By 1988, the 80s sound was evolving rapidly. Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative" and "Don't Be Cruel" helped launch new jack swing, a genre that would dominate the early '90s. George Michael's Faith proved he was one of the decade's most versatile artists, winning Album of the Year at the Grammys.
INXS reached their commercial peak with "Need You Tonight" and the Kick album. Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" brought folk-rock back to the mainstream in a year dominated by synthesizers and drum machines. Enya's ethereal "Orinoco Flow" became an unlikely worldwide smash.
The guitar gods were still going strong. Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine" finally hit #1 a year after Appetite for Destruction's release. Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar on Me" became a cultural phenomenon. Poison delivered the decade's quintessential power ballad with "Every Rose Has Its Thorn."
Hip-hop hit a milestone when DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince won the first-ever Grammy for Best Rap Performance. U2 released Rattle and Hum, their love letter to American music. Phil Collins covered Motown. The decade was wrapping up, but it had plenty of surprises left.
Our 1988 trivia quiz draws from Billboard Hot 100 data, Grammy records, and the stories behind the year's biggest albums. You'll face questions on George Michael's solo breakthrough, Def Leppard's years-in-the-making comeback, the rise of Bobby Brown and new jack swing, and the underground scenes in hip-hop and alternative rock that were about to explode. Questions span moderate to expert difficulty, covering chart positions, producer credits, RIAA certifications, and the cultural shifts that were already signaling the end of the 80s sound as we knew it.
Test yourself with 15 multiple-choice questions about the music of 1988.
1. George Michael's "Faith" won Album of the Year at the 1989 Grammys. Which single spent the most weeks at #1?
A) Father Figure
B) One More Try
C) Faith
D) Monkey
2. INXS had their biggest US hit in 1988 with which song?
A) Original Sin
B) What You Need
C) Need You Tonight
D) New Sensation
3. Which Bobby Brown single marked the rise of new jack swing in 1988?
A) Every Little Step
B) My Prerogative
C) Don't Be Cruel
D) Roni
4. Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar on Me" became a surprise hit after which radio format started playing it?
A) Country radio
B) Adult contemporary
C) Strip club DJs and then pop radio
D) College radio
5. Which Tracy Chapman single became an unexpected folk-rock hit in 1988?
A) Baby Can I Hold You
B) Talkin' Bout a Revolution
C) Fast Car
D) Give Me One Reason
6. Steve Winwood's "Roll with It" hit #1 in 1988. Which album was it from?
A) Back in the High Life
B) Roll with It
C) Chronicles
D) Refugees of the Heart
7. Which Cheap Trick power ballad became their only #1 hit in 1988?
A) I Want You to Want Me
B) Surrender
C) The Flame
D) Dream Police
8. Rick Astley's "Together Forever" reached #1 in 1988. It was his second US chart-topper after which song?
A) Whenever You Need Somebody
B) Never Gonna Give You Up
C) She Wants to Dance with Me
D) Take Me to Your Heart
9. Which Guns N' Roses ballad became a #1 hit in late 1988, a year after the album's release?
A) Patience
B) November Rain
C) Sweet Child O' Mine
D) Paradise City
10. Enya's "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)" became an unlikely worldwide hit. What genre is it?
A) Celtic punk
B) New age / Celtic
C) Synth-pop
D) World music fusion
11. Which U2 album and film, released in 1988, was a deliberate departure from The Joshua Tree?
A) Achtung Baby
B) Zooropa
C) Rattle and Hum
D) Pop
12. Phil Collins had a #1 hit in 1988 with a Motown cover. What was the song?
A) You Can't Hurry Love
B) A Groovy Kind of Love
C) Easy Lover
D) Two Hearts
13. Which DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince single won the first-ever Grammy for Best Rap Performance?
A) Summertime
B) Boom! Shake the Room
C) Parents Just Don't Understand
D) Girls Ain't Nothing but Trouble
14. Poison's biggest hit "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" reached #1 in late 1988. What inspired it?
A) A breakup in a hotel room
B) The death of a bandmate
C) A Shakespeare sonnet
D) A country song they heard on the radio
15. Which Robert Palmer hit, following "Addicted to Love," reached the top 5 in 1988?
A) Bad Case of Loving You
B) Simply Irresistible
C) I Didn't Mean to Turn You On
D) Mercy Mercy Me