1988

1988: Top Songs, Movies, TV Shows, Sporting Events, World Events And More

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Well, we made it! Through the 60’s, the 70’s and now it’s time to party! The decade started out with the U.S. defeating the Russians in hockey for the first time ever for Gold at the Olympics in Lake Placid NY. It was the decade that this thing called a ‘computer’ would begin to find its way into homes, music television would show you the music, cable and satellite TV would begin to find their way into people’s homes. Video games would become more or a regular thing in our homes, cell phones as big as bricks entered our lives, wireless telephones would find their way into our lives and push-button phones began to replace the rotary phone. The space shuttle program implemented by former President Richard Nixon became a reality, the 1985 Super Bowl champs, the Chicago Bears were the most interesting sports characters of the decade and had their own video to prove it. It was a decade of celebs coming together for good causes with U.S.A For Africa’s “We Are The World”, Band-Aid’s “Do They Know Its Christmas”, Farm-Aid and more.

Check out everything that was from this decade, year by year – from the sporting events to world events, the top TV shows, songs, movies and more.

As you’re going back in time, think about some of the things in our lives today that you don’t see appearing here because…. they didn’t exist yet. Things like the top selling computers, tablets, laptops, microwaves, cable provider, wireless company and more.

Let us know some of the things that come to mind below.

For more great memories from any of the years The Beat’s music focuses on, click a year below and we’ll transport you back in time to see everything you may remember or have forgotten.

TOP SONGS
1. Faith » George Michael
2. Need You Tonight » INXS
3. Got My Mind Set On You » George Harrison
4. Never Gonna Give You Up » Rick Astley
5. Sweet Child O’ Mine » Guns N’ Roses
6. So Emotional » Whitney Houston
7. Heaven Is A Place On Earth » Belinda Carlisle
8. Could’ve Been » Tiffany
9. Hands To Heaven » Breathe
10. Roll With It » Steve Winwood

GRAMMY WINNERS
Album of the Year: Faith, George Michael
Best New Artist: Tracy Chapman
Best Pop Duo or Group: Brasil, Manhattan Transfer
Best Pop Female Vocal: “Fast Car,” Tracy Chapman
Best Pop Male Vocal: “Don’t Worry Be Happy,” Bobby McFerrin
Best Rock Duo or Group: “Desire,” U2
Best Rock Female Vocal: Tina Live in Europe, Tina Turner
Best Rock Male Vocal: “Simply Irresistible,” Robert Palmer
Record of the Year: “Don’t Worry Be Happy,” Bobby McFerrin
Song of the Year: “Don’t Worry Be Happy”

TOP MOVIES
1 Rain Man MGM $172,825,435
2 Who Framed Roger Rabbit BV $156,452,370
3 Coming to America Par. $128,152,301
4 Big Fox $114,968,774 1,419 $8,216,190
5 Twins Uni. $111,938,388 1,659 $11,174,980
6 Crocodile Dundee II Par. $109,306,210
7 Die Hard Fox $83,008,852
8 The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! Par. $78,756,177
9 Cocktail BV $78,222,753
10 Beetlejuice WB $73,707,461
11 Working Girl Fox $63,779,477

ACADEMY AWARD WINNERS
Winners in CAPS
Best Picture:
“RAIN MAN”, “The Accidental Tourist”, “Dangerous Liaisons”, “Mississippi Burning”, “Working Girl”
Actor:
DUSTIN HOFFMAN in “Rain Man”, Gene Hackman in “Mississippi Burning”, Tom Hanks in “Big”, Edward James Olmos in “Stand and Deliver”, Max von Sydow in “Pelle the Conqueror”
Actress:
JODIE FOSTER in “The Accused”, Glenn Close in “Dangerous Liaisons”, Melanie Griffith in “Working Girl”, Meryl Streep in “A Cry in the Dark”, Sigourney Weaver in “Gorillas in the Mist”
Supporting Actor:
KEVIN KLINE in “A Fish Called Wanda”, Alec Guinness in “Little Dorritt”, Martin Landau in “Tucker: the Man and His Dream”, River Phoenix in “Running on Empty”, Dean Stockwell in “Married to the Mob”
Supporting Actress:
GEENA DAVIS in “The Accidental Tourist”, Joan Cusack in “Working Girl”, Frances McDormand in “Mississippi Burning”, Michelle Pfeiffer in “Dangerous Liaisons”, Sigourney Weaver in “Working Girl”
Director:
BARRY LEVINSON for “Rain Man”, Charles Crichton for “A Fish Called Wanda”, Mike Nichols for “Working Girl”, Alan Parker for “Mississippi Burning”, Martin Scorsese for “The Last Temptation of Christ”

TOP TV SHOWS
Roseanne / The Cosby Show / A Different World / Cheers / 60 Minutes / The Golden Girls
Who’s the Boss? / The Wonder Years / Murder She Wrote / Empty Nest

EMMY AWARD WINNERS:
Best Drama – L.A. Law
Best Actor – Carroll O’Connor, In the Heat of the Night
Best Actress – Dana Delany, China Beach
Supporting Actor – Larry Drake, L.A. Law
Supporting Actress – Melanie Mayron, thirtysomething

Best Comedy – Cheers
Best Actor – Richard Mulligan, Empty Nest
Best Actress – Candice Bergen, Murphy Brown
Supporting Actor – Woody Harrelson, Cheers
Supporting Actress – Rhea Perlman, Cheers
Best Variety – The Tracey Ullman Show

