A prevalent theme of 1980s popular culture is BIG: the hair, the technology, and of course, the power ballads. From Journey's tale of a small town girl living in a lonely world to Foreigner's searing inquiry into what love is, cheesy epics were standard fare in pop music—and perhaps none is greater than the glorious slice of Velveeta that is Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart." Featuring a boys' choir, an extended organ solo and lines like "Every now and then I get a little bit tired of listening to the sound of my tears," the song is utterly over-the-top, heightening the drama at every turn until it threatens to topple into bombastic nonsense. And yet it doesn't, because Tyler is so fully committed to the wild emotional ride that her climactic explosions of voracious passion keep the insanity aloft. Under the care of her powerful pipes, it all makes perfect sense. To paraphrase the chorus, desperate yearning and pop grandiosity can never be wrong together. A
29 years ago this week, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" was the #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100.
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