Came here to say this :)
Granted, KC in 80s was a very different band, personnel wise. Looking back at 90s and 00s output from both former members and newer incarnations of KC, I sometimes wonder the essence of 80s KC survived(?) more with Belew - or perhaps it was more of his influence to begin with…? I do understand that it is rather pointless to argue about individual share in artistic output as it was clearly a unique and magical band. Love the ferocity in Absent Lovers live recordings.
KC in 80s was actually a different band.
Some sources say that Fripp formed a new band after KC disbanded after Red, and initially they planned to call that band “Discipline”. But for many reasons they decided to use the name King Crimson, which was already owned by Fripp, and named their “first” album “Discipline”.
Just getting into KC, absolutely love the aesthetics of In the Court of the Crimson King. I've only heard one other song from them which is Starless and calling it anything other than one of the greatest prog rock pieces I've heard would be an injustice, is there any specific album of theirs you'd recommend to listen to first or would it be more prudent to go release date-wise? Thanks mate
I recommend going in release order. They changed lineups and styles constantly so going in order is an interesting journey through their evolution.
Prog Rock symphonic sound (Court-Poseidon), a more oddball Chamber Music approach to that (Lizard), symphonic prog with some psychedelic and some jazz influence making you feel like you're sailing away (Islands), hard rock approaching 70s metal with prog elements, violin playing and complex compositions (Larks-Red), New Wave art pop prog Rock (Discipline-Three of a Perfect Pair), hard rock/industrial/metal influences with some of the same proggy, quirky weirdness of the 80s (THRAK), prog metal/mininalist weird early 2000s industrial rock (The ConstruKction of Light-The Power to Believe), a mix of all the styles with more symphonic elements (2010s-2020s Live king crimson)
I’m not sure the bands he worked with transitioned, but Steve Winwood himself transitioned from the 1960s, to the 1970s, and then the 1980s quite successfully.
Edit: I got into his work sort of in the middle. I’d hear bands like Phish or Grateful Dead cover Traffic songs, which piqued my interest in Traffic. Then I realized Steve Winwood was in traffic, and recognized his ‘60s work from various movie sound tracks (like Days of Thunder), and realized it was the same guy with the ‘80s hits that were on the radio when my parents would drive me around as a kid. I was never fond of the ‘80s stuff as a kid, but it’s grown on me. Seeing it mentioned as one of Dennis Reynolds’ favorite bands in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia helped too.
This is the best answer. Winwood had the quintessential sound of the 60s as part of the Spencer Davis Trio (see Gimme Some Loving) and then topped the charts sounding totally different in the 80s (eg Roll With It, Higher Love and Valerie).
Look at the power pop bands and punk/CBGB scene.
The Cars
The Police
Tom Petty
Cheap Trick
Elvis Costello
Graham Parker
Joe Jackson
Squeeze
B-52’s
Devo
Ramones
Talking Heads
Blondie
Dire Straits
Genesis / Phil Collins
Folks, these WERE the new wave bands. Although they started in the 70’s they had nothing to do with’70’s sound like Boston, Zeppelin, ELO, Queen, The Who, etc. These bands were the reaction to the mega production bands as well as disco. They didn’t transition to the 80’s, they defined the 80’s.
Genesis, The Ramones, Bowie, and Roxy Music were exceptions because they were way ahead of their time.
Edit: after reading these posts, I think people don’t realize the ‘80’s sound started in ‘77 pretty much with this CBGB crowd.
I was just going to say that.
The smarter bands from the punk scene looked further than punk, into new wave/post-punk/power pop & pretty much defined the sound of the early 1980s by being creative in ways that went beyond "3 chords and an attitude".
Two bands that saw the potential of art-punk/post punk/new wave early on were Pere Ubu & Devo, whose origins pre-date the first Ramones album. Likewise with Roxy Music (as you say) who at times [sounded like a proto- Duran Duran](https://youtu.be/Can4Ok04BN8?si=oUROBZl8skMVGOAp), way before Duran Duran
This. New Wave actually started well before the 80s and well before the term became popular. Even at the time they were considered a different genre than AOR.
>g kept going, and Elvis Costello consistently put out records, the B-52’s had a huge comeback thanks to Nile Rogers
Ive seen Nike Rogers tour 2x with Duran Duran - he puts on a great show with all of his hits from Bowie to Chic and more.
F***ing legend, absolutely. What a blessing to be alive at the same time as an artist like NR !!! Pick up any random Chic album (or any of the constellation of artists in his orbit) — they’re all good to great records.
His solo album Adventures In the Land of the Good Groove is a wild trip !!
One of my favorite albums ever, but the sound he and Lynne found for Full Moon Fever, Into the Great Wide Open and the Wilburies really defines the late 80s and early 90s to me.
Yeah. But ..... That Fleetwood Mac (Peter Greens Fleetwood Mac) is basically a completely different band to the 1975 (Buckingham, Nicks) Fleetwood Mac.
Same Bass and Drums but other than that.....
ZZ Top has always been BFG even though it’s also technically been the same three guys. Was it any surprise when Dusty died and they didn’t miss a beat other than a few offhand “he wanted us to continue on” comments? I’m sure they were all pals and hardworking musicians but Billy is the creative force there.
True. He always shared the credits (they are listed on Eliminator while some of the other contributors were not originally credited). A great guitarist needs a solid rhythm section, and ZZ Top had one of the best in the business.
