10 Greatest Classic Rock Songs Of The 1980s
7. Kickstart My Heart - Motley Crue
After Van Halen first came onto the scene in the late 70's, Motley Crue were the one band that took the hair metal sound and made it their own. From their more punk leaning beginnings to their biker dude later years, the band carved out a legacy on the Sunset Strip that has seemed to go down in legend.
That couldn't save the band from getting snubbed from the top of the charts time and time again though. With the 80's slowly coming to a close, the Crue hooked up with superproducer Bob Rock and emerged with a record of hair metal bangers for the ages. Tracks like "Dr. Feelgood" and "Same Ol Situation" were definitely heavy, but "Kickstart My Heart" was the best combination of everything great about Motley.
The crux of the tune is almost like a punk rock song, but the way the band interact off each other turn it into one of the most adrenaline-pumping metal tunes of the era, with Mick Mars delivering some of his tastiest licks on talkbox towards the end of the track. Hair metal's time in the spotlight may have been coming to an end, but "Kickstart My Heart" left an impressive exclamation point on the glam era of excess.