In 1975, Heart had their first Top 10 hit, with “Magic Man“. The song, Heart’s second single, is from their freshman Dreamboat Annie project. By the time the 80s hit, the band, made up of sisters Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson, had been part of the rock music charts for well over a decade.
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These are four of Heart’s best songs from the 80s, even though they didn’t all hit No. 1.
“What About Love”
In 1985, Heart had a Top 5 hit with “What About Love”. On their self-titled eighth studio album, “What About Love” is written by Brian Allen, Sheron Alton, and Jim Vallance.
One of Heart’s most well-known songs, Vallance says it also is one that didn’t take long for the three writers to write.
“I don’t want to say it was easy, because writing songs is never easy, but ‘What About Love’ came together very quickly,” Vallance tells American Songwriter. “The song only took two or three hours to complete, with each of us contributing equal portions of music and lyrics. I came away thinking we’d really ‘clicked’ as a songwriting team, and I thought the song was more than good.”
“What About Love” says, “What about love / Don’t you want someone to care about you / What about love / Don’t let it slip away / What about love / I only want to share it with you You might need it someday.”
“Nothin’ At All”
Also on Heart is “Nothin’ At All”. Written by Mark Mueller, the song came out as a single in 1986, “Nothin’ At All”. It peaked inside the Top 10.
A sweet love song, with a rocking beat, “Nothin’ At All” says, “It was nothin’ at all / Like anything I had felt before / And it was nothing at all / Like I thought no it’s so much more / No one else has ever made / Me feel this way / When I asked you how you did it / You just say It was nothin’ at all.”
“Alone”
Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly are the two writers of “Alone”, a song about being unable to share one’s true feelings. The pair first released it on their Taking A Cold Look album, under i-Ten, their short-lived band. In 1987, Heart released it as the first single from their Bad Animals album. The song became a three-week No. 1 hit for Heart. Steinberg tells Songfacts that they rewrote part of “Alone” to make it more suitable for Heart.
“Alone” says, “Till now I always got by on my own / I never really cared until I met you / And now it chills me to the bone / How do I get you alone / How do I get you alone.”
Celine Dion includes “Alone” on her 2007 Taking Chances project.
“Who Will You Run To”
Heart follows “Alone” with “Who Will You Run To”, written by hit songwriter Diane Warren. The song is a cautionary tale about leaving a relationship in search of something new.
“Who Will You Run To” says, “Who will you run to when it all falls down / Who’s gonna pick your world up off the ground / Who’s gonna take away the tears you cry / Who’s gonna love you baby as good as I.”
Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images
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