Currently Booming: Dokken on American Bandstand (1985)

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Mötley Crüe - 'Wild Side'

Gang fights
Fatal strikes
We lie on the wild side
No escape
Murder rape
Doing time on the wild side
A baby cries
A cop dies
A day's pay on the wild side
Wild side, wild side
Tragic life on the wild side
Wild side, wild side
Kickin ass on the Wild Side

Motley Crue's "Wild Side" always takes me back to high school- on one day in particular. When I was in 11th grade I'd spend my morning cramming in all of my academic classes so that my afternoon could be spent at a vocational school. Cosmetology seemed like a dream job for a 16-year old girl that spent plenty of time teasing her own hair and being in beauty school meant that I had a little card that gave me access to every professional beauty supply store around. My supply of Apple Pectin shampoo was endless and eventually, I traded in a big can of Aqua Net for an even larger can of Vavoom which cemented your hair in place AND made it smell like coconut.

Anyway, the afternoon bus was filled with headbangers that had zero desire to go to college when they could be learning how to take a car engine apart, cook like a pro or even become a medical assistant, all while in high school. This bus ride was the high point of most days because we truly became a family and had each other's backs, no matter what. Most days the same 3 people sat in the very last row trying to hide the fact that they were smoking a blunt. It was normal. We kept the windows open in the dead of winter and usually had an ancient bus driver that was more concerned with how loud the boom box was than anything else. 

On this particular day, there was a fill-in, much younger bus driver, one who didn't care if the music was blaring. Motley Crue had just released Girls, Girls, Girls and the song "Wild Side" was our new anthem. Since the driver told the guys to play it as loud as they wanted to, our bus was rocking, with that one song playing on repeat. The guys decided to be extra brave and they lit up a bowl in the back seat. We figured that might be pushing it and halfway to the school the driver pulled over and came storming up the aisle. We thought we were dead. Since no one would dime anyone out I was expecting to go down for pot that I hadn't even touched. The guys hit the switch on the radio as the rest of us braced for hell. Instead, the young driver had come to the back of the bus to smoke with the guys!

After a minute or two, he galloped up the aisle, sat back down in the driver's seat and delivered us all to school, with Motley Crue still blaring, of course. Talk about taking a drive on the wild side!

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Ratt - 'Round And Round'

I knew right from the beginning

That you would end up winnin'

I knew right from the start

You'd put an arrow through my heart

Round and round

With love we'll find a way just give it time

Round and round

What comes around goes around

I'll tell you why, dig

My kids have a really hard time imagining what life was like back in the 80's, when patience and waiting were both the order of the day. We're all so used to YouTubing whatever video clip that we want to see when we want it that's it's almost hard to think of life before the internet. Back in 1984 our lives revolved around MTV and the fact that they seemed to repeat popular videos every 4 hours or so. Believe me when I say that my friends and I did the math and would come running inside when we thought that a favorite video was going to air.

One of the first ones that I can really remember planning my life around was Ratt's "Round and Round".  It was before hair bands and glam metal had really hit the mainstream so they were really different. Plus they weren't just playing their song onstage somewhere, there was actually a freaky storyline that included an attic dinner with real rats and Milton Berle. It was really just a taste of what was to come because a few years later hair bands like Ratt were ruling the charts.

"Round and Round", off of Ratt's debut Out of the Cellar album ended up being their most popular song. It climbed to #12 on Billboard's Hot 100 in 1984.

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: L.A. Guns- 'The Ballad of Jayne'

Now she's breakin' hearts in heaven
Shinin' bright in the sky
I still hear her voice in the wind
I still think of you in the night, oh yeah
Well I guess you'll never know
How much I need her so

I was trying to find the perfect power ballad for this morning and this song by L.A. Guns came to mind. Back in 1989 "The Ballad of Jayne" caused many headbangers to pause for a moment and think about the lyrics. While the guys admitted that the song was originally a tribute to Hollywood icon, Jayne Mansfield, who was killed in a tragic accident, the lyrics resonated with just about everyone.

If you've ever lost anyone too soon then "The Ballad of Jayne" will hit a nerve. Phil Lewis' haunting vocal makes this one of the best ballads to come out of the 1980's. Plus it is pretty timeless. After taking a listen to "The Ballad of Jayne" for the first time in a while it occurred to me that it could have just been released yesterday. 

