Do You Remember These 4 Hits From Classic Rockers That Hit the Top 10 in 1980?

Rock and roll had a lot of competition for radio supremacy in 1980. Disco was still clinging to relevance, soft rock was in the middle of its heyday, and New Wave was starting to muscle its way into the picture. That’s why we were surprised to see that a bunch of hits from classic rock legends worked their way into the Top 10 in 1980. See if you remember them and how well they did.

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“Let My Love Open the Door” by Pete Townshend

Pete Townshend probably had way too much on his plate in the late 70s and early 80s for what he was equipped to handle, considering he was dealing with personal issues at the time. He wanted to launch a solo career with more force than he’d previously attempted. And he was trying to write enough material to also satisfy The Who, who were trying to rev back up into more active mode. In the middle of it all, Townshend dropped a lyrically serene, musically catchy beauty in “Let My Love Open The Door”. It was refreshing to hear him in more of a pop mode than he’d inhabited since the earliest Who singles. And the audience responded, making the song a No. 9 hit in the US.

“De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da” by The Police

Nobody in the rock world made use of an impressive vocabulary quite like Sting. Which is why it was so ironic that “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da” carried such weight on the pop charts, considering the nonsensical lyrics in the refrains. Sting later complained about the critics who ripped on that portion of the song, rightfully protesting that the verses actually make salient, eloquent points about the limits of wordplay. The song features The Police in more of a pop mode than they’d shown to that point in their careers. A phalanx of synths effectively plays off the prickly guitar work of Andy Summers. It all led to a No. 10 for the first single from Zenyatta Mondatta.

“Hey Nineteen” by Steely Dan

Considering how they refused to play the pop music game and release easily digestible, unchallenging music, it’s amazing that Steely Dan enjoyed as much chart success as they did. “Hey Nineteen”, found on the album Gaucho, rolled to No. 10 in 1980 to continue that success of hits. Musically, it features a herky-jerky rhythm and textures that skew much closer to jazz than pop. On the lyrical side, Donald Fagen plays a character who can’t understand why a much younger girl would see anything in him. But that doesn’t stop him from suggesting they both spend an evening with the “Cuervo Gold” and the “fine Colombian.” Fagen and Walter Becker certainly possessed a knack for spicing up the pop charts during their run together.

“Fire Lake” by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band

Bob Seger had it all working as the 70s segued into the 80s. Maybe, in that sense, it’s not too surprising that “Fire Lake”, a single among several hits from Against The Wind, made it all the way to No. 6 upon its release in 1980. The song also received a boost when special guests (and Seger buddies) Glenn Frey, Timothy B. Schmit, and Don Henley provided their inimitable Eagles blend on backing vocals. Seger also benefited from the groove conjured by the Muscle Shoals rhythm section. Lyrically, Seger uses the titular location as an allegory for the places you go in life from which there is no figurative return. “Fire Lake” doesn’t get as much run these days as some of Seger’s other hits, but it should.

Photo by Rob Verhorst/Redferns