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Post by mga707 on Jul 12, 2019 21:08:31 GMT -5
The Brotherhood Of Man was a studio group which featured vocalist Tony Burrows-Their first top forty appearance was in the summer of 1970 with "United We Stand". Neither the busy-in-1970 (vocals on three songs heard during AT40's first few weeks) Burrows nor any of the other singers on "United We Stand" were on the 1976 Brotherhood Of Man release.
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Post by at40nut on Jul 14, 2019 21:49:32 GMT -5
A couple of thoughts about the 7-18-81 show "Gemini Dream" by The Moody Blues was the 80's song that ELO didn't do, instead we got "Hold On Tight" a little later on. The Pointer Sisters' "Slow Hand" reminded me of the "Phone Cops" two part episode of WKRP in Cincinnati with a classic line "Here's Slow Hand with a turntable to match"
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Post by mrjukebox on Jul 15, 2019 18:54:12 GMT -5
"A Life Of Illusion" was played over the opening credits of "The 40 Year Old Virgin".
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Post by trekkielo on Jul 15, 2019 23:25:28 GMT -5
A couple of thoughts about the 7-18-81 show "Gemini Dream" by The Moody Blues was the 80's song that ELO didn't do, instead we got "Hold On Tight" a little later on. I like "Hold on Tight" and ELO did do an 80's song similar to "Gemini Dream" by The Moody Blues, "From the End of the World", also from Time on July 2nd, 1981!
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Post by mrjukebox on Jul 16, 2019 11:40:50 GMT -5
The voice you heard on "Rock & Roll Dreams Come Through" was not Jim Steinman's-It was actually Rory Dodd who was the male voice you heard on Bonnie Tyler's megahit "Total Eclipse Of The Heart".
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Post by Hervard on Jul 18, 2019 18:15:04 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s - July 20, 2019
This week's presentation - July 19, 1975
40: COULD THIS BE MAGIC - BARRY MANILOW (debut) - His third of many big hits, this one based on the melody of Chopin's Prelude In C Minor. This was by far my favorite of his three 1975 hits 39: GET DOWN, GET DOWN - JOE SIMON (24) - This was his eighth and final Top 40 hit, but it turned out to be his biggest. I thought it was OK, but nothing exceptional. 38: WASTED DAYS AND WASTED NIGHTS - FREDDIE FENDER (debut) - Meh, I didn't care much for this one - his voice was kind of annoying. 37: HOLDING ON TO YESTERDAY - AMBROSIA (debut) - Their breakthrough hit. Not one of my favorites for them - I preferred their three Top 20 hits from the late-70s/early 80s. 36: SWEET EMOTION - AEROSMITH (40) - Hard to believe that this is all the further this song got on the chart, given all the recurrent airplay it receives today. Then again, it was their first hit, so they weren't really an established act at the time. 35: SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL - LYNYRD SKYNYRD (debut) - This one sure didn't last long - it peaked at #28 two weeks later, then fell out of the Top 40. It was a good song, but I preferred a few others by them. 34: JUST A LITTLE BIT OF YOU - MICHAEL JACKSON (38) - This was his last hit for the next four years, but then, of course, he came back much bigger than ever then. This song was OK, but definitely not one of his best. 33: FALLING IN LOVE - HAMILTON, JOE FRANK & REYNOLDS (debut) - Their second and biggest hit, reaching #1 about a month later. I thought this was a good song. Canadian rapper Drake must have thought so too, for he sampled it in his first Top 40 hit "Best I Ever Had" from 2009. 32: AT SEVENTEEN - JANIS IAN (39) - I know several people who dislike this song, due to the "cheese factor", but I actually thought it was a great one - I guess you could call it a guilty pleasure! 31: IT'S ALL DOWN TO GOODNIGHT VIENNA - RINGO STARR (31) - This one seemed to be off to a promising start, but hit a brick wall this week and was gone the following week. I thought it was a pretty decent song - too bad it tanked so fast. 30: FIGHT THE POWER - ISLEY BROTHERS (36) - I believe that this was one of the weeks where the word "bullsh--" was unedited (of course, it was censored on this remastered version of the show). Even though this one was the roof-raising R&B music that I generally hate, this one was actually not bad. 29: HEY YOU - BACHMAN TURNER OVERDRIVE (27) - This one was pretty much "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet Part 2". Like that song, it was a great one IMO.
Be back later this weekend with the rest!
28: DISCO QUEEN - HOT CHOCOLATE 27: I'M NOT LISA - JESSIE COULTER 26: LOVE WON'T LET ME WAIT - MAJOR HARRIS 25: SLIPPERY WHEN WET - THE COMMODORES 24: 'MORNING BEAUTIFUL - TONY ORLANDO & DAWN 23: WHEN WILL I BE LOVED - LINDA RONSTADT 22: EVERY TIME YOU TOUCH ME, I GET HIGH - CHARLEY RICH 21: WILDFIRE - MICHAEL MURPHY 20: HOT SWEET IT IS TO BE LOVED BY YOU - JAMES TAYLOR 19: RHINESTONE COWBOY - GLEN CAMPBELL 18: I'M ON FIRE - THE DWIGHT TWILLEY BAND 17: ROCKFORD FILES - MIKE POST 16: WHY CAN'T WE BE FRIENDS - WAR 15: SOMEONE SAVED MY LIFE TONIGHT - ELTON JOHN 14: MISTY - RAY STEVENS 13: DYNOMITE - BAZUKA 12: THE WAY WE WERE - GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS 11: MIDNIGHT BLUE - MELISSA MANCHESTER 10: ROCKIN' CHAIR - GWENNE McRAE 9: JIVE TALKIN' - THE BEE GEES 8: LOVE WILL KEEP US TOGETHER - THE CAPTAIN & TENNILLE 7: SWEARING TO GOD - FRANKIE VALLI 6: MAGIC - PILOT 5: PLEASE MR. PLEASE - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN 4: ONE OF THESE NIGHTS - EAGLES 3: I'M NOT IN LOVE - 10CC 2: THE HUSTLE - VAN McCOY 1: LISTEN TO WHAT THE MAN SAID - PAUL McCARTNEY & WINGS
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Post by Hervard on Jul 18, 2019 18:15:17 GMT -5
American Top 40 - July 20, 2019 This week's presentation - July 19, 1986 Droppers: I CAN'T WAIT - NU SHOOZ (32) - No big loss here. I was not a big fan of this one at all. I much preferred Stevie Nicks' song of the same title from earlier that year! LIVE TO TELL - MADONNA (31) - This song became her third number one hit, and there was a lot more where that came from! Of her two number one songs in 1986, this was my favorite by a decent margin (as I didn't care much for "Papa Don't Preach", which is coming up later). IF SHE KNEW WHAT SHE WANTS - THE BANGLES (29) - Why did so many of the best songs from 1986 tank so fast? This song looked like it had peaked at #29 the previous week, but fell clean off the chart this week. Then of course, their next hit had to go and become the top song of 1987. Needless to say, this was my favorite of their three 1986 hits, as well as one of my favorite songs of the entire year. A DIFFERENT CORNER - GEORGE MICHAEL (28) - Like the Nu Shooz song, this was no big loss. I wasn't too keen on this song, since it was so maudlin. It had been announced earlier in the year that George and Andrew were parting ways later on in the year. George was already launching his solo career, with the first of many Top 40 hits. I preferred most of his others, of course. I WANNA BE A COWBOY - BOYS DON'T CRY (27) - Kind of weird that all five droppers were practically consecutive on the chart last week. Anyway, this act was 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. 40: DANCING ON THE CEILING - LIONEL RICHIE (debut) - This song debuted on the entire Hot 100 at #40, and would climb as high as #2 (it did sneak a week at #1 on the R&R chart). The song was pretty good, and it had a great video. I did, however, get sick of hearing kids at school saying, "Hey, look at that footprint on the ceiling!" 39: BABY LOVE - REGINA (debut) - Of course, the first thing many people noticed when they first heard this song was that she sounded like Madonna. But that is not coincidence, since Steven Bray, who wrote many songs for Madonna, had a hand in writing this song. In fact, according to Wikipedia, it was intended for Madonna, but she declined. 38: TAKE ME BREATH AWAY - BERLIN (debut) - The second hit from one of the biggest movie soundtracks of '86! The soundtrack yielded three Top 40 hits, and one that didn't make the Top 40. Plus, I believe that several other songs, like Mighty Wings by Cheap Trick, received airplay as album cuts on a few radio stations. I liked this song - definitely not as annoying as their first Top 40 hit "No More Words". 37: MOUNTAINS - PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION (25) - This used to be the theme song for the "radio show" I used to do (I'd do a variety of stuff, like playing my favorite songs, reading stories that I had written, and so forth). The song did not match up to the success of the first single from Parade, the #1 "Kiss", however, peaking at #23. But I guess I can see why it didn't get any higher - definitely not one of Prince's biggest hits, but the beginning and end did indeed sound like good theme song music. Not sure why I liked this song (as I generally don't like his upbeat songs like this) , but there was just something about it... 36: ONE STEP CLOSER TO YOU - GAVIN CHRISTOPHER (38) - Definitely one of my favorite songs from 1986! I heard this one quite often during its chart run, but then never. I felt this one was way underrated. 35: ALL THE LOVE IN THE WORLD - THE OUTFIELD (40) - Here is another song I associate most with the summer of '86, since I don't think that I've heard it (outside of countdown shows) since it fell off the chart. This one wasn't quite as big as their first song, "Your Love", but it did hit the Top 20. 34: VENUS - BANANARAMA (debut) - Meh, I wasn't a big fan of this song. I preferred their two other Top 40 hits, especially "I Heard A Rumour". 33: HYPERACTIVE - ROBERT PALMER (36) - This one was definitely underrated. I'm not a big Robert Palmer fan, as you probably know all too well, but this is possibly my favorite song from him. It's too bad it didn't do any better than it did. The two songs that bookended it, especially "Addicted To Love" were big hits and played ad nauseum; how did this one get virtually ignored? Inquiring minds want to know! 32: SWEET FREEDOM - MICHAEL McDONALD (39) - Michael did quite well on the charts as a solo artist - I'm sure that the fact that he was the former lead singer of the Doobie Brothers was somewhat instrumental in that. This was one of his Top Ten hits and it was a good one. 31: THE EDGE OF HEAVEN - WHAM (debut) - A bittersweet song for Wham! fans - their final Top 40 hit. But at least it was one of their best, IMO, anyway. George Michael, who was pretty much the voice of Wham! anyway, went on to have an even more successful career, so it really didn't make much of a difference. OPTIONAL EXTRA: A KIND OF MAGIC - QUEEN - As we know all too well, I was not a big fan of post-1979 Queen, but this song was actually not too bad, 30: SUZANNE - JOURNEY (37) - Ah, I can smell the cool night air as I sat with my then-girlfriend in her backyard (even though her name was not Suzanne, some of the lyrics fit, like "those summer nights with me"). This great song was my second favorite of the four Top 40 hits from Raised On Radio, behind "I'll Be Alright Without You". LDD: CHERISH - KOOL & THE GANG - I forget exactly what the dedication was about, but I seem to remember that all three LDDs on this week’s show focused on families. 