American Top 40: The 80s - December 28, 2019
This week's presentation - January 4, 1986 (Top 100 of 1985)
POS: SONG - ARTIST (PEAK(WEEKS AT PEAK)/TOP 10 WEEKS/TOP 40 WEEKS/HOT 100 WEEKS)100: SUGAR WALLS - SHEENA EASTON (9(2)/3/9/17) - Naughty naughty, Sheena! I wasn't a big fan of this song at all - I generally preferred her more "innocent" songs from earlier in the decade.
99: SENTIMENTAL STREET - NIGHT RANGER (8(2)/2/11/17) - This one reminded me a lot of "Sister Christian" (and what do you know - those were their only Top Ten hits - I guess the Top 40 audience preferred their power ballads). I do too, although I also liked the mid-tempo ballads, such as "Four In The Morning" and "Goodbye".
98: DRESS YOU UP - MADONNA (5/4/11/16) - Madonna was definitely a force to be reckoned with in 1985, as she placed a total of five songs on the Top 100 for that year. This was one of my favorite of her upbeat songs.
97: ALL SHE WANTS TO DO IS DANCE - DON HENLEY (9/2/11/19) - The second release from Building The Perfect Beast. It's my least favorite of the singles, however - for some reason, this song never did much for me.
96: PENNY LOVER - LIONEL RICHIE (8(2)/4/13/18) - The album Can't Slow Down sure got a lot of mileage, didn't it? This was the fifth single from the album, and all five songs hit the Top Ten. It's a fairly close race between this and "Hello" as my favorite song from the album.
95: FORTRESS AROUND YOUR HEART - STING (8(2)/3/11/20) - The second solo hit by Sting, and my favorite of the four hits from the Dream Of The Blue Turtles album.
94: WHO'S ZOOMIN' WHO - ARETHA FRANKLIN (7/3/13/19) - The title track from Franklin's big comeback album - and my favorite of the three singles released from that album, as one of my favorites from Franklin overall.
93: PRIVATE DANCER - TINA TURNER (7(2)/3/12/18) - She was definitely hotter than ever at this point, as this, the title track from her comeback album, became her third consecutive Top Ten hit. It was a good one - not sure which of the Private Dancer singles I prefer.
92: BORN IN THE U.S.A. - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (9/2/11/17) - The title song from the biggest album of 1985. It's kind of a surprise that this song was the album's lowest peaking song (on the R&R chart, anyway), seeing as it was the title track to such a monster album (not to mention all the recurrent airplay it still receives today). I do believe that this song became his signature hit. Anyway, like most of the singles from Born In The USA, I like this one a lot.
91: JUNGLE LOVE - TIME (20/-/10/25) - This was the lowest peaking song to make the Hot 100. The song barely hit the Top 20, but its tenure on the Hot 100, which was just about half a year, was what enabled it to register on the chart. This was also a rare case in which a group's Top 40 hits charted after they had disbanded (The Time also had another Top 40 hit, called "The Bird" in the spring). I preferred this song, though it wasn't anything exceptional.
90: DO WHAT YOU DO - JERMAINE JACKSON (13/-/12/20) - Casey mentioned that Michael Jackson did not put out any material of his own in 1985. The fact that he was heavily involved with "We Are The World" might have played a role in that. At least brother Jermaine, and later on, sister Janet, kept the family on the charts during Michael's hiatus, which would last until the summer of 1987. Anyway, as I've said many times before, this is possibly my favorite of Jermaine's Top 40 singles.
89: FRESH - KOOL & THE GANG (9/2/11/19) - This was the second of four hits from the album Emergency (in fact, three of them hit the Top Ten - ironically, the only one that did not was the title track). This was my favorite of that album's singles.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: BROKEN WINGS - MR. MISTER (1(2)/9/15/22) - Back in October, this song was a rare "only debut song" - the fourth time in AT40 history that happened (of course, that eventually became more and more commonplace, especially once the PPW era began). Of the band's two #1 hits, this was definitely my favorite.
88: CALIFORNIA GIRLS - DAVID LEE ROTH (3/5/11/16) - Back in March,this song matched the #3 peak of the original by the Beach Boys just 20 years before. Based on the big move to third place, it looked like he might top that peak the following week but, in fact, the song started dropping the following week. Anyway, I liked this song - even slightly better than the original.
