Thursday, June 26, 2008

Thursday Thirteen #49: Hot Musical Ladies of the 80s






Thirteen Hot Musical Ladies From the 1980s

Sometimes I put together a T13 with the mindset that I might introduce someone to a movie, TV show, or song that they don't know. There are no such lofty goals with the following T13. This week, it's all about confectionery for the corneas. The list below spotlights just some of the 80s ladies of the music world that set more than just the charts on fire.

Note: The ladies are listed in alphabetical order. I was going to rank them based on hotness, but that would have been a little too much work.


1. Paula Abdul- Perhaps the best reason for why anyone would have ever wanted to be Emilio Estevez















2. Apollonia- How could I not love a woman who would jump stark naked into what she thought was Lake Minnetonka in order to purify herself?
















3. Bananarama- Part of their appeal to me was that they always seemed to be having fun. They also sported overalls early in their career, which I have always found sexy on the right woman.











4. Expose'- Although I didn't own any of their music back in the day, I made it my business to know their names. Hells yeah I did. I had a one-way bus ticket to Miami and everything!
















5. Susannah Hoffs- The Bangles lead singer was so hot that poor suckers shelled out some of their hard earned beer money to see The Allnighter. I was smart in one regard; I waited for that mess to hit cable before I saw it.













6. Janet Jackson- No hot iron from an abusive TV mama required; the former Penny Gordon sizzled just fine without any assistance.
















7. Lisa Lisa- I tried my damnedest to find an 80s era photo of the lovely Lisa Lisa by herself. But those Cult Jam bastards were like gum on her shoe.
















8. Lushus Daim- This lady had two minor hits on the R&B charts during the mid 80s. I couldn't tell you what either one of 'em sounded like even if it meant the firing squad. I do remember that a friend of mine had a (or was it the) Lushus Daim and the Pretty Vain album on cassette and Lushus was just that on the cover.
















9. Madonna- I've been known to rip Madonna for alot of things. But I can't deny that she was smokin' back in the day. This pose from the Like A Virgin album looks even better in color.
















10. Pebbles- Apparently, she got her nickname because of her resemblance to Fred Flintstone's daughter. There's a Bedrock double entendre' in there somewhere... but I'm gonna take a pass.















11. Sylvia- While trying to recall singers from the 80s that I found hot, I was reminded of this country vocalist who had one of her hits crossover to the pop chart (Nobody). Somebody might be tempted to make a cheap Pillow Talk joke, but that's the wrong Sylvia!
















12. Vanity- I pleaded with the clerk at Record Town, "I don't want the damn record, just let me buy the album cover!"
















13. Karyn White- Even though she was one of the finest dance divas of the decade, she somehow had a girl next door innocence that made her appealing as well.















Which recording artists in your mind had the hotness meter going off the charts in the 1980s?


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39 comments:

pjazzypar said...

Hey Malcolm,

You got it pretty much covered, maybe I would add Jody Watley because of her dance hall appeal. Oh yeah, where is Vanity? I know one thing for sure, what was hot 20 years sure ain't today. Have you gotten a load of Paula lately, not that she is bad looking mind you, but is she drunk or on drugs? I can't tell which at this point, but I know it's one of the two!

Linda R. Moore said...

Oh...Annie Lennox, Cyndi Lauper, and that group who sang Walk Like an Egyptian...I loved how crazy they all were. :)

My TT is up on Raven's Roads. :)

The Gal Herself said...

Seeing that photo makes me realize how long Janet Jackson has been at work making hits. And how long Madonna has been annoying the living shit out of me. Great list by a TT'er that I beat this week!

Chelle Y. said...

Man, I just got a "blast from the past!" :)

Anonymous said...

Great list! I loved Madonna at that time...I still enjoy her, but not nearly as much as back then.

Happy TT :)

Michelle said...

Wow, fun list of women singers. Thanks for the walk down memory lane. Great TT.

SJ Reidhead said...

I am so totally out of touch. I think my listening to female vocalists ended with Aretha. When you have perfection, why try anything else?

SJR
The Pink Flamingo
http://thepinkflamingo.blogharbor.com/blog

Hootin Anni said...

Ummmmmmmmm, I can't get past Prince! Whoa!!! Nice!!! Love the guy myself.

By popular demand: Jefé is back with 13 bits of aged wisdom! Come on over.

Bellezza said...

I remember when Paula looked that young. Actually, I remember when I looked that young...:)

I still think Marilyn Monroe reigns as one of the sexiest!

Carol said...

That's an interesting list. Where was I in the 80's?

Nicholas said...

Years ago I worked in an office in London that was on the floor above the agents who managed Bananarama. I never saw them tho :(

Open Grove Claudia said...

Outside of Janet Jackson and Madonna, I have no idea what happened to any of these ladies. Boy....