29: TAKE IT EASY - ANDY TAYLOR (35) - It was beginning to look like all of the Taylors from Duran Duran would have solo Top 40 hits (as John had already hit earlier in the year), but Roger Taylor was the odd man out. This is definitely a song that I associate with the summer of 1986, as U93 played this song regularly (in fact, it kicked off their Top 93 of 1986). A great song indeed! 28: RUMORS - TIMEX SOCIAL CLUB (33) - I remember that this song was one of the Top Ten requests of the year according to U93's Top Ten at 10. Also making that list was the parody of the song, "Roaches" by Bobby Jimmy & The Critters. Back in the day, I liked that song a lot better, since this song was played to death during its chart run. Now I think it's a good one, though I wouldn't want to heat it all the time. 27: HIGHER LOVE - STEVE WINWOOD (34) - He seemed destined to be a one-hit wonder (as a solo artist, anyway), but over six years after his first Top 40 hit, he hit the chart again, and in a major way, as this song went all the way to #1. It still remains one of the most overplayed hits of 1986 today, and I'm still burned out on it (not that it was one of my favorite songs in the first place). 26: LIKE NO OTHER NIGHT - .38 SPECIAL (20) - This was the only Top 40 hit from their sixth studio album, Strength In Numbers (the follow-up, "Somebody Like You" ran out of gas at #48 in late August). In fact, this would be their final Top 40 hit until 1989, by which time Max Carl became lead singer and, of course, they weren't 38 Special anymore (in my book, anyway). Of course, we all know that this is one of my three favorite songs by this band from Florida. 25: YOU SHOULD BE MINE (THE WOO WOO SONG) - JEFFREY OSBORNE (30) - This would have been a great song if not for the dumb title, and the "Can you woo woo woo" choruses. I preferred many other songs from him, like "On The Wings Of Love" and "We're Going All The Way". This is a pleasant slow jam, nevertheless. 24: CRUSH ON YOU - THE JETS (15) - Their breakthrough hit on the Pop chart, though I was less than impressed with it. Their next two singles, one of which failed to hit the Top 40, were much better, IMO. Not sure; this one just didn't do anything for me. 23: ON MY OWN - PATTI LaBELLE & MICHAEL McDONALD (13) - Back in the day, I couldn't stand this song at all (overplay, as well as the fact that I didn't like the song in the first place), but it was one of those songs that ages like fine wine. I think it's a great song now. 22: DREAMS - VAN HALEN (23) - The second hit from the Van Hagar era, although this and the next hit from 5150 couldn't seem to push into the Top 20, though they did peak in the teens on the R&R chart, so they were apparently low sellers, which went to show how huge the album was. OPTIONAL EXTRA: MONEY$ TOO TIGHT (TO MENTION) - SIMPLY RED - A song whose lyrics are very timely in today's economy. Makes me thankful that I still have a job. Despite its grim lyrics, I thought it was a great song melodically. 21: SECRET SEPARATION - THE FIXX (26) - The fifth of six Top 40 hits for this band from London. I liked this and "Saved By Zero", my two favorite songs from them, about the same. 20: TUFF ENUFF - THE FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS (10) - Though I'm not a huge fan of southern rock, this one was actually pretty good. 19: NO ONE IS TO BLAME - HOWARD JONES (9) - 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 exceptionally good one for me. 18: DIGGING YOUR SCENE - THE BLOW MONKEYS (21) - I always thought that this song should have hit the Top Ten, but I'm thinking that maybe that some of the Top 40 audience didn't like the voices of the lead singer. Definitely one of my favorites on this week's chart! 17: WE DON'T HAVE TO TAKE OUR CLOTHES OFF - JERMAINE STEWART (22) - I always got this song confused with "How Will I Know" by Whitney Houston, as the drum intros sounded alike (of course, both songs were Narada Michael Walden productions), I never knew what song it was until the instruments kicked in. This was a good song with a good message. 16: LIKE A ROCK - BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND (12) - Ah, the Chevy Trucks song! I liked this song, though I slightly preferred Seger's other 1986 hit, "American Storm". LDD: WE ARE FAMILY - SISTER SLEDGE - Another family-based LDD, chosen by the AT40 staff at the request of the writer. 15: MODERN WOMAN - BILLY JOEL (19) - Here's one you don't hear much anymore! It was a good one, but definitely not one of my favorites from him. 14: WHEN THE HEART RULES THE MIND - GTR (14) - A supergroup of sorts, consisting of members of several rock bands, including Asia, Genesis and Yes. This was their only hit, however, but a great song it was! 13: OPPORTUNITIES (LET'S MAKE LOTS OF MONEY) - PET SHOP BOYS (16) - This was their second hit, though it doesn't get much in the way of recurrent airplay. They just assume we want to hear "West End Girls" for the millionth time. That's too bad, as this was a great song - one of their best, IMO. 12: PAPA DON'T PREACH - MADONNA (24) - Here is a song that I hated with a passion when it was on the charts. It's not bad now that I don't hear it every single time I turn on the radio, but still, I prefer many other songs by Madonna. OPTIONAL EXTRA: TWO OF HEARTS - STACEY Q - Meh, don't care much for this one. The ah-ah-ah part is somewhat embarrassing. However, Larry talked over the ones at the very beginning and the song was edited, cutting out the ones in the bridge, so it was all good. 11: MAD ABOUT YOU - BELINDA CARLISLE (18) - One of two songs on the chart with which Andy Taylor was involved (as he played guitar in this song). It was not bad, though I sure had different sentiments about it back during its chart run! 10: LOVE TOUCH - ROD STEWART (17) - Holly Knight, of the band Device, which would debut on the countdown about a month later with their own hit "Hanging On A Heart Attack", wrote this one, and it definitely showed, given the similarity between this and HOAHA. I did slightly prefer the latter. Both were good songs, though. 9/LDD: YOUR WILDEST DREAMS - THE MOODY BLUES (9) - 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 the following week, and deservedly so, as it is one of my all-time faves from them! This was also a Long Distance Dedication, from a girl to her grandfather, who was a surrogate father to her, since she wasn't close to her real father - thus completing a hat trick of family-themed LDD's on this week's show. 8: THERE'LL BE SAD SONGS (TO MAKE YOU CRY) - BILLY OCEAN (3) - Of course, most of us know that this song was inspired by an incident connected with one of Ocean's former hits "Suddenly". This was Ocean's second #1 hit, and a great song it was! One of his best songs (and, like the Jets, I liked his slow songs, like this one, best). 7: GLORY OF LOVE - PETER CETERA (11) - I preferred the first Karate Kid movie over the second (but that could be because I've only seen the second once while I've watched the first one multiple times). The song, however, was a great one - possibly my favorite Peter Cetera solo hit ever! 6: WHO'S JOHNNY - EL DeBARGE (5) - His first solo hit away from his family band - it was a great song! His brother, Chico, also charted with a solo hit at the very end of that year called "Talk To Me". 5: HOLDING BACK THE YEARS - SIMPLY RED (1) - When I first heard this song, in mid-May, 1986, it was my favorite song in the world. However, the song was quite overplayed and I got tired of it, actually quite fast. It's still one of my least favorites from them - the only ones I really like are the ones that weren't quite as popular, such as "Money$ Too Tight To Mention", "The Right Thing", and "You've Got It". 4: DANGER ZONE - KENNY LOGGINS (7) - This was the first Top Gun single released - and the king of movie soundtrack hits, Kenny Loggins, was the one singing it. He was also the artist of said single that did not hit the Top 40 ("Playing With The Boys"). I preferred this one and the Top 40 audience apparently did as well, since it practically made it to #1. 3: NASTY - JANET JACKSON (4) - Here's another song that I detested back in the day and used to switch the station when it came on back in '86! It's still not her best song ever, but there are several songs of hers that I dislike more. OPTIONAL EXTRA: THE CAPTAIN OF HER HEART - DOUBLE - A song by a rare bird - a Swiss band. In fact, they were the first of only two Swiss acts to hit the chart. The other one was Robert Miles, who charted in the summer of 1996 with the Dream Trance instrumental "Children". Anyway, I really liked this song - mellow and relaxing. 2: SLEDGEHAMMER - PETER GABRIEL (6) - Another overplayed song from 1986. This is pretty much the same situation as "Higher Love" - I wasn't crazy about this song to begin with and the excessive airplay only made me like it less. To this day, I'm still burned out on it and usually change the station when it comes on. I do like "Shock The Monkey" and "Big Time", though. 1: INVISIBLE TOUCH - GENESIS (2) - Right above Peter Gabriel was his old band - the first time that a band and the former member of the band occupied the top two positions on the Hot 100. The following week, when "Sledgehammer" hit the top, that marked the first time that a band was dethroned from that former member. Anyway, this was Genesis' lead-off hit from the album of the same title, and to #1 it went! Good thing, as it's my favorite song from the album (as well as the fact that they'd been hitting the chart for nearly ten years). Coming up next week: We'll finally have a (primary) show from the early half of the 1980s for the first time in six weeks - July 28, 1984 is on deck for next week!
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Post by mrjukebox on Jul 22, 2019 17:28:06 GMT -5
Janis Ian & Billy Preston were the first musical guests when "SNL" premiered on 10/11/75.
