Tag Archives: 1980s

Five 1980s Hard Rock Bands That Should Have Made It Big – But Didn’t

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5 Great 1980s Hard Rock Bands That You Should Know, But Never Made It Big

Fastway 1983 (l-r) Jerry Shirley, Fast Eddie Clarke, Dave King

If there is one common theme to a band not making it big it is wrong place, wrong time. The public’s shifting and fickle tastes in music often conspire against success. But that’s not the only reason.

You can’t  underestimate luck in the success formula.

Many talented hard rock bands were left by the wayside for no other reason except that they were unlucky.

The other reasons for not making it?  Bad management, an indifferent record label, poor distribution, a lack of exposure and personnel turmoil within the band. Also in the late 1980s an oversaturation of the market with a  lot of bands sounding indistinguishable from one another. Finally, the rise of grunge / alternative was the coup de grace for hundreds of hard rock bands.

With the exception of Badlands, where the band imploded and the singer died in 1993, we present here five 1980s bands that should have been huge but never got there.

Zebra

I can say positively that Zebra’s music is unknown to the vast majority of rock fans. With one possible exception – the 1983 hit, Tell Me What You Want.

From 1983 on, their record label, Atlantic Records, dropped the ball and did nothing right in promoting Zebra. Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #173 – River Phoenix & Marlee Matlin

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River Phoenix With Marlee Matlin At Ed Debevic’s Restaurant – 1988

River Phoenix and his date Marlee Matlin at Ed Debevic’s Restaurant in Beverly Hills for their first birthday party and a sixth anniversary bash in honor of The Starlight Foundation.  September 22, 1988. Photo: John Paschal Celebrity Photo

A few weeks ago when my daughter and her college age friends were searching for a movie to watch I asked if they had ever seen Stand By Me (1986)? The answer was a resounding no. And when describing the film I asked a silly question: if they had ever heard of River Phoenix? Continue reading →

Book Review – “Brothers” Alex Van Halen

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The Quiet Van Halen Speaks Of Family, Music, Life, Love And Loss

The band Van Halen share their name with its two founding members. So when speaking of Van Halen sometimes it’s important to distinguish if you are referring to the band or personnel. Frequently it was interchangeable. The band Van Halen or the guitarist Edward Van Halen. Infrequently was the reference to band co-founder Alex Van Halen.

Sitting behind a drum kit for over 50 years made it possible for Alex Van Halen to be in the background rather than the spotlight. Continue reading →

13 Classic Heavy Metal Songs With The Vocals Only

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Isolated Vocals On 13 Songs From Classic Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Judas Priest, Motley Crue & Other Bands

Ian Gillan, Deep Purple photo: Jan Persson

We will conclude our overview of isolated vocals with a selection of songs from some of the most iconic hard rock and heavy metal bands.

What you may notice in listening to these cuts is that more than other types of rock, heavy metal has people who can sing and others who greatly benefit with the helping hand of compression and echo.

There were many bands to possibly profile and limiting the number of songs to a bakers dozen was a challenge. While we would consider including Metallica, Megadeth, Exodus, Anthrax, Slayer, Testament and other thrash bands, we left them out this time. Maybe we’ll revisit this subject in the future.

Originators

Starting things off is the band that many fans consider the inventors of heavy metal, Black Sabbath with Paranoid (vocals – Ozzy Osbourne)

In music polls, Led Zeppelin is consistently ranked as the one of the greatest bands in rock history. They also influenced practically every hard rock and metal band even if Zeppelin themselves did not call themselves a “heavy metal” band. This is their iconic 1971 song Rock and Roll (vocals-  Robert Plant)

Most rock fans can name the song in three notes. If Deep Purple did not Continue reading →

Former Iron Maiden Singer Paul Di’Anno Dies At 66 – Essential Ingredient To Maiden’s Success

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Paul Di’Anno Was Crucial To Iron Maiden’s Rise To The Top Of Heavy Metal

Vocalist Paul Di’Anno (left) & bassist Steve Harris (right) of Iron Maiden photo: EMI

Paul Di’Anno the original vocalist on Iron Maiden’s 1980 eponymous debut album and 1981 follow-up Killers, died today at his home in Salisbury, England at the age of 66. Di’Anno was fired (or quit according to Di’Anno) from Iron Maiden in 1981.

Di’Anno had numerous health issues over the past few decades and for the last several years Di’Anno would sing while seated in a wheelchair.

The first two Iron Maiden studio albums plus a 1981 live EP release, Maiden Japan, showcase the prowess of a young hungry band and the unabashed vocals of Paul Di’Anno. The albums represent the punk-metal hybrid that Iron Maiden was originally producing.

Without Di’Anno the band would jettison the punk edges in lieu of a more polished heavy metal sound.

