David Coverdale, of Whitensnake fame, with Tawny Kitaen, video star and former wife. connitetalk.com

I can’t stop the feeling
I’ve been this way before
But, with you I’ve found the key
To open any door
I can feel my love for you
Growing stronger day by day
An’ I can’t wait too see you again
So I can hold you in my arms
Is this love… – Whitesnake

Power ballads need to stage a comeback. Whitesnake hit #1 and #2 on the charts in 1987 with “Here I Go Again” and “Is This Love”. No other type of music can deliver such a forceful message so gingerly. I just love a screaming guitar solo next to softer lyrics, especially when an electric guitar comes back in the song’s climax to provide extra emotional emphasis. Plus, its amusing to experience a hard rock or heavy metal band play a slower tempo, longer voiced notes, and diminished percussion and bass in place of their traditional sound.  Wikipedia adds that common power ballad themes include (but are not limited to) emotional heartache, need, love and loss. Well said Wikipedia.

Power ballad themes still exist in plenty of today’s songs, but where has the power gone? Here is a progression of my theory:

1. Tiffany, Belinda Carlisle, and George Michael stole it in late ‘87 after earning #1 hits
2. Then Poison’s “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” was #1 in early 1989, but was dethroned by Bobby Brown
3. Around mid-year, Madonna had the power, but soon lost it to the great Bon Jovi
4. Somehow, metal band Bad English earned #1 with “When I See You Smile”, but lip-synching Milli Vanilli took over
5. From there, the end was nigh for the heavy metal power ballad. Sure, other power ballads came and went, but none could compete with 90s pop from the likes of Boyz II Men, Whitney Houston, and Mariah Carey. Bad English dropped the ball.

Instead, we’re now stricken with groups like Nickelback who have the emotion, but not the raging electric guitar. Great power ballads need that guitar, dammit.

Whitesnake – Is This Love

Also, have a look at these cultural references to the band Whitesnake:

• They are the favorite band of Family Guy character Lois Griffin.
• During The Simpsons “Treehouse of Horror X” episode, Dick Clark celebrates the millennium with his New Year’s Rockin’ Eve special in Springfield instead of Times Square. He introduces the band playing that night as Whitesnake, although the members do not seem to agree, believing that they are Poison, Quiet Riot and/or Ratt (as seen on the drums).
• When Lois Lane’s character joined the Smallville ensemble references were made early on to her extensive Whitesnake music collection. In the episode “Crimson” (Season 6) Lois gives Clark a mix CD of Whitesnake power ballads while temporarily under the influence of a “love lipstick”. When she comes out of the love spell Clark gives her back the CD and she remarks that if she had given him a Whitesnake love collection she must have really liked him.