Chart Critiques

[Hervard]

Cool, a 1982 show! Our friend Craig will like this one, because of the hockey championship thing. Anyway, as always, here’s my commentary about this week’s show:

LW#3: I LOVE ROCK N’ ROLL – JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS
LW#2: OPEN ARMS - JOURNEY
LW#1: CENTERFOLD – THE J. GEILS BAND

We’ll obviously be hearing from these songs again in the show, so my comments for them are coming up later.

40: FIND ANOTHER FOOL - QUARTERFLASH (debut)
Of their three Top 40 hits, this would probably be my least favorite. Still, not too bad.
39: DON'T LET HIM KNOW - PRISM (debut) - Pretty good song. They sound a lot like Loverboy (which is understandable, since both bands are Canadian)
38: 867-5309/JENNY - TOMMY TUTONE (debut) - Ah, the song that inspired so many nuisance phone calls in 1982! People would dial this number and say, “Hi, is Jenny there?” I wonder if any of them got a whistle blown into the phone at them? Anyway, I liked this song.
37: ON THE WAY TO THE SKY - NEIL DIAMOND (40) - Meh, this one was kinda dull. But it wasn’t too bad.
36: DON'T TALK TO STRANGERS - RICK SPRINGFIELD (debut) - Great song - definitely one of his best!
35: JUKE BOX HERO - FOREIGNER (39) - OK song, but they’ve had many better.
34: TELL ME TOMORROW - SMOKEY ROBINSON (37) - Pretty good; typical early-80s slow jam.
LDD: BACK ON MY FEET AGAIN – THE BABIES - Good song, but I prefer their two biggest hits.
33: I BELIEVE - CHILLIWACK (33) - Great song; one of my favorite songs on Barry Scott’s Lost 45s CD
OPTIONAL EXTRA: ‘65 LOVE AFFAIR - PAUL DAVIS - Great, fun song! I also like songs by him such as “Sweet Life” and “Cool Night”
32: MY GUY - SISTER SLEDGE (36) - Not sure if I prefer this one or the original
31: EDGE OF SEVENTEEN - STEVIE NICKS (38) - biggest mover on the survey. I liked this one and, given all the airplay it received in 1982, I’m surprised this didn’t hit the Top Ten.
30: (OH) PRETTY WOMAN - VAN HALEN (debut) - Pretty good, but nothing beats the original by Roy Orbison.
EXTRA: YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE – DEBBY BOONE - I know what freakyflybry’s opinion about this song is As for me, I love it! A classic that I never get tired of it.
29: FREEZE-FRAME - THE J. GEILS BAND (39) - It’s OK, but I much prefer “Centerfold”.
28: ONE HUNDRED WAYS - QUINCY JONES FEATURING JAMES INGRAM (29) - Great song! Very hypnotic, and it sort of reminds me of the “Hill Street Blues” theme by Mike Post.
27: WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE - ABBA (28) - Good song, but I prefer “Dancing Queen” and “Winner Takes It All”
26: CALL ME - SKYY (26) - Pretty good song. Before this song, they played a medley of all five other songs entitled “Call Me” that had previously hit the charts.
25: HARDEN MY HEART - QUARTERFLASH (18) - This was my second favorite by them. It’s a nice song. This week, they played the original demo version of the song.
24: DADDY'S HOME - CLIFF RICHARD (25) - Nice, pleasant song. Remake of an oldie by Shep & The Limelights.
23: DO YOU BELIEVE IN LOVE - HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (27) - Ah yes, the song that started it all off for them. And it was a good one, though I liked the follow-up a little better.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: TAINTED LOVE - SOFT CELL - Meh, don’t like this one very much at all. Thank God KQLL didn’t play it!
22: TAKE OFF - BOB & DOUG McKENZIE (24) - This was a funny song. Bob & Doug did the talking and Geddy Lee of Rush did the singing in the choruses.
21: TONIGHT I'M YOURS - ROD STEWART (22) - This song sounds so much like “Young Turks”, but I liked that song a little better. This one is okies.
EXTRA: FAMILY AFFAIR – SLY & THE FAMILY STONE - OK song, but I turned this off halfway through so I could hear the YouTube video I was watching at the moment.
20: I CAN'T GO FOR THAT - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (7) - Classic Hall & Oates! This song was pretty good, but they’ve had many better.
19: SHOULD I DO IT - THE POINTER SISTERS (21) - Great song, with a sixties feel. This was back when their music was still halfway decent.
18: CHARIOTS OF FIRE – VANGELIS - (20) Love this song! Early in the countdown, there was a question letter about the song that took the longest to hit #1. At the time, there was a tie between two songs: “Hot Child In The City” by Nick Gilder and “Sad Eyes” by Robert John, both of which hit the top in their 21st weeks on the chart. Little did anyone know that this song was on its way to besting those two songs by one week!
17: MAKE A MOVE ON ME - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (19) - GREAT song - one of her very best!
16: KEY LARGO - BERTIE HIGGINS (17) - I liked this song - nice and mellow.
15: LOVE IN THE FIRST DEGREE (15) - ALABAMA - I love this song a lot - but I know what Bry thinks of it
14: BOBBIE SUE - THE OAK RIDGE BOYS (16) - Meh, not the best song in the world, but it sure beats the hell out of El-frigging-vira!
13/LDD: THROUGH THE YEARS - KENNY ROGERS (13) - I believe this was the first time that this song was ever used as a Long Distance Dedication. Between now and late December, 1987, it was used as a LDD 17 times, and at one time it held the record (eventually tied by “Somewhere Out There” by Linda Ronstadt and then beaten by several songs, including the most requested song of all, “Because You Loved Me” by Celine Dion. As for my opinion of the song, it’s a nice, sweet song - an appropriate song for weddings and anniversaries and the like.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: GET DOWN ON IT - KOOL & THE GANG - Meh, not my favorite song by them by any means.
12: PAC-MAN FEVER - BUCKNER AND GARCIA (14) - No. Just no.
11: SPIRITS IN THE MATERIAL WORLD - THE POLICE (12) - Good song. I always thought they were talking about Cheerios (which would make for at least two songs in the 1980s that mention that popular breakfast cereal - the other one, of course, is “Mornin’” by Al Jarreau.
10: TAKE IT EASY ON ME - THE LITTLE RIVER BAND (10) - Great song - one of their best (although my favorite from them would be “Lady”)
9: LEADER OF THE BAND - DAN FOGELBERG (9) - Good song, but I prefer many of his others.
8: MIRROR, MIRROR - DIANA ROSS (8) - No. Just no.
7: WE GOT THE BEAT - THE GO-GO'S (11) - Another song that I don’t like. Too teenybopper sounding.
6: SWEET DREAMS - AIR SUPPLY (6) - OK song, but I like most of their other songs better.
5: THAT GIRL - STEVIE WONDER (5) - Cool song, but I prefer a few others by him, including another one from Stevie’s “Musiquarium”, called “Ribbon In The Sky”, which I think only hit the R&B charts.
4: SHAKE IT UP - THE CARS (4) - Meh, not a big fan of this. I did like the story Casey told about their appearance at a baseball stadium stopping a baseball game that kept going into extra innings because of a tied score.
3: I LOVE ROCK N' ROLL - JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS (3) - This song was pretty good, even if it was way overplayed.
2: OPEN ARMS - JOURNEY (2) - Overplay sort of tainted this one. But it’s still a nice pleasant song. This was its third of six weeks in the runner-up position. It never got to #1, because Joan Jett leapfrogged over it the following week. But it fared better on R&R, where it spent seven weeks at #1, which tied it for the record at the time. And it turned out to be the top song of 1982 on R&R!
1: CENTERFOLD - THE J. GEILS BAND (1) - Great song - overplay hasn’t affected my fascination for this one at all. This was its last of six weeks at #1. The song didn’t hit #1 on R&R, presumably due to the lyrical content.

