{"id":1729,"date":"2026-06-15T16:05:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T16:05:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/musiclegacy\/?page_id=1729"},"modified":"2026-06-15T16:05:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T16:05:40","slug":"class-of-1981","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/musiclegacy\/class-of-1981\/","title":{"rendered":"Class of 1981"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Times<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seniors in the 1981 graduating class arrived at Cortland for their last Fall semester as the world of news was rapidly changing. During the summer, Ted Turner challenged the idea that news could only be reported at fixed times and by traditional networks with the launch of CNN, the first 24-hour news channel.  And former California governor and actor, Ronald Reagan was the Republican nominee for president, and 82 countries boycotted the Moscow Summer Olympics to protest the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On November 4th<\/sup>, 1980, Ronald Reagan won the election, defeating incumbent Jimmy Carter to become the 40th<\/sup> President of the United States.  Reagan\u2019s campaign focused on the famous quote \u201cAre you better off now than you were four years ago?\u201d  The country responded with a resounding \u201cNO!\u201d  On election day, Ronald Reagan and his new Vice President, George H.W. Bush handily won the popular and electoral vote. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By far, the biggest story of the year, left the entire world reeling. On December 8th<\/sup>, 1980, John Lennon was fatally shot at the age of 40 as he and Yoko Ono entered the Dakota, their Manhattan apartment building in NYC.\u00a0 Lennon was returning home from a recording session when he was ambushed and shot 4 times at close range by Mark David Chapman. Chapman, a Beatles fan was enraged by Lennon\u2019s lifestyle.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next day, on December 9th<\/sup>, 1980 Yoko Ono released a statement: “There is no funeral for John. Later in the week we will set the time for a silent\u00a0vigil to pray for his soul. We invite you to participate from wherever you are at the time.\u00a0… John loved and prayed for the human race. Please pray the same for him. Love. Yoko and Sean.”\u00a0 Per Ono’s wishes, on December 14th<\/sup> 1980, millions of people around the world paused for 10 minutes of silence to remember Lennon, including 30,000 people gathered in Liverpool, Lennon’s birthplace and over 225,000 people at the\u00a0Naumburg Bandshell<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Central Park<\/a>, near the scene of the shooting. During this period, all radio stations in New York City ceased broadcasting. And on the Cortland campus, students held vigils to remember Lennon, WSUC-FM created special music broadcasts, and The Press published articles about John Lennon and the Beatles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a depressing Christmas break for students mourning the loss of John Lennon, on February 6th<\/sup>, 1981, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr recorded a tribute to John Lennon titled \u201cAll Those Years Ago.\u201d It was the first time that the remaining Beatles appeared together since 1970\u2019s recording of \u201cI Me Mine.\u201d\u00a0 Originally written for Ringo, George Harrison rewrote the verses to reference Lennon\u2019s \u201cImagine\u201d singing \u201cyou were the one who imagined it all, all those years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1981 continued to see gun violence and on March 30th<\/sup>, President Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinkley outside of the Washington Hilton, thinking his actions would impress Jodie Foster.  Reagan was seriously wounded with a punctured lung.  In the operating room before surgery, Reagan removed his mask and said to the medical staff \u201cI hope you are all Republicans\u201d causing the staff to laugh.  Miraculously, Reagan was discharged from the hospital in just 12 days and made his first public appearance on April 28th<\/sup>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The music of 1980 and 1981 saw a hard shift away from disco and towards electronic drums and synthesizers. Artists like Talking Heads and David Bowie produced electronic post punk, art-pop music. Arena rock was still going strong with artists like Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel releasing more edgy music. The early 1980s brought a major influx of New Romantic and synth-pop music genres hitting the airwaves. Bands like The Human League, Adam And The Ants and The Specials were considered the Second British Invasion.  And then there was early Hip Hop.  Started by the Sugarhill Gang with their song \u201cRapper\u2019s Delight\u201d in 1979, the term Hip Hop was here to stay.  By 1980, the new musical genre was moving from house parties in the Bronx to huge commercial success. Even New Wave bands like Blondie experimented with \u201cRapture,\u201d a song that was a combination of new wave, disco and hip hop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In August of 1981 the music industry was forever and permanently changed going from an audio-only medium to a highly visual art form with the launch of MTV on August 1st<\/sup>, 1981.\u00a0 MTV management specifically chose the first song \u201cVideo Killed The Radio Star\u201d by the Buggles, an ironic, tongue in cheek musical statement to stake their claim in the evolution that truly became an industry-wide revolution. The launch also introduced a new genre of music hosts with VJs or Video Jockeys, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, Martha Quinn, JJ Jackson and Nina Blackwood. The good thing for some artists in 1980 and 1981 was that the bands coming out of the UK were all camera-ready.\u00a0 Duran Duran, Adam and the Ants, Joy Division and The Police had the look and the moves made for music videos!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notable Events<\/p>\n\n\n\n