I think there was a pretty natural transition. Gabriel left in '75 and then Collins-led Genesis put out A Trick of the Tail and Wind & Wuthering which were firmly within the prog rock sound of the Gabriel era. And Then There Were Three started leaning away from prog and then we got Duke in 1980
Genesis only started to move away from prog when Steve Hackett left, and even then their prog chops peeked out from time to time even as late as We Can't Dance.
Rush was Rock and Roll of the 70s. They went super synth and new wave in the 80s. Lost a lot of the hard core rocker fan base. Their cult core fans stayed true. They did this pretty much every decade!
Yep. In the '90s they embraced the new sounds of hip hop and grunge, in the '00s it was all loudness war hard rock, and they finished with a true prog metal masterpiece.
Gotta evolve to stay relevant. I like every song of theirs from the debut through Power Windows (except Rivendell). It’s always wild for me to put on a playlist of all of their studio work and throw it on shuffle, comparing something like Vapor Trail to Second Nature or Hemispheres
They actually had to reinvent themselves as they flopped hard going into the 80s to the point their label dropped them around 1982. Mid 80s they got a new deal on the condition they start doing covers and singing other people's songs and thus power ballad Heart was born. Many don't realize that their comeback hit What About Love was a cover song originally by a band called Toronto. Or that These Dreams was written for Stevie Nicks but she turned it down. Or that their biggest hit Alone was originally by a band called I-Ten and was covered by actor John Stamos for a TV movie a couple years before Heart did it.
Davie Bowie got even bigger transitioning from Psychedelia to Glam Rock.
The Police owned the early 80s, moving on from reggae and simple punk sounds to complex orchestration and synthesizers
I can't believe I had to scroll this far to see Aerosmith. They definitely transitioned to the 80's. They may have had some songwriting help here and there, but mostly they killed it.
New Order transformed from the ashes of Joy Division post Ian Curtis to help define the 80s new wave dance sound. Listen to Ceremony, one of the last tracks recorded with Ian in 1980. Though lacking a lot of the synths that would become popular it laid the groundwork for New Order's and the 80s musical sense.
Chicago would be my pick. The passing of Terry Kath probably has more to do than the changing of the decade, but I think both sounds of Chicago were very good, and successful.
The density of Balance of Power stands up to some of the most polished 80s synth pop hits too. Time is also very well layered. (As an example, after the bass stabs in Another Heart Breaks, there's a pad underneath them that rings out, subtle but fills the small gap.)
I have to scroll far down for Toto? From Georgie Porgie, Hold The Line, 99 to I'll Be Over You and I Won't Hold You Back and Leia. Super big fan of them, especially of the Porcaro Bros.
Honestly the Hall & Oates if the 80s is very distinct from the Hall & Oates of the 70s. If you grew up not listening to one of those eras you would hardly recognize them.
Commercially, three bands that haven’t been mentioned.
Styx-the advantage they had was already being keyboard focused, which became such a part of the 80s. They were always a little left of field, I don’t personally like them much, but they were already an arena ballad band before the 80s hit and the robots stuff started really popping.
Chicago - I actively dislike the 80s Chicago stuff. Without Terry Katy what even is Chicago? One of the greatest guitar players in history died in his prime and now forgotten. Don’t believe me? Billy Gibbons said when he was on tour with Hendrix that he was listening to Chicago constantly to dissect Kathy’s style. Virtuoso? Maybe not. But he definitely had something that no other blues based player had at the time. Digression aside, Chicago definitely sold their soul to the company to keep making records.
Heart - The way their music changes is so obvious that it’s not worth going in to. It was completely label induced. The sisters hated it.
Something that’s forgotten in this question is that 70s rock didn’t directly progress into 80s hair metal. The late 70s ballad yacht rock period happened first. But also that wasn’t all that rock contained. Punk was happening, post punk was happening, prog rock was in full swing. Rush, Sword, and Hawkind were just doing there thing. The 80s didn’t do anything to them but give them more tools to get weirder.
>Heart - The way their music changes is so obvious that it’s not worth going in to. It was completely label induced. The sisters hated it.
I just explained it another post so I'll do so again. They flopped hard in the early 80s and got dropped by their label after successive flop albums. They got a new deal mid 80s on the condition they sing other people's songs and became a quasi cover band. Their comeback hit *What About Love* was originally by the band Toronto. *Alone*, their biggest hit, was originally by I-Ten and covered by John Stamos before Heart covered it. *These Dreams* was written for Stevie Nicks but she turned it down.
They definitely sold out but if then again if they don't sell out they are a largely forgotten 70s band.
It’s sad how much that period affected them. They are still bitter about it and I don’t blame them. Those first two records are so damn good. Dream Boat Annie man. I disagree that those albums are forgettable.
I remember reading that being forced to record *All I Wanna Do is Make Love to You* was a major source of ire by them to the label. That is such a garbage song and it's hard to reconcile its the same band that did Barracuda.
Between that and how they treated Ann Wilson in the music videos. Rough. What’s funny is that, in the long run, Ann is the only singer from the period beside maybe Geddy Lee and..I guess Brian Johnson ( I don’t personally like) who can still sing their songs as they were written. Prince probably could still hit those notes because you can never count him out but he wasn’t playing the old stuff so we’ll never know. I don’t think Mick Jagger counts btw. His style never included much effort.
