|
Post by FreakyFlyBry on Mar 30, 2018 17:55:04 GMT -5
Recycled commentary from 10 years ago This show I'd already heard on XM last year, so I'm familiar with all the songs. It wasn't a former Flashback though Once again, I'll even comment on the droppers here, even though they weren't listed! 34. Phil Collins & Philip Bailey - Easy Lover - one of Phil's absolute best. Love this! 33. Autograph - Turn Up The Radio - one of the most underrated 80's rock songs... this is pretty good! 28. John Parr - Naughty Naughty - I like this, but prefer "St. Elmo's Fire" 27. Pointer Sisters - Neutron Dance - one of their best, I really like this one 40: FOREVER MAN - ERIC CLAPTON (debut) This song I happen to like. Still, I prefer most of his 70's and 90's stuff. 39: SECOND NATURE - DAN HARTMAN (40) It's no "I Can Dream About You", but it's still pretty good. 38: SMOOTH OPERATOR - SADE (debut) Good song... one that overplay hasn't tarnished. Probably my favourite from her, though I like a few others from her. 37: SOME THINGS ARE BETTER LEFT UNSAID - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (debut) It was pretty good, but I prefer most of their other songs. 36: MISLED - KOOL & THE GANG (23) See what I said for Hall & Oates, although this is one of my favourite Kool & the Gang songs. 35: I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS - FOREIGNER (26) Great song! This was the longest running song on the chart, at 16 weeks. 34: LUCKY - GREG KIHN (38) This was pretty decent, but "The Breakup Song" and "Jeopardy" were better. 33: WHY CAN'T I HAVE YOU - THE CARS (34) My least favourite of the singles from "Heartbeat City", but I like this. 32: THIS IS NOT AMERICA - DAVID BOWIE/PAT METHENY GROUP (32) Good song, but I prefer David's 1983-84 and some of his 70's hits over this. 31: RADIOACTIVE - THE FIRM (39) This was alright... not quite as good as a supergroup with such members could end up being. LDD: HELLO - LIONEL RICHIE Good song... one of his best. 30: SOME LIKE IT HOT - THE POWER STATION (highest debut) Great song! Had I been old enough and following the charts then, I would've been surprised to hear Robert Palmer would've been teaming up with Duran Duran members... but it turned out really well! 29: THAT WAS YESTERDAY - FOREIGNER (37) I really like this one too... but I prefer their other song on the chart. 28: DON'T YOU (FORGET ABOUT ME) - SIMPLE MINDS (36) Another absolute classic... 80's mix shows are the best time to hear this song, but it sounds great wherever it can be heard! 27: ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK - MURRAY HEAD (35) Wow, 3 8-spot climbers in a row This song is really good, one of my favourites from this era. 26: ALONG COMES A WOMAN - CHICAGO (30) And of course, here's Chicago! This was pretty good, a nice upbeat song that would end up being Peter Cetera's last hit with Chicago. 25: TAKE ME WITH U - PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION (25) It's a good song, but I prefer all the other "Purple Rain" singles. This got up to #17 on R&R, so it struggled in sales as most people who wanted it already had the album by then. 24: ALL SHE WANTS TO DO IS DANCE - DON HENLEY (29) Great song! One of his best solo songs, and this one certainly isn't as overplayed as some of his others, although it certainly hasn't gone obscure either. 23: CALIFORNIA GIRLS - DAVID LEE ROTH (11) A pretty good remake of a Beach Boys classic... I've noticed he doesn't rock out as much when he sings remakes on his own (though his original solo hits could've easily been Van Halen songs!) 22: SAVE A PRAYER - DURAN DURAN (16) Good song! This one took a few years, and a live album, to finally become a hit, but it was well worth it! 21: KEEPING THE FAITH - BILLY JOEL (18) I was surprised to hear this was from the same album, "An Innocent Man", that he'd been releasing from since 1983! That's 6 top 40 singles from it... but when his 6th single is this good, it's well worth it! 20: RELAX - FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD (10) When you think about it, this song is kinda naughty, which explains why it was so controversial when originally released Great song though... another 80's mix show essential. 19: OBSESSION - ANIMOTION (22) Great song! Very typical 80's synth-pop style, and very different from their other big hit, "Room To Move". 18: RHYTHM OF THE NIGHT - DEBARGE (24) Probably my favourite from them. Good song! 17: CARELESS WHISPER - WHAM (12) Classic! One of George's best, this ended up the #1 song of 1985. 16: ONLY THE YOUNG - JOURNEY (9) I remember hearing on a Rick Dees show earlier in 1985 when "Foolish Heart" was charting that they were speculating that Steve Perry would leave Journey permanently for a solo career... yet not that long afterwards, Journey charted with this song! One of their most underrated songs, despite going top 10 15: MISSING YOU - DIANA ROSS (19) Meh... not one of Diana's best songs. Kinda boring to me, but still, she's had worse, and of course, she's also had better too. 14: I'M ON FIRE - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (14) Good song... but I prefer most of the other "Born In The U.S.A." singles. 13: SOMEBODY - BRYAN ADAMS (14) I like this, but it's probably my least favourite single from "Reckless". That's one album that also had 6 top 40 hits. 12: JUST ANOTHER NIGHT - MICK JAGGER (13) This was pretty good, but still, I prefer him with the Stones. LDD: ONLY YESTERDAY - THE CARPENTERS I know I heard this as an LDD on the XM show, but I can't remember what it was about. Was it the story about anorexia? I seem to remember this song being used for one, appropriately since Karen Carpenter suffered from it, which eventually contributed to her death 2 years earlier. As for the song, I like it, but I prefer a few other Carpenters songs. 11: THE HEAT IS ON - GLENN FREY (4) This and "You Belong To The City" are my favourite solo hits from him. 10: NIGHTSHIFT - THE COMMODORES (15) This was pretty good, definitely my favourite out of the 2 Marvin Gaye tribute songs on the chart. Still, they had a few better with Lionel Richie. 9: CRAZY FOR YOU - MADONNA (20) A big jumper, but not the biggest. That, of course, is still to come. But this managed to outlast it, and be R&R's #1 song of the year. The song itself is good, but Madonna had many better songs. 8: HIGH ON YOU - SURVIVOR (8) One of their best... definitely another underrated one, despite reaching the top 10 (as 80's stations assume that you wanna only hear "Eye Of The Tiger") 7: PRIVATE DANCER - TINA TURNER (7) Probably my favourite from her. Great song! 6: TOO LATE FOR GOODBYES - JULIAN LENNON (5) My favourite from him, although "Valotte" is a close second. 5: WE ARE THE WORLD - USA FOR AFRICA (21) And this was the biggest mover... and for good reason. What an amazing array of talent all on this song... definitely a deserving classic, and one that helped a good cause. 4: LOVERGIRL - TINA MARIE (6) I like this song, but it's my least favourite in the top 10. 3: CAN'T FIGHT THIS FEELING - REO SPEEDWAGON (1) Great song! My favourite from them, and one of my favourite 80's power ballads (which seemed to be REO's forte as their 3 biggest hits are all power ballads). 2: MATERIAL GIRL - MADONNA (2) This was right around when this song reached #1 on R&R. When I said I prefer other Madonna songs over "Crazy For You", this is one of them. Still sounds great today! 1: ONE MORE NIGHT - PHIL COLLINS (3) Great song! Still, I prefer the next 2 singles, along with the Phil song that fell off. Next week, you say? It'll be 1980 for the A, not sure about the B yet.
|
|
|
Post by Hervard on Mar 31, 2018 9:08:02 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - April 1, 2017
This week's presentation - April 4, 1987
I know that this show aired last year, but my Internet was down and the only solution I could think of was to go to the local library and listen to the live stream there. However, since I work at said library, I didn't think I'd be setting a good example by vegging out on the computer all afternoon, so I only listened to the first half and didn't bother making a critique. However, since it was a "new" show, and I don't have any critiques from that time period (with the newer method I began using in the spring of 2015), I decided to post the critique a year after it was played by Premiere.
LW#1: LEAN ON ME – BILL WITHERS - This is how it was listed on the oldradioshows website. I decided to keep it as is due to the slight hilarity. 40: RESPECT YOURSELF - BRUCE WILLIS (18) - Wow, what a drop! Almost had a 1982-esque Top 20 drop. Anyway, today, this song would be listed as by Bruce Willis featuring the Pointer Sisters, especially since one of them sang the second verse, and were heard singing back-up throughout the song, which I thought was OK, but nothing exceptional. Off-topic – there's a blue tack in my wall. 39: NOTHING'S GONNA CHANGE MY LOVE FOR YOU - GLENN MEDEIROS (debut) - The first Top 40 hit for this high school student from Kaui. Due to how fast the charts moved in 1987, there were only two songs that made the year-end survey that did not quite make the Top 20. This was the more successful of those, peaking at #12 in June. A great song, IMO, and one of my favorite songs of the whole year. 38: SHIP OF FOOLS (SAVE ME FROM TOMORROW) - WORLD PARTY (debut) - The only Top 40 hit for this London-based rock group was setting sail on AT40 this week. I liked it, but, as someone on these boards once observed, it sounded more like a fall hit than spring. I wonder if it would have done better had it been released about six months later. Oh, that reminds me – Polish sausage makes me seasick. 37: THE LADY IN RED - CHRIS DE BURGH (debut) - Chris had charted a few times earlier in the 80s, but this is the song that put him on the map. I loved this song when it was on the chart, but the stations I listened to back in the day all but played it out and I became quite tired of it. It's good to hear every now and then, but I wouldn't want to hear it every day. 36: SERIOUS - DONNA ALLEN (40) - ARGH, how many times does she have to say, “TALK, talk about serious”? Enough is enough! Needless to say, I wasn't a big fan of this song. 35: WITH OR WITHOUT YOU - U2 (debut) - The first hit from one of the biggest albums of the 80s, The Joshua Tree. It wasn't bad, but quite overplayed. I preferred the other two singles. 34: I WILL BE THERE - GLASS TIGER (38) - A good example of Third Single Syndrome here. The first two singles from The Thin Red Line hit the Top Ten, yet this is all the further this single got, which I thought was a shame, as it was my second favorite from them (a close second, might I add) behind "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)". 33: LIGHT OF DAY - THE BARBUSTERS (37) - Of course, this is Joan Jett & The Blackhearts with their only hit under that pseudonym. I liked the song - reminded me a little of "R.O.C.K. In The U.S.A." by John Cougar Mellencamp. 32: YOU GOT IT ALL – THE JETS (22) - After two upbeat dance songs (one of which just missed the Top 40 the previous summer), they slowed the tempo down for this one. It apparently worked, as this song hit the Top Ten. This, along with their AC hit from 1989, "The Same Love" are my two favorite songs from them - great songs indeed! Oh, by the way there's nothing like a rollercoaster ride right after having a huge plate of poached eggs. LDD: ST. ELMO’S FIRE (MAN IN MOTION) – JOHN PARR - Since it's been a year, I've already forgotten what the LDD was about, but I seem to remember something about winning a race, or something similar to what the movie St. Elmo's Fire is about. As for the song, I liked it when it first came out, but got tired of it after hearing it no less than five times a day, or so it seemed. 31: LIVIN’ ON A PRAYER – BON JOVI (19) - Speaking of overplayed songs, this was definitely a classic example. The only thing is, I never really liked it in the first place. Instead, I was really into what I thought was going to be the third release from Slippery When Wet, the album cut "Never Say Goodbye". The thing about that song is, though it did chart on the airplay chart, its handicap was that many radio stations did not chart album cuts, like the Hot 100, and the ones that did had been playing it for so long that, by the time it hit the airplay chart, many stations had already dropped the song from their playlists. Otherwise, it would have been a Top Ten hit. Anyway, that song's sporadic airplay apparently did not affect this song at all, as it spent a month at #1 back in February. 30: BIG TIME – PETER GABRIEL (16) - The first two singles from the So album are quite overplayed (especially "Sledgehammer"), but this one you hardly hear anymore. Perhaps that's why it's my favorite song from the album. 29: CAN’TCHA SAY (YOU BELIEVE IN ME)/STILL IN LOVE - BOSTON (36) - Their mid-80s comeback had yielded them two additional Top Ten hits, and this song didn't do too bad either, peaking at #20. It was by far my favorite song from Third Stage, which turned out to be their most successful singles album. 28: JACOB’S LADDER – HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (13) - Here's another song from a very successful singles album, Fore! The third song from the album, it hit #1 back in early March and, as this song was on its way down, the fourth song was debuting on the Hot 100 at #54, on its was to becoming the album's fourth Top Ten hit. As for this one, this one has to be one of the least-played #1 songs of the 1980s, as, outside of countdown shows, you never really hear this song on the radio. I liked it, but it wasn't one of my favorites from him. 27: SMOKING GUN – THE ROBERT CRAY BAND (33) - I seem to remember a stretch story being told about this song on this week's countdown, such was the case with two other shows - the previous week's show and the one from April 25. Unless I'm getting this confused with one of those. It's kind of hard to write a critique when trying to rely on your memory of a song you heard practically a whole year before. Whatever the case, I thought that this was a good song - one that takes me back to the spring of 1987. 26: WHAT’S GOING ON – CYNDI LAUPER (35) - Aw boogers, now I've done it! Yours truly dropped the keys to yours truly's Edsel down the register! Well, anyway, this was a cover version of Marvin Gaye's classic Top Ten hit from 1971, when Lauper was still in high school. I remember hating this song when it was on the charts. Now, I like it, even better than the original. 25: LA ISLA BONITA - MADONNA (39) - The fifth hit from True Blue was burning up the chart en route to becoming another Top Five hit. It was the final song from the album, but Madonna was at work on her next project, the movie "Who's That Girl", which would spawn two Top Ten hits later in the year. This was a good song; indeed had a tropical island feel. 24: COME AS YOU ARE – PETER WOLF (30) - The former lead singer of the J. Geils Band had two solo hits in 1984 and was back with his second album, to which this was the title track. It was a great song! 23: AS WE LAY – SHIRLEY MURDOCK (23) - Ah, a song about infidelity. After spending the night with a mistress, this married man must go home and face his irate wife! Melodically, this song sounds a little like something from the sixties. 22: (I JUST) DIED IN YOUR ARMS – CUTTING CREW (34) - The first of three Top 40 hits for this band from London - all from their debut album Broadcast. This one was OK, but quite overplayed, both back in 1987 and nowadays on oldies stations. I preferred their other two hits. 21: DOMINOES – ROBBIE NEVIL (29) - He'd charted early in the year with a hit that peaked in the runner-up position and, with the good-sized move this song made, it looked like he might collect his second Top Ten hit, but this song ran out of steam at #14.
And now, a word from our sponsor. Testicles. That is all. And now, the countdown continues:
20: STONE LOVE – KOOL & THE GANG (25) - This song, like "Victory", would also hit the Top Ten, and, unfortunately, it turned out to be their last Top 40 hit. I liked this song, but my favorite of the Forever singles was "Special Way", which was a Top Ten AC hit in December of that year. 19: THE HONEYTHIEF - HIPSWAY (24) - The thing I remember most about this song was its catchy chorus (“The light of deep regret, let me see what I don’t get”). A great song that I felt was was quite underrated. 18: LOOKING FOR A NEW LOVE – JODY WATLEY (26) - This song came very close to hitting #1, but it was stuck at #2 for four weeks, behind the Cutting Crew and U2, the latter of which leapfrogged over this song, which I thought was OK, but I preferred a few of her other songs, including ones that she did as part of Shalamar. 17: WALKING DOWN YOUR STREET – THE BANGLES (21) - The band that had a thing about walking back in 1987, as illustrated by the titles of their two hits from that year. Anyway, you know that I prefer this over the other one, though I did prefer their first two hits from the Different Light album, but this one’s still a great song! Off-topic: There's an elephant in the alley taking a dump. Gonna take a front-end loader to clean all that up! 16: THAT AIN’T LOVE – REO SPEEDWAGON (17) - The first Top 40 hit in about a year and a half for this band from Champaign, Illinois. As we all know, I prefer their power ballads, but this is possibly my favorite of their upbeat material. It is indeed a great song! 15: SOMEWHERE OUT THERE – LINDA RONSTADT & JAMES INGRAM (21) - I never saw the animated movie that this song is from, but I definitely heard the song many a time (we even sang it for our spring choir concert in my sophomore year in high school). I loved this song, like most of James' (and many of Linda's) songs. 14: THE FINER THINGS – STEVE WINWOOD (20) - Hey Larry! LARRY!! LARRY!!! Oops, sorry. Anyway, Back In The High Life was definitely Winwood's most successful album as far as singles go, as there were four of them that hit the Top 40. This was the third and there was no "Third Single Syndrome" here, as this was the second most successful song from the album behind the #1 "Higher Love". This was very possibly my favorite song from the album, though there are several other songs by him that I prefer. Wups, gotta go – Larry's walking by again. LARRY!!! YO LARRY!!!! 13: WHAT YOU GET IS WHAT YOU SEE – TINA TURNER (15) - Another third single, but it did better than "Two People", which just barely made the Top 30. Though this song did get close to the Top Ten, I still felt it was quite underrated (namely, since it gets no recurrent airplay). Needless to say, I liked the song a lot. 12: SIGN ‘O’ THE TIMES – PRINCE (14) - This song was OK, but it was rather monotonous. Definitely not his best song by any means. 11: MIDNIGHT BLUE – LOU GRAMM (12) - After a decade of heading up Foreigner, he decided to give a solo career a try. This was his first solo hit to make the charts. It was a good one, but I preferred the other two, both from his second solo album Long Hard Look. Off-topic – there's a booger on the floor. 10: LET’S GO – WANG CHUNG (11) - After having their first Top Ten hit (getting ever so close to #1), they were landing their second one this week. I preferred this song, though over the past few years, I've learned to like said first Top Ten hit (the one about wanking John) better than previously. 9: MANDOLIN RAIN – BRUCE HORNSBY & THE RANGE (5) - Since, of course, I didn't hear this part of the countdown, I don't know whether or not they edited it, but they generally did. At least they usually cut the second verse instead of the "running down by the lake shore" bridge, which is my favorite part of the song. Anyway, I liked all three singles from The Way It Is, but this was my favorite. 8: THE FINAL COUNTDOWN - EUROPE (8) - The horns in this song reminded me a little of the intro to "Only Time Will Tell" by Asia. It was pretty good, but I preferred the other two Top 40 hits from the album of the same name. Off-topic – yours truly can tell that the girl who just walked by is wearing a thong. 7: DON’T DREAM IT’S OVER – CROWDED HOUSE (9) - Two members of the band Split Enz (which had a minor hit in 1980 called "I Got You") helped to form this band who had two Top Ten hits in 1987. I thought both were great songs, though I preferred their follow-up, "Something So Strong", which sounded sort of like a more upbeat version of this song. LDD: ALL CRIED OUT - LISA LISA & CULT JAM WITH FULL FORCE - Now I DO remember this LDD from the time this show originally aired. It was about a girl who had been best friends with another girl who began going out with her boyfriend. The jilted girl tried everything she could to break them up, but found out it was as futile as "trying to cut the world in half with a chainsaw" as she put it. The girl wanted to reconcile with her best friend, which I myself am not sure would be the best thing to do Going out with your best friend's ex is one of the no-no's in the unwritten code of best friends, and it would be very awkward for all three of them to continue to hang out together. Once you break that rule, then the friendship has very little chance of ever being the same again. Glad I never had to deal with any of that drama back in school. But I digress. As we all know, this was one of my favorite songs of all time. 6: I KNEW YOU WERE WAITING (FOR ME) – ARETHA FRANKLIN & GEORGE MICHAEL (10) - A one time pairing of the Queen Of Soul and the former lead singer of Wham! - and a great pairing at that, since it went to #1 for a pair of weeks in late April. Definitely one of my favorites from both artists! 5: COME GO WITH ME - EXPOSE (7) - I liked most of their hits, but this wasn't one of them! Definitely my least favorite single from the Exposure album. My favorite was the next release, "Point Of No Return", which was a big summer hit. Off-topic: I'm not wearing pants. 4: LET’S WAIT AWHILE – JANET JACKSON (3) - A little over a year before, Cyndi Lauper had set a record for the most Top 40 hits from a single album by a solo female - five from She's So Unusual. This song tied the record as it was the fifth from Control, and Janet was obviously not satisfied with a tie as she went on to break the record for the most Top Ten hits from an album by a solo female (as the fifth song from Cyndi Lauper's album ran out of gas at #27). A song with a great message about abstinence and my favorite of the Control singles. 3: TONIGHT, TONIGHT, TONIGHT - GENESIS (4) - This song, which always makes me thirsty for an ice cold Michelob, was pretty good, but not one of my favorites from them. I especially hated the album version, which U93 started playing around this time - the instrumental bridge with those goofy sound effects, reminiscent of the background music in the old-school Donkey Kong Country games, drags on and on. Fortunately, I seldom hear that version anymore. 2: LEAN ON ME – CLUB NOUVEAU (1) - This was probably my least favorite song on the countdown back in the day, and naturally, it wasted no time getting to #1! It's still not one of my favorite songs, but its saving grace is that it's better than the insomnia-curing original by Bill Withers - definitely a "No. Just no" song in my book! 1: NOTHING’S GONNA STOP US NOW - STARSHIP (2) - The theme to the comedy movie "Mannequin", which I saw in the theater later that week. This was one of my favorite songs by Starship, though it wasn't quite as good as "It's Not Enough".