Predictions for next week: I have a hunch that we’ll possibly hear a 1983 song next week. If not that year, then I’ll guess 1988. If it’s the former, then it’ll likely be a former Flashback. If the latter, it might be one that wasn’t a part of the Flashback series, since there were no March, 1988 shows (I just hope they don’t use the one for April 9, 1988, since that one was featured on the show last year, plus I hear that it’s way overplayed on XM radio).

[mmb]

Now my turn on this week's 70's countdown, I will admit I don't every song on here so you'll see a blank after the song, but I'll give you my take on the ones I do know. Enjoy!!!


40: TAKE A LOOK AROUND - TEMPTATIONS -

39: EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE - BOBBY VINTON -

38: I CAN'T HELP MYSELF - DONNIE ELBERT - Before Linda Ronstadt and Michael Bolton, there was this artist from New Orleans, whose claim to fame was remaking Motown classics.

37: NO ONE TO DEPEND ON - SANTANA - OK song, later used by Mellowman Ace for the song MENTIROSA.

36: TAURUS - DENNIS COFFEY - Prefer SCORPIO.

35: GLORY BOUND - GRASS ROOTS-

34: SOFTLY WHISPERING I LOVE YOU - ENGLISH CONGREGATION-

EXTRA: PENNY LANE - THE BEATLES - Still a listenable song.

33: ROCKIN' ROBIN - MICHAEL JACKSON - Rockin Robin for the kiddie generation, not as good as Bobby Day's version. This version was heard at the end of the new CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN.

32: MY WORLD - BEE GEES - Not bad, but RUN TO ME, released later that year was much better.

31: RING THE LIVING BELL- MELANIE-

30: BETCHA BY GOLLY WOW - STYLISTICS - There's not a dull song, this Philadelphia group has made, and a song like this speaks for itself, later ruined by Prince.

29: CRAZY MAMA - J.J. CALE - Crazy guitar bluesy song.

28: ROUNDABOUT - YES - Not bad for top 40 standards, 8 minute version shows why it was trimmed down.

27: TALKING LOUD AND SAYING NOTHING - JAMES BROWN-

26: WE'VE GOT TO GET IT ON AGAIN - ADDRISI BROTHERS - OK.

25: RUNNIN' AWAY - SLY & THE FAMILY STONE -

24: FLOY JOY - SUPREMES -

23: A COWBOY'S WORK IS NEVER DONE - SONNY & CHER -Too over the top for its own good.

22: LET'S STAY TOGETHER - AL GREEN - Overplayed, but still listenable, until I finally saw him, I pictured him to look like Buddy Hackett.

21: AIN'T UNDERSTANDING MELLOW -JERRY BUTLER & BRENDA LEE EAGER-

20: AMERICAN PIE (PARTS 1 AND 2) - DON McLEAN - Song that still stands the test of time.

19: DON'T SAY YOU DON'T REMEMBER - BEVERLY BREMERS -Melody's haunting, the singing and lyrics don't do it justice.

18: ROCK AND ROLL LULLABY - B.J. THOMAS - One of the 5 best songs recorded by this Oklahoma born, Texas raised artist.

17: IN THE RAIN - DRAMATICS - Not bad, I'm still partial to WHATCHA SEE IS WHATCHA GET.

16: SWEET SEASONS - CAROLE KING - OK, liked later soundalike JAZZMAN.

15: JOY - APOLLO 100 -Pretty good, liked it because it was later heard in the movie BOOGIE NIGHTS!!!

14: I GOTCHA' - JOE TEX

13: BANG A GONG (GET IT ON) - T.REX - OK for its standards, 1985 version by Power Station was much better.

12: HURTING EACH OTHER - THE CARPENTERS - Wonderful song, believe it or not, originally recorded by Jimmy Clanton.

11: JUNGLE FEVER - CHAKACHAS - HA HA! Another BOOGIE NIGHTS tune, not played by all radio stations but somehow sneaked into the top 10.

10: DOWN BY THE LAZY RIVER - OSMONDS: In the words of all my colleagues here, NO, JUST NO!!!

