"Sleeping My Day Away" by D.A.D.

D.A.D. was one of the dime-a-dozen hairbands trying to stand out from the crowd in 1989. Their debut album, "No Fuel Left For Pilgrims", managed to reach #116 thanks to strong airplay from the single and video, "Sleeping My Day Away". Surprisingly, this catchy anthem didn't gain any traction on the Billboard Top 100 and the band quickly fell off the radar in the US.

A bit of fun trivia:  D.A.D. hails from Denmark and their initials stand for Disneyland After Dark. They had to use the acronym after Disney threatened to sue the band. 

"One For the Mockingbird" by Cutting Crew

To my ears, the debut record from the English band, Cutting Crew, was one of the best pop rock records of the 80s. The band stormed onto the scene in 1987 with their smash #1 hit, "(I Just) Died In Your Arms". It helped get their album, "Broadcast" up to #16. The third single, "I've Been In Love Before", became an essential high school dance ballad and scored the #9 position.

In-between these hit singles was an underachiever called "One For The Mockingbird". It is my favorite song by the band and many folks (no doubt the band themselves and their record label) were surprised when it stalled at #38. This upbeat rocker deserved to join the other singles as a top 10 hit. Other great tracks from this impressive debut include "Any Colour" and "Don't Look Back".

The band's second album, "The Scattering", stalled at #150 and failed to produce any hits. Granted, it was not as strong as their debut, but the lead off single, "(Between A) Rock And A Hard Place" was fairly good (it crapped out at #77 in 1989). I guess songs using parentheses only hit once for a band.

"In Between Days" by The Cure

The English art rock band known as The Cure started making waves with their refreshingly unorthodox pop back in 1979 with airplay cuts like "Boys Don't Cry" and "Let's Go To Bed". But their first song to crack the US top 100 wasn't until 1986's "In Between Days", which just barely made it in at #99. It also helped them achieve their biggest album to date, "The Head On The Door", reaching #59.

The band would go on to gain extensive popularity thanks to their unique sound and outlandish videos. Their follow-up record in 1987, "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me", is widely considered their big breakthrough, hitting #35 and spawning their first top 40 hit, "Just Like Heaven" (#40). Their biggest hit was "Lovesong", which went to #2 in 1989. Adele covered this one on her "21" album from 2011.

Other people know the band for their ubiquitous song "Friday I'm In Love". Surprisingly, this popular song only reached #18 in 1992, but came from their highest charting album, "Wish", which got all the way to #2.

"Meanin' So Much" by Burton Cummings

After writing a slew of hits for the Guess Who, it seemed a safe bet that key songwriter, singer, and keyboardist Burton Cummings would have a sustained presence on the charts as a solo artist. Things got off to a promising start with "Stand Tall", his top 10 debut single from 1976. However, Cummings never broached the top 10 again.

"Stand Tall" helped push his self-titled album to #30. He had some other modest hits through the years, such as the well-known song "I'm Scared" (#61) and "You Saved My Soul" (#37).

While selling extremely well in his native Canada, his third album, 1978's "Dream Of A Child", didn't even chart on the US Top 200. Why remains a mystery. The album is filled with diverse musical styles from a smooth cover of "When A Man Loves A Woman" to the rollicking blues of "Roll With The Punches". My favorite cut from this record is the upbeat rocker, "Meanin' So Much", arguably one of his most "Guess Who" sounding efforts.

"Kelly's Eyes" by André Cymone

André Cymone played bass for Prince until striking out on a solo career in 1981 with his debut, "Living' In The New Wave". The album didn't chart, but it contained one of his best known songs, "Kelly's Eyes", which bubbled under at #107 in 1983.

After two other albums, "Survivin' in the 80's" (which reached #185) and "A.C." (which reached #121), Cymone maintained a successful career writing and producing songs for his wife, Jody Watley, and several other well-known artists.

He reignited his solo career with a new album called "The Stone" in 2014.

"Since You've Been Gone" by Cherie and Marie Currie

After departing from her groundbreaking band, The Runaways, lead singer Cherie Currie teamed up with her identical twin sister Marie to release their first album called "Messin' With The Boys".

The only charting single from the record was a cover of the Russ Ballard (Argent) song, "Since You've Been Gone".  The Currie sisters barely broke into the Top 100 with this one, peaking at #95 in 1979. Cherie would find more success in acting, starting with her debut in the 1980 movie Foxes. More recently, she has become a renowned chainsaw artist. Yes, you read that right.

"Misfit" by Curiosity Killed The Cat

Hailing from London, Curiosity Killed The Cat is a one-hit wonder that hit the US charts in 1987. They scratched their way to #42 with the totally 80s dance pop hit called "Misfit". They remind me of Johnny Hates Jazz. "Misfit" is a very catchy tune that had top 10 potential, but didn't get there for some reason.

The modest success of this single helped get their album to #55 on the Billboard Top 200, but the cat proved only to have one life and the band did not chart in the US again.