October 1982 -- Slow WAY down...change is coming

As I alluded to with my last 1982 write-up, this was a time when change was clearly coming...MTV had launched, and songs were beginning to chart that would define what many people think of MTV 80's music...but those songs were still in the clear minority as the charts still had plenty of  yacht rock, country crossover, and just plain old adult contemporary.

First notes are for a few veteran artists at the end... Crosby, Stills, and Nash, and the Who both had their last top 40 hits.  America (like CSN) was on a resurgence, and they only hit the top 40 one more time, way down in the 30's.  Santana had their last top 40 hit...at least for the next 17 years when they came back with a vengeance.  Neil Diamond would go on to peak at #5 with his "E.T." inspired hit, but that would be his last hit to make even the top 30.

A couple artists had breakthroughs -- John Cougar posted two song, which ended up being his biggest 2 hits of his career, though he was a steady hit maker for another 10 years.  Alan Parsons finally made the top 10.  Lionel Richie was heading for #1 with his first solo hit.

Some lulls were going on -- Kool and the Gang, Linda Ronstadt, and Billy Joel, all of whom had seen much bigger success and would return for more in their next albums.  Air Supply had their first legit flop, after 7 consecutive top 5.  They had one more monster hit coming in a year.

They were among a great many light-rock and other super slow (Newton, Murphey, Cocker) songs throughout the charts which fit well with the post-disco era, but sprinkled in were the MTV favorites -- first hits ever by the Stray Cats, Toni Basil, Flock of Seagulls, poised to hit #1... Men at Work!  All would be overcome by the veterans rush of 1984 (plus Prince, Cyndi and Madonna.) but for now...what a contrast between #9 and #8!

Chart note:  since the last 1982 countdown, Steve Miller was displaced at #1 by Chicago, which had been held at #5 for 4 weeks, an extraordinarily low position to stall for so long and yet to hit #1.  Abracadabra then returned to #1, earning it a place on the top 100 songs of all time according to Billboard, along with Hurts So Good..

Favorites:  Pressure, Truly, Hold On, Gloria (4-star).  Hard to Say I'm Sorry, I Ran (5)-- and the winner is... flock of seagulls!


 1 1 JACK AND DIANE –•– John Cougar (Riva)-14 (4 weeks at #1) (1)

2 2 WHO CAN IT BE NOW –•– Men At Work (Columbia)-16 (2)
3 3 EYE IN THE SKY –•– The Alan Parsons Project (Arista)-17 (3)
4 6 I KEEP FORGETTIN’ (Every Time You’re Near) –•– Michael McDonald (Warner Brothers)-12 (4)
5 11 UP WHERE WE BELONG –•– Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes (Island)-10 (5)
6 9 HEART ATTACK –•– Olivia Newton-John (MCA)-8 (6)
7 7 SOMEBODY’S BABY –•– Jackson Browne (Asylum)-13 (7)
8 8 YOU CAN DO MAGIC –•– America (Capitol)-13 (8)
9 10 I RAN (So Far Away) –•– A Flock Of Seagulls (Jive)-16 (9)
10 5 ABRACADABRA –•– The Steve Miller Band (Capitol)-22 (1)

11 13 BREAK IT TO ME GENTLY –•– Juice Newton (Capitol)-10 (11)
12 15 GYPSY –•– Fleetwood Mac (Warner Brothers)-8 (12)
13 18 HEARTLIGHT –•– Neil Diamond (Columbia)-7 (13)
14 17 GLORIA –•– Laura Branigan (Atlantic)-16 (14)
15 16 HOLD ON –•– Santana (Columbia)-11 (15)
16 4 HARD TO SAY I’M SORRY –•– Chicago (Full Moon)-21 (1)
17 20 DON’T FIGHT IT –•– Kenny Loggins with Steve Perry (Columbia)-9 (17)
18 14 EYE OF THE TIGER –•– Survivor (Scotti Brothers)-21 (1)
19 19 WHAT’S FOREVER FOR –•– Michael Murphy (Liberty)-14 (19)
20 22 THE ONE YOU LOVE –•– Glenn Frey (Asylum)-10 (20)

21 21 BIG FUN –•– Kool and the Gang (De-Lite)-9 (21)
22 30 LOVE COME DOWN –•– Evelyn King (RCA)-9 (22)
23 27 NEW WORLD MAN –•– Rush (Mercuery)-6 (23)
24 26 YOU DON’T WANT ME ANYMORE –•– Steel Breeze (RCA)-9 (24)
25 25 NOBODY –•– Sylvia (RCA)-9 (25)
26 28 SWEET TIME –•– REO Speedwagon (Epic)-9 (26)
27 34 AMERICAN HEARTBEAT –•– Survivor (Scotti Brothers)-5 (27)
28 32 SOUTHERN CROSS –•– Crosby, Stills and Nash (Atlantic)-6 (28)
29 40 MUSCLES –•– Diana Ross (RCA)-4 (29)
30 33 ATHENA –•– The Who (Warner Brothers)-8 (30)