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Post by Hervard on Jul 26, 2019 14:08:40 GMT -5
Wow, only one critique this week! Been awhile since that's happened... American Top 40: The 80s - July 27, 2019 This week's presentation - July 28, 1984 Droppers: FIRST DAY OF SUMMER - TONY CAREY (33) - Kind of weird that this song dropped out, seeing that it had moved up three spots the previous week - with a bullet, no less. I seem to remember that this was a good song, though it didn't hold a candle to "A Fine Fine Day". BORDERLINE - MADONNA (30) - I think this is one of her best songs and one of my favorite songs from 1984. It sure showed tenacity on the charts, as it spent 15 weeks on the chart which, back then, was unusually long for a song that peaked at #10. TIME AFTER TIME - CYNDI LAUPER (27) - Possibly THE most successful newcomer of 1984, with four Top Five hits from her debut album. This was the second of them, and possibly my least favorite, since it's somewhat depressing. It's still not bad, though. 40: BOYS DO FALL IN LOVE – ROBIN GIBB (37) - His second Top 40 solo hit. I preferred this one by a sizeable margin, as it was a great song! This was indeed quite different from his material with his brothers. 39: SHE BOP – CYNDI LAUPER (debut) - Cyndi, you naughty girl! But seriously, this was a great song - not sure if I prefer this or "Girls Just Want To Have Fun". 38: 10-9-8 – FACE TO FACE (38) - I remember hearing this song on "Countdown America" back in 1984. It sounds sort of like a late-80s dance hit instead of something from the mid-80s. It’s pretty good. 37: THE WARRIOR – SCANDAL FEATURING PATTY SMYTH (40) - Even though this was their first Top 40 hit, they'd had a few previous songs that hit the Hot 100 (and a few after this one just narrowly missed the Top 40). This song was a good one, but I preferred "Goodbye To You" and "Love's Got A Line On You", from 1982 and 1983, respectively. 36: THE GLAMOROUS LIFE – SHEILA E. (39) - The first Top 40 hit for this California native whose last name is Escoveto. It was so/so in my opinion, but not quite my cup of tea. I did like her next hit, "The Belle Of St. Mark". 35: IF THIS IS IT – HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (debut) - Well, this definitely wasn't it, by any means, as he/they were one of the top acts of the entire decade. This was by far my favorite song from the Sports album. 34: LIGHTS OUT – PETER WOLF (debut) - I liked this song, but preferred a few songs from his J. Geils Band, especially "Centerfold". This song was originally supposed to be entitled "Dancing In The Dark", but Wolf changed it to "Lights Out" so as not to confuse it with Springsteen's song. 33: TURN TO YOU – THE GO-GO’S (35) - This one reminded me a little of "We Got The Beat", only it was nowhere near as annoying. It was a good song, IMO. 32: ROCK ME TONIGHT – BILLY SQUIER (34) - Meh, this one wasn't exactly my favorite from Squier. I preferred songs like "In The Dark" and "Everybody Wants You". 31: ALIBIS – SERGIO MENDES (31) - This was definitely one of my favorite songs on the countdown this week! It looked like it might have peaked this week, but it did manage to get two spots higher, but that was about it, which I felt was a shame. I guess if you weren't Prince or Madonna, back in 1984, you were pretty much S.O.L. Oh well, this song did do well on my Personal Top 30 chart, peaking at #3 for four weeks, behind "I'm Free (Heaven Helps The Man)" and "No Way Out", both of which are coming up later in the countdown. 30: SEXY GIRL – GLENN FREY (32) - Following the break-up of the Eagles, Glenn had a decent solo career going, though he had yet to hit the Top Ten on his own. He would do that with his next hit, but this one did well too. It was a great song and sort of appropriate for me at the time, because the guy who moved into the house next door to me in the summer of 1984 and he had a daughter that I found quite attractive (only thing is, she didn't live with him). OPTIONAL EXTRA: CRUEL SUMMER - BANANARAMA - We heard their biggest hit, "Venus", on last week's 1986 show and, hopefully, we'll be hearing their third Top 40 hit, "I Heard A Rumour" on a 1987 show in the near future (I kind of have a hunch that we will). This would be my second favorite song from them, behind said 1987 song. 29: MISSING YOU – JOHN WAITE (36) - Very depressing song, partly because of the subject matter and partly because it was becoming popular at the beginning of Hell On Earth (a.k.a. my seventh grade year). I do sort of like the version that begins with the "Missing You" chants in the intro, but I'm not sure if AT40 ever played that one (which was strange, because it was the version that I usually heard on the radio). 28: NO WAY OUT – JEFFERSON STARSHIP (23) - This was a landmark hit for the band, as it was their final Top 40 hit with Jefferson in the name. On their next hit "We Built This City", of course, they were billed simply as Starship. Anyway, this has always been one of my favorite songs from the band in any of their three incarnations. The guitar riffs at the beginning, as well as in the chorus, remind me of "Separate Ways" by Journey. Oh, one more thing - they actually left the song intact this week, as they seem to edit out either the second verse or the bridge (as well as the guitar solo leading up to it). Thanks, Premiere! 27: THE HEART OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL – HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (19) - Did you notice that all three of Huey Lewis' Top Ten hits that peaked within the year 1984 peaked at #6? That's practically half of the songs that peaked at that position during the year! Anyway, this song had many different versions recorded, with Lewis giving shout-outs to different cities not mentioned in the single version (the one that WLS in Chicago played featured Lewis mentioning Chicago and Kansas City). The song is a good one, but not quite my favorite song from him/them. 26: ROMANCING THE STONE – EDDY GRANT (26) - His first Top 40 hit, "Electric Avenue", was one of the biggest hits of 1983, but this was all the higher that this song got. I preferred the first one, however, as overplayed as it was. This one wasn't bad, but nothing I'd go out of my way to hear. 25: SHE’S MINE – STEVE PERRY (29) - This one didn't quite measure up to the success of Perry's initial solo single "Oh Sherrie", which was too bad, because this was one of his best songs ever. Sounds somewhat like one of his other songs, possibly one with Journey, but I can’t think of which one right off the top of my head. 24: DANCE HALL DAYS – WANG CHUNG (20) - One of many newcomers to the chart in 1984. This was actually their second hit, and one of theirs that gets the most recurrent airplay (along with "Everybody Have Fun Tonight"). This song was OK, but I preferred most of their other hits. 23: ROUND AND ROUND - RATT (28) - As big as hard rock bands were in the mid- and late 1980s, it's a surprise that Ratt only had two Top 40 hits, one of which barely made it. That was "Lay It Down", which would hit the Top 40 the following summer, at #40. I preferred that one, but this was a good one as well. 22: I’M FREE (HEAVEN HELPS THE MAN) – KENNY LOGGINS (24) - Loggins had one of the biggest hits of 1984 with the title track to the Footloose soundtrack and was hoping to duplicate that success with this song, but, in fact, this song only got as high as #22, as Footloose mania began to fade away. That's too bad, as I actually preferred this one over his bigger Footloose hit. Definitely one of my favorite of Kenny's big movie hits. 21: THE REFLEX – DURAN DURAN (14) - I tell you what, I liked many songs from them, but never really got into this one. 1984 just wasn't their best year, IMO (though I did like "New Moon On Monday" - by far my favorite of their songs that charted that year). LDD: HELLO - LIONEL RICHIE - Kind of weird that the author dedicated a song from one of the hottest charting males of the 1980s to another one (in this case, Michael Jackson, who was a big influence in the life of the writer of the dedication). As for the song, it's a great one! 20: PANAMA – VAN HALEN (21) - The third song from their huge album whose title just might have been inspired by George Orwell But seriously, this would be my second favorite of their three Top 40 singles from the 1984 album, behind "I'll Wait". 19: SUNGLASSES AT NIGHT – COREY HART (25) - Something you might need to do if you lived at the North Pole in the summer. But seriously, this was the first Top 40 hit for this Montreal, Canada native, and one of his biggest. I like it, but I preferred most of his other hits. 18: IF EVER YOU’RE IN MY ARMS AGAIN – PEABO BRYSON (22) - His first Top 40 entry was his duet with Roberta Flack, "Tonight I Celebrate My Love", which hit the Top 20 the previous fall. This song was his second and last Top 40 hit was on his own and it went on to hit the Top Ten (and did even better at AC radio, where it spent a month at #1). Definitely one of his best hits ever, IMO! 17: SELF CONTROL – LAURA BRANIGAN (15) - This was a song that, back in the day, I did not like at all, but now I think it's pretty decent. Still, I prefer a few others from her. 16: MAGIC – THE CARS (12) - The second of five singles from Heartbeat City, and my favorite of the five by a fair margin. Definitely released at the right time of year, as it had that summertime sound to it (I seem to remember the video was very summerlike as well). 15: STUCK ON YOU – LIONEL RICHIE (18) - This was his second county-flavored song (the first was his hit "Sail On" with the Commodores). Not sure if that song ever crossed over to the Country chart, but this one sure did, peaking at #24. Very few songs had ever hit the Top 30 on three different Billboard singles charts. 14: DOCTOR! DOCTOR! – THOMPSON TWINS (11) - I think this song holds the post-1982 record for the longest fall out of the Top 40 on the Hot 100. The following week, the song would hold at #14, and then fell out of the Top 40 the week after that. In 1982, of course, with their arbitrary policy with their bullets, songs falling out of the Top 40 from way up in the teens were commonplace. Anyway, the "twins" had just come off of their second and, as it turned out, most successful hit ever "Hold Me Now" and, though it didn't quite measure up to the success of that song, it did well on the chart, just barely missing the Top Ten. Both this song, as well as "Hold Me Now" are among my favorite songs by the band. 13: I CAN DREAM ABOUT YOU – DAN HARTMAN (17) - He'd hit #1 as a part of the Edgar Winter Group in 1973 with "Frankenstein", and returned to the Top Ten on his own with this song. It's another song I hated back in the day, but think it's a pretty good one now, but still, I preferred his next two hits "We Are The Young" and "Second Nature". 12: ALMOST PARADISE…LOVE THEME FROM “FOOTLOOSE” – MIKE RENO AND ANN WILSON (7) - One of six hits from the Footloose soundtrack to hit the Top 40, as well as my second favorite of those hits, behind "Should've Known Better" "I'm Free". 11: BREAKIN’…THERE’S NO STOPPING US – OLLIE AND JERRY (13) - Breakdancing was indeed all the rage back in 1984! Two songs about it even made the Top 40, including the Irene Cara song that hit the Top Ten earlier in the year, as did this song. I liked this song a little better, but still, I wasn't too crazy about it or the movie it was from. My Dad and I had gone to see it earlier in the summer and both agreed that was two hours of our lives that we'd never get back, LOL! 10: JUMP (FOR MY LOVE) – THE POINTER SISTERS (5) - I have never liked the title of this song - it's like she's treating her man like a dog. He has to perform for you to love him? I see him heading for the door, saying "ABC ya!" 9: WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT – TINA TURNER (16) - I tell you what, I disliked this song with a passion back in the day, but it's one of those songs that gets better with age. This song would become Turner's first #1 hit two weeks later. The song fell short on the R&R chart (two years later, the tables would be turned with her song "Typical Male"). 8: LEGS – ZZ TOP (8) - They'd had several chart singles, but this one put them in the Top Ten and became their biggest hit. It was a pretty good song, but I preferred their Afterburner singles. 7: SAD SONGS (SAY SO MUCH) – ELTON JOHN (9) - The first of three top 40 hits from Breaking Hearts, and the only Top Ten from that album, as well as my favorite of the three (though "Who Wears These Shoes" would be a close second). A good song indeed. 6: INFATUATION – ROD STEWART (10) - This song has been compared to his Top Five hit from early 1981, "Passion", since both songs sound alike. I preferred the latter of the two songs - this one never really did much for me. LDD: STILL – THE COMMODORES 5: EYES WITHOUT A FACE – BILLY IDOL (4) - Be truthful now - how many of you, like me, thought he was asking the object of his affection to dinner or a movie? (as in "Hows About A Date"). Definitely a common misheard lyric. This was a good song, though my favorite song by him would probably be "Sweet Sixteen". 4: STATE OF SHOCK – THE JACKSONS f/MICK JAGGER (6) - Meh, I never really liked this song. It was a good summertime hit, though. 3: DANCING IN THE DARK – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (2) - This was the first of an incredible seven singles from Springsteen's album Born In The USA, all of which made the Top Ten. This one looked like it might hit #1, but Prince leapfrogged over him and, of course, that song spent multiple weeks on top. It did hit #1 in R&R and Cash Box, though, so that was good. I liked this song, but preferred a few others, including songs on Born In The USA. 2: GHOSTBUSTERS – RAY PARKER, JR. (3) - This was the theme to one of the most successful movies of 1984. The scandal involving a lawsuit from Huey Lewis & The News is pretty much common knowledge. As for the song, it wasn't bad, but I preferred many other songs from him, both as a solo artist and with his band Raydio. 1: WHEN DOVES CRY - PRINCE (1) - I really disliked this song during its chart run And guess what - I still dislike it even more. Not sure why, this one just didn't do much for me (though I did like his other Purple Rain singles).
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Post by mrjukebox on Jul 26, 2019 18:59:11 GMT -5
Regarding "Round & Round" by Ratt,legendary comedian Milton Berle appeared in the video-At that time,Berle's nephew Marshall was managing the group.