9: PUPPY LOVE - DONNY OSMOND- Aghh! 2 Osmond songs in a row, enough to make one vomit!!!

8: THE WAY OF LOVE - CHER - Too over the top for me, and she has an irritating voice, that only works on certain songs like GYPSYS, TRAMPS & THIEVES and AFTER ALL!!!

7: PRECIOUS AND FEW - CLIMAX - Love it, as a boy, I thought Climax evolved into the Climax Blues Band, two different groups obviously.

6: MOTHER AND CHILD REUNION - PAUL SIMON - He's made better songs but this was his first solo hit, it is listenable.

5: EVERYTHING I OWN - BREAD - Like almost every song, this Los Angeles soft rock group has made, too bad they have only One #1 song to show for.

4: WITHOUT YOU - NILSSON - Good ballad, powerful voice, features Gary Wright on piano and written by the two members of Badfinger, Mariah Carey (who remade the song) admits the song used to make her cry.

3: THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT - ROBERT JOHN - Not as good as the Tokens 1961 #1 song, this version is heard in the movie ACE VENTURA: PET DETECTIVE.

2: A HORSE WITH NO NAME - AMERICA - Still a good song. This was one heck of a group.

1: HEART OF GOLD - NEIL YOUNG - Good song, as a little boy, I would confuse the melody of this song with that of the later hit for David Gates and Bread, THE GUITAR MAN.

[freakyflybry]

40. Quarterflash - Find Another Fool (debut) - good song! Is it just me, or does this sound a little like Pat Benatar?
39. Prism - Don't Let Him Know (debut) - I liked this! Very typical of early 80's Canadian rock
38. Tommy Tutone - 867-5309/Jenny (debut) - classic! An 80's mix show essential
37. Neil Diamond - On The way To The Sky (40) - not a fan of this one at all even if I normally find his 1982 stuff decent
36. Rick Springfield - Don't Talk To Strangers (debut) - great song! Definitely one of my favourites from him
35. Foreigner - Juke Box Hero (39) - great song! One of my favourites from them
34. Smokey Robinson - Tell Me Tomorrow (37) - didn't know what to expect, but this was a pretty good upbeat soul hit
LDD: The Babys - Back On My Feet Again - the dedication was quite emotional, she really had to get back on her feet again! As for the song itself, I like it, but prefer some later John Waite singles
33. Chilliwack - I Believe (33) - good song but I prefer their other 80's hits
32. Sister Sledge - My Guy (36) - not bad, but I prefer their 1979 hits
31. Stevie Nicks - Edge of Seventeen (38) - great song! Another 80's mix show essential
30. Van Halen - (Oh) Pretty Woman (debut) - good remake! I prefer Roy Orbison's version but I think Van Halen did a good remake of it
Extra: Debby Boone - You Light Up My Life - No. Just no.
29. J. Geils Band - Freeze Frame (34) - great song! Still, I prefer the other song they have higher up.
28. Quincy Jones f/James Ingram - One Hundred Ways (29) - not bad, but Chris likes this one a lot more than I do.
27. ABBA - When All Is Said And Done (28) - not bad but I prefer most of their other hits
26. Skyy - Call Me (26) - catchy song! Another obscure one here
25. Quarterflash - Harden My Heart (18) - interestingly enough, Casey played the original version of this... like he said, not much difference in the vocals but a simpler instrumentation. I like the song a lot regardless
24. Cliff Richard - Daddy's Home (25) - not bad but I prefer his previous few hits
23. Huey Lewis & the News - Do You Believe In Love (27) - great song! Still think they were best around 1984
22. Bob & Doug McKenzie - Take Off (24) - classic novelty tune! I prefer their version of "12 Days of Christmas" though, that's my favourite Christmas song ever
21. Rod Stewart - Tonight I'm Yours (22) - good song, but seriously, what's the difference between this and "Young Turks"?
Extra: Sly & the Family Stone - Family Affair - not bad but I prefer the Mary J. Blige song of the same title.
20. Hall & Oates - I Can't Go For That (7) - great song! They could do no wrong in the 80's
19. Pointer Sisters - Should I Do It (21) - I like this but prefer most of their other 80's hits
18. Vangelis - Chariots of Fire (20) - not bad but kinda sleepy... still, I'm awake enough that this song will escape the "No. Just no." that Chris might've thought I'd give this
17. Olivia Newton-John - Make A Move On Me (19) - I like this but it's not one of my favourites from her
16. Bertie Higgins - Key Largo (17) - not an expected song for me to like but I like it
15. Alabama - Love In The First Degree (15) - No. Just no.
14. Oak Ridge Boys - Bobbie Sue (16) - Oh hell no! And just when I thought Alabama was bad enough, this was WORSE!
13. Kenny Rogers - Through The Years (13) - THREE country songs in a row? What's sad is, I'm not even really a fan of this one (though it's the only song of his Lionel Richie-produced era I can tolerate), but compared to the previous 2 crapfests this sounds genius!
12. Buckner & Garcia - Pac-Man Fever (14) - Now this is more like it! Classic novelty tune, just plain fun to hear!
11. The Police - Spirits In The Material World (12) - good song! Still prefer most of their other hits though
10. Little River Band - Take It Easy On Me (10) - I like this, possibly my favourite from them
9. Dan Fogelberg - Leader Of The Band (9) - I prefer a few others from him, but this is good too
8. Diana Ross - Mirror, Mirror (8) - one of my favourite 80's hits from her though most of my favourites from her are 60's and 70's
7. The Go-Go's - We Got The Beat (11) - great song! An 80's mix show essential
6. Air Supply - Sweet Dreams (6) - definitely one of my favourites from them
5. Stevie Wonder - That Girl (5) - I like this but he's had better
4. The Cars - Shake It Up (4) - great song! Also an 80's mix show essential
3. Joan Jett & the Blackhearts - I Love Rock 'N Roll (3) - see what I said above for the Go-Go's and the Cars
2. Journey - Open Arms (2) - great song! Definitely one of my favourites from them despite the overplay
1. J. Geils Band - Centerfold (1) - great song! Why is the top 4 on this show so good?

