Sure the eighties gave us a lot of fluffy pop songs with synthesizers but they also gave us hair bands. The glam metal genre began in Los Angeles on the Sunset Strip, and to hear Vince Neil tell it, it was started by Motley Crue. Regardless of the name, the power chord-based heavy sound is perfect for kids to jump around to, and because of the outrageous hair, most of the videos are perfect for a good laugh thirty years after the fact. Here are the must haves for the glam metal kid.

The Scorpians – Rock You Like a Hurricane

The track is off the 1984 album, Love at First Sting by the German rock band, the Scorpions. It reached number 25 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and has become a staple at sporting events. The music is enough to get your kids interested in hearing the track, but the best part is really the chorus. “Here I am, rock you like a hurricane.” It’s a silly statement that seems to sound so important because of the magnitude of the rock music behind it.

Lita Ford – Kiss Me Deadly

Lita Ford’s (formerly of The Runaways) hit would come later in the hair invasion, 1988 to be exact, but it’s a perfect glam metal song. If you think that only guys can do the hair metal look, check out Lita’s tresses on the album cover. This girl was born for this era. You might want to skip the first ten seconds of the song since there is a lewd reference.

Night Ranger – Sister Christian

The song was released by Night Ranger in 1984. It was written and sung by the band’s drummer, Kelly Keagy for his sister Christy. He was shocked at how fast she was growing up and penned this track. It’s got a great shift from a slow ballad to a full out arena rock sound.

Twisted Sister – We’re Not Gonna Take It

If there’s one song that defines hair metal glam rock, it’s this one by Twisted Sister. One look at lead singer Dee Snider and you know not to take these guys too seriously. The 1984 song also had a hit comical video. Listen to the simple lyrics and while it might sound like a rebellious song it comes off as just a fun rock song.

If you have a young daughter between the ages of 8 and 13 you have definitely heard of Justin Bieber. He’s a baby faced singer who can shut down a mall with severe pandemonium on a single visit. His most recent hit climbing the charts is “Baby” and it features Ludacris rapping on it.  When I heard that Usher had signed this little guy to his label, I was quick to dismiss him and his music because I felt it was going to be another slick youngster singing about things he had no experience with. I was only half right. Bieber’s “Baby” is definitely an overproduced attempt at a hit single especially with the rap verse, but at its core the song is an innocent track about young love.  If you listen to the stripped down version without all the voice affectation, it could even pass as a throwback to those simple pop songs about love from the sixties. Pass on the studio version and give Bieber a chance. Your daughter will think you’re the coolest parent alive.

If you have young kids under the age of 7, chances are you grew up in the early eighties, late seventies when New Wave music was popping up. It was the intellectual cousin to punk music, with songs that were more complex than a short fast burst of speed. While kids might not pick up on it as easily as they do pure punk music, it’s still worth trying to play it for them because there were some great bands that came up during this movement. Here are the top ones.

4) Elvis Costello and the Attractions

Elvis is one of those guys that every musician admires, everyone has heard of, and he’s had a career that has lasted over three decades, but he’s never really sold a lot of albums. Sales however are not the mark of a great musician, and the early, young, angry Elvis of the late seventies wrote some fantastic songs. Check out “Radio, Radio” to hear Elvis “bite the hand that feeds me.” Parents will appreciate his smart lyrics, and kids will appreciate the rock beat.

3) Squeeze

The band formed in London in 1974, had their first EP produced by John Cale (of Velvet Underground), and finally had some success in the U.S. on their third album with the single “Pulling Mussels from the Shell.” Their sound was definitely New Wave, using synthesizers and changing up their style from song to song. Their biggest hit was probably “Tempted” and while it’s a great song your kids might think it’s too slow. Check out “Goodbye Girl” for a real original sound.

2) Eurythmics

Formed in 1980 by Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox, the pair would go on to sell over 75 million albums thanks to Stewart’s keen production and Annie’s awesome voice. They achieved stardom with the release of their second album, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) released in January 1983. Check out “Would I Lie to You?” off their fifth album Be Yourself Tonight. It’s about confronting a cheating boyfriend (I told you New Wave was a little complicated for the kids), but the music is big and loud and kids will dig it.

1) The Police

Seen as one of the first New Wave acts to achieve huge success, Andy, Stewart and Sting formed the band in 1977. Their music is influenced by jazz, punk and reggae. They released their last album, Synchronicity in 1983 and it would sell 8 million copies in the U.S. alone. Everyone likes to sing along to “Roxanne” off their first album but I’m picking “So Lonely” because it has simple lyrics but manages to change its tempo and keep you rockin’. Also, Sting has said that he used Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry” as the basis for the song.