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Post by jamie9012 on Aug 1, 2019 12:59:59 GMT -5
Greetings. Here is a Critique on which I had worked off and on for the past Week or so. July 19, 1986 40: DANCING ON THE CEILING - LIONEL RICHIE – Starting off the countdown by defying Gravity. #2 US, #13 DE, #6 CH. 39: BABY LOVE – REGINA – Pretty good dance hit with a post-disco feel to it! It sounds so much like Madonna. 38: TAKE ME BREATH AWAY - BERLIN – From the Top Gun Soundtrack. #1 US, #3 DE, #2 CH. 37: MOUNTAINS - PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION – A more obscure follow-up to his huge hit “Kiss”. #23 US, #32 DE. 36: ONE STEP CLOSER TO YOU - GAVIN CHRISTOPHER – This had a doo-wop sound similar to “The Way You Make Me Feel” from Michael Jackson. Good song throughout. 35: ALL THE LOVE IN THE WORLD - THE OUTFIELD – Another release from their Album “Play Deep”. 34: VENUS – BANANARAMA – A remake of the Hit from the Dutch group Shocking Blue (1969). #1 US, #2 DE, #1 CH. 33: HYPERACTIVE - ROBERT PALMER – Here is a release from his “Riptide” Album, that I am not familiar with. Although it charted no higher than this, it was still a good Song! 32: SWEET FREEDOM - MICHAEL McDONALD – His last big chart success on the Pop chart, peaking at #7. Absolute brilliance in every aspect. There will be more of Michael McDonald to come in the Chart. 31: THE EDGE OF HEAVEN – WHAM- The final big Hit for this duo from England. #10 US, #4 DE & CH. It did reach #1 in the UK. 30: SUZANNE – JOURNEY – The Album from which this Song was featured (“Raised on Radio”) featured some different band members from their past ones. Some of which were temporary. However that did not stop this from being a good Song! LDD: CHERISH - KOOL & THE GANG - #2 US, #5 DE, #2 CH, #3 AT. 29: TAKE IT EASY - ANDY TAYLOR – The only US Hit for this member of Duran Duran. 28: RUMORS - TIMEX SOCIAL CLUB – There is a word on the Street that you have said something about something you saw, but it wasn’t true. Now, I walk into the Train. People look at me, and whisper to the person that sits next to them. How did this word get around? Ha ha… #8 US, #11 DE, #23 CH, #24 AT. 27: HIGHER LOVE - STEVE WINWOOD – A happy, uplifting Song that I am always happy to hear! #1 US, #49 DE. 26: LIKE NO OTHER NIGHT - .38 SPECIAL – Great Song! It certainly can make one feel good! 25: YOU SHOULD BE MINE (THE WOO WOO SONG) - JEFFREY OSBORNE – Kannst du “Woo-Woo-Woo”? Wie ein Zug? Nein. Nice, moody Song from the singer from Rhode Island. 24: CRUSH ON YOU - THE JETS – Oh no! She has an eye on someone she likes, but her best Friend spilled the beans! Or was it only her? Well, for all of her trouble, The Jets land their first Top 40 Hit. 23: ON MY OWN - PATTI LaBELLE & MICHAEL McDONALD - This melancholy Duet was very successful on the Charts, spending three Weeks at #1. 22: DREAMS - VAN HALEN – The follow-up to their big hit “Why Can’t This Be Love” and still gets good radio play. 21: SECRET SEPARATION - THE FIXX – This, I believe, is a relatively lost hit that is not heard much anymore. Enjoyable nonetheless. 20: TUFF ENUFF - THE FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS – The only hit for this band from Texas peaked at #10 19: NO ONE IS TO BLAME - HOWARD JONES – How can it be, that the one building block that is missing is the one that holds up the entire Structure? And yet, no one is to blame… 18: DIGGING YOUR SCENE - THE BLOW MONKEYS – This was one of many Songs that I recorded from the Radio around 2005. It has a style that reminds me of the group New Order. Learning what Songs are about makes the yet more interesting, and this one is an excellent example. 17: WE DON'T HAVE TO TAKE OUR CLOTHES OFF - JERMAINE STEWART – Another Song that I recorded from the Radio. Great! R.I.P. 16: LIKE A ROCK - BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND – Ah yes, I do remember this Song! Nothing like driving on backroads in a Chevrolet Truck! LDD: WE ARE FAMILY - SISTER SLEDGE - #2 US, 26 DE, #6 CH. 15: MODERN WOMAN - BILLY JOEL - #10 on the Hot 100. 14: WHEN THE HEART RULES THE MIND – GTR – It sounds a bit to me like Rock from earlier in the 1980s. 13: OPPORTUNITIES (LET'S MAKE LOTS OF MONEY) - PET SHOP BOYS 12: PAPA DON'T PREACH – MADONNA – A Song about a young Woman determined against the wishes of her Father to keep dating the Man that she loves. The second Single from the Album “True Blue”, it reached #1 US, #2 DE and CH. 11: MAD ABOUT YOU - BELINDA CARLISLE – This Song is fitting for a sunny afternoon, or a pleasant moonlit night. It features similarities to her then-former band The Go-Gos. 10: LOVE TOUCH - ROD STEWART - #6 US, #14 DE, #13 CH. Fun Song! 9: YOUR WILDEST DREAMS - THE MOODY BLUES – Their Success in the 1960s and 1970s carried into the 1980s. #9 US, #28 DE (September 1986). 8: THERE'LL BE SAD SONGS (TO MAKE YOU CRY) - BILLY OCEAN - 7: GLORY OF LOVE - PETER CETERA – Another #1 US Hit, but this one is making its way to the top. Also #24 DE, #5 CH. 6: WHO'S JOHNNY - EL DeBARGE – This appears on a CD that I have with “Crush On You” from The Jets. All of the Songs on it make for a great combination! 5: HOLDING BACK THE YEARS - SIMPLY RED – Somber tune, that was the previous Week’s #1 Hit. #22 AT. 4: DANGER ZONE - KENNY LOGGINS – Ah, the “Movie Soundtrack King” (or one of them)! Coming from the Soundtrack of the Film Top Gun, this one reached #2 US, #12 DE, and #6 CH. 3: NASTY - JANET JACKSON – I used to think that “When I Think Of You” was the first Single from her Album “Control”. This was before I had received a better Idea about the Album’s concept. Still, it did become a hot hit, peaking here at #3. 2: SLEDGEHAMMER - PETER GABRIEL – On the way to #1 is this upbeat number from a former Member of the band now at #1. “Sledgehammer” took #1 US, #7 DE, #4 CH. 1: INVISIBLE TOUCH – GENESIS – The biggest hit for this Band is definitely the one, that is heard most often. #1 for this Week US, #16 DE, #13 CH. My Extra: WEGEN DIR – NICKI – Here is a singer, who had some early success. Born in 1966 in Plattling, Bavaria, she had her first hit at 17. It set the standard for her Songs, sung in the Bavarian dialect (Bairisch). Three years later, she released her third Album, “Ganz oder gar net (All or nothing)” which spawned this Single. The Chorus: Bairisch “Wegen dir” “was i manchmal ned was i tua” “i bin wie verdreht und du sagst” “die gehts ganz genauso wenn i bei dir bin” “Wegen dir” “schlaf i oft ned ein, dan mecht I” “so gern bei dir sein und i hoff” “daß des immer bleibt was uns 2 verbind'”
Hochdeutsch (Standard German) “Wegen dir” “Weiß ich manchmal nicht was ich tue” “Ich bin wie verdreht und du sagst” “Daß geht’s ganz genauso wie ich bei dir bin” “Wegen dir” “Schlaf ich oft nicht ein denn mocht’ ich” “So gern bei dir sein und ich hoff” “Daß des immer bleibt was uns 2 verbind’”
English “Because of you” “Sometimes I don’t know what I’m doing” “It’s as if I’m twisted and you say” “That it is the same when I am with you” “Because of you” “I often don’t fall asleep because I want” “To be with you and I hope” “That it will always remain what connects us both”“Wegen dir” got as high as #19 on the German charts in September 1986, making it her fifth charting Single. www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlyZsdFN46sElsewhere on Youtube is another Video, in which she and the band lip-sync and mime the Song. I will only say that everybody in the audience loves her! Thank you for reading.
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Post by Hervard on Aug 2, 2019 13:43:24 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - August 3, 2019 This week's presentation - August 3, 1985 LET HIM GO - ANIMOTION (39) - Ah, a rare one-hit wonder on AT40! I liked this song, even better than "Obsession" (probably because it wasn't overplayed as that one). I do, however, prefer their 1989 hit "Room To Move". ANGEL - MADONNA (38) - This was the first chart in nearly a year without a song by Madonna on it. Her hit streak began on September 1 of the previous year with "Lucky Star", but was broken this week, as "Dress You Up" would not debut until two weeks later. On the R&R chart, however, her song "Into The Groove", which was not released as a single and, thus, ineligible to chart on the Hot 100, would hang on for those two weeks, thus extending her streak there into October. As for my opinion on this song, it's a good one, but I preferred many others from her, including said album cut CRAZY IN THE NIGHT (BARKING AT AIRPLANES) – KIM CARNES (32) - Did anyone notice that the beginning of this song and "Stand" by R.E.M. sound very similar? As for the song, it's a good one, though I preferred most of her other hits. HEAVEN - BRYAN ADAMS (28) - 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). THE GOONIES ‘R’ GOOD ENOUGH – CYNDI LAUPER (27) - Another movie hit - one of a handful on this week's chart. I saw this movie once, about nine years ago, and thought it was a good one. Anyone who has played the arcade game "The Goonies" (or the NES game "Goonies II") should be familiar with this song, as an instrumental version of it plays, in the attic scenes in the latter (not sure where it plays in the arcade game, since it's been over 25 years since I've played that). The song is also great - one of my favorite songs from Cyndi Lauper. 40: I WONDER IF I TAKE YOU HOME – LISA LISA & CULT JAM WITH FULL FORCE (debut) - Based on its somewhat weird chart run, this song must have had sporadic airplay, but did well where played. I thought this song was pretty good, but as we all know, I preferred "All Cried Out" by a wide margin. 39: SMOKIN’ IN THE BOYS ROOM – MOTLEY CRUE (debut) - Something I got caught doing once back in my sophomore year. Fortunately, the teacher just scoffed and walked off - didn't want to waste his time apparently, so I dodged a bullet there! As for the song, it was a pretty good song, considering I wasn't a huge fan of them. 38: NOT ENOUGH LOVE IN THE WORLD – DON HENLEY (34) - I was surprised that, after two Top Ten hits from Building The Perfect Beast, this song only got as high as #34. I think that, like "Boys Of Summer", it was released at the wrong time of year. This one sounds like more of an autumn hit than one for the summer. Anyway, this and "Sunset Grill" are in a horse race for my favorite song from Perfect Beast. 37: FREEDOM – WHAM! (debut) - This used to be my favorite song ever since I first heard it in mid-June, 1985, when B-96 gave this song early action, when "Everything You Want" was still in the Top Ten. However, overplay sort of dimmed my like for this song. This song had a normal climb up the BB chart, but was burning up the R&R chart (moved 37-23 this week) until it hit the Top Ten, and it only got as high as #6. I have a feeling that early action on other stations besides B-96 played a role in that. It peaked at #3 on Billboard though, which is surprising, seeing that this was their fourth single from "Make It Big". Usually, sales are quite small for fourth singles, especially from such a successful album as "Make It Big" was. Maybe the fact that the single version was different than the album version (I think) was instrumental in that (wasn't the single version the one with the horn solo at the end (which they played this week), or was that a demo version?) 36: POP LIFE - PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION (debut) - This was one of my favorite songs by Prince, but it sure seemed to come and go pretty quickly. It didn't even make the Top 100 of the year, which I thought was a shame. It did a lot better on my Personal Top 30, though, hitting #1 and ranking #4 on my year-ender. 