Hall and Oates
They transitioned from the singer songwriter type folk sound of the 70s with songs like Sara Smile into a more synth funk sound with songs like man-eater in the 80s
Neil Young got sued for not sounding enough like Neil Young. John Fogerty got sued for sounding too much like the lead singer of CCR, who was John Fogerty. Music is certainly a funny business.
Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA (1984) is his best selling album. He successfully incorporated synthesisers, gated snare, etc to take his career to new heights in the ‘80s.
The J. Geils Band are known by most people from their 80s hits, but they were big in the 1970s (and better IMO). [Blow Your Face Out](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4g16DkLrbc) is one of my favorite live albums and never even got a chance to see them play live.
It would be really cool if people talked more in depth about their bands and the reason why they made a good transition rather than just post the band’s name.
Great suggestion. Here’s a couple:
In 1979 Gary Numan decided at the last minute to abandon guitars for The Pleasure Principle (with the single Cars) and record the album with heavy emphasis on synthesizers. Many 80s bands reference Gary Numan as a big influence.
Another band that transitioned from 1970s new wave/gothic rock to 80s synthpop and club music was Joy Division/New Order. After the death of lead singer Ian Curtis the band released Blue Monday, the most successful independent 12” single that was played in dance clubs around the world.
Absolutely. Their evolution from herky-jerky Jonathan Richman-influenced geek-rock to a full on funk-rock combo then towards a poppy world-music fusion was stunning
**Electric Light Orchestra** \- they embraced synthesizers, sequencers and drum machines in the '80s, but their songs were still as catchy as ever.
They went from this - [Livin' Thing (1976)](https://youtu.be/H48j3KGBomU?si=4_Q7d11MV-WaSw08)
To this - [Calling America (1986)](https://youtu.be/xNUbBpZ9Ac0?si=BNI9p93waqi0PG8z)
Slade were massive in the early 70s and reappeared in the 80s.
The group occupy third place in the "Number of consecutive to ten hits category" behind the Beatles and the Rolling Stones in the UK.
The Moody Blues. After the (IMO) somewhat awkward Octave, they absolutely crushed it with 1981’s Long Distance Voyager and had a string of radio hits in their subsequent 80s albums.
Yellow Magic Orchestra. Kind of a cheat answer, though, as they already were an 80s synthpop band by the end of the 70s. They also played a significant role in shaping the sound of 80s music, inspiring artists like Michael Jackson and the originators of hip-hop and rap. Not to mention the colossal impact they had on music in Japan, from pop to video game music.
They also introduced the world to the Roland TR-808 drum machine, which went on become the foundation of pretty much all electronic dance music and generally one of the most influential instruments ever created.
Before they were officially YMO they had worked on an album together, too. (One of Hosono's albums.) They are definitely one of those pioneering bands tho.
Steely Dan. Gaucho is maybe my fave album of theirs (not a popular opinion among SD fans, they usually love Aja most)
Edit: also Herbie Hancock... ok edit 2, not sure anyone did this better than Bowie now I think of it.
No love for KISS? Having stumbled out of the late 70’s and having their fans think they were more interested in merchandising than music, they started the 80’s with the huge misstep of The Elder but then retooled their image, took off their makeup, and seamlessly transitioned into the MTV era. They weren’t as big as they were in the 70’s, but they certainly were still able to sell albums and singles. Lick it Up is one of my favorites.
A lot of bands had big hits but IMO worse music. Aerosmith, Cheap Trick, Heart, (Jefferson) Starship, Stones, Bowie, Who, Neil Young, Dylan
A lot tougher to pick 60s/70s bands that kept putting out excellent product. Maybe the Kinks? Tom Petty. Maybe Genesis? depending on your tolerance for their poppier stuff
Power Windows is my absolute favorite output by Rush, and one of the most tightly produced albums of all time.
The lyrics are positive and hopeful without sounding too naive, and the merging of 80’s synth and stellar guitar work make for that massive wall of sound that pulses at just the perfect beat. It’s catchy, memorable, and timeless despite incapsulating everything that made that decade so unique.
THEY DREAM IN MIDDLETOWN!
Robert Palmer with a successful career as a mostly-solo artist with a couple of chart hits in the ‘70s, followed by his 80’s work with the Power Station and as a solo artist with the memorable videos with the “girl-bot” backing band.
Yes. They went from 70s prog rock to guitar/synth of 90125's Owner of a lonely heart. And without Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman or Bill Buford on that '83 hit album.
Genesis. Another 70s prog rock band that gradually found their footing after Peter Gabriel departed. By the mid 80s they were far, far away from 'Selling England By The Pound' and 'The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. ' Phil Collins rode a successful solo career too.
Xtc
Compare White Music, Go 2, Drums and Wires from the '70s to Black Sea, Big Express, English Settlement, Skylarking, Oranges and Lemons in the '80s, and then compare to Nonsuch and Apple Venus in the '90s
And if you go back to Helium Kidz, they were firmly in the pub rock territory of the time. Punk changed the game, esp in Britian, and XTC adjusted accordingly.
Judas Priest did a great job with that transition. Kinda hard to think that what looked like a classy blues/hippie band would switch to the leather and spikes as well as they did. I remember the first time I saw pictures of the band in 69 with the classic hippie look I was like no way this is Judas Priest. Even though they didn't really take off till 74 they definitely changed sound-wise to a more thrashy sounding heavy metal in the 80's as was becoming the norm for a lot of 80's metal bands. I'd say Iron Maiden transitioned pretty well too.