87: WHAT ABOUT LOVE - HEART (10/1/12/21) - This was Heart's comeback hit and their songs didn't have the same classic rock sound that their previous ones did, which might have helped, as they had more success on the pop charts than before, with seven Top Ten hits, including two #1s. This was undoubtedly a high point in the show for
JessieLou!
86: LONELY OL' NIGHT - JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP (6(2)/5/13/20) - The first of five Top 40 hits from Mellencamp's album Scarecrow and possibly my favorite song from the album (although "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A." and "Rain On The Scarecrow" were good ones as well).
85: WHO'S HOLDING DONNA NOW - EL DeBARGE (6/3/12/19) - Earlier in the year, "Rhythm Of The Night" became their first Top Five hit and this song almost followed suit, peaking at #6 in August. It was definitely my favorite of their two Top Ten hits.
84: LAY YOUR HANDS ON ME - THOMPSON TWINS (6(2)/4/12/20) - For years, I had no idea where they got this name, since they're a trio (and not even related) nor is anyone named Thompson. As Casey pointed out, they were named after the two bumbling detectives Thomson and Thompson in Hergé's comic strip The Adventures of Tintin. Anyhoo, I'm not a big fan of this song - my least favorite of their charted hits.
83: METHOD OF MODERN LOVE - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (5/4/11/19) - The second of four Top 40 hits from their album Big Bam Boom. This song wasn't bad, but I don't understand why they didn't spell out the word "modern"
82: I'M ON FIRE - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (6(2)/4/12/20) - He was still cranking out hit after hit from his Born In The USA album. This was the fourth one, which peaked at #6 in April. It was a great song - one of my favorites from Born In The USA.
81: ANGEL - MADONNA (5/4/12/17) - Indeed, Madonna was on a roll at this point, with this being her fourth Top Five hit in a row, and, of course, there was a lot more where that came from! This was a good one, but I preferred many others from her, including three of them on this countdown, as well as the album cut "Into The Groove", which was a Top Ten hit on the R&R chart.
80: SOLID - ASHFORD & SIMPSON (12(2)/11/24) - For some reason, I did not like this song at all during its chart run, but now I think it's a great song. Wham!'s song "Everything She Wants" from later in 1985 sounds a little reminiscent of this song, IMO.
79: SOME LIKE IT HOT - THE POWER STATION (6(2)/5/12/18) - One of several Duran Duran side projects. This song was OK, but I generally preferred Duran Duran, including their #1 song "A View To A Kill", which is coming up later on the Top 100 countdown.
78: VALOTTE - JULIAN LENNON (9/4/12/19) - He definitely had his father's voice. When I first heard this song in late 1984 I thought it was another posthumous hit from the late John Lennon (since he'd had a Top Ten hit earlier that year). This was my favorite song from Julian's album of the same name.
77: TOO LATE FOR GOODBYES - JULIAN LENNON (5/5/12/17) - Wow, Mr. Lennon’s two songs on the survey are back-to-back. This song was pretty good, but possibly my least favorite of his singles.
76: FREEDOM - WHAM (3/4/12/18) - This used to be my favorite song ever since I first heard it in mid-June, 1985, when B-96 gave this song early action, when "Everything You Want" was still in the Top Ten. However, overplay sort of dimmed my like for this song, but I still like it. Too bad they edited the song (by cutting out the first chorus and second verse). At least they played the single version, which included the horn solo at the end of the song.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: YOU SPIN ME ‘ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) - DEAD OR ALIVE (11/-/11/18) - A two-hit wonder band from Liverpool, England. I slightly preferred their other song, "Brand New Lover", which was a Top 20 hit (as was this one) in 1987, but this one's pretty good as well (though it's too bad Flo Rida had to go and mess it up nearly a quarter of a century later).
75: WALKING ON SUNSHINE - KATRINA & THE WAVES (9/3/13/21) - A great, fun song that always takes me back to the summer of 1985!
74: SUMMER OF '69 - BRYAN ADAMS (5(2)/4/12/17) - Of course, this song told a fictional story, as Adams was only nine years old that summer - he'd be riding bikes and playing touch football, not playing in a band.