35: LIFE IN ONE DAY – HOWARD JONES (debut) - He had his first Top Ten earlier in the year with "Things Can Only Get Better". This one didn't quite make it, but it was his second Top 20 hit, peaking at #19. It was a great song IMO - one of Hojo’s best as well. 34: DARE ME – THE POINTER SISTERS (40) - Little did Casey know that six weeks later, he couldn't care less if he never heard this song again. Of course, it was the song after which that the infamous "Dead Dog Dedication" was placed. I actually liked this song, considering that I generally did not like their later hits. 33: FIND A WAY – AMY GRANT (29) - This was Amy's first crossover Top 40 hit, but there was more where that came from - she hit #1 in December of the following year in a duet with Peter Cetera and then, in 1991 and 1992, had a ton of chart success with her album Heart In Motion. I thought this was a great song. 32: MYSTERY LADY – BILLY OCEAN (35) - Not one of his bigger hits - in fact, this was one of only three songs from him that failed to hit the Top 20. I liked the song though; a nice slow jam. 31: CHERISH – KOOL & THE GANG (37) - This one was number one for six weeks on the AC chart (and I believe was the top song of the year). It also was a huge pop smash, peaking at #2 for three weeks, becoming their second biggest hit behind "Celebration". I liked it, but prefer several others from them. 30: INVINCIBLE (THEME FROM “THE LEGEND OF BILLIE JEAN”) – PAT BENATAR (33) - I hope our friend JessieLou was listening this week! I liked this song, but it was far from being my favorite song from her. OPTIONAL EXTRA: BACK IN TIME - HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS - This was the song that played over the ending credits of one of the most iconic movies of the 80s, Back To The Future. The song, however, was never released as a single (presumably to fuel sales of the movie soundtrack). This song sounds a little like Lewis' other song from the soundtrack, which we'll be hearing later on in the countdown. 29: DON’T LOSE MY NUMBER – PHIL COLLINS (36) - Anyone notice that the video of this seemed to be a ripoff of the video for "You Might Think" by the Cars? As for the song, I liked it and was surprised that it was omitted from Collins' HITS album, considering it was definitely one of his biggest hits. 28: WOULD I LIE TO YOU – THE EURYTHMICS (18) - This was sort of a departure from their usual pop sound - they rocked with this one. Of course, we all know that my favorite song from them was their next release. LDD: NEVER ENDING STORY - LIMAHL - 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! 27: STATE OF THE HEART – RICK SPRINGFIELD (30) - A rare ballad from Mr. Springfield. I liked it - too bad it wasn't one of his more successful hits, but he had clearly had his day in the sun. His last Top Ten hit was "Love Somebody" from the previous summer. 26: YOU’RE ONLY HUMAN (SECOND WIND) – BILLY JOEL (31) - This one wasn't one of my favorites from him, but it definitely had a great message. He even left in a mistake that he made recording this song to prove his point that "you're only human - you're supposed to make mistakes". 25: JUST AS I AM – AIR SUPPLY (21) - They were one of the most popular groups around in the early 1980s, but this ended up being their last Top 40 hit, which was a shame, since I liked most of their Top 40 hits. 24: THE SEARCH IS OVER - SURVIVOR (11) - This song became pretty popular in the LDD department - in fact, it was used for that very purpose two weeks prior. It was a great song, IMO - one of my favorite songs by them, and one that I most associate with the summer of 1985. 23: VOICES CARRY – ‘TIL TUESDAY (12) - 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", which charted in the fall of the following year. 22: SUSSUDIO – PHIL COLLINS (13) - The second of four releases from No Jacket Required. Definitely my least favorite of them - more of a gimmick than anything, IMO, as well as overplayed. 21: ROCK ME TONIGHT – FREDDIE JACKSON (24) - He was big on the soul charts (where this one spent six weeks at #1), but he also had a few Pop hits as well. This one, as well as the others, were great, but my favorite song from him was his Christmas song "One Wish". OPTIONAL EXTRA: CRY - GODLEY & CREME - "Huh huh - he's faking. He's not really taking a dump!" Yeah, when I saw the episode of Beavis & Butthead with the video to this song, I never saw it the same way again! 20: WE DON’T NEED ANOTHER HERO (THUNDERDOME) – TINA TURNER (26) - The first (and most successful) of two songs from the movie Thunderdome, in which Tina herself starred. I like it, but it's definitely not my favorite song from her. 19: 19 – PAUL HARDCASTLE (19) - Hey wow, what an appropriate spot for this song! I thought that this was Max Headroom when I first heard it. It wasn't bad, but kind of weird. 18: ST. ELMO’S FIRE (MAN IN MOTION) – JOHN PARR (25) - The first of two songs from the St. Elmo's Fire soundtrack to hit the Top 40. I liked this song, but it was quite overplayed. I preferred the love theme from the movie, which would hit the charts that fall. 17: WHAT ABOUT LOVE - HEART (22) - This was Heart's comeback hit and their songs didn't have the same classic rock sound that their previous ones did, which might have helped, as they had more success on the pop charts than before, with seven Top Ten hits, including two #1s. This was another high point in the show for JessieLou! 16: YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) – DEAD OR ALIVE (20) - A two-hit wonder band from Liverpool, England. I slightly preferred their other song, "Brand New Lover", which was a Top 20 hit (as was this one) about two years later, but this one's pretty good as well (though it's too bad Flo Rida had to go and mess it nearly a quarter of a century later). 15: SUMMER OF ‘69 – BRYAN ADAMS (23) - Of course, this song told a fictional story, as Adams was only nine years old that summer - he'd be riding bikes and playing touch football, not playing in a band. 14: RASPBERRY BERET – PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION (7) - This used to be one of my favorite songs by Prince, but not so much anymore. As I’ve said many times before, I find the falsetto part at the end (which is actually Wendy & Lisa instead of Prince, as I once thought) quite annoying. 13: PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE – DEPECHE MODE (17) - The first Top 40 hit for this English band. I never cared much for it, however; I preferred their two Top 20 hits from 1990. 12: FREEWAY OF LOVE – ARETHA FRANKLIN (19) - With none other than Clarence Clemons playing sax, this was Aretha's comeback hit - that put her back into the Top Ten, that is. It was definitely a comeback over on the R&R chart, from where she'd been absent for over eleven years. Anyway, this song was pretty good, but I preferred her next hit, the title track of her Who's Zoomin' Who album, as well as a few of her songs after that. August 16 will mark the first anniversary of the death of the Queen Of Soul. R.I.P. Aretha 11: A VIEW TO A KILL – DURAN DURAN (4) - The second of two #1 songs for Duran Duran (you thought they had more, didn't you?) - and was by far my favorite of the two - a great song indeed! At this point in the show, Casey mentioned that Alabama had broken the record for consecutive #1 songs on the country chart. Their song "Forty Hour Week" had just hit #1, eclipsing the previous record held by Sonny James, whose 17th hit just barely missed. I wonder if Alabama's record kept going with their next hit? 10: WHO’S HOLDING DONNA NOW - DeBARGE (14) - Their last hit "Rhythm Of The Night" hit the Top Ten and this one followed suit this week. It was definitely my favorite of their two Top Ten hits. OPTIONAL EXTRA: TAKE ON ME - A-HA - This was the first hit for this Norwegian act, who's often known as a one-hit wonder, because of this song (as not everyone is familiar with "The Sun Always Shines On TV"). This was a great song, and I'm glad it hit #1! 9: GET IT ON (BANG A GONG) – THE POWER STATION (10) - Their second of three Top 40 songs they charted with in 1985. I actually preferred this over the mediocre original by T. Rex from 1972. 8: SENTIMENTAL STREET – NIGHT RANGER (8) - This one reminded me a lot of "Sister Christian" (and what do you know - those were their only Top Ten hits - I guess the Top 40 audience preferred their power ballads). I do too, although I also liked the mid-tempo ballads, such as "Four In The Morning" and "Goodbye". 7: THE POWER OF LOVE – HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (16) - This is the song I mentioned earlier, from one of the best movies ever, IMO. I loved the Back To The Future trilogy! This was played in the first one as Marty McFly rode his skateboard to school after finding out he was 20 minutes late, hoping to dodge his principal, but no such luck. 6: NEVER SURRENDER – COREY HART (9) - This was a rare case where the biggest hit by an artist (with at least five hits) was my favorite by them. This one peaked at #3 in August, and overplay hasn't tarnished it at all. LDD: FAITHFULLY - JOURNEY - 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. Anyway, as a dedication from a man overseas to his wife, this was definitely fitting. 5: GLORY DAYS – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (6) - Bruce had recently joined Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie as only the third artist to score with five Top Tens from a single album. Bruce wasn't done yet, though - he released two more songs from Born In The USA and those hit the Top Ten at well, tying him with Michael Jackson for the record number of Top Tens from one album. This one used to be so/so, but I've grown to really like this song over the past few years. 4: YOU GIVE GOOD LOVE – WHITNEY HOUSTON (3) - The first of many, many, many big Top 40 hits for her (it wasn't her first Hot 100 appearance, however, as she sang on a duet with Teddy Pendergrass the year before, called "Hold Me"). 3: IF YOU LOVE SOMEBODY SET THEM FREE - STING (5) - This song, Sting's first of many solo Top 40 hits, was said to be an antidote to his biggest hit ever, "Every Breath You Take", which he considered "a really nasty song". Whether that's true or not, I'm not completely sure, but either way, I like this song, but generally preferred his 90s hits. OPTIONAL EXTRA: DRESS YOU UP - MADONNA - As mentioned earlier, this song would not hit the chart for two more weeks, but since the song also debuted on the entire Hot 100 that week, and the August 10 show was guest-hosted, they used the song as an O.E. this week. It was a great song, IMO - one of my favorite of her upbeat songs. 2: EVERYTIME YOU GO AWAY – PAUL YOUNG (1) - This was definitely among the most played songs of the summer of 1985, but it has held up quite well. I don't think I ever got tired of this song, and I'm glad that it made it to #1. 1: SHOUT – TEARS FOR FEARS (2) - Meh, I never cared for this one at all. I guess you could say this is a song I can do without. Coming up next week: Back to twofers - the first "A" show from the early-80s in nine weeks! I do believe that's a record (of course, I do hope that's not a sign that they're phasing out early-80s shows). Anyway, the "A" show will be August 16, 1980, last run in 2009, and the "B" show is Casey's last show, which has been played multiple times, the last being just last year. I might catch that one if I'm not busy next week.
