4 Overplayed 80s Pop Songs You Used To Avoid (But Now Kind of Like)

You know the phrase “time heals all wounds.” With enough time, one’s pain will fade. The same can be true for overplayed songs you once tried to avoid. You may even require a dash of irony—though not always—to admit you now kind of like these overplayed pop songs from the 1980s.

Videos by American Songwriter

“Sister Christian” by Night Ranger

If you’re old enough, you probably know “Sister Christian” from the Boogie Nights soundtrack. If you’re even older than that, you’ll know it from rock radio in the 1980s. Drummer Kelly Keagy wrote Night Ranger’s biggest hit about how quickly his kid sister had grown up. He sings the tune from behind the kit, and the peak moment in the music video happens when Keagy pounds a drum fill before quickly spinning toward the camera to sing the final verse.  

“Sunglasses At Night” by Corey Hart

So I can’t tell if Corey Hart is wearing sunglasses to hide from his cheating lover or whether the shades offer some kind of intuition about the affair. But I imagine him sneaking around to the soundtrack of a spooky synth riff while his partner obviously sees him following her, sticking out like a sore thumb because he’s wearing sunglasses at night. Still, you might crank the hook when Hart sings: “Don’t switch the blade / On the guy in shades, oh no.”

“Total Eclipse Of The Heart” by Bonnie Tyler

I didn’t appreciate this track until I witnessed Brandi Carlile perform it at her Girls Just Wanna Weekend festival in Mexico. Each year, Carlile plays a dedicated 80s set, backed by her band and guest vocalists. I was there performing with another artist and wound up on stage while Carlile and friends ripped through “Total Eclipse Of The Heart”. Now, Carlile could probably change my mind on just about any song after hearing her sing it. Nonetheless, Bonnie Tyler’s hit is a lengthy and dramatic seven minutes of earnest earworms.

“In The Air Tonight” by Phil Collins

When you play this track, you know exactly what you’re waiting for. And wait, you will. It takes the time of a standard pop song to expire before Phil Collins bashes the epic drum fill. As a kid, I turned the dial when this one came on the radio. But I’ve since set myself straight. With producer Hugh Padgham, Collins captured one of the most iconic drum sounds in pop music. If you hear gated reverb on a drum kit, it can most likely be traced back to “In The Air Tonight”. (And Peter Gabriel’s “Intruder”, which also features Collins on drums.)

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