The perfect last-minute gift Shop credit bundles

Send as gift Add to Wish List

Almost ready!

In order to save audiobooks to your Wish List you must be signed in to your account.

Don't Call It Hair Metal

Art in the Excess of '80s Rock

by Sean Kelly

Narrator Sean Kelly

This audiobook uses AI narration.

We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.

Learn more

Length 10 hours 4 minutes

Language English

Send as gift Add to Wish List

Almost ready!

In order to save audiobooks to your Wish List you must be signed in to your account.

Bookseller recommendation

“Finally, a non-fiction book that I can get passionate about! Crash Kelly founder, Sean Kelly breaks down the evolution of the metal and glam-metal scene that was the 1980's. This is the generation of music that I grew up with and it gave me such nostalgic feels. 'Hair-Metal' has always had a stigma attached to it by the Indie Hipsters and later generations of music lovers. But, once you strip away all the Aquanet hair, the spandex, and the make up what you have is soulful music rooted in the '50's, '60's and '70's. From the guitar riffs of Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads to the glitz and glamour of front men Sebastian Bach and Joe Elliot, in all its good and bad, the '80's metal scene sparked a decade of music unlike any other and I'm still here for it! ”
— Suzanne • Underground Books

Summary

A love letter to the hard-rocking, but often snubbed, music of the era of excess: the 1980s

There may be no more joyous iteration in all of music than 1980s hard rock. It was an era where the musical and cultural ideals of rebellion and freedom of the great rock 'n' roll of the '50s, '60s, and '70s were taken to dizzying heights of neon excess. Attention to songcraft, showmanship, and musical virtuosity (especially in the realm of the electric guitar) were at an all-time high, and radio and MTV were delivering the goods en masse to the corn-fed children of America and beyond.

Time hasn't always been kind to artists of that gold and platinum era, but Don't Call It Hair Metal analyzes the sonic evolution, musical diversity, and artistic intention of '80s commercial hard rock through interviews with members of such hard rock luminaries as Twisted Sister, Def Leppard, Poison, Whitesnake, Ratt, Skid Row, Quiet Riot, Guns N' Roses, Dokken, Mr. Big, and others.

History Music Nonfiction