Chart Critiques

[Hervard]

American Top 40: The 80s - September 28, 2024

This week's presentation - September 28, 1985

Droppers:
NO LOOKIN' BACK - MICHAEL McDONALD (36) - Co-written by Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins (along with Ed Sanford, of "Smoke From A Distant Fire" fame), this song appeared on both Loggins' 1985 album Vox Humana and Michael McDonald's album to which this was the title track. Both versions sound very much alike, so I'm not sure which one I prefer. Either way, it's a great song!
LIFE IN ONE DAY - HOWARD JONES (34) - Well, he did finally hit the Top Ten earlier in the year with "Things Can Only Get Better". This one did well too, peaking in the teens. It was my favorite of his hits up to this point (my absolute favorite would chart a little less thana year later).
NEVER SURRENDER - COREY HART (33) - This was a rare case where the biggest hit by an artist (with at least five hits) was my favorite by them. This one peaked at #3 in August, and overplay hasn't tarnished it at all.
SHOUT - TEARS FOR FEARS (32) - Meh, I never cared for this one at all. I guess you could say this is a song I can do without.
SHAME - THE MOTELS (27) - Their fourth and final Top 40 hit. It was my least favorite of their hits, but was still a great one - that said, it's too bad they didn't have more Top 40 hits.

LW#1: MONEY FOR NOTHING - DIRE STRAITS - I WANT MY MTV, DAMMIT!
40: WE BUILT THIS CITY - STARSHIP (debut) - Their first hit under their name without Jefferson attached to it. It was a great song - one of their best, under any of their names.
39: YOU BELONG TO THE CITY - GLENN FREY (debut) - His second of two contributions to Miami Vice (that charted, anyway). My favorite would probably be the other one, "Smuggler's Blues", which charted earlier in the year, but this one was pretty good, too.
38: AND WE DANCED - HOOTERS (debut) - I'm assuming that they mean owls, correct? No? Oh, after Eric Bazilian's keyboard harmonica, heard prominently in the song. Well, as long as they weren't talking about, well, you know... Anyway, this was a good song - my favorite of their three Top 40 hits.
37: ONE NIGHT LOVE AFFAIR - BRYAN ADAMS (debut) - The fifth of six hits from Reckless, all of which hit the Top 20, which is definitely impressive. It was a good song, but my favorite song from the album would be "Heaven" (and that, of course, was the most successful of the six).
36: BE NEAR ME - ABC (debut) - This was the first of two Top Ten hits (both of which sounded somewhat similar) for this English group. It wasn't bad, but I preferred their two earlier hits.
35: SUMMER OF '69 - BRYAN ADAMS (21) - Wow, he was almost back-to-back with his fourth and fifth singles from Reckless. This was one of the more successful songs from the album, having peaked at #5 the previous month.
LDD: IN MY ROOM - THE BEACH BOYS - I remember singing this song as part of a "Beach Boys" medley in 8th grade choir class (the other songs were "I Get Around", "California Girls" and "Fun, Fun, Fun"). Needless to say, it was not the same "Beach Boys Medley" that charted on AT40 four years prior.
34: SUNSET GRILL - DON HENLEY (40) - The last of four singles from "Building The Perfect Beast", and my favorite from the album (though "Not Enough Love In The World" is a close second). This song peaked at #14 on the R&R chart, but didn't even hit the Top 20 on the Hot 100 (1982, anyone?)
33: THERE MUST BE AN ANGEL - EURYTHMICS (22) - Of course, we know full well that this is my favorite of their Top 40 hits! Lennox's vocals are somewhat theatrical sounding, and Stevie Wonder does a killer harmonica solo in the bridge of the song!
OPTIONAL EXTRA: WEIRD SCIENCE - OINGO BOINGO - The theme song to the film, as well as the TV series, of the same title. The song was OK, but nothing that I'd go out of my way to listen to.
32: I GOT YOU BABE - UB40 f/CHRISSIE HYNDE (28) - A very interesting reggae version of the Sonny & Cher classic. Too bad they didn't re-release it later on like they did "Red Red Wine", since it may have done a little better on the charts.
31: I'M GONNA TEAR YOUR PLAYHOUSE DOWN - PAUL YOUNG (38) - He seemed to do best with remakes, as both of his Top Ten hits were previously done by other acts. But this one didn't miss the Top Ten by much, peaking at #13. It was pretty good, but it doesn't hold a candle to "Everytime You Go Away", my favorite song from him!
30: FOUR IN THE MORNING (I CAN'T TAKE ANY MORE) - NIGHT RANGER (35) - I always say that "Sister Christian" is my favorite song from them, but I always forget about how much I like their more obscure songs, including this great song. Really, I'm not really sure what my favorite song from them is - I like all of their Top 40 hits (except for "Don't Tell Me You Love Me") about the same.
29: THE WAY YOU DO THE THINGS YOU DO/MY GIRL (LIVE AT THE APOLLO) - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES w/DAVID RUFFIN & EDDIE KENDRICKS (31) - This was a great rendition of these two classics by the Temptations - very energetic, as many live hits are.
28: HEAD OVER HEELS - TEARS FOR FEARS (39) - No case of Third Single Syndrome here! Though it didn't hit #1 like the last two, it did get as high as #3. This is by far my favorite of the three Top Ten hits from Songs From The Big Chair.
27: YOU'RE ONLY HUMAN - BILLY JOEL (18) - I liked the way that Joel decided not to go back and correct the goof in this song (when he flubbed a line near the end and laughed) in order to prove the point he was making in this song, which I thought was a good one, but it wasn't his best.
26: SMOKIN' IN THE BOYS ROOM - MOTLEY CRUE (20) - Something I got caught doing once back in my sophomore year. Fortunately, the teacher just scoffed and walked off - didn't want to waste his time apparently, so I dodged a bullet there! As for the song, it was a pretty good song, considering I wasn't a huge fan of them.
25: EVERY STEP OF THE WAY - JOHN WAITE (26) - His first solo hit, "Missing You" went to #1, but he couldn't seem to match that success with any of his follow-ups. This song, which uses a line from that song as the opening lyrics, was underrated, IMO.
24: LOVIN' EVERY MINUTE OF IT - LOVERBOY (30) - This song somewhat defies the general rule that the lower their songs peak, the less obscure they are, as this one was one of two Top Ten hits from them (yes, I thought they had more as well) and gets occasional recurrent airplay. Their other Top Ten hit, "This Could Be The Night" receives virtually no recurrent airplay, which is a shame IMO.
23: FREEWAY OF LOVE - ARETHA FRANKLIN (16) - With none other than Clarence Clemons playing sax, this was Aretha's comeback hit - that put her back into the Top Ten, that is. It was definitely a comeback over on the R&R chart, from where she'd been absent for over eleven years. Anyway, this song was pretty good, but I preferred her next hit, the title track of her Who's Zoomin' Who album, as well as a few of her songs after that.
22: "MIAMI VICE" THEME - JAN HAMMER (37) - One of three instrumentals that charted in the Top 40 during 1985, as well as the most successful, as this song would go all the way to the top! I liked this song, but I preferred the other two 1985 instrumentals.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: NEVER - HEART - They were enjoying their biggest chart success yet with their mid-80s comeback, as this would become their second Top Five hit (and they'd have two more after this). Anyway, it would be a toss-up between this and "These Dreams" as my favorite song from their self-titled album - both are great songs!
21: INVINCIBLE - PAT BENATAR (12) - Her fourth and final Top Ten hit (you thought she had more, didn't you?) Anyway, this wasn't quite my favorite song from her, but it was pretty good.
20: I'M GOIN' DOWN - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (29) - He may have been goin' down, but the song was on its way up, en route to #9. It was a good song, but one of my least favorites of the seven Born In The USA singles.
19: C-I-T-Y - JOHN CAFFERTY & THE BEAVER BROWN BAND (25) - They had a nice little string of hits over the past year. This song, their fourth, would probably be my third favorite of them behind "Tough All Over" and "Tender Years" (and "On The Dark Side" wouldn't be too far behind - all of them are great songs)!
18: CRY - GODLEY AND CREME (19) "Huh huh - he's faking. He's not really taking a dump!" Yeah, when I saw the episode of Beavis & Butthead with the video to this song, I never saw it the same way again!
17: POWER OF LOVE - HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (8) - A song from one of the best movies ever, IMO. I loved the Back To The Future trilogy! This was played in the first one as Marty McFly rode his skateboard to school after finding out he was 20 minutes late, hoping to dodge his principal, but no such luck. This is possibly the song by Lewis that gets the most recurrent airplay anymore. I like it, but wish that radio stations would occasionally play a few of their big hits that are all but ignored nowadays
16: FORTRESS AROUND YOUR HEART - STING (23) - As his first solo hit left the chart, his second solo hit was heading up the chart, en route to a peak at #8. This would be my favorite of the four hits from the Dream Of The Blue Turtles album.
LDD: IMAGINE - JOHN LENNON - One of many LDD's received by AT40 to Samantha Smith, a girl who, three years before, at the age of ten, wrote a letter to the leader of Russia, asking for peace. The following year, she was invited to the Soviet Union, a trip that became a worldwide event that made Samantha a hero. Unfortunately, she and her dad were both killed in a plane crash about a month before this show. The song was very fitting for the dedication.
15: PART-TIME LOVER - STEVIE WONDER (24) - The first of three Top 40 hits from Wonder's In Square Circle album, and his ninth and final #1 hit (unless you count his role in "That's What Friends Are For")
14: DARE ME - THE POINTER SISTERS (11) - Ah, the infamous “uptempo g**d**ned number”, as Casey Kasem put it in the infamous Dead Dog Dedication the week before. It’s a good song. I’ve said many times that the Pointer Sisters’ music quality started going down as of 1984, but this was an exception.
13: POP LIFE - PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION (7) - This was one of my favorite songs by Prince, but it sure seemed to come and go pretty quickly. It didn't even make the Top 100 of the year, which I thought was a shame. It did a lot better on my Personal Top 30, though, hitting #1 and ranking #4 on the year-ender.
12: WE DON'T NEED ANOTHER HERO - TINA TURNER (4) - Like Heart, Tina Turner was definitely most successful on the charts during her 1980s comeback, and this is one of her biggest hits, just missing the top spot, peaking at #2. I thought it was a good song, though I preferred a few of her others.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: SO IN LOVE - ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK - The first of four Top 40 hits for this band from northwest England. Though the follow-up, "If You Leave" bears a significant resemblance to this song, I prefer this one by a sizeable margin.
11: DANCING IN THE STREET - MICK JAGGER & DAVID BOWIE (17) - This remake of the old Martha & the Vandella’s classic was the biggest mover of the week. It was a good song - I liked it about the same as the original.
10: LONELY 'OL NIGHT - JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP (15) - The first of five Top 40 hits from Mellencamp's album Scarecrow and possibly my favorite song from the album (although "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A." and "Rain On The Scarecrow" were good ones as well).
9: SAVING ALL MY LOVE FOR YOU - WHITNEY HOUSTON (14) - This would be her first of many #1 songs. It was a good one, but I preferred many, many others from her.
8: ST. ELMO'S FIRE (MAN IN MOTION) - JOHN PARR (3) - The first of two songs from the St. Elmo's Fire soundtrack to hit the Top 40. I liked this song, but it was quite overplayed. I preferred the love theme from the movie, which would debut on the countdown two weeks later.
7: TAKE ON ME - A-HA (13) - The first hit for this Norwegian act, who's often known as a one-hit wonder, because of this song (as not everyone is familiar with "The Sun Always Shines On TV"). This was a great song, and I'm glad it hit #1!
6: DRESS YOU UP - MADONNA (10) - Madonna was on a roll at this point, with five Top Fives in a row (this one would follow suit), and there was a lot more where that came from! This was one of my favorite of her upbeat songs.
5: OH SHEILA - READY FOR THE WORLD (9) - The first of three Top 40 hits from this R&B band from Flint, Michigan, as well as the biggest (would hit #1 in October). It wasn't bad, but I preferred "Love You Down".
4: DON'T LOSE MY NUMBER - PHIL COLLINS (5) - Anyone notice that the video of this seemed to be a ripoff of the video for "You Might Think" by the Cars? As for the song, I liked it and was surprised that it was omitted from Collins' HITS album.
3: FREEDOM - WHAM (6) - I had always found it weird that this song, the fourth song from a multi-million selling album, was a bigger sales hit than it was on the airplay chart (as, on the corresponding R&R chart, it was stuck at #6 for a second week). I'm assuming that the fact that the single version was slightly different than the album version (the former, which was what AT40 generally played at this point, had a horn solo at the end) might have been instrumental in that. And, of course, the song's early action on a few radio stations played a role, as those stations were likely dropping the song from their playlists before it peaked might have impeded the song's progress on the R&R chart, as it moved up like lightning at first, but then more or less hit a brick wall as soon as it hit the Top Ten.
2: CHERISH - KOOL & THE GANG (2) - Interesting that they pulled ahead of Michael Jackson as the act with the most #1 Soul Hits during the 1980s with this song. I'm thinking that Michael reclaimed the crown about two years later, correct? Well, anyway, this song just barely missed hitting #1 on the Hot 100, but the song at the top was just too strong for it. Anyway, I liked this song - it was my second favorite single from Emergency behind "Fresh".
1: MONEY FOR NOTHING - DIRE STRAITS (1) - This was the very song that kept "Cherish" out of the top spot. It was one of two songs in this week's Top 20 that Sting's involved with (of course, he's the one who wants his MTV). The song was OK, but it was very overplayed. I preferred their three other Top 40 hits, as well as a few album cuts from their first, self-titled album.

[mrjukebox]

My late wife was a huge fan of "General Hospital" & if I remember correctly she had "General Hospitale" in her collection of 45's.

[mrjukebox]

Hervard-It looks like your critique of "Money For Nothing" includes a portion of your critique for "Cherish".

[dukelightning]

Mrjukebox beat me to the punch about Dire Straits. I was going to guess what you would write. I will settle for guessing that your favorite top 40 hit by Dire Straits is "Walk of Life". "Money for Nothing" is my favorite by them.
Looks like you meant to write that "Never" was about to become the second top five R&R hit for Heart peaking at 4 as their first "Magic Man" which will be in your 70s show critique, did. But on AT40 "Never" is their first top 5 hit.
Interesting that you wrote about Aretha Franklin returning to the R&R chart after 11 years. I had alluded to that the other day when I wrote about not hearing "Jump to it" on the radio in 1982.
Oh and I did not know that about "No Lookin Back" Having 2 versions. Similar to Neil Diamond and Barbra Streissnd both recording "You Don't bring me Flowers". No mashup however between McDonald and Loggins.