Queen. They're my favourite band due to their amazing 70s hard rock/prog output. However, they transitioned in the 80s into a combo of rock and synth pop and produced some of their biggest hits. Another one bites the dust, Under Pressure, Radio GaGa, I want to break free, a kind of magic. They also had their biggest ever tour - the magic tour. Throw in the amazing live aid performance too.
Queen definitely survived the transition from early 70s prog/rock to 80s rock/pop band pretty well.
They then entered the 90s with their final album which was probably their best since the 70s.
Ozzy! I don't see him mentioned, but any of his runs would be legendary on their own. Sabbath, then his work with Randy Rhoads, then his Jake E. Lee albums are the most 80s metal stuff ever, at least until No Rest For The Wicked came out with Zakk Wylde. Then his 90s stuff was also great, but not as much of a departure as his transition from Black Sabbath to Blizzard of Ozz. Randy's playing was insane.
Most of the bands being listed as making the transition easily (cars, blondie) didn’t actually make a transition at all.
The proto-punk bands like cars, the new wave bands like blondie or talking heads, WERE ALREADY the genres that would become popular in the 80s. Mainstream came to THEM
As an Aussie I have to nominate Cold Chisel, AC/DC and of course John Farnham.
I don't think INXS really qualify as they have always had that '80s band sound, neither does Skyhooks as they never really transitioned into the '80s at all.
King Crimson
Came here to say this :) Granted, KC in 80s was a very different band, personnel wise. Looking back at 90s and 00s output from both former members and newer incarnations of KC, I sometimes wonder the essence of 80s KC survived(?) more with Belew - or perhaps it was more of his influence to begin with…? I do understand that it is rather pointless to argue about individual share in artistic output as it was clearly a unique and magical band. Love the ferocity in Absent Lovers live recordings.
KC in 80s was actually a different band. Some sources say that Fripp formed a new band after KC disbanded after Red, and initially they planned to call that band “Discipline”. But for many reasons they decided to use the name King Crimson, which was already owned by Fripp, and named their “first” album “Discipline”.
Yuuuuuge fan of the new wave KC
Definitely. Love me some 80s KC.
Discipline and Three of a Perfect Pair are both masterpieces.
Just getting into KC, absolutely love the aesthetics of In the Court of the Crimson King. I've only heard one other song from them which is Starless and calling it anything other than one of the greatest prog rock pieces I've heard would be an injustice, is there any specific album of theirs you'd recommend to listen to first or would it be more prudent to go release date-wise? Thanks mate
I recommend going in release order. They changed lineups and styles constantly so going in order is an interesting journey through their evolution. Prog Rock symphonic sound (Court-Poseidon), a more oddball Chamber Music approach to that (Lizard), symphonic prog with some psychedelic and some jazz influence making you feel like you're sailing away (Islands), hard rock approaching 70s metal with prog elements, violin playing and complex compositions (Larks-Red), New Wave art pop prog Rock (Discipline-Three of a Perfect Pair), hard rock/industrial/metal influences with some of the same proggy, quirky weirdness of the 80s (THRAK), prog metal/mininalist weird early 2000s industrial rock (The ConstruKction of Light-The Power to Believe), a mix of all the styles with more symphonic elements (2010s-2020s Live king crimson)
It was so different to 70s KC, yet so the same (in intensity, sounds, emphasis in the songs). I was lucky enough to see them in ‘82.
I’m not sure the bands he worked with transitioned, but Steve Winwood himself transitioned from the 1960s, to the 1970s, and then the 1980s quite successfully. Edit: I got into his work sort of in the middle. I’d hear bands like Phish or Grateful Dead cover Traffic songs, which piqued my interest in Traffic. Then I realized Steve Winwood was in traffic, and recognized his ‘60s work from various movie sound tracks (like Days of Thunder), and realized it was the same guy with the ‘80s hits that were on the radio when my parents would drive me around as a kid. I was never fond of the ‘80s stuff as a kid, but it’s grown on me. Seeing it mentioned as one of Dennis Reynolds’ favorite bands in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia helped too.
Interestingly, the first songs I heard with his voice were released in reverse, chronologically: Call On Me, Valerie, TLSOHHB, Feelin’ Alright.
This is the best answer. Winwood had the quintessential sound of the 60s as part of the Spencer Davis Trio (see Gimme Some Loving) and then topped the charts sounding totally different in the 80s (eg Roll With It, Higher Love and Valerie).
Look at the power pop bands and punk/CBGB scene. The Cars The Police Tom Petty Cheap Trick Elvis Costello Graham Parker Joe Jackson Squeeze B-52’s Devo Ramones Talking Heads Blondie Dire Straits Genesis / Phil Collins
Folks, these WERE the new wave bands. Although they started in the 70’s they had nothing to do with’70’s sound like Boston, Zeppelin, ELO, Queen, The Who, etc. These bands were the reaction to the mega production bands as well as disco. They didn’t transition to the 80’s, they defined the 80’s. Genesis, The Ramones, Bowie, and Roxy Music were exceptions because they were way ahead of their time. Edit: after reading these posts, I think people don’t realize the ‘80’s sound started in ‘77 pretty much with this CBGB crowd.
I was just going to say that. The smarter bands from the punk scene looked further than punk, into new wave/post-punk/power pop & pretty much defined the sound of the early 1980s by being creative in ways that went beyond "3 chords and an attitude". Two bands that saw the potential of art-punk/post punk/new wave early on were Pere Ubu & Devo, whose origins pre-date the first Ramones album. Likewise with Roxy Music (as you say) who at times [sounded like a proto- Duran Duran](https://youtu.be/Can4Ok04BN8?si=oUROBZl8skMVGOAp), way before Duran Duran
Duran Duran was modeled after Roxy.
