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Post by Hervard on Nov 24, 2022 13:14:21 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s - November 26, 2022
This week's presentation - November 24, 1979
Well, it took a long time, but we finally get the last yet-unplayed 1970s show. I no longer feel that I have to post the show every few years in protest of its being avoided. And, for the first time, I'll get to hear it in full form (as it was up on YouTube in "scoped" form back when I listened to it in 2019 - on a channel that has since been shut down). Anyway, here is my recycled commentary of the show, now rightfully posted:
DIRTY WHITE BOY - FOREIGNER (39) - The first single from Head Games. This wasn't bad, but I preferred the title track, which we'll discuss a little later on. SO GOOD, SO RIGHT - BRENDA RUSSELL (34) - This song definitely had that autumn sound to it, didn't it? Anyway, I had never heard of Brenda Russell (needless to say, we're not related) until “Piano In The Dark” was released about eight years later. Both songs are great – I liked them about the same. VICTIM OF LOVE - ELTON JOHN (31) - One of several of Elton's disco songs. It was pretty good, but definitely not one of his best. I'LL NEVER LOVE THIS WAY AGAIN - DIONNE WARWICK (22) - This was Warwick's comeback hit (since she'd been absent from the chart since late 1974), and it became one of her biggest hits, and deservedly so, as it was one of her best songs ever, IMO. COME TO ME - FRANCE JOLI (15) - Hard to believe that this song was moving up the week before. One of the highest such songs that have fallen out of the Top 40 the following week (the "champion" of that would be "Love Is In Control" by Donna Summer). Speaking of Donna Summer, this song sounded like something that the queen of disco would record, especially the way that it starts off slow and then picks up the pace. It's a good song. DON'T STOP 'TIL YOU GET ENOUGH - MICHAEL JACKSON (13) - His first of four Top Ten hits from Off The Wall. Alas, I'm not a big fan of this one at all – definitely my least favorite single from the album, as well as one of my least favorites from him overall. At least his next song, “Rock With You”, my second favorite from the album, also hit #1 (and spent much longer up there to boot!).
LW#3: NO MORE TEARS (ENOUGH IS ENOUGH) - BARBRA STREISAND & DONNA SUMMER LW#2: DIM ALL THE LIGHTS – DONNA SUMMER LW#1: STILL – THE COMMODORES 40: PRETTY GIRLS – MELISSA MANCHESTER (debut) - This song only lasted two weeks on the chart, so it definitely wasn't one of her bigger hits. I thought it was a good song, though. Too bad it didn't climb any higher than #39. I do, however, prefer a few others from her. 39: THIS IS IT – KENNY LOGGINS (debut) - This song ranked at #30 on the Top 100 of 1980, an unusually high position for a song that had missed the Top Ten, but its chart longevity helped it achieve its position. The song wasn't bad, but I preferred many others from him, including most of his movie hits. 38: IF YOU WANT IT - NITEFLYTE (debut) – Another song that was on the chart for only two weeks – the same two weeks as the Melissa Manchester song above. It wasn't bad – pretty much your typical 70s R&B slow jam.. 37: CONFUSION – ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (37) - Wow, classic example here of "Third Single Syndrome" - after two Top Ten hits, this one couldn't push past #37. It's a pretty good one, but far from their best. 36: D@MNED IF I DO – THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT (38) - They were one of several acts on the chart this week that didn't see much chart action in the 1970s, but would improve in the 1980s. This was their very first Top 30 hit, but they would hit the Top 20 in 1981 and then had their first and only Top Ten hit the following year. Not sure what my favorite song by them would be, but this just might be a contender, as it was a great one! 35: ROCK WITH YOU – MICHAEL JACKSON (debut) – Casey mentioned that Jackson was the first artist to sing on four #1 records before he became a teenager. He was only eleven when those songs, all by the Jackson 5, went to #1 in 1970. This song would become his third solo #1. This one used to be mediocre IMO, but now I think it's a great one - my second favorite hit from Off The Wall behind "She's Out Of My Life". 34: JANE – JEFFERSON STARSHIP (debut) - This was their first Top 40 hit with Mickey Thomas singing lead after Marty Balin and Grace Slick had left the band. It was a good one, but I preferred many of their others. 33: I NEED A LOVER – JOHN COUGAR (35) - Here's another act whose chart success in the 1970 was mediocre at best, but excelled in the 1980s. This was Cougar's breakthrough hit, and it got only one spot higher - but by 1982, he was knocking them dead, with two of the biggest hits of that year. This song was pretty good, though - I'm kind of surprised this one didn't peak higher. ARCHIVES: WELCOME BACK – JOHN SEBASTIAN - This song wasted absolutely no time hitting the top and it seemed like a logical assumption that this song would spend several weeks on top but the top part of the chart was just too strong around that time for any song to spend more than a single week on top. Nevertheless, this was, IMO, one of the best TV show themes of all time. OPTIONAL EXTRA: COWARD OF THE COUNTY - KENNY ROGERS - Ah, the story about Tommy (aka "Yellow") putting the Gatlin Boys in their place. A great song indeed, but I still prefer many others from him. 32: WE DON’T TALK ANYMORE – CLIFF RICHARD (40) - He was definitely much more successful over in England, his home country, but he did have a decent amount of success here in the states, with nine Top 40 hits, three of which hit the Top Ten, including this one, which just might have been his most successful - pointwise, that is; it peaked a spot lower than "Devil Woman", but spent two more weeks in the Top 40. I liked most of his hits (that I've heard), this one included. 31: CRUISIN’ – SMOKEY ROBINSON (36) - This one sounds very dated, even for late 1979, but not bad. Still, I preferred the Huey Lewis/Gwyneth Paltrow cover from 2000. 30: HEAD GAMES – FOREIGNER (debut) - As "Dirty White Boy" steps off the chart, Foreigner doesn't miss a beat, as the title track to their third studio album hit the chart. The album wasn't quite as successful as many of their others, in terms of singles (as neither of the two Top 40 hits from this album hit the Top Ten). No matter; their next album would make up for that, with two Top Ten hits, including the infamous Wf*gLY, which spent ten weeks in the runner-up position. Anyway, this was a great song - by far my favorite of the two Head Games hits. LDD: WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS - QUEEN - During most of this song's chart run, many radio stations were playing "We Will Rock You" with this one. In fact, I'm fairly sure every radio station I listened to were playing both songs and never one or the other. Of course, I prefer this one by far - one of my all-time favorites by Queen! It fit the LDD quite well. 29: I WANT YOU TONIGHT – PABLO CRUISE (33) - I liked most of their Top 40 hits, including this song, which would go on to become the third of the band's Top 20 hits. 28: DREAMING - BLONDIE (30) - Their debut single, "Heart Of Glass" may have hit #1, but they seemed to have a little trouble matching that success, as the next two songs failed to even hit the Top 20. This song was pretty good; I preferred it over the annoying "One Way Or Another", but the song was not quite as good as their next Top 40 after this song, "Call Me". 27: BETTER LOVE NEXT TIME – DR. HOOK (32) - This song may have only got as high as #12, but it placed respectably high on the 1980 year-ender (#53, to be exact). And, I think we all know it's my all-time favorite song from them. Funny story about how they dressed down to their birthday suits as an interview gag made them instant stars in Scandinavia! 26: DREAM POLICE – CHEAP TRICK (27) - The first single from the album of the same title, which was on its way up the album chart, en route to #6. It was a pretty good song, IMO, but I preferred others from them, including the follow-up to this song. 25: RAINBOW CONNECTION – KERMIT THE FROG (26) - From the Muppet Movie, which remains my favorite of their movies (though somewhat by default, as the only other one I saw was "The Great Muppet Caper", and even that one was ruined by a screaming kid throughout much of the first half an hour - as after he finally calmed the hell down, I was too agitated to enjoy the rest of the movie, due to the stupidity of the parents just sitting there letting him carry on instead of taking him outside until he calmed down). Anyway, I remember this song both from its movie, as well as choir class, where this was usually part of our spring concerts. It was a pretty good song. 24: PLEASE DON’T LEAVE – LAUREN WOOD (25) - Michael McDonald is clearly heard on backup vocals on this song, as he had done on many others around this time while the Doobie Brothers were between albums. As for this song, it was your typical yacht rock song from the late-70s, but, as you already know all too well, I really liked that kind of music! 