As for L.A. Guns, well they're still around playing shows here and there. I'm pretty sure that "The Ballad of Jayne" ends up being one of the best songs in their setlist to this day. 

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: White Lion - 'Tell Me'

Tell me baby all through the night
That you'll never let me go
Tell me baby cause I want the world to know
Together we were one
We found the place where dreams are made
And hearts never broken
We said we'd never leave
You know we couldn't turn around
And face that we had left behind

I remember when White Lion first broke through way back in 1987. I was a junior in high school and Mike Tramp was a hit from the moment my friends and I laid eyes on him. Being almost too pretty in the late 80's equaled major hotness. While that always helps a little, White Lion's Pride album was a solid effort with several truly great tracks. "Tell Me" has always been one of my favorites. Check out the video below, do you remember it?

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Cinderella- 'Nobody's Fool'

"You take your road, I'll take mine
The paths have both been beaten
Searchin' for a change of pace
Love needs to be sweetened
I scream my heart out, just to make a dime
And with that dime I bought your love
But now I've changed my mind
I'm not your fool
Nobody's fool
Nobody's fool
I'm no fool"

Cinderella's debut album, Night Songs is more than 30 years old. THIRTY! Does that make you feel as old as it makes me feel? I'd say that Cinderella spent a few their early year's lost in a sea of fellow headbangers but when I looked back, they actually did chart pretty well. They were also innovative in that all of their first videos had a continuing storyline.

In their first video, "Shake Me" a Cinderella-type girl was transformed into a bad girl that hung with the band. Her wicked sisters (AKA the polka dot twins) were always nearby. "Nobody's Fool" picks up the story with Cinderella heading to practice with the guys but then leaving in order to make it home by midnight.

"Nobody's Fool" ended up being a really popular power ballad, with tons of radio play. MTV also had the video for it on an every four-hour loop for months. In an era where power ballads by glam rockers were everywhere, this song probably lands in my top five or six.

Daily Boom 80's Throwback- Skid Row 'Youth Gone Wild'

"They call us problem child
We spend our lives on trial
We walk an endless mile
We are the youth gone wild
We stand and we won't fall
We're the one and one for all
The writing's on the wall
We are the youth gone wild"

The year was 1989 and you probably were walking around in acid-washed jeans with a huge vat of Aqua Net in your purse, for both your hair AND your boyfriend's. Hairbands ruled the airwaves of Skid Row burst on the scene and instantly felt like they belonged amongst heavy hitters such as Whitesnake and Guns & Roses. They announced their presence with a single called "Youth Gone Wild" which instantly became an anthem for teens everywhere. Ironically, it didn't make the same impression on Billboard's Hot 100 and only charted as high as #99. Not that it really mattered. "Youth" was re-released by Skid Row a few years later and did well. It also became an anthem at sporting events and has been covered by numerous other hard rock bands.

Sidenote, lead singer Sebastian Bach's poster hung in many teen girl's bedrooms way back then. Total hotness.

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Dokken- 'In My Dreams'

What can I say or do
You won't come back, we're through
I've realized too late
That, baby, your love has turned away
In my dreams--it's still the same
Your love is strong, it still remains
In my dreams--you're still by me
Just the way it used to be

I think that one of the most underrated hard rock bands of the 80's is Dokken. While Guns N' Roses, Skid Row and Motley Crue were steamrolling their way to worldwide music domination Dokken was always there too. In their 37 years of performing, they have sold over 10 million records and have had several singles chart well, including "In My Dreams".

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: L.A. Guns- 'The Ballad of Jayne'

Now she's breakin' hearts in heaven
Shinin' bright in the sky
I still hear her voice in the wind
I still think of you in the night, oh yeah
Well I guess you'll never know
How much I need her so

I was trying to find the perfect power ballad for this morning and this song by L.A. Guns came to mind. Back in 1989 "The Ballad of Jayne" caused many headbangers to pause for a moment and think about the lyrics. While the guys admitted that the song was originally a tribute to Hollywood icon, Jayne Mansfield, who was killed in a tragic accident, the lyrics resonated with just about everyone.

