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Post by Hervard on Jan 2, 2024 14:41:29 GMT -5
Sorry I'm late with this - here is the link to the page with my chart critiques for the year-end shows from the latter half of the 1970s through the 1980s. It starts with the third past on the page. Enjoy! ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png)
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Post by Hervard on Jan 19, 2024 14:33:15 GMT -5
And I'm back again, after an absence of over two weeks, playing catch-up. Here are the two shows from last week, after the fact:
American Top 40: The 80s - January 13, 2024
This week's presentation - January 14, 1978
40: TOO HOT TO TROT - THE COMMODORES (debut) - I have pointed out that their music began to improve with 1977's "Easy", but I still wasn't much for their funk/soul hits, like this one. I prefer their more "laid-back" songs. 39: YOU'RE MY SOUL AND INSPIRATION - DONNY & MARIE (39) - Of course, this was a cover of the Righteous Brothers second #1 hit. 38: AS - STEVIE WONDER (re-entry) - Casey said that this song "re-debuted" on AT40. It seemed to have peaked at #39 about a week earlier, then got a second wind and managed two more weeks in the Top 40, reaching a new peak of #36. It was a great song IMO, but I have a feeling that the fact that most fans had Wonder's year-old album Songs In The Key Of Life, so there was no need to buy the single or request it on the radio. I still feel it was underrated. 37: LONG, LONG WAY FROM HOME - FOREIGNER (debut) - Third Single Syndrome definitely applied here, as this song only got as high as #20, after the first two songs from their self-titled album hit the Top Ten. I actually preferred said first two hits - this one was kinda just there. 36: PEG - STEELY DAN (40) - They did an odd hack job with this song, by cutting out the second verse (or the second half of the first verse, if that's what you'd call it) and the first chorus. Anyway, this was one of my favorite songs from them of all time! 35: MY WAY - ELVIS PRESLEY (22) - A great rendition of the Frank Sinatra classic! This was my favorite of the ones I've heard (though the only other one I've heard, other than the two listed here, is the one from Kermit The Frog, and even that one had different lyrics and a slightly different melody - it was called "This Frog"). 34: WHAT'S YOUR NAME - LYNYRD SKYNYRD (38) - A great classic rock group here! This one, as well as most of their others, gets tons of recurrent airplay on classic rock stations today. This was one of my favorites from them. 33: GIRL'S SCHOOL - WINGS (34) - The first of four Top 40 songs during 1978 (and the only of those not featured on their London Town album - I believe it was a non-album track). The song was OK, but I preferred a few others from them, including their next release "With A Little Luck" which, of course, became one of their biggest hits ever. EXTRA: MIDNIGHT BLUE - MELISSA MANCHESTER - Interesting story about how she managed to join an elite group of nine students to take a music course taught by Paul Simon. She got a successful recording career out of it, too, including this song - one of her best! 32: NATIVE NEW YORKER - ODYSSEY (33) - This was their only Top 40 hit. The song was OK, but nothing exceptional - sounded a little like the Bee Gees. 31: EMOTION - SAMANTHA SANG (37) - Now THIS song sounded a lot like a Bee Gees song, but there's good reason for that, as they're prominently heard singing on the backing vocals. That was definitely instrumental in how well this song did, hitting the Top Five at the same time that two of the Bee Gees' own song, as well as an Andy Gibb hit. This was a good song IMO. 30: IT'S SO EASY - LINDA RONSTADT (15) - Ronstadt had been competing with herself on the chart with two hits - one upbeat song and one ballad (the disparity may have been instrumental in how well they did on the chart). This was the former of the two and, though I did prefer her other song (coming up a little later on), this was a great one as well! 29: POINT OF NO RETURN - KANSAS (30) - I’m surprised that this song didn’t get any higher than #28, as I heard it all the time back in the day (mainly on WLS). Perhaps it was one of those songs that received sporadic airplay and did well where played. Whatever the case, this was a great song IMO and one I definitely associate with early 1978. 28: DON'T LET ME BE MISUNDERSTOOD - SANTA ESMERELDA (33) - An interesting disco rendition of the classic by the Animals. Coincidentally, both songs peaked at #15 on the Hot 100. OPTIONAL EXTRA: THE WAY YOU DO THE THINGS YOU DO - RITA COOLIDGE - Like Foreigner's hit earlier in the show, this song was an example of Third Single Syndrome - peaked at #20 after two Top Ten hits from her Anytime...Anywhere album. 27: GETTIN' READY FOR LOVE - DIANA ROSS (27) - Here's a song that I don’t remember ever hearing (though I'm sure I did at least once, since the show from the week before with the song on it was featured back in 2011. It’s a good one and surprisingly, it’s doesn’t have the disco beat of most of her upbeat songs. 26: DESIREE - NEIL DIAMOND (29) - This may not been one of his biggest hits, but it holds the distinction of being the very first Long Distance Dedication song on AT40. It was a pretty good song. 25: DON'T IT MAKE MY BROWN EYES BLUE - CRYSTAL GAYLE (16) - One of four country crossover hits from her (yes, I thought she had more as well!) I liked all four songs about the same - all of them are great songs IMO. 24: THE WAY I FEEL TONIGHT - THE BAY CITY ROLLERS (24) - They went with a slow song this time around. Reminded me a little of "Without You" by Harry Nilsson. It wasn't bad, but nothing exceptional. 23: DANCE DANCE DANCE - CHIC (26) - Meh, not a fan of this one, mostly since it is quite repetitive. I preferred other songs from them, especially "I Want Your Love" from the following year. 22: SOMETIMES WHEN WE TOUCH - DAN HILL (25) - After a gigantic chart jump the week before (40-25), this song makes a more modest move this week. Hill seemed destined to be a one-hit wonder, a title he held for nearly ten years, but the day was saved in the late summer of 1987, when his duet with Vonda Shepard "Can't We Try" came along and broke the curse. I preferred that song, as well as a few other Dan Hill songs, over this one, but it still is a good one. 21: I GO CRAZY - PAUL DAVIS (21) - This song just would not give up. On many occasions, it appeared to have peaked, but it just kept inching up the chart all the way to its peak of #7, which it reached in its 30th week on the Hot 100. Unsurprisingly, the song would end up breaking the record for the longest run on the chart - an even 40 weeks! I liked this, but preferred several others by him. 20: (LOVE IS) THICKER THAN WATER - ANDY GIBB (23) - The first of three #1 songs in a row for Gibb. It wasn't quite as good as "I Just Want To Be Your Everything", but I prefer it over "Shadow Dancing". 19: SERPENTINE FIRE - EARTH, WIND & FIRE (19) - An L.A.-based act that had quite a few hits during the 70s (though they didn't hit the Top 40 until 1974). This was a pretty good song, but not quite their best (I don't think I need to remind you that my two faves from them are "That's The Way Of The World" and "September", do I?) 18: TURN TO STONE - ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (20) - They also had a ton of hits in the 1970s, including this one, which peaked at #13 (but made it all the way to #5 on the R&R charts). This is one I remember quite well from back in the day, though for some reason, I associated it more with summer than winter. It is one of my favorite songs from them 17: STAYIN' ALIVE - THE BEE GEES (30) - It's definitely no surprise that the biggest jump of the week was by the Bee Gees, as they were on a roll at this point. This one was on its way to #1, where it would stay for four weeks (and then would spend six non-consecutive weeks in the runner-up spot). This was my second favorite song from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack behind their other song on the chart this week). 16: JUST THE WAY YOU ARE - BILLY JOEL (18) - The first of four releases from one of his 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. Did they ever play the full album version of the song during its chart run? (I'm fairly sure I remember them playing that one as a LDD one time). 15: SHORT PEOPLE - RANDY NEWMAN (17) - Despite its small chart move this week, the song would break wide open the following week, jumping into the Top Five, and peaking at #2 the week after that. Of course, it's pretty common knowledge that this song's meaning was misinterpreted, until the bridge. I thought it was a great song. 14: RUNAROUND SUE - LEIF GARRETT (14) - He had charted the previous fall with a cover version of the Beach Boys' "Surfin' USA" and returned to the chart a few weeks back with another remake, this one, an old Dion classic. Of course, the original was the best version, but I also liked this version of the song. OPTIONAL EXTRA: THUNDER ISLAND - JAY FERGUSON - The first of two Top 40 hits by this man from the San Ferdinando Valley. I'm sure I've heard his other hit, "Shakedown Cruise" before, but wtf did it sound like again? This was a good song that I vaguely remember hearing back in the day. 13: BLUE BAYOU - LINDA RONSTADT (3) - Like usual, this song was edited down, jumping from the first verse straight to the second verse. But when you try to squeeze 13 or 14 songs into an hour, unless you plan on running no commercials, a few songs have to be shortened. But anyway, as stated earlier, this is my favorite of her two songs on this week's chart. 12: YOU CAN'T TURN ME OFF (IN THE MIDDLE OF TURNING ME ON) - HIGH ENERGY (12) - This one reminds me a little of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Diana Ross. It was a pretty good song - pretty much your typical 70s R&B slow jam. 11: YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE - DEBBY BOONE (6) - Amazing that, with all the records this song set, that it was her sole Top 40 hit. This song was definitely a guilty pleasure of mine - as cheesy as it is, I just can't help but love the song! 10: WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS - QUEEN (13) - By now, 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 - one of my all-time favorites by Queen! 9: COME SAIL AWAY - STYX (11) - This song appeared to have peaked here at #9, holding at that position the following week, but it did manage to climb just one more spot the week after that. Of course, the single version of this song was cut down more than necessary, IMO. Of all three versions I've heard, I like the one that's about four minutes long; the only thing cut from that part is the bridge, with the weird spacey sound effects 8: SENTIMENTAL LADY - BOB WELCH (8) - Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac, for whom Welch was the former guitarist, are heard singing back-up on his first solo hit. It was a great song IMO. 7: HEY DEANIE - SHAUN CASSIDY (10) - The third of four Top 40 hits from this singer/actor from L.A. I liked it, but preferred his first two hits, both of which hit the Top Ten, as well as this song) 6: SLIP SLIDIN' AWAY - PAUL SIMON (7) - This song would become his fifth Top Ten solo single (yes, I thought he'd had more than that up to this point as well). His next Top 40 solo entry would be "Late In The Evening", in 1980. I liked both songs about the same, but preferred a few others from him. 5: BACK IN LOVE AGAIN - L.T.D. (4) - This would become the biggest of their three Top 40 hits, peaking at #4 in December. It wasn't bad, but I generally preferred lead singer Jeffrey Osbourne's solo hits. 4: YOU'RE IN MY HEART- ROD STEWART (9) - This song would become his second #1 on R&R, but it didn't quite make it on the Hot 100 (basically, if you weren't the Bee Gees or at least on the RSO label in the first half of 1978, you were pretty much S.O.L. Anyway, this was a great song - one of my favorites both back in the day and now. As is usually the case, they edited this one, jumping from the first verse to the second chorus. Truly, a four-hour show was called for a few years before it finally became a reality, which, of course, was later on in the year. 3: HERE YOU COME AGAIN - DOLLY PARTON (5) - Chiefly a country act, Parton did have a few crossover hits and this was the first of them. It's definitely one of my favorite songs from her. OPTIONAL EXTRA: THE NAME OF THE GAME - ABBA - I really liked many songs from Abba, but this wasn't one of them. One of my least favorite songs from them. 2: HOW DEEP IS YOUR LOVE - THE BEE GEES (1) - This song had just spent the last three weeks at #1 (though only one of them was counted down by Casey, since the Top 100 of 1977 was being run over the last two weeks of 1977, which happened to be the first two weeks of this song's reign. No matter; the song was in no hurry to go anywhere; in fact, it would still be in the Top Ten when March rolled around! This song held the record for the longest top ten run for fourteen years! 1: BABY COME BACK - PLAYER (1) - This was pretty much the only song for the first few months of 1978 not connected with the Gibb family or the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack that managed to hit #1. They played a slightly longer version of this song than usual, with longer instrumental breaks. I assume that was the album version.
