The No. 1 hit from their blockbuster album of 1981 was inspired by a deeply-personal real-life experience.

The ballad originated as a poem to be sung. But also as a song you could dance to. You’ll notice the word “ball” inside the word, as in a social dance. I tell you this not for the English lesson, but ...

There’s something about a rock ballad that stirs feelings of nostalgia even when the lyrics aren’t particularly wistful. The music of the 1980s arrived with heightened earnestness as the decade became ...

Sometimes, you just need to crank up those old rock tunes and let yourself feel all the feels. The '80s were a golden era for rock music, and among the headbangers and anthems, there was a treasure ...

J.S. Gornael has a BA in English with a Creative Writing Emphasis in Poetry and an MFA in Fiction. He has taken workshops in poetry, fiction, and non-fiction (though mostly the second). Half-cinephile ...