Chart Critiques

[Hervard]

American Top 40: The 80s - June 8, 2024

This week's presentation - June 2, 1984

Droppers:
NO MORE WORDS - BERLIN (37) - For some reason, this one reminded me somewhat of "Breakdance" by Irene Cara, coming up later in the show. It wasn't a bad song, but I preferred "Take My Breath Away".
IT'S MY LIFE - TALK TALK (31) - This song wasn't that big of a hit (didn't even crack the Top 30), but it gets a significant amount of recurrent airplay, mainly due to No Doubt's cover from about 20 years later. I prefer the remake, but the original's not bad either.
THEY DON'T KNOW - TRACEY ULLMAN (26) - She was more of an actor, but she did manage to have one Top 40 hit. It was a good song.
FOOTLOOSE - KENNY LOGGINS (23) - It seems that lately, I hear this song everytime I turn on the radio, especially Sunny 101.5, which I have my car radio locked into pretty much full time.
AUTHORITY SONG - JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP (21) - John's version of "I Fought The Law (And The Law Won)". A great, fun song indeed!

LW#1: LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE BOY – DENIECE WILLIAMS
40: MUSIC TIME - STYX (debut) - This would be their final Top 40 hit for another six and a half years, and it just barely made it, as #40 was where it peaked. The song was OK, but definitely not one of my favorite songs by them!
39: I CAN DREAM ABOUT YOU - DAN HARTMAN (debut) - He'd hit #1 as a part of the Edgar Winter Group in 1973 with "Frankenstein", and returned to the Top Ten on his own with this song. Back in the day, I couldn't stand this song, but think it's a pretty good one now, but still, I preferred his next two hits "We Are The Young" and "Second Nature".
38: WHISPER TO A SCREAM (BIRDS FLY) - ICICLE WORKS (40) - My supervisor at work has taken an interest in this band lately. This was their only Top 40 hit. Typical mid-80s new wave music, it's a pretty good song, IMO as well.
37: WHAT IS LOVE - HOWARD JONES (debut) - Neither of his songs from his first album hit the Top 20, but he'd have much better luck with his next album Dream Into Action, which would be released the following spring and spawn three hits, each of which hit the Top 20. As for this song, it's a good one, but I preferred his other 1984 hit "New Song".
36: LEGS - ZZ TOP (debut) - The first of two Top Ten hits (both of which peaked at #8) for this southern rock band, as well as pretty much their only hit that gets any sort of recurrent airplay, although I do occasionally hear "Sharp Dressed Man" and "Gimme All Your Lovin", though neither of those hit the Top 30.
35: INFATUATION - ROD STEWART (debut) - This song has been compared to his Top Five hit from early 1981, "Passion", since both songs sound alike. I preferred the latter of the two songs - this one never really did much for me.
34: LOVE WILL SHOW US HOW - CHRISTINE McVIE (35) - Her second (and, as it turned out, final) solo Top 40 hit, from her second of three solo albums.
33: DANCE HALL DAYS - WANG CHUNG (38) - One of many newcomers to the chart in 1984. This was actually their second hit, and one of theirs that gets the most recurrent airplay (along with "Everybody Have Fun Tonight"). This song was OK, but I preferred most of their other hits.
32: MAGIC - THE CARS (39) - The second of five singles from Heartbeat City, and my favorite of the five by a fair margin. Definitely released at the right time of year, as it had that summertime sound to it (I seem to remember the video was very summerlike as well).
31: ROCK YOU LIKE A HURRICANE - SCORPIONS (25) - The first Top 40 hit from the city in Germany where the hamburger originated, though I had heard their music before - two years before, they had a song that got heavy airplay on Chicago station WLS, called "No One Like You". I liked this song, but slightly preferred their two 1991 hits.
30: MY EVER CHANGING MOODS - THE STYLE COUNCIL (32) - There's a little resemblance between this song and "The Game Of Love" by Santana/Michelle Branch. I prefer the latter, but this song was pretty good as well.
29: MODERN DAY DELILAH - VAN STEPHENSON (34) - The only Top 40 hit for this Hamilton, Ohio native (and, sadly, it will stay that way, as he passed away back in 2001). Too bad, as this was a good song - had sort of a country rock sound to it.
28: LOVE SOMEBODY - RICK SPRINGFIELD (15) - Rick seemed to still be on a roll at this point. That said, who knew that this song, a great one, would be his final Top Ten?
LDD: PRIVATE EYES – DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES - I'm not sure how fitting this song is for the dedication, as I've always regarded it as a "stalker" song. The author didn't seem to be stalking his former lover; he just kept in contact with her, as she did with him. Nevertheless, the song is a good one, though I prefer its soundalike song "Kiss On My List".
27: WHO'S THAT GIRL - THE EURYTHMICS (30) - The first of two songs by that title that charted in the 1980s. While it is true that this is one of my least favorite songs by the Eurythmics, I must say that I do prefer it over the other song, by Madonna, of course, since the latter was way overplayed (and I never really liked it in the first place). As for the Eurythmics, I think we all know what my favorite song from them is!
26: STAY THE NIGHT - CHICAGO (28) - Based on the way that this song, their first song from the Chicago 17 album, peaked at #16, it looked like it might not be a very big singles album, but the next two hits proved that theory wrong, as they both hit the Top Five - in fact, on the R&R chart, they were both #1s. I preferred those two songs, (especially "Hard Habit To Break") but this was a good one as well.
25: RUN, RUNAWAY - SLADE (27) - The first of two songs that they charted with in 1984 (as well as their only two chart hits). Their second hit, a ballad entitled "My Oh My" would make a brief appearance on the chart later in the summer. This song, a rocker, was my favorite of their two hits.
24: HOLD ME NOW - THE THOMPSON TWINS (10) - It's not often that my favorite song by an artist is also their biggest, but such is the case with this song. A great song indeed!
23: EYES WITHOUT A FACE - BILLY IDOL (33) - Be truthful now - how many of you, like me, thought he was asking the object of his affection to dinner or a movie? (as in "Hows About A Date"). Definitely a common misheard lyric. This was a good song, though my favorite song by him would probably be "Sweet Sixteen".
22: ALMOST PARADISE…LOVE THEME FROM "FOOTLOOSE" - MIKE RENO AND ANN WILSON (29) - This, of course, was the love theme from Footloose. One of my favorite singles from the soundtrack - in fact, it might be second to Kenny Loggins' "I'm Free" as my favorite Footloose song!
21: YOU MIGHT THINK - THE CARS (12) - I already mentioned that "Magic" was my favorite song from the Heartbeat City. This one was possibly my second favorite, since it was a good one as well.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: SUNGLASSES AT NIGHT - COREY HART - Wow, he was offered the role of Marty McFly in Back To The Future? I wonder if that would have affected the airplay of his hit that summer "Never Surrender"? (I'm thinking probably not). Anyway, this was the first Top 40 hit for this Montreal, Canada native, and one of his biggest. I like it, but I preferred most of his other hits.
20: YOU CAN'T GET WHAT YOU WANT (TILL YOU KNOW WHAT YOU WANT) - JOE JACKSON (24) - Possibly THE longest song title of 1984! Anyway, this song was a good one (great horn section), but I personally preferred "Is She Really Goin' Out With Him" and "Breakin' Us In Two".
19: HEAD OVER HEELS - THE GO-GO'S (11) - With the exception of the annoying "We Got The Beat", I like all of their songs about the same. They're all good ones!
18: DANCING IN THE DARK - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (36) - Wow! What an impressive chart leap! Looked like this had "number one" written all over it (and it would have gone to #1 if not for that crapfest by Prince!). It did, however, manage to sneak in a week at #1 on the R&R chart. This was also the first of an incredible seven singles from Springsteen's album Born In The USA, all of which made the Top Ten.
17: DANCING IN THE SHEETS - SHALAMAR (17) - Well, we go from "Dancing In The Dark" to "Dancing In The Sheets", the latter of which is generally done in the dark, but let's not get any further into that... Anyway, this was another hit from the Footloose soundtrack. However, this wasn't one of my favorites, from the album or the band. My favorite song from them would be "The Second Time Around".
16: IT'S A MIRACLE - CULTURE CLUB (20) - With its strong early chart action, one would think that this was a cinch to hit the Top Ten. Not quite - it only got as high as #13 two weeks later. This pretty much showed that people were getting tired of the band, who'd been on the charts continually for nearly a year and a half. I disliked this song when it was on the chart, but I think it's pretty good now, though nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to.
15: THE LONGEST TIME - BILLY JOEL (14) - Interesting that all the voices in this song are Billy Joel - I always thought he had several singers backing him up. Anyway, I liked this song, as well as the An Innocent Man album as a whole, due to its wide variety of music styles.
14: JUMP (FOR MY LOVE) - THE POINTER SISTERS (22) - I have never liked the title of this song - it's like she's treating her man like a dog, making him do tricks for her to love him. If I was dating someone like that, I'd pack my bags and be outta there!
13: I'LL WAIT - VAN HALEN (16) - This song has sort of an early-80s classic rock feel to it. I think it's a good one, and I prefer it over their recent #1 song.
12: BORDERLINE - MADONNA (18) - Her first of many Top Ten hits, and definitely one of her best songs ever, IMO. Like was usually the case, they played the single version of the song, but there were a few shows on which there was enough time to play the album version (where the choruses, especially the last one, are longer, as are a few of the instrumental parts). This song also showed tenacity on the charts, as it spent 15 weeks on the chart which, back then, was unusually long for a song that peaked at #10.
11: SELF CONTROL – LAURA BRANIGAN (19) - This was a song that, back in the day, I did not like at all, but now I think it's pretty decent. Still, I prefer a few others from her.
10: TO ALL THE GIRLS I'VE LOVED BEFORE - WILLIE NELSON & JULIO IGLESIAS (6) - A true guilty pleasure, as many people I know hate this song, due to the cheese factor, as well as the fact that Julio wasn't very good at singing English. This was a song with the huge peak difference on the Billboard & R&R charts - while it climbed all the way to #4 on the former, it only climbed as high as #15 on the latter. Two years before, that was very commonplace, but by 1984, such discrepancies were quite rare. This song must have been a huge seller (it did reach gold status).
OPTIONAL EXTRA: WHEN DOVES CRY - PRINCE - I think that I disliked this song even more than "Self-Control" back during its chart run. And guess what - I still dislike it even more. Not sure why, this one just didn't do much for me (though I did like his other Purple Rain singles).
9: BREAKDANCE - IRENE CARA (9) - This is probably my least favorite of her Top 40 hits. I was never a big fan of breakdance music (although I did occasionally partake in the fad, mainly at school dances).
8: THE HEART OF ROCK 'N' ROLL - HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (13) - They seemed to like the #6 spot on the countdown, as three of their five hits from Sports peaked there. I used to really like this song, but overplay tarnished my fascination for this song somewhat, though it's still a pretty good song. My favorite Sports single would be the next one, "If This Is It", which charted later that summer.
LDD: CAT’S IN THE CRADLE – HARRY CHAPIN - This song was very appropriate for the dedication, which was very sad. The stepdad of the author of the dedication was ordered by the court that he couldn't see his kids from a previous marriage anymore.
7: AGAINST ALL ODDS (TAKE A LOOK AT ME NOW) - PHIL COLLINS (4) - This song had recently spent three weeks at #1, and deservedly so, as its one of his all-time best! Too bad Van Halen had to go and beat this song out for the top song of 1984, according to Radio & Records.
6: SISTER CHRISTIAN - NIGHT RANGER (8) - Like I've said before, I became the butt of many jokes since this song contains my name, but it is still one of my favorites from them nevertheless. Too bad they cut out the second verse, but at least they left in the guitar solo in the middle - that was one of the best parts of the song.
5: THE REFLEX - DURAN DURAN (7) - I tell you what, I liked many songs from them, but never really got into this one. 1984 just wasn't their best year, IMO (though I did like "New Moon On Monday" - by far my favorite of their songs that charted that year).
4: OH SHERRIE - STEVE PERRY The very first solo hit from the man who was still actively the lead singer of Journey. He would have a total of four hits from Street Talk, but this was the biggest of the bunch - a great song IMO (though I don't know what cinnamon gum has to do with anything)
3: HELLO - LIONEL RICHIE (2) - This may not have been his BIGGEST hit, but it was definitely one of them, and it's also one of my favorites from Lionel. Glad this song made it to #1!
2: TIME AFTER TIME - CYNDI LAUPER (3) - Possibly THE most successful newcomer of 1984, with four Top Five hits from her debut album. This was the second of them, and possibly my least favorite, since it's somewhat depressing. It's still not bad, though. Interesting story about time measurement.
1: LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE BOY - DENIECE WILLIAMS (1) - As the biggest hit from the Footloose soundtrack, this song was a very close second to the title track. I hated this song when it was on the chart, due to all the overplay, but now, it's good to hear it every once in awhile instead of everytime I turn on the radio.

