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Top 10 Hair Band One Hit Wonders You Forgot Were AWESOME

Top 10 Hair Band One Hit Wonders You Forgot Were AWESOME
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VOICE OVER: Ryan Wild WRITTEN BY: George Pacheco
Grab your hairspray and leather pants, because we're cranking up the volume on those forgotten glam metal anthems! Join us as we headbang through the most criminally underrated hair band singles that dominated MTV for a brief, glorious moment. These bands may have only hit the charts once, but they delivered pure rock magic! Our countdown includes Faster Pussycat's "House of Pain," Steelheart's stratospheric "I'll Never Let You Go," Saigon Kick's tender "Love Is on the Way," and Kix's emotional "Don't Close Your Eyes." Which forgotten hair metal gem still gets your air guitar going? Let us know in the comments below!

#10: House of Pain (1988)

Faster Pussycat


This Los Angeles-based band existed on the sleazier end of the hair metal spectrum, but their most successful song, House of Pain, was actually a ballad. Oh, the rough edges of Faster Pussycats sound are still very much intact here, but House of Pain also possesses a strong and memorable chorus that makes the band feel approachable. Meanwhile, the slick music video that accompanied the song was actually an early-career product from future Bad Boys and Transformers director Michael Bay. The heavier Faster Pussycat exemplified on songs like the Bathroom Wall may be absent here, but House of Pain still works for us, all these years later.


#9: The Ballad of Jayne (1989) L.A. Guns


Its something of a misconception that every 1980s hair metal band couldnt also compete in the more aggressive arenas of rock. The first L.A. Guns album was actually chock full of rip-roaring tunes like Sex Action, No Mercy and One More Reason. It was the groups second LP, Cocked & Loaded that contained their biggest and most identifiable hit, however, with The Ballad of Jayne. This ode to actress Jayne Mansfield eschews the sleaze metal pedigree of early L.A. Guns, but The Ballad of Jayne is still a great example of a melodic, dramatic rock song with plenty of hooks and commercial appeal.


#8: Wait For You (1989) Bonham

The Disregard of Timekeeping felt, at the time anyway, as a contemporary way of keeping the legacy of Jason Bonhams father, John Bonham alive in the public eye. The bands biggest hit, Wait For You, was a nice amalgamation of that bluesy Led Zeppelin sound pioneered by Jasons dad with the polished and produced arena rock of the day. The musical chops of Bonham (the band) never felt in question, since Wait For You features intriguing percussive moves and cool guitar riffing alongside Daniel MacMasters best Robert Plant impression. These unique elements all allowed Wait For You to stick out from a very crowded hair metal landscape in a great way.


#7: Ill Never Let You Go (1990) Steelheart

It was a very crowded world back in the 1980s, an ocean of high-registered singers all seeking their slice of the hard rock pie. Steelhearts Miljenko Matijevic was truly on another level, however, a frontman whose high notes dominate their best selling single, Ill Never Let You Go. The song itself is arranged like a traditional power ballad, but its Matijevics powerhouse performance thats allowed for Ill Never Let You Go to ensure on through to the modern day. Oh, and just when you think Matijevic is done shooting for the stratosphere, Ill Never Let You Go essentially tells all other pretenders to hold its beer, while the Croatian-born singer hits a high-note home run.


#6: Someone Like You (1989) Bang Tango

The late eighties and early nineties saw all manner of hair metal mainstays and wannabes doing what they could to stay relevant against the changing commercial tide. This included inserting influences from other genres into the mix, including the funkiness of L.A.s Bang Tango. Someone Like You anchors its presence on that cool, slinky bassline from the reduplicated Kyle Kyle. The song is also nice and sleazy, to boot, featuring a howling-mad performance from lead singer Joe Leste. Its a shame that Bang Tangos 1989 debut, Psycho Cafe, isnt more remembered, because the album actually had some solid, outside-the-box material.


#5: Love Is on the Way (1992) Saigon Kick

Floridas Saigon Kick were another group that broke free from hair metal conventions as grunge started encroaching back in the early nineties. Love Is on the Way actually isnt very indicative of how hard-edged Saigon Kick generally were as a band, yet theres no denying the effectiveness of this tender ballad. The impeccably-produced acoustic approach serves Love Is on the Way very well, while the vocal harmonies are deftly executed and melodically effective. Saigon Kick may have rocked harder on their records, but Love Is on the Way was a huge hit for them during hair metals lean years.


#4: Love Has Taken Its Toll (1989) Saraya

Theres just no other way to say it; Saraya shouldve been bigger. The New Jersey-based act was certainly promoted at first, with a lot of buzz surrounding frontwoman Sandi Saraya. The bands self-titled debut is chock full of GREAT songs, including Back to the Bullet and the albums main single, Love Has Taken Its Toll. Sarayas sound mixes in bluesy swagger, pop hooks and riff-heavy aggression with compositional skills that simply sound leaps and bounds above their competition. Maybe this was the problem, since 1989 is fairly late in the game for a sound like Sarayas, but dont let any perceived anachronisms discourage you from checking out this album: its EXCELLENT.


#3: Im on to You (1988) Hurricane

Never has a nah nah nah sounded so good. The collective lineup of Hurricane was very talented, including members with resumes of working with Ozzy Osbourne, Foreigner and Yes. Im on to You was the second single from the bands Over the Edge album, an excellent album of polished late-eighties hair metal. Kelly Hansens vocals lead the charge here with commanding works on the verses and a chorus thats catchier than sniffles in a ball pit. The guitars may take somewhat of a backseat here, but the actual album proper contained more than its fair share of riff exercises. And were willing to bet that youre already singing that nah nah nah for the rest of the day. Youre welcome.


#2: Bang Bang (1989) Danger Danger

The nature of hair metals commerciality was fairly predictable back in the eighties. The rinse-and-repeat cycle was usually to release a hard-rocking anthem first, followed up by a tender ballad. New Yorks Danger Danger didnt do it that way, however, and instead released two catchy rockers in a row with Naughty Naughty and Bang Bang. The gimmick was clear from the get-go, but Danger Dangers debut album was actually chock full of bangers, including Under the Gun, Rock America and Dont Walk Away. Bang Bang did the best on the charts, however, climbing to number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100 and 39 on the Mainstream Rock chart.


#1: Dont Close Your Eyes (1989) Kix

Hair metal bands tended to sing about certain topics time and time again. Rockin. Lovin. Fighting for rock, or searching for love. The subjects of depression and self-destruction, however, usually weren't on the cards. This is why Dont Close Your Eyes by Kix still works for us today. The song was written in collaboration with an outside songwriter, Bob Halligan, Jr. and features a particularly strong performance from lead singer Steve Whiteman. The latters work on both the chorus, as well as an outstanding bridge section, lends some believable emotion to the song. Kix was a band that usually only concerned themselves with the aforementioned rockin and partyin themes, but Dont Close Your Eyes was a welcome deviation from that formula.


Were you around during the original hair metal boom? What are some deep cuts from the era you think fans should discover? Shout your favorites out LOUD in the comments!

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