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Post by vto66 on Dec 8, 2012 17:15:47 GMT -5
I thought I remembered hearing the long version of Billy Joel's "My Life" on the 1979 year-end special. At least the intro was from the long version.
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Post by mellongraig on Dec 9, 2012 21:23:44 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - December 8, 2012
This week's presentation - December 12, 1981
Well, as you can tell, this is the last 1981 show until next year. It seems Premiere is doing a lot of 1981 shows lately. But 1981 was essentially a big year for country music, as well as adult contemporary hits dominating the chart. Here's my first time doing a commentary on these songs:
Droppers: TWILIGHT - ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (38) - Definitely underrated in my opinion, and a pretty good song. THEME FROM "HILL STREET BLUES" - MIKE POST (37) - I don't recall remembering this show, but the theme was really good. Shame to see this one falling off. THE NIGHT OWLS - LITTLE RIVER BAND (35) - Good song, but not quite my favorite from them. I prefered the Optional Extra song coming up. NEVER TOO MUCH - LUTHER VANDROSS (33) - I haven't heard it, but shame to see this one go! My favorite song right here.
LW #3: EVERY LITTLE THING SHE DOES IS MAGIC – THE POLICE LW #2: WAITING FOR A GIRL LIKE YOU - FOREIGNER Lw #1: PHYSICAL – OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN
I'll comment on those later on.
40: CASTLES IN THE AIR – DON McLEAN (debut) - Great song! While I did prefer a few others by him, I'm not sure if they played the original version on AT40. 39: TRYIN’ TO LIVE MY LIFE WITHOUT YOU – BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND (31) - Great live song! This is something you don't hear outside of countdown shows. 38: WRACK MY BRAIN – RINGO STARR (39) - I haven't heard this song in a long time, but this was pretty good. No suprise that this lasted only two weeks and didn't get past #38. 37: SHE’S GOT A WAY – BILLY JOEL (debut) - As you can hear the audience applauding, you knew this was live. This song's good, but not my favorite from him. 36: WAITING ON A FRIEND – THE ROLLING STONES (debut) - I like this one better than the overplayed one that's coming up in the show. 35: UNDER PRESSURE – QUEEN & DAVID BOWIE (40) - Great song! One of my favorite songs from them! I don't care if anyone disagrees with me - this is my opinion. 34: NO REPLY AT ALL- GENESIS (29) - Good song - the horn section was played on this one. 33: POOR MAN’S SON - SURVIVOR (34) - Great song! This one has radio stations refusing to play this song - only Eye of the Tiger seems to get the most recurring airplay. 32: SHAKE IT UP – THE CARS (debut) - Good song, but not my favorite by any means. Optional Extra: WKRP IN CINCINNATI - STEVE CARLISLE - Wow, interesting choice for an extra - I liked this song, and the TV theme wasn't bad, though I wish it would have been longer if they didn't move the timeslots around. 31: ARTHUR’S THEME – CHRISTOPHER CROSS (17) - Great song! I agree with you - this was my favorite from the 80s. 30: I WOULDN’T HAVE MISSED IT FOR THE WORLD – RONNIE MILSAP (36) - Back to back great songs! My mother still listens to country music today, and boy did she deserve it! This made it all the way to the top of the country charts in January 1982! 29: THE OLD SONGS – BARRY MANILOW (15) - Wow, 3 great songs in a row! LDD: I’M COMING OUT – DIANA ROSS - I liked the way the dedication was written out. While I'm not a huge fan of the song itself, I've grown on it and like it better than I used to before. 28: START ME UP – THE ROLLING STONES (10) - Good song, but like many critique members have said, it has been overplayed every single day. 27: SOMEONE COULD LOSE A HEART TONIGHT – EDDIE RABBITT (32) - This one's good, but I prefered his hits from 1980-1981 when he was at his peak. 26: STEAL THE NIGHT – STEVIE WOODS (28) - A smooth jazz feel makes this song a great one! 25: CENTERFOLD – THE J. GEILS BAND (30) - Great song! This one has held up well despite overplay (and it's my favorite, too). 24: HEART LIKE A WHEEL- THE STEVE MILLER BAND (26) - Pretty good song, but far from their best. This song doesn't get any recurring airplay today outside of countdown shows. 23: HOOKED ON CLASSICS – THE ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA (27) - Interesting song with classic musical pieces. Great ones, too. 22: MY GIRL (GONE, GONE, GONE) - CHILLIWACK (24) - Great song! Since Casey said this was the #1 song in Canada, you all knew Canadian radio stations were playing it agressively back then (and still do today). Optional Extra: JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH - DEPECHE MODE - Two songs out of left field! This is OK, but overplayed. That song reminds me of the Staples commercial when the kids were going back to school that aired during the summer of 2012. 21: COOL NIGHT – PAUL DAVIS (25) - Great song! I like this and the 1978 hit about the same. Of course, it wasn't as long as "I Go Crazy", where it spent 40(!) weeks on the Hot 100. 20: OUR LIPS ARE SEALED – THE GO-GO’S (21) - Fantastic song! Definitely my favorite from them! 19: TAKE MY HEART – KOOL & THE GANG (22) - Great song! I still prefer a few others by them (but only slightly). 18: PRIVATE EYES – DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (6) - Great song, though I prefer many other songs by them that I could choose. 17: THE SWEETEST THING – JUICE NEWTON (20) - Great song! Another that made the top of the country charts in January 1982. Extra: HIGHER AND HIGHER – JACKIE WILSON - Good song, and interesting story about him on his condition. Unfortunately, he passed away in January 1984. 16: TURN YOUR LOVE AROUND – GEORGE BENSON (23) - I'm surprised that this song is the biggest mover of the week within the Top 40 (only 7 notches). Good song, but I prefer others by him. 15: COMIN’ IN AND OUT OF YOUR LIFE – BARBRA STREISAND (19) - Great song! Definitely a true guilty pleasure! 14: YESTERDAY’S SONGS – NEIL DIAMOND (16) - Great song! One of his best, and he's not stopping now today! 13: I CAN’T GO FOR THAT – DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (18) - See my comment for #18, only change it to a good song. 12: TROUBLE – LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM (13) - Great song - heard a-two, a-three, a-fawwah (sounds like four) at the beginning. 11: LEATHER AND LACE – STEVIE NICKS WITH DON HENLEY (12) - Wow, 2 Fleetwood Mac artists back-to-back! (though this one is a duet). I like this song too. Optional Extra: TAKE IT EASY ON ME - LITTLE RIVER BAND - Great song and my favorite from them! Larry said that this song was two weeks away from hitting the countdown. While it was true, AT40 was airing the top 100 of 1981 for a two-week period. Therefore, we didn't really hear it until January 9 (and that's guest hosted by Eubanks). 10: DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’ - JOURNEY (11) - I have to admit that despite overplay, this is still a great song and my favorite by them! 9: HARDEN MY HEART - QUARTERFLASH (14) - Great song. Not sure which I prefer - Take Me To Heart and this are about the same. 8: WHY DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE – DIANA ROSS (9) - Good song, and too bad about Frankie Lyman passing away so young. 7: HERE I AM (JUST WHEN I THOUGHT I WAS OVER YOU) – AIR SUPPLY (5) - Great song! A true guilty pleasure right up with "The One That You Love", which went to #1 in July 1981. LDD: THIS MAGIC MOMENT – THE DRIFTERS - Very old, but great classic song, and definitely appropriate for the dedication. 6: YOUNG TURKS – ROD STEWART (8) - Great song, and yeah, I noticed that too. 5: LET’S GROOVE – EARTH, WIND & FIRE (7) - Great song! Despite disco ending in 1979, this song was an exception. 4: OH NO – THE COMMODORES (4) - Great song! This was the last song with Lionel singing lead for the group. 3: EVERY LITTLE THING SHE DOES IS MAGIC – THE POLICE (3) - Great song! This is one of their best songs. Optional Extra: WORKING FOR THE WEEKEND - LOVERBOY - Now that's the song, no matter what station you listen to, gets the most airplay nowadays. This is a great weekend and weekday tune, despite barely hitting the Top 30. 2: WAITING FOR A GIRL LIKE YOU - FOREIGNER (2) - Ah, yes, the frustrating 10 weeks for that song! Many people thought this was going to hit #1 next week or so. It was true on R&R, but on Billboard... we all know the result. 1: PHYSICAL – OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (1) - And this is the song that would hold off Foreigner's spot. Like I said, this is a good song, but occasionally gets overplay time to time. Little did anyone know that this beat out the other #1 songs from 1981 for nine weeks (though the chart went to 1982).
