You,” 1995); charted with Babys in ‘70s
9. Cyndi Lauper (“Hey Now,” 1995)
10. Loverboy (“Too Hot” spent its last three weeks in January 1990)
11. Juice Newton (“It’s a Heartache,” 1978)
12. Sheena Easton (“What Comes Naturally,” 1991)
13. 38 Special (“The Sound of Your Voice,” 1991)
14. Steve Winwood (“One and Only Man,” 1990); charted in ‘60s with Traffic
15. The Time (“Jerk-Out,” 1990)
16. Joan Jett (“Dirty Deeds,” 1990)

Be on the lookout for the next article in this series, where we’ll rank the 1970s acts whose hits were all confined to that decade!

DJRob

DJRob (he/him) is a freelance music blogger from the East Coast who covers R&B, hip-hop, disco, pop, rock and country genres – plus lots of music news and current stuff!  You can follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @djrobblog and on Meta’s Threads.

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