5 Classic Rock Songs From The '80s That Don't Sound 40 Years Old

The 1980s were a pivotal decade for the music business. As the popularity of singer-songwriters (think Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, James Taylor, etc.) waned, and the glossy pop-rock of the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, and their ilk faded from the charts, an eclectic array of artists moved to the forefront as various subgenres competed for radio play. Punk rock gave way to new wave, with synthesizers dominating the soundscape, while so-called "hair metal" took over the Los Angeles music scene.

Of course, that's only a small slice of a very large and exceptionally diverse range of artists who gained popularity during the 1980s, an era when the rise of MTV meant that visual appeal became as important as the music itself. Still, there are certain hallmarks of 1980s music that immediately identify music from that era, ranging from the aforementioned overuse of synthesizers to the so-called "gated " drum sound popularized by Phil Collins in "In the Air Tonight" before being relentlessly copied by other artists.

Yet there were also songs that spat in the face of musical trends, defying categorization and standing the test of time, sounding as vibrant today as they did all those decades ago. For proof, keep on reading for a roundup of five classic rock songs from the '80s that don't sound 40 years old. 

Australian rock band AC/DC was on a roll when tragedy struck in January of 1980, with frontman Bon Scott found dead in his car, having choked on his own vomit after passing out during a night of heavy drinking. The band briefly considered packing it in, but instead decided to soldier on with a new singer. Already in the midst of writing songs for a new album, they went into the studio to record a follow-up to 1979's "Highway to Hell," a major hit that sold 7 million albums and broke them in America. British singer Brian Johnson was hired to provide vocals on that album, "Back in Black." 

Released in the summer of 1980, "Back in Black" became a blockbuster, eclipsing anything the band had done previously and ultimately going on to sell a staggering 50 million copies. The title track remains a rock classic that continues to stand the test of time, with its deceptively simple structure based on rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young's bone-crunching riff and no-frills production courtesy of Robert "Mutt" Lange.

As lead guitarist Angus Young told Revolver, "Back in Black" was the first song this new iteration of AC/DC recorded, and they knew they had something special. "We were pretty locked in on this one before we went in, with the guitars and everything," Young recalled. "We felt so confident in it. You just hear that little count-in noise coming off Malcolm's guitar, and it's like, 'Who else could that be?'"

It's fair to say that The Rolling Stones' musical output was all over the map during the 1970s, from the twin triumphs of "Sticky Fingers" and "Exile on Main Street," to the mishmash that was "Black and Blue." The 1980s, however, saw the band hit some musical low points, although the Stones managed to cram a few gems into the band's first album of the decade, 1981's "Tattoo You."

The album kicked off with "Start Me Up," a straightforward rocker driven by one of Keith Richards' most recognizable riffs. "Start Me Up" was actually recorded years earlier; "Tattoo You," in fact, is a collection of outtakes from earlier recording sessions, dating as far back as 1972. "It's all a lot of old tracks that I dug out," Mick Jagger told Rolling Stone of how he assembled the album.

With Richards' slashing opening riff suspended on its own until Charlie Watts' drums kick in, the song was made for stadiums, and has remained a staple of Stones' shows ever since. When the 40th anniversary edition of "Tattoo You" was released in 2021, fans got to hear the alternate reggae version of "Start Me Up." According to lore, the reason the now-classic song hadn't made it onto an earlier album was because the reggae version was at the beginning of the tape and the rocked-out version at the end, resulting in the band passing over what would go on to become a classic.

While there are various accounts of the real reason Joan Jett and The Runaways broke up, the dissolution of the band in the late 1970s led her to embark on a solo career. The peak came with her second album with her new outfit, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, released in late 1981: "I Love Rock 'n' Roll." The title track hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts, holding that position for an impressive seven weeks.  

With its unmistakable guitar riff and uncluttered production, the song is pure rock ecstasy and has retained its popularity in the four decades since its release. While the song is now regarded as an '80s classic, it was actually written back in 1975 by British singer Alan Merrill, and recorded by his band, The Arrows. Jett reportedly saw the band perform it on TV while in England, and the song stuck with her. "There are so many covers out there that I probably haven't even heard half of them — but I'm glad I wrote it!" Merrill told Guitar World.

Jett was never the same after covering "I Love Rock 'n' Roll," which she discussed in a 2008 interview with Mojo Magazine. "I quickly realized this song is gonna follow you, so you're either gonna let it bother you, or you gotta make peace with it, and feel blessed that you were involved with something that touched so many people," she said (via Ultimate Classic Rock). 

From the moment Randy Rhoads' heavier-than-heavy power-chord hits the eardrum, followed by Ozzy Osbourne's now-iconic echoed cry, listeners realized they were hearing a timeless classic with "Crazy Train." Then, when the song takes off like the insanity-fuelled locomotive alluded to in the lyrics, the hard-rocking hit enters a whole new level of sonic transcendence. 

The lead single off Osbourne's debut solo album, "Blizzard of Oz" — his first new music after Osbourne's exit from Black Sabbath — "Crazy Train" remained a fan favorite in concerts. While it would be easy to assume the song was based on Osbourne's outrageous persona, he insisted it was actually about something far more universal. 

"I mean, sometimes when you have a busy day and the phone never stops ringing you think, 'Jeez, when is it all gonna stop?' It's not just a personal song; it's for everybody," Osbourne told journalist Steve Newton in 1982, via his Ear of Newt website. According to Osbourne, the song reflected what he and Rhoads were experiencing as they tried to get a band together, a somewhat chaotic experience for them. "There was just one thing after another, you know, and I was thinking, 'Oh, I'm going crazy,'" he added. "You just think that you're going off the rails on a crazy train."

Hard rock band Guns N' Roses emerged from the Los Angeles hair metal scene, the result of two existing bands — Hollywood Rose and LA Guns — merging into a new outfit. In retrospect, Guns N' Roses can be seen as a bridge between the spandex-wearing, Aqua Net-coiffed rockers of that era and the hard-edged Seattle grunge scene that emerged a few years later.

The standout single from the band's 1987 debut album was "Sweet Child O' Mine," a power ballad featuring frontman Axl Rose's banshee-like wail interweaving with a slinky riff from guitarist Slash. As the song builds to the chorus, it all lifts off the ground like a NASA rocket blasting into space, while retaining a solidly funky groove. 

While the song is now considered a timeless classic, the song's origin lies in its opening riff, which Slash happened to be fooling around with while the rest of the band was hanging out. Their ears perked up, and the other members of the band began kicking in behind him as the song began to take shape. "And next thing you know, it was turning into something," Slash told Guitar Edge in 2007. "I really just thought of it as a joke, but lo and behold, Axl was upstairs in his bedroom, and he heard it." At the time, Rose was tinkering with a poem about his then-girlfriend Erin Everly, which formed the basis of the song's lyrics. Slash admitted he found the song "sappy," while it quickly became a Rose favorite. "I had no idea it would become the biggest song the band ever did."