Hair metal — that dreaded colloquialism for the commercial, party-hearty hard rock that dominated the airwaves in the '80s — is known for its hotshot guitar players and over-the-top showmanship.

If you’ve been around for a hot minute, you’re probably all too familiar with at least a few of the following four greatest rock ballads of ... tribute to the band’s former beloved frontman ...

The band teased their hair and broke big with this schlocky power ballad, an MTV favorite and car ride sing-a-long staple that made it all the way to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in fall 1989.

Guitarist John Sykes, who played with the rock bands Whitesnake and Thin Lizzy, has died at 65. He helped compose one of the defining power ballads of the late-1980s hair-metal scene in “Is This ...