"Shot Of Poison" by Lita Ford

Born in London, Lita Ford hit it big early in the states as a member of The Runaways. The blond bombshell struck gold again as a solo artist in 1988 with "Kiss Me Deadly," which smooched its way to #12. Her creepy duet with Ozzy Osbourne did ever better, scaring its way up to #8. These tunes helped boost her record, "Lita," to #29.

Lita's follow-up 1990 record, "Stilleto," fizzled, but she managed a minor comeback hit jumping on the "poison" bandwagon in 1991. A lot of poison was in music in the late 80s and early 90s, both literally and figuratively. We had a band named Poison, songs called "Poison" by Alice Cooper and Bell Biv DeVoe, and now Lita Ford's "Shot Of Poison." It is a catchy tune that deserved better than #45. It would serve as her last charting hit.  

"I Won't Grow Up" by The Fools

Boston band The Fools brought a punk attitude to their rock formula and made a small dent on the charts in the early 80s with "It's A Night For Beautiful Girls" (#67, 1980) and their cover of Roy Orbison's "Running Scared" (#50, 1981).

The Fools raised their profile in 1979 after releasing a parody recording of "Psycho Killer" by The Talking Heads called "Psycho Chicken."

The band's rebellious party boy style is best captured on the punk anthem "I Won't Grow Up." The track comes from their debut album, "Sold Out," which was supported by a tour with The Knack.

"Cheer Up, Boys (Your Make Up Is Running)" by Foo Fighters

Named after UFO images spotted by World War II pilots, the Foo Fighters gave Dave Grohl and second chance at the rock and roll life after the tragic suicide of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain. Grohl quickly proved he was much more than a drummer, picking up songwriting, guitar, and vocal duties for the Foo Fighters. The first album was virtually a one man band effort. The debut album was a success and spawned two top 40 hits in 1995-6, "This Is The Call" (#35) and "Big Me" (#13).

The band has continued to achieve remarkable success since the 90s, but has only landed 3 additional top 40 hits with "Learn To Fly" (#19), "Best Of You" (#18), and "The Pretender" (#37). They've had plenty of other singles break the top 100, including my favorite, "Long Road To Ruin," which topped out at #89 in 2008. How that didn't go top 10 is beyond me.

"Cheer Up, Boys (Your Make Up Is Running)" is taken from the same album as "Ruin" - "Echoes, Silence, Patience, and Grace," which went to #3 on the Top 200 albums. This was the third single from the record and should have become another charting hit for the band.

"Still Fighting It" by Ben Folds

I'm a sucker for father and son songs, and this one by Ben Folds is one of my all-time favorites. Mixing lyrics both mundane and profound seems an apt reflection of life's journey. Folds also manages to capture the pain of evolving relationships using both blunt (it sucks to grow up) and subtle phrasing (one day you'll fly away...from me). It was written for his son, Louis. 

"Still Fighting It" comes from his debut solo effort after taking a break from his band, Ben Folds Five. Released in 2001, "Rockin' The Suburbs" only reached #42 but is one of my desert island discs - a modern pop masterpiece.

Stunningly, this moving song did not drive up the charts. Folds only has one top 40 hit to date, and that goes back to 1997 when he scored with "Brick" (#19) while in Ben Folds Five. In my book, he is one of the greatest piano players and songwriters in music today and it is baffling he hasn't emerged as the Elton John of his generation.

"Windows And Walls" by Dan Fogelberg

Soft rock artist Dan Fogelberg got his start on the charts in 1975 with the #31 hit, "Part Of The Plan," which featured Graham Nash and Joe Walsh as musical guests. His follow-up hit, "The Power Of Gold," (#24 in 1978) featured a different Eagle on harmony vocals - Don Henley. If that wasn't enough, Fogelberg's #7 hit from 1981, "Hard To Say," featured Glenn Frey on harmony vocals. Which begs the question...what was his beef with Timothy B. Schmit?

Fogelberg graced the charts with other ballads like "Longer" (#2, his biggest hit), "Same Old Lang Syne" (#9), "Run For The Roses" (#18), and "Leader Of The Band" (#9). He could rock out a bit when he wanted to, like on "The Language Of Love" (#13) or "She Don't Look Back" (#85 in 1987, and his last chart appearance).

Not that he needed to release more ballads, but "Windows And Walls" ranks among one of his most heartbreaking tunes about loneliness and growing old. Maybe it was too sad for radio, but it certainly deserves your attention.

Sadly, Fogelberg left us too soon, dying of prostate cancer in 2007.

"Other Side Of Midnight" by FM

One of the wonders of the 80s is why British AOR band, FM, never received the recognition of their counterparts like Survivor or Foreigner. Their melodic rock tunes would have fit perfectly along the other stuff playing on the radio that decade.

"Other Side Of Midnight" comes from their 1986 record, "Indiscreet." Just the perfect tune to have blasting out of your speakers during a late summer night's drive through town.

"No Fear" by Fluid Sol

Mitch Malloy is a hugely underrated talent. Almost picked up as the third lead singer for Van Halen instead of Extreme's Gary Cherone, Malloy has largely fallen through the cracks after a minor hit in 1992 with "Anything At All."

While he has put out numerous solo records, Fluid Sol is the only band project that I know to be associated with Mitch Malloy. Fluid Sol is a little harder-edged and darker than his usual melodic rock style, but it works really well. Tracks like "Just Human" and "King of Nothing" have a sharp bite that sounded more contemporary for 2004, when this self-titled record was released.

"No Fear" is a catchy track that would satisfy any fan of Mitch Malloy and underscores the injustice that he is not a household name.