[mrjukebox]

"Disco Duck" by Rick Dees is one of the featured songs on this week's presentation from 9/25/76-In 1984,Rick launched the "Weekly Top 40" which was a direct competitor of "AT40".

[mrjukebox]

The late Glenn Frey sang background vocals on "Hard To Say".

[mrjukebox]

"Breaking Away" by Balance is one of the songs on this week's A show from 9/26/81-Group member Peppy Castro had reached the top forty fourteen years earlier-In 1967,his previous group The Blues Magoos scored a top ten hit called "We Ain't Got Nothin' Yet".

[Hervard]

American Top 40: The 70s - October 5, 2024

This week's presentation - October 7, 1978 (First four-hour show)

Droppers:
GOT TO GET YOU INTO MY LIFE - EARTH, WIND & FIRE (34) - This was an interesting rendition of the Beatles classic. Of course the original was the best, but this one was pretty good too.
PRISONER - BARBRA STREISAND (21) - She was just a few weeks away from debuting with her whiny duet with Neil Diamond. #21 was all the higher that this song climbed, which was a shame, since I thought it was a great one. It reminded me a little of "Wildflower" by Skylark.
FOOL IF YOU THINK IT'S OVER - CHRIS REA (17) - He was one-hit wonder on the pop charts, but he did have an AC hit in the summer of 1989, entitled "On The Beach". That is actually my favorite of the two hits, although this one was a good one as well.

40: SWEET LIFE - PAUL DAVIS (debut) - A beautiful song about a couple who just had a baby and it reminds them of what a great life they have. One of my favorite Paul Davis songs of all time!
39: READY TO TAKE A CHANCE AGAIN - BARRY MANILOW (debut) - Well, he indeed took a chance with an upbeat song, which proved to be worthwhile, as it hit the Top Ten. This time around, he returned to his usual ballad style with a song that came close to hitting the Top Ten, but only got as high as #11. Such a shame, as it's a great song - one of his best 70s hits.
38: TOOK THE LAST TRAIN - DAVID GATES (debut) - This definitely does not sound much like Gates. It's a good song, but I preferred other hits by him, solo and with his band Bread.
EXTRA: DON'T GO BREAKIN' MY HEART - ELTON JOHN & KIKI DEE - With the show extended to four hours as of this week, no doubt that left a little excess time, even with much less editing of songs and LDD's, as well as the addition of the Archive feature, so they inserted a few filler extras here and there. This was Elton's only duet - so far, that is - he'd have three more to make the Top 40 in the 80s and 90s (as well as a few others that only hit the AC chart). This was a great song, IMO - one I remember quite well during its chart run in 1976.
37: HEARTBREAKER - DOLLY PARTON (37) - Her third Top 40 single to chart in 1978 (including "Here You Come Again"). I preferred that song, but prefer this one over "Two Doors Down". All three are good songs, though.
36: DEVOTED TO YOU - CARLY SIMON & JAMES TAYLOR (36) - I wonder if the Everly Brothers were inspired by the church hymn "For The Beauty Of The Earth" when they wrote this song, since it sounds so much like it. I don't remember the original so I cannot fairly compare the two.
35: I WILL STILL LOVE YOU - STONEBOLT (39) - The first time I heard this was as a LDD on an early 1980 show. Then, of course, I heard it multiple times on my Barry Scott's Lost 45s CD (Volume 2). A great song, IMO and quite underrated (as it only got as high as #29).
EXTRA: DREAMS - FLEETWOOD MAC - Another filler extra, from the top album of the previous year, Rumours. They went with this one since it was the biggest song from the album. The song is not bad, but most likely my least favorite of the singles, however, presumably due to overplay.
34: DANCE (DISCO HEAT) - SYLVESTER (40) - This song spent six weeks at #1 on Billboard's Disco chart, and didn't do too bad on the Hot 100 either, peaking at #19. It was OK, but not quite my cup of tea.
33: ALMOST LIKE BEING IN LOVE - MICHAEL JOHNSON (35) - This song had sort of a smooth jazz sound to it. It was good, but I preferred his other two Top 40 hits.
32: HOT-BLOODED - FOREIGNER (15) - The first of two songs by them on this week's chart, and the first single from the Double Vision album. It was my least favorite from that album, but it was still a great song.
31: YOU AND I - RICK JAMES (13) - His debut single, as well as his most successful (peaked at #13 on the Hot 100). He had much more success on the R&B and dance charts, though. As we all know, I was never a big Rick James fan, so this was no huge loss.
ARCHIVE: RAINDROPS KEEP FALLIN' ON MY HEAD - B.J. THOMAS - The AT40 Archives was a long-time feature on the show, lasting for three years and two months. They started out with the 1970s, and this was the very first #1 song of the decade. It was pretty good, but I preferred his 1968 hit "Hooked On A Feeling".
OPTIONAL EXTRA: I'M EVERY WOMAN - CHAKA KHAN - Well, I definitely prefer this over songs of hers like "I Feel For You", but it still doesn't hold a candle to "Through The Fire".
30: IT'S A LAUGH - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (33) - They were in their "down period" at this point in their career (as, between the spring of 1977 and the beginning of 1981, they did not hit the Top Ten). The verses to this had an interesting melody. I wasn't too crazy about the choruses, however (since it sounds like music that would stick in my head all day).
29: JOSIE - STEELY DAN (32) - This was a typical Steely Dan song with their traditional jazz/rock sound. It was a good one, but I preferred a few others from them.
28: 5-7-0-5 - CITY BOY (30) - They apparently chose to omit the prefix from the number, to spare people who happened to have such a number all the nuisance calls. Anyway, this song wasn't anything I'd go out of my way to listen to.
27: BEAST OF BURDEN - ROLLING STONES (31) - Well you better never leave my pizza burning, especially if I'm paying for it! But seriously, this song wasn't bad - I definitely prefer it over their recent #1 hit.
26: DOUBLE VISION - FOREIGNER (38) - As the first song from the album of the same name was spending a final week on the countdown, the title track takes one of the biggest jumps. This was my second favorite single from the album, behind "Blue Morning, Blue Day", which would be their next release after this one.
LDD: ONE TIN SOLDIER - COVEN - This song reminded me of Johann Pachelbel's Canon. It was a pretty good song.
25: TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP - CRYSTAL GAYLE (28) - She was mainly a country artist, but she did have a handful of songs that crossed over to the Pop charts. This was my favorite of the four that hit the Top 40.
24: I LOVE THE NIGHTLIFE - ALICIA BRIDGES (27) - As we all know, I'm not a big disco fan, but this one is an exception - in fact, it is one of my favorite songs on this week's chart. There's just something about it that I really like.
23: COME TOGETHER - AEROSMITH (23) - One of three singles from the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band soundtrack that made the Top 40. I liked both this version and the original by the Beatles about the same.
22: WHO ARE YOU - THE WHO (26) - What I really want to know is who is the person whose idea it was to include the falsetto for the chorus of this song? It is supremely annoying and negates any redeeming qualities the song might have. But that's just me; the song did hit the Top 20 and still gets a lot of recurrent airplay on classic rock stations today, so it's all good. I just don't care for the song, that's all.
21: McARTHUR PARK - DONNA SUMMER (25) - As we all know, I'm not a big disco fan, but the saving grace for this song is the fact that it IS disco. (though I certainly don't know why Summer screams like a witch at the end of each chorus).
ARCHIVE: I WANT YOU BACK - JACKSON FIVE - The first of four consecutive #1 hits for this family act - and the only four they'd ever have as a band. Of those songs, this is my favorite.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: TIME PASSAGES - AL STEWART - I liked most of his songs, but this one was my favorite. They played the short version, but I remember a few times, they went with the album version, which was over six minutes long. Sort of off-topic - A little over 30 years ago, I had a very strange dream with that song playing (on the radio, which I often fell asleep to back then) that I was in a house and the doors all led to rooms that, in real life, couldn't be connected the way they were.
20: YOU NEVER DONE IT LIKE THAT - THE CAPTAIN & TENNILLE (24) - Was "that" the same "that" which Tennille wanted the Captain to do to her one more time?
19: SHE'S ALWAYS A WOMAN - BILLY JOEL (22) - The final release from The Stranger. This was possibly my favorite of them, but it would be in a horse race, as all four singles from that album were great, IMO.
18: BACK IN THE USA - LINDA RONSTADT (20) - I can't say whether I prefer this or Chuck Berry's version, since I've never heard the latter. Linda's version was so/so, but definitely not one of her best.
17: GET OFF - FOXY (19) - Not a huge fan of this one, since it's the roof-raising R&B of which I'm not a huge fan.
16: HOW MUCH I FEEL - AMBROSIA (29) - This was the first of two Top Ten hits from this band from L.A. Both songs are my two favorite songs from them - and, as you may have guessed, I'm not sure which of the two I prefer.
EXTRA: YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE - DEBBY BOONE - Amazing that, with all the records this song set, that it was her sole Top 40 hit. This song was definitely a guilty pleasure of mine - as cheesy as it is, I just can't help but love the song!
15: OH DARLIN' - ROBIN GIBB (16) - The last of the three hits from the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band soundtrack. This one wasn't bad, but I preferred his other Top 40 hit from four years later, entitled "Boys Do Fall In Love".
14: RIGHT DOWN THE LINE - GERRY RAFFERTY (18) - This was his second chart entry, as well as his second highest charting song. Of the songs of his that I'm familiar with, this would be my favorite.
13: EVERLASTING LOVE - ANDY GIBB (10) - At first, this one looked like it was going to be another #1 for him, but as soon as it hit the Top Ten, it was unable to climb more than one spot at a time. But it was a Top Five hit, so that's cool. This was definitely one of my favorites from him - it's a close race between this and "I Just Want To Be Your Everything".
12: HOLLYWOOD NIGHTS - BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND (14) - I don't remember this song from its chart run so much as I remember hearing it on the Stranger In Town album, which my Mom played all the time back in 1979. It's a pretty good song, but the only single from the album that I really liked was "Still The Same". There were several other songs on the album that I felt should have been released as singles.
11: THREE TIMES A LADY - COMMODORES (4) - This song became a very popular wedding song (and it did get a few LDD requests, as I recall). Good reason, as it's a great song - one of their best! I was kind of hoping that, with the show extended to three hours, they'd play the long version, but it was not to be. Oh well, that's why we have YouTube, right?
EXTRA: VENUS - SHOCKING BLUE - Here's a song that hit #1 twice - first this one, and then over sixteen years later, Bananarama took it to the top as well. I slightly prefer this version, but am not a big fan of either song.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: SHARING THE NIGHT TOGETHER - DR. HOOK - They seemed to have a thing about the number six, as that was all the higher they got with four of their hits. The streak was broken in 1980, when "Sexy Eyes" climbed to #5. As for this song, it was pretty good, but it didn't hold a candle to "Better Love Next Time", my favorite song from them of all time.
10: WHENEVER I CALL YOU FRIEND - KENNY LOGGINS & STEVIE NICKS
9: YOU NEEDED ME - ANNE MURRAY
8: LOVE IS IN THE AIR - JOHN PAUL YOUNG
7: HOPELESSLY DEVOTED TO YOU - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN
6: REMINISING - LITTLE RIVER BAND
LDD: SUNSHINE - JOHN DENVER
5: SUMMER NIGHTS - JOHN TRAVOLTA & OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN
4: DON'T LOOK BACK - BOSTON
3: HOT CHILD IN THE CITY - NICK GUILDER
ROCK FOSSIL: UNTIL I KISSED 'YA - EVERLY BROTHERS
2: BOOGIE OOGIE OOGIE - A TASTE OF HONEY
1: KISS YOU ALL OVER - EXILE

[Hervard]

American Top 40: The 80s - October 5, 2024

This week's presentation - October 4, 1986

Droppers:
PAPA DON'T PREACH - MADONNA (35) - Here is a song that I hated with a passion when it was on the charts. It's not bad now that I don't hear it every single time I turn on the radio, but still, I prefer many other songs by Madonna, who, by the way, actually replaces herself on the countdown this week.
RUMORS - TIMEX SOCIAL CLUB (33) - Back in the day, I was fed up with this song by this point, as the radio stations that I listened to felt the need to play this song every single hour, or so it seemed. Now that I don't hear it ten times a day, I actually kind of like it now. Anyone remember the parody of this song by Bobby Jimmy & The Critters, called "Roaches"? U93 played that one quite often.
PRESS - PAUL McCARTNEY (32) - This song's sales outweighed its airplay by quite a lot, as the song hit the teens on the former chart, but didn't even touch the Top 30 on the latter. As a result, the song peaked at #21 on the Hot 100, where it had spent the last two weeks. The song wasn't bad, but I prefer many other songs from him, solo or with the Beatles or Wings.