73: I CAN'T HOLD BACK - SURVIVOR (13(2)/-/13/23) - This song has been a personal fave of mine for a long time! Back around the end of 1984, when the song was on the charts, it was my favorite song in the world and remained so for quite awhile.
72: NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS - PAUL McCARTNEY (6(2)/5/14/18) - There were two versions of this song on the Give My Regards To Broad Street soundtrack. The other one was more upbeat - it was a good one, but I preferred this version.
71: BE NEAR ME - ABC (9(2)/3/11/22) - This was the first of two Top Ten hits for this English group. It wasn't bad, but I preferred their two earlier hits.
70: WOULD I LIE TO YOU - EURYTHMICS (5/4/13/19) - The first of two Top Ten hits with this title. I preferred the one by Charles & Eddie, which charted seven years later. This song was also a good song - one of many that takes me back to the summer of 1985. Though we already know all too well that my favorite song from them was the follow-up to this song.
69: MISLED - KOOL & THE GANG (10/1/13/24) - They were in the midst of a streak of songs with one-word titles (in fact, didn't they hold the record for that?). Anyway, I liked all three of their Top Ten hits from the Emergency album, although my favorite of those was "Fresh".
68: VOICES CARRY - 'TIL TUESDAY (8/2/13/21) - The first of two Top 40 hits from this band from Boston. It was a good one, though I preferred their other Top 40 hit (which was quite underrated, I must say), "What About Love".
67: GLORY DAYS - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (5/5/13/18) - Bruce had recently joined Michael Jackson as only the second artist to score with six Top Tens from a single album. Early in 1986, when "My Hometown" hit the Top Ten, Springsteen tied another record held by Jackson, as the artist with the most Top Ten hits from a single album. This one used to be so/so, but I've grown to really like this song over the past few years.
66: RUN TO YOU - BRYAN ADAMS (6/4/12/19) - He definitely got quite a lot of mileage out of his Reckless album - the six singles kept him on the chart for most of 1985, and this was the first of them. I liked it, but preferred a few others from Adams.
65: ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT - CYNDI LAUPER (5/5//14/19) - Definitely one of the best new artists of 1984, as she had four Top Five singles within the year. She was a little more quiet in 1985, but did manage to place one of said Top Five songs on the list (as it charted too late in 1984 to make that list). This one was my favorite of the She's So Unusual releases.
64: DON'T LOSE MY NUMBER - PHIL COLLINS (4/4/13/19) - Anyone notice that the video of this seemed to be a ripoff of the video for "You Might Think" by the Cars? As for the song, I liked it and was surprised that it was omitted from Collins' HITS album, considering it was definitely one of his biggest hits.
63: IN MY HOUSE - MARY JANE GIRLS (7(3)/5/12/22) - This was the only Top 40 hit for this Rick James-produced soul & funk group (though I have heard a few others from them, such as their cover of the Four Seasons' "Walk Like A Man" which was a mid-charter a year later). This was my favorite of their songs that I know.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE - DEPECHE MODE (13(2)/-/10/18) - The first Top 40 hit for this English band. I never cared much for it, however; I preferred their two Top 20 hits from 1990.
62: SMOOTH OPERATOR - SADE (5(2)/5/13/20) - Their debut hit, which became one of their biggest, peaking at #5 the following week. It wasn't one of my favorites back in the day, but now I think it's a great one!
61: AXEL F - HAROLD FALTERMEYER (3(3)/5/12/19) - The first of three instrumentals to hit the Top 40 in 1985 (not sure when the last time that many instrumentals charted within a year's time). I remember that sometimes, I'd shadowbox in time to music of this song. Not sure why; just one of many weird things I did as a young teenager.
60: HEAD OVER HEELS - TEARS FOR FEARS (3/6/12/20) - No case of Third Single Syndrome here! Though it didn't hit #1 like the last two, it did get as high as #3. This is by far my favorite of the three four Top 40 hits from Songs From The Big Chair.
59: BETTER BE GOOD TO ME - TINA TURNER (5(2)/5/13/20) - Her third hit after her comeback in 1984. This was a good song - as I mentioned before, I'm not sure if I prefer this or the title track from Private Dancer.
58: MATERIAL GIRL - MADONNA (2(2)/6/12/17) - Indeed, Madonna had a great year in 1984 and, with five hits on the big list, as stated earlier, 1985 was even better, hitwise, that is. This was her first new hit during the year and, even though it was my least favorite of her 1985 songs, it was still a good one.
57: WE DON'T NEED ANOTHER HERO (THEME FROM "THUNDERDOME") - TINA TURNER (2/6/12/18) - The first (and most successful) of two songs from the movie Thunderdome, in which Tina herself starred. I like it, but it's not quite my favorite song from her.
56: OBSESSION - ANIMOTION (6/5/14/24) - Their first of three Top 40 hits from this technopop band from Los Angeles. It was their biggest hit and I thought it was a decent song, but I preferred their other Top Ten hit, "Room To Move", from 1989.
55: IF YOU LOVE SOMEBODY SET THEM FREE - STING (3(2)/6/14/18) - This song, Sting's first of many solo Top 40 hits, was said to be an antidote to his biggest hit ever, "Every Breath You Take", which he considered "a really nasty song". Whether that's true or not, I'm not completely sure, but either way, I like this song, but generally preferred his 90s hits.
54: ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK - MURRAY HEAD f/ANDERS GLENMARK (3/6/13/20) - That is how the song would be credited today, since Glenmark sings in the song while Murray Head raps. As usual, this song started out with the classical prelude, which I liked. The song itself is pretty good too, although it was quite overplayed back in the day! They usually edited this one, this week included, since it's virtually impossible to cram 50 songs into four hours without doing a little cutting, although it seems to me that more songs were edited than usual - must be due to the difference in commercial load, as well as the Optional Extras.
53: THE BOYS OF SUMMER - DON HENLEY (5/4/14/22) - Ah, a summer hit charting in winter (and the winter of 1985 was indeed a cold one). As for this song, it was a great one - my third favorite single from Building The Perfect Beast, behind "Sunset Grill" and "Not Enough Love In The World" (though it would be a very close race between those songs).
OPTIONAL EXTRA: SAY YOU SAY ME - LIONEL RICHIE (1(4)/9/16/20) - The first of two 1985 hits from the film White Nights - both of which would hit #1. In fact, the songs would have been at the top consecutively if not for an injured bird. The song was pretty good, but definitely not one of my favorite songs from him.
52: SUDDENLY - BILLY OCEAN (4(2)/4/13/22) - To many Billy Ocean fans, it's pretty common knowledge that an
incident associated with this song actually inspired one of Ocean's hits, "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)", which hit #1 the following summer. Both songs are great, IMO, and among my personal faves from Ocean.
51: RASPBERRY BERET - PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION (2/6/14/17) - Here at the halfway point of the chart, we have yet to reach the first number one song, but we have encountered two songs that hit #1 on the R&R chart, but fell short on the Hot 100. The first one was "Material Girl" back at #58 and right here is the second one. This used to be one of my favorite songs by Prince, but not so much anymore. As I’ve said many times before, I find the falsetto part at the end (which is actually Wendy & Lisa instead of Prince, as I once thought) quite annoying.
50: SEPARATE LIVES - PHIL COLLINS & MARILYN MARTIN (1(1)/9/16/22) - This was the first of 27 number one songs within the 1985 chart year to make the big list. In fact, it is chronologically the very last one, as it hit #1 on November 30, a week before the chart year ended. The #1 song the week of December 7 was still on top the following week and, hence, was deferred to 1986's Top 100. This was one of two #1 hits from the movie White Nights, a film I never saw, but I heard the songs many, many times in the fall of 1985. Of those two, this was by far my favorite - it was a great one!
49: MISSING YOU - DIANA ROSS (10(2)/2/9/27) - The first of two tributes to the late Marvin Gaye, who had an even 40 Top 40 hits, 24 of them during the "Beatle Years", making him the biggest solo artist of that era. This was my favorite of the two tributes.
48: THE SEARCH IS OVER - SURVIVOR (4/5/14/21) - This was their biggest hit that wasn't associated with any of the Rocky movies. It was a great song - one that became somewhat popular in the LDD department.
