Post by Hervard on Nov 12, 2011 11:16:36 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - November 12, 2011
This week’s presentation: November 16, 1985
Wow, they surprised us! I mentioned three different years at the end of my last critique, and none of them were correct. Of course they were kind of hard-up on shows that they hadn’t already done or years that hadn’t been done within the past two weeks (and they apparently didn’t want to do any repeats or pull a 1984). And even though the rebroadcast dates are four weeks apart, the dates of the original shows are five weeks apart. Plus, this sort of makes up for last year, when they all but ignored 1985 (but the fact that they did the year-end show from that year just might have had something to do with that).
Droppers: (I don’t believe Casey mentioned these at any time during the show)
THE NIGHT IS STILL YOUNG - BILLY JOEL (34) - Hmm, I can swear that I heard this song on the last 1985 show, but it wasn’t on there - not even as an Optional Extra. Anyway, it’s a great song, though not quite his best.
SUNSET GRILL - DON HENLEY (33) - Great song! Shame that it fell off, but I know for a fact that we DID hear this on the last 1985 show.
I’M GOIN’ DOWN - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (32) - Good song, though possibly my least favorite single from Born In The USA.
BOY IN THE BOX - COREY HART (27) - This song was OK, but I preferred “Never Surrender”. And get this - last week, “Boy In The Box” was a LDD, and this week, “Never Surrender” is a LDD. Wow, how often does the same artist have LDDs two weeks in a row with two different songs?
40: WALK OF LIFE – DIRE STRAITS (debut) - Great song! Not sure if I prefer this or “So Far Away”
39: LONELY ‘OL NIGHT – JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP (22) - Great song, though I prefer several others by him.
38: TONIGHT SHE COMES – THE CARS (debut) - This was OK, but one of my least favorites by them.
37: OBJECT OF MY DESIRE – STARPOINT (debut) - Good song - I remember being baffled as to how this song made the Top 100 of 1986 - especially since the song had only peaked at #35 on the R&R chart (I was not yet listening to AT40 at the time) and dropped off that chart by the beginning of 1986. This one obviously charted mainly on sales points on the Hot 100.
36: SMALL TOWN – JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP (debut) - This was a pretty good song, though I prefer his other song on the chart this week.
35: RUNNING UP THAT HILL – KATE BUSH (39) - Good song - one of two songs I’ve heard by her, the other being her duet with Peter Gabriel. I prefer this one.
34: GIRLS ARE MORE FUN – RAY PARKER, JR. (36) - This song was OK, but I generally preferred his earlier material (including many of his hits with). Still, it was good to hear this one again, since I don’t believe I’ve heard it since late 1985.
33: WRAP HER UP – ELTON JOHN (38) - This was good, but far from being my favorite song by him.
32: SAY YOU, SAY ME – LIONEL RICHIE (40) - See my comment about #33.
31: SISTERS ARE DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES – EURYTHMICS AND ARETHA FRANKLIN (37) - Good song, though not quite my favorite from either artist (for instance, I preferred Aretha’s other song on the chart this week, and the Eurythmics song from late summer, 1985).
30: AND WE DANCED – THE HOOTERS (23) - Good song - possibly my favorite song by them.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: SIDEWALK TALK – JELLYBEAN - Pretty good, but I prefer “Who Found Who”, which charted in the late summer of 1987.
29: OH SHEILA – READY FOR THE WORLD (20) - Good song, but I preferred “Love You Down”.
28: FORTRESS AROUND YOUR HEART – STING (17) - Good song.
LDD: NEVER SURRENDER – COREY HART - Great song, and it fit the dedication like a glove.
27: I’M GONNA TEAR YOUR PLAYHOUSE DOWN – PAUL YOUNG (18) - Wow, almost every song in the 31-40 zone were moving up, and so far, every song in the 21-30 song are on their way down. Anyway, this song was OK, but doesn’t hold a candle to “Everytime You Go Away”.
26: SO IN LOVE – ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVERS IN THE DARK (26) - Well, the streak sort of ends here, although this song lost its bullet this week. Anyway, as we all know, this is my favorite song by them.
25: PERFECT WAY – SCRITTI POLITTI (30) - Ah, the first upward moving song in the Top 40.
24: PARTY ALL THE TIME – EDDIE MURPHY (35) - Good song, but I think Murphy was much better as a comedian.
23: I MISS YOU - KLYMAXX (31) - Great song! And get this - it’s my least favorite of their three Top 40 hits.
22: ALIVE AND KICKING – SIMPLE MINDS (28) - Great song! One of my favorite of their Top 40 hits.
