Hailing from New York, Danny Vaughn's post-Waysted band, Tyketto, arrived on the pop metal and hairband scene just a little too late. Had it been released earlier, their debut album from 1991, "Don't Come Easy," could have been remembered as a classic along with late 80s albums by Bon Jovi, Poison, and Warrant. The band released a fairly decent track to start their career, "Forever Young," but it failed to chart and didn't bring sufficient attention to the band. This meant that better cuts on the album, including "Seasons," "Sail Away," and the terrific ballad "Standing Alone," got far less attention than they deserved. Tyketto's sophomore record, "Strength In Numbers," was dropped, but ultimately picked up by another label in 1994. Vaughn has one of the best voices in rock--he's released solo records and other projects such as From The Inside. Unfortunately, none have given him the wider recognition he deserves. A reunited Tyketto continues to make new records and tour today. "Wings" might have been a better choice to introduce this band to the world. It is a much stronger song, and far more memorable.
Before going country in 1965, Conway Twitty was at the forefront of rock and roll and rockabilly. He scored big with hits like the #1 smash from 1958, "It's Only Make Believe," as well as "Danny Boy" (#10) and "Lonely Blue Boy" (#6). Twitty would go on to dominate the country charts until his death by an aneurysm in 1993 at the age of 59. He scored 40 #1 hits on the country charts. He occasionally crossed back over to the Top 100 with songs like "You've Never Been This Far Before," which reached #22 in 1973. His final Top 100 appearance was in 1976 when "Don't Cry Joni" peaked at #63--the song featured his daughter Joni Lee on guest vocals. "It's Drivin' Me Wild" goes back to his early rock roots.
Twisted Sister was a band from New York that helped pioneer the melodic hard rock era of the 80s with their monster hits "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock," which cruised to #21 and #68, respectively, in 1984. Propelled by their unforgettable music videos and the theatrics of lead singer Dee Snider, the band seemed poised for longterm success. However, they ventured into power ballad territory with "The Price" (not a bad song by any means) and hit a snag. Equally perplexing was the decision to release a cover of "Leader Of The Pack" (originally done by The Shangri-Las) as the first single from their follow-up to their breakthrough "Stay Hungry" album. It sputtered out at #53 in 1986, marking the band's final appearance on the Top 100. Twisted Sister returned with a new LP in 1987, "Love Is For Suckers," with help from members of Kix and Winger. Despite "Hot Love" hitting all the right buttons for a radio-friendly hit, it seemed no one was interested anymore.
The Turtles were a 60s pop band from California that had a short but impressive run on the charts in the late 60s. Their first hit was an emotive cover of Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe," which soared to #8 in 1965. By 1967, they topped the chart with the #1 smash, "Happy Together," which reigned supreme for three weeks. The Turtles would grace the Top 10 throughout the remainder of the decade with "She'd Rather Be With Me" (#3), "Elenore" (#6), and "You Showed Me" (#6). But their hot streak came to a crawl and the band was back in their shell by 1969 when "Lady-O" stalled at #78 and became their final chart appearance. "I Get Out Of Breath" would have been a better single to go out on. Taken from their final album, 1970's "Wooden Head," this is a song about dealing with the perplexities in life.
Tina Turner has been churning out chart hits since the 1960s as part of the husband-wife duo, Ike & Tina Turner. After they split in 1976, Tina Turner continued to perform and slowly put pieces into place for one of the biggest comebacks in pop music history. The comeback arrived in 1984. Her cover of Al Green's #1 hit from 1971, "Let's Stay Together," reached #26 in 1984, nearly a decade since her last chart appearance with Ike. But what really launched her comeback was the next single, "What's Love Got To Do With It," which spent three weeks at #1 and won all kinds of awards. Turner was on fire for the remainder of the decade, nearly hitting the top spot twice more with "We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)" and "Typical Male." She scored more hits teaming up with other famed songwriters and performers like Holly Knight (of Spider and Device), Bryan Adams (who wrote and sang with Tina on "It's Only Love" (#15) and wrote her #97 song from 1993, "Why Must We Wait Until Tonight?"), and Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits (who wrote the #7 title track to her comeback album, "Private Dancer"). While Turner is largely known for her soft pop, she always put a rocker or two on her releases. "Back Where You Started," another one written by Bryan Adams, is one of best rock songs of 1986. It comes from the album "Break Every Rule" and won a Grammy for Rock Female Vocal, yet remains largely unknown.
Married for the duration of their chart career, which spanned from 1960 to 1975, Ike and Tina Turner populated the airwaves with their versatile brand of R&B, rock, funk, and pop. They reinvented the stage show and made the performance as much a spectacle as the music. Ike and Tina got their run on the charts started in 1960 when "A Fool In Love" peaked at #27. Among their biggest hits: "It's Gonna Work Out Fine" (#14), "Nutbush City Limits" (#22), "I Want To Take You Higher" (#34), and "Proud Mary" (#4). Their divorce ended their run on the charts, but Tina would became bigger than ever after her comeback in the 80s. Ike passed away in 2007 at the age of 76. "Baby-Get It On" exemplifies the diversity of musical styles this talented duo could master. A full out funky rocker, this single surprisingly only reached #88 in 1975, and marked their last chart appearance as a group.
The blues man from Missouri, "Big Joe" Turner, did not get to enjoy a run of hits on the Top 40, but many of his songs remain classics of the early rock and roll era. While they didn't chart, two of his songs are rock and roll Hall of Famers: "Roll 'Em Pete" from 1938 and "Shake, Rattle, And Roll" from 1954. The best he could muster on he chart was "Corrine Corrina," which featured The Cookies and went to #41 in 1956. His only other chart appearance came in 1960 when "Honey Hush" reached #53. "Wee Baby Blues" is a terrific hit that should have been another classic in his roster. The single version, featured here, is as danceable as anything else released at the time. Turner died of a heart attack in 1985 at the age of 74.