[mrjukebox]

"Daddy's Home" was also covered by Jermaine Jackson,whose version reached the top 10 in early 1973.

[mkarns]

A third opinion of 3/13/82:

40: FIND ANOTHER FOOL - QUARTERFLASH (a faster, more new-wavish followup to "Harden My Heart". Very good)
39: DON'T LET HIM KNOW - PRISM (good example of early 80s AOR rock, with a strong chorus; fits in well with Loverboy and REO Speedwagon)
38: 867-5309/JENNY - TOMMY TUTONE (considered an 80s classic for good reason; brilliant and catchy)
37: ON THE WAY TO THE SKY - NEIL DIAMOND (thoughtful song with a waltz-like feel; made for something different)
36: DON'T TALK TO STRANGERS - RICK SPRINGFIELD (I like "Jessie's Girl" better, but this is still very good.)
35: JUKE BOX HERO - FOREIGNER (hard rocker was a nice contrast to "Waiting For a Girl Like You", even if it wasn't as big a hit)
34: TELL ME TOMORROW - SMOKEY ROBINSON (nice 80s "quiet storm" type song, as you'd expect)
33: I BELIEVE - CHILLIWACK ("My Girl" was better IMO; this is mellower and sounded a bit like Christopher Cross)
32: MY GUY - SISTER SLEDGE (OK cover of a Mary Wells classic, though I prefer the original)
31: EDGE OF SEVENTEEN - STEVIE NICKS (great rocker)
30: (OH) PRETTY WOMAN - VAN HALEN (I prefer their original material, but this was enjoyable)
29: FREEZE-FRAME - THE J. GEILS BAND (kind of an obvious follow up to Centerfold, but fun sing (shout?)-along number)
28: ONE HUNDRED WAYS - QUINCY JONES FEATURING JAMES INGRAM (well produced and sung, but a bit dull, I thought)
27: WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE - ABBA (typically brilliant, buoyant pop with more of an edge than some of their earlier hits; wish they'd stuck together longer.)
26: CALL ME - SKYY (good funk tune that sort of resembled Kool & the Gang with a female singer. Interestingly, both this and the Tommy Tutone hit mentioned phone calls for a dime; weren't they a quarter in most places by 1982?)
25: HARDEN MY HEART - QUARTERFLASH (excellent; Casey played the original version, recorded independently and a hit in the Pacific Northwest before the more-produced Geffen version became a national hit)
24: DADDY'S HOME - CLIFF RICHARD (blah)
23: DO YOU BELIEVE IN LOVE - HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (good start to their hit parade. The verse melody reminds me of an 80s update of ELO's "Sweet Talkin' Woman")
22: TAKE OFF - BOB & DOUG McKENZIE (hilarious mix of comic patter and Geddy Lee's singing. Raise a Molson!)
21: TONIGHT I'M YOURS - ROD STEWART (OK by itself, but a bit too obviously like "Young Turks" which immediately preceded it)
20: I CAN'T GO FOR THAT - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (excellent "blue eyed soul" that topped both the pop and R&B charts)
19: SHOULD I DO IT - THE POINTER SISTERS (nice evocation of 60s girl group styles)
18: CHARIOTS OF FIRE – VANGELIS (only works for me if I imagine athletes running along a beach.)
17: MAKE A MOVE ON ME - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (good, though "Physical" was better.)
16: KEY LARGO - BERTIE HIGGINS (pleasant, if not one of my favorites. Sounds like a 70s soft rock tune; somewhat anachronistic for 1982)
15: LOVE IN THE FIRST DEGREE - ALABAMA (meh; OK, but I like a lot of their other songs better)
14: BOBBIE SUE - THE OAK RIDGE BOYS (basically a more rock-oriented rehash of "Elvira".)
13: THROUGH THE YEARS - KENNY ROGERS (blah again, but a sentimental favorite of many; this week and many others it was an LDD)
12: PAC-MAN FEVER - BUCKNER AND GARCIA (fun hearing it on the countdown, though like most novelty songs it probably would quickly wear thin hearing it frequently in regular rotation. Still, it brings back some fun childhood memories; I still like to play Pac-Man when I run across a vintage machine that carries it.)
11: SPIRITS IN THE MATERIAL WORLD - THE POLICE (production was a bit heavy, but still very good)
10: TAKE IT EASY ON ME - THE LITTLE RIVER BAND (good song, with a couple of different tempos.)
9: LEADER OF THE BAND - DAN FOGELBERG (dull if you don't listen to the lyrics; if you do, it's quite nice)
8: MIRROR, MIRROR - DIANA ROSS (one of her rockier hits, pretty good though I prefer the Rogers/Edwards early 80s material)
7: WE GOT THE BEAT - THE GO-GO'S (great. Quintessentially 80s, and yet still seems fresh, not dated)
6: SWEET DREAMS - AIR SUPPLY (a little bigger and more dramatic sounding than their last couple of hits; worked well)
5: THAT GIRL - STEVIE WONDER (not his strongest song, but he of course played and sang it well)
4: SHAKE IT UP - THE CARS (archetypal new wave pop hit; justifiably still much heard today)
3: I LOVE ROCK N' ROLL - JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS (overplayed, but still fun)
2: OPEN ARMS - JOURNEY (I like Journey, but I always found this one pretty sappy. Still, it's an enduring favorite of many)
1: CENTERFOLD - THE J. GEILS BAND (great song that had a fun video accompanying it; of course the lyrics don't really need a video to make their point! Fun to sing along to as well.)

[mrjukebox]

Belinda Carlisle is on "Dancing With The Stars"-The article on "DWTS",which appeared in the 3/13/2009 issue of "Entertainment Weekly",says she presently lives somewhere in Europe.