40: TRUE BLUE - MADONNA (debut) - This song debuted on the entire Hot 100 up here at #40 and, given the artist that sings it, it comes as no surprise. The title track from an album that spawned four Top Five hits (not counting "Live To Tell", which had pretty much run its course on the chart by the time True Blue was released). This was my favorite song from the album.
39: WORD UP - CAMEO (debut) - Western whistling in a dance hit? Well, apparently it worked, as it was a big hit. I wasn't a big fan of it, however.
38: AMANDA - BOSTON (debut) - Definitely one of the biggest comebacks of the 80s - they had their first #1 hit, a Top Ten, and a Top 20 hit from Third Stage. Their music style was still the same, but didn't sound too out of place for the 80s at all.
37: I’LL BE OVER YOU - TOTO (40) - This song just barely missed hitting the Top Ten, peaking at #11. Too bad, as it's one of Toto's all-time best hits, IMO (at least it did hit the Top Ten on the R&R chart, where it peaked at #8).
36: SWEET FREEDOM (THEME FROM “RUNNING SCARED”) – MICHAEL McDONALD (28) - Well, I never saw the movie, but I definitely remember the song. It was a great one, like most of McDonald's solo hits.
35: IN YOUR EYES – PETER GABRIEL (39) - Meh, not generally a big fan of him, especially the "So" album, since the first two singles from it are way overplayed. Given that, I'm surprised that this song came nowhere near the Top Ten.
34: PARANIOMIA – THE ART OF NOISE WITH MAX HEADROOM (37) - One of the oddest songs to make the Top 40 - surprised it wasn't classified as a novelty song. I liked it, but probably would have gotten tired of it had it been a bigger hit.
33: TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT – EDDIE MONEY (38) - I like many of the Money Man's songs, but this definitely isn't one of them. Possibly my least favorite song from him.
32: GIRL CAN’T HELP IT - JOURNEY (34) - At the time, this was my favorite release from “Raised On Radio” (and beyond, as it was still my favorite after the last song was released in the spring of 1987). Since then, my tastes have changed and “I’ll Be Alright Without You” is my favorite. I still like this one, though - I especially like the end, when it becomes a completely different song. I’m kinda surprised they didn’t entitle it “Girl Can’t Help It/Fire In His Eyes”.
31: THE CAPTAIN OF HER HEART - DOUBLE (20) - A song by a rare bird - a Swiss band. In fact, according to Casey, this was the first Swiss act to hit the chart. I imagine there have been more since then, but I can't think of any others. Anyway, I really liked this song - mellow and relaxing.
30: POINT OF NO RETURN – NU SHOOZ (31) - This song definitely didn't measure up to the success of their first hit "I Can't Wait", which is a shame, because I preferred this song by a wide margin.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: THE NEXT TIME I FALL - PETER CETERA & AMY GRANT - This song would become the second #1 song in a row for Cetera, so he definitely had a head start on his former band Chicago, who hadn't even yet hit the Top 40 since his departure from the band (they had peaked at #48 with their revamped version of "25 Or 6 To 4" a few weeks prior). I liked this song, but preferred his first #1 hit, as well as many others from Amy Grant, who would become a regular on the Top 40 charts five years later.
29: HUMAN – THE HUMAN LEAGUE (36) - Their second of two #1 hits. Of course, my favorite was their first one, "Don't You Want Me", from four years before.
28: MONEY’S TOO TIGHT (TO MENTION) – SIMPLY RED (30) - A song whose lyrics are very timely in today's economy. Makes me thankful that I still have a job. Despite its grim lyrics, I thought it was a great song melodically.
27: HIGHER LOVE – STEVE WINWOOD (21) - Meh, the only good thing about this song is the fact that it was on its way down the chart. I'm still burned out on the song, mainly due to overplay (not that it was one of my favorite songs in the first place).
26: TWIST AND SHOUT – THE BEATLES (23) - The Fab Four had the song's inclusion in two successful movies to thank for its return to the chart. Though it peaked much lower than in its original run, it spent four weeks longer on the Hot 100 than in that first run (as the charts in 1964 moved like lightning). I liked it, but the Beatles had many other songs that I preferred.
25: VENUS – BANANARAMA (17) - I wasn't a big fan of this song. I preferred their two other Top 40 hits, especially "I Heard A Rumour".
24: BABY LOVE – REGINA (15) - The only hit from whom many people consider a "Madonna clone", since their voices sound alike. Despite the fact that I'm not generally a big fan of dance music, I really liked this song.
23: EARTH ANGEL (FROM “THE KARATE KID PART II”) – NEW EDITION (29) - Hey, it's the Kakariko Village song! But seriously, this was the second hit from the Karate Kid 2 soundtrack to hit the Top 40 - though the song didn't quite measure up to the success of the first one, Peter Cetera's "Glory Of Love", it did get as high as #21 (I am, however, surprised it didn't make an appearance on the R&R chart). Regardless, it was a good song, and one of my favorite New Edition hits.
LDD: DO IT OR DIE – THE ATLANTA RHYTHM SECTION - Wow, quite a heavy LDD there. A perfect example of a “d**ned if you do, d**ned if you don’t” situation. Glad that everything worked out for the best for this family! This song, along with being good melodically, had a great message and fit this LDD like a glove.
22: LOVE WALKS IN – VAN HALEN (25) - This was my favorite of the three Top 40 hits from 5150. One of many songs in this week's countdown that takes me back to my freshman year in high school! Too bad it only got as high as #22.
21: SWEET LOVE – ANITA BAKER (27) - This was the first of four Top 40 hits from her, though she did have a few more on the Jazz and Adult Contemporary charts. This song was pretty good, though I preferred other songs from her, such as "Just Because" and a few of said Jazz/AC hits.
20: A MATTER OF TRUST – BILLY JOEL (24) - This song had been out for quite awhile, so I was thinking it wouldn't get too far. But the Columbia record label apparently heavily promoted this song, as it managed to hit the Top Ten. It was a good song, but I preferred Joel's next release, "This Is The Time".
OPTIONAL EXTRA: THE WAY IT IS - BRUCE HORNSBY & THE RANGE - They had a handful of chart hits and this was their biggest. It's a great song - still sounds just as fresh today as it did back in 1986!
19: I DIDN’T MEAN TO TURN YOU ON – ROBERT PALMER (26) - Well, who said you did? No, seriously, both of the Top Ten singles from Riptide were played out (and "Addicted To Love" still is). The only song from the album I liked was "Hyperactive", since that song was not overplayed - in fact, I don't believe I ever heard it outside of countdown shows even during its chart run.
18: TAKE MY BREATH AWAY (LOVE THEME FROM “TOP GUN”) - BERLIN (9) - This was the first of two singles from Top Gun on this week's chart. It was a good song, but my favorite song from the Top Gun soundtrack was the album cut "Mighty Wings" by Cheap Trick. Actually, I do believe that song was released as a single, but didn't chart anywhere here in the States, which is too bad.
17: WORDS GET IN THE WAY – MIAMI SOUND MACHINE (11) - Their third hit and, like the first two, it hit the Top Ten. It was a good song, but one of my least favorite of their ballads.
16: HEAVEN IN YOUR EYES - LOVERBOY (19) - The other hit from Top Gun on the survey this week - one of three that hit the Top 40. Also, interesting story about keyboardist Doug Johnson refusing to participate in the recording of this song on principle (as he felt that the movie Top Gun promoted the military). He does still participate when they perform the song in concert, since he realizes that fans like the song on its own merits. Anyway, I forget exactly where in the movie this song was (since I only saw it once), but I seem to recall it was only played for a few seconds. Anyway, I liked this song, but preferred their other 1986 ballad "This Could Be The Night".
15: MISSIONARY MAN - EURYTHMICS (16) -Their last of nine Top 40 hits before Annie Lennox embarked on a solo career (as well as Dave Stewart, though he only had one Top 40 hit). I wasn't a big fan of this song, however - definitely one of my least favorites from them.
14: TRUE COLORS – CYNDI LAUPER (22) - The lead-off single from her sophomore album, as well as the title track. It wasn't bad, but a little too melancholy for my taste. I preferred the next two singles from True Colors.
13: ALL CRIED OUT – LISA LISA & CULT JAM WITH FULL FORCE (18) - Here's another song that takes me back to my freshman year! I remember that it was often #1 on U93's Top Ten at Ten - sort of armwrestling with "You Give Love A Bad Name" by Bon Jovi. As we all know, this was my favorite song of the entire decade, according to my Personal Top 30 charts.
12: HEARTBEAT – DON JOHNSON (14) - The first chart hit for Sonny Crockett (and actually, his only solo hit, as his other Top 40 hit would be his duet with Babs "Till I Loved You", in late 1988). This was a great song - another song that I remember hearing all the time near the beginning of my freshman year in High School!
11: LOVE ZONE – BILLY OCEAN (10) - Your typical mid-80s slow jam. I preferred the song that preceded this as well as the follow-up - both tender love ballads. This was a good song as well.
LDD: I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU – STEVIE WONDER - This LDD had a somewhat similar theme as the other LDD (in that situations cause the family to be split up for quite awhile). The song did fit the LDD.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: WALK LIKE AN EGYPTIAN - THE BANGLES - I think we all know how much I detest this song, right?
10: DANCING ON THE CEILING – LIONEL RICHIE (3) - Of course, this is only possible if the building your in has been flipped over, or if the law of gravity happened to change. As for the song, it's pretty good, but definitely not his best song.
9: TYPICAL MALE – TINA TURNER (13) - She had already hit #1 on the Hot 100 with "What's Love Got To Do With It", which barely missed the top spot on the R&R chart. The tables would turn with this song, as it DID make it to #1 on R&R, but didn't quite make it all the way on the Hot 100. I liked both songs, but preferred this one.
8: WALK THIS WAY – RUN-D.M.C. (4) - Ah, those were the days, when rap was halfway decent. Of course, since this was a remake of a familiar song, that could have had something to do with how I like it, although back when this was on the charts, I was not a fan of it at all. In retrospect, it doesn't sound so bad now - in fact, I actually prefer it over the original by Aerosmith.
7: THROWING IT ALL AWAY - GENESIS (12) - Here's another song that went to #1 on the R&R chart (the following week), but didn't quite make it on the Hot 100. It did peak at #4, though, which isn't bad either. This song was OK, IMO, but my least favorite of the five singles from Invisible Touch.
6: TWO OF HEARTS – STACEY Q (8) - Meh, don't care much for this one. The ah-ah-ah part is somewhat embarrassing and definitely annoying.
5: DREAMTIME – DARYL HALL (6) - His first of two solo hits before rejoining his sidekick John Oates. I liked both of them, but slightly preferred this one.
4: DON’T FORGET ME (WHEN I’M GONE) – GLASS TIGER (5) - Of course, today, this song would be credited to Glass Tiger featuring Bryan Adams (as he is heard singing in the choruses). This was my favorite of their four Top 40 hits (though "I Will Be There", which charted the following spring, would be a fairly close second).
3: WHEN I THINK OF YOU – JANET JACKSON (7) - As the old saying goes, third time's a charm, as this was Janet's third release from Control, and it went all the way to the top - her first of many #1 songs! I liked this song, but generally preferred the Rhythm Nation era.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: EVERYBODY HAVE FUN TONIGHT - WANG CHUNG - If you have your mind in the gutter, you just might come up with a few misheard lyrics for this song. This one was overplayed, but it's one of those "fine wine" type songs - gets better with age.
2: FRIENDS AND LOVERS – CARL ANDERSON & GLORIA LORING (2) - I loved the cover of this song by Eddie Rabbitt & Juice Newton that was climbing the country chart about this time in 1986 (and was apparently instrumental in the release of this one, recorded for the soap opera Days Of Our Lives the year before), but I was definitely getting tired of this version, as the radio stations I was listening to were playing this song to death. Now that we rarely hear it anymore, it's good to hear every now and again.
1: STUCK WITH YOU – HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (1) - He/they had already had a #1 hit the year before and had collected their second two weeks before. This song, with three weeks on top, was one of the longest stays at #1 in 1986 (of course, today, that would be considered a short term at the top). Anyway, this was a great song and I'm especially glad it ended up as R&R's top song of the year.

[Hervard]