47: YOU GIVE GOOD LOVE - WHITNEY HOUSTON (3/6/13/21) - The first of many, many, many big Top 40 hits for her (it wasn't her first Hot 100 appearance, however, as she sang on a duet with Teddy Pendergrass the year before, called "Hold Me").
46: STRUT - SHEENA EASTON (7/3/15/25) - This was the second of two hits on the countdown for Ms. Easton. For some reason, I was never a huge fan of either song; I generally preferred her earlier material.
45: SUSSUDIO - PHIL COLLINS (1/6/14/17) - The second of four releases from No Jacket Required. Definitely my least favorite of them - more of a gimmick than anything, IMO, as well as overplayed. In comparing these stats to those of "Separate Lives", it looks as though Billboard was not yet awarding projected points to songs still on the charts, as surely the latter song would have been ranked significantly higher on the chart if they were.
44: NEVER SURRENDER - COREY HART (3(2)/6/14/20) - This was a rare case where the biggest hit by an artist (with at least five hits) was my favorite by them. This one peaked at #3 in August, and overplay hasn't tarnished it at all.
43: FREEWAY OF LOVE - ARETHA FRANKLIN (3/6/13/19) - With none other than Clarence Clemons playing sax, this was Aretha's comeback hit - that put her back into the Top Ten, that is. It was definitely a comeback over on the R&R chart, from where she'd been absent for over eleven years. Anyway, this song was pretty good, but I preferred her next hit, the title track of her Who's Zoomin' Who album, as well as a few of her songs after that.
42: ALL I NEED - JACK WAGNER (2(2)/6/12/22) - This was Frisco Jones' only Top 40 hit, and a great song it was - one of my favorite songs from 1984/1985 - in fact, its eight-week run at the top of my Personal Top 30 charts was divided evenly between the two years! Too bad this just missed hitting the top here on AT40, but the song at #1 was just unstoppable.
41: THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER - HOWARD JONES (5/6/14/23) - This song and Billy Joel's hit from later that summer, "You're Only Human", both had similar messages. It was a great one, though my favorite from him would be "No One Is To Blame", from the following summer.
40: NIGHTSHIFT - COMMODORES (3/6/13/22) - This was pretty decent song, but the Commodores just weren’t the same without Lionel Richie. The Top 40 audience apparently agreed, as this was their only Top 40 hit. The fact that this was a tribute song to both Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson, I’m sure was instrumental in how well it did on the charts.
39: WE BELONG - PAT BENATAR (5/7/14/20) - She never quite made it to #1, but this was one of her biggest hits ever. I like it, but prefer several others from her.
38: NEUTRON DANCE - POINTER SISTERS (6(3)/6/14/23) - One of four songs from the Eddie Murphy blockbuster Beverly Hills Cop to hit the charts in 1985, three of which made the Top 100 of the year! I never really cared for this song, or any post-1982 Pointer Sisters songs. This one was apparently an inspiration for KT Tunstall's "Black Horse & The Cherry Tree" (especially with the "woo-hoos"). Casey made a slight faux pas in the outro, saying that this was the highest ranked hit by a family act. Not quite - DeBarge is a few songs ahead...
OPTIONAL EXTRA: NEVER - HEART (4/5/14/24) - They were enjoying their biggest chart success yet with their mid-80s comeback, as this had recently become their second Top Five hit (and they'd have two more after this). Anyway, it would be a toss-up between this and "These Dreams" as my favorite song from their self-titled album - both are great songs! Larry said that this song peaked at #4 but just barely missed making the year-ender. Actually, it should have made it, since it peaked the last week of the chart year and didn’t have a bullet that week. Instead, it was deferred to the Top 100 of 1986, where it ranked #18.
37: YOU'RE THE INSPIRATION - CHICAGO (3(2)/6/14/22) - The third hit from their Chicago 17 album (and their final Top Ten hit with Peter Cetera singing lead). It was a good song, but I preferred their previous hit "Hard Habit To Break".
36: THE WILD BOYS - DURAN DURAN (2(4)/8/14/24) - Meh, I was not a fan of this song. 1984, from which this was a holdover, was definitely not their best year, IMO (though "New Moon On Monday" was a good one). I preferred their two 1985 songs over this song by a huge margin, as both of them are great songs IMO.
