Music from 1989 still has a touch of that 80s magic, combined with some of that fresh 90s flair. Here are a few songs from that year that we still love.
“Blame It On The Rain” by Milli Vanilli
When in doubt, all you have to do is “Blame It On The Rain”. Milli Vanilli topped the Billboard chart with this song, which tells the listener, who has supposedly left a girl that he now regrets letting go, that he can’t be the one to take the blame. If he has to blame his dumb decision on the weather, that’s fine. Anything to avoid taking responsibility, I guess.
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Blame it on the rain that was falling, falling
Blame it on the stars that didn’t shine that night
Whatever you do, don’t put the blame on you
Blame it on the rain, yeah, yeah
You can blame it on the rain.
“Free Fallin’” by Tom Petty
This song is just magic. If you are a more modern music fan, you might be familiar with John Mayer‘s version of this song. There’s something about this melody that feels familiar, even if you’ve never listened to “Free Fallin’” before. Once, Petty actually talked to Esquire about what a good song it was, despite it being so popular.
“‘Free Fallin” is a very good song. Maybe it would be one of my favorites if it hadn’t become this huge anthem,” he shared. “But I’m grateful that people like it.”
“Leave A Light On” by Belinda Carlisle
“Leave A Light On” is about promising someone that you’ll be there for them, even though you can’t love them how you did at one point. This tender song was penned by Rick Nowels and Ellen Shipley and even features a guitar solo by George Harrison of The Beatles. The lyrics are probably my favorite thing about it though.
Darling leave a light on for me
I’ll be there before you close the door
To give you all the love that you need
Darling leave a light on for me (Darling leave a light on)
‘Cause when the world takes me away
You are still the air that I breathe.
“Lovesong” by The Cure
Even though The Cure has plenty of iconic songs in their discography, “Lovesong” is actually the group’s only Top 10 hit on Billboard. As the title so blatantly suggests, this is a love song at heart.
Photo by: Gary Gershoff/Getty Images
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American musician Neal Schon, of the American rock band Journey, plays on stage during the 1980 Departure tour at the Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan, May 17, 1980. (Photo by Ross Marino/Getty Images)