CT 40 12/30/89 (Number 1's of the '80's)

[woolebull]

I first heard this back on 12/31/89. I only remember hearing the top four songs or so and hearing it now, I have some questions/ observations:

1) I noticed on a few of the songs (particularly after "Rosanna" "Don't Talk To Strangers" and "Waiting For A Girl Like You") that Casey talked how these songs spent a different amount of weeks at the top of the Radio and Records charts. Did anyone else think the writers emphasized that the songs hit the top on the R and R charts to mark the difference between that chart and Billboard? I always thought it was funny in those first years how Casey always seemed to contradict himself when talking about songs like "The Rose", "Rosanna", etc. Obviously, he wasn't however to people who didn't follow the switching of the chart so closely but still listened to the show I'm sure there had to be some confusion. I would think so particularly with a song like "Waiting" in which he had spent seven years talking about it being the most prolific number two song ever, and then all of a sudden it was a number one smash and one of the top five songs of the decade.

2) Why just #1's? Would there have been any other songs to make it if you included all songs? Surely, CT knew AT wasn't doing a decade ending show. Maybe the Top 40 songs of the 80's were all number 1's on R and R, I'm just curious why the program was packaged the way it was.

[Hervard]

Using an inverse point system, the highest ranked song of the 1980s, according to the R&R charts, would be "Keep On Loving You" by REO Speedwagon. That song peaked at #2 (shut out of the top spot by "Woman" by John Lennon), and spent enough time on the charts to rank at #2 for the year. The top songs of the decade chart included four songs from each year and all the songs from 1981 (including "I Can't Go For That") spent many weeks at #1, and they were all obviously bigger than "Bette Davis Eyes", that would explain why they didn't include "Keep On Loving You". Other than that, I'm not sure if there were any other #2 songs that would come close to beating out any of the top songs of their respective year. Of course, being a #1 song had its advantages, since the producers of the show could give them any amount of bonus points that they wanted to.

You mentioned that Casey talked about these songs spending a different amount of weeks at the top of the R&R charts. Do you mean different from Billboard? Different than how long they really spent atop the R&R chart? Different from each other? Just curious?

[Deleted]

No, I do not think it was done to emphasize the difference but rather to give a backstory to what he was doing. If you don't give stats of why it ranked somewhere then why should I believe it belongs where you say it is especially if I'm one of the people who knew you were hosting a different show and using a different chart? As far as why all #1s, no idea. May have just sounded like the thing to do at the time to those responsible for creating the show. Again, I don't think there was some ulterior motive to why it was done that way.

[woolebull]

That's very interesting Hervard. I think that would most definitely explain why the show was only number 1's. Did they intentionally take the top four songs from each year and then rank the 40 songs or did it just so happen to work out that the 40 biggest number ones of the decade divided that evenly? I assume it would be the former and not the latter.

In regards to the other question, in the outro of "Don't Talk To Strangers" Casey said something like, "this song went to number one, according to the Radio and Record charts, in the Spring of 1982". To me, it could sound like he was trying to qualify it as a number one because it wasn't a number one song on the other chart he used to count down (I actually went back and listened, he did NOT do that for Rosanna...he did do it for some other songs that did not hit number one on the Billboard chart). I'm with Paul, there probably wasn't an ulterior motive...it is just really neat to hear songs like "Don't Talk To Strangers" on a countdown of number one hits, when everything in my mind says, "That ain't a number one hit". That's just the Billboard bias in me

[Deleted]

Yeah I would agree with the bias part only because that's the show we all know. Even most of us here in 89 still recognize AT40/Billboard as being the countdown king whether it was or not. So yeah it's a little odd to hear something contradict that. That bias for me ended on 11/30/91...and I never cared what the Hot 100 said from then on.

[woolebull]

Absolutely...11/30/91 R and R became my official chart. My mind switches from Billboard to R and R automatically on that date.

That was the interesting thing about hearing Casey count that particular show down because I was listening to that show at the same time I was listening to the 1986 year end countdown. When they got to "Higher Love" on the 1986 year end, Casey talked about how Steve Winwood had finally after years and years made it to the number one position. Compare that to the next day when "Roll With It" is on the R and R decade show and Casey mentions that Steve Winwood had had big number ones in the decade such as "While You See A Chance"... it still seems kinda strange.