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Post by Hervard on Jan 19, 2024 14:36:48 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - January 13, 2024
This week's presentation - January 17, 1987
Droppers: YOU BE ILLIN' - RUN DMC (35) - They were a one-hit wonder on the R&R chart, but they did have a second hit on AT40, obviously fueled mainly by sales. This was a funny song - imagine, going into KFC and ordering McDonald’s food (and when was the last time a Big Mac and an order of small fries cost only a quarter?). YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME - BON JOVI (29) - This song is not bad, but I prefer a fair amount of other songs from them, including a few solo hits by band leader Jon Bon Jovi. Kind of odd that this song hit #1 on the Hot 100, considering it didn't even hit the Top Five in R&R. While this was a common occurrence in the early-1980s, it didn't happen very often by the mid-part of the decade. HIP TO BE SQUARE - HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (26) - The second hit from his album Fore! Possibly my least favorite of the singles from that album - not sure, it just never did anything for me. YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU...DON'T YOU - HOWARD JONES (19) - This is definitely one of his songs that gets the least amount of recurrent airplay. I thought it was pretty good, though not quite his best.
LW#2: NOTORIOUS – DURAN DURAN LW#1: WALK LIKE AN EGYPTIAN – THE BANGLES 40: JACOB’S LADDER – HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (debut) - Casey mentioned that this song debuted on the entire Hot 100 the week before. It debuted on the R&R chart the previous week (well, actually a few weeks before, but that chart was used for the countdown shows (Rick Dees and Dave Sholin) the week of January 10). I guess they decided to hold off on its commercial single release until after the New Year. Anyway, my opinion of the song - it’s pretty good, but far from his best. One of the #1 songs of the 1980s that gets the least amount of airplay. 39: THE NEXT TIME I FALL – PETER CETERA WITH AMY GRANT (25) - As Cetera's former band Chicago was climbing the chart with their latest hit, Cetera himself was on his way down. But he had already outdone the band, as he'd already had two #1s while they would only have one post-Cetera #1. Anyway, this was a pretty good song, but I preferred his first #1. 38: FOR TONIGHT – NANCY MARTINEZ (32) - This was pretty much your typical mid-80s dance hit. This song never hit the R&R chart, but as I recall, it got pretty decent airplay on B96 which, at the time, was evolving towards a Rhythmic Top 40 station. I thought it was a pretty decent song. 37: STAY THE NIGHT – BENJAMIN ORR (debut) - For years, I never knew that the guy who sang this song was the lead singer on "Drive". I like this song much better, though, since it's not depressing like "Drive". 36: THE FUTURE’S SO BRIGHT, I GOTTA WEAR SHADES – TIMBUK 3 (20) - Heh - if you say so... EXTRA: BILLIE JEAN – MICHAEL JACKSON - Wow, they must have had a lot of time to fill this week if they had time to play last week’s top two and an extra. Unless they decided to edit down certain songs - probably good ones. Actually, this song itself was edited down rather heavily. The story to tie in with this song was how Thriller was the first album to generated seven Top 40 hits (several other albums have since tied the record, including an album that spawned eight radio singles - by none other than Michael's sister Janet). Anyway, this song was a good one. We’ll definitely be hearing it again later on this year - possibly on the next 1983 show, as it debuted in late January. 35: TO BE A LOVER – BILLY IDOL (18) - Meh, I could take it or leave it. I much preferred the next two releases from Whiplash Smile. 34: TALK TO ME – CHICO DEBARGE (37) - I liked "Who's Johnny" by El DeBarge a little better than this. But this one is a great song as well. I liked the phone call in the bridge, where he kept getting more and more anxious and then screamed, "PICK IT UP!" 33: NOBODY’S FOOL - CINDERELLA (debut) - Their very first Top 40 hit. I liked it; the guitar solo in the bridge was awesome! 32: YOU GOT IT ALL – THE JETS (debut) - After releasing two upbeat dance numbers for their first two hits (including their Top 40 miss "Private Number"), they slowed the tempo down for this one. As stated before, I prefer their ballads. Not too crazy about their uptempo stuff (although "Rocket 2 U" is pretty good). OPTIONAL EXTRA: DON'T DREAM IT'S OVER - CROWDED HOUSE - Two members of the band Split Enz helped to form this duo, who had two Top 40 hits, both in 1987. I thought both were great songs, though I preferred their follow-up, "Something So Strong", which sounded sort of like a more upbeat version of this song. 31: STOP TO LOVE – LUTHER VANDROSS (36) - The week that this song debuted on AT40, since it sounded so much like his last hit, "Give Me The Reason", I thought that maybe that song, which had run out of gas at #57 three months before, had been re-released - I even had the song listed as such. It wasn't until I saw the Hot 100 posted at the record store later that week that I discovered my mistake. As for this song, it was a great one - one of my favorite songs by Vandross! 30: TWO PEOPLE – TINA TURNER (30) - Not one of her more successful hits. I myself think this one was pretty underrated. It did fare somewhat better at AC radio, peaking at #12. 29: LOVE YOU DOWN – READY FOR THE WORLD (38) - Like the Jets, their first two singles were upbeat, but they went with a ballad for their third hit. It apparently worked, as this song hit the Top Ten. It was also my favorite song from them! 28: THIS IS THE TIME – BILLY JOEL (33) - His third and final Top 40 hit from The Bridge. It was by far my favorite of the three. It seems that more often than not, they cut out the second verse, such was the case this week. Yet they had time to play an abbreviated version of "Billie Jean" in Hour 1. Whatever... 27: BALLERINA GIRL – LIONEL RICHIE (40) - One of four Top 20 hits from Dancing On The Ceiling. My favorite from that album was "Love Will Conquer All", but this would be a close second. 26: WILL YOU STILL LOVE ME – CHICAGO (34) - This was the Chicago song I was talking about earlier - their very first Top 40 entry after Cetera had left the band. On this song, Jason Scheff sang lead, assisted by Bill Champlin, who would later take over as their main lead singer. As for this song, it was a great one - among my favorite post-Cetera songs from them. 25: FALLING IN LOVE (UH-OH) – MIAMI SOUND MACHINE (28) - This song was quite underrated, IMO. But I guess I can kind of see why this song wasn’t one of their more successful songs. Several people I know were annoyed (or even sort of embarrassed) by the “Uh-oh, uh-oh” chorus. I liked the song, though. LDD: NEVER SURRENDER – COREY HART - A somewhat rare case in which an artist's biggest hit is also my favorite from them. The melody is great and the message is very inspirational and was appropriate for the story presented in the LDD. 24: DON’T GET ME WRONG – THE PRETENDERS (14) - Their first Top 40 hit in about two and a half years. I liked this one, but preferred several others from them, including "Brass In Pocket" and "Back On The Chain Gang". 23: WE’RE READY - BOSTON (31) - Their random comeback was indeed worthwhile, as they doubled their number of Top Ten hits as a result. They'd had two up to the release of Third Stage, which gave them two more, including this one, which is one of my favorites from Boston! 22: LIVIN’ ON A PRAYER – BON JOVI (39) - As the first Slippery When Wet single dropped out of the survey this week, the second, on the other hand, takes the biggest leap of the week. Anyhoo, I realize that this song was a huge #1 hit and all, but it just never really did anything for me. I preferred "Never Say Goodbye", which was starting to receive sporadic radio airplay about now, but was never released as a single. OPTIONAL EXTRA: BIG TIME - PETER GABRIEL - The first two singles from the So album are quite overplayed (especially "Sledgehammer"), but this one you hardly hear anymore. Perhaps that's why it's my favorite song from the album. 21: COMING AROUND AGAIN – CARLY SIMON (24) - I heard this song quite a lot in early 1987 (mainly because of its airplay on AC stations - none of the Top 40 stations in my area played this one very often). It was a great song! 20: KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF – THE GEORGIA SATELLITES (27) - How many times did you hear your teacher or mother saying this? Anyway, I'm not a huge fan of southern rock, but this one wasn't too bad. 19: ALL I WANTED - KANSAS (22) - Their first hit since the summer of 1982, and didn't they have their original lead singer back on this one? A little hard to tell, since it sounds so much like John Elefante, who was their lead singer during Steve Walsh's five year hiatus Anyway, this was a good song, though as I’ve said before, it seems a little incomplete. . 18: STAND BY ME – BEN E. KING (12) - Interesting that King was the first artist to hit the Top Ten in four different decades. In fact, he may have been the only one who did it in the '50s through the '80s. This song was obviously heavily fueled by sales, as it had dropped out of the R&R chart this week, though I have a feeling it was right outside the Top 40. Anyway, of the versions of this song that I've heard, my favorite would be the country remake by Mickey Gilley, from the summer of 1980. But this version was a good one as well. 17: LOVE IS FOREVER – BILLY OCEAN (16) - Wow, there are Billys all over the countdown (as Casey mentioned at the open of the show) and this week, there’s one for each hour. This was one of Ocean's tender love ballads, and a great one at that! One of my all-time faves from Mr. Ocean! 16: TOUCH ME (I WANT YOUR BODY) – SAMANTHA FOX (23) - I wasn't generally a huge fan of hers, but I did like this one, as well as her next release "Do Ya Do Ya (Wanna Please Me)", which only got as high as #87 15: THE WAY IT IS - BRUCE HORNSBY & THE RANGE (7) - They had a handful of chart hits and this was their biggest. It's a great song - still sounds just as fresh today as it did back in 1986! 14: WAR – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND (8) - Nowadays, albums debuting at #1 are pretty much the norm, but back when the charts were figured the old-fashioned way, it was quite rare. This was only the fourth album to start off at the top. As for the song, it was OK, but one of my least favorite Springsteen songs, though it does have a good message. This was another song, like "Stand By Me", in which sales outweighed airplay (as this song moved 17-35 on the corresponding R&R chart). 