[mrjukebox]

On his show last year,Dr.Demento played a clever parody of "Juke Box Hero" called "Guitar Hero".

[Hervard]

Cool, this week’s show is a 1981 show! This is a former Flashback show - first run in 2001, of course (as there were absolutely no 1981 shows in 2002). I was kind of glad, because I’m having connection problems. If it cut out anytime, I could throw in the Flashback version. But, except briefly at the very beginning (during the replay of last week’s #1), it was just fine:

LW#1: 9 TO 5 – DOLLY PARTON - I’ll comment on this later.
40: TURN ME LOOSE - LOVERBOY (debut) - Pretty good song, but I prefer their songs from the mid and late 1980s.
39: TOGETHER - TIERRA (34) - I like this song - your typical early-80s slow jam (although I’ll bet I know what Bry has to say about it!)
38: PASSION – ROD STEWART (33) - Good song, but far from being my favorite from him.
37: SAME OLD LANG SYNE – DAN FOGELBERG (32) - Aww, the tear-jerker on the countdown. Anyway, it’s one of my favorite songs by him.
36: LIVING IN A FANTASY – LEO SAYER (23) - Not one of his bigger hits, but it’s pretty good, like most of his other hits (I tend to like his more obscure hits better than the big ones that I’ve heard about umpteen times)
35: DON’T STOP THE MUSIC – YARBROUGH AND PEOPLES (39) - Meh, don’t really like this one. Those high-pitched voices that say “You don’t really wanna stop...” sounded a lot like the submarine crew out on the sea in the Zelda: Wind Waker game.
34: AIN’T EVEN DONE WITH THE NIGHT – JOHN COUGAR (40) - Good song. Used to be that radio stations would play “Hurts So Good” or “Jack And Diane”, but in the past few years, this one has been getting pretty decent airplay, given the fact that it was one of his less successful hits.
Solo duo trio David Seville story
33: SMOKEY MOUNTAIN RAIN (25) – RONNIE MILSAP - Pretty good. I like most of Milsap’s music and this is no exception.
32: JUST BETWEEN YOU AND ME – APRIL WINE (36) - I love this song! I don’t really remember hearing the song a lot, but I must have, since this song always takes me back to the spring of 1981.
ARCHIVE: LEADER OF THE PACK – THE SHANGRA-LAS - Cool song! I remember this song was parodied on Sesame Street into a song called “One Way”. I like both songs. But why did they cut the line “One day my Dad said to find someone new”? I don’t find that the least bit controversial.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: TAKE IT ON THE RUN – REO SPEEDWAGON - Great song - definitely one of their best!
31: BEING WITH YOU – SMOKEY ROBINSON (debut) - Meh, don’t really like this one, but it’s tolerable.
30: GIVING IT UP FOR YOUR LOVE – DELBERT McCLINTON (13) - No. Just no.
29: HER TOWN TOO – JAMES TAYLOR & J.D. SOUTHER (38) - Great song! I’m generally a big fan of both artists.
28: GUITAR MAN – ELVIS PRESLEY (30) - Meh, I prefer his 50s and 60s hits.
27: THE TIDE IS HIGH - BLONDIE (15) - Well, it’s much better than her Swiffer commercial song, but I prefer her other song on the countdown, as well as “Call Me”26: ANGEL OF THE MORNING – JUICE NEWTON (31) - Probably my least favorite song by her, but it’s not bad.
25: SOMEBODY’S KNOCKIN’ – TERRI GIBBS (28) - Love this one! Has sort of a creepy melody to it, and the subject matter is sort of spooky as well, considering that Gibbs is blind.
24: PRECIOUS TO ME – PHIL SEYMOUR (26) - Another great, lost hit! I hear this song all the time on my Barry Scott CD.
23: JUST THE TWO OF US – GROVER WASHINGTON JR. (27) - I love this one! Reminds me a little of “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” by Paul Simon.
LDD: THE MORE I SEE YOU – CHRIS MONTEZ - Pretty good, your typical mid-60s song.
22: I CAN’T STAND IT (29) – ERIC CLAPTON AND HIS BAND - Not a big fan of it, but he’s had worse songs.
ARCHIVE: RINGO – LORNE GREEN - They skipped over this song. I have a feeling that they used the Flashback version of the show, with the first hour tacked on.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: HOLD ON LOOSELY – .38 SPECIAL - Good song, but I like their next four Top 20 hits better. But it sure beats “Second Chance”. By then, they just weren’t .38 Special anymore.