[mrjukebox]

"Boy From New York City" was originally a hit in 1965 for The Ad Libs-The remake by Manhattan Transfer charted one notch higher than the original:# 7 vs # 8.

[Hervard]

American Top 40: The 80s - June 15, 2024

This week's presentation - June 17, 1978

Droppers:
STAY - RUFUS & CHAKA KHAN (38) - One of two songs by that title that charted in 1978. This was the less successful of those, peaking at #38 the previous week. This was a pretty good song, considering the kind of music it was.
NIGHT FEVER – THE BEE GEES (32) - This would mark the last of 36 consecutive weeks on the chart that the Bee Gees had at least one hit on the charts (though there would still be a few hits that they wrote on the charts). This song wasn't bad, but was definitely not one of my favorite songs from them.
IF I CAN'T HAVE YOU - YVONNE ELLIMAN (31) - The Bee Gees, of course, wrote this song and even recorded a version of it, putting it on the "B" side of "Stayin' Alive". Of course, I preferred this version of the song - possibly my favorite song on the entire Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.
IMAGINARY LOVER – STEVIE NICKS ATLANTA RHYTHM SECTION (23) - Wow, people sure got tired of this one fast. Two weeks ago, it was actually still moving up (though it had lost its bullet that week), last week took a hefty drop to #23 and this week, falls off the chart. I myself think it's a great song - one of their best!

40: WARM RIDE - RARE EARTH (debut) - Despite me not being a huge fan of disco, I actually liked this song. Possibly because it was written by the Bee Gees.
39: GREASE - FRANKIE VALLI (debut) - The title track to one of the biggest movie soundtracks ever was on its way to the top. It's OK, but I prefer several other songs from him, both solo and with the Four Seasons.
38: EVERYBODY DANCE - CHIC (debut) - Their second hit did not come anywhere near matching up to the success of the first, as this was its only week on AT40. But no matter; the best was yet to come for them later on that year. As for the song, it was actually pretty good, considering I'm not generally a big fan of them.
37: ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG - BILLY JOEL (debut) - This song might have been a Top Ten hit if not for its lyrical content. Many radio stations refused to play this song, which impeded its climb - the song only got as high as #24. It was a great song - one of his best, IMO.
36: THIS TIME I'M IN IT FOR LOVE - PLAYER (10) - Wow, this one sure took a hard fall this week! Their second of their three Top 40 hits, and the second biggest as well, peaking at #10. It wasn't bad, but I preferred "Baby Come Back".
35: DISCO INFERNO - TRAMMPS (24) - Burn, baby burn! For a disco song, this was actually not bad.
34: I CAN’T STAND THE RAIN - ERUPTION (40) - This was pretty much faceless disco here. Not a big fan of this one.
33: WONDERFUL TONIGHT - ERIC CLAPTON (39) - One of Clapton's song that gets the most recurrent airplay today (given that, I'm surprised it did not make an appearance on the R&R chart). It was a good song.
32: CHEESEBURGER IN PARADISE - JIMMY BUFFETT (33) - One of Jimmy's fun songs that you just can't help but sing along with! I have this one on my YouTube playlist of favorite songs, so I definitely like it!
31: MISS YOU - ROLLING STONES (37) - Meh, I think we all know how I feel about this song. I preferred their other disco song, thank you very much.
30: ALMOST SUMMER - CELEBRATION w/MIKE LOVE (36) - Indeed it was! And this was a good song to celebrate summer, which was just a little over a week away! The song definitely had that summer sound to it, since it featured Mike Love of the Beach Boys on vocals.
29: FOLLOW YOU, FOLLOW ME - GENESIS (35) - This was their very first Top 40 hit. I liked many of their hits, but this wasn't one of them. Just not my cup of tea.
28: I WAS ONLY JOKING - ROD STEWART (34) - One of Stewart's most underrated hits ever! The song peaked at #22 the following week, though IMO, it should have gone Top Ten like his song "You're In My Heart" from earlier in the year.
27: THE CLOSER I GET TO YOU - ROBERTA FLACK & DONNY HATHAWAY (14) - Great song! My favorite of their three charted duets. Kind of a weird edit this week - as they started the final verse, they suddenly cut to the ad lib near the end.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: STAY - JACKSON BROWNE - Interesting how Browne changed the lyrics around to be addressing his audience instead of a loved one, like in the original. As for the song, it's not bad, but I preferred "The Load Out", which some radio stations (mainly AOR and Classic Rock) play right before this song, as that's how Browne usually does this song in his concerts.
26: BABY HOLD ON - EDDIE MONEY (11) - Here's one of those songs that didn't quite hit the Top Ten, but gets quite a lot of recurrent airplay. A great song indeed - one of my favorites from him!
25: OH WHAT A NIGHT FOR DANCING - BARRY WHITE (30) - This was pretty much your typical late-70s slow jam. It was pretty good, but nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to.
24: HEARTLESS - HEART (25) - The beginning of this song reminds me a little of "Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress" by the Hollies. The song was so/so, but not quite as good as their 80s and 90s songs.
23: LAST DANCE - DONNA SUMMER (29) - She was indeed on a roll, but the best was yet to come, as her next hit would hit #1 and she'd have three more #1 songs, all in 1979! This was a good one, like many of her big hits.
22: EVEN NOW - BARRY MANILOW (28) - This song looked like it would be another Top Ten for Manilow but, because of the rush release of "Copacabana", this song peaked at #19 and lasted only four weeks on the chart. Like most of his songs, it was a good one, but not one of his best IMO.
21: YOU’RE THE LOVE - SEALS & CROFTS (27) - They had a handful of big hits in the 70s, but unfortunately, this was their final Top 40 hit. It wasn't bad, but I preferred most of their earlier hits.
20: BLUER THEN BLUE - MICHAEL JOHNSON (26) - This Colorado native had three Top 40 hits and this was the biggest of them, peaking at #12. It was a great one, but I still prefer "This Night Won't Last Forever", which got as high as #19 in 1979.
19: DEACON BLUES - STEELY DAN (19) - aka "Peg Pt 2" Both are great songs - not sure which one I prefer. I associate this song more with April, 1982, when I went to Disneyworld with family and friends. My mom's then boyfriend, who did the driving, listened to the Aja tape in the car all the time, so I heard all the songs many times!
18: EVERY KIND OF PEOPLE - ROBERT PALMER (21) - I'm not a huge Robert Palmer fan (but you already know that), but this song was actually pretty good.
17: WITH A LITTLE LUCK - WINGS (9) - As usual, they edited this song (of course, they kinda had to, since the single version of the song is nearly six minutes long). Truly, AT40 had long since outgrown its three-hour allotted playing time. Anyway, this was definitely one of my favorite songs from Wings!
16: STILL THE SAME - BOB SEGER (22) - This song was definitely off to a great start, looking like it might even be his first #1. The song did climb as high as #4, which is great, but it should have gone all the way, IMO. But in 1978, topping the chart was nearly impossible if you weren't on the RSO label.
15: BECAUSE THE NIGHT - PATTI SMITH GROUP (18) - I'm more familiar with the 1993 cover of this song by 10,000 Maniacs, which doesn't sound all that different from this one (except for one of the chords in the chorus). Not sure which of the two I prefer, but, due to overplay of the cover, I'm still burned out on the song overall.
14: TWO OUT OF THREE AIN’T BAD - MEAT LOAF (17) - He had a handful of Top 40 hits, with this being my favorite - as well as one of my favorites on this week's chart. I do, however, prefer the full album version over the single, which was what AT40 usually, if not always, played.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: JUST WHAT I NEEDED - THE CARS - This song has aged quite well. Given all the airplay it receives on oldies and rock stations, I'm surprised that it only got as high as #27.
13: THE GROOVE LINE - HEAT WAVE (15) - aka "Boogie Nights Part 2". I wasn't a huge fan of either song, but their ballad "Always And Forever", which charted between those two songs, was a great one.
12: USED TO BE MY GIRL - O'JAYS (20) - Have you noticed all the songs that move up six spots this week? It was looking like it might be a tie between all those songs for the biggest jump, but this song beat them by two spots to have the biggest mover title all to itself. Anyway, this was their last of six Top Ten hits. It was actually a great song - possibly my favorite of their hits!
11: DANCE WITH ME - PETER BROWN (13) - Meh, I preferred the Orleans song of the same title from three years before. This one just didn't do anything for me.
10: LOVE IS LIKE OXYGEN - SWEET (12) - They had five Top 40 hits, all reaching the upper half of the chart. This one was their final Top 40 hit. It wasn't bad - reminded me of something that ELO would do.
9: YOU BELONG TO ME - CARLY SIMON (16) - A high point in the show for JessieLou here - especially since it took almost as big a jump as the O'Jays! This was a great song - one of Simon's best hits. I liked it as well as the Doobie Brothers' version, which was on their Livin' on the Fault Line album from the year before.
8: ON BROADWAY - GEORGE BENSON (7) - One of several remakes on this week's chart. It was pretty good, with Benson's trademark scat singing, but I still preferred the original by the Drifters.
7: FEELS SO GOOD - CHUCK MANGIONE (4) - This song sure got a lot of mileage on the charts - peaked at #4 the previous week in its 13th week in the Top 40. A true guilty pleasure of mine, this song! Wasn’t this featured on a commercial (about something like Curtis Mathes TV sets) many years back?
6: TAKE A CHANCE ON ME - ABBA (8) - I like many, if not most, of their Top 40 hits, but this isn't one of them. Not sure why, but it just doesn't do anything for me.
5: TOO MUCH, TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE - JOHNNY MATHIS & DENIECE WILLIAMS (3) - With this song's fast chart climb, it looked like it could spend a few weeks on top, but the competition was a little tough. This song spent 11 weeks on the chart, which was an unusually short chart run, especially in 1978. On the other hand, this was Mathis' (and Williams') biggest hit ever on the AC charts. As for my opinion about the song, it was a good one.
4: IT’S A HEARTACHE - BONNIE TYLER (6) - Some people call her a "female Rod Stewart", since both have similarly raspy voices. This was a good song, though I preferred “Total Eclipse Of The Heart”.
3: BAKER STREET - GENE RAFFERTY (5) - I tell you what, I used to really like this song, but not so much anymore. Perhaps overplay on oldies stations. I generally switch the station when this comes on.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: MAGNET AND STEEL - WALTER EGAN - Stevie Nicks, who this song was said to be about, was heard singing back-up on this song, which somehow, I associate more with the fall of 1978 instead of the summer (probably because that was when WLS played the song; it peaked on their survey in late October). Though I preferred "Fool Moon Fire", from 1983, this was a good one too.
2: YOU'RE THE ONE THAT I WANT - JOHN TRAVOLTA & OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (1) - The first of two duets from Grease that they charted with, as well as one of two #1 hits from the soundtrack (the title track, back at #39, was the other). I like both duets about the same - it depends on my mood at the time. Regardless, both are great songs.
1: SHADOW DANCING - ANDY GIBB (2) - This song was starting off its seven-week run at #1, on its way to becoming the top song of the entire year. However, it is possibly my least favorite of his hits (but at least my favorite won out for the year before, so it's all good).