American Top 40: The 70s - October 12, 2024

This week's presentation - October 15, 1977

40: SEND IN THE CLOWNS – JUDY COLLINS (debut) - Interesting that this song started its chart run at exactly the same position at which it first entered in 1975. It even moved up to #36 the following week in both runs, but it would deviate from it the following week, as, in its original release, it didn't get any higher, but this time around, would continue to climb the chart, en route to its peak at #19. I guess you could call this one a guilty pleasure, as I like it, as cheesy as it is.
39: CAT SCRATCH FEVER – TED NUGENT (30) - A classic rock staple here! I was never a huge fan of the song, however. Not sure - it was just a little loud for me, I guess.
38: THE GREATEST LOVE OF ALL – GEORGE BENSON (24) - I, along with many of us, am more familiar with Whitney Houston's version of this song and prefer that one, but this is a good version as well.
37: I JUST WANT TO MAKE LOVE TO YOU - FOGHAT (debut) - Wow, contrast abounds in the beginning of the countdown today! After starting off with Judy Collins' relaxing song, we then rock out to Ted Nugent, chill out once again with a mellow George Benson song and are back in rock mode with Foghat! This is a song I remember hearing quite a lot back in 1977! Not one of my favorite songs by any means, but tolerable.
36: BLUE BAYOU – LINDA RONSTADT (40) - And look - here's another slow song. But I better not get too used to it; you know we're going to rock out again at #35. Anyway, of Ronstadt's two Top Five hits from late 1977, this would be my favorite. The other song, "It's So Easy", would hit the chart two weeks later. I liked that song as well.
35: BABY, WHAT A BIG SURPRISE - CHICAGO (debut) - Well, the streak is broken here, as this is a mid-tempo song. The song, the first chart entry by the Windy City band in about a year, looked like it might repeat the success of that last hit, "If You Leave Me Now", which was their first #1 hit, but not quite (it did peak at #4, though, which is nothing to sneeze at). As for the song, it's pretty good, but I prefer many others from them.
34: WE JUST DISAGREE – DAVE MASON (38) - This one sounds kind of dated. It's not bad, but it somehow doesn't sound anywhere near as fresh as it did back in 1977.
33: DO YOU WANNA GET FUNKY WITH ME – PETER BROWN (37) - This might not be roof-raising R&B, but it's definitely quite repetitive. Not a big fan.
32: WE’RE ALL ALONE – RITA COOLIDGE (debut) - This was her second Top Ten hit - I like both songs about the same. I remember buying the 45 of "We're All Alone" in March, 1983 - and "Higher Than Higher" was on the flipside!
31: DUSIC - BRICK (35) - This would probably qualify as "roof-raising R&B", but I actually kind of liked this one.
30: JUNGLE LOVE – THE STEVE MILLER BAND (23) - The second of three Top 40 hits from Book Of Dreams. It was OK, but my least favorite of his three Top 40 hits from the album.
29: SHE DID IT – ERIC CARMEN (33) - I'm surprised that this wasn't at least a Top 20 hit, because I definitely remember hearing this regularly in 1977. It's pretty good, but I preferred his 1976 hits.
28: WAY DOWN – ELVIS PRESLEY (27) - This song originally peaked at #31, but after The King's unexpected death in August, the song resurged and reached a new peak of #18. This was a pretty good song, but I preferred his other 1977 hit, his rendition of the Frank Sinatra hit "My Way".
OPTIONAL EXTRA: TAKE 5 – THE DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET - An unusual song written in 5/4 time (basically meaning 5 beats to the bar). I've heard several songs with this rhythm - the only one I can think of off the top of my head is a song from Sesame Street - I forget exactly what was happening, but I seem to remember people were at some sort of outdoor festival looking at jewelry and stuff. It's been awhile, so I can't remember exactly what it was (and I can't find anything on YouTube). As for the song, it was a good one - I think I've heard it a few times on WMGN's Magic Sunday Morning.
27: I BELIEVE YOU – DOROTHY MOORE (28) - This was her second hit - sounded a little like "Misty Blue", only I liked this one a lot better.
26: HELP IS ON THE WAY – LITTLE RIVER BAND (31) - This song was generally edited by cutting out the second verse and chorus, but they played the entire song this week. However, there were indeed other songs that were chopped down in this week's countdown, going to show that a four-hour show was called for a few years before it finally became a reality - almost exactly a year after this week's show. Anyway, I liked this song, though I preferred a few others from them.
25: STRAWBERRY LETTER 23 – THE BROTHERS JOHNSON (16) - This one wasn't quite my cup of tea, although it wasn't exactly "roof-raising R&B" music - it was actually somewhat mellow. I guess it just didn't do anything for me.
24: HOW DEEP IS YOUR LOVE – THE BEE GEES (34) - This song was taking a good-sized jump this week, but little did anyone know just how big a hit this would be! Who knew that it would still be on the chart at the beginning of spring? Definitely one of my favorites from them!
23: DON’T STOP – FLEETWOOD MAC (15) - I used to like this song, but overplay sort of tarnished it for me. Possibly my least favorite release from "Rumors" (my favorite would be "You Make Lovin' Fun", which would debut on the chart two weeks later).
22: JUST REMEMBER I LOVE YOU - FIREFALL (26) - They only had one Top Ten hit ("You Are The Woman" from the year before), but two of their songs just barely missed. This was one of those songs, and it is one of my favorite songs by Firefall.
21: SURFIN’ USA – LEIF GARRETT (25) - The first of three chart hits for this then-young man. You can still catch him on TruTV, on re-runs of their show The Smoking Gun Presents: World's Dumbest...(although I don't think that show is on as much as it used to be). Well, anyway, I guess you could call this one a guilty pleasure of mine, as I rather like this song - but I can definitely see why many people hated this one.
20: SIGNED, SEALED AND DELIVERED – PETER FRAMPTON (21) - His current album, I'm In You, didn't quite live up to the success of Frampton Comes Alive (one of the most popular live albums of all time), but it did spawn two Top 20 hits. The title track, of course, was my favorite, but this Stevie Wonder cover was not bad either.
EXTRA: MANDY – BARRY MANILOW - Played as the second Optional extra, the story to tie in with this song was about how it was originally called "Brandy" and, since the band Looking Glass had a hit with that title, Barry changed it to "Mandy" to avoid confusion. This was the first of many hits for the balladeer, and the first of three #1 hits. I tell you what, I used to like the song, until I heard the urban legend associated with this song.
19: HEAVEN ON THE 7TH FLOOR – PAUL NICHOLAS (22) - This was melodically a great song, but the lyrics were sort of questionable - the guy was stuck in an elevator with someone who wanted nothing to do with him - and he was happy nonetheless. I'd have felt very awkward and, like the girl in the elevator with me, I'd want them to have us out ASAP. But that's just me. As I said, the music itself was great.
18: TELEPHONE LINE – ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (14) - This song had a rather slow climb up the charts; debuted in early July and peaked at #7 the last week of September. It was a great one; one of my favorites from them.
17: BEST OF MY LOVE – THE EMOTIONS (6) - This was the song that spent the most weeks at #1 so far this year, with a total of five. Little did anyone know that another song in the countdown that would double that by year's end. Anyway, this was definitely one of the biggest hits of the year, and deservedly so, as it was a great one!
16: IT WAS ALMOST LIKE A SONG – RONNIE MILSAP (18) - His very first pop hit and his only one to chart in the 70s. He would have more pop success in the 80s but, of course, the format he excelled at the most was Country. Anyway, this was a great song - one of my favorites from Milsap.
15: THE KING IS GONE – RONNIE McDOWELL (17) - A very touching tribute to Elvis Presley, whom we had sadly lost a little over a month before.
14: IT’S ECSTACY WHEN YOU LAY DOWN – BARRY WHITE (19) - More often than not, AT40 only played about a minute of this song (I wasn't paying much attention, so I'm not sure if this was one of those weeks). I personally wasn't a big fan of this song, or much of anything from Barry White.
13: DON’T IT MAKE MY BROWN EYES BLUE – CRYSTAL GAYLE (20) - Her first Top 40 hit,- it even came close to the top, but I don't think I need to tell you the song that locked it out of #1. Anyway, I liked all of Crystal Gayle's Top 40 hits (and a few that hit only the Country and AC charts).
12: ON AND ON – STEPHEN BISHOP (11) - This song was his biggest hit ever; just barely missed the Top Ten the week before, which I thought was a shame, as it was my favorite song from him. A small consolation - it did hit the Top Ten on the R&R chart, peaking at #8.
11: SWAYIN’ TO THE MUSIC (SLOW DANCIN’) – JOHNNY RIVERS (12) - Of course, the crickets (the creatures, not the band) help him out in the first verse of this song. It wasn't bad, but I preferred a few others from him (i.e. "Summer Rain", "Secret Agent Man").
10: I JUST WANT TO BE YOUR EVERYTHING – ANDY GIBB (10) - Casey mentioned that this song was spending its sixteenth week in the Top Ten, making it more and more clear that it would wind up as the year's top song. and it was definitely worthy of that honor - it was my favorite song from Gibb! Too bad they cut the second verse.
9: I FEEL LOVE – DONNA SUMMER (13) - I liked many of her disco hits, but this sure wasn't one of them - way too repetitive. Basically the same three sentences sung over and over and over again. No, I preferred Summer's songs from the 1978-80 era.
EXTRA: BEN – MICHAEL JACKSON - Kind of surprised that this wasn't demoted to Optional Extra status, like the other two songs. Anyway, this song is a little cheesy in the first place, but after hearing it was actually dedicated to his pet rat made it even more so.
8: BRICK HOUSE – THE COMMODORES (9) - I swear that I hear this song at every single dance party or wedding reception that I go to! Plus, this is overplayed on oldies stations - I definitely prefer their other 1977 hit "Easy" by far.
7: COLD AS ICE - FOREIGNER (8) - Their second hit - and there was a lot more where that came from! This would probably be my favorite of their two Top Ten hits from 1977 (though "Feels Like The First Time" was also a great one!)
6: BOOGIE NIGHTS – HEAT WAVE (7) - aka Part 1 of this song (part 2 would chart the following summmer). Both songs bookended about the only Heatwave song that I like, "Always And Forever".
5: STAR WARS TITLE THEME - MECO (1) - Interesting disco version of the Star Wars theme, though I preferred the one by the London Symphony Orchestra, which hit the Top Ten about a month before - making it the first time in twenty years that two Top Ten versions of the same song were on the chart at the same time.
4: THAT’S ROCK ‘N’ ROLL - SHAUN CASSIDY (5) - Ah, the teen idol of the late-70s. I remember a girl who was in kindergarten with me had a huge crush on him. I liked most of his music - this and "Da Doo Ron Ron" are probably my two favorites from him.
3: NOBODY DOES IT BETTER – CARLY SIMON (4) - 1977 was definitely the year for movie songs! This one, from the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me, was one of many songs held out of #1 by - well, this week's #1 song (it did sneak in a week at #1 on the R&R chart). It is one of my favorite songs by Carly Simon, as well as one of my faves on this week's chart.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: FALLING - LeBLANC & CARR - Their only Top 40 hit. The song peaked at #13, but spent over a half a year on the Hot 100, an unusually long term for a song that never hit the Top Ten. I liked this song a lot - too bad it didn't have a little more oomph in it so it would have hit the Top Ten.
2: KEEP IT COMIN’ LOVE – K.C. & THE SUNSHINE BAND (2) - This one broke their streak of all of their Top Ten songs hitting #1. It looked like it had a chance this week when the Star Wars theme dropped out of the top spot, but it was leapfrogged over by the song that hits #1 this week...
1: YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE – DEBBY BOONE (3) ...which is right here! THE ULTIMATE GUILTY PLEASURE!! This song was in its very first of ten weeks at the top, and was the fifth movie theme to top the chart in 1977! Indeed a great song!

[Hervard]

American Top 40: The 80s - October 12, 2024

This week's presentation - October 13, 1984

Droppers:
(WHAT) IN THE NAME OF LOVE - NAKED EYES (39) - They did quite well in 1983, with two Top 20 hits, but after that, they seemed to fizzle out. This was their last Top 40 hit and #39 was all the further it got. Too bad, as it was a great song, IMO.
STUCK ON YOU - LIONEL RICHIE (36) - This multi-format smash dropped out of the survey, but never fear - he replaces himself on the chart this week! More on that in a moment.
DYNAMITE - JERMAINE JACKSON (30) - Well, I may not have been much for the two Jacksons hits from 1984, but such is not the case with Jermaine's two songs from that year, as those are among my favorites from him.

LW#1: LET'S GO CRAZY - PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION
40: THE LAST TIME I MADE LOVE - JOYCE KENNEDY & JEFFREY OSBORNE (40) - Like most R&B duets from the early-80s, I thought this was a great song and it was a shame that it didn't get any higher than #40 on the charts.
39: THE LUCKY ONE - LAURA BRANIGAN (20) - The follow-up to one of her biggest hits, "Self-Control". This was one of two songs that charted around this time that started off slow and then became upbeat (the other would be "There Goes My Baby" by Donna Summer, which is coming up later in the countdown). I liked this song, but slightly preferred the Donna Summer song.
38: PENNY LOVER - LIONEL RICHIE (debut) - The album Can't Slow Down sure got a lot of mileage, didn't it? This was the fifth single from the album, and all five songs hit the Top Ten. It's a fairly close race between this and "Hello" as my favorite song from the album.
37: SHINE SHINE - BARRY GIBB (37) - His only solo Top 40 hit. It was a good one, but I preferred his two duets with Barbra Streisand, especially "What Kind Of Fool".
36: WHEN YOU CLOSE YOUR EYES - NIGHT RANGER (18) - They had a slew of great songs in the 80s. There is not a single Top 40 hit of theirs that I don't like - the only one that doesn't quite get "great song" status is their first Top 40 entry, "Don't Tell Me You Love Me", from early 1983.
35: ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT - CYNDI LAUPER (debut) - The fourth Top Ten single from She's So Unusual, and possibly my favorite of them. It's a great song and too bad they cut out the instrumental bridge.
34: TORTURE - THE JACKSONS (17) - One of two 1984 songs from the Jacksons as a group. This one was IMO much better than the other song from earlier in the year, "State Of Shock", which often gets a "No. Just no" in my critiques.
33: WHAT ABOUT ME - KENNY ROGERS WITH KIM CARNES AND JAMES INGRAM (debut) - Definitely a great superstar trio! Possibly my favorite song on the entire chart this week, and one of my favorite songs of the entire year!
32: OUT OF TOUCH - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (38) - This song was on its way to giving Hall & Oates the record for the male act with the most #1 songs of the 80s. They were currently in a tie with Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson for that honor (though Jackson would pull way ahead into first place a few years later.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS - PAUL MCCARTNEY - There were two versions of this song on the Give My Regards To Broad Street soundtrack. The other one was more upbeat - it was a good one, but I preferred this version, although they really butchered it this week - went right from the first verse to the final chorus.
31: STRUT - SHEENA EASTON (35) - This is a song that I hated back in the day. Now, I think it's pretty good, though I generally prefer her earlier hits (save for "Morning Train").
30: I FEEL FOR YOU - CHAKA KHAN (33) - I was never crazy about this song. I preferred her follow-up, "Through The Fire", which was a Top 20 AC hit (and wasn't it once an Optional Extra, since it spent 19 weeks on the Hot 100 despite never having even cracked the Top 40)?
29: FLESH FOR FANTASY - BILLY IDOL (29) - One of Idol's more obscure hits. I thought it was pretty good, but, as we all know, my favorite song from him is "Sweet Sixteen", from the summer of 1987.
28: BETTER BE GOOD TO ME - TINA TURNER (34) - The second of two songs by her on this week's countdown. I prefer the other one, but this one's a good one too.
27: DESERT MOON - DENNIS DeYOUNG (31) - Styx may not have broken up, but they were noticeably absent from the chart for over six years. Meanwhile, two members of the band would hit with solo hits in 1984 - Dennis was here with his first solo hit (a great song, might I add), and Tommy Shaw would chart three weeks later with "Girls With Guns".
26: WAKE ME UP BEFORE YOU GO-GO – WHAM (32) - I liked this song back in the day, since it was sort of a teenybopper song, but now, it's just OK. I still like it better than "Careless Whisper" for reasons I have explained here before.
LDD: DO IT OR DIE – THE ATLANTA RHYTHM SECTION - Very inspirational dedication story there, with a good song to go along with it.
25: WHO WEARS THESE SHOES - ELTON JOHN (27) - The second single from Breaking Hearts, though not quite as successful as the first one, "Sad Songs (Say So Much)". I thought it was a good song (and at least it did manage one week in the Top Ten on the R&R chart).
24: SWEPT AWAY - DIANA ROSS (26) - After 1982, she sort of burned out, as she could only manage a few mid-chart hits - until she hit the Top Ten with her tribute to Marvin Gaye, which turned out to be her last Top 40 hit. As for this song, it was a pretty good song, but I prefer several others by her, mainly her slower ones.
23: GO INSANE - LINDSAY BUCKINGHAM (23) - Of course, he took turns with Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie singing lead on songs by his band Fleetwood Mac, but he did have a few solo songs. This one was pretty good, though I did prefer "Trouble" (but I still liked this better than his annoying earworm "Holiday Road".
22: BOP 'TIL YOU DROP - RICK SPRINGFIELD (25) - The third of three Top 40 hits from the movie in which Rick starred, Hard To Hold. It was a good song, but I preferred the other two singles.
21: THERE GOES MY BABY - DONNA SUMMER (22) - This is the song I mentioned earlier - one of several songs by Summer that starts off slow and then picks up a little ways into the song. This one was actually one of my favorites from her (though I remember disliking it during its chart run).
20: BLUE JEAN - DAVID BOWIE (23) - Considering I'm not a huge David Bowie fan, this song was actually pretty good.
19: IF THIS IS IT - HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (14) - Anyone notice how this sounds somewhat like a doo-wop version of "Don't Do Me Like That" by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers? Perhaps that's why it's such a good song, as both songs are among my favorite from their respective artists.
18: PURPLE RAIN - PRINCE (28) - The title track to the blockbuster movie, whose soundtrack was just as successful. This song, oddly enough, did not hit #1 on the Hot 100 (though it did sneak in two weeks at the top spot of the R&R chart). That's probably because so many people had the Purple Rain soundtrack and, since the single version was the same as on the album, there was no need to buy it - although some people did buy the 45 anyway, for the novelty of the purple vinyl.
17: SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK - ROD STEWART (21) - The story of my life! The song itself is a good one.
16: ARE WE OURSELVES - THE FIXX (19) - This was their second biggest hit, behind the overplayed "One Thing Leads To Another". It's a good song, but my two favorites from them are "Saved By Zero" and "Secret Separation".
15: WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT - TINA TURNER (13) - Wow, very shortly after her comeback, she snagged the biggest song of her career! This was also true on the R&R chart - even though this song peaked at #2 and "Typical Male" made it to #1, this song spent a month longer on the chart. I wasn't crazy about this song back in the day, but now, I think it's a great one. Like fine wine, it's one of those songs that gets better with age!
14: CRUEL SUMMER - BANANARAMA (12) - Odd that Casey told the same story about the "forbidden fruit" (the banana) that he also told on last week's 1987 show. Of their three Top 40 hits, this one is right in the middle - I prefer it over their remake of the Shocking Blue's "Venus" but, of course, my favorite song from them is "I Heard A Rumour"
13: I'M SO EXCITED - THE POINTER SISTERS (15) - Another song that, like the Wham song, has a teenybopper air to it. But I still like the song.
12: ON THE DARK SIDE - JOHN CAFFERTY & THE BEAVER BROWN BAND (16) - A song I remember from both of its chart runs (as, when it was credited to Eddie & The Cruisers the year before, B96 played it in medium rotation. It was a good one, though I preferred "Tough All Over", which charted in the spring of 1985.
11: THE WARRIOR - SCANDAL FEATURING PATTY SMYTH (9) - Hard to believe that this was their only Top 40 hit (on Billboard). I like it, but prefer a few of their near-misses.
10: SHE BOP - CYNDI LAUPER (5) - Cyndi, you naughty girl! But I did like this song - definitely my favorite upbeat song from She's So Unusual and my second favorite from the album, behind her hit that debuted on the chart back at #35.
9: THE GLAMOROUS LIFE - SHEILA E. (7) - The first of a handful of hits for the daughter of famed musician Pete Escovedo. It wasn't bad, but I preferred the follow-up, "The Belle Of St. Mark".
8: COVER ME - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (10) - The second of an incredible seven Top Ten singles from Born In The USA. This one is possibly the one of those songs that gets the least amount of recurrent airplay, but is still a good one.
7: MISSING YOU - JOHN WAITE (4) - This song is kind of depressing for me due to personal problems I was going through around this time. I do rather like the version of the song where you can hear John chanting "Missing You" at the beginning of the song, but AT40 tended to play the other version, without the chants.
LDD: CHLOE – ELTON JOHN - Definitely one of Elton's most obscure songs - the only time I've ever heard it was on AT40: The 80s, when they chose a September, 1981 show. It's a good song, IMO.
6: CARIBBEAN QUEEN (NO MORE LOVE ON THE RUN) - BILLY OCEAN (11) - He seemed destined to be a one-hit wonder, as "Love Really Hurts Without You" was his only hit for over eight years. But Billy came back with a vengeance in 1984 and there was a lot more where that came from. As for the song, it wasn't bad, but I preferred many others from him.
5: LUCKY STAR - MADONNA (8) - I remember, on the following week's show, Casey told an interesting story about how horseshoes and four-leaf clovers became good luck charms. He did, however forget to mention that you should never iron a four-leaf clover, as it's not good to press your luck. But seriously, as for the song, it's OK, but definitely not one of my favorites from her.
4: HARD HABIT TO BREAK - CHICAGO (6) - As this song, with lead vocals shared by Peter Cetera and Bill Champlin, was gearing up to hit #1 on the R&R chart, it would peak on AT40 then as well, at #3, to be exact. Definitely my favorite of the four hits from Chicago 17!
3: DRIVE - THE CARS (3) - Another song that, like "Missing You", I find depressing, for the same reasons. I did like the song before this one, "Magic" - by far, my favorite of the five Heartbeat City singles.
2: LET'S GO CRAZY - PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION (1) - As always, they played the version with the shortened intro. This is my third favorite song from the Purple Rain soundtrack, behind the title cut and "Take Me With U".
1: I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU - STEVIE WONDER (2) - My favorite version of this song was the one where he used a voice alternator as he repeated part of the first verse. Not sure if AT40 ever played that one, but I do remember hearing it on his AC version of his show in early 1995 when he played it as an extra or LDD. Either way, it was a good song and one that put him in second place for solo artist with the most #1s (of course, Elvis Presley was comfortably in the lead).