21: MORNING TRAIN – SHEENA EASTON (24) - I used to like this one a lot, but now, it’s just OK. As stated many times before, I prefer her ballads (as well as “Telefone” and her minor 1986 hit “So Far So Good”.
20: FADE AWAY – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (20) - OK song, but I prefer his mid-80s songs.
19: HEARTS ON FIRE – RANDY MEISNER (19) - Another song on Barry Scott’s Lost 45s CD. I remember hearing this one all the time back in 1981, but I thought it was called “Aching From Desire”. I wasn’t surprised that I couldn’t find that title in any Billboard books, because my mom listened to AOR radio back in the early-80s and they played many album cuts that didn’t chart on BB (or, as far as I know, never made it to Pop stations)
18: TREAT ME RIGHT – PAT BENATAR (18) - Awesome song - one of her best!
17: A LITTLE IN LOVE – CLIFF RICHARD (17) - I like this song a lot. Surprised it only got as high as #17 on BB, considering it was a Top Five hit on R&R.
16: GAMES PEOPLE PLAY – THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT (16) - Man, what’s with all these stalled out songs in the Top 20? This is the fifth in a row (which Casey made a mention of). Anyway, this song’s pretty good, but I generally prefer their songs with Eric Woolfson on lead vocals. I understand that this song came very close to making AT40's Top 100 of 1981.
15: DON’T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME (22) – THE POLICE - Good song - possibly one of my favorites by them.
14: WHILE YOU SEE A CHANCE – STEVE WINWOOD (21) - Great song - one of his best. But I don’t really like the edit at the end of the bridge. “Your way - EEE!”
13: CELEBRATION – KOOL & THE GANG (10) - Cool, classic song! LOL @ story about the keyboard catching on fire during the song “Too Hot”. The crowd thought it was all part of the act. The extreme heat, present over most of the U.S. during the summer of 1980, was said to be responsible for the fire.
12: KISS ON MY LIST – DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (14) - Awesome song, one of their very best!
11: I AIN’T GONNA STAND FOR IT – STEVIE WONDER (11) - Pretty good song - sort of unusual style of music for him - sort of a blues flavor to this one.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: I MISSED AGAIN – PHIL COLLINS - This was the one that launched his solo career, and it was a great one! Too bad it wasn’t included on his greatest hits album.
ARCHIVE: MR. LONELY – BOBBY VINTON - Excluded, but I know how this one sounded. Akon did a rather annoying sped-up version of this song back in 2005.
10: WHAT KIND OF FOOL – BARBRA STREISAND & BARRY GIBB (12) - Good song - the better of their two duets (as well as her three hits that have the Bee Gees singing backup)
9: I LOVE A RAINY NIGHT – EDDIE RABBITT (5) - Good song, but I prefer “Driving My Life Away”
8: THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL - ABBA (8) - Definitely one of my favorite songs from them - right up there with “Dancing Queen”.
LDD: BABE - STYX - Great song, one of their best. The LDD starts off very similarly to the “Dead Dog Dedication”. But then it quickly gets very mushy (though it was more touching than I remember it being - actually brought tears to my eyes).
7: HELLO AGAIN – NEIL DIAMOND (9) - Good song, but I prefer “Love On The Rocks”.
6: RAPTURE - BLONDIE (7) - Great song. Rap music was sure a lot better in the 80s. Nowadays, it’s so vulgar.
5: CRYING – DON McLEAN (6) - Good song, possibly even better than the original by Roy Orbison (which is also good).
4: 9 TO 5 – DOLLY PARTON (1) - Her first #1 Pop hit. I like it, very energetic.
3: THE BEST OF TIMES - STYX - Another one of my favorite songs by them, like the LDD song earlier in the hour.
2: WOMAN – JOHN LENNON (3) - Great song. Looked like this song was going to hit #1, but Blondie leapfrogged over it. At least this song went to #1 on the R&R chart (and stayed there for a full month - not bad!)
1: KEEP ON LOVING YOU – REO SPEEDWAGON - Great song, one of their very best! I generally like their ballads more than anything - their fast material can get kind of loud (though I do like a few of their upbeat songs too). Kind of shocking that this was their first Top 40 hit, considering they'd been trying for ten years!

