Dennis,
Those songs were hits, also very well written and very uplifting. While both were about somber subjects, they both had very uplifting melodies and characters. but if you had to listen to ten thousand of them all the time, You would have a little different perspective. And Chris yes, there WERE a lot of verse verse chorus songs. Thirty years ago, which the examples you give are all of that. We no longer have that time frame with the audience who will tune things out after two to four lines.
It is all about what you want your music to do. Write whatever you want. If you want to connect to an audience, artists, publishers, or anyone outside of your own close circle of friends, it takes more effort.
MAB
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