23: HALF THE WAY – CRYSTAL GAYLE (28) - This song went a little further than its title suggested, peaking at #15. It's a good song, like most of the songs I've heard from her, including Country and AC only hits. ARCHIVES: BOOGIE FEVER – THE SYLVERS - This was the first of two Top Five hits for this family group from Memphis and the biggest of the bunch. This song, which was played as the second Optional Extra, was also my favorite from them. 22: THIS WON’T LAST FOREVER – MICHAEL JOHNSON (19) - Originally written and performed by Bill LaBounty in 1978, Michael Johnson, with a few lyrical revisions from the original, did a great remake! This was easily my favorite of his three Top 40 hits, as well as one of my favorite songs of 1979! Too bad it didn't get any higher than #19. 21: GOOD GIRLS DON’T – THE KNACK (11) - Well, they never quite equalled the success of "My Sharona" (then again, given how massive that song was, that would be very tough). This song was definitely my favorite of the two, as it was nowhere near as overplayed - in fact, I don't even remember hearing it on the radio back in the day. 20: COOL CHANGE – THE LITTLE RIVER BAND (24) - They were really on a roll, with the fourth of six Top Ten hits in a row. Of those, this is possibly my second favorite from LRB, behind "Lady", from earlier that year. 19: DO THAT TO ME ONE MORE TIME – THE CAPTAIN & TENNILLE (29) - As we probably already know all too well, this is far and away my favorite song from them! Glad that it was as big a hit as it was! 18: IF YOU REMEMBER ME – CHRIS THOMPSON & NIGHT (20) - The theme from the movie "The Champ", which contains possibly THE most heartbreaking scene ever in filmdom (and if you've ever seen the movie, I'm sure you know which scene I speak of!). As for the song, it's a great one - possibly my favorite song from Barry Scott's Lost 45's. 17: LADIES NIGHT – KOOL & THE GANG (21) - Of course, my favorite Kool & The Gang song was about two months away from charting, but this one wasn't bad either. The beginning reminds me a little of "Car Wash" by Rose Royce. 16: RISE – HERB ALPERT (6) - Instrumental songs were becoming fewer and further between at this point, but there were still a few of them charting – and this one went all the way to the top. I'm glad it did, because it was a great one! It also set a chart first, in that Alpert became the first artist to hit #1 with both a vocal track and an instrumental! 15: TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME - SUPERTRAMP (17) - I liked pretty much the whole Breakfast In America album, except for one or two songs. This was one of the good ones, IMO. 14: BROKEN HEARTED ME – ANNE MURRAY (16) - Even though this song's chart run was mainly in 1979 (and its Top 40 run didn't even last into 1980), this one, along with many others that peaked in late 1979, ranked on the 1980 year-ender - in fact, it was the song that kicked it off. Anyway, this was one of my favorite Anne Murray songs of all-time, along with most of her other songs from the late-70s and early-80s - definitely her heyday, IMO. 13: YOU’RE ONLY LONELY – J.D. SOUTHER (18) - This was his only solo Top 40 hit (his other entry was his duet with James Taylor, a little over a year later). Anyway, that's too bad he didn't have more chart hits, because both songs were great. I preferred this one. 12: ESCAPE – RUPERT HOLMES (23) - Wow, this song makes the biggest move on the chart two weeks in a row! It was pretty clear where this song was going! This was one of two of his two Top Ten hits. Of course, I preferred the other one, but this one wasn't too bad. Has sort of a cheese factor, but it's not as annoying as the other pina colada song from the guy in the hat. ARCHIVES: SILLY LOVE SONGS – WINGS - This was the aforementioned biggest song of 1976, spending five non-consecutive weeks at the top. I remember this song quite well, but don't like it quite as much as I did back in the day (most likely due to overplay). OPTIONAL EXTRA: THIRD TIME LUCKY - FOGHAT - I was never a huge fan of them, but this one was actually a great one! 11: SHIPS – BARRY MANILOW (12) - Interesting how this song, written by Ian Hunter, depicted the reunion between Barry and his father, who came back into his life after thirty years. Like most of Manilow's hits, I thought this was a great one - my favorite of his two 1979 hits. 10: POP MUZIK - M (10) - I think you all know what I think about this one. But you know what, I realize a lot of people like it (hey, it went to number one, after all), and that's great. It's just not my cup of tea, that's all. 9: TUSK – FLEETWOOD MAC f/USC TROJAN MARCHING BAND (8) – That would be how the song would be credited on today's charts, anyway. Ah yes, those were the good old days where you had to do more than cut a fart to have your name featured on a song's credits. Anyway, this song wasted absolutely no time hitting the Top Ten and it looked like they were number one bound, but oddly enough, the song peaked at #8 in only its fifth week on. Probably because it was such a weird song. I myself wasn't a huge fan of it, due to how odd, as well as repetitive,as it was. I preferred the next release from the album of the same name. 8: SEND ONE YOUR LOVE – STEVIE WONDER (14) - The first of two hits from Wonder's album Journey Through The Secret Life Of Plants, and the only one to make the Top 40 (I guess he mainly concentrated on album sales instead of singles for this one). I liked this song a lot - has sort of a hypnotic effect to it. 7: YOU DECORATED MY LIFE – KENNY ROGERS (7) - I liked most of his Top 40 hits, but this wasn't one of them. I mean, it's tolerable, but nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to. 6: PLEASE DON’T GO – K.C. & THE SUNSHINE BAND (9) - Ugh! Please DO go and take this annoying whinefest with you! Thanks in advance! 5: HEARTACHE TONIGHT – THE EAGLES (5) - Wow, people sure got tired of this one fast! The week before, in its seventh week on the Hot 100, it was already on its way down (although it did hold in place this week). Nevertheless, it looked like the fans decided it wasn't such a great song after all! I myself never really liked it in the first place - one of my least favorite songs from them (and certainly my least favorite of their number ones). LDD: LODI – CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL - This song was the namesake of the city in California where the author, who lived in the Philipines, took a vacation to and had a great time, meeting a lot of friends over her summer vacation. 4: DIM ALL THE LIGHTS – DONNA SUMMER (2) - As I mentioned earlier, disco was burning out, but Donna Summer, an established artist, was still going strong. I did prefer this over her duet with Barbra Streisand, but still, it wasn't one of my favorite songs from her. 3: STILL – THE COMMODORES (1) - This song might have only hit #1 for a single week, but it definitely wasn't in any hurry to head down the chart - it held here at #3 for three weeks and actually moved back into the runner-up position the following week, looking like it could possibly return to the top, but that was not to be. Anyway, I used to dislike this song due to how depressing it was, but now I think it's a pretty good song. Still (no pun intended), I preferred their other fall, 1979 hit. 2: BABE - STYX (4) - Since this band was from Chicago, they got tons of airplay on WLS, so I heard this song many, many times back in the day, and the song hasn't lost its luster at all. One of my favorites from them! 1: NO MORE TEARS – BARBRA STREISAND & DONNA SUMMER (3) - This was the first time in the rock era that a duet between two women hit the top. Oddly enough, the two women singing on this song were in a tie for second place with the most #1 hits, so it did not break the tie when it hit #1. Anyway, I used to hate this song with a passion, but now, I don't mind it quite as much. Still, I could take it or leave it.
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Post by Hervard on Nov 24, 2022 13:14:33 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - November 26, 2022
This week's presentation - November 26, 1983
Droppers: KING OF PAIN – THE POLICE (40) - The follow-up to their ad nauseum played song that came before. This song had just recently spent two weeks at #1 on the Radio & Records chart, but stopped at #3 on the Hot 100, which was an indication that more fans were buying the Synchronicity album than the singles at this point (which, of course, was good news). LOVE IS A STRANGER - EURYTHMICS (31) - They hit #1 nearly three months before with their first hit "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)", and they were shooting for two. However, this song did not even make the Top 20 and I, along with others, I'm sure, figured this song was riding on the coattails of the first song and they would never chart again, but they recovered nicely in early 1984 and ended up having a decent string of hits. This song was not bad, but definitely not one of my favorites from them. IF ANYONE FALLS – STEVIE NICKS (22) - The second hit from The Wild Heart album. Strange that none of the singles, even the biggest one, "Stand Back", get much recurrent airplay. This would be my favorite single from the album. TRUE – SPANDAU BALLET (21) - 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.
