Although hard rock (particularly "hair metal") acts sold plenty of albums in the '80s, they weren't always able to make the jump to radio, especially Top 40 radio. There were exceptions, of course, like Van Halen, Quiet Riot, and Def Leppard as well as a Dutch band that might be remembered more for their guitarist's stint with Whitesnake than their one-hit wonder status.

In early 1983, the Dutch quintet Vandenberg, led by their namesake guitarist, released their self-titled debut album. Later that same year, Def Leppard and Quiet Riot would pave the way for hard rock at Top 40 radio with a string of hit singles, but, aside from AC/DC, the genre hadn't been tapped for crossover consideration at pop radio. However, Vandenberg managed to land their first single, "Burning Heart," onto the charts. True, it was more of a ballad, but the song did feature some fairly heavy guitar for pop radio and, yes, the song only reached #39, but it was enough to make Vandenberg one of the few Dutch acts to have a hit song in the US.

The band would release two more albums, neither of which matching the gold-selling status of their debut and would split up by 1986. Adrian Vandenberg would go on to join Whitesnake in time for that band's mega-selling, self-titled 1987 release which would spawn the hits "Still Of The Night," "Here I Go Again," and "Is This Love."

To hear this song, and many more hits from the '80s, log on to Pop Go The '80s

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