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Post by Hervard on Apr 28, 2018 14:09:41 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s - April 28, 2018
This week's presentation - April 26, 1975
Droppers: HARRY TRUMAN - CHICAGO (38) - This one was more or less a novelty song (sort of an unusual music style for Chicago), which would explain its fast-rise, fast-fall chart run. This was written by band member Robert Lamm shortly after the resignation of President Nixon the year before. MY EYES ADORED YOU - FRANKIE VALLI (36) - I believe that this song held the record at the time for the slowest climb to #1, as it was in its 18th week on the Hot 100. Frankie was the third male solo artist in the past six months that returned to the chart after an absence of over five years with a #1 song. This was Valli's first solo hit to make the Top 40; all his previous appearances on the chart were as lead singer of the Four Seasons, whom themselves would make a comeback later on in 1975 with the #3 song "Who Loves You". As for the song, it's a good one, but I preferred a few others from him, both solo and with the Four Seasons. YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL - JOE C0CKER (32) - No big loss here; I always thought this song was way too sappy. HAVE YOU NEVER BEEN MELLOW - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (31) - Her second #1 song in a row and the second of a total of five I liked both her first two #1 songs (the other being "I Honestly Love You") but slightly preferred this one. POETRY MAN - PHOEBE SNOW (25) - This was her only solo Top 40 hit (she did chart again in a duet with Paul Simon later on that year, and had a few AC only hits). I like the hypnotic effect of this song. This and "If I Can Just Get Through The Night" are in an arm-wrestling match for my favorite song from her. EXPRESS - B.T. EXPRESS (19) - Is it me, or does this song sound like "Pick Up The Pieces" by AWB? It was pretty good, IMO. People sure got tired of it fast, though, as it was sitting at its peak position of #4 just two weeks prior! ONCE YOU GET STARTED - RUFUS f/CHAKA KHAN (18) - Another such song - only this song was just peaking the week before (as "Express" was in its third week at #4). Anyhoo, I'm not generally a big fan of Rufus - pretty much the only song I like from them is "Ain't Nobody". I preferred a few other songs from Chaka Khan as a solo artist.
40: DON’T TELL ME GOODNIGHT - LOBO (debut) - His heyday was definitely in the early-70s, when he had three Top Ten hits up to early 1973. After that, though he had five more Top 40 hits, none of them could manage to break into the Top 20. This one peaked at #27 two week later. It was pretty good, but nothing impressive. 39: I’M NOT LISA – JESSI COLTER (debut) - CHEEEEESE-fest... 38: WHEN WILL I BE LOVED – LINDA RONSTADT (debut) - It looked like she might have two #1 songs in a row, but alas, this song just barely missed. This was a great one, and was in a horse race with "Heat Wave" as my favorite of her 1975 hits. 37: SHAKEY GROUND – THE TEMPTATIONS (40) - They were definitely on their way out at this point, as this was their last Top 30 hit, but what a career they'd had! A total of 37 Top 40 hits. This one wasn't bad, but was your typical roof-raising R&B, and y'all know how I feel about that kind of music. 36: CUT THE CAKE – AVERAGE WHITE BAND (debut) - This band either hit the Top Ten or missed the Top 30 entirely with their five hits. This was one of their two Top Ten hits - it's pretty much "Pick Up The Pieces" with lyrics. 35: THE IMMIGRANT – NEIL SEDAKA (debut) - Definitely one of his most underrated hits ever! Lulu apparently thought so as well, as her hit from six years later "I Could Never Miss You (More Than I Do)" was a dead ringer for that song (in the choruses). 34: HIJACK – HERBIE MANN (debut) - A word that could get you in trouble if you say it on a plane, even if you're greeting your friend whose name happens to be Jack. But seriously, this song was just so/so. 33: BEER BARREL POLKA – BOBBY VINTON (33) - Sort of interesting how this song debuted at #33 (the week before) and got no higher. As for the song, I was never a big fan of polka, so it didn't really do anything for me. 32: SISTER GOLDEN HAIR - AMERICA (debut) - This song was the week's highest debut and would eventually become their second #1 song on the Hot 100. This was my favorite of the two (though "A Horse With No Name" was also a great one). 31: LOVE WON’T LET ME WAIT – MAJOR HARRIS (39) - A former member of the Delfonics, he was a one-hit wonder as a solo artist. This was a good song - your typical mid-70s slow jam. 30: SHAVING CREAM – BENNY BELL (37) - LOL! Funny song! You could tell that it was recorded many years before - sounded quite out of place for 1975. 29: YOUNG AMERICANS – DAVID BOWIE (34) - This one kinda came and went - peaked a spot higher and spent only four weeks in the Top 40. No matter; his next Top 40 hit would fare much better, hitting #1 during late summer. This song was OK, though I wasn't generally a huge fan. 28: BAD TIME – GRAND FUNK (35) - They seemed to be on a roll, with six Top 20 hits in a row, this one peaking at #4, but after this, they would never again hit the Top 40. Although I liked all four of their Top Tens, this would likely be my favorite. OPTIONAL EXTRA: Here's a true one-hit wonder. I liked this song - they sort of reminded me of ELO. 27: AMIE – PURE PRAIRIE LEAGUE (30) - Oddly enough, even though this song moved up this week, it fell out of the Top 40 the following week. It still gets rather decent airplay, though. It was a good song, though I slightly preferred their 1980 Top Ten hit "Let Me Love You Tonight". 26: AUTOBAHN - KRAFTWERK (29) - The sole Top 40 hit for this German synthesizer band. It was a very interesting sounding song, I must say. 25: SHOESHINE BOY – EDDIE KENDRICKS (27) - Though not as successful as his former band the Temptations, he did have a decent solo career (and he was indeed outdoing his old band this week). Anyway, this was a pretty good song, though nothing exceptional. 24: NO NO SONG – RINGO STARR (4) - They alternated between this and the flipside, "Snookeroo", since the song was charting as a double-sided hit. This week was the A-side's turn, which is good, since I prefer that song (though the B-side was good as well). 23: LADY MARMALADE - LABELLE (11) - This song was the eleventh of a record twelve consecutive one-week number one songs - a record that, to my best of knowledge, still stands today. As for the song, it was a great one, but I actually preferred the remake by Christina Aguilera & friends - definitely the summer hit of 2001! 22: THANK GOD I’M A COUNTRY BOY – JOHN DENVER (26) - This song was definitely on its way to the top! No surprise there, however, as Denver was all over the charts in 1975! This was one of two #1 songs he had that year. It was a great one; very lively and fun! 21: ONLY YESTERDAY – THE CARPENTERS (28) - They had hit #1 earlier in the year with their second chart topper, a cover of the Marvelette's classic "Please Mr. Postman", and looked like they might have another one, but this one didn't quite make it. It did peak at #4, which is great also. Anyway, of their three 1975 hits, this one was my favorite by a fair margin. 20: STAND BY ME – JOHN LENNON (24) - One of several Top 40 covers of the Ben E. King classic. Besides this and the original, Spyder Turner charted with it in 1967, and Mickey Gilley's version for the Urban Cowboy soundtrack hit in 1980 (which would be my favorite of the bunch). This one was also pretty good IMO. 19: HOW LONG - ACE (23) - The first of three bands to hit the Top 40 with Paul Carrack on lead vocals (well, technically, it would be two, as he had left Squeeze by the time they had their first Top 40 hit). Anyway, this was Ace's only big hit, but what a great one it was - one of my favorite songs involving Mr. Carrack! 18: KILLER QUEEN - QUEEN (22) - This was their breakthrough smash. It didn't quite hit the Top Ten, but it came close. 10cc's 1977 hit "The Things We Do For Love" reminds me a lot of this song. Both are great songs, IMO 17: IT’S A MIRACLE – BARRY MANILOW (21) - For the longest time, I thought "Copacabana" was Manilow's first upbeat song. I had no idea that he had any of those from so early in his career but, in fact, he upped the tempo for his second hit - presumably to show everyone that he could rock out just as well as he could chill out. Of course, he generally went with slow songs. Anyway, I think it goes without saying that I do not remember this song from its chart run. It was a good one, but my favorite of his 1975 hits was his next release, "Could It Be Magic". 16: THE BERTHA BUTT BOOGIE – PART #1 - JIMMY CASTOR BUNCH (20) - Wow, lots of songs moving up four spots. This was the fifth in a row. Anyway, Jimmy Castor (and his Bunch) generally did novelty songs (as all four that made the Hot 100 were all classified as such). This song was OK, but a little goofy. 15: I DON’T LIKE TO SLEEP ALONE – PAUL ANKA (17) - Most of his mid-70s hits tend to be on the cheesy side. This one is no exception, but it's still a good song nonetheless. 14: JACKIE BLUE – OZARK MOUNTAIN DAREDEVILS (16) - This group from Springville, MO had charted the previous spring with the #25 hit "If You Wanna Get To Heaven" and returned a year later with a song that fared quite a lot better, peaking at #3. Of their two Top 40 hits, this is by far my favorite - a great one that I remember quite well (it was played as a recurrent for several years after it charted). OPTIONAL EXTRA: THE HUSTLE - VAN McCOY - This was the only Top 40 entry for this man born in our nation's capital. Glad this song made it to #1, as it's one of my favorite disco instrumentals of all time! 13: L-O-V-E (LOVE) – AL GREEN (13) - Al Green had quite a few chart hits during the early 1970s, including his hit before this one, "Sha La La (Makes Me Happy", which hit the Top Ten in 1974. This would be his final Top 20 hit until his comeback in late 1988, when he charted with his duet with Annie Lennox, "Put A Little Love In Your Heart". This song was pretty good, though I'm not generally a huge fan of his. 12: LONG TALL GLASSES (I CAN DANCE) – LEO SAYER (15) - This was his first of a handful of chart hits. It did well, peaking at #9, and the best was yet to come - two years later, he'd have two #1 hits as well as a Top 20. This song was pretty good, but I preferred a few others from him, including two of said 1977 hits. 11: SHINING STAR – EARTH, WIND & FIRE (14) - This song was on its way to becoming their very first and only #1 hit. A great song indeed, though I preferred "That's The Way Of The World", from the same year, meaning that 1975 was definitely one of their best years, IMO. 10: WALKING IN RHYTHM – THE BLACKBYRDS (12) - I heard this song earlier this week at Walgreen's. Anyway, quite an interesting story about Casey Kasem once played in a high school band with Blackbyrd founder Donald Byrd, until he got a little too creative with his drumwork for the bandleader's liking. This was one of two Top 40 hits for the Blackbyrds. I vaguely remember the other one, "Happy Music", but I seem to remember that I preferred this one. 9: WHAT AM I GONNA DO WITH YOU – BARRY WHITE (8) - Like Al Green, Barry is another R&B singer that I was never a huge fan of. This song was not bad, but it sounded quite a lot like his 1974 #1 "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe". 8: EMMA – HOT CHOCOLATE (9) - Though I'm not a huge Hot Chocolate fan, I actually thought this one was really good. 7: BEFORE THE NEXT TEARDROP FALLS – FREDDY FENDER (10) - Meh, not one of the best hits of the year at all. It's hard to believe that this song made it to #1, as dated as it sounds. 6: CHEVY VAN – SAMMY JOHNS (7) - He may have had only one big hit, but what a song it was! One of my favorite songs of the entire year! Glad that they played the song intact, as they sometime edited it - which was sort of pointless, as it's a rather short song in the first place (clocks in at a little less than three minutes). With the second verse and chorus, its playing time wouldn't be much more than two minutes, if that. 5: SUPERNATURAL THING PART #1 – BEN E. KING (6) - One of only two AT40 era songs that King had. This was so/so, but I preferred the other one. 4: LOVIN’ YOU – MINNIE RIPERTON (3) - EWWW, GET IT AWAY FROM ME!!! Well, OK, maybe it's not that bad, but it's just so CHEESY!! This was the last of the record one-week chart toppers that I mentioned earlier. 3: HE DON’T LOVE YOU (LIKE I LOVE YOU) – TONY ORLANDO & DAWN (5) - After a huge eighteen-spot jump the week before, this song makes a more modest chart jump this week. The song hit #1 the following week and stayed there for three weeks - one of the longest running #1 songs of 1975. The song was not bad, but definitely not their best. OPTIONAL EXTRA: LOVE WILL KEEP US TOGETHER - THE CAPTAIN & TENNILLE - This was THE longest running #1 song of 1975 (spent four weeks up there), as well as the #1 song of the entire year. I myself am not a big fan of the song, but its saving grace is the fact that it was much better than their barf-inducing "Muskrat Love". Still, it doesn't hold a candle to "Do That To Me One More Time". 2: PHILADELPHIA FREEDOM – ELTON JOHN (1) - Here is the song that put an end to the revolving door of one-week #1 hits, by spending two weeks on top - just like his last song, whose second week at #1 was the week before said revolving door began. This song was OK, but it was quite overplayed (and still pops up regularly on oldies stations). I preferred many other hits from him, including many of his 1975 chart hits. 1: (HEY WON’T YOU PLAY) ANOTHER SOMEBODY DONE SOMEBODY WRONG SONG – B.J. THOMAS (2) - This song would spend a single week on top, but it was by no means the beginning of another long streak (since the next #1 song would spend three weeks up there). Anyway, this was one of two #1 songs for Mr. Thomas. It's pretty good, but I preferred the other one, which topped the chart five years before. My favorite song by him of all time would be "Hooked On A Feeling".
Predictions for next week: 1974 still continues to be ignored. That might continue next week, as the 5/4/1974 show was last featured three years ago. However, that didn't stop them from playing the 4/22/1978 show, also last run in 2015. Still, I'm thinking a 2014 repeat is possible (that seems to be the trend, especially with the 80s shows), as the 5/1/1976 show was played the first weekend in May of that 2014, and 5/7/1977 was last played the second weekend of that year. Both are excellent candidates for next week's show, as it has been longer than a month since the last time both years were played. So I'll go with the 1977 show as my primary prediction and 1976 as my back-up.
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Post by Hervard on Apr 28, 2018 14:10:16 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - April 28, 2018
This week's presentation - April 30, 1983
Droppers: SHAME ON THE MOON - BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND (25) - The song, penned by country singer Rodney Crowell, peaked at #2 for four weeks here on AT40, but managed a week at #1 on the R&R chart - in fact, its #1 week happened to be on the first weekly countdown show I ever listened to ("Countdown America" with John Leader). It's a good song - sounds sort of like a laid-back version of his 1980 hit "Fire Lake". I'VE GOT A ROCK 'N' ROLL HEART - ERIC CLAPTON (24) - I wasn't generally a huge fan of his music, but this one was actually a good one, IMO. But that line about getting off on '57 Chevies and screaming guitars can be taken wrong nowadays... CHANGE OF HEART - TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS (22) - I was surprised that the week before, this song moved up ten spots, yet stands still on this chart. The song did end up peaking at #21, so it had a rather erratic chart run. It was a great song, and I loved how the vinyl of the 45 of the song was red.
