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Post by mga707 on Aug 10, 2019 12:02:51 GMT -5
ARCHIVE: WONDERLAND BY NIGHT – BERT KAEMPFERT - This one sounded a little geezerly, but not too bad IMO. Surprised that this 1940s-sounding song could have hit #1 as late as '60/'61. But then again, it was followed to the top spot two records later by "Calcutta", and the following year by "Stranger On the Shore" and "The Stripper", so there was still a sales and airplay market for 'old'-sounding instrumentals. One overlooked factor is that at that time nearly all commercial stations ran news at the top of every hour, so these instrumentals were often used as time fillers just before the hour's end as they could be faded at any point on the record.
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Post by bobbo428 on Aug 15, 2019 1:07:41 GMT -5
CHART CRITIQUE OF 8-9-75
40 (SHU-DOO-PA-POO-POPP) LOVE BEING YOUR FOOL-TRAVIS WAMMACK A rocking blue-eyed soul tune was a moderate pop hit; this had an early-‘70s vibe to it. 39 LOOK AT ME (I’M IN LOVE)-THE MOMENTS A romantic slow jam with a late-‘60s feel, this tune was a middling pop hit. 38 ‘TIL THE WORLD ENDS-THREE DOG NIGHT A morose tale of lost love, this song haunted me for a long time. The melody sounded end-of-school-year plaintive, while the lyrics sang of a summer romance that had come to an end. The singer was coming to grips with his depression and was trying to carry on. It reminds me of the 1980 Air Supply hit “All Out of Love.” 37 SWEARIN’ TO GOD-FRANKIE VALLI Disco-tinged tune had a carefree, summery feel and was a major hit. 36 SEND IN THE CLOWNS-JUDY COLLINS I first heard this song in July 1975, but it had an ominous late-autumn feel to it. The record reached #36 on the chart in August of that year but would reach the top 20 when re-released, in the fall of 1977. When I heard this in August 1975, I had a premonition of big snowstorms hitting the Northeast—it may have foreshadowed the winter of 1977-78, when the song would be popular again. The horns and piano gave the track a sparse, haunting feel—almost funereal. Dirge-like, the tune reminded me of leaves falling on a cloudy autumn Sunday. The song was one of regret, and the word “clowns” symbolized self-declared fools. 35 FAME-DAVID BOWIE A bass-driven, autumnal-sounding rocker with an R&B edge, this was Bowie’s biggest pop hit ever (along with 1983’s “Let’s Dance”). 34 RENDEZVOUS-HUDSON BROTHERS This teen idol act had a moderate hit with this '50s-tinged rocker. 33 THAT’S WHEN THE MUSIC TAKES ME-NEIL SEDAKA A summery sort of song, this had his happy piano sound. 32 ROCKIN’ CHAIR-GWEN MCCRAE This smooth, soulful record was a major pop hit as well--it was a love song that was propelled by sexy, caressing vocals. 31 HELP ME RHONDA-JOHNNY RIVERS At first I thought this song was called "Everybody Everybody," and so did Fran, a guy in my class. Rivers had moderate success with this cover song; the Beach Boys had reached #1 with the tune in 1965. This version had accordion frills as well as a sax break. 30 THIRD RATE ROMANCE-AMAZING RHYTHM ACES A country-rock story song about a clueless couple, this was a major pop hit. 29 BALLROOM BLITZ-SWEET This raucous song rocked much harder than their bubblegum-flavored 1973 hit "Little Willy” and became a major pop success. 28 THE WAY WE WERE/TRY TO REMEMBER-GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS This record was a medley. It began as a spoken-word piece called “Try to Remember,” which had been popularized by the Brothers Four. “The Way We Were” had a winsome violin for accompaniment. 27 THAT’S THE WAY OF THE WORLD-EARTH, WIND & FIRE A slow, midsummer sort of jam, this had the band's trademark silky vocals. The record also had jazzy influences and a laid-back feel. Lenny Kravitz’s 1991 smash “It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over” probably was inspired by this tune. OE: RUN JOEY RUN-DAVID GEDDES This was a death rock song for the '70s. A father was very angry upon finding out that his daughter was pregnant. She wanted to marry her boyfriend, but the father killed the daughter before Joey could rescue her. It was a quick hit, and it faded from view just as fast. I recall hearing this tune for the first time only hours after I had seen the movie Jaws. 26 COULD IT BE MAGIC-BARRY MANILOW I really enjoyed this record's piano intro. The vocals were earnest, and the song had an autumnal flavor to it. It was inspired by Melissa Manchester, a fellow singer whom Manilow liked. 25 FEEL LIKE MAKIN’ LOVE-BAD COMPANY This classic rock tune had a slamming guitar riff—it had deceptively mellow acoustic verses, followed by a wallop in the chorus. 24 WASTED DAYS AND WASTED NIGHTS-FREDDY FENDER Fender followed up his huge crossover hit with a late-1950s lament that could have been a Patsy Cline song. It was a major pop as well as country success. The song also had an R&B flavor to it. 23 JUST A LITTLE BIT OF YOU-MICHAEL JACKSON A seldom-heard song, this had a catchy hook, as well as some semi-disco production. 22 GET DOWN TONIGHT-K.C. & THE SUNSHINE BAND This was my introduction to the irresistibly catchy sound of this disco/funk act. It was one of the fastest selling records of the year and helped make disco a phenomenon. I first heard of the group when they made their top-40 bow. They are the only act I can think of who reached No. 1 the same calendar month I first heard of them. 21 HOLDIN’ ON TO YESTERDAY-AMBROSIA A contemplative rock ballad, I enjoyed the melodic nature of this song. It wasn't nearly as sappy as some of their later pop hits, which is a chief reason it remains my favorite Ambrosia single. 20 AT SEVENTEEN-JANIS IAN I was a teenager when this song was popular, and I could relate to its introspective, confessional lyrics. I too was an outsider, and I was always chosen last for athletic contests. Fortunately, this perceptive tune was a top-five smash. 19 SLIPPERY WHEN WET-COMMODORES Funky number was the band’s first major hit with vocals. 18 FIGHT THE POWER (PART 1)-ISLEY BROTHERS This defiant slice of funk was a pointed attack on an inert, unresponsive political system. The record had a driving, pulsating beat as well as a sense of urgency. The riff helped propel this tune to #4, the group’s biggest hit aside from 1969’s “It’s Your Thing.” It was sort of a funk-meets-disco sort of record, and a pop and soul smash. Ernie Isley was inspired to write this song (and a later single, “Harvest for the World”) after watching a news program on TV. 17 LOVE WILL KEEP US TOGETHER-THE CAPTAIN & TENNILLE A happy-go-lucky summer tune co-written by Neil Sedaka, it ended up being the biggest hit of the entire year. It was the perfect summertime sing-along on the beach or at the lake. 16 I’M ON FIRE-DWIGHT TWILLEY BAND Another song that had summer written all over it, this power-pop classic had several distinct vocal and guitar hooks. 15 FALLIN’ IN LOVE-HAMILTON, JOE FRANK AND REYNOLDS A soulful soft-rock tune, this was the trio's first big hit in four years. 14 MORNIN’ BEAUTIFUL-TONY ORLANDO & DAWN A fairly cloying track by Mr. Orlando, it came and went quickly. It had a sunshiny, summerlike feel to it, but I was finding Dawn to be a bit sappy for my taste. 13 DYNOMITE-BAZUKA This was a funky number--primarily instrumental--that had a summer feel to it. The title was inspired by J.J. Walker’s catch phrase on the then-popular TV sitcom Good Times. Michael, a guy in my class, would always crack us up when he said this word. 12 LISTEN TO WHAT THE MAN SAID-PAUL MCCARTNEY & WINGS A summer sing-along, this was a very big hit. The lyrics were simple and lightweight. The instrumental outro was surprisingly pensive, however. I recall being unable to decide one Sunday whether to buy this record or "The Hustle." Fortunately, my father said that I could buy both--and I did. I had twice as much fun that afternoon. 11 THE HUSTLE-VAN MCCOY & THE SOUL CITY SYMPHONY This irresistible song was one of the summer's biggest hits and touched off a big dance craze with the disco crowd. It was highlighted by a brassy woodwind hook that the performer rode to the top of the chart. 10 ROCKFORD FILES-MIKE POST Twangy instrumental TV theme had alluring guitar and accordion hooks. 9 HOW SWEET IT IS (TO BE LOVED BY YOU)-JAMES TAYLOR While Taylor did a good job singing this, I do prefer the Marvin Gaye original from 1965. This recording has been an adult-contemporary staple for over four decades. I tend to enjoy Taylor's original songs more than his remakes. 8 WHY CAN’T WE BE FRIENDS?-WAR War returned to the top 10 with this poignant, bittersweet, rocking soul number--a plea for interracial harmony. The song came out at a difficult time in my life--the tail end of seventh grade, when I was wishing that I could be friends with my peer group. The record was still in the top 40 when the following school year began--one classmate pooh-poohed the song because it wasn’t cynical enough. However, I believe that there can never be too many songs like this. The hook gets under your skin, and you can't help but sing along. In 2009, Dave Matthews would refer to the song in the lyrics of his tune “Funny the Way It Is.” 7 RHINESTONE COWBOY-GLEN CAMPBELL His comeback hit saw Campbell in a jaded, ultra-realistic state of mind; he scored a huge pop hit with this countrypolitan song about living the life of a pop star. . 6 MIDNIGHT BLUE-MELISSA MANCHESTER This was a mellow, summer-sounding serenade that was well written and sung; strings began to swell later in the record, but they were free from the maudlin trap. 5 SOMEONE SAVED MY LIFE TONIGHT-ELTON JOHN A melancholy song, it was about a man being rescued from a suicide. When listening to the lyrics, I thought that he had been rescued by the Sugar Bear character from the cereal commercial. Actually, he was using the pet name “Sugar Bear” in referring to his ex-lover. It reminded me of my introspective periods during the summer of '75. 4 ONE OF THESE NIGHTS-EAGLES This was a much more upbeat song than “Best of My Love,” and it was the band's second straight #1 hit. This was the year the Eagles achieved superstar status, and this song had it all—beginning with an opening riff that was repeated several times before the vocals kicked in. The record also had lyrical tension, a killer sax hook, and a guitar interlude in the middle, as well as excellent backing vocals. 3 PLEASE MR. PLEASE-OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN This was a country-tinged tale of a woman who couldn’t bear to hear a certain song on a jukebox because it reminded her of her ex. A subtle woodwind hook accompanied a Bach-like instrumental arrangement. I enjoyed hearing my sister Beth sing this tune that summer. 2 I’M NOT IN LOVE-10CC A reflective song, this one found the singer denying that he was in love. I can recall having a crush on a girl named Shelly, but I kept telling people I didn't because I was afraid she'd find out and tell me that she disliked me. Fortunately, that never occurred. The record was very well arranged and produced, with excellent, textured vocals. 1 JIVE TALKIN’-BEE GEES This release marked a major shift for the brothers—and a strong comeback hit. With "Jive Talkin'" the group went in a direction that was definitely R&B and disco-oriented. When I first heard this record, I was mesmerized by its pulsating hook. It soared to #1 by August, four years after they had scored their first #1, the ballad "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart."
Commentaries were from my 2016 book “The Songs of Our Lives—A Journey Through Pop Music Land, 1955-1979.”
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Post by jamie9012 on Aug 15, 2019 10:36:21 GMT -5
Here is a Critique that I have been working on. I have done others from this Year, but I do like the Songs. American Top 40 was then in its early days, but the show was still great to hear!
August 1 1970
40: GROOVY SITUATION - GENE CHANDLER - The beginning of this Song reminded me of a child Song. Or somewhat like Tony Orlando and Dawn. It was great. 39: GIMME DAT DING - THE PIPKINS – One of several Bands that featured studio musician Tony Burrows. This was a Duo with Roger Greenaway. 38: I WANT TO TAKE YOU HIGHER - IKE & TINA TURNER - Originally from Sly and The Family Stone. 37: A SONG OF JOY - MIGUEL RIOS - In time for Beethoven's 200th Birthday. One of Germany's biggest hits in 1970 and 1971, going to #1. Also #1 in Austria and Switzerland. 36: DO YOU SEE MY LOVE (FOR YOU GROWING) - JR. WALKER & THE ALL-STARS – After several hits in the 1960s, this nice R&B number would be his last Top 40 Hit. R.I.P. 35: HAND ME DOWN WORLD - THE GUESS WHO - One of my favorites from them. When Burton sings at the end, I can feel without doubt the emotion in his Voice. 34: MISSISSIPPI QUEEN - MOUNTAIN – I love it! From beginning to end! The lead singer is Leslie West. 33: SILVER BIRD - MARK LINDSEY – A member of Paul Revere and the Raiders. He also had a successful solo Career, which also included a Song called “Arizona”, released late in 1969. 32: EVERYBODY'S GOT A RIGHT TO LOVE - THE SUPREMES – Diana Ross had left the band when this Song was released. But soon would she be hitting the Charts with her Version of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”. Her former band took this great Song to #21. 31: THE SLY, SLICK, AND THE WICKED - THE LOST GENERATION - The only Hot 100 hit for this Band, and it peaked at #30. On the R&B Charts did they have more hits. 30: BIG YELLOW TAXI - THE NEIGHBORHOOD – The one hit for this group was this Joni Mitchell song. 29: MAYBE - THE THREE DEGREES – They first recorded this Song in 1966, but later gave it another try (with a different lead Singer). This newer Version peaked here at #29. OLDIE: PLEASE MR. POSTMAN - THE MARVELETTES - #1 for one Week in December 1961. The remake from the Carpenters in 1975 reached #10 DE, #5 CH, and #1 US. 28: SUMMERTIME BLUES - THE WHO - A remake of a Song from the 1950s. 27: 25 OR 6 TO 4 - CHICAGO - Who knew that writing a Song could be so hard! 26: RIDE CAPTAIN RIDE - BLUES IMAGE - Another one of my favorites! When I first heard this, I thought that it was based on a true Story. 25: OVERTURE FROM "TOMMY" - ASSEMBLED MULTITUDE - An arrangement of this Song from The Who. It reached #16 in 1970. 24: WESTBOUND #9 - THE FLAMING EMBER – This R&B flavored band from Detroit scored a few Top 40 hits, with this one being the biggest Hit. 23: PATCHES - CLARENCE CARTER - A good Song. It seems that this was his final hit to appear in the Top 40. This Story reminds me very much of the children’s novel Sounder. I shall not spoil anything here, but they are rather similar. OLDIE: ITSY BITSY TEENY WEENIE YELLOW POLKA-DOT BIKINI - BRIAN HYLAND - #1 on the Hot 100 for the Week of 8 August 1960. It also reached #1 DE, and #8 UK. 22: TELL IT ALL BROTHER - KENNY ROGERS & THE FIRST EDITION – It sounds like someone trying to make a confession in Church. 21: TEACH YOUR CHILDREN - CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG – Their first of two Hits on this week’s Countdown. 20: LAY DOWN - MELANIE SAFKA AND THE EDWIN HAWKINS SINGERS- No doubt one of my favorites on the Countdown! Full of emotion and a great Sound! 19: HITCHING A RIDE - VANITY FARE - From 1969. A Song about a man trying to get home to the person that he loves. 18: ARE YOU READY - PACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC - This was their only Top 40 Hit, and it peaked at #14. 17: LAY A LITTLE LOVIN' ON ME - ROBIN McNAMARA - A nice upbeat Song, that peaked at #11. 16: (IF YOU LET ME MAKE LOVE TO YOU THEN) WHY CAN'T I TOUCH YOU? - RONNIE DYSON - One of two Songs from him that appeared in the Top 40. It is sad, that he died only at the age of 40. R.I.P. 15: GET UP (I FEEL LIKE BEING A) SEX MACHINE - JAMES BROWN - #15 US, #29 DE. #1 SONG DECEMBER 1966: GOOD VIBRATIONS - THE BEACH BOYS 14: OHIO - CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG - A view to some events of that era. They sing of the shootings at Kent State University in Ohio by the National Guard, which left four Students dead. 13: I JUST CAN'T HELP BELIEVING - B.J. THOMAS - #9 on the Hot 100. Earlier that Year, his big hit "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" was also in the Charts. Specifically, at #1. I have been recently hearing this on an Station that plays oldies. 12: IN THE SUMMERTIME - MUNGO JERRY – What would Summer be without such a fun Song? Of course, I would never drink and drive. #3 US, #1 DE, CH, AT. 11: WAR - EDWIN STARR - #1 for this anti-war Anthem. Also #9 DE. 10: OOH CHILD - THE FIVE STAIRSTEPS - An excellent Song from this family Band! Definitely a Classic. OLDIE: CAN'T GET USED TO LOSING YOU - ANDY WILLIAMS - #2 on the Hot 100 in Spring 1963, and #39 DE. No scary ghost Tales or tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago here. 9: BALL OF CONFUSION (THAT’S WHAT THE WORLD IS TODAY) - THE TEMPTATIONS 8: THE LOVE YOU SAVE - THE JACKSON FIVE - A serious, yet playful tune for this family Band from Gary, Indiana. While it was a huge Hit, it does not seem to be heard much on the Radio now. 7: TIGHTER, TIGHTER - ALIVE N KICKIN – Always is it good to be alive. And always good to hear this Song! 6: MAMA TOLD ME NOT TO COME - THREE DOG NIGHT – This Song, which was #1 on the first AT40 Episode is now descending. #12 DE. 5: BAND OF GOLD - FREDA PAYNE - Great R&B hit! It peaked at #3. 4: SPILL THE WINE - WAR - #3 on the Hot 100. A nice Summer song. Sit beneath the shade and have a drink. Just don't spill it. 3: SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED I'M YOURS - STEVIE WONDER – With the emotion that Casey Kasem would announce this Song, I often feel that he liked it. I would not blame him at all! OLDIE: CALCUTTA - LAWRENCE WELK - #1 for two Weeks in February 1961. Written by Hans Bradtke, Heino Gaze, Lee Pockriss, and Paul Vance. 2: MAKE IT WITH YOU - BREAD - The first Top 40 hit for the band from California. And it reached #1! 1: (THEY LONG TO BE) CLOSE TO YOU - CARPENTERS - The biggest hit from this duo remained at #1 for four Weeks.
