Damn Yankees — High Enough

JUL 01 1990 · 12:00

Damn Yankees — High Enough (1990) Director: Lawrence Jordan Era: Hair Metal / Hard Rock Power Ballad Era (1990) - Peak MTV saturation period for arena rock supergroups; 'High Enough' released on the self-titled debut Warner Bros. album, charting No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 High archival and pedagogical value. 'High Enough' is a culturally and commercially documented artifact of peak MTV hard rock — confirmed No. 3 Billboard Hot 100, double-platinum album, Grammy-adjacent director, and multi-platform soundtrack exposure. Its unusually developed crime-thriller narrative structure, on-location Louisiana cinematography, and warm film-stock aesthetic make it an exemplary and visually distinctive specimen of the 1990 power ballad video format. Director Lawrence Jordan's involvement connects this video to a broader network of Grammy- and Emmy-recognized music video production of the era. Context: Released in 1990 at the apex of MTV's influence over rock music, 'High Enough' exemplifies the supergroup power ballad format that dominated rock radio and video rotation at the turn of the decade. Damn Yankees united members of Night Ranger (Jack Blades), Styx (Tommy Shaw), and Ted Nugent into a chart-viable hard rock vehicle, reaching No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on Mainstream Rock Tracks. The video's cinematic crime-thriller format — a rural Bonnie-and-Clyde fugitive narrative intercut with band performance — represents an ambitious upgrade from the era's typical performance-only clip, reflecting MTV's growing appetite for narrative mini-films. The Southern Louisiana location grounds the video in American roots imagery that subtly differentiates it from the more urban or studio-bound aesthetics of contemporaneous glam metal videos. The video was featured on Headbangers Ball and in RIP Magazine countdowns, cementing its cultural reach within the early-1990s hard rock ecosystem. Director notes: Confirmed director per IMDB (tt8661046). The video was filmed on location in River Ridge, Louisiana, and depicts a young drifter couple committing a series of robberies, framed as a modern Bonnie-and-Clyde narrative. The girlfriend is ultimately captured and sentenced to death; the drifter's fate is left ambiguous. The opening scene is noted to reference the TV crime drama 'In the Heat of the Night.' The band performs at a rural gas station location, intercut with the crime narrative. Running time per Apple Music and Discogs: approximately 4:52–4:53, consistent with the annotated 292.49s duration. Released on Warner Bros. Records on the album 'Damn Yankees' (March 13, 1990).