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NYC in the ’80s Changed Music – and Launched Madonna, Run-DMC and More

Zachary Kussin
June 11, 2021

How did disco sound when it died? In 1980s New York, it disappeared in a melodic revolution of hip-hop beats and rock riffs that helped fuel the rise of contemporary music.

Now, a just-opened museum exhibit explores the peak years of this musical renaissance, which changed the local cultural landscape — and eventually found its way to a global stage.

“New York, New Music: 1980-1986,” on view at the Museum of the City of New York, shows visitors how it all happened — thanks to emerging genres, new collaborations and the power of television. Another factor: a slow transition out of the fiscal crisis of the 1970s, which meant that New York was still affordable.

“That allowed a lot of artists to be freely creative and not have to also worry about making music as a career — and so people could be a little more experimental,” said Sean Corcoran, 47, the exhibit’s curator. “In the end, what we see is a lot of meeting and sharing of ideas across different communities … we thought that was a very New York story.”

…The exhibit uses photos, video clips and more to focus on this era, highlighting 14 moments that changed music forever.
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