3 Guilty Pleasure Power Ballads From the 1980s That You Shouldn’t Feel Guilty About Liking

The power ballad was just as essential to the 1980s as hairspray, shoulder pads, and neon. You might call them corny, another might say earnest, but those two things aren’t always mutually exclusive.

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Now, the guilty pleasure suggests shame. But you don’t need to feel ashamed to enjoy the power ballads on this list. The only thing required is a good set of speakers with plenty of volume to help you manage the guilt.

“Wanted Dead Or Alive” by Bon Jovi from ‘Slippery When Wet’ (1986)

When Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora performed “Wanted Dead Or Alive” at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards, it foreshadowed one of the cable channel’s most popular series: MTV Unplugged. But Bon Jovi’s outlaw tune had already set the standard for both power ballads and the requisite black-and-white video of a fatigued band on the road. They fused the blue-collar appeal of fellow New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen with the sky-high hooks of pop superstars. This is Bob Seger’s “Turn The Page” if it had been written on the New Jersey Turnpike.

“I Remember You” by Skid Row from ‘Skid Row’ (1989)

If you wanted to sing in a glam metal band in the 1980s, you, of course, needed good hair, but you also needed the kind of voice capable of wailing a power ballad. Thanks to Mötley Crüe’s “Home Sweet Home”, every hair metal band needed a ballad. You might release the heavy song first, but the audience knew exactly what to expect next. Skid Row released “Youth Gone Wild”, but quickly followed with “18 And Life” and “I Remember You”. I chose the latter because of Sebastian Bach’s Rob Halford-like screams.

 “Alone” by Heart from ‘Bad Animals’ (1987)

“Alone” was first recorded by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly under the name i-Ten in 1983. The next year, Valerie Stevenson and John Stamos recorded a cover for their roles on the CBS sitcom Dreams. However, once you hear Ann Wilson sing it, there’s really no need for any other version to exist. Heart pivoted to hard rock in the 1980s, and “Alone” became a huge hit. Wilson despairs at the thought of loneliness until she can no longer bear it. Then her sister, Nancy, and the rest of the band kick in with a guitar- and keyboard-heavy banger of a chorus.

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