31 31 YOU DROPPED A BOMB ON ME –•– The Gap Band (Total Experience)-11 (31)
32 35 STEPPIN’ OUT –•– Joe Jackson (A&M)-10 (32)
33 37 PRESSURE –•– Billy Joel (Columbia)-5 (33)
34 38 MICKEY –•– Toni Basil (Chrysalis)-8 (34)
35 36 I GET EXCITED –•– Rick Springfield (RCA)-7 (35)
36 50 TRULY –•– Lionel Richie (Motown)-3 (36)
37 42 LOVE ME TOMORROW –•– Chicago (Full Moon)-5 (37)
38 41 YOUNG LOVE –•– Air Supply (Arista)-6 (38)
39 43 ROCK THIS TOWN –•– The Stray Cats (EMI-America)-6 (39)
40 47 GET CLOSER –•– Linda Ronstadt (Asylum)-4 (40)

October 1974 -- excellent music pushing others down the charts

I got to hear virtually the whole countdown today, and it was a very fun eclectic mix as usual -- early 70's folk and singer-songwriters are still performing well, lots of R&B classics, some funk, bits of country.

The bottom half had lots of songs you'll never hear on 70's-themed radio as they'll focus on the more popular songs by Steppenwolf, the Raspberries, Brownsville Station, Earth Wind and Fire, or Kool and the Gang.  With the last two, they were still getting established, and Casey would never have known they'd each have another 10 years of big hits.

The other big repeated theme was the revolving door of #1s in 1974 -- Preston had the 27th #1 of the year.  And not only did more one-week #1's keep coming in the next few weeks, they were falling from #1 further than any songs previously.  Next week Preston would be at #15, which is still the all-time record for plummet from #1!  Warwick, Wonder, and Lennon would all do the same -- get to #1 then plummet out of the top 10.  Then, just as suddenly it stopped.

The site I get the top 40's from has an explanation: 

Favorites:  Carefree Highway, When Will I see you Again, and the lone 5-star song, "I honestly love you"

1 2 NOTHING FROM NOTHING –•– Billy Preston (A&M)-15 (1 week at #1) (1)
2 3 THEN CAME YOU –•– Dionne Warwick and the Spinners (Atlantic)-13 (2)
3 5 YOU HAVEN’T DONE NOTHIN’ –•– Stevie Wonder (Tamla)-12 (3)
4 1 I HONESTLY LOVE YOU –•– Olivia Newton-John (MCA)-10 (1)
5 15 JAZZMAN –•– Carole King (Ode)-8 (5)
6 7 THE BITCH IS BACK –•– Elton John (MCA)-7 (6)
7 8 NEVER MY LOVE –•– Blue Swede (EMI)-9 (7)
8 10 CAN’T GET ENOUGH –•– Bad Company (Swan Song)-10 (8)
9 11 STEPPIN’ OUT (Gonna Boogie Tonight) –•– Tony Orlando and Dawn (Bell)-9 (9)
10 17 LOVE ME FOR A REASON –•– The Osmonds (MGM)-8 (10)

11 12 STOP AND SMELL THE ROSES –•– Mac Davis (Columbia)-9 (11)
12 14 YOU LITTLE TRUSTMAKER –•– The Tymes (RCA)-10 (12)
13 13 SKIN TIGHT –•– The Ohio Players (Mercury)-7 (13)
14 16 DO IT BABY –•– The Miracles (Tamla)-9 (14)
15 19 SWEET HOME ALABAMA –•– Lynyrd Skynyrd (MCA)-13 (9)
16 20 TIN MAN –•– America (Warner Brothers)-9 (16)
17 22 YOU AIN’T SEEN NOTHING YET / FREE WHEELIN’ –•– Bachman-Turner Overdrive (Mercury)-5 (17)
18 24 WHATEVER GETS YOU THRU THE NIGHT –•– John Lennon with the Plastic Ono Nuclear Band (Apple)-4 (18)
19 23 BACK HOME AGAIN –•– John Denver (RCA)-5 (19)
20 26 GIVE IT TO THE PEOPLE –•– The Righteous Brothers (Haven)-7 (20)

