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Post by Hervard on Jan 20, 2018 9:02:51 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s - January 20, 2018 This week's presentation - January 23, 1988 Droppers: ANIMAL - DEF LEPPARD (40) - Ah, the first Top 40 hit from their behemoth album Hysteria (the first release, "Women" had fallen way short, peaking at #80 in early September). I wonder if it would have done better had they decided to re-release it after the album became a huge hit - I'm guessing probably not, as the last hit from the album, "Rocket" sounded a lot like "Women" and they figured it would be best to put out a new track instead of chancing the re-release flopping (and I certainly doubt they'd release "Women" right after "Rocket" due to said similarity. (I'VE HAD) THE TIME OF MY LIFE - BILL MEDLEY & JENNIFER WARNES (35) - Though this song dropped out, Dirty Dancing fever was still in full swing, with other tracks from the soundtrack charting. For some reason, I hated this song with a passion when it was on its way up the chart. Probably because of the overplay, but I never liked it in the first place. Now I think it's a good one, though I wouldn't want to hear it on a regular basis. HEAVEN IS A PLACE ON EARTH - BELINDA CARLISLE (33) - This song outpeaked all of her hits with the Go-Go's by hitting the top back in early December. This is another song that I didn't care much for back in the day, but it's one of those song that, like fine wine, gets better with age. It is my second favorite of her Heaven On Earth singles - more on that in a moment. DUDE (LOOKS LIKE A LADY) - AEROSMITH (31) - I recall a somewhat humorous event tied to this song. When this song was growing on the charts, my stepmother was taking us to see a movie and on the way there, this song was playing and my younger stepsisters, who had never heard the song before, were laughing at the title. It wasn't a bad song, but I preferred the next release, which hit the Top 40 a month later and would go on to become Aerosmith's biggest hit (up to that point, that is). 40: I GET WEAK – BELINDA CARLISLE (debut) - As her former #1 hit steps off the chart, Belinda doesn't miss a beat, as she debuts with the second hit from Heaven On Earth. This was a great song and I remember it going through my mind all day when I first heard it, and it didn't annoy me a bit. This is very possibly my favorite of Belinda's solo hits. 39: 853-5937 - SQUEEZE (debut) - Ah, the other telephone number song in the 1980s that spawned nuisance phone calls. People would call this number and ask for Angela. But not quite as often as the other phone number song (come on, you know the title), since this song was much more obscure - I don’t think it ever got any kind of airplay after it fell off the chart - here in the states, anyway). 38: VALERIE – STEVE WINWOOD (28) - A song that originally charted in 1982, when it was released from Winwood's album Talking Back To The Night, but it didn't quite make the Top 40. But it became a Top Ten hit its second time around, and deservedly so, as it was a great song! 37: FATHER FIGURE – GEORGE MICHAEL (debut) - I’m surprised this song only moved up seven spots, as it was already well inside the Top 20 on the R&R chart. Probably because so many fans had the Faith album, so no need to buy the single. That could also explain why this song spent only half as long at #1 on the Hot 100 as it did on R&R. 36: TRUE FAITH – NEW ORDER (34) - I liked this song, as well as Casey's reference to its erratic chart movement. Charlie VanDyke, who had subhosted the previous week, also made a clever reference to it (saying that it couldn't seem to make up its mind which way it wanted to go). 35: I FOUND SOMEONE - CHER (38) - Very interesting story about Cher's "Take Me Home" waking up a little girl, who was kidnapped, beaten, and left for dead, from a coma. This was Cher's comeback hit since that song, which charted in 1979, not long before the incident. As for the song, it wasn't bad, but I generally preferred her later songs such as "Just Like Jesse James", "Save Up All Your Tears" and "Believe" to name a few. 34: NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP – RICK ASTLEY (debut) - YAHHH!! I'VE BEEN RICKROLLED!!! That was pretty much a guarantee with any show from 1988 during the Casey Kasem era. This was my second favorite of the three two Top Ten singles from Rick's Whenever You Need Somebody album (remember - this and "Together Forever" were pretty much the same song. I also liked the title track, which was a #1 hit in his native England and I believe was on the dance charts in late 1988. 33: DON'T YOU WANT ME - JODY WATLEY (20) - She seems to have pairs of songs that sound alike. Her next hit, "Some Kind Of Lover" sounds a lot like this one (and "Real Love" is a dead ringer for "Looking For A New Love"). I thought this song was pretty good. 32: CAN’T STAY AWAY FROM YOU – GLORIA ESTEFAN & MIAMI SOUND MACHINE (36) - Interesting story about the band releasing nine albums before they had their first Top 40 hit. But it was well worth the wait, as Primitive Love spawned four singles and their second big album (here in the States, that is) was on its way to doing the same. This was a good song, but one of her/their weaker slow songs, IMO. I actually preferred the song that preceded this, the mid-tempo "Betcha Say That". Too bad that ran out of gas at #36. 31: SHE’S LIKE THE WIND – PATRICK SWAYZE FEATURING WENDY FRASER (39) - As the Medley/Warnes duet leaves the countdown, this song, the third single from Dirty Dancing, makes the biggest move of the week. This song peaked at #3 for three weeks, but couldn't get past George Michael and Rick Astley. It was a nice song, IMO - too bad Lumidee had to go and mess it up. OPTIONAL EXTRA: HOW CAN I FALL - BREATHE - Ever notice how the beginning of this song sounds like the intro to "Purple Rain" by Prince? Anyway, I wasn't a huge fan of the singles from their debut album All That Jazz (probably since they were so overplayed, especially the first two). I do prefer this song over "Hands To Heaven", though. But I preferred the singles from their second album, Peace Of Mind, which was nowhere near as successful as the first. 30: PUMP UP THE VOLUME – M.A.R.R.S. (37) - I remember hearing this song ad nauseum on B96 on Z95 (the latter on which the song spent six weeks at #1) back in early 1988. It's good to hear every now and then. 29: POWER OF LOVE – LAURA BRANIGAN (26) - I always thought that AT40 heavily edited this song down, but I believe what they usually played was the single version, on which all they cut out is the second chorus and the bridge. I was just used to hearing the Celine Dion version, which has all the elements of the original, except the ending, which is shortened, while the Laura Branigan version repeats the chorus to the fade-out. Anyway, IIRC, the only week that they played the album version of this song was the Charlie Vandyke-hosted 12/5/87 show. 28: CATCH ME (I’M FALLING) – PRETTY POISON (19) - This song was one of three Top 40 hits from movie Hiding Out, during the skating rink scene. It's a pretty good song, but I preferred the other two hits that the soundtrack spawned, especially "Live My Life" by Boy George, which I thought was totally underrated. The third single, BTW, was "You Don't Know" by Scarlett & Black, which I just recently learned. LDD: GREATEST LOVE OF ALL – WHITNEY HOUSTON - This song always brings me to tears, especially when it was used as an LDD on the November 28, 1987 show, with the parents dedicating the song to their baby who had died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome a year before. Man, was THAT ever a depressing one! Anyway, I liked this song a lot, too - right up there with "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" as her best 80's ballads. 27: PUSH IT – SALT ‘N PEPA (32) - As we know all too well, I’m not a big rap fan, but generally, 80s rap was OK, and this is an example. 26: POP GOES THE WORLD – MEN WITHOUT HATS (30) - This was a cool, fun song. I liked it better than “The Safety Dance”, including the single version. 25: HONESTLY - STRYPER (27) - Possibly THE first heavy metal Christian band to hit the chart. Lead singer Michael Sweet sounds very much like Styx, especially in the chorus of this song, which I thought was a great song, though the way this was edited to omit the instrumental bridge was very sloppy and screwed up the continuity of the song. I seem to remember that they used this edit several times during the song's chart run, though it was played intact the following week, as I noted in the critique for that one. 24: SHAKE YOUR LOVE – DEBBIE GIBSON (13) - I like most of her hits, but always thought this one was a little too teenybopper sounding for my tastes. At least they edited this one down somewhat. 23: EVERYWHERE – FLEETWOOD MAC (29) - This was the fourth of five singles released from Tango In The Night and the final one to hit the Top 40 (the fifth, "Family Man" only got as high as #90), and my second favorite of the singles, behind "Seven Wonders". 22: CHERRY BOMB – JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP (12) - I liked the way Casey referred to this song's chart movement, comparing it to a bomb (except, if it exploded at #8, it wouldn't still be "ticking away in the countdown"). This was another song I didn't like when it was on the chart, but I think it's pretty good now. This was the fourth song in a row that was edited, meaning that there must be an extra coming up in the show. 21: DON’T SHED A TEAR – PAUL CARRACK (25) - He'd had top 40 success as the lead singer of bands like Ace and Mike + The Mechanics, and he even had a few solo hits. This was a good song, but I preferred a few others from him, both solo and with said bands. OPTIONAL EXTRA: MY PREROGATIVE - BOBBY BROWN - This song helped to expand my vocabulary, as I had never even heard of the word "prerogative" before, let alone knew what it meant. As for the song itself, I thought it was a great song - one of his all time best! 20: I LIVE FOR YOUR LOVE – NATALIE COLE (23) - She'd been absent from the charts for most of the 80s as she battled drug and alcohol abuse, but her comeback was certainly no fluke, as this song proved, since it was a Top 20 hit like her comeback hit "Jump Start". Like most of her ballads, I thought this was a great one - definitely in my Top Five of my favorite songs from her, right up there with "Miss You Like Crazy" and "When I Fall In Love" (her own version which was on the same album as this song). This one was also notably edited, but it didn't mess up the song's continuity as much as the Stryper song. 19: IS THIS LOVE - WHITESNAKE (10) - Their first two Top 40 hits from this English rock band were both mid-tempo ballads. I liked both of them about the same. 18: WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS – PET SHOP BOYS W/ DUSTY SPRINGFIELD (24) - Meh, for some reason I never really got into this song. One of my least favorites from both artists. 17: SAY YOU WILL - FOREIGNER (22) - Another weak song from a band whose material I generally like. I did, however, like the story about how the frequent quarrels between Mick Jones and Lou Gramm caused the latter member to leave the band and try it on his own for awhile. 16: FAITH – GEORGE MICHAEL (9) - Wow, three in a row! I liked many songs from George Michael, both with Wham! and solo, but this was definitely not one of them! This and "I Want Your Sex" were easily my least favorite of the singles from the Faith album! 