15 Best-Selling R&B & Soul Songs of the 1980s — The True Stories Nobody Told You

The 1980s produced the greatest R&B music ever made — and the stories behind the biggest hits are more extraordinary than any chart position reveals. R&B Archive counts down the 15 best-selling R&B and soul songs of the decade, including: Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" — which Quincy Jones didn't want on Thriller, and which MTV refused to air until CBS threatened to pull every one of their artists. Prince's "When Doves Cry" — recorded alone in one night, with the bass line already recorded and then deliberately muted. Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" — which was supposed to be a completely different song before a scheduling conflict changed everything. Janet Jackson's "Nasty" — written in a single afternoon after she faced down street harassers at a Minneapolis mall. Rod Temperton writing "Thriller" in two hours in a hotel room after missing a flight. And more from Luther Vandross, Tina Turner, Lionel Richie, Anita Baker, Chaka Khan, Bobby Brown, Earth Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, and Kool & The Gang. All stories fully fact-checked and verified. Subscribe to R&B Archive for weekly deep dives into the real history of soul, R&B, and the music that defined a generation. #RnBArchive #80sRnB #MichaelJackson #Prince #WhitneyHouston #JanetJackson #LutherVandross #TinaTurner #LionelRichie #MarvinGaye #DianaRoss #AnitaBaker #ChakaKhan #BobbyBrown #StevieWonder #ClassicSoul #RnBHistory #80sMusic #SoulMusic #MusicHistory