Someone had to start it eventually.
And this was how it was exactly 20 years ago. Mark Elliott guest-hosted it, by the way.
12/9/89Droppers:
MISS YOU MUCH – JANET JACKSON - First single off of
Rhythm Nation 1814 and a much deserved #1 hit for Janet. Jam & Lewis on top of their game, and Janet showing how uptempo songs and love-longing can co-exist in peace and harmony.
BUST A MOVE – YOUNG MC - Classic! It hit #7 on
AT40. On
CT40, it only hit #16, showing how much Top 40 radio was still somehow reluctant in regards to rap music.
40: THE ANGEL SONG - GREAT WHITE - The power ballad era was still on. This was just another one to join the pile, not much more.
39: I’LL BE GOOD TO YOU – QUINCY JONES - A new entry this week. Q. brought Ray "Genius" Charles and Chaka Khan together, riding a New Jack Swing beat. And contrary to one would think, it actually worked very well!
38: FOOL FOR YOUR LOVING - WHITESNAKE - The formula of reworking songs from past albums under a more radio-ready production had worked wonders with "Here I Go Again", so it was only fitting that Mr. Coverdale would try and repeat the trick. This time, however, it didn't work so well, as this limped to the lower reaches of the Top 40. And quite rightly, I might add.
37: I REMEMBER YOU – SKID ROW - Another power ballad. Skid Row, although relative late-comers to the hair metal game, were arguably above average. This song, though, wasn't the best example of it.
36: SWING THE MOOD – JIVE BUNNY AND THE MASTER MIXERS - Fresh from hitting the penthouse in their native UK (and the upper reaches of the charts in most of Europe), they were about to repeat the trick across the pond. On
AT40, it was only one spot away from the Top 10. In here, it hit #26. As for its merits, those weren't exactly plentiful. Then again, it was a novelty song, and that's how it's supposed to be viewed.
35: LISTEN TO YOUR HEART – ROXETTE - Their second #1. Inoffensive, MOR-driven ballad.
34: POISON - ALICE COOPER - The song which signalled his comeback, and also showed how much the then-current crop of hair farmers owed to him. Still sounds good after all these years.
33: GET ON YOUR FEET – GLORIA ESTEFAN - In among the various insufferabilities she gave to the world, this wasn't one of the worst. It's an inane, fun dance song, and not much more.
32: TWO TO MAKE IT RIGHT - SEDUCTION - A mid-tempo freestyle track which became their biggest hit ever. Not much of a cop, I'm afraid.
31: FREE FALLING – TOM PETTY - I never listened to this song the same way ever since it soundtracked one of
Jerry Maguire's key scenes. Anyway, it's one of Tom Petty's best, for sure.
30: THE ARMS OF ORION – PRINCE WITH SHEENA EASTON - This one was quite out-of-the-box, even for the diminute genius of Minneapolis. Not that it was a bad thing; quite the contrary, in fact. Of course, being Prince and soundtracking the biggest Summer blockbuster of the year helped it crack the Top 40 in the first place.
29: LOVE SONG - TESLA - Their "sin" was to appear right in the middle of the hair metal era. Otherwise, people would have seen them for what they truly were: a classicist melodic hard rock band with considerable songwriting prowess. And in the clutter of generic power ballads, this one certainly stood out.
28: DON’T SHUT ME OUT – KEVIN PAIGE - Can't remember how it goes.
27: ROCK IN A HARD PLACE - THE ROLLING STONES - They were back! The first single off of
Steel Wheels, it was a harbinger of a quite good period for them (1989-1998).
26: DOWNTOWN TRAIN – ROD STEWART - The best thing this song did was to give Tom Waits a well-deserved financial security. Other than that, this doesn't even come close to Waits's pathos.
R&D: CANDLE IN THE WIND – ELTON JOHN - It's a classic, my friends.
25: I LIVE BY THE GROOVE – PAUL CARRACK - See #28
24: DON’T MAKE ME OVER - SYBIL - She'd later gain more fame as a dance diva. But this New Jack Swing cover of the Bacharach/David staple wasn't too shabby.