15: TUNNEL OF LOVE – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (21) - The second of three singles released here in the States from the album of the same name. It was a good song, IMO, though I preferred "Brilliant Disguise" by a slight margin. EXTRA: PLEASE MR. POSTMAN – THE MARVELETTES - Was this song edited out of the 2009 rebroadcast, or was that just the station I listened to (WRVF). Well, either way, it was indeed heard this time around (on Magic 98.9). Interesting that this song was actually written by a mailman. 14: CRAZY - ICEHOUSE (18) - The first of two Top 20 hits for this six-member Aussie band. I thought that both this and "Electric Blue" were great songs; I liked them about the same. 13: I COULD NEVER TAKE THE PLACE OF YOUR MAN - PRINCE (16) - Not sure if I prefer this version or Jordan Knight’s ballad version of the song, which charted in the summer of 1999. Both are great songs in their own ways. 12: THERE’S THE GIRL - HEART (14) - This was a song on which Nancy Wilson sang lead (IIRC, this was the second chart hit on which she handled the lead vocals, but I could be wrong). It was pretty good, but I preferred their other two Top 40 hits from Bad Animals (not sure how the fourth one, "I Want You So Bad" goes, since it never hit the Top 40. 11: HUNGRY EYES – ERIC CARMEN (17) - The second of two Dirty Dancing hits on the chart this week. This was definitely my least favorite of the two. Not sure why; this song just never did anything for me. OPTIONAL EXTRA: EARLY IN THE MORNING - ROBERT PALMER - His remake of the Gap Band's 1982 hit (though he did not include the rooster crowing at the beginning), which was even more successful, peaking at #19, five spots above the original. I actually thought it was a good song, which is kind of surprising, given that I'm not a huge Robert Palmer fan (perhaps the fact that this wasn't even one of his own songs contributed to that). 10: I WANT TO BE YOUR MAN - ROGER (15) - I always found this a tad annoying. I can stomach a listen to it once in awhile, but wouldn't like to hear it everyday (like I did back in early 1988) 9: SO EMOTIONAL – WHITNEY HOUSTON (2) - This would become Whitney's sixth number one in a row (limited to songs that hit the Hot 100, that is), setting a record. I liked this one, but much preferred the next release, which would extend her #1 streak to seven. 8: SEASONS CHANGE – EXPOSE (11) - A rare instance where the final song from an album turns out to be the most successful (I seem to remember this happening a few other times in 1988, by acts like the Jets and Richard Marx). Anyway, this would be my second favorite release from their Exposure album behind "Point Of No Return". LDD: WONDERFUL WORLD – SAM COOKE - I'll have to take another listen to this LDD... 7: TELL IT TO MY HEART – TAYLOR DAYNE (8) - I'd been hearing this one on Chicago's B96 about a month before it hit the chart, and I always thought that, based on the opening synth notes sounded like a dance version of Glenn Frey's "The One You Love". This was probably my favorite song from the album that Casey said she was in the studio recording at the time. 6: CANDLE IN THE WIND – ELTON JOHN (7) - This was one of three versions of this song that I've heard, and my least favorite. I much prefer the original studio version, which Chicago's Z95 played in place of this live version (in fact, I remember hearing it on the way to the movie theater that I mentioned earlier). The following week is when AT40 played the original version from Elton's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. 5: HAZY SHADE OF WINTER – THE BANGLES (6) - This one wasn't bad (I do prefer it over "Walk Like An Egyptian"), but I prefer many other songs by the Bangles. 4: GOT MY MIND SET ON YOU – GEORGE HARRISON (1) - This was George's first hit in over six years, and he picked up right where he left off, as this was a big hit like his last one before this. I liked the song when it first came out, but to this day, I'm still a tad burned out on it due to overplay. 3: COULD’VE BEEN - TIFFANY (5) - Here's another song that I'd been hearing on B96 for several weeks - and I kept hoping that it would soon hit the charts - which it would the following week. And, like her first hit, it went to #1 - in fact, its first week at the top was on the chart dated January 29, 1988 - my sixteenth birthday, so that was a great birthday present for me! OPTIONAL EXTRA: HOLDING ON - STEVE WINWOOD - The third and final Top 40 single from Roll With It. I preferred the other two, but this one wasn't bad (though it seemed to be a watered-down version of the title track. 2: NEED YOU TONIGHT - INXS (4) - The first of four Top 40 hits from what would become their best singles album, Kick. I wasn't a huge fan of it, or INXS in general, but they did have a few songs that I liked (this just wasn't one of them). 1: THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL – MICHAEL JACKSON (3) - He was on a roll, cranking out #1 hit after #1 hit from the Bad album. This was one of the two songs from the album that had a relatively long chart run (as the others besides this and "Man In The Mirror" seemed to zip up and down the chart). I like this song, though my sentiments were quite different back in the day, since I hated this song back then - I referred to it as "a dicky song" in my journal entry when this song was #1. Now I think it's a good song! As usual, Magic 98.9 played their own extras: HOW CAN I FALL - BREATHE SHATTERED DREAMS - JOHNNY HATES JAZZ ENDLESS SUMMER NIGHTS - RICHARD MARX UNDER THE MILKY WAY - THE CHURCH (My comments on the last three can be found on any of my commentaries from spring/early summer 1988) Coming up next week: See my 1980 commentary above.
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Post by torcan on Jan 20, 2018 10:22:21 GMT -5
Quote: 2: HOW DEEP IS YOUR LOVE - THE BEE GEES (1) - This song had just spent the last three weeks at #1 (though only one of them was counted down by Casey, since the Top 100 of 1977 was being run over the last two weeks of 1977, which happened to be the first two weeks of this song's reign. No matter; the song was in no hurry to go anywhere; in fact, it would still be in the Top Ten when March rolled around! This song held the record for the longest top ten run for fourteen years!
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I'm amazed at the staying power of this song. Usually when a song dropped in those days, it dropped quickly, but this song held on and held on. A couple of week after this it fell to No. 10, and stayed there four weeks before finally slipping out.
I'd have to say this song is my favorite from the "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack.
When you look at the spring of 1978, the Bee Gees really dominated. This was probably the biggest domination of the charts since the Beatles in 1964. Michael Jackson came close in 1983 but he never had three top 10 singles at once.
I love looking back to the late '70s charts - lots of good songs!
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Post by pb on Jan 20, 2018 17:23:19 GMT -5
31: A MAN I'LL NEVER BE - BOSTON (31) - They were done hitting it big for nearly eight years at this point (in fact, this was their final Top 40 hit until that very successful 80s comeback. Tom Scholz took all of those eight years finishing their next album, so they fell silent.
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Post by Michael1973 on Jan 26, 2018 11:07:50 GMT -5
Hervard, your comment for I Get Weak seems incomplete.
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Post by Hervard on Jan 26, 2018 14:52:07 GMT -5
Hervard, your comment for I Get Weak seems incomplete. By Jove, it was! I just amended it!
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Post by Hervard on Jan 27, 2018 9:04:27 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s - January 27, 2018 This week's presentation - January 29, 1972 Generally, I don't do critiques for pre-1975 shows, but seeing as this show happened to be played the day I was born, I decided to make an exception. This won't be one of those hilariously scathing commentaries that I did for a few 1974 shows (well, with the exception of one terrible song that I know is on the countdown). Other than that, this will actually be like one of my regular critiques. 40: FLOY JOY - THE SUPREMES (debut) - They were clearly bigger in the 1960s, but they did have a few hits in the 1970s, by which time Diana Ross had left to pursue a solo career. I tuned in late, but from what I caught of this song, it sounded like a good song. 39: TOGETHER LET'S FIND LOVE - THE 5TH DIMENSION (debut) - One of several live recordings this R&B act headed up by Marilyn McCoo, who was the host of Solid Gold for several years. It was a pretty decent song; one I hadn't heard before. 38: THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT - ROBERT JOHN (debut) - For years, I thought that he was a one-hit wonder, as the only song I knew from him was "Sad Eyes", but he actually had two Top 40 hits that bookended this song, both remakes of 60s hits. This was the bigger one. It was OK, but I always thought this song was overrated. 37: BANG A GONG (GET IT ON) - T. REX (debut) - Anyone who has played Final Fantasy for the NES may know that this is one of the rarest enemies in the game. But seriously, I was never a big fan of this song. I preferred the Power Station's cover, which I heard before this one (that I know of, anyway). 36: FEELIN' ALLRIGHT - JOE C0CKER (debut) - I was never a huge fan of "Joe Thingyer", but this song was passable. 35: ONCE YOU UNDERSTAND - THINK (23) - What. The. Hell. Is. This. Crap? How did dialogue of parents arguing with their kids over a monotonous chorus repeating "Things get a little easier, Once You Understand" over and over and over and over and over again become a hit? What were the Top 40 listeners smoking back in 1972? As if that weren't enough, at the end, they stopped the chants so we could hear a parent, clearly with poor acting skills, crying after hearing his child had died. Another thing - how in the world did this song re-chart two years later? It didn't hit the Top 40, but still. 34: HEY BIG BROTHER - RARE EARTH (19) - Their last of five Top 40 hits. The song was OK, but I preferred "Get Ready". I do prefer it over the extremely repetitive "I Just Want To Celebrate", though. 33: DON'T SAY YOU DON'T REMEMBER - BEVERLY BREMERS (37) - The debut hit for this singer/actress from the Windy City. Unfortunately, it was her only big hit (her second hit, "We're Free" barely scraped into the Top 40). This was a good song; had a great melody! 32: DOWN BY THE LAZY RIVER - THE OSMONDS (debut) - One of the biggest hit for this family act from Ogden, Utah, on its way to #4. Great party music here! 31: GOT TO BE THERE - THE JACKSON FIVE (15) - He'd been heard singing with the Jackson Five for the past two years, but this was his very first solo hit. Of course, there was much, much more 30: ONE MONKEY DON'T STOP NO SHOW - HONEY CONE (17) - Well he sure would if he started flicking poo at the audience! But seriously, this was another of many songs on this chart that I don't remember hearing before. It was a good one! EXTRA: SINGIN' THE BLUES - GUY MITCHELL - This was a good song - played as the third Optional Extra. 29: THAT'S THE WAY I FEEL ABOUT YOU - BOBBY WOMACK (29) - Well, at least he didn't scream this song, like he did his biggest hit "Lookin' For A Love", which hit #10 in 1974. This was actually a good song, IMO. 28: MAKE ME THE WOMAN THAT YOU GO HOME TO - GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS (30) - Wow, several family acts on this week's chart. This was one of the biggest ones of all time, with a song that peaked at #27 the following week. I liked many of their songs, this included. 27: FIRE AND WATER - WILSON PICKETT (32) - The last of 16 Top 40 hits for this singer from Prattville, Alabama. It was pretty good IMO. 26: I KNEW YOU WHEN - DONNY OSMOND (16) - Looks like Casey alternated sides of this double-sided hit, as he played "Hey Girl" the previous week. Originally a hit by Billy Joe Royal, this song was covered twice, as Linda Ronstadt had a hit with this in early 1983. I preferred this one - the "yeah, yeah, yeah" chants were not grating like the ones in Ronstadt's version. 25: LEVON - ELTON JOHN (28) - His third Top 40 hit. Despite peaking at #24, this song still gets quite a lot of recurrent airplay. A great song indeed! 24: WITCH QUEEN OF NEW ORLEANS - REDBONE (25) - Another act I thought of as a one-hit wonder (as the only song of theirs that gets any kind of recurrent airplay is their #2 hit from 1974, "Come And Get Your Love". This one was pretty good. 23: BLACK DOG - LED ZEPPELIN (27) - Their only Top 40 hit from their biggest selling album ever (the fact that it contains the iconic "Stairway To Heaven", which was never released as a single was largely instrumental in its immense success). This song wasn't bad, but I preferred most of the other tracks on the album, including said iconic hit. 22: KISS AN ANGEL GOOD MORNING - CHARLIE PRIDE (22) - As huge as he was on the country chart, I'm surprised this was his only Top 40 crossover hit. It wasn't bad, but nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to. 21: STAY WITH ME - FACES (26) - Rod Stewart was definitely more successful as a solo artist than he was with this band. I preferred his solo hits as well - this one was mediocre at best. 20: IT'S ONE OF THOSE NIGHTS - THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY (20) - Another family act, and one that had their own TV show. Not a bad song. 19: I'D LIKE TO TEACH THE WORLD TO SING - THE HILLTOP SINGERS (13) - This song always makes me thirsty for a Coke. 18: FAMILY AFFAIR - SLY & THE FAMILY STONE (14) - No, this song was not the theme from the show with Mr. French, Jody, Buffy, Cissy - come on, you know them all. This song hit #1 in December of the previous year and was still holding on. It was okies, but not quite my favorite song on the chart. 17: ANTICIPATION - CARLY SIMON (18) - A good Friday type song - especially since, with my new job, I don't work weekends 16: PRECIOUS AND FEW - CLIMAX (34) - Wow, what a huge jump! Sort of a surprise that this song didn't hit #1, but it did peak at #3, which is great too. This was a nice, mellow song. 15: JOY - APOLLO 100 (35) - Any other time, the 18-spot jump of the Climax song would be the biggest mover of the week, but the song above it makes an even bigger leap - and surprisingly, it is also not the biggest mover. This was a modern adaptation of Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, which Chopin set to music in the 18th Century. I've heard this song many times in church, but this was the first time I heard this version of it - I liked it. OPTIONAL EXTRA: EVERYTHING I OWN - BREAD - Wow, Casey actually announced this one as it debuted at #60 this week. I assume that this was from the 2007 broadcast of the then-new AT40: The 70s series. Whatever the case, this was a great song - one that my Mom says she remembers from when I had just been born. 14: WITHOUT YOU - NILSSON (21) - This one wasn't bad, but rather schmaltzy. I preferred Mariah Carey's cover from early 1994, though even that one isn't something I'd go out of my way to listen to 13: HURTING EACH OTHER - THE CARPENTERS (38) - Now THIS was the biggest jump of the week! And it's no surprise, as it's by a duo that had been taking the charts by storm over the past few weeks. Though this isn't my favorite song from them, it was a good one nevertheless. 12: I'D LIKE TO TEACH THE WORLD TO SING - THE NEW SEEKERS (7) - *SIGH* As I finish off my bottle of Coke, this song gives me a craving for another Seriously, this was my favorite of the two versions of the song on the chart this week. 11: DROWNING IN THE SEA OF LOVE - JOE SIMON (12) - According to Stevie Nicks, this is where everyone would love to drown. Now whether or not that is true will call for further research. In the meantime, I can tell you that this song wasn't bad, though nothing exceptional. 10: SUGAR DADDY - JACKSON FIVE (10) - Like Donny Osmond, Michael Jackson is on the chart both solo and in his family band. Pretty good song, but I generally prefer their 1970 hits. 9: YOU ARE EVERYTHING - THE STYLISTICS (9) - They remind me of the Bee Gees, with their falsetto singing. They generally do ballads, this one included - a great song! 8: I'VE NEVER BEEN TO SPAIN - THREE DOG NIGHT (11) - One of two Top 40 songs from them written by Hoyt Axton (the other being the legendary "Joy To The World") 7: SCORPIO - DENNIS COFFEY & THE DETROIT GUITAR BAND (6) - Meh, average instrumental music... 6: CLEAN-UP WOMAN - BETTY WRIGHT (8) - One of two Top Ten hits for this R&B singer from Miami. Not bad. 5: DAY AFTER DAY - BADFINGER (5) - Joe Jackson apparently liked this song, as his 1983 hit "Breakin' Us In Two" sounds very similar. I used to like this song a lot, but now I find it depressing. EXTRA: BABYLON - DON McLEAN - This song was exchanged with "Vincent" for the first Optional Extra, which is good, as the latter is in a race with "American Pie" as my favorite Don McLean song. 4: SUNSHINE - JONATHAN EDWARDS (4) - The only Top 40 hit for this Minnesota native, but what a great song it was! 3: LET'S STAY TOGETHER - AL GREEN (3) - He had a successful R&B and Top 40 solo career. This was his first and only #1 hit on the Hot 100. It was a good one, as was Tina Turner's cover, which charted two years later. 2: BRAND NEW KEY - MELANIE (2) - Meh, this one was a little too bubblegum for my liking. 1: AMERICAN PIE - DON McLEAN (1) - I'd heard this song many a time growing up and liked it a lot - who knew it would be the #1 song the day I was born! I did, however, prefer the full album version instead of the chopped down version that AT40 always played, including this week. I did hear the full version on last week's 1979 show, where it was the first Archive song, so it's all good.
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Post by Hervard on Jan 27, 2018 9:05:05 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s - January 27, 2018
This week's presentation - January 31, 1976
40: DECEMBER 1963 (OH WHAT A NIGHT) – THE FOUR SEASONS (debut) - They had several #1 songs in the sixties, and even managed one in the 1970s which, of course, was this one. It was a pretty good song, though quite overplayed. 39: BREAKAWAY – ART GARFUNKEL (debut) - I actually haven't yet listened to the show, since I've been busy (and will be around the time of the WIGH broadcast), so I'll have to take a listen to this one on YouTube, since this is the only chance we'd get to hear this song on the series (since 2/7/76 was guest-hosted) 38: LOVE OR LEAVE - THE SPINNERS (40) - I forget how this song goes as well, but I seem to recall that it was a good one. 37: DREAM WEAVER – GARY WRIGHT (debut) - Another one of my personal faves from back in the day. It has since lost some of its luster due to overplay, but it's still not bad. I do prefer his two other Top 40 hits, though. 36: DEEP PURPLE – DONNY & MARIE OSMOND (36) - It looked like they peaked, but this song was far from over, as it would peak at #14 and spend an unusually long time on the chart (enough to register at #42 on the year-ender). As I've said before, I preferred this song over the original. 35: LET THE MUSIC PLAY – BARRY WHITE (38) - I’m usually not a big fan of his, but I actually liked this song. 34: THE WHITE KNIGHT – CLEDUS MAGGARD (39) - Ugh! Nothing more than an annoying ripoff of "Convoy"! Next song, please... 33: TRACKS OF MY TEARS – LINDA RONSTADT (37) - There are quite a few remakes on this week's chart. This one was originally done by the Miracles, though Johnny Rivers had a slightly bigger hit with it a few years later. Not sure which of the three I prefer. 32: SLOW RIDE - FOGHAT (34) - As I've said many times before, this is a classic rock staple! I sort of remember this one from its chart run, though it wasn't really one of my favorites. 31: GROW SOME FUNK OF YOUR OWN – ELTON JOHN (debut) - I seem to remember that, since this was a double-sided song, they alternated the songs. Since "Grow Some Funk Of Your Own" was the A-side, I'm assuming they played that version as the record was starting out on the chart this weekend. I preferred the flipside, "I Feel Like A Bullet (In The Gun Of Robert Ford)", but GSFOYO was a good one too. Too bad it didn't last long on the chart, especially for a song that peaked as high as it did. EXTRA: THE SOUNDS OF SILENCE – SIMON & GARFUNKEL 30: GOLDEN YEARS – DAVID BOWIE (33) - Not a huge fan of him, though his two 1987 hits are good ones. 29: COUNTRY BOY (YOU GOT YOUR FEET IN L.A.) – GLEN CAMPBELL (11) - The follow-up to Campbell's biggest hit ever, "Rhinestone Cowboy". This song, which sounds a little like that one, just narrowly missed the Top Ten in early 1976. I like these two songs about the same. 28: FOX ON THE RUN - SWEET (18) - Their previous song, Ballroom Blitz was way too loud and repetitive for my liking, but this song was actually pretty good. 27: FANNY (BE TENDER WITH MY LOVE) – THE BEE GEES (32) - This song and their hit from later that year, "Love So Right" sounded a lot alike. I preferred the latter, but this was a good one as well. 26: PALOMA BLANCA – THE GEORGE BAKER SELECTION (27) - I thought it was "Oona Panoona Banka". Oh wait, that was Buckwheat's version - my bad. Anyway, this was a great song - I've heard it many a time on my Barry Scott's Lost 45s CD. 25: ALL BY MYSELF – ERIC CARMEN (31) - Eric started out studying classical music, then switched to rock, but he used both elements in this song, as the bridge used a piano concerto by Sergei Rachmaninoff. It was a good song - my second favorite song from him behind "Never Gonna Fall In Love Again", which charted later on in the year. EXTRA: WE CAN WORK IT OUT – THE BEATLES - This song was played as the second Optional Extra. I believe the story to tie in with this song was one of Casey's favorite factoids about the Beatles - how they occupied the entire Top Five of the Hot 100 in April 1964. For some reason, instead of playing one of those songs, he played one from two years later, which was their tenth biggest, according to the Beatles countdown they did in July, 1981. 24: TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT – THE EAGLES (28) - The newest hit from their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 album. It was also my favorite from that album - a great song indeed! 23: BABY FACE – THE WING & A PRAYER FIFE & DRUM CORPS (23) - This one had charted in some form or other for the past five decades in addition to this one. It was a good song. 22: SOMEWHERE IN THE NIGHT – HELEN REDDY (24) - This was the first of two versions of this song that hit the Top 20 during the 70s. Barry Manilow's cover from three years later would hit the Top Ten. I preferred that one, though this one wasn't bad either - not quite as cheesy as many other Helen Reddy songs. 21: WINNERS AND LOSERS – HAMILTON, JOE FRANK & REYNOLDS (21) - They hit #1 in August of the previous year with "Fallin' In Love" and were trying for a second #1. Unfortunately, this song only got as high as #21 and was their final Top 40 hit. I thought it was a good song. 20: WAKE UP EVERYBODY (PART 1) – HAROLD MELVIN & THE BLUE NOTES (22) - The last of four songs that they charted with in the 1970s. It was a pretty good song. 19: SQUEEZE BOX – THE WHO (26) - A comeback hit for them, as they hadn't charted for three years. This was one of their best songs ever, IMO. 18: LOVE HURTS - NAZARETH (19) - One of the best power ballads ever! Too bad it was their only Top 40 hit. 17: THEME FROM “S.W.A.T.” - RHYTHM HERITAGE (20) - 1976 was definitely the year for TV show themes on the chart, and this was indeed one of the biggest, topping the chart the following week. A great song it was! 16: BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO – NEIL SEDAKA (17) - The ballad version of this sixties classic. Of the two, I prefer this one. 15: LOVE MACHINE PART 1 – THE MIRACLES (16) - This song continued to inch up the chart, eventually becoming the slowest rising #1 song - up to that point, that is - it has since been beaten by several other songs. I thought this song was pretty good, but I preferred a few others from them. 14: EVIL WOMAN – THE ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (15) - Their second Top 40 hit, and it went Top Ten, like the first. I liked it, though it wasn't my absolute favorite from them. 13: FLY AWAY – JOHN DENVER (13) - As I've said many times before, I heard most of John Denver's songs when I was real little, since my Mom used to play his albums all the time, so I remember them quite well, including this one, which I really liked. What I never knew (until many years later) was that Olivia Newton-John sang back-up on this song. 12: ROCK AND ROLL ALL NIGHT (LIVE VERSION) - KISS (12) - This is where I joined the show in progress. Kiss hit the Top 40 for the first time with the live version of a song that had briefly charted on the Hot 100 back in 1975. This song was one of their best rockers, IMO. Poison did a good remake of this song back in 1987. 11: THEME FROM “MAHOGANY” (DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU’RE GOING TO) – DIANA ROSS (1) - Casey mentioned that this was the first song in well over a year to fall out of the Top Ten from #1. Of course, back in the fall of 1974, that was the norm. Anyway, this was one of my favorite songs from Diana Ross - by far my favorite of her 1976 #1's. 10: 50 WAYS TO LEAVE YOUR LOVER -PAUL SIMON (14) - And right above a song that took a huge fall from #1, we have a song that took almost as big of a jump TO #1 - in fact, that would happen the following week. This was Simon's first #1 hit after parting ways with Art Garfunkel (who, sadly, never hit #1 on his own). I liked this song, but preferred his next hit, the title track from his album Still Crazy After All These Years. 9: WALK AWAY FROM LOVE – DAVID RUFFIN (9) - Of course, we all know he was the lead singer of the Temptations in the mid to late 1960s. He started a solo career in 1969 and had two Top Tens, both peaking at #9. This was the second of those songs and I thought it wasn't bad, but I generally preferred Ruffin's hits with the Temptations. 8: TIMES OF YOUR LIFE - PAUL ANKA (8) - This song is a tad on the cheesy side, but it's still not bad - very mellow and relaxing. 7: SING A SONG – EARTH, WIND & FIRE (10) - They had a pretty good year, with two Top 20 hits, including a #1, and a third song that would go on to hit #5 in early 1976. It was not bad, but I preferred many other songs from them. 6: CONVOY – C.W. McCall (7) - This song wasted no time hitting #1, but then it dropped out, but seemed to be doing so slowly - it even moved up this week. I guess the initial hype had burned out and it was resuming with a normal chart run - or perhaps it was just lack of competition around this point of the chart. Anyway, I thought this was a great song - one of the best truckin' song ever! 5: I LOVE MUSIC (PART 1) – THE O’JAYS (5) - This song wasn't bad, but rather repetitive. I preferred a few other songs by them, such as "Love Train" and "Use Ta Be My Girl". 4: YOU SEXY THING – HOT CHOCOLATE (6) - Meh, not a big fan of this song neither (but I do realize a lot of people were, as this was their biggest hit - it just never did anything for me, that's all). 3: LOVE TO LOVE YOU BABY – DONNA SUMMER (4) - I'm sorry, but a prolonged orgasm is not a song. OPTIONAL EXTRA: SARA SMILE - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES - The only current song used as an OE this week, this was the one that started it all off for possibly the most successful duo of all time. It wasn't their best, but it was indeed passable. 2: I WRITE THE SONGS – BARRY MANILOW (2) - This was the song that Diana Ross had succeeded at #1, but as that song fell out of the Top Ten, this song actually managed to hold in place in the runner-up position. I wonder if anyone had happened to miss both songs #11 and #2 on this countdown - they might have assumed Ross was at #2 and Manilow had fallen out of the Top Ten. But I digress - this song is ironically titled, as, while Manilow did write most of his songs, this was not one of them (of course, Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys was the author of this song). Anyway, it's true that I liked most of his ballads, but this one was one of my least favorite of those, most likely due to overplay. 1: LOVE ROLLERCOASTER – THE OHIO PLAYERS (3) - I wasn't generally a fan of them, but this song wasn't too bad. One I remember from back in the day.
Coming up next week: It has been longest since we've heard anything from 1973 or 1974. The latter would be the best bet for next week's show since 2/3/73 was done just last year and 2/10 two years ago. February 3, 1974 was last played as an "A" show in 2010, so it is definitely ripe for a repeat, so I'll go with that as a stand-alone show, with February 1, 1975 as an "A" show (of course, with the revisions they seem to have made with the 80s shows, that could very well be a standalone show as well).
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Post by Hervard on Jan 27, 2018 9:05:35 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - January 27, 2018 This week's presentation - January 26, 1985 NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS - PAUL McCARTNEY (35) - This song is from the movie "Give My Regards To Broad Street", which wasn't a box office smash, but the album sold quite well, especially in the UK, where it hit #1. As for the song, it was a good one. TENDER YEARS - JOHN CAFFERTY & THE BEAVER BROWN BAND (33) - Their second Top 40 hit and, like "On The Dark Side", it was a re-issue of a song that had originally charted about a year before. It was a great song, IMO - my second favorite of their hits behind their next release, "Tough All Over". BRUCE - RICK SPRINGFIELD (31) - A song about how Rick was frustrated with people in interviews mistaking him for Bruce Springsteen. This was a rare case where a song about a certain artist was on the chart at the same time as that artist himself. I FEEL FOR YOU - CHAKA KHAN (29) - I wasn't too crazy about this song either, though I loved her next release, "Through The Fire", which did not hit the Top 40, but was a pretty decent sized AC hit. UNDERSTANDING - BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND (24) - One of two Top 40 hits from the soundtrack of the movie "Teachers". I liked this song - sort of reminds me of his 1980 hit "Against The Wind". I always thought this song was underrated. OUT OF TOUCH - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (22) - Their fifth #1 song of the 1980s - in fact, this song put them into first place as the artist with the most #1 songs during the 1980s. It was a pretty good song 40: PRIVATE DANCER - TINA TURNER (debut) - She was definitely hotter than ever at this point, as this would become her third consecutive Top Ten hit. 39: ROCKIN' AT MIDNIGHT - THE HONEYDRIPPERS (debut) - Their two hits were both covers of earlier hits, this one, a song originally a hit for Roy Brown in the early 40s. It wasn't bad, but I preferred "Sea Of Love". 38: IN NEON - ELTON JOHN (38) - The third single from Breaking Hearts. I did like the song, but can see why it only got as high as #38. I preferred the first two songs from the album, both of which hit the Top 20. 37: TENDERNESS - GENERAL PUBLIC (debut) - This English band looked like they'd be a one-hit wonder, but they surprised us nine years later with a song that was even slightly bigger, their cover of the Staple Singers' "I'll Take You There". 36: MISTAKE NO. 3 - CULTURE CLUB (39) - They were fading fast at this point, so they decided to release their first ballad, which did not do the trick at all, as it was by far their least successful song up to this point, running out of steam at #33. Definitely not one of their best. 35: MR. TELEPHONE MAN - NEW EDITION (debut) - I'd had enough of their song "Cool It Now" at this point, but their second hit, on the other hand, was my favorite song from them - in fact, according to my Personal Top 30 chart, it was the biggest hit for all of 1985! You could tell that Ray Parker, Jr produced this, as it sounds a lot like several of his older hits with Raydio (even has the same synthesizer). 34: CAN'T FIGHT THIS FEELING - REO SPEEDWAGON (debut) - Now here's a band whose power ballads seemed to be favored by the Top 40 audience, as their three Top Five hits were all such songs. This was one of my all-time faves from them. 33: CALIFORNIA GIRLS - DAVID LEE ROTH (debut) - Of course, I was more familiar with the Beach Boys' version of this song, both from the radio and from the "Diet Sunkist" commercial in the early-80s. Roth's version did not sound much different than the original, so I'm not sure which one I prefer. Both are great, summertime sounding songs (That said, I wonder how this song would have done if released in time for summer). 32: MONEY CHANGES EVERYTHING - CYNDI LAUPER (34) - Not only was she the first woman to have five Top 40 hits from one album, but it was from a debut album. This one, however, did not hit the Top Five like the first four - in fact, it came nowhere near the Top 20. But that could be because most of her fans had the album by now (in fact, I imagine that many people received it as a Christmas gift). I wasn't a big fan of the song myself, so I wasn't disappointed that it didn't fare too well on the charts. 31: SUGAR WALLS - SHEENA EASTON (36) - Naughty naughty, Sheena! I wasn't a big fan of this song at all - I generally preferred her more "innocent" songs from earlier in the decade. 30: THE OLD MAN DOWN THE ROAD - JOHN FOGERTY (40) - The former lead singer of Creedence Clearwater Revival had been absent from the chart, even as a solo singer for nearly a decade. His comeback hit became his most successful solo hit. It was a good song, but my favorite solo hit from him was "Centerfield", which just missed the Top 40 later that year (but seems to be the one that receives the most recurrent airplay). OPTIONAL EXTRA: ONLY THE YOUNG - JOURNEY - As Steve Perry's solo album was winding down, the last single ready to peak, his band Journey was entering the Hot 100 way up at #43 with their first hit since late 1983. From the Vision Quest soundtrack, this song would peak at #9 in March. It was a good song, but not quite my favorite song from them. 29: THE HEAT IS ON - GLENN FREY (37) - One of four Top 40 hits from the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack, as well as the biggest, as it would peak at #2, held out of #1 by "Can't Fight This Feeling". It was not bad, but I generally preferred him with the Eagles. 28: VALOTTE - JULIAN LENNON (19) - He definitely had his father's voice. When I first heard this song in late 1984 I thought it was another posthumous hit from the late John Lennon (since he'd had a Top Ten hit earlier that year). This was my favorite song from Julian's album of the same name. 27: MISLED - KOOL & THE GANG (32) - They were in the midst of a streak of songs with one-word titles (in fact, didn't they hold the record for that?). Anyway, I liked all three of their Top Ten hits from the Emergency album, although my favorite of those was "Fresh". 26: JUNGLE LOVE - THE TIME (30) - This was a rare case where a group's Top 40 hits charted after they had disbanded (they had another Top 40 hit "The Bird" later in 1985). I preferred this song, though it wasn't anything exceptional. 25: FOOLISH HEART - STEVE PERRY (28) - This was the song I mentioned earlier. It was Perry's fourth solo hit from the album Street Talk. It was a pretty good song - it and "Oh Sherrie" both receive a decent amount of recurrent airplay (although this song is generally played on AC-oriented oldies stations). LDD: LADY – KENNY ROGERS - This song definitely fit the dedication. I wonder if Dennis and Jan ever got married. 24: SEA OF LOVE - THE HONEYDRIPPERS (11) - Del Shannon did an awesome cover of this song back in early 1982. This version was pretty good, but it certainly was overplayed back in the day! 23: OPERATOR - MIDNIGHT STAR (27) - This was a big dance and R&B hit (it was a #1 hit on the latter) and it also did well on the Hot 100, peaking at #17. It was a catchy song and very weird, electronically sung in the verses and choruses alike. The "phone off the hook" sound effect at the beginning was rather irritating, though. 22: CALL TO THE HEART - GUIFFRIA (26) - They sounded a cross between Journey and Triumph, didn't they? This was their only Top 40 hit, which was too bad, as it was a great song - one of several songs on this week's chart that deserved more exposure than it got. 21: SOLID - ASHFORD & SIMPSON (25) - For some reason, I did not like this song at all during its chart run, but now I think it's a great song. Wham!'s song "Everything She Wants" sounds a little reminiscent of this song, IMO. 20: LOVE LIGHT IN FLIGHT - STEVIE WONDER (23) - Interesting how he put on an in-flight concert on an airplane. As for this song, I really liked it - sounds a lot like some of his older songs. OPTIONAL EXTRA: KEEPING THE FAITH - BILLY JOEL - Many people thought he was done putting out hits from An Innocent Man, as it had been awhile since the last single, "Leave A Tender Moment Alone" had charted, and it only got as high as #27. But he surprised everybody by releasing a sixth single, and it proved to be worthwhile, as it was a Top 20 hit. It was a good song, but I preferred many others from them, including a few from said album. 19: DO WHAT YOU DO - JERMAINE JACKSON (18) - They were definitely a force to be reckoned with in 1984, as three of them had chart hits that year, as well as their family band. This one spilled over into 1985 and after that, with the exception of several of them singing on "We Are The World", they were done on the charts for awhile (but would once again be a visible presence on the chart in 1986), 18: COOL IT NOW - NEW EDITION (15) - This song could be heard every single day in the small gym at the middle school I went to, as the girls did aerobics to the song. So glad I didn't have to do that, as I never liked this song, but hearing it several times every day would have driven me nuts (actually, we didn't have gym class every day, but that's beside the point). Anyway, I preferred their next two hits, which hit the AT40 chart in 1985. 17: DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS - BAND AID (13) - Kind of weird to be hearing this song a month after Christmas (heck, I was hearing it well into February, as it was still on the WLS (Chicago) survey, which was counted down every Sunday evening). But it was apparently still selling, even though outside of countdown shows, stations were done playing it until Christmastime, 1985. 16: WE BELONG - PAT BENATAR (8) - She never quite made it to #1, but this was one of her biggest hits ever. I like it, but prefer several others from her. 15: THE WILD BOYS - DURAN DURAN (7) - Meh, I was not a fan of this song. 1984 was definitely not their best year, IMO (though "New Moon On Monday" was a good one). 14: JAMIE - RAY PARKER JR. (17) - Ah, a song about not being able to let go of an old girlfriend! I know that feeling! The song was a good one - my favorite of his two songs released in 1984. 13: NEUTRON DANCE - THE POINTER SISTERS (20) - Another song from the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack, and it was a Top Ten hit, like "The Heat Is On". I never really cared for this song, or any post-1982 Pointer Sisters songs. This one was apparently an inspiration for KT Tunstall's "Black Horse & The Cherry Tree" (especially with the "woo-hoos"), which accounts for how I hated that song with a passion during its chart run. 12: METHOD OF MODERN LOVE - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (21) - This song wasn't bad, but I don't understand why they didn't spell out the word "modern" 11: BORN IN THE USA - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (9) - Kind of a surprise that this song was the lowest peaking song (on the R&R chart, anyway), seeing as it was the title track to such a monster album (not to mention all the recurrent airplay it still receives today). I do believe that this song became his signature hit. Anyway, like most of the singles from Born In The USA, I like this one a lot. 10: I WOULD DIE 4 U - PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION (14) - This one had kind of a fast chart run, especially over on the R&R chart (but that's understandable, as the Purple Rain soundtrack had sold millions of copies by this point and, hence, people weren't compelled to call in and request this on the radio). As for the song, it was a good one, though I wasn't too crazy about it back in the day. OPTIONAL EXTRA: HIGH ON YOU - SURVIVOR - This Chicago band had just come off of their first Top 40 hit in about two years, "I Can't Hold Back" (which was by far my favorite song from them). I also liked this follow-up song, which would hit #8 in late March. 9: LOVER BOY - BILLY OCEAN (16) - This song did almost as well as "Caribbean Queen", peaking at #2, but couldn't push past Wham!'s "Careless Whisper". Too bad, as I prefer this song over that one, which just had to go and become the biggest hit of 1985, but we get ahead of ourselves... This was one of my favorite of Ocean's upbeat songs. 8: THE BOYS OF SUMMER - DON HENLEY (12) - Ah, a summer hit charting in winter (and the previous weekend, it was truly winter where I was - it didn't even make it to zero degrees that day, and the wind chills were horrendous. The weather had improved the weekend of this show, with highs in the mid-30s). As for this song, it was a great one - my third favorite single from Building The Perfect Beast, behind "Sunset Grill" and "Not Enough Love In The World" (though it would be a very close race between those songs). 7: RUN TO YOU - BRYAN ADAMS (6) - He definitely got quite a lot of mileage out of his Reckless album - the six singles kept him on the chart for most of 1985, and this was the first of them. I liked it, but preferred a few others from Adams. 6: ALL I NEED - JACK WAGNER (2) - This was Frisco Jones' only Top 40 hit, and a great song it was - one of my favorite songs from 1984/1985 - in fact, its eight-week run at the top of my Personal Top 30 charts was divided evenly between the two years. LDD: TIME AFTER TIME – CYNDI LAUPER - Earlier, we heard her least successful song from She's So Unusual. This one, on the other hand, was the most successful from the album, hitting #1 in June of the previous year. It was OK, but quite overplayed. 5: CARELESS WHISPER - WHAM FEATURING GEORGE MICHAEL (10) - We all know that I used to like this song, but my fascination for this song dimmed significantly when a girl that I was hoping to dance with at a middle school dance got back together with her boyfriend and basically threw me under a bus. Fortunately, that happened when this song was on its way down the chart. Another good thing is that they edited this song, cutting right to the second chorus from the first verse. 4: EASY LOVER - PHILIP BAILEY w/PHIL COLLINS (5) - Phil was gearing up to release his "No Jacket Required" album, which would be possibly his biggest singles album ever. That song would spawn three singles within the year, and he bookended those with very successful duets, including this one, which was a great song IMO - the two Phils sounded great together! 3: YOU'RE THE INSPIRATION - CHICAGO (3) - As this song was topping the R&R chart this week, it was spending a second week at #3 here on the Hot 100. It was a good song, but I preferred their previous hit "Hard Habit To Break". OPTIONAL EXTRA: TOO LATE FOR GOODBYES - JULIAN LENNON - 2: I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS - FOREIGNER (4) - Here they were at the dreaded runner-up position, where their 1981 hit Wf*gLY was stuck for ten frustrating weeks. This one, however, would go all the way the following week, and deservedly so, as it was a great song! 1: LIKE A VIRGIN - MADONNA (1) - One of few post-1983 songs to spend more than four weeks on top, but based on who it was, it wasn't that big of a surprise. She'd had a great 1984 and was looking to have a very successful year in 1985, with a ton of Top Five hits to come that year. This is one of my favorite songs from her - one that overplay didn't tarnish much at all. Coming up next week: Well, we do know that 1987 is coming up next week and, since the show was before Larry Kasem took over with the voiceovers, we're fairly sure it's the "A" show. The question is what the "B" show is? I'm thinking that the best bet would be February 6, 1982, since we know it's not going to be 1981 (that will hopefully be the "A" show the following week), and the show from February 9, 1980 was the "A" show last year (2/2/80 would be out, as that was a pre-Larry show, last played in 2008). We'll hopefully find out later this weekend.
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Post by pb on Jan 28, 2018 12:38:38 GMT -5
17: ANTICIPATION - CARLY SIMON (18) - A good Friday type song - especially since, with my new job, I don't work weekends Good song, but since I am of a certain age I always end up thinking of ketchup when I hear it.
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Post by dth1971 on Jan 28, 2018 13:07:54 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s - January 27, 2018 This week's presentation - January 29, 1972 Generally, I don't do critiques for pre-1975 shows, but seeing as this show happened to be played the day I was born, I decided to make an exception. This won't be one of those hilariously scathing commentaries that I did for a few 1974 shows (well, with the exception of one terrible song that I know is on the countdown). Other than that, this will actually be like one of my regular critiques. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HERVARD!
