Combining a love for British guitar pop songcraft with crunching power chords and a flair for the absurd, Cheap Trick provided the necessary links between '60s pop, heavy metal, and punk. Led by guitarist Rick Nielsen, the band's early albums were filled with highly melodic, well-written songs that drew equally from the crafted pop of the... [+] Read More

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Nick Gilder began playing with Vancouver-based Sweeney Todd. The band split in 1977 after two albums (Sweeney Todd and If Wishes Were Horses) when he and bandmate Jimmy McCullouch moved to Los Angeles. That same year, Gilder began a solo career, signing to Chrysalis and releasing You Know Who You Are. His second album, City Nights, produced the... [+] Read More

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Off Broadway was a late-'70s power pop group from Chicago. That put them in a position roughly equivalent to that of Shaquille O'Neal's backup. In this case O'Neal was Cheap Trick and Off Broadway was doomed to obscurity. Much like Cheap Trick, Off Broadway played a quirky hopped-up blend of Beatlesque melodies and Move-like power. They didn't... [+] Read More

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An important early figure on the Los Angeles power pop scene, Paul Collins was a key member of two bands that anticipated the "skinny tie band" explosion of the late '70s and early '80s, the Nerves and the Beat. Born in New York City, Collins' father was a civilian who worked with the U.S. military, a job that kept his family on the move, and... [+] Read More

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Hailing from the same state as Cheap Trick (Illinois), the Pezband was a mostly fine, occasionally wonderful, power pop band that specialized in hook-filled hard rock with sweet multi-part harmonies. Led by the strong, blues-inflected singing of Mimi (a guy) Betinis and the rampaging Jeff Beck-influenced guitar playing of Tommy Gawenda, the... [+] Read More

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Although Rick Springfield's music was frequently dismissed as vapid teen idol fare, his best moments have actually withstood the test of time far better than most critics would ever have imagined, emerging as some of the best-crafted mainstream power pop of the decade. A singer turned soap-opera star turned singer, Springfield was born Richard... [+] Read More

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They looked like New Yorkers and they sounded British, but the Scruffs hailed from the South -- Memphis, Tennessee to be exact -- and had a full 15 minutes of fame with the release of their lone 1977 LP Wanna Meet the Scruffs? Taking their musical cues from fellow power-popsters the Raspberries and Memphis legends Big Star, the Scruffs, despite... [+] Read More

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It's pretty far-fetched, as some revisionists are now claiming, to view Suzi Quatro as a precursor to the "riot grrrls" of the '90s. Her brand of mid-'70s glam pop was far more innocuous and, in any case, often supplied by professional songwriters. What she did prove was that it was possible for a petite woman to play bass, sing, and wear... [+] Read More

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A Los Angeles-based power pop outfit formed by Paul Collins (ex-Nerves), the Beat recorded its self-titled debut LP after signing to Columbia Records in 1979. Despite good reviews and some regional success, the album failed to make much impact. A second attempt, 1982's The Kids Are the Same (this time credited to Paul Collins' Beat), also failed... [+] Read More

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They could've been contenders had they stayed together long enough, but the Nerves, despite their brief existence, were one of the most exciting bands in power pop. Formed by Jack Lee, Peter Case, and Paul Collins in 1975, their career was over by 1978, but they produced a great EP that featured the power pop classic "Hanging on the Telephone,"... [+] Read More

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One of the most underrated power pop bands of the '80s, the Spongetones released several albums of effortlessly catchy guitar pop that captured the feel of '60s British Invasion pop with remarkable accuracy and innocent charm. While they never received much critical or commercial attention, their music has aged much better than most power pop of... [+] Read More

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