Aside note... why are they using the bumper jingles from 1984 for optional extras other than 1984-87? Should Premiere use the bumper jingles corresponding to the actual year? This seems out of place when they're showing 1981 or something other than 1984-early 1987.
Predictions for next week: Given the clue on the boards, I predict December 15, 1984 for next week's show.
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Post by bestmusicexpert on Dec 10, 2012 9:43:00 GMT -5
I just wanted to point out to Hervard, that only 1 of Elton's 3 number ones in 1975 we're from an album at all. Island girl was on an album, but Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and Philadelphia freedom were non album singles.
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Post by Hervard on Dec 10, 2012 19:20:30 GMT -5
I just wanted to point out to Hervard, that only 1 of Elton's 3 number ones in 1975 we're from an album at all. Island girl was on an album, but Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and Philadelphia freedom were non album singles. I did not know that!
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Post by mrjukebox on Dec 13, 2012 21:45:35 GMT -5
Here's my critique of the countdown from 12/15/84 which Premiere first aired in 2009: #40-"Love Light In Flight"-The second release from "The Woman In Red" soundtrack-Great song. #39-"Caribbean Queen"-Billy Ocean-A former #1 song & a timeless classic. #38-"Bruce"-Rick Springfield-According to Mr.Springfield,he wrote "Bruce" because people were mistaking him for Mr.Springsteen-Decent song. #37-"Tender Years"-John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band-The second release from the "Eddie & The Cruisers" soundtrack-Great song. #36-"I Do Wanna Know"-REO Speedwagon-Great song that should've been a bigger hit. #35-"Loverboy"-Billy Ocean-Great follow up to "Caribbean Queen". #34-"The Belle Of St Mark"-Sheila E-Great follow up to "The Glamorous Life". #33-"(Pride) In The Name Of Love"-U2-The first top forty hit for this band from Dublin,Ireland whose members are Paul Hewson (Bono),Adam Clayton,Larry Mullen Jr & Dave (The Edge) Evans-Powerful song that still receives recurrent airplay. #32-"I Want To Know What Love Is"-Foreigner-The initial release from the album "Agent Provacateur"-A timeless classic that featured The New Jersey Mass Choir. #31-"Stranger In Town"-Toto-One of their lesser known hits-Great song. #30-"Easy Lover"-Philip Bailey & Phil Collins-Great one-off duet for the lead singers of Earth,Wind & Fire & Genesis. #29-"The Boys Of Summer"-Don Henley-The initial release from his album "Building The Perfect Beast"-Fantastic song that still receives recurrent airplay. #28-"Centipede"-Rebbie Jackson-The only top forty hit for the oldest member of this famous musical clan. #27-"Jamie"-Ray Parker Jr-Great follow up to "Ghostbusters". #26-"Purple Rain"-Prince & The Revolution-Another timeless classic. #25-"We Are The Young"-Dan Hartman-Great follow up to "I Can Dream About You". #24-"Understanding"-Bob Seger-Great song that was featured in the movie "Teachers". #23-"Hello Again"-The Cars-The fourth & final release from the album "Heartbeat City"-Great song. #22-"You're The Inspiration"-Chicago-A timeless classic that went on to become a much requested Long Distance Dedication. #21-"It Ain't Enough"-Corey Hart-Great follow up to "Sunglasses At Night". #20-"Better Be Good To Me"-Tina Turner-Great song. #19-"Do What You Do"-Jermaine Jackson-Great song. #18-"Walking On A Thin Line"-Huey Lewis & The News-Great song that never receives recurrent airplay. #17-"Strut"-Sheena Easton-Great song-FYI:"Strut" was written by Charlie Dore who had a top forty hit in 1980 called "Pilot Of The Airwaves". #16-"Run To You"-Bryan Adams-The initial release from his album "Reckless"-Great song. #15-"Born In The USA"-Bruce Springsteen-A timeless classic that was parodied by Cheech & Chong as "Born In East L.A.". #14-"All I Need"-Jack Wagner-The only top forty hit for this Missouri native who is best known for his role as Frisco Jones on TV's "General Hospital"-"All I Need" is a timeless classic. #13-"I Can't Hold Back"-Survivor-One of their lesser known hits-Great song. #12-"Valotte"-Julian Lennon-The first top forty hit for the older son of John Lennon-Great song that radio has chosen to ignore. #11-"Penny Lover"-Lionel Richie-One of his best songs. #10-"All Through The Night"-Cyndi Lauper-The fourth release from her debut album "She's So Unusual"-Another timeless classic. #9-"We Belong"-Pat Benatar-Great song that still receives recurrent airplay. #8-"Wake Me Up Before You Go Go"-Wham-The first top forty hit for the British duo of George Michael & Andrew Ridgeley-A bonafide classic. #7-"Cool It Now"-New Edition-The first top forty hit for this Boston based R&B group-Great song. #6-"No More Lonely Nights"-Paul Mc Cartney-One of his best post Beatle hits. #5-"Sea Of Love"-The Honeydrippers-The first of two top forty hits for this group that included former Led Zeppelin members Robert Plant & Jimmy Page-"Sea Of Love" was a #2 hit for Phil Phillips in 1959-In early 1982,it became the final top forty hit for Del Shannon who took his rendition to #33-In all honesty,I prefer the version by The Honeydrippers. #4-"I Feel For You"-Chaka Khan-Great rendition of a song that was written & first performed by Prince. #3-"Like A Virgin"-Madonna-Her signature song & another bonafide classic. #2-"The Wild Boys"-Duran Duran-Great song. #1-"Out Of Touch"-Hall & Oates-Their sixth #1 hit-Great song.
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Post by mrjukebox on Dec 13, 2012 21:58:53 GMT -5
1).I forgot to mention that "Love Light In Flight" was written & performed by Stevie Wonder. 2)."Centipede" is a decent song.
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Post by Hervard on Dec 14, 2012 14:22:00 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - December 15, 2012
This week's presentation - December 15, 1984
OK, this is a repeat show from just three years back, so it's recycled commentary time!
Droppers:
WHAT ABOUT ME - KENNY ROGERS W/KIM CARNES & JAMES INGRAM (36) - Awww, this was one of my favorite songs of 1984! Why couldn’t they have done a show from December 8? Oh well, at least we heard the show on the last 1984 (such is the case with all three droppers this week) DESERT MOON - DENNIS DeYOUNG (31) - This was another great song; shame it fell off I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU - STEVIE WONDER (25) - Good song, but I prefer several others by him.
