"Told You So" by Summers

I don't know too much about this band, but Summers released a record called "364" in 2013 that reminds me of old school Def Leppard. Lots of meaty power chords and big anthem choruses. "Told You So" is one of the standouts for me, but plenty other tracks are worth a listen.

"I Know How You Feel" by Henry Lee Summer

My first pick to post for the Indiana singer and songwriter Henry Lee Summer was "Put A Little Love" from his should-have-been comeback record from 1999 called "Smoke & Mirrors." But I can't find it anywhere! 

So I'm going with "I Know How You Feel," an underrated track from Summer's excellent 1988 self-titled debut album. This terrific track is among many on the record that didn't chart, although he did score three hits from this record with "I Wish I Had A Girl" (#20), "Darlin' Danielle Don't" (#57), and "Hands On The Radio" (#85).

Summer's career looked more secure than it was, landing another Top 20 hit 1989 from his sophomore effort when "Hey Baby" reached #18. Despite his highest chart success, nothing else from that record made its way onto the chart and in 1991 he saw his last appearance when "Till Somebody Loves You," which featured Michael Bolton on backing vocals, tanked at #51.

"In Too Deep" by Sum 41

Sum 41 is a Canadian punk rock band that scored a single entry on the Top 100 in the US. The song was "Fat Lip," which went to #66 in 2001. "In Too Deep" is another selection from the record "All Killer, No Filler" that should have done even better, but this catchy tune didn't chart at all for some reason.

The band continues to crank out more records, their latest, "Order In Decline," dropped in 2019.

"Never Again (Without You)" by Billy Sullivan

Billy Sullivan is a talented sideman who has toured with legendary acts like Gary Lewis and The Raspberries, but when he's off the road he's in the studio cutting his own records. None have scratched the surface of the charts, largely because his brand of power pop is an ode to a bygone era of hooks and harmony.

"Never Again (Without You)" comes from his 2001 effort entitled, "All-American Popster."

"Hello" by Sugarbomb

Texas power pop band Sugarbomb should've been THE BOMB but were dropped by their record label just two weeks after they released one of the best albums of 2001, "Bully." Who was responsible for this travesty?

Filled with plenty of hooks and crunchy guitars, "Bully" should have poised this band for the big time. "Hello" is just one of many highlights from their only major label release. Devoted fans can try and hunt down their previous indie release called "Tastes Like Sugar" from 1999.

"Rainbow" by Sugar Ray

Led by Mark McGrath, Sugar Ray is a pop rock band that bursted out of California in a big way with the #1 smash called "Fly" from 1997. "Fly" spent an impressive six weeks on top the chart and gave the band enough momentum to capture all 15 minutes of their fame.

Their next effort, presciently titled "14:59," yielded a couple more favorites at the turn of the millennium. "Every Morning" peaked at #3 for 3 weeks, followed by "Someday," which reached #7, and finally "Falls Apart (Run Away)," which topped out at #29.

But the 15 minutes were just about up. In 2001, they made one final appearance in the Top 40 with "When It's Over" (#13) and haven't sweetened the chart since. After their 2003 release, "In The Pursuit Of Leisure," failed to yield a hit, the band disappeared.

Sugar Ray resurfaced in 2009 to deliver "Music For Cougars," from which the pleasant track "Rainbow" is lifted, and again in 2019 with "Little Yachty."

"Helpless" by Sugar

Bob Mould led the gritty rock band Husker Du in the 80s but got a taste for something sweeter in the 90s. He called his new band Sugar and the music was true to its name - Mould did not completely abandon his love of crunchy guitars, but his clever lyrics were now draped in more radio-friendly melodies with plenty of tasty pop hooks.

Despite the shift in style, Sugar never cracked the Top 100 and broke up after 3 studio records (one being an EP). To me, their first album, "Copper Blue," remains their strongest thanks to confections like "Helpless." By 1996, Mould resumed a solo career.

