Gregg Giuffria - is he blessed or cursed? This talented musician got his start in the 70s rock band Angel, which was discovered by none other than Gene Simmons of Kiss. After a couple minor hits, the band dissolved and Giuffria started a solo band he named after himself. He scored another couple minor hits under the Giuffria banner in the early 80s, but big time commercial success remained evasive. In 1987, Giuffria started a third project that would become House of Lords. And once again it was Gene Simmons who picked up the band on his own record label. James Christian was brought on board as the powerhouse vocalist (he's married to Robin Beck, for those keeping score). The band's debut self-titled album arrived in 1988 and landed a minor hit with "I Want To Be Loved," which reached #58 in 1989. In 1991, the band followed-up with "Sahara," an album that yielded their only other charting single, "Remember My Name," which got to #72 in 1991. "Sahara" should have performed better, especially with outstanding cuts like "Heart On The Line." Do you hear Cheap Trick in this tune? That's because Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick wrote it and Robin Zander contributed backing vocals. Other guests on this overlooked record include Mike Tramp of White Lion and Steve Plunkett of Autograph. Also on this record is an excellent cover of Blind Faith's "Can't Find My Way Home." Nearly 30 years later, Cheap Trick recorded their own version of this song for their album, "Bang, Zoom, Crazy...Hello." House of Lords quickly fell off the mainstream map, like many hard rock acts in the 90s. Too bad the third time wasn't quite the charm for Gregg Giuffria, but he's got plenty to be proud of in his music career. House of Lords has continued to serve up many more hard rock releases over the years, most recently with 2017's "Saint Of The Lost Souls."
Cher has had a remarkable career, scoring top 10 hits across four decades from the 1960-1990s. Her first goes all the way back to 1966, when "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" hit #2. Her first chart-topper arrived in 1971 with "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves". She would top the charts twice more in the 70s with "Half-Breed" and "Dark Lady", and one more time in the 90s with the huge comeback hit "Believe". Cher was mostly on hiatus in the 80s, flexing her acting muscles in the movies. But she came back (Cher could be considered the comeback queen) in a big way in the late 80s. While she didn't top the chart in that decade, she racked up several more top 10 hits with "I Found Someone" and "After All" (a duet with former Chicago singer, Peter Cetera) in 1987 and 1989, respectively. Her newfound brand of melodic rock fit in well until grunge arrived. She produced a trio of albums of this variety, which all did very well. The final one, "Love Hurts", suggested the formula was wearing thin, however, only getting to #48 on the album chart and failing to generate a monster hit. The first single, "Love and Understanding", was tepid but managed to get to #17. The more upbeat and energetic song everyone was probably expecting to come first was released second. "Save Up All Your Tears" just barely cracked the top 40, settling at #37 in 1991. Written by Desmond Child and Diane Warren, this tune is a terrific slab of pop rock and deserved much better. Bonnie Tyler and Robin Beck also took a swing at this tune but did no better. The "Love Hurts" album contains other covers as well, including the title track and a most intriguing choice: "A World Without Heroes" by Kiss. Cher went on to duet with Beavis and Butt-head for a rendition of "I Got You Babe", after which she understandably went into hiding until 1998's "Believe" reminded the world who's boss.