LW#1: OUT OF TOUCH - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES - I’ll comment on this one later on. 40: LOVE LIGHT IN FLIGHT - STEVIE WONDER (debut) - Good song, but he’s had many better. 39: CARIBBEAN QUEEN - BILLY OCEAN (19) - Wow, big drop, probably because his new song was starting to grow on the chart. Anyway, this was pretty good, but I prefer many others by him, generally his slower songs. 38: BRUCE - RICK SPRINGFIELD (debut) - This song was pretty cool, about Rick being mistaken for Bruce Springsteen. 37: TENDER YEARS - JOHN CAFFERTY & THE BEAVER BROWN BAND (39) - Great song, though I preferred “Tough All Over”. This would be my second favorite by them. 36: I DO'WANNA KNOW - REO SPEEDWAGON (29) - Ah, here’s a lost hit by REO. To my best of knowledge, it isn’t on any of their Greatest Hits albums. Anyway, this is a good one, among my favorite of their upbeat songs. 35: LOVER BOY - BILLY OCEAN (40) - Wow, with the big drop of “Carribean Queen”, one would think this song would be climbing a little faster. Anyway, I liked this song slightly better. 34: THE BELLE OF ST. MARK - SHEILA E. (38) - Another lost hit! They overplay “The Glamourous Life”, yet ignore this one completely (as I never heard this one outside of countdown shows), which is a shame, because it was a good song. 33: (PRIDE) IN THE NAME OF LOVE - U2 (35) - This song was OK, but I preferred their late-80s/early-90s material. 32: I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS - FOREIGNER (debut) - Foreigner finally had their first #1 Hot 100 hit with this. This one was a good one (though I preferred “That Was Yesterday”. Too bad that didn’t hit #1 as well. 31: STRANGER IN TOWN - TOTO (32) - Wow, the first hour is chock full of lost hits by popular artists! I liked this song and thought it was underrated. They edited out the verse “Buckingham Palace better tighten things up, the S.O.B is mean.” OPTIONAL EXTRA: SOLID - ASHFORD & SIMPSON - Good song, although I disliked it back in the day. 30: EASY LOVER - PHILIP BAILEY & PHIL COLLINS (37) - Good song. The two voices blended quite well. 29: THE BOYS OF SUMMER - DON HENLEY (34) - Good song, one of my favorite solo hits by him. 28: CENTIPEDE - REBBIE JACKSON (30) - Meh, not a big fan of this one. I prefer the other Jackson on the chart this week. 27: JAMIE - RAY PARKER, JR. (33) - Good song. 26: PURPLE RAIN - PRINCE (15) - Despite the cheese factor, this one’s pretty good. 25: WE ARE THE YOUNG - DAN HARTMAN (26) - Good song. This one sounds a lot like “Breakin’...There’s No Stoppin’ Us” by Ollie & Jerry, from earlier in 1984. LDD: THROUGH THE YEARS - KENNY ROGERS - This was a very popular LDD during the 1980s. It was a great song. 24: UNDERSTANDING - BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND (27) - Good song. Yet another obscure song from a popular artist. 23: HELLO AGAIN - THE CARS (24) - This song was OK, but not quite my favorite from them (still, I’d rather listen to this than “Drive” any day!) 22: YOU'RE THE INSPIRATION - CHICAGO (28) - Though I preferred “Hard Habit To Break”, this one was pretty good. OPTIONAL EXTRA: THE HEAT IS ON - GLENN FREY - Good song, though not quite my favorite from him. 21: IT AIN'T ENOUGH - COREY HART (17) - Great song! I felt this song was underrated, although it did hit the Top 20. 20: BETTER BE GOOD TO ME - TINA TURNER (12) - Great song! Too bad they don’t play this one on the radio anymore. They just assume we want to hear “What’s Love Got To Do With It” for the millionth time. 19: DO WHAT YOU DO - JERMAINE JACKSON (22) - Surprised that this was the sixth time that siblings were on the chart at the same time. And Jermaine accounted for half of those - twice in 1980 with Michael, and this week with Rebbie Jackson. Anyway, as I said earlier, I preferred this one. It’s one of my favorites on the chart this week. 18: WALKING ON A THIN LINE - HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (18) - Great song. One of only two of his Top 40 songs not included on his Greatest Hits album (the other being “It Hit Me Like A Hammer”). I occasionally hear this song on the Jack FM station in Chicago. 17: STRUT - SHEENA EASTON (14) - OK song, but not one of my favorites by her. 16: RUN TO YOU - BRYAN ADAMS (23) - Good song, but not quite my favorite by him. 15: BORN IN THE USA - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (21) - Good song, but not my favorite by him. This song became his signature hit. 14: ALL I NEED - JACK WAGNER (20) - Great song! Frisco Jones’ only Top 40 hit (though he did have a few minor AC hits, including 1994's “(You’re The) Only One Who Knows”, another great song by him). 13: I CAN'T HOLD BACK - SURVIVOR (13) - Great song! This was my favorite song during this time in 1984, and it still sounds great! One of my favorites from Survivor. 12: VALOTTE - JULIAN LENNON (16) - Yet another great song! My favorite of the three songs from the Valotte album. Still don’t get how Julian is “sitting on a pebble by the river...”. He must have quite a small rear end! 11: PENNY LOVER - LIONEL RICHIE (8) - Good song, but not his best. OPTIONAL EXTRA: METHOD OF MODERN LOVE - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES - Good song - one that's become somewhat obscure, given how big a hit it was. 10: ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT - CYNDI LAUPER (5) - Great song - probably my favorite song from “She’s So Unusual”. 9: WE BELONG - PAT BENATAR (10) - Good song, but not my favorite from her. I’ll bet that, for JessieLou, this was the high point of the show. 8: WAKE ME UP BEFORE YOU GO-GO - WHAM (2) - OK song, but kind of cheesy. I really liked it back when it was on the charts (as I was almost 13 back then!) 7: COOL IT NOW - NEW EDITION (4) - OK song, but one of my least favorites from them. I preferred “Mr. Telephone Man” and “Lost In Love”. 6: NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS - PAUL McCARTNEY (6) - Great song! 5: SEA OF LOVE - THE HONEYDRIPPERS (7) - OK song, but not my favorite version of the song. LDD: STUCK ON YOU - LIONEL RICHIE - Good song - one of several songs by Lionel with a country flavor to it (and this one even made the Top 30 of the Country chart). 4: I FEEL FOR YOU - CHAKA KHAN (3) - Meh, not crazy about this song. I preferred “Ain’t Nobody”. 3: LIKE A VIRGIN - MADONNA (11) - Wow, it’s not too often that you see the biggest mover of the week way up in the Top Three! This song would spend a long, long time at #1 (surprised that “Careless Whisper” beat this one out for #1 song of 1985). This was a good song, though not one of my favorites by her. 2: THE WILD BOYS - DURAN DURAN (4) - Not one of their best by a longshot. This song was #1 on the R&R chart this week. If not for “Like A Virgin”, it might have spent three weeks at #1 on AT40. 1: OUT OF TOUCH - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (1) - Good song, though not quite their best. I generally preferred their early-80s hits.
Predictions for next week: Well, since the year-end show is going to be played starting the last weekend of December, that means that we get one more weekly show next week. My first guess is the December 20, 1980 show, with December 18, 1982 as my back-up. I'm kind of hoping that they don't do 1986, since, for one, that would make eight shows from that year and another thing, many of the songs would be featured on the 1987 year-end countdown the following week. Of course, that would hardly be unprecedented, as they featured a December 1983 show the week before the 1984 year-ender back in 2007, as well as a 1984 show the week before they started with the Top 100 of 1985. December 24, 1983 isn't out of the question either, but I have a feeling that they just might wait until January to do that year.
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Post by mellongraig on Dec 14, 2012 14:50:17 GMT -5
20: BETTER BE GOOD TO ME - TINA TURNER (12) - Great song! Too bad they don’t play this one on the radio anymore. They just assume we want to hear “What’s Love Got To Do With It” for the millionth time. I think CFQM-FM plays this song once in a while during the Lost 80s Lunch at noon, so I wouldn't call this obscure for me. 23: HELLO AGAIN - THE CARS (24) - This song was OK, but not quite my favorite from them (still, I’d rather listen to this than “Drive” any day!) 22: YOU'RE THE INSPIRATION - CHICAGO (28) - Though I preferred “Hard Habit To Break”, this one was pretty good. Ah, but ABC Watermark made a mistake. These two songs should have been in reverse order. Don't know why they missed that this week...