[Hervard]

Jan 10, 2013 10:44:53 GMT -5 woolebull said:

That's very interesting Hervard. I think that would most definitely explain why the show was only number 1's. Did they intentionally take the top four songs from each year and then rank the 40 songs or did it just so happen to work out that the 40 biggest number ones of the decade divided that evenly? I assume it would be the former and not the latter.

I think they chose the top four songs of each year in terms of weeks at #1. This would explain why the #2 and #3 songs of 1989, both by Paula Abdul did not make the cut, since neither of them spent more than two weeks at #1. It also takes into consideration a song's chart life, which accounts for how Billy Ocean's #1 song of 1988 did not make it, since it spent only 13 weeks on the chart. However, what I don't get is how "Take On Me" by a-ha did not make the chart, as that song spent three weeks at #1 and 15 weeks on the chart. I'm thinking that maybe they put "We Are The World" on the chart instead - even though it only spent eleven weeks on the chart, it was one of the most important songs of the decade so, since it spent three weeks on top, they decided to include it. However, also absent from the list is "Can't Fight This Feeling" by REO Speedwagon, and that was the longest running #1 song of 1985, spending four weeks on top. Yet "Crazy For You" by Madonna is on the list, and that only spent two weeks at #1 - the only song on the list with less than three weeks on top. Of course, it was the #1 song of 1985 - I guess they didn't want to exclude more than one year-end chart topper from the list.

[mkarns]

Jan 10, 2013 17:26:42 GMT -5 Hervard said:

I'm thinking that maybe they put "We Are The World" on the chart instead - even though it only spent eleven weeks on the chart, it was one of the most important songs of the decade so, since it spent three weeks on top, they decided to include it.

Also it was an instantly memorable song for the introduction, which as I recall went something like "We are the World, which moved our souls, Endless Love, which moved our hearts, and Miss You Much, which moved our feet".

Like others here, I was somewhat confounded by the chart data when this was broadcast, as I was by then used to the Billboard data (had memorized all the #1's to that point) but didn't yet know of the Radio & Records data, so I wondered if something was wrong when songs like "Don't Talk to Strangers" were introduced as #1's. It wasn't, though I wouldn't be surprised to find that even Casey had to make some effort to get used to delivering the R&R data that often contradicted what he previously knew and had been telling listeners for years. Perhaps they had to do a lot of re-takes when recording the early shows due to Casey mixing up BB and R&R statistics.

[Deleted]

Well, I never heard the show then. Not so sure I've ever listened to it actually. I know I've listened to the Acts of the 80s show.

[woolebull]

Jan 10, 2013 17:44:45 GMT -5 mkarns said:

Jan 10, 2013 17:26:42 GMT -5 Hervard said:

I'm thinking that maybe they put "We Are The World" on the chart instead - even though it only spent eleven weeks on the chart, it was one of the most important songs of the decade so, since it spent three weeks on top, they decided to include it.

Also it was an instantly memorable song for the introduction, which as I recall went something like "We are the World, which moved our souls, Endless Love, which moved our hearts, and Miss You Much, which moved our feet".

Like others here, I was somewhat confounded by the chart data when this was broadcast, as I was by then used to the Billboard data (had memorized all the #1's to that point) but didn't yet know of the Radio & Records data, so I wondered if something was wrong when songs like "Don't Talk to Strangers" were introduced as #1's. It wasn't, though I wouldn't be surprised to find that even Casey had to make some effort to get used to delivering the R&R data that often contradicted what he previously knew and had been telling listeners for years. Perhaps they had to do a lot of re-takes when recording the early shows due to Casey mixing up BB and R&R statistics.