21 25 LIFE IS A ROCK (But the Radio Rolled Me) –•– Reunion (RCA)-7 (21)
22 28 CAREFREE HIGHWAY –•– Gordon Lightfoot (Reprise)-7 (22)
23 9 EARACHE MY EYE (Featuring Alice Bowie) –•– Cheech and Chong (Ode)-11 (9)
24 30 DO IT (‘Til You’re Satisfied) –•– B.T. Express (Scepter)-4 (24)
25 6 ANOTHER SATURDAY NIGHT –•– Cat Stevens (A&M)-12 (6)
26 4 BEACH BABY –•– First Class (UK)-14 (4)
27 33 MY MELODY OF LOVE –•– Bobby Vinton (ABC)-5 (27)
28 34 THE NEED TO BE –•– Jim Weatherly (Buddah)-6 (28)
29 29 STRAIGHT SHOOTIN’ WOMAN –•– Steppenwolf (Mums)-7 (29)
30 36 OVERNIGHT SENSATION (Hit Record) –•– The Raspberries (Capitol)-6 (30)

31 31 KINGS OF THE PARTY –•– Brownsville Station (Big Tree)-8 (31)
32 38 EVERLASTING LOVE –•– Carl Carlton (Back Beat)-5 (32)
33 35 DEVOTION –•– Earth, Wind and Fire (Columbia)-4 (33)
34 40 HONEY HONEY –•– Abba (Atlantic)-6 (34)
35 18 CLAP FOR THE WOLFMAN –•– The Guess Who (RCA)-14 (6)
36 46 I’VE GOT THE MUSIC IN ME –•– The Kiki Dee Band (Rocket)-6 (36)
37 37 HIGHER PLANE –•– Kool and the Gang (De-Lite)-7 (37)
38 45 SECOND AVENUE –•– Garfunkel (Columbia)-5 (38)
39 48 LONGFELLOW SERENADE –•– Neil Diamond (Columbia)-3 (39)
40 72 WHEN WILL I SEE YOU AGAIN –•– The Three Degrees (Philadelphia International)-4 (40)

October 1989 -- Wait, I like some of these...

As much as I've ragged on music from the late 80's, I do remember having one mix tape from 1989 that both reflected what was on the radio at the time and yet I also liked it virtually top to bottom.  It must've been from this month, since mixed in with the truly awful were lead singles from big albums that fired up music at the end of the 80's.

Girl groups were doing well, and this week my favorites by Expose, Seduction, and Cover Girls all charted.  I was definitely hit or miss with big-hair rock, but among my favorites in the genre were "18 and Life," "Dr Feelgood" and Aerosmith.

A few veterans had their biggest hits of the era -- Rolling Stones, Cher-- or even their career -- the Cure, the B-52's, even Alice Cooper...and I liked them all!  Some vets had perfectly decent songs, even if they weren't iconic (Tina Turner, Starship)

Some artists were in the middle of long, long runs from the same album, to mixed results (Bobby Brown (OK), Milli Vanilli  & Madonna (good), Abdul (bad), Marx (awful), New Kids (OK and horrible).

Two legit rap records were on the charts, the pop-friendly Bust a Move, and the least pop friendly song of the decade of "Me So Horny" which led to some changes in how American Top 40 and others introduced and played songs.  

And at #1, leading her huge run of hits from Rhythm Nation, Janet Jackson.  

Favorites:  

(4-star) Aerosmith, Poco, Rolling Stones, Motley Crue, the Cure, Seduction, "Girl...you know" 

(5-star) Listen to your Heart, When I looked at him -- winner:  Expose!

1 1 MISS YOU MUCH –•– Janet Jackson – 8 (1)
2 4 LOVE SONG –•– The Cure – 11 (2)
3 6 SOWING THE SEEDS OF LOVE –•– Tears For Fears – 8 (3)
4 9 LISTEN TO YOUR HEART –•– Roxette – 9 (4)
5 5 MIXED EMOTIONS –•– Rolling Stones – 8 (5)
6 15 COVER GIRL –•– New Kids On The Block – 6 (6)
7 11 LOVE IN AN ELEVATOR –•– Aerosmith – 8 (7)
8 10 IT’S NO CRIME –•– Babyface – 11 (8)
9 7 BUST A MOVE –•– Young M.C. – 13 (7)
10 13 WHEN I LOOKED AT HIM –•– Expose – 10 (10)

11 14 DR. FEELGOOD –•– Motley Crue – 8 (11)
12 2 CHERISH –•– Madonna – 10 (2)
13 17 ROCK WIT’CHA –•– Bobby Brown – 9 (13)
14 3 GIRL I’M GONNA MISS YOU –•– Milli Vanilli – 12 (1)
15 22 WHEN I SEE YOU SMILE –•– Bad English – 6 (15)
16 18 HEALING HANDS –•– Elton John – 9 (16)
17 8 HEAVEN –•– Warrant – 14 (2)
18 12 IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME –•– Cher – 16 (3)
19 21 THE BEST –•– Tina Turner – 8 (19)
20 25 DIDN’T I (BLOW YOUR MIND) –•– New Kids On The Block – 6 (20)

