'80s Rock Songs That Should've Never Won Grammys

The Grammys have always been rife with controversial wins, many of which are still controversial to this day. At minimum, Grammy wins indicate the tastes of Grammy voters and nothing else. At maximum, the whole awards show is totally out of touch. This is especially true of rock and heavier music, which in 2025, Grammy voter and 66-year-old pianist Bruce Brubaker said voters possibly never listen to (per NPR). But even back in the '80s, the Grammys had a hard time keeping up with contemporary rock as it transitioned out of its classic "golden era" (about 1964 to 1982, as The Guardian reckons). Some '80s rock winners walked away with awards they didn't deserve. 

In choosing undeserved Grammy winners, we've got to firstly condense the Grammy's former, bizarre, unwieldy rock categories into one, single "rock song" lump. This includes Best Rock Vocal Performance (Male & Female), Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, and Best Rock Instrumental Performance. We've also got to stay confined to songs/albums released in the '80s. This excludes, for instance, "The Wall" by Pink Floyd in the 1980 Grammys, as it was released in 1979. Also, are we comparing undeserved wins to other nominees that year or to completely different, unnominated songs? For the purposes of this article, we're going to open the floor to either.

And most importantly, there's the music itself. A song might earn a spot in this article if its writing seems stock or lazy, if there were far more vibrant or of-the-time choices that year, or if it seems like a song won a Grammy simply because the artist had a recognizable name. No matter what, someone's beloved music is going to get squashed. This includes the Police, Jeff Beck, and the Eurythmics. 

Seriously, what in the world were Grammy voters thinking with this choice? Oh yeah, that's right. They were thinking, "Hey, we know The Police, and we like them. Therefore: The Police." In general, Grammy voters had a real thing for The Police, who cinched five Grammys out of eight nominations from 1980 to 1985. And while we could debate the merits of a few of these wins, it's 1981's win for Best Rock Instrumental Performance for "Behind My Camel" that's completely undeserved, especially over Rush's "YYZ." 

For the sake of argument, let's pretend that "YYZ" doesn't exist and just listen to "Behind My Camel." The song is three limp, tepid minutes of the same, repetitive, sleepy musical motifs. It's got a clear horror vibe, that's true. But musically, it's just a handful of melodic lines, the same continual bass bump, and a swimmy synth backdrop. It isn't even as remotely interesting as other songs by The Police off the same 1980 album, "Zenyatta Mondatta." As the story goes, Sting hated "Behind My Camel" so much that he literally buried the song's tape in the ground, per UCR.

Now, spin up Rush. "YYZ" is such a dynamic, ultra-cool display of technical-meets-emotive musicality, full of interesting rhythmic changes and killer basslines that it practically deserves to win a Grammy every year in perpetuity. If we've got to explain how freakishly dumb it is that this track lost to "Behind My Camel," then we don't know what to tell you. But bear in mind that 1980 also saw Talking Heads, Joy Division, The Cure, AC/DC, Dead Kennedys, and Motörhead release albums (and that's just a sample). Where were any of the artists or their songs come the 1981 Grammys? Nowhere.

Next, we have a Grammy win that, like the Red Hot Chili Pepper's future, 2007 Best Rock Song win for "Dani California," exemplifies how Grammy voters can't shake their addiction to legacy acts. In 1985, guitarist Jeff Beck won Best Rock Instrumental Performance for "Escape" off his album, "Flash." That's Jeff Beck from The Yardbirds, who replaced Eric Clapton when Clapton left the band in 1965. Age might not be the main factor here, and yes, the late Beck had a hugely influential, vocal quality to his playing. But in comparison to other tracks that year, "Escape" can't cut it.

Musically, "Escape" sounds precisely like what it is: Jeff Beck does '80s synth pop. It's cheesy, full of low-effort guitar fills, has some characteristic Beck bends, and is dotted with blips of jangly, high notes. It's less of a cohesive, rock journey as it is a collection of Beck-isms. But, dear God ... If we ever have to hear that snare again. The snare drum is hideously obnoxious and loud — on top of the mix already being annoying. All in all, the less-than-five-minute "Escape" overstays its welcome in less than two minutes.

On top of this, "Escape" went head-to-head against an entire album, Yngwie Malmsteen's 1984 "Rising Force." How does this even make sense? Unless "Escape" is so blisteringly, mind-breakingly amazing, how could it possibly hold a candle to the inventive, virtuosic, neoclassical shredfest of "Rising Force"? Accuse Malmsteen of pompous, fretboard wankery as much as you'd like, there's no way "Rising Force" is worse than "Escape." And even if "Rising Force" didn't win, we've got other, unnominated contenders like "Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part III" by King Crimson, a track definitely too creatively weird for the Grammys to grok.

Finally, we come to a Grammy win that wasn't egregiously dumb, but was still undeserved: Eurythmics' "Missionary Man" winning the 1986 Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Sure, the song is fine. Yes, the drippy effects in the video that leak Annie Lennox's face into existence are neat. And of course, Lennox herself has always been an icon of cool, right down to her wardrobe. But, is "Missionary Man" really the best song of the entire year out of all other songs and bands, both nominated and unnominated?

"Missionary Man" has some old-school rock 'n' roll swagger, a harmonica opener and solo, minimal dynamics on Lennox's vocals for some added sneer, and a memorable, if tired, biblical conceit: "Well, I was born an original sinner / I was born from original sin / And if I had a dollar bill for all the things I've done / There'd be a mountain of money piled up to my chin, hey!" But, does the song make anyone's cut for amazing songs of the year — or even from Eurythmics? On Spotify, the song is only the third most listened-to song on 1986's "Revenge," at over 10 million listens, after "When Tomorrow Comes" at 28 million, and "Thorn in My Side" with nearly 61 million.

It's true that "Missionary Man" might have deserved to win over its competitors, which included legacy acts like The Rolling Stones and forgotten groups like The Fabulous Thunderbirds. But how about unnominated songs and albums? From 1985 alone, this includes music from The Smiths, The Cure, The Cult, Tears for Fears (including "Shout" and "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"), and more. Can anyone truly defend "Missionary Man" against such a catalogue? We think not.