1989
60 YEARS OF THE ROCK ERA. This update: 1989. Next update this weekend.

 60 YEARS OF

ROCK

(1955-2015)

1989

    

  

          

    

     

    

  

-James Brown is sentenced to jail for 6 years.

-Madonna's "Like A Prayer" video attracts controversy. She is dropped by Pepsi.

-Madonna divorces Sean Penn.

-Ice Cube leaves N.W.A. and launches his solo career.

          

        

   

    

The last year of the 1980s saw Madonna attract controversy but use it to her advantage with the video for "Like A Prayer". Women were a major force in pop music in 1989. Janet Jackson and Madonna were joined by Paula Abdul on the airwaves and all attracted big sales. Rap made further inroads, thanks largely to Young MC and Tone Loc. The mainstream's resistance to hip hop was beginning to thaw. The Milli Vanilli scam began. The duo placed songs on the charts, but the 2 men in the videos were not the actual singers. Black Box hid singer Martha Wash for its videos too. Soul II Soul mixed the new and old worlds of R&B, dance and soul in an innovative way. Dance music headed down new directions with tracks by Technotronic, Lil' Louis, S-Express and the aforementioned Black Box.