[Hervard]

American Top 40: The 70s - October 19, 2024

This week's presentation - October 20, 1979

Droppers:
GOOD FRIEND - MARY MacGREGOR (39) - Many people consider her a one-hit wonder, but she did have a minor hit after that (and very minor, as this was all the higher it got). This one was much better than "Snoozefesting Between Two Lovers" (hmmm, that sounds kind of dirty, doesn't it?)
DRIVER'S SEAT - SNIFF 'N' THE TEARS (35) Hmm, I wonder how they came up with a band name like that? Anyway, The song wasn't bad, but nothing exceptional.
BAD CASE OF LOVING YOU (DOCTOR, DOCTOR) - ROBERT PALMER (34) - Given how much this song is played on oldies stations today, it's a surprise that this song never hit the Top Ten (though it did peak at #7 on R&R). The song's not bad, but I've never been a huge fan of Robert Palmer (though I did like his two Top 40 remakes, songs by the Gap Band and Marvin Gaye).
ROLENE - MOON MARTIN (30) - Here's a song I remember from back in the day, since a lot of the stations that I listened to played it. It was OK, but nothing exceptional.
ARROW THROUGH ME - PAUL McCARTNEY & WINGS (29) - Wow, this was kind of different for them - this one had a taste of smooth jazz to it. It was a great one - too bad it didn't get past #29 on the chart.
THE BOSS - DIANA ROSS (19) – The second of two songs in the countdown written by Ashford & Simpson. I definitely preferred this one. Something about this song reminds me of Donna Summer's Top Ten hit from earlier in the year, "Heaven Knows". I liked both songs. (BTW, it's worth noting that this song, along with the previous two, were actually moving up the chart the week before).
BORN TO BE ALIVE - PATRICK HERNANDEZ (16) - Disco was definitely declining noticeably and this one might have made the Top Ten otherwise, but it still gets a decent amount of recurrent airplay. The song wasn't bad, but nothing exceptional.

LW#3: SAD EYES - ROBERT JOHN
LW#2: RISE - HERB ALPERT
LW#1: DON'T STOP 'TIL YOU GET ENOUGH - MICHAEL JACKSON
40: RAINBOW CONNECTION - KERMIT THE FROG (debut) - From the Muppet Movie (which remains my favorite of their movies, though somewhat by default, as the only other one I saw was "The Great Muppet Caper", and even that one was ruined by a screaming kid throughout much of the first half and hour - as after he finally calmed the hell down, I was too agitated to enjoy the rest of the movie, due to the stupidity of the parents just sitting there letting him carry on instead of taking him outside until he calmed down). Anyway, I remember this song both from its movie, as well as choir class, where this was usually part of our spring concerts. It was a pretty good song.
39: DON'T BRING ME DOWN - ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (13) - Wow, what a huge drop! Almost became a rare case in which a song spent its entire Top 40 run in the Top 20 (as it had entered the 40 at #18). Anyway, this was their biggest hit (peak-wise, that is; "Telephone Line" might have had a few more points since it had three more weeks in the Top 40 despite peaking as many spots lower). It was OK, but quite overplayed. I preferred their other 1979 Top Ten, which is sadly ignored by radio anymore.
38: FINS - JIMMY BUFFETT (debut) - Possibly his most underrated song ever! This was such a great song, IMO and it's a shame that this song only got as high as #35. It fared much better on my Personal Top 30, where it was the biggest song of all of 1979. It still sounds as fresh as it did nearly 40 years ago - I even have it on one of my YouTube playlists!
37: YOU'RE ONLY LONELY - J.D. SOUTHER (debut) - This was his only solo Top 40 hit (his other entry was his duet with James Taylor, a little over a year later). Anyway, that's too bad, because both songs were great. I preferred this one.
36: FOUND A CURE - ASHFORD & SIMPSON (36) - An act that I had never heard of until their second hit, which turned out to be their most successful (and, as it turned out, final Top 40 entry). I preferred said second hit (“Solid”) by a fair margin. This one was your typical late-70s R&B disco song.
35: SHIPS - BARRY MANILOW (debut) - Interesting how this song, written by Ian Hunter, depicted the reunion between Barry and his father, who came back into his life after thirty years. Like most of Manilow's hits, I thought this was a great one - my favorite of his two 1979 hits.
34: BROKEN-HEARTED ME - ANNE MURRAY (debut) - Even though this song's chart run was mainly in 1979 (and its Top 40 run didn't even last into 1980), this one, along with many others that peaked in late 1979, ranked on the 1980 year-ender - in fact, this was the song that kicked it off. Anyway, this was one of my favorite Anne Murray songs of all-time, as well as her two other 1979 hits.
33: SO GOOD, SO RIGHT - BRENDA RUSSELL (37) - As is the case with Ashford & Simpson, I had never heard of Brenda Russell (needless to say, we're not related) until “Piano In The Dark” was released about eight years later. Both songs are great – I liked them about the same. This one definintely had that autumn sound to it, didn't it?
ARCHIVE: ISLAND GIRL - ELTON JOHN - This song wasted absolutely no time hitting the top. 1975 was certainly one of Elton's best years, as he had several big albums, two of which debuted at #1, as well as three number one hits (though only this song was from one of said albums (Rock Of The Westies)), and a Top Five hit from still a different album, Captain Fantastic & The Brown Dirt Cowboy), that year. Of his #1 1975 songs, "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" (one of two non-album chart toppers) is my favorite, this would definitely be a close second, as it is a great song as well!
OPTIONAL EXTRA: NO MORE TEARS (ENOUGH IS ENOUGH) - BARBRA STREISAND & DONNA SUMMER - Oddly enough, the two women singing on this song were in a tie for second place with the most #1 hits, so it did not break the tie when it hit #1. Anyway, I used to hate this song with a passion, but now, I don't mind it quite as much. Still, I could take it or leave it.
32: IF YOU REMEMBER ME - CHRIS THOMPSON (debut) - The theme from the movie "The Champ", which contains possibly THE most heartbreaking scene ever in film-dom (and if you've ever seen the movie, I'm sure you know which scene I speak of!). As for the song, it's a great one - possibly my favorite song from Barry Scott's Lost 45's.
31: DEPENDIN' ON YOU - THE DOOBIE BROTHERS (25) - Definitely a case of Third Single Syndrome. After two Top 20 hits, this song petered out at #25. The song was pretty good, but nowhere near as good as "What A Fool Believes".
30: AFTER THE LOVE HAS GONE - EARTH, WIND & FIRE (10) - Yikes! People certainly got tired of this one quickly! This was of their biggest hits, though it stopped just short of the top spot. This used to be one of my favorite songs, but somehow, over the years, my fascination for this song has dimmed significantly. It’s still passable, though.
29: CRUEL TO BE KIND - NICK LOWE (12) - Here's one I remember hearing quite often back in the day. It was a great song – too bad it was his only Top 40 hit, though.
28: MIDNIGHT WIND - JOHN STEWART (31) - This song features Stevie Nicks on back-up vocals like his first hit "Gold", which I preferred over this one, but both songs are good.
27: GOTTA SERVE SOMEBODY - BOB DYLAN (33) - I've never been a huge fan of Bob Dylan at all - I find his voice kind of annoying. This song, however, wasn't too bad.
26: BABE - STYX (debut) - 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!
25: THIS NIGHT WON'T LAST FOREVER - MICHAEL JOHNSON (32) - Originally written and performed by Bill LaBounty in 1978, Michael Johnson, with a few lyrical revisions from the original, did a great cover! This was easily my favorite of his three Top 40 hits, as well as one of my favorite songs of 1979!
24: I KNOW A HEARTACHE WHEN I SEE ONE - JENNIFER WARNES (27) - This song was apparently inspired by “Rhythm Of The Rain”. I also noted a little similarity between the choruses of this and “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys.
LDD: PRECIOUS AND FEW - CLIMAX - The only Top 40 hit for this quintet from L.A. This was a nice and mellow song, and it did fit the LDD.
23: WHERE WERE YOU WHEN I WAS FALLING IN LOVE - LOBO (23) - He was more famous for his early 70s hits, but he did have a short-lived comeback with this song, which was a good one.
22: COME TO ME - FRANCE JOLI (24) - This song sounded like something that Donna Summer would sing, especially the way that it starts off slow and then picks up the pace. It's a good song.
ARCHIVE: THAT'S THE WAY I LIKE IT - K.C. & THE SUNSHINE BAND - Used as the second Optional Extra, this was the second of this Florida disco band's five number one hits. The fifth of those, by the way, is coming up later in the countdown.
21: GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME - GERRY RAFFERTY (21) - The late Gerry Rafferty's last of five Top 40 hits. I preferred this over the overplayed "Baker Street", but it wasn't quite as good as "Right Down The Line".
20: HOLD ON - IAN GOMM (26) - Pretty much your typical MOR song of the late-70s. It was pretty good, IMO.
19: GOOD GIRLS DON'T - THE KNACK (22) - Well, they never quite equalled the success of "My Sharona" (then again, given how massive that song was, that would be very tough). Anyway, that song is coming up later. This song was definitely my favorite of the two.
EXTRA: SURF CITY - JAN & DEAN - Interesting story about Jan wrecking on the same stretch of road that he and Dean sang about in one of their biggest hits.
18: LOVIN', TOUCHIN', SQUEZZIN' - JOURNEY (20) - Remember, they say "na" exactly 154 times in the song. Yes, there was a time that I was so bored that I actually counted them. 22 na's in each group, and there are seven groups of na's, so do the math from there. Anyway, the song is a good one - one of my favorites from them.
17: SPOOKY - ATLANTA RHYTHM SECTION (17) - Appropriate song, given that boo-time was coming up in a little over a week. Anyway, this was a good song, and, during the instrumental bridge, as well as the last verse, it sounded a lot like the original (since it was in the same key). Not sure if I prefer this one or the original by the Classics IV.
16: PLEASE DON'T GO - K.C. & THE SUNSHINE BAND (28) - Ugh! Please DO go and take this annoying whinefest with you! Thanks in advance!
15: TUSK - FLEETWOOD MAC (40) - Wow! What a huge jump there! Surprisingly, it is NOT the biggest jump of the week. Anyway, this song wasn't bad, but quite repetitive. I preferred the next release from the album of the same name.
14: DIRTY WHITE BOY - FOREIGNER (18) - The first single from Head Games. This wasn't bad, but I preferred the title track, which would chart about a month later.
13: LONESOME LOSER - LITTLE RIVER BAND (9) - You know, I just noticed a slight similarity between this song and “Whatcha Gonna Do” by Pablo Cruise. Anyway, this is a song I remember hearing a lot during the fall of 1979. It was pretty good, but I preferred LRB's two other 1979 hits by a fairly wide margin.
12: YOU DECORATED MY LIFE - KENNY ROGERS (14) - I liked most of his Top 40 hits, but this wasn't one of them. I mean, it's tolerable, but nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to.
ARCHIVE: FLY ROBIN FLY - THE SILVER CONVENTION - To this day, I still haven't learned all the lyrics to this song But seriously, of their two hits, I slightly preferred this one. It was a good song!
OPTIONAL EXTRA: TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME - SUPERTRAMP - The last of three singles from Supertramp's monster album Breakfast In America, which ended up as the #1 album of 1979. I liked all three hits from Breakfast In America, as well as many of the unreleased tracks which I feel should have been hits (i.e. "Oh Darling", "Lord Is It Mine")
11: HEAVEN MUST HAVE SENT YOU - BONNIE POINTER (11) - As we all know, the late Bonnie Pointer had previously been a member of the Pointer Sisters, but left the band in 1978 to try it on her own. This was her first of two solo hits, as well as the most successful, having spent the past two weeks at #11. The song was pretty good, but I generally preferred her sisters' band.
10: STILL- COMMODORES (38) - Now THIS was the biggest jump of the week! As well as one of the longest leaps in AT40 history. This song would probably get a better review from me if not for the depressing subject matter (Larry said, when this song was an Optional Extra last year, that the song was about a couple going through a divorce). I do, however, like it when they play the album version of the song, but, as far as I know, they only did that when this song was featured as a Long Distance Dedication in early 1983. Anyway, I wonder if their other song on the countdown, "Sail On" would have hit #1 on the Hot 100 had this song not been rush-released?
9: HEARTACHE TONIGHT - THE EAGLES (15) - This song made a monster debut at #15 the week before and takes a pretty good-sized move this week as well. Like the above song, it also hit #1. I wasn't a huge fan of it, though - definitely my least favorite of their chart toppers. My favorite song from The Long Run was the album cut "The Sad Café".
8: MY SHARONA - THE KNACK (5) - Definitely the most overplayed song of the year! I don't think I ever went for a day without hearing this song for at least six months! I'm still burned out on it to this day.
7: SAD EYES - ROBERT JOHN (3) - Well, as we all know, this song tied "Hot Child In The City" by Nick Gilder for the longest climb to #1. Both songs hit the top in their 21st week. The record would stand for about two and a half years. Anyway, this is definitely my favorite of the two songs.
6: DIM ALL THE LIGHTS - DONNA SUMMER (8) - Disco may have been burning out, but Donna Summer, an established artist, was still going strong. I did prefer this over her duet with Barbra Streisand, but still, it wasn't one of my favorite songs from her.
5/LDD: I'LL NEVER LOVE THIS WAY AGAIN - DIONNE WARWICK (6) - This was her comeback hit (since she'd been absent from the chart since late 1974), and it became one of her biggest hits, and deservedly so, as it was one of her best songs ever, IMO.
4: SAIL ON - COMMODORES (4) - This one had sort of a country feel to it. It apparently worked, as it hit the Top Five (and spent three weeks at #1 on R&R). This was definitely one of my favorite songs by the Commodores.
3: POP MUZIK - M (7) - Yes, I know that a lot of you love this song, but I’m sorry, it just doesn’t do anything for me.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: OPTIONAL EXTRA: COOL CHANGE - LITTLE RIVER BAND -
2: DON'T STOP 'TIL YOU GET ENOUGH - MICHAEL JACKSON (1) - His first of four Top Ten hits from Off The Wall. Alas, I'm not a big fan of this one at all – definitely my least favorite single from the album, as well as one of my least favorites from him overall. At least his next song, “Rock With You”, my second favorite from the album, also hit #1 (and spent much longer up there to boot!).
1: RISE - HERB ALPERT (2) - Instrumental songs were becoming fewer and further between at this point, but there were still a few of them charting – and this one went all the way to the top. I'm glad it did, because it was a great one!

