Power Pop Songs from the Late Seventies and Early Eighties

Yesterday I wrote a post about the 40th anniversary of The Knack's album Get The Knack. That got me to thinking about the boom in power pop bands that lasted from the mid-Seventies to the early Eighties. A few are known only to power pop connoisseurs. Others remain well known today. Here then are a few power pop songs from the era.

Power pop did not suddenly emerge in the mid-Seventies. The genre actually dates to the Sixties. In fact, the early Seventies saw such power pop artists as Sweet, Badfinger, The Flamin' Groovies, Todd Rundgren, and The Raspberries. Beginning in 1976, however, there would be a boom in power pop artists. Among the power pop bands that would precipitate the boom were The Nerves. The Nerves would form in Los Angeles in 1974 and released a self-titled EP in 1976. While The Nerves would break up in 1978, they paved the way for other Los Angeles power pop bands. Drummer Paul Collins would go onto found the influential power pop band The Beat. Bassist Peter Case would go onto found another influential power pop band, The Plimsouls. Their song "Hanging on the Telephone" would later be covered by Blondie.

Many consider Cheap Trick to be the quintessential American power pop band. They formed in 1973 in Rockford, Illinois. The band's self-titled debut album was released in 1977. While neither it nor their second album, In Color, would see a good deal of success, their third album, Heaven Tonight, would go to no 48 on the Billboard 200. Their single from that album, "Surrender," would go to no. 62 on the Billboard Hot 100. It would their fourth album, Cheap Trick at Budokan, that would really put them on the map. The album peaked at no. 3 on the Billboard 200. The singles from the album also did very well. "I Want You to Want Me" went to no. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, while their cover of Fats Domino's "Ain't That a Shame" went to no. 35. While Cheap Trick has had its ups and downs, the band has continued recording and touring to this day (I had a friend who saw them just a few nights ago).

Cheap Trick wasn't the only pioneering power pop band to emerge from There was also Shoes. Shoes formed in Zion, Illinois in 1974. Their debut single "Tomorrow Night" was released in 1978 by Bomp! Records, which would lead to a recording contract with Elektra. Although they have never had a major hit, they have continued recording to this very day.

I wrote about The Knack yesterday, so I won't repeat myself here. That having been said, unless one counts songs by The Beatles, "My Sharona" is probably the most successful power pop single of all time. It is also probably the most famous power pop song by an American band.


When writing about the power pop boom of the late Seventies and early Eighties, many treat it as a purely American phenomenon. That having been said, Britain has produced its fair share of power pop bands, including the aforementioned Badfinger and Sweet. The Vapors formed in 1978. Their first album, New Clear Days, was released in 1980. It contained their only major hit, "Turning Japanese." Unfortunately, the band was not able to repeat the success of "Turning Japanese." Their second album Magnets did not sell well and the band broke up in 1982.

Rick Springfield was hardly a new artist when "Jessie's Girl" hit in 1981. He had been a member of Australian pop rock band Zoot from 1969 to 1971. He embarked on a solo career in 1971 and even had a hit with "Speak to the Sky." From 1972 to 1976 he would release four albums. It was in 1981 that "Jessie 's Girl" made a slow climb up the Billboard Hot 100.  It entered the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1981, but would not reach the no. 1 spot until August 1. Rick Springfield would have a few more hit singles, but none of them would be as successful as "Jessie's Girl."



Tommy Tutone was a band that formed in California in 1978. They saw middling success with both their self-titled debut album and their first single "Angel Say No." It would be with a song from their second album that would earn them eternal fame. "867-5309/Jenny" peaked at no. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982. It also created endless headaches for those who had the number "867-5309." Tommy Tutone would continue recording into the Nineties, but never did repeat the success they had with "867-5309/Jenny."