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Post by mellongraig on Dec 15, 2012 17:46:56 GMT -5
#18-"Walking On A Thin Line"-Huey Lewis & The News-Great song that never receives recurrent airplay. I think this gets some recurring airplay (but not a lot) when they play at concerts that night.
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Post by mellongraig on Dec 15, 2012 21:27:39 GMT -5
American Top 40 - The 80s - December 15, 2012
This week's presentation - December 15, 1984
Well, they went with a repeat from 2009. Everyone's on their mind to say why 1984 again so soon? Some critique members are doing a recycled commentary, but I'll do a new one since it's the first time I've heard it.
Droppers:
WHAT ABOUT ME - KENNY ROGERS W/KIM CARNES & JAMES INGRAM (36) - Awww, why did this drop off? That's one of my favorite songs of 1984! At least we heard it on November 17, 1984's show. DESERT MOON - DENNIS DeYOUNG (31) - Shame to see this one go. I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU - STEVIE WONDER (25) - Good song, but I prefer others by him.
LW #1 - OUT OF TOUCH - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES
I'll comment on it later on.
40: LOVE LIGHT IN FLIGHT - STEVIE WONDER (debut) - See my comment for the last dropper by this artist. 39: CARIBBEAN QUEEN - BILLY OCEAN (19) - Wow, big drop there. Pretty good song, but I prefer other songs (especially slower ones). 38: BRUCE - RICK SPRINGFIELD (debut) - Cool song, and interesting story about him mistaking for Bruce Springsteen (which we'll hear later). 37: TENDER YEARS - JOHN CAFFERTY & THE BEAVER BROWN BAND (39) - Great song - this and “Tough All Over” are about the same as far as favorites are concerned. 36: I DO'WANNA KNOW - REO SPEEDWAGON (29) - Good song, although I generally preferred their slower, powerful ballad songs. 35: LOVER BOY - BILLY OCEAN (40) - This one's slightly better than the other one I was talking about at #39. 34: THE BELLE OF ST. MARK - SHEILA E. (38) - A lost hit by her! I don't know why they don't play this on the radio anymore (and shame on this too, since it's a good song for her). 33: (PRIDE) IN THE NAME OF LOVE - U2 (35) - Good song, although I preferred their material from the late 80s/early 90s. I'm surprised that this is where it peaked, since there's a lot of recurrent airplay today. 32: I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS - FOREIGNER (debut) - Finally, this song would hit #1! I thought this was a good one too. 31: STRANGER IN TOWN - TOTO (32) - Ah, yes, Toto's lost hit! This song was underrated, and a good song too. Optional Extra: SOLID - ASHFORD & SIMPSON - Good song, but I tell you, certain people disliked it in the day. (maybe certain radio stations banned this song because of this?) 30: EASY LOVER - PHILIP BAILEY & PHIL COLLINS (37) - Good song - these two blended quite well on their voices. 29: THE BOYS OF SUMMER - DON HENLEY (34) - Another song that's really good and getting airplay nowadays. 28: CENTIPEDE - REBBIE JACKSON (30) - Meh, I'm not a fan of this one. Go to #19 and hear the other Jackson I'd prefer. 27: JAMIE - RAY PARKER, JR. (33) - Good song, I don't think I hear this outside of countdown shows anymore. 26: PURPLE RAIN - PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION (15) - This was pretty good, despite the cheesy factor. 25: WE ARE THE YOUNG - DAN HARTMAN (26) - Good song - sounds like "Breakin’...There’s No Stoppin’ Us" from earlier this year. LDD: THROUGH THE YEARS - KENNY ROGERS - This was a very popular request for a LDD during this time period. It was a great song too that fit the dedication. 24: UNDERSTANDING - BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND (27) - Yet another obscure song by a popular artist! I thought this song was good. 23: HELLO AGAIN - THE CARS (24) - This was OK, but not my favorite from them. I preferred "Magic" for this album the best. (And no, "Drive" is not depressing, IMO) 22: YOU'RE THE INSPIRATION - CHICAGO (28) - This one's pretty good, though I did prefer the other hit from earlier this year. Optional Extra: THE HEAT IS ON - GLENN FREY - Good song - this became a big hit at #2 in March 1985. 21: IT AIN'T ENOUGH - COREY HART (17) - Great song! Not sure which I'd prefer, this or the bigger hit from 1985. CKPE-FM skipped their 2nd hour optional extra (their own, not Premiere's) to play this. 20: BETTER BE GOOD TO ME - TINA TURNER (12) - Great song! Despite getting limited airplay (I do hear it during the Lost 80s Lunch at noon on CFQM-FM), it was a great one. 19: DO WHAT YOU DO - JERMAINE JACKSON (22) - That's the other Jackson I like better. Interesting that this was the sixth time siblings were on the chart at the same time. 18: WALKING ON A THIN LINE - HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (18) - Great song! Not a lot of recurring airplay by this song until concert time comes around. I'm surprised this got the softer jingle, despite the tempo more upbeat. 17: STRUT - SHEENA EASTON (14) - This wasn't bad, but I preferred others by her. 16: RUN TO YOU - BRYAN ADAMS (23) - Good song, but not quite my favorite by him. Still gets airplay on a lot of Canadian radio stations. 15: BORN IN THE USA - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (21) - And here's the artist Casey talked about. This is a great song - I liked all songs from the album of the same name. Surprisingly, this year has been interesting for him when he came to Moncton on August 26 (and no, I wasn't at the concert, though I watched some of it on YouTube). 14: ALL I NEED - JACK WAGNER (20) - Great song - definitely obscure in my opinion. 13: I CAN'T HOLD BACK - SURVIVOR (13) - Wow, great song too! This year was a change in lead singers for this group. 12: VALOTTE - JULIAN LENNON (16) - Another great song! I don't know why he's "sitting on a pebble by the river...”. This is my favorite from the Valotte album. 11: PENNY LOVER - LIONEL RICHIE (8) - Not his best, but still a good song nonetheless. Optional Extra: METHOD OF MODERN LOVE - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES - Good song, I guess you don't hear this anymore now. 10: ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT - CYNDI LAUPER (5) - One of my favorite songs by her, right up with the #2 hit earlier in 1984. 9: WE BELONG - PAT BENATAR (10) - And here's JessieLou's favorite artist. I like this song, but I preferred her material from the early 80s. 8: WAKE ME UP BEFORE YOU GO-GO - WHAM (2) - Kind of a bit cheesy, as a critique mentioned. I do agree that this wasn't too bad. 7: COOL IT NOW - NEW EDITION (4) - Not bad, but I preferred their next hit. 6: NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS - PAUL McCARTNEY (6) - Great song! I'm not sure if this gets airplay outside the countdowns. 5: SEA OF LOVE - THE HONEYDRIPPERS (7) - OK song, but I prefer the earlier versions of this song. LDD: STUCK ON YOU - LIONEL RICHIE - Surprised that this made the country chart (and it does have a country flavor, since it hit the Top 30). Anyway, this is a great song, and it fit the dedication smoothly. 4: I FEEL FOR YOU - CHAKA KHAN (3) - Meh, I wasn't crazy about this song. I preferred her other hits (which surprisingly didn't hit the charts, or didn't make the Top 40). 3: LIKE A VIRGIN - MADONNA (11) - Wow, the biggest mover belongs right here! This is my second favorite, right behind "Borderline". Optional Extra: I WOULD DIE FOR U - PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION - Good song, though it fell short of #1 when it reached the top 10. 2: THE WILD BOYS - DURAN DURAN (4) - Not my favorite song for them by any means. Still, it's better than the two others ("The Reflex", "Is There Something I Should Know") but only slightly. 1: OUT OF TOUCH - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (1) - Good song, but I preferred their early 80s material. Not quite their best.
Ah, but #23 and #22 should be in reverse order. Don't know why ABC Watermark missed this.