Great information hervard. It is interesting to try to figure out how they put the show together. Some of the songs on there really surprised me. "Faith" was somewhere in the first half of the show, and Casey said it was the first of three number ones from George Michael. I thought later would be the two Wham! songs. Not expecting "Father Figure" and "One More Try" in the top 11 of the 80's.

mkarns: my problem with CT 40 from the beginning was that it was Radio and Records chart data. I was only 16 at the time, but like you I had memorized the Billboard data so to hear him say "The Rose" by Bette Midler was a number one song every time it was played as a R and D took getting used to. I also had a problem of them using the exact same data Dees was. I rarely took the show seriously until November 30, 1991. I remember not liking the decade end show when it aired quite simply because it had "Open Arms" as the number two song of the 1980's. It wasn't that I'm not a Journey fan, my brain was just conditioned that it was the number two song...for six weeks in 1982.

Another thing that stuck out to me was that some of the songs that would have been way up on a decade end countdown if AT 40 did it were nowhere to be found on this show such as, "Billie Jean", "I Love Rock-n-Roll", "Centerfold", and, "Physical". Of course, only "Billie Jean", I believe was an actual number one song on the R-n-R chart, which would eliminate the other three from the beginning.

[Deleted]

Funny when talking about the late 80s double takes when you hear Casey refer to chart data other than what we all heard on AT40/BB all that time. Because for the 90s, especially 92 and 93 I do one when I hear an AT40 from then. The last time I remembered hearing it was the Top 100 of 1991. I didn't hear it again until I moved to the space coast and heard it on XL 106.7 in December 1993. So when I hear Shadoe referencing things it catches me off guard. Like I'm listening to the show right now from 1/9/93. He said "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough" peaked at #3. Well, that's been a #1 song ingrained in my head for over 20 years now. So, things like that seem foreign to me since they weren't using the Hot 100 any longer so I have no hard copy to look at. But it's kind of cool to hear the differences. But it further solidifies why R&R replaced them in my mind as the chart authority when it did.

[woolebull]

Yup...from 1989 until 1995 I always feel contradictions somewhere. Sometimes, it's listening to an AT 40 show and it doesn't match up with Billboard (which is obvious after 11/30/91, but still I have a big book of number ones that says this song hit the top and a Billboard radio show that says it did not) or the CT/AT countdowns that many times did not have the same songs, much less the same positions. It became easier for me after 1/28/95 because there is no AT show, and I wasn't paying attention to the Hot 100, so R and R (and of course Casey) was where I turned. The first half of the 90's however, it really is hard for me to say what song did what and for how long.

[torcan]

I certainly understand what you mean re. the early '90s charts - but for me, it's simple. I go by the Billboard Hot 100 at all times - so there's no confusion!

[Deleted]

I can't do that. It ceased to accurately reflect what I feel were actually the top songs in the country. If people really love a song and can't buy the single of it, how would that have reflected positively on a song on the Hot 100? I always have felt airplay and not sales for a few reasons is the best determination. But I also admit I've always been more of a radio listener then would necessarily go buy a cassette or cd. As to be honest, while I lend it credence and will refer to them as #1s or whatever their chart positions were, once audience impressions became the formula I don't think it does either.

[mstgator]

Jan 11, 2013 15:35:07 GMT -5 @paul said:

Funny when talking about the late 80s double takes when you hear Casey refer to chart data other than what we all heard on AT40/BB all that time. Because for the 90s, especially 92 and 93 I do one when I hear an AT40 from then. The last time I remembered hearing it was the Top 100 of 1991. I didn't hear it again until I moved to the space coast and heard it on XL 106.7 in December 1993. So when I hear Shadoe referencing things it catches me off guard. Like I'm listening to the show right now from 1/9/93. He said "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough" peaked at #3. Well, that's been a #1 song ingrained in my head for over 20 years now. So, things like that seem foreign to me since they weren't using the Hot 100 any longer so I have no hard copy to look at. But it's kind of cool to hear the differences. But it further solidifies why R&R replaced them in my mind as the chart authority when it did.

The flipside of that for me would be something like "Two Princes" by the Spin Doctors. I was still an AT40 listener in 1993 (and followed the Mainstream Top 40 chart BB printed at the time), so that to me was a #1 smash (seven weeks on top). Imagine my shock years later when I listened to CT40 shows from that time and the song peaked at #2!