Brad Carl: 50 Songs from the 70s and 80s That Still Hold Up

Brad Carl: 50 Songs from the 70s and 80s That Still Hold Up

Brad Carl is a former radio personality who wrote this book (published 8/28/2015) in which he picked 50 songs he believes still sound good against today’s popular music. He doesn’t claim it to be a definitive list, but one which hopefully sparks conversation. Below are the 50 songs featured in that book, as ranked by Dave’s Music Database. The top 20 songs appear in the top 1%, or roughly top 1000 songs of all time, according to Dave’s Music Database. The top 5 songs are featured in Dave’s Music Database’s book The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era, 1954-1999. Click here to see other lists from critics and individuals and here to see other lists from publications and/or organizations DMDB Top 1%: 1. Michael Jackson “Billie Jean” (1982) 2. The Police “Every Breath You Take” (1983) 3. Queen “Bohemian Rhapsody” (1975) 4. Eagles “Hotel California” (1977) 5. Guns N’ Roses “Sweet Child O’ Mine” (1988) 6. Soft Cell “Tainted Love” (1981) 7. The Knack “My Sharona” (1979) 8. AC/DC “You Shook Me All Night Long” (1980) 9. Frankie Goes to Hollywood “Relax” (1983) 10. The B-52’s “Love Shack” (1989) 11. Tracy Chapman “Fast Car” (1988) 12. Boston “More Than a Feeling” (1976) 13. Dire Straits “Money for Nothing” (1985) 14. Talking Heads “Once in a Lifetime” (1980) 15. Phil Collins “In the Air Tonight” (1981) 16. Phil Collins “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)” (1984) 17. Ramones “I Wanna Be Sedated” (1978) 18. R.E.M. “The One I Love” (1987) 19. The Clash “Should I Stay or Should I Go” (1982) 20. Aerosmith “Sweet Emotion” (1975) DMDB Top 2%: 21. UB40 “Red, Red Wine” (1983) 22. Cheap Trick “I Want You to Want Me (live)” (1979) 23. Billy Idol “White Wedding” (1982) 24. War “Low Rider” (1975) 25. Cameo “Word Up” (1986) DMDB Top 5%: 26. Elton John “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues” (1983) 27. Stevie Nicks “Edge of Seventeen” (1981) 28. Katrina & the Waves “Walking on Sunshine” (1985) 29. U2 “Angel of Harlem” (1988) DMDB Top 10%: 30. Edie Brickell & New Bohemians “What I Am” (1988) 31. The Church “Under the Milky Way” (1988) 32. Billy Joel “The Longest Time” (1984) 33. Enya “Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)” (1988) 34. Billy Vera & the Beaters “At This Moment” (1981) 35. The Jacksons with Mick Jagger “State of Shock” (1984) 36. Whitesnake “Still of the Night” (1987) 37. Georgia Satellites “Keep Your Hands to Yourself” (1986) 38. Bangles “Hazy Shade of Winter” (1987) 39. Echo & the Bunnymen “The Killing Moon” (1984) 40. Traveling Wilburys “Hande with Care” (1988) 41. Rainbow “Since You’ve Been Gone” (1979) DMDB Top 20%: 42. Benny Mardones “Into the Night” (1980) 43. Pixies “Where Is My Mind?” (1988) 44. Scandal “The Warrior” (1984) 45. Frida Lyngstad “I Know There’s Something Going On” (1982) 46. John Lennon “Nobody Told Me” (1984) 47. Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band “Turn the Page (live)” (1976) 48. The Jeff Healy Band “Angel Eyes” (1988) 49. Sammy Hagar “I Can’t Drive 55” (1984) 50. The Firm “Radioactive” (1985) Resources/Related Links: Brad Carl (2015). 50 Songs from the 70s and 80s That Still Hold Up BradCarl.com Dave’s Music Database: lists from critics and individuals Dave’s Music Database: lists from publications and/or organizations Dave’s Music Database (2019). “The Top 1000+ Songs of All Time” First posted 11/14/2019; last updated 10/11/2021.

R.E.M. “The One I Love” released

The One I Love R.E.M.

Writer(s): Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe (see lyrics here) Released: August 24, 1987 First Charted: September 5, 1987 Peak: 9 US, 10 CB, 14 GR, 13 RR, 2 AR, 1 CO, 16 UK, 11 CN, 84 AU, 3 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 28.0 video, 132.07 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: R.E.M. formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 and immediately established themselves as one of the foundational bands for college rock radio. They were widely acclaimed through four albums which all found their way into the top 40 on the Billboard album chart in the U.S. Their big leap into the mainstream came in 1987 with their fifth album, Document. The top-10 album was their first platinum seller, thanks to the success of top-10 hit “The One I Love.” The band was on the cusp of “becoming one of the biggest groups of the subsequent decade.” TB Prior to “The One I Love,” R.E.M. had only charted on the Billboard Hot 100 with three minor hits. They developed a very “identifiable, special sound” PW with “Byrds-type guitars and rhythm section” PW with those earlier songs, but here “the guitar sound is full and surprisingly loud.” BC “The One I Love” is more of a tribute to Neil Young PW with its “feverish, amped-up electric guitar-bass-drum arrangement.” SS “T Because of its refrain, “This one goes out to the one I love,” this song has become popular for loved ones to dedicate to each other on the radio. WK However, this “intense, driving rock ballad…takes a decidedly dark look at love.” SS It contains lyrics which “suggest a…more manipulative theme” WK as demonstrated by lines like “a simple prop to occupy my time.” Lead singer Michael Stipe said, “It’s very clear that it’s about using people over and over again.” WK He initially thought the song was too brutal to record. SF Bassist Mike Mills said, “It was strange to see couples mooning into each other’s eyes when we were playing this spiteful number.” SS Critic Paul Williams says the song is “absolutely drenched in…the sounds and colors and textures of dissatisfied longing.” PW He says the lyrics reveal “the songer or persona’s discomfort with himself” PW as he rages “regarding his own inability to love; on some further level he is also expressing and despairing at his inability to really rage.” PW It “feels and sounds like a love song even as the content of words and vocal try to make clear that it isn’t.” PW Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for R.E.M. BC Brad Carl (2015). 50 Songs from the 70s and 80s That Still Hold Up. Page 41. SF Songfacts SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Page 719. TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 230. WK Wikipedia PW Paul Williams (1993). Rock and Roll: The Best 100 Singles. Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc.: New York, NY Pages 227-9. Related Links: First posted 10/2/2022; last updated 6/19/2024.

