5 Rock Videos From The '80s Every Late Boomer Will Immediately Recognize

Late boomers were the lucky cable watchers who witnessed the dawn of MTV in the early '80s, and with it, the golden age of the music video. While every act on the charts came up with a clip to promote their singles, albums, and live performances, certain rock videos stand out as key contributions to late boomer pop culture, just as Gen X was taking over the taste-making reins. Suddenly, the best rock acts of the generation had a new dimension to experiment with, leading to a period of wild creativity and unforgettable videos. Rock acts were so eager to get airtime — and MTV was so hungry for content — that a video avalanche was unleashed on subscribers. 

Our notion of the most recognizable rock videos for the late boomer crowd includes a magic formula of memorable music merged with indelible visuals that helped define the early video age. Nouveau rockers like Billy Idol and the Police were on the bleeding edge of using video to help flesh out their images, while the old guard like Robert Palmer and ZZ Top found an opportunity to reinvent themselves for an expanded audience. And with hair metal heroes Whitesnake offering up one of the sexiest clips to grace a television screen, late boomers were witness to some of the most instantly recognizable videos ever released.

There's no denying the way Billy Idol revved up late boomer rock fans when "White Wedding" showed up onscreen. The mix of motorcycle machismo, horror-movie atmosphere, and sheer gothic dread was a heart-stopping mix. When Idol's platinum spikes and snarling sneer showed up brimming with melodic menace, watchers felt like someone finally understood how to use the music video medium to its greatest effect.

Though the song rocked as hard as any heavy metal tune and the imagery was artful enough to feel like a mini-movie, the blend of disparate elements made Idol's musical motives unclear. Was he a punk scion, a metal god, or an apocalyptic post-pop warrior? Being one of the earlier clips in the MTV jukebox, "White Wedding" got plenty of airtime to give viewers still getting used to "music television" a chance to absorb his snarling edges. It didn't take long for the clip to become one of the most iconic and influential works of the '80s, supercharging Idol's career and solidifying his ongoing presence as a video pioneer.

All these years later, the shivery opening guitar strike is enough to conjure visions of Idol astride his cycle, crashing through that stained glass window like a ghost rider. And while the striking visuals did little to decrypt the meaning behind "White Wedding," late boomers still consider Idol a sneering video hero of their generation.

Who could forget the icy fembot backing players featured in Robert Palmer's iconic mid-'80s rock video fashion show mix-up "Addicted to Love"? Those sleek, expressionless figures became a symbol of the era, instantly identifiable and endlessly imitated. And at the center of it all, the impeccably well-suited Palmer giving rock maestro vibes as his shiny, emotionless accomplices swayed to and fro.

There's no plot in this performance clip, just Palmer performing with his musical mannequins intercut with occasional close-ups of their richly painted faces and glued-down hair. But the blend of hard-edged dance rock with horn blasts and overly made-up models perfectly encapsulated the pop culture landscape in the era of the supermodel. The video and Palmer himself received a fair amount of blowback for depicting women as interchangeable figures with no personality or expression of their own. But from another vantage, the imagery skewered that very idea, capturing the notion so perfectly that it looked sincere rather than sarcastic. The fact that Palmer replicated the motif for his  "Simply Irresistible" video made it even more difficult to tell what his message really was — if there was one at all.

Regardless of the psychology, late boomers got a kick out of seeing an all-girl band of edgy Barbie-like figures. The theme became a pop culture touchstone that can still get pre-Gen X video fans fired up.

No one was prepared for funkified country rockers ZZ Top to become the bearded baddies of the music video age. But once late boomers got a whiff of the cinematic humor in "Sharp Dressed Man," they knew something unique was afoot. The sunglasses and wizard beards worn by the players became as recognizable as the sleek autos and high-glamour models, giving the band a super-relevance that made viewers sit up and take notice.

This was one of the more cinematic videos from the era, the story of a humble valet who sheds his scruffy, overlooked appearance for a blinding white tuxedo and the Eliminator Coupe, a spicy red '33 Ford hotrod that became a mascot for ZZ Top's "Eliminator" album. In the parlance of the '80s, both the suit and the car served as "chick magnets" to get the glossy women in the video to notice him. The fact that he had some sweet dance moves didn't hurt matters.

"Sharp Dressed Man" was the middle chapter in a trilogy of flashy videos that helped ZZ Top redefine its image for the video age. It was also the one that had the most impact on the target audience: late boomers who took their MTV with a dash of Southern rock flavor.

The video concept for the rock-defining 1983 hit "Every Breath You Take" by the Police was reductively simple: Shoot the players in moody lighting as they perform, intercut with random images of an abandoned cigarette and a window washer cleaning the only visible light source. And yet, this striking art piece became one of the most hotly anticipated and well-received videos ever aired, thanks to late boomers' love of the haunting tune and the overwhelming popularity of the band in 1983.

Though shot noir-style in black and white, the clip premiered on MTV with three colored filters that mimicked the red, yellow, and blue color swashes found on the cover of the "Synchronicity" album it came from. Innovative '80s video team Godley & Creme directed the cinematic piece; the pair were musicians themselves and had hits in the '70s with "I'm Not in Love" and "The Things We Do for Love" with their band, 10cc. Their vision gave the imagery a sinister edge that mirrored the creepy lyrics. The approach worked: The video received eight nominations at MTV's inaugural VMA awards and won for best cinematography.

The video, which hit 1 billion views on YouTube in 2022, also helped "Every Breath You Take" become a phenomenon, spending eight weeks at No. 1 and winning serious hardware at the Grammys. It still inspires an exhilarating "I remember this one!" whenever it crops up in a late boomer's feed.

Has any rock band before or since turned a writhing car hood dance performance into an emblem of the rock 'n' roll video format better than Whitesnake did in "Here I Go Again"? Not likely, since this cranking, guitar-driven unit got there first and provided model Tawny Kitaen an opportunity to become a part of rock video history. But once it was on film and transmitting to video channels all around the globe, it made an indelible impression that turned up the heat like few other clips ever had.

When this clip was making the rounds, you only needed to hear the synth-solo intro to be drawn to the TV screen. There, you'd find Kitaen doing cartwheels across the car hoods, with Robert Plant sound-alike (and Kitaen's boyfriend) David Coverdale and his highly-permed hairband locks. The lovely chord work makes a sweet soundtrack for slow-motion scenes of Kitaen's sensual slithering, her gauzy white gown stopping shy of displaying more skin than MTV would allow at the time. She does the splits! She high-kicks! She hangs out the window seductively while Coverdale drives at medium speed down the road! It's every metal fan's boldest dreams, shown in technicolor with a staunchly PG rating.

The exhilaration and unintended over-the-top silliness helped transform Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again" from a flop to a hit. Thanks to the mix of cheekiness and sensuality, it also became an unmistakable late-boomer favorite.