LW#1: COME ON EILEEN - DEXY'S MIDNIGHT RUNNERS 40: I LIKE IT - DEBARGE (35) - Their debut hit, and it didn't do too bad, peaking at #31 two weeks before. Their next two songs hit the Top 20, but their best year was clearly 1985 when they had two Top Ten hits. The song was pretty good, though I prefer most of their other slow songs like “Time Will Reveal” and “Who’s Holding Donna Now”. 39: TWILIGHT ZONE - GOLDEN EARRING (23) - A great song that the two Chicago stations that I listened to back then (WLS 94.7 and B96) played quite a lot (was #1 on WLS' nightly request show for quite awhile IIRC). That said, it's a shock that this song came nowhere near the R&R chart. Here on AT40, it peaked at #10. 38: I KNOW THERE'S SOMETHING GOING ON - FRIDA (20) - One of two former members of Abba that hit the chart in 1983 (the other was Agnetha Faltskog, whose "Can't Shake Loose" charted in the fall). Phil Collins' trademark drumming was featured in this song (and you can hear him on backup vocals). This song was pretty good, but I generally preferred her material with Abba. 37: BACK ON THE CHAIN GANG - THE PRETENDERS (21) - This was their second Top 40 hit and their first Top Ten. Possibly my favorite song from them (though "Brass In Pocket" might give this a run for its money). 36: WHIRLY GIRL - OXO (28) - Interesting story about how the founder of this band changed the theme of his music when he heard kids singing the chorus of his old group Foxy's "Get Off". As for the song - it's just great - one of those songs that makes you want to just get up and dance! Too bad this didn't get any higher than #28. 35: DON'T LET IT END - STYX (debut) - I knew it was only a matter of time before we reached the first debut! And what a debut it was - it came onto the Hot 100 way up here at #35. Even though it's sort of a depressing song, all you need to do is get past the lyrics, since the music itself is upbeat. This was by far my favorite single from Kilroy Was Here, as well as one of my all-time favorites from Styx. 34: STRANGER IN MY HOUSE - RONNIE MILSAP (38) - This definitely does not sound like Milsap's previous hits - has sort of a rock sound to it. I liked it, but preferred most of his other hits. 33: ALWAYS SOMETHING THERE TO REMIND ME - NAKED EYES (40) - Here is another song that you still hear quite often today on oldies stations. It's a pretty good song, but I preferred "Promises Promises" from later that summer. 32: SO WRONG - PATRICK SIMMONS (36) - The only Top 40 solo hit from the former lead singer of the then-recently disbanded Doobie Brothers. It was a pretty good song. 31: FAITHFULLY - JOURNEY (debut) - Strange that this song missed the Top Ten, since it still receives a ton of recurrent airplay, especially on AC-based oldies stations. I like it, but preferred many others from them (including their other song on this week's chart). OPTIONAL EXTRA: MEXICAN RADIO - WALL OF VOODOO - The station I listened to the show on (WABQ) did not play any of the OE's. I did hear this song on the 2014 broadcast of the show and seem to remember it wasn't anything impressive. 30: TIME (CLOCK OF THE HEART) - CULTURE CLUB (debut) - Their second Top Ten hit - my favorite song from Kissing To Be Clever. 29: AFFAIR OF THE HEART - RICK SPRINGFIELD (39) - This song wasn't bad, but this is around the time when his musical quality was beginning to slip. 28: MORNIN' - JARREAU (37) - The second Top 40 hit for this R&B jazz vocalist from Milwaukee. I liked most of his hits, this one included. I also liked a few of his songs that didn't quite make the pop chart. 27: IT MIGHT BE YOU - STEPHEN BISHOP (29) - Here's a song that spent an unusually long time on the Hot 100 for a song that only got as high as #25 - 20 weeks. I don't think it was promoted at Top 40 radio, though I certainly don't know why, as it was the theme from a blockbuster movie (which Casey said was close to becoming the most successful comedy movie of all time - did it ever make it, BTW?). Well, anyway, it definitely did well at AC radio, however, where it was coming off of a two-week run at #1 this week. 26: SOME KIND OF FRIEND - BARRY MANILOW (30) - Manilow seemed to be picking up the tempo at this point in his career - in a one-year period - three of four songs he charted with in a period between spring, 1982 and spring, 1983 were upbeat songs. This one was a good one. 25: WE'VE GOT TONIGHT - KENNY ROGERS & SHEENA EASTON (19) - Well, I must say that I do prefer this one over the original by Bob Seger (which Casey played a drop piece during the intro), but it is definitely not my favorite song by either artist. 24: WELCOME TO HEARTLIGHT - KENNY LOGGINS (27) - This song was part of a somewhat funny LDD situation in late 1984. Someone who learned the hard life of working on a farm requested this song as "Welcome To Hard Life". I rather liked this song, though it was far from being my favorite from Loggins. I preferred the other two High Adventure singles. LDD: BE MY LADY - JEFFERSON STARSHIP - This was their first Top 40 hit after Grace Slick rejoined the band as a full member. It was a good song - nice steel guitar, which was used in a few of their other hits (such as “Runaway”). It fit the dedication as well. 23: FLASHDANCE...WHAT A FEELING - IRENE CARA (33) - As we all know, "Every Breath You Take" was the most overplayed song during the summer of 1983. Here is the song that would come in second. In late June, when both songs were in the Top Five, it was literally impossible to listen to any Top 40 station without hearing at least one of those songs. 22: MY LOVE - LIONEL RICHIE (32) - This song, reminiscent of Lionel's hit with the Commodores, "Easy", was pretty good, though I preferred the first two hits from his debut solo album. 21: STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART - BRYAN ADAMS (34) - His very first Top 40 hit. I read in another thread that this song just barely missed making the Top 100 of 1983. The song was OK, but I preferred many others from him. OPTIONAL EXTRA: NEW YEAR'S DAY - U2 - Wow, two OE's that didn't hit the Top 40? You don't see that very often. Anyway, I don't know about the Wall Of Voodoo song, but this song gets a decent amount of recurrent airplay on 80s stations (presumably because it was U2's debut single). It's a good song; too bad it didn't get past #53 on the Hot 100. 20: YOU ARE - LIONEL RICHIE (17) - This was #1 during one of the seven weeks that "Billie Jean" topped the Billboard chart. This one definitely takes me back to early spring, 1983 - namely, since it receives absolutely no recurrent airplay. Yet "All Night Long" is played regularly - where is the justice I tell ya! But seriously, I liked this song a lot. Glad that it managed to at least top the R&R chart. 19: PHOTOGRAPH - DEF LEPPARD (26) - Another artist with their debut hit, like U2 - only this song DID make the Top 40. It was a good one - my favorite song from Pyromania. 18: DO YOU REALLY WANT TO HURT ME - CULTURE CLUB (14) - I prefer the shorter version of this song without the whiny intro and the annoying bridge. Unfortunately, they played the longer one this week. Oh well... I think most radio stations played that version near the end of the song's chart run IIRC. 17: RIO - DURAN DURAN (31) - Wow, what a huge jump! Oddly enough, this song only got three spots higher. It was my favorite Duran Duran song for several years, but then I got tired of it. I still like it, though. 16: HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF - DURAN DURAN (11) - This, of course, was the breakthrough hit here in the States from one of the most successful bands of the 1980s! It was also my favorite of their 1983 hits, as well as one of my all-time favorites from them! 15: ONE ON ONE - HALL & OATES (7) - This song came very close to topping the R&R chart, but was edged out by “Billie Jean”. I’m kinda surprised it only got as high as #7 on Billboard (then again, it wasn’t as far removed as the three songs that peaked at #3 on R&R yet failed to hit the Top Ten on Billboard earlier in the year). Anyway, of the H20 singles, this was my favorite. 14: SOLITAIRE - LAURA BRANIGAN (18) - The first of many big hits written by one of the most successful songwriters ever, the great Diane Warrren. This was my least favorite of Laura's first three hits, but it's still a good song! 13: EVEN NOW - BOB SEGER (13) - Ever notice how this and his 1986 hit "American Storm" sound similar? Both songs are great, but I slightly prefer this one. 12: SEPARATE WAYS - JOURNEY (8) - This song was just coming off of an incredible six week run at #8, where it peaked on the Hot 100 (it had recently spent a pair of weeks atop the R&R chart). Aside from Billboard's oddball bullet policy, the fact that Frontiers sold millions of copies contributed to its peak difference (as most Journey fans bought the album). This was my favorite release from their Frontiers album, but there were many other songs from them that I preferred. 11: I WON'T HOLD YOU BACK - TOTO (16) - Their album Toto IV, which had recently won a Grammy for Album of the Year, was living up to its name, as it produced as many Top 40 hits. This was also their fourth (and, as it turned out, final) Top Ten hit. It was a great one, IMO. OPTIONAL EXTRA: TOO SHY - KAJAGOOGOO - Ugh - I was thinking that, since KABQ had passed over the first two extras, they'd do the same with this song, but it was not to be. I think we all know that I think this song is dumb and annoying. At least they edited it down somewhat. Still, I much preferred lead-singer Chris Hamill's solo Top 40 hit "Never Ending Story". 10: LITTLE RED CORVETTE - PRINCE (12) - I never knew how dirty it was until about ten years ago, when I looked at the lyrics (since there are times that I couldn’t understand what he was saying). This was the first Top Ten hit from a singer who we lost two years ago. R.I.P. Prince 9: OVERKILL - MEN AT WORK (15) - You probably know all too well that this is by far my favorite Men At Work song. Didn't quite make it to #1 on the Hot 100, like their first two hits, but it did manage to spend three weeks on top of the R&R chart. Anymore, radio tends to play the Business As Usual songs to death, but I never hear any of the Cargo singles outside of radio shows. LDD: HEARTS - MARTY BALIN - This song was indeed very fitting for the dedication, as it was from a mother to her four-year old daughter, who had been staying with her dad in the British Isles and she missed the pitter-patter of little feet when the girl was gone. I wonder if the mom got a mouse and some sheet metal in the interim? But seriously, this was a great song - possibly my favorite Marty Balin song, both as lead singer of Jefferson Starship and solo. 8: SHE BLINDED ME WITH SCIENCE - THOMAS DOLBY (10) - I'm so glad that AT40 generally played the album version of this song. The single version, which is pretty much the only version you hear on retro shows, was just too watered down, IMO. 7: BILLIE JEAN - MICHAEL JACKSON (5) - The second of seven singles from the monster album Thriller, and it turned out to be the biggest, spending seven weeks at the top. It was a good song - has held up quite well over the years. 6: LET'S DANCE - DAVID BOWIE (9) - Of course, we all know that my favorite songs from him were "Day-In, Day-Out" and "Never Let Me Down", both from his 1987 by the title of the latter song. But this song is also pretty good. 5: DER KOMMISAR - AFTER THE FIRE (6) - Their very first hit, too - as well as their last. This one was an 80s mix show essential! 4: MR. ROBOTO - STYX (3) - I'M KILROY!! This was somewhat of a comeback hit for Styx, as they had been absent from the chart for about two years. I was never a huge fan of this song, though - one of my least favorites from them. I preferred the follow-up, which was one of the debuts on this week's show. 3: JEOPARDY - THE GREG KIHN BAND (3) - As this song was wrapping up a three-week stay atop the R&R chart, it wasn't done yet on the Hot 100, as it would climb a spot the following week. A great song that always takes me back to the spring of 1983 - it was even one of my classmate's favorite song OPTIONAL EXTRA: FAMILY MAN - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES - This song was one of their more mediocre songs, IMO. I preferred the other H2O singles. 2: COME ON EILEEN - DEXY'S MIDNIGHT RUNNERS (1) - This song prevented Michael Jackson from having back-to-back #1 singles. I'm still burned out on this song, due to overplay, but I did used to like it - I even bought the single when the song was on its way up the charts. 1: BEAT IT - MICHAEL JACKSON (2) - One of several rock-based Michael Jackson songs to hit the charts. Eddie Van Halens's guitar solo in this was outstanding!
Coming up next week: See my 1988 commentary below.
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Post by Hervard on Apr 28, 2018 14:10:47 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - April 28, 2018
This week's presentation - April 30, 1988
Droppers: GOIN' BACK TO CALI - LL COOL J (37) - Now THIS was back when rap was somewhat tolerable, and not loud and obnoxious! I liked this song, though I preferred his first Top 40 hit "I Need Love". NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP - RICK ASTLEY (35) - His first Top 40 hit drops out this week, but don't think for a minute that we're getting out of this show without a Rickroll, as his new song debuts this week. I liked all three (or two, if you'd like to consider this and "Together Forever" as one song) of his 1988 hits. This would be tied for my second favorite. CHECK IT OUT - JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP (28) - This was the third and final Top 40 hit from The Lonesome Jubilee, and it was my favorite of the three - a great song indeed! Too bad it dropped out this week.
40: WE ALL SLEEP ALONE - CHER (debut) - Cher had one Top Ten hit on R&R and one Top Ten hit on the Hot 100 in 1988 - only with different songs. This one hit the Top Ten on the former by the skin of its teeth, and this is all the further it got on the Hot 100, where she'd hit the Top Ten earlier in the year with "I Found Someone", which peaked at #12 on R&R. I preferred this one, though neither one was one of my favorites from Cher. I like songs like "Believe" and "Strong Enough" better. 39: RITUAL – THE DAN REED NETWORK (debut) - The only Top 40 hit for this punk rock quintet from Portland. It was OK, but nothing exceptional. 38: I WANT HER – KEITH SWEAT (30) - He was definitely a big hit on the Black Singles chart, but he had a few pop crossovers. This was pretty good, but my favorite song from him would be "I'll Give All My Love To You", from early 1991. 37: YOU DON’T KNOW – SCARLETT & BLACK (26) - Don't they sound a little like Glass Tiger? When I first heard this song, I knew that Glass Tiger had a new song out and I thought that this was it, but it turned out that it was not. Anyway, I liked this song which is has pretty much fallen into obscurity. 36: TOGETHER FOREVER – RICK ASTLEY (debut) - At first, I wondered why Casey didn't read off the droppers going into this song, seeing as Rick replaced himself on the chart this week. It was so Casey could tell the story of the longest marriage on record - 86 years, between to who got married at the age of five! This was back in the mid-1800s when things were quite different than they are today. As for the song - it is the one that is in a tie for my second favorite Rick Astley song during 1988 (presumably since the two songs sounded so much alike). 35: ONE GOOD REASON – PAUL CARRACK (40) - It looked like this song was somewhat riding on the coattails of his Top Ten hit from earlier in the year, "Don't Shed A Tear", as this song only got as high as #28. I liked both songs about the same, but my favorite of Carrack's solo hits was his AC hit from 1997 "For Once In Our Lives". 34: STRANGE BUT TRUE – TIMES TWO (39) - A faceless band, but a great song! I felt it was underrated. 33: OUT OF THE BLUE – DEBBIE GIBSON (19) - The third single and title track of her second album. This was so far my favorite song from the album (though "Only In My Dreams" was a close second), but of course, my favorite was the fourth single, which went all the way to #1 in June. 32: FISHNET – MORRIS DAY (23) - A song produced by Jimmy Jam Harris & Terry Lewis. It's a catchy song that reminds me a little of "Fake" by Alexander O'Neal (also a Jimmy Jam Harris /Terry Lewis production) 31: KISS AND TELL – BRYAN FERRY (35) - The lead singer of the band Roxy Music, famous for songs like "Love Is The Drug" and "More Than This". This was a good song - too bad it didn't get any higher on the charts than #31. In fact, it dropped out of the Top 40 the following week. 30: MY GIRL - SUAVE (36) - The fourth rendition of this song that was first a hit for the Temptations a year before this LA singer was even born. It was a great rendition of the song, updated to fit the late-80s more. That said, I'm somewhat surprised that it did not get any higher than #20 on the charts. OPTIONAL EXTRA: NOTHIN' BUT A GOOD TIME - POISON - This song hit the Top Ten on the Hot 100, but just missed on the R&R chart. Poison didn't have their first Top Ten on that chart until "Every Rose Has Its Thorn", which went all the way to the top. Anyway, this was a great song - one of my favorite songs by Poison! 