The Rubik's Cube is a 3-D combination puzzle originally invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik. Originally called the Magic Cube, the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp in 1980 via businessman Tibor Laczi and Seven Towns founder Tom Kremer. The cube was released internationally in 1980 and became one of the most recognized icons in popular culture. It won the 1980 German Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle. As of January 2009, 350 million cubes had been sold worldwide, making it the world's bestselling puzzle game and bestselling toy.
Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music ... [with a] heavy, insistent beat" was becoming more popular. In the commercial rhythm and blues music typical of the 1950s through the 1970s, the bands usually consisted of piano, one or two guitars, bass, drums, one or more saxophones, and sometimes background vocalists. R&B lyrical themes often encapsulate the African-American experience of pain and the quest for freedom and joy, as well as triumphs and failures in terms of relationships, economics, and aspirations.
Lamont Herbert Dozier was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Detroit, Michigan. He co-wrote and produced 14 US Billboard number-one hits and four number ones in the UK.
New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle, new jack swing was most popular from the late-1980s to early-1990s. Its influence, along with hip hop, seeped into pop culture.
Blue-eyed soul is rhythm and blues and soul music performed by white artists. The slang, coined in the mid-1960s, was invoked by music magazines in the 1960s such as Life who used it for the Righteous Brothers, Barry McGuire, Sonny & Cher; other times it meant style and mannerisms associated with soul music sung by white musicians. Though many rhythm and blues radio stations in the United States in that period would only play music by black musicians, some began to play music by white acts considered to have "soul feeling" and their music was then described as "blue-eyed soul."
Cameo is an American funk band that formed in 1974. Cameo was initially a 14-member group known as the New York City Players; this name was later changed to Cameo.
"In the Midnight Hour" is a song originally performed by Wilson Pickett in 1965 and released on his 1965 album of the same name, also appearing on the 1966 album The Exciting Wilson Pickett. The song was composed by Pickett and Steve Cropper at the historic Lorraine Motel in Memphis, later the site of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Pickett's first hit on Atlantic Records, it reached number one on the R&B charts and peaked at number 21 on the pop charts.
"Money " is a rhythm and blues song written by Tamla founder Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford, which was the first hit record for Gordy's Motown enterprise. Barrett Strong recorded it in 1959 as a single for the Tamla label, distributed nationally on Anna Records. Many artists later recorded the tune, including the Beatles in 1963, the Rolling Stones in 1964, and the Flying Lizards in 1979.
The Gap Band was an American R&B and funk band that rose to fame during the 1970s and 1980s. The band consisted of three brothers: Charlie, Ronnie, and Robert Wilson, along with other members; it was named after streets in the historic Greenwood neighborhood in the brothers' hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The S.O.S. Band is an American R&B and electro-funk group who gained fame in the 1980s. They are best known for the songs "Take Your Time ", "Just Be Good to Me", and "The Finest".
Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip hop and upbeat R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary never uses hard rock or country in its airplay, but it may occasionally use a reggae, Latin, reggaeton, or a urban contemporary gospel hit. Essentially, the format is a cross between mainstream radio and urban contemporary radio formats.
Stacy Lattisaw Jackson is an American R&B singer from Washington, D.C., United States.
Billboard Year-End charts are a cumulative measure of a single or album's performance in the United States, based upon the Billboard magazine charts during any given chart year. Billboard's "chart year" runs from the first Billboard "week" of December to the final week in November, but because the Billboard week is dated in advance of publication, the last calendar week for which sales are counted is usually the third week in November. This altered calendar allows for Billboard to calculate year-end charts and release them in time for its final print issue in the last week of December.
"Sherry" is a song written by Bob Gaudio and recorded by The Four Seasons.
"Lately" is a song by American singer Stevie Wonder recorded for his album Hotter than July (1980). The song reached number three in the United Kingdom, and was later covered by R&B group Jodeci and released as a promotional single for the live album Uptown MTV Unplugged in June 1993, which reached number one on the R&B charts and the top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, 1965@ in an effort by the magazine to further expand into the field of rhythm and blues music. It then went through several name changes, being known as Soul LPs in the 1970s and Top Black Albums in the 1980s, before returning to the R&B identification in 1990 and affixing a hip hop designation in 1999 to reflect the latter's growing sales and relationship to R&B during the decade.
This article includes an overview of the famous events and trends in popular music in the 1980s.
"Let's Get Serious" is a song written by Lee Garrett and Stevie Wonder and the title track to Jermaine Jackson's 1980 Motown album Let's Get Serious. Released as a single, it became Jackson's first number-one R&B hit and second top-ten pop hit. It also reached the top ten in the UK. The recording was produced by Stevie Wonder, who also provided vocals for the track.
Prince released several hundred songs both under his own name and under pseudonyms and/or pen names, as well as writing songs which have been recorded by other artists. Estimates of the actual number of songs written by Prince range anywhere from 500 to well over 1,000. He has released 97 singles, 34 promotional singles, 21 internet singles, and eight internet downloads.