21 26 LOVE SHACK –•– The B-52’s – 8 (21)
22 29 (IT’S JUST) THE WAY THAT YOU LOVE ME –•– Paula Abdul – 10 (22)
23 27 CALL IT LOVE –•– Poco – 9 (23)
24 16 IT’S NOT ENOUGH –•– Starship – 12 (12)
25 30 I FEEL THE EARTH MOVE –•– Martika – 8 (25)
26 41 ANGELIA –•– Richard Marx – 3 (26)
27 35 POISON –•– Alice Cooper – 5 (27)
28 38 BACK TO LIFE –•– Soul II Soul Featuring Caron Wheeler – 5 (28)
29 46 BLAME IT ON THE RAIN –•– Milli Vanilli – 3 (29)
30 19 18 AND LIFE –•– Skid Row – 16 (4)

31 33 GLAMOUR BOYS –•– Living Colour – 9 (31)
32 40 SUNSHINE –•– Dino – 7 (32)
33 37 DON’T SHUT ME OUT –•– Kevin Paige – 10 (33)
34 34 LET GO –•– Sharon Bryant – 10 (34)
35 42 GET ON YOUR FEET –•– Gloria Estefan – 4 (35)
36 24 YOU’RE MY ONE AND ONLY (TRUE LOVE) –•– Seduction – 16 (23)
37 48 ME SO HORNY –•– 2 Live Crew – 7 (37)
38 49 DON’T CLOSE YOUR EYES –•– Kix – 7 (38)
39 45 MY HEART SKIPS A BEAT –•– Cover Girls – 7 (39)

40 58 WE DIDN’T START THE FIRE –•– Billy Joel – 2 (40) 

Worst #1's of the 80's

Having now had a year to listen to countdowns from the 70's and 80's on Sirius XM, it's time to join some of the debates about best and worst songs.  I'll start with the easiest one to do...worst #1's of the 1980's.  It's easy because I give all my iTunes songs ratings, I'm only missing a couple 80's #1's in my collection, and only 11 #1's qualified for the lowest 1-star rating.  Just missing the cut-off was Bon Jovi's boring, overly earnest, way too slow, cliche-fest "I'll Be There for You."

I don't mind some cheese, some Yacht Rock, some country, or some disco, so the early 80's were largely safe.  Indeed, of the 77 #1's from the 80's I rated 2-star or below, a whopping 67 are from 1986 or later.  That's a lot of "meh" in 4 years.  I also don't ordinarily hold an artists' otherwise good choices against them when they put out an obviously commercial record (Bob Segar, Starship).  But I have a low toleration for songs that whine or are too slow, especially if it's a remake, and especially (it seems) if it's in a movie!

So, here they are:

10.  Kokomo (from "Cocktail") - The Beach Boys (1988)

Not the worst song ever, but just flat-out annoying.  It's made worse by being so catchy, and if it were just the chorus, it would be off this list.  But the verses have lots of phrases like "off the Florida Keys" that simply seem off-key to me and totally grate.  Given the caliber of the band, it hurts even more.  They had more top 40 hits in the 80's than you can name (5!), and this was the worst by far.

9.  Rock On (from "Dream a Little Dream") - Michael Damien

Here's one of two suffering from mis-placed bravado.  Take a singer with a serious lack of talent or originality, give him a classic 70's song, and have him plod his way through it, and how did this boring song even make the top 20?  It didn't even come from a hit movie.  It's not as embarrassing as the teeny boppers, but for sheer inexplicability combined with awfulness, it makes the list.

8.  If You Don't Know Me By Now - Simply Red (1989)

Just shoot me now.  Beautiful R&B ballad from the 70's that was awfully slow then.  During the pouring molasses period of the late 80's, this fit right in.  Here the verses have some energy and life, but the chorus is painful.  And when a song has an element about time and waiting in it, making the song itself REALLY slow only amplifies the effect!  Oh, and I hate it when artists sing around the tempo of the song and scrunch lots of words into one beat "when I come home a little late at night" (yes, Gloria Estefan!)

7.  Lean On Me - Club Nouveau (1987)

Yet another remake, another disaster.  Bill Withers' version is beautiful and moving.  Put it to a techno-reggae beat, add some out of place "We be jammin"'s, and you have a trainwreck of mixed styles and songs that don't match their tunes.  Terrible.

6.  Groovy Kind Of Love (from "Buster") - Phil Collins (1988)

The most boring #1 of the 80's...Phil was on a long run of hits, most of which I love, and some of his later songs sounded like retreads through a machine (Something Happened on the Way to Heaven...the Cliche song), but this was terrible.  It utterly plodded along in a remake of a fairly upbeat song.  The title featured a fun word, and the original was fun, but when you look up the phrase "suck the life out of" on wikipedia, this record jacket should appear.

