Still confused as to who would fall into this category? Only some of the biggest bands in rock and roll history. You can't listen to these bands without singing at the top of your lungs and throwing your fists in the air to their music if you see them in concert. Their music is still played at sporting events, they can be heard by cover bands across the country and they've had some of the biggest hits in radio history. Also, go to a karaoke bar, and you're bound to hear someone singing the hits of one of these bands. Once we start looking at a few, you'll be able to figure out exactly the genre I'm referring to. Let's take a look now....
Queen - Queen is a band formed in London in 1970. Guitarist Brian May and drummer Roget Taylor had been in a band together before Queen. Singer Freddie Mercury was a fan of their former band and encouraged the band to take a theatrical approach to their show. Shortly after the suggestion, he was asked to join the band. Upon joining the band, Mercury changed the name of the band to Queen. Just before the band would record their debut album, bassist John Deacon was recruited to join. Their first two albums, "Queen" (1973) and "Queen II" (1974) received success in the UK but failed to spark in other counties.
All of that changed with the release of their next two albums, "Sheer Heart Attack" (1974) and "Night at the Opera" (1975). Sheer Heart Attack reached #2 in the UK and reached #12 in the US, giving the band their first Top 20 hit in the US. It also gave the band their first Top 20 single in the US with "Killer Queen". When "Night at the Opera" was recorded, it was the most expensive album ever produced at the time. It contained the hits "You're My Best Friend" and "Bohemian Rhapsody". "Bohemian Rhapsody would achieve a revival in status and popularity in 1992 with the release of the movie "Wayne's World" based on a popular skit created on Saturday Night Live.
The band quickly entered the studio again to follow-up "Night at the Opera" with "A Day at the Races" (both albums were named after Marx Brothers movies)...it is considered to be a sequel to "Night at the Opera". It contained the hits "Tie Your Mother Down", "Somebody To Love" and "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy".
The next album would become the bands most popular album. "News of the World", released in 1977 had songs created specifically for live performance. The two biggest hits from the album are the epitome of Arena Rock..."We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions" sky-rocketed the band into super-stardom. The album has gone quadruple platinum in the United States. (The album cover used to scare the pants off of me...and still strikes some kind of weird childhood fear in me)
They closed out the decade with two more albums, "Jazz" (1978) contained the hits "Fat-Bottomed Girls" and "Bicycle Race". It was followed by their first live album "Live Killers". The double-album was recorded over the "Jazz" World-tour and went platinum. At the end of the decade, they also released their popular single "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", which would later appear on their 1980 album release "The Game".
The band's popularity carried over into the 80's and they were one of the most popular touring groups ever. Unfortunately, singer Freddie Mercury passed away in 1991 from AIDS. The following year, The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert was held at Wembley Stadium. The event featured the surviving members of Queen performing with other bands, including Annie Lennox, Robert Plant, Def Leppard, Guns 'n' Roses, Metallica, Elton John and David Bowie. It raised millions of dollars for AIDS research.
The band went on hiatus after the event, but eventually reformed for a tour with Paul Rodgers (from Bad Company/Free fame) on vocals. The band has recently hooked up with American Idol star Adam Lambert and currently (2015) tours with him as their lead singer. The band is one of the few bands in this genre that critics have loved. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. And in 2009, "We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions" was inducted into The Grammy Hall of Fame.
Queen - We Will Rock You
Journey - Formed in 1973, Journey started as a band that would be a backup band for Bay Area artists. They were originally called The Golden Gate Rhythm Section. They held a contest to re-name the band but the contest was not successful. One of their roadies came up with the name "Journey" and the name stuck. The first incarnation of the band was Neal Schon on lead guitar, Gregg Rolie on lead vocals and keyboards, Ross Valory on bass, George Tickner on rhythm guitar and Prairie Prince on the drums. They were more of a Jazz Fusion type band at the time. Before recording their first album, Prince had left the band to go back to his original band, The Tubes. Aynsley Dunbar was his replacement. In 1974, they secured a record deal with Columbia records, however, their first three albums did not do well at all.
Through pressure from Columbia records, the band changed their musical style and decided to add a true frontman. The band initially hired Robert Fleischman but management differences had him leaving the band that same year. In late 1977, the band hired vocalist Steve Perry and recorded their fourth album, "Infinity". The album reached #21 on the album charts and gave the band their first platinum album. It also garnered two hit singles for the band with "Lights" and "Wheel in the Sky".
In 1978, the bands manager, Herbie Herbert, fired Aynsley Dunbar and the band hired drummer Steve Smith. The band then recorded 1979's "Evolution" which gave the band its first Top 20 single, "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'", which reached #16. By 1980, Gregg Rolie had left the band and was replaced by Jonathan Cain.
This incarnation of the band achieved the highest success of their career. They went onto record some of the biggest albums of the early 1980's with "Departure" (1980), "Escape" (1981) and "Frontiers" (1983). All three albums had hits from them, such as "Any Way You Want It", "Who's Cryin' Now", "Don't Stop Believin'", "Open Arms", "Separate Ways (World's Apart)" and "Faithfully".
Following the end of the "Frontiers" tour, the band started to fall apart. Steve Smith and Ross Valory were fired from the band for "musical differences". The remaining members of the band hired studio musicians to fill the vacancies (including Randy Jackson of future American Idol fame to play bass) and they recorded "Raised on Radio". However, following the tour, the band went on hiatus. The band reunited in 1995 and recorded "Trial By Fire", which was released the following year. The band had planned a world tour, however, Steve Perry injured his hip and could not tour, so the tour never happened.
