3 Rock Songs From 1984 That Made You Want To Play Guitar

Synthesizers may have helped define the sound of the 1980s, but the guitar was very much still alive and well in rock music. Inspiring guitarists powered many of the decade’s biggest hits as new wave, post-punk, rock, and heavy metal all rose in popularity. And if you were a kid coming of age in the neon decade, these rock songs from 1984 likely made you want to play guitar.

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“Panama” by Van Halen

Let’s say you missed the first Van Halen album and with it, you missed “Eruption”. For this thought experiment, the first Van Halen song you hear is “Jump”, which is propelled by a synthesizer. So you go out and purchase 1984, the band’s sixth release, and after “Jump” you hear “Panama”. Once you finish asking where the synth is, you stare at your speakers and listen to Eddie Van Halen, arguably the most influential electric guitarist in his lifetime. Amid the shrieking howls of David Lee Roth, Eddie’s crushing riffs and gymnastic solos are enough to inspire anyone to pick up the guitar.

“Rebel Yell” by Billy Idol

Released as a single and title track in 1984 from Billy Idol’s second solo LP, “Rebel Yell” opens with one of the most iconic guitar riffs of the 1980s. Steve Stevens helped pen one of Idol’s signature tunes while bridging the gap between new wave and hard rock. For those who couldn’t tolerate the era’s burgeoning glam metal scene, Stevens offered similar guitar stylings with the attitude of a New York punk. He can shred with the precision of an in-demand session musician, but Stevens’s playing also mimics, of all things, lasers. Something he recreated on Michael Jackson’s smash hit, “Dirty Diana”.

“Pride (In The Name Of Love)” by U2

Most musicians, like most artists, copy what’s come before. U2 grew up in the church, but the Irish band found its schooling in late 70s punk and post-punk. However, The Edge reworked the minimalist guitar styles of his heroes with a unique approach to effects pedals. When “Pride (In The Name Of Love)” arrived, it sounded like a multitude of guitar tracks, but when you watched U2 live, The Edge was all alone, stage right, turning arpeggios into melting icicles with the help of a delay pedal. The Edge infused U2’s post-punk with cathedral ambience. And in doing so, he spawned a new generation and an entirely new type of rock guitarist.

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