4 Songs From 1988 That Even Modern Music Fans Can Get Behind

From final No. 1 hits to songwriting classics, here are some songs from 1988 that are hard not to love. We were spinning these songs then, and we still enjoy them now.

“Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car” by Billy Ocean

This song was Billy Ocean’s final No. 1 hit in the US. “Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car” was co-written and produced by Robert “Mutt” Lange of Shania Twain fame. Lange later produced Twain’s Come On Over album, which launched her into global country pop stardom.

This song follows a similar premise to its music video, which shows a guy going to the car wash and running into an attractive woman. In case you were wondering, by the end of the video, she does finally get into Ocean’s car. We also get a key change, which is fun.

“Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman

Tracy Chapman left her permanent mark on songwriting when she released “Fast Car” in 1988. One evening, while Chapman was still a student at Tufts University, she stayed up late with her dog and wrote this song in pretty much one go. Little did the young songwriter know, “Fast Car” would earn her three Grammy nominations in 1989. In addition to that, she would get a Top 10 hit and lyrical chops for the rest of her life.

“Desire” by U2

“Desire”, off the band’s album Rattle And Hum, was U2’s first No. 1 hit in the UK. This song is about what it takes to have success in the music industry, amongst other things.

Bono shared of this song in U2 By U2: “I wanted to own up to the religiosity of rock ‘n’ roll concerts and the fact that you get paid for them. On one level, I’m criticizing the lunatic fringe preachers ‘stealing hearts at a traveling show’ but I’m also starting to realize there’s a real parallel between what I am doing and what they do.”

“Kokomo” by The Beach Boys

This song was written for the Tom Cruise movie Cocktail, and it ended up being The Beach Boys’ final No. 1 hit. This song paints a picture of a beachy paradise “off the Florida Keys” called Kokomo. According to The Beach Boys, this is the place to be.

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