Thank you for reading.
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Post by Hervard on Aug 15, 2019 17:02:54 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s - August 17, 2019 This week's presentation - August 14, 1976 Droppers: I'M GONNA LET MY HEART DO THE WALKIN' - THE SUPREMES (40) - This, the Supremes' final Top 40 hit, will never be heard on the series, as it spent a single week in the Top 40, and that week happened to be guest-hosted (by Sonny Melendrez). I myself have never heard this song (that I know of anyway), so maybe when I get a chance, I'll see if I can find the song on YouTube. C'MON MARIANNE - DONNY OSMOND (38) - I vaguely remember hearing this song on the July 31 show several years back and that I liked it. I'll have to check this one out too to refresh my memory. MORE MORE MORE - ANDREA TRUE CONNECTION (34) - Of their two Top 40 hits, I preferred this song. The Canadian alternative rock band Len apparently liked it as well, as they sampled it in their big 1999 hit "Steal My Sunshine". ANOTHER RAINY DAY IN NEW YORK CITY - CHICAGO (32) - This was the first single from their tenth album, but radio stations were ignoring this song in favor of "If You Leave Me Now", compelling Columbia to stop promoting this song and rush-release IYLMN instead. As a result, this song only got as high as #32. It was a good one, but I preferred the second single. I'LL BE GOOD TO YOU - THE BROTHERS JOHNSON (28) - The first Top 40 hit for this soul duo from Los Angeles. This is my favorite song by them, which isn't saying much, as I disliked their three other hits. I preferred the cover by Quincy Jones featuring Chaka Khan and Ray Charles, which hit the charts in early 1990. SOPHISTICATED LADY - NATALIE COLE (25) - Her first Top 40 hit made the Top Ten, then she had a pair of mid-charters. This was the second of them - not a bad song, but I preferred her 80s and 90s songs. 40: STREET SINGING - LADY FLASH (debut) - The only hit for Barry Manilow's back-up singers. It was a good song but, of course, I preferred most of Barry's big hits. 39: SHE'S GONE - HALL & OATES (debut) - This was their second hit, and the best was definitely yet to come for this dynamic duo! This song was so/so, but definitely not their best. 38: STILL THE ONE - ORLEANS (debut) - They had three Top 20 hits, and I really liked all three of them about the same, but this one would be my favorite by a thin margin over the other two. 37: GETAWAY - EARTH, WIND & FIRE (debut) - Indeed, one of the biggest R&B acts of the 1970s! Though this wasn't quite as good as "That's The Way Of The World" and "September", it was still a good song nevertheless. 36: TEAR THE ROOF OFF THE SUCKER - PARLIAMENT (15) - Gerardo sampled this song - or was it a remake? I never really paid much attention to that song, so it was kind of hard to tell. As for this song, it pretty much blends in with all the faceless disco music during this era. 35: SHOWER THE PEOPLE - JAMES TAYLOR (39) - This is a song that has aged quite well - still sounds great 40 years later! 34: DEVIL WOMAN - CLIFF RICHARD (debut) - Casey mentioned that this as Cliff's first Top 40 hit in over a decade. It's a good one, but I generally preferred his 80s hits. first hit in well over a decade. 33: WHAM BAM (SHANG-A-LANG) - SILVER (37) - Track 11 on Volume 2 of Barry Scott Presents: Lost 45s of the 70's & 80's, a CD I've listened to many a time, so I've heard this song many times as a result. It's a good one! 32: WITH YOUR LOVE - JEFFERSON STARSHIP (debut) - A high point in the show for JessieLou, especially since it was the highest debut. This one sounded very much like their big hit "Miracles", from the year before. I liked it, but I preferred their two 1978 hits when Marty Balin was still lead singer. 31: LET HER IN - JOHN TRAVOLTA (31) - He currently had a gig as Vinnie Barbarino on Welcome Back, Kotter, but he showed his second talent on this week's chart with his debut hit. It was a good one - hit the Top Ten a few weeks back. 30: WHO'D SHE COO - OHIO PLAYERS (33) - Meh, I think we all know why I don't care much for this song... 29: A LITTLE BIT MORE - DR. HOOK (35) - I don't like this song either, which is weird, as it used to be one of my favorite Dr. Hook songs. I guess that certain songs just lose their luster *Getting up and going to the kitchen to make breakfast* 28: SOMETHING HE CAN FEEL - ARETHA FRANKLIN (29) - The first version of this one that I heard was En Vogue's remake from the summer of 1992. That one would be more successful, hitting the Top Ten while this version would peak at #28 a few weeks later. This one wasn't bad, but sounds kind of dated - I preferred said remake. OPTIONAL EXTRA: ROCK'N ME - Here's one I remember from back in the day! Glad this one got to sneak in a week at the top before Rod Stewart began his marathon run up there. 27: LOWDOWN - BOZ SCAGGS (36) - And look here - Steve Miller's former bandmate (in the Marksmen Combo). He had a few low charters in the early-70s and a minor Top 40 hit earlier in 1976, but this is that song that really put him on the map. The song wasn't bad, but I preferred most of his other hits that charted after this. 26: IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN - NEIL DIAMOND (11) - This song has sort of a theatrical sound to it, as if Jim Steinman had produced it. This song was OK, but there are many other songs from Diamond that I prefer. 25: SUMMER - WAR (30) - I always thought this one was released a little too late - it should have been put out in May so it would hit the chart in time for summer. The song had debuted on the AT40 chart two weeks prior, when summer was just about half over. The song peaked at #7 on the weekend after the fall equinox. I wonder if the song would have done any better if released earlier. No matter; it did hit the Top Ten. 24: YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND - QUEEN (16) - You know what, I can’t believe this song didn’t hit the Top Ten - it sure got a lot of airplay. Although that depends on the radio stations in your area. I listened to WLS a lot and that song peaked at #4 on their station’s playlist. I still hear this on oldies station every now and then, which is good, because this is one of my favorites from Queen. 23: HEAVEN MUST BE MISSING AN ANGEL - TAVARES (27) - While it's true that I'm no fan of R&B disco, I actually kind of liked this song. 22: YOUNG HEARTS RUN FREE - CANDI STATON (23) - The tenth and last (as well as biggest) hit for this American soul and gospel singer from Hanceville, Alabama. It was a pretty good song IMO. 21: LAST CHILD - AEROSMITH (21) - Here's one I remember hearing from time to time back in the day. Good song, but I generally prefer their 80s and 90s hits 20: SAY YOU LOVE ME - FLEETWOOD MAC (24) - Their self-titled album had been out for over a year and would finally hit #1 on the album chart a few weeks later, setting a record for the slowest climb to #1 on that chart. As for this song, I thought it was good, though I slightly preferred "Rhiannon". 19: GOT TO GET YOU INTO MY LIFE - BEATLES (7) - Here's one I remember quite well, since it was #1 on the station I listened to back in 1976 - WLS in Chicago, so I heard it all the time that summer. It was a great song! 18: MOONLIGHT FEELS RIGHT - STARBUCK (3) - Wow, what a big drop! People sure got tired of this one fast, didn't they? Anyway this was the first of Starbuck's two Top 40 hit, and clearly the biggest of them. I preferred this one over "Everybody Be Dancin'", which charted the following year. 17: I'M EASY - KEITH CARRADINE (17) - Meh, sounds more like second-rate Jim Croce. I used to like this song, but not much anymore. 16: BABY I LOVE YOUR WAY - PETER FRAMPTON (18) - Frampton Comes Alive was having an on-again, off-again relationship with the #1 spot on the album chart. This was the second single from the album, which would go on to become the top album of the entire year. This song was pretty good, but I preferred the two other singles from what would become the top album of the year. 15: PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC - WILD CHERRY (22) - Ever since Vanilla Ice went and messed up this song in early 1991, I never was able to look at this song in the same light ever again! 14: A FIFTH OF BEETHOVEN - WALTER MURPHY (20) - In the first few weeks this song was on the chart, it was taking baby steps, but it eventually began to pick up the pace, like this week, moving up six spots. The song, an interesting rendition of this well-known classical piece, would eventually go all the way to the top. OPTIONAL EXTRA: MAGIC MAN - HEART - Another high point for JessieLou! This was their second Top 40 hit, and it made the Top Ten, unlike the first. Both songs still get regular airplay on classic rock and oldies stations (and I remember both from back in the day, since WLS played them constantly). 13: AFTERNOON DELIGHT - STARLAND VOCAL BAND (10) - Ah, a song about engaging in a quickie with your significant other during your lunch break. This is another song I remember quite well (needless to say, I had no idea what it was really about, though, being only four years old and all). 12: THIS MASQUERADE - GEORGE BENSON (14) - A nice, mellow chill-out type song, as was his next release, the instrumental "Breezin'". Too bad the latter didn't hit the Top 40. 11: GET CLOSER - SEALS AND CROFTS (13) - They appeared to be getting a second wind this week. They had hit the Top Ten several weeks prior, making a huge move to #6, held there another week, then fell back to #13. The week after this, it would re-enter the Top Ten, so I guess there were a few stations that were slow in adding this song (not sure what caused its odd chart movement a few weeks before, though). This song was OK, but Jim Seals sounded like he had a runny nose in this song. 10: TURN THE BEAT AROUND - VICKI SUE ROBINSON (12) - There definitely is not much difference between this and Gloria Estefan's cover 18 years later. That said, I don't know which version I prefer. 9: KISS AND SAY GOODBYE - MANHATTANS (8) - As we all know, I find this song depressing, especially the spoken part at the beginning. There were a few weeks that they skipped over that part, but. unfortunately, this wasn't one of those weeks. No - give me their other Top Ten hit "Shining Star" any day! 8: (SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE) SHAKE YOUR BOOTY - K.C. AND THE SUNSHINE BAND 7: I'D REALLY LOVE TO SEE YOU TONIGHT - ENGLAND DAN AND JOHN FORD COLEY (19) - Wow, what a big move! Looked like this song might hit #1, but was shut out of the top by "Play That Funky Music", which was a shame, since this was a great song - my favorite of their six Top 40 hits. The following week, as "Get Closer" moved back into the Top Ten, it made for a rare occurrence with two brothers in the Top Ten simultaneously. 6: LOVE IS ALIVE - GARY WRIGHT (2) - 1976 was a great year for Mr. Wright, as he had two hits, both of which would peak at #2, and I remember both of them quite well - I even remember the first time I heard this song, I asked, "Is this Gary Wright?" And indeed it was - pretty good guess for a four-year old. Anyway, this was my favorite of Gary's two 1976 hits by a fair margin, as "Dream Weaver" is somewhat overplayed, yet this one doesn't get much in the way of recurrent airplay. 5: ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC - BEACH BOYS (6) - This song definitely showed that, even though the sixties was clearly their decade, they still had it in the 70s! 4: YOU'LL NEVER FIND ANOTHER LOVE LIKE MINE - LOU RAWLS (9) - Casey mentioned that this song might go all the way. Unfortunately, the song would just miss hitting #1, which is a shame, since this was a great song! At least it did hit the Top Five and was Rawls' biggest hit ever. 3: LET 'EM IN - WINGS (4) - Possibly the only song I've ever heard that opens with a Westminster chime doorbell. As for the song, it is my favorite of Wings' two Top Five hits from 1976. I still preferred a few others from them. OPTIONAL EXTRA: IF YOU LEAVE ME NOW - CHICAGO - This is that song that caused the band to more or less steal their own thunder. I heard this song at least once a day back in the fall of 1976! But I don't think I ever got tired of it. Has a very haunting melody to it (so I guess it was fitting that it would hit #1 on Halloween weekend). 2: YOU SHOULD BE DANCIN' - BEE GEES (5) - They were in the midst their second wave of popularity at this point, as this song, like "Jive Talkin'" the year before, would end up hitting #1. It was so/so, but I preferred other hits from them, especially from Saturday Night Fever. 1: DON'T GO BREAKIN' MY HEART - ELTON JOHN AND KIKI DEE (1) - This great song, Elton & Kiki's first of two duets, wasted absolutely no time hitting the #1 spot, where it would hold for the entire month of August (it was even bigger on R&R, spending seven weeks on top, which was a record at the time). This song was all over the radio back in the summer of 1976, but I never got tired of it.