Well, there you have it. I know it's a year late, but better late than never, right? Hopefully, this show will eventually show up on the iHeartRadio channel, or be featured as a B-show, perhaps as early as next year.
(By the way, if anyone missed or still wants a copy of the original April Fool edition of this critique, send me a PM and I'll send you a copy).
|
|
|
Post by Hervard on Apr 7, 2018 18:31:42 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - April 7, 2018 This week's presentation - April 5, 1980 DROPPERS: ROCK WITH YOU - MICHAEL JACKSON (38) - Here is a song that overplay hasn't tarnished at all! This is my second favorite single from Off The Wall, behind "She's Out Of My Life". 99 - TOTO (35) - Something you might be asked to repeat when getting a respiratory examination. As for the song, it is one of my favorite songs by Toto - a great one indeed! DAYDREAM BELIEVER - ANNE MURRAY (30) - This was one of my favorite songs by the Monkees and I actually preferred Murray's cover over that one, so that shows how much I liked it! LW#3: CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE - QUEEN LW#2: WORKING MY WAY BACK TO YOU/FORGIVE ME GIRL - THE SPINNERS LW#1: ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL - PINK FLOYD 40: CARRIE - CLIFF RICHARD (debut) - Interesting that, while he was hot on the charts in his native England, the number of hits he had here in the states up to this point could be counted on one hand (even more interesting that his first four U.S. hits charted over four different decades). He put two more singles on the chart in 1980 including this one, which reminded me a little of his 1976 hit "Devil Woman". It was a good song, though I preferred his other two 1980 songs. 39: COME BACK - J. GEILS BAND (32) - Their first of two hits during 1980. Neither of them cracked the Top 30, but they would make up for that two years later, with a huge #1 hit, along with Top Five follow-up. Anyway, this song wasn't bad, but I preferred their next hit, "Love Stinks" 38: FIRE IN THE MORNING - MELISSA MANCHESTER (debut) - Her sixth Top 40 hit, and one of her best - too bad it only got as high as #32 - but at least her two Top Ten songs (up to 1980, that is) were great ones as well! I seem to remember hearing this on the radio while I was getting my wisdom teeth pulled back in May, 1992. 37: KEEP THE FIRE - KENNY LOGGINS (debut) - Back-to-back fire on this week's chart. Too bad it only got a spot higher on the chart (and then fell out of the Top 40 the following week), as it was a good song! 36: CARS - GARY NUMAN (40) - This is one of the songs I associate most with the spring/early summer of 1980! Even though it could use a few more verses (in place of all the instrumental parts), it is still a great song nevertheless. 35: YEARS - WAYNE NEWTON (36) - Known more for his songs from the 60s and early 70s, he did manage to sneak in one last hit in the early 1980s. The song was pretty good, but the younger generation would probably say, "No. Just no." 34: ANYWAY YOU WANT IT - JOURNEY (39) - This song may have only gotten as high as #23, but gets more recurrent airplay than many of their bigger hits. It is a good one, but I prefer many others from them. 33: EVEN IT UP - HEART (33) - Not one of their bigger hits, peaking here at #33. Maybe that's why I don't like it as much as their bigger hits. EXTRA: SHADOW DANCING - ANDY GIBB - His third and last #1 hit. This one was the top song of 1978, making Gibb the first artist to rule the year-end chart two years in a row since Elvis back in the 1950s. OPTIONAL EXTRA: BIGGEST PART OF ME - AMBROSIA - Larry didn't mention that Take 6 had a hit with this one in 1994 - instead, he mentioned their two biggest hits, both of which peaked at #3, including this one, which would also peak at #3, like "How Much I Feel". This song did better on the R&R chart, though, spending four weeks at #1 in May. Both of their #3 hits are my two favorites from them - great songs indeed. I'm not even sure which of those I prefer. 32: SET ME FREE - UTOPIA (37) - Headed up by Todd Rundgren, whom had a handful of Top 40 hits in the 1970s, this was their only Top 40 hit. It was a good song. 31: DO THAT TO ME ONE MORE TIME - THE CAPTAIN & TENNILLE (27) - This song was indeed shaping up to become one of the biggest hits of the year. It may have spent only a single week on top, but its incredible Top Ten run, as well as its 22 weeks in the Top 40 (the longest run since "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees two years before) helped to place it at #3 for the year. As we probably already know all too well, this is far and away my favorite song from them! Glad that it was as big a hit as it was! 30: YES, I'M READY - TERI DESARIO WITH K.C. (24) - Casey sort of implied that he figured this song would leave the countdown the following week (and he was indeed correct), so he played a portion of the original by Barbara Mason. This was by far my favorite of the two early 1980 songs in which KC was involved (the other one was "Please Don't Go And Please Take Your Whinefest With You"). 29: HEARTBREAKER - PAT BENATAR (26) - This was her first smash and, if only it had debuted on the Hot 100 a week or two later, that would have qualified her as one of the top newcomers of the 1980s (I still think that's a big nitpick, but I digress...) Anyway, this song wasn't bad, but is one of my least favorite songs from her. I just never got into it for some reason (sorry, JessieLou...) 28: THINK ABOUT ME - FLEETWOOD MAC (34) - One of their most obscure songs ever - so much that I don't think it's on any of their Greatest Hits albums. It was a pretty good song, though I prefer many others from them. 27: REFUGEE - TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS (21) - Here's one I remember playing on the jukebox at Pizza Hut, where my Dad used to take my brother and me to every Sunday back when I was in third grade. I still love the song to this day - definitely one of my favorite Tom Petty songs, and one that still gets much recurrent airplay! 26: PILOT OF THE AIRWAVES - CHARLIE DORE (31) - Kind of unusual for a female to be named Charlie, though. Perhaps her real name is Charlotte or Charlene. You know what paradise is? It's a lie. It's - wait a minute... But seriously, this was the only Top 40 hit for this London native. I liked it. 25: I PLEDGE ME LOVE - PEACHES AND HERB (29) - Their final Top 40 hit. It was a good one, but I preferred "Reunited" which, of course, was by far their biggest hit ever. 24: GIVE IT ALL YOU GOT - CHUCK MANGIONE (18) - Of course, this was the theme for the 1980 Winter Olympics. It was a great song, IMO, as was his hit from two years prior, "Feels So Good". A true guilty pleasure! LDD: SHE'S ALWAYS A WOMAN - BILLY JOEL - His fourth and final hit from The Stranger, one of his best singles albums ever. It is also my favorite from the album (though the other three are great as well) and it fit the dedication like a glove, as the author was laughed at for liking a girl in his class. 23: AND THE BEAT GOES ON - THE WHISPERS (28) - One of Will Smith's favorite songs! As for me, it's not bad, but I preferred "Rock Steady". 22: ON THE RADIO - DONNA SUMMER (16) - This is how most people heard the show during its original broadcast But seriously, I liked this song a lot - definitely one of her best! EXTRA: MISS YOU - THE ROLLING STONES - Their first successful disco hit. I preferred their other one, which would hit the chart a few weeks later. OPTIONAL EXTRA: BREAKDOWN DEAD AHEAD - BOZ SCAGGS - Interesting story about how he got his name from a school classmate (short for Bosley). Anyway, this song, two weeks away from hitting the countdown, sounds a little like “Lido Shuffle”, which is one of my personal Boz Scaggs faves, along with this song. 21: LONGER - DAN FOGELBERG f/JERRY HEY (12) - Of course, Hey was the one who does the (awesome!) flugelhorn solo in the bridge, and that was definitely instrumental (no pun intended) in making this one of Fogelberg's best songs ever! 20: HOLD ON TO MY LOVE - JIMMY RUFFIN (25) - A song written and produced by the late Robin Gibb (who also sings back-up). A great song - it hit the Top Ten, but didn't get quite enough points to register on the YE Top 100. 19: THREE TIMES IN LOVE - TOMMY JAMES (19) - He was on his own at this point, without the Shondells. It didn't take anything away from the song, however, as I preferred this song over any of his earlier songs. And a pleasant surprise - they played the song intact (as I seem to remember that they cut out the second verse ) EXTRA: TAKE ME HOME - CHER - Very interesting story about Cher's "Take Me Home" waking up a little girl, who was kidnapped, beaten, and left for dead, from a coma. This was Cher's comeback hit since 1974 - it peaked at #8 in in May 1979, not long before the incident. Cher also started a fund to help defer the girl's hospital bill, which came out to $30,000. Who knows how much that would be today! As for the song, even though I generally preferred her later songs such as "Just Like Jesse James", "Save Up All Your Tears" and "Believe" to name a few, I liked this song a lot too. 18: SEXY EYES - DR. HOOK (22) - The follow-up to what I felt was their best hit ever. This one's a good one as well - ended up being their most successful hit! 17: YOU MAY BE RIGHT - BILLY JOEL (23) - The first of four Top 40 hits from Glass Houses, another great singles album, like the aforementioned "The Stranger". It's my third favorite, behind the last two releases. 16: LOST IN LOVE - AIR SUPPLY (20) - The debut hit for this Australian band that was all over the charts during the next three years, but then almost instantly became yesterday's news. This was one of my favorites from them - a great song indeed! 15: WITH YOU I'M BORN AGAIN - BILLY PRESTON W/ SYREETA (17) - Several people I know hate this song with a passion, so I guess you could call it another guilty pleasure of mine (like the Chuck Mangione song earlier). I just like the hypnotic effect of this song. 14: THE SECOND TIME AROUND - SHALAMAR (8) - The biggest hit from this R&B band formed by Don Cornelius, the producer and host of SOOOOOOUUUUUUUUL TRAAAAAAAAIIIIN. It is also by far my favorite song from them. 13: FIRE LAKE - BOB SEGER (15) - Like Billy Joel, he had three Top 20 hits from this album. I liked all three, but this was my favorite of them all! I remember hearing it all the time back in the day, mainly on my Mom's tape cassette of Against The Wind. 12: OFF THE WALL - MICHAEL JACKSON (14) - The laughs at the beginning of this song sound very eerie - like the kind you hear in a haunted house. The song itself was pretty good, but, as mentioned earlier, I preferred the two singles from the album of the same title that bookended this one. EXTRA: THREE TIMES A LADY - THE COMMODORES - This song became very popular in the LDD department (as well as one of the most popular wedding songs of all time). At first, it sounded like they were going with the full album version of this song, but that was not to be. As far as I know, they never played that version of the song on AT40. Still (no pun intended), it was one of my favorite songs from them. OPTIONAL EXTRA: DON'T FALL IN LOVE WITH A DREAMER - KENNY ROGERS & KIM CARNES - This song was right outside the Top 40 this week, poised to make a strong Top 30 debut the following week! This was one of my all-time faves from both artists involved! Too bad they had to go and cut out the second verse 11: I CAN'T TELL YOU WHY - THE EAGLES (13) - A rare song featuring Timothy B. Schmit on lead vocals (in fact, until 1995, it was the only song with him singing lead to hit the Top 40. This was a good song - my favorite single from The Long Run, but it's not quite as good as the album cut "The Sad Café" 10: HOW DO I MAKE YOU - LINDA RONSTADT (10) - With sugar and spice and everything nice, of course! 9: DESIRE - ANDY GIBB (4) - This was his sixth Top Ten song in a row, as well as the last. It was a good one, but I preferred others from him such as "An Everlasting Love" and "I Just Want To Be Your Everything". 8: SPECIAL LADY - RAY, GOODMAN AND BROWN (11) - Another guilty pleasure, although I used to dislike this song, but it has gotten better with age. A great song from the band formerly known as the Moments. Interesting story about how Brown lost his voice and the other members picked up the slack for him while he was out of commission. 7: RIDE LIKE THE WIND - CHRISTOPHER CROSS (9) - The first of four Top 20 hits from his debut album! Not sure if I preferred this or the next two - all of them were great! 6: HIM - RUPERT HOLMES (6) - Two hits in a row from him about cheating in a relationship - only this time, it's just her instead of both of them. And the only clue he needed was a package of cigarettes, a brand of which he did not smoke. I prefer this song over the Pina Colada song, since the latter is overplayed. LDD: I HONESTLY LOVE YOU - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN - Her first of five #1 hits. This was one of my favorites of those, and it did fit the dedication. 5: TOO HOT - KOOL & THE GANG (7) - The only song in this week's Top Ten that was reaching its peak. Their first Top Ten of the 1980s (I count"Ladies' Night" as a 70s hit), and there was definitely a lot more where that came from! This song is my all-time favorite song from them! 4: CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE - QUEEN (3) - Definitely Elvis-inspired, it is probably the last of Queen's Top 40 hits that I liked. 3: CALL ME - BLONDIE (5) - This song was gearing up for a six-week run at the top, becoming the top song of 1980 in the process, and deservedly so, as this was a great song! OPTIONAL EXTRA: FUNKYTOWN - LIPPS INC. - This song was number one on the Disco chart this week and was headed in that direction on the Hot 100 as well. I wasn't a huge fan of this song, but they played a heavily edited version of this song this week, so it's all good! 2: WORKING MY WAY BACK TO YOU/FORGIVE ME GIRL - THE SPINNERS (2) - This one just missed hitting #1 - the song at the top was just too strong for it. Anyway, this is a great song - much better than the original by the Four Seasons, in which Frankie Valli sounds like he's trying to force out a stubborn turd. 1: ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL - PINK FLOYD (1) - This was the very song that shut the Spinners out of the top spot. Generally an album rock act, they managed to have a few pop singles, including the biggest of them all. I like this song, but it's definitely not my favorite song on the chart. Coming up next week: We know one of the shows is April 11, 1987, and suspect that it's the "A" show and many are erring towards 1981 as the "B" show - either 4/11 or 4/18. We'll find out for sure later this weekend.
