80s Love Songs

How this sound was built

25 essential tracks

Listed in release order. Tap a title to play it, or play all 25 in a row.

1. 1. Could I Have This Dance — Anne Murray (1980)

   Written for the film Urban Cowboy, this gentle country waltz became one of Canadian singer Anne Murray's signature songs. It reached No. 1 on the country chart in 1980 and has been a first-dance favourite at weddings ever since. It also crossed over to the pop chart.

2. 2. Lady — Kenny Rogers (1980)

   Lionel Richie wrote and produced it, and Kenny Rogers took it to No. 1 for six weeks in late 1980. It was a hit on the pop, country and adult contemporary charts at once, and it pointed Richie towards his own solo career.

3. 3. Keep On Loving You — REO Speedwagon (1980)

   Kevin Cronin's piano ballad reached No. 1 in 1981 and helped make Hi Infidelity one of the best-selling albums of that year. It is one of the songs that set the pattern for the rock power ballad: quiet verses, then a huge guitar chorus.

4. 4. Endless Love — Diana Ross & Lionel Richie (1981)

   Written by Lionel Richie for the Franco Zeffirelli film of the same name, it spent nine weeks at No. 1 in 1981, the biggest hit either singer ever had. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

5. 5. Waiting for a Girl Like You — Foreigner (1981)

   Famous for the wrong reason: it spent ten weeks at No. 2 without ever reaching No. 1, a record at the time. Thomas Dolby played the soft synthesizer intro. It showed a hard rock band could make a slow song just as big as its anthems.

6. 6. Open Arms — Journey (1981)

   Jonathan Cain and Steve Perry wrote it, and Perry's soaring vocal turned it into one of the great rock ballads. It spent six weeks at No. 2 in 1982, held off by "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", and it is still one of the band's best-loved songs.

7. 7. Making Love Out of Nothing at All — Air Supply (1983)

   Written and produced by Jim Steinman, who gave it the same huge, dramatic sound as his other hits. It reached No. 2 in 1983, kept from the top by another Steinman song, Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart". It became one of the Australian duo's biggest hits.

8. 8. Hello — Lionel Richie (1984)

   Lionel Richie's simple piano ballad spent two weeks at No. 1 in 1984. The video, in which a blind art student sculpts a clay bust of her teacher, became one of the most talked-about, and most parodied, of the decade.

9. 9. Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now) — Phil Collins (1984)

   Phil Collins' first solo No. 1, written for the film Against All Odds. It is a raw, pleading song about a relationship that is already over, and it was nominated for an Academy Award. It spent three weeks at No. 1 in 1984.

10. 10. Crazy for You — Madonna (1985)

    Madonna's first real ballad, written for the wrestling film Vision Quest, where she makes a cameo singing in a bar. It reached No. 1 in 1985 and proved she could sell a love song as well as a dance track.

11. 11. Saving All My Love for You — Whitney Houston (1985)

    First recorded by Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. in 1978, this song about loving a married man became Whitney Houston's first No. 1. It won her the Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Her voice builds from a soft murmur to full power by the final chorus.

12. 12. Heaven — Bryan Adams (1985)

    Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance wrote it for the 1983 film A Night in Heaven. It was only released as a single two years later from Reckless, and went to No. 1 in the US in 1985. It is still a wedding favourite.

13. 13. Take My Breath Away — Berlin (1986)

    Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock wrote it for Top Gun, and Berlin, a synth-pop band, took it to No. 1. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Terri Nunn's cool, breathy vocal fits the film's slow-motion romance perfectly.

14. 14. (I Just) Died in Your Arms — Cutting Crew (1986)

    Singer Nick Van Eede came up with the opening line in the middle of a romance, and the song went to No. 1 in the US in 1987. With its dramatic synths and big chorus, it is a one-hit-wonder classic.

15. 15. Alone — Heart (1987)

    Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly first recorded it in 1983 under the name i-Ten. Heart's version, with Ann Wilson's huge voice, spent three weeks at No. 1 in 1987. It is the definitive 80s power ballad about loving someone from a distance.

16. 16. Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now — Starship (1987)

    Written by Diane Warren and Albert Hammond for the film Mannequin, it went to No. 1 in the US and the UK. Grace Slick and Mickey Thomas sing it as a duet, and it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

17. 17. Always — Atlantic Starr (1987)

    Atlantic Starr's tender, straightforward vow of lifelong love went to No. 1 on the Hot 100 and the R&B chart in 1987. It became one of the most popular wedding songs of the decade. It came from the album All in the Name of Love.

18. 18. I Need Love — LL Cool J (1987)

    A 19-year-old LL Cool J rapped softly over a gentle keyboard, and hip-hop had its first big love ballad. It went to No. 1 on the R&B chart and reached No. 14 on the Hot 100, opening the door for rap love songs.

19. 19. Just Like Heaven — The Cure (1987)

    Robert Smith wrote it about a trip to the seaside with his future wife, Mary. It reached No. 40, the Cure's first US Top 40 hit, and it is the rare love song that feels dizzy and joyful rather than slow and dreamy.

20. 20. Never Tear Us Apart — INXS (1988)

    Andrew Farriss wrote the music as a waltz, and Michael Hutchence's lyric turned it into a promise. The sudden saxophone break is unforgettable. It reached No. 7 in the US in 1988. It became one of the band's best-loved songs, especially in their home country of Australia.

21. 21. The Flame — Cheap Trick (1988)

    Cheap Trick did not write it and did not want to record it, but "The Flame" became their only US No. 1 in 1988. It gave the band a second career a decade after "I Want You to Want Me".

22. 22. Eternal Flame — The Bangles (1989)

    Susanna Hoffs wrote it with Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, inspired by a flame at Graceland. It went to No. 1 in the US and the UK in 1989, and it is the song most people remember the Bangles for after "Walk Like an Egyptian".

23. 23. Lost in Your Eyes — Debbie Gibson (1989)

    Debbie Gibson wrote this piano ballad herself, and it spent three weeks at No. 1 in 1989. It showed the teen pop star could write a grown-up love song, and it helped her album Electric Youth reach No. 1. Its simple piano opening is instantly recognizable.

24. 24. Right Here Waiting — Richard Marx (1989)

    Richard Marx wrote it after he was refused a visa to join his wife, actress Cynthia Rhodes, who was filming in South Africa. It spent three weeks at No. 1 in 1989 and has been sung at weddings ever since.

25. 25. Here and Now — Luther Vandross (1989)

    Luther Vandross had been the voice of R&B for most of the decade, but this was his first Top 10 pop hit as a solo artist, reaching No. 6. It won him his first Grammy and is still a first-dance favourite.

Where to go next

• 80s pop songs
• Yacht rock and soft rock
• 80s R&B and funk
• The 80s hits mix
• Build your own 80s playlist

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