Album · Tesla
The Great Radio Controversy by Tesla
The Great Radio Controversy is an album by Tesla, released in 1989. 5 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 41 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Love Song”, on 36 lists with a best position of #174.
The Great Radio Controversy, Tesla's second album, came out on Geffen in 1989, and its title tells you the Sacramento band knew their history: it's named for the fight over who really invented radio, with the band's namesake Nikola Tesla cast as the man Guglielmo Marconi beat to the credit, a tale the inner sleeve spells out. The classic five, Jeff Keith, Frank Hannon, Tommy Skeoch, Brian Wheat and Troy Luccketta, were all on board.
It's hair metal with dirt under its fingernails: bluesy, denim-clad hard rock that's more roadhouse than boudoir, fronted by Keith's raw howl. "Love Song" is the big, soft-hearted ballad, "Heaven's Trail (No Way Out)", "Hang Tough" and "The Way It Is" bring the muscle, and all four got heavy play on MTV's Headbangers Ball and made the band stars. The RIAA certified it double platinum in 1998.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from The Great Radio Controversy on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Love Song | 36 | #174 | – | 1990–2026 | |
| 2 | The Way It Is | 1 | #303 | – | 1990 | |
| 3 | Heaven's Trail (No Way Out) | 1 | #353 | – | 1990 | |
| 4 | Hang Tough | 1 | #521 | – | 1990 | |
| 5 | Did It for the Money | 1 | #968 | – | 1990 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.