Predictions for next week: Well, I'm hoping for 1980 as it's close to the Christmas season; so I'll predict 12/20/80 as my main prediction. My backup is 12/18/82, though I wouldn't hope for 1986 as some songs are on the 1987 year-ender.
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Post by mkarns on Dec 19, 2012 0:59:56 GMT -5
For a little holiday cheer...
CASEY KASEM’S AMERICAN TOP 40 CHRISTMAS SONGS - 12/25/71
40: IF EVERY DAY WAS LIKE CHRISTMAS - ELVIS PRESLEY (1966) –good song, though not as well known as “Blue Christmas”. 39: MERRY CHRISTMAS POLKA - ANDREWS SISTERS (1950)—happy, self-descriptive song that wasn’t played originally due to lack of a playable copy; Premiere ran it as an optional extra (the same was true of #31 and #19). 38: SANTA CLAUS IS WATCHING YOU - RAY STEVENS (1962)—funny novelty number about a surveillant Santa. 37: THE HAPPY REINDEER - DANCER, PRANCER, AND NERVOUS (1959)—delightful novelty tune. The high-voiced animal singing concept may well have been modeled on the Chipmunks, but I like this better than their songs played here. 36: LITTLE ALTAR BOY - VIC DANA (1961) (PLAYED ANDY WILLIAMS VERSION)—good song, more serious in tone than most other songs here. 35: SANTA AND THE SATELLITE (PARTS I AND II) - BUCHANAN AND GOODMAN (1957)—entertaining comedy record with bits of hits of the time moving the story along, as was typical for Buchanan & Goodman (and Dickie Goodman solo). 34: SANTO NATALE - DAVID WHITFIELD (1954)—decent, if somewhat obscure, song by a British singer with a near-operatic voice. 33: BABY'S FIRST CHRISTMAS - CONNIE FRANCIS (1961)—sentimental song that was OK, but not something I’d want to hear over and over. 32: LITTLE SAINT NICK - THE BEACH BOYS (1963)—good song that adds a Christmas theme to a sunny Southern California feel. 31: SNOOPY'S CHRISTMAS - THE ROYAL GUARDSMEN (1967)—entertaining holiday continuation of the Snoopy-vs-the Red Baron saga (which the Guardsmen had already had two hits with). The song’s storyline reminds me of the story, told by Casey on AT10, of the British and German soldiers in World War I having a festive truce over “Silent Night”. 30: PRETTY PAPER - ROY ORBISON (1963)—good song; one of Willie Nelson’s early hit compositions. 29: CHRISTMAS DRAGNET - STAN FREBERG (1953)—holiday party-themed parody of the TV/radio police show “Dragnet”, which Freberg had a lot of fun with at that time (he hit #1 in 1953 with “St. George and the Dragonet.”) 28: MARY'S BOY CHILD - HARRY BELAFONTE (1956)—beautiful song that became a record-high seller in Britain. Boney M’s 1978 disco version went to #1 there as well, but this one is better. 27: SANTA BABY - EARTHA KITT (1953)—good song; Kitt’s delivery gave it a coyly sexy, novelty-ish flavor that is enjoyable without getting grating. 26: I YUST GO NUTS AT CHRISTMAS - YOGI YORGESSON (1949)—Swedish-dialect semi-song that starts out as a song, then goes into a spoken word routine. Funny, if arguably dated (in 1973, Casey didn’t play the spoken part, saying “it really doesn’t make it today”.) 25: IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS - PERRY COMO (1951) (PLAYED DAVID SEVILLE AND THE CHIPMUNKS VERSION)—good song, though Perry’s version is much better, and still much heard today. 24: HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS - PERRY COMO (1954)—great song, still much played. 23: CHRISTMAS IN KILARNEY - DENNIS DAY (1950) (PLAYED BING CROSBY'S VERSION)—good, Irish-themed song that isn’t heard much now to my knowledge. It should be. 22: MERRY CHRISTMAS BABY - CHARLES BROWN (1948)—timeless R&B classic. 21: ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS MY TWO FRONT TEETH - SPIKE JONES (1948)—novelty number that is cute for occasional hearing, though can wear thin with repeated listening. 20: I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS - BING CROSBY (1943)—nice, sentimental number that must have especially resonated when first released in World War II. Casey also played an instrumental version by Floyd Cramer. 19: YOU'RE ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS - FRANKIE LAINE (1948)—good song that for whatever reason isn’t as heard much now as contemporaneous offerings by Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, etc. 18: NUTTIN' FOR CHRISTMAS - BARRY GORDON WITH THE ART MOONEY ORCHESTRA (1955) (ALSO PLAYED THE RICKY ZAHND AND THE BLUE JEANS VERSION)—typically cute, if ephemeral, children’s novelty. Premiere only played Zahnd’s version, though Gordon’s was more popular. Last week’s 12/15/84 AT40 included a story and update on Barry Gordon, who has since gone into politics, talk radio, and teaching. 17: ROCKIN' AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE - BRENDA LEE (1958)—good song with excellent singing, despite the overplay. 16: PLEASE COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS - CHARLES BROWN (1960)—another classic, though better known today for the Eagles’ 1978 hit version. 15: I SAW MOMMY KISSING SANTA CLAUS - JIMMY BOYD (1952)—see #21. 14: HERE COMES SANTA CLAUS (DOWN SANTA CLAUS LANE) - GENE AUTRY (1947) (ALSO PLAYED THE 1963 VERSION BY BOB B. SOXX AND THE BLUE JEANS)—two very good, if sharply different, versions of the same song, a pattern repeated with several songs here. The 1963 version is one of several from the classic “A Christmas Gift to You From Phil Spector” album; the songs at #13 and #7 have a version from that album. 13: SLEIGH RIDE - LEROY ANDERSON (1948) (ALSO PLAYED THE RONETTES 1963 VERSION)—nice contrast between two versions, Anderson’s light symphonic instrumental and the Ronettes’ vocal. 12: FROSTY THE SNOW MAN - GENE AUTRY (1950)-original version of this song which later turned into a classic TV Christmas special. The Ronettes’ version, from Phil Spector’s 1963 album, is probably most often heard today. 11: JINGLE BELLS - BING CROSBY AND THE ANDREWS SISTERS (1943)—jazzy/swing version of 19th century chestnut. 10: THE CHIPMUNK SONG - DAVID SEVILLE AND THE CHIPMUNKS (1958)—cute song, though perhaps loses some charm due to overplay. Still, it launched the “Chipmunk” music/movies/TV cartoon franchise which is still going strong over 50 years later. 9: BLUE CHRISTMAS - ELVIS PRESLEY (1957)—perennial rock’n’roll holiday ballad classic. 8: SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN - BING CROSBY AND THE ANDREWS SISTERS (1943) (ALSO PLAYED THE FOUR SEASONS 1962 VERSION)—classic written in 1934 that has had many successful versions, including the two very different ones played here. Nowadays Bruce Springsteen’s may be the most played. 7: WINTER WONDERLAND - RAY CONNIFF'S ORCHESTRA (DARLENE LOVE'S 1963 VERSION WAS ALSO PLAYED)—two lovely versions of this classic; the Eurythmics’ 1980s rendition is especially played a lot today. 6: SILVER BELLS - JIMMY WAKELY AND MARGARET WHITING (1950) (DIANA ROSS AND THE SUPREMES VERSION WAS ALSO PLAYED)—a personal favorite of mine, much covered. Of these two versions I preferred the Supremes, but both were fine. 5: JINGLE BELL ROCK - BOBBY HELMS (1957)—decent, though not as good IMO as many others that are still heavily played. 4: THE CHRISTMAS SONG - NAT KING COLE (1946)—perennially popular classic, written by Mel Torme in Palm Springs, CA, as Casey explained on one of his more recent AT10 Christmas countdowns in which this was ranked at #1. 3: THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY - HARRY SIMEONE CHORALE (1958)—good Biblical Nativity-themed lyrics and a nice vocal arrangement, though I admit I always found the repetition of “pa-ra-pa-pum-pum” after almost every line somewhat annoying. 2: RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER - GENE AUTRY (1949)—great song that is so well known that it may seem hard to believe it hasn’t been around for longer. The annually repeated TV special probably helps (as with Frosty the Snowman, which Gene popularized the following year.) 1: WHITE CHRISTMAS - BING CROSBY (1942)—all time classic written by Irving Berlin for the film “Holiday Inn” (which later lent its name to the motel chain). By some measures the biggest selling record in history to that time, with the possible exception of… EXTRA: SILENT NIGHT - BING CROSBY (1935)—Casey said this may be the best seller of all time, but couldn’t be ranked, probably in part because there was no Billboard chart data from 1935 to work with and if there were it might not have captured its popularity and durability.
