1987 Songs
The biggest songs of 1987 included Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody", U2's "With or Without You", Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again", Heart's "Alone" and George Michael's "Faith". It was the year of The Joshua Tree, Bad, Appetite for Destruction and the first rap album to top the chart.
The megastars return
In 1987 the biggest stars of the decade all came back with new albums. Whitney Houston's Whitney entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in June, the first album by a woman to do so. This page covers the year song by song; for the whole decade, start with our best 80s songs guide.
Michael Jackson's Bad followed in August, five years after Thriller. George Michael's Faith arrived in November, and its title song went to No. 1 in December.
U2 become the biggest band in the world
U2 released The Joshua Tree in March. It went to No. 1 in the US and the UK and won the Grammy for Album of the Year, and "With or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" both reached No. 1.
The same year R.E.M., The Cure and Depeche Mode moved from college radio into arenas. Alternative music was becoming mainstream music.
Hard rock's biggest year
Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again", a remake of a 1982 song, went to No. 1 in October. Def Leppard's Hysteria came out in August and Guns N' Roses' Appetite for Destruction in July. Both took a year to reach No. 1.
Heart's "Alone" spent three weeks at No. 1, and power ballads became the surest way onto pop radio. See how the scene played out in our hair metal bands ranking.
Teen pop, soundtracks and samples
Tiffany took "I Think We're Alone Now" to No. 1 after a tour of shopping malls, and teenager Debbie Gibson wrote and produced her own hits. Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" spent five weeks at No. 1 in the UK. Soundtracks still ruled: Los Lobos' "La Bamba" and the Dirty Dancing duet "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" both went to No. 1.
In Britain, M/A/R/R/S' "Pump Up the Volume", built almost entirely from samples, went to No. 1 in October. Hip-hop had its own great year, with Public Enemy, Eric B. & Rakim and LL Cool J all releasing landmark records.
The hits you already know, and 24 more
The year's biggest hits, from "Alone" and "Faith" to "Need You Tonight" and "Welcome to the Jungle", open the player above. Each one is written up elsewhere on the site, or discussed above, like "La Bamba" and "(I've Had) The Time of My Life". The 24 songs below are the rest of the story: more No. 1s, the big comebacks and the records that pointed toward the 90s.
Songs are filed by release year, so "Walk Like an Egyptian" and "Livin' on a Prayer", released in 1986 and No. 1 early in 1987, are on the 1986 songs page. Every pick follows our song selection rules.
The Songs
Bad — Michael Jackson
The title song of Michael Jackson's first album since Thriller went to No. 1 in October 1987. Martin Scorsese directed its 18-minute video, set in a New York subway station, with a young Wesley Snipes. Bad became the first album with five No. 1 singles on the Hot 100.
Didn't We Almost Have It All — Whitney Houston
Michael Masser and Will Jennings wrote this big ballad about a love that nearly worked. It went to No. 1 in September 1987, Whitney Houston's fifth No. 1 in a row. Her second album, Whitney, was the first by a woman to enter the Billboard 200 at No. 1.
Who's That Girl — Madonna
Madonna wrote this bright, Latin-flavoured song with Patrick Leonard for her comedy film of the same name. The film flopped, but the song went to No. 1 in the US and the UK in the summer of 1987. It was her sixth American No. 1.
La Isla Bonita — Madonna
Patrick Leonard first offered the music to Michael Jackson, who passed on it. Madonna wrote the words about a dreamy island called San Pedro and added Spanish guitar and maracas. It went to No. 1 in the UK and reached No. 4 in the US in 1987.
Jacob's Ladder — Huey Lewis and the News
Bruce Hornsby and his brother John wrote this song about a man trying to keep going one step at a time. Huey Lewis and the News took it to No. 1 in March 1987, the band's third and last No. 1. Hornsby recorded his own version a year later.
Lost in Emotion — Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam
The production team Full Force wrote and produced this sweet, doo-wop-flavoured song for the New York group. It went to No. 1 in October 1987, four months after "Head to Toe" had done the same. Lisa Velez's clear young voice carries it.
U Got the Look — Prince
Prince and Sheena Easton trade lines on this raw, funky rocker from Sign o' the Times. Easton, the singer of "For Your Eyes Only" in 1981, showed a much tougher side. It reached No. 2 in October 1987.
Sign o' the Times — Prince
Prince lists the news of the day, from AIDS and crack to gang violence and the Challenger disaster, over a bare drum machine, synthesizer bass and guitar. It reached No. 3. The double album of the same name is often called his best.
Let's Wait Awhile — Janet Jackson
The fifth single from Control is a gentle ballad about taking love slowly. It reached No. 2 on the Hot 100 in March 1987 and No. 1 on the R&B chart. It showed Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis could write soft songs as well as hard ones.
Don't Mean Nothing — Richard Marx
Richard Marx's first single is a cynical song about the music business, with Joe Walsh playing slide guitar. It reached No. 3 in 1987. Marx went on to have a run of hits, including "Should've Known Better" from the same debut album.