[Hervard]

American Top 40: The 80s - October 19, 2024

This week's presentation - October 17, 1987

Droppers:
DOING IT ALL FOR MY BABY – HUEY LEWIS AND THE NEWS (38) - I remember hoping that this would be his next release as "I Know What I Like" was heading down the chart, and then playing this song all the time - so much that I got tired of it and got to hoping that Huey decided to release "Forest For The Trees". Well, what I forgot was that Huey always released the doo wop type song that appeared on each of his albums (although "Naturally" was more doo-wop than this one, but not quite as radio friendly). Anyway, this was a good song, but definitely not one of my favorites from him.
ONLY IN MY DREAMS – DEBBIE GIBSON (37) - The breakthrough hit for one of the biggest teen music stars from this era. It was a good song - my second favorite song from Out Of The Blue behind the #1 "Foolish Beat" (though I did rather like the title track as well).
VICTIM OF LOVE – BRYAN ADAMS (33) - The third and final single from Into The Fire, and the last time Adams would hit the charts until four years later, when he came back bigger than ever. I felt this song was way underrated - it should have been a Top Ten like “Heat Of The Night”.
FAKE – ALEXANDER O’NEAL (32) - A Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis production, this was O'Neal's only solo Top 40 hit (and his most successful song on the Soul charts, hitting #1 back in July). This song was OK, but nothing exceptional IMO, since it sounds so much like most of the other late-80s R&B dance songs.
TOUCH OF GREY – GRATEFUL DEAD (27) - This was their only Top 40 hit, but they were more of a album rock and concert band (although I don’t think that they usually performed this one at their shows). My brother was a Deadhead, so I've heard many songs from them, but this one remains my favorite.

40: HOURGLASS - SQUEEZE (debut) - Their near-miss from 1981, "Tempted" seems to be the only song from them that we hear anymore. Paul Carrack sang lead on that one, but had left the group by the time this song came around. The lead singer on this one reminds me of Paul McCartney. I liked this song - it had a very catchy chorus!
39: I JUST CAN'T STOP LOVING YOU - MICHAEL JACKSON WITH SIEDAH GARRETT (23) - This song might have spent more time at #1 had it not been for the rush-release of the title track from Bad, but it did sneak in a week at #1. I liked this song, though it sure got way overplayed.
38: NOTORIUS - LOVERBOY (39) - Totally underrated song here. It is one of my favorites from them, yet it didn't get any higher than #38. I'm surprised that this one doesn't get a lot of recurrent airplay because, with their songs, it seems that the lower they peaked, the more they get played on 80s stations today.
37: WIPEOUT - FAT BOYS & THE BEACH BOYS (26) - Meh, not a fan of this one at all. I always thought that the fact that they slowed down the tempo and added lyrics defeated the whole purpose of the song. This was a big sales hit. It peaked only at #20 on R&R (and was long gone from that chart by this time), yet it practically hit the Top Ten on the Hot 100 a few weeks back.
36: CAN'T WE TRY - DAN HILL (DUET WITH VONDA SHEPARD) (31) - I remember the first time I heard this on the radio, in July, 1987 (the 20th, to be exact), I thought it was an old AC hit by Dan Hill, and the following weekend, I was delighted to hear the song debut on the countdown! I don't think I ever got tired of this song.
35: LA BAMBA - LOS LOBOS (25) - This was their first of at least three remakes of old Ritchie Valens songs (they did a version of "Donna", but I don't think it was ever released as a single). Anyway, this song was so/so, but way overplayed. I preferred their version of "Come On Let's Go" - speaking of which...
34: COME ON, LET'S GO - LOS LOBOS (debut) - Now THIS one I did like a lot. But I liked "La Bamba" about the same when it started climbing the charts. Had this one gotten the same exposure, I probably would have gotten sick of it too. But this one only peaked somewhere in the Top 20 and gets absolutely no recurrent airplay. Another thing - I found it kind of unusual that there are five debuts on the countdown, yet we're just now getting to the second of those way up at #34.
33: WHEN SMOKEY SINGS - ABC (20) - This song marked a chart first. The first time a singer has been in the Top Ten at the same time as a song about that singer (as Smokey had hit the Top Ten that same week with his hit "One Heartbeat"). As far as I know, that hasn’t happened since, but then again, I haven’t really followed the Hot 100 since the end of 1991. Anyway, this song is a pretty good song.
32: SOMETHING REAL (INSIDE ME/INSIDE YOU) - MR. MISTER (29) - They were definitely a has-been at this point. Their Welcome To The Real album generated two #1 hits, as well as a Top Ten, but their follow-up album, Go On, didn't fare nearly as well. This was the only single from that album, and it barely touched the Top 30. Too bad, as it was my favorite song from them.
31: I WON'T FORGET YOU - POISON (debut) - This song reminded me a little of "Missing You" by John Waite - and the subject matter wasn't all that different. I preferred most of their other hits, though this one wasn't bad either.
LDD: YOU’RE ONLY HUMAN (SECOND WIND) – BILLY JOEL - I liked the way that Joel decided not to go back and correct the goof in this song (when he flubbed a line near the end and laughed) in order to prove the point he was making in this song, which I thought was a good one, but it wasn't his best. It had a great message, though and fit this LDD very well.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: SHAKE YOUR LOVE - DEBBIE GIBSON - Meh, I like most of her hits, but always thought this one was a little too teenybopper sounding for my tastes.
30: THE ONE I LOVE - R.E.M. (debut) - This one had a little hint of folk music to it. It wasn't bad, but I preferred most of their 90s hits.
29: HOLIDAY - THE OTHER ONES (36) - Possibly the first song to use the word "holla", almost fifteen years before that word became more widely used in songs. This was the second song with the title "Holiday" to chart in 1987, as Kool & The Gang had a song by that title that charted earlier in the summer, peaking at #66 in late July and heading down the chart when this song debuted. It was a pretty good one - their only Top 40 hit.
28: SHOULD'VE KNOWN BETTER - RICHARD MARX (debut) - I often compare this song to Kenny Loggins' "I'm Free (Heaven Helps The Man)" since they both sound alike. I prefer the Kenny Loggins song, but this is also a great one - my favorite from Marx's self-titled album.
EXTRA: SOMEDAY, WE’LL BE TOGETHER – THE SUPREMES - This was originally meant as Diana Ross' first solo hit - and, even though, someone got a better idea to let the Supremes record it as their farewell song, Diana went ahead and recorded it solo and it was released so quickly that the other members of the Supremes didn't get a chance to add their background vocals. Nevertheless, this song was released as being by the Supremes even though it really wasn't. Anyway, this was a good song, though I'm generally not a huge Motown fan.
27: HEAVEN IS A PLACE ON EARTH - BELINDA CARLISLE (40) - This was the beginning of her second wave of popularity, and her best, as she had three Top Ten songs from her Heaven On Earth album. This was the biggest one, hitting #1 in early December. It's a great song; my second favorite from this album, behind "I Get Weak".
26: I'VE BEEN IN LOVE BEFORE - THE CUTTING CREW (34) - Pretty much the only song from them we hear anymore is the tired, overplayed "(I Just) Died In Your Arms", though I have heard this one on the radio a time or two in the past few years. It's a pretty good one.
25: (I'VE HAD) THE TIME OF MY LIFE - BILL MEDLEY & JENNIFER WARNES (35) - Dirty Dancing fever was just getting started, with this song, which would hit #1 a little over a month later. I like the song, but for some reason, I hated it with a passion when it was on its way up the chart. Probably because of the overplay, but I never liked it in the first place. Now I think it's a good one, though I wouldn't want to hear it on a regular basis.
24: DON'T MAKE ME WAIT FOR LOVE - KENNY G f/LENNY WILLIAMS (28) - Like several songs, my opinion on this song varies, depending on which version is played. This week, they played the single version, which is by far my favorite. The album version is schmaltzed up. The vocals are more oversung, it doesn't contain as much saxophone and it seems to have an echo to it (from being overdubbed, I assume).
23: ONE HEARTBEAT - SMOKEY ROBINSON (14) - This was his second Top Ten during 1987. Not bad for a man who had been charting since the early-60s. I liked both songs about the same. Smokey, of course, was the subject of the chart first that I mentioned back at #33.
22: IN MY DREAMS - REO SPEEDWAGON (22) - It appeared that this song had peaked this week, but it did manage to hit the Top 20 the following week. About half of REO's Top 40 hits were ballads, and this is one of them. One of my favorites from them! Is it me, or did they edit this song a little oddly this week?
21: WHERE THE STREETS HAVE NO NAME - U2 (24) - The third and final Top 40 single from their monster album The Joshua Tree (the fourth, "In God's Country" just barely missed). This was my favorite song from the album, most likely since it wasn't overplayed like the two that preceded it.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: CATCH ME (I'M FALLING) - PRETTY POISON - The first of two hits from the film Hiding Out. I preferred the second one ("Live My Life" by Boy George), but this one's pretty good too.
20: BRILLIANT DISGUISE - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (30) - Of his two 1987 hits, this was definitely my favorite. His other one, from his live greatest hits album, was a mediocre cover of a mediocre song, IMO.
19: IT'S A SIN - THE PET SHOP BOYS (21) - This song has been compared to "Wild World" by Cat Stevens. Jonathon King, a British DJ accused the Pet Shop Boys of plagiarizing the song and went so far as to record his own cover version of "Wild World" as a single, using musical arrangement that was similar to "It's a Sin", in an attempt to demonstrate his claims. He released the single only to have it backfire on him. Not only did the single go absolutely nowhere, but the Pet Shop Boys sued King and won. As for the song, I liked it - one of my favorite songs by the Pet Shop Boys.
18: YOU ARE THE GIRL - THE CARS (19) - They were definitely big back in the late '70s (their two 1978 hits seem to get more recurrent airplay than any of their others) and first half of the 80s (Heartbeat City was indeed a smash album, with five Top 40 hits), but they began losing their momentum soon after. This was their final Top 40 hit. I wasn't a huge fan of it, however - I preferred most of their other Top 40 hits.
17: JUMP START - NATALIE COLE (13) - This was her first Top 40 hit in seven years, as she battled cocaine and heroin addiction for the better part of the decade. Her comeback hit, which would peak at #13, was only the beginning, as she'd have several big hits over the next few years. This was a good song, but I preferred her ballads, with which she was generally most successful on the pop charts.
16: BREAKOUT - SWING OUT SISTER (18) - They seemed destined to be a two-hit wonder, until "Am I The Same Girl" charted in 1992 (I assume it hit the AT40 chart, which by then was not going by the Hot 100, where the song peaked at #45). Anyway, I thought this song was pretty good, but I preferred their next hit, the underrated "Twilight World".
15: DIDN'T WE ALMOST HAVE IT ALL - WHITNEY HOUSTON (6) - aka "All At Once Pt 2". Only difference is, this song was actually released as a single and flew straight up to the top. It's a good song, but far from being her best. Two weeks before this song put Whitney in a tie for second place as the woman with the most #1 hits, and was just one away from Madonna. Of course, she ended up beating that in 1988 with "Where Do Broken Hearts Go". I assume that she and Madonna battled it out, along with Mariah Carey, for the next few years.
14: MONY MONY - BILLY IDOL (17) - One of two Tommy James & The Shondells covers that rode up the chart side by side. They debuted the same week, hit the Top Ten the same week, and came so close to dropping off the same week as well. They were #1 back-to-back as well. This was my favorite of the two - especially the live version.
13: LITTLE LIES - FLEETWOOD MAC (16) - At this point, all three of Fleetwood Mac's lead singers each had a Top 40 single from Tango In The Night featuring them on lead vocals. It was Christine McVie's turn with this song (although Stevie and Lindsey were clearly heard singing in the chorus). For some reason, I never liked this song - it was my least favorite song from "Tango In The Night". My favorite was the one that preceded it, "Seven Wonders", which was a Top 20 hit in August.
12: LET ME BE THE ONE - EXPOSE (12) - This was their third hit. Of their three 1987 hits (I regard "Seasons Change" as a 1988 song), this is my second favorite. "Point Of No Return" was by far my favorite.
11: I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW - TIFFANY (15) - This, of course, was the other Tommy James song that I mentioned back at #14. I wasn't a big fan of this remake. This was likely my least favorite of her Top 40 hits. Her new song, "Could've Been", which started to get early action on B96 a few weeks later. That song was far better, IMO.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: JUST LIKE HEAVEN - THE CURE - This song might have only gotten as high as #40 (a peak it took its sweet time to reach, might I add), but it still gets quite a lot of airplay on 80s stations. I thought it was a good song.
10: I HEARD A RUMOUR (FROM "DISORDERLIES") - BANANARAMA (4) -Of course, we all know that, of their three Top 40 hits, this one is my favorite. We heard my second favorite on last week's 1984 "B" show, but we will not be given a hat trick, as 1986 is not on tap for next week (besides, "Venus" dropped off the chart on October 11, so we wouldn't be hearing that song on the show anyway).
9: PAPER IN FIRE - JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP (9) - The first of four singles released from The Lonesome Jubilee (though I could have sworn that "The Real Life" had been released as the second single, but they went with "Cherry Bomb" instead). In any case, I liked this song, but my favorite single from the album was "Check It Out", which charted in the early spring of 1988.
8: CASANOVA - LEVERT (11) - They were definitely more of a soul act than Pop, as this was their only Top 40 hit. It was pretty good, but I preferred Gerald's solo hit from 1994, "I'd Give Anything".
7: WHO WILL YOU RUN TO – HEART (7) - Even though they had gone the pop way, they revisited their classic rock side with this song, and it apparently worked, as the song went Top Ten. I liked it - one of my favorite of their upbeat songs.
LDD: I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU – STEVIE WONDER - Wow, I must say that I was very moved by the LDD, especially the part of how the kid, when he was four, would take a break from playing with the neighbor kids to run home and give his mom a hug and tell her he loved her, before running off to play some more. I'm guessing that this was when he first started going to other kids' houses, since I sort of remember what that was like. Especially when I went to preschool. For the first few weeks, I was so glad when my mom came to pick me up. Anyway, back to the LDD.... the author of the LDD was so right - parents should never say to their kids stuff like "I'll be glad when you're grown up and gone", even when their patience is stretched to the limit. Because before they know it, their kids are grown up and moved out and the parents are like, "Where did the time go?"
6: HERE I GO AGAIN - WHITESNAKE (1) - The first of four Top 40 hits for this hard rock band from England, formed by David Coverdale, the former lead singer of Deep Purple. 1987 was definitely their year, as their two biggest hits charted and peaked within the year. I slightly preferred this song.
5: CAUSING A COMMOTION - MADONNA (11) - This song almost hit #1, but instead, was stuck at #2 for three weeks, while the two Tommy James remakes leapfrogged over her. While I'm glad that the two songs made chart history, I preferred this song by a fair margin.
4: BAD - MICHAEL JACKSON (8) - This song continued to burn up the chart, and it would hit #1 the following week, thus doing a hat trick of #1 songs by Jackson that only contained three letters (there were two others). He definitely wasn't like Bryan Adams, who would become known for his long song titles a few years later. As for this song, it was a good one, but it sure had a short chart run for a #1 song!
3: CARRIE - EUROPE (3) - They didn't have a very long chart career, but 1987 was definitely their heyday, with three Top 40 hits, and this one was their biggest. It was also my favorite song by them - a great power ballad, which had hit #1 on R&R the previous week week while it peaked here at #3 on BB - the only diversity between #1 songs during 1987.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: FAITH - GEORGE MICHAEL - Many people don't know this, but the song playing on the church organ at the beginning of the song was "Freedom", one of Michael's hits when he was still with Wham! And, coincidentally, two weeks later, this song debuted at the same position as that song. However, the song was much bigger, spending a month at #1 and going on to become the top song of 1988. Not my favorite song from him by any means (overplay had a lot to do with that).
2: U GOT THE LOOK - PRINCE (5) - This one looked like it might hit #1, with its large jump into the runner-up position this week, but it was pushed back the following week due to the heavy traffic in the Top Five. BTW, I'm aware that Sheena Easton did not receive label credit on this song, but she should have, since her voice was prominently heard on the song. During its chart run, I thought this song was mediocre, but it's a song that gets better with age, like fine wine. I think it's a great one now.
1: LOST IN EMOTION - LISA LISA & CULT JAM (2) - One of two number one songs from them, both in 1987. This was my favorite of the two, but it didn't hold a candle to "All Cried Out", which remains one of my favorite songs of all-time.

