He was a magazine ad salesman when he and a colleague, Robert Ford, teamed with Kurtis Blow and helped break rap music into the mainstream.
Category: Nineteen Hundred Eighties
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Felice Picano, Champion of Gay Literature, Is Dead at 81
At a time when, in his words, “nobody was writing about gay life,” he produced groundbreaking novels and memoirs and published books by Harvey Fierstein and others.
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Barry Michael Cooper, ‘New Jack City’ Screenwriter, Dies at 66
After chronicling the crack boom of the 1980s as an investigative reporter, he had a high-profile but brief second career in Hollywood.
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Alfa Anderson, ‘Chic’ Singer, Dies at 78
She sang the famous refrain “Le freak, c’est chic,” on one of disco’s biggest hits and was a sought-after vocalist for many prominent artists.
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1984: The Year Pop Stardom Got Supersized
In a peak moment of pop monoculture, synthesizers pumped up songs and MTV forever changed how artists were seen. Here’s how — and why.
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Beyond the Blockbusters, 7 Key Songs From 1984
The Pointer Sisters, Minutemen and more sounds from a landmark year in pop music.
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‘You Can Never Look Back’: How ’70s Rockers Rebooted for the ’80s
The year 1984 was a watershed in pop music. The stars who’d made it big the previous decade had to embrace new instruments and MTV or risk being left behind.
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“Camera Girl” Features Steamy Nights Preserved on Polaroid Film
Polaroid photos capturing the fugitive spirit and some famous faces of New York’s 1980s club scene are the focus of a new book, “Camera Girl.”
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Andy Paley, Whose Imprint Was All Over Pop Music, Dies at 73
Musician, singer, songwriter, producer and more, he collaborated with Madonna and a raft of other artists and helped resuscitate the career of the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson.
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Big, Bold ’80s-Esque Jewelry Is Back
The season’s most precious accessories come in bright colors, with plenty of sparkle and an abundance of gold.
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Quincy Jones, the Maestro of the Recording Studio
For decades, he had many of the pop world’s best players on call — and knew how to coax out their sharpest performances.