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Post by Hervard on Aug 9, 2019 13:21:58 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - August 10, 2019 This week's presentation - August 9, 1975 40: (SHU-DOO-PA-POO-POPP), LOVE BEING YOUR FOOL – TRAVIS WAMMACK (debut) - The only Top 40 hit for this Walnut, MS native. The song was OK, but nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to. 39: LOOK AT ME (I’M IN LOVE) – THE MOMENTS (40) - Their last Top 40 hit before they became Ray, Goodman and Brown. It was pretty much your run-of-the-mill slow jam. 38: ‘TIL THE WORLD ENDS – THREE DOG NIGHT (debut) - They were one of the biggest acts of the late 1960s and the first half of the 1970s, with 21 Hot 100 hits, all of which made the Top 40(wow, that doesn't happen too often). This was their final Top 40 hit. I thought it was a great one! 37: SWEARIN’ TO GOD – FRANKIE VALLI (21) - Valli was still doing double duty, performing solo as well as with the Four Seasons (as the latter would chart later on in the summer). This was a good song - one of his best solo hits. 36: SEND IN THE CLOWNS – JUDY COLLINS (36) - This was the first chart run for this song - and both runs started off the same, with the song moving 40-36. That was all the further the song got this time around, but in its second run, in late 1977, it made it into the Top 20. I guess you could call this one a guilty pleasure, as I like it, although I prefer a few other songs from her. 35: FAME – DAVID BOWIE (39) - This song was moving up the chart at a rather slow pace at first, but it would eventually pick up steam and go on to hit #1. The song wasn't bad, but quite overplayed IMO. I don't think that I need to remind y'all that my favorite songs from him are his two songs from 1987, do I? 34: RENDEZVOUS – THE HUDSON BROTHERS (38) - Does anyone remember their TV show "Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show" on Saturday mornings? I vaguely recall watching it with my older brother, but don't remember much about it (since I was very young at the time). As for this song, it was pretty good. 33: THAT’S WHEN THE MUSIC TAKES ME – NEIL SEDAKA (37) - 1975 was definitely a great year for Sedaka - two #1 hits and two additional hits that peaked in the 20s. I liked all four of them - not sure which one I preferred out of all of them. 32: ROCKIN’ CHAIR- GWEN McCRAE (9) - Wow! What a hard fall there! Of course, we all know that she was the wife of George McCrae, whom had charted the year before with "Rock Your Baby". I preferred that song; this one was pretty good, but nothing exceptional. 31: HELP ME RHONDA – JOHNNY RIVERS (debut) - One of several remakes from Rivers that hit the chart. This one was pretty good, but I preferred the original by the Beach Boys. 30: THIRD RATE ROMANCE – THE AMAZING RHYTHM ACES (34) - This song had sort of a country rock sound to it. It was a great song, IMO - their only Top 40 entry. 29: BALLROOM BLITZ - SWEET (33) - Sorry, but I'm not a fan of this one at all. 28: THE WAY WE WERE/TRY TO REMEMBER – GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS (11) - Interesting interpretation of the Barbra Streisand classic from the year before (with a spoken word part at the beginning), though I preferred the original. OPTIONAL EXTRA: RUN JOEY RUN - DAVID GEDDES - My goodness, there's enough whine in this song to serve all of France! 27: THAT’S THE WAY OF THE WORLD – EARTH, WIND & FIRE - (31) - Their second hit of the year and by far the best - as well as one of my favorites from them of all time! 26: COULD IT BE MAGIC – BARRY MANILOW (30) - His third of many big hits. The song was based on the melody of Chopin's Prelude In C Minor, though it sounds a little like "Wild World" to me. This was by far my favorite of his three 1975 hits. 25: FEEL LIKE MAKIN’ LOVE – BAD COMPANY (29) - One of two Top Ten hits from them. It was a good one, IMO. 24: WASTED DAYS AND WASTED NIGHTS – FREDDY FENDER (28) - Meh, I didn't care much for this one - his voice was kind of annoying. 23: JUST A LITTLE BIT OF YOU – MICHAEL JACKSON (26) - This was his last hit for the next four years, but then, of course, he came back much bigger than ever then. This song was OK, but definitely not one of his best. 22: GET DOWN TONIGHT – K.C. & THE SUNSHINE BAND (32) - This song was indeed burning up the charts! However, even though it hit #1, it would fall just as fast as it climbed. I guess people got tired of the song fast, although it still pops up on oldies stations regularly. 21: HOLDIN’ ON TO YESTERDAY - AMBROSIA (25) - Their breakthrough hit. Not one of my favorites for them - I preferred their three Top 20 hits from the late-70s/early 80s. 20: AT SEVENTEEN – JANIS IAN (23) - I know several people who dislike this song, due to the "cheese factor", but I actually thought it was a great one - I guess you could call it a guilty pleasure! 19: SLIPPERY WHEN WET – THE COMMODORES (20) - Not a huge fan of this one - I generally preferred their late-70s/early 80s hits. 18: FIGHT THE POWER PART 1 – THE ISLEY BROTHERS (22) - Ah, the song that contained the B.S. word, unedited from the song the first two weeks on AT40! Even though this one was the roof-raising R&B music that I generally hate, this one was actually not bad. 17: LOVE WILL KEEP US TOGETHER – THE CAPTAIN & TENNILLE (PARTIALLY IN SPANISH) (17) - The new Spanish version of the song, which would debut on the Hot 100 the following week, was the very reason that this song was experiencing a brief second wind (would rebound to #13 the following week). In a year that featured more one-week number one songs than any other year, this one somehow managed to spend a month on top, although I'm not sure why, as this was definitely not their best hit. Its saving grace is that it's not as bad as their hit from the fall of the following year, "Muskrat Fungus Love". 16: I’M ON FIRE – THE DWIGHT TWILLEY BAND (16) - One hit wonders abounded here - this was the only song by this band, consisting of Dwight Twilley himself, and Phil Seymour - both of whom each had one Top 40 single on their own in the 80s. This song was pretty good. 15: FALLIN’ IN LOVE – HAMILTON, JOE FRANK & REYNOLDS (24) - Their second and biggest hit, reaching #1 just a few weeks later. I thought this was a good song. Canadian rapper Drake must have thought so too, for he sampled it in his first Top 40 hit "Best I Ever Had" from 2009. 14: MORNIN’ BEAUTIFUL – TONY ORLANDO & DAWN (18) - Wow, lots of songs moving up four spots this week! Their last song made it all the way to #1. This song didn't fare quite as well, as this is where it peaked. I preferred this one over said #1 hit. OPTIONAL EXTRA: THEY JUST CAN'T STOP IT (GAMES PEOPLE PLAY) - THE SPINNERS - This song peaked at #5, their lowest peaking song to hit the Top Ten. That's right; they either hit the Top Five or missed the Top Ten altogether. This was one of my favorite songs from them, right up there with "Fidget" 13: DYNOMITE - BAZUKA (10) - Though I wasn't a fan od this type of music, this was OK - the "DYNOMITE!" shout became a catchphrase on the TV sitcom Good Times. 12: LISTEN TO WHAT THE MAN SAID – PAUL McCARTNEY & WINGS (8) - This was when their songs started improving vastly. Their 1974 songs were mediocre at best (though Junior's Farm was pretty good). From 1975 on, I liked all of their Top Ten hits (well, except for "Silly Love Songs", but that was due to overplay - I did like that song when it was on the charts). This song was one of their best IMO. 11: THE HUSTLE – VAN McCOY & THE SOUL CITY SYMPHONY (5) - 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! 10: ROCKFORD FILES – MIKE POST (13) - The theme from the TV show of the same name and the only instrumental on this week's chart. My parents used to watch this show, so I've been familiar with the theme for years. It's a good one - one of many great TV show themes from the great Mike Post! 9: HOW SWEET IT IS (TO BE LOVED BY YOU) – JAMES TAYLOR (15) - 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! 8: WHY CAN’T WE BE FRIENDS - WAR (12) - Well, I think I've sort of run into the ground the fact that this song's verses are too short, now haven't I? 7: RHINESTONE COWBOY – GLEN CAMPBELL (14) - This was on its way to becoming one of the biggest songs of the entire year, and worthily so, as it was one of Campbell's best. 6: MIDNIGHT BLUE – MELISSA MANCHESTER (7) - Her very first hit, and a great one it was! I liked most of her Top 40 hits, especially her ballads, like this one. 5: SOMEONE SAVED MY LIFE TONIGHT – ELTON JOHN (6) - This was one of my all-time faves from him! Sort of a bittersweet listen anymore, as it was a special song between myself and a girl I used to date. No, not because she found someone else, but she died in a car wreck back in 1999. 4: ONE OF THESE NIGHTS – THE EAGLES (1) - This is the song that spent the most weeks in the Top Ten during 1975 - ten weeks in all. Oddly enough, only one of those weeks were spent at #1. Anyway, of their two #1 hits in 1975, this was my favorite. 3: PLEASE MR. PLEASE – OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (4) - Ah, a song about being unable to hear a song that reminded you of a lost love. It was a good one, though I preferred "Have You Never Been Mellow". 2: I’M NOT IN LOVE – 10 CC (2) - I felt sorry for this song, as it spent three weeks in the runner-up position, as two other songs leapfrogged over it into the #1 spot. Anyway, this was a great song, but I actually preferred Will To Power's dance remake of it from early 1991. 1: JIVE TALKIN’ – THE BEE GEES (3) - Ah, their very first disco song, a style which they quickly became more famous for than ballads. This song wasn't bad, but I preferred most of their other disco songs.
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Post by Hervard on Aug 9, 2019 13:22:23 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - August 10, 2019
This week's presentation - August 16, 1980
LW#3: LITTLE JEANNIE – ELTON JOHN LW#2: IT’S STILL ROCK AND ROLL TO ME – BILLY JOEL LW#1: MAGIC – OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN Glad to have that Top Three recap. With my new work hours, I don't get home until a little past 1:00, at which time AT40 has usually already started (and is generally well into the countdown). It was great to be able to hear the entire main countdown! 40: ONE FINE DAY – CAROLE KING (16) - Yeouch! Huge drop there! This was one of those cases where the songwriter of a song charts with it after it charts one or more times by other artists. This would by my second favorite version of the song (that I've heard), behind Rita Coolidge's rendition from the previous year. 39: DON’T ASK ME WHY – BILLY JOEL (debut) - This song sounded a little different from his other Glass Houses singles; it has that sort of folk rock that appeared on his earlier albums. But it was a great one - my favorite song from Glass Houses. 38: LOVE THE WORLD AWAY – KENNY ROGERS (14) - Wow, another long drop, tying with Carole King. This was the biggest song from Urban Cowboy - to this date, that is - it would eventually be surpassed by "Lookin' For Love". But this was by far my favorite song from the soundtrack - just barely missed being the top song of 1980 according to my personal Top 30 charts - Kool & The Gang's "Too Hot" beat it by the narrowest margin possible. 37: YOU’LL ACCOMP’NY ME – BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND (debut) - Although this was my least favorite of Seger's three Top 40 hits from Against The Wind, it's a great song nonetheless. 36: IN AMERICA – THE CHARLIE DANIELS BAND (11) - Holy geez, what’s with all these gigantic drops this weekhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baBhtWxzFrU&t=784s? This is the biggest one of them all, just one spot larger than the two earlier in the show. Anyway, I think we all know that my favorite song from them is "Still In Saigon". This song, however, is also pretty good, as is their signature hit "The Devil Went Down To Georgia". 35: SOMEONE THAT I USED TO LOVE – NATALIE COLE (40) - I always thought that this sounded like something from a Broadway musical. It was a good song, and it would be her last hit until the late-80s, as she battled drug addiction for the next few years. I'm glad that she overcame it, as she had many great hits in the 80s and early 90s. 34: ALL OVER THE WORLD – THE ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (debut) - I did slightly prefer this one over "I'm Alive", but still, I generally preferred their 70s hits. 33: ONE IN A MILLION YOU – LARRY GRAHAM (37) - This was the previous week's #1 song on the R&B chart, and starting its climb on American Top 40, where it would peak at #9. Even though I know what one of our regular posters here thinks of this song, I like this song - your typical early-80s slow jam. ARCHIVE: STAY – MAURICE WILLIAMS & THE ZODIACS - This song has the distinction of being the #1 hit with the shortest playing time, clocking in at 1:37. Not really one of my favorite songs in the world, but I do prefer it over the Jackson Browne cover from 1978 (probably because it doesn't have that verse sung in a goofy nasal falsetto). OPTIONAL EXTRA: ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST - QUEEN - Meh, I prefer their other #1 song, from earlier in the year. Don't get me wrong; I actually used to like the song, but after hearing it a million times, both on the radio and every single juke box I came across back in the day, it got a quite old. 32: HOT ROD HEARTS – ROBBIE DUPREE (39) - As his first hit "Steal Away" steps off the chart, his follow-up continues to climb the chart, en route to a peak of #15. As mentioned earlier, I preferred said first hit. BTW, is the back-up singer on this the same one that sings back-up on "Steal Away"? 