[reachinforthestars]

Mar 27, 2009 22:53:50 GMT -5 Hervard said:

28: GUITAR MAN – ELVIS PRESLEY (30) - Meh, I prefer his 50s and 60s hits.

This Jerry Reed-penned classic was a 60's hit by Elvis (#43 in 1968). The song was even spotlighted in his '68 Comeback Special. The '81 version is a remix and it reached #1 on the country chart. I think the song rocks.

[mrjukebox]

I liked the story that Casey told about Elvis' recording session at Sun Records-It's obvious he was destined to become famous.

[mrjukebox]

"Leader Of The Pack",which was played on the 3/21/81 countdown,was the basis of a musical of the same name,which opened on Broadway in the mid-80's-Ellie Greenwich,a denizen of the legendary Brill Building in New York City,wrote several hits with husband Jeff Barry during the 1960's-In addition to "Leader Of The Pack",the duo also wrote "Hanky Panky",which became a #1 smash for Tommy James & The Shondells in 1966 & "The Kind Of Boy You Can't Forget"-That latter song was recorded by Barry & Greenwich under the name The Raindrops-It reached the top 20 in 1963.

[freakyflybry]

40. Loverboy - Turn Me Loose (debut) - great song, despite its low peak, still gets played today (then again, I'm in Canada and rock and AC radio still regularly play most Loverboy songs anyway)
39. Tierra - Together (34) - No. Just no.
38. Rod Stewart - Passion (33) - I really like this one, one of my favourite 80's songs from him; I actually still get confused between this and "Infatuation" from time to time
37. Dan Fogelberg - Same Old Lang Syne (32) - this one's good but I prefer some other songs from him
36. Leo Sayer - Living In A Fantasy (23) - interesting story about how he wasn't happy Three Dog Night changed his lyric! As for the song itself, I really like it, one of his most underrated
35. Yarbrough & Peoples - Don't Stop The Music (39) - catchy song! I prefer Rihanna's song of the same title though.
34. John Mellencamp - Ain't Even Done With The Night (40) - I prefer many of his later songs but this one was quite good too
33. Ronnie Milsap - Smokey Mountain Rain (25) - I'm normally not a fan of his but this is one of a few songs I like from him
32. April Wine - Just Between You And Me (36) - good song! Again, they always get played on Canadian radio to this day, so I'm very familiar with this one and many others from them
Archive: The Shangri-La's - Leader Of The Pack - it's ok but don't overplay it, oldies stations!
31. Smokey Robinson - Being With You (debut) - definitely one of my favourites from him, and my favourite post-Miracles from him
30. Delbert McClinton - Giving It Up For Your Love (13) - nothing special at all, I can definitely see why it's gone obscure
29. James Taylor & J.D. Souther - Her Town Too (38) - again, nothing special, both artists ("Your Smiling Face" in James's case and "You're Only Lonely" in J.D.'s case) have had better
28. Elvis Presley - Guitar Man (30) - I prefer most of his 50's and 60's classics as well as "A Little Less Conversation"... this was alright though
27. Blondie - The Tide is High (15) - great song! I definitely prefer this over the Atomic Kitten and Kardinal Offishall versions
26. Juice Newton - Angel Of The Morning (31) - I prefer Shaggy's version of this, but Juice's version is really good too
25. Terri Gibbs - Somebody's Knockin' (25) - meh, nothing special
24. Phil Seymour - Precious To Me (26) - this was ok but rather forgettable
23. Grover Washington Jr. - Just The Two Of Us (27) - I like this but prefer Will Smith's version
LDD: Chris Montez - The More I See You - the dedication was quite sweet, but I can't say that I like the song, because I don't, really.
22. Eric Clapton - I Can't Stand It (29) - good song but I prefer his 70's and 90's hits
Archive: Lorne Green - Ringo - this song gets the "wtf" moment as it's quite bizarre even for a 1964 song! Not quite a "No. Just no." but almost.
21. Sheena Easton - Morning Train (24) - great song! Probably my favourite from her
20. Bruce Springsteen - Fade Away (20) - I normally like Bruce but out of his top 40 hits, this was probably my least favourite
19. Randy Meisner - Hearts On Fire (19) - my favourite solo single from him though I prefer the other solo Eagles generally
18. Pat Benatar - Treat Me Right (18) - great song! I really like this, but she's had a few better
17. Cliff Richard - A Little In Love (17) - good song, it's one I've got into more lately; still prefer a few earlier songs from him
16. Alan Parsons Project - Games People Play (16) - good song but I prefer their later hits generally
15. The Police - Don't Stand So Close To Me (22) - great song! One of my favourites from them (can't say the same about the unnecessary 1986 remake though!)
14. Steve Winwood - While You See A Chance (21) - great song! Still one of my favourites from him alongside his 1986-88 hits
13. Kool & the Gang - Celebration (10) - great song! Are you sure this is 1981? Because I'm enjoying it more than I normally would!
12. Hall & Oates - Kiss On My List (14) - great song! Let's keep the streak going, this is one of my favourite Hall & Oates songs
11. Stevie Wonder - I Ain't Gonna Stand For It (11) - ok, so this breaks the streak, but still, it's pretty decent though far from his best
Archive: Bobby Vinton - Mr. Lonely - No. Just no. And what's sad is, even though I normally don't like Akon... is that I prefer his sped-up Chipmunks version of this!
10. Barbra Streisand & Barry Gibb - What Kind of Fool (12) - meh, I prefer her previous 2 singles, this one did nothing for me
9. Eddie Rabbitt - I Love A Rainy Night (5) - as many people know, I don't normally go for early 80's country crossovers, but this one as well as a few of Eddie's other songs was pretty good
8. ABBA - The Winner Takes It All (8) - great song! I usually like ABBA so that shouldn't be surprising
LDD: Styx - Babe - great song! One of my favourites from them
7. Neil Diamond - Hello Again (9) - meh, one of my least favourites from him
6. Blondie - Rapture (7) - I prefer the other song from them on the chart but this is good too
5. Don McLean - Crying (6) - "American Pie" was better but this was still decent
4. Dolly Parton - 9 To 5 (1) - great song! Definitely one of my favourites from her
3. Styx - The Best of Times (4) - I really like Styx generally, and this song is no exception
2. John Lennon - Woman (3) - I like this one too, but prefer a few other John Lennon songs
1. REO Speedwagon - Keep On Loving You (2) - great song! REO Speedwagon really mastered the power ballad, and this was a perfect example

[jdelachjr2002]

Flybry, do you have an original copy of this show? I still can't believe Premiere deleted two of the Archive songs here.

[freakyflybry]

Mar 30, 2009 17:03:46 GMT -5 jdelachjr2002 said:

Flybry, do you have an original copy of this show? I still can't believe Premiere deleted two of the Archive songs here.

Yes, my copy has all three archive songs intact, which is why I was able to comment on them.

[Hervard]

This week, they went back to the last week of March 26, 1983. Since I was once again having problems with my computer, I was glad that they did a former Flashback show so, if need be, I could fire in that version of the show. My computer only acted up twice during the show - and that was in the first hour, grrr!