21: SOUL KISS – OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (24) - Good song, but I generally prefer her earlier material.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR - DIONNE & FRIENDS - Great song! The top song of 1986, as Larry mentioned in the intro.
20: LOVIN’ EVERY MINUTE OF IT - LOVERBOY (15) - Great song! Odd that this was their biggest chart hit ever, as you don’t hear it as much as some of their lower peaking songs (such as “Turn Me Loose” and “Working For The Weekend”).
19: SLEEPING BAG - ZZ TOP (25) - Great song! Another case of one of the band’s highest charting songs not getting as much airplay as some of their songs that charted lower (i.e. “Gimme All Your Lovin’” and “Sharp Dressed Man”, the latter of which didn’t even hit the Top 40).
18: ELECTION DAY - ARCADIA (29) - Meh, basically watered-down Duran Duran. Not a big fan of this one.
17: ONE OF THE LIVING – TINA TURNER (21) - Good song. This is the song that started off the last 1985 show (not counting the LW#1 that week).
16: ONE NIGHT LOVE AFFAIR – BRYAN ADAMS (13) - Good song, though I preferred “Heaven”.
15: LOVE THEME FROM “ST. ELMO’S FIRE” (INSTRUMENTAL) – DAVID FOSTER (19) - Great song! My favorite of the two instrumentals on this week’s countdown.
14: SAVING ALL MY LOVE FOR YOU – WHITNEY HOUSTON (6) - Good song. Randon fact: Both fall, 1985 shows this year feature a show the week after she was at #6 with this song.
13: TAKE ON ME – A-HA (8) - Great song! Glad this one made it to #1!
12: YOU ARE MY LADY – FREDDIE JACKSON (14) - Good song, though I’m generally not a huge fan of his.
11: WHO’S ZOOMIN’ WHO – ARETHA FRANKLIN (16) - Great song! Possibly my favorite song by her!
10: LAY YOUR HANDS ON ME – THE THOMPSON TWINS (10) - However, this is likely my least favorite song by the Thompson Twins. I never quite got into this one.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: BURNING HEART - SURVIVOR - Great song! My favorite of their two Rocky hits!
9: BE NEAR ME - ABC (9) - Good song, though I prefer their two earlier hits, as well as “How To Be A Millionaire”.
8: NEVER – HEART (12) - Great song! Not sure whether they played the album or single version - it was the one with the “whoa whoa” part over the intro, and the vocals were a little more laid back (i.e. no edge on the word “talkin’”, or Ann’s breathy voice when she sings “don’t you dare deny me”).
LDD: NEVER KNEW LOVE LIKE THIS BEFORE – STEPHANIE MILLS - Great song and indeed appropriate for the dedication.
7: BROKEN WINGS – MR. MISTER (11) - Good song - my favorite of their two #1 songs.
6: SEPARATE LIVES (THEME FROM “WHITE NIGHTS”) – PHIL COLLINS & MARILYN MARTIN (7) - Great song! This would hit #1 two weeks later.
5: PART-TIME LOVER - STEVIE WONDER (2) - Good song, though he had many other songs that I prefer.
4: HEAD OVER HILLS – TEARS FOR FEARS (3) - Great song! Definitely one of their best!
3: MIAMI VICE THEME – JAN HAMMER (1) - Great song, although I still have yet to watch the TV show - not sure if I’d like it, since I’m generally a fan of sitcoms.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: TALK TO ME - STEVIE NICKS - Great song! I liked this one as well as her next release “I Can’t Wait”.
2: YOU BELONG TO THE CITY – GLENN FREY (4) - Based on the streak of one-week #1 songs, one would guess that this song would hit #1 the following week (and after hearing that there was a new #1 this week, I’m sure that many guessed that this would be it), but neither was the case. This was a good song, but I prefer several of his other hits, both solo and with the Eagles).
1: WE BUILT THIS CITY - STARSHIP (5) - Wow, what a leap to the top! And very deservedly so, as this was one of their best hits! They hadn’t quite made it to #1 before, but changing their name to simply “Starship” seemed to do the trick, as it gave them their first #1 song - as well as their second, which was their very next release!
Predictions for next week: Well, many people are predicting 1987 for next week, but I kinda have my doubts that we’re going to hear anymore weekly shows from that year before 2012. So my prediction for next week is November 17, 1984, with November 21, 1987 as my back-up. I would say November 21, 1981, but that show was guest hosted by Dave Roberts, so they might save 1981 until either the last week in November, the last show with the archives, or the first week in December, the first show without the archives (the former is the most likely).