How much and what Di’Anno contributed is difficult to quantify. Four words come to mind to describe early Maiden. Edgy. Raw. Unyielding. Powerful.  It’s best to see and hear Di’Anno live.

Live At The Rainbow December 21, 1980

Post-Di’Anno, Iron Maiden would rise to worldwide fame with their new singer Bruce Dickinson.

During his short time with Iron Maiden, Di’Anno managed to capture a large group of fans who would remain convinced Di’Anno was the not just the preferred vocalist Continue reading →

He Wrote ALL These Pop Rock Hit Songs For Different Artists

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“He” Is Mike Chapman, Writer, Producer Extraordinaire

Mike Chapman (wearing sunglasses) in the studio with Blondie photo: GEMS/Redferns

From age 18 to 80 the fact that even novices of melody will recognize many of Mike Chapman’s songs, says a lot about his talent.

Mike Chapman (born in Queensland, Australia, April 13, 1947) is not just a record producer, but also a songwriter of major importance.

He has written and / or produced music with The Sweet, Suzi Quatro, The Knack, Pat Benatar, Tina Turner, Divinyls, Nick Gilder, Scandal, Billy Squier, Agnetha from ABBA, Lita Ford, Smokie and arguably most successfully, Blondie.

But it’s Chapman’s skill at songwriting that will remain his legacy. Continue reading →

Question – What Did $675 Buy You At Yankee Stadium In 1984?

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Answer – A Field Box Seat Ticket To All 81 Yankee Home Games

In 2021, Two Field Level Tickets For Just One Game Costs More

Digging around my closet I came up with this memento. It’s the 1984 Yankees home schedule.

It should come as no surprise that the ticket prices 37 years ago were very fair especially compared to today.

Yankee ticket prices 1984At $675 per seat you could buy a field, main, mezzanine or upper box seat for the entire season.

Crazy Modern Prices

Checking the Yankee schedule of 2021, a single field level ticket to an upcoming Yankees – White Sox game costs $388.35 including Ticketmaster fees. Continue reading →

1980s Rock Videos Not Featuring The Band, But A Hot Girl

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Good Song! But Who Is That Girl?

Five 1980s Rock Videos Where The Band Is Not The Star

Whitesnake definitely owes a large portion of their late 1980s popularity to Tawny Kitaen, the actress model who suddenly passed away on May 7, 2021 at the age of 59.  Tawny Kitaen was the real star in the videos for Here I Go Again; Still of The Night and  Is This Love. Kitaen later married lead singer David Coverdale. The constant playing of these videos on MTV no doubt greatly contributed to helping the band eventually sell 15 million copies (8 million plus in the United States) of the 1987 eponymously titled Whitesnake album. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the previous seven Whitesnake albums sold a total of less than two million units combined before Tawny Kitaen’s addition to Whitesnake’s arsenal of sales tactics.

Not that Tawny Kitaen started a trend, but bands have always known that a good song can be made into a VERY popular song by featuring sexy women in their videos.

Here are five cases where the band is not the primary focus of the video, but a very attractive woman is.

Ric Ocasek -Something To Grab For (1982)

Ric Ocasek of The Cars released seven solo albums over his career which had modest sales. His first solo LP 1982’s Beatitude was the most successful, hitting number 28 on the Billboard charts. Starring in Something To Grab For is future 1983 Playboy Playmate of the Year, Marianne Gravatte (b. 1959). Gravatte, a stunningly beautiful woman, was also featured in Ratt’s Lay It Down.

April Wine – Rock Myself To Sleep (1985)

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5 Bands With Songs That Sound Like Led Zeppelin

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Hey Is That Led Zeppelin?

Bands That Can Sound A Lot Like Led Zeppelin

Maybe this article should be titled “bands that sound like Robert Plant” as it is Plant’s unique vocals that are being channeled.

Plant himself has never been a big fan of others trying to sound like Led Zeppelin. Plant called Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page’s 1993 pairing with Whitesnake / Deep Purple lead singer David Coverdale – David Cover Version.

If you heard any of the following songs without knowing who it was, you might think it’s Led Zeppelin.

Unsurprisingly the lead singers of these bands can do pretty good cover versions of Zeppelin. We’ll have two samples from each band – one original composition and one Zeppelin cover if they have ever covered the mighty Zep.

Great White

To me, Jack Russell of Great White naturally sounds more like Robert Plant than any other professional singer.

This song Save Your Love is from the 1987 album Once Bitten.

This 2011 live version of Led Zeppelin’s Ramble On is spot on vocally even if the rest of the band doesn’t capture the Zeppelin magic. Russell’s intonations on certain lyrics like “I’m much o-bli-ged, such a plea-sant stay,” sound exactly like Plant. A great cover.

Zebra

The next band is a label-mate of Led Zeppelin. Continue reading →