If you've ever lost anyone too soon then "The Ballad of Jayne" will hit a nerve. Phil Lewis' haunting vocal makes this one of the best ballads to come out of the 1980's. Plus it is pretty timeless. After taking a listen to "The Ballad of Jayne" for the first time in a while it occurred to me that it could have just been released yesterday. 

As for L.A. Guns, well they're still around playing shows here and there. I'm pretty sure that "The Ballad of Jayne" ends up being one of the best songs in their setlist to this day. 

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Cinderella- 'Nobody's Fool'

You take your road, I'll take mine
The paths have both been beaten
Searchin' for a change of pace
Love needs to be sweetened
I scream my heart out, just to make a dime
And with that dime I bought your love
But now I've changed my mind
I'm not your fool
Nobody's fool
Nobody's fool
I'm no fool

Here's a nugget for all of you glam rock fans out there. Cinderella's debut album, Night Songs is officially 30 years old. THIRTY! Does that make you feel as old as it makes me feel? I'd say that Cinderella spent a bit of their early years lots in a sea of fellow headbangers but when I looked back, they actually did chart pretty well. They were also innovative in that all of their first videos had a continuing storyline.

In their first video, "Shake Me" a Cinderella-type girl was transformed into a bad girl that hung with the band. Her wicked sisters (AKA the polka dot twins) were always nearby. "Nobody's Fool" picks up the story with Cinderella heading to practice with the guys but then leaving in order to make it home by midnight.

"Nobody's Fool" ended up being a really popular power ballad, with tons of radio play. MTV also had the video for it on an every four hour loop for months. In an era where power ballads by glam rockers were everywhere, this song probably lands in my top five or six.

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Whitesnake - 'Is This Love'

"I can't stop the feeling
I've been this way before
But, with you I've found the key
To open any door
I can feel my love for you
Growing stronger day by day,
An' I can't wait to see you again
So I can hold you in my arms"

While the 80's launched synth rock and the careers of icons such as Prince and Madonna it also gave us some pretty magical hair bands, didn't it? I know that you all still (maybe secretly) love your glam rockers because posts featuring them both here and on Boom's Facebook page tend to do really well. There's no shame in my game either because I have no problem admitting that at least one headbanger song turns up in my playlist each and every day.

Back in the 80's bands like Motley Crue, Ratt, Dokken and Winger were smart because each and every album included at least one power ballad. If the female audience wasn't into the blaring guitars then these guys hooked them anyway, one love song at a time. I think we all had our favorites and one glimpse of Whitesnake's "Is This Love" video made me not only fall in lust with the song but also with David Coverdale. It was a dreamy song and even Coverdale's future ex-wife Tawny Kitaen romping around couldn't kill the vibe. In fact, it actually MADE it for every guy that I knew. This song prompted me to buy Whitesnake's self-titled release and the cassette lived in my Walkman for years I think. While my friends had Def Leppard and Motley Crue hanging in their lockers mine was devoted to Coverdale (he may still have a spot on my office wall but that's a totally different story).

I mean, to this day you can't deny the hotness. Also to this day, Whitesnake's 1987 release is by far one of the best records to come out of the 80's and "Still Of The Night" is pretty legendary among every guitarist I've ever talked to. Do your self a favor and revisit the album if you haven't listened in a while. In the meantime, check out the stunning Mr. Coverdale below!

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Mötley Crüe - 'Wild Side'

Gang fights
Fatal strikes
We lie on the wild side
No escape
Murder rape
Doing time on the wild side
A baby cries
A cop dies
A day's pay on the wild side
Wild side, wild side
Tragic life on the wild side
Wild side, wild side
Kickin ass on the Wild Side

Motley Crue's "Wild Side" always takes me back to high school- on one day in particular. When I was in 11th grade I'd spend my morning cramming in all of my academic classes so that my afternoon could be spent at a vocational school. Cosmetology seemed like a dream job for a 16-year old girl that spent plenty of time teasing her own hair and being in beauty school meant that I had a little card that gave me access to every professional beauty supply store around. My supply of Apple Pectin shampoo was endless and eventually I traded in a big can of Aqua Net for an even larger can of Vavoom which cemented your hair in place AND made it smell like coconut.

