3 Forgotten Hair Metal Songs From 1984

Van Halen’s 1984 featured the hit single “Jump”, a keyboard song performed by the world’s greatest rock guitarist, Eddie Van Halen. Both Van Halen’s two-word band name and keyboard hit inspired John Bongiovi Jr. to call his group Bon Jovi and paved the way for Bon Jovi’s own 1984 keyboard hit, “Runaway”. The year was good for hair metal and hair metal-adjacent bands as MTV continued to surge in popularity. Many classic hard rock songs arrived in 1984, so this list goes deep in the hair metal weeds to uncover three you might have forgotten.

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“Alone Again” by Dokken

You might remember Dokken for the theme song to A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. Don Dokken and his band were closer to Ratt than Mötley Crüe and beloved by aspiring shredders who admired guitarist George Lynch. As with most hair metal groups in the 1980s, Dokken interspersed power ballads with squelching hard rock riffs. “Alone Again” appeared on the band’s second album, Tooth And Nail. The highlight, like many Dokken songs, is Lynch’s soaring guitar solo. Cue the weary-band-on-the-road music video.

“Wanted Man” by Ratt

Ratt’s “Round And Round” became so popular that it wound up in a 2020 Geico commercial called “Ratt Problem”. The song propelled Ratt’s debut Out Of The Cellar to multi-platinum status and regular rotation on MTV. But “Wanted Man” kicks off the album with the dueling guitars of Robbin Crosby and Warren DeMartini. Stephen Pearcy and his distinct broken-glass vocal delivery towed the line between heavy metal and the glossy pop hooks that made “Round And Round” a massive hit.

“Up Around The Bend” by Hanoi Rocks

Hanoi Rocks put a glam rock twist on Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Up Around The Bend” on their 1984 album Two Steps From The Move. The band was deeply influential to Guns N’ Roses, Poison, and Skid Row, though they never achieved as much commercial success. The Finnish group was led by singer Michael Monroe, and they sounded closer to the 70s punk and glam bands that later shaped hair metal. The album was the last to feature drummer Nicholas “Razzle” Dingley. He died in a drunk driving accident involving Mötley Crüe’s frontman, Vince Neil. Razzle was only 24.

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