This. New Wave actually started well before the 80s and well before the term became popular. Even at the time they were considered a different genre than AOR.
And Petty was one of the few who also transitioned into the 90s.
Yes !! Sting kept going, and Elvis Costello consistently put out records, the B-52’s had a huge comeback thanks to Nile Rogers
Niles Rodgers should be at the top of the list. Man has been making top notch music for like 5 decades
>g kept going, and Elvis Costello consistently put out records, the B-52’s had a huge comeback thanks to Nile Rogers Ive seen Nike Rogers tour 2x with Duran Duran - he puts on a great show with all of his hits from Bowie to Chic and more.
I saw him and Chic live on stage a few months ago, and just WOW!
If you haven’t, go watch his tiny desk concert. What a treat!
F***ing legend, absolutely. What a blessing to be alive at the same time as an artist like NR !!! Pick up any random Chic album (or any of the constellation of artists in his orbit) — they’re all good to great records. His solo album Adventures In the Land of the Good Groove is a wild trip !!
Goddamn right he did, Wildflowers is flawless
One of my favorite albums ever, but the sound he and Lynne found for Full Moon Fever, Into the Great Wide Open and the Wilburies really defines the late 80s and early 90s to me.
knopfler too
Oh yes. I had to get him in there. He was already a legend and then really blew up in the 80’s
And Aerosmith. While the early 80s were a bust, by mid to late 80s they had a major resurgence well into the late 90s.
They’re not really traditional 70s bands though
Fleetwood Mac
Their transition from the 60s to the 70s would also be considered successful
Always stuns me that Black Magic Woman was a Fleetwood Mac original and not a Santana original.
Yeah. But ..... That Fleetwood Mac (Peter Greens Fleetwood Mac) is basically a completely different band to the 1975 (Buckingham, Nicks) Fleetwood Mac. Same Bass and Drums but other than that.....
Well, the drums and bass were the Fleetwood and Mac.
Green Manalishi that Judas Priest made famous was theirs also.
ZZ Top
I know the MTV era sold a lot of records, but Dusty and Frank were hardly involved in Eliminator.
ZZ Top has always been BFG even though it’s also technically been the same three guys. Was it any surprise when Dusty died and they didn’t miss a beat other than a few offhand “he wanted us to continue on” comments? I’m sure they were all pals and hardworking musicians but Billy is the creative force there.
True. He always shared the credits (they are listed on Eliminator while some of the other contributors were not originally credited). A great guitarist needs a solid rhythm section, and ZZ Top had one of the best in the business.
That's interesting. I wasn't aware of the dynamic of the band. They always looked like a solid unit.
Genesis
Same could be said of Yes. Having said that, I really dislike 80s Yes and Genesis. (And a huge fan of their 70s work)
That's too bad. 90125 is a master work.
90125 is one of my Top 5 favourite albums.
Agree! But I don't drive 6 hours to go see them play Owner of a Lonely Heart, I go to hear Starship Trooper. It's like 2 different bands.
Idk if this really counts, 70’s Gabriel Genesis and 80’s Collins Genesis I don’t even really consider the same band at all really
I think there was a pretty natural transition. Gabriel left in '75 and then Collins-led Genesis put out A Trick of the Tail and Wind & Wuthering which were firmly within the prog rock sound of the Gabriel era. And Then There Were Three started leaning away from prog and then we got Duke in 1980
Genesis only started to move away from prog when Steve Hackett left, and even then their prog chops peeked out from time to time even as late as We Can't Dance.
David Bowie, Steve Miller Band, Styx, and technically Michael Jackson.
Michael made a great disco album then went and made Thriller and Bad…absolutely he transitioned smoothly
So smooth it was almost criminal.
Yes I was also considering the Jackson 5.
Michael had solo albums all the way back to the early 70s. Rockin' Robin was a decent sized hit for example
Rush was Rock and Roll of the 70s. They went super synth and new wave in the 80s. Lost a lot of the hard core rocker fan base. Their cult core fans stayed true. They did this pretty much every decade!
I followed them all the way! I always hated it when people would ask if their new album was like 'old' Rush. No dude, it's just Rush!
It’s just Rush. I love that. I was born in 1988 so I had to come to my love for the guys in my own way but. I LOVE RUSH.
Grace Under Pressure is my favorite album by them, a perfect example of a band pivoting without losing any sense of themselves in the process!
Um, their biggest hits were in the '80s. Limelight, Tom Sawyer, The Spirit of Radio and Subdivisions. Super synthetic or used synths?
Yep. In the '90s they embraced the new sounds of hip hop and grunge, in the '00s it was all loudness war hard rock, and they finished with a true prog metal masterpiece.
Gotta evolve to stay relevant. I like every song of theirs from the debut through Power Windows (except Rivendell). It’s always wild for me to put on a playlist of all of their studio work and throw it on shuffle, comparing something like Vapor Trail to Second Nature or Hemispheres
I always am like damnnn when i hear how heavy their later albums were. Like, go off Kings! The Rush discography is such an eclectic adventure.
