4 Super Underrated Songs From 1988 That Hit the Top 10

1988 was a heady time in the world of pop music. All kinds of genres were starting to muscle their way onto mainstream radio. As we look back on the charts from that era, a few cool songs that we might have either forgotten or at least put on the back burner of our consciousness did pretty well.

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These four tracks made it all the way to the Top 10 in 1988. See if they ring a few bells as you check them out all over again.

“Don’t Shed A Tear” by Paul Carrack

Paul Carrack had already made his mark singing with three top-notch bands by 1987. He had scored big hits with Ace and Mike + The Mechanics. And although it wasn’t a US pop smash, “Tempted”, the soulful number he belted out for Squeeze, was a classic in its own right. The timing was right for his third solo record, considering he was fresh off his success with Mike + The Mechanics. “Don’t Shed A Tear” turned out to be his biggest ever hit in the US as a solo act, landing at No. 9. So often, Carrack, with his naturally bluesy voice, carried sad, slow songs. Here, he had the chance to defiantly kiss off a femme fatale in a groove-laden record, and he delivered an outstanding performance.

“Don’t You Know What The Night Can Do?” by Steve Winwood

Winwood found his solo mojo with Back In The High Life. That 1987 album found him inhabiting the frontman role more willingly than ever before, and it paid off. Wanting to strike while the iron was hot, he churned out the follow-up, Roll With It, less than a year later. The title track kept it going for him, soaring to the top of the charts. The next single, “Don’t You Know What The Night Can Do?”, had already received plenty of exposure thanks to its inclusion in a beer commercial. Winwood caught some flak for that, even though the song was completed before the commercial was even conceived. In any case, it’s an excellent slow-building track that reaches effortless peaks thanks to Winwood’s wailing vocals.

“Rush Hour” by Jane Wiedlin

Wiedlin had been one of the chief songwriters for The Go-Go’s during their early 80s hot streak. But her dissatisfaction about not getting the chance to sing some of the songs that she wrote played a big role in the band’s breakup. Her first solo record in 1985 didn’t make much of a dent. She came back three years later with Fur right around the time that her former bandmate Belinda Carlisle was cleaning up as a solo act. Wiedlin’s solo material tended toward the quirkier and more offbeat. But with “Rush Hour”, she found that light, effervescent, upbeat pop feel that so characterized her former band. And it launched her to the Top 10, eventually peaking at the No. 9 spot.

“Electric Blue” by Icehouse

The Australian band Icehouse had already been in existence for ten years and had scored many hits in their native country by the time 1988 rolled around. During the planning of their 1987 album Man Of Colours, lead singer Russell Davies ran into John Oates in New York. Davies invited Oates out to Australia for a little holiday and perhaps some songwriting. Since Hall & Oates were on a hiatus, he accepted. Initially, their writing sessions didn’t yield anything fruitful, so they took a break and went to the beach. That’s when the pair encountered a woman with startlingly blue eyes, paving the way to “Electric Blue”. The breezy hit broke Icehouse in America, landing at No. 7 in the US.

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