Anyway, the afternoon bus was filled with headbangers that had zero desire to go to college when they could be learning how to take a car engine apart, cook like a pro or even become a medical assistant, all while in high school. This bus ride was the high point of most days because we truly became a family and had each other's backs, no matter what. Most days the same 3 people sat in the very last row trying to hide the fact that they were smoking a blunt. It was normal. We kept the windows open in the dead of winter and usually had an ancient bus driver that was more concerned with how loud the boom box was than anything else. 

On this particular day, there was a fill-in, much younger bus driver, one who didn't care if the music was blaring. Motley Crue had just released Girls, Girls, Girls and the song "Wild Side" was our new anthem. Since the driver told the guys to play it as loud as they wanted to, our bus was rocking, with that one song playing on repeat. The guys decided to be extra brave and they lit up a bowl in the back seat. We figured that might be pushing it and halfway to the school the driver pulled over and came storming up the aisle. We thought we were dead. Since no one would dime anyone out I was expecting to go down for pot that I hadn't even touched. The guys hit the switch on the radio as the rest of us braced for hell. Instead, the young driver had come to the back of the bus to smoke with the guys!

After a minute or two he galloped up the aisle, sat back down in the drivers seat and delivered us all to school, with Motley Crue still blaring, of course. Talk about taking a drive on the wild side!

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Dokken- 'In My Dreams'

What can I say or do
You won't come back, we're through
I've realized too late
That, baby, your love has turned away
In my dreams--it's still the same
Your love is strong, it still remains
In my dreams--you're still by me
Just the way it used to be

I think that one of the most underrated hard rock bands of the 80's is Dokken. While Guns N' Roses, Skid Row and Motley Crue were steamrolling their way to worldwide music domination Dokken was always there too. In their 37 years of performing they have sold over 10 million records and have had several singles chart well, including "In My Dreams".

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Whitesnake - 'Is This Love'

"I can't stop the feeling
I've been this way before
But, with you I've found the key
To open any door
I can feel my love for you
Growing stronger day by day,
An' I can't wait to see you again
So I can hold you in my arms"

While the 80's launched synth rock and the careers of icons such as Prince and Madonna it also gave us some pretty magical hair bands, didn't it? I know that you all still (maybe secretly) love your glam rockers because posts featuring them both here and on Boom's Facebook page tend to do really well. There's no shame in my game either because I have no problem admitting that at least one headbanger song turns up in my playlist each and every day.

Back in the 80's bands like Motley Crue, Ratt, Dokken and Winger were smart because each and every album included at least one power ballad. If the female audience wasn't into the blaring guitars then these guys hooked them anyway, one love song at a time. I think we all had our favorites and one glimpse of Whitesnake's "Is This Love" video made me not only fall in lust with the song but also with David Coverdale. It was a dreamy song and even Coverdale's future ex-wife Tawny Kitaen romping around couldn't kill the vibe. In fact, it actually MADE it for every guy that I knew. This song prompted me to buy Whitesnake's self-titled release and the cassette lived in my Walkman for years I think. While my friends had Def Leppard and Motley Crue hanging in their lockers mine was devoted to Coverdale (he may still have a spot on my office wall but that's a totally different story).

I mean, to this day you can't deny the hotness. Also to this day, Whitesnake's 1987 release is by far one of the best records to come out of the 80's and "Still Of The Night" is pretty legendary among every guitarist I've ever talked to. Do your self a favor and revisit the album if you haven't listened in a while. In the meantime, check out the stunning Mr. Coverdale below!

Currently Booming: 80's Hair Band Quiz

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: White Lion - 'Tell Me'

Tell me baby all through the night
That you'll never let me go
Tell me baby cause I want the world to know
Together we were one
We found the place where dreams are made
And hearts never broken
We said we'd never leave
You know we couldn't turn around
And face that we had left behind

I remember when White Lion first broke through way back in 1987. I was a junior in high school and Mike Tramp was a hit from the moment my friends and I laid eyes on him. Being almost too pretty in the late 80's equaled major hotness. While that always helps a little, White Lion's Pride album was a solid effort with several truly great tracks. "Tell Me" has always been one of my favorites. Check out the video below, do you remember it?

