Top 10 Ellen Foley Songs

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Our top 10 Ellen Foley songs list looks back at one of classic rock’s most iconic voices. If you were alive in the 1970s, the first time you heard of Ellen Foley might have been as the female voice on Meat Loaf’s “Paradise By The Dashboard Light.” A couple of years after her epic performance on the Meat Loaf album, Ellen Foley would release her debut solo album in 1979 entitled Night Out. From that point on, Ellen Foley would enjoy a very successful career in show business, mixing it up with appearances as an actress on Broadway, television (Night Court), and the silver screen. She would make multiple guest vocal appearances as a guest artist with such legendary acts as The Clash, Blue Oyster Cult, Ian Hunter, and Joe Jackson.

Throughout the course of her musical career, Ellen Foley has released five studio albums. After her debut album in 1979, entitled Night Out, she released her sophomore record called Spirit of St. Louis in 1981. Two years later, she returned with her third album, Another Breath, in 1983. She spent the rest of the 80s in film roles and was part of the Jim Steinman-produced band Pandora’s Box. There would be a thirty year gap between solos albums as after her 1983 release, her next solo album would not be released until 2013 entitled About Time. She recently released her fifth solo record in 2021 called Fighting Words.

We open our Ellen Foley songs list with songs she sang that other artists released. She played a vital role in these songs, and we thought they should be separated from her own individual releases under her own name.

# 10 – Paradise By The Dashboard Light

We start our top 10 Ellen Foley Songs list with the legendary song entitled “Paradise By The Dashboard Light.” Even though this is clearly defined as a Meat Loaf song and one of his greatest by far, Ellen Foley owns a great deal of this herself. There was no way this song would have been as big without Ellen Foley’s legendary vocals.

It’s a shame she didn’t get to appear in the song video where Karla Devito lip-synched Ellen Foley’s parts from the record. Nonetheless, Ellen Foley became a big part of the Story of Classic Rock forever with her brilliant performance of this song, as it stands as the most famous song she has ever been a part of. We thought this would be a perfect way to open up this Ellen Foley song list.

# 9 – We Gotta Get Out Here

Continuing with our top 10 Ellen Foley Songs list, we listen to the great song entitled “We Gotta Get Out Of Here.” Ellen Foley was featured on this great song by Ian Hunter. The song was released on the double live album entitled Welcome to the Club. Her vocals on the song are very similar in style to what she did on Meat Loaf’s “Paradise By The Dashboard Light.” The album was released in 1980.

# 8 -Mirrors

In the number eight spot on our top 10 Ellen Foley Songs list, we present the song “Mirrors.” The song was released by Blue Oyster Cult on their album, which is also entitled Mirrors. The album was released in 1979. Ellen Foley sings on the chorus and just takes the song to another level. She sounds perfect on the fantastic tune. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, everyone wanted to work with Ellen Foley. We could probably fill up this entire list with her guest appearances, but we wanted to leave room for her own songs.

# 7 – Stupid Girl

In the number seven slot on our top 10 Ellen Foley Songs list, we showcase the song “Stupid Girl.” We thought it was essential to start out with one of her most famous songs in the solo section of our list. Many younger music fans may know this song from the great cover version done by Shirley Manson and her band Garbage.

Older music fans should know this one because it was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and released by The Rolling Stones in 1966 on the Aftermath album. The Ellen Foley version was released on the album entitled Night Out. The album was released in 1979. It was Ellen Foley’s debut album. “Stupid Girl” was released as the fourth single from the album.

# 6 – Sad Song

Listen to that beautiful piano and guitar at the start of this spectacular song. You just know it’s going to be special. If some of it sounds familiar to you, it’s because the musicians who played on the record were all legends. Ellen Foley’s debut album, Night Out, utilized most of the players in the Ian Hunter Band, including Ian Hunter. Both Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson produced the album and performed on the record.

The fantastic Martin Briley, who was a member of the Ian Hunter Band and would also enjoy a successful solo career, played bass on Night Out. The sensational Tommy Mandel who was in Ian Hunter’s group and would later join up with Bryan Adams played keys. The track “Sad Song” was released as the third single from the album. The song was initially released by Mark Middler, who composed it with Peter Mason.

# 5 – Torchlight

Smack in the middle of our top 10 Ellen Foley Songs list is the song entitled “Torchlight.” Now talk about someone with friends. For her second solo album called Spirit of St. Louis, Ellen Foley was backed up on the entire record by The Clash. Yes, the legendary band The Clash was Ellen Foley’s backup band. Additionally, they composed many of the songs on the album, including this killer cut titled “Torchlight.” If this song sounds like a Clash song to you, it’s because it is The Clash with Ellen Foley on lead vocals. It’s simply fantastic.

# 4 -Boys In The Attic

At number four on our top 10 Ellen Foley Songs list, we present the rock song entitled “Boys In The Attic.” The song was released on the album entitled Another Breath. The album was released in 1983. It was Ellen Foley’s third solo album and the last one she would release in thirty years.”Boys In The Attic.” was the album’s opening cut. It has that bouncy keyboard-dominated 80s vibe that was very popular in 1983. The song was composed by Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Kent, and Rob Parissi.

# 3 – This Won’t Last Forever

Over forty years after she released her debut album, Ellen Foley returned recently with a smoking album in 2021 entitled Fighting Words. This is a fantastic record and one of our all-time favorites from Ellen Foley. We had to make sure this one was presented on our Ellen Foley songs list so we have showcased our favorite song on the album entitled “This Won’t Last Forever.” Listen to how great this song is.

# 2 – The Shuttered Palace

As we close out our top 10 Ellen Foley Songs list, we revert to the great Spirit Of St. Louis album and the song “The Shuttered Palace.” They knew what they were doing when they opened the album with this phenomenal song. “The Shuttered Palace” was composed by Joe Strummer and Mick Jones. It was also released as the first single from the album. Listen to how marvelous Ellen Foley’s vocal performance on this song is.

# 1 – We Belong to the Night

We close out our top 10 Ellen Foley Songs list with the most successful song of her solo career, “We Belong To The Night.” It also stands as the first single release of her solo career. The song was released on the album entitled Night Out. The album was released in 1979. With her first single release, Ellen Foley found herself with a number one record as the song hit number one in The Netherlands. It’s not a bad way to start out. The song was composed by Ellen Foley and Fred Goodman.