[Hervard]

American Top 40: The 80s - June 15, 2024

This week's presentation - June 14, 1980

LW#3: BIGGEST PART OF ME - AMBROSIA
LW#2: COMING UP - PAUL McCARTNEY
LW#1: FUNKY TOWN - LIPPS, INC.
40: I'M ALIVE - THE ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (debut) - One of two Xanadu singles on the chart this week. It was so/so, but I preferred their duet with Olivia Newton-John, which, of course, was the title track and would chart later on in the summer.
39: NEW ROMANCE - SPIDER (39) - Wow, here's a faceless band! I don't remember! It's the only song by this New York quintet and this is all the higher the song got, which was too bad, since it was a really good one!
38: ALL NIGHT LONG - JOE WALSH (debut) - There were many soundtracks during 1980 that spawned many singles, and the Urban Cowboy soundtrack was definitely one of them. This was the first of six new hits from the soundtrack to make the Top 40. Considering I'm not a huge Joe Walsh fan, this was actually pretty good.
37: MORE LOVE - KIM CARNES (debut) - Interesting story about how the hard lesson she learned from trying to delve into a recording contract. This week, as she was on her way down with her duet with Kenny Rogers, she was scaling the chart with her first big solo hit. Of course, the best was yet to come. Not sure if I prefer this song or "Bette Davis Eyes" - I think it's one of those cases where it depends on my mood.
36: MAGIC - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (debut) - This was the other hit from Xanadu on this week's chart, and it would end up being the biggest of them all by far, spending four weeks at #1. I liked this song, but it was not quite my favorite ONJ song.
35: ANSWERING MACHINE - RUPERT HOLMES (debut) - Third Single Syndrome definitely applied here, as his first two songs were Top Ten hits, but this one ran out of steam at #32. It was also his final Top 40 hit. I preferred said first two songs; this one was mediocre.
34: TWO PLACES AT THE SAME TIME - RAY PARKER & RAYDIO (37) - A physical impossiblilty (well, unless you clone yourself or borrow Doc Brown's Delorean). As for the song, it was pretty good, but definitely not his best,
33: ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL - PINK FLOYD (29) - Generally an album rock act, they managed to have a few pop singles, including the biggest of them all. I like this song, but it's definitely not my favorite song on the chart. I wish they would include the part near the end, with the teachers hollering at the kids, but they almost always faded the song out before they got to that part.
ARCHIVES: STILL - THE COMMODORES - I've been in sort of a blue funk over the past few days, so I didn't really need to hear this depressing song today.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: LOVE THE WORLD AWAY - KENNY ROGERS - Joe Walsh debuted this week with the first Top 40 single from Urban Cowboy. This song would become the second just two weeks later. The song was also the second biggest hit from the soundtrack, behind "Lookin' For Love" by Johnny Lee. Last, but definitely not least, this song was by far my favorite song from the movie - just barely missed being the top song of 1980 according to my personal Top 30 charts - Kool & The Gang's "Too Hot" beat it by the narrowest margin possible.
32: THEME FROM "NEW YORK, NEW YORK" - FRANK SINATRA (35) - Old Blue Eyes' 110th and final chart entry here. This one reminded me a lot of my aunt's old records, which I used to listen to when I went over to my grandmother's (her mom) house to visit every Sunday afternoon, as many of those were from the forties and fifties. This one was peaking at #32 this week and probably would have done better had it been released back in the Big Band era. I thought it was a nice throwback song.
31: WE WERE MEANT TO BE LOVERS - PHOTOGLO (32) - His first of two Top 40 singles, both of which had that MOR sound to it, like many songs between 1979 and 1981 shortly after the death of disco. It was a good one, but I seem to recall that I preferred his 1981 hit "Fool In Love With You".
30: TWILIGHT ZONE - MANHATTAN TRANSFER (33) - Wow, interesting story about them filming a TV show out in 138 degree desert heat! Not sure I could hack that! Anyway, I liked how they incorporated the theme from the popular TV anthology series into this song. Their second of four Top 40 hits (yes, I thought they had more as well).
29: ONE FINE DAY - CAROLE KING (debut) - One of those cases where the songwriter of a song charts with it after it charts one or more times by other artists. This would by my second favorite version of the song (that I've heard), behind Rita Coolidge's rendition from the previous year.
28: LADY - THE WHISPERS (28) - After an upbeat dance number as their first hit, they went with a ballad this time around. The best part of this song was the synth bridge which they sometimes edited out, but they left it intact this week, which is good. Without it, the song is simply one of those sleepy R&B slow jams of the early 80s that sound more like early 70s.
27: WE LIVE FOR LOVE - PAT BENATAR (30) - Wow, two songs in a row using synths (although, this song uses modern ones, while the Whispers song uses old school synths). Anyway, this song used to be so/so, but now it's one of my favorite songs from her.
26: TIRED OF TOEIN' THE LINE - ROCKY BURNETTE (34) - Johnny Burnette's son here must have gotten tired of it right off as his first hit turned out to be his only hit. It was a great one, though - definitely sounds like something from the early sixties, which is when Johnny Burnette had several chart hits.
LDD: IN MY LIFE - THE BEATLES - This song definitely fit the LDD, as it was from an American who lived in Iran, but had to evacuate about a year and a half before and had lost contact with all the friends she made there.
25: BREAKDOWN DEAD AHEAD - BOZ SCAGGS (22) - "Lido Shuffle Part 2", as some people call it (but Part 1 will always be the best, right?) This one's a great song as well!
24: RIDE LIKE THE WIND - CHRISTOPHER CROSS (23) - Wow, for a second week in a row, this song took a one-spot drop. Kind of unusual for a song that had peaked at #2 and been around for awhile. Anyway, I liked most of his Top 40 hits, this one included.
23: SHOULD'VE NEVER LET YOU GO - NEIL & DARA SEDAKA (25) - Neil, of course, had tons of hits back over the past three decades, but this was his daughter Dara's only appearance in the Top 40. It was definitely a great song - one of my favorite Sedaka songs.
ARCHIVES: NO MORE TEARS - BARBRA STREISAND & DONNA SUMMER - 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.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: MISUNDERSTANDING - GENESIS - Their second Top 40 hit, the first one to hit the Top 20, and a song that my station used to play all the time back in the summer of 1980. Given that, I'm surprised the song didn't even hit the Top Ten on the Hot 100 (though it did peak at #3 on the R&R chart). This was definitely one of my favorite Genesis songs of all time!
22: SHINING STAR - MANHATTANS (27) - I've already mentioned, too many times, I'm sure, that I preferred this one over their other big hit, the day-darkening "Kiss And Say Goodbye".
21: WONDERING WHERE THE LIONS ARE - BRUCE COCKBURN (21) - LOL @ the artist's name (though it's not pronounced that way). Anyway, I liked this song.
20: LOST IN LOVE - AIR SUPPLY (19) - Like the Christopher Cross song, this song made two consecutive downward moves of one spot. I'm wondering if its success on WLS's station playlist was instrumental in that, as the song had begun a three-week reign on that chart the week before. This was the breakthrough song for this Australian duo, and one of their best. Possibly my favorite of the songs where Graham Russell sings lead.
EXTRA: DANCING IN THE STREET - MARTHA & THE VANDELLAS - They were the female act with the most Top Ten songs during the rock era. This was the biggest of their six Top Ten songs, peaking at #2 in the runner-up position. The song was OK, but nothing exceptional.
19: SEXY EYES - DR. HOOK (16) - Wow, several songs making small drops in this area of the chart. Anyway, this band had the most success in the 1970s, but they did have a few in the 80s, including one of their biggest hits ever - that would be this one, of course, which I liked, but, as I've mentioned many times, it doesn't hold a candle to "Better Love Next Time".
18: LET ME LOVE YOU TONIGHT - PURE PRAIRIE LEAGUE (20) - This song (my favorite PPL song) was the only Top Ten hit for this band, led by Vince Gill, husband of Amy Grant. It doesn't get much recurrent airplay anymore, but their 1975 "Amie" certainly does - and that song only lasted three weeks on the chart!
17: STOMP - THE BROTHERS JOHNSON (17) - This one had an odd chart run around the time it peaked - it made a big 16-7 move and held that spot the next week. One might think it would move forward a spot or two the following week, but instead, dropped back to #17, held there this week and then dropped to #18 and then resumed a normal chart run from there (well, from what was left of its chart run within the Top 40? I wonder what the deal was there? Anyway, this was never one of my favorite songs - not quite a "No. Just no" but close.
16: BRASS IN POCKET - THE PRETENDERS (14) - This rock quarted led by Chrissie Hynde was embarking on a pretty good chart career, with, I believe six Top 40 hits. This was one of their best, IMO.
15: HURT SO BAD - LINDA RONSTADT (8) - Ah, the queen of remakes here! This wasn't one of my favorite songs from her, but it was still a good one!
14: LET'S GET SERIOUS - JERMAINE JACKSON (18) - Anyone notice the resemblance between this and "Grease" by Frankie Valli? I heard this song at the water park two years ago and at first I thought it was this song, but then realized that it wasn't. As for the song, it isn't bad, but I generally preferred his mid-80s songs.
LDD: ALWAYS & FOREVER - HEAT WAVE - One of the most popular love songs of all time! It indeed fit the LDD!
13: CUPID / I'VE LOVED YOU FOR A LONG TIME - SPINNERS (15) - They seemed to be on a roll with medleys, as this was their second one in a row and it, like the first one, hit the Top Ten. I wonder if they just decided to stop while they were ahead; who knows? Anyway, I liked both medleys about the same.
ARCHIVES: BABE - STYX - 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!
OPTIONAL EXTRA: SAILING - CHRISTOPER CROSS - Now here's a great song that came out at the right time of year, since it's about a popular summertime activity. In Cross' short pop chart career, he put out many great songs. In fact, I can't think of one song by him that I don't like. This is among my favorites by him.T
12: DON'T FALL IN LOVE WITH A DREAMER - KENNY ROGERS W/ KIM CARNES (4) - I tell you what, I think that it's too bad they didn't do more collaborations, because both of them (this and "What About Me" in 1984) were among my favorites by both artists.
11: SHE'S OUT OF MY LIFE - MICHAEL JACKSON (12) - Had this song had a little more oomph in it, it would have been the first time that siblings were in the Top Ten at the same time (with solo hits, anyway), but by the time that "Let's Get Serious" by Jermaine Jackson made the Top Ten, this song had already dropped from its peak position of #10. No matter; it would happen eventually - in the fall of 1995, to be exact. And what do you know - it involved the Jacksons (more specifically, Michael and Janet). Anyway, I thought this was a great song - my favorite from the Off The Wall album, though somewhat poignant, as I heard this song very soon after he died back in 2009 (on an AT40 show, no less), and came very close to breaking down (much like Michael does at the end of this song).
10: STEAL AWAY - ROBBIE DUPREE (13) - One of two Top 20 hits for thus Brooklyn native. This was my favorite song from him - sounded a lot like "What A Fool Believes" by the Doobie Brothers, one of my all-time faves.
9: CARS - GARY NUMAN (9) - Here's one I remember quite well from the early summer of 1980! The radio stations I listened to back in the day played this one all the time! Even though it could use a few more verses (in place of all the instrumental parts), it is still a great song nevertheless. As synth-heavy as it was, it was almost ahead of its time!
8: LITTLE JEANNIE - ELTON JOHN (10) - This was Elton's first, and biggest, hit of the 1980s. It was a great one - very upbeat and happy sounding, which is more than I can say for some of his songs ("The Last Song" for instance).
7: IT'S STILL ROCK & ROLL TO ME - BILLY JOEL (11) - This was the biggest mover over the past two weeks, the song made a pretty decent-sized chart jump this week as well. The song was indeed on its way to being his very first #1. Though my least favorite of the Glass Houses singles, it's still a good one to me!
6: CALL ME - BLONDIE (5) - This song had just spent six weeks at #1 and wasn't in any hurry to leave the chart, as evidenced by its one-point drop this week. The song was by a band whose #1 songs show great diversity, from disco to new wave, and from reggae to rap. This, of course, was the new wave song and, with that type of music becoming more popular than ever in 1980, it's no surprise that this song came out on top! A great song indeed!
5: AGAINST THE WIND - BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND (7) - Difficult, but not impossible. But seriously, this song, the title track from this week's #1 album (for the sixth week) was on its way to a peak of #5. It was definitely one of his best songs ever (and another one I remember quite well - both from the radio and the album, which my Mom had on cassette and we listened to it in the car all the time).
4: THE ROSE - BETTE MIDLER (6) - Funny story about how Bette Midler became "devoured" by a giant hot dog! I definitely do not remember this song from its chart run, however. Perhaps it just didn't make an impression on me. I remember singing this song in choir in middle school. The song's OK, but I definitely prefer several other songs from her.
3: BIGGEST PART OF ME - AMBROSIA (3) - Since the top two were solid hits, this was all the higher that this one got, but it did manage to spend a month atop the R&R chart, which was good, because this was my favorite song by Ambrosia (though "How Much I Feel" was a very close second).
OPTIONAL EXTRA: ALL OUT OF LOVE - AIR SUPPLY - This, of course, was one of my least favorite Air Supply songs, although I must like it better than I used to, as it no longer gets "No. Just no" status. For more info, see my comments on "Still" by the Commodores, the first of this week's Archive songs.
2: COMING UP (LIVE AT GLASGOW) - PAUL McCARTNEY & WINGS (2) - Despite its monster chart jump of eleven spots two weeks before, one might think this was a cinch to hit the top next week, but it was actually stuck in the runner-up position for three weeks before it finally had enough steam to top the charts!
1: FUNKY TOWN - LIPPS INC. (1) - Like "Cars", this was another song that sounded a little ahead of its time, what with the synths and the electronic voices. It apparently worked, especially seeing that it had the strength to keep such a fast climbing song as "Coming Up" at bay for several weeks! It was OK, but I was never a huge fan of it. I preferred Pseudo-Echo's cover from seven years later.

