Vixen -- "Edge of a Broken Heart"

(Debuted September 17, 1988, Peaked #26, 20 Weeks on the Chart)

What did the 1984 T&A classic Hardbodies have to do with the group Vixen? An early lineup of the band appeared in that film as Diaper Rash, the all-female band that played at the house party. At the time, they were moving from St. Paul, Minnesota, a different scene altogether, to the L.A.-based circuit that was breeding harder-edged rock acts.

By 1988, however, EMI downplayed any connection to the film and targeted the band as a more rocking version of The Bangles. It was a good move on paper, coming the same year that Guns 'n' Roses broke out. Poison, Cinderella and Bon Jovi were poised to issue their new albums and the L.A. hard rock scene was producing dozens of new acts at the time. To give Vixen an air of authenticity, Richard Marx was called in to help with their first single for the label.

That song was "Edge of a Broken Heart." Marx co-wrote it with Fee Waybill of The Tubes, played keyboards on it and even produced the song and made a cameo in the video. It definitely gave them a kick-start, making the Top 40 and establishing them as an all-female alternative in the male-dominated "Hair metal" genre.