The Top 10 Raddest Glam Metal Songs
Please enjoy our list of the Top 10 Glam Metal Songs based solely on the personal bias of Craig Retro, who like many of you, tried to grow up in the 80s but in truth is still stuck there. Our list of the 10 Raddest Hair Metal Songs aims to take you on a journey back to the carefree days of 80s excess and the weird feelings of first crushes, teenage hormones, and trying to keep up with what was cool.
1. Kickstart My Heart by Motley Crue
I dare you not to get pumped up when the guitar intro screeches like a motorcycle revin’ up before Tommy Lee kicks this anthem into high gear as it propels straight ahead right to the breakdown and the pursuing crescendo that proves time and time again that the Crue still kicks…
2. House of Pain by Faster Pussycat
I had a good childhood and really don’t have anything to complain about but for some reason I identified with this song. Maybe every kid has a phase where they think they’ve got it bad or that their troubles are heavy duty. I feel bad for anyone that actually did have it rough and I hope that this sad song could bring small comfort that they are not alone.
3. Here I Go Again by Whitesnake
Yet another song that is a little confounding to think about. “Like a drifter born to walk alone.” Yet everyone and their Uncle was right there with you, banging their heads ever so slightly with a big 80s cheshire grin on their faces. However the enduring nature of this epic rock song is undeniably glam rock at its finest.
4. Shelter Me by Cinderella
Few songs remind me more of peak glam rock MTV than this song. It’s so fun it seemingly never ends, it just fades out into infinity. Little Richard makes an appearance in the video as the telethon to save rock and roll from censorship raises awareness of this important issue. The song was released in 1990 just before the hair metal decline and conveys the human need to have your own little space while being able to let go of the past. Deep.
5. I Remember You by Skid Row
How many grade 8 grad ceremonies featured this song as a farewell to youth? This song strikes a chord to this very day of memories of days gone by and of the fleeting innocence of youth.
6. Green-Tinted Sixties Mind by Mr Big
Those who know, know. Not the Mr biggest song from this group in terms of popularity, but within the opening stanza of this glam rock beauty I’m instantly flooded with memories from the era of talking about life and about girls with my older cousin Dan as we tried to make sense of it all and find our way through to adulthood. If you don’t know this one, do yourself a favour and look it up. You’re welcome.
7. Something to Believe In by Poison
Think Every Rose was Poison’s greatest slow song? Think again. This treasure features a beautiful piano, a wailing guitar solo that pulls on your heartstrings and Brett Michaels pleading for someone to give him something to believe in. Kinda fitting for the glam rock genre as underneath all of the flamboyance, the rebellious rants and who gives a F attitude at the shallow heart of it all, there were moments of sincere earnestness and a self-awareness that maybe the pursuit of excess was meaningless and at the end of the day, after the music faded away we needed something real.
8. Cherry Pie by Warrant
This song could not have existed anywhere else than smackdab in the middle of peak glam metal absurdity. Should you trust anyone who has to state that they’re a “trained professional?” I wouldn’t. I would however listen to this as a guilty pleasure and there aren’t many conversations about hair metal that I have participated in where I haven’t taken the opportunity to submit this song as quintessentially glam metal.
9. Don’t Treat Me Bad by Firehouse
I honestly don’t know if this song was as popular as I thought it was. It made its way onto a number of my “ultimate 80s mixtapes” which is interesting considered it was released in 1990. As I mentioned in my article about Glam Metal, I was surprised when researching the genre by how many songs that I would’ve pegged as 80s hair metal champions that were actually released in 1990-91. I guess they could’ve been conceptualized earlier and influenced by 80s glam rock, but for me, a number of my favourite hair metal tunes are from the early 90s right before grunge put on its Doc Martens and kicked it to the curb.
10. Fly to the Angels by Slaughter
Try not to get goosebumps while listening to this one as you fight back the tears. The drums are used sparingly in this one as the vocals are isolated to hit home the heartfelt send off to someone close who has passed. A sad reality that many coming of age moments included for 80s kids. Fly to the Angels rounds out our list of the Top 10 Glam Metal Songs.
What do you think?
What song(s) did I miss that would be on your top Top 10 Glam Metal Songs? Drop a comment to let us know.
Check out our Retro Relevance’s Totally Unobjective Top 10 List of Glam/Hair Metal Bands: to see if we got that list right.
Craig is a partner, and proud father of a teenage daughter, and two dogs. He's an avid blogger who loves researching and discussing 80s and 90s nostalgia. When not working on his website or hanging with his fam, Craig enjoys playing guitar, watching lacrosse, and being near water.
