3 Rock Songs From 1989 You Heard While Shopping at the Mall With Your Friends

Remember going to the mall with your friends as a teenager? From the late 1980s through the 2000s, the mall was the go-to “third place” for teenagers of all walks of life. And if you were an 80s teen, I bet you jammed out to these three rock songs from 1989 while loitering around the mall with your pals.

“Free Fallin’” by Tom Petty from ‘Full Moon Fever’

There’s no way I could leave this heartland rock classic off our list here. This Tom Petty jam, co-written by ELO’s Jeff Lynne, was one of the biggest rock songs of the year. Years later, it’s still the song that most people immediately think of when they think of Tom Petty. And I don’t know about you, but I can’t help but groove a little when it comes on the radio, even today.

“Free Fallin’” by Tom Petty was a No. 7 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart back in 1972. It also topped the Mainstream Rock chart in the US.

“When I See You Smile” by Bad English from ‘Bad English’

Remember this glam metal classic? Bad English had quite a hit on their hands with this late-80s offering. “When I See You Smile” peaked at No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart and did similarly well in Canada. The music video for the song was also a pretty big deal on MTV in 1989. If you were a young glam metal fan that year, you were probably jamming out to “When I See You Smile” constantly.

“Mixed Emotions” by The Rolling Stones from ‘Steel Wheels’

The Rolling Stones weren’t interested in slowing down in 1989, and this song from Steel Wheels was a hard rock delight that made it to radio and mall speakers in tandem that year. Whether you were an 80s teen mall rat or a diehard fan of The Stones since the 60s, you probably enjoyed this very direct rocker of a track. 

“Mixed Emotions” by The Rolling Stones peaked at No. 1 in Canada and (surprisingly) only made it to No. 36 in the UK. However, the song was a smash hit in the US. It reached No. 5 on the Hot 100 and topped the Mainstream Rock chart.

(Photo by Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage)