3 Rock Songs From 1998 That Still Make Me Smile Today

The latter part of the 1990s includes some of the best rock music ever released. Among the great rock songs that came out towards the end of the decade are these three tunes. All out in 1998, I still can’t help but smile when I hear them today.

“I Don’t Want to Miss A Thing” by Aerosmith

Written by Diane Warren, Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” became one of their biggest hits. The Grammy-nominated song is part of the blockbuster film Armageddon, starring Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, and Liv Tyler, daughter of Aerosmith’s lead singer, Steven Tyler.

A four-week No. 1 single, “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” says, “Don’t wanna close my eyes / I don’t wanna fall asleep / ‘Cause I’d miss you, baby / And I don’t wanna miss a thing.”

In 1998, country singer Mark Chesnutt released a cover of “Don’t Want To Miss A Thing”. Although it became a No. 1 single for Chesnutt, he later said he regretted recording it.

“Slide” by The Goo Goo Dolls

“Slide” by The Goo Goo Dolls is part of their Dizzy Up The Girl record. The song was written by the band’s lead singer, John Rzeznik.

The song says in part, “I wanna wake up where you are / I won’t say anything at all / So why don’t you slide?“

“Slide” became a two-week No. 1 hit for The Goo Goo Dolls, even if a lot of people didn’t get the song’s true meaning.

“If you really sit and listen to the lyrics, the song is actually about these two teenage kids and the girlfriend gets pregnant,” Rzeznik later reveals.

“Slide” is The Goo Goo Dolls’ final No. 1 single.

“Wishlist” by Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam had a Top 10 single with “Wishlist”, the second single from their Yield album, after “Given To Fly”. Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder is the sole writer of “Wishlist”. 

“Wishlist” says, “I wish I was the pedal brake that you depended on / I wish I was the verb ‘to trust’ and never let you down.”

Vedder later said “Wishlist” was a “stream-of-consciousness exercise.” 

Yield also includes “Given To Fly”, a No. 1 single for Pearl Jam. “Wishlist” is the only song Pearl Jam released in 1998. One year later, the band released the Top 5 single, “Last Kiss”. That song remains one of Pearl Jam’s biggest hits.

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