29: ENDLESS SUMMER NIGHTS – RICHARD MARX (24) - This song just narrowly missed the top spot, but the act at #1 was just too strong for him. But he would also eventually hit #1 - in fact, he did with his next hit. The song wasn't bad, but I preferred many others from him. 28: SAY IT AGAIN – JERMAINE STEWART (34) - Had this one been released about five to ten years before, it might have gotten higher than #27, as it sounds a little more like something from earlier in the 1980s. Of his two Top 40 hits, this was my favorite. 27: EVERYTHING YOUR HEART DESIRES – DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (38) - As always, the story about how Hall & Oates became a duo was interesting. They were indeed very successful, having been charting for twelve years at this point (though they had been absent from the chart for three years as Daryl had a brief solo career). This, however, would end up being their final Top Ten hit. This was pretty good, but I prefer many others from them. Is it me, or did they cut out the bridge more often than not? 26: DREAMING – ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK (32) - They had a total of four hits on the charts, and this was their second biggest behind "If You Leave". It was pretty much a toss-up between this one and "So In Love" as my favorite song by them. 25: SOME KIND OF LOVER – JODY WATLEY (12) - This song was pretty good, but pretty much "Don't You Want Me Part 2". 24: ROCKET 2 U – THE JETS (15) - I'm not generally a big fan of their upbeat songs, but I actually liked this one. 23: PAMELA - TOTO (27) - This was their second hit with a woman's name. I wasn't a big fan of this song, since, at the time, there was someone in my life by that name that I wasn't too fond of. I definitely preferred their other "woman's name" hit (and so did the Pop audience, as that song spent five weeks in the runner-up position, while this song didn't even hit the Top 20. 22: ONE MORE TRY - GEORGE MICHAEL (31) - When "Father Figure" was riding high on the charts, I listened to the "Faith" album for the first time and heard this song. I loved it instantly and hoped it would be released next and, sure enough, it was. This was one of very few songs to top the chart for more than two weeks in 1988. How I miss the days when the charts moved fast! There was absolutely no need for a recurrent rule. 21: PIANO IN THE DARK – BRENDA RUSSELL FEATURING JOE ESPOSITO (29) - Wow, a song by my second cousin! No, seriously, I thought this song was a great one. At this point, this was the second hit for both artists, and their first hits were both in 1979. Casey played drop pieces of both of their hits - Brenda's "So Good So Right" and the song that Joe charted with as a member of the Brooklyn Dreams, which were featured on Donna Summer's Top Five hit "Heaven Knows". Of Brenda's songs, it's pretty much a toss-up between this one and said 1979 hit. OPTIONAL EXTRA: CIRCLE IN THE SAND - BELINDA CARLISLE - This was her fourth and final Top Ten hit. This one was OK, but not one of my favorites by her by a longshot. I preferred "I Get Weak", along with the two Wild Horses singles in 1989 and 1990. 20: I WISH I HAD A GIRL – HENRY LEE SUMMER (25) - Ah, a fellow Hoosier here! I liked this song, but preferred his next single, "Darlin' Danielle Don't". Too bad that song didn't make the Top 40. 19: MAN IN THE MIRROR – MICHAEL JACKSON (11) - Michael was still on a hot streak with #1 hits - he had already had four from his Bad album alone, which was a record at the time. He would secure the record even more with a fifth #1 two months later. As for my opinion of the song, it definitely has a good message, but is still far from being his best. 18: TWO OCCASIONS – THE DEELE (22) - This song used to be the "Nighty Night" song for Open House Party with John Garabedian. I liked it, but preferred several songs that Babyface did on his own later on down the line. LDD: YOU CAN DO MAGIC - AMERICA - A dedication from a soldier to his military wife, thanking her for all she did, as being a military wife is a tough job! The song fit the dedication well, and it was right up there with "Sister Goldenhair" (which was debuting on this week's 1975 show) as my favorite song from them. 17: WAIT – WHITE LION (21) - This was one of two Top Ten hits by this band, and this one was far and away my favorite song of the two ("When The Children Cry" was too maudlin for my tastes). 16: I DON’T WANT TO LIVE WITHOUT YOU - FOREIGNER (20) - I usually like their slow songs, but this one was kind of dull (and I read somewhere that Lou Gramm wasn't a fan of this one either - which had something to do with how under-sung this was). 15: SHATTERED DREAMS – JOHNNY HATES JAZZ (18) - I know three songs by them - their two Top 40 hits, as well as their AC hit "Turn Back The Clock". Not sure if I prefer this song or the AC hit (as I like both), but I preferred both over "I Don't Want To Be A Hero". For some reason, that one never did much for me. 14: ONE STEP UP – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (13) - It's actually one step down for the song this week (the previous week, it actually DID move one step up on the R&R chart). Of course, I've mentioned that this song sounds like something Gordon Lightfoot would sing. It was the third and final Top 40 song from Springsteen's Tunnel Of Love album. In fact, it would be his last Top 40 song for about four years. A good song, IMO. 13: NAUGHTY GIRLS (NEED LOVE TOO) – SAMANTHA FOX (17) - Meh, I preferred "Touch Me", as well as her cover of "I Only Wanna Be With You". I never cared much for this one. 12: ELECTRIC BLUE - ICEHOUSE (14) - This Aussie band was a two-hit wonder on the charts, as they had two Top 20 hits in 1988. They had peaked at #14 early in the year with "Crazy" and got as high as #7 with this one. They were both great songs, IMO. 11: ALWAYS ON MY MIND – PET SHOP BOYS (16) - Of the four versions that I've heard (of which Casey played a montage on the April 9 show), this one was far and away my favorite. The other versions were so bland (though I've kind of warmed up to Willie Nelson's version over the years). There was something about the techno beat to this song that made it such a great rendition of the song. OPTIONAL EXTRA: THE FLAME - CHEAP TRICK - After an eight-year absence from the chart, Cheap Trick came back in a major way, as this song went all the way to the top and was one of the most played songs of the summer of 1988. As a result, I'm still kind of burned out on this one, but it's tolerable. Still, I preferred many of their earlier hits, including "I Want You To Want Me" and "Voices". 10: GIRLFRIEND - PEBBLES (5) - The Deele had their own hit back at #18 and they produced this one (in fact, they were featured singing the second bridge of this song - and even got their name dropped in the song, which was sort of just there, IMO - I didn't like it or hate it. I did like "Mercedes Boy", though. 9: I SAW HIM STANDING THERE - TIFFANY (7) - Interesting how this song fared better on the charts then the original by the Beatles. While the latter peaked at #14 back in 1964, Tiffany's cover did twice as well, getting as high as #7. As for this song - though I tended to like her more mellow hits like "Could've Been" and "All This Time", I liked this one - by far, my favorite of her two mid-sixties remakes (since the other one was way overplayed). 8: PROVE YOUR LOVE – TAYLOR DAYNE (10) - This one was mediocre at best. It paled in comparison to her debut hit "Tell It To My Heart", IMO. 7: PINK CADILLAC – NATALIE COLE (9) - The second of two Springsteen hits on this week's countdown! Of course, Springsteen himself originally recorded this one - wasn't featured on any of his albums, but it was the B-side to "Dancing In The Dark" (as well as a concert favorite). I actually preferred this version of the song, though only slightly - I like both versions. 6: GET OUTTA MY DREAMS, GET INTO MY CAR – BILLY OCEAN (3) - Here's another song that shares a different common thread with the Natalie Cole song - it starts off with the sound of a car starting up. This was the only week that the two songs were back-to-back on the countdown. The spoken part at the beginning was apparently inspired by "Get Off My Cloud" by the Rolling Stones. But it apparently worked, as it made it to #1 - and was R&R's biggest CHR hit of 1988 - and deservedly so, as this was one of my favorite of his upbeat hits. 5: ANYTHING FOR YOU – GLORIA ESTEFAN & MIAMI SOUND MACHINE (8) - Their first and only #1 hit (though Gloria would log two more #1s billed as a solo artist). I liked this song, but I still prefer a few others from Gloria Estefan, both with the Miami Sound Machine and solo. This song would hit #1 on the Radio & Records chart the following week, but didn’t quite have enough momentum to make it to the top of the Hot 100 until two weeks later. I was kind of surprised that they didn’t play the “Spanglish” version of the song, like they usually did (though the version they played was the one where the last line was “Don’t wanna say goodbye”. The version radio generally played did not feature that line). LDD: MOTHER AND CHILD REUNION – PAUL SIMON - An appropriate song for the dedication featured, as it was from a girl in her mid-twenties to her ten-year old daughter - meaning that she had the girl as a teenager. She managed to attend school, hold down a job, and raise the girl, missing out on the joys of being a teenager in the process, but since the girl managed to lift her spirits when she was feeling down, she did not regret having her. 4: DEVIL INSIDE - INXS (2) - This song just missed becoming the first song with the word "Devil" in the title to hit #1 (and as far as I know, it hasn't happened yet, has it?) Well, anyway, this was my second favorite INXS song from 1988 (behind "New Sensation") but I'm not generally a huge fan of them for some reason. 3: ANGEL - AEROSMITH (6) - Well look what we have here - right above the Devil is an Angel. I don't think I ever got tired of this song. I wasn't sure it was going to be a big hit, due to its weak initial chart performance, but it picked up steam and became their biggest hit ever, a boasting right it would retain for ten more years. OPTIONAL EXTRA: POUR SOME SUGAR ON ME - DEF LEPPARD - They'd had moderate chart success on the Top 40 chart with the Pyromania album, but it was the Hysteria album that REALLY put them on the map. This was their first Top Five hit and looked like it would hit #1, but Richard Marx leapfrogged over them with his hit that I mentioned earlier. No matter; they would top the chart with their next single "Love Bites". Not sure if I preferred that one or this song; since the music styles of the songs were so diverse, it depends on my mood at the time. 2: WISHING WELL – TERENCE TRENT D’ARBY (4) - Like "Angel", this song had sort of a slow start on the charts, but it didn't stop until it went all the way to the top - the following week, in fact! I liked it, but preferred his next hit, "Sign Your Name". 1: WHERE DO BROKEN HEARTS GO – WHITNEY HOUSTON (1) - Casey mentioned how Whitney broke the record for having the most #1 songs in a row with this song. This was her seventh and last in that streak, as her next release, "Love Will Save The Day", in fact, barely touched the Top Ten. This was the first of Whitney's slow songs to be produced by Narada Michael Walden (as Michael Masser produced the other three and Whitney's upbeat #1s were all Narada Michael Walden productions). Of those seven #1s, this was my favorite, so I'm glad that this song made it all the way to the top!
Coming up next week: Well, we do know that one of the shows on deck for the first weekend of May is the 5/9/81 show. This is almost certainly the "A" show, as the other show for next week certainly would not be 1988, 1987 was just featured less than a month ago and I have a strong feeling that the yet-unaired 5/16/87 show will be played. And 1986 and 1985 have been recently added to the list of standalone "A" shows, so, even though one of those is most likely coming up next week along with the 1981 show, they would be the "B" show.
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Post by mrjukebox on Apr 29, 2018 16:25:24 GMT -5
Interesting to note that "We All Sleep Alone" was written & produced by Jon Bon Jovi & Richie Sambora.
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Post by jamie9012 on May 2, 2018 13:40:38 GMT -5
Hello. This has not been a good Week for me. We have been enduring a family-related emergency for a few Days. We must prepare for any outcome. I will talk more about it later. Update here: at40fg.proboards.com/thread/5467/sad-day-meThis is another old Critique, but here is 20 Songs. April 18, 1981 20: TAKE IT ON THE RUN – REO SPEEDWAGON - I remember first learning of this Song on a CD that I saw for sale in a Store. At that time, I knew only two Songs from them, so I was curious to know how this one would sound. Now, I hear it all the time! 19: DON’T STOP THE MUSIC – YARBROUGH & PEOPLES - Now with Puppets! "You don't really want to stop! No!" The only Top 40 hit from this Duo from Dallas, Texas. 18: LIVING INSIDE MYSELF – GINO VANELLI - By this time, he had placed already two Songs in the Top 40, and now this was his third (and last). Some of his later singles, such as "Black Cars", came close to breaking the Top 40, but not quite. Meanwhile, Gino Vannelli continued to have hits in Canada. EXTRA: TAKE GOOD CARE OF MY BABY – BOBBY VEE 17: 9 TO 5 – DOLLY PARTON - #1 U.S., #46 DE. She wrote this hit and sings it. 16: SOMEBODY’S KNOCKIN’ – TERRI GIBBS - The only Top 40 hit for this singer, who was blinded very early in life. 15: HELLO AGAIN – NEIL DIAMOND 14: CRYING – DON McLEAN 13: HER TOWN TOO – JAMES TAYLOR & J.D. SOUTHER 12: KEEP ON LOVING YOU – REO SPEEDWAGON - Their first #1 Billboard Hit, and first Top 40 hit. Two in one. Also #15 DE, #4 CH. 11: I CAN’T STAND IT – ERIC CLAPTON AND HIS BAND ARCHIVES: TICKET TO RIDE – THE BEATLES DISC #3 10: DON’T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME – THE POLICE - I don't know why, but when I really think about it, I find the lyrics creepy like the beginning of the Song. Anyway, it is still a good hit. #10 US, #23 DE. 9: THE BEST OF TIMES - STYX - Written by Dennis DeYoung. Little wonder, why it sounds like their earlier Hit, "Babe". #3 US, #52 DE. 8: BEING WITH YOU – SMOKEY ROBINSON - #2 in the US, May 1981. Soothing and dreamy. 7: WHILE YOU SEE A CHANCE – STEVE WINWOOD - Similar to Howard Jones, his Songs (or if we shall go by his hits) are rather optimisic. LDD: FEELS SO GOOD – CHUCK MANGIONE 6: ANGEL OF THE MORNING – JUICE NEWTON - Her Version of this 1960s hit landed at #4. Also charting in Germany (#23) and Switzerland (#4), it was one of two Singles from her to chart there (the other was "Queen Of Hearts"). It seems that the single Version features an earlier fade out than that on the Album. 5: WOMAN – JOHN LENNON - #2 in the US (sadly posthumously), but it did reach #1 in the United Kingdom (similar to "Just Like Starting Over"). #4 DE, #2 CH. 4: JUST THE TWO OF US – GROVER WASHINGTON JR. (WITH BILL WITHERS) - Bill provides the vocals, and Grover plays the Sax. It is alltogether an excellent Song. 3: MORNING TRAIN – SHEENA EASTON - 2: RAPTURE - BLONDIE 1: KISS ON MY LIST – DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES My Extra: BIRDS OF PARADISE - PETER, SUE AND MARC - This was one of three Hits that this Swiss trio charted with in Germany. It reached #9 in CH (November 1980) and #29 in DE (August 1981). This Critique is not yet complete. I will try my best to complete it as my spirits allow. Thank you for reading. R.I.P. Don Bustany
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Post by mrjukebox on May 2, 2018 17:26:12 GMT -5
Hervard-I have a slight correction regarding Prince's death-He passed away on 4/21/2016.
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Post by Hervard on May 5, 2018 16:37:02 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - May 5, 2018
This week's presentation - May 9, 1981
Droppers: CRYING - DON McLEAN (34) - You could definitely tell that this was a Roy Orbison song (as it sounded a great deal like "Blue Bayou"). This was another one of my favorite songs by McLean THE BEST OF TIME - STYX (33) - This was their first of two Top 40 hits from Styx' Paradise Theater album, as well as my favorite of those two (though, as I mentioned earlier, I do like the other one, "Too Much Time On My Hands" more than I had previously). Both are great songs! This song was actually played as the first of this week's Long Distance Dedications, which is somewhat unusual for a dropper (though I believe it's happened more than once).
