Five Hair Bands That Were A Little Too Late To The ’80s Party

Any time the topic of ’80s hair bands comes up, the first bands that everyone thinks of are Poison, Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Cinderella, Bon Jovi and a host of other mainstream hair bands that charted a number of songs on the Billboard charts in the ’80s. However, there were a number of hair bands that released some great songs right at the end of the 80’s and the beginning of the ’90s. The problem was that when Nirvana and Pearl Jam led the Seattle grunge scene into the mainstream in the early ’90s, hair bands were left high and dry by the record labels. Unfortunately, this was right at the moment when many of them were releasing some of their best music. Here’s a look at five songs from hair bands who were a little too late to the ’80s hair band party:

Giant – ‘I’ll See You In My Dreams’ – Giant formed in 1987, and in 1990, they scored a hit with ‘I’ll See You In My Dreams’, which peaked at number 20 on the Hot 100 charts and number 7 on the Rock charts. Unfortunately, that was their last song that charted on the Hot 100, and by 1992, the band had disbanded.

Every Mother’s Nightmare – ‘Love Can Make You Blind’ – Every Mother’s Nightmare formed in the early ’90s, and one of their biggest hits was this song, ‘Love Can Make You Blind’. Had this song been released in the late ’80s, it would have probably been a top ten hit.

Steelheart – ‘I’ll Never Let You Go’ – If you’ve seen Mark Wahlberg’s movie ‘Rock Star’, you’re familiar with Steelheart’s music. Their song ‘We All Die Young’ was featured in the movie. While that song was included in their 1996 ‘Wait’ album, their biggest hit was ‘I’ll Never Let You Go’ from their self-titled 1990 album, which peaked at #23 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.

Firehouse – ‘Love Of A Lifetime’ – Firehouse were one of the most successful “hair bands” of the ’90s. In 1991, they scored a top five hit with ‘Love Of A Lifetime’, and in 1992, they scored a top ten hit with ‘When I Look Into Your Eyes’.

Nelson – ‘(Can’t Live Without Your) Love And Affection’ – In 1990, Nelson scored a number one hit with ‘(Can’t Live Without Your) Love And Affection’. They followed it up with a number six hit with ‘After The Rain’, a number 14 hit with ‘More Than Ever’ and with a number 28 hit with ‘Only Time Will Tell’. Then… They’ve recorded more albums over the years, but that was it for success on the charts. But, it’s safe to say that their debut album was one of the most successful albums of all time for a ’90s hair band!