[Hervard]

American Top 40: The 80s - June 15, 2024

This week's presentation - June 18, 1988

Droppers:
WHEN WE KISS - BARDEUX (38) - This was your typical late-80s slow-jam. In fact, I seem to remember it sounded a lot like another song from around this time, Nu Shooz' "Should I Say Yes" (which might not have even made the AT40 chart, but it did hit R&R). I rather liked it, and actually heard it on the June 11 show on the iHeartRadio Classic Top 40 station this past week.
ELECTRIC BLUE - ICEHOUSE (36) - This Aussie band was a two-hit wonder on the charts, as they had two Top 20 hits in 1988. They had peaked at #14 early in the year with "Crazy" and got as high as #7 with this one. They were both great songs, IMO.
STRANGE BUT TRUE - TIMES TWO (35) - A faceless band, but a great song! I felt it was underrated.
DREAMING - ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK (30) - They had a total of four hits on the charts, and this was their second biggest behind "If You Leave". It was pretty much a toss-up between this one and "So In Love" as my favorite song by them.
ALWAYS ON MY MIND - PET SHOP BOYS (28) - Of the four versions that I've heard (of which Casey played a montage on the April 9 show), this one was far and away my favorite. The other versions were so bland.

40: SIGN YOUR NAME – TERENCE TRENT D’ARBY (debut) - This and "Wishing Well" are pretty much the only two songs by him that I like. I preferred this one - had a somewhat haunting sound to it.
39: I DON’T WANT TO LIVE WITHOUT YOU - FOREIGNER (22) - Wow, two weeks ago, this was in the Top Ten and this week, it was nearly out of the Top 40. People sure got tired of this one fast. It was a nice song, but not one of my favorites from them.
38: WAIT – WHITE LION (25) - Like Icehouse, they were a two-hit wonder, but my opinion of their songs differed greatly. This was far and away my favorite song of the two ("When The Children Cry" was too maudlin for my tastes.
37: TWO OCCASIONS – THE DEELE (26) - This song used to be the closing song for Open House Party (is that show even still in production?) It was a pleasant song, but I preferred a few of Babyface's solo hits.
36: PARENTS JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND – D.J. JAZZY JEFF & THE FRESH PRINCE (debut) - Like Fresh Prince in the first story, about school shopping, I was sixteen back when this song was popular, so I could definitely relate! I liked this song - this was back when rap was still tolerable.
35: HEART OF MINE – BOZ SCAGGS (39) - I liked all of his Top 40 hits, but this one is in a horse race with "Lido Shuffle" for my favorite song from Scaggs!
34: BLACK AND BLUE – VAN HALEN (debut) - This was off to a promising start, but oddly enough, it dropped back to #37 the next week. I guess it wasn't promoted to Top 40 radio very well, if at all.
33: ROLL WITH IT – STEVE WINWOOD (debut) - It’s true I hated it when it first came out, but then I gradually started to like it more and more. This is a great one to crank up while driving (but not too loud, especially in cities with noise ordinances, lol!)
32: MAKE ME LOSE CONTROL – ERIC CARMEN (debut) - On several occasions, they cut out the second verse in this song (my favorite of the three), but this time, they decided to cut out the third one (where you can't understand him quite as much). Definitely my favorite of Carmen's two 1988 hits ("Hungry Eyes" was too overplayed).
31: PARADISE - SADE (40) - Sade was mainly a smooth jazz and AC artist, but they did have a handful of Top 40 hits - four, to be exact (well, before the PPW era, anyway) and all of them hit the Top 20. This one just barely squeaked in, peaking at #20 in July. It was a great song - my favorite of their hits!
OPTIONAL EXTRA: KISSING A FOOL - GEORGE MICHAEL - This was the sixth consecutive Top Ten from George's monster album Faith. I was hoping it would hit #1 to keep his streak alive, but that was not to be. I can see why, though; the song was not representative of the rest of his hits; sounded more like a piano bar song. I did like it, though.
30: SUPERSONIC – J.J. FAD (37) - A female rap trio from LA, with their only Top 40 hit. Another decent rap song, IMO - my favorite part was where two of them were rapping and the other was beatboxing at the beginning.
LDD: WITH OR WITHOUT YOU – U2 - This was a very moving LDD. The song was definitely appropriate, for several different reasons.
29: TALL COOL ONE – ROBERT PLANT (32) - Ah, the lead singer of the legendary Led Zeppelin. This was pretty good - the part at the end, with a montage of guitar riffs from many of their classic hits, was really cool!
28: HANDS TO HEAVEN - BREATHE (34) - When I first heard this song, I thought it was a new hit by Air Supply - the singer sounded a lot like Russell Hitchcock in the choruses. I liked this song at first, but overplay tarnished it for me. I preferred their songs on their Peace Of Mind album two years later.
27: RUSH HOUR – JANE WEIDLIN (33) - The second of the Go-Gos to hit the Top 40 with a solo hit. Unfortunately, she wasn't quite as successful as bandmate Belinda Carlisle, as this was her only Top 40 hit. It was a great song - too bad her follow-up "Inside A Dream" only got as high as #57, since I preferred that song.
26: LOST IN YOU – ROD STEWART (29) - Here's an artist who had been hitting the charts for two decadees, and his hit streak was far from over. This one didn't quite hit the Top Ten, but it didn't miss by much, peaking at #12. It was a great one - possibly my favorite of his four Top 40 hits from the Out Of Order album. WNYR played another one of those songs ("Forever Young") to fill up time until the end of the first hour, due to their computer glitch that caused the segments containing songs #36-#34 to be skipped over.
25: HOLD ON TO THE NIGHTS – RICHARD MARX (31) - A rare example of the final release from an album (that spawned three or more hits) was the biggest. The first three hit the Top Five, but this one went all the way. I preferred several others from him, though - most of them from Repeat Offender.
24: UNDER THE MILKY WAY – THE CHURCH (27) - This was one of several Aussie bands on the chart this week. I liked this song, but I preferred the follow-up, "Over The Three Musketeers"
23: ANYTHING FOR YOU – GLORIA ESTEFAN & MIAMI SOUND MACHINE (19) - This was their only #1 song (as a group, anyway, as Gloria went on two have two #1 songs on her own). It was a good song - they played the "Spanglish" version of the song this week, like they did on many other occasions, including the year-ender.
22: PIANO IN THE DARK – BRENDA RUSSELL FEATURING JOE ESPOSITO (11) - Like the other Brenda on the chart this week, she had two Top 40 hits. Actually, that was all she had on the Hot 100 as well - I guess they didn't promote her 1990 AC hit "Stop Running Away" to Top 40 radio. Not sure if I preferred this one or "So Good, So Right" - both are great songs!
21: BEDS ARE BURNING – MIDNIGHT OIL (24) - Another Aussie band and, like The Church, they only had one Top 40 hit. I remember hearing this song all the time in early 2001 on Chicago's 94.7 The Zone - a then-80s station that had the skimpiest variety of music. One day (March 10, 2001, to be exact), when I was out for a leisurely drive, I must have heard the song at least three times. No wonder that format didn't last long on that station! As for the song, it's a good one, so at least it wasn't a crappy song that was overplayed.
20: NEW SENSATION - INXS (23) - And look here - another act from Australia - and from Sydney, to boot (like Midnight Oil). It was a good song - much better than the overplayed "Need You Tonight".
OPTIONAL EXTRA: WALKING AWAY - INFORMATION SOCIETY - The second of two Top Tens for this pop-dance quartet formed in Minneapolis. Nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to.
19: NAUGHTY GIRLS (NEED LOVE TOO) – SAMANTHA FOX (5) - Of her four Top 40 hits, this was the biggest. Wasn't quite one of my favorites, and it was pretty much rehashed in her next Top 40 hit "I Wanna Have Some Fun". I preferred "Touch Me" and her cover of "I Only Wanna Be With You", as well as their Top 40 miss from the previous summer, "Do Ya Do Ya (Wanna Please Me).
18: POUR SOME SUGAR ON ME – DEF LEPPARD (21) - They'd had moderate chart success on the Top 40 chart with the Pyromania album, but it was the Hysteria album that REALLY put them on the map. This was their first Top Five hit and looked like it would hit #1, but Richard Marx leapfrogged over them with his hit that we heard back at #31. No matter; they would top the chart with their next single "Love Bites". Not sure if I preferred that one or this. Appropriate that the song was inspired on a coffee break, given the title.
17: NITE AND DAY – AL B. SURE (18) - Ah, a nice and mellow slow jam - much better than his upbeat songs (like "Off On Your Own Girl"). I liked the synthesizer used in this song.
16: SHATTERED DREAMS – JOHNNY HATES JAZZ (4) - Hmm, I wonder if they've forgiven George Michael yet for shutting them out of the #1 spot? Regardless, this was my favorite of their three songs from Turn Back The Clock? The title track, which was an AC-only hit late that year, would be a close second. Interesting story about them performing at a jazz club - given their name, that is quite ironic!