LW#1: MORNING TRAIN – SHEENA EASTON - They must have played a very abbreviated version of this song, since I left the room for a minute and by the time I returned, they were already playing song #40. 40: TIME OUT OF MIND - STEELY DAN (22) - Wow, lots of songs moving up two spots this week! This was their final Top 40 hit. This one had their trademark jazz/rock sound heard in most of their Top 40 hits. I preferred this song over "Hey Nineteen", but I generally preferred the songs from Aja. 39: AI NO CORRIDA - QUINCY JONES (debut) - The first of three top 40 hits from Jones' album "The Dude". This was alright but I prefer the other two songs, both of which featured James Ingram on lead vocals. 38: JESSIE'S GIRL - RICK SPRINGFIELD (debut) - Now here's a song that got a lot of mileage on the chart! It debuted the previous week and lasted in the Top 40 until early October! That is staying power, my friend! But the song was definitely worthy because it was one of his best songs - one that overplay has not tarnished at all! 37: WASN'T THAT A PARTY - THE ROVERS (37) - Meh, this was a little goofy for my tastes. I remember their hit in 1968, "The Unicorn" was used as the intro music for a segment called "Ark In The Park" (basically, a taped segment of a trip to Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo) on the old Ray Rayner Show from the 1970s 36: BLESSED ARE THE BELIEVERS - ANNE MURRAY (38) - This song was OK, but quite repetitive. I preferred most of her other hits. 35: KEEP ON LOVING YOU - REO SPEEDWAGON (26) - I believe this would be considered their biggest hit ever. "Can't Fight This Feeling" may have spent two more weeks on top, but this song had more staying power - it spent two more weeks in the Top 40 than that song spent on the Hot 100. This was a song I definitely remember from its chart run, and I never got tired of it - a great power ballad indeed! 34: WOMAN - JOHN LENNON (16) - This was technically Lennon's first posthumous hit, as "Starting Over" had been released before Lennon's untimely death. It came very close to hitting #1, but couldn't quite get past REO Speedwagon or Blondie. It did, however, spend a month at the top on the R&R chart. Anyway, this has always been one of my favorite John Lennon songs. 33: DON'T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME - THE POLICE (14) - They had their first Top Ten hit ever earlier in the year and this song matched its peak position a few weeks before. Of their three big 1981 hits, this one was definitely my favorite. 32: FIND YOUR WAY BACK - JEFFERSON STARSHIP (36) - Here's one of several songs from around this time that only peaked in the lower half of the 40, but I remember hearing quite a lot (and still get a decent amount of recurrent airplay). I prefer several other songs by Airplane/Starship, but this one is a good one - I always thought they were saying "find your way back to Ohio". 31: THIS LITTLE GIRL - GARY U.S. BONDS (40) - As we all know, this song was a Bruce Springsteen production, such was the case with Bonds' next hit "Out Of Work". Both are good songs, but I preferred this one. 30: SINCE I DON'T HAVE YOU - DON McLEAN (35) - A song, originally by the Skyliners, that has been covered many times, by artists like Art Garfunkel, Guns 'N Roses, and this one - my favorite version of the song, as well as one of my favorite songs by Don McLean! OPTIONAL EXTRA: THE WAITING - TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS - Incredible that the song took such a long leap to #1 on the Album Rock chart! ARCHIVES: I GOT YOU BABE – SONNY & CHER - Their very first hit, as well as their only #1. Cher was more successful as a solo artist, with four #1 songs. This song was OK, but I generally preferred said solo hits. 29: SOMEBODY'S KNOCKIN' - TERRI GIBBS (13) - I love this song - has a very haunting melody. Too bad it didn’t hit the Top Ten (IIRC, despite such a big drop this week, it actually moved back up the next week. Weird!) Another oddity - I don’t remember any 1981 shows with the second hour starting with song #29. That was more common in the mid-80s. 28: HOLD ON LOOSELY - .38 SPECIAL (30) - This is another one of those mid-charters that now receives more radio airplay than ever. Of course, I prefer many others from them, but this is still a good song. 27: AMERICA - NEIL DIAMOND (39) - The third and final Top 40 hit from the Jazz Singer. I liked all three songs about the same, depending on my mood at the time - they're all great songs! LDD: THE BEST OF TIMES - STYX - Very moving LDD. When the girl arrived home, I expected her to say that her mother beat her for going out without asking permission (since the girl said her mother was out and didn’t know where she was; I thought maybe she was out drinking). Anyway, it was so heartwarming to hear that her best friends’ parents filed for adoption. As for the song, well, of course it was their first of two Top 40 hits from Styx' Paradise Theater album, as well as my favorite of those two. 26: LOVE YOU LIKE I NEVER LOVED BEFORE - JOHN O'BANION (28) - The only top 40 hit from this Kokomo native (the city in Indiana, that is; not the place the Beach Boys were singing about). It was a pretty decent song; had sort of a sixties sound to it. 25: WHAT ARE WE DOIN' IN LOVE - DOTTIE WEST & KENNY ROGERS (29) - Yes, I know that Kenny Rogers did not receive official label credit, but he certainly should have, as he was prominently heard in this song. It was a great song - I wonder if it would have gone higher had he gotten credit, as he definitely was on a hot streak at this point in his career. 24: SAY YOU'LL BE MINE - CHRISTOPHER CROSS (31) - This also had another artist singing on it (Nicholette Larson), but she was on the back-up vocals near the end. With its current chart momentum, it looked like this might resume his Top Ten streak, but, in fact, the song barely even made the Top 20. Anyway, this song was pretty good, but possibly my least favorite of his charted singles. 23: I MISSED AGAIN - PHIL COLLINS (27) - Phil's first solo hit, which, to this day, I just can't believe he didn't include on his HITS album, as it was his very first solo hit. It was a great one, too - one of my favorite of his solo hits. 22: I LOVE YOU - THE CLIMAX BLUES BAND (24) - Here's one I remember quite well, as I was taking swimming lessons during the summer of 1981 and I heard this song almost every day at the pool. It is one of the songs I associate most with that summer! A great song indeed - easily my favorite of their two Top 40 hits. 21: MEDLEY: STARS ON 45 - STARS ON 45 (32) - This is the one that kicked off the medley craze of the 1981-82 period. At least ten different medleys hit the Top 40, or so it seemed (definitely that many, if not more, hit the Hot 100). The song would be strong enough to interrupt the marathon run at #1 of "Bette Davis Eyes". The song was pretty good, but I'd probably get tired of hearing it all the time. 20: A WOMAN NEEDS LOVE (JUST LIKE YOU DO) - RAY PARKER JR. & RAYDIO (25) - Statistically, their biggest Top 40 hit ever. Reminds me a lot of their 1979 hit "You Can't Change That". Both are great songs; not sure which one I prefer. ARCHIVES: HELP – THE BEATLES - One of their many #1 songs, as well as their most successful movie hit, according to the Top 40 Hits of the Beatles special that AT40 played two months later. It was OK, but not one of my favorite songs by them by any means. OPTIONAL EXTRA: NOBODY WINS - ELTON JOHN - This one sure hit a brick wall - it was off to a promising start (making a 13-spot gain in its second week in the Top 40), but it only got as high as #21. Perhaps it was because it was disco-flavored (as his other songs with that music style didn't hit the Top 20 - I guess people thought that Elton and disco did not mix). I thought it was a decent song, but definitely far from his best. 19: HOW 'BOUT US – CHAMPAIGN (23) - As I’ve said before, it’s pretty much a toss-up between their two hits as to which one is my favorite. Both are great songs, IMO. The following week, Casey told a very interesting story about how the band's musical equipment had been encased in ice, due to the fact that the nightclub had been shut down unbeknownst to them. A water pipe burst and, due to the fact that it was winter, the water froze. This story was also told during the chart run of their other Top 40 hit "Try Again". It was never told how much water damage the equipment sustained, or if any of it was even salvageable. 18: YOU BETTER YOU BET - THE WHO (21) - Here's one I remember quite well! It sounds a lot like Pete Townshend's solo hit from the previous year, "Let My Love Open The Door", and I always thought it was Townshend singing lead, but, in fact, it was Roger Daltrey. This was one of my favorite songs by the Who. 17: AIN'T EVEN DONE WITH THE NIGHT - JOHN COUGAR (19) - This one had fallen into obscurity until about fifteen years ago, when it began being played on 80s stations. It's a good song, though not quite his best. 16: SWEETHEART - FRANKIE & THE KNOCKOUTS (20) - They had a trio of Top 40 hits in the early-80s. All three were great hits, but this was by far my favorite! 15: WHILE YOU SEE A CHANCE - STEVE WINWOOD (8) - This song, which hit #1 on the R&R chart a few weeks prior, was Winwood's first Top 40 (solo) hit. It was possibly my all-time favorite song from him. They really chopped the song down this week. They played the synth solo that opened the song, but after the first chorus, they jumped right to the end, where Steve sings "When you see a chance, take it, find romance..." to the fade. 14: RAPTURE - BLONDIE (6) - They were definitely a hot item in the early 1980s - had the top song of 1980, and two #1 songs in early 1981. This was the second of those two, and definitely my favorite! 13: WATCHING THE WHEELS - JOHN LENNON (17) - This one reminds me of his 1971 hit "Imagine". I like both songs about the same, but my favorite song from John's Double Fantasy album would have to be "(Just Like) Starting Over". 12: TOO MUCH TIME ON MY HANDS – STYX (15) - Their second Top Ten hit from the Paradise Theater album. Even though I prefer the first of those, "The Best Of Times", this is also a good one - a song I learned to like over the years (since I used to think it was mediocre). EXTRA: PEGGY SUE – BUDDY HOLLY - Interesting story about how the name Peggy Sue appeared in many other big hits, including ones by the Beach Boys and the Beatles. 11: HER TOWN TOO - JAMES TAYLOR & J.D. SOUTHER (11) - A one-time collaboration that saved the second artist from the dreaded "one hit wonder" title. It was a great song - too bad it just barely missed the Top Ten. ARCHIVES: EVE OF DESTRUCTION – BARRY MCGUIRE - Depressing subject matter - not a fan of this at all. OPTIONAL EXTRA: MODERN GIRL - SHEENA EASTON - She had risen to the top of the Hot 100 the week before and her second Top 40 single was on its way up the chart. I liked this song, but mainly preferred her slow songs. 10: I CAN'T STAND IT - ERIC CLAPTON & HIS BAND (10) - This song looked like it would just barely miss making the Top Ten, as it was stuck at #11 for three weeks. But the song did manage to climb another spot to peak at #10 in early May. I believe this was the only Top 40 that credited "his band". The song is not quite my favorite from him, but there are several songs that I prefer this over ("Tears In Heaven" comes to mind). 9: SUKIYAKI - A TASTE OF HONEY (18) - Their second and final Top 40 hit. I liked this, but preferred the 1994 remake by 4PM - that one had more interesting chord progressions. 8: LIVING INSIDE MYSELF - GINO VANELLI (9) - A good way to save money on rent! But seriously, this was probably my favorite of his two Top Ten hits. 7: TAKE IT ON THE RUN - REO SPEEDWAGON (12) - Their second Top 40 hit and, like the first one, it was a power ballad. I love both songs but slightly prefer this one. 6: KISS ON MY LIST - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (5) - 1981 was definitely a great year for them, as they had two #1 hits, as well as two Top Five hits, one of which went on to hit #1 in early 1982. Of those four songs, this was definitely my favorite. LDD: WHEN I NEED YOU – LEO SAYER - This song was number one on the Hot 100 exactly four years before. This was a pretty good song, despite the cheese factor. Still, I prefer songs like “How Much Love” and “More Than I Can Say”. It did fit the dedication quite well, though. 5: BETTE DAVIS EYES - KIM CARNES (7) - This song was just a week away from a nine-week reign at #1, which would put it at #1 for the entire year! It was definitely worthy - one of the best #1 hits of 1981! 4: ANGEL OF THE MORNING - JUICE NEWTON (6) - This successful country artist crossed over to Pop with this one. I like it, but preferred most of her other Top 40 hits. 3: BEING WITH YOU - SMOKEY ROBINSON (3) - This song was mediocre at best. I preferred much of his earlier material, including hits with the Miracles. OPTIONAL EXTRA: BEAUTIFUL BOY (DARLING BOY) - JOHN LENNON - This was a song written for Lennon's youngest son Sean, who was five and a half at the time of this show (it even mentions his name at the very end). It's a nice, heartfelt song. 2: JUST THE TWO OF US - GROVER WASHINGTON JR. (2) - This song had spent the past two weeks on the R&R chart and was peaking at #3 here on the Hot 100. It was a great song - kind of reminds me of "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover" by Paul Simon. 1: MORNING TRAIN (NINE TO FIVE) - SHEENA EASTON (1) - I used to like this song a lot, but now it is, in fact, one of my least favorite songs from her. Not sure; I guess I just got tired of it really fast.
Coming up next week: We know that the May 11, 1985 is scheduled for last week, but do not know if it is a standalone show or the "B" show to an early 1980s show. If it is the latter, then 1982 would most likely be the "A" show, since that year hasn't been featured at all since February. I personally hope it the "A" show would not be the 5/10/80 show, since I've heard that one twice on the iHeartRadio channel this year. It was last aired in 2015, but that doesn't mean much - so was the 1/18/86 show which we heard earlier this year. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the 1985 show is a standalone next week, or the "B" show to 1982 (most likely May 15)
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Post by Hervard on May 5, 2018 16:38:06 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - May 5, 2018 This week's presentation - May 3, 1986 FOR AMERICA - JACKSON BROWNE (39) - This, sadly, was Browne's final Top Ten hit. It was a good song; very patriotic. The song deserved a higher peak than #30, IMO. THESE DREAMS - HEART (36) - Good news and bad news for our friend JessieLou. Their former #1 fell out this week, but Heart did not skip a beat, as they debuted on the chart this week with their new hit. Oddly enough, while Ann Wilson had generally sung lead, Nancy was given a turn at the lead vocals and this one went all the way to the top (they would have another #1 hit, and that would be with Ann singing lead). Anyway, this was a great song - one of my favorite songs from them (as is their other #1 hit "Alone"). OVERJOYED - STEVIE WONDER (35) - This song sounds like the song was recorded in a tropical rain forest. But it was a good one - by far, my favorite song from Wonder's In Square Circle. I was hoping that it would be another Top Ten hit like the first two but, in fact, the song only got as high as #24. It did, however, fare much better at AC radio, where it would hit #1 two weeks later. SECRET LOVERS - ATLANTIC STARR (30) - A song about infidelity. I liked it, as well as their song from the following year, "Always", which, ironically, is a song about promising to be faithful. I CAN'T WAIT - STEVIE NICKS (29) - For several weeks, there were two songs in the countdown by this title. Too bad this one dropped out, as I much preferred it over the Nu Shooz song, which, for some reason, I never cared for at all. R.O.C.K. IN THE U.S.A. - JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP (27) - This was his biggest hit during the eight or so years that he used both of his surnames (his real one and the one that he was assigned as his stage name). The song peaked at #2 the following week, edged out of #1 by - well, more on that in a moment. Anyway, this was my favorite song from him back in the day, but, while I still like it, somehow, it doesn't sound quite as good as it did 30 years ago. LW#1: KISS - PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION 40: NOTHIN' AT ALL - HEART (debut) - This is probably my least favorite of the four songs from their 1985 comeback album, but it's still pretty good. 39: ALL THE THINGS SHE SAID - SIMPLE MINDS (debut) - Another fourth hit - period, that is - not all of their hits were from the same album (though "(Don't You) Forget About Me" was included on the 2015 Deluxe edition bonus CD to "Once Upon A Time"). Anyway, melodically, this song was basically a combination of their three previous songs. I thought it was OK. 38: MOTHERS TALK - TEARS FOR FEARS (debut) - Yet another fourth hit, both from the same album (Songs From The Big Chair) and overall. This song was pretty good, although the lyrics didn't really make sense. I definitely prefer "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" and "Head Over Heels" better than this. Still, I preferred this song over "Shout". 37: THERE'LL BE SAD SONGS (TO MAKE YOU CRY) - BILLY OCEAN (debut) - This song was inspired by an incident associated with Ocean's song Suddenly, from the previous year. This is one of many songs with Summer, 1986 since radio stations played it all the time. It wasn't one of my favorite songs back then, but I really like it now. 36: NO ONE IS TO BLAME - HOWARD JONES (debut) - Of his two Top Ten hits, this would be my favorite, hands down. It's another song that takes me back to the summer of 1986, which was an especially good one for me (trust me; it's a long story!). Anyway, I was kinda disappointed that this was nixed from the "CT40 Summer Hits of the 1980s, due to the cutoff rule. 35: FEEL IT AGAIN - HONEYMOON SUITE (38) - I thought this was a pretty good song, although I have a feeling I would have gotten tired of it quickly had it been a big hit, but outside of the countdown shows, I never heard it played. 34: TOMORROW DOESN'T MATTER TONIGHT - STARSHIP (40) - This was a great song! I liked this one better than several of their Starship releases (like "Sara" and "It's Not Over ('Til It's Over)") Still, "It's Not Enough" is the best, IMO. 33: STICK AROUND - JULIAN LENNON (37) - I like this and "Say You're Wrong", from his previous album, about the same. I heard that his song "Want Your Body" was next to be released, but it didn't go anywhere. Too bad, as it was such a beautiful song. LDD: YOU'RE IN MY HEART (THE FINAL ACCLAIM) - ROD STEWART - This song tended to be edited down, especially when it was on the charts (due to the three-hour format that the show had long outgrown), but now that the show was four-hours long, they were able to play it intact when it was on the show as an extra or a LDD. For quite awhile, I did not like this song, but now I think it's a great one! It fit the LDD quite well, especially since one of the people it was dedicated to was Rod Stewart himself. OPTIONAL EXTRA: I WANNA BE A COWBOY - BOYS DON'T CRY - A one-hit wonder, as I figured they might be, with this novelty song. It wasn't a bad song, but I liked it a lot better back in the day. 32: CRUSH ON YOU - THE JETS (debut) - The breakthrough hit from this family act from Minneapolis. I wasn't a big fan it, however, since I generally preferred their ballads (though their next hit, "Private Number", which just missed the Top 40 later on in the year, was pretty good). 31: SATURDAY LOVE - CHERRELLE WITH ALEXANDER O'NEAL (26) - Two songs recorded in Minneapolis back-to-back on the chart. This was the first of two charted duets between these two R&B acts. The other one, "Never Knew Love Like This" would chart exactly a year later. I like both of them about the same. This one definitely has a catchy chorus! 30: SO FAR AWAY - DIRE STRAITS (19) - The third single from their multi-platinum album Brothers In Arms. It was a great song, IMO - my favorite from that album! 29: NEVER AS GOOD AS THE FIRST TIME - SADE (32) - Most of their songs were chill-out type songs, and this was definitely one of them. It was nice and relaxing. 28: ROUGH BOY - ZZ TOP (31) - This was somewhat of a rare bird - a ballad by ZZ Top. Up to now, most of their songs were rockers (although they sort of went the pop way with their Afterburner album). Anyway, as seldom as they did slow songs, they seemed to do pretty good with them, IMO, anyway, as this was one of my favorite songs from them. 27: MOVE AWAY - CULTURE CLUB (33) - They had a wave of popularity throughout 1983 and the first half of 1984, but after that, they sort of fizzled out, so they decided to wait another year before giving it another shot. Unfortunately, it was less than stellar, as this song missed the Top Ten (at least it did peak higher than either of their songs from their last album Waking Up With The House On Fire). This was their last hit as a group (though Boy George had two more solo singles) 26: I DO WHAT I DO (THEME FROM "9 1/2 WEEKS") - JOHN TAYLOR (26) - The founder of this MB, Rob Durkee, was mentioned in the intro to this song, because he noted that this was the third time that someone named John Taylor hit the chart. Of course, he had been charting for three years as a member of Duran Duran, but this was his first solo hit. This one was very catchy. The first time I heard this song, I was singing the chorus to myself all day (misheard lyrics and all!) 25: BE GOOD TO YOURSELF - JOURNEY (34) - The first of four Top 40 hits from their Raised On Radio album. Though it's my least favorite of the singles, I still think it's a good one. 24: TENDER LOVE - FORCE M.D.'S (17) - The only Top 40 hit for this Staten Island based R&B act. A great song - I especially like the part near the end where they go so far up the scale on the piano that it sounds like a music box. 23: IS IT LOVE - MR. MISTER (28) - They were pretty much a flash in the pan, but their first three singles did quite well, all reaching the Top Ten (the first two making it all the way to the top!) This song was a good one, though I slightly preferred "Broken Wings". CORRECTION: Artie Shaw's "Frenesi" was the instrumental that spent the most weeks at #1, back in the 1940s. 22: I THINK IT'S LOVE - JERMAINE JACKSON (16) - As his sister Janet was just getting started, Jermaine's chart career ended right here with this song that peaked at #16 the week before It was a great song - nearly as good as his two 1984 hits. OPTIONAL EXTRA: HOLDING BACK THE YEARS - SIMPLY RED - The first of several big hits by this English band headed up by Mick "Red" Hucknall. The song was a week away from debuting on the AT40 chart, and when I first heard it, I was like, wow, what a great song! However, the song was quite overplayed and I grew tired of it. Still, it's good to hear every now and then. 21: ALL I NEED IS A MIRACLE - MIKE & THE MECHANICS (25) - They were relatively new at the time, but were doing quite well, with their first hit having hit the Top Ten, and this one a few weeks away from doing the same. Of their first two hits, this was my favorite, though I did prefer a few others from them, including their next single "Taken In". 20: WHAT YOU NEED - INXS (11) - Their first Top Ten hit, but the best was yet to come in 1988. One of those songs, "New Sensation" reminded me a lot of this one. Both are good songs. 19: LET'S GO ALL THE WAY - SLY FOX (15) - One of several one-hit wonders on this week's chart. Casey mentioned that this song had actually been released a year earlier, but didn't really go anywhere. Their decision to re-release it in 1986 proved to be worthwhile, as it hit the Top Ten. It was a good song. 18: SOMETHING ABOUT YOU - LEVEL 42 (20) - This song sure got a lot of mileage on the chart. Spent 14 weeks on the chart, which was unusually long for a song that did not even hit the Top Five (it was even more impressive on R&R - peaked at #9 and spent 15 weeks in the Top 40 - which tied it with several other songs for the longest run on the chart within 1986. I can see why it did so well, as it was an awesome song! 17: I CAN'T WAIT - NU SHOOZ (22) - What I couldn't wait for was this song to go poof! I was not a big fan of this one at all. I much preferred Stevie Nicks' song of the same title, which is coming up later in the countdown. 16: ON MY OWN - PATTI LaBELLE & MICHAEL McDONALD (21) - I felt the same about this song back in the day (due to excessive airplay), but it was one of those songs that ages like fine wine. I think it's a great song now. 15: ROCK ME AMADEUS - FALCO (7) - They played the more annoying version of it this week, the one with the chronology of Amadeus' life. I liked the one that started out with "Ooh, Rock Me Amadeus". They seemed to play the former first, but they played the other version a few times - they even played one that seemed to be a combination of the two on the last 1986 show they played back in early April. 14: LIVE TO TELL - MADONNA (24) - For the second week in a row, this song made the biggest move of the week, so it's no surprise that this song became another of many #1 hits from her, and deservedly so, as it was a great song! 13: AMERICAN STORM - BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND (14) - This one definitely had a touch of early Springsteen to it, as it reminded me a lot of "Born To Run". It was also reminiscent of his 1983 hit "Even Now". This was the first of two Top 20 hits from Like A Rock. The other one was, of course, the title track. I definitely preferred this one - one of Seger's best. 12: IF YOU LEAVE - ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK (18) - Of their four Top 40 hits, this was their only Top Ten. I preferred their other three hits, my favorite being "So In Love", which, oddly enough, sounds a lot like this one. 11: BAD BOY - MIAMI SOUND MACHINE (13) - This one had sort of an old Motown sound to it. It was the second of many big hits for this band from Cuba (and even more for the lead singer, Gloria Estefan, who would go on to have a successful solo career several years later). This was a good song; my favorite of their 1986 hits. OPTIONAL EXTRA: YOUR WILDEST DREAMS - THE MOODY BLUES - As big as this legendary band was, it's a surprise that they only had three Top Ten hits. This was one of them, peaking at #9 in mid-July, and deservedly so, as it is one of my all-time faves from them! 10: MANIC MONDAY - BANGLES (4) - Their breakthrough hit was on its way up the chart en route to #2 (edged out of #1 by a song by the artist who wrote this one). This was one of my favorite songs from them, which is more than I can say for their song that hit #1 at the end of the year. 9: TAKE ME HOME - PHIL COLLINS (10) - Many people thought that "Don't Lose My Number" was the final hit from No Jacket Required, but I believe they were holding off on new releases from the album to give "Separate Lives", his duet with Marilyn Martin, a chance (which proved to be worthwhile, as that song went all the way to the top). They resumed with No Jacket Required singles here with a song that closes out most of his concerts. A great song indeed! LDD: EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD - TEARS FOR FEARS - This was a very unusual LDD letter. Instead of starting out with “Dear Casey...”, it begins with the depiction of a typical fight between two sisters that at first hated each other, but now (well, at the time the dedication was written), they were very close. 8: YOUR LOVE - THE OUTFIELD (9) - The first of a handful of Top 40 hits from this British band who apparently knew nothing about baseball, despite their name. This was a good song, but I preferred their next single, "All The Love In The World", which charted that summer. 7: GREATEST LOVE OF ALL - WHITNEY HOUSTON (12) - One of Whitney's best songs ever, and it became popular in the LDD department. This is a song that I never got tired of and it still sounds as fresh as it did 30 years ago! Glad that it ended up as her biggest hit (as far as weeks at #1 go).from her debut album, which had been on the album chart for over a year at that point. 6: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY - JANET JACKSON (8) - The first of many, many hits that Janet would place on the charts. However, this was one of my least favorite songs from her. I generally liked her later songs (especially the Rhythm Nation era). 5: HARLEM SHUFFLE - THE ROLLING STONES (6) - This song was mediocre at best; definitely not one of their best hits. But it did have a fast-rise, fast-fall chart run; in fact, it was a rare Top Five hit that did not make the year-end chart. 4: WHY CAN'T THIS BE LOVE - VAN HALEN (5) - The Van Hagar era was off to a running start, as the band's very first hit with their new lead singer Sammy Hagar was going strong in the Top Five! It was a great song, though I did slightly prefer the next two hits from 5150. OPTIONAL EXTRA: A DIFFERENT CORNER - GEORGE MICHAEL - As we all know, I don't like this song at all, since it's so maudlin. I'm glad that the station on which I caught the show (WMGN) played their own set of Extras: "I Didn't Mean To Turn You On", "Human", "Mad About You" and "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" 3: KISS - PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION (1) - Meh, not a fan of this one, or any of his falsetto songs (well, except for "Mountains"). 2: WEST END GIRLS - PET SHOP BOYS (3) - This was an example of a band's first hit being their biggest. It was hitting #1 on the R&R chart and would do the same on the Hot 100 the following week. It was a good one, but I preferred several others from them, including their next hit "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots Of Money)". 1: ADDICTED TO LOVE - ROBERT PALMER (2) - Definitely one of the most overplayed hits of the 80s. I rather liked this song back in the day, but I'm still burned out on it (since the song still continues to receive a ton of recurrent airplay). Coming up next week: See my 1981 commentary.
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Post by pb on May 5, 2018 19:36:09 GMT -5
18: YOU BETTER YOU BET - THE WHO (21) - Here's one I remember quite well! It sounds a lot like Pete Townshend's solo hit from the previous year, "Let My Love Open The Door", and I always thought it was Townshend singing lead, but, in fact, it was Roger Daltrey. This was one of my favorite songs by the Who. I think Daltrey and the band learned Townshend's songs from his demos where he sang, and Daltrey would end up singing with the same mannerisms Townshend had, so he sounds similar.
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Post by Hervard on May 11, 2018 13:01:23 GMT -5
I thought I'd start with the Critiques a little early this weekend. First of all, here is the recycled commentary for the May 20, 1978 show, since that one has aired since I changed my critique method. American Top 40: The 70s - May 12, 2018 This week's presentation - May 20, 1978 Dropper: FLASH LIGHT - PARLIAMENT (27) - Not a bad song, but not a huge loss. 40: STAYIN' ALIVE - THE BEE GEES (28) - This was this song's last week in the Top 40, but what a run it had, didn't it? It lasted in the 40 for 22 weeks - some #1 songs didn't even spend that long on the Hot 100! It was indeed my favorite of the Bee Gees' upbeat songs from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack! 39: EGO - ELTON JOHN (34) - One of his less successful singles, only getting as high as #34. I myself thought it was a pretty decent song. 38: DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC - SHAUN CASSIDY (31) - Cassidy's fourth and final Top 40 hit and, like the first one, it was a remake of a hit from the sixties. It was pretty good, but I preferred the original by the Lovin' Sp00nful, 37: TUMBLIN' DICE - LINDA RONSTADT (debut) - This was a rare instance in which there was only a single debut on the entire countdown. In fact, this was only the second time in AT40 history in which that happened. As for the song, it wasn't bad, but definitely not one of my favorites from her or the Rolling Stones (who, of course, did the original). 36: LET'S ALL CHANT - MICHAEL ZAGER BAND (38) - Meh, let's not and say we did. 35: OUR LOVE - NATALIE COLE (29) - This was her third and last Top Ten hit of the 1970s. It was my favorite of the three - a great song! 34: HEARTLESS - HEART (39) - Not a bad song, but I preferred most of their other hits. 33: RUNNIN' ON EMPTY - JACKSON BROWNE (30) - This song looked like it might become his second Top Ten hit, but it just narrowly missed. That's too bad, as it was IMO one of his best hits ever! 32: BECAUSE THE NIGHT - THE PATTY SMITH GROUP (37) - I'm more familiar with the 1993 cover of this song by 10,000 Maniacs, which doesn't sound all that different from this one (except for one of the chords in the chorus). Not sure which of the two I prefer, but, due to overplay of the cover, I'm still burned out on the song overall. 31: DANCE WITH ME - PETER BROWN (36) - Typical late-70s disco - nothing special. 30: EVERY KIND OF PEOPLE - ROBERT PALMER (35) - Here is a song that charted twice - first in 1978, then, I believe, a slightly remixed version was released in 1992 (though that one was more of an AC hit than pop). Considering I'm not a big Robert Palmer fan, this one was actually pretty good. 29: SWEET TALKIN' WOMAN - ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (25) - Is it me, or was this song edited down more often than not. That's a shame, as it is among my favorite hits from ELO. 28: DEACON BLUES - STEELY DAN (33) - When this song started, I thought it was "Peg" at first, since the intros are both very similar. Though I preferred "Peg", both songs are great, with their trademark jazz/rock sound. OPTIONAL EXTRA: STILL THE SAME - BOB SEGER - This would be the first of four hits from Seger's multi-platinum Stranger In Town album (which I remember listening to a lot back in the day), but surprisingly, the only one that hit the Top Ten. Oh well, at least it was the best of the bunch! 27: TWO OUT OF THREE AIN'T BAD - MEAT LOAF (32) - He had a handful of Top 40 hits, with this being my favorite - as well as one of my favorites on this week's chart. I do, however, prefer the full album version over the single, which was what AT40 usually, if not always, played. 26: BAKER STREET - GERRY RAFFERTY (40) - I tell you what, I used to really like this song, but not so much anymore. Perhaps overplay on oldies stations. I generally switch the station when this comes on. 25: JACK AND JILL - RAYDIO (23) - Here's another song whose single version is quite butchered. This is possibly my favorite song from him/them. 24: LAY DOWN SALLY - ERIC CLAPTON (15) - This was one of my favorite songs in the world back in the day. It's still not bad, but hasn't really aged very well. 23: YOU BELONG TO ME - CARLY SIMON (26) - This, along with songs #37 and #34, were high points in the show for our friend JessieLou! I like this song too - one of my favorites from Carlegend! 22: DUST IN THE WIND - KANSAS (9) - One I remember quite well from back in the day. I like it - has a haunting sound to it. 21: WEREWOLVES OF LONDON - WARREN ZEVON (21) - Great classic hit here! Only got as high as #21, but still receives a ton of recurrent airplay. 20: IT'S A HEARTACHE - BONNIE TYLER (22) - Some people call her a "female Rod Stewart", since both have similarly raspy voices., 19: TWO DOORS DOWN - DOLLY PARTON (19) - Mainly a country act, Parton had many crossovers to Pop. This was her second Top 40 hit. It was OK, but didn't hold a candle to "Here You Come Again". 18: MOVIN' OUT (ANTHONY'S SONG) - BILLY JOEL (20) - The second of four hits from The Stranger. I liked all four of them, so it's hard to say what my favorite song would be. 17: TAKE A CHANCE ON ME - ABBA (24) - I like many, if not most, of their Top 40 hits, but this isn't one of them. Not sure why, but it just doesn't do anything for me. 16: LOVE IS LIKE OXYGEN - SWEET (18) - They had five Top 40 hits, all reaching the upper half of the chart. This one was their final Top 40 hit. It wasn't bad - reminded me of something that ELO would do. 15: BABY HOLD ON - EDDIE MONEY (17) - Here's another one that didn't quite hit the Top Ten, but gets quite a lot of recurrent airplay. A great song indeed - one of my favorites from him! 14: CAN'T SMILE WITHOUT YOU - BARRY MANILOW (7) - What my grandma said when I hid her dentures. But seriously, this was a great song! Another one of my personal faves from the good ol' days that has indeed stood the test of time. OPTIONAL EXTRA: RUNNING WITH THE DEVIL - VAN HALEN - This song only got as high as #84, but is widely recognized, as it gets a lot of airplay on classic rock stations. 13: THIS TIME I'M IN IT FOR LOVE - PLAYER (14) - Their second of their three Top 40 hits, and the second biggest as well, peaking at #10. It wasn't bad, but I preferred "Baby Come Back". 12: DISCO INFERNO - THE TRAMMPS (13) - I generally don't care for disco acts by faceless artists, but this one is actually pretty good. 11: ON BROADWAY - GEORGE BENSON (16) - One of several remakes on this week's chart. It was pretty good, with Benson's trademark scat singing, but I still preferred the original by the Drifters. 10: NIGHT FEVER - THE BEE GEES (5) - Wow, they kick off both the Top 40 and the Top Ten on this week's chart! That sure doesn't happen very often, does it? Anyway, this song was OK, but my least favorite of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. 9: IMAGINARY LOVER - ATLANTA RHYTHM SECTION (10) - Amazing how speeding up this song a bit turns it into a different artist No, seriously, I like most of ARS' Top 40 hits, this one included. 8: COUNT ON ME - JEFFERSON STARSHIP (8) - There were many songs that don't like now, but did back during their chart runs. Here's one that is just the opposite - back in the day, it was just there, but now is one of my favorite songs by JS. 7: FEELS SO GOOD - CHUCK MANGIONE (12) - Ah, here's a guilty pleasure here. I like this and his other Top 40 hit "Give It All You Got" about the same. 6: SHADOW DANCING - ANDY GIBB (11) - This song, of course, was on its way to becoming the top song for all of 1978. However, it is possibly my least favorite of his hits (but at least my favorite won out for the year before, so it's all good). 5: IF I CAN'T HAVE YOU - YVONNE ELLIMAN (1) - If this song could have held on for another week, the chart would have been bookended by Saturday Night Fever songs. However, I have heard it said that this song was artificially kept at #1, thus cheating the Roberta/Donny duet coming up a little late out of the top spot. However, I cannot confirm this. Regardless, this is possibly my favorite song from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. 4: YOU'RE THE ONE THAT I WANT - JOHN TRAVOLTA & OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (6) - It's sort of a close tie between this and "Summer Nights" as my favorite of their duets from Grease. Both are good songs, though. 3: TOO MUCH TOO LITTLE TOO LATE - JOHNNY MATHIS AND DENIECE WILLIAMS (4) - Before going into this song, Casey mentioned how Paul Davis had pulled into a tie with Mathis for keeping a song on the Hot 100 the longest. As we all know, "I Go Crazy" broke the record the following week. As for this song, it was a great one. 2: THE CLOSER I GET TO YOU - ROBERTA FLACK & DONNY HATHAWAY (2) - Casey mentioned that there were three songs in a row by duets who don't normally sing together - sort of implying that they were one-time duets, which was incorrect, as Flack & Hathaway had two other collaborations that charted (and, as it turned out, Travolta & Newton-John would also have another duet, but, of course, we did not know that yet). Whatever the case, this was my favorite of the three duets - both in this week's Top Five as well as the ones between Flack & Hathaway). 1: WITH A LITTLE LUCK - PAUL McCARTNEY & WINGS (1) - I was delighted that they played the full version of this song (though the very ending seemed abrupt) instead of their custom version, which is chopped down way too much, IMO. They also played the whole song on the 5/27 show, in its other week at #1. Not sure if they played that version any other time, though. This was definitely one of Wings' all-time best hits!
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Post by Hervard on May 11, 2018 13:01:34 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - May 12, 2018 This week's presentation - May 15, 1982 LW#3: I LOVE ROCK N’ ROLL - JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS LW#2: EBONY & IVORY - PAUL McCARTNEY & STEVIE WONDER LW#1: CHARIOTS OF FIRE - VANGELIS 40: MAN ON THE CORNER - GENESIS (40) - Definitely their most underrated Top 40 hit ever. This was all the higher it got, which is too bad. I'm actually kind of surprised it peaked so low, as WLS played this one regularly in the spring of 1982. Great synth work on this one! 39: CIRCLES – ATLANTIC STARR (debut) - Many people think that "Secret Lovers" was their first hit but, in fact, it was not. Of their three Top 40 hits, this was the only one that was upbeat. This one was pretty good, but I preferred the other two. 38: WHEN IT’S OVER - LOVERBOY (debut) - Their third Top 40 hit - failed to make the Top 20, as did their first two. They did manage to go Top 20 the following year (and came close to the Top Ten) with "Hot Girls In Love". Anyway, this song was OK, but one of my least favorites from them. 37: LET IT WHIP – THE DAZZ BAND (debut) - This was the week's #1 song on the soul chart, and it was on its way up the Hot 100, eventually peaking at #5. I wasn't a big fan of the song, however. 36: DO YOU BELIEVE IN LOVE – HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (18) - Ah, the song that kicked off the career of possibly THE biggest group of the 1980s! It was indeed a great song - one that pops up every now and then on oldies stations. 35: WHEN HE SHINES – SHEENA EASTON (39) - As we all know, I prefer Easton's slower songs over most of her upbeat ones (excluding "Telefone") and this is no exception, although I prefer a few others, like "For Your Eyes Only" and "Almost Over You". 34: WITHOUT YOU – FRANKE AND THE KNOCKOUTS (37) - The beginning of this song reminds me of "How Deep Is Your Love" by the Bee Gees. As for this song, it's a great one - a close second to "Sweetheart" as far as my favorite of their three Top 40 hits. 33: BODY LANGUAGE - QUEEN (debut) - Not a fan of this one. Indeed, their music quality took a nosedive once the 80s started, IMO. 32: SHANGHAI BREEZES – JOHN DENVER (35) - I've mentioned many times that my Mom listened to John Denver's music all the time back when I was little. By this point, she didn't listen quite as much, so I'm not quite as familiar with this song as I am others, but nevertheless, it was a great one. Too bad it only got as high as #31, but Denver had already had his day in the sun at Top 40 radio, but he continued to do well at AC radio, where this song made it to #1. OPTIONAL EXTRA: CAUGHT UP IN YOU - .38 SPECIAL - Definitely one of my absolute favorites from them! This song would debut on the chart the following week and eventually became their first of two Top Ten hits (you thought they had more, didn't you?) 31: WAKE UP LITTLE SUSIE – SIMON AND GARFUNKEL (34) - I preferred this version over the original by the Everly Brothers. It sounded quite energetic (since it was performed at their live concert in Central Park). 30: CRIMSON AND CLOVER – JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS (debut) - This one wasn't quite as good as her other song in the countdown, but I prefer it over her third hit from later on that year, as well as the original by Tommy James. 29: MY GIRL – DONNIE IRIS (33) - Is it me, or does this song bear much resemblence to "Hot Fun In The Summertime" by Sly & The Family Stone? Of his three Top 40 hits, this one would probably be my favorite. 28: STARS ON 45 III (A TRIBUTE TO STEVIE WONDER) – STARS ON 45 (28) - Ah, the band who started the medley craze! Of all of them, I preferred the Beatles one, but this one was pretty good as well. LDD: SPECIAL LADY – RAY, GOODMAN & BROWN - Although I used to dislike this song, it has gotten better with age. A great song from the band formerly known as the Moments - very fitting for the LDD as well! 27: ROSANNA - TOTO (38) - Definitely one of the big summer hits of 1982! This was a great song, and one of my favorite of their upbeat songs! 26: FANTASY – ALDO NOVA (29) - The only Top 40 hit for this Montreal native. It was a great song - one I remember hearing on the radio regularly back in 1982. 25: THEME FROM MAGNUM P.I. – MIKE POST (25) - One of several TV show themes from Mr. Post. I liked this one, but preferred a few others, like the "Hill Street Blues" theme, and "Theme from LA Law", the latter of which was a Top 20 AC hit six years later. 24: MAKING LOVE – ROBERTA FLACK (27) - I wonder if this one ever got confused with her 1974 song "Feel Like Makin' Love"? I prefer this one, because of the melody, and the synth in the instrumental bridge. 23: STILL IN SAIGON – THE CHARLIE DANIELS BAND (24) - A song about a Vietnam veteran experiencing post traumatic stress disorder. The subject matter was sort of depressing, but the song itself had a great melody. Definitely my favorite song from this pop/country band from Nashville! 22: IT’S GONNA TAKE A MIRACLE – DENIECE WILLIAMS (30) - Wow, I didn't know that this was a remake (and if I did, I forgot about it). Anyhoo, I guess it makes sense, since it does sound like an oldie. This one wasn't too bad, but I preferred "Let's Hear It For The Boy". OPTIONAL EXTRA: LOVE'S BEEN A LITTLE BIT HARD ON ME - JUICE NEWTON - As I’ve stated many times, 1982 was definitely her best year, and this song was one of the reasons why. Though my least favorite of her three big hits within the year, it is still a great song nevertheless! 21: RUN FOR THE ROSES – DAN FOGELBERG (21) - This song always brings me to tears. I remember when it was used as a LDD in November, 1989 in memory of Secretariat, the racing horse, who had been euthanized a month earlier because of an incurable hoof condition, known as laminitis. Then, just ten years ago, it was played on AT40: The 80s on May 3, just hours after Eight Belles collapsed right after she ran in the Kentucky Derby. Whew, I think I need a tissue right about now... 20: HANG FIRE – THE ROLLING STONES (20) - The third of four Top 40 hits from Tattoo You their biggest album ever (in terms of weeks at #1). 19: MAN ON YOUR MIND – LITTLE RIVER BAND (22) - The third and last Top 40 hit from LRB's Time Exposure album. This was my second favorite from that album, behind "Take It Easy On Me". 18: EMPTY GARDEN (HEY HEY JOHNNY) – ELTON JOHN (19) - This was Elton's tribute to the late John Lennon. It was definitely one of his best 80s hits, IMO. 17: GOIN’ DOWN – GREG GUIDRY (17) - Another one-hit wonder, like Aldo Nova, and unfortunately, we know that it's going to stay that way, as Mr. Guidry is no longer with us. Great song, though! 16: DON’T YOU WANT ME – THE HUMAN LEAGUE (16) - Wow, this song was in holding pattern? Kind of unusual for a future #1 song (although let’s remember that this was 1982, after all!) This is a relatively rare example of when an act's biggest hit is also my favorite from them. That's mainly because, since it's the biggest hit, it gets tons of airplay, but this one has held up quite well despite that. 15: HEAT OF THE MOMENT – ASIA (15) - Wow, quite a tight Top 20 this week! This song made a monster debut on AT40 two weeks before, coming in at #20. Kind of a surprise, considering it was the first single and they weren't an established act (they had just formed the year before). Well, whatever the case, this was my third favorite song from Asia, behind "The Smile Has Left Your Eyes" and "Only Time Will Tell". EXTRA: SHADOW DANCING - ANDY GIBB - Hmm, they were still playing the biggest hit of a random artist back in 1982 as well? I know they did this regularly back in 1980, but I thought they’d discontinued that by 1982. Must have been a few excess minutes left in the show. Anyway, this song was OK, but I preferred most of his other hits 14: ALWAYS ON MY MIND – WILLIE NELSON (14) - As I've said before, my favorite version of this song would be the Pet Shop Boys techno cover from 1988, but I do like this better than the two other versions that Casey played in a medley during the time the Pet Shop Boys version was charting - by Elvis Presley and Brenda Lee, IIRC. 13: WE GOT THE BEAT – THE GO-GO’S (7) - Meh, I was never a big fan of this song at all. Easily my least favorite of their hits. 12: THE BEATLES MOVIE MEDLEY – THE BEATLES (12) - The medley craze was still active at this point, though it was beginning to wind down. This song holds the record for taking the biggest drop on the Hot 100. Three weeks later, this song would take the biggest drop ever on the Hot 100 (remember - anything after 11/30/91 does not count) by falling from #20 all the way to #92! OPTIONAL EXTRA: ONLY THE LONELY - THE MOTELS - The first of four Top 40 hits from this band from Los Angeles. I liked all four of those hits, my favorite being "Remember The Nights", from early 1984. This was their biggest hit overall, and the only one that gets any kind of recurrent airplay nowadays. 11: GET DOWN ON IT – KOOL & THE GANG (11) - I didn't care too much for any of their hits from 1982 (except for "Just Take My Heart", but that was more of a 1981 hit, even though it did spill over into 1982. I wasn't a fan of this one, for some reason. 10: DID IT IN A MINUTE – DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (10) - One of several Top Ten songs from them that radio all but ignores anymore, which is a shame, as this was one of their best hits ever! 9: THE OTHER WOMAN – RAY PARKER JR. (13) - This was Ray's first solo Top 40. It was OK, but one of my least favorites from him. I generally prefer his songs from the Raydio era. 8: FREEZE-FRAME – THE J. GEILS BAND (5) - "Centerfold" was so much better. This one was mediocre at best. 7: ’65 LOVE AFFAIR – PAUL DAVIS (8) - This song has that malt shop era sound to it (I believe the title was originally "'55 Love Affair", but for some reason, they moved it up a decade). This was a great song - Davis' highest peaking hit and one of his all time best, IMO. 6: I’VE NEVER BEEN TO ME - CHARLENE (9) - I guess you could call this one a guilty pleasure, as I like this song, but know many who hate it with a passion - especially the spoken word bridge. I can see why that would be gag-inducing to some, but I personally don't mind it. LDD: DON’T LOOK BACK - BOSTON - 5: 867-5309/JENNY – TOMMY TUTONE (6) - I wonder if anyone still has this phone number, and if they're still receiving nuisance calls from people asking for Jenny? Hope they have caller ID. Anyway, this was a good song. 4: I LOVE ROCK N’ ROLL – JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS (3) - One of the biggest hits of 1982, and my favorite of all three of her 1982 hits. This is another one of those songs that despite overplay, has held up quite well. 3: DON’T TALK TO STRANGERS – RICK SPRINGFIELD (4) - This song had recently spent five weeks atop the R&R chart, but was still going strong on the Hot 100. Oddly enough, you don't hear it much on the radio. Pretty much all they play by him is "Jessie's Girl". Both of those are among my favorites by this man from Australia. 2: CHARIOTS OF FIRE - VANGELIS (1) - This song set a record the week before for the longest climb to the top, eclipsing the 21-week record shared by Nick Gilder, with "Hot Child In The City" and Robert John, with "Sad Eyes" by one week. Glad this one made it to the top, because it was a great one - one of my favorite instrumentals of all time! 1: EBONY & IVORY – PAUL McCARTNEY & STEVIE WONDER (2) - Like the Joan Jett song, this spent seven weeks at #1 and ranked among the Top Five of that year. Back in the day, I hated this song, because, every time you turned on the radio, there it was. I was burned out on it for quite awhile, but have learned to start liking it better over the past few years. It's a great song with a great message! Coming up next week: One of two yet-unaired shows from the 80s series (three, if you count Part 1 of the Top 100 of 1986), May 16, 1987. I've heard a few unconfirmed reports about what the "B" show is going to be, but I don't want to get anyone's hopes up should said reports prove to be false, so I'll just wait until billyonaire (or someone) posts next week's shows sometime tomorrow.