13: CHANGE OF HEART – CYNDI LAUPER (21) - Given how big a hit this was, I'm surprised that it receives absolutely no recurrent airplay anymore. Honestly; the last time I heard this outside of countdown shows was during its chart run. Such a shame, as this was one of my favorite songs from her. LDD: SUDDENLY – BILLY OCEAN - Since this was the wedding song of the author and his bride-to-be, it fit the LDD like a glove. It is also one of my favorite Billy Ocean songs. 12: SOMEDAY – GLASS TIGER (17) - They only had a handful of Top 40 hits, but I liked them all including the mid-charters "I Will Be There" and "I'm Still Searching". This is possibly my least favorite of all their hits, but it's still pretty good. 11: VICTORY – KOOL & THE GANG (13) - I heard that the students at Boston Middle School did aerobics to this song in late 1986. I'll betcha they'd had it with this song by the time that unit was over with! OPTIONAL EXTRA: BRAND NEW LOVER - DEAD OR ALIVE - This one wasn't bad, but nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to either. 10: EVERYBODY HAVE FUN TONIGHT – WANG CHUNG (4) - If you have your mind in the gutter, you just might come up with a few misheard lyrics for this song. This one was overplayed, but it's one of those "fine wine" type songs - gets better with age. 9: IS THIS LOVE - SURVIVOR (10) - This would wind up being their final Top 40 hit. I liked it, but preferred many others from them (including at least two that didn't quite make the Top 40). 8: LAND OF CONFUSION - GENESIS (11) - This song is pretty good. They don't play it very much anymore ("Throwing It All Away" and "In Too Deep" are the only two songs from this that radio plays, although I do occasionally hear the title track, which is my faves. IIRC, they played this song intact instead of cutting the second verse as they seemed to do more often than not. 7: OPEN YOUR HEART - MADONNA (15) - Back when this song was charting, it was kinda just there, but it's one of those songs that gets better with age. 30 years later, it's a great song! 6: CONTROL – JANET JACKSON (6) - Meh, I was never a fan of this song. I preferred most of her other singles. 5: AT THIS MOMENT – BILLY VERA & THE BEATERS (9) - Meh-tasticness best describes this song. I didn't like this very much and what irked me is that, while many cool songs were whittled down on the Top 100 of 1987, they played this song in full, even the stinkin' ending where he was really milking it for all it was worth. I don't see why the freak everyone was cheering him on at the end. They should have had Carl Winslow (from Family Matters) there so he could have bellered, "OH WOULD YOU JUST GET TO THE END OF THE SONG? ?!!!!!!" LDD: ENDLESS LOVE – LIONEL RICHIE & DIANA ROSS - This song was from a girl to her big sister, who would soon be moving out on their own. Their parent's marriage was falling apart, causing stress between the two. 4: WALK LIKE AN EGYPTIAN – THE BANGLES (1) - I think we all know how much I detest this song, right? At least the song was dropping out of the top spot (and, over on the R&R chart, it was taking the longest fall out of the top spot in a single week, dropping to #11)! 3: NOTORIOUS – DURAN DURAN (2) - Their only big hit from the album of the same name, which showed that Duran Duran had pretty much already had their day in the sun (although they did make a decent comeback in 1993). OPTIONAL EXTRA: I WANNA GO BACK - EDDIE MONEY - This was one of those songs in there were custom versions made, replacing "the radio" with the name of a radio station. I heard two of those, both using Chicago stations WLS and Z95. A great song - one of my favorite Eddie Money songs ever! 2: C’EST LA VIE – ROBBIE NEVIL (5) - Wow, it looked like this song was about to sail into the #1 spot the following week. However, Billy Vera leapfrogged over him. Nevil's first Top 40 hit, it was a good one IMO, though I preferred his two follow-ups (this one was a little overplayed). 1: SHAKE YOU DOWN – GREGORY ABBOTT (3) - Possibly THE most obscure #1 song of 1987 (though "Jacob's Ladder" would give it a run for its money). It was a good song - a typical late-80s slow jam.
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Post by Hervard on Jan 19, 2024 14:39:00 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - The 70s - January 20, 2024
This week's presentation - January 20, 1979
DROPPERS: I WILL BE IN LOVE WITH YOU - LIVINGSTON TAYLOR (30) - The Taylors are obviously a very musical family! James, of course, is the most successful, but Livingston also had moderate success, with two Top 40 hits (as well as a few AC-only hits). This was a great one! INSTANT REPLAY - DAN HARTMAN (29) - He was a one-hit wonder, for about five years, but he had a decent comeback, with a Top Ten hit, and two more mid-charters. I preferred said mid-charters over this one. TIME PASSAGES - AL STEWART (25) - The previous week, this song had actually reversed course, moving back up a notch. This week, it took a hard fall to #62 - what year does THAT remind you of? Anyway, I loved this song; I would often hear this on WHFB in early 1993 - one time, while I was playing Back To The Future 2 & 3 on my NES, which I found somewhat appropriate, given all the time travel and passages to the different streets in the game - just a random thought - now back to the countdown. BICYCLE RACE - QUEEN (24) - While not quite as good as other songs from them like "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "We Are The Champions", this one was pretty good nonetheless. I LOVE THE NIGHT LIVE (DISCO ROUND) - ALICIA BRIDGES (23) - Wow, kind of a hard fall there! But it had been on for over a half a year, so I guess many stations were dropping it from their playlists at the same time. It is definitely one of my favorite disco songs of all time!
40: HEAVEN KNOWS - DONNA SUMMER w/BROOKLYN DREAMS(debut) - As I've said before, "Love Never Felt So Good" by Justin Timberlake & Michael Jackson reminded me of this song, which was possibly my favorite of Donna Summer's many 1979 hits. 39: YOU TOOK THE WORDS RIGHT OUT OF MY MOUTH - MEAT LOAF (debut) - A one-week wonder here, as this song dropped out of the 40 the following week. Such a shame, as this was a great song - almost as good as "Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad". 38: ONE LAST KISS - J. GEILS BAND (debut) - Wow, this was definitely a different music style than they had in the 80s - more of a pop sound than AOR. I thought this was a great song - too bad it didn't get any higher than #35. 37: BLUE MORNING, BLUE DAY - FOREIGNER (debut) - The third and final single from Double Vision, as well as my favorite of the three (although the other two were great as well!) 36: BABY I'M BURNIN' - DOLLY PARTON (40) - She was primarily a country artist, as we all know, but she did have seven pop hits. This one was pretty good, but I preferred most of her other hits, including a few AC-only hits. 35: I WILL SURVIVE - GLORIA GAYNOR (debut) - This anthem for abused women was on its way to becoming one of the biggest hits of 1979. This one used to be so/so, but now is one of my favorite disco hits ever! 34: LOVE DON'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE - ROSE ROYCE (39) - This one was your typical 70's mid-tempo ballad. It was OK, but quite repetitive. 33: SHATTERED - THE ROLLING STONES (37) - I'm actually more familiar with Steve Dahl's parody of this one, called "Skylab". This song is okies, but I prefer many others from them. 32: HOME AND DRY - GERRY RAFFERTY (35) - His third of five Top 40 hits. I like this and "Right Down The Line" about the same. 31: A MAN I'LL NEVER BE - BOSTON (31) - They were done hitting it big for nearly eight years at this point (in fact, this was their final Top 40 hit until that very successful 80s comeback. This song sounds like it was edited, but I think I know why... ARCHIVE: AMERICAN PIE - DON McLEAN - ...and that is this song. As Casey mentioned, it was the #1 song with the longest playing time, beating "Hey Jude" by the Beatles by over a minute. I believe they generally played a shortened version of the song (a few verses and the chorus repeated to the fade-out), but Casey actually opted to play the entire song. This is a true classic and I'm glad that it was the top song of the week (for a third week) the very day I was born! ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png) OPTIONAL EXTRA: DANCIN' SHOES - NIGEL OLSSON - With such a title, one would expect an upbeat, disco song, but this one is a slow dance song. I liked it. 30: TAKE ME TO THE RIVER - TALKING HEADS (34) - This one isn't quite as good as "And She Was", but it's worlds better than their annoyance from 1983 (come on, you know the title!) 29: DON'T CRY OUT LOUD - MELISSA MANCHESTER (33) - This was her second of three Top Ten hits, and it just barely made it - the week after it peaked at #10, it took a hard fall to #29. I'm glad it made the Top Ten, as it's a great one - possibly my all-time favorite song from her! 28: THE GAMBLER - KENNY ROGERS (32) - Given that this song peaked at #16, it's a surprise that this one actually ranked on the Top 50 of 1979. (Yes, I know very well that's nothing compared to Kris Kardashian's 1973 hit). Anyway, this song's pretty good, but definitely not his best. I especially don't like that blessed Geico ad using this song that used to run every single commercial break. LDD: READY TO TAKE A CHANCE AGAIN - BARRY MANILOW - I'll have to take a listen to the LDD again before I post my comment. 27: NO TELL LOVER - CHICAGO (38) - This one sounded a lot like their older hits, with the horn section heard on many of those hits. This one was a good one, but definitely not their best. 26: PLEASE COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS - EAGLES (18) - Sounds a little out of place to be hearing this in mid-January, but that's OK; definitely a great song! 25: HOW YOU GONNA SEE ME NOW - ALICE COOPER (12) - One of his slower numbers that I generally prefer over his heavy metal songs. Still, it doesn't hold a candle to "Only Women Bleed". 24: DON'T HOLD BACK - CHANSON (26) - Though I'm not a big disco fan, this one wasn't too bad. 23: GOT TO BE REAL - CHERYL LYNN (36) - After a modest, four-spot move last week (on an unusually slow chart), this song breaks wide open this week, making the biggest move of the week. 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 this song's bass line 22: (OUR LOVE) DON'T THROW IT ALL AWAY - ANDY GIBB (9) - A song originally sung by the Bee Gees (who sing back-up on this song) for the Saturday Night Fever sessions, but not chosen for the soundtrack. I liked this song, but preferred a few others from Andy, such as "I Just Want To Be Your Everything" and "An Everlasting Love", the latter of which was inadvertently played in place of this song on the countdown two weeks before. 