35: A VIEW TO A KILL - DURAN DURAN (1(2)/6/13/17) - Well speak of the devil! Here's one of those songs right now! The other, by the way, was "Save A Prayer", which only got as high as #16 and didn't spend all that long on the chart, so it didn't quite make it. Of the band's two #1 songs (you thought they had more, didn't you?), this was by far my favorite - a great song indeed!
34: SEA OF LOVE - HONEYDRIPPERS (3/6/14/20) - Casey corrected another mistake earlier in the show, when he said that "California Girls" was the only remake in the countdown. This song was originally recorded by Phil Phillips in 1959, and Del Shannon did an awesome cover of this song back in early 1982. This version was pretty good, but it certainly was overplayed back in the day!
33: ONE MORE NIGHT - PHIL COLLINS (1(2)/6/12/18) - This was the first single from Phil Collins' No Jacket Required album, which, as mentioned earlier, would spawn two more songs during 1985, and another in the spring of 1986. This was my favorite of those songs and it must have been a strong song, to be able to fend off "We Are The World" like it did its second week at #1.
32: RHYTHM OF THE NIGHT - EL DeBARGE (3(2)/7/14/22) - This song turned out to be their biggest hit ever, getting as high as #3 a few weeks before. It was a good one, but I preferred their next hit, "Who's Holding Donna Now", which turned out to be their second best hit, peaking at #6. I thought that Casey might correct the mistake he made earlier regarding the Pointer Sisters, but apparently, he didn't yet realize it.
31: OH SHEILA - READY FOR THE WORLD (1(1)/6/13/21) - The first of three Top 40 hits from this R&B band from Flint, Michigan, as well as the biggest. It wasn't bad, but I preferred "Love You Down".
30: YOU BELONG TO THE CITY - GLENN FREY (2(2)/7/13/21) - His second of two contributions to Miami Vice (that charted, anyway). My favorite would probably be the other one, "Smuggler's Blues", which charted earlier in the year, but didn't quite make the big list.
29: LOVERGIRL - TEENA MARIE (4/5/13/24) - Often regarded as a one-hit wonder, "Lovergirl" was actually Teena's second hit. Her first, "I Need Your Loving", peaked at #37 in early 1981. This song fared much better, peaking at #4 back in March. This song is pretty good, though I do remember disliking this song during its chart run.
28: LOVERBOY - BILLY OCEAN (2/6/15/21) - Wow, “Loverboy” and “Lovergirl” are back-to-back on the chart! What are the chances? This song did almost as well as "Caribbean Queen", peaking at #2, but the song at #1 was too strong for it. Too bad, as I prefer this song over that one, which just had to go and become the biggest hit of 1985, but we get ahead of ourselves... This was one of my favorite of Ocean's upbeat songs.
27: THEME FROM "MIAMI VICE" - JAN HAMMER (1(1)/7/13/22) - The second of two instrumentals on this year's survey, which hadn't happened since the summer of 1982. Anyway, I liked this song, but I preferred "Axel F".
26: COOL IT NOW - NEW EDITION (4/6/14/25) - This song could be heard every single day in the small gym at the middle school I went to, as the girls did aerobics to the song. So glad I didn't have to do that, as I never liked this song, but hearing it several times every day would have driven me nuts (actually, we didn't have gym class every day, but that's beside the point). Anyway, I preferred their next two hits, which hit the AT40 chart later in 1985.
25: EVERYTHING SHE WANTS - WHAM (1(2)/6/14/20) - We're up to the first song on the countdown to spend more than one week at #1. This was not only Wham!'s third hit in a row, but their third #1 as well. At first, I thought "Freedom" might be a fourth, but its early action on a few radio stations that I mentioned earlier actually impeded its progress on the chart, as many of those stations had dropped that song partway through its chart climb on the Hot 100. As for this song, I thought it was mediocre during its chart run, but now it's actually my favorite of their three #1s.
PARTY ALL THE TIME - EDDIE MURPHY (2(3)9/14/22) - Is it me, or did Larry say that this song peaked at #37? If so, that was obviously wrong, because it was currently in the midst of its #2 peak, behind "Say You Say Me". Well, anyway, this song wasn't bad, but Murphy was much better as a comedian than a singer.