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Post by mrjukebox on Dec 19, 2012 22:05:34 GMT -5
Here's my critique of the countdown from 12/18/82-This one has never been aired by Premiere before-To quote Jackie Gleason:"And away we go!" #40-"Shame On The Moon"-Bob Seger-The initial release from his album "The Distance"-Fantastic song that was written by Rodney Crowell who had reached the top forty two years earlier with "Ashes By Now". #39-"Allentown"-Billy Joel-The second release from "The Nylon Curtain"-Great song that radio has chosen to ignore. #38-"Heart Of The Night"-Juice Newton-One of her lesser known hits-Great song. #37-"Shock The Monkey"-Peter Gabriel-The first top forty solo hit for this founding member of Genesis-Great song. #36-"Let's Go Dancin"-Kool & The Gang-I'm surprised this one doesn't receive recurrent airplay. #35-"What About Me"-Moving Pictures-The only top forty hit for this band from Sydney,Australia that featured Alex Smith on lead vocals-Great song that should've charted higher. #34-"A Penny for Your Thoughts"-Tavares-Their final top forty hit-Another great song that should've been a bigger hit. #33-"Love In Store"-Fleetwood Mac-The final release from the album "Mirage"-Great song that doesn't receive recurrent airplay. #32-"Everybody Wants You"-Billy Squier-Great song that still receives airplay on stations that have a classic rock format. #31-"I Do"-J.Geils Band-This marked thei final appearance in the top forty-Great rendition of a song that had been a minor hit for The Marvelows in 1965. #30-"You Got Lucky"-Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers-The initial release from the album "Long After Dark"-One of my favorites from them. #29-"On The Wings Of Love"-Jeffrey Osborne-Fantastic song that doesn't receive recurrent airplay. #28-"Be My Lady"-Jefferson Starship-One of their lesser known hits-Decent song. #27-"Goody Two Shoes"-Adam Ant-This was the first of three top forty hits for this Englishman whose real name is Stuart Goddard-A bonafide classic-FYI:Goddard took his stage name from a Saturday morning cartoon show called "Atom Ant" which is currently running on cable's "Boomerang" channel. #26-"Heart To Heart"-Kenny Loggins-The second release from his album "High Adventure"-Another great song that doesn't receive recurrent airplay. #25-"Hand To Hold On To"-John Cougar-The final release from the album "American Fool"-Pop radio always plays "Hurt So Good" & "Jack & Diane"-How come this one never gets recurrent airplay? #24-"Heart Attack"-Olivia Newton-John-One of her best songs. #23-"Missing You"-Dan Fogelberg-Outstanding song that never receives recurrent airplay. #22-"You Can't Hurry Love"-Phil Collins-The initial release from his album "Hello! I Must Be Going"-Fantastic rendition of a Motown classic. #21-"The Other Guy"-Little River Band-Fantastic song that radio has chosen to ignore. #20-"Baby,Come To Me"-Patti Austin & James ingram-The first of their two charted duets-A timeless classic that was played on TV's "General Hospital". #19-"The Look Of Love"-ABC-The breakthrough release for this band from Sheffield,England that featured Martin Fry on lead vocals-Great song. #18-"You & I"-Eddie Rabbitt & Crystal Gayle-This marked the final top forty appearance for both of these country superstars-Another timeless classic. #17-"Rock The Casbah"-The Clash-The second of their two top forty hits-Another bonafide classic. #16-"Africa"-Toto-Their biggest hit overall-Great song that still receives recurrent airplay. #15-"Up Where We Belong"-Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes-The love theme from the Richard Gere-Debra Winger movie "An Officer & A Gentleman"-Another timeless classic. #14-"Heartbreaker"-Dionne Warwick-A timeless classic that was written by The Bee Gees. #13-"Shadows Of The Night"-Pat Benatar-The initial release from her album "Get Nervous"-Great song. #12-"Down Under"-Men At Work-A bonafide classic that was headed for #1. #11-"It's Raining Again"-Supertramp-One of their lesser known hits-Decent song. #10-"Muscles"-Diana Ross-Great song that was written by Michael Jackson. #9-"Rock This Town"-Stray Cats-A bonafide classic. #8-"Sexual Healing"-Marvin Gaye-His final top forty hit-Another bonafide classic. #7-"Dirty Laundry"-Don Henley-The first top forty solo hit for this founding member of The Eagles-Another bonafide classic. #6-"Steppin Out"-Joe Jackson-The biggest of his four top forty hits-Another bonafide classic. #5-"Truly"-Lionel Richie-The first top forty solo hit for this founding member of The Commodores-Another timeless classic. #4-"The Girl Is Mine"-Michael Jackson & Paul Mc Cartney-The initial release from the "Thriller" album-It was also the first of their two top forty duets-A timeless classic. #3-"Gloria"-Laura Branigan-Fantastic song. #2-"Mickey"-Toni Basil-Another bonafide classic-A year later,"Weird Al" Yankovic had his first charted single with "Ricky" which was an homage to TV's "I Love Lucy". #1-"Maneater"-Hall & Oates-Their biggest hit overall & another timeless classic.
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Post by vto66 on Dec 19, 2012 23:00:26 GMT -5
mkarns: Great critique of the AT40 Christmas show. "Little Altar Boy" is definitely an underrated song and it's a shame it doesn't get as much exposure these days as other Christmas tunes. I also thought "The Happy Reindeer" was a cute, fun little number, and I also admit, I love "Baby's First Christmas." That last song especially has some meaning to me this year since I have a baby niece who will be celebrating her first Christmas this year.
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Post by Hervard on Dec 22, 2012 19:09:12 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - December 22, 2012
This week's presentation - December 18, 1982
Well, at least my back-up prediction was correct. So it looks like they might run the first playable show of the 1980s (January 19, 1980) as their next show from that year. That probably won't be the next show after the year-ender, however, as they'll be resuming the regular weekly shows on January 12 - a full week before said 1980 show. Or, since they have few shows to work with at the beginning of the year, maybe they'll run it the week before (since I doubt that they'll run the January 10, 1981 show, so soon after the last show from that year). So I don't know what they'll do on the second weekend in January. Meanwhile, let's get to this week's commentary.
Droppers: I.G.Y. (WHAT A BEAUTIFUL WORLD) - DONALD FAIGEN (26) - Yes, I'm aware that's not how his last name is spelled - but, as we all know all too well, the censors on this board would make his name look like f*gen). Anyway, this was a good song - I like it, along with many of his hits with Steely Dan. LOVE ME TOMORROW - CHICAGO (22) - Great song! Shame that it fell off, and even a bigger shame that it only got as high as #22. HEARTLIGHT - NEIL DIAMOND (17) - Ah, yes, the prerequisite Top 20 drop that seemed to be very common in both 1975 and 1982. Anyway, this was a good song, but he's had many other songs that I like better (such as his three Jazz Singer singles, just to name a few).