23: EVERYTHING – JODY WATLEY - Once again, it's New Jack Swing rearing its head. A quite pretty head, in this case.
22: OH FATHER - MADONNA - One of La Ciccone's most underrated songs ever.
21: THIS ONE’S FOR THE CHILDREN – NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK - Or one more proof that good feelings and good music can be estranged fellows.
20: WHEN THE NIGHT COMES - JOE Cocker - One of the last songs written by the Adams/Vallance team. It sounded like one, only with Joe Cocker singing. Forgettable.
19: DON’T CLOSE YOUR EYES - KIX - After years of grafting, they finally got their dues. With, you guessed it, a power ballad. That didn't do full justice to their relative talents. As a curiosity, some say to this day that Bret Michaels took, well, a few cues out of Kix frontman Steve Whiteman's stage act.
18: PUMP UP THE JAM – TECHNOTRONIC FEATURING FELLY - For many years, this song was dissed as mere kiddie-friendly house music. These days, not a lot of people argue with the notion of this one being a hip-house classic. And rightly so.
17: THE LAST WORTHLESS EVENING – DON HENLEY - Take the words "the", "last" and "evening" out of this song, and you'll get its best critical assessment ever.
16: LOVE SHACK – THE B-52’s - And mainstream success finally came to them. They might have had better in their catalog. But that doesn't take away from the sheer contagious quirkiness of this track.
15: HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LIVE WITHOUT YOU - MICHAEL BOLTON - Don't worry, Michael. We'll get by just fine. And you should too.
14: WHEN I SEE YOU SMILE – BAD ENGLISH - Corny, cliché and as tied to its era as spandex. And yet you just can't help but sing along to it. Thank you, Diane Warren, for unleashing such a guilty pleasure on the world and taking it to #1.
13: JUST LIKE JESSE JAMES - CHER - And here comes Warren again, together with Desmond Child to unleash another dose of clean, radio-ready fare. It did its job.
12: LEAVE A LIGHT ON - BELINDA CARLISLE - Missed the Top 10 on both countdowns by one notch, surely signaling her diminshing returns. It was passable.
11: JUST BETWEEN YOU AND ME - LOU GRAMM - His last Top 10 hit, either solo, with Foreigner or with the short-lived Shadow King. "Midnight Blue" was certainly much better.
10: LIVING IN SIN – BON JOVI - Do they even play this one live anymore? Another power ballad, for sure. And not one of their most memorabel, for sure too.
9: ANGELIA – RICHARD MARX - Or as some would say, "Hysteria, pt. 2".
And of course "Hysteria" was miles better.
8: RHYTHM NATION – JANET JACKSON - Another shot of goodness from Janet and Jam & Lewis.
7: BACK TO LIFE (HOWEVER DO YOU WANT ME) – SOUL II SOUL - Classic! This one still fills dancefloors to this day.
6: DON’T KNOW MUCH – LINDA RONSTADT & AARON NEVILLE - And quite frankly, we don't want to much more either.
5: WITH EVERY BEAT OF MY HEART – TAYLOR DAYNE - This freestyle/rock crossover doesn't register very much.
4: THE WAY THAT YOU LOVE ME – PAULA ABDUL - She had better during this era, although this was certainly passable.
3: BLAME IT ON THE RAIN - MILLI VANILLI - Diane Warren, you have your hands full this week! I said it here before: it's too easy to diss them these days. But get past the lip-synch affair and you'll see a great pop ballad.
2: WE DIDN’T START THE FIRE – BILLY JOEL - It's easy to diss list songs. And this one is certainly ripe for the taking. But fess up: this is one of your
really secret guilty pleasures.
1: ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE - PHIL COLLINS - I want to be cynical about this song. But I just can't. Doesn't mean I think it's good, anyway. But I can't be too critical of it either.
And of course "Hysteria" was miles better.
I even like "Fast Car" now.