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Post by Hervard on Aug 15, 2019 17:03:18 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - August 17, 2019
This week's presentation - August 21, 1982
Droppers: WHAT KIND OF FOOL AM I - RICK SPRINGFIELD (36) - Here's the song with possibly the longest peak for a song outside the Top 20, as it was stuck in the #21 position for the past six weeks. It did hit the Top Ten in R&R, though, which was good, as this was one of my favorite songs from Springfield. Too bad it's totally ignored by radio anymore. I FOUND SOMEBODY - GLENN FREY (31) - This was the first solo hit for one of the main lead singers of the recently disbanded Eagles. It was also one of his most underrated solo hits IMO - easily my favorite of his two 1982 chart hits. DO I DO - STEVIE WONDER (30) - One of several songs on this week's chart that were sampled in future Top 40 hits, in this case, "Livin' It Up" by Cookie Monster - er, I mean Ja Rule. Of course, I preferred this song. LOVE'S BEEN A LITTLE BIT HARD ON ME - JUICE NEWTON (29) - Of course, this was one of my favorite songs from her, as it was one of her 1982 hits. I preferred the other two, but this is still a great one nonetheless!
LW#3: ABRACADABRA - STEVE MILLER BAND LW#2: HURTS SO GOOD - JOHN COUGAR LW#1: EYE OF THE TIGER - SURVIVOR 40: LET ME GO - RAY PARKER, JR (debut) - He usually did songs that were upbeat, but he went with a slow jam this time around. Apparently, most of his fans preferred his fast and mid-tempo songs, as this song didn't get past #38. It was a pretty good song, IMO. 39: I REALLY DON'T NEED NO LIGHT - JEFFREY OSBORNE (39) - After being in the R&B funk band LTD for ten years (lead singer since 1976), Osbourne embarked on a solo career. This was his first Top 40 hit and, even though this was all the higher it got, there was more where that came from. This was a great song, IMO - had a smooth jazz feel to it. Still, I preferred “On The Wings Of Love”, which, of course, was the follow-up to this. 38: SOMEDAY, SOMEWAY - MARSHALL CRENSHAW (40) - The only Top 40 hit for this Detroit native, but his only hit was indeed a great song! 37: ROUTE 101 - HERB ALPERT (37) - Ah, the only artist at the time that hit #1 with both an instrumental and a vocal song. Unless that's happened since then, but somehow, I doubt it. Anyway, this was a pretty good song, though not quite as good as "Rise". 36: LET ME TICKLE YOUR FANCY - JERMAINE JACKSON (debut) - Meh, I was never a big fan of this one - possibly my least favorite songs of his. 35: PERSONALLY - KARLA BONOFF (19) - Back in the summer of 1994, I bought Karla’s Wild Heart Of The Young album, after hearing the title track playing over a scene in The Wonder Years, and it turned out to be a worthy purchase, as I liked each and every song on the album, this one included (in fact, this just might give the title cut a run for its money as my favorite). 34: SOMEBODY'S BABY - JACKSON BROWNE (debut) - The only Top 40 hit from the 1982 comedy film Fast Times At Ridgemont High, and one of Jackson Browne's more successful hits - as well as one of my favorites from him. 33: YOUR IMAGINATION - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (33) - One of their lesser known hits. I myself preferred most of their other hits. 32: PAPERLATE - GENESIS (32) - I recently learned the meaning of the title - it's the British equivalent of "Extra, Extra - Read all about it!". This song, one of several songs from them that uses the horn section from Earth Wind & Fire, was a good one, though not quite their best. OPTIONAL EXTRA: I RAN (SO FAR AWAY) - A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS - The first (and biggest) of three hits by this English new wave and synthpop band. I liked all three songs, but I'm not sure which one I liked best. 31: HOT IN THE CITY - BILLY IDOL (34) - This song had two chart runs - it peaked at #23 in this one and, when it was re-released in 1987, it climbed to #48. I liked it, but preferred his other songs from the latter year. 30: BLUE EYES - ELTON JOHN (38) - One of two songs he charted with in 1982, both of them making the Top 20. Though I preferred the other song, "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny", this one was a good one too. 29: ONLY TIME WILL TELL - ASIA (35) - Their second of two hits this band put into the Top 20 during 1982. It was also my favorite of the two (though the other song, "Heat Of The Moment", was a great one too). 28: IF THE LOVE FITS, WEAR IT - LESLIE PEARL (28) - She had written hits for many country and AC artists and now charted with a single hit of her own. It was a great song - one I've heard many times on my Barry Scott's Lost 45s CD. 27: YOU CAN DO MAGIC - AMERICA (debut) - A comeback hit for them in two different ways - their first Top Ten hit since 1975, when "Sister Golden Hair" hit #1, and their first Top 40 since 1976, when they peaked at #23 with "Today's The Day". This one would hit #8 two months later. It was one of their best hits, IMO, and one I remember quite well back in the day! 26: DON'T YOU WANT ME - THE HUMAN LEAGUE (15) - This is one of the songs I most associate with the summer of 1982, as that was when it was #1 and played a lot on the stations I listened to - a great song indeed! 25: KIDS IN AMERICA - KIM WILDE (25) - This was the first of two Top 40 hits for Wilde. Her other hit, from five years later, was, of course, her biggest hit ever, hitting #1. This song was OK, but I preferred said #1, as well as her 1988 song "You Came", which just barely missed becoming her third Top 40 hit, peaking at #41. At least that song was a Top Ten dance hit, so it's all good. LDD: I LOVE - TOM T. HALL - Definitely a cheesy song, but it definitely fit the LDD, from a teenager to her birth mother, whom she hoped to meet someday. 24: AND I'M TELLING YOU I'M NOT GOING - JENNIFER HOLLIDAY (26) - Sort of an operatic song here. I kind of liked it, though it definitely sounded out of place on this show. The song was OK, except for the parts near the end, where she growled the words instead of singing. 23: TAINTED LOVE - SOFT CELL (17) - Definitely one of the most overplayed songs of the 1980s. Of course, we all know that this song held the record for the longest consecutive run on the Hot 100 - in fact, I believe that the song has such a record for the pre-Soundscan era (remember - "What About Me" by Moving Pictures doesn't count, as that song had two chart-runs). 22: LET IT WHIP - THE DAZZ BAND (16) - This was a recent #1 song on the soul chart, and it didn't do half bad on the Hot 100, peaking at #5 a few weeks before. I wasn't a big fan of the song, however. 21: OUT OF WORK - GARY U.S. BONDS (22) - You can definitely tell that this one is a Springsteen song (even has Clarence Clemons wailing away on the sax). It's a great song, and one with a very timely message, what with the high unemployment rate nowadays. OPTIONAL EXTRA: GLORIA - LAURA BRANIGAN - This was a really good song and it looked like it might give "Tainted Love" a run for its money in terms of longevity, but this song didn't quite match it - spent 36 weeks on the Hot 100, which was impressive nonetheless. Not sure about the original by Umberto Tozzi, though - sounds like he's comparing her to a monkey. 20: WHO CAN IT BE NOW - MEN AT WORK (24) - This one, along with their other Business As Usual #1, "Down Under" are both way overplayed. Yet radio stations pretty much ignore any of the Cargo singles, which IMO are superior to the two #1s. 19: THINK I'M IN LOVE - EDDIE MONEY (21) - His first Top 40 hit in a little over three years. This was the first of two singles from his album No Control (the other one, "Shakin'" didn't quite make it into the Top 40). It was a good song, though I preferred several others from him (such as "Maybe I'm A Fool", "Endless Nights" and "After This Love Is Gone", among others. 18: AMERICAN MUSIC - POINTER SISTERS (20) - The Pointer Sisters seemed to have a 60s thing going in 1982, as two of their songs from that year sounded as though they were remakes of songs from the 1960s. I liked both songs, but preferred the other one, "Should I Do It". 17: EYE IN THE SKY - ALAN PARSONS PROJECT (23) - Here is a song that was overplayed back in the day, but now, I seldom hear it outside of countdown shows anymore. Definitely one of my favorite songs from them. Many of the stations I listened to back then played the "Sirius" intro along with this song. 16: JACK AND DIANE - JOHN COUGAR (27) - This is another song that was played to death back during its chart run (and many years afterward). As a result, I'm pretty much burned out on it. I definitely preferred his other song in the countdown this week. UX: MY SWEET LORD - GEORGE HARRISON - 15: ROSANNA - TOTO (8) - This song couldn't get any higher than #2, but it became their biggest hit overall (especially on the R&R chart, where it spent a month on top). It was a good song that still gets quite a lot of recurrent airplay. 14: LOVE WILL TURN YOU AROUND - KENNY ROGERS (18) - This one was on its way to a peak of #13, a position it held for five weeks, which was somewhat unusual even by 1982 standards, before falling out of the Top 40 from that peak (which, on the other hand, was a very common occurrence for 1982). The song did manage to hit the Top Ten on the R&R chart, which is good, since this is one of my favorite songs from Kenny Rogers! 13: ONLY THE LONELY - THE MOTELS (11) - The first of four Top 40 hits from this band from Los Angeles. I liked all four of those hits, my favorite being "Remember The Nights", from early 1984. This was their biggest hit overall, and the only one that gets any kind of recurrent airplay nowadays. 12: LOVE IS IN CONTROL - DONNA SUMMER (14) - Now this song had an odd run on the chart, even by 1982 standards. The song looked like it was peaking at here at #12, since it held there for three weeks, then it surprised everyone by moving up to #11 the following week, and then #10 the week after, before falling clean out of the Top 40, defying the "more than one week at its peak" rule. I'm wondering if they fudged around with the chart somewhat so this song wouldn't just miss the Top Ten. As for my opinion of this song, I wasn't a big fan of it - sounded a little like something the Jacksons would do - in fact, when I first heard this song, I thought that's who it was. 11: YOU SHOULD HEAR HOW SHE TALKS ABOUT YOU - MELISSA MANCHESTER (13) - She definitely nailed the fives with this song - aside from peaking at #5, it spent five weeks in the Top Ten, fifteen weeks in the Top 40, and 25 weeks on the Hot 100 - and, had one of her lower charters not made the Top 40, this would have been her fifth Top 40 hit. Anyway, this was a good song, although sounds a little like a note you’d find in a middle school girls’ notebook. OPTIONAL EXTRA: YOU DROPPED A BOMB ON ME - THE GAP BAND - This song reminded me a lot of their last hit "Early In The Morning". (except that song did not have "bomb dropping" sound effects in it - just a rooster crowing at the very beginning). I liked both songs about the same. 10: TAKE IT AWAY - PAUL McCARTNEY (12) - She definitely nailed the fives with this song - aside from peaking at #5, it spent five weeks in the Top Ten, fifteen weeks in the Top 40, and 25 weeks on the Hot 100 - and, had one of her lower charters not made the Top 40, this would have been her fifth Top 40 hit. Anyway, this was a good song, although sounds a little like a note you’d find in a middle school girls’ notebook. 9: WASTED ON THE WAY - CROSBY, STILLS & NASH (10) - The comeback hit for the trio, who had been absent from the Top 40 for five years. This was one of two hits that they placed on the charts during 1982. Of those songs, I preferred this one (though "Southern Cross" was also a great one). 8: VACATION - THE GO-GO'S (9) - I seem to recall that this was the first cassette single released in the States. Of their three 1982 hits, this would be my second favorite behind "Alex The Seal" "Our Lips Are Sealed". LDD: SOMEWHERE DOWN THE ROAD - BARRY MANILOW: This song, which had peaked at #21 back in February, indeed sounded like it was written specifically for the author of the LDD, who had to leave her boyfriend behind as she pursued her dream job of being an actress. 7: KEEP THE FIRE BURNIN' - REO SPEEDWAGON (7) - Their only upbeat song to make the Billboard Top Ten (as all of their other Top Ten hits were power ballads). I liked this song, but preferred their next release, "Sweet Time". 6: EVEN THE NIGHTS ARE BETTER - AIR SUPPLY (6) - This is the song that holds the somewhat undesirable record for the song that took the longest fall out of the Top 40. After this peaked at #5 two weeks later, the song would fall from #6 to #42 (but you already knew that, right?) Anyway, this was one of their best songs, IMO. 5: HARD TO SAY I'M SORRY - CHICAGO (5) - Their comeback hit after over three years, but they more than made up for lost time with this song, which looked like it was going to peak here at #5, a position it held for the past four weeks, but it managed to rise above the competition and went all the way to #1 the following week. As you probably know all too well, at one time, it was my favorite song in the world, but now, I'm pretty much burned out on the song (Az Yet's 1997 cover, which sounded much like the original, was instrumental in that), so much that I usually change the station when it comes on the radio. 4: HOLD ME - FLEETWOOD MAC (4) - Here's a song that set a record for the longest peak at #4 that, as far as I know, could still be standing today (though, of course, I stopped believing in the Hot 100 soon after 11/30/1991). It was one of my favorites from them back in the day, but I have since grown tired of the song (though it's good to hear it every now and again). 3: ABRACABADABRA - THE STEVE MILLER BAND (3) - Back at #5 was a song that, by month's end, many people thought had peaked, as it spent four weeks there. For the same four weeks, this song held the #3 position. In fact, the entire Top Five was at a standstill for the entire month of August, but things began to move around a little as September rolled in. This song had just the magic that it needed to break away from the number three spot and became their third #1 song - I guess you could say it did a hat trick OPTIONAL EXTRA: THE ONE YOU LOVE - GLENN FREY - I liked this song a lot when it was on the charts, but then my interest in it dulled kind of fast. I prefer several others from him. 2: HURTS SO GOOD - JOHN COUGAR (2) - This is the song whose drop from the runner-up position made the difference for the Top Five on Labor Day weekend as the songs had more leg room. As I said, I preferred this song over "Jack And Diane". Unlike that song, this one has held up quite well despite overplay. 1: EYE OF THE TIGER - SURVIVOR (1) - This song held the most desirable place to be stuck for a whole month - the coveted top spot! In fact, this song would spend a total of six weeks there and would go on to become the second most popular song of 1982, behind "Physical" by Olivia Newton-John. It was a good song - has held up pretty well despite overplay. I do prefer a few others from them, though.
Coming up next week: It's back to standalones, as both versions of the show have only one show for next week. For AT40: The 80s, it's the show from August 27, 1983, which hasn't been played since 2010, so it's definitely ripe for a repeat!
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Post by Hervard on Aug 15, 2019 17:03:40 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - August 17, 2019
This week's presentation - August 16, 1986
Droppers: WHO'S JOHNNY - EL DEBARGE (39) - 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", which I also liked. YOUR WILDEST DREAMS - THE MOODY BLUES (38) - 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 previous month, and deservedly so, as it is one of my all-time faves from them! HOLDING BACK THE YEARS - SIMPLY RED (34) - The first of several big hits by this English band headed up by Mick "Red" Hucknall. When I first heard this song about a month earlier, I was like, wow, what a great song! However, the song was quite overplayed and I grew tired of it. Still, it's good to hear every now and then.