40: INVISIBLE HANDS – KIM CARNES (debut) - She'd hit the Top Ten three times, but had not been able to do so since her powerhouse hit "Bette Davis Eyes". This was all the higher this song got on the charts. It was not bad, but I preferred many of her other hits. 39: TIME WILL REVEAL - DEBARGE (debut) - The third Top 40 hit for this R&B family act from Grand Rapids, Michigan. I always thought it was a woman singing the lead vocals, but it was actually the falsetto of El DeBarge. This was my favorite song from them up to this point - a great wintertime love song, indeed! 38: READ ‘EM AND WEEP – BARRY MANILOW (debut) - Definitely one of the best balladeers ever! This was one of my all-time faves from him! I loved the theatrical sound, compliments of Jim Steinman. 37: BREAK MY STRIDE – MATTHEW WILDER (debut) - I used to hate this song with a passion, but it's one of those songs that gets better with age. Now, I think it's a great one. 36: JUST GOT LUCKY - JOBOXERS (36) - Given that this song was representative of the new wave music that was charting back in the early-mid-80s, I'm surprised that this song only got as high as #36. Then again, they weren't a well-established band - in fact, this was their only Top 40 hit. I thought it was a great song. 35: I GUESS THAT’S WHY THE CALL IT THE BLUES – ELTON JOHN (38) - A song that might be credited as "Elton John featuring Stevie Wonder", as the latter does an awesome harmonica solo in this song! Too bad they edited that part out. 34: THE SMILE HAS LEFT YOUR EYES - ASIA (35) - They were somewhat of a flash in the pan, as they only had three Top 20 hits, in the span of slightly over a year. Unfortunately, this song would be their last Top 40 hit, and didn't even hit the Top 30. That's too bad, as it was by far my favorite of their four Top 40 entries. 33: UNDERCOVER OF THE NIGHT – THE ROLLING STONES (39) - They had been charting for twenty years, but they definitely still had their touch, as this song hit the Top Ten. I thought it was pretty good, but far from being one of my favorites from them. 32: MIRROR MAN – THE HUMAN LEAGUE (30) - I've heard that this song was about Adam Ant, who had hit the chart earlier this year with the rockabilly song "Goody Two Shoes". Anyway, this was my second favorite song from Human League, behind "Don't You Want Me". 31: HOW MANY TIMES CAN WE SAY GOODBYE – DIONNE WARWICK AND LUTHER VANDROSS (27) - These two great R&B artists should have done more duets, since they sounded great together on this one. One of my favorites by both artists involved! OPTIONAL EXTRA: KARMA CHAMELEON - CULTURE CLUB - Meh, I'm not a big fan of this one. They were starting to get old at this point. 30: MODERN LOVE – DAVID BOWIE (19) - Somehow, I never really cared for this song. I preferred his two other big 1983 hits, but I think we all know that my two favorites from him are his two 1987 hits. 29: SOULS – RICK SPRINGFIELD (33) - Somehow, I never really cared for this song. I preferred his two other big 1983 hits, but I think we all know that my two favorites from him are his two 1987 hits. 28: TENDER IS THE NIGHT – JACKSON BROWNE (25) - This was the follow-up to his Top 20 hit "Lawyers In Love" and his tenth Top 40 hit overall. It was so/so, but one of my least favorite of his hits. LDD: THREE TIMES A LADY – THE COMMODORES - This song spent two weeks atop the Hot 100 (and spent four weeks at #2 after falling out) - all of which they spent at #1 on R&R, for a total of six weeks there. I loved this song - so did a lot of other people, as it became a very popular LDD song (and was played at many wedding receptions as well). 27: OWNER OF A LONELY HEART - YES (37) - They were more of an album act than anything, but had a handful of chart hits and this, of course, was their biggest. It was their only Top Ten, but a big one it was, as it went all the way to the top. 26: AIN’T NOBODY – RUFUS w/CHAKA KHAN (29) - This was Rufus' final Top 40 hit, but Chaka Khan would go on to have a few more hits. I liked this one - definitely one of my favorite of her hits with Rufus. 25: MAJOR TOM (COMING HOME) – PETER SCHILLING (28) - Is it me, or did they more often than not cut the second verse from this song? They sure did this week. Anyway, I liked this song - sounded a little like the Moody Blues, especially at the end. 24: IN A BIG COUNTRY – BIG COUNTRY (26) - Meh, I was never a big fan of this song. 23: SEND HER MY LOVE - JOURNEY (23) - Meh, I was never a big fan of this song. 22: SYNCHRONICITY II – THE POLICE (34) - This song wasn't bad, but I can see why it didn't hit the Top Ten like the other singles from Synchronicity. 21: TWIST OF FATE – OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (32) - The Police song above took the biggest jump of the week, but this one came very close. This song was the first of two Top 40 hits from the lesser known Travolta/Newton-John movie Two Of A Kind. I liked this song, but I preferred the next hit, "Livin' In Desperate Times". OPTIONAL EXTRA: THAT'S ALL - GENESIS - Their first six songs all missed the Top Ten, but this one would start a long streak of Top Ten hits (that is, speaking in terms of Top 40 hits; their next hits "Illegal Alien" and "Taking It All Too Hard" also hit the Hot 100, but peaked before hitting the Top 40). As for this song, I liked it, but it's definitely not their best. 20: MAKING LOVE OUT OF NOTHING AT ALL – AIR SUPPLY (16) - One of two songs composed by Jim Steinman in the Top Twenty this week - and a great one at that. Not sure which one I prefer (although a third song written and composed by Steinman, "Read 'Em And Weep" by Barry Manilow, back at #38, tops both of them). 19: TONIGHT I CELEBRATE MY LOVE – PEABO BRYSON AND ROBERTA FLACK (18) - This was one of several duets from them, though it was the only one that charted on AT40 (the second, "You're Looking Like Love To Me" just missed, in early 1983). I preferred that song, though this one was a great one as well. 18: DELIRIOUS - PRINCE (11) - Meh, I'm not a fan of this one. Give me "Little Red Corvette" any day! 17: TELEFONE (LONG DISTANCE LOVE AFFAIR) – SHEENA EASTON (15) - This song was somewhat of a departure from her more "innocent" songs like "Morning Train", "Modern Girl" and "For Your Eyes Only" (but her naughtiest song yet was about a year away from being released). As for this song, it was a great one - possibly my favorite of her upbeat hits. 16: WHY ME – IRENA CARA (20) - This song didn't quite measure up to the success of her hit from earlier in the year, but that one would be tough to match, as it was a big #1 hit, but I'm wondering if this song would have done better if released in the summer, since it definitely has that summertime sound to it. Anyway, I thought this was a great song - not sure if I prefer this or "Flashdance". 15: ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER – THE FIXX (8) - This song is very overplayed. What's sad is that this is the only song of theirs that gets any kind of recurrent airplay while other great songs of theirs, like "Saved By Zero" and "Secret Separation", are ignored. 14: UNION OF THE SNAKE – DURAN DURAN (24) - The first Top 40 hit from Seven And The Ragged Tiger - the song wasn't bad, but I preferred their next hit, "New Moon On Monday". 13: SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER – THE MOTELS (9) - They had four Top 40 hits, and I liked all of them. The following week, this one would peak at #9, like their first hit "Only The Lonely". I think that we all know that my favorite song from them was "Remember The Nights. 12: TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART – BONNIE TYLER (6) - The other Steinman-composed song in the upper half of the chart this week, and this one ended up going all the way (in fact, it blocked the other one from the #1 spot!) As I've mentioned before, I liked both songs about the same - both are great ones! LDD: OPEN ARMS - JOURNEY - This was a song that became quite a popular LDD request (in fact, it was used for that very purpose on the 1982 show just two weeks ago). The song spent six weeks in the runner-up position, but couldn't seem to overtake songs like "Centerfold" and "I Love Rock & Roll". The song, however, did make it to the top of the R&R chart - and spent seven weeks at #1, becoming R&R's top hit of 1982 in the process. Anyway, I was previously burned out on this song, but now that I don't hear it every day, I've started liking it again. OPTIONAL EXTRA: RUNNING WITH THE NIGHT - LIONEL RICHIE - The second single from possibly Richie's biggest album ever - it was much better than the first single (like basically anything from him), but I preferred the next release, "Hello", which would hit #1 a few months later. 11: CHURCH OF THE POISON MIND – CULTURE CLUB (17) - This song's OK, but, as I mentioned earlier, this is about when their musical quality began taking a dive. 10: P.Y.T. (PRETTY YOUNG THING) – MICHAEL JACKSON (13) - With this song, Michael further secured his record of most Top Tens from a single album, after breaking the record a few months before with five. And he wasn't done yet - he would release one more song from the album - the title track, which would hit the chart a few months later, setting a record for the most charted hits from a single album - and all of them hit the Top Ten to boot. This one just barely made it, peaking at #10 for a single week (which some people have mentioned sounds suspicious). As for the song, I was never a big fan of it - my least favorite of the Thriller singles. 9: CRUMBLIN’ DOWN – JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP (14) - This was his first hit with his real last name tacked on the end. I thought it was mediocre at best. I honestly thought at first, now that he added his real last name, that his musical quality was going to start going down. Fortunately, that wasn’t true, as his next few hits were good ones. 8: HEART AND SOUL – HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (12) - It was still somewhat early in his/their career, but Sports would be one of his/their biggest singles album, spawning five Top 20 hits. This was the first of them and it was a good one, but I preferred "If This Is It". 7: SAY IT ISN’T SO – DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (10) - One of two new songs on their Greatest Hits album, Rock 'N Soul, Part 1. The song wasn't bad, but definitely far from their best. 6: LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD – PAT BENATAR (7) - Well which is it - a stranger or a battlefield? Those are two completely different things! But seriously, this song became her second Top Ten hit this week (yes, I also thought she'd had more Top Ten hits up to this point). It was OK, but one of my least favorite songs by her. 5: CUM ON FEEL THE NOIZE – QUIET RIOT (5) - I was never a huge heavy metal fan, but for some reason, I loved this song! I would crank it up whenever it came on the radio. 4: ISLANDS IN THE STREAM – KENNY ROGERS W/ DOLLY PARTON (4) - I wasn't too much for this song (and I don't think I need to tell you my opinion on Ghetto Supastar!), but I've grown to like this song a lot better than I have over the past few years. The title of this song made for a very funny joke about Dolly Parton taking a bath. 3: UPTOWN GIRL – BILLY JOEL (3) - Joel's salute to Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons. It was a good song (I did prefer it over "Tell Her About It"), but I preferred a few other songs from "An Innocent Man", including album cuts. OPTIONAL EXTRA: HOLIDAY - MADONNA - This was the one that started it all off for the "material girl". It was a pretty good song, but I liked her next hit "Borderline", which was her first Top Ten hit. 2: SAY SAY SAY – PAUL McCARTNEY AND MICHAEL JACKSON (2) - Definitely one of the songs I associate the most with the winter of 1983, as the song was #1 for nearly half of the season. I was burned out on it for quite awhile, but now, it's good to hear it every now and again. 1: ALL NIGHT LONG (ALL NIGHT) – LIONEL RICHIE (1) - This was the first single from "Can't Slow Down" that I mentioned earlier. The song may have been his biggest hit, but not in my book it wasn't! Of course, the overplay may have had something to do with it, but I don't know; I never really liked it in the first place.