[Hervard]

American Top 40: The 80s - October 26, 2024

This week's presentation - October 23, 1976

Droppers:

QUEEN OF MY SOUL – AVERAGE WHITE BAND (40) - This was a one-week wonder on AT40, which is too bad, as it was a really good song.
SUMMER – WAR (39) - With this song falling off the chart, it looks like everyone realized that summer was indeed over. Of course, I like this song at any time of year.

40: DON’T GO BREAKING MY HEART – ELTON JOHN & KIKI DEE (38) - Wow, was this song getting renewed airplay on some stations? Once the song dropped out of the Top 20, its descent was slowed considerably! Anyway, I remember hearing this song on the radio all the time back in the late summer/early fall of 1976, but I never got tired of it! The song sounds just as fresh today as it did back then!
39: YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A STAR (TO BE IN MY SHOW) – MARILYN McCOO & BILLY DAVIS JR. (debut) - This was the very first #1 song of 1977. It was a pretty good song, but I prefer many other songs on this week's chart.
38: SAY YOU LOVE ME – FLEETWOOD MAC (37) - Wow! After its monster, 22-spot drop the week before, I was thinking that it was one of this week's droppers, but its parachute seemed to open this week. The album from which this song was released had been out for over a year (and definitely took its sweet time getting to #1). My favorite song on the Fleetwood Mac album was "Rhiannon", but this was a good one too.
37: WITH YOUR LOVE – JEFFERSON STARSHIP (36) - Wow, there are many slow droppers in the lower reaches of this week’s chart! Must have been a slow week in radio adds (and, like the Fleetwood Mac song, this one took a pretty good-sized drop the week before). Anyway, this one was a high point in the show for our friend JessieLou. This one sounded very much like their big hit "Miracles", from the year before. I liked both songs about the same.
36: WHAM BAM (SHANG-A-LANG) – SILVER (31) - Another rather slow dropper here. This is track 11 on Volume 2 of Barry Scott Presents: Lost 45s of the 70's & 80's, a CD I've listened to many a time (though not so much recently), so I've heard this song many times as a result. It's a good one!
35: TONIGHT’S THE NIGHT (GONNA BE ALRIGHT) – ROD STEWART (debut) - This song was on its way to #1, but who knew that it would get there in three short weeks! The song had a good, long run at the top - eight weeks, to be exact!
34: GET THE FUNK OUT MA FACE – THE BROTHERS JOHNSON (33) - And the small drops continue. Hmm, I'm beginning to wonder if the five-spot drop of the Silver song is the week's biggest fall. Anyway, this was a great song - that is, if you’re into R&B disco, which, unfortunately, I’m not. But I realize that a lot of people are, so they probably like this song - and really, more power to them. It just doesn't do anything for me.
33: GETAWAY – EARTH, WIND & FIRE (20) - Well, we finally have our first large dropper, from one of the biggest R&B acts of the 1970s! Though this wasn't quite as good as "That's The Way Of The World" and "September", it was still a good song nevertheless.
32: YOU ARE MY STARSHIP – NORMAN CONNORS (34) - A typical 70s slow jam, but I liked it - nice and relaxing. Sounds like something George Benson might do.
31: A DOSE OF ROCK AND ROLL – RINGO STARR (35) - When Ringo first started out as a solo artist after the break-up of the Beatles, he did quite well - his first seven songs hit the Top Ten. However, he burned out quite fast, as his last three Top 40 entries came nowhere near the Top 20. This was the highest peaking of those, peaking at #26. The song was OK, but definitely not his best.
30: THIS ONE’S FOR YOU – BARRY MANILOW (32) - I'm surprised that Budweiser didn't use this song for their commercials back in the 70s (after all, it was one of their slogans). Like most of Barry Manilow's songs, I liked it a lot, only I felt that this one was underrated.
29: DID YOU BOOGIE (WITH YOUR BABY) – FLASH CADILLAC & THE CONTINENTAL KIDS (30) - This song, which contains spoken interludes by Wolfman Jack, was OK, but nothing exceptional, IMO.
28: A LITTLE BIT MORE – DR. HOOK (15) - 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!
OPTIONAL EXTRA: STAND TALL - BURTON CUMMINGS - Definitely recognizable as the lead singer of the Guess Who, and this one sounds a little like their hit "Laughing", which is one of my favorites from them. Needless to say, I liked this song.
27: THE RUBBERBAND MAN – THE SPINNERS (29) - What, does he shoot rubberbands at unsuspecting victims? But seriously, this song's OK, but definitely far from being my favorite song from them.
26: DO YOU FEEL LIKE WE DO – PETER FRAMPTON (28) - Wow, AT40 showed no mercy when editing this song. It couldn't have been much, if any, longer than three minutes. Of course, the entire single version is more than twice that long (and the album version - twice as long as that!) Anyway, I never used to like this song, but now, I think it's great - has a very distinct bassline.
25: THE BEST DISCO IN TOWN – THE RITCHIE FAMILY (27) - Stars on 45 were the ones that kicked off the medley craze proper, but there were a few of them in the 70s as well, including this one, a collection of pop and R&B hits. It was a good one.
24: I’D REALLY LOVE TO SEE YOU TONIGHT – ENGLAND DAN & JOHN FORD COLEY (10) - The first of a handful of Top 40 hits for them. This would probably be my favorite, but most of the others aren't far behind. This was also their biggest pop hit, peaking at #2.
23: JUST TO BE CLOSE TO YOU – THE COMMODORES (26) - I didn't like many of their earlier hits, this one included. Their quality began going up with their song from the following summer, "Easy".
22: YOU ARE THE WOMAN - FIREFALL (23) - Oddly enough, this, Firefall's first hit, was their only Top Ten. They had two songs that just barely missed, however. This was a great song, but I preferred one of said near-misses, "Just Remember I Love You", which charted a year later.
21: MORE THAN A FEELING - BOSTON (24) - Here's one I remember from back in the day - I thought they were singing "Poor little Felix, so I sent all the apples to work". Too bad radio stations usually play the single version of the song, which is chopped down way too much, IMO. Definitely one of my favorite songs by Boston.
20: FERNANDO - ABBA (21) - The beginning of this song reminds me of "El Condor Pasa" by Simon & Garfunkel. This is definitely one of my favorite songs by Abba, but it seems to me that they always butcher this song - it seemed that they edited out half of the song.
19: NADIA’S THEME (THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS) – BARRY DE VORZON & PERRY BOTKIN JR. (22) - A great chill-out type song.
18: MUSKRAT FUNGUS – THE CRAPTAIN & TENNILLE (25) - BLEGH!! The song is bad enough, but must they try to give us a visual during the bridge with those disgusting sound effects? Yes, muskrats f**k one another - just like pretty much any other animal! We get it! OK, I'm done with my rant - now on with the countdown.
17: BETH - KISS (18) - More known for their hard rockers, they have done a few ballads, two of which have hit the charts, and they're both among my favorites (although this one gets the slighter edge).
16: (DON’T FEAR) THE REAPER – BLUE OYSTER CULT (17) - A classic rock staple here. The one that radio usually plays features the instrumental bridge, but it was cut out in this song.
15: THE WRECK OF THE EDMUND FITZGERALD – GORDON LIGHTFOOT (19) - A true story about an ore freighter that was caught in a fierce storm in Lake Superior the year before, and ultimately sunk, killing all 29 crewmen on board. They generally edited this song, but this week, it was played in its entirety. As depressing of a story as it is, I like the song - one of my favorite of his Top 40 hits.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE DANCING - LEO SAYER - This would be the first of two #1 songs from him, during the same year, no less. This would be my favorite of the two songs, by a fair margin.
14: DEVIL WOMAN – CLIFF RICHARD (7) - This song was charting at an appropriate time of the year, due to its references to Halloween characters, such as black cats and witches (and back then, many kids dressed as devils - a costume that's generally frowned upon anymore). This song was pretty good, but I generally preferred his 80s hits.
13: MAGIC MAN - HEART (14) - Another high point for JessieLou! This was their second Top 40 hit, and it made the Top Ten, unlike the first. Both songs still get regular airplay on classic rock and oldies stations (and I remember both from back in the day, since WLS played them constantly).
12: I ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU – BAY CITY ROLLERS (13) - The first of two remakes of this song to make the Top 40. The second one came in early 1989 for Samantha Fox. I like both of them about the same.
11: THAT’LL BE THE DAY – LINDA RONSTADT (12) - One of many remakes from her. It wasn't bad, but I preferred the original by Buddy Holly.
10: ROCK’N ME – THE STEVE MILLER BAND (11) - This song got caught in the Top 20 traffic jam this week, but would more than make up for it the following week, jumping to #3 and then managed to sneak in a week at the top before Rod Stewart began his marathon run up there. Good thing, as I really liked this song - another one I remember from back in the day!
9: LOVE SO RIGHT – THE BEE GEES (16) - This song was moving up the chart rather quickly (was in a two-way tie for the week's biggest mover) and looked like it might be another #1 like "You Should Be Dancing", but not quite. It did peak at #3, which is good, too. This was one of my favorite songs from the Brothers Gibb.
8: SHE’S GONE – HALL & OATES (10) - Cry me a river, guys!
7: (SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE) SHAKE YOUR BOOTY – K.C. & THE SUNSHINE BAND (8) - Wow, kind of odd that this song was moving back up despite being on its way down and having been on the chart for so long (and especially in such a tight Top Ten). This song wasn't bad, but it was my least favorite of their three songs up to this point.
6: PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC – WILD CHERRY (5) - 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!
5: STILL THE ONE - ORLEANS (6) - They had three Top 20 hits, and I really liked all three of them about the same, but this one would be my favorite by a thin margin over the other two.
4: LOWDOWN – BOZ SCAGGS (3) - He had a few low charters in the early-70s and a minor Top 40 hit earlier in 1976, but this is that song that really put him on the map. The song wasn't bad, but I preferred most of his other hits that charted after this.
3: A FIFTH OF BEETHOVEN – WALTER MURPHY & THE BIG APPLE BAND (2) - This was an interesting disco version of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: CAR WASH - ROSE ROYCE - For a disco song, this one was pretty good. I remember that many years ago, I started to watch the movie of the same name, but dozed off during the first half hour. Must not have made that big of an impression on me.
2: DISCO DUCK (PART 1) – RICK DEES & HIS CAST OF IDIOTS (1) - OK, how in the world did this get to #1? Oh yeah, disco was all the rage back in 1976. Whatever...
1: IF YOU LEAVE ME NOW - CHICAGO (4) - Now here's one I heard at least once a day back in the fall of 1976! But I don't think I ever got tired of it. Has a very haunting melody to it (so I guess it was fitting that it was #1 on Halloween weekend). Interesting that, before this week, Chicago had the most Top Ten hits without ever hitting #1.