40: TWO OF HEARTS – STACEY Q (debut) - Meh, don't care much for this one. The ah-ah-ah-I need, I need you part is somewhat embarrassing and definitely annoying. 39: DREAMTIME – DARYL HALL (debut) - His first of two solo hits before rejoining his sidekick John Oates. I liked both of them, but slightly preferred this one. 38: TAKE IT EASY – ANDY TAYLOR (25) - 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! 37: MODERN WOMAN (FROM “RUTHLESS PEOPLE”) – BILLY JOEL (17) - Here's one you don't hear much anymore! It was a good one, but definitely not one of my favorites from him. 36: DIGGING YOUR SCENE – THE BLOW MONKEYS (21) - Definitely one of the songs that I associate with the summer of 1986, since I liked it a lot (still do) and it received virtually no airplay after it fell off the chart. 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. 35: HANGING ON A HEART ATTACK - DEVICE (35) - This song sounds a lot like “Love Touch” by Rod Stewart (and with good reason; Device's lead singer Holly Knight wrote both songs). This one’s more rocky than I remember - I always thought it was a dance/disco type song. Then again, I never really paid too much attention as it wasn’t really one of my favorite songs (and I never really heard it outside of countdown shows). Anyway, I think it's a good one. 34: THE CAPTAIN OF HER HEART - DOUBLE (37) - A song by a rare bird - a Swiss band. In fact, Casey mentioned that this was the first Swiss act to hit the chart. I imagine there have been more since then, but I can't think of any others. Anyway, I really liked this song - mellow and relaxing. 33: LOVE ZONE – BILLY OCEAN (40) - Your typical mid-80s slow jam. I preferred the song that preceded this as well as the follow-up - both tender love ballads. 32: TAKEN IN – MIKE & THE MECHANICS (32) - Definitely one of their most underrated songs! This one deserved a much higher peak than #32, IMO - it should have been a Top Ten hit just like their other two hits from 1986! At least it did do well on the AC chart, peaking at #7. LDD: JUST AS I AM – AIR SUPPLY - I'm a little surprised that this song didn't become more popular in the LDD department than it did. The song definitely fit this LDD. OPTIONAL EXTRA: THROWING IT ALL AWAY - GENESIS - This song hit #1 on the R&R chart, but didn't quite make it on the Hot 100. It did peak at #4, though, which isn't bad either. This song was OK, IMO, but my least favorite of the five singles from Invisible Touch. 31: DON’T FORGET ME (WHEN I’M GONE) – GLASS TIGER (36) - Of course, today, this song would be credited to Glass Tiger featuring Bryan Adams (as he is heard singing in the choruses). This was my favorite of their four Top 40 hits (though "I Will Be There", which charted the following spring, would be a fairly close second). 30: WALK THIS WAY – RUN-D.M.C. (debut) - Ah, those were the days, when rap was halfway decent. Of course, since this was a remake of a familiar song, that could have had something to do with how I like it, but back when this was on the charts, I did not like it, but in retrospect, it doesn't sound so bad now - in fact, I actually prefer it over the original by Aerosmith. I liked Casey's rap in the tease to this song. 29: OPPORTUNITIES (LET’S MAKE LOTS OF MONEY) – PET SHOP BOYS (19) - 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. 28: RUMBLESEAT – JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP (30) - I couldn’t believe that this song only got as high as #28. When I first heard it, I thought it had Top Ten written all over it. I guess not. Then again, seeing that it was the fifth single from a huge smash album, it wasn’t a big seller (since most fans had the album) and there was no need to call in and request it. 27: MAN-SIZE LOVE (FROM “RUNNING SCARED”) – KLYMAXX (31) - The first of two Top 40 hits from the movie "Running Scared", both of which are on the chart this week. Of course, it's pretty much a toss-up between this and "I'd Still Say Yes" as my favorite song from Klymaxx, depending on whether I'm in the mood for an upbeat song or a ballad. 26: NASTY – JANET JACKSON (14) - Here's a song that I detested back in the day and used to switch the station when it came on the radio! It's still not her best song ever, but there are several songs of hers that I dislike more. 25: THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW – THE MONKEES (29) - Well, their comeback was sure quite short-lived, as it only consisted of this song, which would peak at #20 two weeks later. I thought it was a great song - one that takes me back to the summer of 1986 (rather than my freshman year, by which time radio stations weren't playing this much anymore (though I do remember hearing it on the way to school very early in the year) 24: STUCK WITH YOU – HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (33) - He/they had already had a #1 hit the year before and were on their way to their second (I was pretty sure right off the bat that this would be a #1, based on their super-high debut on the R&R chart this week at #21). This would log three weeks on top - one of the longest stays at #1 in 1986 (of course, today, that would be considered a short term at the top). Anyway, this was a great song and I'm glad it ended up as R&R's top song of the year. 23: YANKEE ROSE – DAVID LEE ROTH (28) - This was a song that I didn't care much for back in the day (though I did like the part at the beginning - David's conversation with his guitar at the beginning of the song. Other than that...) 22: ONE STEP CLOSER TO YOU – GAVIN CHRISTOPHER (24) - This week, it's two steps closer. In fact, I don't think that, at any time during its chart run, it moved up a single spot (it did on R&R, though, the week before). Anyway, this was 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. LDD: TRULY – LIONEL RICHIE - Many people ask me why this is one of my favorite Lionel Richie songs ever, yet "Still", which sounds much like this, always gets (or used to get) a "No. Just no". The reason being is, while both songs are about undying love, the Commodores song is about a love affair coming to an end, while this song seems to be about a relationship that is going great and only getting better. Plus, this song was charting during a pretty good time in my life. OPTIONAL EXTRA: HEAVEN IN YOUR EYES - LOVERBOY - This song completed a hat trick of hits released from the Top Gun soundtrack (in fact, the following week, all three songs would be in the Top 40 simultaneously). I forget exactly where in the movie this song was, but I seem to recall it was only played for a few seconds, on someone's radio. Anyway, I liked this song, but preferred their other 1986 ballad "This Could Be The Night". 21: INVISIBLE TOUCH - GENESIS (11) - Their 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). 20: WORDS GET IN THE WAY – MIAMI SOUND MACHINE (27) - Their third hit and, like the first two, it hit the Top Ten. I’ve said that I prefer their ballads to their upbeat songs, but this is actually one of least favorite of their slow songs - I prefer a few of their upbeat songs, such as "Bad Boy" and "Betcha Say That" over this one. 19: ALL THE LOVE IN THE WORLD – THE OUTFIELD (22) - Here is song that, like the Gavin Christopher song back at #22, 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 at least it did hit the Top 20. 18: BABY LOVE - REGINA (26) - This one sounds like a Madonna song (which is no coincidence, as this was co-written by Stephen Bray, who collaborated with Madonna during the 1980s, co-writing and co-producing many of her big hits in the 1980s). 17: SUZANNE - JOURNEY (20) - 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" 16: 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 another single from the soundtrack 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. 15: FRIENDS AND LOVERS – CARL ANDERSON & GLORIA LORING (23) - For some odd reason I found the sudden crescendo in the first chorus (where they sing, “We don’t have to be one...OR THE OTHER) somewhat disturbing. But I eventually came to really like this song - that is, until the radio stations that I listened to played it ad nauseum and I was getting quite tired of it (by that time, Eddie Rabbitt & Juice Newton were charting at country with a cover of the song which I preferred over the original by a fair margin). 14: YOU SHOULD BE MINE (THE WOO WOO SONG) – JEFFREY OSBORNE (16) - 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 "Don't You Get So Mad". This is a pleasant slow jam, nevertheless. 13: SLEDGEHAMMER – PETER GABRIEL (4) - This has got to be one of the most overplayed songs of the 1980s. I’m still burned out on it (not that it was one of my favorite songs in the first place) and usually change the station when it comes on. I do like "Shock The Monkey" and "Big Time", though. 12: SWEET FREEDOM (THEME FROM “RUNNING SCARED”) – MICHAEL McDONALD (15) - 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. 11: LOVE TOUCH (THEME FROM “LEGAL EAGLES”) – ROD STEWART (6) - As stated earlier, this was written by Holly Knight, who headed up the band Device, who we heard back at #35 with "Hanging On A Heart Attack", and it definitely showed, given the similarity between the two songs. Though I slightly preferred the Device song, both of them were good songs. OPTIONAL EXTRA: LOVE WALKS IN - VAN HALEN - This was my favorite of the three Top 40 hits from 5150. Another song that takes me back to my freshman year! Too bad it only got as high as #22. 10: THE EDGE OF HEAVEN – WHAM! (12) - This was 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. 9: TAKE MY BREATH AWAY (LOVE THEME FROM “TOP GUN”) – BERLIN (18) - The second hit from one of the biggest movie soundtracks of '86! As stated earlier, 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". LDD: YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL – JOE C0CKER - This song indeed fit the dedication like a glove, but, of course, I'm not a huge fan of the song. 8: RUMORS – TIMEX SOCIAL CLUB (10) - 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 hear it all the time. 7: DANCING ON THE CEILING – LIONEL RICHIE (13) - Of course, this is only possible if the building you're in has been flipped over. But seriously, 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!" 6: VENUS - BANANARAMA (9) - I wasn't a big fan of this song. I preferred their two other Top 40 hits, especially "I Heard A Rumour". 5: WE DON’T HAVE TO TAKE OUR CLOTHES OFF – JERMAINE STEWART (5) - 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. 4: HIGHER LOVE – STEVE WINWOOD (8) - Another overplayed song from 1986, like "Higher Love" and 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. No, I prefer many others by him, thank you very much! 3: MAD ABOUT YOU – BELINDA CARLISLE (3) - 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! OPTIONAL EXTRA: 2: GLORY OF LOVE (THEME FROM “KARATE KID PART II”) – PETER CETERA (1) - 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! 1: PAPA DON’T PREACH - MADONNA (2) - Here is another song that, like "Nasty", 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.
Coming up next week: See my 1982 commentary.
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Post by Hervard on Aug 22, 2019 18:06:12 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s - August 24, 2019 This week's presentation - August 27, 1977 DROPPERS: SUNFLOWER - GLEN CAMPBELL (39) - Don't remember this one. IT’S A CRAZY WORLD - MAC MacANALLY (37) - Can’t say that I remember this song either. I do, however, remember his song that just missed the AT40 chart in 1983, “Minimum Love”, which peaked at #25 on the R&R chart. LOOKS LIKE WE MADE IT - BARRY MANILOW (35) - This was his third and final #1 hit. No matter; he'd have many more big hits. This was by far my favorite of his #1 songs. DA DOO RON RON - SHAUN CASSIDY (28) -The first of three Top Ten hits for Shaun Cassidy, and the biggest, as it hit #1 six weeks before. Of the two charted versions of this song, I definitely prefer this one. 40: BOOGIE NIGHTS - HEATWAVE (debut) - This was their first Top 40 hit, and it was Top Ten bound. Part 2 of this song ("The Groove Line") would chart the following year and would also hit the Top Ten. Both songs were so/so IMO, but my favorite song from them was the one that charted between those two songs, "Always And Forever", one of the most popular love songs of all time. 39: NOBODY DOES IT BETTER - CARLY SIMON (debut) - 1977 was definitely the year for movie songs! This one, from the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me, was one of many songs held out of #1 by Debby Boone's eternal #1 hit (it did sneak in a week at #1 on the R&R chart). It is one of my favorite songs by Carly Simon, as well as one of my faves on this week's chart. 38: "STAR WARS" THEME - MECO (debut) - And look here - another movie hit! This was an interesting disco version of the Star Wars theme, though I preferred the one by the London Symphony Orchestra, which is coming up later in the show. 37: MY HEART BELONGS TO ME - BARBRA STREISAND (37) - This one was a guilty pleasure of mine, since many people I know consider this a snoozefest. That's why I like it; nice and mellow - has sort of a haunting sound to it. 36: HARD ROCK CAFÉ - CAROLE KING (38) - Her popularity had peaked during the first half of the 1970s, but she indeed had a few last gasps in the late-70s. This was her second-to-last Top 40 hit. It was a good one. 35: IT WAS ALMOST LIKE A SONG - RONNIE MILSAP (debut) - I wonder if anyone thought this was the new song by Barry Manilow when they first heard the opening piano notes, as it definitely sounded like something Manilow would sing (after all, Barry's recent #1 hit was one of this week's droppers, so it would make sense for him to be returning with a follow-up. Anyway, it should come as no surprise that I thought this was a great song. 34: SO YOU WIN AGAIN - HOT CHOCOLATE (36) - I was never a huge fan of them, but this one actually was not too bad. 33: YOU MADE ME BELIEVE IN MAGIC - THE BAY CITY ROLLERS (10) - Wow! What a huge drop. Oddly enough, it actually spent two more weeks in the Top 40. It remained at #33 the following week and then dropped to #36 the week after. Not sure what happened there. Anyway, I was so obsessed with this song in the early 1990s. I called a lunchtime oldies program and requested this song, but they didn’t have it. I requested it so many times that they decided to finally order it. In May, 1992, I finally heard it for the first time since 1977. It’s my favorite song by the Rollers. 32: SLIDE - SLADE (32) - The only Top 40 entry from this funk band from Dayton, Ohio. It was OK, but nothing exceptional. According to Joel Whitburn’s Billboard Book Of Top 40 Hits, this song is an instrumental. Um, I think it has too many vocals in it to be classified as an instrumental. 31: UNDERCOVER ANGEL - ALAN O'DAY (31) - Here's another song that stalled out on its way down the chart (like the Bay City Rollers song would do the following week). This was definitely one of the biggest hits of 1977! One of the best, as well; this one peaked at #2 on my Personal Top 30, edged out of #1 by "Peace Of Mind" by Boston. 30: THAT'S ROCK AND ROLL - SHAUN CASSIDY (40) - Ah, the teen idol of the late-70s. I remember a girl who was in kindergarten with me had a huge crush on him. I liked most of his music - this and Da Doo Ron Ron are probably my two favorites from him. 29: DON'T WORRY BABY - B.J. THOMAS (34) - I was surprised to hear that the Beach Boys only got as high as #24 with their version of this song, since it receives a lot of recurrent airplay. This song would peak at #17. I liked this one - there's a similarity between this and the theme from the TV show Growing Pains, which Thomas sang with Jennifer Warnes. 