15: WE ALL SLEEP ALONE - CHER (14) - Cher had one Top Ten hit on R&R and one Top Ten hit on the Hot 100 in 1988 - only with different songs. This one hit the Top Ten on the former by the skin of its teeth, and this is all the further it got on the Hot 100, where she'd hit the Top Ten earlier in the year with "I Found Someone", which peaked at #12 on R&R. I preferred this one, though neither one was one of my favorites from Cher. I like songs like "Believe" and "Strong Enough" better.
14: I STILL BELIEVE – BRENDA K. STARR (15) - This was her first of two Top 40 hits - and she almost had a third hit, her duet with George Lamond called "No Matter What", but that one ran out of gas at #49 - too bad, as that was my favorite song from her. This, however, was a close second, as it was a great one!
13: NOTHIN’ BUT A GOOD TIME - POISON (17) - This song hit the Top Ten on the Hot 100, but just missed on the R&R chart. Poison didn't have their first Top Ten on that chart until "Every Rose Has Its Thorn", which went all the way to the top. Anyway, this was a great song - one of my favorite songs by Poison!
12: KISS ME DEADLY – LITA FORD (16) - Wow, lots of heavy metal songs on this week's show. I'll bet this was a highlight for our friend JessieLou. I liked this song, too, as well as the follow-up "Back To The Cave".
11: MERCEDES BOY - PEBBLES (20) - Is it me, or were there more songs about cars and driving than usual in the summer of 1988? Who knows; maybe it seems like that because that was the summer I took Driver's Ed. Didn't get my license until seven years later, though (mainly due to procrastination).
OPTIONAL EXTRA: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE - GUNS 'N ROSES - Of the four Top 40 hits from Appetite For Destruction, this would be my least favorite. Not sure why - this one just never did anything for me.
10: ALPHABET ST. - PRINCE (12) - This was Prince's last hit for about a year, before he came back with three songs from the Batman soundtrack in 1989. This song was OK, but far from being his best.
9: THE FLAME – CHEAP TRICK (13) - After an eight-year absence from the chart, Cheap Trick came back in a major way, as this song went all the way to the top and was one of the most played songs of the summer of 1988. As a result, I'm still kind of burned out on this one, but it's tolerable. Still, I preferred many of their earlier hits, including "I Want You To Want Me" and "Voices".
8: THE VALLEY ROAD – BRUCE HORNSBY & THE RANGE (10) - This was the third and final Top Ten hit for Hornsby. I liked this song, but preferred the three hits from The Way It Is.
7: CIRCLE IN THE SAND – BELINDA CARLISLE (9) - Another artist having their final Top Ten hit. This one was OK, but not one of my favorites by her by a longshot. I preferred "I Get Weak", along with the two Wild Horses singles in 1989 and 1990.
6: EVERYTHING YOUR HEART DESIRES – DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (3) - Here is yet another artist on this week's chart with their last Top Ten hit (though they just barely missed with the ironically titled "So Close" in late 1990). This was pretty good, but I prefer many others from them. Is it me, or did this contain a bad edit near the end?
5: MAKE IT REAL – THE JETS (7) - 1988 was definitely the year for the rare "last single with most success". We've already talked about Richard Marx, and the Jets are another example. This song peaked at #4 a few weeks later. This was a great song, though I slightly preferred "You Got It All".
4: DIRTY DIANA – MICHAEL JACKSON (8) - This one would set a record, as the fifth #1 song from the same album. It was one of my favorites from the Bad album.
3: FOOLISH BEAT – DEBBIE GIBSON (6) - This could have been yet another example of the "last single with most success" phenomenon, as this was the only #1 song from Out Of The Blue, but while she was still hot, she decided to release a fifth single - which didn't even hit the Top 20 (didn't upset me too terribly, as I wasn't crazy about the song). Such was not the case with this great song, though - this one most definitely one of her best hits ever! Glad they didn't have that sloppy edit near the end! The same one was used the previous two weeks and would be used again on the July 9 show. Totally screwed up the continuity of the song!
OPTIONAL EXTRA: MY HEART CAN'T TELL YOU NO - ROD STEWART - Wow - during the course of this show, I heard three of the four Top 40 hits from Rod's Out Of Order album (For perfect measure, I did hear the other one, "Crazy About Her" (along with a host of other obscure summer, 1989 hits) at Deep River Water Park last weekend. As for my opinion of this song, it's a good one - sort of in a horse race with "Lost In You" as my favorite song from said album.
2: ONE MORE TRY – GEORGE MICHAEL (1) - When "Father Figure" was riding high on the charts, I listened to the "Faith" album for the first time and heard this song. I loved it instantly and hoped it would be released next and, sure enough, it was. This was one of very few songs to top the chart for more than two weeks in 1988. How I miss the days when the charts moved fast! There was absolutely no need for a recurrent rule.
1: TOGETHER FOREVER – RICK ASTLEY (2) - Ah, the prerequisite Rickroll, which was virtually unavoidable in 1988. This one was more or less a watered-down version of "Never Gonna Give You Up". I preferred the next hit from the Whenever You Need Somebody album, "It Would Take A Strong Strong Man". The title track was also a great song, but that one wasn't released here in the states, which I thought was a shame (though as I recall, that was a decent-sized hit on the dance chart).

[mrjukebox]

I can understand why "Only The Good Die Young" ran out of gas at # 24-A lot of radio stations in the so called "Bible Belt" were offended by Billy Joel's lyrics & chose not to add the song to their playlists-In May 1991,Billy received an honorary degree from Fairfield University here in Connecticut-A lot of Catholics were up in arms about this-They truly felt that Joel was mocking their religion.

[mrjukebox]

Hervard,it was Gerry Rafferty not Gene Rafferty who recorded "Baker Street".

[mrjukebox]

Hervard,"Lady" by Styx never got to # 1 in Billboard-You're probably thinking of "Babe" which was an "AT40 Archive" song on the countdown from 6/14/80.

[Hervard]

Jun 16, 2024 10:35:07 GMT -5 mrjukebox said:

Hervard,it was Gerry Rafferty not Gene Rafferty who recorded "Baker Street".

I know. I was sort of poking fun at how the song is listed as being by Gene Rafferty in the Top Five listing for June 17 in the Billboard Book of #1 Hits.

Jun 16, 2024 10:43:05 GMT -5 mrjukebox said:

Hervard,"Lady" by Styx never got to # 1 in Billboard-You're probably thinking of "Babe" which was an "AT40 Archive" song on the countdown from 6/14/80.

Exactly what I was thinking of. I guess since it was a one-word title with four letters, and used to address someone. For the record, I like "Babe" much more than "Lady". Not sure why, but the latter just never did anything for me.

[Hervard]

Jun 16, 2024 8:30:19 GMT -5 mrjukebox said:

I can understand why "Only The Good Die Young" ran out of gas at # 24-A lot of radio stations in the so called "Bible Belt" were offended by Billy Joel's lyrics & chose not to add the song to their playlists-In May 1991,Billy received an honorary degree from Fairfield University here in Connecticut-A lot of Catholics were up in arms about this-They truly felt that Joel was mocking their religion.

This song was playing as I was fixing myself lunch, away from the computer. That's good, since I don't like to listen to such songs on Sunday (per the commandment about "keeping the Sabbath holy").

[mga707]

Jun 16, 2024 8:30:19 GMT -5 mrjukebox said:

I can understand why "Only The Good Die Young" ran out of gas at # 24-A lot of radio stations in the so called "Bible Belt" were offended by Billy Joel's lyrics & chose not to add the song to their playlists-In May 1991,Billy received an honorary degree from Fairfield University here in Connecticut-A lot of Catholics were up in arms about this-They truly felt that Joel was mocking their religion.

From personal experience, I will vouch for Billy's observational lyrics as to 'Catholic girls'...

[Hervard]

American Top 40: The 70s - June 22, 2024

This week's presentation - June 28, 1975

T-R-O-U-B-L-E - ELVIS PRESLEY (35) - Presley was great in the 50s and 60s, but around the mid-70s, his quality began to drop. But I will say this - This song, as mediocre as it was, was much better than the depressing "My Boy" from earlier in the year.
SHINING STAR - EARTH, WIND & FIRE (29) - great song! Shame it fell off!
ATTITUDE DANCING - CARLY SIMON (21) - Well, she may have been gone, but her then husband, had one of this week's Optional Extras. I seem to recall that this one was OK, but definitely not her best.
OLD DAYS - CHICAGO (17) - Not sure what happened with this song - it made a spectacular debut in the Top 40, at #17, climbed to #5, and then dropped to #17 then off, spending only seven weeks on the chart. Too bad, as it was a great song, IMO.