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Post by mrjukebox on Nov 26, 2022 10:07:54 GMT -5
Hi,Hervard-It's Kenny Loggins,not Kenny Koggins.
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Post by mrjukebox on Nov 26, 2022 11:53:09 GMT -5
Listening to "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)",personal ads were once a popular way to meet someone-With the advent of dating apps,personal ads are now a thing of the past.
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Post by Hervard on Nov 27, 2022 10:38:44 GMT -5
Hi,Hervard-It's Kenny Loggins,not Kenny Koggins. Mistake on the part of the oldradioshows website.
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Post by mrjukebox on Nov 27, 2022 16:28:46 GMT -5
"Just Got Lucky" by The Jo Boxers appeared on the soundtrack of the 2005 movie "The 40 Year Old Virgin".
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Post by mga707 on Nov 27, 2022 16:42:48 GMT -5
"Just Got Lucky" by The Jo Boxers appeared on the soundtrack of the 2005 movie "The 40 Year Old Virgin". How appropriate!
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Post by Hervard on Dec 2, 2022 13:42:58 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s - December 3, 2022
This week's presentation - December 2, 1978
Droppers: ON THE SHELF - DONNY & MARIE OSMOND (38) - Their last Top 40 hit, as well as the only one that was not a cover of a previous Top 40 hit. From the film starring the brother/sister duo, this song sounded somewhat like a discofied version of "Killing Me Softly With His Song". WHENEVER I CALL YOU "FRIEND" - KENNY LOGGINS & STEVIE NICKS (35) - People seemed to get tired of this one quickly, as this song was in the Top Ten two weeks before, then took a huge drop, and falls out of the Top 40 this week. Too bad, as I really liked this song - definitely one of my favorites from both artists involved! KISS YOU ALL OVER - EXILE (33) - Another song that was in the Top Ten two weeks prior, and took a huge, 26-spot dive, like the Kenny/Stevie duet just above. This one always reminds me of a funny scene from Happy Gilmore when he somehow ends up sleeping with an older woman. EVERYBODY NEEDS LOVE - STEPHEN BISHOP (32) - This one sounded a little like "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Diana Ross, didn't it? It was a good song, but I preferred "On And On".
40: INSTANT REPLAY - DAN HARTMAN (debut) - The first of two Top 40 singles from their album Pieces Of Eight, and my favorite of the two, both with Tommy Shaw on lead vocals (the other one was "Renegade", from the following spring). 39: THERE'LL NEVER BE - SWITCH (debut) - This was pretty much your typical 70s slow jam - not bad. 38: EVERY 1'S A WINNER - HOT CHOCOLATE (debut) - Meh, not a big fan of this one, or them in general. EXTRA: YESTERDAY - BEATLES - This was used as the first hour Optional Extra. The story to tie in with this song was how Paul McCartney has been the most successful songwriter. Apparently, every year since 1963, there has been at least one song written by McCartney that sold a million copies. This was the most successful song he has ever written, as it has been covered many, many times over. I've heard a few of those, but none of them held a candle to this version - one of my favorite Beatles songs of all time! 37: RUN FOR HOME - LINDISFARNE (39) - The only Top 40 hit for this English folk rock band. Pretty decent song. 36: BLUE COLLAR MAN - STYX (21) - The first of two Top 40 singles from their album Pieces Of Eight, and my favorite of the two, both with Tommy Shaw on lead vocals (the other one was "Renegade", from the following spring). 35: THIS IS LOVE - PAUL ANKA (38) - After charting for two decades, Paul was still hitting the charts, although not quite as strong. This was his next-to-last Top 40 hit. It was a good one, though I preferred said final Top 40 entry, "Hold Me 'Til The Morning Comes". 34: NEW YORK GROOVE - ACE FREHLEY (debut) - I heard somewhere that he has a brother who's an author, whose all time best-seller is "The Yellow River". As for this song, it was so/so, but nothing special. 33: ONE NATION UNDER A GROOVE - FUNKADELIC (28) - Meh, typical roof-raising R&B - you know my opinion on this kind of music... 32: PROMISES - ERIC CLAPTON (40) - For some reason, I have just never been a fan of this song at all. 31: DANCE, DISCO HEAT - SYLVESTER (19) - This song spent six weeks at #1 on Billboard's Disco chart, and didn't do too bad on the Hot 100 either, peaking at #19. It was OK, but not quite my cup of tea. ARCHIVES: JUST MY IMAGINATION - TEMPTATIONS - Their third of four number one hits on the Hot 100 (yes, I also thought they had more). Of their two #1 hits during the 1970s, this was my favorite by a decent margin (as I didn't really care for "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone"). 30: I'M EVERY WOMAN - CHAKA KHAN (34) - This song was a Top 40 hit twice - the second being by Whitney Houston. I like both versions about the same, since they sounded very much alike. 29: WE'VE GOT TONIGHT - BOB SEGER (37) - I'll tell you what, the thing about Seger's Stranger In Town album is that they seemed to go with the weakest songs. So many great un-released songs, like "Till It Shines" and "Famous Final Scene" and they go with lame stuff like this and "Old Time Rock & Roll". They did release "Still The Same", the best song on the entire album, so that was great, but after that... 28: HOT CHILD IN THE CITY - NICK GILDER (18) - One of two consecutive #1 hits produced by Mike Chapman. This song, of course, set the record for the longest climb to #1 - a record it held by itself until a little less than a year later. It was a good song - had that summertime feel to it. Had Gilder known how long it was going to take to reach the top, I wonder if he would have released it several months earlier. 27: PART TIME LOVE - ELTON JOHN (30) - It definitely shows that Bernie Taupin didn't work with him on this one, as this is somewhat of a departure from his usual music style. Nevertheless, I rather liked this song. 26: YOU NEVER DONE IT LIKE THAT - CAPTAIN & TENNILLE (10) - Of course, love didn't keep them together and they got divorced several years back (and then Daryl Dragon passed away about three years back). As for this song, it definitely wasn't their best, but it's still better than the barf-inducing "Muskrat Love". EXTRA: OVER MY HEAD - FLEETWOOD MAC - The story to tie in with this song was that it was from the slowest rising #1 album of the Rock Era - Fleetwood Mac's self-titled album that debuted on the chart in early August, 1975 but didn't arrive at the top spot until early September, 1976. Not sure whether or not that record has been broken yet or not. The timing of this extra was somewhat weird, as Christine McVie, who sang lead on this song, passed away earlier this week. 25: THE POWER OF GOLD - DAN FOGELBERG & TIM WEISBERG (27) - You would never guess that Fogelberg was a balladeer, as his first two hits were upbeat songs (though this was more MOR, but still not his style that would become his trademark in the 1980s). Anyway, I think Fogelberg did just as well with any style of music that he did, as I liked this one. 24: OOH BABY BABY - LINDA RONSTADT (29) - One of many covers that Linda charted with, in this case, the classic by the Miracles. It was pretty good - I liked both versions about the same. 23: READY TO TAKE A CHANCE AGAIN - BARRY MANILOW (11) - Well, he indeed took a chance earlier in the year with an upbeat song, which proved to be worthwhile, as it hit the Top Ten. This time around, he returned to his usual ballad style with a song that came close to hitting the Top Ten, but only got as high as #11. Such a shame, as it's a great song - one of his best 70s hits. 22: HOW YOU GONNA SEE ME NOW - ALICE COOPER (26) - One of his slower numbers that I generally prefer over his heavy metal songs. However, this possibly my least favorite of his ballads, though it was still pretty good. 21: DON'T WANT TO LIVE WITHOUT IT - PABLO CRUISE (24) - This was the follow-up to their big hit "Love Will Find A Way" (which has to be the song of theirs that receives the most recurrent airplay). It was a pretty good song, but I preferred that other song, along with a few others by them, such as "Whatcha Gonna Do" and "Cool Love". ARCHIVES: JOY TO THE WORLD - THREE DOG NIGHT - My absolute favorite song from Three Dog Night! Glad that it wound up as the top song of 1971! OPTIONAL EXTRA: I WAS MADE FOR DANCIN' - LEIF GARRETT - This was his first original song to hit the Top 40, and it apparently worked, as this was his first Top Ten as well. The song was OK, but I actually prefer his two remakes. 20: SWEET LIFE - PAUL DAVIS (22) - A beautiful song about a couple who just had a baby and it reminds them of what a great life they have, regardless of the fact that their fantasies of being rich and living in a castle have yet to come true. One of my favorite Paul Davis songs. 