"The Wild Frontier" by Bruce Hornsby & The Range

The piano man from Virginia, Bruce Hornsby, had a streak of big hits in the 80s beginning with his signature song, "The Way It Is," which soared to #1 in 1986. It was the title track from his smash debut album, which also spawned "Mandolin Rain" (#4), and "Every Little Kiss" (#14). On the heels of this success, he won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1986.

He rode this wave of popularity for a while longer, scoring with follow-up hits from his sophomore record like "The Valley Road" (#5) and "Look Out Any Window" (#35). He'd score one more top 40 single in 1990 with "Across The River," which reached #18, before vanishing from the charts as quickly as he came. Hornsby continued to release new music that incorporated his jazz and bluegrass influences; great stuff, just not radio-friendly.

Hornsby has also co-written hits by others, most notably "Jacob's Ladder," which Huey Lewis & The News took to #1 in 1987 and "The End Of The Innocence," which Don Henley took to #8 in 1989.

"The Wild Frontier" goes back to his wonderful debut record. It could have been a fourth charting single in my opinion.