LW#2: GLORIA - LAURA BRANNIGAN LW#1: MICKEY - TONI BASIL 40: SHAME ON THE MOON - BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND (debut) - After being absent from American Top 40 for virtually the entire year of 1982, Seger returns to the chart in a major way, as this song debuted on the entire Hot 100 at #40, so this was apparently a long-awaited new single and received a lot of hype. This song did very well, too, peaking at #2 for an entire month. I thought it was a good one, though far from being my favorite from him. 39: ALLENTOWN - BILLY JOEL (debut) - Great song! A song with a message that's, sadly, still very timely today. 38: HEART OF THE NIGHT - JUICE NEWTON (debut) - Good song, though I preferred her three songs from earlier in the year. 37: SHOCK THE MONKEY - PETER GABRIEL (39) - Great song! Possibly my favorite of his solo hits. 36: LET'S GO DANCIN' - KOOL & THE GANG (OOH, LA, LA LA) - This was OK, but definitely not one of their best. 35: WHAT ABOUT ME - MOVING PICTURES (36) - Good song, though I hated this song with a passion back in the day for some reason. The music style of this song reminds me of Elton John. 34: A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS - TAVARES (34) - Your typical early-80s slow jam, but I liked it. LDD: JUST REMEMBER I LOVE YOU - FIREFALL - Great song, and indeed fitting for the dedication. 33: LOVE IN STORE - FLEETWOOD MAC (40) - Great song; shame that it's pretty much gone obscure. OPTIONAL EXTRA: EVERYBODY - MADONNA - Wow, that's a curveball if I ever saw one! This song never even made the Hot 100 (and I don't think I've ever even heard it before) but it did peak at #3 on the dance chart. The song was OK, but far from being her best. . 32: EVERYBODY WANTS YOU - BILLY SQUIER (33) - Great song; one of my favorites by him. 31: I DO - THE J. GEILS BAND (37) - This song isn't bad, though the falsetto voices can become annoying. 30: YOU GOT LUCKY - TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS (32) 29: ON THE WINGS OF LOVE - JEFFREY OSBORNE (30) - Great song! Possibly my favorite song by him! 28: BE MY LADY - JEFFERSON STARSHIP (28) - Good song, though not quite my favorite by them (though I do love the steel guitar). 27: GOODY TWO SHOES - ADAM ANT (35) - Good song, though my favorite of their Top 40 songs would be "Wonderful", from 1995. 26: HEART TO HEART - KENNY LOGGINS (31) - Great song! Definitely one of his best! EXTRA: COME SEE ABOUT ME - THE SUPREMES 25: HAND TO HOLD ON TO - JOHN COUGAR (29) - Good song, though I preferred "Hurts So Good" (this is, however, better than the annoying "Jack And Diane". 24: HEART ATTACK - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (16) - Wow, the first descending song on the countdown! But this was 1982, remember? Anyway, I liked this song, but preferred her other big 1982 hit (Before anyone says is, "Physical" was a 1981 hit, regardless of whether or not it was the biggest hit of '82). 23: MISSING YOU - DAN FOGELBERG (23) - Good song, but I preferred his slower songs. 22: YOU CAN'T HURRY LOVE - PHIL COLLINS (24) - Great song; I actually prefer this over the original. OPTIONAL EXTRA: I KNOW THERE'S SOMETHING GOING ON - FRIDA - Good song. Sort of a coincidence that they placed this song where they did, as that made it two songs in a row with which Phil Collins was involved (it's somewhat common knowledge that he played the drums on this song). 21: THE OTHER GUY - LITTLE RIVER BAND (27) - Great song, but I preferred others by them, such as "Lady" and "Cool Change". 20: BABY, COME TO ME - PATTI AUSTIN WITH JAMES INGRAM (25) - Great song! One of my favorites from both artists involved. They played a version of the song with a slightly longer intro than is heard on the single version. 19: THE LOOK OF LOVE - ABC (20) - Good song. Not sure if I prefer this or "Poison Arrow". 18: YOU AND I - EDDIE RABBITT WITH CRYSTAL GAYLE (21) - Great song! One of my favorites from both artists! 17: ROCK THE CASBAH - THE CLASH (19) - Great song! Question: Is it the album version that they usually play? I have the single version, on which they hit the echo when they scream the word "jive", and the sound effects are muted somewhat. 16: AFRICA - TOTO (18) - Great song (though, like the Moving Pictures song, this is one that I didn't like back in the day). 15: UP WHERE WE BELONG - JOE Cocker & JENNIFER WARNES (12) - Good song. Not sure if I prefer this or the other big movie hit on which Jennifer Warnes sings on (which will be heard on the upcoming Top 100 of 1987). 14: HEARTBREAKER - DIONNE WARWICK (15) - Great song! Most certainly one of my favorite songs by her! 13: SHADOWS OF THE NIGHT - PAT BENATAR (13) - See my comment for song #14. 12: DOWN UNDER - MEN AT WORK (14) - Good song, and interesting story about vegemite. Sounds just about as good as lutefisk (which, IMO, is extremely gross). 11: IT'S RAINING AGAIN - SUPERTRAMP (11) - Great song! They sort of went with a retro sound on their Famous Last Words album - both singles sounded sort of like 60s music ("My Kind Of Lady" sounded even more so than this song). OPTIONAL EXTRA: DO YOU REALLY WANT TO HURT ME - CULTURE CLUB - Good song; as long as it's the version without the whiny intro and the annoying instrumental bridge; both of which were absent in the version they played. 10: MUSCLES - DIANA ROSS (10) - Meh, not a fan of this one at all. 9: ROCK THIS TOWN - STRAY CATS (9) - Good song, but not quite as good as "Stray Cat Strut" and "I Won't Stand In Your Way". 8: SEXUAL HEALING - MARVIN GAYE (8) - This was OK, but I was never a huge Marvin Gaye fan. LDD: OUT HERE ON MY OWN - IRENE CARA - Great song - and appropriate for the dedication (as it was from a girl who just started living on her own - to her mother, who helped to make that transition easy for her daughter). 7: DIRTY LAUNDRY - DON HENLEY (7) - Great song! One of his best solo hits! 6: STEPPIN' OUT - JOE JACKSON (6) - Wow, the Top Ten was really tight this week! Anyway, this song was OK, but not his best by any means. 5: TRULY - LIONEL RICHIE (4) - Great song! Definitely one of his best solo hits - and his very first since leaving the Commodores. 4: THE GIRL IS MINE - MICHAEL JACKSON & PAUL McCARTNEY (5) - Great song! This is easily the best of their two hit duets, IMO. 3: GLORIA - LAURA BRANIGAN (2) - Great song! Not sure about the original by Umberto Tozzi, though - sounds like he's comparing her to a monkey. OPTIONAL EXTRA: YOUR LOVE IS DRIVING ME CRAZY - SAMMY HAGAR - Great song! Very likely my favorite solo hit from him. So he's in a new band now? When did he leave Van Halen, I wonder? 2: MICKEY - TONI BASIL (1) - I tell you what, this was one of my favorite songs back in the day and I'm wondering just what was I thinking? No, seriously, the song is still good to hear every now and then, but I woudn't want to hear it all the time. I noticed that they played a longer version than usual - both here and in the recap of last week's Top Three. 1: MANEATER - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (3) - Great song! This song put them in the lead for the duo with the most #1 hits. They'd retain that title for quite some time - not sure if they still have it or not.
Predictions for next week: Not applicable, as we all know what's going to be played over the next two weeks. It's still a little early to predict the first weekly show of 2013, so I'll post that in my commentary of the year-end 1987 show.