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Post by Hervard on Feb 3, 2018 13:06:51 GMT -5
^Thanks dth1971! Meanwhile, it's the weekend and you know what that means! Let the critiques begin! American Top 40: The 80s - February 3, 2018 This week's presentation - February 6, 1982 Droppers: DON'T STOP BELIEVIN' - JOURNEY (40) - This song could be the song from them that receives the most recurrent airplay on oldies stations (though many AC-based ones still play "Faithfully" on a regular basis). Anyway, this song has held up quite well despite overplay - it is still one of my favorites. YESTERDAY'S SONGS - NEIL DIAMOND (28) - Two of the easy listening superstars seemed to be nostalgic about oldies in late 1981 (as Barry Manilow had also had a Top 40 hit about the same subject matter). Anyway, I loved this song - one of Diamond's best hits ever. Too bad it just barely missed the Top Ten. LW#3: CENTERFOLD – THE J. GEILS BAND LW#2: WAITING FOR A GIRL LIKE YOU - FOREIGNER LW#1: I CAN’T GO FOR THAT – DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES 40: I WOULDN’T HAVE MISSED IT FOR THE WORLD – RONNIE MILSAP (27) - There were many country artists that had several pop crossover hits in the early 1980s and Ronnie Milsap was definitely one of them. This was a great song - I wonder how close it came to making the Top 100 of the year? 39: WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE - ABBA (debut) - This would be the final Top 40 hit from them (two members from the band would go on to have solo hits the following year). This song wasn't bad, but definitely not one of their best hits IMO. 38: SHE’S GOT A WAY – BILLY JOEL (23) - One of two Top 40 hits from his live album Songs In The Attic. It was a pretty good song, but definitely not his best. Interesting how Billy Joel's first wife helped him get started in the music business. 37: YOUNG TURKS – ROD STEWART (26) - The only song in the survey (excluding instrumentals) that doesn't mention the title in the lyrics (though he does sing young, he never mentions Turks once). This was one of my favorite Rod Stewart hits of the 1980s. I did prefer it over his next Top 40 hit "Tonight I'm Yours", although that song is pretty much Part 2 of this song. 36: DADDY’S HOME – CLIFF RICHARD (debut) - A cover version of the classic Shep & The Limelights. Of the three versions I've heard (two of which drop versions were played before this one), I think I liked Jermaine Jackson's 1973 version the best. This one was a good one as well. 35: PAC-MAN FEVER – BUCKNER AND GARCIA (38) - Oh yeah, I remember running this album into the ground in 1982! I was a true video game fanatic back then. The album, based entirely on video games, contains songs about arcade classics like Pac Man, Frogger, Centipede, Donkey Kong, Asteroids, Defender, Mousetrap, and Berzerk, in that order. Indeed, I played the album enough times to ingrain the order of the songs into my mind for life; heck, I'm surprised that my Dad didn't hide the record when I wasn't looking, as I drove both him and my brother by playing the record ad naseum! 34: SOMEONE COULD LOSE A HEART TONIGHT – EDDIE RABBITT (15) - Truly, 1982 was a great year for country crossovers! Eddie, however, had been charting for several years. This song was good, but one of my least favorite of his hits. 33: SEA OF LOVE – DEL SHANNON (35) - I've heard this song many times on my Barry Scott's Lost 45s CD (which I really need to break out and listen to sometime, since it's been awhile since I've heard it). It's a great song - my favorite version of the song that I've heard. OPTIONAL EXTRA: I LOVE ROCK & ROLL - JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS - Here is song that overplay hasn't tarnished at all (IMO, anyway). This was the first of three Top 20 hits from her during 1982, and my favorite of the three. 32: ALL OUR TOMORROWS – EDDIE SCHWARTZ (34) - The only Top 40 hit for this Canada native. It was a good song - your typical early 80's MOR music. 31: WORKING FOR THE WEEKEND - LOVERBOY (33) - Two Canadian acts in a row! This is possibly the song by them that gets the most recurrent airplay, yet the song barely touched the Top 30. I remember hearing the song quite constantly in early 1982 (as it peaked at #9 on WLS, the station I listened to most often back then). 30: ABACAB - GENESIS (36) - Ah, the song about a hole in the subway, but they don't care. Anyway, for some reason, they couldn't seem to hit the Top Ten with any of their first six hits, and only one of those hit the Top 20. They did finally break wide open two years later. This song hit #26, which kind of surprised me, since WLS played it all the time (was peaking at #14 on their chart this week). I liked it, but it definitely wasn't their best song by any means. 29: SPIRITS IN THE MATERIAL WORLD – THE POLICE (39) - There are spirits eating your Cheerios? Well, ignore them and get yourself another bowl. But seriously, I did like this song a lot. LDD: (JUST LIKE) STARTING OVER – JOHN LENNON - This was very appropriate for the dedication, from a middle-school child to his mother, whom he made peace with after having a fight with her and running away. 28: KEY LARGO – BERTIE HIGGINS (31) - Another one-hit wonder, like Eddie Schwartz, but this song got a lot of mileage - spent 17 weeks in the Top 40, peaking at #8. This one must have gotten a lot of airplay on U93 during 1982, as the song was their second most popular song of the year. I wasn't listening to the station yet, so I don't really remember hearing it a lot. It was a great song. 27: SOMEWHERE DOWN THE ROAD – BARRY MANILOW (32) - Unfortunately, Manilow was done hitting the Top 10 at this point. This song just missed the Top 20, which was too bad, since it was a great song! 26: THAT GIRL – STEVIE WONDER (37) - This song, by who would become Billboard's Top Soul Singles artist of 1982, would indeed do much better on the Soul Chart, spending nine weeks on top (and, unsurprisingly, became the #1 Soul song of the year). Here on the Hot 100, it peaked at #4, which was great as well. I liked it, but preferred several other songs from him (including his third hit from Musiquarium, "Ribbon In The Sky" which didn't quite make the Top 40). 25: LOVE IN THE FIRST DEGREE - ALABAMA (30) - Another country crossover - one of four by this band from the south. This was my favorite of their Top 40 hits. I liked this and "Dancin', Shaggin' On The Boulevard" (a country song from circa 1997) about the same. 24: TROUBLE – LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM (22) - "Ah-two, ah-three, a fowah!" Definitely my favorite solo hit from him - not an annoying earworm like "Holiday Road"! 23: MIRROR, MIRROR – DIANA ROSS (29) - This song was co-written by Michael Sembello, of "Maniac" fame, and he offered it to the Pointer Sisters, who rejected it since it was, in their words, "a hokey nursery rhyme". I myself was never a huge fan of the song 22: LOVE IS ALRIGHT TONIGHT – RICK SPRINGFIELD (24) - He had several pairs of songs that sounded somewhat alike and this and his preceding song "I've Done Everything For You" made up one of those pairs. I preferred this song, though. OPTIONAL EXTRA: 867-5309/JENNY - TOMMY TUTONE - Ah, the "nuisance phone call song"! I wonder if anyone named Jenny had the number in question. Anyway, this was a great song. One that takes me back to the spring of 1982! 21: THROUGH THE YEARS – KENNY ROGERS (25) - This may not have been one of his biggest chart hits, but it sure became popular in the LDD department! Between now and the last show of 1987, it was requested as a dedication 17 times! I can see why, as it is a great song! 20: COMIN’ IN AND OUT OF YOUR LIFE – BARBRA STREISAND (11) - The two artists who teamed up on a true bonafide "No. Just no" were on the charts at the same time with songs that just barely made the Top Ten. One of those songs is one of this week's two droppers, so refer to that short list for my comments about that song. While I don't like said "no just no" song, this one, on the other hand, is one of my favorites from her - a great song indeed. 19: YOU COULD HAVE BEEN WITH ME – SHEENA EASTON (20) - Her success in 1982 didn't quite match up to that of 1981, but she did have two Top 40 hits, and this was by far the biggest of the two - as well as my favorite, and one of my favorites by her overall. 18: COME GO WITH ME – THE BEACH BOYS (18) - This was the song with the shortest playing time to chart in 1982, clocking in at 2:06. I preferred this remake over the original by the Dell Vikings, of which Casey played a drop-piece of. 17: LET’S GROOVE – EARTH, WIND & FIRE (8) - Earlier, I mentioned how "That Girl" by Stevie Wonder spent nine weeks on top of the Soul chart. This song had recently spent big weeks at #1 on that chart. I never used to like this song, but it's kind of grown on me 16: TAKE IT EASY ON ME – THE LITTLE RIVER BAND (17) - Their fifth and final Top Ten hit (though they still had two more Top 20s ahead of them). This was one of my favorites from LRB, right up there with "Lady". 15: OPEN ARMS - JOURNEY (21) - This song was on its way to becoming one of R&R's biggest hits of the 80s (in fact, with seven weeks at #1, it was THE biggest, until the summer of 1983). The song couldn't seem to top the Billboard chart, but it did spent six weeks in the runner-up position. It used to be one of my favorites from Journey (I even bought the 45), then overplay significantly dimmed my fascination for it, but over the past year, I've found myself liking it again. 14: LEADER OF THE BAND – DAN FOGELBERG (16) - One of Fogelberg's story songs that he's famous for. This was another song that I didn't really like very much during its chart run, but it has since grown on me - a great song indeed. 13: WAITING ON A FRIEND – THE ROLLING STONES (14) - They started out in the mid-60s as part of the British Invasion and were still going strong in the 80s. This was their second of four Top 40 hits from their album Tattoo You, and my favorite of the four. 12: SWEET DREAMS – AIR SUPPLY (19) - Definitely one of the biggest new acts of the 1980s (though most of their chart hits were in the early half of the decade). I liked most of their Top 40 hits, but this was one of my least favorites. 11: COOL NIGHT – PAUL DAVIS (12) - Surprised that this song missed the Top Ten, as it was played all the time on the stations I listened to back in the day. One of my favorite songs from the late Paul Davis! OPTIONAL EXTRA: DO YOU BELIEVE IN LOVE - HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS - This was the song that started it all off for this band, one of the top acts of the 1980s. This was a great song, which occasionally pops up on oldies stations. 10: HOOKED ON CLASSICS – THE ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA (10) - Two weeks before, Casey named each piece heard in the medley as they were played (the other time I can remember was on the year-ender). I liked this song - an interesting medley of classic songs set to disco! 9: SHAKE IT UP – THE CARS (13) - After trying for over three years, this band from Boston finally had their first Top Ten hit. In fact, all points totaled, this was possibly the Cars' biggest hit ever. However, for some reason, I never really got into this one. 8: THE SWEETEST THING – JUICE NEWTON (9) - Interesting how Juice, who was a country singer, had more success on the pop charts. This was the first of three Top 20 hits she had in 1982, which was her best year IMO. This was one of her best songs ever. 7: PHYSICAL – OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (4) - This, of course, would end up as 1982's top song. It's not bad, but I much preferred her next Top 40 hit, which would debut on the Hot 100 the following week. 6: LEATHER AND LACE – STEVIE NICKS WITH DON HENLEY (6) - Her second duet from Bella Donna to hit the charts, following her one with Tom Petty the previous summer. This is my favorite of the two, by a fairly large margin. LDD: DON’T GIVE IT UP – ROBBIE PATTON - A perfect song for a couple trying to carry on a long-distance relationship. This was a great song IMO - one of many one-hit wonders in the early-80s with the typical MOR music style that abounded on the charts between the death of disco and the "Second British Invasion". The song was a little reminiscent of "Everlasting Love". 5: TURN YOUR LOVE AROUND – GEORGE BENSON (7) - As we all know, I generally prefer his AC-only hits, but I've actually learned to like this song a little better than I had previously. 4: HARDEN MY HEART - QUARTERFLASH (5) - A song with an instantly recognizable saxophone solo. I liked it, but preferred "Take Me To Heart", which charted the following summer, and also features the saxophone, played by none other than Rindy Ross, who, of course, also sings). 3: WAITING FOR A GIRL LIKE YOU - FOREIGNER (2) - “*Sigh* Well, we tried.” That was probably what the members of Foreigner said when they saw this week’s chart and, after ten long weeks at #2, they dropped to #3, never having made the top of the chart. The song did, of course, hit #1 on the R&R chart (for six weeks, no less) due to the lyrical content of "Physical", which only got as high as #2 on the R&R chart. Anyway, this is a good song, but, like several other songs on the chart this week, very overplayed. OPTIONAL EXTRA: TAINTED LOVE - SOFT CELL - Definitely one of the most overplayed songs of the 1980s. Of course, we all know that this song held the record for the longest consecutive run on the Hot 100 - in fact, I believe that the song has such a record for the pre-Soundscan era (remember - "What About Me" by Moving Pictures doesn't count, as that song had two chart-runs). 2: I CAN’T GO FOR THAT – DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (1) - This song seemed destined to peak at #4, a position it held for five weeks before jumping over two songs (including to log a single week on top. Anyway, this song was sampled in at least three different songs over the next few decades, so it was apparently very well-liked. I thought it was pretty good, though far from being my favorite song from them. 1: CENTERFOLD – THE J. GEILS BAND (3) - Yet another overplayed song that has held up nevertheless! This song spent a total of six weeks at #1, and ranked #3 for all of 1982. I preferred this song over their other Top Ten song in 1982, "Freeze Frame" - by a wide margin, might I add.