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Mötley Crüe - 'Wild Side'

Gang fights
Fatal strikes
We lie on the wild side
No escape
Murder rape
Doing time on the wild side
A baby cries
A cop dies
A day's pay on the wild side
Wild side, wild side
Tragic life on the wild side
Wild side, wild side
Kickin ass on the Wild Side

Motley Crue's "Wild Side" always takes me back to high school- on one day in particular. When I was in 11th grade I'd spend my morning cramming in all of my academic classes so that my afternoon could be spent at a vocational school. Cosmetology seemed like a dream job for a 16-year old girl that spent plenty of time teasing her own hair and being in beauty school meant that I had a little card that gave me access to every professional beauty supply store around. My supply of Apple Pectin shampoo was endless and eventually, I traded in a big can of Aqua Net for an even larger can of Vavoom which cemented your hair in place AND made it smell like coconut.

Anyway, the afternoon bus was filled with headbangers that had zero desire to go to college when they could be learning how to take a car engine apart, cook like a pro or even become a medical assistant, all while in high school. This bus ride was the high point of most days because we truly became a family and had each other's backs, no matter what. Most days the same 3 people sat in the very last row trying to hide the fact that they were smoking a blunt. It was normal. We kept the windows open in the dead of winter and usually had an ancient bus driver that was more concerned with how loud the boom box was than anything else. 

On this particular day, there was a fill-in, much younger bus driver, one who didn't care if the music was blaring. Motley Crue had just released Girls, Girls, Girls and the song "Wild Side" was our new anthem. Since the driver told the guys to play it as loud as they wanted to, our bus was rocking, with that one song playing on repeat. The guys decided to be extra brave and they lit up a bowl in the back seat. We figured that might be pushing it and halfway to the school the driver pulled over and came storming up the aisle. We thought we were dead. Since no one would dime anyone out I was expecting to go down for pot that I hadn't even touched. The guys hit the switch on the radio as the rest of us braced for hell. Instead, the young driver had come to the back of the bus to smoke with the guys!

After a minute or two, he galloped up the aisle, sat back down in the driver's seat and delivered us all to school, with Motley Crue still blaring, of course. Talk about taking a drive on the wild side!

Daily Boom 80's Throwback- Skid Row 'Youth Gone Wild'

"They call us problem child
We spend our lives on trial
We walk an endless mile
We are the youth gone wild
We stand and we won't fall
We're the one and one for all
The writing's on the wall
We are the youth gone wild"

The year was 1989 and you probably were walking around in acid washed jeans with a huge vat of Aqua Net in your purse, for both your hair AND your boyfriend's. Hair bands ruled the air waves of Skid Row burst on the scene and instantly felt like they belonged amongst heavy hitters such as Whitesnake and Guns & Roses. They announced their presence with a single called "Youth Gone Wild" which instantly became an anthem for teens everywhere. Ironically, it didn't make the same impression on Billboard's Hot 100 and only charted as high as #99. Not that it really mattered. "Youth" was re-released by Skid Row a few years later and did well. It also became an anthem at sporting events and has been covered by numerous other hard rock bands.

Sidenote, lead singer Sebastian Bach's poster hung in many teen girl's bedrooms way back then. Total hotness.

Currently Booming: 80's Monster Ballads Platinum Edition

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: L.A. Guns- 'The Ballad of Jayne'

Now she's breakin' hearts in heaven
Shinin' bright in the sky
I still hear her voice in the wind
I still think of you in the night, oh yeah
Well I guess you'll never know
How much I need her so

I was trying to find the perfect power ballad for this morning and this song by L.A. Guns came to mind. Back in 1989 "The Ballad of Jayne" caused many headbangers to pause for a moment and think about the lyrics. While the guys admitted that the song was originally a tribute to Hollywood icon, Jayne Mansfield, who was killed in a tragic accident, the lyrics resonated with just about everyone.

If you've ever lost anyone too soon then "The Ballad of Jayne" will hit a nerve. Phil Lewis' haunting vocal makes this one of the best ballads to come out of the 1980's. Plus it is pretty timeless. After taking a listen to "The Ballad of Jayne" for the first time in a while it occurred to me that it could have just been released yesterday. 

As for L.A. Guns, well they're still around playing shows here and there. I'm pretty sure that "The Ballad of Jayne" ends up being one of the best songs in their setlist to this day.