Slurpees & Tacos

BEN 500:  Ben Eisen’s Top Songs… EVER

337. Night Ranger - “Sister Christian” (1983)

BEN:  1980’s hair metal isn’t given much due on this countdown, even though bands like Van Halen and Def Leppard played some of the first music I really fell in love with. The problem is while some of these artists had great tunes, they also had a lot of really embarrassing moments as well. Def Leppard’s “Let’s Get Rocked”, anyone? The San Francisco Bay-area band Night Ranger were largely underappreciated amongst bands from the hair metal heydey. They had a few hits that showed they knew the pop metal formula as well as anyone, like “When You Close Your Eyes”, and “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me”.  Their biggest hit was the top 5 smash “Sister Christian”, a song written by drummer Kelly Keagy for his sister Christy, who in Kelly’s eyes was growing up way too fast. Keagy has said that the term “motoring” refers to the act of cruising.  “Sister Christian” is a marvel of rock cliches and posturing that somehow works. It starts off with a lovely piano and builds into an epic crescendo to the most arena-ready chorus imaginable. This song features great harmonies, a killer guitar solo, and some of the biggest drum sounds ever. Night Ranger never had a hit this big again, but for one fleeting moment, hair metal reached pop perfection.

 Key lyric: “Sister Christian there’s so much in life, and don’t you give it up before your time is due”

MARK:  This song is a very catchy song.  I listened to it a few days ago and it was stuck in my head all week.  This morning I listened to it while the sun was rising and it really pumped me up for my day.  The piano intro is so beautiful and it makes you realize that these guys were great musicians, not just hair and spandex.  The drums are so thick and the builds are great.  This song has it’s moments, I love it for what it is.  

GRADE:  B

Claudia’s Review:  It was fun listening to this with the sun rising.