28: EDGE OF THE UNIVERSE - THE BEE GEES (33) - Their final song before their biggest wave of popularity ever - this song was pretty good, but not quite their best. 27: CHRISTINE SIXTEEN - KISS (29) - This hard rock band from the Big Apple had a pretty decent year in 1977, with three Top 40 hits. This one wasn't bad, but I prefer their ballads over their upbeat songs. OPTIONAL EXTRA: BRICK HOUSE - THE COMMODORES - I swear that I hear this song at every single dance party or wedding reception that I go to! Plus, this is overplayed on oldies stations - I definitely prefer their other 1977 hit "Easy" by far. 26: YOU'RE MY WORLD - HELEN REDDY (26) - Here's another previously dropping hit in holding pattern, like Alan O'Day back at #31. This song reminds me a little of Joni James' 1955 hit "How Important Can It Be". The song is quite cheesy, like most of Reddy's songs, but still pretty good. 25: YOU AND ME - ALICE COOPER (9) - He was more famous for his loud, hard-rocking songs, but he had a few slow ones as well, which I preferred. My favorite song from him is "Only Women", but this one would be a close second - it's a great song! 24: KEEP IT COMIN' LOVE - K.C. & THE SUNSHINE BAND (30) - Their only Top Ten hit that did not go to #1 (it didn't miss by much, though; it peaked at #2 for three weeks, but couldn't quite get past Meco; then, when Debby Boone leapfrogged this song, of course, there was no hope). I never used to like this song very much, but now I think it's one of their best. 23: DO YOU WANT TO MAKE LOVE - PETER McCANN (7) - Of course, I have mentioned how this song sounds a lot like "Goodbye Girl" by David Gates (and that I prefer the latter). Not much else to say about the song... 22: SWAYIN' TO THE MUSIC - JOHNNY RIVERS (24) - Of course, the crickets (the creatures, not the band) help him out in the first verse of this song. It wasn't bad, but I preferred a few others from him (i.e. "Summer Rain", "Secret Agent Man") 21: ON AND ON - STEPHEN BISHOP (25) - This was his second chart entry and clearly my favorite of his two 1977 hits, as well as one of my favorites from him of all time. 20: COLD AS ICE - FOREIGNER (22) - Their second hit - and there was a lot more where that came from! This would probably be my favorite of their two Top Ten hits from 1977 (though "Feels Like The First Time" was also a great one!) 19: BLACK BETTY - RAM JAM (20) - Meh, not a fan of this one. Way too repetitive and besides, I don't really like southern rock. EXTRA: SUSPICIOUS MINDS - ELVIS PRESLEY - Of course, this was played right after Casey read his tribute to Elvis, who had passed away almost two weeks before. 18: TELEPHONE MAN - MARY WILSON (18) - Let's just say that I'm glad that this goofy song's playing time was only two minutes long. 17: HOW MUCH LOVE - LEO SAYER (19) - The first two hits from Leo's Endless Flight album hit #1 and it looked like this one could do the same but, as a matter of fact, it didn't even hit the Top Ten. That's too bad, as it was my favorite song from the album. 16: THEME FROM "STAR WARS" - THE LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (21) - Of course, we already know that this song, the original Star Wars theme, is my favorite of the two versions of it on the chart this week. 15: GIVE A LITTLE BIT - SUPERTRAMP (18) - This was their very first Top 20 hit. This was all the further it got, but it did far better than the remake by the Goo Goo Dolls (on the pop chart; that version of the song was a #1 Hot AC smash, a format that did not exist back in 1977). This was one of my favorite songs by Supertramp and I was delighted that they played the full version of the song (as they generally chopped out certain parts, mainly near the beginning and the end of the song). 14: SMOKE OF A DISTANT FIRE - THE SANFORD TOWNSEND BAND (15) - Ah, the Hall & Oates soundalikes. However, they weren't anywhere near as successful; this was their only Hot 100 hit. But at least it was a Top Ten. I remember hearing this one back in the day, as well as on Sunny 101.5, which played it every once in awhile back in the early 1990s as a recurrent). OPTIONAL EXTRA: As this song came onto the Hot 100 at #89 this week, who knew how much mileage the song would get on the charts. Heck, it didn't peak until mid-March of the following year, and, of course, it would end up breaking the record for the longest-running song on the Hot 100. As for the song, it was a good one; nice and mellow! 13: TELEPHONE LINE - ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (16) - They had four songs that charted in 1977, and this was my favorite of those songs. It turned out to be their biggest as well! 12: BARRACUDA - HEART (14) - A high point in the show for our friend JessieLou. This is a song that I used to think was just OK, but I've recently gotten to like it a lot recently. 11: I'M IN YOU - PETER FRAMPTON (4) - He never quite matched the success of his Frampton Comes Alive album, but this song, from his sophomore album, of the same title, was his most successful single, peaking at #2. It is definitely my favorite song from him. 10: STRAWBERRY LETTER #23 - THE BROTHERS JOHNSON (23) - This one was indeed a popular song (after all, it made a huge move this week and eventually hit gold status). It just wasn't quite my cup of tea, that's all. 9: DON'T STOP - FLEETWOOD MAC (11) - The third Top Ten song from what would become the top album of 1977. I used to like it, but overplay changed it. 8: FLOAT ON - THE FLOATERS (13) - This song inspired a Sesame Street segment that came out in early 1978. It featured a song called "Give Me Five", performed by Bob, Gordon, David and Luis. It featured each of them introducing themselves (like the Floaters group members did in this song) and then singing a verse. I actually preferred that version (since it was by people that I saw on TV regularly back in the day). This song was pretty good as well. 7: JUST A SONG BEFORE I GO - CROSBY, STILLS & NASH (8) - They had been hitting the chart for nearly ten years but, oddly enough, this was their very first Top Ten hit. I preferred their later hits myself. 6: WHATCHA GONNA DO - PABLO CRUISE (6) - The first of several great songs by them. This one peaked at #3 on my Personal Top 30 chart in September 1977. I actually like this one a little better than "Cool Love", which actually made it to #1 on my chart due to a lack of good songs (IMO, mind you) in the fall of 1981. In 1977, however, there were plenty of great ones. 5: HANDY MAN - JAMES TAYLOR (12) - I actually associate this more with 1978, since that’s when my Mom played his JT album a lot (plus, she was really good at playing this song on her guitar). Definitely one of his best and I prefer this over the original by a fairly wide margin. 4: EASY - THE COMMODORES (5) - This was when their musical quality began to improve, as their first few hits were mediocre at best. This remains one of my favorite Commodores songs of all time! 3: (YOUR LOVE HAS LIFTED ME) HIGHER AND HIGHER - RITA COOLIDGE (3) - Casey said that this song had a good chance of hitting #1 the following week. Unfortunately, the top two was just too strong (although it did manage to climb a spot higher before falling clean out of the Top Ten the week after). This was definitely my favorite version of this song that I've heard. OPTIONAL EXTRA: JUST REMEMBER I LOVE YOU - FIREFALL - They only had one Top Ten, but two of their songs just barely missed. This was one of those songs, peaking at #11 and taking a hard fall this week. One of my favorite songs by Firefall! 2: I JUST WANT TO BE YOUR EVERYTHING - ANDY GIBB (2) - This song appeared to be on its way down the chart, but after dipping to #3 a few weeks later (the same week that Rita Coolidge peaked at #2), it decided that three weeks weren't quite enough and made an encore appearance at the top. It went on to become AT40's #1 song of 1977. 1: BEST OF MY LOVE - THE EMOTIONS (1) - This was the song that Andy Gibb pushed out of the top spot with said encore. But the song proved that turnabout was fair play, as it dethroned the Andy Gibb song the week after that for a total of five weeks on top. It was a great song! Mariah Carey apparently thought so as well, as the bass line for her song "Emotions" was very similar to this. Coming up next week: According to the Facebook page, the show from August 31, 1974 is on deck for Labor Day weekend. The "bonus holiday show" is the final installment of the #1 songs of the 1970s - from October, 1978 through December, 1979. I'm definitely going to try and catch the latter of the two!
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Post by Hervard on Aug 22, 2019 18:06:23 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - August 24, 2019 This week's presentation - August 27, 1983 DROPPERS: OUR HOUSE - MADNESS (39) - One of two hits from them, this one clearly being the best in the eyes of many, including yours truly. Indeed, an 80s mix show essential. FAKE FRIENDS - JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS (35) - Try she might, she just could not manage to equal the success of "I Love Rock And Roll". This song wasn't bad, but her best song will always be said rock anthem.. THE BORDER - AMERICA (33) - Not one of their more successful hits, but I thought it was a good one - I remember hearing this on U93 back in the day pretty regularly. 1999 - PRINCE (27) - A song that had three chart runs - one from 1982, this one, and the last one at the beginning of the year responsible for this song's name. Due to the overplay, I'm still burned out on it and it is actually one of my least favorite songs from him (not that I was crazy about it in the first place). LW#1: EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE – THE POLICE 40: SAVED BY ZERO – THE FIXX (25) - Their very first Top 40 hit, and possibly my favorite from them. Too bad it doesn't receive as much airplay as "One Thing Leads To Another". 39: YOU’RE DRIVING ME OUT OF MY MIND – THE LITTLE RIVER BAND (debut) - Unfortunately, this would turn out to be their final Top 40 hit. It was pretty good - sounded kind of like many of her other Top 40 hits. U93 played this song on a regular basis, so I remember hearing this one often back in the late summer of 1983. 38: LADY LOVE ME- GEORGE BENSON (debut) - A great jazz artist here! This song had his trademark scat singing during the bridge. This was one of my favorite of his songs that charted at Top 40 radio, but I preferred a few others that charted at smooth jazz and AC. 37: KING OF PAIN – THE POLICE (debut) - The follow-up to their ad nauseum played song that came before. Oh, shoot! I think that one's coming up later on the list. Dadgummit! Anyway, this song debuted on the entire Hot 100 in the Top 40, as did "Every Breath You Take", so many people were thinking that this might also hit #1 (which it actually did on R&R, for two weeks), but the song ran out of steam at #3, which is still great. 36: ALL TIME HIGH – RITA COOLIDGE (36) - Given the fact that this song was #1 for four weeks on the Hot AC chart, I'm surprised that this song only got as high as #36 at Top 40 - must not have been promoted very well. Anyway, I liked most of Coolidge's hits, this one included. 35: KISS THE BRIDE – ELTON JOHN (40) - Ah, a song about going to the wedding of a former flame. But at least he's not feeling sorry for himself like Fred Knoblock in "Why Not Me". He's gonna do something about it, dammit! 34: DON’T YOU GET SO MAD – JEFFREY OSBORNE (38) - This song reminds me of "Rock With You" by Michael Jackson, especially in the choruses. I liked this song a lot, but preferred a few others from Osborne. 33: NEVER GONNA LET YOU GO – SERGIO MENDES (16) - Today, this song would be billed as "Sergio Mendes featuring Joe Pizzulo & Leeza Miller". By this time in 1983, I'd had about enough of the song, as it was way overplayed. But now that I don't hear it as much, it's a great one - the synth bridge after the second chorus is awesome! 32: TRUE – SPANDAU BALLET (debut) - PM Dawn and Nelly apparently like this song, as both artists sampled it in their songs. I think the song's pretty good, too, though I didn't like it too much during its chart run. 31: ELECTRIC AVENUE – EDDY GRANT (20) - Well, try it might, this song just couldn't break into the top spot - the act up there was just too strong for it, so instead, it spent the entire month of July at #2, which isn't bad either. It was a good song - one that pops up on the oldies stations from time to time, but I generally hear it on the AT40 reruns. OPTIONAL EXTRA: TELL HER NO - JUICE NEWTON - One thing I remember about this song is that it had an odd chart run on the R&R chart. It moved 39-36-34-31-26-33. As a result, it only spent a single week on "Countdown America", which only went down to 30 back in 1983. I was surprised that it peaked so low, as U93 played this one regularly. I liked it, but, as we all know, her three 1982 hits were my favorites. 30: FAR FROM OVER – FRANK STALLONE (36) - This was the only Top 40 hit from actor Sylvester Stallone's younger brother. It was a great song, IMO. 29: DEAD GIVEAWAY - SHALAMAR (31) - This one isn't quite as good as "Second Time Around", but I like it a lot better than "Dancing In The Sheets". 28: (SHE’S) SEXY + 17 – STRAY CATS (34) - For some reason, I was never a big fan of this song. Definitely my least favorite of their Top 40 hits. My favorite would be their next release, "I Won't Stand In Your Way". Too bad that song petered out at #35. 27: HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LIVE WITHOUT YOU – LAURA BRANIGAN (28) - Of course, it's pretty common knowledge that Michael Bolton wrote this one (and later on recorded his own version). This is my favorite of Laura's 1983 hits (including "Gloria", which ranked on 1983's year-end list), but I slightly prefer Bolton's version. 26: MAKING LOVE OUT OF NOTHING AT ALL – AIR SUPPLY (32) - One of two songs composed by Jim Steinman on the charts this week - and a great one at that. Not sure which one I prefer (although a third song written and composed by Steinman that charted later that year ("Read 'Em And Weep" by Barry Manilow) tops both of them). 25: ROCK OF AGES - DEF LEPPARD (21) - The second of three Top 40 hits from Hysteria, none of which managed to hit the Top Ten, but the best was yet to come - their album Hysteria, which came out almost exactly four years later would spawn a host of big hits for them! As for my opinion of the song, it wasn't bad, but I preferred many others from them. LDD: IT MIGHT BE YOU - STEVEN BISHOP 24: PROMISES, PROMISES – NAKED EYES (29) - 1983 was definitely their heyday, as they had their two biggest hits that year (along with a minor hit at the very end). This was my favorite of their two Top 20 hits (I forget how "When The Lights Go Out" goes at the moment, though I recall it was pretty good). 23: AFTER THE FALL - JOURNEY (24) - Of the four singles from Frontiers, this is definitely the one that gets the least amount of recurrent airplay (though I haven't heard "Send Her My Love" much over the past few years outside of countdown shows). This was my second favorite from the album behind "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)". 22: FLASHDANCE…WHAT A FEELIMG – IRENE CARA (13) - This was not only the oldest song on the survey this week, it was the longest running song of the year so far, at 20 weeks. Of course, "The Stalker Song" came along and tied it a few weeks later. This was a great song, though my sentiments were quite different back in the day, as radio stations played this song ad nauseum during the summer of 1983. OPTIONAL EXTRA: ISLANDS IN THE STREAM - KENNY ROGERS & DOLLY PARTON - I wasn't too much for this song (and I don't think I need to tell you my opinion on Getto Superstar!), but I've grown to like this song a lot better than I had previously over the past few years. This song made for a very funny joke about Dolly Parton taking a bath. 21: HUMAN TOUCH – RICK SPRINGFIELD (26) - Rick was known for melodically recycling his songs, and this was no exception, as it sounded a lot like his hit from earlier in the year, "Affair Of The Heart". Not one of my favorites from him, however. 20: TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART – BONNIE TYLER (30) - The other Steinman-composed song on the chart this week, and this one would end up going all the way (in fact, it would block the other one from the #1 spot!) As I mentioned earlier, I liked both songs about the same. 19: ROCK ‘N’ ROLL IS KING - ELO (19) - They were good in the 70s, but, IMO, not so much in the 1980s. Melodically, this was pretty much "Hold On Tight Pt. 2". 18: TAKE ME TO HEART - QUARTERFLASH (14) - They sure didn't last long on the charts, did they? This was their third and final Top 40 entry, and possibly my favorite of their hits. 17: HOT GIRLS IN LOVE - LOVERBOY (11) - Definitely a hot hit, as I heard this one all the time during that hot summer. Not so much anymore; pretty much all we hear anymore are their lower peaking songs like "Working For The Weekend" and "Turn Me Loose". I liked this song, but prefer a few others from them. 16: DON’T CRY - ASIA (23) - Their second Top Ten hit (third, if you go by the R&R charts, where "Only Time Will Tell" peaked at #5). This was my least favorite of their hits, but it was still a good one. 15: IS THERE SOMETHING I SHOULD KNOW – DURAN DURAN (7) - Yes, there is something you should know - this song is royally annoying! I preferred many others by them, including their breakthrough hit here in the States, "Hungry Like The Wolf". 