|
|
|
Post by FreakyFlyBry on Apr 7, 2018 18:53:37 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - April 7, 2018 This week's presentation - April 5, 1980 DROPPERS: ROCK WITH YOU - MICHAEL JACKSON (38) - Here is a song that overplay hasn't tarnished at all! This is my second favorite single from Off The Wall, behind "She's Out Of My Life". Great song! One of his best. 99 - TOTO (35) - Something you might be asked to repeat when getting a respiratory examination. As for the song, it is one of my favorite songs by Toto - a great one indeed! Also one of their best, love this one. DAYDREAM BELIEVER - ANNE MURRAY (30) - This was one of my favorite songs by the Monkees and I actually preferred Murray's cover over that one, so that shows how much I liked it! I liked this but I prefer the Monkees version. LW#3: CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE - QUEEN LW#2: WORKING MY WAY BACK TO YOU/FORGIVE ME GIRL - THE SPINNERS LW#1: ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL - PINK FLOYD 40: CARRIE - CLIFF RICHARD (debut) - Interesting that, while he was hot on the charts in his native England, the number of hits he had here in the states up to this point could be counted on one hand (even more interesting that his first four U.S. hits charted over four different decades). He put two more singles on the chart in 1980 including this one, which reminded me a little of his 1976 hit "Devil Woman". It was a good song, though I preferred his other two 1980 songs. Agreed, this was good but not his best. 39: COME BACK - J. GEILS BAND (32) - Their first of two hits during 1980. Neither of them cracked the Top 30, but they would make up for that two years later, with a huge #1 hit, along with Top Five follow-up. Anyway, this song wasn't bad, but I preferred their next hit, "Love Stinks" They must have been tired of their opening acts outstaging them! I guess if they ever get into the Rock Hall, it will be justified. Good song but they had better. 38: FIRE IN THE MORNING - MELISSA MANCHESTER (debut) - Her sixth Top 40 hit, and one of her best - too bad it only got as high as #32 - but at least her two Top Ten songs (up to 1980, that is) were great ones as well! I seem to remember hearing this on the radio while I was getting my wisdom teeth pulled back in May, 1992. Yeah this was nice enough, she was usually pretty good though. 37: KEEP THE FIRE - KENNY LOGGINS (debut) - Back-to-back fire on this week's chart. Too bad it only got a spot higher on the chart (and then fell out of the Top 40 the following week), as it was a good song! Yeah, this was rather underrated. I like it. 36: CARS - GARY NUMAN (40) - This is one of the songs I associate most with the spring/early summer of 1980! Even though it could use a few more verses (in place of all the instrumental parts), it is still a great song nevertheless. Great song! New wave really was on the rise at this time. 35: YEARS - WAYNE NEWTON (36) - Known more for his songs from the 60s and early 70s, he did manage to sneak in one last hit in the early 1980s. The song was pretty good, but the younger generation would probably say, "No. Just no." No. Just no. 34: ANYWAY YOU WANT IT - JOURNEY (39) - This song may have only gotten as high as #23, but gets more recurrent airplay than many of their bigger hits. It is a good one, but I prefer many others from them. Yeah, I'm surprised this peaked so low, I still hear this all the time! Great song though. 33: EVEN IT UP - HEART (33) - Not one of their bigger hits, peaking here at #33. Maybe that's why I don't like it as much as their bigger hits. Thanks to JessieLou, I am VERY familiar with this one... love it, Heart really had so many great songs and this was very underrated. EXTRA: SHADOW DANCING - ANDY GIBB - His third and last #1 hit. This one was the top song of 1978, making Gibb the first artist to rule the year-end chart since Elvis back in the 1950s. Great song - I like his first four hits a lot, and this might be my favourite of the bunch. OPTIONAL EXTRA: BIGGEST PART OF ME - AMBROSIA - Larry didn't mention that Take 6 had a hit with this one in 1994 - instead, he mentioned their two biggest hits, both of which peaked at #3, including this one, which would also peak at #3, like "How Much I Feel". This song did better on the R&R chart, though, spending four weeks at #1 in May. Both of their #3 hits are my two favorites from them - great songs indeed. I'm not even sure which of those I prefer. I'd say I slightly prefer "How Much I Feel" but this is great too. 32: SET ME FREE - UTOPIA (37) - Headed up by Todd Rundgren, whom had a handful of Top 40 hits in the 1970s, this was their only Top 40 hit. It was a good song. Good song - one of my favourites from Todd Rundgren overall. 31: DO THAT TO ME ONE MORE TIME - THE CAPTAIN & TENNILLE (27) - This song was indeed shaping up to become one of the biggest hits of the year. It may have spent only a single week on top, but its incredible Top Ten run, as well as its 22 weeks in the Top 40 (the longest run since "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees two years before) helped to place it at #3 for the year. As we probably already know all too well, this is far and away my favorite song from them! Glad that it was as big a hit as it was! Meh, the only song of theirs I REALLY liked was "Love Will Keep Us Together". I do like Amber's cover of this more than the original. 30: YES, I'M READY - TERI DESARIO WITH K.C. (24) - Casey sort of implied that he figured this song would leave the countdown the following week (and he was indeed correct), so he played a portion of the original by Barbara Mason. This was by far my favorite of the two early 1980 songs in which KC was involved (the other one was "Please Don't Go And Please Take Your Whinefest With You"). No. Just no. 29: HEARTBREAKER - PAT BENATAR (26) - This was her first smash and, if only it had debuted on the Hot 100 a week or two later, that would have qualified her as one of the top newcomers of the 1980s (I still think that's a big nitpick, but I digress...) Anyway, this song wasn't bad, but is one of my least favorite songs from her. I just never got into it for some reason (sorry, JessieLou...) Great song - one that still gets lots of recurrent airplay. I do like some others from her more though. 28: THINK ABOUT ME - FLEETWOOD MAC (34) - One of their most obscure songs ever - so much that I don't think it's on any of their Greatest Hits albums. It was a pretty good song, though I prefer many others from them. Yeah you'd almost have to get "Tusk" to get this one on an album. Good song though - one of their most underrated! 27: REFUGEE - TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS (21) - Here's one I remember playing on the jukebox at Pizza Hut, where my Dad used to take my brother and me to every Sunday back when I was in third grade. I still love the song to this day - definitely one of my favorite Tom Petty songs, and one that still gets much recurrent airplay! Great song - possibly my favourite from him ever! R.I.P. 26: PILOT OF THE AIRWAVES - CHARLIE DORE (31) - Kind of unusual for a female to be named Charlie, though. Perhaps her real name is Charlotte or Charlene. You know what paradise is? It's a lie. It's - wait a minute... But seriously, this was the only Top 40 hit for this London native. I liked it. Ugh, why did you have to remind us of that Charlene vomit-fest? I actually saw her record in the bargain bin today, it's not even worth paying 50 cents for! This song was alright, but rather faceless. I prefer "Strut" which she wrote for Sheena Easton. 25: I PLEDGE ME LOVE - PEACHES AND HERB (29) - Their final Top 40 hit. It was a good one, but I preferred "Reunited" which, of course, was by far their biggest hit ever. Yeah, I never cared for this one at all - I prefer their two big 1979 hits. 24: GIVE IT ALL YOU GOT - CHUCK MANGIONE (18) - Of course, this was the theme for the 1980 Winter Olympics. It was a great song, IMO, as was his hit from two years prior, "Feels So Good". A true guilty pleasure! No. Just no. (to both of them, of course) LDD: SHE'S ALWAYS A WOMAN - BILLY JOEL - His fourth and final hit from The Stranger, one of his best singles albums ever. It is also my favorite from the album (though the other three are great as well) and it fit the dedication like a glove, as the author was laughed at for liking a girl in his class. Agreed, this song was a very fitting LDD song. Great song - Billy Joel is generally excellent. 23: AND THE BEAT GOES ON - THE WHISPERS (28) - One of Will Smith's favorite songs! As for me, it's not bad, but I preferred "Rock Steady". Same here - I also enjoy "It's A Love Thing" from 1981, another great funk tune. 22: ON THE RADIO - DONNA SUMMER (16) - This is how most people heard the show during its original broadcast But seriously, I liked this song a lot - definitely one of her best! Agreed - a great case of a new song from a greatest hits album becoming a greatest hit itself. EXTRA: MISS YOU - THE ROLLING STONES - Their first successful disco hit. I preferred their other one, which would hit the chart a few weeks later. Great song, one of their best! OPTIONAL EXTRA: BREAKDOWN DEAD AHEAD - BOZ SCAGGS - Interesting story about how he got his name from a school classmate (short for Bosley). Anyway, this song, two weeks away from hitting the countdown, sounds a little like “Lido Shuffle”, which is one of my personal Boz Scaggs faves, along with this song. Great song - I like both of those songs mentioned, the upbeat style like this I felt Boz did the best. 21: LONGER - DAN FOGELBERG f/JERRY HEY (12) - Of course, Hey was the one who does the (awesome!) flugelhorn solo in the bridge, and that was definitely instrumental (no pun intended) in making this one of Fogelberg's best songs ever! Yeah, this was a great one - I've also recently discovered "Face The Fire", also from the "Phoenix" album, and that is one of my favourites from him ever, I'm surprised he rocked out that much on the same album as one of the most definitive 80's AC standards! 20: HOLD ON TO MY LOVE - JIMMY RUFFIN (25) - A song written and produced by the late Robin Gibb (who also sings back-up). A great song - it hit the Top Ten, but didn't get quite enough points to register on the YE Top 100. Yeah, this was a good comeback for him. 19: THREE TIMES IN LOVE - TOMMY JAMES (19) - He was on his own at this point, without the Shondells. It didn't take anything away from the song, however, as I preferred this song over any of his earlier songs. And a pleasant surprise - they played the song intact (as I seem to remember that they cut out the second verse ) I like this but prefer several of his classics of the 60's and early 70's. EXTRA: TAKE ME HOME - CHER - Very interesting story about Cher's "Take Me Home" waking up a little girl, who was kidnapped, beaten, and left for dead, from a coma. This was Cher's comeback hit since 1974 - it peaked at #8 in in May 1979, not long before the incident. Cher also started a fund to help defer the girl's hospital bill, which came out to $30,000. Who knows how much that would be today! As for the song, even though I generally preferred her later songs such as "Just Like Jesse James", "Save Up All Your Tears" and "Believe" to name a few, I liked this song a lot too. Yeah I've heard that story several times - Casey sure liked to tell it! Great song - disco suited her well here. 18: SEXY EYES - DR. HOOK (22) - The follow-up to what I felt was their best hit ever. This one's a good one as well - ended up being their most successful hit! This was alright but I tend to prefer their hits from the previous year (including said best hit ever according to you - I like it too) 17: YOU MAY BE RIGHT - BILLY JOEL (23) - The first of four Top 40 hits from Glass Houses, another great singles album, like the aforementioned "The Stranger". It's my third favorite, behind the last two releases. Great song - one of his most enduring! 16: LOST IN LOVE - AIR SUPPLY (20) - The debut hit for this Australian band that was all over the charts during the next three years, but then almost instantly became yesterday's news. This was one of my favorites from them - a great song indeed! Agreed - overall they are among my biggest guilty pleasures of the 80's as I like pretty much all of their hits. 15: WITH YOU I'M BORN AGAIN - BILLY PRESTON W/ SYREETA (17) - Several people I know hate this song with a passion, so I guess you could call it another guilty pleasure of mine (like the Chuck Mangione song earlier). I just like the hypnotic effect of this song. No. Just no. 14: THE SECOND TIME AROUND - SHALAMAR (8) - The biggest hit from this R&B band formed by Don Cornelius, the producer and host of SOOOOOOUUUUUUUUL TRAAAAAAAAIIIIN. It is also by far my favorite song from them. Great song - agreed that this is their best. 13: FIRE LAKE - BOB SEGER (15) - Like Billy Joel, he had three Top 20 hits from this album. I liked all three, but this was my favorite of them all! I remember hearing it all the time back in the day, mainly on my Mom's tape cassette of Against The Wind. Great song - I don't hear it THAT much these days but it's definitely not obscure, which is the makings of one of my all-time favourite Seger songs! 12: OFF THE WALL - MICHAEL JACKSON (14) - The laughs at the beginning of this song sound very eerie - like the kind you hear in a haunted house. The song itself was pretty good, but, as mentioned earlier, I preferred the two singles from the album of the same title that bookended this one. Interesting story about Rod Temperton, who wrote/produced this - he had never seen a black person when growing up in England, yet he is best known for producing for black artists! Good song though. EXTRA: THREE TIMES A LADY - THE COMMODORES - This song became very popular in the LDD department (as well as one of the most popular wedding songs of all time). At first, it sounded like they were going with the full album version of this song, but that was not to be. As far as I know, they never played that version of the song on AT40. Still (no pun intended), it was one of my favorite songs from them. Yeah, I know this song is as cheesy as hell, but I can't help but love it. One of Lionel Richie's best, most romantic ballads (and he had a lot of great ones!) OPTIONAL EXTRA: DON'T FALL IN LOVE WITH A DREAMER - KENNY ROGERS & KIM CARNES - This song was right outside the Top 40 this week, poised to make a strong Top 30 debut the following week! This was one of my all-time faves from both artists involved! Too bad they had to go and cut out the second verse I know I don't like many of Kenny's slower songs but I actually don't mind this one. 11: I CAN'T TELL YOU WHY - THE EAGLES (13) - A rare song featuring Timothy B. Schmit on lead vocals (in fact, until 1995, it was the only song with him singing lead to hit the Top 40. This was a good song - my favorite single from The Long Run, but it's not quite as good as the album cut "The Sad Café" Yeah, this was a great one, as were pretty much all of their hits. 10: HOW DO I MAKE YOU - LINDA RONSTADT (10) - With sugar and spice and everything nice, of course! Another JessieLou approved bop! Loved this one, the "Mad Love" album was very new-wave influenced and that is why it's one of my favourite albums from her ever - and this one, from an artist who normally did remakes at this time, was a great original! 9: DESIRE - ANDY GIBB (4) - This was his sixth Top Ten song in a row, as well as the last. It was a good one, but I preferred others from him such as "An Everlasting Love" and "I Just Want To Be Your Everything". Agreed. His last top 20 hit, "Time Is Time" was also quite underrated. 8: SPECIAL LADY - RAY, GOODMAN AND BROWN (11) - Another guilty pleasure, although I used to dislike this song, but it has gotten better with age. A great song from the band formerly known as the Moments. Interesting story about how Brown lost his voice and the other members picked up the slack for him while he was out of commission. No. Just no. 7: RIDE LIKE THE WIND - CHRISTOPHER CROSS (9) - The first of four Top 20 hits from his debut album! Not sure if I preferred this or the next two - all of them were great! I tend to prefer the first two singles from this album - but they were all quite good. 6: HIM - RUPERT HOLMES (6) - Two hits in a row from him about cheating in a relationship - only this time, it's just her instead of both of them. And the only clue he needed was a package of cigarettes, a brand of which he did not smoke. I prefer this song over the Pina Colada song, since the latter is overplayed. Nice song, but I do prefer the previous hit, as cheesy as it is. LDD: I HONESTLY LOVE YOU - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN - Her first of five #1 hits. This was one of my favorites of those, and it did fit the dedication. Agreed. 5: TOO HOT - KOOL & THE GANG (7) - The only song in this week's Top Ten that was reaching its peak. Their first Top Ten of the 1980s (I count"Ladies' Night" as a 70s hit), and there was definitely a lot more where that came from! This song is my all-time favorite song from them! Great song - I prefer their 80's disco-styled hits (including "Ladies Night" which I'm counting as 80's because of JT Taylor being the lead singer like he was in that decade) over their 70's funk stuff. 4: CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE - QUEEN (3) - Definitely Elvis-inspired, it is probably the last of Queen's Top 40 hits that I liked. I actually used to think Elvis sang this one when I was a kid. Great song - one of their best! 3: CALL ME - BLONDIE (5) - This song was gearing up for a six-week run at the top, becoming the top song of 1980 in the process, and deservedly so, as this was a great song! Agreed - a true classic that has stood the test of time very well! OPTIONAL EXTRA: FUNKYTOWN - LIPPS INC. - This song was number one on the Disco chart this week and was headed in that direction on the Hot 100 as well. I wasn't a huge fan of this song, but they played a heavily edited version of this song this week, so it's all good! Great song! One of my favourite 80's one hit wonders, fits those mix shows very well. 2: WORKING MY WAY BACK TO YOU/FORGIVE ME GIRL - THE SPINNERS (2) - This one just missed hitting #1 - the song at the top was just too strong for it. Anyway, this is a great song - much better than the original by the Four Seasons, in which Frankie Valli sounds like he's trying to force out a stubborn turd. Yeah this was pretty good though I do prefer several of their 70's hits. 1: ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL - PINK FLOYD (1) - This was the very song that shut the Spinners out of the top spot. Generally an album rock act, they managed to have a few pop singles, including the biggest of them all. I like this song, but it's definitely not my favorite song on the chart. Great song - a true classic, and I'd say it's their signature song overall too. Coming up next week: We know one of the shows is April 11, 1987, and suspect that it's the "A" show and many are erring towards 1981 as the "B" show - either 4/11 or 4/18. We'll find out for sure later this weekend. I'll likely listen to 1987 at least (and I wonder if JessieLou will too as it had Grace Slick at #1.)
