3 Soft Rock Songs From 1987 That Every 80s Kid Still Knows by Heart Today

Rock music in the late 1980s remains among the most memorable eras within the genre. Among the many great songs that came out in that time period are these three soft rock songs. All released in 1987, it’s almost a guarantee that every 80s kid still knows them by heart today.

“Didn’t We Almost Have It All” by Whitney Houston

Written by Michael Masser and Will Jennings, Whitney Houston includes “Didn’t We Almost Have It All” on Whitney, her sophomore album.

A sad song of looking back, “Didn’t We Almost Have It All” says, “Didn’t we almost have it all? / The night we hold on ’til the morning / You know you’ll never love that way again / Didn’t we almost have it all?“

A two-week No. 1 single, “Didn’t We Almost Have It All” follows “How Will I Know”, “Greatest Love Of All”, and “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” all chart-topping singles for her. Her streak continued with “So Emotional” and “Where Do Broken Hearts Go”, also on Whitney.

“If She Would Have Been Faithful…” by Chicago

Chicago’s “If She Would Have Been Faithful…” might seem like a sad song, but it’s not.  Instead, the song, on their Chicago 18 album, is about the silver lining after infidelity.

Written by Steve Kipner and Randy Goodrum, “If She Would Have Been Faithful…” says, “If she would have been faithful / If she could have been true / Then I would’ve been cheated / I would never know real love / I would’ve missed out on you.”

Chicago 18 also includes “Will You Still Love Me?”, one of Chicago’s more memorable hits.

“Could’ve Been” by Tiffany

“Could’ve Been” is Tiffany’s second consecutive No. 1 single, following her breakout “I Think We’re Alone Now” hit. “Could’ve Been” is on Tiffany, her debut record. The sad song was written by Lois Blaisch.

The sad song says, “Could’ve been so beautiful / Could’ve been so right / Could’ve been my lover / Every day of my life.”

Although Tiffany had other hit songs, “Could’ve Been” is her final song to go all the way to No. 1. Tiffany was just 16 years old when this song was released, although it was inspired by a relationship between two much older adults. Blaisch wrote it about an oral surgeon she once dated.

“He led me to believe he was going to finance my career and all this stuff,” Blaisch tells Songfacts. “I bought the whole thing, which is actually what inspired the lyric of ‘Could’ve Been’. Because what I fell in love with was not necessarily him, but all the things that he promised—all the big lies and the bulls–t. He probably was just trying to score. I don’t know. So, I didn’t really fall in love with him; I fell in love with what could’ve been.”

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