5.  I Think We're Alone Now - Tiffany (1987)

Debbie Gibson's songs aren't far off this list, and Tiffany's other #1 I can live with "Could've Been," as it was an earnest, original teen ballad.  But in general, the teen queen trend was yet another of the reasons late 80's music was so bad.   Remaking a classic, giving it a ridiculous little drum line, and then the half-growl on "night" -- ugh!  "I Saw Him Standing There" is even worse, but that's another list.

4.  Take My Breath Away (from "Top Gun") - Berlin (1986)

Simple enough...I'd always wished someone would have taken her breath away!  It starts off with an off-key series of notes and goes downhill.  "Watching in slow motion" through this glacial ballad is near torture.  It's the earliest song on this list, and one of MANY movie songs (my only explanation for why they hit #1!)...speaking of...

3.  Batdance (from "Batman")- Prince (1989)

By the end of the 80's and the end of my buying of singles, Prince was by far the biggest artist of the 80's that I'd never purchased ANYTHING by...no CDs, no albums, no singles.  But I recognized his genius, even when I didn't like the songs ("Purple Rain").  This late-80's monstrosity is the exception -- I don't get this one at all, even with the connection to the movie.  It's a mess, changing every minute.  It would've been a 2-star instrumental, but splicing in the weird spoken parts, it's terrible!

2.  Red Red W(h)ine - UB40 (1983 & 1988)

This song was so bad that they released it twice.  Caught up in a bizarre trend of older songs returning to the radio (even after the bands had broken up), this one was at least by a still-existing band (who even went on to another #1).  It was even written by Neil Diamond, whom I generally like (but who's live recording of this song is unlistenable).  The original in 1983 was a plodding, whiny song.  The remake added a rap interlude, and it was a terrible mess.

And at #1...

1.  Hangin' Tough - New Kids On The Block (1989)

The 80's music scene came to a wicked crash in 1989.  Milli Vanilli faked their way to #1, Paula Abdul was making money for singing, and a bunch of teenagers were having #1s, led by this monstrosity that clearly was not aimed at my demographic as a male college student.  Still, this song with the whistles and other stunts, plus utterly mis-placed bravado make this an embarrassment.  A terrible song -- the worst of the 80's!

October 1973 -- Big stars and lots of families

I got to hear the whole countdown this week from October 1973.

It started off interesting with the debut of the first posthumous hit by Jim Croce, who died just a few weeks earlier.  Casey acknowledged this.

What Casey didn't know was that two first-time American groups would become among the most popular of the 80's...the Pointer Sisters and Kool and the Gang.  The sound of both developed a lot over time, especially the Pointers.

Lots of past or future #1's on the countdown this week, including one each by Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye, who debuted with a duet.  Roberta Flack debuted with a song which broke her streak of #1's and Grammy winners, when "Jesse" only hit #30.

He told the story of how the DeFranco family was first featured in teen fan magazines before releasing a single.  It ended up being their only top 10, and they were off the charts for good one year later.  Another family band the Osmonds, were almost at the end of their hit making, but little sister Marie was cruising up to #5 with her eventual #1 hit on the country chart, becoming the youngest female to do so.  Hard to believe she's still widely famous 45 years later!

But then again, this was a chart full of famous people, despite no Beatles or Elvis.  In this classics-filled countdown, I was surprised to find Bob Dylan's and the Doobie Brothers songs missed the top 10, as did future Eagle Joe Walsh.

The hit R&B ballad "Love Jones" was parodied by Cheech and Chong, and it was awfully funny!

Another odd charter was "Why Me" by Kris Kristofferson who would eventually hit #16, despite falling this week and one other time.  19 weeks in the top 40 in the end, 38 on the Hot 100, with one of the most explicit Christian songs I remember ever hearing on the chart.  It ended being the #2 song of the year!

And you would think the Allman Brothers would've hit #1, having burst to #2 so quickly and abruptly, but it fell the very next week and never hit #1.  And what Casey didn't know is that Cher would be married to Greg Allman in a couple years...