24: HEAVEN - BRYAN ADAMS (1(2)/6/14/19) - The first of Adams' only #1 song in the 80s (sure seems like he had more, doesn't it?) I'm glad that this got a second chance on the charts (as when it was first released, from the box office bomb "A Night In Heaven", it went nowhere).
23: SAVING ALL MY LOVE FOR YOU - WHITNEY HOUSTON (1(1)/7/15/22) - Casey certainly was not kidding when he said "great things ahead for Whitney Houston", as this was the first of a slew of #1 songs for her, as well as the first of a record streak of seven chart toppers! This was a good one, but I preferred many, many others from her.
22: PART-TIME LOVER - STEVIE WONDER (1(1)/8/14/21) - This song was a triple-crown winner on the charts, topping the Pop, Soul, and Dance charts. The song was the first of three Top 40 hits from Wonder's In Square Circle album, and his ninth and final #1 hit (unless you count his role in "That's What Friends Are For"). This song was OK, but nothing special.
21: SHOUT - TEARS FOR FEARS (1(3)/7/13/19) - Meh, I never cared for this one at all. I guess you could say this is a song I can do without.
20: WE ARE THE WORLD - USA FOR AFRICA (1(4)/8/12/18) - One of the biggest selling singles ever, and for a great cause - aiding in famine relief in Ethiopia. I did get tired of the song back in the day, both from radio airplay and rehearsing it almost every day for our spring choir concert in 7th grade, but it's great to hear it every now and then.
19: THE HEAT IS ON - GLENN FREY (2/6/13/24) - Of the four Top 40 hits from the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack, this was the most successful, as it peaked at #2, held out of #1 by "Can't Fight This Feeling", which is coming up later in the countdown. This song was not bad, but I generally preferred him with the Eagles.
18: ST. ELMO'S FIRE (MAN IN MOTION) - JOHN PARR (1(2)/7/14/22) - The first of two songs from the St. Elmo's Fire soundtrack to hit the Top 40. I liked this song, but it was quite overplayed. I preferred the love theme from the movie, which hit the charts in the fall.
17: CHERISH - KOOL & THE GANG (2(3)/7/15/25) - This one was number one for six weeks on the AC chart (and I believe was the top song of the year). It also was a huge pop smash, peaking at #2 for three weeks, becoming their second biggest hit behind "Celebration". I liked it, but prefer several others from them.
16: DON'T YOU (FORGET ABOUT ME) - SIMPLE MINDS (1(1)/8/14/22) - Their first four hits sounded very much alike, IMO. This was my least favorite of the four (probably since it was way overplayed). I do like the movie from which it came, The Breakfast Club.
15: THE POWER OF LOVE - HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (1(2)/8/15/19) - I loved the Back To The Future trilogy! This was played in the first one as Marty McFly rode his skateboard to school after finding out he was 20 minutes late, hoping to dodge his principal, but no such luck.
14: WE BUILT THIS CITY - STARSHIP (1(2)/7/15/24) - They say third time's a charm, and that definitely applied to this band, as, under their third name, they were hotter than ever, with three number one songs! It was a great song - one of their best, under any of their names.
13: CAN'T FIGHT THIS FEELING - REO SPEEDWAGON (1(3)//8/14/18) - This was possibly my favorite #1 song of 1985 and I remember being disappointed that it wasn’t the #1 song of 1985 on the R&R year-ender. But it wasn’t so bad, as the song it lost out to (“Crazy For You” by Madonna) was also a good one - my favorite of her songs that charted that year. Plus, this song WAS number one on the year-end wrap-up of another countdown show I listened to (“Top 40 Satellite Survey”).
OPTIONAL EXTRA: I’M GOIN’ DOWN - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (9/1/9/13) - I’m assuming that they chose this song because, up to this point, it was the only song from the Born In The USA album that hadn’t made a year-end chart. (BTW, does anyone remember - did they play “My Hometown” as an optional extra during the Top 100 of 1986 show heard at the end of last year?) Well, whatever the case, this was a good song, but not quite my favorite of the seven Born In The USA singles.
12: EASY LOVER - PHILIP BAILEY & PHIL COLLINS (2(2)/7/16/23) - Collins' "No Jacket Required" album was possibly his biggest singles album ever. That album spawned three singles within the year, and he bookended those with very successful duets, including this one, which was a great song IMO - the two Phils sounded great together!
