40 sensational songs from the 1980s

ROCK & ROLL

The Beatles split up in 1970. Led Zeppelin called it a day in 1980. Rock & roll was changing, splitting off into many sub-genres. But there was still plenty of traditional rock proving, as one optimistic Canadian had declared in 1978 … “Hey hey, my, my - rock and roll will never die.”

“I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts (1981)

May as well start with the most basic statement rock & roll ever made. The Arrows had recorded the original version of this song in 1975 and it was a modest hit. Six years later, Joan Jett cranked up the volume and energy. She snarled out the vocals. She flipped the genders, making the woman the hunter. And she stayed at the top of the Billboard charts for seven straight weeks in the Spring of 1982.

“Tunnel of Love” by Bruce Springsteen (1987)

By 1987, Bruce had been one of the two or three biggest rock & roll artists in the world for an entire decade. The River had been a massive commercial hit at the beginning of the decade and Born in the USA was even bigger in the middle. He followed up both juggernauts with introspective albums – somber Nebraska in 1982 and in 1987, the outstanding catalog of love in all its stages – Tunnel of Love.

The title track uses the popular carnival attraction to stand in for the euphoric, exhilarating, and terrifying feelings associated with the onset of a new love affair. “Born in the USA” was a more iconic ’80s song, but “Tunnel of Love” shows Bruce at his songwriting best.

“Veronica” by Elvis Costello (1989)

Another brilliantly written rock song, Costello sings about aging with a glorious bittersweet quality. The gorgeous melody may have been aided by his co-writer, Paul McCartney. But the defiance that characterized the old woman for whom the song is named is pure Elvis.

“Running Down a Dream” by Tom Petty (1989)

The second single from Petty’s most popular album, Full Moon Fever, was an out and out rocker. Mike Campbell’s guitar propels the song and his solo in the outro soars. It also has one of the coolest music videos of the decade – animated in the style of Winsor McCay, one of the forefathers of modern animation. It is a seminal blues rocker with a seminal visual component to boot.

“Janie’s Got a Gun” by Aerosmith (1989)

Aerosmith came roaring back to life with Pump at the end of the decade. Surrounded by other down-and-dirty tracks like “Young Lust,” “Love in an Elevator,” “Don’t Get Mad, Get Even,” Steven Tyler and Tom Hamilton showed with “Janie…”  that they could rise above juvenile lust songs and handle more mature content without losing their rock & roll bona fides.

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