Today's Rocktober '80s Tuesday Top Ten will be another fun one. Because who doesn't love a power ballad? Nobody, that's who. Nobody doesn't love a power ballad.
While the power ballad had certain existed prior to the 1980s, I'd say it's undebatable that it was perfected in the '80s. Back in 2012, I gave you my Top Ten Hair Band Power Ballads, which I revamped during Rocktober in 2017. Rather than largely recreate that list yet again, for this Rocktober Tuesday Top Ten, my gift to you is a list of my ten favorite '80s power ballads that were not released by hair bands. And rest assured, though power ballads in the '80s seemed to be dominated by hair bands, there were plenty of fantastic power ballads put out by bands that didn't wear leather pants, silk shirts, and eyeliner.
Before we get to the list, there are a few things we need to hash out.
- First, what's a hair band? This is kind of a "you know it when you hear it" thing. The hair band genre (also known as hair metal, glam metal, or pop metal) encompasses a lot of hard rock bands from the '80s and early '90s, but not all rock bands from that era are hair bands, and some bands that weren't necessarily hair bands before the '80s fall into the genre during that time period (like KISS and AC/DC). As a connoisseur of hair band music, I ask that you just trust me on whether a band is or is not a hair band.
- Second, what's a power ballad? This isn't that hard of a question, but I do think some songs are incorrectly considered power ballads. Here's how I define it. A power ballad is a slower tempo song that usually (but not necessarily) starts with acoustic guitars and/or piano and little, if any, percussion. The song builds, usually into a chorus, which often has electric guitars, loud and impassioned singing, and more percussion, but then the song often takes it back down a few notches for the verses. While all power ballads are ballads, not all ballads are power ballads, and I think that's where some confusion comes in. For example, White Lion's 1987 hit "When the Children Cry" is a ballad, but not a power ballad, because it doesn't have that mighty chorus or burst of oomph that defines power ballads. Rather, it's all slow and generally acoustic. Likewise, there are some songs that are not ballad-y enough to be considered power ballads. They might feature an impassioned chorus, but the verses aren't as slow or mellow as they should be for it to be considered a true power ballad, or there isn't as much up and down in power as there should be. I'd put Alannah Myles's "Black Velvet" in this category. Same for INXS's "Never Tear Us Apart," which is a wonderful song, but I ultimately decided to exclude it. It can be a fine line, and it's not an exact science.
So with that, here are my ten favorite '80s non-hair band power ballads, arranged alphabetically by artist. As always, I'm limiting it to one song per artist (sorry, Chicago fans), but I am giving you an honorable mention category that includes some duplicate artists.
1. "Heaven" by Bryan Adams (1983)
Canadian rocker Bryan Adams originally recorded "Heaven" in 1983, and it was featured on the soundtrack to A Night in Heaven -- a critically panned film about a college jock who fails his speech class, but it turns out he is also a stripper. His female speech professor's marriage is failing, and when her wild big city sister visits and takes her to a strip club, sure enough, her student gives her a lap dance. Predictably, they end up banging, but he has a girlfriend, and then the professor's husband figures things out and makes the jock get on a boat and strip naked, before shooting a hole in the boat. Sounds pretty classic to me. Thankfully for Adams, he also put the song on his huge 1984 album Reckless, and it eventually hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1985. I've always wondered how things would have turned out if he kept the original chorus, "Baby, you're not all that hot / But you're lyin' here and I'm hard / I'm findin' it hard to believe / You're a seven."
2. "Angel" by Aerosmith (1987)
In 1987, fresh on the heels of their collaboration with Run-D.M.C. on the reboot of "Walk This Way," Aerosmith released their comeback album, Permanent Vacation. It rejuvenated their career and introduced them to a whole new generation of fans. Their biggest hit from the album -- and their biggest hit up to that time -- was the power ballad "Angel," which hit #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. I've always wondered if it would have been even bigger had it featured the original chorus, "You're my a-a-a-a-angel / Come and shave me tonight."
3. "Making Love Out of Nothing At All" by Air Supply
Soft rockers Air Supply had the fortune of Meat Loaf's record company's frugality to thank for this hit. Jim Steinman wrote all the songs on Meat Loaf's 1977 blockbuster album Bat Out of Hell and his 1981 follow-up Dead Ringer. Legend has it that Steinman had written "Making Love Out of Nothing At All" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart" for Meat Loaf's third album, 1983's Midnight at the Lost and Found, and offered them to Meat Loaf, but the record company didn't want to pay Steinman for his work. Thus, Steinman took the songs elsewhere. "Making Love Out of Nothing At All" was offered to Air Supply, who prudently took it, turning it into the group's eighth Top 5 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. The song reached #2 hit -- kept out of the #1 spot only by, you guessed it, Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" (which is featured below). What I hadn't realized today was that the backing band for the song was Rick Derringer on guitar and E Street Band members Roy Bittan on keyboards and Max Weinberg on drums. No wonder it rocks a little harder than your average Air Supply song. I've always wondered if it would have been been able to get to that #1 spot had they kept the following stanza in final chorus, "Though you won't be tight forever / And we both know I won't always be long / I can make you every promise that you'll always get laid / Til' you can make all my semen be gone."
