FINALLY getting around to this one, folks!
American Top 40: The 80s - July 4, 2020
This week's presentation - July 7, 1984
Droppers:
HELLO - LIONEL RICHIE (40) - This song practically fell out of the countdown from inside the Top 20 the previous week, but fortunately, it still had enough juice left in it. This song became Lionel's third number one hit and of the three, it was definitely my favorite, as well as one of my favorite Lionel Richie songs ever!
OBSCENE PHONE CALLER - ROCKWELL (35) - This song was clearly riding the coattails of Rockwell's debut hit, as it was nowhere near as successful. Of course, Michael Jackson singing back-up on said debut song, along with brother Jermaine, was definitely instrumental in that song's success on the charts. Neither of the two Jackson brothers were featured on this song, which only got as high as #35 and lasted but two weeks on the chart. I thought it was a good song - its bass had a little hint of "I'm Free (Heaven Helps The Man)" by Kenny Loggins - which, by the way, is coming up very soon.
YOU CAN'T GET WHAT YOU WANT (TILL YOU KNOW WHAT YOU WANT) - JOE JACKSON (24) - Possibly THE longest Top 40 song title of 1984! Anyway, this song was a good one (with a great horn section), but I personally preferred "Is She Really Goin' Out With Him" and "Breakin' Us In Two".
WHO'S THAT GIRL - THE EURYTHMICS (21) - While it is true that this is one of my least favorite songs by the Eurythmics, I must say that I do prefer it over the Madonna song of the same title, since the latter was way overplayed (and I never really liked it in the first place). As for the Eurythmics, I think we all know what my favorite song from them is!
40: BOYS DO FALL IN LOVE – ROBIN GIBB (debut) - His second Top 40 solo hit. I preferred this one over the other ("Oh! Darling) by a sizeable margin, as it was a great song! This was indeed quite different from his material with his brothers.
39: PRIME TIME – THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT (34) - Their eighth and final Top 40 hit. This one reminded me of "Some Kind Of Friend" by Barry Manilow, especially in the chorus. It was a pretty good one, though at the same time, I can see why it didn't do as well as most of their other hits.
38: FAREWELL MY SUMMER LOVE – MICHAEL JACKSON (38) - Michael Jackson was doing double duty on the chart this week - he's coming up later in the countdown with his duet with Mick Jagger, "State Of Shock" and here he is with his solo hit from the compilation album of the same title. This one definitely had that classic Motown sound (and that it should, as that was the label the song was on). Given the popularity of Michael's Thriller album over the past year and a half, it's a surprise that this is all the higher the song got on the chart. Must not have been promoted very well. I myself thought it was a good one - I definitely prefer it over the other Jacksons song on this week's chart.
37: ALIBIS – SERGIO MENDES (debut) - This was definitely one of my favorite songs on the countdown this week! It looked like it might have peaked this week, but it did manage to get two spots higher, but that was about it, which I felt was a shame. I guess if you weren't Prince or Madonna, back in 1984, you were pretty much S.O.L. Oh well, this song did do well on my Personal Top 30 chart, peaking at #3 for four weeks, behind "I'm Free (Heaven Helps The Man)" and "No Way Out", both of which are coming up later in the countdown.
36: SHE’S MINE – STEVE PERRY (debut) - This one didn't quite measure up to the success of Perry's initial solo single "Oh Sherrie", which was too bad, because this was one of his best songs ever. Sounds somewhat like one of his other songs, possibly one with Journey, but I can’t think of which one right off the top of my head.
35: IT’S A MIRACLE – CULTURE CLUB (14) - Wow, huge drop there! It was clear that people were getting a little tired of Boy George and the Club. I never used to like this song, but now I think it’s a good one.
34: ROMANCING THE STONE – EDDY GRANT (36) - Eddy Grant had two Top 40 hits - his #2 hit "Electric Avenue" from the summer of 1983 and this one, which was originally intended as the theme song to the film of the same name, got as high as #26 three weeks later. I preferred the first one, as overplayed as it was. This one wasn't bad, but nothing I'd go out of my way to hear.
33: STUCK ON YOU – LIONEL RICHIE (debut) - This was his second county-flavored song (the first was his hit "Sail On" with the Commodores). Not sure if that song ever crossed over to the Country chart, but this one sure did, peaking at #24. Very few songs had ever hit the Top 30 on four different Billboard singles charts.
32: IF EVER YOU’RE IN MY ARMS AGAIN – PEABO BRYSON (37) - His first Top 40 entry was his duet with Roberta Flack, "Tonight I Celebrate My Love", which hit the Top 20 the previous fall. His second and last Top 40 hit was on his own and it went on to hit the Top Ten (and did even better at AC radio, where it spent a month at #1. It is definitely one of his best hits ever!
31: PANAMA – VAN HALEN (39) - 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".