|
|
|
Post by Hervard on Apr 8, 2018 17:01:11 GMT -5
American Top 40 - The 80s - April 7, 2018
This week's presentation - April 5, 1986
Droppers: ANOTHER NIGHT – ARETHA FRANKLIN (35) - Definitely a case of Third Single Syndrome here. The first two singles from Who's Zoomin' Who hit the Top Ten, but this one only got as high as #22 the week before. I liked this song better than "Freeway Of Love", but I preferred the title track over both of them. I’M NOT THE ONE – THE CARS (34) - Since their ballad "Drive" was a Top Five hit, I thought this one might do the same, but, in fact, it didn't even hit the Top 30, which I thought was a shame, as it was one of their best hits ever. Possibly their most underrated hit ever! NIGHT MOVES – MARILYN MARTIN (33) - This was another underrated hit. She definitely had Phil Collins to thank for the success of "Separate Lives", as this song didn't get any higher than #28. Too bad, as it was a great hit. Of course, it might have done better if released a few years prior, since it sounded more like an early-80s hit. SILENT RUNNING – MIKE & THE MECHANICS (27) - They were a week away from hitting the charts with their second hit, "All I Need Is A Miracle" (which is one of this week's Optional Extras) and had pretty much run their course (no pun intended) with their first. It was a good song, but I preferred their next two releases, especially their summer hit "Taken In", which is one of their best songs ever IMO! (HOW TO BE A) MILLIONAIRE - ABC (25) - I sure wish I knew! I could live comfortably for life! 40: THE GREATEST LOVE OF ALL - WHITNEY HOUSTON (debut) - One of Whitney's best songs ever, and it became popular in the LDD department. This is a song that I never got tired of and it still sounds as fresh as it did 30 years ago! Glad that it ended up as her biggest hit (as far as weeks at #1 go).from her debut album, which had been on the album chart for over a year at that point. 39: I CAN'T WAIT - NU SHOOZ (debut) - What I couldn't wait for was this song to go poof! I was not a big fan of this one at all. I much preferred Stevie Nicks' song of the same title, which is coming up later in the countdown. 38: SOMETHING ABOUT YOU - LEVEL 42 (debut) - This song sure got a lot of mileage on the chart. Spent 14 weeks on the chart, which was unusually long for a song that did not even hit the Top Five (it was even more impressive on R&R - peaked at #9 and spent 15 weeks in the Top 40 - which tied it with several other songs for the longest run on the chart within 1986). I can see why it did so well, as it was an awesome song! 37: I DO WHAT I DO - JOHN TAYLOR (debut) - This one was very catchy. The first time I heard this song, I was singing the chorus to myself all day (misheard lyrics and all!) 36: FOR AMERICA - JACKSON BROWNE (39) - This, sadly, was Browne's final Top Ten hit. It was a good song; very patriotic. The song deserved a higher peak than #30, IMO. 35: IF YOU LEAVE - ORCHESTRAL MANOUEVRES IN THE DARK (debut) - Of their four Top 40 hits, this was their only Top Ten. I preferred their other three hits, my favorite being "So In Love", which, oddly enough, sounds a lot like this one. 34: SATURDAY LOVE - CHERRELLE WITH ALEXANDER O' NEAL (40) - This was their first of two charted duets. The other one, "Never Knew Love Like This" would chart exactly a year later. I like both of them about the same. This one definitely has a catchy chorus! 33: BAD BOY - MIAMI SOUND MACHINE (38) - This one had sort of an old Motown sound to it. It was the second of many big hits for this band from Cuba (and even more for the lead singer, Gloria Estefan, who would go on to have a successful solo career several years later). It was a good one; my favorite of their 1986 hits. 32: LIVE IS LIFE - OPUS (32) - Meh, not a fan of this song - repetitive and annoying. 31: TAKE ME HOME - (37) - PHIL COLLINS Many people thought that "Don't Lose My Number" was the final hit from No Jacket Required, but I believe they were holding off on new releases from the album to give "Separate Lives", his duet with Marilyn Martin, a chance (which proved to be worthwhile, as that song went all the way to the top). They resumed with No Jacket Required singles here with a song that closes out most of his concerts. A great song indeed! OPTIONAL EXTRA: I WANNA BE A COWBOY - BOYS DON'T CRY - The fact that it was basically a novelty song is probably why this didn't hit the Top Ten. I liked it, though, but I got tired of it around the time it peaked on the chart. Still, it's good to hear it every now and then. BTW, what was Larry's story about this song, as I was sleeping on and off during the first half of the show (not even sure this was where the Extra was placed). 30: OVERJOYED - STEVIE WONDER (31) - This song sounds like the song was recorded in a tropical rain forest. But it was a good one - by far, my favorite song from Wonder's In Square Circle. With a good-sized jump like that, it looked like it would be another Top Ten hit like the first two but, in fact, the song only got as high as #24. It did, however, fare much better at AC radio, where it would hit #1 two weeks later. 29: AMERICAN STORM - BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND (36) - This one definitely had a touch of early Springsteen to it, as it reminded me a lot of "Born To Run". It was also reminiscent of his 1983 hit "Even Now". This was the first of two Top 20 hits from Like A Rock. The other one was, of course, the title track. I definitely preferred this one - one of Seger's best. 28: NO EASY WAY OUT - ROBERT TEPPER (22) - It looked like this song was starting to catch on two weeks before as it had made a big eight-spot move. But, of course, it only was able to climb a spot higher. Of the three Top 40 hits from Rocky IV, this was my second favorite, behind "Burning Heart". 27: SO FAR AWAY - DIRE STRAITS (29) - The third single from their multi-platinum album Brothers In Arms. It was a great song, IMO - my favorite from that album! 26: HOW WILL I KNOW - WHITNEY HOUSTON (18) - I liked this song back during its chart run, but now not so much. I guess it's somewhat of a teenybopper type song. As stated earlier, I preferred "The Greatest Love Of All", which would spend three weeks at #1 in May. 25: KYRIE - MR. MISTER (15) - It definitely looked like Mr. Mister would become one of the biggest new acts of the 1980s, with their first two singles hitting the top and the third one hitting the Top Ten. Unfortunately, that was about it; after a mid-charter a little over a year later, they would never hit the chart again. Anyway, I thought this song was pretty good, but I preferred their first #1 "Broken Wings". 24: I THINK IT'S LOVE - JERMAINE JACKSON (26) - As his sister Janet was just getting started, Jermaine's chart career ended right here with this song that would peak at #16 in April. It was a great song - nearly as good as his two 1984 hits. 23: YOUR LOVE - THE OUTFIELD (30) The first of a handful of Top 40 hits from this British band who apparently knew nothing about baseball, despite their name. This was a good song, but I preferred their next single, "All The Love In The World", which charted that summer. 22: SANCTIFY YOURSELF - SIMPLE MINDS (14) - This was my favorite song in the world this week back in 1986. Their last two hits had been mediocre IMO (though I like both of them better now), but there was just something about this song that I really liked. Too bad this one didn't quite make the Top Ten like their first two hits; it had just spent the past three weeks at #14, where it peaked. They played the single version this week, that had shorter instrumental lead-ins, which was one of my favorite parts of the song, so I preferred the album version (which I believe AT40 did occasionally play). 21: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY - JANET JACKSON (28) - The first of many, many hits that Janet would place on the charts. However, this was one of my least favorite songs from her. I generally liked her later songs. OPTIONAL EXTRA: WHERE ARE YOU NOW - JIMMY HARNEN & SYNCH - Kind of unexpected as an extra, as it only hit #77 in its first chart run. But it fared much better in its second run three years later, when it got as high as #10. This was a great song and I'm glad that it got the second chance that it did - it was indeed worthy! LDD: I LOVE HOW YOU LOVE ME - BOBBY VINTON - Though this song did fit the dedication, it was a little geezerly for my taste. 20: KING FOR A DAY - THE THOMPSON TWINS (12) - This is definitely better than their last hit, "Lay Your Mediocrity On Me", but there are still a few songs by them that I prefer (my favorite being their song on this week's B show, "Hold Me Now". 19: I CAN'T WAIT - STEVIE NICKS (23) - This song would be joined with another song by the same title the following week. I much preferred this song, as I was never crazy about the Nu Shooz song. 18: CALLING AMERICA - ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (21) - Another artist that was charting with their final Top 40 hit, like several artists on this week's chart. But at least they went out with a great one - one of my all-time faves from them. 17: BEAT SO LONELY - CHARLIE SEXTON (17) - Here's a song whose chart stats on this week’s Hot 100 were quite interesting. It was peaking at #17 in its 17th week on the 100. And, since it was in its third week at that position, that made it 17's across the board. And, to boot, Charlie Sexton happened to be 17 years old at the time. Is that weird or what? As for the song itself, it was OK, but nothing exceptional. 16: WHY CAN'T THIS BE LOVE - VAN HALEN (24) - Wow, the Van Hagar era was off to a running start, as the band's very first hit with their new lead singer Sammy Hagar came roaring onto the chart way up at #24 the week before and makes the biggest chart jump this week! It was a great song, though I did slightly prefer the next two hits from 5150. 15: SARA - STARSHIP (8) - I personally preferred Fleetwood Mac's song of the same title, by a fairly large margin. I liked this one a lot when it first came out, and it's good to hear every now and then, but back in the day, it was a challenge to listen to any Top 40 or AC station and not hear this one within a half an hour. 14: HARLEM SHUFFLE - THE ROLLING STONES (20) - This song was mediocre at best; definitely not one of their best hits. But it did have a fast-rise, fast-fall chart run; in fact, it was a rare Top Five hit that did not make the year-end chart. 13: THIS COULD BE THE NIGHT - LOVERBOY (10) - They had been hitting the chart for several years, but in 1985, they finally had their first Top Ten hit. This was the second in a row, but this wasn't the beginning of any long streak. This was their final Top Ten hit. It was a great one - one of my favorites from them! 12: WEST END GIRLS - PET SHOP BOYS (19) - This was an example of a band's first hit being their biggest, making it all the way to the top! It was a good one, but I preferred several others from them, including their next hit "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots Of Money)". 11: TENDER LOVE - FORCE MD'S (16) - The only Top 40 hit for this Staten Island based R&B act. A great song - I especially like the part near the end where they go so far up the scale on the piano that it sounds like a music box. 10: NIKITA - ELTON JOHN (7) - His only hit from 1986 (solo, anyway). I liked it - I remember it quite well from back in the day. OPTIONAL EXTRA: ALL I NEED IS A MIRACLE - MIKE + THE MECHANICS - They were relatively new at the time, but were doing quite well, with their first hit having hit the Top Ten, and this one on the verge of doing the same. Of their first two hits, this was my favorite, though I did prefer a few others from them, including their next single "Taken In". 9: ADDICTED TO LOVE - ROBERT PALMER (13) - Definitely one of the most overplayed hits of the 80s. I rather liked this song back in the day, but I'm still burned out on it (since the song still continues to receive a ton of recurrent airplay). 8: LET'S GO ALL THE WAY - SLY FOX (9) - One of several one-hit wonders on this week's chart. This song had actually been released a year earlier, but didn't really go anywhere. Their decision to re-release it in 1986 proved to be worthwhile, as it hit the Top Ten. It was a good song. Is it me, or did they play a different version of the song than they usually do this week? 7: MANIC MONDAY - THE BANGLES (11) - Their breakthrough hit was on its way up the chart en route to #2 (edged out of #1 by a song by the artist who wrote this one). This was one of my favorite songs from them, which is more than I can say for their song that hit #1 at the end of the year. 6: WHAT YOU NEED - INXS (6) - Their first Top Ten hit, but the best was yet to come in 1988. One of those songs, "New Sensation" reminded me a lot of this one. Both are good songs. 5: THESE DREAMS - HEART (2) - Their very first #1 hit! Oddly enough, while Ann Wilson had generally sung lead, Nancy was given a turn at the lead vocals and this one went all the way to the top (they would have another #1 hit, and that would be with Ann singing lead). Anyway, this was a great song - one of my favorite songs from them (as is their other #1 hit "Alone"). 4: SECRET LOVERS - ATLANTIC STARR (3) - A song about infidelity. I liked it, as well as their song from the following year, "Always", which, ironically, is a song about promising to be faithful. LDD: HELLO - LIONEL RICHIE - Of the five singles from Can't Slow Down, this one was my favorite by a fair margin. It was definitely fitting for the dedication, from a teacher to one of her former students. 3: KISS - PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION (5) - Meh, not a fan of this one, or any of his falsetto songs (well, except for "Mountains"). OPTIONAL EXTRA: HOLDING BACK THE YEARS - SIMPLY RED - The first of several big hits by this English band headed up by Mick "Red" Hucknall. When I first heard this song, I was like, wow, what a great song! However, the song was quite overplayed and I grew tired of it. Still, it's good to hear every now and then. 2: R.O.C.K. IN THE U.S.A. - JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP (4) - This was his biggest hit during the eight or so years that he used both of his surnames (his real one and the one that he was assigned as his stage name). The song peaked at #2 the following week, edged out of #1 by - well, more on that in a moment. Anyway, this was my favorite song from him back in the day, but, while I still like it, somehow, it doesn't sound quite as good as it did 30 years ago. 1: ROCK ME AMADEUS - FALCO (1) - Now I’ve said many times that my opinion of this song varies with the version played. They generally play the version that includes the chronology of Amadeus’ life, which is my least favorite. But they have played the other version (the one that begins with “Ooh, Rock Me Amadeus!”). Well, this week, they actually played a weird version of the song - sort of a combination of the two above versions. This one would be my favorite, basically due to the novelty.
Coming up next week: Another twofer offering - April 11, 1987 (last run in 2014) as the "A" show and April 18, 1981 (last run in 2015) as the "B" show. This will be the sixth year in a row with an April, 1981 show, which is just fine with me, as that was a great year in music!
|
|
|
Post by FreakyFlyBry on Apr 14, 2018 1:55:15 GMT -5
Recycled commentary from 4 years ago! April 11, 1987Falling off: Bruce Willis - Respect Yourself (40) - it's alright, but he's better as an actor The Jets - You Got It All (32) - again, not bad, but I prefer their upbeat hits Bon Jovi - Livin' On A Prayer (31) - great song! Shame to see it fall off Peter Gabriel - Big Time (30) - great song! Shame to see it fall off Huey Lewis & the News - Jacob's Ladder - good song, surprised it was a #1 as it's never heard anymore 40. Huey Lewis & the News - I Know What I Like (debut) - good song, but I prefer most of their other hits 39. The Breakfast Club - Right On Track (debut) - great song! 38. Fleetwood Mac - Big Love (debut) - this was alright, but most of their other hits are better 37. Glenn Medeiros - Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You (39) - great song! I prefer "She Ain't Worth It" though. Also, Casey made a mistake, saying he was the youngest artist to chart since France Joli... didn't he forget Stacy Lattisaw? 36. Poison - Talk Dirty To Me (debut) - great song! One of their best 35. Joan Jett & the Blackhearts - Light Of Day (33) - I like this but prefer many others from them Almanac: The Rolling Stones - I Wanna Be Your Man - it's alright, but far from their best. Still, I see why this was chosen as the story was about the ties between them and the Beatles and this was a Lennon-McCartney composition 34. Glass Tiger - I Will Be There (34) - good song, but I prefer their other hits 33. World Party - Ship Of Fools (38) - this was alright 32. Bryan Adams - Heat Of The Night (debut) - great song! I like most of his stuff 31. Shirley Murdock - As We Lay (23) - this was alright 30. Chris DeBurgh - The Lady In Red (37) - great song, as cheesy as it is. Interesting that U2 once opened up for him, and they'd been headliners ever since. 29. REO Speedwagon - That Ain't Love (16) - good song! Still, they've had better 28. Donna Allen - Serious (36) - not bad 27. Linda Ronstadt & James Ingram - Somewhere Out There (15) - great song! One of my favourites from both and a popular LDD choice 26. The Robert Cray Band - Smoking Gun (27) - not bad, it's cool that a blues song fit in the top 40 so well! 25. Boston - Can'tcha Say/Still In Love (29) - good song, but I prefer most of their others 24. Cyndi Lauper - What's Going On (26) - good song, interesting story about how tragedy around him inspired Marvin Gaye to write this 23. U2 - With Or Without You (35) - great song! Glad it would hit #1 eventually 22. Peter Wolf - Come As You Are (24) - good song, my favourite solo hit from him 21. Hipsway - The Honeythief (19) - good song! Definitely underrated LDD: Bruce Springsteen - My Hometown - good song, but I forgot what the LDD was about. 2018 edit: It was about the writer's hometown in Ohio, which had the same fate as Bruce's New Jersey hometown in the lyrics, which made it a perfect choice. 20. Robbie Nevil - Dominoes (21) - good song, had no idea he wrote that much for other artists! 19. Kool & the Gang - Stone Love (20) - good song, shame it was their last top 40 18. Madonna - La Isla Bonita (25) - great song! One of many classics from her 17. Cutting Crew - (I Just) Died In Your Arms (22) - great song! An 80's mix show essential 16. Bruce Hornsby & the Range - Mandolin Rain (9) - great song! One of their best 15. Tina Turner - What You Get Is What You See (13) - good song, one of her most underrated 14. The Bangles - Walking Down Your Street (17) - they sure love walking! Great song though 13. Janet Jackson - Let's Wait Awhile (4) - good song, with a good message 12. Jody Watley - Looking For A New Love (18) - great song! One of her best 11. Europe - The Final Countdown (8) - great song! One of their best 10. Steve Winwood - The Finer Things (14) - great song! One of his best 9. Wang Chung - Let's Go (10) - great song! Underrated 8. Lou Gramm - Midnight Blue (11) - great song, one of his best including Foreigner LDD: Peter Cetera - Glory Of Love - great song, perfect match for an inspiring LDD 7. Prince - Sign O' The Times (12) - good song, but he's had better 6. Expose - Come Go With Me (5) - great song! One of their best though I prefer their ballads 5. Crowded House - Don't Dream It's Over (7) - great song! A true 80's classic 4. Genesis - Tonight, Tonight, Tonight (3) - great song! Casey mentioned triple-titled hit songs - in 2000, another ("Bye Bye Bye" by 'N Sync) would join the list of #1's 3. Aretha Franklin & George Michael - I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) (6) - great song! Glad this brought Aretha back to the top after 20 years 2. Club Nouveau - Lean On Me (2) - great song - a very good remake that I prefer over the original 1. Starship - Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now (1) - great song! Interesting story as well about how they reacted when "We Built This City" hit #1! Wouldn't be surprised if JessieLou reacted the same way to hearing Grace Slick at #1. Chicago update: We were still two weeks away from "If She Would Have Been Faithful", but at least former lead singer Peter Cetera was heard as an LDD: Prediction for next week: We know it's 1984.