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Post by Hervard on Feb 3, 2018 13:07:37 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - February 3, 2018
This week's presentation - February 7, 1987
DROPPERS (which, by the way, Casey did not mention): EVERYBODY HAVE FUN TONIGHT - WANG CHUNG (39) - They had two hits in 1984, neither of which hit the Top Ten, but this one sure did - in fact, it just missed hitting #1. I used to think this song was mediocre, but I've learned to like it a little better over the past few years. ALL I WANTED - KANSAS (38) - Their first hit since the summer of 1982, and didn't they have their original lead singer back on this one? Anyway, I always thought it was a little incomplete. Could have used a verse near the end, after they sang the "All I wanted was to hold you...that's All I Wanted" line a few times, or at least the chorus one more time. But a good song nevertheless. FALLING IN LOVE (UH-OH) - MIAMI SOUND MACHINE (34) - This song was quite underrated, IMO. But I guess I can kind of see why this song wasn’t one of their more successful songs. Several people I know were annoyed (or even sort of embarrassed) by the “Uh-oh, uh-oh” chorus. I liked the song, though. COMING AROUND AGAIN - CARLY SIMON (28) - I heard this song quite a lot in early 1987 (mainly because of its airplay on AC stations - none of the Top 40 stations in my area played this one very often). It was a great song!
40: WITHOUT YOUR LOVE - TOTO (debut) - Their second hit from their Fahrenheit album, but it didn't come anywhere near the success of the first single, "I'll Be Over You". This song only got as high as #38, but they'd definitely already had their day in the sun (as they would have only one Top 40 hit after this). The guitar work near the end reminds me of Jonathan Cain, but he's not listed anywhere in the album credits. 39: CAUGHT UP IN THE RAPTURE – ANITA BAKER (debut) - Another case in where the second hit from an album peaked low (#37 in this case) after a successful first single (the only difference is "Sweet Love" hit the Top Ten, while "I'll Be Over You" peaked at #13). I have Baker's Rapture album and like all eight songs on it, even the album cuts. 38: NOTORIOUS – DURAN DURAN (24) - Their only big hit from the album of the same name, which showed that, like Toto, Duran Duran had pretty much already had their day in the sun (although they did make a decent comeback in 1993). 37: FACTS OF LIFE- JEFF LORBER FEATURING KARYN WHITE (debut) - The only Top 40 hit for Lorber, but such was not the case with Karyn White, as she'd have a very successful solo career in the late 1980s, as well as early 90s. This song only got as high as #27, which rather surprised me, as it was a typical mid/late-80s dance song. I wonder if it would have done better if released around 1989 or 1990, after Karyn White became an established artist. 36: LET’S WAIT AWHILE – JANET JACKSON (debut) - Almost exactly a year before, Cyndi Lauper had set a record for the most Top 40 hits from a single album by a solo female - five from She's So Unusual. This song tied the record as it was the fifth from Control. Several weeks later, Janet would break the record for the most Top Ten hits from an album by a solo female (as the fifth song from Cyndi Lauper's album ran out of gas at #27). A song with a great message about abstinence and my favorite of the Control singles. Correct me if I'm wrong, but did they play this song intact? (I remember they cut out the second verse when this show last aired in 2009). 35: MANDOLIN RAIN – BRUCE HORNSBY & THE RANGE (40) - Well, they definitely left this song alone. I seem to remember that in 2009, they cut out the "running down by the lake shore" bridge, which is my favorite part of the song. Anyway, I liked all three singles from The Way It Is, but this was my favorite. EXTRA: HURTS SO GOOD – JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP - I remember when I first heard this show in 1987, Casey mentioned that Mellencamp's biggest hit was coming up, and I felt sure they were going to play "Jack & Diane". But this song spent enough time on the Hot 100 to outdo that song. Anyway, this song is pretty good - I don't really like "Jack & Diane". 34: IS THIS LOVE - SURVIVOR (16) - Wow, what a big drop! This song marked Survivor's last week in the Top 40, as this was their final Top 40 hit. I liked it, but preferred many others from them (including at least two that didn't quite make the Top 40). 33: BRAND NEW LOVER – DEAD OR ALIVE (37) - This song was edited, both on this broadcast and on the 2009 one, but I don't mind too much, as this wasn't one of my favorite songs on the chart. I mean, it was passable (and I preferred it over their other Top 40 hit "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)"), but it was nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to. 32: I WANNA GO BACK – EDDIE MONEY (35) - Now THIS song was almost always edited down by removing the second verse, IIRC, this week included. Tell you what, they probably wouldn't have had to edit anything down had they excluded "Hurts So Good". It's not like you're not gonna hear it within an hour of the broadcast anyway. Oh well, at least they went back and slotted in the full versions of at least two previously butchered songs (in 2009, anyway), so it's all good. 31: CAN’T HELP FALLING IN LOVE – COREY HART (36) - In the outro of this song, Casey mentioned that Corey was only seven months old when the original by Elvis Presley was on the chart. Of course, nothing can beat the original, but this was a great cover! This was the most successful remake of the song thus far (would peak at #24 two weeks later). In the summer of 1993, as we all know, UB40 came along and bested this version with their reggae remake by far, spending five weeks at #1, becoming one of the ten biggest hits of that year. OPTIONAL EXTRA: SMOKING GUN - ROBERT CRAY BAND - The only hit by this band headed up by Robert Cray, a blues-rock guitarist/vocalist. It was just debuting on the Hot 100 this week at #88, on its way to #22. It did much better on the Rock chart - in fact, it was peaking at #2, behind "Livin' On A Prayer" by Bon Jovi (and then "Midnight Blue" by Lou Gramm leapfrogged over it). It was a good song - one that takes me back to the spring of 1987. 30: WALK LIKE AN EGYPTIAN – THE BANGLES (19) - I think we all know how much I detest this song, right? And, of course, this song was unedited (in fact, I believe they always played this song intact). 29: VICTORY – KOOL & THE GANG (15) - I heard that the students at Boston Middle School did aerobics to this song in late 1986. I'll betcha they'd had it with this song by the time that unit was over with! 28: JIMMY LEE – ARETHA FRANKLIN (30) - Jimmy Lee, he took a pee, right on my knee - oh wait, that's not the same song. Anyway, this song was pretty good. It started out strong, debuting at #33 two weeks before, but this is where it hit a brick wall. It might have done a little better had it been released ten years before, because it had sort of a retro sound to it. LDD: HEAVEN - BRYAN ADAMS - This song had originally been released from the 1984 movie "A Night In Heaven"), but went virtually nowhere. Adams put it on his Reckless album and released it almost exactly a year later, which proved to be very worthwhile, as it went all the way to the top! It was a great song IMO and it fit the dedication well. 27: I’LL BE ALRIGHT WITHOUT YOU - JOURNEY (31) - Casey mentioned how they had yet to hit #1. However, they'd had three on the R&R chart, which shows that more fans bought their albums than the singles, which is a good thing, since, of course, that means more money. And, yes, they chopped out the second verse, as well as half of the instrumental bridge. Why couldn't they have done that with the d**n Bangles song? I'll bet they play the full ending on "At This Moment" by Billy & The Beaters! Anyway, remember Michael Bolton's remake of Otis Redding's "Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay"? The guitar solo in the bridge of that song sounded so much like the guitar solo at the end of this song, which fortunately, was not cut out. 26: RESPECT YOURSELF – BRUCE WILLIS (33) - The previous fall, Don Johnson, star of Miami Vice, had a Top Ten hit called "Heartbeat" and now Bruce Willis, who was currently starring on "Moonlighting", was giving it a shot with a song that would also hit the Top Ten and today, would be listed as by Bruce Willis featuring the Pointer Sisters, especially since one of them sang the second verse, and were heard singing back-up throughout the song, which I thought was OK, but nothing exceptional. 25: STAY THE NIGHT – BENJAMIN ORR (27) - For years, I never knew that the guy who sang this song was the lead singer on "Drive" (as well as several other hits by the Cars, who would end up disbanding the following year). I thought this was a nice song, and I'm surprised that it didn't get any higher than the twenties, as the radio station I listened to back then (U93 in South Bend) gave this one early action. Usually songs like that did well, but not this one. 24: (YOU GOTTA) FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT (TO PARTY) – THE BEASTIE BOYS (32) - Back in the day, I liked that song, because, being fifteen years old, I could definitely relate. My fascination for this song has dimmed significantly since then, since I'm not a big fan of rap. 23: TALK TO ME – CHICO DeBARGE (25) - I liked "Who's Johnny" by Chico's brother El DeBarge a little better than this. But this one is a great song as well. I liked the phone call in the bridge, where he kept getting more and more anxious and then screamed, "PICK IT UP!" 22: BIG TIME – PETER GABRIEL (26) - The first two singles from the So album are quite overplayed (especially "Sledgehammer"), but this one you hardly hear anymore. Perhaps that's why it's my favorite song from the album. 