Top 10 Billboard Chart Topping Rock Songs of the 80s

the new wave of classic rock and roll welcome to watchmojo.com and today we'll be counting down our picks for the top 10 Billboard chart topping rock songs of the 80s for this list we focused on rock songs that reached number 1 on the Billboard charts while making a definitive mark on pop culture number 10 here I go again Whitesnake bless you brace yourself for a little rock'n'roll trivia mojo holics when this hard rock anthem was originally released in 1982 it didn't quite have that manly vibe for mainstream audiences in other word lead singer David Coverdale of deep purple fame wanted to change the line hobo so that it didn't quite sound like homo and well the version most people know today was re-released nearly five years later in 1987 in all honesty the musical arrangement was significantly revised as a whole and young Tawny Kitaen was propelled to fame in the utterly amazing music video number nine I love rock and roll Joan Jett and the Blackhearts okay some of you out there may equate this song with Britney Spears and for that you should be ashamed of yourself all joking aside it was Joan Jett who put her own stamp on this 80s gem a good seven years after arrows released the original version in 1975 and I could tell there won't be long - she was with me and as fate would have it MTV was quickly gaining momentum as an alternative to boring network television so Joan Jett took full advantage with her unforgettable black-and-white music video yeah we'll be moving on and singing handsome old song man with me America Nita Joan Jett and she needed some exposure upon leaving The Runaways it all worked out in the end number eight I want to know what love is foreigner gotta take a little time a little time to think things over nothing like a classic 80s power ballad and who better to deliver than foreigner written by Mick Jones not to be confused with Mick Jones of The Clash this heart-wrenching ballad was released in the heyday of big hair and big choruses you know it's the song you rock out you in your car but only when you hear this existential phrase I want to know what love is oh and it's also the perfect cover song for any band that wants to pick up chicks which means that foreigners chart-topper was quite popular on the Sunset Strip in the 80s number seven another one bites the dust Queen oh how the times have changed when this chic inspired single hit the airwaves in August of 1980 paranoid religious conservatives decided that Queen was secretly asking listeners to smoke marijuana and why they were listening to Queen Records backwards well I guess we'll never know maybe they were the ones that were high despite the controversy the massive joint went on to win an American Music Award and truth be told the voracious beat actually led the British Heart Foundation to promote another one bites the dust for medical training number six money for nothing dire straits as evangelists were freaking out over marijuana references in our number seven entry nothing could have prepared them for this mind trip of a music video that would come five years later that's the way you do it play the guitar new TV and not only did this song features sting performing the iconic MTV phrase I want my MTV it was also the first video to premiere on MTV Europe lyrically money for nothing was inspired by frontman Mark Knopfler spending a day watching MTV in the back of an appliance store it may sound funny today but in the early days of MTV it was a rock phenomenon number five jump van halen from stone cold eat our solos to a synthesizer after five studio albums van Halen shifted gears from a classic hard rock sound to a more synth rock approach and while jump would become a pop culture anthem it's also partly responsible for David Lee Roth's departure from the group even so he gave one of the most ridiculously awesome performances in the music video which he also directed and along with reaching number one on the Billboard charts jump became a classic example of arena rock you a restless spirit number four I still haven't found what I'm looking for you two feels me produced by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois this invigorating rock ballad was inspired by gospel music and the popular music of America while u2 was recording their Grammy winning album the Joshua tree the edge recalled a particular Bob Dylan lyric and so the framework for another rock classic was cemented with an existential theme I still haven't found what I'm looking for inspired listeners to search deep into their soul and led the band straight to number one in the US and in their home country of Ireland not a bad follow-up to another introspective number-one hits with or without you number three living on a prayer bon jovi Union little strike after a successful yet artistically unsatisfying second album Bon Jovi took a grittier approach of their next release slippery when wet while maintaining their glam rock personas as a result they created a workingman's anthem with living on a prayer as the hard times of Tommy and Gina we're detailed completes with a contagious hook as their second consecutive number-one hit von Jovi simultaneously cemented their status as legitimate rock stars and earn themselves a new following thanks to their blue-collar record you number two another brick in the wall part 2 pink floor you know education it opened up the minds of listeners around the world and ushered in a new decade of course it offered an escape from the disco jams that were taking over the charts as well with its three separate parts another brick in the wall was more of an experience than a typical Rock single all while allowing the progressive artists to address the school systems of their native England and it was part two specifically that was actually released as a single first in the UK in November of 1979 and then in the u.s. in January of 1980 and it was that composition that would take over America and topped the Billboard Hot 100 in less than three months time decades later another brick in the wall remains an essential track for any classic rock playlist before we unveil our topic here are a few honorable mentions no I wish that I had Jessie's Girl that's the power of love number one sweets child of mine Guns and Roses mind me down okay mojo holics now this is how it's done before the release of their first studio album the members of Guns N'Roses were fooling around at their Sunset Strip home when a musical joke inadvertently transforms into a future billboard number one hit from the opening riff by slash to the opening lyrics from Axl Rose sweet child of mine came together piece by piece for what would become one of the final head bangers of the hair band phenomenon of the 80s Rolling Stone named sweet child of mine as one of the 40 songs that changed the world and while it was the bands only Billboard chart topper it's our favorite number one of the entire decade and undoubtedly one of the most recognizable songs ever recorded so do you agree with our selections what is your favorite Billboard chart topping rock song of the 80s for more mind-blowing top tens published daily be sure to subscribe to watchmojo.com you

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Keywords: music, rock, billboard charts, rock songs, chart toppers, queen, foreigner, joan jett, the blackhearts, whitesnake, u2, van halen, dire straits, guns n roses, pink floyd, bon jovi, top 10, watchmojo

Id: tgBnRi20ToY

Length: 14min 21sec (861 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 27 2016