21: SOUL MAN - THE BLUES BROTHERS - John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd's rendition of the Sam & Dave classic from the sixties. Most famous for their acting, they had a few charted hits. This song wasn't bad, but my favorite of their cover versions was, by far, "Gimme Some Lovin'", from the following summer. ARCHIVE: LET'S STAY TOGETHER - AL GREEN - I'm not generally a big fan of his, but I actually thought this song was pretty good. Tina Turner did a decent remake of this song as her comeback hit in 1984. OPTIONAL EXTRA: SHAKE YOUR GROOVE THING - PEACHES & HERB - Speaking of comeback hits, this was a good example of one, as this duo had charted several times in the late-60s, and the best was yet to come. This song hit the Top Five, and the follow-up, which is my favorite from them, went all the way to the top! 20: SHARING THE NIGHT TOGETHER - DR. HOOK (6) - This song was pretty good, but it doesn't hold a candle to "Better Love Next Time". 19: SHAKE IT - IAN MATTHEWS (21) - This song had the MOR sound that would become more commonplace in the early-80s, shortly after the death of disco. I liked this song - I vaguely remember hearing this one back in the day. 18: I WAS MADE FOR DANCING - LEIF GARRETT (20) - This was his first original song to hit the Top 40, and it apparently worked, as this was his first Top Ten. 17: SOMEWHERE IN THE NIGHT - BARRY MANILOW (27) - This song, originally recorded by Helen Reddy three years prior, was on its way to becoming Manilow's eighth Top Ten hit. I like it a lot; sadly, it doesn't get much in the way of recurrent airplay. 16: NEW YORK GROOVE - ACE FREHLEY (17) - 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. EXTRA: WRECK OF THE EDMUND FITZGERALD - GORDON LIGHTFOOT - Wow, two songs with long playing times played as extras. Then again, since the show had recently grown to a four-hour format, there was plenty of excess time. Anyway, this was apparently one of Casey's favorite songs, as was his oft-told story of how Lake Superior had two other major shipwrecks on the same day, November 11. Mental note: Stay away from Lake Superior on Veteran's Day. 15: LOTTA LOVE - NICOLETTE LARSON (16) - A great song from someone who, sadly, passed away at the end of 1997 ![:(](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/sad.png) 14: FIRE - THE POINTER SISTERS (19) - After an absence of more than three years, they came back in a major way, with one of their biggest hits ever. One of my favorites from them as well! 13: WE'VE GOT TONIGHT - BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND (13) - The third of four Top 40 hits from the Stranger In Town album. The only of those that I really liked was "Still The Same". 12: SEPTEMBER - EARTH, WIND & FIRE (14) - Their fourth Top Ten hit, and one of their best ever! This one still gets a decent amount of recurrent airplay on oldies stations. 11: EVERY 1'S A WINNER - HOT CHOCOLATE (15) - Meh, not a big fan of this one, or them in general. ARCHIVE: WITHOUT YOU - NILSSON - This one wasn't bad, but rather schmaltzy. I preferred Mariah Carey's cover from early 1994, though even that one isn't something I'd go out of my way to listen to. OPTIONAL EXTRA: WHAT YOU WON'T DO FOR LOVE - BOBBY CALDWELL - Larry made a slight faux pas in the intro to this song - he said that Go West would have a minor hit with this song eleven years later. It was actually in 1993, which was fourteen years later, when Go West's cover charted. Eleven years later is when Go West would have their biggest hit ever, "King Of Wishful Thinking". Anyway, this was Caldwell's only Top 40 hit, but he had a handful of other AC and smooth jazz hits. I liked both versions of this song, but slightly preferred this one. 10: DO 'YA THINK I'M SEXY - ROD STEWART (22) - This song just missed being the biggest moving song for three weeks in a row, as this song fell a spot short to Cheryl Lynn's "Got To Be Real" this week. No matter; it would still be a big #1 hit. This song was OK, but certainly not Stewart's best. I still haven't forgiven it for beating out "What A Fool Believes" for the top song of 1979 on the R&R year-ender ![>:(](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/angry.png) 9: PROMISES - ERIC CLAPTON (10) - For some reason, I have just never been a fan of this song at all. 8: A LITTLE MORE LOVE - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (11) - She indeed had a great year in 1978 and 1979 was pretty good to her as well, as she had, with two Top 40 hits. This was the biggest of them, peaking at #3 in February, and deservedly so, as this was a great song! LDD: MY WAY - ELVIS PRESLEY - This song was in reply to a recent LDD, from someone who had to say goodbye to a friend who moved away, like this LDD was about. Does anyone know on which show the LDD in question was played? Well, anyway, this was a great rendition of the Frank Sinatra classic! This was my favorite of the ones I've heard (though the only other one I've heard, other than the two listed here, is the one from Kermit The Frog, and even that one had different lyrics and a slightly different melody - it was called "This Frog") 7: OOH BABY BABY - LINDA RONSTADT (8) - 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. 6: YOU DON'T BRING ME FLOWERS - BARBRA STREISAND & NEIL DIAMOND (4) - Sorry, honey, but the next door neighbors told me to keep out of their yard. 5: HOLD THE LINE - TOTO (5) - Their very first Top 40 hit. It was pretty good, but definitely not their best. EXTRA: SUPERSTAR - THE CARPENTERS - Definitely one of the top acts of the 1970s, especially in the early half of the decade. This song was OK, but one of my least favorite songs from them. 4: Y.M.C.A. - THE VILLAGE PEOPLE (7) - I realize that I've been way too harsh with this song in my past commentaries - to tell the truth, I actually used to like this song, but it's just that the goofy dance to this song, with everyone forming the letters, has been run into the ground, big time. Before that, it used to be a decent song, but after every single dance or wedding reception I've gone to over the past 25 or so years felt that they couldn't possibly go without playing this song, that dimmed my fascination for this song. I realize that there are still many people who like the song and really, more power to them (after all, as I said, I used to be one of them), but I could definitely go for the rest of my life without hearing this song. 3: MY LIFE - BILLY JOEL (3) - 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 played the single version, which I never cared for. The way they edited it for the 45 made it sound so abrupt. OPTIONAL: YOU NEED A WOMAN TONIGHT - THE CAPTAIN & TENNILLE - This was definitely a curveball extra, as it was a one-week wonder on AT40 (peaking at #40 the following week). The song wasn't bad, but it was no "Do That To Me One More Time". 2: TOO MUCH HEAVEN - THE BEE GEES (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. 1: LE FREAK - CHIC (2) - And back into the #1 spot it goes! This was the first song to hit #1 three times in a single chart run. And everytime it hit #1, it would spend a week longer at the top than the last time. With a grand total of six weeks on top, this was the biggest disco hit of all time, according to AT40's Top 40 Disco Songs countdown the following summer. I was never a big fan of the song, but it is tolerable.
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Post by Hervard on Jan 19, 2024 14:39:28 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - January 20, 2024
This week's presentation - January 26, 1980
Droppers: NO MORE TEARS (ENOUGH IS ENOUGH) - BARBRA STREISAND (38) - This one-time duet between two very popular singers at the time did exactly what many thought it would, and that was to go all the way to the top! 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. SAVANNAH NIGHTS - TOM JOHNSTON (34) HEAD GAMES - FOREIGNER (27) - The title track from one of their album that 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. BABE - STYX (23) - Since they were 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! STILL - THE COMMODORES (22) - This song had hit #1 in November, 1979, and wasn't in any hurry to head down the chart, as it stuck around in the Top Ten for nearly two months after it was at #1, but this was when people seemed to suddenly get tired of it, as it took quite a dive the week before and it fell out of the Top 40 the this week. 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.
LW#3: ESCAPE (THE PINA COLADA SONG) - RUPERT HOLMES LW#2: DO THAT TO ME ONE MORE TIME – THE CAPTAIN AND TENNILLE LW#1: ROCK WITH YOU – MICHAEL JACKSON 40: LAST TRAIN TO LONDON – ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (debut) - This song's bass sounds suspiciously like that of Heat Wave's two upbeat songs "Boogie Nights" and "The Groove Line". Not to mention the fact that the end of the chorus reminded me a lot of the Mary Tyler Moore theme. Not a bad song, but I preferred many others from them. 39: LOST HER IN THE SUN – JOHN STEWART (debut) - The third Top 40 hit for the former lead singer of the Kingston Trio. The song wasn't bad, though nowhere near as good as "Gold". 38: WONDERLAND – THE COMMODORES (debut) - Well, Lionel had apparently gotten over the lady that he lost in the song "Still" and was now wanting to take his new flame to his "Wonderland". 37: WORKING MY WAY BACK TO YOU – THE SPINNERS (debut) - This one just missed hitting #1 - the song at the top was just too strong for it. Anyway, this is a great song - much better than the original by the Four Seasons, in which Frankie Valli sounds like he's trying to force out a stubborn turd. 36: YOU KNOW THAT I LOVE YOU – SANTANA (36) - This song was definitely underrated, IMO, as it got only a spot higher on the chart. One of my favorite Santana songs of all time! 35: ON THE RADIO – DONNA SUMMER (debut) - This is how most people heard this show during its original broadcast But seriously, I liked this song a lot - definitely one of her best! 34: DO YOU LOVE WHAT YOU FEEL – RUFUS & CHAKA (40) - One of about a dozen Top 40 hits for them on which both of their names were credited. This song was pretty much your typical early-80s disco R&B song. It wasn’t really anything special. ARCHIVES: NEW KID IN TOWN – THE EAGLES - The lead-off single from the album for which the Eagles seem to be most famous. I like their two #1 songs from that album best, but I'm not sure which one I prefer, as both are great songs and among my favorites from them! OPTIONAL EXTRA: TOO HOT - KOOL & THE GANG - This was their first Top Ten of the 1980s (I count"Ladies' Night" as a 70s hit), and there was definitely a lot more where that came from! This song is my all-time favorite song from them! 33: VOICES – CHEAP TRICK (37) - For quite awhile, it looked like this was going to be their only chart entry of the 80s, but they came back with a vengeance in the summer of 1988 with their biggest hit ever, the #1 hit “The Flame”. I'm still burned out on that song, due to overplay, but such is not the case with this song - one of my favorite Cheap Trick songs, and definitely inspired by the Beatles. 