This Week's Forgotten Gem of the '80s - Charlie Sexton's "Beat's So Lonely"

When it comes to musical prodigies, the entire genre of rock and roll and especially an era such as the '80s don't necessarily come to mind. Blues, jazz and other specific styles either unrelated or only slightly tied to pop music generally contain the majority of young instrumental virtuosos, but guitarist Charlie Sexton stands out as a major '80s exception to this rule. Striking up an impressively mature cross-genre approach as a teenager, Sexton produced one of the finest straight-ahead rock singles of the '80s in the brooding, rootsy and swaggering "Beat's So Lonely".

This is a song utterly unafraid to merge layers of keyboards with biting, snarling guitar riffs, not to mention scorching leads. Such a phenomenon was highly uncommon during the '80s in general and in the case of hit pop singles in particular, but Sexton's precocious talents somehow cut through the commercial glaze and made it all the way to No. 17 on the pop charts. With equal levels of interest in blues, punk rock and various versions of roots rock, Sexton deserved the notoriety, but most music fans can be forgiven for not hearing much 1986 in this aggressive track.

• Sample or download "Beat's So Lonely" here.
• Roots Rock Profile

Album Cover Photo Courtesy of MCA Records