19: CHANGE OF HEART - ERIC CARMEN (25) - This was his final hit of the 70s. It wasn't bad, but I preferred his first two singles, as well as "Make Me Lose Control", from nearly ten years later. 18: HOLD THE LINE - TOTO (23) - This was the song that started off a very successful chart career for this band from Los Angeles. It was pretty good, but definitely not their best. LDD: SO INTO YOU - ATLANTA RHYTHM SECTION - Sort of a creepy, stalker type of LDD. As for the song, it was a great one, like most of their songs IMO. 17: STRAIGHT ON - HEART (20) - One of two Top 40 hits from their album Dog And Butterfly. It was a good one, but I preferred the title track, which I felt was way underrated. 16: TOO MUCH HEAVEN - BEE GEES (31) - The band was gearing up to release their first album since their collaboration on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack and the first single was already blazing a path to #1. I liked most of their slow songs (from 1975 on, that is), but this is possibly my least favorite of them. Not sure; I just have never gotten into this song. 15: Y.M.C.A. - VILLAGE PEOPLE (17) - As I've said before, I used to like this song, but it, along with the popular dance to it, got run into the ground big time. Now I generally reach for the station tuner when it comes on - except for on countdown shows, of course. 14: ALIVE AGAIN - CHICAGO (15) - This was from the Chicago 12 (Hot Streets) album, their last to generate any Top 40 hits during the 70s; they'd have to wait for Chicago 16 to put them back on the charts (at least they got a #1 hit out of that deal). This, along with the next hit, "No Tell Lover" both peaked at #14. I liked both songs, but preferred this one. 13: YOU NEEDED ME - ANNE MURRAY (5) - Her first hit in over four years, but it was worth the wait, as this song made it all the way to the top. This was one of her all-time best, ranking right up there with her three 1979 Top 40 hits, as well as her two from 1980. Indeed, 1978- 1980 was her heyday, especially on my Personal Top 30 chart. 12: STRANGE WAY - FIREFALL (14) - Try as they might, they just couldn't hit the Top Ten more than once. This, as well as their song from the year before, "Just Remember I Love You", both narrowly missed the Top Ten, peaking at #11. This wasn't bad, but I preferred most of their other singles. 11: OUR LOVE (DON'T THROW IT ALL AWAY) - ANDY GIBB (13) - While the Bee Gees were gearing up for another round of #1 hits, their younger brother had a great solo career going as well. He had yet to miss the Top Ten with any of his hits and this one would keep the streak alive. I liked this song, but preferred several other songs by Gibb. ARCHIVES: BROWN SUGAR - ROLLING STONES - They had just had two charted hits earlier in the year, both of which hit the Top Ten. This song was OK, but definitely one of my all-time favorites from them. OPTIONAL EXTRA: GOT TO BE REAL - CHERYL LYNN - This bass line in this song reminds me a little of "Best Of My Love" by The Emotions. Ironically, both songs' bass lines were used in two different Top 40 hits from 1991. This one was sampled, but I don't think that Mariah Carey sampled "Best Of My Love" for her song "Emotions", since it was a tad different. Anyway, I preferred this song over "I'll Do 4 U" by Father MC, which, of course, was the song that sampled its bass line. 10: SHARING THE NIGHT TOGETHER - DR. HOOK (12) - They seemed to have a thing about peaking at #6, as this was the third of four consecutive Top Ten hits by them to peak there. The streak was broken in 1980, when "Sexy Eyes" climbed to #5, just like their first hit. As for this song, it was pretty good, but it didn't hold a candle to "Better Love Next Time", my favorite song from them of all time. 9: MY LIFE - BILLY JOEL (16) - This looked like it could be Joel's first number one hit, but it didn't quite make it, peaking at #3, but still matching his highest peak yet ("Just The Way You Are" also got to #3 earlier that year). This was definitely my favorite single from 52nd Street - by a fairly wide margin, as well as one of my favorites from him of all-time. As usual, they went with the single version, which was way too abrupt, IMO. They did occasionally play the album version, though, what with the show having recently been extended to four hours, you'd think they would be able to play that one more often than they did. 8: TIME PASSAGES - AL STEWART (9) - This is another song that had a longer version that At40 occasionally played - like this week. The difference between it was that it had a longer intro and a long instrumental part after the vocals end - pretty much a rehash of the instrumental bridge before the final verse. I liked most of Stewart's songs, but this one was my favorite. Sort of off-topic - Quite a few years ago, I had a very strange dream with that song playing (on the radio, which I often fell asleep to back then) that I was in a house and the doors all led to rooms that, in real life, couldn't be connected the way they were. 7: I LOVE THE NIGHTLIFE (DISCO ROUND) - ALICIA BRIDGES (8) - We talked about the song that took the longest time from its debut to hit #1. This song set a similar record - the slowest rising Top Ten hit by a female, as the song finally hit the Top Ten the week before in its 21st week on the Hot 100. Not sure what the slowest rising song by a male artist or by a duo or group was, however. Anyway, as we all know, I'm not a big disco fan, but this one is an exception - in fact, it is one of my favorite songs on this week's chart. There's just something about it that I really like. 6: DOUBLE VISION - FOREIGNER (2) - Casey mentioned how this song just barely missed hitting #1. Ooh, if he would have known what would have happened three years later... Anyhoo, this was my second favorite from the album of the same name, behind "Blue Morning, Blue Day", which would be their next single after this one. 5: I JUST WANNA STOP - GINO VANELLI (7) - Hard to believe that he only had two Top Ten hits here in the states (but I believe he was more successful in his native Canada). I liked this song, but preferred "Livin' Inside Myself". EXTRA: GARDEN PARTY - RICK NELSON - This song was played as the final Optional Extra, the most successful recording star to start out as a TV actor. Nelson was on The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet before he began his chart career - and what a career he had, with over 50 Top 40 hits (wow!), including this one, which is one of my favorites from Nelson. 4: LE FREAK - CHIC (6) - The week before, this song made one of the longest jumps within the Top 40 in history, leaping from 37 all the way to #6. It makes a more modest move this week, up just two spots. The song showed tenacity, hitting #1 on three different occasions (including the following week) for a total of six weeks on top. No surprise it was ranked as the top disco song, according to AT40. I was never a big fan of the song, but it is tolerable. 3: HOW MUCH I FEEL - AMBROSIA (3) - The first of two Top Ten hits from them. Both are my two favorite songs from them - and, as you may have guessed, I'm not sure which of the two I prefer. 2: MacARTHUR PARK - DONNA SUMMER (1) - Here's a song that formerly got "No. Just no" status, and not because of the fact that it was disco - that was actually the saving grace of the song (though I certainly don't know why Summer screams like a witch at the end of each chorus). 1: YOU DON'T BRING ME FLOWERS - BARBRA STREISAND & NEIL DIAMOND (2) - I never understood how this song became as big a hit as it was. Seriously - who wants to hear these two geezers whining and sniveling about not receiving a few flowers. So the neighbors got tired of them prowling around in their garden - who could blame them?
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Post by Hervard on Dec 2, 2022 13:43:08 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - December 3, 2022
This week's presentation - December 5, 1981
WHEN SHE WAS MY GIRL - THE FOUR TOPS (39) - Amazing how they had been together for 27 years without any changes in memberships! Generally known for their earlier hits, this comeback hit was among their best, IMO. I WANT YOU, I NEED YOU – CHRIS CHRISTIAN (37) - Wow, this guy has my first name and the real name of the back-up singer has my last name! This was pretty much a typical MOR-type song that abounded on the chart during the late-70s and early-80s. I thought it was a great one - and not because of the coincidence I mentioned. I’VE DONE EVERYTHING FOR YOU – RICK SPRINGFIELD (21) - The follow-up to his biggest hit ever, "Jessie's Girl". Though not quite as successful, the song did manage to climb up to #8, which isn't bad either. This one and the next release from Working Class Dog, "Love Is Alright Tonite", sound very much alike. I prefer the latter of the two.
