Hair Metal Hero: Name the 80s Bands

[A] Bon Jovi | Talkbox, big key change, and working-class romance turned this Slippery When Wet anthem into peak 80s arena worship.

[A] Night Ranger | Drummer Kelly Keagy sang about his sister Christy. "Motoring" remains rock's most misheard lyric about growing up fast.

[A] Slaughter | Mark Slaughter wrote it about his girlfriend's deceased mother. Power ballads rarely balanced tears with arena volume better.

[C] Dokken | George Lynch's guitar tone came from bedroom practice amps. Don's melody proved metal bands could smile occasionally too.

[A] Guns n' Roses | Written on the road, it swings from whistled prayer to double-time chaos. Stadium crowds still scream for the green grass line.

[A] RATT | Milton Berle in drag stole their video. Warren DeMartini's circular riff literally matched the title's promise perfectly.

[D] Twisted Sister | Dee Snider borrowed melody from Christmas carol "O Come All Ye Faithful." Rebellion never sounded more festive ironically.

[B] Aerosmith | Steven Tyler wrote it about Vince Neil backstage. Desmond Child added the saxophone that nobody expected but everyone remembers.

[D] Van Halen | Alex's double bass mimics a motorcycle engine. Eddie tapped while David dreamed about his actual fourth-grade teacher.

[B] AC/DC | Brian Johnson's debut single with the band. Mutt Lange made them count beats, creating rock's most mathematical groove.

[A] Mötley Crüe | Bob Rock gave them brick-wall drums and glossy grit. Their tale of a dealer became the band’s cleanest, sharpest party anthem.

[A] Def Leppard | Pyromania broke wide open on this obsessed crush song. Massive stacked vocals proved pop-metal could hit Top 40 and stay heavy.

[C] Skid Row | Based on a newspaper article about accidental death. Sebastian Bach's range turned tragedy into Top 10 triumph surprisingly.

[A] Whitesnake | David Coverdale rewrote his 1982 flop for America. Tawny Kitaen's car acrobatics made MTV history and marriages.

[D] Great White | Their biggest hit borrowed heavily from Led Zeppelin's blueprint. Jack Russell's blues wail made plagiarism sound original somehow.

[B] Europe | Joey Tempest wrote it on a Korg keyboard. Swedish space rock accidentally became every sports arena's victory anthem worldwide.

[C] Scorpions | Klaus Meine wrote this after seeing thousands of Moscow fans in 1988. Germany's biggest rock export conquered American radio.

[D] Megadeth | MTV News adopted that bassline permanently. Dave Mustaine's post-Metallica revenge served colder than his former bandmates expected.

[B] Quiet Riot | Kevin DuBrow's anthem knocked Michael Jackson off Billboard's top spot in 1983. First metal band to achieve this feat.

[B] Metallica | Eight minutes about addiction without radio play still went gold. Cliff Burton's final masterpiece before his tragic bus accident.

[A] Mötley Crüe | Inspired by their favorite strip club, the Seventh Veil. Tommy Lee's motorcycle intro remains metal's coolest vehicle cameo.

[B] Def Leppard | Joe Elliott improvised the lyrics during jam sessions. Producer Mutt Lange turned nonsense into platinum-selling gibberish gold.

[C] Bon Jovi | Desmond Child recycled his own song from 1984. Jon's version shot through charts where Bonnie Tyler's hadn't.

[A] Twisted Sister | Dee Snider doubled down on classroom rebellion after their earlier hit. The video made every bored student dream of louder homeroom.