OPTIONAL EXTRA: THE WARRIOR - SCANDAL f/PATTY SMYTH - They hit the Hot 100 five times, but alas, this was the only song of theirs that hit the Top 40. I preferred most of their other songs, but this was a good one as well.
30: SUNGLASSES AT NIGHT – COREY HART (33) - The first Top 40 hit for this Montreal, Canada native, and one of his biggest. I like it, but I preferred most of his other hits.
29: SISTER CHRISTIAN – NIGHT RANGER (23) - Like I've said before, I became the butt of many jokes since this song contains my name, but it is still one of my favorites from them nevertheless. They edited this song, like usual, but at least they didn't cut out the guitar solo in the bridge.
28: I’M FREE (HEAVEN HELPS THE MAN) – KENNY LOGGINS (32) - Here is that Kenny Loggins song I mentioned earlier. He had one of the biggest hits of 1984 with the title track to the Footloose soundtrack and was hoping to duplicate that success with this song, but, in fact, this song only got as high as #22, as Footloose mania began to fade away. That's too bad, as I actually preferred this one over his bigger Footloose hit. Definitely one of my favorite of Kenny's big movie hits.
27: WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT – TINA TURNER (31) - I tell you what, I disliked this song with a passion back in the day, but it's one of those songs that gets better with age. This song would become Turner's first #1 hit a little less than two months later. The song fell short on the R&R chart (two years later, the tables would be turned with her song "Typical Male").
LDD: IT’S A LONG WAY THERE - THE LITTLE RIVER BAND - The breakthrough hit for this Australian band. It fit the LDD, as well (partially because the situation presented happened Down Under).
26: DON’T WALK AWAY – RICK SPRINGFIELD (27) - The second of three hits he charted with from the soundtrack of Hard To Hold. This was probably my favorite of the three, but his first one, "Love Somebody", which had hit the Top Ten earlier in the year would be a close second.
25: NO WAY OUT – JEFFERSON STARSHIP (26) - This was a landmark hit for the band, as it was their final Top 40 hit with Jefferson in the name. On their next hit "We Built This City", of course, they were billed simply as Starship. Anyway, this has always been one of my favorite songs from the band in any of their three incarnations. The guitar riffs at the beginning, as well as in the chorus, remind me of "Separate Ways" by Journey. Oh, one more thing - they actually left the song intact this week, as they seem to edit out either the second verse or the bridge (as well as the guitar solo leading up to it) more often than not. Thanks, Premiere!
24: I CAN DREAM ABOUT YOU – DAN HARTMAN (28) - He'd hit #1 as a part of the Edgar Winter Group in 1973 with "Frankenstein", and returned to the Top Ten on his own with this song. It's another song I hated back in the day, but think it's a pretty good one now, but still, I preferred his next two hits "We Are The Young" and "Second Nature".
23: STAY THE NIGHT - CHICAGO (16) - Based on the way that this song, their first song from the Chicago 17 album, peaked at #16, it looked like it might not be a very big singrfles album, but the next two hits proved that wrong, as they both hit the Top Five - in fact, on the R&R chart, they were both #1s. I preferred those two songs, (especially "Hard Habit To Break") but this was a good one as well.
22: MODERN DAY DELILAH – VAN STEPHENSON (22) - The only Top 40 hit for this Hamilton, Ohio native (and, sadly, it will stay that way, as he passed away back in 2001). Too bad, as this was a good song.
21: STATE OF SHOCK – THE JACKSONS w/MICK JAGGER (30) - This song was credited to the Jacksons even though Michael was pretty much the only one of them doing the singing (I imagine the rest were singing backup, though). Anyway, I never really liked this song. It was a good summertime hit, however.
20: BREAKIN’…THERE’S NO STOPPING US – OLLIE AND JERRY (25) - Breakdancing was indeed all the rage back in 1984! Two songs about it even made the Top 40, including the Irene Cara song that dropped out. I liked this song a little better, but still, I wasn't too crazy about it or the movie it was from. My Dad and I went to see it a few weeks before and both agreed that was two hours of our lives that we'd never get back, LOL!
19: GHOSTBUSTERS – RAY PARKER JR. (29) - This was the theme to one of the most successful movies of 1984. The scandal involving a lawsuit from Huey Lewis & The News is pretty much common knowledge. As for the song, it wasn't bad, but I preferred many other songs from him, both as a solo artist and with his band Raydio.
18: OH SHERRIE – STEVE PERRY (11) - The very first solo hit from the man who was still actively the lead singer of Journey. He would have three more hits from Street Talk, but this was the biggest of the bunch - a great song IMO (though I don't know what cinnamon gum has to do with anything)
17: SAD SONGS (SAY SO MUCH) – ELTON JOHN (20) - The first of three top 40 hits from Breaking Hearts, and the only Top Ten from that album, as well as my favorite of the three (though "Who Wears These Shoes" would be a close second).
16: DANCE HALL DAYS – WANG CHUNG (19) - One of many newcomers to the chart in 1984. This was actually their second hit, and one of theirs that gets the most recurrent airplay (along with "Everybody Have Fun Tonight"). This song was OK, but I preferred most of their other hits.