11: EVERYTIME YOU GO AWAY - PAUL YOUNG (1(1)/8/15/23) - This was definitely among the most played songs of the summer of 1985, but it has held up quite well. I don't think I ever got tired of this song, and I'm glad that it made it to #1.
10: TAKE ON ME - A-HA (1(1)/7/15/27) - The first hit for this Norwegian act, who's often known as a one-hit wonder, because of this song (as not everyone is familiar with "The Sun Always Shines On TV"). This was a great song, and I'm glad it hit #1!
9: CRAZY FOR YOU - MADONNA (1(1)/9/14/21) - It was looking like this song might not hit #1, as the song was stuck in the runner-up spot for three weeks and, with a multi-million selling benefit song at the top, it looked like that might be all the further the song got, but the song did manage a week at #1. The song was #1 for two weeks on the R&R chart and, as I mentioned before, went on to become the biggest song of the year, and deservedly so, as it was such a great song!
8: MONEY FOR NOTHING - DIRE STRAITS (1(3)/8/13/22) - This was the song that kept the aforementioned "Cherish" out of the top spot. It was one of at least three songs on this year's chart that Sting's involved with (of course, he's the one who wants his MTV). The song was OK, but it was very overplayed. I preferred their three other Top 40 hits, as well as a few album cuts from their first, self-titled album.
7: EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD - TEARS FOR FEARS (1(2)/8/14/24) - The first of three big hits for TFF in 1985, as well as the most successful. This song went all the way to #1 and is my second favorite, behind "Head Over Heels".
6: OUT OF TOUCH - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (1(2)/9/16/23) - Casey mentioned that they were the top act of the 1980s so far - in fact, I believe this song, their fifth #1, put them into first place as the artist with the most #1 songs during the 1980s, and as I recall, Michael Jackson had previously held the record (and, of course, since he had five more number one songs later in the decade, he would regain and secure that record). As for this song, it was a pretty good one, but definitely not their best.
5: I FEEL FOR YOU - CHAKA KHAN f/GRANDMASTER FLASH & STEVIE WONDER (3(3)/9/17/26) - Well, that’s how the credits would be listed today. Back in 1984, the song was credited solely to Chaka Khan. Anyway, I was never crazy about this song (though it had great harmonica work, provided by Stevie Wonder). Casey mentioned that this was the highest ranked song on the chart that did not hit #1.
4: I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS - FOREIGNER (1(2)/8/16/21) - Backed by Jennifer Holiday, Tom Bailey of the Thompson Twins, and the New Jersey Mass Choir, this song would finally put them on top of the chart (after coming ever so close with Wf*gLY) in early 1985. Though I preferred the next single from their album Agent Provocateur, "That Was Yesterday", this one was a great one as well!
3: WAKE ME UP BEFORE YOU GO-GO - WHAM (1(3)/8/14/24) - I liked this song back in the day, since it was sort of a teenybopper song, but now, it's just OK. I still like it better than "Careless Whisper", which we'll get to momentarily.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: JUST A GIGOLO/I AIN'T GOT NOBODY - DAVID LEE ROTH - This was Roth's second hit from Crazy From The Heat, a mini-album containing only four songs, all of them cover versions of older hits. I prefer this to Roth's cover of “California Girls”.
2: LIKE A VIRGIN - MADONNA (1(6)/9/14/19) - The very first of a ton of #1 hits for the top act of 1985, although she had to settle for second place on the singles chart. However, I did hear that this song just barely missed winning out for all of 1985.
1: CARELESS WHISPER - WHAM (1(3)/9/17/21) - Well, until the spring of 1985, I loved this song. I know I've told this story before, but for those who missed it, I was at a dance in middle school, and I had been talking with a girl that I liked and had actually danced with her a few times. We had arranged to dance with one another the next slow song. I had to run to the bathroom real quick, and when I got back, I saw her talking to a boy she had recently broken up with. Right then, "Careless Whisper" started and they began dancing together. When I caught her eye, she mouthed, "Sorry." It turned out that they got back together. Ever since then, I've hated this song with a passion. Luckily, this was when the song was done on the charts, so I didn't hear it as much.