This week’s presentation: November 16, 1985
Wow, they surprised us! I mentioned three different years at the end of my last critique, and none of them were correct. Of course they were kind of hard-up on shows that they hadn’t already done or years that hadn’t been done within the past two weeks (and they apparently didn’t want to do any repeats or pull a 1984). And even though the rebroadcast dates are four weeks apart, the dates of the original shows are five weeks apart. Plus, this sort of makes up for last year, when they all but ignored 1985 (but the fact that they did the year-end show from that year just might have had something to do with that).
Droppers: (I don’t believe Casey mentioned these at any time during the show)
THE NIGHT IS STILL YOUNG - BILLY JOEL (34) - Hmm, I can swear that I heard this song on the last 1985 show, but it wasn’t on there - not even as an Optional Extra. Anyway, it’s a great song, though not quite his best.
SUNSET GRILL - DON HENLEY (33) - Great song! Shame that it fell off, but I know for a fact that we DID hear this on the last 1985 show.
I’M GOIN’ DOWN - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (32) - Good song, though possibly my least favorite single from Born In The USA.
BOY IN THE BOX - COREY HART (27) - This song was OK, but I preferred “Never Surrender”. And get this - last week, “Boy In The Box” was a LDD, and this week, “Never Surrender” is a LDD. Wow, how often does the same artist have LDDs two weeks in a row with two different songs?
40: WALK OF LIFE – DIRE STRAITS (debut) - Great song! Not sure if I prefer this or “So Far Away”
39: LONELY ‘OL NIGHT – JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP (22) - Great song, though I prefer several others by him.
38: TONIGHT SHE COMES – THE CARS (debut) - This was OK, but one of my least favorites by them.
37: OBJECT OF MY DESIRE – STARPOINT (debut) - Good song - I remember being baffled as to how this song made the Top 100 of 1986 - especially since the song had only peaked at #35 on the R&R chart (I was not yet listening to AT40 at the time) and dropped off that chart by the beginning of 1986. This one obviously charted mainly on sales points on the Hot 100.
36: SMALL TOWN – JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP (debut) - This was a pretty good song, though I prefer his other song on the chart this week.
35: RUNNING UP THAT HILL – KATE BUSH (39) - Good song - one of two songs I’ve heard by her, the other being her duet with Peter Gabriel. I prefer this one.
34: GIRLS ARE MORE FUN – RAY PARKER, JR. (36) - This song was OK, but I generally preferred his earlier material (including many of his hits with). Still, it was good to hear this one again, since I don’t believe I’ve heard it since late 1985.
33: WRAP HER UP – ELTON JOHN (38) - This was good, but far from being my favorite song by him.
32: SAY YOU, SAY ME – LIONEL RICHIE (40) - See my comment about #33.
31: SISTERS ARE DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES – EURYTHMICS AND ARETHA FRANKLIN (37) - Good song, though not quite my favorite from either artist (for instance, I preferred Aretha’s other song on the chart this week, and the Eurythmics song from late summer, 1985).
30: AND WE DANCED – THE HOOTERS (23) - Good song - possibly my favorite song by them.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: SIDEWALK TALK – JELLYBEAN - Pretty good, but I prefer “Who Found Who”, which charted in the late summer of 1987.
29: OH SHEILA – READY FOR THE WORLD (20) - Good song, but I preferred “Love You Down”.
28: FORTRESS AROUND YOUR HEART – STING (17) - Good song.
LDD: NEVER SURRENDER – COREY HART - Great song, and it fit the dedication like a glove.
27: I’M GONNA TEAR YOUR PLAYHOUSE DOWN – PAUL YOUNG (18) - Wow, almost every song in the 31-40 zone were moving up, and so far, every song in the 21-30 song are on their way down. Anyway, this song was OK, but doesn’t hold a candle to “Everytime You Go Away”.
26: SO IN LOVE – ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVERS IN THE DARK (26) - Well, the streak sort of ends here, although this song lost its bullet this week. Anyway, as we all know, this is my favorite song by them.
25: PERFECT WAY – SCRITTI POLITTI (30) - Ah, the first upward moving song in the Top 40.
24: PARTY ALL THE TIME – EDDIE MURPHY (35) - Good song, but I think Murphy was much better as a comedian.
23: I MISS YOU - KLYMAXX (31) - Great song! And get this - it’s my least favorite of their three Top 40 hits.
22: ALIVE AND KICKING – SIMPLE MINDS (28) - Great song! One of my favorite of their Top 40 hits.