32: COOL CHANGE – THE LITTLE RIVER BAND (10) - They were really on a roll, scoring with the fourth of six Top Ten hits in a row. Of those, this is possibly my third favorite from LRB, behind "Lady" and "Take It Easy On Me". 31: SEPTEMBER MORN – NEIL DIAMOND (39) - This one always reminds me of that hilarious Family Feud that was on about this time back in 1980, where someone gave "September" as an answer and caused Richard Dawson to have a huge laugh attack. LDD: STILL THE ONE - ORLEANS - They had three Top 20 hits, and I really liked all three of them about the same, but this one would be my favorite by a thin margin over the other two. 30: ROTATION – HERB ALPERT (30) - I have an idea or two what our friend freakyflybry has to say about this song, but, since I generally like smooth jazz instrumentals, I think it’s a good one, though I prefer a few others by Alpert. 29: FOREVER MINE – O’JAY’S (33) - This was pretty much your typical old school R&B slow jam. It was a good one. 28: JANE – JEFFERSON STARSHIP (14) - This was their first Top 40 hit with Mickey Thomas singing lead after Marty Balin had left the band. It was a good one, but I preferred many of their others. 27: WHY ME - STYX (32) - This follow-up to their #1 hit "Babe" certainly came nowhere near to matching the success of that song, did it? Despite its decent debut in the Top 40 the previous week, this song only got as high as #26. This was a pretty good song, but I prefer many other songs from them, including said #1 song. 26: FOOL IN THE RAIN – LED ZEPPELIN (31) - Like Pink Floyd, they were mainly an AOR act, but they did hit the pop chart a few times. This was their last hit before disbanding later in 1980. 25: LONGER – DAN FOGELBERG (36) - Of course, Hey was the one who does the (awesome!) flugelhorn solo in the bridge, and that was definitely instrumental (no pun intended) in making this one of Fogelberg's best songs ever! 24: AN AMERICAN DREAM – THE DIRT BAND f/LINDA RONSTADT (29) - I don't care if Linda did not receive label credit, as she should have, since her voice was clearly heard on this song - my favorite of the Dirt Band's two 1980 hits. ARCHIVES: EVERGREEN (THEME FROM “A STAR IS BORN”) – BARBRA STREISAND - I always thought Dave Koz’s 1994 AC song “Faces Of The Heart” sounded like an instrumental version of this. Anyway, this is a guilty pleasure of mine, since many people I know hate this song. Not me! This is one of my favorite Streisand songs and I was glad it made it to #1, which happened the following week. OPTIONAL EXTRA: 99 - TOTO - Something you might be asked to repeat when getting a respiratory examination. As for the song, it is one of my favorite songs by Toto - a great one indeed! I'm surprised that this song only got as high as #26 (especially considering that it was a Top Five hit on the R&R chart). 23: THIRD TIME LUCKY - FOGHAT (26) - I was never a huge fan of them, but this one was actually a great one! 22: DAYDREAM BELIEVER – ANNE MURRAY (28) - This was one of my favorite songs by the Monkees and I actually preferred Murray's cover over that one, so that shows how much I liked it! Indeed, 1978-1980 was Murray's best era, IMO! 21: ROMEO’S TUNE – STEVE FORBERT (25) - One of a handful of one-hit wonders that charted during 1980. It may have been the only Top 40 hit for this man, but what a great song it was! 20: PLEASE DON’T GO PLEASE DO GO (AND TAKE THIS REPULSIVE GARBAGE WITH YOU) - KC & THE SUNSHINE BAND (9) - My revised title for this song says it all! Its saving grace was the fact that it was fading away fast - in fact, the song would fall off the Hot 100 less than a month later! 19: DON’T LET GO – ISAAC HAYES (20) - Ah, the voice of Chef on South Park. I'm not a big fan of his music, however, although this one wasn't too bad. 18: WAIT FOR ME – DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (19) - They were making another attempt at riding high on the charts (and this actually did quite well, being their first hit to peak above #20 since "Rich Girl" nearly three years before, but they would really hit pay dirt in 1981, with three Top Five hits, two of those being big #1s. This one was actually a really good one - I vaguely remember it from back in the day, but I don't think the stations I listened to played it very often. 17: DÉJÀ VU – DIONNE WARWICK (21) - She'd recently made a comeback after an absence of nearly five years and, with this song, proved that it wasn't a fluke. I preferred said comeback hit, but this was very close behind, as it was a great one as well. 16: YES, I’M READY – TERI DE SARIO WITH K.C. (24) - A guilty pleasure, as some people I know hated this one. I liked it - much better than KC's whinefest that started off the year at #1. 15: THIS IS IT – KENNY LOGGINS (16) - This one indeed got a lot of mileage for a song that didn't even hit the Top Ten, spending sixteen weeks in the Top 40. Heck; later in the 1980s, most of the #1 songs weren't able to log that many weeks on the chart. It was a good song, but not quite my favorite from him. 14: DON’T DO ME LIKE THAT – TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS (17) - They were definitely a band of the 80s, as up to this point, their only other hit was "Breakdown" - and that only song got to #40. This song would end up being their biggest hit (by themselves) for almost exactly ten years - until "Free Fallin'" outpeaked it by three spots (still, their biggest hit ever was "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around", on which they teamed up with Stevie Nicks). 13: LADIES NIGHT – KOOL & THE GANG (8) - Of course, my favorite Kool & The Gang song was a few weeks away from charting, but this one wasn't bad either. 12: BETTER LOVE NEXT TIME – DR. HOOK (12) - 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. ARCHIVES: RICH GIRL – DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES - This song was played as the third Optional Extra. Glad that they didn't edit out the lines that contained the B-word. The song's short enough as it is, and IMO, it's only a bad word when you're calling someone a name or yelling "son of a b----" when you're mad. The context they use it in means a tough situation. But that is only my opinion and nothing more. As for my opinion on the song, I like it - glad it made it to the top. 11: I WANNA BE YOUR LOVER - PRINCE (13) - Like Tom Petty, Prince's success was almost exclusively in the 80s (and beyond) - he was climbing the charts with this one at the end of 1979, but peaked in 1980 - and then, of course, we all know what happened as of 1983 - he became one of the biggest artists of the 1980s and was successful in the 1990s as well. This song wasn't bad, but I preferred many others from him. 10: SARA – FLEETWOOD MAC (15) - This one spent a single week on top of the R&R chart the following week, but since Tusk was such a big album, and the first new album from them in two years, most fans were buying the album (many had put it on their Christmas lists, I'm sure) and the singles did not sell quite as well. As I've said before, this was by far my favorite song from Tusk, as well as one of my favorite Fleetwood Mac songs of all time. 9: THE LONG RUN – THE EAGLES (11) - With its early action on the Hot 100 (a debut at #33 and a huge jump the following week), it looked like they would chalk up another #1 hit - and, on the R&R, this actually did make it to the top, but it peaked at #8 on the Hot 100 (which is still good). I preferred this song over "Heartache Tonight", but my favorite single from the Long Run album is the LP cut "The Sad Cafe". LDD: NEVER MY LOVE – THE ASSOCIATION - Of their Top Five slow songs, this was my favorite of the two, but I actually prefer the Blue Swede version of this song from 1974. 8: CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE - QUEEN (18) - Queen showed their rockabilly side with this song. It was a good song - easily my favorite of their two #1 songs from 1980! 7: WE DON’T TALK ANYMORE – CLIFF RICHARD (7) - 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. 6: SEND ONE YOUR LOVE – STEVIE WONDER (5) - 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. 5: CRUISIN’ – SMOKEY ROBINSON (6) - This one sounds very dated, even for 1980, but not bad. Still, I preferred the Huey Lewis/Gwyneth Paltrow cover from 2000. 4: ESCAPE (THE PINA COLADA SONG) – RUPERT HOLMES (3) - 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 bad as the other pina colada song from the guy in the hat. They did, however, omit the last verse, so we never found out how they wound up together. ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png) 3: COWARD OF THE COUNTY – KENNY ROGERS (4) - One good story song deserves another! This was the one about Tommy (aka "Yellow") putting the Gatlin Boys in their place. A great song indeed, but I still prefer many others from him. OPTIONAL EXTRA: REFUGEE - TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS - Wow, we heard the first hit from D@mn The Torpedoes back at #14 and now here's the follow-up. I remember playing this song on the jukebox at Pizza Hut, where my Dad used to take my brother and me to every Sunday back when I was in third grade. Still sounds great today as well! 2: DO THAT TO ME ONE MORE TIME – THE CAPTAIN AND TENNILLE (2) - Of course, this is my all-time favorite from them, as you probably know all too well! Though it spent but a single week at #1, its longevity in the Top Ten, Top 40, and the Hot 100 helped to place it at #3 on the year-end chart, and deservedly so! 1: ROCK WITH YOU – MICHAEL JACKSON (1) - This song also placed respectably high in the year-ender - #4 to be exact. It's another song that overplay hasn't tarnished at all - in fact, I like it better than I did back in the day. This is my second favorite song from Off The Wall behind "She's Out Of My Life".
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Post by Hervard on Jan 19, 2024 14:39:44 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - January 20, 2024
This week's presentation - January 18, 1986
Well, at least nobody can complain that we're not getting their fill of the mid-1980s, as the last two regular shows of 2017 were from 1985 or 1986, and we get 1986 this week (plus, I heard that 1985 is coming up in a few weeks - glad they're at least giving it a break next weekend). Moreover, this is the third time we've gotten this show over the past seven years (and it was part of the AT40 series as well). Surprisingly, I have not done a critique for this show using my newer critique format, so here goes:
DROPPERS: OBJECT OF MY DESIRE - STARPOINT (32) - The only hit for this Annapolis-based R&B act. 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. EMERGENCY - KOOL & THE GANG (24) - 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 aerobics to the song in Physical Education class (only the girls had to do that) - hearing this song over and over again every day would have driven me nuts.