15: BORDERLINE - MADONNA (12) - I think this is one of her best songs and one of my favorite songs from 1984. It sure showed tenacity on the charts, as it spent 15 weeks on the chart which, back then, was unusually long for a song that peaked at #10.
14: INFATUATION – ROD STEWART (18) - This song has been compared to his Top Five hit from early 1981, "Passion", since both songs sound alike. I preferred the latter of the two songs - this one never really did much for me.
13: DOCTOR! DOCTOR! – THE THOMPSON TWINS (17) - They had just come off of their second and, as it turned out, most successful hit ever "Hold Me Now" and, though it didn't quite measure up to the success of that song, it did well on the chart, just barely missing the Top Ten. Both this song, as well as "Hold Me Now" are among my favorite songs by the "twins".
12: MAGIC – THE CARS (15) - The second of five Top 40 singles from Heartbeat City, and my favorite of the five by a fair margin. Definitely released at the right time of year, as it had that summertime sound to it (I seem to remember the video was very summerlike as well).
11: LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE BOY – DENIECE WILLIAMS (9) - As far as the biggest hit from the Footloose soundtrack goes, this song was a very close second to the title track. I hated this song when it was on the chart, due to all the overplay, but now, it's good to hear it every once in awhile instead of everytime I turn on the radio.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: ROCK ME TONITE - BILLY IDOL - Meh, this one wasn't exactly my favorite from Squier. I preferred songs like "In The Dark" and "Everybody Wants You".
10: LEGS - ZZ TOP (13) - They'd had several chart singles, which Casey mentioned (though I couldn't help but notice that he left out "La Grange", although it did technically chart on AT40 for a week due to a chart error), but this one put them in the Top Ten. It was a pretty good song, but I preferred their Afterburner singles.
9: THE HEART OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL – HUEY LEWIS AND THE NEWS (6) - They seemed to like the #6 spot on the countdown, as three of their five hits from Sports peaked there. This one was even spent a month at that position. I used to really like this song, but overplay tarnished my fascination for this song somewhat, though it's still a pretty good song. My favorite Sports single would be the next one, "If This Is It", which charted later that summer.
8: ALMOST PARADISE…LOVE THEME FROM FOOTLOOSE – MIKE RENO AND ANN WILSON (10) - This, of course, was the love theme from Footloose. One of my favorite singles from the soundtrack!
7: TIME AFTER TIME – CYNDI LAUPER (7) - Wow, kind of unusual for a former #1 song to hesitate on its way down the chart. Anyway, this was possibly THE most successful newcomer of 1984, with four Top Five hits from her debut album. This was the second of them, and possibly my least favorite, since it's somewhat depressing. It's still not bad, though.
6: EYES WITHOUT A FACE – BILLY IDOL (8) - Be truthful now - how many of you, like me, thought he was asking the object of his affection to dinner or a movie? (as in "Hows About A Date"). Definitely a common misheard lyric. This was a good song, though my favorite song by him would probably be "Sweet Sixteen".
5: THE (GAG) REFLEX – DURAN DURAN (1) - I tell you what, I liked many songs from them, but never really got into this one. 1984 just wasn't their best year, IMO (though I did like "New Moon On Monday" - by far my favorite of their songs that charted that year).
4: SELF CONTROL – LAURA BRANIGAN (4) - This was a song that, back in the day, I did not like at all, but now I think it's pretty decent. Still, I prefer a few others from her.
LDD: WEEKEND IN NEW ENGLAND – BARRY MANILOW - Snow and fog seem to be the weather of choice in New England this weekend. No great difference from the weather here in the Great Lakes area. Anyway, as we all know, I liked most of Barry's slow songs, this song being no exception.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: THE GLAMOROUS LIFE - SHEILA E - The first of a handful of hits for the daughter of famed musician Pete Escovedo. It wasn't bad, but I preferred the follow-up, "The Belle Of St. Mark".
3: JUMP (FOR MY LOVE) – THE POINTER SISTERS (5) - I have never liked the title of this song - it's like she's treating her man like a dog, making him do tricks for her to love him. If I was dating someone like that, I'd pack my bags and be outta there!
2: DANCING IN THE DARK – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (2) - This was the first of an incredible seven singles from Springsteen's album Born In The USA, all of which made the Top Ten. This one looked like it might hit #1, but it was leapfrogged this week by a song that would have a long stay at #1. It did hit #1 in R&R and Cash Box, though, so that was good. I liked this song, but preferred a few others, including songs on Born In The USA.
1: WHEN DOVES CRY - PRINCE (3) - THIS is the song responsible for blocking Springsteen from the top spot of the Hot 100. I think that I disliked this song even more than "Self-Conrol" back during its chart run. And guess what - I still dislike it even more. Not sure why, this one just didn't do much for me (though I did like his other Purple Rain singles).