Power Ballads were a big part of the music scene in the 80's. Hair Bands and Arena Rock specialized
in the power ballad but when did they really start. Was it "Lady" by Styx in '73 or Possibly "Don't Wanna
Say Goodbye" by The Raspberries in '72? Almost every band had a ballad on the albums the
realeased, Alice Cooper made it a standard to include a radio friendly ballad on all his albums.

Another thouhgt, was it the band who thought to put the sappy ballad on the albums or was it the
record companies adding the ballads to increase the listening public and thereby increasing album sales?

I never really thought of ballads in the 70s as being power ballads.  I can see it though . 

I always thought it would have been something later like 'Keep on Loving You' by REO Speedwagon (1981) or 'When I'm With You' by Sheriff (1983)

Babe by Styx is prolly the biggest power ballad of the 70's.

I never really thought of ballads in the 70s as being power ballads.  I can see it though . 

I always thought it would have been something later like 'Keep on Loving You' by REO Speedwagon (1981) or 'When I'm With You' by Sheriff (1983)


That's why I posed this question, I know the '80s took the ballad a step further by adding the heavy guitar riffs
in the middle of the song but was the power ballad actually a '70 innovation? How about "Changes" by  Black
Sabbath or, I know you hate the band but, "Tears" by Rush? Both songs are outside the usual music put
out by these bands and basically speaking, isn't that what a power ballad is?

That's why I posed this question, I know the '80s took the ballad a step further by adding the heavy guitar riffs
in the middle of the song but was the power ballad actually a '70 innovation? How about "Changes" by  Black
Sabbath or, I know you hate the band but, "Tears" by Rush? Both songs are outside the usual music put
out by these bands and basically speaking, isn't that what a power ballad is?




The more I think about it, the more I can see these types of power ballads in the 70s.  A Canadian band called A Foot in Cold Water had a BIG one in 1972 called Make Me Do (Anything You Want)

Dust In The Wind by Kansas is another good 70's PB.

Would anyone else consider "Bohemian Rhapsody" as a PB??

I really don't know who started it, but I'm cool with your original suggestion:  let's blame Styx  8-P

Interesting that 'Babe' by Styx and 'Make me do anything you want' by A foot in cold water is mentioned because I like the chorus but not the horrendous verses in 'Babe' but like the verses but not the horrendous chorus in 'Make me do anything you want'. I guess I'm not easily pleased, lol.

I don't consider Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen as a power ballad but that is just my take on things.

At the moment, the earliest track I can think of is 'Bat out of hell' by Meatloaf though I am not too certain it qualifies as a power ballad.

Interesting that 'Babe' by Styx and 'Make me do anything you want' by A foot in cold water is mentioned because I like the chorus but not the horrendous verses in 'Babe' but like the verses but not the horrendous chorus in 'Make me do anything you want'. I guess I'm not easily pleased, lol.

I don't consider Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen as a power ballad but that is just my take on things.

At the moment, the earliest track I can think of is 'Bat out of hell' by Meatloaf though I am not too certain it qualifies as a power ballad.

I think both Bohemian Rhapsody and Bat Out of Hell (or anything by Meatloaf, really) would be considered "rock epics", if you will.

I think the traditional power ballads were more like 1983ish, when hair metal started getting big. Isn't it technically songs by hard or arena rock bands that are softer/like love songs, but still have some heaviness so it appeals to rockers? I've heard "Sister Christian" by Night Ranger was the first, but that's more pop I guess.

On the other end, I do remember them being popular into 1992, even early '93 with songs like "To Be With You", although they started getting more accoustic and sorta adapted to the Nineties sound.

There are some songs that I wouldn't necessarily call a "power ballad" but sort of paved the way for there success in '80s. Songs like "Freebird" by Lynard Skynard, or "Shooting Star" and "Feel Like Making Love" by Bad Company were like older more "primitive" versions of a typical '80s power ballad.

Also, Journey had a bunch of hits in the early '80s that you could classify as power ballads, like "Open Arms", "Don't Stop Believing", and "Faithfully".

I love 80s power ballads and 70s ballads.  My beef with ballads is some bands that started out rocking (REO Speedwagon, STYX) and then got mushy with too many ballads.

I think both Bohemian Rhapsody and Bat Out of Hell (or anything by Meatloaf, really) would be considered "rock epics", if you will.


Yeah you are probably right. They are both too grandiose to be power ballads.

Interesting that 'Babe' by Styx and 'Make me do anything you want' by A foot in cold water is mentioned because I like the chorus but not the horrendous verses in 'Babe' but like the verses but not the horrendous chorus in 'Make me do anything you want'. I guess I'm not easily pleased, lol.

I don't consider Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen as a power ballad but that is just my take on things.

At the moment, the earliest track I can think of is 'Bat out of hell' by Meatloaf though I am not too certain it qualifies as a power ballad.


I would think "Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad" would qualify more for a power ballad from Meat Loaf but that's me.

I think of "Babe" as a straight ballad or love song if you will not a power ballad, Lady on the other hand starts of slow
and more vocals then becomes a little heavier with power chords from the middle on. It's the same for the Raspberries.
I know they may not be considered power ballads but I think it was the precursor of the '80s ballads we've grown to
know and love.

There are some songs that I wouldn't necessarily call a "power ballad" but sort of paved the way for there success in '80s. Songs like "Freebird" by Lynard Skynard, or "Shooting Star" and "Feel Like Making Love" by Bad Company were like older more "primitive" versions of a typical '80s power ballad.

Also, Journey had a bunch of hits in the early '80s that you could classify as power ballads, like "Open Arms", "Don't Stop Believing", and "Faithfully".


Yeah, I'd agree with all of those. Probably "Beth" by KISS too, even though that's more soft all the way through.

Cool, I'm something of a Journey fan too (their more popular stuff from 1982-'86 anyway). Even though it's more upbeat, I definitely think "Don't Stop Believin" has that power rock ballad feel to it. Probably "I'll Be Alright Without You" could pass as one too (that's my personal favorite song of theirs, I like those midtempo ones).

I would think "Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad" would qualify more for a power ballad from Meat Loaf but that's me.

Yeah, you are probably right, Loki. It is so difficult to differentiate the difference between soft rock and power ballad. Personally, I think a power ballad is determined by the instruments and synthesizer involved.

I think of "Babe" as a straight ballad or love song if you will not a power ballad, Lady on the other hand starts of slow
and more vocals then becomes a little heavier with power chords from the middle on. It's the same for the Raspberries.
I know they may not be considered power ballads but I think it was the precursor of the '80s ballads we've grown to
know and love.


Possibly true. Power ballads seem to be more a US phenonemon too, there aren't many UK hits that completely fit into the power ballad label (though John Parr's 'Man in motion (St Elmo's Fire)' comes to mind). I do know Australian John Farnham was capable of knocking out one or two back in the day.

'Don't wanna say goodbye' by Raspberries from 1972 and 'Lady' by Styx from 1973, according to Wikipedia, are power ballads. I think I will have to take a listen to those.