1986 No. 1 Hit With Iconic Piano Hook Became a Cross-Generational Anthem
Some tunes never leave us. They may lie mentally dormant, tucked somewhere between old TV theme songs and forgotten mixtapes, but the moment you hear ‘em, every lyric comes rushing back, as if you've just experienced some sort of earworm awakening.
That's the magic of Bruce Hornsby and The Range's timeless hit, "The Way It Is."
@tonosongs6 BRUCE HORNSBY AND THE RANGE - The Way It Is#popmusic#brucehornsbyandtherange#thewayitis#80smusic#fyp
♬ original sound - AuralGlow
Released in April 1986, the piano-driven anthem was the second single off the group's same-name debut album. It was co-written by Bruce Hornsby and his brother, John Hornsby, and debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 86. Following an RCA reissue in December, it finished the year at No. 1.
By no means a typical '80s chart-topper, "The Way It Is" showcases Bruce's own rock-slash-ECM jazz style while unapologetically tackling hefty themes like racism, economic disparity, and civil rights in its message. The track also lacks a big chorus, shifts in momentum, and all the other features found in the biggest pop hits at the time.
According to American Songwriter, the fact that a song like this could hit No. 1 "says something about the song's airtight structure, built around Bruce Hornsby's piano hooks and exciting soloing. And it also speaks to the fact that audiences are willing to deal with a little medicine if it's presented with insight and honesty."
Meanwhile, the track's parent album, which also featured pop favorites "Mandolin Rain" and "Every Little Kiss," peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and paved the way for Bruce and his rock band to win Best New Artist at the 29th Grammy Awards in February 1987.
Celebrated for its social commentary and iconic jazz-infused piano hooks, "The Way It Is" came from a personal place. In an interview with NME, via Songfacts, Bruce explained how his personal views and Southern upbringing in Virginia helped shape the song.
"My mother came from the New England area, and she was a little more enlightened about racial subjects than a lot of people in the South," he said. "So I had a different attitude to a lot of my friends whose parents were more conservative. When I was brought up, the vibe I got of Martin Luther King in my town was that he was a real evil man. … Luckily, I came from a family that guarded us against that conservatism."
"The Way It Is" cemented its cross-generational status when late hip-hop icon 2Pac sampled the song's hook and piano melody for his legendary 1998 track "Changes," which looks at racism and urban life from a Black perspective. This allowed the song's message to reach an entirely new audience and a younger demographic.
2Pac wasn't the only public figure to use the song. "The Way It Is" has found its way into every corner of American culture, including as part of the theme song for conservative then-radio host Sean Hannity.
Speaking to Rolling Stone in 2020, Bruce shared his perspective on the song and his surprise at its success, saying, "‘The Way It Is' was a wonderful accident, a great fluke. A song about racism with two improvised solos is hardly the formula for pop success then or at any time. Everyone thought it should have been a B side, but then BBC Radio 1 played it and, boom, there it went."
Looking back, it's wild to call the song a "fluke" when it was embraced by everyone from the hip-hop community to conservative talk radio, and remains a fixture of classic rock radio and Hornsby's live shows to this day. That's not a fluke. That's a cross-generational anthem in the truest sense.
Related: 1968 Era-Defining Anthem Called a ‘Fluke' Became the Most Played Rock Song in Movies
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This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 6:34 PM.