40: I’LL DO FOR YOU ANYTHING YOU WANT ME TO – BARRY WHITE (40) - White had clearly had his day in the sun (though he would return to the Top Ten two years later). This one wasn't anything special IMO.
39: EVERY TIME YOU TOUCH ME (I GET HIGH) – CHARLIE RICH (debut) - His final Top 40 hit. I rather liked this one.
38: SPIRIT OF THE BOOGIE – KOOL & THE GANG (debut) - I generally wasn't a big fan of their 70s hits - this one included
37: BLACK FRIDAY – STEELY DAN (37) - One of their more overlooked songs. I thought it was pretty good, but I preferred most of their other hits.
36: SLIPPERY WHEN WET – THE COMMODORES (debut) - See my comment for #38.
35: LAST FAREWELL – ROGER WHITTAKER (19) - I definitely recognized the fanfare at the beginning of the song - WGN TV in Chicago used it on their station ID back in the late-70s.
34: BAD LUCK (PART 2) – HAROLD MELVIN & THE BLUENOTES (15) - Not a fan of this one. My favorite from them would probably be "The Love I Lost".
33: JIVE TALKIN’ – THE BEE GEES (debut) - Their very first disco hit, and it wasted no time hitting #1.
32: ROCKFORD FILES – MIKE POST (39) - One of many great TV show themes from Mr. Post. I never watched the Rockford Files, but my parents did, as I remember hearing the theme song every Friday night.
31: BAD TIME – GRAND FUNK (14) - Wow, kind of a busy chart week, with several songs dropping out of the Top 30 from inside the Top 20! Anyway, this was a great song - definitely one of my favorites from them.
30: RHINESTONE COWBOY – GLEN CAMPBELL (38) - Definitely one of the biggest songs of 1975! A great song indeed, and one of my favorites from him!
29: I’M ON FIRE – THE DWIGHT TWILLEY BAND (36) - One hit wonders abounded here - this was the only song by this band, consisting of Dwight Twilley himself, and Phil Seymour - both of whom each had one Top 40 single on their own in the 80s. This song was pretty good.
28: PHILADELPHIA FREEDOM – ELTON JOHN (18) - Another one of the biggest hits of the year. However, I wasn't a big fan of this one for some reason (probably the overplay). I did, however, like Elton's next hit, which debuted on the chart two weeks later.
27: ROCKIN’ CHAIR – GWEN McCRAE (33) - Of course, we all know that she was the wife of George McCrae, whom had charted the year before with "Rock Your Baby". I preferred that song; this one was pretty good, but nothing exceptional.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: HOW SWEET IT IS (TO BE LOVED BY YOU) - JAMES TAYLOR - I was kind of surprised when I found out that this was only his fourth Top Ten hit.
26: BABY THAT’S BACKATCHA – SMOKEY ROBINSON (28) - One of several artists we heard on both of this week's shows (A shows, that is). I actually liked this one better. Possibly my favorite of his solo hits.
25: THANK GOD I’M A COUNTRY BOY – JOHN DENVER (16) - Denver was all over the charts in 1975! This was one of two #1 songs he had that year. It was a great one; very lively and fun!
24: WHY CAN’T WE BE FRIENDS - WAR (30) - The song with possibly the shortest verses ever! It would have been a better song and not as repetitive had they linked two or three verses together.
23: DYNOMITE - BAZUKA (26) - Was that Jimmie Walker shouting the title throughout the song?
22: HEY YOU – BACHMAN-TURNER OVERDRIVE (25) - This one was pretty much "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet Part 2". Like that song, it was a great one IMO.
21: MIDNIGHT BLUE – MELISSA MANCHESTER (32) - Her very first hit, and a great one it was! I liked most of her Top 40 hits, especially her ballads, like this one.
20: MISTY – RAY STEVENS (24) - Known mainly for his novelty songs, he had a few (somewhat) serious songs as well, like this one. It was a good 'un.
19: THE WAY WE WERE – GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS (23) - Interesting interpretation of the Barbra Streisand classic from the year before, though I preferred the original.
18: I’LL PLAY FOR YOU (HEAR THE BAND) – SEALS & CROFTS (21) - The second song in a row recorded live. I'm not a huge Seals & Crofts fan, but this is an exception - possibly my favorite from them.
17: I’M NOT IN LOVE – 10 CC (22) - They did an interesting edit job on this song. They cut out the "Be quiet, big boys don't cry" bridge, and the last verse, as well as the second "ooh you wait a long time for me" bridge. Not sure if I've ever heard this song edited like that before. Anyway, I like this and their other Top Ten hit about the same. EDIT: In the 2019 rebroadcast, they actually edited the "big boys don't cry" and the last verse back in, but there was still only one "ooh you wait a long time for me".
16: ONE OF THESE NIGHTS – THE EAGLES (31) - This is the song that spent the most weeks in the Top Ten during 1975 - ten weeks in all. Oddly enough, only one of those weeks were spent at #1. Anyway, of their two #1 during 1975, this was my favorite. Oddly enough, despite its impressive jump, it was not the biggest mover of the week.
15: PLEASE MR. PLEASE – OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (34) - That title went to this song - a song about being unable to hear a song that reminded you of a lost love. It was a good one, though I preferred "Have You Never Been Mellow".
14: SWEARIN’ TO GOD – FRANKIE VALLI (27) - Wow, another decent upward move here as well! Valli was still doing double duty, performing solo as well as with the Four Seasons (as the latter would chart later on in the summer). This was a good song - one of his best solo hits.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: SEND IN THE CLOWNS - JUDY COLLINS - This song had two chart runs. The second one, from 1977, was actually the one from the film A Little Night Music, as that was the year that movie was made. The song was released from Collins' 1975 album Judith in its first chart run, where it only got as high as #36 (in 1977, it made the Top 20). This song was a guilty pleasure of mine (as a few people I know consider this one too "geezerly".
13: SISTER GOLDEN HAIR - AMERICA (6) - The second of their two #1 hits. This was my favorite of the two (though "A Horse With No Name" was also a great one).
12: ONLY WOMAN – ALICE COOPER (12) - Surprised that this song missed the Top Ten, seeing that it hit the Top Five on R&R. Anyway, as we all know, I prefer his ballads over his hard rockers, and this was my favorite of the four slow songs that I've heard from him.
11: TAKE ME IN YOUR ARMS (ROCK ME) – THE DOOBIE BROTHERS (14) - This was the next-to-last of their big hits that featured Tom Johnston on lead vocals before Michael McDonald took over the following year. It's a good one, but I preferred "Black Water".
10: CUT THE CAKE - THE AVERAGE WHITE BAND (10) - This band either hit the Top Ten or missed the Top 30 entirely with their five hits. This was one of their two Top Ten hits - it's pretty much "Pick Up The Pieces" with lyrics.
9: MAGIC - PILOT (13) - Here's a true one-hit wonder. I liked this song - they sort of reminded me of ELO.
8: GET DOWN, GET DOWN (GET ON THE FLOOR) – JOE SIMON (10) - This was his eighth and final Top 40 hit, but it turned out to be his biggest. I thought it was OK, but nothing exceptional.
7: LISTEN TO WHAT THE MAN SAID – PAUL McCARTNEY & WINGS (9) - This was when their songs started improving vastly. Their 1974 songs were mediocre at best (though Junior's Farm was pretty good). From 1975 on, I liked all of their Top Ten hits (well, except for "Silly Love Songs", but that was due to overplay - I did like that song when it was on the charts). This song was one of their best IMO.
6: THE HUSTLE – VAN McCOY & THE SOUL CITY SYMPHONY (7) - This song had a very erratic chart run. After taking modest steps up during its first few weeks, it took a huge leap the week before and this week, it resumed taking baby steps. This one would eventually make it all the way to #1, and deservedly so, as it was one of my favorite disco instrumentals.
5: LOVE WON’T LET ME WAIT – MAJOR HARRIS (5) - This was your typical 70s R&B love ballad. I liked it - nice and mellow.
4: I’M NOT LISA – JESSI COLTER (4) - MAJOR CHEESEFEST!! That is all.
3: WILDFIRE - MICHEL MURPHEY (3) - He was mainly a country artist, but he had several Top 40 crossover hits, including this one - one of my favorites from him - in fact, it's possibly my second favorite behind "What's Forever For" (although "Carolina In The Pines" from later on in 1975 might give it a run for its money, since I've gotten to really like that song as well).
OPTIONAL EXTRA: FAME - DAVID BOWIE - His first of two #1 hits. I preferred the second one, "Let's Dance". I just never really got into this one, for some reason.
2: WHEN WILL I BE LOVED – LINDA RONSTADT (2) - She just barely missed getting two #1 songs in a row, as this song was blocked out of #1. This was a great one - my favorite of her 1975 hits.
1: LOVE WILL KEEP US TOGETHER – THE CAPTAIN & TENNILLE (1) - In a year that featured more one-week number one songs than any other year, this one somehow managed to spend a month on top, although I'm not sure why, as this was definitely not their best hit. Its saving grace is that it's not as bad as their hit from the fall of the following year, "Muskrat Fungus Love".

[Hervard]

