| ARUBA | First word of the 1988 song "Kokomo" |
| ERASURE | Duo with the 1988 song Chains of Love |
| LITA | Singer Ford with the 1988 song "Kiss Me Deadly" |
| OLYMPICS | Event for which Whitney Houston did the 1988 song "One Moment in Time" |
| PREFABSPROUT | Pop group noted for their 1988 song The King Of Rock 'N' Roll (6,6) |
| NEWYORK | City in the title of a 1988 song by Sting, An Englishman in - - (3,4) |
| ANGEL | - of Harlem; 1988 song by U2 (5) |
| SEOUL | Capital of the Republic of South Korea and the site of the 1988 summer Olympic Games (5) |
| TWOHEARTS | 1988 song by Phil Collins which featured in the film Buster (3,6) |
| WILDWILDWEST | 1988 song one might call a "Club" hit (it was performed by the Escape Club): 3 wds. |
| HARRIS | Thomas _, author of the 1988 psychological horror novel The Silence Of The Lambs (6) |
| SLEEP | We All ___ Alone 1988 song by Cher which was released in her self-titled eighteenth album |
| GUNSNROSES | U.S. hard rock band noted for their 1988 song Sweet Child O' Mine (4,1,5) |
| MCFERRIN | Bobby, folk and jazz singer noted for his 1988 song Don't Worry, Be Happy (8) |
| CRUSH | Orange ___, 1988 song by R.E.M. whose title refers to Agent Orange (5) |
| DOMINO | ___ Dancing, 1988 song by Pet Shop Boys influenced by Latin pop (6) |
| SANDY | First name of the 1988 Masters champ |
| KOREA | South ___ (locale of Seoul, host of the 1988 Summer Olympics) |
| DION | Celine ?, winner of the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest representing Switzerland (4) |
| ENYA | Irish singer of the 1988 chart-topping song Orinoco Flow (4) |
