Hello everyone, and welcome again to another edition of What I'm Listening To! This month I decided to go off the beaten path and come up with 5 sappy 80's hits that people love to listen to. Whether that's just a love song or soft rock ballad, I hope you enjoy some of my fav hits to slowly jam out to with your mullet and frizzy hair!
"I Want To Know What Love Is" - Foreigner (Agent Provocateur)
You cannot, and I will not, talk about sappy rock ballads without putting this in your top 5, and it ain't 5! This is a quintessential sappy hit, whether it's the lyrics themselves, the quiet vocals (until the melody takes off), or the soft music itself. Foreigner was a great 70's/80s rock band, but this might be their biggest track they ever recorded. Ask any 45 + about this song as it pertains to a high school dance, and they will start to reminisce.
"Amanda" - Boston (Third Stage)
Boston has for me personally one of the best album debuts I've ever seen when they came out with their self-titled "Boston" in 1976. Ten years later, they came out with "Third Stage", thus introducing us to this smooth rock ballad. Just like Foreigner's hit, "Amanda" does a great job with it's soft rock, light guitar prominent beginning, crescendoing into the main harmonic melody. When I hear this song, I think of a time when I'd have a Pontiac Firebird, a jean jacket, and driving down listening to this on the radio, or perhaps an 8 track player.
"In the Air Tonight" - Phil Collins (Face Value)
Ok, I love this song. The buildup of this song is amazing. Phil Collins made a lot of hit tracks in his career, but this is my favorite. If you don't drum along to the best part in the song, are you even listening to it? Not much to say about this except, fantastic.
"(I Just) Died in Your Arms" - Cutting Crew (The Best of Cutting Crew)
Holy 80's, Batman! Whether it's the raspy like vocals that start this song or the pure 80's electric guitar/drum combo, this is just another great Sappy Hit. I'll admit this is the only song I know from Cutting Crew, which probably says more about me than it does Cutting Crew's impact on 80's music. The thing with all these sappy rock ballad hits is that they're all replayable and you just want to blast the speaker up.
"Sister Christian" - Night Ranger (Midnight Madness)
People might think this song's title is "Motoring", but they would be sadly mistaken. This is just a great 80's ballad, which like Phil Collins, employed some unbelievable drums. The vocals are on point, and the song takes you on a journey. I love the piano on this as well, which only adds to the entire track. If you haven't heard this classic, give it a go!
I hope you all enjoyed just SOME of the classic sappy rock ballads that I showed you today. These might not be the top 5 of your hits, but I think through these tracks you gain some insight into the genre itself!
