By all accounts, the ’80s were an ultra-competitive decade for rock bands, but our list of 5 Hair Metal Songs Featuring Big-Name Guest Performers shows that they could occasionally play nice.
As hair metal — or glam metal, or pop-metal, or whatever you want to call it — became the predominant rock subgenre conquering the airwaves, artists and producers alike found that they could multiply their winnings with some timely collaborations.
Some of these guest features allowed rockers to meet their heroes or pay back favors done for them earlier in their careers. Others were planned so that bands could ingratiate themselves with their peers and further monetize their relationships.
Read on to learn more about 5 Hair Metal Songs Featuring Big-Name Guest Performers.
Alice Cooper, “Only My Heart Talkin'” featuring Steven Tyler
With producer and song doctor Desmond Child at the helm, Alice Cooper’s 1989 comeback album Trash became a star-studded affair. Almost every track features a big-name collaborator, including four-fifths of Aerosmith (sans Brad Whitford), Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, Kip Winger, Steve Lukather, and more. It’s hard to pick just one, but we’ll single out “Only My Heart Talkin’,” the splashy power ballad featuring Steven Tyler that could have easily replaced “Angel” on Aerosmith’s Permanent Vacation.
Want more? In the guitar department, Joe Perry and Sambora bring their signature styles to “House of Fire” and “Hell Is Living Without You,” respectively.
The collaborations continued on Cooper’s next album, Hey Stoopid. Its title track features a searing guitar solo from Slash and backing vocals from Ozzy Osbourne, while standout single “Feed My Frankenstein” features bass from Nikki Sixx and a dual-guitar solo from Steve Vai and Joe Satriani.
Michael Monroe, “Dead, Jail or Rock ‘n’ Roll” featuring Axl Rose
Guns N’ Roses were avowed fans of Hanoi Rocks, so it made perfect sense for Axl Rose to guest on frontman Michael Monroe’s 1989 solo album Not Fakin’ It. Rose’s banshee wail can be heard briefly on lead single “Dead, Jail or Rock ‘n’ Roll” and title track (and Nazareth cover) “Not Fakin’ It.”
“We were both Nazareth fans,” Monroe explained to Classic Rock in 2023. “It was no surprise to me that he liked them, as I could hear the influence of Dan McCafferty in his singing style. However, he wasn’t familiar with the song ‘Not Fakin’ It,’ which was a Nazareth cover on my album, so knowing that it was a Nazareth song made him like the album even more.”
Monroe later repaid the favor by playing harmonica on Guns N’ Roses’ Use Your Illusion track “Bad Obsession” and singing on their cover of the Dead Boys’ “Ain’t It Fun.” The latter appeared on “The Spaghetti Incident?,” which also featured Guns’ rendition of Nazareth’s “Hair of the Dog.”
Motley Crue, “Slice of Your Pie” featuring Steven Tyler
Motley Crue and Aerosmith both recorded their 1989 albums — Dr. Feelgood and Pump, respectively — at Vancouver’s Little Mountain Sound Studios around the same time, so it was probably easy for Steven Tyler to pop by a session and add some signature vocalizing to the intro of Motley Crue’s “Slice of Your Pie.” The Aerosmith frontman also contributes backing vocals on “Same Ol’ Situation” and “Sticky Sweet” alongside Bryan Adams and Jack Blades.
Other guest performances on the star-studded Dr. Feelgood include Cheap Trick’s Robin Zander and Rick Nielsen, who sing backup on “She Goes Down,” and Skid Row’s collective backing vocals on “Time for Change.”
Ratt, “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” Featuring Jon Bon Jovi
Ratt gave Bon Jovi an early career break when they booked the fledgling rockers as their support act on their 1985 tour. Several years later, Jon Bon Jovi returned the favor by singing backup on “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” off Ratt’s 1990 album Detonator. The LP was co-produced and co-written by Desmond Child, the veteran songwriter who collaborated on Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet and New Jersey albums, along with several other blockbuster titles from the era.
“He came in there, yodeled and that was cool, man,” Ratt frontman Stephen Pearcy told Mitch Lafon in 2021. “He threw us a bone for making them so fucking huge.”
Warrant, “Cherry Pie” Featuring C.C. DeVille
Poison and Warrant were two of the biggest and horniest rock bands on the Sunset Strip at the dawn of the ’90s, so a collaboration between them was perfect brand synergy. Warrant frontman Jani Lane invited Poison guitarist C.C. DeVille to cut a solo on the band’s “Cherry Pie” in the hopes of currying their favor and securing a support slot on their tour.
The networking paid off, but Cherry Pie producer Beau Hill wasn’t thrilled with the process. “Sitting in the studio with C.C. was the most painful experience of my life,” Hill said in Richard Bienstock and Tom Beaujour’s 2021 book Nothin’ but a Good Time. “C.C., on a good day, would never come up to my standards of something that I would want to put my name on and release to the public. But I bent over backwards to accommodate the greater good, if you will.”
Despite Hill’s objections, “Cherry Pie” became a Top 10 hit, and DeVille’s chaotic solo complements the song’s outrageous attitude.
Conclusion
Throughout the ’80s, hair metal bands showcased not only their talent but also their ability to collaborate with some of the biggest names in rock. These collaborations not only highlighted the camaraderie within the genre but also contributed to the enduring appeal of these iconic tracks. The spirit of collaboration helped define an era, proving that even in a competitive landscape, rock musicians could come together to create something truly memorable.
FAQs
What is hair metal?
Hair metal, also known as glam metal or pop-metal, is a subgenre of rock music that emerged in the 1980s, characterized by its anthemic melodies, flashy aesthetics, and often over-the-top performances.
Why were collaborations popular in the ’80s hair metal scene?
Collaborations allowed artists to reach wider audiences, pay tribute to influences, and strengthen relationships within the industry, often resulting in commercially successful tracks.
Which hair metal bands should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
Many feel that bands like Motley Crue, Ratt, and Warrant, among others, deserve recognition in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for their contributions to rock music and their influence on future generations.
