Rock Love Songs

Rock musicians have the reputation for singing about parties, booze and the Devil, but rock love songs are a staple of the genre. Back in the golden age of "hard rock", in the late 70's and 80's, the power ballad became a staple of most every major rock album.

Classic Rock Love Songs

So there's a long list of classic rock love songs to cover. "Rock" is a wide ranging genre, so I'll pay less attention to the bop era and the 60's than some people would want me to. Don't worry, though: I'll try to fit in some love songs of rock going back all the way to the Fifties.

50s Rock Love Songs

Some of these are doo wop hits and some veer into the R&b hits, but as a body of music, a lot of them would fit into the vast body of rock-n-roll love songs of the 1950's, especially the doo wop entries. And if one or two don't technically fit into the genre, they're still great love songs.

• Fools Rush In - Elvis
• Are Your Lonesome Tonight? - Elvis
• Love Me Tender - Elvis
• All I Have to Do Is Dream - The Everly Brothers
• That'll Be the Day - Buddy Holly & The Crickets
• Earth Angel - The Crew Cuts
• 16 Candles - The Crests
• Put Your Head on My Shoulder - Paul Anka
• Blueberry Hill - Fats Domino
• In the Still of the Night - Five Satins
• You Send Me - Sam Cooke
• I Only Have Eyes for You
• Sleepwalk - Santo & Johnny
• Since I Met You Baby - Ivory Joe Hunter

60s Rock Love Songs

Okay, there were more of these than I thought I was going to collect. You start getting into the Beach Boys and the Beatles, though, and they could fill up a whole list themselves. Great stuff.

• Sugar Sugar - The Archies
• I'm a Believer - The Monkees
• Daydream Believer - The Monkees
• Surfer Girl - The Beach Boys
• God Only Knows - The Beach Boys
• Wouldn't It Be Nice - The Beach Boys
• Barbara Ann - The Beach Boys
• Yesterday - The Beatles
• Something - The Beatles
• In My Life - The Beatles
• She Loves You - The Beatles
• Michelle - The Beatles
• Don't Let Me Down - The Beatles
• All You Need Is Love - The Beatles
• And I Love Her - The Beatles
• Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison
• It's Not Unusual - Tom Jones
• Leaving on a Jet Plane - Peter, Paul & Mary
• Son of a Preacher Man - Dusty Springfield
• California Dream' - The Mamas and Papas
• Del Shannon - Runaway
• To Love Somebody - The Bee Gees
• Wouldn't It Be Nice - Beach Boys
• Sunshine of Your Love - Cream
• So Happy Together - The Turtles
• Unchained Melody - Righteous Brothers

70s Rock Love Songs

• Have I Told You Lately - Van Morrison
• How Can I Tell You - Cat Stevens
• How Deep Is Your Love? - The Bee Gees
• More Than a Woman - The Bee Gees
• I Got You Babe - Sonny & Cher
• Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers
• Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Queen
• You Are So Beautiful - Joe Cocker
• Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel
• Wonderful Tonight - Eric Clapton
• Love Hurts - Nazareth (1976)
• Wild Horses - The Rolling Stones (1971)
• Maybe I'm Amazed - Paul McCartney
• Love Touch - Rod Stewart
• Silly Love Songs - Paul Mcartney & Wings
• The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - Roberta Flack
• Lady - Styx

80s Rock Love Songs

No matter what you were singing about in the Eighties, you had to include a love song on that album. That means there were a lot of formulaic love songs in the decade of the eighties - some of them formulaically really good. I included one or two songs that broke the mold, too, but that just wouldn't be what that decade was about.

• Waiting for a Girl Like You - Foreigner (1981)
• Is This Love? - Whitesnake (1987)
• Keep On Lovin' You - REO Speedwagon (1981)
• Alison - Elvis Costello
• Just the Way You Are - Billy Joel
• Higher Love - Steve Winwood
• Faithfully - Journey
• I've Been Waiting for a Girl Like You - Foreigner
• No One Like You - The Scorpions
• Living on a Prayer - Bon Jovi
• Take Me Home Tonight - Eddie Money
• I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight - Cutting Crew
• Radar Love - Golden Earring
• Maneater - Hall & Oates
• You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling - Hall & Oates
• Private Eyes - Hall & Oates
• One on One - Hall & Oates
• Love Her Madly - The Doors
• You Really Got Me - The Kinks
• Dance Me to the End of Love - Leonard Cohen
• Love Bits - Def Leppard
• Open Arms - Journey
• In Your Eyes - Peter Gabriel
• Can't Fight This Feeling - REO Speedwagon
• Never Tear Us Apart - Inxs
• Just Like Heaven - The Cure
• Lovesong - The Cure

90s Rock Love Songs

Everybody was bummed out in the Nineties, both fans and artists. That had to make for a few great love songs. You have to watch out, though, because a few of the songs you imagine would be about love are actually about drug addiction, which was also trendy in the alternative scene of the 90s. But then, isn't it always in rock-n-roll?

• Kiss From a Rose - Seal
• Lady - Lenny Kravitz
• Heaven Beside You - Alice in Chains
• Say It Ain't So - Weezer
• Are Your Gonna Go My Way? - Lenny Kravitz
• Friday I'm In Love - The Cure
• Sour Times - Portishead
• I Don't Want To Miss a Thing - Aerosmith
• Iris - Goo Goo Dolls
• Wonderwall - Oasis
• Linger - The Cranberries
• Into Your Arms - The Lemonheads
• Don't Cry - Guns N' Roses
• This Love - Pantera
• Fade Into You - Mazzy Star

2000s Rock Love Songs

Now that the decade from 2000-2009 is over, we can write official lists of the best rock love songs from that decade. The problem with pop music in the 21st century, there's so many artists and songs to choose from, it's hard to know what the best songs are anymore. Here's a few eclectic rock love songs to get you started.

• Bullet For My Valentine - Hand of Blood
• Your Body is a Wonderland - John Mayer
• To Be Loved - Papa Roach
• This Love - Maroon 5
• Calling You - Blue October
• Over and Over - Three Days Grace
• Gone Forever - Three Days Grace
• Hey There Delilah - Plain White T's
• On the Arrow - AFI
• Wester - AFI
• You're Beautiful - James Blunt
• Lucky - Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat
• Use Somebody - Kings of Leon
• Question - Old 97s