So 1980s? Robert Smith. Period.

kay said...

Shows how outa touch I am. Where was I in the eighties? Raising teenagers. That explains it all!

BeckEye said...

Um, hello....no Ann Wilson or Patty Smyth?? And I would put Vanity above Appollonia.

Jay said...

Almost impossible to narrow a list like this down to only 13, but you picked 13 of the best. I really love Susana Hoffs and Vanity!

The only one I can think of off the top of my head that I would include in the top 13 would be Lita Ford.

SandyCarlson said...

Annie Lennox. She didn't have 80s hair, did she?

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

I'm pleading the fifth as to who I wanted to look like, since I was too young to comfortably judge a woman by her hotness back in the 80s.

Can I say Samantha Fox and not get laughed out of the house?

Bar L. said...

2 questions:

1. Which of these lovely ladies do you find the hottest?

2. Did you know your good buddy Nikki had a long term relationship with Vanity?

Jessica said...

Your comments about each of the women really crack me up! :) Good list, but what I want to know is do you still find their 80s looks attractive? To me, now, in those photos most of the girls just look silly. lol

Journeywoman said...

Women? Annie Lenox. Joan Jett--LOVED her.

Men...Duran Duran.

Lori said...

I remember almost all of them. What is going on with Paula Abdul these days?? That reality show makes her look like a lunatic. Poor girl...Happy TT.

pussreboots said...

Gack. Look at all their stupid big hair. Sorry none of them do a thing for me... either looks or their voices.

Clarence said...

Well, I was under the age of ten for most of the eighties, but I did think I was going to marry Morten Harket (sp?) when I grew up...

Didn't happen, I'm afraid, but I like the guy I got better.

Malcolm said...

Pjazzy: According to Wikipedia, Vanity travels the United States as an evangelist and born-again Christian. It also says that she's currently working on finishing her novel Blame it on Vanity.

Yes, I have gotten a load of Paula. She might be using both.

Linda: The group you are referring to that sang Walk Like An Egyptian is The Bangles. Their lead singer (Susannah Hoffs) was #5 on the list.

The Gal: As you probably know, the album cover I included by Janet was from her pre-Control days. She had a couple of pretty good tunes off of those albums that got airplay on R&B radio in the Flint area. I am with you on Madonna. Her most recent instance of annoying/offending me is her decision not to include Michigan as one of the stops on her current tour.

Allison Says: Like A Virgin was the first AND the last Madonna album that I ever bought.

Michelle: You're welcome

SJ: Although you won't get an argument from me in regards to the greatness of Aretha, there are some singers in her wake that you might want to sample.

Hootin' Anni: You aren't the first to comment on the eye candy (the photo of Prince) that's at the top of the page.

Bellezza: One could say that Paula is "Forever Our Possibly Intoxicated Reality Show Co-host".

Nicholas: Just a floor away from Banarama, damn! As Frankie Valli sang, "So close, so close and yet so far".

Open Grove Claudia: While putting together this T13, I came up with the idea of a possible list where I'll do a "Where Are They Now" of pop stars of the past. As for Robert Smith, I think that somebody should have told him to take it a little easier with the L'oreal.

Kay: What you were doing in the 80s is the most important job of all.

BeckEye: First off, Ann and Nancy Wilson are a package deal in the hotness dept. I would have included them, but I couldn't find an 80s era photo of them that suited my needs. As for Patty Smyth, she wasn't even close to making the cut. Cute? si. Hot? no.

For me, choosing who is the hottest between Apollonia and Vanity is difficult. That's why I decided to say "Fuck ranking the women by hotness and instead just listed them alphabetically". :-)

Jay: Thank you for recognizing the difficulty in narrowing down a list such as this. Lita Ford was under strong consideration for making this list. Not that I needed any reminder of her hotness, but I just went to Cyber Crack (aka You Tube) and watched Lita's video for "Kiss Me Deadly".

Sandy: No, I wouldn't say that Annie had the typical 80s hair. However, the carrot red close cropped look that she sported circa 1983 deserves honorable mention.

Susan: You won't hear any guffaws from me... I almost included Samantha Fox on this list.

Barbara: I went back and reviewed the pics of the women I included. After a few minutes of pondering, my choice would be Vanity for the Hottest of the Hottest. Speaking of Vanity, I knew about her relationship with Nikki Sixx. The joke at the time was that if she married him, her name would be Vanity Sixx.

Jessica: I'm glad you appreciated my commentary. I don't know if it was the turkey lunch meat sandwich or the rice I had for lunch that inspired me, but the words started to flow out of me like Chablis.

In answer to your question, I don't necessarily find the 80s looks that some of these women sported attractive (when compared to present day fashions). For example, the big hair that most of the women sported would have to be toned down.

Journeywoman: I don't care what anybody says, but Joan Jett was hot back in the day without even trying to be.