14: LAWYERS IN LOVE – JACKSON BROWNE (17) - The title track of Browne's seventh album. I preferred it over the follow-up, "Tender Is The Night", but it's still not one of my favorites from him. 13: HUMAN NATURE – MICHAEL JACKSON (15) - Michael was still cranking out hits from Thriller. This was the fifth of seven, and it was one of my favorite songs on the album. 12: TELL HER ABOUT IT – BILLY JOEL (22) - The first song from what could be Joel's most successful album ever (spawned six singles - only one of which didn't quite hit the Top 20). This was the biggest song from the album, hitting #1 in September - wasn't bad, but was one of my least favorite songs from him. 11: THE SAFETY DANCE – MEN WITHOUT HATS (18) - Of course, AT40 usually played the single version of the song which I preferred, because it pretty much got straight to the point, without all the instrumental mumbo jumbo and the spelling of "Safety", as if we didn't know how to spell it. OPTIONAL EXTRA: TELEFONE (LONG DISTANCE LOVE AFFAIR) - SHEENA EASTON - This was somewhat of a departure from her more "innocent" songs like "Morning Train", "Modern Girl" and "For Your Eyes Only". As we all know, I generally prefer her slower songs, but this one was an exception. One of my all-time faves from her! 10: CHINA GIRL – DAVID BOWIE (12) - Of course, my favorite songs from him were his two 1987 hits, but this one wasn't bad either. 9: I’LL TUMBLE 4 YA – CULTURE CLUB (10) - aka "The Mexican Hat Dance Song". I liked this song when it first came out (I even bought the 45), then eventually, I hated it (gave it "No. Just No" status a few times, IIRC). Now I like it almost as much as I did during its chart run. LDD: TAKE YOUR TIME, DO IT RIGHT – THE S.O.S. BAND 8: (KEEP FEELING) FASCINATION – THE HUMAN LEAGUE (8) - Definitely a group that's associated with the 80s, with their electronic, new wave sound. I preferred "Don't You Want Me" and their next hit after this one, "Mirror Man", but I like this song too. 7: STAND BACK – STEVIE NICKS (5) - She was still an active member of Fleetwood Mac, but also had a successful solo career going as well. This was the first of three hits from The Wild Heart. It was a good one, but sounds quite a lot like "Little Red Corvette"... 6: IT’S A MISTAKE – MEN AT WORK (6) - Well, they definitely had a great year, but their chart days were nearing the end. This would end up being their last Top Ten hit. It was my second favorite of theirs, behind "Overkill". 5: PUTTIN’ ON THE RITZ - TACO (9) - The man is Dutch and he named himself after a Mexican food - go figure! Actually, Taco is his given name, not his stage name. Apparently Taco is a Dutch name and he was not aware that it was also the name of a Mexican sandwich until a few years ago, according to Casey. Anyway, this song, originally a hit over years before, was updated so as not to sound out of place by 1983 standards. It was a good song. 4: SHE WORKS HARD FOR THE MONEY – DONNA SUMMER (3) - This song had just recently spent three weeks atop the R&B chart and spent as many weeks at #3 here on AT40. Not my favorite song by her by any means, mainly due to overplay. 3: MANIAC – MICHAEL SEMBELLO (4) - The second of two #1 hits from Flashdance on this week's chart (and both of them were #1 hits, to boot). This was good, but I preferred the film's title track. OPTIONAL EXTRA: ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER - THE FIXX - Their second hit, and, as it turned out, their biggest hit ever. This is a song that, for me, overplay sort of ruined (as I do remember liking this one at first). I preferred "Save By Zero" by a fairly wide margin. 2: SWEET DREAMS – THE EURYTHMICS (2) - This song was spending a fourth week at #2, but, unlike poor Eddy Grant, their persistence paid off, as they managed to end the Police's marathon run at the top the following week. It wasn't bad, but quite overplayed. 1: EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE – THE POLICE (1) - This was the most overplayed song of them all - so much that it occasionally appears on the AC recurrent chart. I do, however, prefer it over the Donna Summer song (actually, I've found myself liking this song a little better than I have for the past 30+ years). Coming up next week: Since it will be Labor Day weekend, we have several shows. The "A" show is what many people guessed - August 29, 1987, a show that hasn't been touched since 2009, so after a full decade, it will be somewhat fresh. The B-show, however, is sort of a curveball - it's from August 25, 1984. Now that there is only one late-80s year that gets a "B" show, you'd think they'd go with 1980 or 1981. Perhaps this means that a 1981 show is coming up the following week. Anyway, I'll probably listen to that one, but will post a recycled commentary. The third show is a holiday special - "The Top 40 Newcomers of the 1980s". Since I've heard that one only about umpteen times, both on this series and the iHeartRadio station, I'm going to let that one ride, but will still post a commentary, recycled from its 2017 airing, for those who haven't heard it and would like to follow along.
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Post by Hervard on Aug 30, 2019 13:30:34 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - August 31, 2019 This week's presentation - August 25, 1984 I remember hearing this show as part of the AT40 Flashback series back in 2001, as I was driving to South Bend to my very first World Pulse Festival. I started off at the beginning of the show and thought I'd only hear the first hour or so of it, and then catch the rest the next day on 94.7 The Zone. Well, I ended up hearing the entire show, on account of I forgot the tickets at home and had to drive back and get them. Those were the good old days when Pulse Fest was held outside, on the grounds of Lesea Broadcasting, but now, after the ordeal at the Indiana State Fair in 2011, when the stage collapsed at the Sugarland concert, they tightened regulations for outdoor venues and, for three years, WPF was held in an ice arena on Notre Dame concert. From the moment they made that change, I knew the festival's days were numbered (and I was correct - in 2016, after thirty years of the festival, they discontinued it. Anyway, I'm sure I'll have memories of driving out to the Fest as I hear many of the obscure songs ignored by radio today. Here is my commentary for this week's show. Droppers EYES WITHOUT A FACE - BILLY IDOL (34) - aka "Hows About A Date", as I (along with many others, I'm sure) misheard the lyrics when I first heard it. I'm not a huge fan of Idol, but this was actually a pretty cool song - one of his better ones, IMO. JUMP (FOR MY LOVE) - POINTER SISTERS (33) - The melody of this song was not bad, but I didn't like the lyrics, or the title. You want your man to play tricks to get you to love him? Sorry, I don't go for that... ALIBIS - SERGIO MENDES (29) - Awww, this was my favorite song on the countdown! I guess if you weren't Prince or Madonna, 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". LEGS - ZZ TOP (24) - The biggest Top 40 hit for this Texas band. It was a pretty good song, but I preferred the Afterburner era. LW#1: GHOSTBUSTERS – RAY PARKER JR. 40: GO INSANE – LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM (debut) - I personally preferred his early 1982 hit, "Trouble", but I'll tell you what, this song is nowhere near as annoying as "Holiday Road". That song stuck in my mind several times over the past few weeks - ARGH!! 39: THE LUCKY ONE – LAURA BRANIGAN (debut) - The follow-up to one of her biggest hits, "Self-Control". This was one of two songs that charted around this time that started off slow and then became upbeat (the other would be "There Goes My Baby" by Donna Summer, which would hit the chart the following week). I liked this song, but slightly preferred the Donna Summer song. 38: TWO SIDES OF LOVE – SAMMY HAGAR (38) - Wow, we heard solo hits from the current lead singer of Van Halen two weeks in a row. This was my third favorite of his hits, behind the one we heard last week ("Give To Live") and "Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy". A great song indeed - shame that it petered out at #38. 37: MY, OH MY - SLADE (37) - Wow, they sure changed pace with this song. After a fun, upbeat song, they went with a ballad this time. I liked it a lot and this is one of those cases that my mood at the time depends on what song I prefer. 36: 17 – RICK JAMES (36) - I don't remember hearing this song back in the day, since it didn't chart on Countdown America and, even though it did make an appearance on the WLS station survey, I never heard them play it. Anyway, it was actually pretty good, though nothing exceptional. 35: TORTURE – THE JACKSONS (debut) - Their second song to chart in 1984. Though I definitely prefer this over their other song (which, unfortuntely, is coming up in the countdown), I preferred their early-70s songs. 34: BREAKIN’…THERE’S NO STOPPING US – OLLIE AND JERRY (22) - I remember in the summer of 1984, my Dad and I actually went to see this movie, just for the sole purpose of going to the movies. Neither of us found it very appealing. The song wasn't bad, but it wasn't quite my cup of tea. LDD: SHE BELIEVES IN ME – KENNY ROGERS - Very inspiring LDD - and a great song to go along with it. 33: RIGHT BY YOUR SIDE – THE EURYTHMICS (35) - Very interesting song from them - has sort of a Caribbean feel to it. A great song indeed! OPTIONAL EXTRA: 32: HARD HABIT TO BREAK - CHICAGO (debut) - The first of two songs from the Chicago 17 album that hit #1 on R&R, but not Billboard. This was my favorite song from the 17 album by a fairly large margin. 31: WE’RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT – TWISTED SISTER (39) - This song reminded me a little of "Cum On Feel The Noize" by Quiet Riot. I liked this one a lot. 30: SHE’S MINE – STEVE PERRY (21) - 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. 29: COVER ME – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (40) - The second of an incredible seven Top Ten hits from Springsteen's "Born In The USA" album. I liked it, but preferred a few other songs from the album. 28: WHEN YOU CLOSE YOUR EYES – NIGHT RANGER (31) - They had a slew of great songs in the 80s. There is not a single Top 40 hit of theirs that I don't like - the only one that doesn't quite get "great song" status is their first Top 40 entry, "Don't Tell Me You Love Me", from early 1983. 27: LEAVE A TENDER MOMENT ALONE – BILLY JOEL (30) - For awhile, this looked like it would be the final Top 40 hit from An Innocent Man, but Joel would surprise us in early 1985 with a sixth song. As for this song, it might have fallen into obscurity if not for the fact that it was a #1 AC song and received much airplay at that format. 26: CRUEL SUMMER - BANANARAMA (32) - Well, it looks like some of us will be hearing their three Top Ten hits in as many weeks in a row, as "I Heard A Rumour" was on last week's 1987 show and next week's B show will feature "Venus". This would be my second favorite song from them, behind the 1987 song. 25: INFATUATION - ROD STEWART (14) - aka "Passion" part 2. I was never a huge fan of this song - one of my least favorites from him. 24: DYNAMITE – JERMAINE JACKSON (28) - Well, I may not have been much for the two Jacksons hits from 1984, but such is not the case with Jermaine's 2 songs from that year, as those are among my favorites from him. 23: PANAMA – VAN HALEN (13) - 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". 22: ALL OF YOU – JULIO IGLESIAS & DIANA ROSS (25) - The second hit from Julio's album 1100 Bel Air Place album. I think it's a great song, though I know a few folks who consider it a "No. Just no" song (I guess I can see why, though). You might call this a guilty pleasure of mine! 21: THE GLAMOROUS LIFE – SHEILA E. (26) - 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". 20: SEXY GIRL – GLENN FREY (20) - I could really relate to this song, as the guy who lived next door to me when this song was out had a daughter about my age who I had the hots for. 19: DANCING IN THE DARK – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (12) - We heard the second single from Born In The USA, and now we have the song that started it all off. If not for that d@mn Prince song, this would have been his first #1 (it did, however, sneak in a week at the top on R&R, before Prince topped the chart). 18: DRIVE – THE CARS (27) - Meh, for awhile I forgot that this show was from when I was starting 7th Grade (aka "Hell On Earth"). Songs like this reminded me. Definitely my least favorite song from Heartbeat City. 17: ROCK ME TONIGHT – BILLY SQUIER (19) - And this one wasn't exactly my favorite from Squier. I preferred songs like "In The Dark" and "Everybody Wants You". 16: LET’S GO CRAZY – PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION (23) - As usual, they played the version with the shortened intro - in fact, I don't believe they ever played the full intro on AT40, but maybe they did. Anyway, this definitely beats his other song on the chart this week. 15: LIGHTS OUT – PETER WOLF (18) - Interesting list of singers who have animal names. And the song was good as well - one of his best both solo and with the J. Geils Band. 14: SAD SONGS (SAY SO MUCH) – ELTON JOHN (8) - The first hit from his Breaking Hearts album - the only Top Ten (although he did make the Top Ten on R&R with "Who Wears These Shoes"). I liked both songs about the same (and I also liked "In Neon"). 13: THE WARRIOR – SCANDAL FEATURING PATTY SMYTH (17) - They had many songs that I've heard, though this was their only Top 40 hit. I preferred other songs from her such as "Goodbye To You" and "Love's Got A Line On You"). 12: ROUND AND ROUND - RATT (14) - Their first of two Top 40 hits (and the second just barely made it, almost exactly a year later). I liked this, but preferred said second song (which, of course, was "Lay It Down". 11: IF THIS IS IT – HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (16) - 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. 10: IF EVER YOU’RE IN MY ARMS AGAIN – PEABO BRYSON (10) - One of my favorite R&B singers. I have several of his albums, though I'm not sure I have the one containing this song, which is surprising, considering it's one of my favorites from him of all time. 9: SHE BOP – CYNDI LAUPER (15) - Possibly the naughtiest song on this week's chart. But it's a great one nonetheless. 8: SUNGLASSES AT NIGHT – COREY HART (9) Something you might need to do if you lived at the North Pole in the summer. As for the song, it's good, but I prefer several others from him. 7: STATE OF SHOCK – THE JACKSONS (3) - Ugh, here's that other Jacksons hit. As we know all too well, I'm not a fan. 6: I CAN DREAM ABOUT YOU – DAN HARTMAN (6) - Here's one that I never used to like, but now, I think it's not bad. I still prefer his next two singles. 5: MISSING YOU – JOHN WAITE (7) - Another song I find somewhat depressing, like "Drive" by the Cars. LDD: MORE THAN I CAN SAY - LEO SAYER - Great song - very fitting for the dedication. 4: WHEN DOVES CRY - PRINCE (4) - Wow, seems like all the bad songs are in the Top Ten this week! Anyway, as I said before, I preferred Prince's other hit on the chart this week. 3: STUCK ON YOU – LIONEL RICHIE (5) - This song had a country feel to it - in fact, I believe it peaked somewhere in the 20s on the country chart. The song almost made it to the top of the Hot 100, but not quite (it did manage a week at #1 on R&R). 2: WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT – TINA TURNER (2) - This song would become Turner's first #1 hit. It topped the Billboard chart, but fell short on the R&R chart (two years later, the tables would be turned with her song "Typical Male". 1: GHOSTBUSTERS – RAY PARKER JR. (1) - Ah, Mr. Parker keeps the top of the chart ghost-free for a third week. This song wasn't bad, but quite overplayed. I preferred several of his other songs, both solo and with Raydio.