American Top 40: The 80s - June 27, 2020

This week's presentation - June 26, 1976

40: YOUNG HEARTS RUN FREE - CANDI STATON (debut) - The tenth and final (as well as biggest) hit for this American soul and gospel singer from Hanceville, Alabama. It was a pretty good song IMO.
39: SOPHISTICATED LADY - NATALIE COLE (debut) - The third Top 40 hit from the daughter of the great Nat "King" Cole. It was pretty good, but I preferred her material from the 80s and 90s.
38: GOOD VIBRATIONS - TODD RUNDGREN (debut) - Of course, nothing can compare to the original by the Beach Boys, but this version sounded a lot like it. Too bad it only got as high as #33.
37: BARETTA'S THEME - RHYTHM HERITAGE (20) - They had two Top 40 hits - both themes from TV series. This one wasn't bad, but I preferred "Theme From S.W.A.T."
36: SOMEBODY'S GETTING' IT - JOHNNY TAYLOR (debut) - He had recently come off of his biggest hit ever, the four-week chart topper "Disco Lady", which went on to become one of the year's biggest hits. This song, on the other hand, couldn't manage to get any higher than #33. It was a pretty good song, though nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to.
35: MAMMA MIA - ABBA (39) - Somewhat of a surprise that this song didn't get any higher than #32, seeing that it's one of their most played songs on oldies stations. It was a good song, but IMO doesn't hold a candle to "Dancing Queen" or "Winner Takes It All".
34: LAST CHILD - AEROSMITH (debut) - Here's one I remember hearing from time to time back in the day. Good song, but I generally prefer their 80s and 90s hits
33: I'M EASY - KEITH CARRADINE (37) - Meh, sounds more like second-rate Jim Croce. I used to like this song, but not much anymore.
32: HAPPY DAYS - PRATT & McCLAIN (11) - 1976 was indeed the year for TV show themes, as many of those hit the chart over the year. This was one of my favorite TV shows, and definitely a long lasting one - wasn't it on the air for ten years?
31: SAVE YOUR KISSES FOR ME - THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN (35) - This one sounds more like a kiddie song, but not too bad.
30: TURN THE BEAT AROUND - VICKIE SUE ROBINSON (36) - There definitely is not much difference between this and Gloria Estefan's cover 18 years later. That said, I don't know which version I prefer.
29: TEAR THE ROOF OFF THE SUCKER - PARLIAMENT (33) - Gerardo sampled this song - or was it a remake? I never really paid much attention to that song, so it was kind of hard to tell. As for this song, it pretty much blends in with all the faceless disco music during this era.
28: MAKIN' OUR DREAMS COME TRUE - CYNDI GRECCO (32) - "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, schlemiel! Schlimazel! Hasenpfeffer Incorporated!" Another TV show theme, in this case, the one from "Laverne & Shirley", which IIRC was on after Happy Days back in the day. The TV show was great, as was this song.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: A LITTLE BIT MORE - DR. HOOK - Meh, this used to be one of my favorite songs from them, but for some reason, such is not the case anymore. Give me "Better Love Next Time" any day!
27: THAT'S WHERE THE HAPPY PEOPLE GO - THE TRAMMPS (28) - As we all know, I wasn't a big fan of this kind of music (although their"Disco Inferno" wasn't bad).
26: LET HER IN - JOHN TRAVOLTA (31) - He currently had a gig as Vinnie Barbarino on Welcome Back, Kotter, but he showed his second talent on this week's chart with his debut hit. It was a good one and would hit the Top Ten about a month later.
25: TODAY'S THE DAY - AMERICA (30) - Here's another song I remember from back in the day. I'm surprised that this only got as high as #23, as WLS played this one all the time back in the day. It was a good one, though I preferred a few others from them.
24: IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN - NEIL DIAMOND (debut) - This song has sort of a theatrical sound to it, as if Jim Steinman had produced it. I liked this song, but there are a few other songs from Diamond that I prefer. With the song's impressive debut, it looked like this would be a #1 song, but, in fact, the song missed the Top Ten altogether.
23: YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND - QUEEN (27) - Here's another song that didn't hit the top ten, which I can't believe - it sure got a lot of airplay. Although that depends on the radio stations in your area. I listened to WLS a lot and that song peaked at #4 on their station’s playlist. I still hear this on oldies station every now and then, which is good, because this is one of my favorites from Queen.
22: GET CLOSER - SEALS & CROFTS (26) - Jim Seals' brother, England Dan, along with singing partner John Ford Coley, were on the way up the Hot 100 with his debut song, "I'd Really Love To See You Tonight", which would hit the Top 40 two weeks later. Like that song, this one would also hit the Top Ten. This song wasn't bad, though not quite their best. Jim Seals sort of sounded like he had a runny nose in this song.
21: SHANNON - HENRY GROSS (6) - Ah, the infamous "Dead Dog Dedication" song! It's a good one, but after mid-September, 1985, we never looked at this song in the same way again!
20: THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN - THIN LIZZY (22) - Here's another one of my personal faves from back in 1976 (yes, I liked hard rock when I was as young as four years old, lol!)
19: ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC - THE BEACH BOYS (40) - Wow! That's definitely a big move. However, I think hype played part in that, as the song had a more "normal" chart run after this, all the way up to #5. This song definitely showed that, even though the sixties was clearly their decade, they still had it in the 70s!
18: GOT TO GET YOU INTO MY LIFE - THE BEATLES (29) - As did the Beatles, as this song also eventually made the Top Ten! I remember this song quite well, since it was #1 on the station I listened to back in 1976 - WLS in Chicago, so I heard it all the time that summer. It was a great song! Casey mentioned the coincidence of two of the most influential bands of the sixties being back-to-back this week.
17: TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN - STEVE MILLER BAND (19) - The first of three Top Twenty hits from Miller's Fly Like An Eagle album. This one narrowly missed hitting the Top Ten. This song was OK, IMO, but I preferred the other two singles from said album (both of which DID hit the Top Ten).
16: MOONLIGHT FEELS RIGHT - STARBUCK (18) - Refresh my memory - is that a marimba or a xylophone that is used in this record? Well, whatever it is, it definitely makes the song a great listen for a warm evening. Definitely my favorite of Starbuck's two hits.
15: I WANT YOU - MARVIN GAYE (16) - I'm more familiar with Robert Palmer's 1991 cover, which sounds so much like the original - in fact, I kept expecting this song to segue back into "Mercy Mercy Me".
14: MOVIN' - BRASS CONSTRUCTION (15) - One of many one-hit wonders during the 70s that tried to get in on the disco craze. This song wasn't anything exceptional, IMO.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: SOMETHING HE CAN FEEL - ARETHA FRANKLIN - I don't remember this song back in the day - the first version of this one that I heard was En Vogue's remake from the summer of 1992. That one would be more successful, hitting the Top Ten while this version would peak at #28 a few weeks later. This one wasn't bad, but sounds kind of dated - I preferred said remake.
13: TAKIN' IT TO THE STREETS - THE DOOBIE BROTHERS (14) - Another song I remember quite well from 1976 (though one of the stations I listened to gave this one early action, so I associate it more with the spring). Definitely one of my all-time faves from them!
12: NEVER GONNA FALL IN LOVE AGAIN - ERIC CARMEN (17) - His second hit and the follow-up to the #2 hit "All By Myself". I preferred this song - one of Carmen's best hits ever!
11: LOVE IS ALIVE - GARY WRIGHT (13) - Now here is one of the songs I most associate with the summer of 1976, as the radio stations I listened to played it constantly. I definitely prefer it over "Dream Weaver", which is the only of Wright's three hits that receives any recurrent airplay (though once in a blue moon I do hear this one).
10: KISS AND SAY GOODBYE - THE MANHATTANS (12) - As we all know, I'm not a big fan of this song. At least the spoken intro been omitted, so it wasn't so bad, but still, the song is overall depressing (as goodbyes are one of my weaknesses). Give me "Shining Star" any day!
9: I'LL BE GOOD TO YOU - THE BROTHERS JOHNSON (10) - The first Top 40 hit for this soul duo from Los Angeles. This is my favorite song by them, which isn't saying much, as I disliked their three other hits. I preferred the cover by Quincy Jones featuring Chaka Khan and Ray Charles, which hit the charts in early 1990.
8: LOVE HANGOVER - DIANA ROSS (4) - She had two number one hits in 1976, and the first one, "Theme From Mahogany" would easily be my favorite of them. This one just never did anything for me.
7: AFTERNOON DELIGHT - STARLAND VOCAL BAND (9) - Ah, a song about engaging in a quickie with your significant other during your lunch break. This is another song I remember quite well (needless to say, I had no idea what it was really about, though, being only four years old and all).
6: MORE, MORE, MORE - THE ANDREA TRUE CONNECTION (8) - Of their two Top 40 hits, I preferred this song. The Canadian alternative rock band Len apparently liked it as well, as they sampled it in their big 1999 hit "Steal My Sunshine".
5: SHOP AROUND - THE CAPTAIN AND TENNILLE (7) - One of several remakes on this week's chart. This one wasn't bad, but I preferred the original by the Miracles. Casey made a slight faux pas - he said this song had been in the Top 40 for four weeks. Actually, that was how long it had been in the Top Ten.
4: SARA SMILE - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (5) - The first of a whole slew of hits from the duo - it's not bad, but definitely not one of their best, IMO.
3: MISTY BLUE - DOROTHY MOORE (3) - This song was written in the mid-sixties, which definitely shows, as it sounds like a song from that era. The song's OK, but nothing exceptional.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC - WILD CHERRY - Ever since Vanilla Ice went and messed up this song in early 1991, I never was able to look at this song in the same light ever again!
2: GET UP AND BOOGIE - SILVER CONVENTION (2) - This one is a toughie, as far as learning all the lyrics! It was a good one; too bad it just narrowly missed becoming their second #1 hit...
1: SILLY LOVE SONGS - WINGS (1) - ...but this song was just too tough for it. The song wasted no time hitting the top, but dropped out after only one week up there. The only thing is, it wasn't over for this song - after a two-week hiatus, the song returned to #1 for an additional four weeks and would become the top song of 1976. The song's OK, but I prefer many other songs from them, my favorite being "With A Little Luck", which would also hit #1.

[Hervard]

American Top 40: The 80s - June 22, 2024

This week's presentation - June 20, 1987

Droppers:
LA ISLA BONITA - MADONNA (38) - The fifth and final hit from True Blue was about to leave the chart, but Madonna was at work on her next project, the movie "Who's That Girl", which would spawn two Top Ten hits later in the year. It was a good song; indeed had a tropical island feel.
(I JUST) DIED IN YOUR ARMS - CUTTING CREW (32) - The first of three Top 40 hits for this band from London - all from their debut album Broadcast. This one was OK, but quite overplayed, both back in 1987 and nowadays on oldies stations. I preferred their other two hits.
HEAT OF THE NIGHT - BRYAN ADAMS (29) - I liked this song, though my least favorite single from Into The Fire (probably because the other two didn't get anywhere near as much airplay - in fact, I don't think I ever heard either of them outside of countdown shows - or radio station "late night fights" (Victim Of Love was a winner for several nights on the latter of the two on U93).
I KNOW WHAT I LIKE - HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (25) - This song just barely kept their Top Ten streak going, as it peaked at #9 and spent but a single week in the Top Ten. It was a good song, but definitely not his best.
IF SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN FAITHFUL - CHICAGO (24) - The third release from the Chicago 18 album peaked at #17 two weeks prior. I thought this song was somewhat underrated; it should have hit the Top Ten just like their other 1987 hit "Will You Still Love Me".