LW#2: WAITING FOR A GIRL LIKE YOU - FOREIGNER LW#1: PHYSICAL - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN 40: UNDER PRESSURE - QUEEN AND DAVID BOWIE (debut) - Rapper Vanilla Ice must have liked this song, since he used the bass line in his signature hit "Ice Ice Baby". I'm not a huge fan of this song, or really, any of Queen's 80s hits. I do like "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", but that song started its chart run in 1979, so that may have had something to do with it (that and it's throwback sound, reminiscent of Elvis Presley). 39: WRACK MY BRAIN - RINGO STARR (debut) - Ringo's only Top 40 hit during the 1980s, as well as his final chart entry. It was a pretty good song, IMO. 38: TWILIGHT - ELO (38) - This was definitely a lot better than "Hold On Tight", but still, I generally preferred their 1970s hits. 37: THEME FROM "HILL STREET BLUES" - MIKE POST (14) - TV show themes were most popular in 1976, but they seemed to have a resurgence in 1981 and 1982, though the former year contained at least two of them that hit the Top Ten. I have a 45 on the Elektra Spun Gold label with this as the "B" side of the other Top Ten TV show theme from 1981, "Greatest American Hero". I really liked this song - especially Larry Carlton's killer guitar solo in the bridge! 36: I WOULDN'T HAVE MISSED IT FOR THE WORLD - RONNIE MILSAP (40) - There were many country artists that had several pop crossover hits in the early 1980s and Ronnie Milsap was definitely one of them. This was a great song - ranks right up there with "No Gettin' Over Me" and "Any Day Now" as one of his best! 35: THE NIGHT OWLS - LITTLE RIVER BAND (13) - Aussie acts abounded in the countdown in 1981 and Little River Band, from Melbourne, certainly made their mark on the charts! Between 1976 and 1983, they placed thirteen songs on the chart, with six of those making the Top Ten. This was a good song - one I remember quite well from its chart run, but I preferred a few others from them 34: POOR MAN'S SON - SURVIVOR (36) - This band hails from Chicago, so unsurprisingly, I heard this song many times back in the day. It's a great one, but I preferred several others from them, including a few of them that missed the Top 40 (such as the follow-up to this song, "Summer Nights" and "Caught In The Game"). 33: NEVER TOO MUCH - LUTHER VANDROSS (33) - This may have been his first Top 40 hit but we'd heard him singing many commercial jingles for quite awhile before now. This was one of Luther's more upbeat songs, and it was a great one, IMO. 32: SOMEONE COULD LOSE A HEART TONIGHT - EDDIE RABBIT (debut) - Another country act, like Ronnie Milsap, that had crossover success in the early 1980s. During the decade thus far, he'd had three Top Five hits (one of those going all the way to #1). This one didn't do half bad, either, peaking at #15 in early 1982. This song was good, but one of my least favorite of his hits. 31: TRYIN' TO LIVE MY LIFE WITHOUT YOU - BOB SEGER (8) - Wow, several hard falls in this hour of the show, with this one falling clean out of the Top 30 from inside the Top Ten! We were indeed fast approaching 1982. This was the first of two releases from Seger's album live album Nine Tonight (the second, a live version of "Feel Like A Number", originally on his Stranger In Town album, peaked at #48). I really liked this song - very energetic sounding, like many live recordings. OPTIONAL EXTRA: WAITING ON A FRIEND - THE ROLLING STONES - This band, of course, started out in the mid-60s as part of the British Invasion and were still going strong in the 80s. This was their second of three Top 40 hits from their album Tattoo You, and my favorite of the four. 30: CENTERFOLD - J. GEILS BAND (35) - Ah, the song about finding your high school sweetie in a girlie magazine! This song spent a total of six weeks at #1, and ranked #3 for all of 1982. I preferred this song over their other Top Ten song in 1982, "Freeze Frame" - by a wide margin, might I add. 29: NO REPLY AT ALL- GENESIS (29) - They were definitely not a big singles act at first, as many of their earlier songs peaked much lower on the Hot 100 than on the airplay charts. On the latter, this song climbed all the way to #13, yet barely hit the Top 30 on the former. This was one of several songs by them that used Earth, Wind & Fire's horn section. I liked it, but it definitely wasn't their best by any means, IMO. LDD: BABE - STYX - Wow, we get a double shot of this song this week - in the Top Three on this week's 1979 show and here, as a LDD. That's cool, though, since this is definitely one of my favorite songs from them! It fit the LDD like a glove, as well. 28: STEAL THE NIGHT - STEVIE WOODS (31) - Sort of a combination of MOR and R&B music here. I liked it - nice & relaxing. 27: HOOKED ON CLASSICS - ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA (32) - With the medley craze in full swing, it was only a matter of time before classical music got into the act! This was a good song - not sure if I preferred this or the Larry Elgart swing medley later on that year. 26: HEART LIKE A WHEEL - STEVE MILLER BAND (28) - This was their first hit in nearly four years. It was pretty good, but I preferred several others from them, such as "Fly Like An Eagle" and "Jet Airliner". 25: COOL NIGHT - PAUL DAVIS (34) - Surprised that this song missed the Top Ten, as it was played all the time on the stations I listened to back in the day. One of my favorite songs from the late Paul Davis! Casey talked about how "I Go Crazy" held the record of longest time spent on the Hot 100 at 40 weeks - a record which, of course, would be broken almost exactly a year later. 24: MY GIRL (GONE, GONE, GONE) - CHILLIWACK (26) - A CanCon band named after the city in British Columbia where they were formed. They had a handful of chart singles here in the states, and this one was definitely my favorite of them. An all-around great song with a very catchy chorus! 23: TURN YOUR LOVE AROUND - GEORGE BENSON (27) - A great jazz star George was! As we all know, I generally prefer his AC-only hits (i.e. "Breezin'" & "I Just Want To Hang Around You"), but I've actually learned to like this song a little better than I had previously. 22: TAKE MY HEART - KOOL & THE GANG (24) - Gwen Stefani's big #1 from 2007 "The Sweet Escape" sounds somewhat reminiscent of this one. A great song indeed! 21: OUR LIPS ARE SEALED - THE GO-GOS (23) - This song only got as high as #20 (the following week, no less), but what a chart run it had - 15 weeks in the Top 40, an unusually long run for a song that came nowhere near the Top Ten. This was my favorite song from them. OPTIONAL EXTRA: TAKE IT EASY ON ME - LITTLE RIVER BAND - Their fifth and final Top Ten hit (though they still had two more Top 20s ahead of them). This was one of my favorites from LRB, right up there with "Lady". 20: THE SWEETEST THING (I'VE EVER KNOWN) - JUICE NEWTON (25) - 1981-1982 was definitely her heyday, with four Top Ten hits (and another that just barely missed). This is my second favorite of those hits, behind "Break It To Me Gently", which was said near-miss (peaked at #11 - what a shame). 19: COMIN' IN AND OUT OF YOUR LIFE - BARBRA STREISAND (30) - The two artists who teamed up on a true bonafide "No. Just no" were on the charts at the same time with songs that just barely missed the Top Ten. The other song is coming up a little later on. While I don't like said "no just no" song, this one, on the other hand, is one of my favorites from her - a great song indeed. 18: I CAN'T GO FOR THAT (NO CAN DO) - HALL & OATES (22) - This became the duo's fourth #1 hit, though it was beginning to look like it wouldn't make it, as it held at #4 for five weeks before jumping over two songs to log a single week on top. Anyway, this song was sampled in at least three different songs over the next few decades, so it was apparently very well-liked. I thought it was pretty good, though far from being my favorite song from them. 17: ARTHUR'S THEME (BEST THAT YOU CAN DO) - CHRISTOPHER CROSS (9) - The theme from the hilarious Dudley Moore movie Arthur. It was a great song - definitely my favorite song from Christopher Cross, as well as one of my favorite songs of the entire decade! 16: YESTERDAY'S SONGS - NEIL DIAMOND (19) - This is the song I was alluding top back at #19. It is also the first of two songs on the show about being nostalgic about the golden oldies. I loved this song - one of Diamond's best hits ever. Too bad it just barely missed the Top Ten. 15: THE OLD SONGS - BARRY MANILOW (15) - Well, what do you know? Here is the other song about being nostalgic about oldies but goodies on this week's chart. This was the only week that the two songs were back-to-back on the chart. The beginning of this song reminds me a little of "Going Home", Kenny G's AC hit from early 1990. As you may have guessed, I liked this song, like many Barry Manilow songs. 14: HARDEN MY HEART - QUARTERFLASH (17) - A song with an instantly recognizable saxophone solo. I liked it, but preferred "Take Me To Heart", which charted the following summer. 13: TROUBLE - LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM (16) - It was amazing how this song, along with a hit by another Fleetwood Mac member would more or less climb the chart together, as during their ascent, they were never more than three spots away from one another. Not sure which of the two songs that I prefer, but this would definitely be my favorite solo hit from Lindsey by far. EXTRA: LIGHT MY FIRE - THE DOORS - A classic rock staple here, and on those stations, they generally play the full, six and a half minute version of the song. Here, however, they went with the single version, which cuts out the endless instrumental bridge way down. I prefer that version by a fair margin. 