Cheap Trick “I Want You to Want Me (live)” charted

I Want You to Want Me Cheap Trick

Writer(s): Rick Nielsen (see lyrics here) Released (studio version): September 1977 First Charted (live version): April 21, 1979 Peak (studio): 97 CN Peak (live): 7 US, 3 CB, 4 HR, 11 RR, 1 CL, 29 UK, 2 CN, 43 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions, live version): 1.0 US Airplay/Streaming (in millions – studio and live versions): -- radio, 19.18 video, 141.38 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Cheap Trick formed in 1973 in Rockford, Illinois. After their self-titled debut failed to chart, they quickly followed it up with In Color that same year. It reached #73 in the U.S. and featured the song “I Want You to Want Me.” However, that song nor any other from the album, hit the Billboard charts in America. It did reach a lowly #97 in Canada. Japan, however, was a different story. “Just as their third album, the classic Heaven Tonight hit the streets, Cheap Trick found themselves being welcomed to Japan, Beatlemania-style. This led to a headlining tour, and the recording of a series of shows at the legendary Budokan arena.” UCR In the fall of 1978, Cheap Trick released a live album, At Budokan, capturing the shows. It was originally intended to be released only in Japan, but it caught on in the U.S. and “reportedly became the biggest selling import album of the ‘70s.” UCR That led to an official American release by Epic Records in early 1979. The album reached #4 and sold three million copies. Much of the success was due to the live version of “I Want You to Want Me.” The band’s Rick Nielsen, who wrote the song as “an overblown pop parody” WK/sup> and Tom Petersson were critical of the “lightweight production” WK of the original studio version. In concert, however, they played it at a faster tempo, which “transformed into a rocked-up guitar raver in concert, and…helped catch the ear of listeners in the states.” UCR The song reached #1 in Japan, #2 in Canada, and was a top-10 hit in the United States. It made “Cheap Trick household names, and turned the masses on to what the band’s die hard fans already knew: This was a great band that needed to be heard.” UCR Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Cheap Trick UCR UltimateClassicRock.com (6/20/2013). “Top 100 Classic Rock Songs” WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 7/31/2022.

Bob Seger “Turn the Page” live version released

Turn the Page Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band

Writer(s): Bob Seger (see lyrics here) Released (studio version): January 1973 (album cut) Released (live version): April 12, 1976 (album cut) Released (live version): November 1977 (single) First Charted: -- Peak: 1 CL, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 148.0 video, -- streaming

Turn the Page Metallica

Released: November 16, 1998 First Charted: November 21, 1998 Peak: 111 AR, 39 MR, 15 CN, 11 AU, 11 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 99.5 video, -- streaming

Awards (Bob Seger): Click on award for more details. Awards (Metallica): Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Bob Seger released his first single with the Decibals in 1961, but didn’t put out an album until 1969’s Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man. That album’s title cut reached #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and it looked like his career might finally be underway. Over the next six years, he charted seven more hits, but none reached the top 40. As he struggled to find success during the early ‘70s “he was all too familiar with the trials and tribulations of being a musician on tour.” UCR He poured those experiences into “Turn the Page,” a track from his 1973 album Back in ‘72. “Few other ‘life on the road’ songs can rival…[its] intensity and passion.” UCR The song “does a remarkable job summing up the grueling and lonely realities of the day-to-day life of a musician on the road in the early ‘70s.” UCR He references personal experiences such as suffering from tinnitus and having truck drivers mock him and his bandmates for their long hair. BC “The song starts with a saxophone which set a somewhat ominous tone for the remainder of the proceedings. Seger’s vocals come across as rather hushed: You can almost picture the rock and roll legend quietly singing to himself as to not disturb the other members of his band as they try to get some sleep on the bus.” UCR The song didn’t really find an audience until a live version from 1976’s Live Bullet hit the radio and became an album rock classic. That album became his highest charting to date (#34) and went five times platinum. Even bigger things were to come for Seger: his next seven albums were top-10, multi-platinum hits. “It should be little surprise that Seger’s words would resonate…well with his peers.” UCR Waylon Jennings, Staind, and Kid Rock have all performed the song live and Bon Jovi has acknowledged the song as an inspiration behind their hit “Wanted Dead or Alive.” UCR Garth Brooks wrote “The Thunder Rolls” as a tribute to the song. BC Metallica recorded the song in 1998 for their Garage Inc. cover album. It spent 11 weeks atop the Billboard album rock chart. Resources: AMG All Music Guide BC Brad Carl (2015). 50 Songs from the 70s and 80s That Still Hold Up. Pages 7-8. SF Songfacts UCR UltimateClassicRock.com (6/20/2013). “Top 100 Classic Rock Songs” WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 8/1/2022.