Favorite:  All I Know

 1 1 HALF-BREED –•– Cher (MCA)-11 (2 weeks at #1)
2 7 RAMBLIN MAN –•– The Allman Brothers Band (Capricorn)-8
3 3 LET’S GET IT ON –•– Marvin Gaye (Tamla)-14
4 5 HIGHER GROUND –•– Stevie Wonder (Tamla)-9
5 8 ANGIE –•– The Rolling Stones (Rolling Stones)-6
6 6 THAT LADY (Part 1) –•– The Isley Brothers (T-Neck)-14
7 2 LOVES ME LIKE A ROCK –•– Paul Simon (with the Dixie Hummingbirds) (Columbia)-11
8 11 MIDNIGHT TRAIN TO GEORGIA –•– Gladys Knight and the Pips (Buddah)-7
9 10 KEEP ON TRUCKIN’ (Part 1) –•– Eddie Kendricks (Tamla)-8
10 4 WE’RE AN AMERICAN BAND –•– Grand Funk (Capitol)-12

11 14 YES WE CAN CAN –•– The Pointer Sisters (Blue Thumb)-9
12 23 HEARTBEAT-IT’S A LOVEBEAT –•– The DeFranco Family Featuring Tony DeFranco (20th Century)-6
13 25 PAPER ROSES –•– Marie Osmond (MGM / Kolob)-5
14 17 FREE RIDE –•– The Edgar Winter Group (Epic)-10
15 15 CHINA GROVE –•– The Doobie Brothers (Warner Brothers)-9
16 12 MY MARIA –•– B.W. Stevenson (RCA)-12
17 20 BASKETBALL JONES FEATURING TYRONE SHOELACES –•– Cheech and Chong (Ode)-6
18 9 DELTA DAWN –•– Helen Reddy (Capitol)-17
19 29 ALL I KNOW –•– Garfunkel (Columbia)-5
20 26 KNOCKIN’ ON HEAVEN’S DOOR –•– Bob Dylan (Columbia)-7

21 13 SAY, HAS ANYBODY SEEN MY SWEET GYSPY ROSE –•– Dawn Featuring Tony Orlando (Bell)-14
22 16 BROTHER LOUIE –•– The Stories (Kama Sutra)-17
23 21 WHY ME –•– Kris Kristofferson (Monument)-28
24 30 ROCKY MOUNTAIN WAY –•– Joe Walsh (Dunhill)-10
25 18 TOUCH ME IN THE MORNING –•– Diana Ross (Motown)-20
26 42 SPACE RACE –•– Billy Preston (A&M)-4
27 22 YOU’VE NEVER BEEN THIS FAR BEFORE –•– Conway Twitty (MCA)-10
28 28 GET IT TOGETHER –•– Jackson 5 (Motown)-7
29 34 HURTS SO GOOD –•– Millie Jackson (Spring)-6
30 31 IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR –•– Cross Country (Atco)-9

31 41 WE MAY NEVER PASS THIS WAY (Again) –•– Seals and Crofts (Warner Brothers)-4
32 40 FUNKY STUFF –•– Kool and the Gang (De-Lite)-6
33 39 SUMMER (The First Time) –•– Bobby Goldsboro (United Artists)-8
34 45 ECSTASY –•– The Ohio Players (Westbound)-10
35 66 YOU’RE A SPECIAL PART OF ME –•– Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye (Motown)-2
36 38 LET ME IN –•– The Osmonds (MGM / Kolob)-6
37 19 THEME FROM “CLEOPATRA JONES” –•– Joe Simon Featuring the Mainstreeters (Spring)-12
38 44 JESSE –•– Roberta Flack (Atlantic)-4
39 33 JIMMY LOVES MARY-ANNE –•– Looking Glass (Epic)-13
40 76 I GOT A NAME –•– Jim Croce (ABC)-

October 1984 -- last blasts and new beginnings -- Wham!

Back to 1984 this week and the interesting nexus between early-80's pop, emerging superstar artists, and as usual for this year, a very large number of veterans.

One veteran with his last top 40 hit was Kenny Rogers, who with "What About Me" had the most popular song by three independent artists in the 80's, and also brought to an end the country-influenced pop/AC that had peaked in 1981.

Also fading out are Laura Branigan (her last top 20), Rick Springfield (ditto), Diana Ross (one big hit after this), Donna Summer (ditto).  Hall and Oates and Sheena Easton are on the wane, but both have substantial hits for a few more years.  Huey Lewis and Prince are well in-stride.

First-timers are well-represented by iconic one-hit wonders Scandal and Shiela E, plus Bananarama (3 top 10's), Billy Ocean (3 #1's), and most of all, Wham! who dominated the charts through the rest of the decade.  Madonna and Cyndi Lauper are still on their first albums, Madonna with her first top 5!

Another trend that was emerging was big-hair rock bands (Def Leppard and Van Halen scored earlier in the year), but this week at least is quite a lull, with only Night Ranger charting.  The quirky 1983-4 music is also almost unrepresented, with only the Fixx on the chart.  

The rest was serious, long-term veterans from the early 70's and even before:  David Bowie, Rod Stewart, Tina Turner (2x), the Jacksons, Pointer Sisters, Barry Gibb, Diana Ross, Lionel Richie, Brice Springsteen, Lindsey Buckingham, Chicago....and at #1, 20 years after his first #1, Stevie Wonder!