40: SILENT RUNNING – MIKE & THE MECHANICS (debut) - This was their first Top 40 single, but such was not the case with the lead singer Paul Carrack, who had charted as the lead singer of groups like Ace and Squeeze, and as a solo artist as well. I liked this song, but preferred their next two singles, both of which charted later in 1986. 39: SARA - STARSHIP (debut) - It's good to hear this song every now and again, but back in the spring of 1986, this song was way overplayed and I, along with my Dad and older brother, was sick of hearing it no less than once every hour, or so it seemed. 38: TARZAN BOY - BALTIMORA (40) - 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. 37: SLEEPING BAG – ZZ TOP (21) - 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. 36: THE SUN ALWAYS SHINES ON T.V. – A-HA (37) - 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. 35: ELECTION DAY - ARCADIA (15) - Meh, pretty much watered-down Duran Duran here. I can see why they didn't last very long. 34: EVERYTHING IN MY HEART – COREY HART (35) - I distinctly remember that in the Flashback version, they cut out the instrumental bridge. But they seem to have since corrected it, as they played the song in its entirety. Not sure what airing that said amendment was made, though. Anyway, this song reminded me a lot of "Never Surrender". I preferred that song slightly, but this is a great one as well - definitely deserved a higher peak than #30, IMO. 33: LIFE IN A NORTHERN TOWN - THE DREAM ACADEMY (38) - This song indeed had a northern town feel to it, especially with the wind sound effects. Indeed, my favorite of their two Top 40 hits. 32: LIVING IN AMERICA – JAMES BROWN (36) - Brown's first Top 40 hit in over a decade, and several weeks later, this song would set a record of longest span between Top Ten hits (The record has since been broken, possibly by Paul McCartney, who is coming up later in the countdown). Anyway, this song was so/so, but I was never a huge James Brown fan. 31: A LOVE BIZARRE – SHEILA E. (34) - I'm not generally a huge fan of hers, though I did like her underrated "The Belle Of St. Mark", from late 1984. OPTIONAL EXTRA: KING FOR A DAY - THOMPSON TWINS - As we all know, I wasn't a huge fan of "Lay Your Hands On Me", but their second release from Here's To Future Days was a good one. Still, I preferred a few others from them. 30: LOVE IS THE SEVENTH WAVE - STING (17) - Sting's first attempt at reggae definitely wasn't a strong point in his career, as this song tanked kinda fast, peaking at #17 over the previous three weeks. This song wasn't bad, but I can see why this song didn't do quite as good as his first two solo hits. 29: KYRIE – MR. MISTER (39) - This song would become their second number one song in a row. I preferred their first, "Broken Wings", which is coming up a little later on. 28: SEX AS A WEAPON – PAT BENATAR (29) - 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. 27: THE SWEETEST TABOO - SADE (33) - Their second and final Top Ten hit, though they would chart a few more times. Of their Top Ten hits, I preferred "Smooth Operator", but this one was pretty good as well. 26: FACE THE FACE – PETE TOWNSEND (30) - This former member of The Who, whom disbanded in 1983, had two solo Top 40 hits. His first one, "Let My Love Open The Door", was a Top Ten hit in 1980. This one didn't quite match the success of that one, peaking at #26 this week. I liked this one, but preferred the other solo hit. 25: PERFECT WAY – SCRITTI POLITTI (23) - 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. LDD: THROUGH THE YEARS - KENNY ROGERS - Indeed, the most successful LDD of the 1980s, as during a period of nearly six years, it was requested 17 times, usually in the case of a successful marriage, which this song depicted and of which the letter was a great example! 24: EVERYBODY DANCE – TA MARA & THE SEEN (27) - Another one-hit wonder, in this case a Minneapolis-based dance act with pretty much your run-of-the-mill mid-80s dance club song. Not really anything I'd go out of my way to listen to, though not bad. 23: HOW WILL I KNOW – WHITNEY HOUSTON (31) - Whitney had a great 1985, with two Top Five hits (including a #1) and was off to a good start for 1986 by making one of the biggest jumps on the chart this week with a song that was on its way to becoming her second #1 song. It was an OK song, but I preferred her next hit, which would also hit #1. 22: SIDEWALK TALK - JELLYBEAN (28) - This one wasn't quite my cup of tea. I preferred Jellybean's other Top 40 hit featuring Elisa Fiorello on the vocals, "Who Found Who". OPTIONAL EXTRA: WHAT YOU NEED - INXS - This was their first Top Ten hit, but the best was yet to come in 1988, when they had a total of four Top 40 hits. One of those songs, "New Sensation" reminded me a lot of this one. Both are good songs. 21: BROKEN WINGS – MR. MISTER (9) - Back at #29, we heard their new song "Kyrie" and I mentioned that it would become their second #1 hit. This, of course, was their first and, as I said earlier, I preferred this song (though "Kyrie" was pretty good as well). 20: GOODBYE – NIGHT RANGER (25) - 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). Too bad it didn't get any higher than #17 on the Hot 100, but that's better than missing the Top 40 completely. 19: SEPARATE LIVES (THEME FROM WHITE NIGHTS) – PHIL COLLINS & MARILYN MARTIN (11) - Of the six movie songs on the countdown, two of them are from White Nights. The first of them is the love theme from that film, which I never saw, but I heard this song many, many times in the fall of 1985. It was a great one! 18: YOU’RE A FRIEND OF MINE – CLARENCE CLEMONS & JACKSON BROWNE (22) - 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. 17: CONGA – MIAMI SOUND MACHINE (20) - 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. 16: WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH (JEWEL OF THE NIGHTS THEME) – BILLY OCEAN (26) - Another movie hit on this week's countdown. The theme from the Michael Douglas film Jewel Of The Nile, this was my favorite Billy Ocean song back during its chart run, but I've since heard many other songs that I prefer, most of them ballads. It's still a good song, though. 15: IT’S ONLY LOVE – BRYAN ADAMS AND TINA TURNER (16) - 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 this was all the higher it got (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). 14: GO HOME – STEVIE WONDER (18) - 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". 13: SPIES LIKE US – PAUL McCartney (19) - 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. 12: I’M YOUR MAN – WHAM! (14) - There was a notable edit (if only for people who know the song like me) going into the first chorus, which turned out to be the second. Anyway, as this song was racing 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. 11: MY HOMETOWN – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (13) - The seventh and final song from Born In The USA album - and all seven songs reached the Top Ten, tying the record with Michael Jackson's Thriller as the album that spawned the most Top Ten hits. This was possibly my favorite song from the album, though "I'm On Fire" and "Glory Days" were very close behind. OPTIONAL EXTRA: THIS COULD BE THE NIGHT - LOVERBOY - They had been hitting the chart for several years, but in 1985, they finally had their first Top Ten hit. This was the second in a row, but this wasn't the beginning of any long streak, as this was their final Top Ten hit. It was a great one - one of my favorites from them 10: TONIGHT SHE COMES – THE CARS (7) - Meh, I never was a fan of this song. Not sure how the song would be received today, given the title. 9: WALK OF LIFE – DIRE STRAITS (10) - 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. 8: BURNING HEART - SURVIVOR (12) - 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, it would be my favorite. 7: TALK TO ME – STEVIE NICKS (8) - One of her most successful solo hits. I liked this song, but preferred her next release "I Can't Wait LDD: I’M ALIVE – ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA - Wow, what a LDD! I hope the author got his life back on track after being released from prison, where he was serving a ten-year sentence for a crime that he did not disclose. 6: SMALL TOWN – JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP (6) - One of many Top Ten singles for this Hoosier, though not one of my favorites from him. It is passable, though. 5: I MISS YOU - KLYMAXX (5) - This song definitely got a lot of chart mileage - so much that it placed 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. 4: ALVE AND KICKING – SIMPLE MINDS (4) - 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 a hit it was, I'm surprised it doesn't get much in the way of recurrent airplay. 3: PARTY ALL THE TIME – EDDIE MURPHY (2) - Not a bad song, but Murphy was much better as a comedian, IMO. OPTIONAL EXTRA: THESE DREAMS - HEART - Another high point for JessieLou, if she was listening a show that featured Optional Extras, especially since this was their very first #1 hit! Oddly enough, while Ann Wilson had generally sung lead, Nancy was given a turn at the lead vocals and this one went all the way to the top (they would have another #1 hit, and that would be with Ann singing lead). Anyway, this was a great song - one of my favorite songs from them (as is their other #1 hit "Alone"). Sort of off-topic, I remember back when this show was originally aired by Premiere, I was asleep during the show, but heard this song being played as an extra, and thought I heard Larry saying "with 94 weeks before hitting #1, that's Heart...." He was actually saying "with nine more weeks...". Of course, I believe Heart did have close to 94 weeks in the top 40 before they made it to the top, LOL! 2: SAY YOU, SAY ME (THEME FROM WHITE NIGHTS) – LIONEL RICHIE (1) - This was the other White Nights song on the chart (and it came close to succeeding the first at #1). I liked this song, but preferred the other one. 1: THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR – DIONNE & FRIENDS (3) - Dionne seemed to only be able to hit #1 as part of a collaboration and never on her own. Her first #1 song was her song with the Spinners, "Then Came You" in the fall of 1974. More than a decade later, with help from her friends Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight & Elton John, she hit #1 again with her biggest hit ever, as this was her first of four weeks on top. In fact, as we all know, this song came out on top for all of 1986, and deservedly so, as this was a great song!
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Post by mrjukebox on Jan 21, 2024 14:54:41 GMT -5
"You Need A Woman Tonight" wasn't heard as the 4th hour OE on this week's A show from 1/20/79-"Superstar" by the Carpenters was played instead.
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Post by mrjukebox on Jan 21, 2024 22:50:56 GMT -5
Actress Daryl Hannah can be heard singing background vocals on "You're A Friend Of Mine"-She was dating Jackson Browne at the time.