|
|
|
Post by Hervard on Apr 14, 2018 19:58:00 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - April 14, 2018 This week's presentation - April 18, 1981 NOTE: This might be a building commentary over the weekend - I'm currently listening to it on KZOY, on whose live stream I can hear static. However, being that the 1987 show won't be on any station for at least another two hours, I decided to just grit my teeth and listen to KZOY. I might bail out on this show after the end of Hour 2, but who knows - I might have gotten used to it by then. Droppers: ME WITHOUT YOU - ANDY GIBB (40) - He was unstoppable in the late-70s, but he wore out pretty quickly in the 1980s. This was his last Top 40 hit, and it just barely made it, peaking in the anchor position. I seem to remember that this song was pretty good - had a nice melody. CELEBRATION - KOOL & THE GANG (30) - I remember this song quite well - aside from radio airplay, it got a lot of play on juke boxes, such as the one at Pizza Hut, a place that my dad would take my brother and me to every Sunday for dinner back in early 1981. WINNER TAKES IT ALL - ABBA (20) - Wow, all the droppers were ten spaces apart last week, and at the cusp of each chart zone. This, sadly, would be their final Top Ten hit. It, along with "Dancing Queen" (which we heard on this week's 70s "B" show) were my two favorites from them. Too bad that it dropped off, especially from such a high position! LW#1: KISS ON MY LIST – DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES 40: LOVED YOU LIKE I NEVER LOVED BEFORE – JOHN O’BANION (debut) - The only top 40 hit from this Kokomo native (the city in Indiana, that is; not the place the Beach Boys were singing about). It was a pretty decent song; had sort of a sixties sound to it. 39: WASN’T THAT A PARTY – THE ROVERS (debut) - Meh, this was a little goofy for my tastes. I remember their hit in 1968, "The Unicorn" was used as the intro music for a segment called "Ark In The Park" (basically, a taped segment of a trip to Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo) on the old Ray Rayner Show from the 1970s 38: MISTER SANDMAN - EMMYLOU HARRIS (39) - Interesting remake of the old Chordettes hit. I slightly prefer the original, but this one was good too. 37: HOLD ON LOOSELY - .38 SPECIAL (debut) - This is one of those mid-charters that now receives more radio airplay than ever. Of course, I prefer many others from them, but this is still a good song. 36: TURN ME LOOSE - LOVERBOY (36) - Here is another such song. It looked like it was peaking this week, but it did manage to get a spot higher the following week before falling out of the Top 40. Perhaps the fact that the above two songs were the debut hits of the bands who sing them have something to do with their recurrent airplay. Anyway, this song was pretty good, but I preferred several others from this Canadian band. 35: THE PARTY’S OVER (HOPELESSLY IN LOVE) - JOURNEY (37) - This was one of their songs where the (main) title isn't heard until near the end, like "Don't Stop Believin'", which hit the chart at the end of that year. As for the song, it wasn't bad, but it was one of my least favorite songs from them. Casey mentioned that this was a live recording, but, in fact, it was not; it was a studio recording on an otherwise live album (thanks @davewollenberg for this factoid). 34: WHAT KIND OF FOOL – BARBRA STREISAND & BARRY GIBB (18) - We almost missed this song completely this year, as, on the last 1981 show, the song was a week away from debuting, and this week, it was spending its final week in the Top 40. Glad we got to hear it, because this was a great song - easily my favorite of their two duets! I liked how the other Bee Gees sing back-up during the final choruses. 33: WATCHING THE WHEELS – JOHN LENNON (38) - This one reminds me of his 1971 hit "Imagine". I like both songs about the same, but my favorite song from John's Double Fantasy album would have to be "(Just Like) Starting Over" (which, BTW, is coming up as a LDD in Hour 2). 32: SUKIYAKI – A TASTE OF HONEY (34) - Their second and final Top 40 hit. I liked this, but preferred the 1994 remake by 4PM - that one had more interesting chord progressions. 31: I MISSED AGAIN – PHIL COLLINS (35) - Phil's first solo hit, which, to this day, I just can't believe he didn't include on his HITS album, as it was his very first solo hit. It was a great one, too - one of my favorite of his solo hits. 30: I LOVE YOU – THE CLIMAX BLUES BAND (32) - Here's one I remember quite well, as I was taking swimming lessons during the summer of 1981 and I heard this song almost every day at the pool. It is one of the songs I associate most with that summer! A great song indeed - easily my favorite of their two Top 40 hits. ARCHIVES: THE GAME OF LOVE – WAYNE FONTANA & THE MINDBENDERS - Another band who had two Top 40 hits. This was their first one, and the only one to hit the top (though their other one, "Groovy Kind Of Love" didn't miss by much, peaking at #2 the following year. OPTIONAL EXTRA: SINCE I DON'T HAVE YOU - DON McLEAN - A song, originally by the Skyliners, that has been covered many times, by artists like Art Garfunkel, Guns 'N Roses, and this one - my favorite version of the song, as well as one of my favorite songs by Don McLean, right up there with "American Pie" and "Vincent" 29: HOW ‘BOUT US - CHAMPAIGN (31) - As I’ve said before, it’s pretty much a toss-up between their two hits as to which one is my favorite. Both are great songs, IMO. 28: IT’S A LOVE THING – THE WHISPERS (29) - They had six songs that peaked in the lower half of the Hot 100 before finally hitting the Top 40 the year before. This was their third song and this is where it peaked. Their next Top 40 hit would be their biggest, getting as high as #7 in the late summer of 1987. LDD: (JUST LIKE) STARTING OVER – JOHN LENNON - Interesting how all three of Lennon's Final Fantasy singles are represented in this week's countdown. As stated earlier, this is my favorite of those, and it definitely fit the dedication. I wonder if the woman who had been in the process of filing for divorce from her husband managed to work things out, like she had started hoping when she heard this song on the radio on the way to the courthouse. 27: BETTE DAVIS EYES – KIM CARNES (33) - Casey mentioned that her first two hits made the Top Ten back in 1980. With such an average chart jump this week, who knew that this song would spend the better half of the summer at #1, becoming the top song of the year in the process? It was definitely worthy - one of the best #1 hits of 1981! 26: YOU BETTER YOU BET – THE WHO (28) - Here's one I remember quite well! It sounds a lot like Pete Townshend's solo hit from the previous year, "Let My Love Open The Door", and I always thought it was Townshend singing lead, but, in fact, it was Roger Daltrey. This was one of my favorite songs by the Who. 25: SWEETHEART – FRANKE & THE KNOCKOUTS (27) - They had a trio of Top 40 hits in the early-80s. All three were great hits, but this was by far my favorite! 24: TOO MUCH TIME ON MY HANDS - STYX (26) - Their second Top Ten hit from the Paradise Theater album. Even though I prefer the first of those, "The Best Of Times", this is also a good one - a song I learned to like a little better over the years (since I used to think it was mediocre). 23: TIME OUT OF MIND – STEELY DAN (25) - Wow, lots of songs moving up two spots this week! This was their final Top 40 hit. This one had their trademark jazz/rock sound heard in most of their Top 40 hits. I preferred this song over "Hey Nineteen", but I generally preferred the songs from Aja. 22: JUST BETWEEN YOU AND ME – APRIL WINE (22) - Here's a song that appeared to be at its peak position, as it was in its second week at #22, but the song moved up a spot the following week. Anyway, this is one I remember from back in the day. It was a great song, IMO. 21: AIN’T EVEN DONE WITH THE NIGHT – JOHN COUGAR (23) - This one had fallen into obscurity until about fifteen years ago, when it began being played on 80s stations. It's a good song, though not quite his best. ARCHIVES: MRS. BROWN YOU’VE GOT A LOVELY DAUGHTER – HERMAN’S HERMITS - Meh, this was OK, but the voice was kind of annoying. OPTIONAL EXTRA: SUPER TROUPER - ABBA - This was about where their "The Winner Takes It All" was in the countdown the week before. The song was OK, but I prefer it predecessor. 20: TAKE IT ON THE RUN – REO SPEEDWAGON (24) - Their second Top 40 hit and, like the first one, it was a power ballad. I love both songs but slightly prefer this one. 19: DON’T STOP THE MUSIC – YARBROUGH & PEOPLES (19) - Yes, please stop the music - especially this one, because it’s quite annoying. 18: LIVING INSIDE MYSELF – GINO VANELLI (21) - A good way to save money on rent! But seriously, this was probably my favorite of his two Top Ten hits. EXTRA: TAKE GOOD CARE OF MY BABY – BOBBY VEE - Interesting story about how the infamous plane crash that killed three rock & roll greats was instrumental in starting his music career. 17: 9 TO 5 – DOLLY PARTON (16) - This song had been moving down really slowly over the past few weeks, but the law of gravity set in the following week, as it fell clean out of the Top 40. Anyway, Dolly Parton's first pop hit, "Here You Come Again" peaked at #3, and after four songs that missed the Top Ten, she had her very first #1 hit. It was a great song - one of my favorites from her. 16: SOMEBODY’S KNOCKIN’ – TERRI GIBBS (17) - 15: HELLO AGAIN – NEIL DIAMOND (13) - Another song that took a small drop this week, but would fall out of the countdown the following week. This was the second of three Top Ten hits by Neil Diamond from "The Jazz Singer". It was my least favorite of the three, but it was a great song nevertheless. 14: CRYING – DON McLEAN (7) - You could definitely tell that this was a Roy Orbison song (as it sounded a great deal like "Blue Bayou"). This was another one of my favorite songs by McLean. 13: HER TOWN TOO – JAMES TAYLOR & J.D. SOUTHER (15) - A one-time collaboration that saved the second artist from the dreaded "one hit wonder" title. It was a great song - too bad it just barely missed the Top Ten. 12: KEEP ON LOVING YOU – REO SPEEDWAGON (9) - I believe this would be considered their biggest hit ever. "Can't Fight This Feeling" may have spent two more weeks on top, but this song had more staying power - it spent two more weeks in the Top 40 than that song spent on the Hot 100. This was a song I definitely remember from its chart run, and I never got tired of it - a great power ballad indeed! 11: I CAN’T STAND IT – ERIC CLAPTON AND HIS BAND (11) - This song looked like it would just barely miss making the Top Ten, as it was stuck at #11 for three weeks. But the song did manage to climb another spot to peak at #10 in early May. I believe this was the only Top 40 that credited "his band". The song is not quite my favorite from him, but there are several songs that I prefer this over ("Tears In Heaven" comes to mind). ARCHIVES: TICKET TO RIDE – THE BEATLES - One of many of their big hits during the 1960s and a somewhat rare one with a playing time exceeding three minutes. This song was pretty good, but I prefer many others from them. OPTIONAL EXTRA: A WOMAN NEEDS LOVE (JUST LIKE YOU DO) - RAY PARKER, JR. & RAYDIO - Statistically, their biggest Top 40 hit ever. Reminds me a lot of their 1979 hit "You Can't Change That". Both are great songs; not sure which one I prefer. 10: DON’T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME – THE POLICE (10) - They had their first Top Ten hit ever earlier in the year and this song matched its peak position the week before. Of their three big 1981 hits, this one was definitely my favorite. 9: THE BEST OF TIMES - STYX (3) - This was their first of two Top 40 hits from Styx' Paradise Theater album, as well as my favorite of those two (though, as I mentioned earlier, I do like the other one, "Too Much Time On My Hands" more than I had previously). Both are great songs! 8: BEING WITH YOU – SMOKEY ROBINSON (14) - This song was mediocre at best. I preferred much of his earlier material, including hits with the Miracles. 7: WHILE YOU SEE A CHANCE – STEVE WINWOOD (8) - This song, which was at #1 on the R&R chart this week, was Winwood's first Top 40 (solo) hit. It was possibly my all-time favorite song from him. LDD: FEELS SO GOOD – CHUCK MANGIONE - Sort of unusual for an instrumental song to be a LDD, but the title of the song did indeed fit the story. 6: ANGEL OF THE MORNING – JUICE NEWTON (12) - This successful country artist crossed over to Pop with this one. I like it, but preferred most of her other Top 40 hits. 5: WOMAN – JOHN LENNON (4) - This was technically Lennon's first posthumous hit, as "Starting Over" had been released before Lennon's untimely death. It came very close to hitting #1, but couldn't quite get past REO Speedwagon or Blondie. It did, however, spend a month at the top on the R&R chart. Anyway, this has always been one of my favorite John Lennon songs. 4: JUST THE TWO OF US – GROVER WASHINGTON JR. (5) - This song was gearing up to spend a pair of weeks atop the R&R chart. It almost made it here on the Hot 100, but just barely fell short. It was a great song - kind of reminds me of "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover" by Paul Simon. 3: MORNING TRAIN – SHEENA EASTON (6) - I used to like this song a lot, but now it is, in fact, one of my least favorite songs from her. OPTIONAL EXTRA: TIME - ALAN PARSONS PROJECT - The first song from Parsons to use Eric Woolfson on lead vocals (which proved to be a good tactic, as they had many of their biggest hits with him). This song used to make me cry, until a friend of mine made a funny parody. 2: RAPTURE - BLONDIE (2) - They were definitely a hot item in the early 1980s - had the top song of 1980, and two #1 songs in early 1981. This was the second of those two, and definitely my favorite! 1: KISS ON MY LIST – DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (1) - 1981 was definitely a great year for them, as they had two #1 hits, as well as two Top Five hits, one of which went on to hit #1 in early 1982. Of those four songs, this was definitely my favorite. Coming up next week: Another show last featured in 2014 - April 21,1984. With precious few "new" shows left, methinks they should go with shows featured only once before early in the run of this series.
|
|
|
Post by Hervard on Apr 14, 2018 19:59:16 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - April 14, 2018
This week's presentation - April 11, 1987
RESPECT YOURSELF - BRUCE WILLIS (40) - Today, this song would be listed as by Bruce Willis featuring the Pointer Sisters, especially since one of them sang the second verse, and were heard singing back-up throughout the song, which I thought was OK, but nothing exceptional. YOU GOT IT ALL - THE JETS (32) - After two upbeat dance songs (one of which just missed the Top 40 the previous summer), they slowed the tempo down for this one. It apparently worked, as this song hit the Top Ten. This, along with their AC hit from 1989, "The Same Love" are my two favorite songs from them - great songs indeed! LIVIN' ON A PRAYER - BON JOVI (31) - No huge loss, as this song was quite overplayed - not that I ever really liked it in the first place. Instead, I was really into what I thought was going to be the third release from Slippery When Wet, the album cut "Never Say Goodbye". The thing about that song is, though it did chart on the airplay chart, its handicap was that many radio stations did not chart album cuts, like the Hot 100, and the ones that did had been playing it for so long that, by the time it hit the airplay chart, many stations had already dropped the song from their playlists. Otherwise, it would have been a Top Ten hit. Anyway, that song's sporadic airplay apparently did not affect this song at all, as it spent a month at #1 back in February. BIG TIME - PETER GABRIEL (30) - The first two singles from the So album are quite overplayed (especially "Sledgehammer"), but this one you hardly hear anymore. Perhaps that's why it's my favorite song from the album. JACOB'S LADDER - HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (28) - Here's another song from a very successful singles album, Fore! The third song from the album, it hit #1 back in early March and, as this song was on its way down, the fourth song was debuting on AT40 this week, on its was to becoming the album's fourth Top Ten hit. As for this one, this one has to be one of the least-played #1 songs of the 1980s, as, outside of countdown shows, you never really hear this song on the radio. I liked it, but it wasn't one of my favorites from him.
40: I KNOW WHAT I LIKE – HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (debut) - As I said earlier, this song hit the Top Ten, but it just barely kept their Top Ten streak going, as it peaked at #9 and spent but a single week in the Top Ten. It was a good song, but definitely not his best. 39: RIGHT ON TRACK – THE BREAKFAST CLUB (debut) - The only Top 40 song for John, Claire, Andy, Brian, and Allison, written on March 24, 1984 as they served a Saturday detention. Unfortunately, due to legal technicalities, Principal Vernon received all the royalties. 38: BIG LOVE – FLEETWOOD MAC (debut) - Their first of five singles from "Tango In The Night", with Lindsey Buckingham handling the lead vocals. It was OK, but my favorite song from the album was the next single, "Seven Wonders", featuring Stevie Nicks singing lead. 37: NOTHING’S GONNA CHANGE MY LOVE FOR YOU – GLENN MEDEIROS (39) - The first Top 40 hit for this high school student from Kaui. Due to how fast the charts moved in 1987, there were only two songs that made the year-end survey that did not quite make the Top 20. This was the more successful of those, peaking at #12 in June. A great song, IMO, and one of my favorite songs of the whole year. 36: TALK DIRTY TO ME - POISON (debut) - The breakthrough hit from this glam rock band from Pennsylvania did pretty well, hitting the Top Ten. I liked it, but wasn't quite my favorite song from them. I generally preferred their power ballads. 35: LIGHT OF DAY – THE BARBUSTERS (33) - Of course, this is Joan Jett & The Blackhearts with their only hit under that pseudonym. I liked the song - reminded me a little of "R.O.C.K. In The U.S.A." by John Cougar Mellencamp. ALMANAC: I WANNA BE YOUR MAN – THE ROLLING STONES - I don't believe this one was ever released as a single. It wasn't bad, but I preferred many others from them. 34: I WILL BE THERE – GLASS TIGER (34) - A good example of Third Single Syndrome here. The first two singles from The Thin Red Line hit the Top Ten, yet this is all the further this single got, which I thought was a shame, as it was my second favorite from them (a close second, might I add) behind "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)". 33: SHIP OF FOOLS (SAVE ME FROM TOMORROW) – WORLD PARTY (38) - The only Top 40 hit for this London-based one-man band was sailing right along on the chart. I liked it, but, as someone on these boards once observed, it sounded more like a fall hit than spring. I wonder if it would have done better had it been released about six months later. 32: HEAT OF THE NIGHT – BRYAN ADAMS (debut) - I liked this song, though my least favorite single from Into The Fire (probably because the other two didn't get anywhere near as much airplay - in fact, I don't think I ever heard either of them outside of countdown shows - or radio station "late night fights" (Victim Of Love was a winner on the latter of the two on U93). 31: AS WE LAY – SHIRLEY MURDOCK (23) - Ah, a song about infidelity. After spending the night with a mistress, this married man must go home and face his irate wife! Melodically, this song sounds a little like something from the sixties. OPTIONAL EXTRA: DIAMONDS – HERB ALPERT f/JANET JACKSON & LISA KEITH - Not sure whether or not the success of this song, which was never one of my favorites, affected the chart performance of "The Pleasure Principle" (whose release I heard was delayed so as not to cause competition with this song. 30: THE LADY IN RED – CHRIS DeBURGH (37) - Chris had charted a few times earlier in the 80s, but this is the song that put him on the map. I loved this song when it was on the chart, but the stations I listened to back in the day all but played it out and I became quite tired of it. It's good to hear every now and then, but I wouldn't want to hear it every day. 29: THAT AIN’T LOVE – REO SPEEDWAGON (16) - The first Top 40 hit in about a year and a half for this band from Champaign, Illinois. As we all know, I prefer their power ballads, but this is possibly my favorite of their upbeat material. It is indeed a great song! 28: SERIOUS – DONNA ALLEN (36) - ARGH, how many times does she have to say, “TALK, talk about serious”? Enough is enough! Needless to say, I wasn't a big fan of this song. 27: SOMEWHERE OUT THERE (FROM “AN AMERICAN TAIL”) – LINDA RONSTADT & JAMES INGRAM (15) - I never saw the animated movie that this song is from, but I definitely heard the song many a time (we even sang it for our spring choir concert in my sophomore year in high school). I loved this song, like most of James' (and many of Linda's) songs. 26: SMOKING GUN – THE ROBERT CRAY BAND (27) - This song was the first blues song to hit the chart since 1974? Hard to believe! It was a good one, too - a song that takes me back to the spring of 1987. 25: CAN’TCHA SAY (YOU BELIEVE IN ME)/STILL IN LOVE - BOSTON (29) - Their mid-80s comeback had yielded them two additional Top Ten hits, and this song didn't do too bad either, peaking at #20. It was my favorite song from Third Stage, which turned out to be their most successful singles album. 24: WHAT’S GOING ON – CYNDI LAUPER (26) - This was a cover version of Marvin Gaye's classic Top Ten hit from 1971, when Lauper was still in high school. I remember hating this song when it was on the charts. Now, I like it, even better than the original. Interesting story about how this song marked a pivotal point in Gaye's life. 23: WITH OR WITHOUT YOU – U2 (35) - The first hit from one of the biggest albums of the 80s, The Joshua Tree. It wasn't bad, but quite overplayed. I preferred the other two singles. 22: COME AS YOU ARE – PETER WOLF (24) - The former lead singer of the J. Geils Band had two solo hits in 1984 and was back with his second album, to which this was the title track. It was a great song! 21: THE HONEYTHIEF – HIPSWAY (19) - The thing I remember most about this song was its catchy chorus (“The light of deep regret, let me see what I don’t get”). A great song that I felt was quite underrated. LDD: MY HOMETOWN – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - This, of course, became Springsteen's seventh Top Ten hit from Born In The USA the year before. It was a great song and fit the dedication like a glove. OPTIONAL EXTRA: YOU KEEP ME HANGIN' ON - KIM WILDE - As I've said several times before, I prefer this version over the Supremes and Vanilla Fudge versions, though my all-time favorite Kim Wilde song would be her near-miss song "You Came", from 1988. 20: DOMINOES – ROBBIE NEVIL (21) - He'd charted early in the year with a hit that peaked in the runner-up position and, with the good-sized move this song made the week before, it looked like he might collect his second Top Ten hit, but this song ran out of steam at #14. 19: STONE LOVE – KOOL & THE GANG (20) - This song, like "Victory", would also hit the Top Ten, and, unfortunately, it turned out to be their last Top 40 hit. I liked this song, but my favorite of the Forever singles was "Special Way", which was a Top Ten AC hit in December of that year. 18: LA ISLA BONITA - MADONNA (25) - The fifth hit from True Blue was burning up the chart en route to becoming another Top Five hit. It was the final song from the album, but Madonna was at work on her next project, the movie "Who's That Girl", which would spawn two Top Ten hits later in the year. This was a good song; indeed had a tropical island feel. 17: (I JUST) DIED IN YOUR ARMS – CUTTING CREW (22) - The first of three Top 40 hits for this band from London - all from their debut album Broadcast. This one was OK, but quite overplayed, both back in 1987 and nowadays on oldies stations. I preferred their other two hits. 16: MANDOLIN RAIN – BRUCE HORNSBY & THE RANGE (9) - This song seems to be generally edited on AT40, but at least they generally took out the second verse instead of the "running down by the lake shore" bridge, which is my favorite part of the song. Well, they actually played the song intact this week! Anyway, I liked all three singles from The Way It Is, but this was my favorite. 15: WHAT YOU GET IS WHAT YOU SEE – TINA TURNER (13) - The last of three Top 40 singles from Turner's Break Every Rule album. Though this song did get close to the Top Ten, I still felt it was quite underrated (namely, since it gets no recurrent airplay). Needless to say, I liked the song a lot. 14: WALKING DOWN YOUR STREET – THE BANGLES (17) - The band that had a thing about walking back in 1987, as illustrated by the titles of their two hits from that year. Anyway, you know that I prefer this over the other one, though I did prefer their first two hits from the Different Light album, but this one’s still a great song! 13: LET’S WAIT AWHILE – JANET JACKSON (4) - A little over two years before, Cyndi Lauper had set a record for the most Top 40 hits from a single album by a solo female - five from She's So Unusual. This song tied the record as it was the fifth from Control, and Janet was obviously not satisfied with a tie as she went on to break the record for the most Top Ten hits from an album by a solo female (as the fifth song from Cyndi Lauper's album ran out of gas at #27). This was a great song with a great message about abstinence and my favorite of the Control singles. 12: LOOKING FOR A NEW LOVE – JODY WATLEY (18) - This song came very close to hitting #1, but it was stuck at #2 for four weeks, behind the Cutting Crew and U2, the latter of which leapfrogged over this song, which I thought was OK, but I preferred a few of her other songs, including ones that she did as part of Shalamar. 11: THE FINAL COUNTDOWN - EUROPE (8) - They appeared to have played the album version of this song, which included a longer horn intro, which reminded me a little of the beginning of "Only Time Will Tell" by Asia. It was pretty good, but I preferred the other two Top 40 hits from the album of the same name. OPTIONAL EXTRA: HEAD TO TOE - LISA LISA & CULT JAM - They dropped Full Force, Paul Anthony and Bowlegged Lou for this one (but they were still featured on at least one other song on the same album), and to number one this song went. It was OK, but I was never too crazy about it. I preferred the next release "Lost In Emotion", which, of course, also went to #1. 10: THE FINER THINGS – STEVE WINWOOD (14) - Back In The High Life was definitely Winwood's most successful album as far as singles go, as there were four of them that hit the Top 40. This was the third and there was no "Third Single Syndrome" here, as this was the second most successful song from the album behind the #1 "Higher Love". This was very possibly my favorite song from the album, though there are several other songs by him that I prefer. 9: LET’S GO – WANG CHUNG (10) - After having their first Top Ten hit (getting ever so close to #1), they were landing their second one this week. I preferred this song, though over the past few years, I've learned to like said first Top Ten hit (the one about wanking John) better than previously. 8: MIDNIGHT BLUE – LOU GRAMM (11) - After a decade of heading up Foreigner, he decided to give a solo career a try. This was his first solo hit to make the charts. It was a good one, but I preferred the other two, both from his second solo album Long Hard Look. LDD: GLORY OF LOVE – PETER CETERA - A dedication from a white-belt in karate to her sensei with a very fitting song (as it was the theme from Karate Kid II). This was Peter Cetera's first post-Chicago solo hit. It was a great song IMO - one of my favorites from him. 7: SIGN ‘O’ THE TIMES - PRINCE (12) - This song was OK, but it was rather monotonous. Definitely not his best song by any means. 6: COME GO WITH ME - EXPOSE (5) - I liked most of their hits, but this wasn't one of them! Definitely my least favorite single from the Exposure album. My favorite was the next release, "Point Of No Return", which was a big summer hit. 5: DON’T DREAM IT’S OVER – CROWDED HOUSE (7) - Two members of the band Split Enz (which had a minor hit in 1980 called "I Got You") helped to form this band who had two Top Ten hits in 1987. I thought both were great songs, though I preferred their follow-up, "Something So Strong", which sounded sort of like a more upbeat version of this song. 4: TONIGHT, TONIGHT, TONIGHT - GENESIS (3) - This song, which always makes me thirsty for an ice cold Michelob, was pretty good, but not one of my favorites from them. I especially hated the album version, which U93 started playing around this time - the instrumental bridge with those goofy sound effects, reminiscent of the background music in the old-school Donkey Kong Country games, drags on and on. Fortunately, I seldom hear that version anymore. Interesting story about the other Top Ten hits with titles in triplicate, like this one. 3: I KNEW YOU WERE WAITING (FOR ME) – ARETHA FRANKLIN & GEORGE MICHAEL (6) - A one time pairing of the Queen Of Soul and the former lead singer of Wham! - and a great pairing at that, since it hit #1 the following week. Definitely one of my favorites from both artists! OPTIONAL EXTRA: WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE - BON JOVI - This song demonstrated the band's country/western side, a format that they would switch to two decades later. This was a good song, but I preferred "Never Say Goodbye", the album cut from Slippery When Wet that I mentioned earlier. 2: LEAN ON ME – CLUB NOUVEAU (2) - This was probably my least favorite song on the countdown back in the day, and naturally, it wasted no time getting to #1! It's still not one of my favorite songs, but its saving grace is that it's better than the insomnia-curing original by Bill Withers - definitely a "No. Just no" song in my book! 1: NOTHING’S GONNA STOP US NOW – STARSHIP (1) - I loved the story about the band freaking out when they found out that "We Built This City" hit #1 on the Hot 100, after 18 years of hitting the charts without a #1. They were celebrating so intensely, they crashed into a wall of a hotel. Fortunately, nobody was hurt and the cop let them off the hook when they explained the situation to him. Apparently, the officer told them that he hoped they didn't have another number one or they wouldn't have a town left. Casey said "Let's just hope they weren't behind the wheel last week...". That also goes for March, 1986, when "Sara" hit #1.