While that one wasn't a favorite, this week had 3 5-star songs:  Sheila E, Bananarama, and my favorite (which was also a favorite from 1982...re-released in 1984)... "I'm so Excited"

1 2 I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU –•– Stevie Wonder (Motown)-9 (1 Week at #1) (1)
2 1 LET’S GO CRAZY –•– Prince & The Revolution (Warner Brothers)-11 (1)
3 3 DRIVE –•– The Cars (Elektra)-11 (3)
4 6 HARD HABIT TO BREAK –•– Chicago (Full Moon / Warner Brothers)-11 (4)
5 8 LUCKY STAR –•– Madonna (Sire)-8 (5)
6 11 CARIBBEAN QUEEN (No More Love On The Run) –•– Billy Ocean (Jive)-10 (6)
7 4 MISSING YOU –•– John Waite (EMI-America)-17 (1)
8 10 COVER ME –•– Bruce Springsteen (Columbia)-10 (8)
9 7 THE GLAMOROUS LIFE –•– Sheila E. (Warner Brothers)-18 (7)
10 5 SHE BOP –•– Cyndi Lauper (Portrait)-13 (3)

11 9 THE WARRIOR –•– Scandal Featuring Patty Smyth (Columbia)-16 (7)
12 16 ON THE DARK SIDE –•– Eddie & The Cruisers / John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band (Scotti Brothers)-18 (12)
13 15 I’M SO EXCITED –•– The Pointer Sisters (Planet)-27 (13)
14 12 CRUEL SUMMER –•– Bananarama (London)-13 (9)
15 13 WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT –•– Tina Turner (Capitol)-22 (1)
16 19 ARE WE OURSELVES? –•– The Fixx (MCA)-9 (16)
17 21 SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK –•– Rod Stewart (Warner Brothers)-8 (17)
18 28 PURPLE RAIN –•– Prince & The Revolution (Warner Brothers)-2 (18)
19 14 IF THIS IS IT –•– Huey Lewis & The News (Chrysalis)-13 (6)
20 23 BLUE JEAN –•– David Bowie (EMI-America)-5 (20)

21 22 THERE GOES MY BABY –•– Donna Summer (Geffen)-10 (21)
22 25 BOP ‘TIL YOU DROP –•– Rick Springfield (RCA)-9 (22)
23 24 GO INSANE –•– Lindsey Buckingham (Elektra)-12 (23)
24 26 SWEPT AWAY –•– Diana Ross (RCA)-7 (24)
25 27 WHO WEARS THESE SHOES? –•– Elton John (Geffen)-6 (25)
26 32 WAKE ME UP BEFORE YOU GO-GO –•– Wham! (Columbia)-6 (26)
27 31 DESERT MOON –•– Dennis DeYoung (A&M)-6 (27)
28 34 BETTER BE GOOD TO ME –•– Tina Turner (Capitol)-5 (28)
29 29 FLESH FOR FANTASY –•– Billy Idol (Chrysalis)-8 (29)
30 33 I FEEL FOR YOU –•– Chaka Khan (Warner Brothers)-6 (30)

31 35 STRUT –•– Sheena Easton (EMI-America)-8 (31)
32 38 OUT OF TOUCH –•– Daryl Hall & John Oates (RCA)-3 (32)
33 41 WHAT ABOUT ME? –•– Kenny Rogers, Kim Carnes & James Ingram (RCA)-5 (33)
34 17 TORTURE –•– The Jacksons (Epic)-9 (17)
35 49 ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT –•– Cyndi Lauper (Portrait)-2 (35)
36 18 WHEN YOU CLOSE YOUR EYES –•– Night Ranger (MCA / Camel)-14 (14)
37 37 SHINE SHINE –•– Barry Gibb (MCA)-7 (37)
38 54 PENNY LOVER –•– Lionel Richie (Motown)-2 (38)
39 20 THE LUCKY ONE –•– Laura Branigan (Atlantic)-11 (20)
40 40 THE LAST TIME I MADE LOVE –•– Joyce Kennedy & Jeffrey Osborne (A&M)-9 (40)

September 1986 -- Where have all these songs been?

Normally, I find mid-80's countdowns on SiriusXM to be awfully boring.  Sure, I like music from that time in general, but they're so core to the 80's that many I hear way too much.  So, what a surprise to the countdown this week...I can hardly believe how many songs I've not heard at all since I started listening to 80's on 8, nor to any degree on radio at all since the 80's....and some are awfully big hits.  And a good number are really quite bad!

