in Iowa, not a socialite in Manhattan", and attributed Hit Parader'''s longevity and success to its ability to anticipate trends in music months in advance. By 1984, the magazine was focusing solely on heavy metal. The magazine's top-selling issue of all time was its June 1984 issue which was the first cover story devoted to a rising band from Los Angeles called Mötley Crüe. Upon arriving in Mexico in December 1983 to interview the band, Secher was met by lead vocalist Vince Neil and taken to the group's hotel where he found "this young woman, spread eagle on the bed, naked, and they're going at her with a wine bottle". Though he had to sanitize the story heavily before it could be published, the issue nonetheless created a firestorm of controversy which saw retailers such as 7-Eleven threaten to take the magazine off its shelves. Over the ensuing decade, Hit Parader became one of America's leading heavy metal publications, providing extensive coverage of the era's popular acts such as Mötley Crüe, Quiet Riot, Def Leppard, Ratt, and Ozzy Osbourne. During this period the magazine also published special bonus issues with titles such as Hit Parader's Heavy Metal Hot Shots and Hit Parader's Heavy Metal Heroes. Secher often went on the road to meet the artists personally. "Ozzy in Brazil, Dio in Japan, Bon Jovi in Canada, the Scorpions in Sweden...it goes on and on. There's no question that the times were bigger and brighter in the '70s and '80s," he has said of this era. Secher produced a spinoff television program entitled Hit Parader's Heavy Metal Heroes on USA Network which featured heavy metal music videos and short interviews with the artists who regularly appeared in the magazine. During its 1980s heyday, Hit Parader featured the work of rock journalists such as Charley Crespo, Jodi Summers, Wolfgang Schnapp, Adrianne Stone, Rob Andrews, Winston Cummings, and Rick Evans. Post-1980s declineHit Parader fell into decline in the 1990s, with a handful of factors contributing to this. Facing financial troubles in 1991, Charlton sold off Hit Parader to raise money. Later that year, Guns N' Roses' hugely successful Use Your Illusion II album included a track entitled "Get in the Ring", the lyrics of which accused Secher and Hit Parader of "printin' lies instead of the things we said" and "rippin' off the fuckin' kids … [and] startin' controversy". The song was written