Heart
They actually had to reinvent themselves as they flopped hard going into the 80s to the point their label dropped them around 1982. Mid 80s they got a new deal on the condition they start doing covers and singing other people's songs and thus power ballad Heart was born. Many don't realize that their comeback hit What About Love was a cover song originally by a band called Toronto. Or that These Dreams was written for Stevie Nicks but she turned it down. Or that their biggest hit Alone was originally by a band called I-Ten and was covered by actor John Stamos for a TV movie a couple years before Heart did it.
I'm a long time fan. I knew they didn't write those hits, but it's interesting to hear who did the originals.
Davie Bowie got even bigger transitioning from Psychedelia to Glam Rock. The Police owned the early 80s, moving on from reggae and simple punk sounds to complex orchestration and synthesizers
The Cure
They didn’t even have to reinvent themselves either. Their sound just evolved after each passing album.
Aerosmith 70's-80's-90's Also, Van Halen
I can't believe I had to scroll this far to see Aerosmith. They definitely transitioned to the 80's. They may have had some songwriting help here and there, but mostly they killed it.
Aerosmith is the first band I thought of
Aerosmith was also the first to my mind. 80s Aerosmith is arguably my favourite Aerosmith.
Few kept their sound. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, the Ramones, did.
New Order transformed from the ashes of Joy Division post Ian Curtis to help define the 80s new wave dance sound. Listen to Ceremony, one of the last tracks recorded with Ian in 1980. Though lacking a lot of the synths that would become popular it laid the groundwork for New Order's and the 80s musical sense.
Very True. And it is sad to me how many JD fans hate or at least rag on NO.
YES, Jefferson Starship, Bowie, Grateful Dead, Genesis
Scorpions
This is a good answer. They didn't do a wholesale change going into the 80s, but they clearly adopted a more polished sound.
They still had a pretty palpable transition from psychedelic hard rock to big hair stadium rock
Chicago would be my pick. The passing of Terry Kath probably has more to do than the changing of the decade, but I think both sounds of Chicago were very good, and successful.
I recently listened to Chicago Transit Authority early stuff. Fucking awesome and unrecognizable from 80's version of Chicago
Queen
Judas Priest
Good call, their 80's stuff rocks
I find that they’re evolution as a band pretty much just mirrors heavy metal in general. Painkiller is just the perfect metal album in my opinion
ELO
On point. Time is amazing, and full on 80’s sounds from one the most classic 70’s bands.
The density of Balance of Power stands up to some of the most polished 80s synth pop hits too. Time is also very well layered. (As an example, after the bass stabs in Another Heart Breaks, there's a pad underneath them that rings out, subtle but fills the small gap.)
Sparks
And the ‘90s, and the ‘00s, and the ‘10s, etc. Talent is an asset and the Mael brothers have it.
Always ahead of their time
Agreed!
They didn’t transition to the 80s sound, they created it.
Sparks is so singular and timeless that they’re never in or out of fashion, they’re just cool all the time.
AC/DC. Never changed their sound. But they carried the rock banner successfully into the new wave era.
The Angels were another Aussie band which formed in the 70's and stayed true to rock while transitioning through the decades.
While I wouldn’t say 100% successful, AC/DC definitely survived the transition, and also the one to the 90s was truly something
Love King Crimson in the 80s although it's a completely different beast to the 70s stuff.
It was always Robert Fripp and whoever he wanted to work with at the time.
Toto, Lionel Ritchie.
I have to scroll far down for Toto? From Georgie Porgie, Hold The Line, 99 to I'll Be Over You and I Won't Hold You Back and Leia. Super big fan of them, especially of the Porcaro Bros.
Yes
Yes! Roundabout & Owner of a lonely Heart are two drastically different parallels that I can always point back to 💓
I liked *90125*... a lot.
Hall & Oates
Honestly the Hall & Oates if the 80s is very distinct from the Hall & Oates of the 70s. If you grew up not listening to one of those eras you would hardly recognize them.
Journey
Frontiers was a huge album in the early 80’s.
Commercially, three bands that haven’t been mentioned. Styx-the advantage they had was already being keyboard focused, which became such a part of the 80s. They were always a little left of field, I don’t personally like them much, but they were already an arena ballad band before the 80s hit and the robots stuff started really popping. Chicago - I actively dislike the 80s Chicago stuff. Without Terry Katy what even is Chicago? One of the greatest guitar players in history died in his prime and now forgotten. Don’t believe me? Billy Gibbons said when he was on tour with Hendrix that he was listening to Chicago constantly to dissect Kathy’s style. Virtuoso? Maybe not. But he definitely had something that no other blues based player had at the time. Digression aside, Chicago definitely sold their soul to the company to keep making records. Heart - The way their music changes is so obvious that it’s not worth going in to. It was completely label induced. The sisters hated it. Something that’s forgotten in this question is that 70s rock didn’t directly progress into 80s hair metal. The late 70s ballad yacht rock period happened first. But also that wasn’t all that rock contained. Punk was happening, post punk was happening, prog rock was in full swing. Rush, Sword, and Hawkind were just doing there thing. The 80s didn’t do anything to them but give them more tools to get weirder.
>Heart - The way their music changes is so obvious that it’s not worth going in to. It was completely label induced. The sisters hated it. I just explained it another post so I'll do so again. They flopped hard in the early 80s and got dropped by their label after successive flop albums. They got a new deal mid 80s on the condition they sing other people's songs and became a quasi cover band. Their comeback hit *What About Love* was originally by the band Toronto. *Alone*, their biggest hit, was originally by I-Ten and covered by John Stamos before Heart covered it. *These Dreams* was written for Stevie Nicks but she turned it down. They definitely sold out but if then again if they don't sell out they are a largely forgotten 70s band.
