I suppose I should start out by giving my definition of some guitar-based music terms:

Rock & Roll - music with roots in the late 50's and early 60's that is generally upbeat in tempo and catchy. Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Elvis, Beatles, Stones were the greats.

Hard rock - Features stronger guitar playing with an edgier sound that was generally blues-based and somewhat distorted. Rose to prominence in the 70's with Zeppelin, AC/DC, Aerosmith, etc.

Heavy Metal - Music noted for a heavier use of distortion, aggressive playing and darker lyrics than hard rock.

Zeppelin ruled the hard rock scene throughout the 70's, but by the latter part of the decade, the band had become, dare I say, more adult contemporary sounding with songs like "Fool in the Rain" & "All of My Love" rather than the dirty blues songs of its early years. Did the late 70's/early 80's become a Dark Age for the industry or did we have a Renaissance of Hard Rock? It looked pretty good judging by these releases and RIAA total sales figures:

1978 - Van Halen--Van Halen (10 million sold)
1979 - AC/DC--Highway to Hell
1980 - AC/DC--Back in Black (19 million sold)
- Ozzy Osbourne--Blizzard of Ozz
- Aerosmith--Greatest Hits
1981 - Ozzy Osbourne--Diary of a Madman
1983 - Motley Crue--Shout at the Devil
- Def Leppard--Pyromania
- Van Halen--1984 (10 million sold)
- Europe--Europe
- Quiet Riot--Metal Health
- Ozzy Osbourne--Bark at the Moon

There was a set of power metal bands (Maiden, Priest) and thrash bands (Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax) that came along that added to the overall climate of guitar-based music and helped move it into higher sales and popularity, but I'm going to consider those as heavy metal and not discuss them in detail here. I would peg the video successes of Van Halen and Def Leppard and to a lesser extent Motley on Mtv as the catalyst for the spandex-clad rockers that were to come:

1984
- Dokken--Tooth and Nail
- Ratt--Out of the Cellar

"Rock in 1989 accounted for 41.7% of sales."

- Twisted Sister--Stay Hungry
- Great White--Great White
- Scorpions--Love at First Sting

1985
- Dokken--Under Lock and Key
- Motley Crue--Theater of Pain
- Kix--Midnite Dynamite
- Scorpions--World Wide Live

Good stuff there, but look at what was to come soon thereafter:

1986
- Tesla--Mechanical Resonance
- Fastway--Trick or Treat
- Ozzy Osbourne--The Ultimate Sin
- Bon Jovi--Slippery When Wet (12 million sold)
- Ratt--Dancing Undercover
- Van Halen--5150

1987
- Dokken--Back For the Attack
- Guns N' Roses--Appetite For Destruction (15 million sold)
- The Cult--Electric
- Cinderella--Night Songs
- Def Leppard--Hysteria (12 million sold)
- Great White--Once Bitten
- Ozzy Osbourne--Tribute
- Aerosmith--Permanent Vacation
- Whitesnake--Whitesnake
- Motley Crue--Girls, Girls, Girls

Wow, what a big set of years! Anybody who looks similar and had a rock record surely got some extra sales by riding off the glory of the super-selling albums from Bon Jovi, G&R, Leppard, Aerosmith Whitesnake and the Crue. Mtv's top video list had 8 of 10 songs from these bands at the time. Everybody wore jean jackets with cool backpatches and rock pins. According to consumer profile charts at www.riaa.org, Rock in 1989 accounted for 41.7% of sales.

Life was good and there was plenty of Aqua Net to go around.

Next Time: Grunge Kills Rock?

--Nailer