Boomers were born between 1946 and 1964. This eighteen-year expanse accounts for a wide variety in their tastes and activities. According to Statista, concerts/listening/playing music is one of their main hobbies.
Some say that the greatest musical revolution in history occurred during the boomers’ era, and some of the most influential music emerged during their earlier years. The 1980s, when boomers were ages thirty-four to forty-three, seems to be the defining music moments.
Every phenomenon has a cause and effect. What caused that era to be so defining to the music industry? Here are a few reasons:
The blues: Blues music was a key influencer. Blues musicians like B.B. King (inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987) emerged from the Mississippi Delta and injected lyrics and melody into the adversity, hardship, and heartbreak of African Americans whose families had spent generations oppressed by slavery, followed by the Jim Crow era.
The electric guitar: This guitar influenced music greatly. Though invented in 1932, it became popular in the 1950s and 1960s, and most bands included electric guitars as their central instrument. Try imagining Jimi Hendrix performing his rendition of the National Anthem at Woodstock in 1969 without an electric guitar.
The Moog Synthesizer: The Moog synthesizer debuted in 1964 and was the first commercial synthesizer. It led to creating of the analog synthesizer we know today. Rock and pop bands, including the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, and the Doors, used this synthesizer in their music.
The Rolling Stone Magazine, first published in November 1967, was the primary go-to publication to learn about musicians, their music, and the top hits. It continues to inform us about the music world.
Ten of its top fifty hits of the 1980s are:
Ten of its top fifty hits of the 1980s are:
- Grandmaster Flash – The Message
- Prince – When Doves Cry
- Michael Jackson – Billie Jean
- Bob Marley – Redemption Song
- The Police – Every Breath You Take
- U2 – I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking for
- Prince – Little Red Corvette
- U2 – With or Without You
- Prince – Purple Rain
- Public Enemy – Bring the Noise
A quote from my upcoming book, College Life of a Retired Senior: “But writing, art, and theatre are developed from individual creativity, and no person can or should control what a writer can write.”