"The Grand Illusion" by Styx

Styx was a rock and prog band from Chicago that racked up an impressive string of hits in the 70s and 80s that have earned them the ranking of #156 in the most successful charting artists of all-time. Most of their hits were written and/or sung by Dennis DeYoung or Tommy Shaw, both of whom had modest success as solo artists after the band broke up in 1984.

The band reunited in 1989 with guitarist Glen Burtnik replacing Tommy Shaw, who was busy with a new supergroup called Damn Yankees. Styx found themselves back in the Top Ten with the ballad "Show Me The Way," which reached #3 in 1991. The follow-up single, "Love At First Sight," (#25) became the band's final chart appearance.

Shaw came back into the fold by 1995, and by 1999 Styx released a new album called "Brave New World." This time out, though, Shaw's proclivity for gritty rock clashed vehemently with DeYoung's passion for keyboards and operatic rock, resulting in a confusing record and forcing the latter out of the band.

It may sound hard to believe, but one of their classic songs, "The Grand Illusion," the title track from their landmark 1977 record, never charted. The album produced two other chart hits instead: "Come Sail Away" (#8) and "Fooling Yourself (Angry Young Man)" (#29).

Styx managed to hit the top of the chart once in their career. That was in 1979 with the ballad "Babe."

"Washin' + Wonderin'" by Stroke 9

Stroke 9 is a pop rock band from San Francisco that nearly broke onto the Top 100 in 1999 with "Little Black Backpack." The single comes from their album, "Nasty Little Thoughts," which contained a number of additional highlights like "Washin' + Wonderin'"

You can find an earlier version of this song as well as "Little Black Backpack" on their 1995 indie release, "Bumper To Bumper."

The follow-up record, "Rip It Off," tanked, despite the lead single "Kick Some Ass" being featured in the film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. The band is still chugging along, though, with a fresh album out this year called "Calafrio."

"If Love Should Go" by Streets

If you ever heard the early 80s band Streets, you might recognize the voice of lead singer Steve Walsh. Walsh sang some of the classics from the band Kansas until he left the group in 1980. He rejoined them in 1985 and stayed until his retirement in 2014.

During his break from Kansas, Walsh formed Streets, which released two albums: "1st" in 1983 and "Crimes In Mind" in 1985. Streets managed to score one minor hit with "If Love Should Go," which only reached #87 in 1983. Surprising that this song didn't do much better! If you enjoyed the more radio-friendly side of Kansas, these are "streets" worth going down.

"Cat Fight (Over A Dog Like Me)" by Stray Cats

It's not everyday you see a rockabilly song make the Top 100, much less the Top 10. But the New York trio known as the Stray Cats made rockabilly great again in the early 80s. They landed three consecutive Top 10 hits with "Rock This Town" (#9), "Stray Cat Strut" (#3), and "(She's) Sexy +17" (#5). 

But their heat quickly cooled, and in 1984 the Cats barely clawed their way onto the chart one last time with "Look At That Cadillac" (#68). Setzer would reemerge with his own orchestra in 1994 to bring swing back. He was back on the charts by 1998 with a remake of the Louis Prima tune, "Jump Jive An' Wail," which reached #23 and won a Grammy for Pop Vocal Group.

After a long hiatus, the Cats reunited for a 40th anniversary record called "40" in 2019. After 26 years, fans finally heard new music by the Stray Cats and the boys proved that they haven't missed a beat. Sounding just as fresh and energetic as they did all those years ago, here's the lead-off track, "Cat Fight (Over A Dog Like Me)."

"Back To Life" by Strange Celebrity

Strange Celebrity is a little-known band from Tennessee that released a great one-off record in 2003 called "Remedy." It was produced by Danny Wilde of The Rembrandts and fit nicely with the modern rock of the day. Strange that this strong effort did not perform better.

"Back To Life" is one of the highlights.

"Soul Of A Man" by The Storm

The Storm is an AOR supergroup formed in 1991 by former members of Journey, Santana, and Kevin Chalfant, the lead singer for 707. Chalfant also took the helm for Steel Breeze in 1984 and the modern AOR outfit Two Fires. Things got off to a promising start with the minor hit "I've Got A Lot To Learn About Love," which cruised to #26 in 1992. But the band could not crack the Top 100 again with other singles from their debut self-titled record.