12: LEATHER AND LACE - STEVIE NICKS WITH DON HENLEY (18) - Wow, the two Fleetwood Mac members were back-to-back on the chart, with Stevie pulling into the lead this week. This was her second duet from Bella Donna to hit the charts, following her one with Tom Petty earlier in 1981. This is my favorite of the two, by a fairly large margin. 11: DON'T STOP BELIEVIN' - JOURNEY (20) - This song could be the song from them that receives the most recurrent airplay on oldies stations (though many AC-based ones still play "Faithfully" on a regular basis). Anyway, this song has held up quite well despite overplay. OPTIONAL EXTRA: LOVE IS ALRIGHT TONITE - RICK SPRINGFIELD - This song seemed to be "I've Done Everything For You Part 2", but, as stated earlier, I actually liked this one better than "Part 1" (which Larry mentioned dropped out of the survey this week). 10: START ME UP - THE ROLLING STONES (7) - They started out 17 years before and were still on a roll, as this song climbed as high as #2. I'm sort of burned out on this one, due to overplay, but it's still not bad. 9: WHY DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE - DIANA ROSS (10) - This is a cover of a song that charted three times in the fifties, so I'm not sure who originally did it. Anyway, it's pretty good, but far from being her best. I must say that I do prefer it over her hokey nursery rhyme hit that charted after this one. LDD: CAT'S IN THE CRADLE - HARRY CHAPIN - I remember hearing this all the time way back in my early childhood years, since my Mom listened to his 1974 album with this song on it from time to time. A great father/son tale that became a popular Long Distance Dedication request. 8: YOUNG TURKS - ROD STEWART (12) - The first of two Top 40 hits from Stewart's then-current album Tonight I'm Yours. This was one of my favorite Rod Stewart hits of the 1980s. I did prefer it over the album's title track, although that song is pretty much Part 2 of this song. 7: LET'S GROOVE - EARTH, WIND AND FIRE (11) - This is a song that recently grew on me after several years of not really liking it. Still, I prefer others from them. 6: PRIVATE EYES - HALL & OATES (3) - One of two #1 songs from the duo in 1981. Though they both sounded somewhat alike, I preferred "Kiss On My List" by a fairly wide margin. This was still a good one, though. 5: HERE I AM (JUST WHEN I THOUGHT I WAS OVER YOU) - AIR SUPPLY (5) - This one could be called a guilty pleasure of mine, as many people I know don't like this song at all (some consider it their least favorite Air Supply song). According to me, however, it is one of their best. 4: OH NO - COMMODORES (6) - Little did anyone know that this song was their final Top 40 hit with Lionel Richie on lead, as the following year, he would begin a very successful solo career, with four #1 songs, in addition to the one he had earlier this year with Diana Ross. 3: EVERY LITTLE THING SHE DOES IS MAGIC - THE POLICE (4) - Casey mentioned that this was their highest charting hit so far. Heh - little did anyone know that this would become small potatoes about a year and a half later! I liked this song, but my favorite of their 1981 hits was "Don't Stand So Close To Me". OPTIONAL EXTRA: LEADER OF THE BAND – DAN FOGELBERG - One of Fogelberg's story songs that he's famous for. This was another song, like the Earth, Wind & Fire song, that I didn't really like very much during its chart run, but I have since changed my mind about it - a great song indeed. 2: WAITING FOR A GIRL LIKE YOU - FOREIGNER (2) - Ah, the second of ten frustrating weeks that this song spent in the runner-up position. But they just couldn’t manage to unseat the song that was going strong at #1 (a small consolation is that this song was #1 on the Radio & Records chart for six weeks). Anyway, I like this song, though it’s not quite my favorite song by them. 1: PHYSICAL - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (1) - And here is the song that was most instrumental in preventing Wf*gLY from hitting #1. The song ended up being the top song of 1982, due to the oddball time frame that they used back then. It was a pretty good song, but not quite my favorite song from her.
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Post by mrjukebox on Dec 3, 2022 10:02:14 GMT -5
I'm Every Woman" by Chaka Khan is one of the featured songs on this weekend's presentation from 12/2/1978-In 1993,it was also a hit for Whitney Houston-In her version,she name checked Chaka Khan.
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Post by Hervard on Dec 3, 2022 10:04:42 GMT -5
I'm Every Woman" by Chaka Khan is one of the featured songs on this weekend's presentation from 12/2/1978-In 1993,it was also a hit for Whitney Houston-In her version,she name checked Chaka Khan. I remember that - sort of imitating how Melle Mel said her name in his rap at the beginning of "I Feel For You".
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Post by Hervard on Dec 11, 2022 17:40:10 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - December 10, 2022
This week's presentation - December 14, 1985
40: SEX AS A WEAPON – PAT BENATAR (debut) - A high point in the show for our friend JessieLou, although I myself thought this song was OK, but definitely not one of her best. Too bad Benatar's hit streak would be ending two years later, with one last Top 40 hit after this one. 39: ONE OF THE LIVING – TINA TURNER (26) - The second of two of her hits from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. It was pretty good, but I preferred the other Thunderdome song. 38: SUN CITY – ARTISTS UNITED AGAINST APARTHEID (39) - Not sure why this song got very little airplay, given that it was a benefit song. The song, which peaked at #38 this week, was fueled chiefly by sales points. I thought it was a good song. 37: I’M YOUR MAN – WHAM! (debut) - As this song was heading up the chart, en route to #3, little did we know that Wham! would be splitting up. No matter; lead singer George Michael would go on to have an even more successful solo career. As for this song, it's a good one, but I prefer others from Wham! as well as George Michael solo. 36: YOU ARE MY LADY – FREDDIE JACKSON (24) - Jackson had the most success on the R&B chart, but he did have a few pop crossovers, like this one. I liked it, though it was a little cheesy. My favorite song from him would probably be his Christmas song "One Wish". 35: PART-TIME LOVER - STEVIE WONDER (25) - 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") 34: MIAMI VICE THEME – JAN HAMMER (22) - The second of two instrumentals on this week's survey, which, by the way, hadn't happened since the summer of 1982. Anyway, I liked this song, but, as stated earlier, I preferred the other instrumental. 33: GOODBYE – NIGHT RANGER (40) - I often say that "Sister Christian" is my favorite Night Ranger song, but I always forget how much I liked their 7 Wishes singles. This was my favorite of those (in fact, it was #1 on my Personal Top 30 for many weeks in early 1986). Too bad it didn't get any higher than #17 on the Hot 100, but that's better than missing the Top 40 completely. 32: GO HOME – STEVIE WONDER (debut) - Wonder had been hitting the charts since the early sixties and, with two Top Ten hits from In Square Circle, it looked like he was far from over but, unfortunately, this was his final Top Ten hits, and he had three more singles after that. I liked this song, but preferred his next hit "Overjoyed". 31: SPIES LIKE US – PAUL McCARTNEY (debut) - Paul went for almost 30 years without having a Top Ten hit. This was the final one before the drought. He would return in early 2015 as a featured singer on Kanye West's "FourFiveSeconds". I believe that might be the record, but I'm not totally sure. As for this song, it wasn't bad, but I preferred other songs from him, solo and with the Beatles and Wings. 30: EVERYBODY DANCE – TA MARA & THE SEEN (38) - The only hit for this Minneapolis-based R&B act - pretty much your run-of-the-mill mid-80s dance club song. OPTIONAL EXTRA: LIVING IN AMERICA - JAMES BROWN - This was Brown's first Top 40 hit in over a decade, and the song would set a record of longest span between Top Ten hits (The record has since been broken, possibly by Paul McCartney, who had a song in the countdown back at #92). Anyway, this song was so/so, but I was never a huge James Brown fan. 29: DO IT FOR LOVE – SHEENA EASTON (35) - The only hit for this Minneapolis-based R&B act - pretty much your run-of-the-mill mid-80s dance club song. 28: IT’S ONLY LOVE – BRYAN ADAMS & TINA TURNER (37) - Bryan Adams had six Top 40 hits from the Reckless album and, for the final one, he teamed up with a singer he'd admired as a teenager. I figured that, with such a team, the song would be a Top Ten hit, but it ran out of steam at #15 (since Reckless had been out for a year, most fans had the album, which usually resulted in low singles sales for the last few hits). 