Robbed hit of the week 7/20/15 - John Waite's "These Times Are Hard For Lovers"...

"These Times Are Hard For Lovers" - John Waite
from the album Rover's Return (1987)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #53

This week's "robbed hit" comes from British rock singer John Waite, who went from a lucrative stint in the power-pop band the Babys to a #1 solo pop hit in the U.S. with "Missing You" in 1984. His next album a year later nabbed him another top-40 single with "Every Step Of The Way". He also contributed a song to the excellent About Last Night movie, "If Anybody Had A Heart", which was a top-40 adult contemporary hit. In 1987, John released his fourth solo effort, Rover's Return. On the first single, "These Times Are Hard For Lovers", he employed songsmith Desmond Child, who worked with Bon Jovi, to punch up the energy...

While "These Times..." became his fourth top-10 rock hit in Billboard, the single stalled out below the halfway mark on their Hot 100 pop list. However, in due time Michael Bolton, using the same co-writer, balls-out vocal style, and hair product, would bring this style of rock back to mainstream radio in full form.

As for Waite, he would have a couple more minor pop hits in the 90s, ending with "How Did I Get By Without You" (#89) that was his last rock hit as well (#20). The next decade saw him join the "supergroup" Bad English, and returning him finally to #1 with "When I See You Smile". However, when he returned to his solo career, his music was relegated to "easy listening" radio, with a pair of moderate singles on the adult contemporary list (with "New York City Girl" at #23 in 2005).