American Top 40: The 80s - October 5, 2013
This week's presentation - October 8, 1983
Dropped:
I'LL TUMBLE 4 YA - CULTURE CLUB (39) - Good song. Despite the three-month break between 1983 shows, we did hear this on the last one - as an Optional Extra.
LADY LOVE ME - GEORGE BENSON (36) - Good song, though I preferred a few of his more obscure hits. Before the end of Hour 3, he corrected a mistake he made about Benson a few weeks back, though I don't remember exactly what. I must have still been half asleep.
HUMAN TOUCH - RICK SPRINGFIELD (35) - We completely missed this one, but no big loss, as this was one of my least favorite songs by him.
LAWYERS IN LOVE - JACKSON BROWNE (29) - This was pretty good, though I prefer many others by him. This was another one of the Optional Extras on the last 1983 show.
TELL HER NO - JUICE NEWTON (27) - Good remake of the old Zombies hit, but not quite her best.
LW#1: TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART – BONNIE TYLER - wtf did this sound like again?
40: FOOLIN’ – DEF LEPPARD (debut) - Good song, but not quite their best.
39: CAN’T SHAKE LOOSE – AGNETHA FALTSKOG (debut) - Great song - the second solo member of Abba to hit the charts in 1983.
38: HEART AND SOUL – HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (debut) - Good song, but far from being my favorite from them.
37: DR. HECKYLL & MR. JIVE – MEN AT WORK (debut) - Good song, though I preferred the other two Cargo singles.
36: MODERN LOVE – DAVID BOWIE (40) - This song is OK, but I think you all know that I prefer his two 1983 singles. Despite the modest move this song made this week, it would make a gigantic, fourteen-spot jump the following week. Apparently either a fluke or vacuum effect, as the song only got eight spots higher.
35: WHAT AM I GONNA DO – ROD STEWART (35) - Great song! This one was regularly played on U93, so I remember this one quite well.
34: SHE WORKS HARD FOR THE MONEY – DONNA SUMMER (24) - This song was still hanging around?? Wow, I had no idea it had such a long chart run. Anyway, for some reason, I just never cared for this song.
33: IT MUST BE LOVE - MADNESS (34) - Good song, though I preferred "Our House". This was used in a commercial several years back, but I can't remember what product it was for.
32: UPTOWN GIRL – BILLY JOEL (debut) - Great song!
31: THIS TIME – BRYAN ADAMS (37) - Good song, though I prefer others by him. It is my favorite of his "Cuts Like A Knife" singles.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: BREAK MY STRIDE - MATTHEW WILDER - Great song! An 80s mix show essential!
30: KISS THE BRIDE – ELTON JOHN (25) - Good song, but not one of his best.
29: DON’T FORGET TO DANCE – THE KINKS (32) - Good song, but I preferred "Come Dancing". U93 also played this one, so I remember it quite well.
28: SITTING AT THE WHEEL – THE MOODY BLUES (31) - Ah, two English groups in a row who were big in the 1960s and made a comeback in the 80s. I liked this song, like most of their 80s hits.
27: DEAD GIVEAWAY - SHALAMAR (22) - Good song, though it doesn't hold a candle to "Second Time Around".
26: EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE – THE POLICE (20) - Definitely THE most overplayed song of the 1980s.
25: IF ANYONE FALLS – STEVIE NICKS (33) - Great song! This one was somewhat underrated, IMO.
LDD: MARTHA MY DEAR – THE BEATLES - This song was OK; I'd never heard it before. The writer of the dedication forgot to include a song, so Casey chose one, and it was indeed fitting, since the subject of the dedication happened to be Martha.
24: HUMAN NATURE – MICHAEL JACKSON (15) - Great song! One of my favorite songs from Thriller.
23: SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER – THE MOTELS (30) - Great song! This is pretty much in a tie for "Only The Lonely" as my favorite song by the Motels.
22: SWEET DREAMS – THE EURYTHMICS (16) - Like EBYT, this one is also overplayed, though not as much.
