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Subject: VH-1's "Top 40 Hair Bands of All Time"

Written By: 80smusicfreak on 4/15/2001 at 4:05 p.m.

I know that back on Sunday the 1st, Dagny originally posted here about this four-hour VH-1 countdown special hosted by Twisted Sister's Dee Snider, and they re-aired it two days ago, on good ol' Friday the 13th. This time I was able to catch it (see it yourself yet, Wicked Lester???), and I decided to make a list as the show went along. Even though I've never been a huge fan of the so-called "hair metal" bands that were popular in the late '80s/early '90s (I personally prefer the "true metal" bands of the early to mid '80s, although there was admittedly some crossover), the show was indeed an interesting trip down memory lane. (At least by the music of today's standards!)

Because the special is four hours long, they counted down 10 artists per hour - and after you subtract commercial time, that means there was about four minutes of air time devoted to each act. Those four minutes generally consisted of commentary from some "hair metal" experts on the group in question, both recent and vintage interviews w/ actual band members, and a brief montage of the act's best-known videos. This was all then followed by an uninterrupted 60- to 90-second segment of the group's best-known song/video, just to refresh our memories...

Here is the complete countdown of artists, followed by the video that was spotlighted by VH-1 (and the year that song came out):

40) HANOI ROCKS - "Death, Jail, Rock 'n' Roll"(?) (198?) (This was the only one I missed - I'm sure I have the song title wrong!)

39) EXTREME - "More Than Words" (1991)

38) JACKYL - "Down on Me" (1993)

37) STEELHEART - "I'll Never Let You Go (Angel Eyes)" (1991)

36) NIGHT RANGER - "Sister Christian" (1984)

35) FASTER PUSSYCAT - "House of Pain" (1990)

34) AUTOGRAPH - "Turn Up the Radio" (1984)

33) KIX - "Don't Close Your Eyes" (1989)

32) SAIGON KICK - "Love is on the Way" (1992)

31) TESLA - "Love Song" (1989)

30) BULLETBOYS - "Smooth Up (In Ya)" (1989)

29) TRIXTER - "Give it to Me Good" (1990)

28) L.A. GUNS - "The Ballad of Jayne" (1990)

27) STRYPER - "Honestly" (1987)

26) MR. BIG - "To Be With You" (1991)

25) DANGER DANGER - "Naughty Naughty" (1989)

24) FIREHOUSE - "Love of a Lifetime" (1991)

23) VIXEN - "Edge of a Broken Heart" (1988)

22) W.A.S.P. - "I Wanna Be Somebody" (1984)

21) EUROPE - "The Final Countdown" (1987)

20) SCORPIONS - "Rock You Like a Hurricane" (1984)

19) BRITNY FOX - "Girlschool" (1988)

18) KISS - "Tears are Falling" (1985)

17) SKID ROW - "18 and Life" (1989)

16) GREAT WHITE - "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" (1989)

15) LITA FORD - "Kiss Me Deadly" (1988)

14) WHITE LION - "Wait" (1988)

13) WHITESNAKE - "Here I Go Again" (1987)

12) WINGER - "Seventeen" (1989)

11) RATT - "Round and Round" (1984)

10) DOKKEN - "Alone Again" (1985)

09) SLAUGHTER - "Up All Night" (1990)

08) DEF LEPPARD - "Photograph" (1983)

07) QUIET RIOT - "Bang Your Head (Metal Health)" (1984)

06) WARRANT - "Cherry Pie" (1990)

05) CINDERELLA - "Nobody's Fool" (1986)

04) MOTLEY CRUE - "Looks That Kill" (1984)

03) BON JOVI - "Lay Your Hands on Me" (1989)

02) TWISTED SISTER - "We're Not Gonna Take It" (1984)

01) POISON - "Talk Dirty to Me" (1987)

So according to VH-1, the era of the "hair metal" bands lasted from 1983-93. Note the inclusion of only two female acts on the entire list, Lita Ford (#15) and Vixen (#23). Not sure I agree w/ Night Ranger being on the list (never considered them "metal"), and I'm sure there were other legit hair bands more popular than Hanoi Rocks that could've replaced them on the list. (HR never scored a single hit on either the pop or AOR charts here in the U.S., and never managed to chart a single album, either!) Overall, a decent countdown, IMO, and of course, look who just happened to come in at #2...

Comments, anyone???


Subject: Re: VH-1's "Top 40 Hair Bands of All Time"

Written By: Wicked Lester on 4/15/2001 at 8:18 p.m.

I saw the last hour and a half only, so I'm really glad you posted the list. I can't really disagree too much with the bands on the list, except to say I don't really consider KISS or the Scorpions to be "hair bands". Both of these bands go beyond that. If they make the list, why not Ozzy? He had more 80s success than either of them. Not that I consider Ozzy a "hair band" or anything, just wonder on what basis their selections were made.