Guess the '80s Hit Song from Its Opening Line

Estimated Completion Time
3 min
Guess the '80s Hit Song from Its Opening Line
Image: David Redfern/Redferns/Getty Images

About This Quiz

It wasn't all big hair and big ballads (although there were a lot of those, too). Can you guess these hit '80s songs from their first lines?
"Life is a mystery, everyone must stand alone…"
"Holiday"
"Like a Prayer"
"Like a Virgin"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Like a Prayer" was Madonna's seventh No. 1 song and is still a staple of her set lists for live shows.

"I know there's something in the wake of your smile…"
"Joyride"
"Listen to Your Heart"
"The Look"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Roxette purposely took "Listen to Your Heart" to maximum power ballad heights and it paid off; it has been played millions of times on radio around the world.

"She was more like a beauty queen from a movie scene…"
"Rio"
"Never Let Me Down Again"
"Billie Jean"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

In the 1980s, no one was better at the pop game than Michael Jackson, whose "Billie Jean" spent seven weeks at the No. 1 spot.

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"Color me your color, baby…"
"Call Me"
"Magic"
"Sailing"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The album version of Blondie's "Call Me" weighs in at more than 8 minutes long; the radio edit is just 3 minutes.

"You put the boom boom into my heart…"
"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"
"Missing You"
"Out of Touch"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" was a No. 1 hit for an English group named Wham! that included George Michael.

"Tonight it's very clear, 'cause we're both lying here…"
"Sara"
"Venus"
"Glory of Love"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Peter Cetera ditched the band Chicago and found gold with "Glory of Love" in 1986.

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"End of passion play, crumbling away…"
"Master of Puppets"
"Breakin' the Law"
"Round and Round"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Thrash metal hit the mainstream thanks in large part to hits like Metallica's "Master of Puppets" which was released in 1986.

"God money I'll do anything for you…"
"Love in Vein"
"Jesus Built My Hotrod"
"Head Like a Hole"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

1989's "Head Like a Hole" stormed college radio and heralded the coming of Nine Inch Nails mastermind Trent Reznor.

"And you may find yourself, living in a shotgun shack…"
"Upside Down"
"Sailing"
"Once in a Lifetime"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Brian Eno produced "Once in a Lifetime," one of the most popular tracks ever made by Talking Heads.

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"Well they blew up the chicken man in Philly last night…"
"Born to Run"
"Atlantic City"
"Burning"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City" sketches the way things die and then sometimes come back again.

"Shot like an arrow going through my heart…"
"When I'm With You"
"Miss You Much"
"You Give Love a Bad Name"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

In 1989, only one song spent as long as four weeks at No. 1, and it was Janet Jackson's "Miss You Much."

"Dig if you will the picture..."
"Keep On Loving You"
"I Love a Rainy Night"
"When Doves Cry"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"When Doves Cry" was Prince's first No 1. hit song and the best-selling single of 1984.

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"When routine bites hard, and ambitions are low…"
"Human"
"Invisible Touch"
"Love Will Tear Us Apart"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Ian Curtis killed himself and Joy Division turned to dust, but not before "Love Will Tear Us Apart" became an eerie hit.

"I guess this time you're really leaving…"
"I'll Be There For You"
"The Magic Number"
"Rip It Up"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Repeat after me: "These five words I swear to you," helped "I'll Be There For You" become one of Bon Jovi's biggest hits.

"Gotta make a move to a town that's right for me…"
"Magic"
"Funkytown"
"New York City"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

In the early 1980s, no matter where you were on the planet, "Funkytown" by Lipps Inc. was totally inescapable.

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"We don't need no education…"
"About a Girl"
"Rock With You"
"Another Brick in the Wall"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Another Brick in the Wall" has become one of the most recognizable songs from Pink Floyd's oppressive opus, "The Wall."

"Looking in your eyes I see a paradise…"
"Everywhere"
"Shipbuilding"
"Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now," from the "Mannequin" soundtrack, was performed by Starship and went to No. 1 on the charts.

"Honey don't walk out I'm too drunk to follow…"
"Straight to Hell"
"Rebels"
"On My Own"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Tom Petty's "Rebels" was released in 1985 and became one of the Heartbreakers' signature songs.

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"Who's that gigolo on the street…"
"Hard to Say I'm Sorry"
"Buffalo Stance"
"Maneater"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Neneh Cherry sang "Buffalo Stance" and made herself (and her entourage) international stars.

"Spare a little candle, save some light for me…"
"Sara"
"Live to Tell"
"These Dreams"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"These Dreams" was the syrupy side of Heart, the sister act that's sold nearly 40 million albums.

"See the stone set in your eyes…"
"Greatest Love of All"
"With or Without You"
"Holding Back the Years"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Love them or hate them, the 1980s version of U2 wrote wistful lyrics like no other band, especially in "With or Without You."

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"I come from down in the valley…"
"Who Can It Be Now"
"Down Under"
"The River"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"The River" is Bruce Springsteen's storytelling lyricism at its starkest.

"Now there's a backseat lover that's always under cover…"
"The Reflex"
"Walk This Way"
"What's Love Got to Do With It"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Run D.M.C. covered an Aerosmith tune called "Walk This Way" and then made music video history.

"Driving down those city streets, waiting to get down..."
"Everyday is Like Sunday"
"Monkey Gone to Heaven"
"Pull Up to the Bumper"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Grace Jones blew out of Jamaica and into worldwide fame with "Pull Up to the Bumper."

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"Nobody on the road, nobody on the beach…"
"The Boys of Summer"
"Missing You"
"Maniac"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Don Henley penned the classic "The Boys of Summer," which topped U.S. charts in 1984.

"Toe to toe, dancing very close…"
"Private Eyes"
"Kiss On My Lips"
"Rapture"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Rapture" sometimes gets credit for being the first "rap" video ever broadcast on MTV.

"Once upon a time not so long ago…"
"Invisible Touch"
"Addicted to Love"
"Livin' On a Prayer"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Slippery When Wet" went platinum 12 times over thanks to megahit songs like "Livin' On a Prayer."

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"Caught you lookin' for the same thing…"
"Heaven"
"The Power of Love"
"Don't Believe the Hype"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Public Enemy's hit "Don't Believe the Hype" was a politically confrontational tune from 1988.

"How does it feel to treat me like you do?"
"Kiss"
"Blue Monday"
"Separate Lives"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Power, Corruption & Lies" was a 1983 album by New Order, featuring "Blue Monday."

"She's got a smile it seems to me…"
"Sweet Child O' Mine"
"One More Try"
"Wild, Wild West"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"…reminds me of childhood memories," but really, "Sweet Child O' Mine" from Guns N' Roses didn't need lyrics, just the opening guitar riff.

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