27: YOU’RE A FRIEND OF MINE – CLARENCE CLEMONS & JACKSON BROWNE (33) - One of two friendship anthems on this week's chart - the other one is coming up a little bit later. This definitely has the typical E Street Band sound, with Clarence's saxophone. It's a good song indeed. LDD: JUST THE WAY YOU ARE – BILLY JOEL - The first of four releases from one of The Stranger, one of Joel's best singles albums ever. I liked all four of the songs and, though "She's Always A Woman" was my favorite of those, the others, including this one, were great as well. 26: CONGA – MIAMI SOUND MACHINE (32) - Their debut hit became their first Top Ten (despite its initially slow climb). It was OK, but I preferred many other songs from both MSM and Gloria Estefan as a solo artist. 25: OBJECT OF MY DESIRE - STARPOINT (28) - Another R&B dance act with their only Top 40 hit, like Ta Mara & The Seen. This song only got as high as #24 on the chart, yet managed to place among 1986's Top 100 songs, due to its tenacity on the Hot 100. 24: SISTERS ARE DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES – THE EURYTHMICS AND ARETHA FRANKLIN (18) - A one-time pairing of these two popular acts at the time made for a great, energetic song! 23: LOVE IS THE SEVENTH WAVE - STING (31) - Sting's first attempt at reggae definitely wasn't a strong point in his career, as this song tanked kinda fast, peaking at #17 a few weeks later. This song wasn't bad, but I can see why this song didn't do quite as good as his first two solo hits. 22: BURNING HEART - SURVIVOR (27) - This song had an unusually long run on the R&R chart - it was the first song since the fall of 1984 to spend more than fifteen weeks on the chart. It spent 16 weeks on both R&R and AT40. Of their Rocky soundtrack hits, this would be my favorite. 21: EMERGENCY – KOOL & THE GANG (21) - Despite a good-sized move of ten spots the week before, this song slammed on the brakes this week, although it wasn't done yet (would peak at #18 two weeks later). This was the fourth and final Top 40 hit from the album of the same name. This would probably be my least favorite of the singles, as this song just never did anything for me, for some reason, and I'm so glad that I didn't have to do modern dance to the song in Physical Education class (only the girls had to do that) - hearing this song over and over again would have driven me nuts. 20: WRAP HER UP – ELTON JOHN (20) - One of two songs by Elton on this week's chart (as he's one of the "Friends" in the Dionne Warwick song that is coming up later in the countdown). I preferred that song, though this one wasn't bad. OPTIONAL EXTRA: TARZAN BOY - BALTIMORA - This song charted twice - once in 1986 and again in 1993, thanks to its inclusion in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III movie (and it was also used in promos for Listerine Cool Mint mouthwash around that time). It was a good song. 19: TALK TO ME – STEVIE NICKS (23) - One of her most successful solo hits. I liked this song a lot, but preferred her next release "I Can't Wait". 18: WALK OF LIFE – DIRE STRAITS (19) - They had been a one hit wonder until earlier this year when they charted with their biggest hit "Money For Nothing". This was their third hit and, like the first two, it was a Top Ten hit. It was a good song, IMO. 17: YOU BELONG TO THE CITY – GLENN FREY (6) - His second of two contributions to Miami Vice (in fact, this was written for the second season premiere of the show, according to Casey). My favorite of the two would probably be the other one, "Smuggler's Blues", which charted earlier in the year. 16: TONIGHT SHE COMES – THE CARS (17) - Meh, I never was a fan of this song. Not sure how the song would be received today, given the title. 15: LAY YOUR HANDS ON ME – THE THOMPSON TWINS (12) - 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 (I have since found out that 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. 14: THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR – DIONNE & FRIENDS (16) - This song was on its way to a four week stay at #1, which was enough for it to become 1986's top hit. It's a great song for a great cause! 13: PERFECT WAY – SCRITTI POLITTI (15) - One of a handful of one-hit wonders on this week's chart. This song does get a decent amount of recurrent airplay on 80s stations. I thought it was a pretty good song. 12: SMALL TOWN – JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP (14) - One of many Top Ten singles for this Hoosier, though not one of my favorites from him. It is passable, though. 11: WHO’S ZOOMIN’ WHO – ARETHA FRANKLIN (8) - 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. 10: WE BUILT THIS CITY – STARSHIP (3) - Their first hit under their name without Jefferson attached to it. It was a great song - one of their best, under any of their names. OPTIONAL EXTRA: THE SUN ALWAYS SHINES ON TV - A-HA - Often referred to as a one-hit wonder, this Norwegian band actually did have a follow-up. I preferred "Take On Me", but this was a good one as well. 9: I MISS YOU - KLYMAXX (13) - This song definitely got a lot of chart mileage - so much that it ranked on 1986's year-end Top 100 higher than it peaked on the weekly charts. It's a great song, though I preferred their other two Top 40 hits. 8: SLEEPING BAG – ZZ TOP (10) - Their Afterburner album seemed to have more of a pop sound than their traditional southern rock. Perhaps that's why it generated more Top 40 singles than any of their other albums. This was the first of three hits from Afterburner, and the most successful. I liked it, but preferred the other two. LDD: YOU’RE ONLY HUMAN – BILLY JOEL - I liked the way that Joel decided not to go back and correct the goof in this song (when he flubbed a line near the end and laughed) in order to prove the point he was making in this song, which I thought was a good one, but it wasn't his best. 7: ALIVE AND KICKING – SIMPLE MINDS (11) - I preferred this song over the overplayed "Don't You (Forget About Me)", but the follow-up to this, "Sanctify Yourself" was my favorite song in the world for quite awhile the following spring. This was a good song, too IMO. Given how big it was, I'm surprised it doesn't get much in the way of recurrent airplay. 6: ELECTION DAY - ARCADIA (7) - Meh, pretty much watered-down Duran Duran here. I can see why they didn't last very long. 5: NEVER - HEART (4) - They were enjoying their biggest chart success yet with their mid-80s comeback, as this would become their second Top Five hit (and they'd have two more after this - both #1's). 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! 4: PARTY ALL THE TIME – EDDIE MURPHY (9) - Not a bad song, but Murphy was much better as a comedian, IMO. OPTIONAL EXTRA: DAY BY DAY - THE HOOTERS - They were more or less a flash in the pan, with three Top 40 hits. This one was pretty good, though I slightly preferred "And We Danced". 3: SAY YOU, SAY ME – LIONEL RICHIE (5) - Quite a few movie hits on this week's chart. This was the first of two from White Nights. I liked it, but I preferred the other by a considerable margin. 2: SEPARATE LIVES (THEME FROM “WHITE NIGHTS”) – PHIL COLLINS AND MARILYN MARTIN (2) - Wow, the two White Nights songs were back-to-back on the charts (in fact, they almost hit #1 consecutively, but not quite). Anyway, this is the love theme from the movie, which I never saw, but I heard the song many, many times in the fall of 1985. It was a great one! 1: BROKEN WINGS – MR. MISTER (1) - The first of four Top 40 hits for this band from Phoenix was the very song that prevented the two above songs from topping the chart back-to-back. Three of the band's songs hit the Top Ten and two of those hit #1, including this one. Of their Top Ten hits, I prefer this one, which has held up quite well despite overplay.
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Post by mga707 on Dec 11, 2022 18:31:52 GMT -5
33: GOODBYE – NIGHT RANGER I often say that "Sister Christian" is my favorite Night Ranger song, but I always forget how much I liked their 7 Wishes singles. This was my favorite of those (in fact, it was #1 on my Personal Top 30 for many weeks in early 1986). Too bad it didn't get any higher than #17 on the Hot 100, but that's better than missing the Top 40 completely. Proving that genius can strike anyone, this is one of my all-time favorite songs, from a band I can otherwise take or leave. A near-perfect record. Jack Blades would come close one more time, in '91 with Darn Yankees' "High Enough", but this is the best thing he ever wrote. An absolutely sublime 'power ballad'.
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Post by mrjukebox on Dec 12, 2022 22:01:43 GMT -5
"Separate Lives" was written by Stephen Bishop about his relationship with actress Karen Allen.
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Post by chrislc on Dec 12, 2022 22:06:39 GMT -5
>3: SAY YOU, SAY ME – LIONEL RICHIE (5) - Quite a few movie hits on this week's chart. This was the first of two from White Nights. I liked it, but I preferred the other by a considerable margin. 2: SEPARATE LIVES (THEME FROM “WHITE NIGHTS”) – PHIL COLLINS AND MARILYN MARTIN (2) - Wow, the two White Nights songs were back-to-back on the charts (in fact, they almost hit #1 consecutively, but not quite). Anyway, this is the love theme from the movie, which I never saw, but I heard the song many, many times in the fall of 1985. It was a great one!<
I can't think of another movie that generated two such huge hit songs but wasn't that big of a box office draw, at least in my recollection.
And yes, Separate Lives is a great song and great record.
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