Urgent was a melodic rock band that formed in New York City and scored a single chart appearance when "Running Back" reached #79 in 1985. It came from their debut album, "Cast The First Stone," which kind of sank like a stone. Consequently, their 1987 sophomore record, "Thinking Out Loud," was DOA and the band broke up. Some of the members, including Yul Vazquez, joined another underrated rock band in 1989 called Diving For Pearls. Others may know Vazquez from his acting career, which included a recurring spot on Seinfeld and roles in several feature films. Here is the underrated title track to Urgent's debut record. Listening back on this, it is hard to imagine why it wasn't bigger in 1985.
The Unforgiven were a little-known rock band from California that exuded a cheesy cowboy theme and gang vocals. Their one and only album dropped in 1986 and was self-titled. The record didn't produce any charting singles, but some of the highlights deserved more attention, such as "All Is Quiet On The Western Front," "The Loner," and "I Hear The Call." One of the band's guitarists, Johnny Hickman, went on to co-found the alternative rock band Cracker.
Matthew Shafer is a singer and songwriter from Michigan who goes by the name of Uncle Kracker. He got his start working the turntables as the DJ for follow Michigan superstar Kid Star. Uncle Kracker began a solo career at the dawn of the new millennium, with a little help from Kid Rock along the way. Uncle Kracker became a sensation right out of the box with his smooth grooves, and expanded his audience as he migrated more into country rock. "Follow Me" was his first (and biggest) chart hit, reaching #5 in 2001. In 2003, Uncle Kracker returned to the Top 10 once more with his version of Dobie Gray's "Drift Away," which sailed to #9. Gray's original version went to #5 in 1973, and he was a guest vocalist on Uncle Kracker's version. Uncle Kracker scored a couple more minor until his last chart appearance in 2010 when "Smile" reached #31. "Hey Hey Hey" is a fun, country rocker found on the feel-good record of 2009, "Happy Hour."
Synth pop bands were a dime a dozen in the 80s, which likely explains why Ultravox wasn't as popular in the US as their native England. Led by Scottish vocalist Midge Ure, who would return to the US chart in 1989 as a solo artist, Ultravox scored a single chart entry in 1983 when "Reap The Wild Wind" reached #71. "Dancing With Tears In My Eyes" seemed like a worthy follow-up, but it failed to break into the Top 100, making Ultravox a one-hit wonder in the US.
Tracey Ullman did a little bit of everything, from singing and acting to comedy. Her popularity on the US charts was not as big as her native England, but she still scored a Top 10 hit in 1984 with "They Don't Know." Ullman followed this with "Break-A-Way," which stalled at #70 and ended her US chart career. It's unclear why a bright 80s pop song like "Sunglasses" failed to generate interest on the US chart. With throwbacks to the beach party sounds of the 50 and 60s, this is a fun sing-a-long for anytime of the year.
UFO was one of the pioneering British hard rock bands that enjoyed peak success in the 70s, although they never gained much traction in the US. The band came close to cracking the US chart in 1977 when "Too Hot To Handle" bubbled under. Shortly thereafter, the band endured multiple personnel changes, including the departure of guitarist Michael Schenker (formerly of the Scorpions and later of MSG) in 1978 and bassist Pete Way in 1982, who then formed Fastway and then Waysted. Nonetheless, UFO continued to release some notable material among their impressive catalogue spanning 22 studio albums. I count 1982's "Let It Rain" among them.
Formed in Dublin in the late 70s, U2 slowly emerged to become one of rock's biggest acts of all-time. The band is ranked as the 38th most successful chart artist of the 90s and #97 of all-time. The band quietly built a following through the 80s, but didn't crack the Top 10 until their landmark 1987 album, "The Joshua Tree," delivered three Top 40 hits, including two #1 smashes: "With Or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." Most of their early well-known favorites like "Sunday Bloody Sunday," "Two Hearts Beat As One," "Bad," and "The Unforgettable Fire" never charted in the US. The band took a surprise detour from their classic sound and became more experimental through the 90s, maintaining a chart presence with hits like "Mysterious Ways" (#9), "One" (#10), and "Discotheque" (#10), but also suffering damaging flops like "Numb" (#61) and "Lemon" (#71). As the 2000s rolled around, the band largely returned to their roots, landing additional Top 40 hits with "Beautiful Day" (#21) and "Vertigo" (#31). Since then, the band has struggled to score on the charts despite releasing some of the finest material in their extensive catalogue. "Red Flag Day" is a perfect example of a modern U2 song that deserves to be a hit. It comes from their last album, 2017's "Songs of Experience."