[Hervard]

American Top 40: The 80s - October 25, 2024

This week's presentation - October 24, 1981

LW#1: ARTHUR’S THEME – CHRISTOPHER CROSS
40: OUR LIPS ARE SEALED – THE GO GO’S (debut) - This was the debut Top 40 hit for this 80's girl group. This song only got as high as #20, but what a chart run it had - 15 weeks in the Top 40, an unusually long run for a song that came nowhere near the Top Ten - and it even managed to place on the Top 100 of 1982 which I have a feeling that we just might be hearing in a little less than two months. This was my favorite song from them.
39: THE BEACH BOYS MEDLEY – THE BEACH BOYS (34) - This song was apparently sales-fueled, as the song was long gone from the R&R chart, where it had peaked at #18 in August. The Beach Boys decided to go the way of Stars On 45 and put together a medley of eight of their most well-known hits. It was a good selection - I liked all of the songs they put together, though I generally preferred them individually.
38: WHY DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE – DIANA ROSS (debut) - This is a cover of a song that charted three times in the fifties, originally by Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers. Anyway, it's pretty good, but far from being her best. Much better than her hokey nursery rhyme hit that charted after this one.
37: YOU SAVED MY SOUL – BURTON CUMMINGS (37) - Here is a song that spent two weeks at its debut position and that was it for its Top 40 run. It was the second of two Top 40 hits from the former lead singer of the Guess Who. I liked this song - sort of reminds me a little of “Thank You For Being A Friend” by Andrew Gold (and it has sort of the same message).
36: THE VOICE – THE MOODY BLUES (30) - They were more famous for their 60s and 70s hits, but I myself generally preferred their 80s hits, including this one, one of my favorites from them!
35: IN THE DARK – BILLY SQUIER (39) - His second of four Top 40 hits. Too bad this one only got as high as here at #35, while his annoying first hit "The Stroke" sailed right into the Top 20. This would be my favorite of his hits.
34: QUEEN OF HEARTS – JUICE NEWTON (26) - Her second Top 40 hit, and my favorite of her two 1981 hits. Of course, I preferred all three of her 1982 hits over this one.
33: SAUSALITO SUMMERNIGHT - DIESEL (37) - The only Top 40 hit for this Dutch act. I've heard this song plenty of times, as it's the song that kicks off the Barry Scott's Lost 45's CD that I've listened to so often that I'm surprised I haven't worn it out yet.
32: I COULD NEVER MISS YOU (MORE THAN I DO) - LULU (18) - aka "The Immigrant" part 2 (as it sounds very much like Neil Sedaka's #22 hit from 1975). I liked this and her #1 hit "To Sir With Love" about the same.
31: THE OLD SONGS – BARRY MANILOW (38) - The verses of this song (especially the first one) remind me a little of "Going Home", Kenny G's AC hit from early 1990. As you know (probably all too well), I liked this song, like many Barry Manilow songs.
ARCHIVES: I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE – MARVIN GAYE - This was the biggest selling Motown single, with a total of five million copies sold worldwide (up to late 1978, that is). The song was pretty good, considering I'm not a huge Marvin Gaye fan.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: YOUNG TURKS - ROD STEWART - As we all know, this song and "Tonight I'm Yours" sound very similar. This song has also been compared to the Weeknd's "Blinding Lights". I do see a vague similarity, but I don't really associate the two songs together. Anyway, this was one of my favorite Rod Stewart songs of the 1980s.
30: HE’S A LIAR – THE BEE GEES (32) - Well, they may have been the most successful band of the 1970s, but had definitely lost their touch by this point - their last six hits had gone to #1 while this song barely touched the Top 30. The song was OK, though I found the way they basically growled "He's A Li-yar" kind of annoying - I can see why it broke their streak of consecutive #1s.
29: ALIEN – ATLANTA RHYTHM SECTION (33) - They had a handful of hits in the 1970s, but had pretty much burned out by the '80s, as this was their final Top 40 hit. I liked this song; had the typical MOR sound of the early-80s.
LDD: I GOT YOU BABE – SONNY & CHER
28: HOLD ON TIGHT - ELO (13) - As we all know, I preferred their 70s hits. Their musical quality took a nosedive in the 80s, IMO.
27: ATLANTA LADY – MARTY BALIN (29) - His first hit, "Hearts", was a big Top Ten hit, but he did not quite live up to his success with the Jefferson Starship. This was his second and final Top 40 hit, and it only got as high as #27. I liked it, but preferred "Hearts".
26: PHYSICAL – OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (31) - Wow, based on its average chart run thus far, one would never guess that it would spent ten weeks at #1 and ultimately become the biggest song of the 1980s. Anyway, this is a pretty good song, but I prefer many others by her.
25: URGENT - FOREIGNER (11) - Their first of four Top 40 hits from the album 4 (and, to boot, this song had just recently spent four weeks at #4 - how about that?). It was a pretty good song, but, to tell the truth, as big an album as it was, I was never too crazy about any of the singles from 4, for some reason.
24: EVERY LITTLE THING SHE DOES IS MAGIC – THE POLICE (28) - This band had a ton of chart success in the 1980s, including one of the biggest hits of that decade. This song was their very first Top Five hit. I liked it, but my favorite of their 1981 hits was "Don't Stand So Close To Me".
23: OH NO – THE COMMODORES (27) - Little did anyone know that this song was their final Top 40 hit with Lionel Richie on lead, as the following year, he would begin a very successful solo career, with four #1 songs, in addition to the one he had on the countdown this week.
22: SHE’S A BAD MAMA JAMA (SHE'S BUILT, SHE'S STACKED) – CARL CARLTON (24) - No relation to guitarist Larry, I'm assuming. Carl had a Top Ten hit back in 1974, his rendition of the oft-covered "Everlasting Love", and this was his second offering, which was peaking at #22 this week. Of his two hits, this one would be my favorite. The Spice Girls' "Say You'll Be There" greatly resembles this song, especially the chords.
ARCHIVES: CRIMSON AND CLOVER – TOMMY JAMES & THE SHONDELLS
OPTIONAL EXTRA: LEATHER AND LACE - STEVIE NICKS & DON HENLEY - Her second duet from Bella Donna to hit the charts, following her one with Tom Petty, still on the chart this week. This is my favorite of the two, by a fairly large margin.
21: WAITING FOR A GIRL LIKE YOU - FOREIGNER (25) - Ah, good ol' Wf*gLY. As we all know, this song was stuck at #2 for ten weeks, behind "Physical" by ONJ. Due to the lyrical content of the latter, the Foreigner song won out on the R&R chart, spending a total of six weeks on top. This song was good, but quite overplayed.
20: JUST ONCE – QUINCY JONES FEATURING JAMES INGRAM (21) - This was Ingram's first placement on the chart, and he was usually either the featured artist or part of a duet (or trio, in the case of "What About Me"). It was also the first of two songs by Quincy Jones on which Ingram provided the vocals. Of course, I preferred the other one ("One Hundred Ways", which charted the following spring).
19: SAY GOODBYE TO HOLLYWOOD – BILLY JOEL (20) - One of his more obscure hits, and, IMO, one of his weaker songs. Don't get me wrong; it is pretty good, but I preferred many others over this.
18: WE’RE IN THIS LOVE TOGETHER – AL JARREAU (19) - He was mainly a smooth jazz singer, but he did have a few Top 40 crossover hits, and this was his most successful. I liked it, but preferred a few others from him, including a few that did not chart on AT40.
17: THE THEME FROM HILL STREET BLUES – MIKE POST FEATURING LARRY CARLTON (22) - TV show themes were most popular in 1976, but they seemed to have a resurgence in 1981 and 1982, though the former year contained at least two of them that hit the Top Ten. I have a 45 on the Elektra Spun Gold label with this as the "B" side of the other Top Ten TV show theme from 1981, "Greatest American Hero". I really liked this song - especially Larry Carlton's killer guitar solo in the bridge!
16: SUPER FREAK – RICK JAMES (19) - Of course, the bass for this song was used in "U Can't Touch This" by MC Hammer. That's probably the only reason that I somewhat like it, though it's nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to.
15: HERE I AM (JUST WHEN I THOUGHT I WAS OVER YOU) - AIR SUPPLY (23) - this one could be called a guilty pleasure, as many people I know don't like this song at all (some consider it their least favorite Air Supply song). According to me, however, it is one of their best.
14: SHARE YOUR LOVE – KENNY ROGERS (15) - This song featured Gladys Knight & The Pips singing backup. Though not his best song, it was still a great one.
13: WHEN SHE WAS MY GIRL – THE FOUR TOPS (16) - Amazing how they had been together for 27 years without any changes in memberships! Like the Moody Blues, they're known for their earlier hits, but this comeback hit was among their best, IMO.
12: WHO’S CRYING NOW - JOURNEY (8) - Even though Journey had been charting for three years, with many songs that still get regular airplay, this was their very first Top Ten hit (yes, I was just as surprised as you were). They would have many others, though. I liked this song, especially Neil Schon's guitar solo at the end.
11: TRYIN’ TO LIVE MY LIFE WITHOUT YOU – BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND (14) - The first of two releases from Seger's album live album Nine Tonight (the second, a live version of "Feel Like A Number", originally on his Stranger In Town album, peaked at #48). I really liked this song - very energetic sounding, like many live recordings.
ARCHIVES: EVERYDAY PEOPLE – SLY & THE FAMILY STONE
OPTIONAL EXTRA: LET'S GROOVE - EARTH, WIND & FIRE - This is a song that recently grew on me after several years of not really liking it. Still, I prefer others from them.
10: I’VE DONE EVERYTHING FOR YOU – RICK SPRINGFIELD (12) - The follow-up to his biggest hit ever, "Jessie's Girl". Though not quite as successful, the song did manage to climb up to #8, which isn't bad either. This one and the next release from Working Class Dog, "Love Is Alright Tonite", sound very much alike. I prefer the latter of the two.
9: THE NIGHT OWLS – THE LITTLE RIVER BAND (10) - Aussie acts abound in the countdown this week (and, in a four-song stretch of the chart, three acts are from down under). This was a good song - one I remember quite well from its chart run, but I preferred a few others from them.
8: HARD TO SAY – DAN FOGELBERG (9) - This was actually the first release from Fogelberg's Innocent Age album, which had come out about a month before. "Same Old Lang Syne", which had never been on any album, was tacked onto it after it had had its chart run earlier in the year. Anyway, like most of Fogelberg's hits, this one was a great one.
LDD: UPSIDE DOWN – DIANA ROSS - This song spent the entire month of September, 1980 at #1. The LDD was very interesting, about a guy who loved a girl too much too soon.
7: STOP DRAGGIN’ MY HEART AROUND – STEVIE NICKS WITH TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS (7) - This song was just coming off of a six-week run at #3, which, at the time, was a record (and remains the pre-PPW record). This song was pretty good, but I preferred Nicks' two other Top 20 hits from Bella Donna.
6: PRIVATE EYES – DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (6) - Wow, it was looking like this song might have peaked this week, but it got a second wind the following week and eventually made it to #1, where it held for two weeks.
One of two #1 songs from the duo in 1981. Though they both sounded somewhat alike, I preferred "Kiss On My List" by a fairly wide margin.
5: STEP BY STEP – EDDIE RABBITT (5) - This song was definitely living up to its title, as it had been moving up the chart one step at a time ever since it hit the Top Ten (at #10). However, it was unable to climb any higher this week. I never used to like this song at all, but now I think it's a great one. I still slightly preferred his other big 1981 hit, though.
4: FOR YOUR EYES ONLY - SHEENA EASTON (4) - The second of two Glasgow lasses on this week's chart (the other one was Lulu, back at #32). This was Sheena's second Top Ten hit, following "Morning Train" from earlier in the year. I much preferred this one.
3: START ME UP – THE ROLLING STONES (3) - They started out 17 years before and were still on a roll, as this song climbed as high as #2. I'm sort of burned out on this one, due to overplay, but it's still not bad.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: TROUBLE - LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM - I always found it amazing how this song, along with a hit by another Fleetwood Mac member (Stevie Nicks) would more or less climb the chart together, as during their ascent, they were never more than three spots away from one another. Not sure which of the two songs that I prefer, but this would definitely be my favorite solo hit from Lindsey by far.
2: ENDLESS LOVE – DIANA ROSS & LIONEL RICHIE (2) - At this point, people were wondering whether the top song of the year would be this one or "Bette Davis Eyes", as it was indeed a horse race between the two, as both had spent nine weeks on top. I used to despise this song, but now I think it's pretty good, despite the cheese factor.
1: ARTHUR’S THEME – CHRISTOPHER CROSS (1) - Movie themes, as always, were quite popular chart hits, like this song, which would end up spending three weeks at #1. This was definitely my favorite movie song of 1981, as well as one of my favorite songs of the entire decade!