Coming up next week: See the end of my 1981 commentary above.
|
|
|
Post by FreakyFlyBry on Apr 21, 2018 15:19:46 GMT -5
It's recycled commentary time! April 21, 1984A good choice this week... it's another show that I have in my collection Droppers, anyone? 37. The Romantics - One In A Million - wtf did this sound like again 33. Matthew Wilder - The Kid's American - wtf did this sound like again 28. Nena - 99 Luftballoons - great song! I like both versions, but I think it sounds better in German (I'll get to foreign singers trying to sing in English later in my commentary, even if the English version of this sounds good too) 27. Dan Fogelberg - The Language of Love - very different from the rest of this stuff, as this was rather upbeat One of his best 24. Christine McVie - Got A Hold On Me - good song, but I generally prefer her Fleetwood Mac stuff Those 5 songs fell off into the hit music sunset, and aside from Nena who still regularly gets played, have faded into obscurity. 40. Talk Talk - It's My Life (debut) - good song, but I prefer No Doubt's version 39. Bon Jovi - Runaway (debut) - good song, but I like most of their other singles more 38. Paul Young - Come Back And Stay (23) - one of my favourites from him! Possibly even my favourite, as "Everytime You Go Away" can be a little overplayed at times 37. Madonna - Borderline (40) - good song, but I like a few others by her more 36. Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time (debut) - great song! The best on the chart so far 35. Queen - Radio Ga-Ga (18) - underrated, seems like their 1975-81 stuff gets more attention than this But it's a good song 34. Bonnie Tyler - Holding Out For A Hero (34) - I'm surprised this peaked so low... good song though, but I prefer "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" 33. Van Halen - I'll Wait (debut) - good song! One of their best 32. Night Ranger - Sister Christian (debut) - My favourite from them, I also like the 2 singles after this 31. Berlin - No More Words (35) - underrated in comparison to "Take My Breath Away"; I like both, as well as a few of their non-charting singles 30. Shalamar - Dancing In The Sheets (39) - it's okay, but my least favourite on the chart so far... not a big Shalamar fan in general 29. The Pretenders - Show Me (32) - good song! Definitely the most obscure of their top 40 hits LDD: Roberta Flack - The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - You're boring! Actually, I'm not really a fan of this song in ANY version, as all the versions I've heard are just as boring 28. Tony Carey - A Fine Fine Day (30) - wtf did this sound like again 27. Steve Perry - Oh Sherrie (36) - great song! Just as good as anything Journey's done 26. Irene Cara - Breakdance (31) - good song! I prefer "Fame" and "Flashdance" though 25. Billy Joel - The Longest Time (29) - didn't he do all the background vocals for this song? If he did, he did a good job with it... good song, even if it does sound old-fashioned 24. Yes - Leave It (26) - I like this but prefer "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" 23. Deniece Williams - Let's Hear It For The Boy (38) - the only song from her I like 22. John Mellencamp - Authority Song (25) - good song, but he's had so many better 21. Huey Lewis & the News - I Want A New Drug (16) - Ghostbusters! great song, definitely one of their best 20. Go-Go's - Head Over Heels (22) - good song but I prefer their earlier hits and Belinda solo 19. Alan Parsons Project - Don't Answer Me (21) - I like this, but "Eye In The Sky" is better 18. Kool & the Gang - Tonight (20) - good song, but far from their best... one time, I had a dream about an imaginary song of theirs called "Purify", which I think charted in July 1984 according to my dream What kind of fantasy world was that in? 17. Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (11) - great song! During this time, Cyndo could do no wrong 16. Dwight Twilley - Girls (17) - it's okay 15. Weird Al Yankovic - Eat It (12) - love it! Weird Al is a genius 14. Van Halen - Jump (10) - another great song! The riffs in this one are instantly recognizeable 13. Julio Iglesias & Willie Nelson - To All The Geezers Who Sing These Songs (19) - You're boring! Worst song on the chart, and it's not helped either by the fact that Julio just CAN'T SING IN ENGLISH! Thankfully his bad singing didn't pass on to Enrique 12. Hall & Oates - Adult Education (9) - good song! They had a few better though 11. The Cars - You Might Think (15) - one of their best! Another 80's mix show essential 10. Tracey Ullman - They Don't Know (14) - are you sure this isn't a chipmunk singing it? Good song though 9. Eurythmics - Here Comes The Rain Again (7) - love it! Definitely one of their best 8. Rick Springfield - Love Somebody (13) - you can tell this was the end of his hit "formula", as when he started to deviate from it after this, he started to flop. I like this song though, one of his best 7. Rockwell f/Michael Jackson - Somebody's Watching Me (3) - I'd post the same picture I did LAST time I commented on this song, but I figure that would be too redundant, and you've seen how creepy Michael Jackson can be Another great song, perfect for 80's mix shows 6. Pointer Sisters - Automatic (5) - I like this, but prefer a few others by them LDD: Barry Manilow - I Made It Through The Rain - You're boring! Seriously, what's with the borefest LDD's this week? I do see why a song like this could make a good LDD though, as it's kinda inspirational And as boring as this is... Barry's actually had worse! But he's had better too 5. Culture Club - Miss Me Blind (6) - this, for me, was when they started to slip in quality. Not a big fan of this, I prefer their first 5 top 40 hits... this is still alright though 4. Thompson Twins - Hold Me Now (8) - great song! Another 80's mix show essential 3. Lionel Richie - Hello (4) - my favourite ballad from him, probably... I prefer some of his upbeat songs though 2. Kenny Loggins - Footloose (1) - great song! Kenny was always best on movie songs like this 1. Phil Collins - Against All Odds (2) - classic! As many times as this was remade/performed on American Idol, the original is still the best, and has become a pop standard If you're wondering where Chicago was... they'd debut with "Stay The Night" in just three weeks. Next week? I think they'll give 1987 the cold finger again, so I'll say 4/24/82, as I think that was a former Flashback. I'll predict 1981, as they recently did both 1987 and 1982. Turns out next week is 1983.
|
|
|
Post by FreakyFlyBry on Apr 28, 2018 1:14:23 GMT -5
April 30, 1988Falling off: LL Cool J - Going Back To Cali (37) - decent enough song but I tend to prefer his 90's stuff Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (35) - aww, no Rickroll this week! Great song either way John Mellencamp - Check It Out (28) - good song, but he's had many better 40. Cher - We All Sleep Alone (debut) - good song! But I prefer most of her other songs from this general era (late 80's/early 90's) 39. Dan Reed Network - Ritual (debut) - wtf did this sound like again? 38. Keith Sweat - I Want Her (30) - good song! One of his best 37. Scarlett & Black - You Don't Know (26) - not bad, a pretty decent one hit wonder 36. Rick Astley - Together Forever (debut) - didn't this just fall off this week? Great song, but really, what's the difference between this and "Never Gonna Give You Up"? 35. Paul Carrack - One Good Reason (40) - not bad but I prefer "Don't Shed A Tear" and songs from all three groups he was part of 34. Times Two - Strange But True (39) - good song! An underrated 80's gem 33. Debbie Gibson - Out Of The Blue (19) - great song! One of her best 32. Morris Day - Fishnet (23) - good song! Very catchy, and underrated 31. Bryan Ferry - Kiss And Tell (33) - not bad but I prefer some of his Roxy Music stuff 30. Suave - My Girl (36) - pretty decent remake, but I prefer the Temptations original 29. Richard Marx - Endless Summer Nights (24) - great song! One of his best, if not his best 28. Jermaine Stewart - Say It Again (34) - not bad but I prefer "We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off" 27. Hall & Oates - Everything Your Heart Desires (38) - great song! I do prefer their early 80's stuff though 26. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Dreaming (32) - good song but I prefer their earlier hits 25. Jody Watley - Some Kind Of Lover (12) - not bad but I prefer most of her other top 40 hits 24. The Jets - Rocket 2 U (15) - not bad, but possibly my least favourite out of their top 40 hits 23. Toto - Pamela (27) - good song, but I prefer most of their others 22. George Michael - One More Try (31) - great song! One of many memorable songs from him 21. Brenda Russell featuring Joe Esposito - Piano In The Dark (29) - good song, a nice enough hit here 20. Henry Lee Summer - I Wish I Had A Girl (25) - good song! 19. Michael Jackson - Man In The Mirror (11) - great song! One of his best 18. The Deele - Two Occasions (22) - good song... didn't put me to sleep on this show like it did with Jess a few years back LDD: America - You Can Do Magic - great song, and very fitting for the dedication! 17. White Lion - Wait (21) - good song! I slightly prefer "When The Children Cry" though 16. Foreigner - I Don't Want To Live Without You (20) - great song, even if it's just Wf*gLY part 2. 15. Johnny Hates Jazz - Shattered Dreams (18) - great song! Another 80's mix show essential 14. Bruce Springsteen - One Step Up (13) - good song, and interesting lead-in with the top polled acts of the rock era... would've been interesting to hear a redo of the "Giants of Rock & Roll" special a few years on. 13. Samantha Fox - Naughty Girls (Need Love Too) (17) - good song! One of my 80's guilty pleasures 12. Icehouse - Electric Blue (14) - good song! My favourite from them 11. Pet Shop Boys - Always On My Mind (16) - great song, I like how different it is from the Elvis and Willie Nelson versions 10. Pebbles - Girlfriend (5) - good song but there's better on the chart 9. Tiffany - I Saw Him Standing There (7) - good song but I prefer her other hits 8. Taylor Dayne - Prove Your Love (10) - not bad, but most of her other hits were better 7. Natalie Cole - Pink Cadillac (9) - good song! One of her best, and her late 80's hits were pretty much a surprise comeback! 6. Billy Ocean - Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car (3) - great song! One of his best, shame they chopped this near the end! 5. Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine - Anything For You (8) - good song, but I prefer her uptempos generally LDD: Paul Simon - Mother And Child Reunion - good song, but he's had many better 4. INXS - Devil Inside (2) - great song! One of their best 3. Aerosmith - Angel (6) - great song! One of their best 2. Terence Trent D'Arby - Wishing Well (4) - good song, and of course it would move into #1 the next week! 1. Whitney Houston - Where Do Broken Hearts Go (1) - good song! Another one of her most memorable hits Chicago update: Still a few months to go until "I Don't Want To Live Without Your Love"... Next week's prediction: I'm personally hoping for 1985 though 1987 would be good too. And we get 1981 next week... still, I wouldn't be surprised if 1985 is the B show.
