We Love These 4 Rock Songs That Just Missed the Top 40 in 1982

When you look at the pop charts from 1982, you’ll see the influence of the British New Romantics, who really started to make their mark. In addition, rock acts of a more traditional bent also did some damage in 1982 with crossover smashes.

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The four rock songs on this list all hail from that year. And they all feel like they could have been big hits. But they actually came up just shy of Top 40 status.

“Johnny Can’t Read” by Don Henley

It’s safe to say that anticipation for Don Henley’s first solo material was extremely high. After all, here was a guy who was one of the driving artistic forces behind the Eagles, one of the biggest bands of the previous decade. Yet “Johnny Can’t Read”, Henley’s first solo single that he co-wrote with Danny Kortchmar, mostly underwhelmed, at least on radio. It only made it to No. 42 on the pop charts. Maybe the public missed the subtle social commentary and sly humor that he slipped into the track. The music, with its chirpy organ, is hard to deny. Luckily, Henley quickly bounced back with “Dirty Laundry”, the biting follow-up single that vaulted all the way to the Top 5.

“Since You’re Gone” by The Cars

The Cars always had a knack for putting a twist on even the most well-trodden musical paths. In the case of “Since You’re Gone”, it’s basically a tale of a jilted guy bemoaning the loss of his lover. But Ric Ocasek keeps adding one-liners that make the song just a little bit quirkier than the norm. For example, consider the narrator’s final shrug of a complaint about life after her: “Well, the moonlight ain’t so great.” Then there are the striking musical touches, such as the clip-clop rhythm that starts the song before the crunching guitars take over. Elliot Easton delivers a bendy solo to add icing to the cake. Surprisingly, this endlessly clever track topped out at No. 41.

“Workin’ For A Livin’” by Huey Lewis And The News

Huey Lewis and the News needed a hit badly heading into their second album. After all, their blues-based rock and roll wasn’t exactly the style of the moment when they burst onto the scene. And they were a bit long in the tooth for your typical new rock band, which also worked against them. Luckily, the Mutt Lange-penned “Do You Believe In Love” opened the floodgates for Huey and company by hitting No. 7 in 1982. Alas, “Workin’ For A Livin’”, despite being a fine distillation of the band’s strengths, couldn’t follow it up beyond the No. 41 spot. Nonetheless, Lewis stood on the cusp of serious commercial success, which would occur with his massive 1983 album Sports.

“If You Want My Love” by Cheap Trick

It’s a little strange that it took Cheap Trick about a decade into their career before the monster hits started coming. And that only started to happen when they looked to outside writers, despite having an ace power pop songsmith in Rick Nielsen. “If You Want My Love”, written by Nielsen, comes from the band’s 1982 album One On One. It was a bit of a turbulent time for them, as the band couldn’t quite settle on a bassist. Nonetheless, the presence of producer Roy Thomas Baker helps here, via the sound of the massive backing vocals, a la what he coaxed from bands like The Cars and Queen. Despite it being quite the potent power ballad, “If You Want My Love” could do no better than No. 45.

Photo by Pete Cronin/Redferns