• 1980
  • John Lennon of the Beatles is shot dead in New York City
    
    
  • F.B.I.'s undercover operation "Abscam" implicates public officials
    
    
  • "Sailing" wins Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year for Christopher Cross who also won Best New Artist
    
    
  • Robert Redford wins an Oscar for directing "Ordinary People"
    
    
  • SSTFY stages "The Music Man"
    

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• 1981
  • Ronald Reagan takes oath as 40th President
    
    
  • U.S.-Iran agreement ends the Iran hostage crisis freeing 52 hostages held in Teheran since 1979
    
    
  • MTV goes on the air running around the clock music videos, debuting with "Video Killed the Radio Star"
    
    
  • Rick Springfield wins Best Rock Vocal Performance for "Jessie's Girl"
    
    
  • SSTFY performs "Good News"
    

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• 1982
  • British overcome Argentina in Falklands war
    
    
  • Princess Grace, 52, dies of injuries when car plunges off a mountain road
    
    
  • Steven Spielberg's "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" is in theaters
    
    
  • Michael Jackson releases Thriller, which sells more than 25 million copies, becoming the biggest-selling album in history
    
    
  • SSTFY does "Oklahoma!"
    

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• 1983
  • US invades Grenada
    
    
  • Compact discs are introduced
    
    
  • Sting wins Song of the Year for "Every Breath You Take"
    
    
  • More than 125 million viewers tune in to the last episode of "M*A*S*H"
    
    
  • "Hello Dolly" is put on by SSTFY
    

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• 1984
  • Soviet Union withdraws from summer Olympic games in US, and other bloc nations follow
    
    
  • The Cosby Show debuts on NBC
    
    
  • Led by Bob Geldof, the band Band Aid releases "Do They Know It's Christmas," with proceeds of the single going to feed the starving in Africa
    
    
  • Cyndi Lauper wins a Grammy for Best New Artist
    
    
  • The SSTFY show is "Anything Goes"
    

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• 1985
  • Soviet leader Chernenko dies at 73 and is replaced by Mikhail Gorbachev who initiates a broad program of reform and liberalization.
    
    
  • Rock Hudson dies of AIDS at age 59. He's the first major star to fall victim to the disease
    
    
  • Madonna launches her first road show, the Virgin Tour
    
    
  • With the availability of relatively inexpensive laser printers and computers, tools for desktop publishing begin to be commonly used
    
    
  • "Barnum" is performed by SSTFY (in a Tent!)
    

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• 1986
  • Space shuttle Challenger explodes after launch at Cape Canaveral, Fla., killing all seven aboard
    
    
  • Steve Winwood gets Record of the Year for "Higher Love"
    
    
  • "The Oprah Winfrey Show" hits national television
    
    
  • Nintendo video games are  introduced in the US
    
    
  • SSTFY puts on "Peter Pan"
    

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• 1987
  • Oliver North, Jr., tells Congressional inquiry higher officials approved his secret Iran-Contra operations
    
    
  • Cher wins Best Actress for "Moonstruck"
    
    
  • U2 wins Album of the Year for "Joshua Tree"
    
    
  • "thirtysomething" debuts on ABC
    
    
  • SSTFY stages "Once Upon a Mattress"
    

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• 1988
  • Pan-Am 747 explodes from terrorist bomb and crashes in Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 aboard and 11 on ground
    
    
  • Dustin Hoffman wins Best Actor for "Rain Man"
    
    
  • Bobby McFerrin wins Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance for "Don't Worry Be Happy"
    
    
  • Ted Turner starts Turner Network Television (TNT) and buys MGM's film library
    
    
  • "Li'l Abner" is the SSTFY show
    

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• 1989
  • Tens of thousands of Chinese students take over Beijing's Tiananmen Square in rally for democracy, thousands are killed when Chinese leaders take a hard line toward the demonstrators
    
    
  • US troops invade Panama, seeking capture of General Manuel Noriega
    
    
  • Jessica Tandy wins Best Actress for "Driving Miss Daisy"
    
    
  • Best Hard Rock Performance Grammy goes to Living Colour for "Cult of Personality"
    
    
  • SSTFY does "Grease!"