|
|
|
Post by FreakyFlyBry on May 5, 2018 1:58:04 GMT -5
May 9, 1981Recycled commentary from 9 years ago! Falling off: Don McLean - Crying (34) - not bad but nothing really special Styx - The Best of Times (33) - great song, shame to see it fall off 40. Steely Dan - Time Out Of Mind (22) - I like this but prefer most of their other hits 39. Quincy Jones - Ai No Corrida (debut) - this is pretty decent, kinda riding on the coattails of disco 38. Rick Springfield - Jessie's Girl (debut) - great song! An 80's mix show essential 37. The Rovers - Wasn't That A Party (37) - this song was kinda weird... never sure what to think of it 36. Anne Murray - Blessed Are The Believers (38) - for her last top 40 hit, this was pretty good, one of her most underrated songs 35. REO Speedwagon - Keep On Loving You (26) - great song! One of the best power ballads 34. John Lennon - Woman (16) - great song! One of my favourites from him 33. The Police - Don't Stand So Close To Me (14) - ouch, big drop! Great song though 32. Jefferson Starship - Find Your Way Back (36) - I like this one, very underrated compared to a lot of their bigger hits 31. Gary U.S. Bonds - This Little Girl (40) - good song, but such a random comeback from a 60's star! 30. Don McLean - Since I Don't Have You (35) - not really a big fan of this one, prefer the Guns N' Roses version Archive: Sonny & Cher - I Got You Babe - classic cheese! Still, I prefer many other Cher songs 29. Terri Gibbs - Somebody's Knockin' (13) - not bad but nothing really special either 28. 38 Special - Hold On Loosely (30) - great song! Definitely one of my favourites from them 27. Neil Diamond - America (39) - the only single from The Jazz Singer that I like... still, I prefer a few other songs from him LDD: Styx - The Best of Times - the dedication was quite sad as this girl lost her mother, but at least her neighbours adopted her... as for the song, it's really good, see my thoughts in the droppers section (so it wasn't missed after all... and still isn't as it's still played today) 26. John O'Banion - Love You Like I Never Loved Before (28) - I didn't know he died like 2 years ago... then again, it's not like it would've got a lot of publicity as he's rather obscure. As for the song, it's pretty decent, kinda sounds like some Toto members might've played on it 25. Dottie West & Kenny Rogers - What Are We Doin' In Love (29) - No. Just no. 24. Christopher Cross - Say You'll Be Mine (31) - it's ok but probably my least favourite from him 23. Phil Collins - I Missed Again (27) - good song though I prefer many others from him (as his solo career was just getting started and would get much better) 22. Climax Blues Band - I Love You (24) - it's not a bad song at all though I can get bored of it 21. Stars on 45 - Medley (32) - a fun novelty song though I wouldn't want to hear it too often; this is the only Stars on 45 song I like, probably because it was the first and biggest 20. Ray Parker Jr. & Raydio - A Woman Needs Love (25) - good song but I prefer the later Huey Lewis & the News singles Archive: The Beatles - Help! - good song, one of my favourites from them 19. Champaign - How 'Bout Us (23) - it's nothing really special, I'd say I prefer this over "Try Again" though 18. The Who - You Better You Bet (21) - it's The Who evolving into the 80's... and this sound worked just as well as their more classic rockers, as it's one of my favourites from them 17. John Mellencamp - Ain't Even Done With The Night (19) - good song! I prefer many of his later songs though, including some 90's even 16. Franke & the Knockouts - Sweetheart (20) - good song, pretty typical of the AC sound of the early 80's 15. Steve Winwood - While You See A Chance (8) - great song! But the edit job was pretty bad on it! 14. Blondie - Rapture (6) - great song! One of my favourites from them, interesting story about how many #1 songs Mike Chapman produced in such a short period of time 13. John Lennon - Watching The Wheels (17) - another great song from him 12. Styx - Too Much Time On My Hands (15) - great song! Still one of my favourites from them Extra: Buddy Holly - Peggy Sue - for a 50's song, I actually like this one 11. James Taylor & J.D. Souther - Her Town Too (11) - great song, one of his best Archive: Barry McGuire - Eve of Destruction - it's ok, but the message is one that can stand in any era 10. Eric Clapton - I Can't Stand It (10) - good song though I prefer some 70's and 90's hits from him 9. A Taste of Honey - Sukiyaki (18) - it's not bad but I prefer the other 2 hit versions 8. Gino Vannelli - Living Inside Myself (9) - good song, though I prefer a few of his later 80's Canadian hits 7. REO Speedwagon - Take It On The Run (12) - great song but I prefer their other song on the chart 6. Hall & Oates - Kiss On My List (5) - great song! 1981 is probably my favourite year overall for them LDD: Leo Sayer - When I Need You - I like this but prefer stuff like "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing"... still, given how the girl missed her boyfriend due to being at a different college, it was a very appropriate song 5. Kim Carnes - Bette Davis Eyes (7) - great song! An 80's mix show essential 4. Juice, Go To Your Room - Angel of the Morning (4) - one of my favourites from Juice, though I prefer Shaggy's sampling of it 3. Smokey Robinson - Being With You (3) - good song, definitely one of my favourites from him (and if I'm not mistaken, this was #1 on R&R for the same week) 2. Grover Washington Jr. - Just The Two Of Us (2) - the second song in the top 5 that, while I like, prefer a rap version of it, in this case Will Smith 1. Sheena Easton - Morning Train (1) - great song! Probably my favourite from her though I like most of her big hits Chicago update: I really don't know what they were doing around this time... probably flopping. I'm surprised I got through a 1981 show, which are normally geezerly, without ever saying "wtf did this sound like again" and only using "No. Just no." just once (and we'll probably hear the Quincy Jones/James Ingram song late in the year on another 1981 show!) Next week prediction: 1985
|
|
|
Post by FreakyFlyBry on May 12, 2018 2:46:31 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - May 14, 2011 This week's presentation - May 15, 1982 This show was aired so far back (2007) that I never actually wrote commentary for it! But I will do so here. Wow, they decided to go with a repeat show. I guess we won't get anything else from that year for at less than seven weeks, since that's how long that this week's #1 song, which was just arriving at that position, spent there. Now, this show was broadcast in the early days of the AT40: The 80s series, so some of us never got to hear it (since I have no idea how many stations broadcast the show at that point). I didn't hear it on the series, since I did not know that Sunny 101.5 ran the show until that following August (and I didn't yet have wireless Internet). I do, however, have this show and have listened to it, but it's been quite awhile and besides, it's 1982. Great music abounded that year! Here is my commentary on this week's show: Droppers: IF I HAD MY WISH TONIGHT - DAVID LASLEY (36) - I know I've heard this song at least once, on the May 4, 1982 show, featured on this series back in 2008. It was an R&B slow jam, and it was pretty good, IMO. wtf did this sound like again? LET'S HANG ON - BARRY MANILOW (32) - As I recall, this was a pretty decent remake of the old Four Seasons hit. Not bad - definitely better than his borefests. (OH) PRETTY WOMAN - VAN HALEN (31) - Wow, two remakes of old sixties hits fall off this week (and they were back-to-back on last week's countdown). I've heard this one plenty of times. I think it was a toss-up between this and the original. I prefer the Roy Orbison version but this is good too.\ EDGE OF SEVENTEEN (JUST LIKE THE WHITE-WINGED DOVE) - STEVIE NICKS (26) - Great song! Too bad it dropped off, but at least we heard it on the last 1982 show. Great song! Shame it fell off. KEY LARGO - BERTIE HIGGINS (23) - And we also heard this song on last 1982 show. This was a good song. Too bad it was his only Top 40 hit. Agreed - good song. LW#3: I LOVE ROCK N' ROLL- JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS LW#2: EBONY & IVORY – PAUL McCARTNEY & STEVIE WONDER LW#1: CHARIOTS OF FIRE - VANGELIS You know the story about those songs, right? I thought so. Same. 40: MAN ON THE CORNER - GENESIS (40) - Great song! This was definitely their most underrated Top 40 hit, as this song should have peaked much higher than #40. I heard this song quite often back in the spring/summer of 1982, as WLS played this constantly. Good song! Should've done better than it did. 39: CIRCLES – ATLANTIC STARR (debut) - Good song, but I prefer their later hits. Same here. This was quite different, considering how they'd only score hits with ballads after this! 38: WHEN IT'S OVER - LOVERBOY (debut) - This song was OK, but one of my least favorite songs by them. Agreed. Seems like this one has gone obscure compared to their others. 37: LET IT WHIP – THE DAZZ BAND (debut) - Decent song, though not my favorite song in the world. Agreed. 36: DO YOU BELIEVE IN LOVE – HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (18) - Great song! The song that started off their impressive chart career! Um, isn't this by Ray Parker Jr? Great song though - one of their best. 35: WHEN HE SHINES – SHEENA EASTON (39) - Great song! It's been established that I prefer her slower songs, and this is no exception, though I prefer a few others. I prefer her uptempos but this is good too. 34: WITHOUT YOU – FRANKE AND THE KNOCKOUTS (37) - Great song! I prefer "Sweetheart" but this was alright too. 33: BODY LANGUAGE - QUEEN (debut) - No. Just no. I like this but it's my least favourite out of their top 40 hits. 32: SHANGHAI BREEZES – JOHN DENVER (35) - Great song! I always liked John Denver songs, since my Mom listened to his records all the time back when I was real little. This was one of his later songs, but it sounds much like his older songs. Not bad but I prefer most of his 70's songs. OPTIONAL EXTRA: CAUGHT UP IN YOU - 38 SPECIAL - Great song! Possibly my favorite song by them (and their biggest hit ever - during the Casey Kasem years, that is). Agreed. Toss-up between this and "Second Chance" for me. 31: WAKE UP LITTLE SUSIE – SIMON AND GARFUNKEL (34) - The question is, why didn't the employees scour the theater to make sure everyone was cleared out? No, seriously, this was a good song - I actually like this one better than the original. Pretty decent remake here... but I do think the Everly Brothers did it better (shocking considering that was 50's!) 30: CRIMSON AND CLOVER – JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS (debut) - Meh, not my favorite song at all. But I gotta admit, it's better than the original, especially the part at the end where they repeat “Crimson and Clover, over and over”. It doesn't have that vibrating sound like the Tommy James version. When I first heard the original, I thought something was wrong with my radio. The vibrating part was one of my favourites in the original! This remake was quite good though, they definitely did it justice. 29: MY GIRL – DONNIE IRIS (33) - Great song! Reminds me a little of “Hot Fun In The Summertime”. Not bad but I prefer "Ah Leah!" 28: STARS ON 45 III (A TRIBUTE TO STEVIE WONDER) – STARS ON (28) - Great song, with a good selection of Stevie Wonder songs. A pointless cash-in after the success of their first medley. It really was no wonder they never lasted. LDD: SPECIAL LADY – RAY, GOODMAN & BROWN - Great song, and very fitting for the dedication. No. Just no. 27: ROSANNA - TOTO (38) - Good song, though quite overplayed. It was definitely one of the biggest songs of 1982! Great song! This was deservingly one of their biggest hits. 26: FANTASY – ALDO NOVA (29) - Great song! I seem to vaguely remember hearing this song a lot back in 1982 (probably on the classic rock stations that my Mom listened to back then). Good song! This still gets played occasionally today. 25: THEME FROM MAGNUM P.I. – MIKE POST (25) - Ah, the king of TV show themes. Even though I've never watched a single episode of this show, I'm familiar with the theme, and I like it a lot. Well, I'll give him this - this theme is better than his others! So it escapes the "No. Just no." that the Hill Street Blues theme gets. 24: MAKING LOVE – ROBERTA FLACK (27) - Great song! One of my favorites from her! Oh hell no! One of my most hated songs of the 80's overall (I normally can't stand Roberta Whack in general but this was just terminally BORING!) 23: STILL IN SAIGON – THE CHARLIE DANIELS BAND (24) - Great song! Possibly my favorite from them! Not bad, but I prefer a few others by them. 22: IT'S GONNA TAKE A MIRACLE – DENIECE WILLIMS (30) - This song's OK, but I prefer “Let's Hear It For The Boy”. I like "Let's Hear It For The Boy", but as for this one? No, just no! OPTIONAL EXTRA: LOVE'S BEEN A LITTLE BIT HARD ON ME - JUICE NEWTON - Juice, Go To Your Room! But seriously, this was a great song! As I've stated many times, 1982 was definitely her best year! One of her best! I guess Juice was about to be sent back to her room 21: RUN FOR THE ROSES – DAN FOGELBERG (21) - Great song! This one can bring me to tears, since it was a LDD to Secretariat (plus, I heard it the day (on this show, no less) that Eight Belles had to be euthanized after her serious injury in the Kentucky Derby). Not bad but definitely he's had better. 20: HANG FIRE – THE ROLLING STONES (20) - This song was passable, but far from being their best. Definitely one of my least favourites from the Stones... I normally like them but this left a lot to be desired. 19: MAN ON YOUR MIND – LITTLE RIVER BAND (22) - Great song, though I prefer a few others by them. Good song! I like most of their stuff and this is no exception. 18: EMPTY GARDEN (HEY HEY JOHNNY) – ELTON JOHN (19) - Great song! Definitely one of his best 80s hits! Good song - a very fitting tribute to John Lennon. 17: GOIN' DOWN – GREG GUIDRY (17) - Well, as of the following week, this song would live up to its name. It was a good song, and somewhat underrated (although it did hit the Top Ten on the R&R chart). Pretty decent song, but there was better on the chart. 16: DON'T YOU WANT ME – THE HUMAN LEAGUE (16) - Wow, this song was in holding pattern? Kind of unusual for a future #1 song (although let's remember that this was 1982, after all!) Great song! Definitely one of the best on the chart, and of the 80's overall! 15: HEAT OF THE MOMENT – ASIA (15) - Wow, quite a tight Top 20 this week! This song made a monster debut on AT40 two weeks before, coming in at #20. I liked most of Asia's Top 40 hits and this is no exception. How can you tell it's 1982? Great song though - one of their best. EXTRA: SHADOW DANCING - ANDY GIBB - Hmm, they were still playing the biggest hit of a random artist back in 1982 as well? I know they did this regularly back in 1980, but I thought they'd discontinued that by 1982. Must have been a few excess minutes left in the show. Anyway, this song was OK, but I preferred most of his other hits. Blame the loss of the archive segment. They needed some time filler, it seems. This song's really good though - definitely my favourite from him. 14: ALWAYS ON MY MIND – WILLIE NELSON (14) - Good song, but I preferred the Pet Shop Boys' version, from six years later. Agreed. 13: WE GOT THE BEAT – THE GO-GO'S (7) - Ugh! Easily my least favorite song by them! Great song! Still, I do prefer several solo Belinda songs. 12: THE BEATLES MOVIE MEDLEY – THE BEATLES (12) - Ah, the song that holds the record for the biggest dropper on the Hot 100! It's a good one - one of my favorite of the medleys that charted during the medley craze of the early-80s. A pretty decent medley, but I prefer the full originals of the songs included, as I do with most medleys. OPTIONAL EXTRA: ONLY THE LONELY - THE MOTELS - Great song! They were sort of like Asia - had only a handful of hits, but they were all good ones, IMO. Agreed - definitely a great song! 11: GET DOWN ON IT – KOOL & THE GANG (11) - Meh, next song, please... Great song! One of their best. 10: DID IT IN A MINUTE – DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (10) - There, that's better! This was definitely one of their best. Too bad it doesn't receive recurrent airplay anymore. This still does get the occasional AC spin in some places... but yeah, not as much as some of their others. Great song though! 9: THE OTHER WOMAN – RAY PARKER JR. (13) - Meh, I wasn't a big fan of this. Definitely one of my least favorites by him. Isn't this Huey Lewis and the News? Great song though - definitely one of his best. 8: FREEZE-FRAME – THE J. GEILS BAND (5) - This was OK, but I preferred “Centerfold”. Agreed. 7: '65 LOVE AFFAIR – PAUL DAVIS (8) - Great song! One of his best! Agreed - probably my favourite from him (maybe because it's upbeat.) 6: I'VE NEVER BEEN TO ME - CHARLENE (9) - I guess you could call this one a guilty pleasure, as I know several people who hate this song. I think it's a good one. No. Just no. LDD: DON'T LOOK BACK - BOSTON - Good song, though I prefer a few others by them. Great song! Definitely one of their best. 5: 867-5309/JENNY – TOMMY TUTONE (6) - Ah, the nuisance phone call song! I wonder if people still get that type of call today? Anyway, this was a good song. Great song - definitely the most memorable phone number ever! 4: I LOVE ROCK N' ROLL – JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS (3) - Good song, though quite overplayed. Despite the overplay, I feel it's held up very well, still sounds great today! 3: DON'T TALK TO STRANGERS – RICK SPRINGFIELD (4) - Great song! This was #1 on the R&R chart this week, if I recall correctly. Agreed - great song, one of his best! 2: CHARIOTS OF FIRE - VANGELIS (1) - Great song! This one always reminds me of races, shown in slow motion. Same here. Definitely one of the most identifying movie themes ever. 1: EBONY & IVORY – PAUL McCARTNEY & STEVIE WONDER (2) - This song is sort of cheesy, but still good (and with a good message). Agreed - despite the cheese factor, I like it. Chicago update: Not that long until "Hard To Say I'm Sorry" impacted, and we all know how that turned out Predictions for next week: I think 1984 sounds like the best bet for next week's show, since we haven't had a May, 1984 show yet, (and we've heard just about everything from June, July and August, or so it seems). So I'm predicting May 19, 1984 (as May 26 is out of the question, since that was a guest-hosted show), with May 24, 1986 as a back-up prediction. I do think it'll be 1986, but wouldn't mind 1984 either. Looks like we have 1987 next week, and it's the second last show that hasn't previously been aired. So expect a new commentary... if I'm not too lazy to do one and if Hervard doesn't post his.
|
|
|
Post by Hervard on May 20, 2018 10:59:30 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - May 19, 2018 This week's presentation - May 16, 1987 Droppers: LEAN ON ME - CLUB NOUVEAU (38) - This was probably my least favorite song on the countdown back in the day, and naturally, it wasted no time getting to #1! It's still not one of my favorite songs, but its saving grace is that it's better than the insomnia-curing original by Bill Withers - definitely a "No. Just no" song in my book! MIDNIGHT BLUE - LOU GRAMM (37) - After a decade of heading up Foreigner, he decided to give a solo career a try. This was his first solo hit to make the charts. It was a good one, but I preferred the other two, both from his second solo album Long Hard Look. DOMINOES - ROBBIE NEVIL (30) - He'd charted early in the year with a hit that peaked in the runner-up position and at first, it looked like he might collect his second Top Ten hit, but this song ran out of steam at #14. Too bad, as this was my favorite of his 1987 hits. WALKING DOWN YOUR STREET - THE BANGLES (26) - The band that had a thing about walking back in 1987, as illustrated by the titles of their two hits from that year. Anyway, you know that I prefer this over the other one, though I did prefer their first two hits from the Different Light album, but this one’s still a great song! 40: COME AS YOU ARE – PETER WOLF (27) - The former lead singer of the J. Geils Band had two solo hits in 1984 and was back with his second album, to which this was the title track. It was a great song! 39: DON’T DISTURB THIS GROOVE – THE SYSTEM (debut) - This was their only big hit on the pop chart. It wasn't bad, but I preferred their next release "Nighttime Lover", which, sadly, wasn't released to pop radio (and if it was, it didn't go far). 38: I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY (WHO LOVES ME) – WHITNEY HOUSTON (debut) - The first hit from her upcoming second album Whitney, which would be released in late June, debuted on the Hot 100 way up in the Top 40. It was clear where this song was headed! This song ended up as R&R's #1 song, which was great, though at the time this song was charting, I was sick of hearing it every time I turned on the radio. 37: LESSONS IN LOVE – LEVEL 42 (debut) - This British band was a two-hit wonder (as far as Top 40 hits go), and both songs hit the Top 20. Both songs were great - I liked them about the same. 36: FASCINATED – COMPANY B (39) - I'm surprised this one didn't go Top Ten; it was definitely representative of the dance/pop music of the mid-late 80s. It's a great song and a shame it didn't get any higher on the chart that it did. 35: SONGBIRD – KENNY G (debut) - His first song to hit the chart - and it turned out to be his biggest. I liked it, but generally preferred his songs that featured a vocalist, like his next hit, "Don't Make Me Wait For Love", as well as an album cut from Duotones called "You Make Me Believe". 34: NOTHING’S GONNA STOP US NOW - STARSHIP (20) - The theme to the comedy movie "Mannequin", which I saw in the theater a few weeks back. This was one of my favorite songs by Starship, though it wasn't quite as good as "It's Not Enough". 33: JUST TO SEE HER – SMOKEY ROBINSON (40) - Earlier, I mentioned how Kenny G sometimes records songs with a guest vocalist. In early, 1989, one of those songs, "We've Saved The Best For Last" almost hit the Top 40, but fell short. Anyway, that song sounds a lot like this song. Not sure which of them I prefer because of that, but both are good songs. 32: STONE LOVE – KOOL & THE GANG (19) - This song had peaked at #10 just two weeks before, and, unfortunately, it turned out to be their last Top 40 hit. I liked this song, but my favorite of the Forever singles was "Special Way", which was a Top Ten AC hit in December of that year. 31: GET THAT LOVE – THOMPSON TWINS (32) - The only Top 40 hit from their sixth studio album "Close To The Bone". The "Twins" had clearly had their day in the sun, as this song only got to #31. 