31: TIRED OF TOEIN’ THE LINE – ROCKY BURNETTE (13) - Wow, four songs falling out of the Top 30 from well inside the Top Twenty! But the ones from earlier in the countdown dwarf this one, which falls “only” eighteen spots. Anyway, Johnny Burnette's son here must have gotten tired of toein' the line right off the bat, as his first hit turned out to be his only hit. It was a great one, though - definitely sounds like something from the early sixties, which is when Johnny Burnette had several chart hits. 30: TULSA TIME – ERIC CLAPTON (32) - This was a double-sided single (with "Cocaine" on the flipside), but as far as I know, during its five-week run on the chart, Casey always played "Tulsa Time". Which was fine with me, because I was not a big fan of "Cocaine". The A-side was a pretty good song. 29: LATE IN THE EVENING – PAUL SIMON (debut) - This song had debuted on the Hot 100 at #46 the week before and would make a huge jump to #13 the following week. Looks like a #1 song, right? Not quite - the song ran out of gas rather quickly and only got as high as #6. The song did, however, spend a pair of weeks at #1 on the R&R chart in September, so it definitely got a lot of radio airplay. This was a double-sided single (with "Cocaine" on the flipside), but as far as I know, during its five-week run on the chart, Casey always played "Tulsa Time". Which was fine with me, because I was not a big fan of "Cocaine". The A-side was a pretty good song. 28: LOOKIN’ FOR LOVE – JOHNNY LEE (34) - Here's the song that was gearing up to become the most successful song from Urban Cowboy. I like this song, though I didn't really like it much back in the day. I guess it's one of those songs that gets better with age! 27: DRIVIN’ MY LIFE AWAY – EDDIE RABBITT (30) - This was his biggest hit to date, but his next one would go all the way to the top early the following year. Both were great songs! 26: YOU’RE THE ONLY WOMAN - AMBROSIA (29) - Their fifth and, sadly, last Top 40 hit. It was a great one, but I preferred "How Much I Feel" and "Biggest Part Of Me". LDD: COLOR MY WORLD – CHICAGO - Wow, one or two less words in the lyrics of this song and it might very well be classified as an instrumental. But seriously, this was a good song and definitely fitting for the LDD. 25: MAKE A LITTLE MAGIC – THE DIRT BAND (26) - They seemed destined to remain a "one-hit wonder", a status they held for about nine years, then, when they dropped the "Nitty Gritty" from their name, they ended up having two more hits, both in 1980. This song, which featured Nicholette Larson on back-up vocals was a good one, but I preferred "An American Dream" from earlier in the year. 24: BOULEVARD – JACKSON BROWNE (27) - Browne's first Top 40 hit in two years - and a great one it is - one I remember quite well from back in the day. I always thought the title was "Nobody, Nobody" until a few years later. 23: OLD FASHION LOVE – THE COMMODORES (24) - Even though their 1980 album Heroes hit the Top Ten, this was the only song from that album to make the Top 40. Stevie Wonder's "I Ain't Gonna Stand For It" reminded me a lot of this song. I liked both songs, but preferred this one. 22: STAND BY ME – MICKEY GILLEY (22) - I always associate this song with playing Pac Man, as that's what I was doing when I first heard this song (that I knew of, anyway) ten years after the fact. It was playing on the radio at the small grocery store I was at, which had several video games by the entrance. I didn't like it that much at first, but then it kind of grew on me and is now possibly my favorite version of the song that I've heard. ARCHIVE: ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT – ELVIS PRESLEY - I like most of Elvis's slow songs, and this is no exception. It's a good one! I believe this song holds the record for the biggest move within the Top 40 - moved 35-2 before spending six weeks on top. OPTIONAL EXTRA: HE'S SO SHY - POINTER SISTERS - This was one of their biggest hits (at first, looking like a possible #1, but, as strong as the top two songs at the time were, this song was no match for them). Anyway, this was also one of my all-time faves from them! 21: ALL OUT OF LOVE – AIR SUPPLY (28) - This song was looking like it might not be as big as their first hit "Lost In Love" from earlier in the year, as it was taking baby steps up the chart. However, this was when it began picking up steam and would break wide open the following week when it hit the Top Ten. Though this is one of my least favorite Air Supply songs, I must like it better than I used to, as it no longer gets "No. Just no" status. 20: WHY NOT ME – FRED KNOBLOCK (25) - Here is a rather depressing song, but the melody itself is somewhat upbeat. The song is about a guy who goes to the wedding of an old flame and finds himself wishing he was the groom. I always wonder why he even bothered to go. I sure wouldn't ever attend the wedding of anyone that I still had feelings for - I would make other plans that day (perhaps arrange to join Eddie in his golf game) and spare myself the hurt! 19: JO JO – BOZ SCAGGS (21) - Was he singing about K-Ci's partner? He couldn't have been singing about the one who sang "Leave (Get Out)" since, as far as I know, her parents hadn't even met yet. But seriously, this was a good song - had sort of a smooth jazz flavor to it. 18: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK - MECO (18) - I guess you could call this a guilty pleasure, as many people hate the idea of Darth Vader's entry theme being set to disco (which I can totally understand), but I like it. I especially liked "Yoda's Theme". 17: INTO THE NIGHT – BENNY MARDONES (20) - I don't remember this song at all from 1980, but I definitely remember it from 1989, when it returned to the charts - I heard it on AT40 and then ended up buying the single later on that summer. I played it quite a lot and ended up getting tired of the song. It's pretty good now, but I preferred several songs on his self-titled album which came out in 1989 (and included an updated version of "Into The Night") - these include "How Could You Love Me" and "I'll Be Good To You". 16: TAKE A LITTLE RHYTHM – ALI THOMSON (23) - This guy sounds like Paul McCartney (and coincidentally, he’s from the same city where Paul recorded his live version of “Coming Up” with his group Wings). I like this song - too bad it was his only hit. 15: GIVE ME THE NIGHT – GEORGE BENSON (33) - I guess with all the hard falls in the lower quarter of the chart, it's only fitting that we have at least one huge jump, and that honor goes to this song, by a man who is definitely one of the best jazz artists around. Like many of his songs, this one contains his trademark scat singing. I like it, but prefer a few others from him, including a few AC/smooth jazz only hits. 14: MISUNDERSTANDING - GENESIS (15) - One of my favorite Genesis songs of all time! This is definitely one that I associate with the summer of 1980, since the radio stations I listened to back then played this all the time back then. That said, I'm surprised it only got as high as #14 on the Hot 100. 13: FAME – IRENE CARA (17) - Here's a song that got to be a theme song twice - first as the theme from the movie of the same title in 1980, and then again as the theme from the TV show called Fame, which ran for about five seasons, starting in 1982. The song wasn't bad, but one of my least favorite songs from Cara. 12: COMING UP (LIVE AT GLASGOW) – PAUL McCARTNEY & WINGS (9) - Wow, this song was still going strong! I'm so glad they were playing the live version by now, rather than the robotic version that was played at the beginning of its chart run. The vocals on that song were overdubbed or altered or whatever so much that a) it didn't even sound like Paul McCartney and b) you could barely understand what Paul was singing, especially in the choruses. No, I much preferred the live version. The Top 40 audience apparently thought so as well, because once radio stations began playing the live version, the studio version was all but left for dead about a month after the song first hit the charts. 11: CUPID / I’VE LOVED YOU FOR A LONG TIME – THE SPINNERS (8) - They seemed to be on a roll with medleys, as this was their second one in a row and it, like the first one, hit the Top Ten. I wonder if they just decided to stop while they were ahead; who knows? Anyway, I liked both medleys about the same. ARCHIVE: WONDERLAND BY NIGHT – BERT KAEMPFERT - This one sounded a little geezerly, but not too bad IMO. OPTIONAL EXTRA: JESSE - CARLY SIMON - A song about an old flame who comes back and wins back her heart, despite her best attempts to resist. It's a great song - one that I regularly played on the jukebox at Pizza Hut back in the day. 10: MORE LOVE – KIM CARNES (12) - She had the duet with Kenny Rogers back in the spring, now she was on the chart with her first big solo hit. Of course, the best was yet to come. Not sure if I prefer this song or "Bette Davis Eyes" - I think it's one of those cases where it depends on my mood. 9: LET MY LOVE OPEN THE DOOR – PETE TOWNSEND (19) - Oddly enough, despite this song’s huge chart jump, this would be all the higher it got. This one and one of the Who's songs, "You Better You Bet" sound very much alike but, oddly enough, it was a different member of the Who that sang lead on that one (Roger Daltrey). As for this song, it was a good one. 8: LITTLE JEANNIE – ELTON JOHN (3) - This was Elton's first, and biggest, hit of the 1980s. It was a great one, and one of my favorites of his 80s songs. Too bad they chopped out the second verse in this song. LDD: MY EYES ADORED YOU – FRANKIE VALLI - This song fit the dedication to a T, as it was from a girl to her childhood friend - more specifically a girl from Tokyo, who, at the time she had to move, was mad at the friend for some reason and didn't say goodbye to him, and ultimately regretted it. I wonder if they ever got back in touch? 7: SHINING STAR – THE MANHATTANS (6) - They had sixteen Hot 100 hits, but only three of those made the Top 40, one of those just barely. Of their two big hits, this was definitely my favorite. 6: IT’S STILL ROCK AND ROLL TO ME – BILLY JOEL (2) - I like this song quite a lot better than I used to, but still, it is my least favorite of the four singles from Glass Houses, one of Joel's best albums IMO. 5: UPSIDE DOWN – DIANA ROSS (10) - The week before, this song had made a monster debut at #10. This week, the song continues to race towards the top spot, where it would spend the entire month of September. This one was good, but not quite my favorite from her. 4: EMOTIONAL RESCUE – THE ROLLING STONES (7) - Ah, my former supervisor's "favorite" song (too bad she quit last month, so I no longer get to torment her by singing this song, LOL!) Another guilty pleasure (as many people I know, other than said former supervisor, dislike the song, due to Jagger's falsetto singing). 3: TAKE YOUR TIME – S.O.S. BAND (4) - This was the S.O.S. Band's Top 40 hit (although I imagine they had others on the R&B and dance charts). This song wasn't bad, but nothing exceptional. OPTIONAL EXTRA: I'M ALRIGHT - KENNY LOGGINS - I remember seeing this movie (Caddyshack) back in the day! The gopher that had been terrorizing the golf course was dancing to this song at the end. A great song! 2: SAILING – CHRISTOPHER CROSS (5) - Try closing your eyes with this song on and you’ll feel like you’re out on the water! This song was on top of the R&R chart this week (for the third of four weeks), and would hit the top on the Hot 100 two weeks later. 1: MAGIC – OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (1) - Ah, good ol’ Olivia Yewton John, as the daughter of one of my former co-workers (not the one who hates "Emotional Rescue) called her when she was little). This was one of two songs from "Xanadu" on this week's chart and would end up being the biggest of them all by far, spending four weeks at #1. I liked this song, but it was not quite my favorite ONJ song. Casey mentioned that the start of this song sounds like that of “Mama Told Me Not To Come” by Third Dog Night. I had never noticed the similarity before I heard this show back in 2009.
Coming up next week: As the "A" show, we'll be getting 1982 for the first time in two and a half months. The "B" option will be the show from August 16, 1986, which will put that year at the century mark. That's right, it will be the 100th show from that year since the series began. It is in the lead for most shows played by a pretty fair margin (as of next week). 1987 is in second place with 93 shows and years 1982-1985 are very close together, with each year having 91 or 92 shows each. In other words, it doesn't look like any other year will be hitting the 100-show mark anytime soon.
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Post by Hervard on Aug 9, 2019 13:22:41 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - August 10, 2019
This week's presentation - August 6, 1988 (Casey's last show)
MAKE IT REAL - THE JETS (40) - One of a handful of big hits from this Minneaopolis-based family act. This was a great song, though I slightly preferred "You Got It All". IN YOUR SOUL - COREY HART (38) - His first three albums went gold, but his fourth, Young Man Running, didn't even make it into the upper half of the album chart, and spawned a single hit, which was at its peak the previous week. It just went to show that Hart had already had his day in the sun. I did like this song, though, but it wasn't quite as good as my favorite from him, "Never Surrender". NOTHIN' BUT A GOOD TIME - POISON (36) - 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! LOST IN YOU - ROD STEWART (30) - Here's an artist who had been hitting the charts for two decadees, and his hit streak was far from over. This one didn't quite hit the Top Ten, but it didn't miss by much, peaking at #12 the previous week. It was a great one - possibly my favorite of his four Top 40 hits from the Out Of Order album. PARADISE - SADE (24) - Sade was mainly a smooth jazz and AC artist, but they did have a handful of Top 40 hits - four, to be exact (well, before the PPW era, anyway) and all of them hit the Top 20. This one just barely squeaked in, peaking at #20 in July. It was a great song - my favorite of their hits!