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Post by mga707 on Jan 22, 2024 0:28:12 GMT -5
Actress Daryl Hannah can be heard singing background vocals on "You're A Friend Of Mine"-She was dating Jackson Browne at the time. Before their relationship got, shall we say, 'volatile'... ![:-/](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/undecided.png)
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Post by Hervard on Jan 27, 2024 8:46:57 GMT -5
American Top 40 - January 27, 2024
This week's presentation - January 24, 1976
40: LOVE OR LEAVE - THE SPINNERS (debut) - I forget how this song goes as well, but I seem to recall that it was a good one. 39: THE WHITE KNIGHT - CLEDUS MAGGARD (debut) - Ugh! Nothing more than an annoying ripoff of "Convoy"! Next song, please... 38: LET THE MUSIC PLAY - BARRY WHITE (debut) - I’m usually not a big fan of his, but I actually liked this song. 37: TRACKS OF MY TEARS - LINDA RONSTADT (debut) - There are quite a few remakes on this week's chart. This one was originally done by the Miracles, though Johnny Rivers had a slightly bigger hit with it a few years later. Not sure which of the three I prefer. 36: DEEP PURPLE - DONNY AND MARIE OSMOND (debut) - It looked like they peaked, but this song was far from over, as it would peak at #14 and spend an unusually long time on the chart (enough to register at #42 on the year-ender). As I've said before, I preferred this song over the original. 35: THAT'S THE WAY I LIKE IT - K.C. & THE SUNSHINE BAND (24) - This song seemed to have two waves of popularity - it had hit #1 in November and dropped out, only to make a surprising return to #1 a month later. Anyway, I liked this song, but preferred their other 1975 #1. 34: SLOW RIDE - FOGHAT (36) - As I've said many times before, this is a classic rock staple! I sort of remember this one from its chart run, though it wasn't really one of my favorites. 33: GOLDEN YEARS - DAVID BOWIE (37) - Like Barry White, Bowie was another artist I was never much for, except for a few of his hits in the 1980s. This one wasn't bad, however. EXTRA: LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE - THE MONKEES - This song was played as the first Optional Extra, as a "whatever happened to" segment. This was their very first Top 40 hit and it shot straight to #1. This song was pretty good - obviously inspired by the Beatles' "Paperback Writer". 32: FANNY (BE TENDER WITH MY LOVE) - BEE GEES (40) - This song and their hit from later that year, "Love So Right" sounded a lot alike. I preferred the latter, but this was a good one as well. 31: ALL BY MYSELF - ERIC CARMEN (38) - Eric started out studying classical music, then switched to rock, but he used both elements in this song, as the bridge used a piano concerto by Sergei Rachmaninoff. It was a good song - my second favorite song from him behind "Never Gonna Fall In Love Again", which charted later on in the year. 30: LET IT SHINE - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (30) - This was back when Olivia was still in her country/pop mode. I preferred her later hits, when she'd evolved to full-blown pop, but this one wasn't too bad. 29: OVER MY HEAD - FLEETWOOD MAC (20) - This legendary band had been around for many years, yet this was their first Top 40 hit. They'd more than make up for lost time over the next few years, though, with many hit singles from successive albums. Most of the songs seemed to feature Christine McVie on vocals, including this song, which was a good one, IMO. 28: TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT - THE EAGLES (32) - The newest hit from their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 album. It was also my favorite from that album - a great song indeed! 27: PALOMA BLANCA - GEORGE BAKER SELECTION (29) - I thought it was "Oona Panoona Banka". Oh wait, that was Buckwheat's version - my bad. Anyway, this was a great song - I've heard it many a time on my Barry Scott's Lost 45s CD. 26: SQUEEZE BOX - THE WHO (28) - This was a comeback hit for them, as they hadn't charted for three years. This was one of their best songs ever, IMO. 25: SATURDAY NIGHT - THE BAY CITY ROLLERS (17) - Meh, not a huge fan of this song, or them in general (though they did have a few songs that I did like). 24: SOMEWHERE IN THE NIGHT - HELEN REDDY (26) - This was the first of two versions of this song that hit the Top 20 during the 70s. Barry Manilow's cover from three years later would hit the Top Ten. I preferred that one, though this one wasn't bad either - not quite as cheesy as many other Helen Reddy songs. 23: BABY FACE - WING & A PRAYER FIFE & DRUM CORPS (25) - This one had charted in some form or other for the past five decades in addition to this one. It was a good song. 22: WAKE UP EVERYBODY - HAROLD MELVIN & THE BLUE NOTES (23) - The last of four songs that they charted with in the 1970s. It was a pretty good song. 21: WINNERS AND LOSERS - HAMILTON, JOE FRANK & REYNOLDS (22) - They hit #1 back in August with "Fallin' In Love" and were trying for a second #1. Unfortunately, this song only got as high as #21 and was their final Top 40 hit. I thought it was a good song. 20: THEME FROM S.W.A.T. - RHYTHM HERITAGE (27) - 1976 was definitely the year for TV show themes on the chart, and this was indeed one of the biggest, topping the chart the following week. A great song it was! 19: LOVE HURTS - NAZARETH (21) - One of the best power ballads ever! Too bad it was their only Top 40 hit. 18: FOX ON THE RUN - SWEET (5) - Their previous song, Ballroom Blitz was way too loud and repetitive for my liking, but this song was actually pretty good - I notice a slight resemblance between this and "Do Ya" by Electric Light Orchestra. 17: BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO - NEIL SEDAKA (19) - The ballad version of this sixties classic. Of the two, I prefer this one. 16: LOVE MACHINE - THE MIRACLES (18) - This song was on its way to becoming the slowest rising #1 song - up to that point, that is - it has since been beaten by many other songs (though I don't count the ones past 1991). I thought this song was pretty good, but I preferred a few others from them. 15: EVIL WOMAN - ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (16) - Their second Top 40 hit, and it went Top Ten, like the first. I liked it, though it wasn't my absolute favorite from them. 14: 50 WAYS TO LEAVE YOUR LOVER - PAUL SIMON (15) - After making a huge jump the week before, this song moved more modestly over the next two weeks, looking like it might be slowing down, but, in fact, the song would actually hit #1 two short weeks later. This was Simon's first #1 hit after parting ways with Art Garfunkel (who, sadly, never hit #1 on his own). I liked this song, but preferred his next hit, the title track from his album Still Crazy After All These Years. OPTIONAL EXTRA: DREAM WEAVER - GARY WRIGHT - This was one of my personal faves from back in the day, though the song has since lost some of its luster, due to overplay, but it's still not bad. I do prefer his two other Top 40 hits, though. 13: FLY AWAY - JOHN DENVER (14) - As I've said many times before, I heard most of John Denver's songs when I was real little, since my Mom used to play his albums all the time, so I remember them quite well, including this one, which I really liked. What I never knew (until many years later) was that Olivia Newton-John sang back-up on this song. 12: ROCK AND ROLL ALL NIGHT - KISS (13) - They hit the Top 40 for the first time with the live version of a song that had briefly charted on the Hot 100 the previous spring. This song was one of their best rockers, IMO. Poison did a good remake of this song back in 1987. 11: COUNTRY BOY - GLEN CAMPBELL (11) - The follow-up to Campbell's biggest hit ever, "Rhinestone Cowboy". This song, which sounds a little like that one, just narrowly missed the Top Ten this week. I like these two songs about the same. 10: SING A SONG - EARTH, WIND & FIRE (12) - They had a pretty good year in 1975, with two Top 20 hits, including a #1, and this third song that would go on to hit #5 a few weeks later. It was not bad, but I preferred many other songs from them. 9: WALK AWAY FROM LOVE - DAVID RUFFIN (10) - Of course, we all know Ruffin was the lead singer of the Temptations in the mid to late 1960s. He started a solo career in 1969 and had two Top Tens, both peaking at #9. This was the second of those songs and I thought it wasn't bad, but I generally preferred Ruffin's hits with the Temptations. 8: TIMES OF YOUR LIFE - PAUL ANKA (9) - Wow, lots of songs moving up one spot. If the Glen Campbell song had a little more oomph, we would have eight in a row by this point. Anyway, this song is a tad on the cheesy side, but it's still not bad - very mellow and relaxing. 7: CONVOY - C.W. McCALL (3) - Great truckin' song here! This one wasted no time hitting the top, but was only able to hold on for a single week, as there was somewhat of a convoy in the Top Five of songs waiting to hit the top. 6: YOU SEXY THING - HOT CHOCOLATE (8) - Meh, not a big fan of this song at all - but I do realize a lot of people were, as this was their biggest hit - it just never did anything for me, that's all. 5: I LOVE MUSIC - O'JAY'S (6) - This song wasn't bad, but rather repetitive. I preferred a few other songs by them, such as "Love Train" and "Use Ta Be My Girl". 4: LOVE TO LOVE YOU BABY - DONNA SUMMER (7) - Meh, not going to say what I usually do about this song, as I'm listening to it on Sunday). EXTRA: SUNSHINE SUPERMAN - DONOVAN - Played as the final Optional Extra, the story behind this song was how Donovan was the first British male solo male artist to hit #1 in the States. I rather liked this song (as did Imani Coppola, whom sampled this in her 1997 hit "Legend Of A Cowgirl") 3: LOVE ROLLER COASTER - OHIO PLAYERS (4) - This song had been at #4 for the past four weeks, where many people thought it was peaking, but not only did it climb a spot this week, it hit #1 the following week, which was a pleasant surprise for people who liked the song. I wasn't generally a fan of the Ohio Players, but this song wasn't too bad. One I remember from back in the day. 2: I WRITE THE SONGS - BARRY MANILOW (1) - This song is ironically titled, as, while Manilow did write most of his songs, this was not one of them (of course, Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys was the author of this song). Anyway, it's true that I liked most of his ballads, but this one was one of my least favorite of those, most likely due to overplay. 1: THEME FROM "MAHOGANY" - DIANA ROSS (2) - There was a revolving door of #1 hits in late 1975/early 1976, and this song was part of it. This was definitely one of my favorite songs from Diana Ross, and by far my favorite of her 1976 #1's.
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Post by Hervard on Jan 27, 2024 8:47:09 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - January 27, 2024
This week's presentation - January 30, 1988
Droppers: VALERIE - STEVE WINWOOD (38) - A song that originally charted in 1982, when it was released from Winwood's album Talking Back To The Night, but it didn't quite make the Top 40. But it became a Top Ten hit its second time around, and deservedly so, as it was a great song! TRUE FAITH (MORNING SUN) - NEW ORDER (36) - This English band had several big club hits ("Blue Monday" and "Bizarre Love Triangle" come to mind), but this was their first song to crack the Top 40. It was a good one, but it sure had an unusual chart run - did what Casey referred to as a "yo-yo routine" the week before. DON'T YOU WANT ME - JODY WATLEY (33) - She seems to have pairs of songs that sound alike. Her next hit, "Some Kind Of Lover" sounds a lot like this one (and "Real Love" is a dead ringer for "Looking For A New Love"). I thought this song was pretty good. POWER OF LOVE - LAURA BRANIGAN (29) - I always thought that AT40 heavily edited this song down, but I believe what they usually played was the single version, on which all they cut out is the second chorus and the bridge. I was just used to hearing the Celine Dion version, which has all the elements of the original, except the ending, which is shortened, while the Laura Branigan version repeats the chorus to the fade-out. Anyway, IIRC, the only week that they played the album version of this song was the Charlie Vandyke-hosted 12/5/87 show.
