The 80s countdown: A legend in songwriting

Hello! I would like to take a moment and thank our boss, Dan for stepping in and writing a great article about 1989. I sure had my favorites, how about you?

Welcome back to 80s countdown Top Five recap. This week I am taking a break from the normal countdowns format to share my five favorite songs written or co-written by legend extraordinaire: Diane Warren.

How can I choose? I am, of course narrowing them down to the ones released in the 80s. Why did I choose Diane? She has a documentary out (that is no longer streaming) and I love her songs and realized I wanted to honor her by sharing my favorite songs. “Love Will Lead You Back” by Taylor Dayne. “Look Away” by Chicago. “I Get Weak” by Belinda Carlisle. She wrote tons for Taylor Dayne, and I love them all!

After a brief break, to continue to sit with my dying father, I reflect a lot on music because as he got older, he really turned to music more than he did when I was a kid. I think he just generally had the radio on in the car and didn’t really get into the music scene like I did. He liked to groove and dance and move his body. He is a fun guy, and I will forever miss his smile and fun vibes and him being my dad. We didn’t get along a few years, but that is not the point. He really was (this is to Cliche for me) the life of the party and loved to have fun.

Without further ado, let’s kick off the legend and icon of Diane Warren. I will include songs only written by her and co-written.

Honorable Mention: What should I save?

Let’s start with honorable mention.

“Save Up All Your Tears” A song recorded by Bonnie Tyler AND Robin Beck. The version from Robin Beck is my favorite of the two. Listen to this voice.

#5 A song about who?

“Just Like Jesse James” by Cher. This song is just so good. It’s my favorite song from Cher’s storied catalog. Lyrics like, “Struttin’ into town like you’re slinging a gun” and “You think you’ll knock me off my feet ’til I am flat on the floor” — how could you not like this song? Her voice and the beat and the words are all just fun to listen to. This is a co-write by Diane Warren with another outstanding writer, Desmond Child.

While Cher was huge in the 60s and 70s with her then-husband Sonny Bono, Cher was making hits straight into the 2000s. Did you know she had the number one song of all of 1999 with “Believe”?

#4 Can’t stop Diane Warren with this hit.

“Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” by Starship. This is a fun song to sing along to! This song is another co-write with Albert Hammond serving at Diane Warren’s partner. The track was produced by uber-producer Narada Michael Walden. The song, along with “We Built this City”, hit #1 on the Billboard charts.

The reason I like a ton of Diane’s songs is the singalongability. No, that’s not a real word — but you know what I mean! Grace Slick, co-lead on this song, has an amazing voice and it is so strong. A powerhouse vocalist.

#3 I have also wanted to run to Ann and Nancy.

“Who Will You Run To” by Heart. Ohhh… this group has my heart (pun intended). My favorite band of all time, mostly due to the powerhouse voice of Ann Wilson and sometimes-lead singer Nancy Wilson. This was a top 10 hit in 1987 from the Bad Animals album.

My dad bought me tickets to see Heart in 1985 and it was one of my first concerts. Can you believe Heart only had two #1 hits on the Billboard charts? In 1986, Nancy led “These Dreams” and in 1987, “Alone” led by Ann. The latter was the second biggest hit of 1987.

Heart posing for the tour that takes them to Footprint Center in Arizona — on a date that just happens to be Dan J Kroll’s birthday!

#2 This is not about a card game

“Solitaire” by Laura Branigan. This was the first song written by Diane Warren and what can I say about this song?! Laura really knows how to belt out this Top 10 smash! I love the play on words, “Solitaire, it gets so lonely.” You may already know of my love for Laura’s voice from past articles.

“Solitaire” was co-written by Martine Clemenceau. This song debuted the same week her previous smash “Gloria” dropped off the chart. Laura is turning the tables on a neglected lover and getting on with her life she had put on hold for him.

#1 Here are the hints

You know the rule from Dan, we ask that you work at guessing before we give you the top song — and this week is no different. What is my Diane Warren song? Here are the clues.

It’s sung by a family group, who previously had a hit with “Time Will Reveal.” It was a gigantic smash on the radio and reached #1 7 on the Hot Dance Chart. It peaked at #3. One member of the group had a huge hit with “Who’s Johnny.”

If you guessed “Rhythm of the Night” by Debarge, you got it!

#1 I love this Rhythm, so I can dance

Why is this my favorite song by the fabulous Diane Warren? It’s fun, cheesy, and makes you groove! DeBarge really does take it up a notch. Diane touched on what you can do to leave all the cares behind, the madness making you crazy and you feel the weight on your shoulders seem so enjoyable. The song is produced by the late Richard Perry. It was also featured in the movie Ghostbusters: Answer the Call. Here is the video that was on heavy rotation on MTV. Let’s hope she finally scores an Oscar this weekend for the song “The Journey” song by H.E.R.

Until the next record spins

Thanks for learning and reading about songs written and co-written by the icon Diane Warren. You can catch up on previous countdown articles by checking out my Author Page.

In the meantime, let me know what you think of this and ideas for a topic! And if you are on Twitter/X, be sure to join our live tweets every Friday night at 9pm Eastern/6pm Pacific using the hashtag #80sCountdown to be part of the fun!

Nick