10 Things 80s Songs Convinced Us to Do

Let's face it; we did a lot of goofy things in the 80s! I like to lay a little blame when I do things that are just ridiculous, so I looked back to figure out how my love of music could have influenced some of the silly things I did back then. I found a connection.

The songs I listened to are to blame for at least some of the actions I took in the 80s and I think they may have been responsible for your 80s behavior as well. Here are 10 things we did in the 80s because songs told us to do it!

Dance

Who didn't love Billy Idol in the 80s? He showed me how impressive it was to be "Dancing With Myself" in 1981 and so I did. Luckily most of this occurred in the safety of my bedroom with no one around, so no witnesses can embarrass me now.

Run

"I Ran" (so far away) in 1982 when The Flock of Seagulls sang about it. I never did like running, unless it was from trouble. So I figured if they could run, even though they didn't get away, maybe I could. Did you run too?

Party

In 1982 Prince told us all to pretend we were 17 years in the future and party like it was "1999". How was I to know that in 1999 I would be a responsible police officer and not partying at all? Still, Prince said to party in 1982 and I know many of us did what the purple one told us to do!

Call Jenny

1982 was an impressive year for influential songs. Tommy Tutone gave us all the number of a girl he knew "867-5309/Jenny", and I and many of you dialed the phone number. I feel bad for the unlucky souls in random area codes who had to endure a bunch of kids calling and asking for Jenny. Tommy was a bad influence.

Wear Sunglasses at night

Corey Hart sang about wearing his "Sunglasses at Night" in 1984 and the next thing you knew everyone was doing it. It wasn't cool and probably caused more than one injury, but we tried it because he did it and we liked the song.

Relax

Ok, here's the thing; when Frankie Goes to Hollywood told us all to "Relax", I thought that is really what he meant. I was a little naïve as a 14 year-old in 1984 and did not get the sexual innuendo behind the lyrics. Some of you may have relaxed the way Frankie meant, but I just used it as an excuse not to do my chores.

Shout

Tears for Fears implored us to "Shout" and let it all out, so I think we can blame them for our loud arguments with our parents. All those times I was grounded in 1985, my mom thought I was being an incessantly annoying teenager. Stupid song.

Walk like an Egyptian

In 1986 those girls in The Bangles thought we should "Walk Like an Egyptian" and they even showed us how to do it in their video. So sure enough, we put our hands out, laughed out loud and walked around like a bunch of fools.

Have fun

As if walking like an Egyptian was not bad enough, in 1986 Wang Chung insisted that "Everybody Have Fun Tonight". Having fun was not the problem, but he wanted us to "Wang Chung tonight" and I just didn't know how to do that. I still don't know how to Wang Chung, but having fun has never been an issue for me.

Don't worry, be happy

After all the relaxing and then shouting, I took Bobby McFerrin's advice and decided, "Don't Worry, Be Happy". If you were in high school or college in 1988, you probably made this song your mantra for awhile. At least until it was played to death and you became as sick of it as I did.

I hope you enjoyed the trip down our musical memory lane. Feel free to blame away your crazy 80s behavior on any one of these songs.

Check out these related articles from Sherri Thornhill:

High School Music of the 80s

Top 5 1980s Genre Crossing Cover Songs

Top 10 Pop/Punk/New Wave Bands Of The 80s

Top 10 Go-Go's Songs

Road Trip Songs:10 Great Rock-N-Roll Road Trip Songs

Bruno Mars Doo-Wops & Hooligans CD Review

Source: Author's musical memory