After several additional lineup changes, the band found Filipino singer Arnel Pineda on YouTube performing some Journey covers and hired him in December 2007. The band, which features Pineda, Schon, Valory, Cain and drummer Dean Castronovo, continues to tour and record
Journey - Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTkHFQC3wow
The bands self-titled debut was released in 1977 and sold more than four million copies in the United States and stayed in the Top 20 for over a year. It contained the hits "Feels Like The First Time", "Cold As Ice", "Long, Long Way From Home". The following year, they released their second album "Double Vision". It sold five million copies and contained the hits "Hot Blooded", "Double Vision" and "Blue Morning, Blue Day". Their third album, "Head Games", released in 1979, contained hit tracks "Dirty White Boy" and "Head Games". By the end of the year, Gagliardi was fired and replaced by Rick Willis.
The following year, Greenwood and McDonald were also fired and the band decided to stay a quartet. The early to mid-80's continued to be successful for the band with hit album releases such as "4" (1981), with the hits "Urgent", "Waiting For A Girl Like You" and "Juke Box Hero" and "Agent Provocateur" (1984) that contained the hits, "I Want To Know What Love Is" and "That Was Yesterday".
By 1990, Lou Gramm decided to depart the band and Mick Jones had begun producing albums for other artists (including Van Halen's "5150"). The band tried to reunite a couple of times with Gramm but it never lasted long. Mick Jones hired replacement members and continues to tour with his current version of Foreigner.
Foreigner - Feels Like The First Time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHDy_b33cCQ
The band signed a deal with Epic Records shortly after Masdea's departure. The band had to do a live audition for the record execs, so they recruited Goudreau on guitar, Fran Sheehan on bass and Sib Hashian on drums. During the recording of their debut album, Scholz had Masdea come into the studio and record the drum track for "Rock and Roll Band".
Their self-titled debut album was released in 1976. It is one of the best-selling debut albums of all time. It has sold over 17 million copies. It peaked at number three on the Billboard Album charts and contained three hit singles with "More Than A Feeling", "Long Time" and "Peace of Mind". The album is a masterpiece from start to finish.
Their next album, "Don't Look Back" (1978) failed to sell as well as their debut, however, it reached #1 on The Billboard album chart and contained the singles "Don't Look Back" and "Feelin' Satisfied". Their third album wasn't released until nearly 10 years later. "Third Stage" was released in 1986 and also went to #1 on The Billboard Charts. It contained the hits "Amanda", "We're Ready" and "Cool The Engines".
By the early 90's, Brad Delp decided to leave the band and was replaced by Fran Cosmo. However, Delp would make later appearances on Boston albums, even after his suicide in 2007. Their latest recording, "Life, Love & Hope" was released in 2013 and contained vocal tracks that Delp had recorded prior to his death. The band continues to tour with current members, Scholz, Gary Pihl (guitars and keyboards), Curly Smith (drums), Kimberley Dahme (bass), Jeff Neal (percussion), Tommy DeCarlo (lead vocals) and Tracy Ferrie (bass).
Boston - More Than A Feeling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNQF9nZncPA
They were signed to Wooden Nickel Records in 1972 and decided to change their name. They came up with the name Styx based on the river in Greek Mythology. Their first few albums were more in the direction of Prog-Rock and received little to no airplay. However, two years after being released, their ballad "Lady" began to receive national airplay and soon reached #6 on the US Hot 100. Following the success of "Lady", the band signed to A&M Records and released "Equinox" in 1975. It contained the single "Suite Madame Blue" which began getting airplay under the new "AOR - Album Oriented Rock" format. Shortly after, Curulewski decided to leave the band to spend more time with his family.
Tommy Shaw was hired in 1976 to replace Curulewski and the band released "Crystal Ball" the same year. Their seventh album, "The Grand Illusion", released on July 7th, 1977 (7/7/77) became their breakthrough album, reaching triple platinum status. It contained the bands first Top 10 single with "Come Sail Away" (#8) and also contained the hit "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)". They closed out the 70's with two more hit albums: "Pieces of Eight" (1978) spawned the singles "Renegade" and "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)", and "Cornerstone" (1979) birthed their first #1 single with "Babe".
They continued with success in the early 80's with the albums "Paradise Theater" (1981), which reached #1 on the Billboard Album charts and contained the hits "The Best of Times" and "Too Much Time on My Hands", and "Kilroy Was Here" (1983) which contained the hits "Mr. Roboto" and "Don't Let It End". However, Kilroy turned out to be the death of the band, as the band became at odds between Shaw and DeYoung. DeYoung wanted the band to go in a more theatrical direction and Shaw wanted to rock. The strain turned out to be too much and they disbanded in 1984.
The band reunited in 1995 and re-recorded "Lady" due to contract issues with the bands former label, Wooden Nickel. When the band reunited though, John was too ill to play due to health issues related to alcohol, which ultimately claimed his life. Todd Sucherman was brought in to replace John and has remained in the band. The band released "Brave New World" in 1999, but shortly after, arguments within the band began again and Dennis DeYoung was fired from the band. He was replaced by Lawrence Gowan.
Chuck Panozzo also had to retire from the band due to health issues, but still performs and records occasionally with the band. He was replaced by Ricky Phillips. The band continues to tour and record as of 2015.
Styx - Renegade
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZkl_lEDxTc
Other bands (and some of their hit songs) that round out the "Corporate Rock" banner are:
REO Speedwagon
- Ridin' The Storm Out
- Time For Me To Fly
- Roll With The Changes
- Keep On Loving
- Take It On The Run
- Can't Fight This Feeling
- Dust in the Wind
- Carry on Wayward Son
- Point of No Return
- Do You Feel Like We Do
- Show Me The Way
- Baby I Love Your Way
- I'm In You
