These 4 No. 1 Hits Prove That 1985 Was the Year of Epic Music

The 80s are known for giving us a string of unforgettable power ballads and sing-along-able hits. However, the sweet spot for “epic” music is really right in the middle of the decade. Here are three songs that prove there was something in the air in 1985.

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“I Want To Know What Love Is” by Foreigner

It’s obvious that there’s a special kind of magic in this Foreigner hit. It’s no wonder; Mick Jones wrote this one at about three in the morning.

“I always worked late at night, when everybody left, and the phone stopped ringing,” the songwriter told Louder. “‘I Want To Know What Love Is’ came up at three in the morning sometime in 1984, I don’t know where it came from.”

He continued, “I consider it a gift that was sent through me. I think there was something bigger than me behind it. I’d say it was probably written entirely by a higher force.”

“Heaven” by Bryan Adams

In “Heaven”, Bryan Adams sings of an overpowering sort of love. There’s just something about the 80s rocker’s raspy voice over the piano and guitar that makes this song unforgettable.

Baby, you’re all that I want
When you’re lyin’ here in my arms
I’m findin’ it hard to believe
We’re in heaven
And love is all that I need
And I found it there in your heart
It isn’t too hard to see
We’re in heaven.

“The Power Of Love” by Huey Lewis and The News

If you’ve ever seen Back To The Future, you might remember this song from a little scene where Marty McFly hears it while riding on his skateboard.

According to Alex Hall, who wrote the song with Huey Lewis, it didn’t take long for Huey Lewis and The News to cut this one.

“I was hanging out in LA and writing,” he told SongFacts. “And I had kind of a big power ballad thing called Power Of Love. Huey called me up one day and said, ‘What are you writing?’ And I said, ‘I’ve got this song called ‘Power Of Love’.’ A few months later, they cut me in the deal.”

“We Built This City” by Starships

Written by Martin Page and Elton John lyricist extraordinaire Bernie Taupin, “We Built This City” was actually meant to be a bit of a dig at the music scene in Los Angeles at the time.

Taupin told Rolling Stone, “The original song was a very dark kind of mid-tempo song … about how club life in L.A. was being killed off and live acts had no place to go. A guy called Peter Wolf [the producer] … got ahold of the demo and totally changed it. He jerry-rigged it into the pop hit it was.”

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