4 Heartfelt Ballads That Dominated the Charts in 1982

Slow songs were everywhere you turned in 1982, in all shapes and sizes. There were the rock power ballads, the R&B quiet storm tracks, the sentimental duets, and many more varieties that could be heard on pop radio or watched with regularity on MTV.

To prove our point, we went back to that magical year and did some searching through the charts. These four slow ones either hit the top or came as close as possible to getting there.

“Hard To Say I’m Sorry” by Chicago

“Hard To Say I’m Sorry” was credited to Chicago. But it would have been almost as accurate to say that Toto was behind it. David Paich and Steve Porcaro played synthesizers on the track, while Steve Lukather was on lead guitar. They helped bring the sound that co-writer and producer David Foster had in his head to life. Over time, this arrangement started to chafe on the members of Chicago who were left out of the loop. Meanwhile, Peter Cetera, Chicago’s lead singer, took center stage, co-writing the song and delivering the emotion-wracked vocals. While it might have ruffled some feathers while it was being created, Chicago couldn’t complain about the No. 1 result.

“Up Where We Belong” by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes

If you could get a duet in a movie ballad just right, you were almost guaranteed a No. 1 song out of it in the 80s. Of course, finding the right chemistry was easier said than done. In the case of “Up Where We Belong”, the artists singing the song weren’t a pair you would think were tailor-made for success at that time. Jennifer Warnes had enjoyed a couple of soft rock hits but was in a bit of a fallow period in her career. And Joe Cocker was considered by many in the business a has-been whose best days were long since passed. They both rose to the occasion on a song that was written piecemeal by three different writers. It helped that it played behind one of the most iconic movie scenes of the 80s, one that propelled it to the top of the charts.

“Truly” by Lionel Richie

Lionel Richie held on to his spot in The Commodores longer than probably most others would have. He’d been a part of the band since their beginnings, when they focused on funk. But over time, Richie became the bell cow of the group, churning out slow song after slow song that turned into major hits. He then proved that he could score outside the band when “Endless Love”, his duet with Diana Ross, became one of the biggest hits of the first few years of the 80s. Finally, he decided it was time to go it alone in 1982 with his self-titled debut. And he struck gold immediately with lead single “Truly”, a track that showed his mastery of finding the right kind of swelling music to match his open-hearted sentiments.

“Open Arms” by Journey

When Jonathan Cain joined Journey for the Escape album in 1981, he immediately broadened their horizons in terms of the kind of material they released. In particular, he opened the pathways to the power ballad, something the band hadn’t really explored much in the past. Which didn’t make a ton of sense, considering that they had Steve Perry’s incredible voice at their disposal. Guitarist Neal Schon apparently thought that “Open Arms” was a step too far in the adult contemporary direction. Maybe that’s why it wasn’t released until it came time for the third single from Escape. It ended up going to No. 2 in 1982, the biggest chart hit of this standout band’s career.

(Photo by Gary Gershoff/Getty Images)

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