SPORTS:
Kentucky Derby Winner: Winning Colors – Trainer: D.W. Lukas – Jockey: G. Stevens

Football Super Bowl XXIII: San Francisco 20 – Cincinatti 16
Pro MVP: Boomer Esiason, Cincinnati, QB & Randall Cunningham, Phila, QB

College Football: #1 Notre Dame
Heisman Trophy: Barry Sanders, Oklahoma St. (RB)
Rose Bowl: Michigan 22, USC 14
Orange Bowl: Miami-FL 23, Nebraska 3
Cotton Bowl: UCLA 17, Arkansas 3
Sugar Bowl: Florida St. 13, Auburn 7

Baskteball:
NBA Championship: Detroit Pistons Vs. L.A. Lakers
Winner: Detroit in 7
Detroit Coach: Bill Daley
L.A. Coach: Pat Riley
MVP: Michael Jordan, G Average Points Per Game, 35

NCAA Champions: Kansas 27W – 11L, Coach: Larry Brown

World Series
Los Angeles Dodgers Vs. Oakland A’s
Winner: L.A. In 5
Los Angeles Coach: Tommy La Sorda
Oakland Coach: Tony La Russa

National League
MVP: Kirk Gibson, LA (OF)
Rookie of the Year: Chris Sabo, Cin (C)

American League
MVP: Jose Canseco (OF)
Rookie of the Year: Walt Weiss, Oakland (SS)

TOP NEWS STORIES:

WBMX AM & FM Sold For Over 27 Million Dollars, Renamed V103

USSR Plans To Withdraw From Afghanistan

Wrestlemania IV at Trump Plaza, “Macho Man” Savage pins Ted Dibiase

Noriega Indited On Drug Charges

Aid To Contras Voted Down By House

5th MTV Video Music Awards: INXS wins

Prostitute Reveals Liaison, TV Preacher Jimmy Swagggart Resigns

Vietnam Plans To Withdraw From Cambodia

Beaches Close As Record Heatwave Hits US Increasing Pollution

Junk Bond Dealer Micheal Milken Charged With Insider Dealing

US Accuses Iraq Of Mustard Gas Attacks On Kurds

Bush Wins Presidency

Hurricane Gilbert, kills 300 in Jamaica, Texas & Yucatan

Willie Stargell (Pitts Pirate), elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

280 Die On Pan AM Flight 103 Over Scotland, Bomb Suspected

Jessie Jackson wins 5 primaries on Super Sunday

Traveling Wilbury’s 1st release “Handle With Care”

Summer Olympics held in Seoul South Korea, Winter Olympics held in Calgary Canada

INF Treaty ratified by Senate

Phillip Morris announces $11 Billion tender offer for Kraft

Droughts cause widespread major crop and live stock damage across US

Chicago gives Cubs right to install lights & play up to 18 night games for 1988

Iran Accepts UN resolution to withdraw from Iraq

Chicago agrees to build a new stadium so the White Sox won’t move to Fla, the new Comiskey Park would open for the 1991 season. In 2003, it was renamed “U.S. Celluar Field”, now known as Guaranteed Rate Field. You too can name a park after yourself if you have the money.

25,000 die in Armenian earthquake

Tom Selleck in Magnum PI ends after 8 years

NWO globalist agenda gets its legs, European Community plans removal of internal boundaries on Jan 1, 1992

Former aid claims Nancy Reagan uses astrology to plan her husbands actives

Roger Rabbit Cartoon Character debuts in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”

Fads; “Elvis Lives”, ET, Garfield Cats on windows

Jose Canseco is baseball’s 1st to steal 40 bases & hit 40 HRs

New Ad: “This is not your father’s Oldsmobile” (General Motors)

NFL St Louis Cardinals announce move to Phoenix

NASA plans to spend $95 million in a 10 year project to search for signals of extraterrestrial intelligence.

Faxphones are $1,295 and a Compaq 286 laptop is $5,399

Senate rejects Robert Bork’s nomination to Supreme Court

It was alleged that Larry Flynt paid hitman $1M to kill Hefner, Guccione & Sinatra. http://articles.latimes.com/1988-10-27/news/mn-76_1_larry-flynt

Rogaine shows to be the first big consumer product that grows hair

“Elvis Lives” phenomenon is big

The Ford Probe and Honey Teddy Grahams are new.

Pontiac announces the end of the Fiero automobile, many considered that a good thing

“Phantom of the Opera” opens at Majestic Theater NYC for 4,000+ performances

Orel Hershiser breaks Don Drysdale’s record by pitching 59 consecutive scoreless innings.

8th Easter Seal Telethon raises $35,200,000

Elton John sells out Madison Square Garden for a record 26th time

Top movie stars included: Tom Cruise, Eddie Murphy, Tom Hanks, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito, Bette Midler and Tom Selleck

Soviets and Americans work together to save two whales trapped off the Alaska coast.

President: Ronald W. Reagan
Vice President: George Bush

Population: 244,498,982
Life expectancy: 74.9 years

Dow-Jones
High: 2,183
Low: 1,879

Federal spending: 1,064,000,000,000
Federal debt: $2,601,000,000,000
Inflation: 4.7%
Consumer Price Index: 118.3
Unemployment: 6.2%

Cost of a new home: $138,300.00
Cost of a new car: $
Median Household Income: $27,225.00
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.22 (went to 25 cents in April)
Cost of a gallon of regular gas: $1.08
Cost of a dozen eggs: $0.89
Cost of a gallon of Milk: $2.30