40: ENDLESS SUMMER NIGHTS – RICHARD MARX (debut) - Well, we all know that there's no such thing here on Earth, since non-stop darkness only occurs in winter in areas near the poles. This song just narrowly missed the top spot, but he would eventually hit #1 - in fact, he did so with his next hit. This song was pretty good, but I preferred many others from him 39: LOVE OVERBOARD – GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS (debut) - This was somewhat of a random comeback (as, not counting her vocals on "That's What Friends Are For", she'd been absent from the Top 40 since 1975). I liked this song, but preferred a few of her/their older hits. 38: CATCH ME (I’M FALLING) – PRETTY POISON (28) - This song was one of three Top 40 hits from movie Hiding Out, this one heard during the skating rink scene. It's a rather good song, but I preferred the other two hits that the soundtrack spawned, especially "Live My Life" by Boy George, which I thought was totally underrated. The third single, BTW, was "You Don't Know" by Scarlett & Black, which I just recently learned. 37: JUST LIKE PARADISE – DAVID LEE ROTH (debut) - The former lead singer of Van Halen would have several big solo hits of his own. This was a good one that we don't hear much anymore. 36: BECAUSE OF YOU – THE COVER GIRLS (debut) - The first Top 40 hit for this freestyle girl group from the Big Apple. I'm kind of surprised that this song only got as high as #27, as it seemed radio-friendly for the late-1980s (and I regularly heard it on B96 back in the day). Even though this wasn't my favorite type of music, there was something about this song that I really liked. 35: 853-5937 - SQUEEZE (39) - Ah, the other telephone number song in the 1980s that spawned nuisance phone calls. People would call this number and ask for Angela. But not quite as often as the other phone number song (come on, you know the title), since this song was much more obscure - I don’t think it ever got any kind of airplay after it fell off the chart - here in the states, anyway). 34: CHERRY BOMB – JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP (22) - The second single from "The Lonesome Jubilee", and, like the first one, it would hit the Top Ten. This was one of several songs that I disliked back in the day, but now I think it's a good one. Still, I preferred a few of his others, including "Check It Out", which would hit the Top 40 a month later. 33: I GET WEAK – BELINDA CARLISLE (40) - The second release from Heaven On Earth. This was a great song and I remember it going through my mind all day when I first heard it, and it didn't annoy me a bit. This is very possibly my favorite of Belinda's solo hits. Too bad it just barely missed hitting #1 like her preceding hit "Heaven Is A Place On Earth". 32: SHAKE YOUR LOVE – DEBBIE GIBSON (24) - Meh, I like most of her hits, but always thought this one was a little too teenybopper sounding for my tastes. 31: IS THIS LOVE - WHITESNAKE (19) - The first two Top 40 hits from this English rock band were both mid-tempo ballads. I liked both of them about the same. OPTIONAL EXTRA: ANGEL - AEROSMITH - Hey wow, I just heard this song today at work right as I was leaving and, since I knew I'd be hearing a 1988 show today, I got to wondering if this would be one of the Optional Extras, and by jove, it was! Anyway, I don't think I ever got tired of this song. I wasn't sure it was going to be a big hit, due to its weak initial chart performance, but it picked up steam and became their biggest hit ever, a boasting right it would retain for ten more years. 30: FATHER FIGURE – GEORGE MICHAEL (37) - I’m surprised this song only moved up seven spots, as it was already well inside the Top 20 on the R&R chart. Probably because so many fans had the Faith album, so no need to buy the single. That could also explain why this song spent only half as long at #1 on the Hot 100 as it did on R&R. 29: I FOUND SOMEONE - CHER (35) - This was Cher's first Top 40 hit since "Take Me Home", which peaked at #8 in May, 1979. As for this song, it wasn't bad, but I generally preferred her later songs such as "Just Like Jesse James", "Save Up All Your Tears" and "Believe" to name a few. 28: FAITH – GEORGE MICHAEL (16) - I liked many songs from George Michael, both with Wham! and solo, but this was definitely not one of them! This and "I Want Your Sex" were easily my least favorite of the singles from the Faith album! 27: CAN’T STAY AWAY FROM YOU – GLORIA ESTEFAN AND MIAMI SOUND MACHINE (33) - nteresting story about the band releasing nine albums before they had their first Top 40 hit. But it was well worth the wait, as Primitive Love spawned four singles and their second big album (here in the States, that is) was on its way to doing the same. This was a good song, but one of her/their weaker slow songs, IMO. I actually preferred the song that preceded this, the mid-tempo "Betcha Say That". Too bad that song ran out of gas at #36. 26: PUSH IT – SALT-N-PAPA (27) - As we know all too well, I’m not a big rap fan, but generally, 80s rap was OK, and this is an example. 25: PUMP UP THE VOLUME – M/A/R/R/S (30) - I remember this song being played ad nauseum on B96 on Z95 (the latter on which the song spent six weeks at #1) back in early 1988. It's good to hear every now and then, though. I couldn't help but notice that this song was heavily edited, especially during the first half. 24: NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP – RICK ASTLEY (34) -YAHHH!! I'VE BEEN RICKROLLED!!! That was pretty much a guarantee with any show from 1988 during the Casey Kasem era. This was my second favorite of the three two Top Ten singles from Rick's Whenever You Need Somebody album (remember - this and "Together Forever" were pretty much the same song. I also liked the title track, which was a #1 hit in his native England and I believe was on the dance charts in late 1988. 23: HONESTLY - STRYPER (25) - Possibly THE first heavy metal Christian band to hit the chart. Lead singer Michael Sweet sounds very much like Styx, especially in the chorus of this song, which I thought was a great song. I seem to remember that they used this edit several times during the song's chart run, but thankfully, the song was played intact this week. LDD: WILL YOU STILL LOVE ME - CHICAGO 22: POP GOES THE WORLD – MEN WITHOUT HATS (26) - This was a cool, fun song. I liked it better than “The Safety Dance”, including the single version. OPTIONAL EXTRA: GIRLFRIEND - PEBBLES - While Bam-Bam was flopping with his song "Boyfriend", this song became the first hit for this artist, whose real name was Perri McKissack, and one of her most successful at that. I rather liked this song, but I preferred a few other songs from her, including "Mercedes Boy" and her duet with Babyface, "Love Makes Things Happen". 21: SHE’S LIKE THE WIND – PATRICK SWAYZE FEATURING WENDY FRASER (31) - The first of two Dirty Dancing hits in this week's Top 40, and the third that would hit the Top Ten, proving just how hot that soundtrack was. This song peaked at #3 for three weeks, but couldn't get past George Michael and Rick Astley. It was a nice song, IMO - too bad Lumidee had to go and mess it up. 20: SO EMOTIONAL – WHITNEY HOUSTON (9) - This would become Whitney's sixth number one in a row (limited to songs that hit the Hot 100, that is), setting a record. I liked this one, but much preferred the next release, which would extend her #1 streak to seven. 19: THERE’S THE GIRL - HEART (12) - This was a song on which Nancy Wilson sang lead (IIRC, this was the second chart hit on which she handled the lead vocals, but I could be wrong). It was pretty good, but I preferred their other two Top 40 hits from Bad Animals (not sure how the fourth one, "I Want You So Bad" goes, since it never hit the Top 40). 18: EVERYWHERE – FLEETWOOD MAC (23) - This was the fourth of five singles released from Tango In The Night and the final one to hit the Top 40 (the fifth, "Family Man" only got as high as #90), and my second favorite of the singles, behind "Seven Wonders". 17: I LIVE FOR YOUR LOVE – NATALIE COLE (20) - She'd been absent from the charts for most of the 80s as she battled drug and alcohol abuse, but her comeback was certainly no fluke, as this song proved, since it was a Top 20 hit like her comeback hit "Jump Start". Like most of her ballads, I thought this was a great one - definitely in my Top Five of my favorite songs from her, right up there with "Miss You Like Crazy" and "When I Fall In Love" (her own version which was on the same album as this song). 16: CRAZY - ICEHOUSE (14) - The first of two Top 20 hits for this six-member Aussie band. I thought that both this and "Electric Blue" were great songs; I liked them about the same. 15: DON’T SHED A TEAR – PAUL CARRACK (21) - He'd had top 40 success as the lead singer of bands like Ace and Mike + The Mechanics, and he even had a few solo hits. This was a good song, but I preferred a few others from him, both solo and with said bands. 14: TUNNEL OF LOVE – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (15) - The second of three singles released here in the States from the album of the same name. It was a good song, IMO, though I preferred "Brilliant Disguise" by a slight margin. 13: SAY YOU WILL - FOREIGNER (17) - Tell you what, I liked most of their material, but for some reason, I never really got into this song. 12: WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS – PET SHOP BOYS & DUSTY SPRINGFIELD (18) - Another weak song from a band whose material I generally like. One of my least favorites from both artists. This one looked like a sure-fire #1 song, but, luckily, another song leapfrogged over it. 11: I COULD NEVER TAKE THE PLACE OF YOUR MAN - PRINCE (13) - Not sure if I prefer this version or Jordan Knight’s ballad version of the song, which charted in the summer of 1999. Both are great songs in their own ways. OPTIONAL EXTRA: WISHING WELL - TERENCE TRENT D'ARBY - This song had sort of a slow start on the charts (as it had debuted two weeks earlier, but wouldn't enter the Top 40 until late February), but it eventually picked up steam and went all the way to the top! I liked it, but preferred his next hit, "Sign Your Name". 10: TELL IT TO MY HEART – TAYLOR DAYNE (7) - I'd been hearing this one on Chicago's B96 about a month before it hit the chart, and I always thought that, based on the opening synth notes, the song sounded like a dance version of Glenn Frey's "The One You Love". This was probably my favorite song from the album of which this was the title track. 9: CANDLE IN THE WIND – ELTON JOHN (6) - Quite refreshing to hear the original version of the song (from Elton's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road) this week! This was also the version that Z95 played all the time during its chart run on their survey. To my best of knowledge, they never did play the live version. Anyway, of the three versions of the song I've heard, this one is definitely my favorite. 8: HUNGRY EYES – ERIC CARMEN (11) - The second of two Dirty Dancing hits on the chart this week. This was definitely my least favorite of the two. Not sure why; this song just never did anything for me. 7: GOT MY MIND SET ON YOU – GEORGE HARRISON (4) - This was George's first hit in over six years, and he picked up right where he left off, as this was a big hit like his last one before this. I liked the song when it first came out, but to this day, I'm still a tad burned out on it due to overplay. 6: I WANT TO BE YOUR MAN - ROGER (10) - I always found this a tad annoying. I can stomach a listen to it once in awhile, but wouldn't like to hear it everyday (like I did back in early 1988) 5: SEASONS CHANGE – EXPOSE (8) - This was a rare instance where the final song from an album turns out to be the most successful (I seem to remember this happening a few other times in 1988, by acts like the Jets and Richard Marx). Anyway, this would be my second favorite release from their Exposure album behind "Point Of No Return" EXTRA: PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE) – U2 - The first hit single by the band who was the top concert act of 1987, which, of course, was the story that tied in with this song, which was OK, but I preferred several others from the band. 4: THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL – MICHAEL JACKSON (1) - He was on a roll, cranking out #1 hit after #1 hit from the Bad album. This was one of the two songs from the album that had a relatively long chart run (as the others besides this and "Man In The Mirror" seemed to zip up and down the chart). I like this song, though my sentiments were quite different back in the day, since I hated this song back then - I referred to it as "a dicky song" in my journal entry the week before, when this song was #1. Now I think it's a good one! 3: HAZY SHADE OF WINTER – THE BANGLES (5) - This one wasn't too bad (I do prefer it over "Walk Like An Egyptian"), but I prefer many other songs by the Bangles. OPTIONAL EXTRA: ROCKET 2 U - THE JETS - I'm not generally a big fan of their upbeat songs, but I actually liked this one. 2: COULD’VE BEEN - TIFFANY (3) - Here's a song that I'd been hearing on B96 since mid-November, and I kept hoping that it would soon hit the charts, which, of course, it did - in a major way might I add; just like her first hit, it went to #1 - in fact, its first week at the top (of the R&R chart) was on the chart dated January 29, 1988 - my sixteenth birthday, so that was a great birthday present for me! Needless to say, I preferred it over her first hit - by a good-sized margin! 1: NEED YOU TONIGHT - INXS (2) - The first of four Top 40 hits from what would become their best singles album, Kick. I wasn't a huge fan of it, or INXS in general, but they did have a few songs that I liked (this just wasn't one of them).
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Post by mrjukebox on Jan 28, 2024 11:02:52 GMT -5
Hervard,I agree 100% with your assessment of "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do"-It's better as a ballad.
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Post by mrjukebox on Jan 28, 2024 11:42:52 GMT -5
Hervard,I detected a slight error with the name of the artist who recorded "She's Like The Wind"-It's Patrick Swayze not Partick Swayze.
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Post by mrjukebox on Jan 28, 2024 11:44:15 GMT -5
Hervard,hope you have an awesome birthday tomorrow.
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Post by Hervard on Jan 28, 2024 14:40:38 GMT -5
Hervard,I detected a slight error with the name of the artist who recorded "She's Like The Wind"-It's Patrick Swayze not Partick Swayze. Thank you for pointing out that Partickular error! ![:D](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/grin.png) (Sorry, I just couldn't resist...) Hervard,hope you have an awesome birthday tomorrow. Why thank you so much, mrjukebox! ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png)
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