Lori: I don't think Paula Abdul needs any help from AI. She is doing a fine job all by herself of demonstrating her questionable mental fitness.

Pussreboots: No apologies necessary. We all have our own standards of hotness. Thanks for visiting.

Clarence: You made a good choice in a spouse. Had you married Morten, I think he may have punctured your eardrums with one of his high notes.

Henry (aka Quadpawd) said...

Nice list. It's similar, yet different to mine this week. I featured 80's Bands and Solo artists that I listened to as a teenager.
Have a great Thursday!
http://thefurrytripod.wordpress.com

Robin said...

Aack, the hair! That big eighties hair! And the purple eye shadow!

Why oh why did we all use purple eye shadow? It was like the entire generation had a black eye...

The Rock Chick said...

I say you've got it covered but my hubby always had a "thing" for Kim Wilde, the one who sang "Kids In America".

Cinnamon Girl said...

OMG The Allnighter! "I'm going around the world dude. Alone."

Every guy I knew was into Susannah =)

Anonymous said...

Just the amount of hairspray used in these photos alone might be responsible for the hole in the ozone....

But as an 80s kid I certainly wasted plenty of time and Aquanet trying to emulate these ladies.

Great list!

www.mamapj.com

Cindy Swanson said...

Wow, there really were some gorgeous singing divas back then, huh?

Malcolm, I took a trip down memory lane with my TT this week too..."Things I loved in the 70's." Nothing like reminiscing about the good old days! :)

BeckEye said...

Rock Chick brings up a good point - I almost forgot about Kim Wilde! She was a hottie.

Unknown said...

I love all of these. Hubby and I love the 80s. In fact if you share your memories at his blog (www.valtool.blogspot.com) hes gotta give away going on!!!!

Love all that music!

Ivanhoe said...

Did somebody mention Samatha Fox already? Yeap! Then I would add Kim Wild and Sandra.
And from the guys, it must be Duran Duran!
Enjoy your Thursday!

Anonymous said...

It's hard to remember that the current train wreck on American Idol used to be so blazing hot! Happy TT

Jaden Paige said...

Well, I was a wee one still... So I don't know if at the time I thought anyone was hot. And looking at them now, I still only think one or two are. Maybe the 80's just isn't my thing. :P

Denise Patrick said...

Sorry, I was a child of the 70s. I lost touch with a lot of pop music in the 80s - by then I had graduated from grad school and was earning a living.

Not that I don't know who many of them are - and I even know some of their music. I was just not as into music in the 80s as I was in the 70s.

Great TT!

Anonymous said...

All the guys I knew back in the 80s were hot and bothered over Lita Ford. I guess she was hot, if you like rocker chicks - lol. Great list! I may borrow this idea sometime and make a 13 hot dude rockers list!

Unknown said...

Thanks for visiting my blog and my T13.

I hate to admit I don't know at least half of these ladies on your T13. I was so embroiled in diapers and Big Bird and listening to the moldy oldies I think I missed a lot of great stuff. I'll have to go back and discover them now.

Malcolm said...

Angie: Thanks for the invite. I enjoyed reading your lists.

Robin: I don't believe I knew anyone personally who used purple eye shadow and for that, I am thankful.

The Rock Chick and BeckEye: Kim Wilde was another lady who almost made the list. From the recent pics I've seen, she's held up well.

Starrlight: Ahh, Susannah Hoffs. That overly teased hair (which didn't seem so back then) and those beautiful round eyes... let me stop now.

Holly (aka Thriving At 30): Your theory about Aquanet/the hole in the ozone gets even scarier when you consider all the hair bands from that era. When I got rid of my jheri curl in 1991, you should have seen all of the bottles of activator, moisturizer, restorer, etc. that I threw away.

Cindy: Yes there were some lookers back then.

Amy: Thanks for inviting me to your husband's blog. Hopefully I'm not too late to take part in the giveaway.

Ivanhoe: Along with Samantha Fox and Kim Wilde (both of whom almost made the list), you mentioned someone named Sandra. I'm not sure who that is, unless it's a typo and you meant Samantha (Fox).

EmeraldCityGuy: When I found that pic of Paula Abdul, I was thinking the same thing as you.

Jade: Maybe one had to be a little older than you were to appreciate the hotness of some of the 80s ladies. I admit that it is sometimes hard to look at the pics now and get past the big hair, clothes, etc.

Denise: No apologies necessary. I can tell that you were quite busy in the 80s.

Jennifer: I liked Lita Ford for a hot minute back then myself. Because the video to her solo hit (Kiss Me Deadly) was in constant rotation on MTV during that time, it was hard not to be into Lita.

Ashley: During the 80s, I was heavily into the oldies myself. Because of my age, some that it was odd. My feeling is that one can have an appreciation for good music regardless of their age.

 
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