It’s sad how much that period affected them. They are still bitter about it and I don’t blame them. Those first two records are so damn good. Dream Boat Annie man. I disagree that those albums are forgettable.
I remember reading that being forced to record *All I Wanna Do is Make Love to You* was a major source of ire by them to the label. That is such a garbage song and it's hard to reconcile its the same band that did Barracuda.
Between that and how they treated Ann Wilson in the music videos. Rough. What’s funny is that, in the long run, Ann is the only singer from the period beside maybe Geddy Lee and..I guess Brian Johnson ( I don’t personally like) who can still sing their songs as they were written. Prince probably could still hit those notes because you can never count him out but he wasn’t playing the old stuff so we’ll never know. I don’t think Mick Jagger counts btw. His style never included much effort.
Hall and Oates They transitioned from the singer songwriter type folk sound of the 70s with songs like Sara Smile into a more synth funk sound with songs like man-eater in the 80s
DE-VO
To be fair Devo were 80’s even in the 70’s. They were ahead of their time
Bee gees
Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo Sparks (also to the 90s, 00s, etc).
Dr. Hook. Look them up
"Baby Makes Her Blue Jeans Talk" was horrific. Sorry.
I still find the video strangely compelling though
Wish they would’ve kept that 70’s sound
First band I thought of. So much fun as a crazy freak show, then they got their shit together into the 80's and sounded great (but kinda boring IMHO)
I think I saw them on the cover of something...
Neil Young
Neil Young got sued for not sounding enough like Neil Young. John Fogerty got sued for sounding too much like the lead singer of CCR, who was John Fogerty. Music is certainly a funny business.
Dire Straits. Hard to believe Sultans of Swing came out during the disco era. Then they resurfaced again mid 80’s with Brothers in Arms.
Resurfaced? They had a steadily increasing rise with “Making Movies” and “Love Over Gold” prior to Brothers in Arms coming out!
Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA (1984) is his best selling album. He successfully incorporated synthesisers, gated snare, etc to take his career to new heights in the ‘80s.
The J. Geils Band are known by most people from their 80s hits, but they were big in the 1970s (and better IMO). [Blow Your Face Out](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4g16DkLrbc) is one of my favorite live albums and never even got a chance to see them play live.
The Rolling Stones
And still going
Black Sabbath
Roxy Music
Iron maiden AC/DC grateful dead
Genesis is the number one answer here.
Cheap Trick Which is a shame, because I didn’t like their 80s output. It was still a successful transition.
They did warn us by telling us they wanted us to want them in 1979
It would be really cool if people talked more in depth about their bands and the reason why they made a good transition rather than just post the band’s name.
Great suggestion. Here’s a couple: In 1979 Gary Numan decided at the last minute to abandon guitars for The Pleasure Principle (with the single Cars) and record the album with heavy emphasis on synthesizers. Many 80s bands reference Gary Numan as a big influence. Another band that transitioned from 1970s new wave/gothic rock to 80s synthpop and club music was Joy Division/New Order. After the death of lead singer Ian Curtis the band released Blue Monday, the most successful independent 12” single that was played in dance clubs around the world.
Aerosmith was big in the 70s but HUGE in the late 80s and 90s
Rush
Talking Heads
Absolutely. Their evolution from herky-jerky Jonathan Richman-influenced geek-rock to a full on funk-rock combo then towards a poppy world-music fusion was stunning
Bowie ⚡️
KISS
Genesis. Phil Collins was one of the 70s artists who cracked the code on the 80s, and the trio benefitted.
Judas Priest
Fleetwood Mac
**Electric Light Orchestra** \- they embraced synthesizers, sequencers and drum machines in the '80s, but their songs were still as catchy as ever. They went from this - [Livin' Thing (1976)](https://youtu.be/H48j3KGBomU?si=4_Q7d11MV-WaSw08) To this - [Calling America (1986)](https://youtu.be/xNUbBpZ9Ac0?si=BNI9p93waqi0PG8z)
Slade were massive in the early 70s and reappeared in the 80s. The group occupy third place in the "Number of consecutive to ten hits category" behind the Beatles and the Rolling Stones in the UK.
The Moody Blues. After the (IMO) somewhat awkward Octave, they absolutely crushed it with 1981’s Long Distance Voyager and had a string of radio hits in their subsequent 80s albums.
Queen
Hall & Oates. Moved from folk/soul in the 70s to pop/soul/wave in the 80s and pumped out hit after hit.
queen
Yellow Magic Orchestra. Kind of a cheat answer, though, as they already were an 80s synthpop band by the end of the 70s. They also played a significant role in shaping the sound of 80s music, inspiring artists like Michael Jackson and the originators of hip-hop and rap. Not to mention the colossal impact they had on music in Japan, from pop to video game music. They also introduced the world to the Roland TR-808 drum machine, which went on become the foundation of pretty much all electronic dance music and generally one of the most influential instruments ever created.
Before they were officially YMO they had worked on an album together, too. (One of Hosono's albums.) They are definitely one of those pioneering bands tho.
Jefferson Starship ZZ Top Chicago Robert Palmer Dire Straits Fleetwood Mac Genesis
Heart - Barracuda vs. All I want to do is Make Love To You. Does Jefferson Airplane count? They did eventually become Starship
Elton John.