I like this list. I would have only changed one thing and it would be the Mr.Big song…I grew up in the 80s (born in 1972) and I don’t remember this song at all…(which I’m 51 yrs old and the memory isn’t what it used to be lol)…but this was a time where we were fed our music by Mtv and Mtv alone… and maybe I just missed it? Lol
Right on. Thanks for your comment. The Mr Big song wasn’t mainstream big. Their song To Be With You was their popular song. That’s what my cousin Dan bought the tape to listen to. But then we heard Green-Tinted Sixties Mind and thought it was a special song. To us, it was as rad as the other big glam tunes. Admittedly it still makes me smile.
And that’s all that matters. 🙂
In regards to your comments on the Firehouse song.
Based on you’re saying that you had to research it, I was led to believe that this was before your time; that you weren’t around. But, quick googling shows you were born in 1980 and so you would be 10 in 1990…so, you were there…but young…and maybe don’t remember all the stuff as well as such…and a 10 year old doesn’t always have the agency to follow up on things and find out more about them. I have similar memories of the late 70s…stuff I was there for,.and kind of remember…but had to research it as an adult to actually understand it.
In any case, yes. That song was on the radio station a LOT. In 1990/1991. At least in North East Ohio. I don’t think Firehouse itself was much of a big band though. They were late to the party as the late 80s hair/glam band scene was succumbing to the incoming 90s era of bands. Plus, Firehouse was one of those highly derivative bands that come to a musical genre at the end of the genres relevance. Think of any number of late 90s bands trying to sound 90s ish but we’re highly derivative of earlier bands and by the time they came around, the party was ending…in part because of such bands and lack of talent and quality.
I always say that the 90s didn’t start until @93 and they ended early in @97 or 98. It was a short “decade.” Yea, a lot of 90s era bands put out seminal work in 1990 or 1991 but it wasn’t really hitting hard until at least 92 and more like 93. By 95 alternative/grunge/ Seattle sound/90s music was king but the progenitors were struggling and new blood was coming in. At first the new blood was quality but by @97 or 98 it was derivative at best and usually just gimmicky and mimicry. This is exactly what happened at the end of the 80s and so some “80s” style bands did carry over into the early 90s.
Awesome to hear from you. I appreciate you taking time to leave a comment and add to the conversation. That makes sene that the Firehouse tune did get lots of airplay. It’s a pretty catchy tune. Excellent point about the band being a derivative latecomer to the scene. Your comparison to the bands of the 90s that arrived at the end of the 90s trying to ride the coattails of the authentic alternative/grunge/Seattle sound resonates with me. I can clearly remember that era, and agree that the copycats that sounded gimmicky and mimicry were part of the downfall of the short lived authentic 90s grunge scene. I was in my late teens then and had a lot more access to music (and spending money to purchase it), and music magazines to learn about the bands of the day.
I’m hoping to learn as much as I can about these things from my childhood; especially the music. The kind of information I’m most interested in at this stage of the game is what other people remember about the time. Hence your comment is invaluable to me. As well as being 10 in 1990, I should also give the disclaimer that I lived in a small rural Canadian town (well actually 10 minutes from town), North of Toronto, on the way to nowhere. We had “country cable” tv, which is a fancy way of saying the only channels that we got were the 2 regional broadcasters that had a signal strong enough for our giant roof-mounted antennae to pick up, and the 2 public broadcast channels CBC (national), and TVO (provincial). No MTV, or even Much Music – which was the Canadian all-music channel. Radio was even more sad. Our local AM radio station played oldies only. We had a FM radio station too, but it played Top 40 only songs, except they were Top 40 songs 40 years ago, or so it seemed. Canadian radio stations also were required to 20-30% Canadian content. I remember being over the moon if the FM station ever played any glam/hair metal. But I don’t remember that happening very often. The AM station now plays Def Leppard and Poison the odd time, as “oldies.”
In 1990, when I wanted to get “the latest” albums, I’d have to beg my mom to take me to Zellers or Wolco -which interestingly has an Ohio connection, being founded in Columbus in the 60s. I’m not sure what the selection of music was like at other Wolcos or Zellers but ours was pretty dismal. Columbia House was a game-changer when I signed on with it in the early 90s! All this is to say, I definitely need some help understanding what all was popular and whether that popularity was regional, national or global.
Any other information that your willing to share about 80s or 90s music is always appreciated!