4. "The Flame" by Cheap Trick (1988)
After a couple years of middling record sales and chart success, Cheap Trick came back with a bang with 1988's Lap of Luxury album. That featured the band's only #1 hit, the power ballad "The Flame." I've always wondered if it would have been as big had it featured the original chorus, "I will feel your taaaaaiiiiint."
5. "Look Away" by Chicago (1988)
As alluded to above, Chicago had a lot of power ballads in the '80s, so it was tough to choose one. The best of the rest are below in the honorable mention. Penned by superstar songwriter Diane Warren and sung by , "Look Away" was the band's 3rd and final #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, and it ended up being the #1 song on the Billboard Year-End chart for 1989, even though it topped the Hot 100 in 1988. I've always wondered how things would have played out had they changed Warren's chorus to, "But if you see me with a guy / And my hands between his thighs / Look away, baby, look away / And if we meet on the streets someday / And I'm singing all Broadway / I'm not gay, I swear, I'm not gay."
6. "Alone" by Heart (1987)
This might be my favorite Heart song, and certainly the only one I have sung at karaoke. Co-written by the stellar songwriting duo of Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelley -- who wrote Madonna's "Like a Virgin," The Bangles' "Eternal Flame," and Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors," among other big hits -- "Alone" was the perfect song for Ann Wilson's powerful voice, and it became the band's biggest hit, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks. I've always wondered if perhaps it would have stayed at #1 for even longer had they gone with the original chorus, "How do I get you to bone?"
7. "Faithfully" by Journey (1983)
I couldn't in good faith (pun intended, motherfuckers!) have a list of my ten favorite '80s non-hair band power ballads without either "Faithfully" or "Open Arms" by Journey. I decided on "Faithfully" because it has a video featuring Steve Perry with a ridiculous mustache. "Faithfully" was written by the band's keyboardist, Jonathan Cain, about life on the road and trying to remain faithful to one's significant other while touring. I've always wondered if it would have been as beloved if Cain had stuck with the original lyric, "I'm forever yours, anally."
8. "When I'm With You" by Sheriff (1982/1988)
This song has one of the most interesting success stories in rock history, in my opinion. Originally released in 1982 by Canadian rock band Sheriff, the song was a hit in Canada and a very minor hit in the U.S. (#61 on the Billboard Hot 100). The band broke up in 1985, and then in late 1988 -- in the heyday of hard rock power ballads -- several American DJs rediscovered the song and began playing it. Sure as shit, it went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1989, becoming one of the only songs in the MTV era to hit #1 without a music video. The last note of the song, which singer Freddy Curci sustains for 19.4 seconds, is the longest known note sustained by a male singer in pop history. Personally, I rediscovered this song in December 2018, and it helped me through a bout of either food poisoning or a 24-hour stomach bug. Regardless, it's a fantastic power ballad. I've always wondered if it would have been as big had they kept the original chorus, "Oh-oh babayayayay / Ooh, I get ill when I fist you / Oh-oh babayayayay / My world stands still when see poo."
9. "I Can't Hold Back" by Survivor (1984)
While you may not initially think of "I Can't Hold Back," either when you think of Survivor or power ballads, it's got all the hallmarks of a classic power ballad. Quiet verses with acoustic guitars and pianos, before kicking into high gear for the choruses. I've always wondered if it would have been even bigger had it featured the original not-so-PG line, "I can feel you tremble when we fuck / And I feel your cans are fake."
10. "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler (1983)
Jim Steinman strikes again with this majestic hit, written for Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler (Steinman also produced it). Tyler turns out a vocal performance for the ages. I've always wondered if it would have been even bigger had it featured the original title, "Total Eclipse of the Shart."
Honorable Mention: "What It Takes" by Aerosmith; "When I See You Smile" by Bad English; "Amanda" by Boston; "The Glory of Love" by Peter Cetera; "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" by Chicago; "You're The Inspiration" by Chicago; "Hard Habit to Break" by Chicago; "Will You Still Love Me?" by Chicago; "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner; "What About Love" by Heart; "Open Arms" by Journey "Broken Wings" by Mr. Mister; "Can't Fight This Feeling" by REO Speedwagon; "Keep On Loving You" by REO Speedwagon; "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship
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