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Post by mellongraig on Dec 23, 2012 23:12:30 GMT -5
American Top 40 - The 80s - December 22, 2012
This week's presentation - December 18, 1982
Well, at least my backup prediction was correct. For a moment, I thought we weren't getting a regular 80s show considering how close it was to Christmas. But KOLA proved otherwise. At least this is a new show, so here's my commentary:
Droppers: I.G.Y. (WHAT A BEAUTIFUL WORLD) - DONALD FAIGEN (26) - Yes, I'm aware that this is not how his last name is spelled, but the censors would call it f*gen as we all know. Anyway, I like this too along with his hits (many of them) with Steely Dan. LOVE ME TOMORROW - CHICAGO (22) - Great song! Shame that this fell off, and even worse that this only got to #22. HEARTLIGHT - NEIL DIAMOND (17) - Ah, yes, 1982 is common for songs to drop off inside the Top 20. Good song, but there's other songs by him I like.
LW#2: GLORIA - LAURA BRANIGAN LW#1: MICKEY - TONI BASIL Surely I'll comment on those later on.
40: SHAME ON THE MOON - BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND (debut) - Wow, way up there at #40 this week on the Hot 100 and peaking at #2 for an entire month after being absent for most of 1982. This was a long awaited single and a lot of hype there as well. I thought this was a good song, though I prefer a few others. 39: ALLENTOWN - BILLY JOEL (debut) - Great song! Sadly, this message is still very timely today. 38: HEART OF THE NIGHT - JUICE NEWTON (debut) - I'm not sending this artist to her room, as this song's good. Still, I prefer her hits from late 1981 to her last hit prior to this one. 37: SHOCK THE MONKEY - PETER GABRIEL (39) - I agree with this by a critique member - definitely my favorite song from his solo hits. 36: LET'S GO DANCIN' - KOOL & THE GANG (OOH, LA, LA LA) - Pretty good song, but they've had other better songs. 35: WHAT ABOUT ME - MOVING PICTURES (36) - Good song even though it was annoying when it was on the charts. This reminds me of Elton John for this style of music. 34: A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS - TAVARES (34) - Usually a typical early 80s slow jam, but I enjoyed this song. LDD: JUST REMEMBER I LOVE YOU - FIREFALL - Great song, and definitely fit the dedication really well. 33: LOVE IN STORE - FLEETWOOD MAC (40) - Great song, but it's unfortunate that this has pretty much gone into obscurity. OPTIONAL EXTRA: EVERYBODY - MADONNA - Whoa, out of nowhere! I would never have guessed this since it didn't hit the Hot 100 (it may have hit the Bubbling Under, and #3 on the dance chart). Anyway, this was OK, but far from being her best song. 32: EVERYBODY WANTS YOU - BILLY SQUIER (33) - One of my favorites by him, as I think this song is great. 31: I DO - THE J. GEILS BAND (37) - Not bad, but the voices going falsetto can get annoying at times. 30: YOU GOT LUCKY - TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS (32) - While I still prefer a few others by them, this song is still a great one. 29: ON THE WINGS OF LOVE - JEFFREY OSBORNE (30) - Great song! Definitely my favorite by him! 28: BE MY LADY - JEFFERSON STARSHIP (28) - Though it's not quite my favorite from them, I love the steel guitar, bringing this up to a good song. 27: GOODY TWO SHOES - ADAM ANT (35) - Good song - another brief rockabilly comeback at this time. 26: HEART TO HEART - KENNY LOGGINS (31) - Great song! One of his best! EXTRA: COME SEE ABOUT ME - THE SUPREMES - I think I can recall this played on the 60s Archives back in March of this year when they showed AT40 from 1981, and it went to #1 back in 1964. But that's all I've got to say about this song for now. 25: HAND TO HOLD ON TO - JOHN COUGAR (29) - Good song, but I preferred "Hurts So Good" which went to #2. It's better than the annoying "Jack And Diane", but I understand it went to #1 and certain people like it (more power to you). 24: HEART ATTACK - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (16) - I liked this song, but I still preferred a few other hits by her. This was the first descending song on the countdown (but hey, this was 1982). 23: MISSING YOU - DAN FOGELBERG (23) - Good song, but his slower songs are better. 22: YOU CAN'T HURRY LOVE - PHIL COLLINS (24) - Great song - I like this better than the original version. OPTIONAL EXTRA: I KNOW THERE'S SOMETHING GOING ON - FRIDA - Good song. I do appreciate where they put it as Phil Collins did the drums on this one. 21: THE OTHER GUY - LITTLE RIVER BAND (27) - Great song, but I prefered a few others by them. 20: BABY, COME TO ME - PATTI AUSTIN WITH JAMES INGRAM (25) - Great song! The version I heard was slightly longer than it was on the single. 19: THE LOOK OF LOVE - ABC (20) - Good song, not sure whether I prefer this or "Poison Arrow". 18: YOU AND I - EDDIE RABBITT WITH CRYSTAL GAYLE (21) - Great song! This is definitely my favorite song by both country artists (and hit #1 on the country charts, too). 17: ROCK THE CASBAH - THE CLASH (19) - Great song! I question about whether if this was the album or the single one they play. 16: AFRICA - TOTO (18) - Great song, even though some people didn't like it to begin with. 15: UP WHERE WE BELONG - JOE Cocker & JENNIFER WARNES (12) - Good song, but it felt cheesy to me. Not sure whether I prefer this or the other one coming up when we hear the Top 100 of 1987 (as far as the latter is concerned). 14: HEARTBREAKER - DIONNE WARWICK (15) - Great song by her! Definitely my favorite. 13: SHADOWS OF THE NIGHT - PAT BENETAR (13) - JessieLou, are you there? I like your artist and this song too! 12: DOWN UNDER - MEN AT WORK (14) - Just like "Who Can It Be Now", this song is quite overplayed. It's still a good song, though (although I have never heard of vegemite myself). 11: IT'S RAINING AGAIN - SUPERTRAMP (11) - Great song! They went retro with this album (both songs sounded like 60s music). OPTIONAL EXTRA: DO YOU REALLY WANT TO HURT ME - CULTURE CLUB - As long as they play the one without the annoying whiny intro and the instrumental bridge, I am fine with that. Premiere did just that this time around. 10: MUSCLES - DIANA ROSS (10) - I don't mind this artist, but this is my least favorite song by her. 9: ROCK THIS TOWN - STRAY CATS (9) - Back to a great song - when rockabilly music made a comeback during this time period. 8: SEXUAL HEALING - MARVIN GAYE (8) - Not bad, but I prefer other songs by him. LDD: OUT HERE ON MY OWN - IRENE CARA - Great song, and it fit the dedication really well. 7: DIRTY LAUNDRY - DON HENLEY (7) - Another great song! Definitely my favorite one by him solo! 6: STEPPIN' OUT - JOE JACKSON (6) - Good song, but I prefered his 1979 hit and the 1983 hit after this (you know what they are). This top 10 was really tight this week (hey, since you know it was late 1982). 5: TRULY - LIONEL RICHIE (4) - Great song! I know some people hate it (I don't know why), but I like this one. 4: THE GIRL IS MINE - MICHAEL JACKSON & PAUL McCARTNEY (5) - The streak of great songs continues - definitely my favorite by them! 3: GLORIA - LAURA BRANIGAN (2) - Great song! I'm not sure of the original version, though. OPTIONAL EXTRA: YOUR LOVE IS DRIVING ME CRAZY - SAMMY HAGAR - Definitely my favorite song as far as him being solo! I question the new band too and ask the same thing. 2: MICKEY - TONI BASIL (1) - Unfortunately, the streak of great songs ends here, and you know what, I used to like this song. They also played a longer version this time around twice. Now I've dropped it down to a "listen in every now and then mode". However, I'll give credit to those who like the song (and since it hit #1, more power to you). 1: MANEATER - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (3) - This has got to be my favorite song from them - and glad it did, since it hit #1 this week.
Next two weeks are the 1987 year ender, so I'll be tuning in (sorry Hervard, but Walk Like An Egyptian is one of my favorite songs by The Bangles since it hit to #1. You know what you're going to say about that).
As far as predictions go for what we'll hear in the new year for regular shows, I'm not 100% positive on what we'll be hearing. I'll make my prediction when it gets closer to that point.
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