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Post by Hervard on Aug 30, 2019 13:31:00 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - August 31, 2019
This week's presentation - August 29, 1987
40: ALONE - HEART (29) - This song had just recently spent three weeks at #1. It was their second #1 (meaning that each of the Wilson sisters had a turn at handling the lead vocals on a number one song). This was my favorite of the two hits and I found it sick and wrong that this one lost to the stinkin' Bangles hit as 1987's #1 song. But such is life. 39: MAKING LOVE IN THE RAIN - HERB ALPERT f/LISA KEITH (debut) - Well, Alpert's comeback was indeed short-lived, as he only had two hits. I have a feeling that the fact that Janet Jackson was one of the lead vocalists on "Diamonds" was largely instrumental in how well it did. This song, on the other hand, would go no higher than #35. It was OK, but I prefer other songs from both artists. 38: WHO WILL YOU RUN TOO - HEART (debut) - Their music had generally become more pop-sounding when they returned to the charts in 1985, but this one heralded back to their AOR rock sound with which they had started out back in the mid-70s. 37: PAPER IN FIRE - JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP (debut) - The first of four singles released from The Lonesome Jubilee (though I could have sworn that "The Real Life" had been released as the second single, but they went with "Cherry Bomb" instead). In any case, I liked this song, but my favorite single from the album was "Check It Out", which charted in the early spring of 1988. 36: RHYTHM IS GONNA GET YOU - GLORIA ESTEFAN & MIAMI SOUND MACHINE (21) - This is one of those acts whose ballads I generally prefer over their upbeat songs (though "Bad Boys" and their next release after this, "Betcha Say That" were exceptions). This song was pretty good, but definitely far from being their best. 35: U GOT THE LOOK - PRINCE w/SHEENA EASTON (debut) - Even though Sheena didn't have official label credit, she certainly deserved it, as she was clearly heard singing back-up. I generally didn't like this type of upbeat R&B music, but there was just something about this song that I really liked. 34: SHAKEDOWN - BOB SEGER (22) - A line in "Like A Rock" might have served as an omen, as it had indeed been twenty years that Seger had been charting before he hit #1. This song was OK, but definitely not his best, IMO. 33: JUMP START - NATALIE COLE (40) - This was her first Top 40 hit in seven years, as she battled cocaine and heroin addiction for the better part of the decade. Her comeback hit, which would peak at #13, was only the beginning, as she'd have several big hits over the next few years. This was a good song, but, as was the case with Gloria Estefan, I preferred her ballads, with which she was generally most successful on the pop charts. LDD: CAN'T HELP FALLING IN LOVE - ELVIS PRESLEY - I remember this song from the original run of this show, because (believe it or not), I had never heard this version before and I was curious as to how it differed from Corey Hart’s version, which charted earlier that year. It was indeed quite different. I like both versions, as well as UB40's reggae remake from 1993, but I’d have to say I like the original Elvis version best. 32: JAM TONIGHT - FREDDIE JACKSON (35) - A former #1 Soul song, by a man who was definitely no stranger to that #1 position - in all, he'd scored with an impressive ten number one Soul hits! Some of those crossed over to the Pop chart, like this one, which would peak at #32 the following week. It was a great song, IMO. 31: CARRIE - EUROPE (38) - They didn't have a very long chart career, but 1987 was definitely their heyday, with three Top 40 hits, and this one was their biggest. It was also my favorite song by them - a great power ballad! OPTIONAL EXTRA: LET ME BE THE ONE - EXPOSE - They definitely had a bang-up year on the charts, with three Top Ten singles (and a fourth at the very end that would become their first #1 early the following year). This song was OK, but I preferred many others from them. 30: LOST IN EMOTION - LISA LISA & CULT JAM (37) - One of two number one songs from them, both in 1987. This was my favorite of the two, but it didn't hold a candle to "All Cried Out", which remains one of my favorite songs of all-time. 29: ONE HEARTBEAT - SMOKEY ROBINSON (36) - This was his second Top Ten during 1987. Not bad for a man who had been charting since the early-60s. I liked both songs about the same. 28: CROSS MY BROKEN HEART - THE JETS (14) - LOL, sounds kind of like they're singing "That's just f---ing hogwash". As for my opinion of this song, well, it's mediocre at best. As we probably know all too well, I prefer their ballads over their upbeat dance numbers like this. 27: LIES - JONATHAN BUTLER (30) - Mainly a jazz artist, he managed to hit the Top 40 with this one hit, which was a great song - in fact, it was my #1 song of 1987, according to my Personal Top 30 charts. 26: MARY'S PRAYER- DANNY WILSON (28) - By looking at the artist name, one would think it was a solo artist, but in fact, it was a band, and nobody in it was named Danny Wilson (their name was inspired by the title of a Frank Sinatra film called Meet Danny Wilson). This was their only Top 40 hit and IMO, it was a great one. 25: WHO FOUND WHO - JELLYBEAN (33) - The second of two hits with which John "Jellybean" Benitez had charted. This was my favorite of the two by a fair margin (as I wasn't a big fan of "Sidewalk Talk"). 24: I NEED LOVE - L.L. COOL J (31) - This was possibly the first rap ballad ever to make the chart - certainly the first one that I ever heard. I thought it was a good one. LDD: THINGS WE SAID - THE BEATLES 23: GIVE TO LIVE - SAMMY HAGAR (24) - He had taken over as lead singer of Van Halen the year before, but, as they were in between albums at the time, he put out an album (self-titled) that spawned one Top 40 hit. The song peaked at #23 on the Hot 100, but hit #1 on the album rock chart. Definitely one of his best solo hits ever, right up there with "Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy". 22: BACK IN THE HIGH LIFE AGAIN - STEVE WINWOOD (15) - This, of course, is the title track from his most successful singles album. It's pretty good, but I preferred a few others from him. Today, the song would be billed as Steve Winwood featuring James Taylor. 21: I HEARD A RUMOUR - BANANARAMA (26) - Of course, we all know that, of their three Top 40 hits, this one is my favorite. We heard my second favorite on this week's 1984, but I don't think we'll be given a hat trick, as 1986 looks to be out of the question next week. OPTIONAL EXTRA: VICTIM OF LOVE - BRYAN ADAMS - The third and final single from Into The Fire, and the last time Adams would hit the charts until four years later, when he came back bigger than ever. I felt this song was way underrated - it should have been a Top Ten like “Heat Of The Night”. 20: WIPEOUT - FAT BOYS & BEACH BOYS (23) - We heard the Fat Boys’ awful remake of “The Twist” a few weeks ago (on a "B" show, that is) and now we get their almost as bad cover of “Wipe Out” this week. I prefer the original by the Surfaris, thank you very much - slowing down the tempo just to add lyrics pretty much defeats the whole purpose. 19: TOUCH OF GREY - GRATEFUL DEAD (25) - This was their only Top 40 hit, but they were more of a album rock and concert band (although I don’t think that they usually performed this one at their shows). My brother was a Deadhead, so I've heard many songs from them, but this one remains my favorite. 18: HEART AND SOUL - T-PAU (9) - One of several one-hit wonders on this week's show. I never particularly cared for this song, however. 17: LIVING IN A BOX - LIVING IN A BOX (17) - The seventh band to name themselves in one of their hits. It turned out to be their only Top 40 hit, however. This was one of at least three Top 40 hits in a twelve-year period that begin with the line "Woke up this morning..." (the others being by Peter Frampton and Bruce Springsteen). I always found that kind of interesting. As for the song, it was pretty good - reminds me of a guy from my home town who was famous for living in a cardboard box. 16: WHEN SMOKEY SINGS - ABC (18) - I found it interesting that, every time a song about a music artist was on the countdown, a song by the same artist was on the countdown as well. A few weeks later, both songs would be in the Top Ten at the same time. As for the song, it was pretty good - I think that the song's resemblance to "Tears Of A Clown" was intentional, since the bass line was exactly the same (after all, it was a tribute to the artist of that song). 15: HERE I GO AGAIN - WHITESNAKE (20) - Like Europe, they were another hard rock group that only charted four times. And 1987 was definitely their year, as their two biggest hits charted and peaked within the year. I believe they played the single version this week, which I slightly preferred over the album version. 14: DOING IN ALL FOR MY BABY - HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (19) - I remember hoping that this would be his next release as "I Know What I Like" was heading down the chart, and then playing this song all the time - so much that I got tired of it and got to hoping that Huey decided to release "Forest For The Trees". Well, what I forgot was that Huey always released the doo wop song that appeared on each of his albums. It's a good song, but definitely not one of my favorites from him. 13: I WANT YOUR SEX - GEORGE MICHAEL (5) - Don't care for this one at all! If not for the lyrical content, this one might have become one of the biggest hits of the year - possibly even THE biggest. I might dislike "Walk Like An Egyptian", but I'd rather listen to that one than this. 12: LOVE POWER - DIONNE WARWICK & JEFFREY OSBORNE (13) - Today, this would be billed with Kenny G as a featured artist, since that's who was playing the sax in the bridge (with a broken thumb, no less), making an already great song even better! 11: I STILL HAVEN'T FOUND WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR - U2 (6) - This was the second of two #1 hits from The Joshua Tree, and my favorite of the two. This song has held up quite well despite overplay. OPTIONAL EXTRA: I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW - TIFFANY - I wasn't a big fan of this remake. This was likely my least favorite of her Top 40 hits. Her new song, "Could've Been", which also hit #1, like this one, was far better, IMO. 10: CAN'T WE TRY - DAN HILL & VONDA SHEPARD (12) - I remember being a little concerned at first when this song's chart run started somewhat slow, moving 34-33 in its second week on, but it picked up steam the following week. Of course, this song ended up hitting the Top Ten, as I had hoped. This is also the song that finally relieved Dan Hill of his one-hit wonder status - a great song indeed! 9: IT'S NOT OVER ('TIL IT'S OVER) - STARSHIP (11) - Their second-to-last chart hit (and their final Top Ten). It was a good one, but I preferred several others from them, in all three incarnations. 8: DIDN'T WE ALMOST HAVE IT ALL - WHITNEY HOUSTON (16) - aka "All At Once Pt 2". Only difference is, this song was actually released as a single and flew straight up to the top. It's a good song, but far from being her best. 7: ROCK STEADY - THE WHISPERS (8) - The biggest of their four Top 40 hits - as well as my favorite. 6: I JUST CAN'T STOP LOVING YOU - MICHAEL JACKSON (10) - The long-awaited new album by Michael Jackson (his first since Thriller) was poised for release on August 31 and its first single was burning up the chart, en route to #1. I liked this song, though it sure got way overplayed. 5: ONLY IN MY DREAMS - DEBBIE GIBSON (7) - The breakthrough hit for one of the biggest teen music stars from this era. It was a good song - my second favorite song from Out Of The Blue behind the #1 "Foolish Beat" (though I did rather like the title track as well). 4/LDD: LUKA - SUZANNE VEGA (3) - Does the opening notes of this song remind anyone else of the Jetsons' doorbell? Well, anyway, there are only two songs by Vega that I've heard, and this would be my favorite (I remember being sick of hearing the "do do dodo do dododo..." refrains of "Tom's Diner" everytime I turned on the radio in late 1990/early 1991). That song, by the way, was also on Solitude Standing album, only it was a cappella and the "do do do" part didn't come until the very end. 3: DON'T MEAN NOTHING - RICHARD MARX (4) - The first of many hits for this man from the Windy City. It was a good one, but definitely not my favorite from him. OPTIONAL EXTRA: YOU ARE THE GIRL - THE CARS - They were definitely big back in the late '70s (their two 1978 hits seem to get more recurrent airplay than any of their others) and first half of the 80s (Heartbeat City was indeed a smash album, with five Top 40 hits), but they began losing their momentum soon after. This was their last Top 40 hit. I wasn't a huge fan of it - I preferred most of their other Top 40 hits. 2: WHO'S THAT GIRL - MADONNA (1) - This song had recently put Madonna as the woman with the most solo #1 hits of the rock era, with six so far, and she wasn't done yet, thus putting her far out in front of Diana Ross, who was done hitting #1 at this point. As far as I know, Madonna might still be out in front, but I'm not sure, as I stopped believing in the Hot 100 soon after 1991. Anyway, this song was mediocre at best. One of my least favorite of her hits and possibly my least favorite of her #1s. 1: LA BAMBA - LOS LOBOS (2) - This was their first of at least three remakes of old Ritchie Valens songs (they did a version of "Donna", but I don't think it was ever released as a single). Anyway, this song was so/so, but way overplayed. I preferred their version of "Come On Let's Go" which we'll hopefully hear later on this year on the series.
Coming up next week: We miss Snuggles by a week.