40: FOOLISH BEAT - DEBBIE GIBSON (31) - The lead-off song for Casey's final show from AT40's original run was by Debbie Gibson - such was the case with the #40 song on his new show "Casey's Top 40" in early 1989. This was one of my favorite songs of the year, by a then 18-year old superstar. Several times during the song's chart run as well as the year-end show, they cut out the bridge, going right from the end of the second chorus, to the part near the end where she sings "do do doo doo doo", making for a very bad edit - totally screwing up the continuity of the song, but this time, they left the song intact. 39: NITE AND DAY - AL B. SURE (27) - Ah, a nice and mellow slow jam - much better than his upbeat songs (like "Off On Your Own Girl"). I liked the synthesizer used in this song. 38: MISSED OPPORTUNITY - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (debut) - Wow, Hall & Oates indeed had a missed opportunity - namely, getting to announce their own hit on the countdown, as they had hosted the previous week, when this song was #45 on the Hot 100. The song wasn't bad, but definitely not their best. 37: ONE GOOD WOMAN - PETER CETERA (debut) - His third Top 40 solo hit and, like the first two, it made the Top Ten. For some reason, this song never really did anything for me. I generally preferred him as part of Chicago (though his first solo hit, which we heard on last week's "B" show, was a great one). 36: SAYIN' SORRY DON'T MAKE IT RIGHT - DENISE LOPEZ (debut) - I heard this song on B96 every now and then back in the summer of 1988, since this was during their evolution from Mainstream Top 40 to Rhythmic Top 40. Though I'm not generally a fan of this type of music, there was something about this song I liked. 35: HERE WITH ME - REO SPEEDWAGON (39) - This song, which turned out to be their final Top 40 hit, was one of their power ballads that seemed to perform best on the charts. This was definitely one of my favorite songs from them! 34: IT WOULD TAKE A STRONG STRONG MAN - RICK ASTLEY (debut) - The past two weeks featured rare 1988 charts without the dreaded "Rickroll" in the charts, something that was otherwise unavoidable during 1988 (except after this song dropped out). I preferred this over their last two hits (or should I say "hit" in the single sense, as both songs sounded very much alike). The title track was also a great song, but that one wasn't released here in the states, which I thought was a shame (though as I recall, that was a decent-sized hit on the dance chart). 33: NOBODY'S FOOL - KENNY LOGGINS (37) - His hit from the first Caddyshack movie was a big Top Ten hit, as was this one, from the sequel. I actually prefer this one, as it has virtually fallen into obscurity (yet "I'm Alright" receives a fair amount of recurrent play). Both are great songs, though. 32: LOVE CHANGES (EVERYTHING) - CLIMIE FISHER (23) - Only a small handful of one-hit wonders in this week's countdown, and this is one of them. This was a good song - sounds a little like a song Rod Stewart would sing. 31: ANOTHER PART OF ME - MICHAEL JACKSON (debut) - The sixth Top 40 hit from Bad. However, this song didn't quite hit the Top Ten, though I don't understand how, as the song was Top Ten on both the sales and airplay subcharts. The song didn't miss by much, though, as it peaked at #11. I can see why this one didn't perform as well as the first five singles, which all hit #1, since it was one of his weaker songs IMO. OPTIONAL EXTRA: THE LOCO-MOTION - KYLIE MINOGUE - The last of three versions of this song to hit the Top Ten. It was also the lowest peaking version of the song. I preferred the other two versions (by Little Eva and Grand Funk, both of which hit #1), though it would have been neat if this song had made it also, making it the first time that the same song performed a hat trick. 30: I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE SOMEWHERE - MOODY BLUES (33) - I had been hearing this song on U93 since the beginning of summer and was wondering if it would ever hit the Top 40. Well, it finally did, two weeks before, though this is all the higher it got. As I've mentioned before, my favorite songs of theirs were from the 1980s and this was no exception. 29: ALL FIRED UP - PAT BENATAR (35) - Ah, the high point of the show for JessieLou! This song was OK, but not one of my favorite songs by her by any means. 28: MERCEDES BOY - PEBBLES (19) - Is it me, or were there more songs about cars and driving than usual in the summer of 1988? Who knows; maybe it seems like that because that was the summer I took Driver's Ed. Didn't get my license until seven years later, though (mainly due to procrastination). 27: I'LL ALWAYS LOVE YOU - TAYLOR DAYNE (32) - Ah, the high point of the show for JessieLou! This song was OK, but not one of my favorite songs by her by any means. 26: IF IT ISN'T LOVE - NEW EDITION (34) - Meh, at this point, they weren't New Edition anymore, since their voices had changed at this point. I definitely preferred their earlier material, as well as a few songs by their many side projects. 25: WHEN IT'S LOVE - VAN HALEN (29) - Their second hit from OU812. The first only got as high as #34 (must not have been promoted very well), but this one hit the Top Five. It is a great song, IMO - my favorite song from the album. 24: PERFECT WORLD - HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (28) - Well, Huey Lewis' popularity seemed to be on a downslide. Even though this song was a Top Three hit, it was the only Top Ten from the album Small World, and ended up being his last Top Ten hit, but they definitely had a great run - I believe they were the top group/band of the 1980s. As for this song, it wasn't bad, but he definitely had many other hits that I preferred. 23/LDD: THE FLAME - CHEAP TRICK (11) - Their comeback hit had recently spent the past two weeks on top, and was one of the most played song of the entire summer. 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". 22: NEW SENSATION - INXS (7) - 1988 had an unusually high number of Aussie acts, INXS being by far the most successful, with all four of their hits making the Top Ten. I'm not generally a huge fan of them, but I actually liked this song. 21: RAG DOLL - AEROSMITH (22) - Their third and final hit from Permanent Vacation. This one was so/so, but I much preferred "Angel", which had hit #3 earlier in the year. OPTIONAL EXTRA: DOMINO DANCING - THE PET SHOP BOYS - Their final Top 40 hit. It was a great song - one that would give their cover of "Always On My Mind" a run for its money as my favorite song from them. 20: SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE - ROBERT PALMER (26) - Meh, not a fan of this song - was way overplayed, and it wasn't one of my favorite songs in the first place. 19: RUSH HOUR - JANE WEIDLIN (9) - I loved Casey's driving metaphor as he described this song's chart run! Jane Wiedlin was the second of the Go-Gos to hit the Top 40 with a solo hit. Unfortunately, she wasn't quite as successful as bandmate Belinda Carlisle, as this was her only Top 40 hit. It was a great song - too bad her follow-up "Inside A Dream" only got as high as #57, since I preferred that song. 18: SWEET CHILD O' MINE - GUNS 'N' ROSES (25) - This is the song that started their chart career, and remains their biggest hit to date. It's a good song - one of my favorites from them. 17: THE COLOUR OF LOVE - BILLY OCEAN (17) - His first hit from Tear Down These Walls hit #1, and I was hoping this one would follow suit, but it only got as high as #17 (at least it hit the Top 20). This was definitely one of my favorites from him. 16: THE TWIST - FAT BOYS f/CHUBBY CHECKER (18) - Meh, they should have left this one alone... 15: LOVE WILL SAVE THE DAY - WHITNEY HOUSTON (21) - This song would end up breaking her streak of #1 hits, like I sort of figured it would, based on the fact that it didn't start off as strong as her #1 songs. I sure didn't expect it to miss by so much, though - it barely even touched the Top Ten, and failed to make the year-end countdown. I wasn't terribly disappointed, as this was not one of her best songs by any means. 14: FAST CAR - TRACY CHAPMAN (20) - This one always reminded me of "Oh Very Young" by Cat Stevens. It was a good song - much better than her ad nauseum played "Give Me One Reason". 13: PARENTS JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND - DJ JAZZY JEFF & THE FRESH PRINCE (12) - Like Fresh Prince in the first story, about school shopping, I was sixteen back when this song was popular, so I could definitely relate (although my Mom never bought me school clothes from two generations prior)! I liked this song - this was back when rap was still tolerable. 12: JUST GOT PAID - JOHNNY KEMP (15) - Like Fresh Prince in the first story, about school shopping, I was sixteen back when this song was popular, so I could definitely relate (although my Mom never bought me school clothes from two generations prior)! I liked this song - this was back when rap was still tolerable. 11: DO YOU LOVE ME - CONTOURS (14) - This was originally a #3 hit in 1962, but thanks to its inclusion on the More Dirty Dancing, it had a second run on the charts, this time around, just missing the Top Ten. This week, they played an updated version of the song, which I actually preferred over the original. 10: MONKEY - GEORGE MICHAEL (16) - I liked the terms containing the word "monkey" and their origins that Casey related leading into this song. As for this song, it wasn't bad, but I prefer many others from him, both solo and with Wham! OPTIONAL EXTRA: I DON'T WANT YOUR LOVE - DURAN DURAN - The Big Thing album was a low point in their career, both in my opinion and many others, since this was their first album (excluding Carnival, which was outlasted by Rio) not to attain Platinum status. The song spawned two singles and this song was the only Top Ten. It was so/so, but one of my least favorite songs from them. 9: POUR SOME SUGAR ON ME - DEF LEPPARD (4) - This song just missed hitting #1, as another song (last week's #1, to be exact) leapfrogged over it, but it did manage to make it on the R&R chart. It was a good song, IMO. 8: I DON'T WANNA LIVE WITHOUT YOUR LOVE - CHICAGO (13) - I generally preferred the band with Peter Cetera on lead vocals, but Bill Champlin, who sang lead on this song, would probably be my second favorite lead singer. This song was a pretty good one - the first of two songs on this week's chart that start with the words "I Don't Wanna". 7: I DON'T WANNA GO ON WITH YOU LIKE THAT - ELTON JOHN (10) - And look at this - here is the second! The two songs pretty much climbed the chart together. I liked this song, but preferred many others from him. 6: 1-2-3 - GLORIA ESTEFAN & MIAMI SOUND MACHINE (8) - This was the band's fifth Top Ten hit. This song did live up to one of the numbers mentioned, as it peaked at #3. Like The Jets, I generally like Gloria's slower songs (with and without the Miami Sound Machine) best. This one wasn't bad, though. 5: SIGN YOUR NAME - TERENCE TRENT DARBY (6) - This and "Wishing Well" are pretty much the only two songs by him that I like (such was the case with the general Pop audience, as those were his only real big hits). I preferred this one - had a somewhat haunting sound to it. LDD: I'VE HAD THE TIME OF MY LIFE - BILL MEDLEY & JENNIFER WARNES - This, of course, was the song that kicked off Dirty Dancing fever on the charts late the previous year. I like this song, but for some reason, I hated it with a passion when it was on its way up the chart. Probably because of the overplay, but I never liked it in the first place. Now I think it's a good one, though I wouldn't want to hear it on a regular basis. 3: SHOULD'VE KNOWN BETTER - RICHARD MARX (4) - I often compare this song to Kenny Loggins' "I'm Free (Heaven Helps The Man)" since they both sound alike. I prefer the Kenny Loggins song, but this is also a great one - my favorite from his self-titled album. 4: MAKE ME LOSE CONTROL - ERIC CARMEN (5) - This was efinitely my favorite of Carmen's two 1988 hits ("Hungry Eyes" was too overplayed, which I guess is understandable, since it was from a very popular movie soundtrack). Too bad they cut out the second verse. I would have preferred it if they edited the last verse, where Eric is singing so softly that you can barely understand him (I believe the show from two weeks prior had an edit like that). 3: HOLD ON TO THE NIGHT - RICHARD MARX (2) - A rare example of the final release from an album (that spawned three or more hits) was the biggest. The first three hit the Top Five, but this one went all the way. I preferred several others from him, though - most of them from Repeat Offender. 2: HANDS TO HEAVEN - BREATHE (3) - When I first heard this song, I thought it was a new hit by Air Supply - the singer sounded a lot like Russell Hitchcock in the choruses. I liked this song at first, but overplay tarnished it for me. I preferred their songs on their Peace Of Mind album two years later. 1: ROLL WITH IT - STEVE WINWOOD (1) - I remember that I hated this song with a passion when it first came out, but then I gradually grew to like it more and more. This is a great one to crank up while driving (but not too loud, especially in cities with noise ordinances, lol!)
Coming up next week: Refer to the end of the 1980 critique above.
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