Reason it's bad: 
1. rip-off songs -- Stacey Q and Regina both defined Madonna-Wannabe.
2. Old songs -- the Beatles "twist and shout" returns to the top 40 after Ferris Bueller; "Earth Angel" from the 1950's back by New Edition, from another movie.
3. Some-artists retreads:  Nu Shooz and Robert Palmer copy their earlier hits
4.  Actors-turned-singers:  Don Johnson and the due at #2
5. Rockers turned balladeers:  Loverboy...ugh!
6. Angry songs:  Simply Red
7. Wow, way too slow songs:  too many to list
8. Songs I've ALWAYS hated:  Berlin, Friends and Lovers, Walk this Way, Don't Forget Me, Missionary Man
9. Songs that have aged poorly:  Dancing on the Ceiling, True Colors, Rumours
10.  Otherwise decent songs I never, ever, ever need to hear again:  Stuck with you, Higher Love, When I think of You, Sweet Freedom (from another movie)
11. General mid 80's boring:  Genesis, Janet Jackson, Tina Turner, Gloria Estefan, Journey,

Haven't heard since 1986:  "Press" (which I thought had been about newspapers...) -- McCartney never went higher again.; "Earth Angel", "Love Zone", "Dreamtime" "Point of No Return." "Friends and Lovers"

Still some favorites then that I still like:  All Cried Out, Paranoimia, Take Me Home Tonight (verging on category #10), Human, Papa don't preach
Songs I like better than I did: Billy Joel, Van Halen, "Captain of her heart" (mis-described as 'yacht rock' when it was more sophisti-pop like Swing out Sister or Breathe),

1 1 STUCK WITH YOU –•– Huey Lewis & The News – 9 (1)

2 3 FRIENDS AND LOVERS –•– Gloria Loring & Carl Anderson – 13 (2)
3 2 DANCING ON THE CEILING –•– Lionel Richie – 11 (2)
4 6 WALK THIS WAY –•– Run DMC & Aerosmith- 10 (4)
5 8 DON’T FORGET ME (WHEN I’M GONE) –•– Glass Tiger – 12 (5)
6 9 DREAMTIME –•– Daryl Hall – 9 (6)
7 14 WHEN I THINK OF YOU –•– Janet Jackson – 8 (7)
8 15 TWO OF HEARTS –•– Stacey Q – 12 (8)
9 4 TAKE MY BREATH AWAY –•– Berlin – 15 (1)
10 11 LOVE ZONE –•– Billy Ocean – 10 (10)

11 5 WORDS GET IN THE WAY –•– Miami Sound Machine featuring Gloria Estefan – 16 (5)
12 17 THROWING IT ALL AWAY –•– Genesis – 7 (12)
13 19 TYPICAL MALE –•– Tina Turner – 5 (13)
14 20 HEARTBEAT –•– Don Johnson – 6 (14)
15 10 BABY LOVE –•– Regina – 15 (10)
16 18 MISSIONARY MAN –•– Eurythmics – 10 (16)
17 7 VENUS –•– Bananarama – 14 (1)
18 23 ALL CRIED OUT –•– Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam With Full Force – 10 (18)
19 22 HEAVEN IN YOUR EYES –•– Loverboy – 9 (19)
20 16 THE CAPTAIN OF HER HEART –•– Double – 14 (16)

21 12 HIGHER LOVE –•– Steve Winwood – 16 (1)
22 30 TRUE COLORS –•– Cyndi Lauper – 5 (22)
23 25 TWIST AND SHOUT –•– The Beatles – 8 (23)
24 29 A MATTER OF TRUST –•– Billy Joel – 8 (24)
25 26 LOVE WALKS IN –•– Van Halen – 8 (25)
26 33 I DIDN’T MEAN TO TURN YOU ON –•– Robert Palmer – 7 (26)
27 32 SWEET LOVE –•– Anita Baker – 7 (27)
28 13 SWEET FREEDOM –•– Michael McDonald – 16 (7)
29 34 EARTH ANGEL –•– New Edition – 6 (29)
30 31 MONEY’S TOO TIGHT (TO MENTION) –•– Simply Red – 11 (30)

31 35 POINT OF NO RETURN –•– Nu Shooz – 13 (31)
32 21 PRESS –•– Paul McCartney – 9 (21)
33 28 RUMORS –•– Timex Social Club – 16 (8)
34 37 GIRL CAN’T HELP IT –•– Journey – 5 (34)
35 27 PAPA DON’T PREACH –•– Madonna – 14 (1)
36 51 HUMAN –•– Human League – 3 (36)
37 40 PARANOIMIA –•– Art Of Noise With Max Headroom – 7 (37)
38 46 TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT –•– Eddie Money – 7 (38)
39 48 IN YOUR EYES –•– Peter Gabriel – 5 (39)
40 44 I’LL BE OVER YOU –•– Toto – 5 (40)