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Post by Hervard on May 11, 2018 13:01:58 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - May 12, 2018 This week's presentation - May 11, 1985 Droppers: MATERIAL GIRL (37) - Great song, but I preferred her other song on the chart this week - the one up in the Top Ten that is. Madonna came very close to having three hits in the countdown the week before, as “Angel”, one of this week's debuts, was at #41 that week. She did, however, have three hits on the Radio & Records chart, since “Angel” had hit the Top 40 and this song was still holding on - also at #37, if I recall correctly. VOX HUMANA - KENNY LOGGINS (29) - This one was a little weird. I can see why it tanked so fast. I prefer many others from him, such as the follow-up "Forever", which was a one-week wonder later that summer (and hit the Top Five on the AC chart). FOREVER MAN - ERIC CLAPTON (26) - This song was a #1 Album Rock hit, but here on the Top 40 chart, the song only got up to #26. It was a pretty good song - one I remember hearing from time to time during the spring of 1985. MISSING YOU - DIANA ROSS (23) - The first of two tributes to Marvin Gaye, the biggest solo artist of that era to chart during the spring of 1985. It was my favorite of the two - and coming up as a LDD on this show. 40: WOULD I LIE TO YOU – THE EURYTHMICS (debut) - The first of two Top Ten hits with this title. I preferred the one by Charles & Eddie, which charted seven years later. This song was also a good song - one of many that takes me back to the summer of 1985. Though we already know all too well that my favorite song from them was the follow-up to this song. 39: SUSSUDIO – PHIL COLLINS (debut) - This song debuted on the entire Hot 100 here at #39, so it's no surprise that this song also went to #1, like his first hit from No Jacket Required. This, however, was definitely my least favorite of the singles from that album - was a little too gimmicky, IMO, as well as overplayed. 38: THE SEARCH IS OVER - SURVIVOR (debut) - This was their biggest hit that wasn't associated with any of the Rocky movies. It was a great song - one that became somewhat popular in the LDD department. 37: INVISIBLE – ALISON MOYET (39) - A one hit wonder, and a former member of Yaz (who never had a Top 40 hit). Her voice reminds me of Cher. 36: NEVER ENDING STORY - LIMAHL (40) - Of course we all know that this guy was the lead singer of Kajagoogoo, whose only hit "Too Shy" I think we know all too well I hate with a passion. This one, on the other hand, was a great song! 35: LOST IN LOVE – NEW EDITION (36) - This one never hit the R&R chart, but, even though I wasn't yet listening to American Top 40, I do vaguely remember hearing this song back in the day. Around that time, I had a dream about spending the day with a girl from my class that I had a crush on (who ended up not wanting to have anything to do with me, lol), and I was writing a story based on the dream. This song sort of brings back those puppy love feelings, so I must have heard it sometime - probably on B96, which was beginning to play more urban-based music. Anyway, this was definitely one of my favorite songs by them! A true bonafide guilty pleasure! 34: ALONG COMES A WOMAN - CHICAGO (22) - A landmark single for them, as this was their last Top 40 hit before Peter Cetera left the band for a solo career. It was a pretty good song, though I preferred several others from them. 33: SMUGGLER’S BLUES – GLENN FREY (38) - The first of two hits by Frey from the "Miami Vice" soundtrack. This is my favorite of the two by a slight margin, but I generally preferred him with the Eagles. LDD: YOU AND ME AGAINST THE WORLD – HELEN REDDY - As cheesy as this song was, it definitely fit the dedication, since it was from a divorced mother, who was going through tough times after her husband either died or left her - I was somewhat busy, so I wasn't paying full attention. 32: ANGEL - MADONNA (debut) - I think it's an understatement that 1985 was a great year for Madonna. She had a ton of hits on the chart. This was a good one, but I preferred many others from her, including her album cut "Into The Groove", which was charting at R&R around this time 31: ‘TIL MY BABY COMES HOME – LUTHER VANDROSS (34) - Featuring Billy Preston on the organ, this was Luther's second Top 40 hit (third, if you count his duet with Dionne Warwick, "How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye") and it was a good one, but I preferred many others from him. OPTIONAL EXTRA: RASPBERRY BERET - PRINCE - For some reason, the Optional Extra of "Show Some Respect", from when this show was last played in 2011 was replaced with this song (I assume that the story going into the song was about his death two years ago). Anyway, this was Prince's first song in quite awhile that was NOT from the Purple Rain soundtrack. It was a good song, but definitely not his best. 30: SAY YOURE WRONG – JULIAN LENNON (35) - His album Valotte spawned three Top 40 hits. This was my favorite of the three, and I feel it deserved a higher peak than #21 (especially since the first two songs hit the Top Ten). 29: ONE MORE NIGHT – PHIL COLLINS (17) - Wow, I had forgotten that this song was still on the charts (and up in the Top 30, no less). This song, which was strong enough to ward off "We Are The World" to spend a second week on top, was my favorite of the No Jacket Required singles. 28: CELEBRATE YOUTH – RICK SPRINGFIELD (32) - He was pretty much a has-been at this point. His album Tao spawned only two singles, neither of which hit the Top 20. I preferred the other single, "State Of The Heart" by a fair margin. This song wasn't bad, but I can see why it peaked so low (other than the fact that Springfield had already had his day in the sun). 27: ROCK AND ROLL GIRLS – JOHN FOGERTY (21) - Once the lead singer of Creedence Clearwater Revival, he was on his own at this point, and doing quite well. The first two songs from Centerfield hit the Top 20, including this one. I preferred the title track, which I'm surprised never hit the Top 20 (could have to do with the fact that it was the flipside to this song). 26: ONE LONELY NIGHT – REO SPEEDWAGON (30) - They had a big #1 earlier in the year (one of my personal faves by them, might I add). I figured that this song, their second hit from Wheels Are Turnin' (as well as another personal favorite) would hit the Top Ten, but it only got as high as #19 (which isn't bad either). Their biggest pop success was definitely in 1981, with Hi Infidelity. 25: HEAVEN – BRYAN ADAMS (33) - The first of three #1 hits for Adams (sure seems like he had more, doesn't it? I'm glad that this got a second chance on the charts (as when it was first released, from the box office bomb "A Night In Heaven", it went nowhere). 24: WALKING ON SUNSHINE – KATRINA & THE WAVES (31) - A great, fun song that always takes me back to the summer of 1985! 23: I’M ON FIRE – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (13) - He was still cranking out hit after hit from his Born In The USA album. This was the fourth one, which had peaked at #6 several weeks before. It was a great song - one of my favorites from Born In The USA 22: JUST A GIGOLO/I AIN’T GOT NOBODY – DAVID LEE ROTH (27) - His second hit from Crazy From The Heat, a mini-album containing only four songs, all of them cover versions of older hits. 21: SOME THINGS ARE BETTER LEFT UNSAID – DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (18) - Their Big Bam Boom album was their third in a row to be certified multi-platinum. This was the third single from it, and it would peak at #18. I'm thinking it might have peaked higher had it been released a few years earlier, as it sort of had an early-80s sound to it (in fact, the choruses reminded me of the verses of "Even The Nights Are Better" by Air Supply). I thought it was a good song. 20: IN MY HOUSE – THE MARY JANE GIRLS (26) - This was the only Top 40 hit for this Rick James-produced soul & funk group (though I have heard a few others from them, such as their cover of the Four Seasons' "Walk Like A Man" which was a mid-charter a year later). This was my favorite of their songs that I know. OPTIONAL EXTRA: YOU GIVE GOOD LOVE - WHITNEY HOUSTON - Ah, the song that started it all off for her - in the Top 40, that is, as she was featured the year before in Teddy Pendergrass' "Hold Me", which peaked at #46. This is the song that started her chart career proper. This song climbed all the way to #3 and there was much, much more where that came from. Of her singles from her self-titled debut album, this would be my second favorite, behind "The Greatest Love Of All". 19: THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER – HOWARD JONES (24) - This song and Billy Joel's hit from later that summer, "You're Only Human", both had similar messages. It was a great one, though my favorite from him would be "No One Is To Blame", from the following summer. 18: FRESH - KOOL & THE GANG (25) - This was the second of four hits from the album Emergency (in fact, three of them hit the Top Ten - ironically, the only one that did not was the title track). This was my favorite of that album's singles. 17: NEW ATTITUDE – PATTI LaBELLE (19) - A great and very positive sounding song that reminds me of the revelation I had back in June, 2009 about developing a more positive attitude than I'd had previously. There is still room for improvement, but I've been told by several people that they've noticed the change. 16: SUDDENLY – BILLY OCEAN (20) - To many Billy Ocean fans, it's pretty common knowledge that an incident associated with this song actually inspired one of Ocean's hits, "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)", which hit #1 the following summer. Both songs are great, IMO, and among my personal faves from Ocean. Too bad they cut the second verse. 15: THAT WAS YESTERDAY – FOREIGNER (12) - At least they played this song intact. The second hit from Agent Provacateur, it was looking like it would be another Top Ten hit, but it fell short, peaking at #12. It did hit the Top Ten on the R&R chart and was played regularly on the stations I listened to (especially U93, which played it well into the summer). It was easily my favorite of their two 1985 hits, as well as possibly my favorite song from them of all time! 14: DON’T COME AROUND HERE NO MORE – TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS (15) - Meh, I was never a huge fan of this song. I preferred his early-80s hits. 13: NIGHTSHIFT – THE COMMODORES (8) - The second of the two Marvin Gaye tributes that I mentioned earlier, only this one also paid homage to Jackie Wilson, another R&B great who had also passed away in 1984. This song was OK, but the Commodores were just not the same without Lionel Richie. 12: AXEL F – HAROLD FALTERMEYER (16) - The first of three instrumentals to hit the Top 40 in 1985 (not sure when the last time that many instrumentals charted within a year's time). I remember that sometimes, I'd shadowbox in time to music of this song. Not sure why; just one of many weird things I did as a young teenager. 11: ALL SHE WANTS TO DO IS DANCE – DON HENLEY (9) - The second release from Building The Perfect Beast. It's my least favorite of the singles, however - for some reason, this song never did much for me. LDD: MISSING YOU – DIANA ROSS - Wow, what a LDD. I wonder why the father of the girl who wrote this LDD rejected her like he did? Possibly seeing her reminded him of the pain of the divorce (which would explain why he started to cry when she came to visit him). OPTIONAL EXTRA: VOICES CARRY - 'TIL TUESDAY - The first of two Top 40 hits from this band from Boston. It was a good one, though I preferred their other Top 40 hit (which was quite underrated, I must say), "What About Love". 10: EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD – TEARS FOR FEARS (14) - The first of three big hits for TFF in 1985. This song went all the way to #1 and is my second favorite, behind "Head Over Heels". 9: OBSESSION - ANIMOTION (6) - Their first of three Top 40 hits from this technopop band from Los Angeles. It was their biggest hit and I thought it was a decent song, but I preferred their other Top Ten hit, "Room To Move", from 1989. 8: EVERYTHING SHE WANTS - WHAM (11) - Not only their third hit in a row, but their third #1 as well. This was my favorite of those. 7: SMOOTH OPERATOR - SADE (10) - Their debut hit, which became one of their biggest, peaking at #5 the following week. It wasn't one of my favorites back in the day, but now I think it's a great one! 6: SOME LIKE IT HOT – THE POWER STATION (7) - One of several Duran Duran side projects. This song was OK, but I generally preferred Duran Duran, including their then-new song "A View To A Kill", which would debut on the Hot 100 the following week and go on to hit #1 that summer. 5: ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK – MURRAY HEAD f/ANDERS GLENMARK (5) - That is how the song would be credited today, since Glenmark sings in the song while Murray Head raps. As usual, this song started out with the classical prelude, which I liked. The song itself is pretty good too, although it was quite overplayed back in the day! They usually edited this one (heavily at times), but this week, they seemed to play the song intact. 4: RHYTHM OF THE NIGHT - DEBARGE (3) - This song turned out to be their biggest hit ever, getting as high as #3 back in May. It was a good one, but I preferred their next hit, "Who's Holding Donna Now", which turned out to be their second best hit, peaking at #6. 3: DON’T YOU (FORGET ABOUT ME) – SIMPLE MINDS (4) - Their first four hits sounded very much alike, IMO. This was my least favorite of the four (probably since it was way overplayed). I do like the movie from which it came, The Breakfast Club. OPTIONAL EXTRA: EVERY TIME YOU GO AWAY - PAUL YOUNG - Definitely one of the songs that I most associate with the summer of 1985! This one has held up quite well despite overplay! 2: WE ARE THE WORLD – USA FOR AFRICA (1) - One of the biggest selling singles ever, and for a great cause - aiding in famine relief in Ethiopia. I did get tired of the song back in the day, both from radio airplay and rehearsing it almost every day for our spring choir concert in 7th grade, but it's great to hear it every now and then. 1: CRAZY FOR YOU - MADONNA (2) - This song had been stuck in the runner-up position for three weeks and, with a multi-million selling benefit song at the top, it looked like that might be all the further the song got, but the song did manage a week at #1. The song was #1 for two weeks on the R&R chart and went on to become the biggest song of the year, and deservedly so, as it was such a great song! Coming up next week: See my 1982 commentary.
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Post by pb on May 11, 2018 13:17:04 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - May 5, 2018 This week's presentation - May 9, 1981 LW#1: MORNING TRAIN – SHEENA EASTON - They must have played a very abbreviated version of this song, since I left the room for a minute and by the time I returned, they were already playing song #40. Yes, a very brief edit - just the first verse and chorus and then right to the ending. That must be how they fit in enough songs to be at #29 by the start of Hour Two.
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Post by Hervard on May 19, 2018 10:08:36 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s - May 19, 2018
This week's presentation - May 21, 1977
40: YOUR LOVE - MARILYN McCOO & BILLY DAVIS, JR (27) - The second of their two charted duets. Too bad this wasn't as successful as "You Don't Have To Be A Star", as I preferred this song. 39: EVERYBODY BE DANCIN' - STARBUCK (debut) - This group is generally known as a one-hit wonder, as the only song that most people know from them is "Moonlight Feels Right", which this one sounds a lot like (even contains the same instruments). But I preferred their bigger hit, which hit the Top Five the previous summer. 38: DO YOU WANNA MAKE LOVE - PETER McCANN (debut) - The first of two songs on the countdown that McCann wrote. I prefer the other song; this one was way too schmaltzy IMO. 37: ARIEL - DEAN FRIEDMAN (debut) - This may have been his only Top 40 hit, but it definitely got a lot of mileage, especially for a song that peaked at #26 - ten (non-consecutive) weeks in the Top 40 and 22 on the Hot 100! I love this song - heard it many times on my Barry Scott's Lost 45s CD. 36: SLOWDOWN - JOHN MILES (40) - This was the only Top 40 hit for this Jarrow, England native. The song was OK, but nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to. 35: HIGH SCHOOL DANCE - SYLVERS (debut) - Their first two hits made the Top Five, but this one petered out at #17. Can't really call this "Third-Single Syndrome", as the three songs weren't from the same album. This song wasn't bad, but my favorite from them was "Boogie Fever". 34: DON'T LEAVE ME THIS WAY - THELMA HOUSTON (24) - No relation to Whitney, to my best of knowledge. This was her only big hit, but it was definitely a long-standing one. I liked it, but I preferred the underrated cover by the Communards from ten years later. Glad that they had the song on the jukebox at the local arcade. I played it practically everytime I went there. 33: MAINSTREET - BOB SEGER (37) - His second release from "Night Moves" and my favorite of the two. This one would hit a brick wall the two weeks later, peaking at #24 and falling out of the Top 40 the week after that. Too bad, as it was such a great song! 32: SLOW DANCIN' DON'T TURN ME ON - ADDRISI BROTHERS (36) - Wow, lots of "two-hit wonders" on the countdown this week. Their first hit charted in 1972 and five years later, they came back with this song, which eventually peaked at #20. This one was OK, but nothing special. 31: LOVE'S GROWN DEEP - KENNY NOLAN (35) - Yet another two-hit wonder, like Starbuck (although I think more might know this song, as it hit the Top 20). Not sure if I prefer this or "I Like Dreamin'", though the latter tends to get stuck in my mind. 30: JET AIRLINER - STEVE MILLER BAND (39) - The second of four Top 40 hits during 1977 (and the lead-off single from Book Of Dreams). Definitely one of their best hits. 29: MARGARITAVILLE - JIMMY BUFFETT (33) - Definitely his signature song. This was OK, but a little overrated, IMO. 28: SHOW YOU THE WAY TO GO - JACKSONS (29) - Their second of two Top 40 hits for the band in 1977, and my favorite of the three, although I preferred most of their earlier songs, when they were known as The Jackson 5. 27: UPTOWN FESTIVAL - SHALAMAR (30) - Five classic Motown songs woven into a medley. Pretty good. OPTIONAL EXTRA: VINCENT - DON McLEAN - A great tribute to the famous Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh! As my favorite song by Don McLean, this would be in a horse race with "American Pie". 26: CAN'T STOP DANCING - CAPTAIN & TENNILLE (13) - Well I must say that this one's better than their last hit before this one! Still, nothing exceptional. 25: I'VE GOT LOVE ON MY MIND - NATALIE COLE (18) - This was her biggest hit ever, peaking at #5 and spending 14 weeks on the chart. It was indeed a good one, though I preferred several others from her. 24: WHODUNIT - TAVARES (26) - They seemed to chart sporadically throughout the 70s. I like a few of their songs, but this wasn't one of them (too repetitive). 23: DANCING MAN - Q (23) - Dancing Queen's partner, perhaps? But seriously, this band shares the record for the shortest act title with M (only the latter fared better on the chart, since "Pop Muzik" hit #1 while this was all the further this song got. This song was OK, but nothing exceptional. 22: I WANNA GET NEXT TO YOU - ROSE ROYCE (10) - Their first hit was an upbeat dance number and for the second song, they went with a ballad. It was pretty much your typical 70s slow jam. I preferred "Car Wash". 21: HEARD IT IN A LOVE SONG - MARSHALL TUCKER BAND (25) - Another "two-hit wonder", and this is by far their best known of the two hits - and my favorite as well (though I seem to remember that "Fire On The Mountain" was pretty good as well). 20: AIN'T GONNA BUMP NO MORE (WITH NO BIG FAT WOMAN) - JOE TEX (22) - Meh, not a fan of this one at all. 19: UNDERCOVER ANGEL - ALAN O'DAY (28) - This was his only charted hit of his own, but he did write many other big hits ("Angie Baby" by Helen Reddy, for instance). As for this song, well, I love it! Definitely one of the best #1 hits of 1977, IMO. 18: ANGEL IN YOUR ARMS - HOT (20) - Another one-hit wonder, though, like "Undercover Angel", it went quite a long way, spending 19 weeks on the chart. I used to like this one, but not so much anymore, as it's about infidelity - plus the music is kind of boring. 17: SO IN TO YOU - ATLANTA RHYTHM SECTION (7) - They had a handful of Top 40 hits and I thought most of them were great, like this one! 16: CALLING DR. LOVE - KISS (16) - 1976-77 was definitely their heyday, since that was when they had the most hits. This song wasn't bad, but I preferred their two Top Ten hits. 15: HELLO STRANGER - YVONNE ELLIMAN (17) - The second of five hits for her, and the second biggest, behind "If I Can't Have You". I prefer the latter by a fair margin. 14: FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME - FOREIGNER (19) - This was indeed the first of many hits for this legendary band, and a great one at that - both the song and the band! 13: RIGHT TIME OF THE NIGHT - JENNIFER WARNES (6) - Casey told the story about her gig of singing the Star Spangled Banner, which I believe he also told sometime in 1982, during her run with her duet with Joe Cocker "Up Where We Belong" (in fact, it might have been the November 6 show, when the song was #1). Anyway, this was the other song in this week's Top 40 written by Peter McCann. As said earlier, this was my favorite of the two hits, as well as one of my faves from Jennifer Warnes. 12: LONELY BOY - ANDREW GOLD (15) - This may have been his biggest chart hit, but his other one, "Thank You For Being A Friend", from the following year, became a very popular LDD request. This was my favorite song from him, though his other one was great as well. 11: LIDO SHUFFLE - BOZ SCAGGS (11) - Definitely one of the hits that I associate with the spring of 1977 (and the station that I listened to played it well into the summmer as well). My favorite of his hits! 10: LUCILLE - KENNY ROGERS (12) - 400 children and crap in the field? Oh wait, that's something else... Anyway, this was pretty good, but I prefer many others from him. 9: SOUTHERN NIGHTS - GLEN CAMPBELL (4) - Campbell had many Top 40 hits, and two of those went all the way to #1, including this one. I like it, but preferred his other #1 hit, "Rhinestone Cowboy" from two years before. 8: HOTEL CALIFORNIA - THE EAGLES (3) - The title track from one of their biggest albums ever. A true classic which has aged quite well! 7: GONNA FLY NOW (THEME FROM "ROCKY") - BILL CONTI (21) - This song made the biggest move of the week, but it would take it one step at a time from here, all the way up to #1. Maynard Ferguson was right outside the Top 40 (at #41) with his version of the song, which would enter the AT40 survey the following week. It was a good version, but I preferred this one. 6: DREAMS - FLEETWOOD MAC (14) - The biggest single from one of the biggest albums of all time, Rumors. The song is my least favorite of the singles, however, presumably due to overplay. It's still a pretty good one, though, 5: GOT TO GIVE IT UP (PART #1) - MARVIN GAYE (9) - I have learned to like this song a little better than I had before, but still, it is not my favorite song from him (and I stand by my opinion that the song's soundalike, "Blurred Lines" is the worst #1 song of the decade so far). 4: I'M YOUR BOOGIE MAN - K.C. & THE SUNSHINE BAND (8) - One of two Top Five hits from them in 1977. I preferred the other one, which just narrowly missed hitting #1 several months later. 3: COULDN'T GET IT RIGHT - CLIMAX BLUES BAND (5) - Another two-hit wonder. Of course, we all know that I preferred their other hit, from four years later. 2: WHEN I NEED YOU - LEO SAYER (1) - One of three Top 20 hits that Leo charted with during the year. It was OK, but somewhat schmaltzy. I preferred his other two songs, which bookended this one. 1: SIR DUKE - STEVIE WONDER (2) - This song put Wonder in a two-week tie for the solo artist with the most #1 hits of the 1970s, just one behind Elton John. Of course, it stayed that way, since neither artist returned to #1 for the remainder of the decade.
