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How To Select The Best 80s Music For Your Wedding Playlist

19 June 2024

It's time to put together a blog post that might become one of the most visited on the internet.  Well, at least that is the goal, as most all of my other 80s content on the blog is constantly being stalked by people from all over the world. Over the past few months, I've put some time into discussing some of the trends I've been seeing in the wedding industry. Sometimes I veer off in those types of directions because I want to provide my point of view on certain things. I may also veer off into those directions because I am trying to help modern brides and grooms find the best wedding DJ for their big day.  While the reception to those types of articles have been positive, I felt it was time to put together a blog post that goes back to my roots as a wedding DJ, and actually even before I was a wedding DJ. After all, if not for the music, I would never have gotten behind the mic on the radio or purchased a high-end DJ equipment rig to entertain hundreds of couples at weddings over the years.  Truth be told, I don't care about anything EXCEPT the music. It's the music that matters during every portion of your wedding day. Today's post has been a long time coming. If you are a modern bride or groom who loves 80s music and who wants some help in adding it your wedding playlist, you'll want to stick around and read on.

In previous posts, you've learned that I'm quite the analyst when it comes to my website and blog. It totally blows my mind to see people from all over the world enjoy all of the content I've created over the years.  And as I mentioned up above, you will see a lot of wedding-related content, which may include "how to find a wedding DJ", but you'll also see content created over the years which describes a lot of my favorite music. I cannot stress this enough how incredibly awesome the music of the 80s was. Not only did I get to play all of the top hits of the 80s on radio shows, but I lived it, and I breathed 80s music. It should be no surprise that my natural interest in music gravitates to this decade.  When you consider that it's being discussed that 70% of people consume older music, it never shocks me when I take a look at a bride and groom's wedding playlist and see a lot of the dance classic of the 80s.  But the 80s were so much more than Michael Jackson and Madonna and Prince. Let's get back to my analytical mind. As a savvy business owner, I'm constantly looking at my website analytics to determine what parts of my content are really connecting with modern brides and grooms, as well as other persons of interest who have visited my blog over the years.  At the time of publication of this post, a staggering 39% of the traffic to my blog is visiting posts that are related to 80s music. Now, we're in the middle of 2024 and at the present time, the most popular published post on my blog is Volume 1 of the 50 Most Popular 80s Love Songs . I didn't "just" get this idea about making a "one-stop" shop for all things related to 80s music. Since the new version of Google Analytics allowed me to sort and filter through data even easier, I saw this "trend" at least 6 months ago.  So, as you read over this post, you'll see the fruits of my labor as it pertains to 80s music.

80s Music For Wedding Playlists

Why Are People Still In Love With 80s Music?

I've spoken to 20-something couples recently and they tell me that they don't like most all of the new music in 2024.  To be perfectly honest with you, I'm not really impressed with it either. A lot of the catchy, novelty dance songs over the past few years have grown in popularity because of Tiktok. Why Tiktok? Because it happens to be the choice of social media for most brides and grooms who are currently that age where they are planning weddings. Even if you weren't born in the 80s, it's hard to start crying when you hear 'happy-go-lucky" songs like "Break My Stride" by Matthew Wilder or "Holiday" by Madonna. Back in the mid 2000s, I used to host an 80s request show on Saturday nights.  I know it's difficult to imagine actually sitting at home on a Saturday night and listening to the radio after you call the DJ to request your favorite 80s song. Yes! This is what we did during the big 80s nostalgia period we went through back in the mid 2000s. Now, everyone has Spotify  and can create their own 80s playlist and turn off their radios all together.  For many years, I had quite a loyal following as I juggled this type of radio request show between two different stations, until it ended in the fall of 2007. People would have bonfires in their backyard and request their favorite songs of the 80s and have parties. If there are any radio stations out there who would be up to hire a passionate DJ who would keep the party going each and every Saturday night, I would love to know if the magic could still be there 18 years later.  

80s Girl The Police


Millenials and Gen Z Love Their 80s Soft Rock And Yacht Rock

You know if the 80s never happened, your yacht rock playlist would be pretty empty looking. In recent years, I've had a lot of 20-something and 30-something clients hire me and actually put the likes of Billy Joel and Elton John on their dinner music playlists. Soft rock songs from the 80s appeared in so many coming of age films and were the focal point of so many first kisses. These ballads have a distinct sound that we just don't hear from these days.  Since I saw a lot of my clients putting these softer songs of the 80s onto their playlist, I could tell that the younger generation was really into this type of music. As a result, I put together a few 80s Soft Rock Playlists For Dinner that are also up on my blog.  All you need to do is click on the previous link to be taken over some of the best 80s soft rock for weddings. Since all of this music was showing up on a lot of my clients playlists, I decided to also put together a Best Mix Of Dinner Music For Wedding Playlists <---CLICK HERE for inspiration when designing the playlist for the time during dinner. Be sure to take a look at Volume 1 of The Best Yacht Rock For Cocktail Hour <---CLICK HERE

 

How To Select The Best 80s Music For Wedding Playlists 

DJ Mike Bills And All Of This 80s Music Is On Spotify

Over 4 years ago (right before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic), I made a decision to move all of the playlists on my blog over to a fully paid Spotify profile. Down below when you click on the image of the 80s year you'd like to take a look at, you'll be taken to the original post for the year. Inside each post you'll see the Spotify playlist that was created for each year. Please do take a look at my Spotify if you should need any inspiration when it comes to creating your wedding playlists. All you need to do is open up your Spotfy app and begin to follow DJ Mike Bills.  For more information about my presence over on Spotify be sure to CLICK HERE

 

Top Songs From 1980 For Wedding Playlists

 

Best Songs From 1981 for Wedding Playlists

 

Best Songs From 1982 For Wedding Playlists

 

Best Songs From 1983 For Wedding Playlists

 

Best Songs From 1984 For Wedding Playlists

 

Best Songs From 1985 For Wedding Playlists

 

Best Songs From 1986 For Wedding Playlists

 

Best Songs From 1987 For Wedding Playlists

 

Best Songs From 1988 For Wedding Playlists

 

Best Songs From 1989 For Wedding Playlists

Ready To Speak To DJ Mike Bills About Your Wedding Playlist?

At the time of publication of this post, we're at 35 years since the year of Taylor Swift. :) Be sure to click the image up above to see how awesome the music was when the 80s ended. I truly hope you enjoyed this time warp back to the 80s. I will definitely be adding to the content of this post as time goes on. As a wedding DJ whose sole focus is music I had to take this time to put this post together for you. The 80s are not going anywhere and it's up to experienced and professional wedding DJs tlike myself to continue to promote them as much as I can. This promotion of 80s music allows younger generations to be introduced to this amazing decade of music.  It is a responsibility that I do not take likely.  If my website analytics are any indication of the worldwide love of 80s music, the passion for this decade of music will not be subsiding anytime soon. In all of the hundreds of weddings and events I've been a part of, I don't think I've ever NOT played at least some form of 80s music.  I'm very glad you made it all the way to the end of this post. If you are recently engaged and in the hunt for a wedding DJ whose passion for the music is the most important thing, then I invite you to click the link up above to complete a contact form so that we can set up a time to speak. Thank you once again for visiting my blog. If you made all the way through this post, you are definitely a fan of 80s music. When we talk, you'll have to tell me what your favorite song of the decade is. I would try to tell you mine but the list is a mile long.