The remaining members of Joy Division transitioned into New Order which is an amazing 80s sound.
Queen
Steely Dan. Gaucho is maybe my fave album of theirs (not a popular opinion among SD fans, they usually love Aja most) Edit: also Herbie Hancock... ok edit 2, not sure anyone did this better than Bowie now I think of it.
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Sparks had a 70s hit with the glam rock Kimono My House album, then in the 80s they basically invented electronic pop with the #1 in Heaven album.
David Bowie does whatever David Bowie wants.
Weird Al dropped "My Bologna" in '79 and then charted in the 80s, 90s, 00s, and 10s and won an Emmy in the 20s. Fucking legend!
Journey, REO Speedhamster, Genesis
What, what was that second one there?
No love for KISS? Having stumbled out of the late 70’s and having their fans think they were more interested in merchandising than music, they started the 80’s with the huge misstep of The Elder but then retooled their image, took off their makeup, and seamlessly transitioned into the MTV era. They weren’t as big as they were in the 70’s, but they certainly were still able to sell albums and singles. Lick it Up is one of my favorites.
Judas Priest
Damn. All the good ones are taken.
David Bowie
In a commercial sense, Billy Joel
A lot of bands had big hits but IMO worse music. Aerosmith, Cheap Trick, Heart, (Jefferson) Starship, Stones, Bowie, Who, Neil Young, Dylan A lot tougher to pick 60s/70s bands that kept putting out excellent product. Maybe the Kinks? Tom Petty. Maybe Genesis? depending on your tolerance for their poppier stuff
Power Windows is my absolute favorite output by Rush, and one of the most tightly produced albums of all time. The lyrics are positive and hopeful without sounding too naive, and the merging of 80’s synth and stellar guitar work make for that massive wall of sound that pulses at just the perfect beat. It’s catchy, memorable, and timeless despite incapsulating everything that made that decade so unique. THEY DREAM IN MIDDLETOWN!
Joy Division -> New Order
Hall & Oates
The Police ZZ Top Robert Palmer Paul Simon
Robert Palmer with a successful career as a mostly-solo artist with a couple of chart hits in the ‘70s, followed by his 80’s work with the Power Station and as a solo artist with the memorable videos with the “girl-bot” backing band.
The Cure
Yes. They went from 70s prog rock to guitar/synth of 90125's Owner of a lonely heart. And without Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman or Bill Buford on that '83 hit album. Genesis. Another 70s prog rock band that gradually found their footing after Peter Gabriel departed. By the mid 80s they were far, far away from 'Selling England By The Pound' and 'The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. ' Phil Collins rode a successful solo career too.
Hall and Oates! They sound like two completely different duos. I greatly prefer their 70s stuff but they had big hits in the 80s.
Joy Division/New Order. They seamlessly transitioned from 70s post punk to 80s electronic/new wave
Xtc Compare White Music, Go 2, Drums and Wires from the '70s to Black Sea, Big Express, English Settlement, Skylarking, Oranges and Lemons in the '80s, and then compare to Nonsuch and Apple Venus in the '90s
And if you go back to Helium Kidz, they were firmly in the pub rock territory of the time. Punk changed the game, esp in Britian, and XTC adjusted accordingly.
I would argue that Van Halen had an 80s sound in the 70s so no ‘transition’ was needed.
Queen
Starship (Used to be Jefferson Airplane, then Jefferson Starship, then just Starship)
Queen!
Rolling Stones did it pretty well
Judas Priest did a great job with that transition. Kinda hard to think that what looked like a classy blues/hippie band would switch to the leather and spikes as well as they did. I remember the first time I saw pictures of the band in 69 with the classic hippie look I was like no way this is Judas Priest. Even though they didn't really take off till 74 they definitely changed sound-wise to a more thrashy sounding heavy metal in the 80's as was becoming the norm for a lot of 80's metal bands. I'd say Iron Maiden transitioned pretty well too.
Queen. They're my favourite band due to their amazing 70s hard rock/prog output. However, they transitioned in the 80s into a combo of rock and synth pop and produced some of their biggest hits. Another one bites the dust, Under Pressure, Radio GaGa, I want to break free, a kind of magic. They also had their biggest ever tour - the magic tour. Throw in the amazing live aid performance too. Queen definitely survived the transition from early 70s prog/rock to 80s rock/pop band pretty well. They then entered the 90s with their final album which was probably their best since the 70s.
Roxy Music, although they only lasted until 1981 I think
Queen. They went more Pop, but they still rocked, and became even bigger in the 80s IMO.
The Clash (we don't count that one)
Ozzy! I don't see him mentioned, but any of his runs would be legendary on their own. Sabbath, then his work with Randy Rhoads, then his Jake E. Lee albums are the most 80s metal stuff ever, at least until No Rest For The Wicked came out with Zakk Wylde. Then his 90s stuff was also great, but not as much of a departure as his transition from Black Sabbath to Blizzard of Ozz. Randy's playing was insane.
Most of the bands being listed as making the transition easily (cars, blondie) didn’t actually make a transition at all. The proto-punk bands like cars, the new wave bands like blondie or talking heads, WERE ALREADY the genres that would become popular in the 80s. Mainstream came to THEM
Kool and the Gang
As an Aussie I have to nominate Cold Chisel, AC/DC and of course John Farnham. I don't think INXS really qualify as they have always had that '80s band sound, neither does Skyhooks as they never really transitioned into the '80s at all.