The band completed a follow-up album in 1993 called "Eye Of The Storm" (see what they did there?) but it languished as their label moved into rap and hip-hop. Another label allowed it to see the light of day in 1995, but by then everyone had forgotten about AOR, much less The Storm.

"Eye Of The Storm" is a worthy follow-up to its predecessor, with many songs besting their debut. If you miss the glory days of that Journey sound, you're sure to like "Soul Of A Man" and the other offerings the band produced.

"Cinnamon" by Stone Temple Pilots

In the 80s, STP referred to a motor oil. In the 90s, it referred to Stone Temple Pilots. STP came soaring out of San Diego at the dawn of grunge as a gritty hard rock band that could also show grace when unplugged. Their breakthrough hit was "Plush," which went to #39 in 1993 and won them a Grammy for Hard Rock Performance.

STP continued to dominate the airwaves and make chart appearances throughout the decade, most notably with "Interstate Love Song," which gave them their biggest hit at #18 in 1994. In 2000, they had their last chart appearance when "Sour Girl" peaked at #78. The band took a break, which allowed members to explore other projects. Lead singer Scott Weiland joined the supergroup Velvet Revolver with members of Guns N' Roses while the DeLeo brothers of STP formed Army of Anyone with Filter vocalist Richard Patrick. Weiland also fronted a side project called The Magnificent Bastards in the mid-90s, which had a minor hit in 1995 with "Mockingbird Girl" (#66) from the movie Tank Girl.

STP reunited in 2008 and released their 6th record in 2010, which was a self-titled effort. It is vastly underrated, and is the record from which "Cinnamon" can be found. The record shows matured and seasoned songwriting with just enough of a shout out to their harder edged past.

Weiland was replaced in 2013 with Chester Bennington of Linkin Park but sadly both died early - Weiland passed away in 2015 from a drug overdose and Bennington in 2017 from suicide. The band selected Jeff Gutt from an online audition to be their new lead singer.

Weiland also released three diverse solo records and was fronting a new band called The Wildabouts at the time of his death. The versatile singer and creative lyricist is remembered as one of the signature vocalists of the era.

"Never Tell An Angel (When Your Heart's On Fire)" by The Stompers

The Stompers were an 80s pop and rock band led by Sal Baglio that honored the peppy sounds of the original rock and roll era, much like Billy Joel did on his LP, "An Innocent Man."

The Stompers could have livened up the charts throughout the decade, but their only entry onto the Top 100 was in 1983 when the irresistible ditty, "Never Tell An Angel (When Your Heart's On Fire)" peaked at a disappointing #88.

"I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying" by Sting

After his tenure with The Police, Gordon Sumner (better known simply as Sting) launched a solo career that continued decorating the charts with his songs. His first arrived in 1985 with "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free," a timely tune for someone who just exited their band. The song became Sting's biggest hit as a solo artist, reaching #3. He would see the top spot in 1994 as part of a superstar trio. With the help of Bryan Adams and Rod Stewart, Sting reached #1 for three weeks with "All For Love" from The Three Musketeers.

In-between those hits, Sting racked up an impressive number of other Top 40 entries including "Fortress Around Your Heart" (#8), "We'll Be Together" (#7), "All This Time" (#5), and "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You" (#17), which won him a Grammy for Pop Male Vocal.

Heading into the new millennium, Sting scored a Top 20 hit for the third decade in a row when "Desert Rose" reached #17. He then disappeared from the charts until 2006 when a duet with Sheryl Crow, "Always On Your Side," peaked at #33. To date, he has not returned.

"I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying" is a hugely underrated song that actually appeared on the lower end of the Top 100 twice. Its original entry went to #94 in 1996, but it resurfaced as a tweaked duet with country star Toby Keith in 1997, making it to #84.