Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film.
Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, known professionally as Sting, is an English musician and actor. He was the principal songwriter, lead singer, and bassist for new wave rock band the Police from 1977 to 1984. He launched a solo career in 1985, and has included elements of rock, jazz, reggae, classical, new-age and worldbeat in his music.
The Cars were an American rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s, the line-up consisted of Elliot Easton, Greg Hawkes (keyboards), Ric Ocasek, Benjamin Orr, and David Robinson (drums). Ocasek and Orr split lead vocal duties, and Ocasek served as the band's principal songwriter.
Giovanni Giorgio Moroder is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the "Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance music. His work with synthesizers had a large influence on several music genres such as Hi-NRG, Italo disco, new wave, house and techno music.
Robert John "Mutt" Lange is a South African record producer and songwriter. He is known for his work in the studio, producing many of rock's most famous albums. He has produced albums for, or otherwise worked with, artists such as AC/DC, Def Leppard, The Boomtown Rats, Foreigner, Michael Bolton, The Cars, Bryan Adams, Huey Lewis and the News, Billy Ocean, Celine Dion, Britney Spears, The Corrs, Maroon 5, Lady Gaga, Now United, Nickelback, and Muse. He also wrote and produced songs with his then-wife, Canadian singer Shania Twain. Her 1997 album Come On Over, which he produced, is the best-selling country music album, the best-selling studio album by a female act, the best-selling album of the 1990s, and the 9th best-selling album in the United States.
Robert Peapo "Peabo" Bryson is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter. He is well known for singing soul ballads including the 1983 hit "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" with Roberta Flack, and he has contributed to two Disney animated feature soundtracks. Bryson is a winner of two Grammy Awards.
Chicago 17 is the fourteenth studio album by American band Chicago, released on May 14, 1984. It was the group's second release for Full Moon/Warner Bros. Records, their second album to be produced by David Foster and their last with founding bassist/vocalist Peter Cetera.
"I Honestly Love You" is a song recorded by Olivia Newton-John and which in 1974 became a worldwide pop hit – her first number-one single in the United States and Canada. It remained her signature solo song until the 1981 hit "Physical". The single was first released in Australia as "I Love You, I Honestly Love You", as per its chorus.
The Emotions are an American Grammy Award–winning soul/R&B vocal group from Chicago, Illinois. The group started out in gospel music but transitioned into R&B and disco music. The Emotions were named by VH1 as one of the 18 most influential girl groups of all time.
"West End Girls" is a song by the English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. Written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, the song was released twice as a single. The song's lyrics are concerned with class and the pressures of inner-city life which were inspired partly by T. S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land. It was generally well received by contemporary music critics and has been frequently cited as a highlight in the duo's career.
Bobbysocks! is a Norwegian pop duo consisting of Norwegian Hanne Krogh and Swedish-Norwegian Elisabeth Andreassen. They won the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 with the song "La det swinge".
"Purple Rain" is a song by American musician Prince and his backing band the Revolution. It is the title track from the 1984 album of the same name, which in turn is the soundtrack album for the 1984 film of the same name starring Prince, and was released as the third single from the album. The song is a power ballad that combines rock, R&B, gospel, and orchestral music.
Farewell My Summer Love is a compilation of archived Michael Jackson recordings from January to October 1973. The album was released by Motown Records in the U.S. on May 15, 1984.
"Time After Time" is a 1983 song by American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper, co-written with Rob Hyman. It was the second single released from her debut studio album, She's So Unusual (1983), with Hyman contributing backing vocals. The track was produced by Rick Chertoff and released as a single on January 27, 1984. The song became Lauper's first number 1 hit in the U.S. The song was written in the album's final stages, after "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", "She Bop" and "All Through the Night" had been written. The writing began with the title, which Lauper had seen in TV Guide magazine, referring to the science fiction film Time After Time (1979).
Robert Moore was an American stage, film and television director and actor.
"Holiday" is a song recorded by American singer Madonna for her eponymous debut album Madonna (1983). Sire Records released it as the album's third single on September 7, 1983. Written by Curtis Hudson and Lisa Stevens of Pure Energy, the track was offered to Madonna by her producer John "Jellybean" Benitez when she was looking for a potential hit track to include on her debut album. After accepting the song, she and Benitez worked on it and altered its composition by the addition of a piano solo performed by their friend, Fred Zarr. "Holiday" features instrumentation from guitars, electronic handclaps, a cowbell, and a synthesized string arrangement, while its lyrics speak about the universal sentiment of taking a holiday.
"You're the One That I Want" is a song performed by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John for the 1978 film version of the musical Grease. It was written and produced by John Farrar.
Franke Jon Previte is an American singer, songwriter, and Academy Award-winning composer. He was the lead singer of the 1980s pop rock band Franke and the Knockouts.
"Rock You Like a Hurricane" is a song by German rock band Scorpions, considered as their signature song. The song was released as the lead single from their ninth studio album, Love at First Sting (1984). It was written by Klaus Meine, Herman Rarebell, Rudolf Schenker and arranged/produced by Dieter Dierks. The lyrics of "Rock You Like a Hurricane" also reference the title of the album on which it originally appeared – Love at First Sting.
Joe "Bean" Esposito is an American singer/songwriter whose career spans from the 1970s to the present day. Esposito's songs have been recorded by Donna Summer, Aretha Franklin, Labelle, Stephen Stills and others.
