“Man in the Box” was the song that introduced millions of listeners to Alice in Chains and helped establish the dark, heavy sound that would soon emerge from Seattle. Released on the band’s 1990 debut album, Facelift, the track blended heavy metal, grunge and haunting vocal harmonies into something unlike almost anything else receiving mainstream […]
By 1988, Van Halen had successfully entered a new chapter. Sammy Hagar had replaced David Lee Roth as lead singer in 1985, and the band’s first album with Hagar, 5150, had gone to No. 1. For the follow-up, OU812, Van Halen continued mixing Eddie Van Halen’s explosive guitar playing with keyboards, big harmonies and a […]
When Lenny Kravitz recorded “American Woman” in the late 1990s, he faced a difficult assignment: how do you cover one of classic rock’s most recognizable songs without simply copying it? His answer was to strip it down, slow it down and make it unmistakably Lenny Kravitz. “American Woman” was originally recorded by Canadian rockers The […]
By the time Def Leppard released “Armageddon It” in March 1988, the band was riding one of the biggest waves in rock history. Their landmark album Hysteria had already produced a string of hit singles, but few expected another track from the album to become a radio staple. Yet “Armageddon It” proved that Hysteria was […]
When Mötley Crüe released “Home Sweet Home” in 1985, they did something few fans expected—they traded their hard-driving heavy metal sound for an emotional power ballad. The gamble paid off in spectacular fashion, producing one of the band’s biggest hits and helping create the blueprint for the rock power ballad that countless bands would follow […]
By the mid-1980s, Heart was at a crossroads. After dominating rock radio in the 1970s with hits like “Barracuda,” “Crazy on You,” and “Magic Man,” changing musical trends had left the Wilson sisters searching for a fresh direction. That reinvention began with 1985’s self-titled Heart album, and leading the charge was “What About Love?,” the […]
Long before it appeared on the 1991 Use Your Illusion I album, “Don’t Cry” had already become one of Guns N’ Roses’ oldest songs. In fact, it predates the band’s blockbuster debut, Appetite for Destruction. Written primarily by Axl Rose and guitarist Izzy Stradlin in the mid-1980s, the song was inspired by a heartbreaking real-life […]
Released in January 1989, “One” became one of the most important songs in Metallica’s career and helped bring heavy metal into the mainstream. Featured on the band’s landmark 1988 album …And Justice for All, the song was Metallica’s first official single and the first music video the band ever produced. More than three decades later, […]
Billy Idol’s “Flesh for Fantasy” is one of the darker, moodier songs from his breakthrough 1983 album Rebel Yell. While the album produced massive radio hits like “Rebel Yell,” “Eyes Without a Face,” and “Catch My Fall,” “Flesh for Fantasy” carved out its own identity with a hypnotic groove, mysterious lyrics, and a video that […]
Released in 1984, “Sister Christian” became Night Ranger’s signature song and one of the defining power ballads of the 1980s. Featured on the band’s second album, Midnight Madness, the song reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and helped propel the album to platinum status. Although Night Ranger had already earned a reputation as […]
Few songs in Bruce Springsteen’s catalog create as much tension with so little as “I’m on Fire.” Released in 1985 as the fourth single from the blockbuster album Born in the U.S.A., the haunting ballad proved that Springsteen didn’t need a wall of guitars or a full-throttle rock anthem to captivate listeners. Instead, he delivered […]
When rock fans first heard “Radioactive” in 1985, they immediately recognized the unmistakable sound of Jimmy Page’s guitar. It marked the long-awaited return of the legendary Led Zeppelin guitarist following the death of drummer John Bonham and the band’s breakup in 1980. But instead of trying to recreate Led Zeppelin, Page chose to start fresh […]