3 Hard Rock Songs From 1990 That Are Impossible To Forget

While we now measure streaming hits in the billions, older music has persisted, with many classic tracks soaring well past the billion-plays mark. And regardless of popular music trends, culture always seems to reach back to the past, creating new trends out of the old ones.

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In 1990, three hard rock bands released timeless songs that are impossible to forget. When they arrived, each song sounded both classic and modern at the same time. So it’s no surprise that they’ve never gone out of fashion. Let’s begin our 1990 tour Down Under with Australia’s finest hard rock band.

“Thunderstruck” by AC/DC

Angus Young opens “Thunderstruck” with a flight-of-the-bumblebee-like motif. A flurry of notes announcing to those about to rock that we, indeed, salute you. Of course, AC/DC has many enduring classics: “Back In Black”, “You Shook Me All Night Long”, and “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”, to name a few. However, “Thunderstruck” and its iconic guitar intro have long been ubiquitous at major sporting events. And hopefully, like the bees, it’ll stick around forever.

“Kickstart My Heart” by Mötley Crüe

Though the guitar intro to “Kickstart My Heart” is quite similar to “Bad Motor Scooter” by Montrose, most hard rock fans could name that tune in less than a few whammy bar bends. Mötley Crüe’s signature song, which peaked on the charts in 1990, describes bassist Nikki Sixx and his near-death drug overdose. According to Sixx, he was declared dead before paramedics revived him. With Dr. Feelgood, the band had reached its commercial heights before glam metal finally ran its course. Yet Mötley Crüe, like Sixx, has survived, outlasting the scene they helped popularize and continues to tour 45 years after forming in Los Angeles.

When we started this band, all we needed,
Needed was a laugh.
Years gone by, I’d say we’ve kicked some a*s.

“Hard To Handle” by The Black Crowes

The Black Crowes had a hit in 1990 with a hard rock cover of Otis Redding’s R&B classic. When brothers Chris and Rich Robinson emerged from Atlanta, they released a Southern rock masterpiece accompanied by the kind of sibling rivalry that would even shock Oasis. Shake Your Money Maker was loaded with hits. It immediately sounded classic and stood apart from the West Coast’s glitzy bands then dominating MTV. Additionally, before Brendan O’Brien produced blockbuster albums by Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots, he burned the bluesy guitar solos on this track.

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