21: SOMEWHERE OUT THERE (FROM ‘AN AMERICAN TAIL’) – LINDA RONSTADT & JAMES INGRAM (29) - I never saw the animated movie, but I definitely heard the song many a time (we even sang it for our spring choir concert in my sophomore year in high school). I loved this song, like most of James' (and many of Linda's) songs. OPTIONAL EXTRA: THAT AIN'T LOVE - REO SPEEDWAGON - U93 had started playing this song the week before, so I was already familiar with the song, the first Top 40 hit in about a year and a half for this band from Champaign, Illinois. As we all know, I prefer their power ballads, but this is possibly my favorite of their upbeat material. It is indeed a great song! 20: THIS IS THE TIME – BILLY JOEL (18) - His third and final Top 40 hit from The Bridge. It was by far my favorite of the three. This was another song that was edited in the 2009 broadcast, prompting me to write my congressman. Apparently, it worked, as they played the song in its entirety this week. 19: STOP TO LOVE – LUTHER VANDROSS (21) - Definitely one of my favorite songs by Luther! You don't hear this one much anymore, so it always takes me back to early 1987. When I first heard this song, I thought that "Give Me The Reason" had done a turnabout on the chart, since both songs sound somewhat similar. 18: NOBODY’S FOOL - CINDERELLA (22) - They definitely had several great power ballads. Not sure if I prefer this or "Don't Know What You Got 'Til It's Gone", from the fall of the following year. 17: YOU GOT IT ALL – THE JETS (20) - After two upbeat dance songs (one of which just missed the Top 40 the previous summer), they slowed the tempo down for this one. It apparently worked, as this song hit the Top Ten. This, along with their AC hit from 1989, "The Same Love" are my two favorite songs from them - great songs indeed! LDD: 19 – PAUL HARDCASTLE - This song fit the dedication, as it was to a soldier who was reported as missing-in-action when he was 19 (during the Vietnam war, no less). I cannot fathom the pain that the family must feel, as when someone is MIA, there is no closure, unless the soldier is somehow confirmed dead, or miraculously found alive. 16: CONTROL – JANET JACKSON (6) - Meh, I was never a fan of this song. I preferred most of her other singles. 15: JACOB’S LADDER – HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (23) - This song was doing anything but taking it step by step and rung by rung - more like burning up the chart! It would make it all the way to the top five weeks later. This one has to be one of the least-played #1 songs of the 1980s, as, outside of countdown shows, you never really hear this song on the radio. 14: LOVE YOU DOWN – READY FOR THE WORLD (17) - Like the Jets, their first two singles were upbeat, but they went with a ballad for their third hit. I preferred this one, as well as INOJ's 1997 cover of this song, over said upbeat songs. 13: SHAKE YOU DOWN – GREGORY ABBOTT (8) - This is another #1 hit that doesn't get much recurrent airplay, like the Huey Lewis song two rungs back. I like this one - the chord progressions in the choruses remind me of those in parts of the Journey hit from earlier in the countdown. 12: BALLERINA GIRL - LIONEL RICHIE (14) - Casey mentioned that the flipside of this song, "Deep River Woman", which features Alabama, hit the Top Ten on the country chart. This song was gearing up to hit the Top Ten on the Pop chart the following week. Of the four singles from Dancing On The Ceiling, this was my favorite (though "Love Will Conquer All" was a close second). 11: C’EST LA VIE – ROBBIE NEVIL (3) - The first of three Top 20 hits from Nevil's self-titled debut album. I prefer the other two, since they weren't as overplayed as this one, which isn't bad either. OPTIONAL EXTRA: STONE LOVE - KOOL & THE GANG - As the first single from their Forever album had just about run its course, the second one was debuting a spot above the Robert Cray Band's new hit heard earlier as the first OE. This song, like "Victory", would also hit the Top Ten, and, unfortunately, it turned out to be their last Top 40 hit. I liked this song, but my favorite of the Forever singles was "Special Way", which was a Top Ten AC hit in December of that year. 10: WE’RE READY - BOSTON (12) - Their random comeback indeed proved to be worthwhile, as they doubled their number of Top Ten hits as a result. They'd had two up to the release of Third Stage, which gave them two more, including this one, which is one of my favorites from Boston! 9: WILL YOU STILL LOVE ME - CHICAGO (13) - Their first Top 40 hit following the departure of their lead singer, Peter Cetera. Cetera's replacement was Jason Scheff, whom shared the lead vocals on this song with Bill Champlin. They both took turns singing lead on their songs and, since their voices sound so similar, I can never tell which one of them sang what. Anyway, I liked this song - one of my favorite post-Cetera songs from Chicago. 8: SOMEDAY - GLASS TIGER (7) - They only had a handful of Top 40 hits, but I liked them all including the mid-charters "I Will Be There" and "I'm Still Searching". This is possibly my least favorite of all their hits, but it's still pretty good. This song was another one of many songs edited by removing the second verse, but it wasn't quite as bad as when my favorite songs were butchered. LDD: EVERY TIME YOU GO AWAY – PAUL YOUNG - Ouch @ the dedication story! I sure hope Michelle found the whereabouts of her friend Sahai. Anyway, as for the song, it's a good one, as overplayed as it is. 7: KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF – THE GEORGIA SATELLITES (11) - How many times did you hear your teacher saying this? Anyway, I'm not a huge fan of southern rock, but this one wasn't too bad. 6: LAND OF CONFUSION - GENESIS (4) - This song is pretty good. They don't play it very much anymore ("Throwing It All Away" and "In Too Deep" are the only two songs from this that radio plays, although I do occasionally hear the title track, which is my fave. I wasn't paying much attention - did they cut out the second verse like they usually did? 5: TOUCH ME (I WANT YOUR BODY) – SAMANTHA FOX (10) - I wasn't generally a huge fan of hers, but I did like this one, as well as her next release "Do Ya Do Ya (Wanna Please Me)", which only got as high as #87. As usual, Casey didn't mention the subtitle of this song (and didn't even mention any of the title going into the song). 4: CHANGE OF HEART – CYNDI LAUPER (5) - Given how big a hit this was, I'm surprised that it receives absolutely no recurrent airplay anymore. Honestly; the last time I heard this outside of countdown shows was during its chart run. Too bad, as it was a great song. At least they edited the full version of the song back into the countdown (as I remember it being edited on the 2009 broadcast of the show). 3: LIVIN’ ON A PRAYER – BON JOVI (9) - Meh, not one of my favorites from them at all. I prefer their slower songs, like "Never Say Goodbye", which radio had just recently started playing. Too bad that was never released as a single; since prom and graduation were around the corner, that song might have been a #1 hit as well. This one was mediocre at best, IMO. OPTIONAL EXTRA: MIDNIGHT BLUE - LOU GRAMM - This is that song I mentioned earlier that leapt over "Smokin' Gun" to spend five weeks at #1 on Billboard's Rock chart. Larry mentioned that this went on to become Billboard's #1 rock track of 1987. I liked this song, but preferred Lou's two Top 40 hits from his second album Long Hard Look. 2: AT THIS MOMENT – BILLY VERA & THE BEATERS (1) - I was right, they played the version of this meh-tastic song with Billy milking the last line for all it's worth, and the crowd egging him on. They should have had Carl Winslow (from Family Matters) there so he could have bellered, "OH WOULD YOU JUST GET TO THE END OF THE SONG??!!!!!!" Oh, and that line near the end, where he sang "if you stayed, I'd subtract twenty years from my life" - that makes no sense at all. What if he was going to live another fifteen or so years? She'd stay, but he'd be dead, thus defeating the whole purpose. OK, I'm done venting - next song, please... 1: OPEN YOUR HEART - MADONNA (2) - This song would hit #1 the following week, put Madonna in a tie with Diana Ross for the woman with the most number one singles (of course, she'd hold the record by herself in no time at all, as Diana was done hitting #1). Back when this song was charting, it was kinda just there, but it's one of those songs that gets better with age. 30 years later, it's a great song!
Coming up next week: Well, the first of five "new" shows is on deck as the "A" show next week. The "B" show is from February 8, 1986. I might let that one ride, as I've had enough of late 1985/early 1986. This will be the fourth show from that time period since Thanksgiving weekend (although I was glad that they got the last "new" shows of 1985 out of the way). Actually, I have a feeling that they might go light on 1986 as "A" shows this year, especially if they plan on finally running the full version of the 1986 year-ender. We may still get plenty of 1986 "B" shows, though, if that is the case.
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Post by mga707 on Feb 3, 2018 14:10:09 GMT -5
17: ANTICIPATION - CARLY SIMON (18) - A good Friday type song - especially since, with my new job, I don't work weekends Good song, but since I am of a certain age I always end up thinking of ketchup when I hear it. Yes! An early example of using a pop song in an ad. Not to be confused with an ad turning into a pop song, such as 'I'd Like To Teach the World To Sing'.
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Post by Michael1973 on Feb 9, 2018 11:14:10 GMT -5
40: WITHOUT YOUR LOVE - TOTO (debut) - Their second hit from their Fahrenheit album, but it didn't come anywhere near the success of the first single, "I'll Be Over You". This song only got as high as #38, but they'd definitely already had their day in the sun ( as this was their final Top 40 hit). The guitar work near the end reminds me of Jonathan Cain, but he's not listed anywhere in the album credits. Not quite...
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Post by mrjukebox on Feb 9, 2018 12:20:16 GMT -5
Interesting to note that "Everything I Own" was written about the loss of David Gates' father.
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