To be fifteen in America in 1987 was to have “With or Without You” by U2 everywhere, Fatal Attraction on every screen, and The Cosby Show on after school. That year, gas cost $0.95 and Microsoft PowerPoint was the new thing. Born in 1972? You turned 15 in 1987 — a teenager from 1985 to 1991, right in the window a soundtrack bonds to you for life.
Compiled by the Original Lore archive from period charts, box-office and price records. How we build these · sources noted throughout.
I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) — Whitney HoustonHer grin-wide plea to be loved owned every roller rink and bedroom mirror that summer.
Where the Streets Have No Name — U2The Edge's shimmering intro opened a horizon you were sure your whole life was rushing toward.
Faith — George MichaelGeorge Michael's finger-snap swagger made you feel grown, leather-jacket cool, and ready for absolutely anything.
(I've Had) The Time of My Life — Bill Medley & Jennifer WarnesThe Dirty Dancing finale that made every awkward kid believe in one perfect, triumphant lift.
La Bamba — Los LobosLos Lobos turned the backyard graduation party into joyous noise, everyone shouting words they half-knew.
The Joshua Tree turned U2 into the band every searching 15-year-old taped off the radio in 1987, and this was the aching slow-burn that scored first heartbreaks and bedroom-ceiling staring. The Edge's chiming delay and Bono's restraint felt impossibly grown-up and emotional at once — the year's true teenage ache, not its novelty chart-topper.
the year-end #1 was Walk Like an Egyptian — The Bangles (chart's year-end leader carried from late '86).
the movies you are watching in 1987
Fatal Attraction
Three Men and a Baby
Predator
Dirty Dancing
The Untouchables
the tv shows you are binging in 1987
The Cosby Show
Cheers
The Golden Girls
Family Ties
Moonlighting
the games you are playing in 1987
The Legend of Zelda
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!
Mega Man
Castlevania
Metroid
Contra
what things cost in 1987
What things cost in 1987
a gallon of gas
$0.95
a movie ticket
$3.91
the federal minimum wage
$3.35/hr
a first-class stamp
$0.22
the average income
$25,990
trending this year
Naula Ayisabun Aningore / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0The Simpsons (debut shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show)Shixart1985 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0Married... with ChildrenNASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA/CXC/STScI (public domain) · Public Domain (NASA imagery, not protected by copyright)Star Trek: The Next GenerationA7N8X (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 4.0The Legend of Zelda (NES, US release)Lkwachira (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 4.0Dirty Dancing
the gadgets you just got
Evan-Amos, released into the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain (CC0 / author release)Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)Tim Reckmann (foto_db, via Flickr), CC BY 2.0Sony Walkman (WM-series cassette player)Phalange7, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsSega Master SystemProhibitOnions / Wikimedia Commons (public domain) · Public Domain (released into the public domain by the author)Motorola DynaTAC 8000X mobile phonePhoto by Krzysztof P. Jasiutowicz (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Polaroid_Spirit_600_CL.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0Polaroid instant camera (Spirit / One-Step)
what everyone is snacking on
Famartin, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2019-02-07_13_01_15_Cool_Ranch_Doritos_in_the_Franklin_Farm_section_of_Oak_Hill,_Fairfax_County,_Virginia.jpg) · CC BY-SA 4.0Cool Ranch DoritosEvan-Amos / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 · CC0 1.0 (Public Domain Dedication)Skittlestheimpulsivebuy (Flickr), CC BY-SA 2.0Combos (stuffed snacks)Quant, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pringles_Chip.jpg) · CC BY-SA 3.0PringlesMike Mozart / JeepersMedia (Flickr), CC BY 2.0Fruit Roll-Ups
what everyone is drinking
Martinultima, Wikimedia Commons / en.wikipedia — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jolt_Cola_0001.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0 (also GFDL)Jolt ColaJetijonez, Wikimedia Commons (can design by The Coca-Cola Company, PD-textlogo) — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:New_Coke_can.jpg · CC BY 3.0New Coke (Coca-Cola)Photo by Tamzin Hadasa Kelly (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Capri_Sun_pouch_standing.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0Capri SunAndré Hofmeister (Wikimedia Commons) / CC BY-SA 2.0Bartles & Jaymes wine coolerMymomisnotreal, Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mymomisnotreal%27s_Picture_of_the_original_%22Slice%22_flavor.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0Slice (lemon-lime soda)
what made the news in 1987
Reagan challenges the Soviets at the Brandenburg Gate: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"
Iran-Contra hearings grip the nation as Oliver North testifies
Black Monday: the Dow crashes nearly twenty-three percent in a single day
Baby Jessica rescued from a Texas well after fifty-eight hours
Reagan White House Photographs / U.S. National Archives (NAID 198505). Public domain. · Public Domain (PD-USGov, US federal government work)Reagan: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" at the Brandenburg GateThomas J. O'Halloran, U.S. News & World Report Magazine Photograph Collection, Library of Congress · Public Domain (no known copyright restrictions)Black Monday: Dow plunges 22.6% in record one-day crashU.S. Government / public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsIran-Contra hearings grip the nation; Oliver North testifiesJeanne Griffin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsBaby Jessica McClure rescued after 58 hours trapped in a Texas wellReagan White House Photographs / U.S. National Archives (catalog.archives.gov id 75855481). Public domain. · Public Domain (PD-USGov, US federal government work)Pope John Paul II visits the United States on a cross-country tour
what everyone is saying
"I've fallen and I can't get up!"Medical-alert TV ad line; used in 1987 Life Alert spots and made famous by the 1989 LifeCall commercial
"Where's the beef?"Wendy's ad catchphrase still ubiquitous in mid-'80s pop culture
"Party on, dude!"Surfer/valley slang popularized by '80s teen culture
"Gnarly"Skater/surfer slang for extreme or intense
"Gag me with a spoon"Valley Girl slang for disgust