40: LOOKING FOR A NEW LOVE – JODY WATLEY (27) - This song came very close to hitting #1, but it was stuck at #2 for four weeks, behind the Cutting Crew and U2, the latter of which leapfrogged over this song, which I thought was OK, but I preferred a few of her other songs, including ones that she did as part of Shalamar.
39: HAPPY - SURFACE (debut) - Their very first Top 40 hit. I heard this quite a lot that summer and was quite surprised that it only got as high as #20. They hit big two years later with "Shower Me With Your Love", which hit the Top Five and even bigger in early 1991 with "The First Time", which went all the way to #1 and was the fifth biggest hit of that year.
38: I STILL HAVEN’T FOUND WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR – U2 (debut) - This was the second of two #1 hits from The Joshua Tree. As stated earlier in this commentary, I preferred this song.
37: BIG LOVE – FLEETWOOD MAC (18) - Their first of five singles from "Tango In The Night". It was OK, but my favorite song from the album was the next single, "Seven Wonders", featuring Stevie Nicks on lead vocals.
36: I WANT YOUR SEX – GEORGE MICHAEL (debut) - Don't care for this one at all! If not for the lyrical content, this one might have become one of the biggest hits of the year - possibly even THE biggest. I might dislike "Walk Like An Egyptian", but I'd rather listen to that one than this.
35: THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE – JANET JACKSON (debut) - The sixth and last single from the Contol album. The first five were all Top Five hits, but this one missed the Top Ten. Her first wave of popularity was over, but the best, of course, was yet to come - her next album would yield eight Top Ten radio hits. This song wasn't bad, but I can see why this one didn't do as well as the other Control singles (as well as the fact that the album had been out for well over a year).
34: I’D STILL SAY YES - KLYMAXX (debut) - I believe they were more of an R&B act, but they did have three Top 40 hits. This was my favorite of the three (though "Man Size Love" was a close second, especially when I'm in the mood for something upbeat).
33: I’LL STILL BE LOVING YOU – RESTLESS HEART (33) - Country crossovers were very commonplace in the 80s, but by this point, they were a rare bird. This one petered out at #33 on the chart, but it did well at Country, of course, as well as AC, where it peaked at #3. Definitely a great song, and one of my favorites from 1987!
LDD: THE FUTURE’S SO BRIGHT I GOTTA WEAR SHADES – TIMBUK 3 - Yeah, right!
32: KISS HIM GOODBYE – THE NYLONS (39) - This was a somewhat rare a cappella song (by late 80s standards anyway). But I liked it - about the same as the original, but in different ways, of course, as the music styles of both versions were very different.
31: RIGHT ON TRACK – THE BREAKFAST CLUB (17) - The only Top 40 song for John, Claire, Andy, Brian, and Allison, written on March 24, 1984 as they served a Saturday detention. Unfortunately, due to legal technicalities, Principal Vernon received all the royalties.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: ROCK STEADY - THE WHISPERS - The biggest of their four Top 40 hits - as well as my favorite.
30: ROCK THE NIGHT - EUROPE (37) - The second of three Top 40 singles from their Final Countdown album - my favorite and the most underrated (as, despite its hefty jump this week, #30 was all the further it got). It is also my favorite of all of their songs that I've heard.
29: SOUL CITY – PARTLAND BROTHERS (36) - One of several one-hit wonders on the chart this week. I felt this one was quite underrated, as it sounded radio-friendly for the late-80s. Definitely deserved a higher peak than #27.
28: RHYTHM IS GONNA GET YOU – GLORIA ESTEFAN & MIAMI SOUND MACHINE (40) - This was the lead-off single from one of their most successful singles album ever. This song was pretty good, but definitely far from being their best. As you know probably all too well, I generally preferred their ballads over their upbeat material (though "Bad Boys" and their next release after this, "Betcha Say That" were exceptions).
27: HEART AND SOUL – T’PAU (34) - Another one-hit wonder, like the Partland Brothers. I never particularly cared for this song, however. I preferred the Huey Lewis song of the same name (plus pretty much any rendition of the popular piano piece).
26: GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS – MOTLEY CRUE (35) - I was never crazy about their music, but I did like their slow songs (such as "Without You" and "Home Sweet Home"). This song wasn't bad, though.
25: ENDLESS NIGHTS – EDDIE MONEY (30) - This is possibly his most underrated song. Yes, it did get up to the halfway point on the chart, but what radio station plays it anymore? They just assume we want to hear "Take Me Home Tonight" for the millionth time.
24: NOTHING’S GONNA CHANGE MY LOVE FOR YOU – GLENN MEDEIROS (15) - This song had peaked at #12 the week before, but its tenacity on the chart gave it enough points to rank on the Top 100 of 1987 - one of two songs to make the chart that missed the Top Ten (the other one's coming up a little later). Casey played a drop piece of George Benson’s original, from his early 1985 album “20/20" (the one that spawned my favorite Benson song “I Just Want To Hang Around You”). Benson’s version is pretty good, but it doesn't hold a candle to this one, which is by far my favorite of Medeiros's three Top 40 hits.
23: SWEET SIXTEEN – BILLY IDOL (31) - I'm not generally a big Billy Idol fan, but this is an exception - possibly my favorite song from him.
22: FASCINATED – COMPANY B (21) - I'm surprised this one didn't go Top Ten; it was definitely representative of the dance/pop music of the mid-late 80s. It's a great song and a shame it didn't get any higher on the chart that it did.
21: EVERY LITTLE KISS – BRUCE HORNSBY & THE RANGE (26) - This one originally charted a year before, but only got as high as #72. After the success of "The Way It Is" and "Mandolin Rain", they decided to give it another chance, which proved to be worthwhile, as the song made it to #14 the second time around. Definitely one of the songs I associate most with the summer of 1987!
OPTIONAL EXTRA: GIVE TO LIVE - SAMMY HAGAR - He had taken over as lead singer of Van Halen the year before, but, as they were in between albums at the time, he put out a solo album (self-titled) that spawned one Top 40 hit. The song peaked at #23 on the Hot 100, but hit #1 on the album rock chart. Definitely one of his best solo hits ever, right up there with "Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy".
20: WITH OR WITHOUT YOU – U2 (9) - This was the first hit from one of the biggest albums of the 80s. It wasn't bad, but quite overplayed. I preferred the other two singles.
19: FUNKYTOWN – PSEUDO-ECHO (28) - Yet another one-hit wonder, with a remake of a #1 hit from earlier in the decade. I preferred this pop/rock version over the dance/techno version by Lipps Inc.
18: JAMMIN’ ME – TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS (20) - In this song, Petty was venting about his frustration with media disinformation. The song wasn't bad, but I prefer several others from him/them. Interesting story about his old band Mudcrutch.
17: SOMETHING SO STRONG – CROWDED HOUSE (23) - The second of two Top 40 hits for this Aussie band from Melbourne. Like their first one, "Don't Dream It's Over", this song hit the Top Ten. I preferred this song, but "Don't Dream It's Over" was a close second. They almost had a third Top 40 hit the following year, "Better Be Home Soon", but that one petered out at #42. That was a good one as well.
16: POINT OF NO RETURN - EXPOSE (22) - Of their four hits to chart in 1987-88, this was my favorite of the bunch (you thought that I was going to say that I preferred "Seasons Change, didn't you?)
15: THE LADY IN RED – CHRIS DE BURGH (6) - He had charted a few times earlier in the 80s, but this is the song that put him on the map. I loved this song when it was on the chart, but the stations I listened to back in the day all but played it out and I became quite tired of it. It's good to hear every now and then, but I wouldn't want to hear it every day.
14: DON’T DISTURB THIS GROOVE – THE SYSTEM (16) - This was their only big hit on the pop chart. It wasn't bad, but I preferred their next release "Nighttime Lover", which, sadly, wasn't released to pop radio (and if it was, it didn't go far).
13: LESSONS IN LOVE – LEVEL 42 (14) - This British band was a two-hit wonder (as far as Top 40 hits go), and both songs hit the Top 20. Both songs were great - I liked them about the same.
12: SHAKEDOWN – BOB SEGER (19) - I remember seeing the Beverly Hills Cop II movie the previous weekend. Since I was only fifteen, I bought a ticket for another movie, whose doors were in the same alcove as BHC2, and then as a guy was walking into the Eddie Murphy movie, I said, "Yo Dad, wait for me!" As for the song, it wasn't bad, but definitely not my favorite song from him, though I was glad it hit the top - Seger had indeed waited long enough to finally have a #1 song.
11: MEET ME HALF WAY – KENNY LOGGINS (11) - Earlier, I mentioned that "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You" by Glenn Medeiros missed the Top Ten, yet placed among the Top 100 of 1987. This song did the same and was the only other such song that year. I liked this song, but preferred many others by him, including a few of his other movie hits.
10: JUST TO SEE HER – SMOKEY ROBINSON (10) - This was his comeback hit, after being absent from the Top Ten for six years. I like this and "One Heartbeat", which would be his next hit, about the same (I used to like the latter a lot better, but now that I've listened to a tape containing that song multiple times, that sort of dimmed my like for that song).
OPTIONAL EXTRA: SEVEN WONDERS - FLEETWOOD MAC - The second of five Tango In The Night singles, and my favorite of the bunch. I generally prefer the songs with Stevie Nicks singing lead.
9: SONGBIRD – KENNY G (13) - His first song to hit the chart - and it turned out to be his biggest. I liked it, but generally preferred his songs that featured a vocalist, like his next hit, "Don't Make Me Wait For Love", as well as an album cut from Duotones called "You Make Me Believe".
8: YOU KEEP ME HANGIN’ ON – KIM WILDE (2) - When this song hit #1 two weeks before, it broke the record for the longest span of time between the original version of the song hitting #1 and a remake hitting #1, a record that had been broken several times over the past year. As I've said several times before, I prefer this version over the Supremes and Vanilla Fudge versions, though my all-time favorite Kim Wilde song would be her near-miss song "You Came", from 1988.
7: WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE – BON JOVI (7) - This song demonstrated the band's country/western side, a format that they would switch to a decade later. This was a good song, but I preferred "Never Say Goodbye", an album cut from Slippery When Wet that was getting moderate radio airplay around this time.
6: ALONE – HEART (12) - This song was definitely on its way to #1, where it held for three weeks in July. It was almost the top song of the entire year, but that d@mn Bangles song grabbed the gold instead
PROMOS
5: DIAMONDS – HERB ALPERT f/JANET JACKSON & LISA KEITH (8) - Not sure whether or not the success of this song, which was never one of my favorites, affected the chart performance of Janet Jackson's "The Pleasure Principle" (whose release I heard was delayed so as not to cause competition with this song).
4: IN TOO DEEP - GENESIS (4) - Interesting that Genesis was the first group/band to have five Top Ten hits from the same album (Invisible Touch, of course, which remains their most successful singles album). This was my second favorite of those songs behind the title track (but you already knew that, right?)
3: I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY (WHO LOVES ME) – WHITNEY HOUSTON (5) - Like Heart, Whitney was fast approaching #1. She would get there the following week. This song ended up as R&R's #1 song, which was great, though at the time this song was charting, I was sick of hearing it every time I turned on the radio.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: CAN'T WE TRY - DAN HILL & VONDA SHEPARD - This is an artist who seemed destined to become a one-hit wonder, but, nearly ten years after his first chart appearance, he surprised everyone and came back. After this, however, he would never again hit the Top 40, but would go on to have many hits on the AC charts. Like his first hit, "Sometimes When We Touch", this song made the Top Ten, and deservedly so, as it was a great song!
2: ALWAYS – ATLANTIC STARR (1) - This song became a very popular wedding song and was a far cry from their last Top Ten hit, which was about infidelity. This was my favorite of their Top 40 hits.
1: HEAD TO TOE – LISA LISA & CULT JAM (3) - They dropped Full Force, Paul Anthony and Bowlegged Lou for this one (but they were still featured on at least one other song on the same album), and to number one this song went. It was OK, but I was never too crazy about it. I preferred the next release "Lost In Emotion", which, of course, also went to #1.

[chrislc]

>9: MAGIC - PILOT (13)

Possibly now the most familiar melody of any hit song of the 1970s.