21: BIG LOG – ROBERT PLANT (26) - Good song. Possibly my favorite of his solo hits.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: MAJOR TOM (COMING HOME) - PETER SCHILLING - Good song. Some parts of this song remind me of the Moody Blues.
20: TONIGHT I CELEBRATE MY LOVE – PEABO BRYSON & ROBERTA FLACK (23) - Great song! I still prefer "You're Looking Like Love To Me".
19: DON’T CRY - ASIA (11) - Good song, though my least favorite of their four Top 40 hits.
18: PUTTIN’ ON THE RITZ - TACO (14) - Great song! Though the song was half a century old, it was remade very nicely to not sound too out of place for the 80s.
17: DELIRIOUS - PRINCE (21) - I was asleep during this song, and that's alright with me, since I've never liked this song.
16: TELEFONE (LONG DISTANCE LOVE AFFAIR) – SHEENA EASTON (19) - I woke up during this song, which is cool, because I like it. Possibly my favorite of her upbeat hits.
15: BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE – TALKING HEADS (18) - No. Just no.
14: ALL NIGHT LONG (ALL NIGHT) – LIONEL RICHIE (28) - I never liked this song either. I must find it boring, since I went back to sleep soon after this started.
13: MANIAC – MICHAEL SEMBELLO (8) - Great song. Too bad his follow-up "Automatic Man" didn't stay around long.
12: HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LIVE WITHOUT YOU – LAURA BRANIGAN (13) - Good song, but I preferred Michael Bolton's version.
LDD: WHEN I NEED YOU – LEO SAYER - Great song, and indeed fitting for the dedication.
11: PROMISES, PROMISES – NAKED EYES (12) - Great song! My favorite of their two 1983 hits.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD - PAT BENATAR - It's okies, but not my favorite by her. I wonder how this would have sounded as a ballad, which it was at first.
10: FAR FROM OVER – FRANK STALLONE (10) - Great song! This one kicked off the AT40 1983 year-ender.
9: ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER – THE FIXX (17) - Meh, not a fan of this one. Easily their most overplayed song.
8: THE SAFETY DANCE – MEN WITHOUT HATS (3) - Great song, as long as it's the single version, which it almost always was on AT40.
7: TELL HER ABOUT IT – BILLY JOEL (2) - Another song that was sort of tarnished by overplay, not that it was one of my favorites by him in the first place. I preferred the 1984 songs from Innocent Man.
6: ISLANDS IN THE STREAM – KENNY ROGERS DUET WITH DOLLY PARTON (8) - Not a fan of this one, though I do like it a little better now that I don't hear it every blessed time I turn on my radio. Still, I prefer many songs by both artists.
5: (SHE’S) SEXY + 17 – THE STRAY CATS (5) - Meh, I wasn't a big fan of this song. My least favorite of their Top 40 hits.
4: TRUE – SPANDAU BALLET (7) - Good song, though I didn't care for it back in the day.
3: KING OF PAIN – THE POLICE (6) - Great song! I definitely prefer this to their other song on the countdown.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: P.Y.T. (PRETTY YOUNG THING) - MICHAEL JACKSON - This was OK, but not one of his best by any means. Earlier in the show, going into "Human Nature", Casey mentioned that this song was debuting on the Hot 100 and it would likely become his sixth Top 40 hit - making him the first to have six Top 40 hits from one album (of course, he'd beat his own record in early 1984, when "Thriller" was released as a single.
2: MAKING LOVE OUT OF NOTHING AT ALL – AIR SUPPLY (4) - Great song! Too bad it was their last Top Ten hit.
1: TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART – BONNIE TYLER (1) - Great song! Casey mentioned that this was the first time that the Top Two songs were written and produced by the same person.
Predictions for next week: Well, it was three months ago that we last heard a 1983 show, and it's also been that long since the last 1980 show, so I'll predict October 11, 1983 for next week. October 10, 1987 is my back-up prediction, but I have a hunch that they'll do 1980 next week.