Favorite Songs of 1987

In my opinion, 1987 was perhaps the best year for music of the eighties. There were so many great tunes, I will probably leave out a few of them. One song by Genesis, Home By the Sea, didn't reach my ears until '87, even though it had been out for three years. Fleetwood Mac churned out another album, and with it, two good songs: Lindsey Buckingham's Big Love and Stevie Nicks's underrated and underplayed Seven Wonders. Aerosmith made their explosive comeback with their funny Dude Looks Like a Lady. The Beastie Boys made their debut as a nationwide act with the anthem You Gotta Fight For Your Right to Party. John Mellencamp reminisced once again about his good old teenage days with his mellow Cherry Bomb. Cameo's funky Word Up was my favorite dance hit that year. Paul Simon came out with Boy in the Bubble from his Graceland album. The song is impressive enough, but the video for it was groundbreaking and very intense. Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram had a sweet duet with Somewhere Out There. U2's album The Joshua Tree had a string of hits, most notable (to me) Where the Streets Have No Name and I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. One-hit wonders T'Pau and the Breakfast Club impressed me with Heart and Soul and Right On Track, respectively. Peter Gabriel's self-deprecating Big Time was my favorite of his off his So album, released the year before. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers had maybe their funniest hit (to me) with their scorching Stop Jammin' Me. Whitney Houston recorded her most riveting, exciting song ever: So Emotional. Steve Winwood continued his comeback with his comeback-themed Back in the High Life Again. Another great music video was born in 1987 out of Pink Floyd's comeback hit Learning to Fly. Bon Jovi's Wanted Dead Or Alive was an anguished ode to the hectic life of a band on tour. Atlantic Starr's Always was the greatest love song of 1987 (to me). But without a doubt, my favorite song of all from that year (and during it) was Suzanne Vega's touching and painful narrative of an abused child's struggle with life: Luka.