Coming up next week: We don't know yet, but I'm REALLY hoping to hear the yet-unplayed May 26, 1979 show. Failing that, my back-up prediction is May 25, 1974, though they should hold off on that year for another week to play another "new" show, from June 1, 1974.
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Post by Hervard on May 19, 2018 10:09:19 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - May 19, 2018
This week's presentation - May 17, 1980
LW#3: LOST IN LOVE – AIR SUPPLY LW#2: RIDE LIKE THE WIND – CHRISTOPHER CROSS LW#1: CALL ME - BLONDIE 40: WE LIVE FOR LOVE – PAT BENATAR (debut) - Her second Top 40 single, which doesn't get quite as much airplay as her two other 1980 hits. This one had never been one of my favorite songs from her, but it has grown on me over the past few weeks and I really like it now! 39: I DON’T WANT TO WALK WITHOUT YOU – BARRY MANILOW (debut) - Another artist who had three Top 40 singles in 1980 (with the last being a Top Ten, such was the case with Pat Benatar). This one was pretty good, though I preferred said Top Ten, which was "I Made It Through The Rain". 38: SPECIAL LADY – RAY, GOODMAN & BROWN (21) - aka "The Trio Formerly Known As The Moments". This was their only hit under their new name, which apparently worked, as it was their biggest hit (and their only Top Ten). I never used to like this song, but now I think it's a great one. Since several people I know hate this song, I guess you could call it a guilty pleasure! 37: HOLD ON TO MY LOVE – JIMMY RUFFIN (10) - Wow! The 27-place drop of this song dwarfs the one that "Special Lady" took just above. After three Top 40 hits in 1966, Ruffin went dormant for awhile, but had a short-lived comeback in early 1980, with this song written and produced by the late Robin Gibb (who also sings back-up). A great song - it hit the Top Ten, but didn't get quite enough points to register on the YE Top 100. 36: STARTING OVER AGAIN – DOLLY PARTON (36) - This one fizzled out kinda fast, but her follow-up hit #1 the year after. This was my favorite of her 80s hits - it was a great one despite how depressing it was. This song topped the Country chart the following week. 35: HEADED FOR A FALL - FIREFALL (39) - They had a trio of Top 20 hits in the 1970s, but were pretty much yesterday's news by the 1980s, with only two Top 40 hits, neither of which got out of the 30s. My favorites by them would be their first two hits, but this was good too. 34: GEE WHIZ – BERNADETTE PETERS (35) - One of several instances where an someone known more for their acting had one chart single. This one was a good one - reminded me a little of "Break It To Me Gently". 33: SHOULD’VE NEVER LET YOU GO – NEIL SEDAKA & DARA SEDAKA (40) - Neil, of course, had a ton of Top 40 hits, but this was the only chart hit for his daughter Dara. It was a great song - one of my favorite Sedaka hits. ARCHIVES: REUNITED – PEACHES & HERB - Their first and only #1 hit, but none of their songs was more deserving of the top spot than this one, IMO! One of the best love songs of all time! OPTIONAL EXTRA: IT'S STILL ROCK AND ROLL TO ME - BILLY JOEL - This song was poised to debut on the Hot 100 way up at #38, so it was clear where this song was going! I've learned to like it a little better than previously, but it is still my least favorite of his four Top 40 hits from Glass Houses. 32: WONDERING WHERE THE LIONS ARE – BRUCE COCKBURN (34) - Not to burst the bubble of any gutter-minds reading this, but his last name is actually pronounced "Coh-burn". As for the song, it had sort of a folk-rock feel to it. It was a good one, IMO. 31: LET ME BE THE CLOCK – SMOKEY ROBINSON (33) - I've noticed that his songs in the 80s either hit the Top Ten or missed the Top 30 altogether. This was one of the latter cases. It was a good song - reminiscent of his hits with the Miracles. 30: THE SEDUCTION – THE JAMES LAST BAND (31) - The love theme from American Gigolo, and the first of two hits from that movie on the chart this week. It was a great one - sounds a little like something Dave Koz might do. LDD: LEAVING ON A JET PLANE – PETER, PAUL & MARY - I remember listening to their music a lot as a very young child. Written in 1966 by John Denver, another artist whose music I listened to during my childhood, the trio took this to #1 in late 1969. The song fit the LDD like a glove. 29: LET’S GET SERIOUS – JERMAINE JACKSON (32) - Let's not and say we did. No, "serious"-ly, the song isn't bad, but I generally preferred his mid-80s songs. 28: I CAN’T TELL YOU WHY – THE EAGLES (16) - A rare song featuring Timothy B. Schmit on lead vocals (in fact, until 1995, it was the only song with him singing lead to hit the Top 40. This was a good song - my favorite single from The Long Run, but it's not quite as good as the album cut "The Sad Café" 27: LITTLE JEANNIE – ELTON JOHN (38) - One of only two Top Tens from him between early 1977 and late 1983, and one of my favorites of his 1980s hits. 26: SHE’S OUT OF MY LIFE – MICHAEL JACKSON (30) - This song climbed the chart in close proximity to the song by his brother Jermaine. Had the latter song had a little more oomph in it, it would have been the first time that siblings were in the Top Ten at the same time (with solo hits, anyway), but by the time "Let's Get Serious" hit the Top Ten, this song, which peaked at #10, was already on its way down the chart. No matter; it would happen eventually - in the fall of 1995, to be exact. And what do you know - it involved the Jacksons (more specifically, Michael and Janet). Anyway, I thought this was a great song - my favorite from the Off The Wall album. 25: TRAIN IN VAIN – THE CLASH (28) - They only had two Top 40 hits, but both of them seem to get a fair amount of radio airplay, mainly on 80s stations. 24: FIRE LAKE – BOB SEGER (6) - His first of three Top 20 hits from Against The Wind. I liked all three, but this was my favorite of them all! I remember hearing it all the time back in the day, mainly on my Mom's tape cassette of the Against The Wind album. 23: DO RIGHT – PAUL DAVIS (24) - This one sure didn't last as long on the chart as "I Go Crazy". In fact, despite the fact that this song was still climbing this week, it dropped out of the Top 40 the following week. In fact, I liked all six droppers on next week's chart, so I'm glad that they went with this show as the "B" show! ARCHIVES: HOT STUFF – DONNA SUMMER - Donna Summer had only had one song so far this year, but she was definitely ever-present on the charts in 1979. This was one of the biggest disco classics ever! It was a good one and has held up quite well despite overplay. OPTIONAL EXTRA: ATOMIC - BLONDIE - Since WMGN played their own extras, as always, they played "Yes I'm Ready" by Teri DeSario & KC. I vaguely remember this song and, though it was good, I preferred their song to which this was the follow-up. 22: HEART HOTELS – DAN FOGELBERG (25) - This song was another song, like "Do Right" that was still moving up nearly halfway up the chart the week before it fell out (the following week, in fact). This was the second and last single from Fogelberg's Phoenix album. It was a great song - one of my all-time faves from him. 21: STEAL AWAY – ROBBIE DUPREE (23) - The first of his two Top 40 hits, and you can definitely hear the Doobie Brothers' "What A Fool Believes" in this one (someone who sounds like Michael McDonald even sings backup). 20: THE ROSE – BETTE MIDLER (22) - I learned to appreciate the radio version better when my 7th grade choir sang this song at the spring concert. Still, I prefer several others by the Divine Miss M. 19: COMING UP – PAUL McCartney (27) - Glad that they played the live version of the song this week! On the previous week's show, as well as the next week, they went with the studio version, which I couldn't stand, since his voice tracks were overdubbed so much, you couldn't understand what the heck he was saying, and, quite frankly, it didn't even sound like McCartney. Thank God some radio stations started playing the flipside at this point, which was the live version and this one was left for dead. 18: AGAINST THE WIND – BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND (26) - The title track from one of his best albums ever, IMO. I really like this song. One of the songs I associate with the spring of 1980 (as I mentioned earlier, my mom had this tape and played it a lot before this song came out - around the time "Fire Lake" was charting) 17: BRASS IN POCKET – THE PRETENDERS (20) - Their debut Top 40 hit. It was a great one - too bad it didn't quite make the Top Ten. 16: STOMP – THE BROTHERS JOHNSON (18) - Ugh, I was never a fan of this one. Not quite a "No. Just no", but close. 15: BREAKDOWN DEAD AHEAD – BOZ SCAGGS (17) - We heard "Lido Shuffle" on this week's 1977 show (well, those of us who decided to listen), and now, we hear a song of his that sounds a lot like that song. This was his first of three songs that he charted with in 1980, all of which I like, but this would be my favorite. 14: PILOT OF THE AIRWAVES – CHARLIE DORE (13) - Kind of unusual for a female to be named Charlie, though. Perhaps her real name is Charlotte or Charlene. You know what paradise is? It's a lie. It's - wait a minute... But seriously, this was the only Top 40 hit for this London native. I liked it. 13: I CAN’T HELP IT – ANDY GIBB & OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (14) - This was the era when Olivia did several duets. This one and her duet with Cliff Richard called "Suddenly" sounded a lot alike, IMO. Both good songs. 12: CARS – GARY NUMAN (15) - Another song that reminds me of spring/summer, 1980, although, as synth-heavy as it was, it was a little ahead of its time. I thought it was great, though it could have used a few more verses. ARCHIVES: LOVE YOU INSIDE OUT – THE BEE GEES - This would stretch the Bee Gees #1 hit streak to six, although there has been talk about there being payola involved in that, but regardless, it was a good song, though not my favorite song from them. OPTIONAL EXTRA: CUPID/I'VE LOVED YOU FOR A LONG TIME - THE SPINNERS - Their second medley to chart during 1980 (and both are remakes, which feature a new song, which serves as the bridge). Both are great songs and I like both about the same. 11: HURT SO BAD – LINDA RONSTADT (12) - She could very well be the queen of remakes, as this is one of many songs that Linda charted with, a cover of a song originally done by Little Anthony & The Imperials. It was a good song. 10: BIGGEST PART OF ME - AMBROSIA (11) - They had two Top Ten hits, and they are my two favorites from them. Not sure if I prefer this or "How Much I Feel". 9: ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL – PINK FLOYD (5) - Generally an album rock act, they managed to have a few pop singles, including the biggest of them all. I like this song, but it's definitely not my favorite song on the chart. Interesting story how Pink Floyd's The Wall album was banned in South Africa. 8: DON’T FALL IN LOVE WITH A DREAMER – KENNY ROGERS w/KIM CARNES (9) - A one-time duet between Kenny and Kim (I am well aware that they also sang on "What About Me", but James Ingram was also on that song, so technically, it wasn't a duet). Anyway, this is a great song - one of my favorites from both artists (as is "What About Me"). 7: YOU MAY BE RIGHT – BILLY JOEL (7) - I wonder if the broken pane of glass we see Joel looking through on the back of the Glass Houses album is the one we hear breaking at the beginning of the song, which is my third favorite from the album - a great song indeed! 6: SEXY EYES – DR. HOOK (8) - Their last Top Ten hit, as well as their most successful. It was a good one, but I think we all know what my favorite Dr. Hook song is (for those who don't, it was the song that charted before this one). LDD: WE ARE FAMILY – SISTER SLEDGE - Wow, what a touching dedication! Reminds me a little of an old neighbor of mine, although we didn't really do much together - he would just come over to the fence and talk to me as I played in the sandbox. He died right before I turned five, so who knows - we may have bonded like the man and the LDD writer did had he lived a little longer. Anyway, since the man was a surrogate grandfather to the author, this song fit the LDD. 5: WITH YOU I’M BORN AGAIN – BILLY PRESTON & SYREETA 4: FUNKY TOWN – LIPPS, INC. (19) - Wow, not very often that the biggest jump of the week happens way up in the Top Five! Even more unusual for the biggest mover on the entire Hot 100 to be so high up! Anyway, like the Gary Numan song earlier, this was another song that sounded a little ahead of its time, what with the synths and the electronic voices. However, I preferred the cover by Pseudo-Echo, that also hit the Top Ten in 1987 (and was heard on this week's A-show). 3: LOST IN LOVE – AIR SUPPLY (3) - The Top Three, on the other hand, remains the same as last week. This was the first of many big hits by this Australian band, and this is definitely one of my favorites from them. OPTIONAL EXTRA: SHINING STAR - THE MANHATTANS - They had three Top 40 hits, though most people only remember their two Top Ten hits. Of course, this is my favorite of the two, as it's not as day-darkening as "Kiss And Say Goodbye". 2: RIDE LIKE THE WIND – CHRISTOPHER CROSS (2) - This one made a valiant effort to hit the top, but was stuck in the runner-up position for a month. It was a great song, like most of his Top 40 hits. 1: CALL ME - BLONDIE (1) - This is the song that held Christopher Cross at bay. Of course, everybody knows that this song was the top hit of 1980, and deservedly so, as this was one of my favorite songs from them!
Coming up next week: According to KOLA FM, next week's show is from May 24, 1986. It is likely a standalone show.
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