Top 10 Ellen Foley Songs

Feature Photo: Eddie Janssens, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Ellen Foley became part of rock history before she ever released an album under her own name. Her commanding vocal performance opposite Meat Loaf on “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” gave one of the most theatrical recordings of the 1970s its essential dramatic tension. Foley could match Meat Loaf’s power without sacrificing character, humor, or emotional detail.

Her 1979 debut album, Nightout, established Foley as a formidable solo singer with a taste for dramatic rock, soul, and pop. She followed it with Spirit of St. Louis in 1981 and Another Breath in 1983 before devoting more time to acting on Broadway, television, and film. Her screen work included Night Court, while her recording career also brought collaborations with the Clash, Blue Öyster Cult, Ian Hunter, and Joe Jackson.

After a thirty-year gap between solo albums, Foley returned with About Time in 2013 and followed it with Fighting Words in 2021. This list begins with three memorable guest appearances before turning to seven songs released under her own name.

# 10 – Paradise by the Dashboard Light

We open our Top 10 Ellen Foley songs list with the performance that introduced her voice to millions of listeners. “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” is unmistakably a Meat Loaf classic, but the song’s impact depends just as heavily on Foley. She transforms the second half of Jim Steinman’s teenage melodrama by moving from playful romance to a demand for lifelong commitment.

Foley did not appear in the familiar promotional film. Karla DeVito performed for the cameras and later toured with Meat Loaf while lip-syncing to Foley’s studio vocal in the video. That visual substitution sometimes obscured Foley’s contribution, but the unforgettable voice on the record belongs to her.

# 9 – We Gotta Get Out of Here

“We Gotta Get Out of Here” appeared on Ian Hunter’s 1980 double live album Welcome to the Club. Foley joins Hunter in a performance that draws on the same theatrical rock energy that made “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” so effective.

Her entrance changes the character of the song immediately. Foley does not sound like a conventional backing singer; she becomes a second dramatic presence, pushing against Hunter’s vocal and helping turn the performance into a full-scale rock-and-roll confrontation.

# 8 – Mirrors

Blue Öyster Cult released “Mirrors” as the title track of its 1979 album. Ellen Foley contributed backing vocals to the record, and her voice gives the chorus an additional layer of brightness and force.

The polished production separated Blue Öyster Cult from the darker sound of its earlier albums, but Foley’s presence fits the song beautifully. Her vocal adds lift without softening the guitars or the band’s characteristic sense of mystery.

# 7 – Stupid Girl

“Stupid Girl” begins the solo portion of our Ellen Foley songs list. Younger listeners may recognize the title from the later song recorded by Garbage, but Foley’s recording is a cover of the composition written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

The Rolling Stones first released the song on the 1966 album Aftermath. Foley’s version appeared on her 1979 debut, Nightout, and became one of the album’s singles. She replaces the Stones’ sneer with a larger, more theatrical attack that makes the song sound fully suited to her personality.

# 6 – Sad Song

The piano and guitar that open “Sad Song” immediately establish the recording’s emotional weight. Foley’s debut album, Nightout, featured many musicians associated with Ian Hunter’s band, with Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson producing and performing on the record.

Martin Briley played bass, while Tommy Mandel—who worked with Ian Hunter and later toured extensively with Bryan Adams—contributed keyboards. Written by Mark Middler and Peter Mason, “Sad Song” gives Foley room to move from restraint to full emotional release. It became the third single drawn from Nightout.

# 5 – Torchlight

“Torchlight” sits at the center of our Top 10 Ellen Foley songs list and captures the unusual creative circumstances behind her second album, Spirit of St. Louis. The Clash played throughout the album, with Mick Jones producing and members of the band contributing songs and arrangements.

Written by Joe Strummer and Mick Jones, “Torchlight” is one of the album’s most distinctive recordings. Its marimba, guitars, shifting textures, and duet-like vocal arrangement sound connected to the experimental world surrounding the Clash’s Sandinista!, yet Foley’s lead performance gives the track its own identity. Anyone drawn to the more adventurous side of the Clash or our ranking of the Clash albums should hear this one.

# 4 – Boys in the Attic

“Boys in the Attic” opened Ellen Foley’s third solo album, Another Breath, in 1983. The song introduces a brighter, keyboard-driven production that reflects the changing sound of mainstream rock and pop during the early 1980s.

Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Kent, and Rob Parissi wrote the track. Foley attacks the melody with enough force to keep the synthesizers and bouncing rhythm from making the song feel lightweight. Another Breath would be her final solo album until About Time arrived three decades later.

# 3 – This Won’t Last Forever

More than forty years after her debut, Ellen Foley released Fighting Words in 2021. The album proved that the size, humor, and emotional directness of her voice had not disappeared, while its roots-oriented production placed her in a setting different from the grand rock arrangements of her early records.

“This Won’t Last Forever” is one of the album’s finest songs. Its title may sound reassuring, but Foley sings it with enough weariness and hard-earned perspective to keep the optimism from becoming easy or sentimental. The performance captures an artist looking forward without pretending that survival has been effortless.

# 2 – The Shuttered Palace

“The Shuttered Palace” opens Spirit of St. Louis and immediately reveals how deeply the Clash shaped the album. Joe Strummer and Mick Jones wrote the song, while Mick Jones produced the record with Foley backed by Jones, Strummer, Paul Simonon, Topper Headon, and additional musicians.

The arrangement is dramatic without following the oversized style of Foley’s work with Meat Loaf. Guitars, keyboards, and atmospheric details surround a vocal that sounds controlled but increasingly urgent. Released as the first single from the album, “The Shuttered Palace” remains one of the most compelling meetings between Foley’s theatrical voice and the Clash’s restless musical imagination.

# 1 – We Belong to the Night

We close our Top 10 Ellen Foley songs list with the most successful single of her solo career. “We Belong to the Night” opened Nightout and served as Foley’s debut solo single. She wrote the song with Fred Goodman.

The recording contains everything that made Foley such a striking rock singer: enormous dynamics, romantic urgency, sharp phrasing, and the ability to sound vulnerable without losing power. Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson frame her voice with piano, guitars, and a sweeping arrangement that feels built for the closing credits of a nighttime city drama.

“We Belong to the Night” reached number one in the Netherlands and became Foley’s signature solo recording. Starting a solo career with a chart-topping single is impressive; making that song remain powerful decades later is even more so.