A Mix of Big Hair Bands! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mötley Crüe

Mötley Crüe was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles, California, as a four-piece band featuring Vince Neil, Mick Mars, Nikki Sixx, and Tommy Lee. Self-proclaimed as "the world's most notorious rock band," they were infamous for destroying hotel rooms, heavy drug abuse, car crashes, and chaotic backstage partying as detailed in their memoir "The Dirt".

"Dr. Feelgood" peaked at number six in 1989 and was written by Nikki Sixx and Mick Mars. The song was inspired by real-life Hollywood drug dealers who catered to celebrities, with "Dr. Feelgood" serving as a composite character representing the dark addiction spiral the band members survived prior to getting sober.

Answer: Def Leppard

Def Leppard started in 1977 in Sheffield, England as a five-piece group. Joe Elliott, the lead singer, once stated that the best word to describe their band is "resilient". A great example is the fact that drummer Rick Allen famously adapted his setup to keep playing after losing his left arm in a 1984 car accident.

"Love Bites" hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988. Written as an acoustic country ballad by producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange, the band reshaped it into a power ballad with studio harmonies. The song captures the anxiety and vulnerability of loving someone while fearing heartbreak.

Answer: Poison

Bret Michaels, C.C. DeVille, Bobby Dall, and Rikki Rockett created the band Poison in 1983 in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. With teased hair, heavy makeup, bright spandex, and high-energy party anthems, they became the ultimate poster boys for 1980s glam rock.

"Every Rose Has Its Thorn" hit number one in 1988. Lead singer Bret Michaels wrote the song on a piece of paper at a Dallas laundromat after calling his girlfriend from a payphone and hearing another man's voice in the background. The lyric compares the beauty of his skyrocketing career to the painful sting of a breaking relationship.

Answer: Bon Jovi

Formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey, Bon Jovi was made up of Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, David Bryan, Tico Torres, and Alec John Such. Jon Bon Jovi's huge smile, great voice, and massive feathers of hair created crossover pop appeal. They bridged the gap between heavy metal and mainstream pop, creating blue-collar working-class anthems.

Co-written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, and hitmaker Desmond Child, the song "You Give Love A Bad Name" came together in 90 minutes in Sambora's basement. It was repurposed from an earlier track Child had written for Bonnie Tyler titled "If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man)." It hit number one in 1986.

Answer: Whitesnake

Formed in 1978 in Middlesbrough, England, by former Deep Purple vocalist David Coverdale, Whitesnake typically operated as a six-piece band. They became heavily known through some iconic MTV music videos including one featuring actress Tawny Kitaen doing cartwheels across Jaguar hoods.

The lyrics to "Here I Go Again" were written by Coverdale in Portugal in 1981 amid the breakdown of his first marriage. Originally recorded in 1982 with a blues-gospel organ intro, the band re-recorded it in 1987 with a faster pop-rock polish, tweaking some of the lines and creating a smash hit that went to number one that year.

Answer: Skid Row

Skid Row started in 1986 in Toms River, New Jersey, as a five-piece group featuring Sebastian Bach, Rachel Bolan, Dave Sabo, Scotti Hill, and Rob Affuso. They quickly became known for Sebastian Bach's multi-octave vocal range and fiery frontman persona. The group was on the heavier, angrier side of hair metal, known for wild concert antics and aggressive heavy-metal riffs.

Guitarist Dave Sabo co-wrote "18 and Life" after reading a newspaper article about an 18-year-old named Ricky who accidentally shot his friend while playing with a gun, resulting in a life sentence. Sabo said he also drew inspiration from his brother's tough transition home from Vietnam. The song went to number four in 1989.

Answer: Cinderella

Cinderella came about in 1983 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, featuring Tom Keifer, Eric Brittingham, Jeff LaBar, and Fred Coury. They were discovered directly by Jon Bon Jovi in a Philadelphia club and soon became popular for their unique blend of glam appearance with heavy, authentic blues-rock roots.

Frontman Tom Keifer wrote the ballad "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)" on a piano, focusing on the grief of taking someone for granted until they leave. The song became famous for its music video filmed at Mono Lake and the Bodie ghost town in California, featuring Keifer playing a grand piano on the desert shore. The song went up to number 12 in 1988.

Answer: Guns N' Roses

Guns N' Roses came about in 1985 in Los Angeles, California, as a five-piece group featuring Axl Rose, Slash, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan, and Steven Adler. Tagged "the most dangerous band in the world," they were infamous for volatile onstage behavior, riot-inducing concert delays, and a raw, bluesy aggression that began to tear down the overly polished hair-spray image of the time.

The iconic intro of "Sweet Child O' Mine" began as a simple guitar warmup exercise that Slash thought was silly, but Axl Rose heard it from upstairs and wrote lyrics based on a poem for his girlfriend, Erin Everly. When the band wasn't sure how to end the track during recording, Axl muttered "Where do we go now?" to himself, which producer Mike Clink suggested keeping in the final vocal track. The song went all the way to number one in 1989.

Answer: Twisted Sister

Dee Snider got four others together and formed Twisted Sister in 1972 in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey. They were known for shock-rock visuals featuring heavy makeup, wild outfits, and fronting the fight against music censorship. In fact, lead singer Snider famously testified before the U.S. Senate in 1985 against the PMRC (Parents Music Resource Center), delivering an articulate defense of rock music.

It took Snider, fighting writer's block, to create the rebellion anthem "We're Not Gonna Take It". He drew vocal inspiration from glam rock and the melody of the Christmas carol "O Come, All Ye Faithful". The comedic music video starred actor Mark Metcalf reprising his authoritative persona from "Animal House". The song peaked at number 21 in 1984.

Answer: Warrant

Jani Lane, Joey Allen, Erik Turner, Jerry Dixon, and Steven Sweet together created Warrant in 1984 in Hollywood, California. Known for their catchy, tongue-in-cheek melodic rock, their hit "Cherry Pie" was hastily written in 45 minutes by Lane after the label demanded a catchy single.

The song "Heaven" was originally written by vocalist Jani Lane and drummer Steven Sweet when they were still with the band Plain Jane. A few days after the band broke up, the two auditioned for Warrant, and the song came with them. That song helped them to get a record deal with Columbia, which assigned the track to producer Beau Hill. And it reached number two in 1989.