21: SOUL KISS – OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (24) - Good song, but I generally prefer her earlier material.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR - DIONNE & FRIENDS - Great song! The top song of 1986, as Larry mentioned in the intro.
20: LOVIN’ EVERY MINUTE OF IT - LOVERBOY (15) - Great song! Odd that this was their biggest chart hit ever, as you don’t hear it as much as some of their lower peaking songs (such as “Turn Me Loose” and “Working For The Weekend”).
19: SLEEPING BAG - ZZ TOP (25) - Great song! Another case of one of the band’s highest charting songs not getting as much airplay as some of their songs that charted lower (i.e. “Gimme All Your Lovin’” and “Sharp Dressed Man”, the latter of which didn’t even hit the Top 40).
18: ELECTION DAY - ARCADIA (29) - Meh, basically watered-down Duran Duran. Not a big fan of this one.
17: ONE OF THE LIVING – TINA TURNER (21) - Good song. This is the song that started off the last 1985 show (not counting the LW#1 that week).
16: ONE NIGHT LOVE AFFAIR – BRYAN ADAMS (13) - Good song, though I preferred “Heaven”.
15: LOVE THEME FROM “ST. ELMO’S FIRE” (INSTRUMENTAL) – DAVID FOSTER (19) - Great song! My favorite of the two instrumentals on this week’s countdown.
14: SAVING ALL MY LOVE FOR YOU – WHITNEY HOUSTON (6) - Good song. Randon fact: Both fall, 1985 shows this year feature a show the week after she was at #6 with this song.
13: TAKE ON ME – A-HA (8) - Great song! Glad this one made it to #1!
12: YOU ARE MY LADY – FREDDIE JACKSON (14) - Good song, though I’m generally not a huge fan of his.
11: WHO’S ZOOMIN’ WHO – ARETHA FRANKLIN (16) - Great song! Possibly my favorite song by her!
10: LAY YOUR HANDS ON ME – THE THOMPSON TWINS (10) - However, this is likely my least favorite song by the Thompson Twins. I never quite got into this one.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: BURNING HEART - SURVIVOR - Great song! My favorite of their two Rocky hits!
9: BE NEAR ME - ABC (9) - Good song, though I prefer their two earlier hits, as well as “How To Be A Millionaire”.
8: NEVER – HEART (12) - Great song! Not sure whether they played the album or single version - it was the one with the “whoa whoa” part over the intro, and the vocals were a little more laid back (i.e. no edge on the word “talkin’”, or Ann’s breathy voice when she sings “don’t you dare deny me”).
LDD: NEVER KNEW LOVE LIKE THIS BEFORE – STEPHANIE MILLS - Great song and indeed appropriate for the dedication.
7: BROKEN WINGS – MR. MISTER (11) - Good song - my favorite of their two #1 songs.
6: SEPARATE LIVES (THEME FROM “WHITE NIGHTS”) – PHIL COLLINS & MARILYN MARTIN (7) - Great song! This would hit #1 two weeks later.
5: PART-TIME LOVER - STEVIE WONDER (2) - Good song, though he had many other songs that I prefer.
4: HEAD OVER HILLS – TEARS FOR FEARS (3) - Great song! Definitely one of their best!
3: MIAMI VICE THEME – JAN HAMMER (1) - Great song, although I still have yet to watch the TV show - not sure if I’d like it, since I’m generally a fan of sitcoms.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: TALK TO ME - STEVIE NICKS - Great song! I liked this one as well as her next release “I Can’t Wait”.
2: YOU BELONG TO THE CITY – GLENN FREY (4) - Based on the streak of one-week #1 songs, one would guess that this song would hit #1 the following week (and after hearing that there was a new #1 this week, I’m sure that many guessed that this would be it), but neither was the case. This was a good song, but I prefer several of his other hits, both solo and with the Eagles).
1: WE BUILT THIS CITY - STARSHIP (5) - Wow, what a leap to the top! And very deservedly so, as this was one of their best hits! They hadn’t quite made it to #1 before, but changing their name to simply “Starship” seemed to do the trick, as it gave them their first #1 song - as well as their second, which was their very next release!
Predictions for next week: Well, many people are predicting 1987 for next week, but I kinda have my doubts that we’re going to hear anymore weekly shows from that year before 2012. So my prediction for next week is November 17, 1984, with November 21, 1987 as my back-up. I would say November 21, 1981, but that show was guest hosted by Dave Roberts, so they might save 1981 until either the last week in November, the last show with the archives, or the first week in December, the first show without the archives (the former is the most likely).