Big Love — Fleetwood Mac
Lindsey Buckingham's tense, echoing song opened Tango in the Night, and its breathy gasps are all his voice, reshaped in the studio. It reached No. 5 in 1987. Buckingham left the band that August, just before the tour.
Brilliant Disguise — Bruce Springsteen
After the stadium rock of Born in the U.S.A., Springsteen made Tunnel of Love, a quiet album about doubt in marriage. This song asks whether two people ever really know each other. It reached No. 5, and the album went to No. 1.
Always on My Mind — Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys first sang it on a TV special marking ten years since Elvis Presley's death, then made it a racing synth-pop single. It was the UK's Christmas No. 1 in 1987 and reached No. 4 in the US. Willie Nelson's slow 1982 version is on our 1982 page.
Hourglass — Squeeze
Squeeze had split up and got back together, and this busy, jumpy song reached No. 15 in the US, the highest they ever charted in America. The video plays with optical illusions, and MTV played it often.
Heartbreak Beat — The Psychedelic Furs
A year after the band re-recorded "Pretty in Pink" for the film, the Psychedelic Furs had their biggest American hit with this song. It reached No. 26 in 1987. Richard Butler's rough voice rides a shiny, late-80s production.
Pop Goes the World — Men Without Hats
The Montreal band behind "The Safety Dance" came back with this playful song about Johnny and Jenny, a couple in a band. It reached No. 20 in the US, a second hit for a band many had written off as one-hit wonders.
Wishing Well — Terence Trent D'Arby
Terence Trent D'Arby's debut album went to No. 1 in the UK in 1987, and he told anyone who would listen that he was a genius. This loose, funky song backed him up. It reached No. 1 in the US in May 1988.
Crying — Roy Orbison & k.d. lang
Roy Orbison re-recorded his 1961 hit with k.d. lang, the young Canadian singer from Alberta, for the film Hiding Out. Their voices rise together to the famous high ending. It won the Grammy for Best Country Vocal Collaboration.
Girlfriend in a Coma — The Smiths
Morrissey sings about a girlfriend in hospital over a light, almost cheerful tune, and the joke is in the gap between the two. It reached No. 13 in the UK in August 1987, the same month the news broke that the Smiths had split.
Never Let Me Down Again — Depeche Mode
The opening song of Music for the Masses reached No. 22 in the UK. On stage it became the big finale: Dave Gahan waves his arms from side to side and the whole crowd copies him. It helped make Depeche Mode a stadium band in America.
Brass Monkey — Beastie Boys
Licensed to Ill became the first rap album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in March 1987. This silly party song from it reached No. 48 on the Hot 100, and it has been played at college parties ever since.
Bring the Noise — Public Enemy
Public Enemy first released this blast of sirens and Chuck D's commanding voice on the Less Than Zero soundtrack in 1987. It opened their second album a year later. In 1991 they remade it with the thrash band Anthrax.
Got My Mind Set on You — George Harrison
George Harrison revived this obscure 1962 James Ray song for Cloud Nine, his comeback album after years away from music. It reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 in January 1988, his first US No. 1 since "My Sweet Lord". Its stop-motion video won an MTV award.
Shakedown — Bob Seger
Bob Seger recorded this driving rock song for the Beverly Hills Cop II soundtrack after Glenn Frey, the film's first choice, was unable to finish it. It reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 in August 1987, Seger's only chart-topping single in a career full of hits.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the No. 1 song of 1987?
The Bangles' "Walk Like an Egyptian" was Billboard's No. 1 single of 1987. It was released in 1986 and spent four weeks at No. 1 from December 1986. Among songs released in 1987, the biggest included Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody", U2's "With or Without You" and Heart's "Alone".
What were the most popular songs in 1987?
The best-remembered 1987 hits include "I Wanna Dance with Somebody", "With or Without You", "Here I Go Again", "Alone", "Faith", "Never Gonna Give You Up", "I Think We're Alone Now", "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now", "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" and "Bad". All of them play in the player at the top of this page.
What albums came out in 1987?
1987 brought U2's The Joshua Tree, Michael Jackson's Bad, Whitney Houston's Whitney, George Michael's Faith, Def Leppard's Hysteria, Guns N' Roses' Appetite for Destruction, Prince's Sign o' the Times, Bruce Springsteen's Tunnel of Love and Fleetwood Mac's Tango in the Night.
What was the first rap album to reach No. 1?
The Beastie Boys' Licensed to Ill, released in November 1986, reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in March 1987. It was the first rap album to top that chart. "Brass Monkey" from it plays in the player above.
Is "Faith" a 1987 or 1988 song?
George Michael released "Faith" in October 1987, and it went to No. 1 in December 1987 for four weeks. It carried on into 1988 and became Billboard's No. 1 single of 1988, so it belongs to both years. It plays in the player above.
Last updated: September 27, 2026