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Post by Hervard on Aug 30, 2019 13:31:20 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - Labor Day Weekend, 2019
Special Presentation: The Top 40 Newcomers of the 1980s
40: I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW - TIFFANY - This was the youngest artist on the survey. She was just a few months shy of her seventeenth birthday when this show was aired and had just come off a string of three Top Ten hits. Her first two singles hit #1 and this was the first of them. To be honest, I wasn't a big fan of this song; I preferred her ballads, such as her second #1, "Could've Been", but I think they tried to avoid slow songs when possible, so that could explain why they avoided that one. 39: WHEN SMOKEY SINGS - ABC - One of eleven British acts on the chart. It was a good tribute to Smokey Robinson - who himself was charting with his own song when this song had its chart run back in the fall of 1987 - in fact, there was a week where both songs were in the Top Ten simultaneously! 38: ONLY IN MY DREAMS - DEBBIE GIBSON - The other teen act on this special survey, and my favorite of the two. 1987 seemed to be the year for new teen singers. Debbie Gibson made her chart debut that year, as well as Tiffany. There was also Glenn Medeiros, but he didn’t make the list because, up to this point, he only had one hit, which didn’t even hit the Top Ten. As for this song, it was a good one; I'm glad they went with this song instead of “Shake Your Love 37: CROSS MY BROKEN HEART - THE JETS - Wow, so far all of the songs on the list are from 1987. It looks like, as well as playing as many fast songs as possible, that they went with recent songs whenever they could. Aside from the Tiffany song, the songs we've heard so far were on this week's 1987 show (maybe it's not so bad that I didn't get around to listening to the second half of that). Anyway, this was another act whose slow songs I preferred over their upbeat songs like this, which IMO is mediocre at best. 36: WITH OR WITHOUT YOU - U2 - Another 1987 song, though it was their next hit that was heard on the 1987 "B" show this weekend. I prefer that song, as well as their other Joshua Tree single, "Where The Streets Have No Name" over this one, which isn't bad at all; just quite overplayed. 35: SISTER CHRISTIAN - NIGHT RANGER - Well, here is the first slow song on the chart, as well as the first pre-1987 hit. This song charted in the spring of 1984, peaking at #5. Most of their chart hits were ballads, or at least mid-tempo. Their only Top 40 rocker was their first hit, "Don't Tell Me You Love Me", but few people remember that song, so they decided to play their most popular song, which is one of my favorite song from them, despite the fact that this song made me the butt of many jokes when I was in middle school. Somehow, despite that, my fascination for this song never dimmed. 34: DON'T YOU (FORGET ABOUT ME) - SIMPLE MINDS - The theme from one of the best 80s movies "The Breakfast Club" (as well as their song of support for the Amnesty International). I despised this song when it was on the charts, due to overplay. It's pretty good now that I don't hear it ten times a day, but I still prefer many of their other hits. 33: HEAVEN IS A PLACE ON EARTH - BELINDA CARLISLE - An artist who appears twice on the countdown - we'll hear from her later on as the lead singer of the Go-Go's, but Belinda's solo career produced enough hits to put her on the survey. This was her second Top 40 hit and her biggest, hitting #1 in December, 1987. This is another song I didn't like during its chart run, but now I think it's a great one! 32: HEAD TO TOE - LISA LISA & THE CULT JAM - They had four Top 40 hits, including two #1 songs in 1987. I preferred their second chart topper, "Lost In Emotion", but I think that they chose this one because, at the time, it got the most recurrent airplay of the two, as well as the fact that it's more upbeat. This song's not bad, though. 31: RHYTHM OF THE NIGHT - DEBARGE - One of two Top Ten songs from this family act from Detroit. As well as being the most upbeat of the two, it is also their biggest (and the one that receives the most recurrent airplay), so it comes as no surprise that they chose this one, which is a good one, like most of their hits. 30: THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER - HOWARD JONES - Another act that had two Top Ten hits, one a slow song and the other one an upbeat song, the latter of which gets more recurrent airplay. I preferred "No One Is To Blame", but this was a good one as well. OPTIONAL EXTRA: SHADOWS OF THE NIGHT - PAT BENATAR - She was excluded from the survey on the technicality that her first Top 40 hit made its first appearance on the Hot 100 the last week in 1979. I'll betcha our friend JessieLou was plenty pissed off because of that. Had Benatar been included, I'm wondering if they would have chosen "We Belong" or "Love Is A Battlefield" instead of this one, which was one of my all-time faves from her. 29: NEVER SURRENDER - COREY HART - Hmm, I wonder why they didn't go with "Sunglasses At Night" as the feature song from this Montreal native. Not that I'm complaining, because this song, which was his most successful hit, is my favorite song from him. Definitely a song I associate with the summer of 1985, when I was between my two years in middle school (and a great reprieve from all the chaos)! 28: WE GOT THE BEAT - THE GO GO'S - We heard her solo #1 back at 33, and now here is the group that was headed up by Belinda Carlisle. This was their biggest hit, but my least favorite of their Top 40 songs, partly due to overplay, as well as the fact that I never liked this song in the first place. Its saving grace is the fact that its playing time is less than two and a half minutes. 27: LIVIN' ON A PRAYER - BON JOVI - One of my favorite hard rock bands from the 1980s, though, like "We Got The Beat", this song was definitely not one of my favorites from them. I was hoping they'd play "You Give Love A Bad Name", since it's more of a rocker, but this song isn't too bad - especially now that radio stations don't play it every hour. 26: WEST END GIRLS - PET SHOP BOYS - I was thinking that they’d play “What Have I Done To Deserve This", since that was their most recent hit, but they probably didn’t go with that one since it featured a guest vocalist whose first hit was in the 1960s. I'm glad, since that song never really did anything for me. This song, which was their first Top 40 hit (and only #1), was a good one. 25: LOVIN' EVERY MINUTE OF IT - LOVERBOY - It seems that, the lower this band's songs peaked, the more recurrent airplay they receive. This song, however, is an exception to the rule, as it was their biggest hit (peaking at #9 in the fall of 1985) and it still gets a decent amount of airplay on 80s stations. I personally preferred their other Top Ten hit, "This Could Be The Night", but, inasmuch as that song is a ballad, and all but totally ignored by radio stations, I certainly did not expect them to choose that song. This one is also a great song, so it's all good. 24: I LOVE ROCK 'N ROLL - JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS - Jett was turned down by 23 record labels? I'll betcha they were kicking themselves after they heard this song and saw how successful it was on the charts. This was the song that was the most instrumental in placing them on the chart, since this song spent nearly two months on top in the spring of 1982. They probably would have been ranked a few spots higher had this countdown been done later on in 1988, since the band had another Top Ten hit in the fall of that year, "I Hate Myself For Loving You". This was my favorite of her Top 40 hits - one that has held up very well despite overplay. 23: COME GO WITH ME - EXPOSE - They had four Top Ten hits within a year's time, which helped place them pretty high up on the list. Their last two songs were ballads, but their first two were hot dance numbers. I was hoping they'd play "Point Of No Return" (since, after all, that was their first release, though it only made the dance charts. This song was my least favorite of Expose's hits, though it was the one that started off their Top 40 chart career. 22: SHOUT - TEARS FOR FEARS - And this was my least favorite of their Top 40 hits. I never really got into this song, one of four chart hits (up to that point, anyway) for this duo from Bath, England - these songs included two #1s and another that peaked at #3, which helped to place them up near the halfway point of the survey. 21: HOLD ME NOW - THOMPSON TWINS - Another British act with their biggest hit, which hit the Top Five in 1984 - not '83, as Casey said (though it was recorded and released in the UK that year). Unlike the last song, this was actually my favorite song by the "twins" - a great song indeed! OPTIONAL EXTRA: #1 TREND OF THE 80'S RAP MONTAGE: WALK THIS WAY - RUN DMC, RAPTURE - BLONDIE, WIPE OUT - THE FAT BOYS & THE BEACH BOYS, ROCKET 2 U - THE JETS, 19 - PAUL HARDCASTLE, PUSH IT - SALT-N-PEPA, I NEED LOVE - LL COOL J, and YOU BE ILLIN' - RUN DMC 20: FAITH - GEORGE MICHAEL - Well, even though I disliked this song (and was irked that it wound up as the biggest song of the year AFTER it peaked), it was still a little better than "I Want Your Sex" (which I'm sure they ruled out as the feature song due to its lyrical content, which caused many radio stations to edit it out of their broadcasts of AT40). Of course, he's coming up later in the show as half of the duo Wham! 19: HUMAN - HUMAN LEAGUE - Wow - they didn't play "Don't You Want Me"? That one was more upbeat than this one, but, as I said before, they tried to play songs from later in the decade. Anyway, as we all know, my favorite from them was "Don't You Want Me", though this one was a good one as well. 18: MONY MONY - BILLY IDOL - The second of two Tommy James & The Shondells remakes in the countdown. Like the one by Tiffany, this song hit #1, but what made it so remarkable is that they were number one back-to-back, and also ranked adjacent to each other on the year-end chart. My favorite song from him was his preceding Top 40 hit, "Sweet Sixteeen". Too bad no stations play that song anymore. They generally go with the studio version of this song (so I'm glad that AT40 at least played the live version during its entire chart run). 17: MANIC MONDAY - BANGLES - When Casey was intro-ing this act, he mentioned how "Walk Like An Egyptian" was the top song of 1987 and I was thinking that they chose that as the featured song, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear this song, which was one of my favorite songs from them (I think you all know what I think of "Walk Like An Egyptian". 16: CONGA - MIAMI SOUND MACHINE - This was the song that started it all off for them here in the States, hitting the Top Ten in early 1986. I preferred many others from them, though most of those would be their slower songs, which were out of the question for selection, what with the array of upbeat Top Ten songs from the band. By the way, Gloria's solo career began about a year following this special, so she obviously did not make the list as a solo artist. 15: SELF CONTROL - LAURA BRANIGAN - Interesting that many of her Top 40 songs were English interpretations of songs originally sung in foreign languages. This song, whose original version was in Italian, was a Top Five hit in the early summer of 1984. This is one of those songs that I didn't like during their chart run, but I like it now - it has indeed aged quite well. 14: FLASHDANCE - IRENE CARA - She had several successful movie soundtrack hits in the 1980s, this being her biggest, spending six weeks at #1 during the early summer of 1983. This, as well as "Every Breath You Take" were both played ad nauseum by radio stations that summer, and I'd had just about enough of this song by that time, and thought that if I never heard it again, it would be too soon. But somehow, I started liking it better and it is now among my favorite songs from Irene. 13: WOULD I LIE TO YOU - EURYTHMICS - They also had an overplayed song in the summer of 1983, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)", which was #1 this very week that year. This song was a big hit two summers following, and I thought it was a good song, though we already know all too well that my favorite song from them was the follow-up to this song. 12: CONTROL - JANET JACKSON - The only member of the Jackson family to make the list (since Jermaine and Michael started their chart careers in the 1970s. Janet also became the first female artist to have an album that spawned six Top 40 hits. Five of those hit the Top Five and the sixth peaked in the teens. Such impressive chart momentum is what helped place her at #12 on the survey. As for the song, I thought it was mediocre at best - my least favorite of the Control singles. 11: DOWN UNDER - MEN AT WORK - So sad that the Cargo singles are all but ignored anymore, yet they play the hell out of both of the Business As Usual album. We heard their first #1 hit on this weekend's 1982 show, and this was their other number one, which spent four weeks at the top in early 1983. 10: I'M YOUR MAN - WHAM! - Wow! They had three number one songs, and the selected song wasn't one of them. This was a #3 hit in early 1986 and I definitely like it better than their first two hits (the first was so teeny-bopper sounding and the second is a song I'll always associate with a slight at a dance in seventh grade, when the song was on its way down). I did prefer their third #1 over this one, which is also a good song - it sure doesn't get a lot of recurrent airplay, does it? OPTIONAL EXTRA: FOR YOUR EYES ONLY - SHEENA EASTON - Not sure how she missed making the cut, as she had many hits on the chart, including six Top Tens up to this point. Even Larry said that it was likely that she was accidentally overlooked by the AT40 staff. Sheena Easton, like the Jets and Gloria Estefan, is one of those artists whose slow songs, like this one, I generally prefer over the upbeat ones. I wonder which of her songs they would have selected if Easton was rightfully included on the list? 9: RIDE LIKE THE WIND - CHRISTOPHER CROSS - With his chart success during his first year and the way he cleaned up at the 1981 Grammy Awards, one would guess that he would have a ton of hits throughout the decade, but unfortunately, his chart success fizzled out in 1984, when he had his final Top 40 hit with "Think Of Laura". This song, which was his debut hit, is possibly the earliest song on the list. The song peaked at #2 for four weeks in the spring of 1980, but simply could not get past "Call Me" by Blondie, who didn't quite make the list, since they had several Top 40 hits in 1979. 8: HIGH ON YOU - SURVIVOR - I'm kind of surprised that they didn't play either of their two big Rocky hits, since Casey mentioned those movies in the intro. No matter; this was a really good song as well! 7: TIME AFTER TIME - CYNDI LAUPER - When her breakthrough hit, "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" began playing as Casey introduced her, I figured that was the song that they'd play - I was even beginning to edit the title of this song, but this was indeed the one they started playing. Since it was her only #1 song from her first album, that's why they chose it, even though it's a ballad (though with a faster tempo than her other #1, "True Colors"). 6: TIME (CLOCK OF THE HEART) - CULTURE CLUB - Whew! I felt sure they were going to play either “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me” (their first hit) or “Karma Chameleon” (their only #1). Thankfully, they went with this one - my favorite of their 1983 hits. 5: HOW WILL I KNOW - WHITNEY HOUSTON - Casey mentioned how she scored with six number one hits in a row. I'm pretty sure all six of those were used in the tabulation of the list. This was the second of those two - a pretty good song, one I really liked back in the day, though nowadays, I prefer a few others from her. 4: THE REFLEX = DURAN DURAN - Darn! When he mentioned "Hungry Like The Wolf", their first big hit here in the States, I figured that that would be the featured song, but instead, they went with one of my least favorite songs from them. Oh well, such is life. 3: MAKIN' LOVE OUT OF NOTHING AT ALL - AIR SUPPLY - It was pretty much impossible to choose an upbeat song from them, as all of their hits were love songs, so they went with their most recent Top Five hit - one of eight from this Australian band whose chart success made it look like they'd be the top act of all of the 1980s, but most of their hits were from the early 1980s - after their Top 20 hit "Just As I Am", they would never again hit the Top 40. 2: HEART OF ROCK 'N ROLL - HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS - They had three albums in the 1980s that spawned Top 40 hits (two of them produced five each), as well as a big soundtrack hit, "The Power Of Love" from one of the best movies of the 1980s IMO, Back To The Future. This was one of four Top Ten hits from his 1983 album Sports, and one of his songs that gets the most recurrent airplay nowadays. OPTIONAL EXTRA: KEEP ON LOVIN' YOU - REO SPEEDWAGON - They did not qualify for the list, as they had hit the Hot 100 in the 1970s, though neither of their first three singles made the Top 40. They finally hit the Top 40 with their fourth single, on the very last week of 1980, with their first of two #1 hits, and, all points totaled, their biggest hit ever. It was among my favorite of their hits. 1: PAPA DON'T PREACH - MADONNA - All along, I figured she would be high up on the list, though I was wondering what song they'd play by her. I don't think I would have guessed this one. It's so/so and I must say I like it a lot better than I did when it was on the charts. No big surprise that she came out on top, though. I figured either she or Huey Lewis would be #1. It was probably a close race, though.
Acts who would have made the list had it been done at the end of 1989 include but are not limted to: Guns N' Roses, Poison, Bobby Brown, New Kids On The Block, Paula Abdul, and Taylor Dayne, and Richard Marx. Most of those acts had most, if not all, of their big hits at the time this list was compiled. Richard Marx probably just barely missed, since he’d had three Top Five hits at the time this show was being recorded. New Kids On The Block, on the other hand, had yet to chart, since their first hit “Please Don’t Go Girl” hit the charts just weeks after this show was aired, and in the span of a year and a half, they’d had a ton of Top Ten hits, including two number ones. This show would have been ideal for one of Casey Kasem’s Westwood One specials that aired throughout 1990. The acts mentioned above would definitely have made it.
All in all, a great show!
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Post by mga707 on Aug 30, 2019 14:22:50 GMT -5
Hervard--Unfamiliar with World Pulse Festival. What was it?
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Post by Hervard on Aug 30, 2019 16:23:22 GMT -5
Hervard--Unfamiliar with World Pulse Festival. What was it? Click on the link.
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Post by mga707 on Aug 30, 2019 21:33:27 GMT -5
Hervard--Unfamiliar with World Pulse Festival. What was it? Click on the link. Did not realize that was a link--thanks.
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Post by pb on Aug 31, 2019 7:21:09 GMT -5
1: LA BAMBA - LOS LOBOS (2) - This was their first of at least three remakes of old Ritchie Valens songs (they did a version of "Donna", but I don't think it was ever released as a single). Anyway, this song was so/so, but way overplayed. I preferred their version of "Come On Let's Go" which we'll hopefully hear later on this year on the series. My brother played the La Bamba soundtrack tape a lot back then. The whole first side was Los Lobos's versions of Ritchie Valens songs I think. Looking it up on Wiki I see "Donna" was a single but didn't chart in the U.S.
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