LW#1: BILLIE JEAN - MICHAEL JACKSON - Comments on this coming up later
40: SO CLOSE - DIANA ROSS (40) - Good song. I was surprised that this wasn’t a remake of a song from the 50s or 60s (and if it was, it did not chart), because it sounds like something from that era.
39: I DON'T CARE ANYMORE - PHIL COLLINS (debut) - OK song, but he’s had many better. This one sounds a little like an African rain dance.
38: WINDS OF CHANGE - JEFFERSON STARSHIP (38) - Good song, very obscure. I still prefer others by them, such as “No Way Out” and “It’s Not Enough”
37: I LIKE IT - DEBARGE (debut) - This one was OK, but I prefer their other slow songs like “Time Will Reveal” and “Who’s Holding Donna Now”.
36: MY KIND OF LADY - SUPERTRAMP (31) - This was a great one - Much like Diana Ross’s song back at number 40, it’s an original that sounds like it should be a remake of something from the 1960s. Sounds a little like a slow version of “It’s Raining Again”, especially at the end.
35: I WON'T HOLD YOU BACK - TOTO (debut) - Great song, one of my favorites by them. The only ballad of theirs I like better than this is “I’ll Be Over You”. They edited the second verse from this one - D’OH!!
34: EVEN NOW - BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND (debut) - Great song, one of his best. I’d been hearing this on AOR stations for about a month, starting about the time “Shame On The Moon” was number one. “American Storm” sounds a lot like this one.
LDD: SWEET TIME - REO SPEEDWAGON - Great song, one of my favorites by REO. “Here With Me” reminded me a lot of this song.
33: DREAMIN' IS EASY - STEEL BREEZE (30) - Awesome song! Very underrated. I like both this song and “You Don’t Want Me Anymore”.
32: YOU AND I - EDDIE RABBIT W/ CRYSTAL GAYLE (26) - Great song, one of the best by both artists. This was their 20th week on the AT40 chart, making it the longest running song of the week.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: LET’S DANCE - DAVID BOWIE - Pretty good song, considering I’m not much of a David Bowie fan at all.
31: SHE BLINDED ME WITH SCIENCE - THOMAS DOLBY (36) - Good song. Glad they played the album version (which I believe they usually did anyway) instead of the watered-down single version
30: LIES - THOMPSON TWINS (32) - This song’s pretty good, but the only song by them that I really like is “Hold Me Now” (although “Get That Love” is good too)
29: MAKE LOVE STAY - DAN FOGELBERG (29) - Good song, like most of his material. This one sounds a lot like “Hard To Say”.
28: CHANGE OF HEART - TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBRAKERS (28) - Good song, one of my favorites by Tom Petty. I was surprised that the week before, this song moved up ten spots, yet stands still on this chart. The song did end up peaking at #21, so it had a rather erratic chart run.
27: LITTLE RED CORVETTE - PRINCE (37) - I like this song a lot (but it wasn’t until a few years ago that I realized just how dirty it was!)26: ALLENTOWN - BILLY JOEL (23) - Definitely one of my favorites from Mr. Joel. Casey mentions how this song is about the bleak economic conditions of the past few years. It’s message is very timely right now in the late 00s
25: POISON ARROW - ABC (27) - OK song, but I prefer “The Look Of Love” and “How To Be A Millionaire”. I loved the story Casey told about nature’s poisons, talking about the most poisonous snakes, spiders, and mushrooms.
24: DOWN UNDER - MEN AT WORK (22) - Ah, the song about vegemite sandwiches! This was a good one, but I preferred their “Cargo” songs. The ones from “Business As Usual” are soooo overplayed!
23: BABY COME TO ME - PATTI AUSTIN W/ JAMES INGRAM (21) - Good song, though I prefer several others by both artists.
22: BREAKING US IN TWO - JOE JACKSON (18) - Cool song, possibly my favorite by him (although it’s a close race between this and “Is She Really Goin’ Out With Him”).
EXTRA: SAMPLER OR ROCKABILLY CLASSICS - I’ve heard all of these plenty of times.
21: THE STRAY CAT STRUT - THE STRAY CATS (11) - Good song, my second favorite from them behind “I Won’t Stand In Your Way”.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: IT MIGHT BE YOU - STEPHEN BISHOP - I love this song! Possibly my favorite by him, although “On And On” would be a close second. But d**n it, they cut out the second verse!
20: LITTLE TOO LATE - PAT BENATAR (25) - Good song. It sure hit a brick wall, though; made it to #20 in its fourth week on, but got no higher. Too bad!
19: ALL RIGHT - CHRISTOPHER CROSS (12) - Great song, like most of his stuff (though “Say You’ll Be Mine” was passable, at best). Surprised that this song didn’t hit the Top Ten, as much airplay as it got.
18: I'VE GOT A ROCK AND ROLL HEART - ERIC CLAPTON (19) - Good song, although the line about him getting off on ‘57 Chevies and screaming guitars is a little TMI.
17: FALL IN LOVE WITH ME - EARTH, WIND AND FIRE (17) - OK song, typical of their early-80s material. This song didn’t make the R&R chart, plus no stations in my area every played it, so I’m sure that by tomorrow, I’ll be saying wtf did this sound like again?
16: DER KOMMISSAR - AFTER THE FIRE (20) - Good song, an 80s mix show essential!
15: BEAT IT - MICHAEL JACKSON (24) - Great song, definitely one of my favorites from the “Thriller” era! Eddie Van Halen does a mean guitar solo on this one.
14: JEOPARDY - GREG KIHN BAND (16) - This is a great one that for some reason doesn’t get a lot of airplay anymore. This song peaked at #2 on Billboard, but spent three weeks at #1 on the R&R chart.
13: THERE'S SOMETHING GOING ON - FRIDA (15) - Pretty good song - another song that was played to death in the spring of 1983 but is all but forgotten today. Phil Collins plays the drums (and sings backup) on this song.
12: SHAME ON THE MOON - BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND (2) - Good song, written and originally recorded by Rodney Crowell, who was irked by other artists having bigger success with his songs than he did.
11: COME ON EILEEN - DEXYS MIDNIGHT RUNNERS (14) - OK song, but rather overplayed.
10: TWILIGHT ZONE - GOLDEN EARRING (13) - Cool song. Another song that didn’t make the R&R chart (and, by the looks of it, came nowhere near charting there).
9: ONE ON ONE - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (9) - Good song, but they’ve had several better ones.
8: SEPARATE WAYS - JOURNEY (8) - See what I said for “One On One”.
LDD: BEAUTIFUL NOISE - NEIL DIAMOND - Meh, don’t like it (I would ordinarily say “No. Just no”, but, given the subject matter of the LDD, I didn’t think that would be appropriate. I felt so bad for the receiver of the LDD, who had just gone totally deaf in both ears and could no longer hear music
7: MR. ROBOTO - STYX (10) - I’M KILROY!!! This song’s OK, but Styx has had so many better songs.
6: WE'VE GOT TONIGHT (7) - KENNY ROGERS & SHEENA EASTON - See what I said about Styx. I do, however, prefer this over the original Bob Seger version, which Casey played a piece of.
5: BACK ON THE CHAIN GANG - THE PRETENDERS (5) - Good song, possibly my favorite from the Pretenders
4: YOU ARE - LIONEL RICHIE (6) - Good song. This is where it peaked on BB, but was #1 on R&R two weeks before.
3: HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF - DURAN DURAN (4) - This is the song that started it off for Duran Duran, definitely one of the biggest bands of the 1980s. It was a good one, too, definitely one of my favorites by them, right up there with their two 1985 hits. LOL - they included the two loud moans at the very end of the song (as they usually fade it out before then)
2: DO YOU REALLY WANT TO HURT ME - CULTURE CLUB (3) - I prefer the shorter version of this song without the whiny intro and the annoying bridge. Unfortunately, they played the longer one this week. Oh well...
1: BILLIE JEAN - MICHAEL JACKSON (1) - Fourth of seven weeks in a row for this song. It’s actually a pretty good song, considering how overplayed it was and still is.