Solo and Loving It: 5 Lead Singers of 80s Bands Who Scored Hits on Their Own

In the 80s, the pop music brass ring was simply too tempting for artists to ignore. In many cases, artists who had made their name as lead singers in successful rock bands stepped out on their own to try for big hits under their own name.

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Most of these artists only managed one hit single or a few before eventually returning to their band. Nonetheless, they managed to make an impact on their own away from the safe cocoon of their larger outfit.

Steve Perry of Journey

Journey enjoyed their greatest success in the early 80s with the one-two punch of the albums Escape and Frontiers. They decided to take a little bit of a break right after, giving Steve Perry, the band’s golden voice, the chance to try out a solo record. Street Talk contained four Top 40 singles, although the other three didn’t make quite the same impact as “Oh Sherrie”. The titular girl in question was Perry’s girlfriend, Sherrie Swafford. This song came with one of those videos-within-the-video that was all the rage at the time.

Mike Reno of Loverboy and Ann Wilson of Heart

We’re giving you a two-for-one with this one from the Footloose soundtrack. Well, if you include the writer, it’s three-for-one. Eric Carmen, once lead singer of the power-popping Raspberries, wrote the music, with Dean Pitchford handling the lyrics. The two singers for this power ballad came into the project at different popularity levels. Ann Wilson’s band Heart had been struggling, although they’d soon go nuclear with the help of outside songwriters. Meanwhile, Loverboy, Mike Reno’s band, was at the tippy-top of their commercial power in ‘84.

Dennis DeYoung of Styx

Styx delivered one of their biggest-ever hit albums in 1983 with Kilroy Was Here, sparked by the unforgettable single “Mr. Roboto”. But bad blood rose up between lead singer Dennis DeYoung, who had come up with the Kilroy concept, and the other members of the band, who objected to the artistic direction. DeYoung didn’t sit around moping. Instead, he knocked off a solo album. And he displayed his unerring touch on the ballads with the bittersweet nostalgia of “Desert Moon”.

Ric Ocasek and Ben Orr of The Cars

The Cars hit their highest commercial peaks on the 1984 album Heartbeat City. By that time, the band had been bashing away at it steadily for the better part of a decade. It made sense that they’d take a little bit of time away from each other following that. Both of the band’s lead singers struck out on their own with solid success. Ric Ocasek hit with the dreamy ballad “Emotions In Motion”. And Ben Orr came through with “Stay The Night”, a moody winner that he also helped to write, something he didn’t get to do with The Cars.

Lou Gramm of Foreigner

Foreigner pretty much couldn’t miss in the 80s. Albums like 4 and Agent Provocateur spun out hit after hit. But there was a bit of an artistic tug-of-war underlying it all. Singer Lou Gramm wanted the band to stick to their rocking roots, while guitarist Mick Jones liked incorporating sensitive ballads. When Jones grabbed the opportunity to make a solo record, he made sure that the first single had a little pep in its step. Gramm wrote “Midnight Blue” with Bruce Turgon, who had once been in the 70s band Black Sheep with the singer.

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