30: HEARTBREAK BEAT – PSYCHEDELIC FURS (35) - Interesting how their 1981 song became the title to the Molly Ringwald movie Pretty In Pink. The song just narrowly missed hitting the Top 40, but this song definitely made it. This was a great song, though I preferred their 1983 hit "Love My Way", which did not hit the Top 40 but still receives a decent amount of recurrent airplay on 1980s stations. OPTIONAL EXTRA: JAMMIN' ME - TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS - Larry did a Casey-style reading of #1 songs on other Billboard charts going into this song, which was #1 on the Rock chart and would debut on the AT40 chart a week later. In this song, Petty was venting about his frustration with media misinformation. The song wasn't bad, but I prefer several others from him/them. 29: YOU CAN CALL ME AL – PAUL SIMON (36) - One of several 1987 songs that charted twice. This song barely fell short of the Top 40 during its original release in the fall of 1986. After Simon's current album, Graceland, won a Grammy for Album of the Year, Paul decided to re-release the song and this time around it got as high as #23. It was a good song IMO 28: SERIOUS – DONNA ALLEN (21) - ARGH, how many times does she have to say, “TALK, talk about serious”? Enough is enough! Needless to say, I wasn't a big fan of this song. 27: THE RIGHT THING – SIMPLY RED (28) - Their first hit from their sophomore album, Men And Women, which did not fare quite as well as their debut album Picture Book. This song did not get any higher than #27, which I thought was a shame, as it's a great song! LDD: WITH YOU I’M BORN AGAIN – BILLY PRESTON & SYREETA - Several people I know hate this song with a passion, so I guess you could call it another guilty pleasure of mine (like the Chuck Mangione song earlier). I just like the hypnotic effect of this song 26: MEET ME HALF WAY – KENNY LOGGINS (31) - One of many movie songs that Loggins charted with. This song would peak at #11 the following week and managed to place on the Top 100 of 1987 (which was a significant feat, given how fast the charts moved in 1987!) 25: DAY-IN DAY-OUT – DAVID BOWIE (25) - Of course, we all know that this, along with his hit from later on that year, "Never Let Me Down" are my two favorite songs from him. This song was looking like it might have peaked, as it was in its second week at #25, but the song did manage to move ahead more spots the following week. 24: IN TOO DEEP - GENESIS (34) - This was the fifth and final single from their most successful album Invisible Touch. It is my second favorite of those singles behind the title track (but you already knew that, right?) 23: DIAMONDS – HERB ALPERT f/JANET JACKSON & LISA KEITH (33) - Not sure whether or not the success of this song, which was never one of my favorites, affected the chart performance of "The Pleasure Principle" (whose release I heard was delayed so as not to cause competition with this song. 22: I KNEW YOU WERE WAITING (FOR ME) – ARETHA FRANKLIN & GEORGE MICHAEL (10) - A one time pairing of the Queen Of Soul and the former lead singer of Wham! - and a great pairing at that, since it hit #1 the following week. Definitely one of my favorites from both artists! 21: IF SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN FAITHFUL - CHICAGO (24) - The third release from the Chicago 18 album maintained a steady climb up the chart, en route to #17. I thought this song was somewhat underrated; it should have hit the Top Ten just like their other 1987 hit "Will You Still Love Me". OPTIONAL EXTRA: EVERY LITTLE KISS - BRUCE HORNSBY & THE RANGE - Another song that charted twice, like the Paul Simon song back at #29. This one originally charted a year before, but only got as high as #72. After the success of "The Way It Is" and "Mandolin Rain", they decided to give it another chance, which proved to be worthwhile, as the song made it to #14 the second time around. Definitely one of the songs I associate most with the summer of 1987! 20: SE LA – LIONEL RICHIE (23) - This was Lionel's last Top 40 hit before taking a five-year break from the charts. It was a pretty good song, with a reggae feel to it, but definitely not his best. 19: HEAD TO TOE – LISA LISA AND CULT JAM (29) - They dropped Full Force, Paul Anthony and Bowlegged Lou for this one (but they were still featured on at least another song on the same album), and to number one this song went. It was OK, but I was never too crazy about it. I preferred the next release "Lost In Emotion", which, of course, also went to #1. 18: THE FINER THINGS – STEVE WINWOOD (13) - Back In The High Life was definitely Winwood's most successful album as far as singles go, as there were four of them that hit the Top 40. This was the third and there was no "Third Single Syndrome" here, as this was the second most successful song from the album behind the #1 "Higher Love". This was very possibly my favorite song from the album, though there are several other songs by him that I prefer. 17: SIGN ‘O’ THE TIMES - PRINCE (6) - Interesting story about how Prince taught himself how to play the piano. This song was OK, but it was rather monotonous. Definitely not his best song by any means. 16: WHAT’S GOING ON – CYNDI LAUPER (12) - This was a cover version of Marvin Gaye's classic Top Ten hit from 1971, when Lauper was still in high school. I remember hating this song when it was on the charts. Now, I like it, even better than the original. 15/LDD: DON’T DREAM IT’S OVER – CROWDED HOUSE (5) - Two members of the band Split Enz (which had a minor hit in 1980 called "I Got You") helped to form this band who had two Top Ten hits in 1987. I thought both were great songs, though I preferred their follow-up, "Something So Strong", which sounded sort of like a more upbeat version of this song. 14: WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE – BON JOVI (23) - This song demonstrated the band's country/western side, a format that they would switch to a decade later. This was a good song, but I preferred "Never Say Goodbye", an album cut from Slippery When Wet that was getting moderate radio airplay around this time. 13: NOTHING’S GONNA CHANGE MY LOVE FOR YOU – GLENN MEDEIROS (16) - The first Top 40 hit for this high school student from Kaui. As mentioned earlier, due to how fast the charts moved in 1987, there were very few songs that made the year-end survey that did not quite make the Top 20 - two to be exact. We already heard one of them, "Meet Me Halfway" back at #26. This was the more successful of those, peaking at #12 in June. A great song, IMO, and one of my favorite songs of the whole year. 12: I KNOW WHAT I LIKE – HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (18) - This song just barely kept their Top Ten streak going, as it peaked at #9 and spent but a single week in the Top Ten. It was a good song, but definitely not his best. 11: RIGHT ON TRACK – BREAKFAST CLUB (15) - The only Top 40 song for John, Claire, Andy, Brian, and Allison, written on March 24, 1984 as they served a Saturday detention. Unfortunately, due to legal technicalities, Principal Vernon received all the royalties. 10: ALWAYS – ATLANTIC STARR (17) - This song became a very popular wedding song and was a far cry from their last Top Ten hit, which was about infidelity. This was my favorite of their Top 40 hits. OPTIONAL: ALONE - HEART - This song was debuting on the Hot 100 at #53 and would debut on AT40 the following week. The song was definitely on its way to #1, where it held for three weeks in July. It was almost the top song of the entire year, but that d@mn Bangles song grabbed the gold instead 9: TALK DIRTY TO ME - POISON (11) - The breakthrough hit from this glam rock band from Pennsylvania did pretty well, hitting the Top Ten this week. I liked it, but wasn't quite my favorite song from them. I generally preferred their power ballads. 8: YOU KEEP ME HANGIN’ ON – KIM WILDE (14) - This song ended up breaking the record for the longest span of time between the original version of the song hitting #1 and a remake hitting #1 - a record that had been broken several times over the past year and had been held for over a decade by "Please Mr. Postman". As I've said several times before, I prefer this version over the Supremes and Vanilla Fudge versions, though my all-time favorite Kim Wilde song would be her near-miss song "You Came", from 1988. 7: BIG LOVE – FLEETWOOD MAC (9) - Their first of five singles from "Tango In The Night", with Lindsey Buckingham handling the lead vocals. It was OK, but my favorite song from the album was the next single, "Seven Wonders", featuring Stevie Nicks singing lead. 6: HEAT OF THE NIGHT – BRYAN ADAMS (7) - I liked this song, though my least favorite single from Into The Fire (probably because the other two didn't get anywhere near as much airplay - in fact, I don't think I ever heard either of them outside of countdown shows - or radio station "late night fights" (Victim Of Love was a winner on the latter of the two on U93). EXTRA: THEME FROM HILL STREET BLUES – MIKE POST FEATURING LARRY CARLTON - This was the theme from a TV show that had wrapped up its seven-season run the previous Tuesday. I don't believe I've ever watched a single episode of the show (since I was never into cop drama shows), but I heard the theme song many times. It's a great song IMO! 5: THE LADY IN RED – CHRIS DeBURGH (8) - Chris had charted a few times earlier in the 80s, but this is the song that put him on the map. I loved this song when it was on the chart, but the stations I listened to back in the day all but played it out and I became quite tired of it. It's good to hear every now and then, but I wouldn't want to hear it every day. 4: LA ISLA BONITA - MADONNA (4) - The fifth hit from True Blue was peaking at #4 for a third and final week. It was the final song from the album, but Madonna was at work on her next project, the movie "Who's That Girl", which would spawn two Top Ten hits later in the year. This was a good song; indeed had a tropical island feel. 3: (I JUST) DIED IN YOUR ARMS – CUTTING CREW (1) - The first of three Top 40 hits for this band from London - all from their debut album Broadcast. This one was OK, but quite overplayed, both back in 1987 and nowadays on oldies stations. I preferred their other two hits. OPTIONAL EXTRA: FUNKYTOWN - PSEUDO-ECHO - I'm thinking that this song was only recorded twice because both acts who had chart success with it were one-hit wonders. Originally a techno-dance hit for Lipps Inc., this version rocked out a little more. I preferred it over the original. 2: LOOKING FOR A NEW LOVE – JODY WATLEY (2) - Fans of Watley were probably expecting this song to be the song that bumped the Cutting Crew out of #1, but that was not the case, as this song was stuck at #2 for a third week. This song was OK, but I preferred a few of her other songs, including ones that she did as part of Shalamar. 1: WITH OR WITHOUT YOU – U2 (1) - The first of three hits from one of the biggest albums of the 80s, The Joshua Tree. It wasn't bad, but quite overplayed. I preferred the other two singles. Coming up next week: According to KOLA FM, next week's show is from May 24, 1986. It is likely a standalone show.
|
|
|
Post by Hervard on May 25, 2018 16:56:55 GMT -5
Well, I was out running errands and missed the first hour of the show, but I decided to just post this week's commentary, since I'm not sure when I'm gonna get a chance to listen to this show over the weekend. The LDD of "Cherish" by Kool & The Gang is intentionally blank, as I'd have to listen to the dedication before posting a comment. I'll try to remember to change it when I hear it.
American Top 40: The 80s - May 26, 2018
This week's presentation - May 24, 1986
WHAT YOU NEED - INXS (39) - Given how overplayed their "Kick" songs were, I liked their non-"Kick" songs better. This one was pretty good, even though it is also rather overplayed. ROCK ME AMADEUS - FALCO (37) - Of course, my opinion on this song depends on what version it is. Generally, they played the more annoying one - the one with the Amadeus life chronology. I liked the one that started out with "Ooh, Rock Me Amadeus", which they played a few times - they even once played a version that seemed to be a combination of the two during one of its number one weeks. LET'S GO ALL THE WAY - SLY FOX (36) - Good song - an 80s mix show essential! Two weeks before, Casey talked about how this song was originally a hit the year before and it was re-released in 1986. STICK AROUND - JULIAN LENNON (34) - I like this and "Say You're Wrong" about the same. I heard that his song "Want Your Body" was next to be released, but it didn't go anywhere. Too bad, as it was such a beautiful song.
40: MANIC MONDAY – THE BANGLES (29) - This was their breakthrough song. IMO, it was a great one. Their best song was their next release, "If She Knew What She Wants" (which is one of this week's Optional Extras). Their worst, of course, was the next one after that. Come on, you know the title! 39: YOUR WILDEST DREAMS – THE MOODY BLUES (debut) - As big as this legendary band was, it's a surprise that they only had three Top Ten hits. This was one of them, peaking at #9 the following week, and deservedly so, as it is one of my all-time faves from them! 38: WHERE DO THE CHILDREN GO – THE HOOTERS (debut) - Surprisingly, this was the lowest peaking Top 40 hit of 1986 - somehow, there were no songs peaking at #39 or #40 that year - the only year in which that happened, as far as I know. This was also the only "one-week wonder" that year, as the song dropped out the following week. 37: LIKE NO OTHER NIGHT - .38 SPECIAL (debut) - This was the only Top 40 hit from their sixth studio album, Strength In Numbers (the follow-up, "Somebody Like You" ran out of gas at #48 in late August). In fact, this would be their final Top 40 hit until 1989, by which time Max Carl became lead singer and, of course, they weren't 38 Special anymore (in my book, anyway). Of course, we all know that this is one of my three favorite songs by this band from Florida. 36: AMERICAN STORM – BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND (24) - I like this song a lot. One of the few from his second Greatest Hits album that I like. Kinda reminds me of Springsteen's "Born To Run". 35: TUFF ENUFF – THE FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS (debut) - Though I'm not a huge fan of clsssic rock, this one was actually pretty good. 34: HARLEM SHUFFLE – THE ROLLING STONES (19) - This song was mediocre at best; definitely not one of their best hits. But it did have a fast-rise, fast-fall chart run; in fact, it was a rare Top Five hit that did not make the year-end chart. 33: VIENNA CALLING - FALCO (38) - This song pretty much rode the coattails of "Rock Me Amadeus", as it didn't do anywhere near as well (the fact that it was somewhat of a novelty song could have been instrumental in that as well). I did prefer this song slightly, since it wasn't quite as overplayed, but still, it wasn't one of my favorite songs. 32: WHO’S JOHNNY (“SHORT CIRCUIT” THEME) – EL DEBARGE (40) - This one I liked quite significantly better than "Rhythm Of The Night". I thought the video was funny too. I associate this one with the summer of 1986 since you don't hear it much anymore. This was the first of two members of DeBarge to chart on his own in 1986 (His brother, Chico, of course, charted with a solo hit at the very end of that year called "Talk To Me". 31: RAIN ON THE SCARECROW – JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP (37) - The week before, this was a rare occurrence in which a song was requested as a LDD. Prolly not; The farmer who requested it had likely listened to the album, heard the song, and realized that it fit the plight he was talking about in the dedication. LDD: CHERISH – KOOL & THE GANG OPTIONAL EXTRA: MAD ABOUT YOU - BELINDA CARLISLE - Her first solo hit after leaving the Go-Go's. Duran Duran member Andy Taylor, who himself would have a solo Top 40 hit a few weeks later played electric guitar in this song. The song was not bad, though I sure had different sentiments about it back during its chart run! 30: KISS – PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION (17) - Meh, not a fan of this one, or any of his falsetto songs (well, except for "Mountains"). 29: ALL THE THINGS SHE SAID – SIMPLE MINDS (31) - This one was basically a combination of their three previous songs. I thought it was OK. 28: I WANNA BE A COWBOY – BOYS DON’T CRY (33) - Like "Vienna Calling", the fact that it was basically a novelty song is probably why this didn't hit the Top Ten. I liked it, though, but I got tired of it around the time it peaked on the chart. Still, it's good to hear it every now and then. 27: MOTHERS TALK – TEARS FOR FEARS (30) - This song was pretty good, although the lyrics didn't really make sense. I definitely prefer "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" and "Head Over Heels" over this. Still, I preferred this song over "Shout". 26: TOMORROW DOESN’T MATTER TONIGHT - STARSHIP (28) - This was a classic example of Third Single Syndrome, as the first two singles from Knee Deep In The Hoopla had hit #1, yet this was all the higher this song got, which is too bad, as it was a great song! I liked this one better than several of their Starship releases (like "Sara" and "It's Not Over ('Til It's Over)") Still, "It's Not Enough" is the best, IMO. 25: HOLDING BACK THE YEARS – SIMPLY RED (32) - The first of several big hits by this English band headed up by Mick "Red" Hucknall. When I first heard this song when it debuted on the R&R chart the previous week, I was like, wow, what a great song! However, the song was quite overplayed and I grew tired of it. Still, it's good to hear every now and then. 24: ROUGH BOY – ZZ TOP (22) - This was somewhat of a rare bird - a ballad by ZZ Top. Up to now, most of their songs were rockers (although they sort of went the pop way with their Afterburner album). Anyway, as seldom as they did slow songs, they seemed to do pretty good with them, IMO, anyway, as this was one of my favorite songs from them. 23: NEVER AS GOOD AS THE FIRST TIME - SADE (20) - Most of their songs were chill-out type songs, and this was definitely one of them. It was nice and relaxing. 22: NO ONE IS TO BLAME – HOWARD JONES (27) - Of his two Top Ten hits, this would be my favorite, hands down. It's another song that takes me back to the summer of 1986, which was an especially good one for me (trust me; it's a long story!). Anyway, I was kinda disappointed that this was nixed from the "CT40 Summer Hits of the 1980s, due to the cutoff rule. 21: A DIFFERENT CORNER – GEORGE MICHAEL (26) - It had been announced a few months back that George and Andrew were parting ways later on in the year. George was already launching his solo career, with the first of many Top 40 hits. I wasn't too keen on this song, however, since it was so maudlin. OPTIONAL EXTRA: LIKE A ROCK - BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND - Ah, the Chevy Trucks song! I liked this, but preferred "American Storm". 20: NOTHIN’ AT ALL - HEART (25) - The fourth of five singles from Heart's self-titled album and the last to hit the Top 40 (the fifth hit "If Looks Could Kill" ran out of gas at #54). This song was a good one, though definitely not their best. 19: THERE’LL BE SAD SONGS (TO MAKE YOU CRY) – BILLY OCEAN (23) - Now this song DID make the aforementioned CT40 Summer Hits of the 1980s. It's yet another song I associate with Summer, 1986 since radio stations played it all the time. It wasn't one of my favorite songs back then, but I really like it now. 18: CRUSH ON YOU – THE JETS (21) - The breakthrough hit from this family act from Minneapolis. I wasn't a big fan it, however, since I generally preferred their ballads (though their next hit, "Private Number", which just missed the Top 40 later on in the year, was pretty good. 17: ADDICTED TO LOVE – ROBERT PALMER (10) - Definitely one of the most overplayed hits of the 80s. I rather liked this song back in the day, but I'm still burned out on it (since the song still continues to receive a ton of recurrent airplay). 16: MOVE AWAY – CULTURE CLUB (18) - They had a wave of popularity throughout 1983 and the first half of 1984, but after that, they sort of fizzled out, so they decided to wait another year before giving it another shot. Unfortunately, it was less than stellar, as this song missed the Top Ten (at least it did peak higher than either of their songs from their last album Waking Up With The House On Fire). This was their last hit as a group (though Boy George had two more solo Top 40 hits) 15: YOUR LOVE – THE OUTFIELD (6) - The first of a handful of Top 40 hits from this British band who apparently knew nothing about baseball, despite their name (though the term "outfield" . This was a good song, but I preferred their next single, "All The Love In The World", which charted that summer. 14: IS IT LOVE – MR. MISTER (15) - They were pretty much a flash in the pan, but their first three singles did quite well, all reaching the Top Ten (the first two making it all the way to the top!) This song was a good one, though I slightly preferred "Broken Wings". 13: BE GOOD TO YOURSELF – JOURNEY (16) - The first of four Top 40 hits from their Raised On Radio album. Though it's my least favorite of the singles, I still think it's a good one. 12: SOMETHING ABOUT YOU – LEVEL 42 (13) - This song sure got a lot of mileage on the chart. Spent 14 weeks on the chart, which was unusually long for a song that did not even hit the Top Five (it was even more impressive on R&R - peaked at #9 and spent 15 weeks in the Top 40 - which tied it with several other songs for the longest run on the chart within 1986). I can see why it did so well, as it was an awesome song! 11: WHY CAN’T THIS BE LOVE – VAN HALEN (3) - The Van Hagar era was off to a running start, as the band's very first hit with their new lead singer Sammy Hagar hit the Top Three! It was a great song, though I did slightly prefer the next two hits from 5150. 10: ALL I NEED IS A MIRACLE – MIKE & THE MECHANICS (14) - They were relatively new at the time, but were doing quite well, with their first hit having hit the Top Ten, and this one on the verge of doing the same. Of their first two hits, this was my favorite, though I did prefer a few others from them, including their next single "Taken In". OPTIONAL EXTRA: IF SHE KNEW WHAT SHE WANTS - THE BANGLES - As I mentioned earlier, this was my favorite song by the Bangles (and, of course, it ended up being their lowest peaking chart hit). Then, of course, their next song, one of my least favorites from them, had to go and become the biggest hit of 1987. Oh well, this song did well on my Personal Top 30 chart, spending seven weeks on top, good enough to become the #2 song of the year, behind "All Cried Out" by Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam and company. 9: I CAN’T WAIT – NU SHOOZ (12) - What I couldn't wait for was this song to go poof! I was not a big fan of this one at all. I much preferred Stevie Nicks' song of the same title from earlier that year! 8: BAD BOY – MIAMI SOUND MACHINE (8) - This one had sort of an old Motown sound to it. It was the second of many big hits for this band from Cuba (and even more for the lead singer, Gloria Estefan, who would go on to have a successful solo career several years later). It was a good one; my favorite of their 1986 hits 7: TAKE ME HOME – PHIL COLLINS (7) - Many people thought that "Don't Lose My Number" was the final hit from No Jacket Required, but I believe they were holding off on new releases from the album to give "Separate Lives", his duet with Marilyn Martin, a chance (which proved to be worthwhile, as that song went all the way to the top). They resumed with No Jacket Required singles here with a song that closes out most of his concerts. A great song indeed! LDD: SOMEWHERE – BARBRA STREISAND - Interesting choice for a LDD, since it never hit the Top 40 chart. It was, however, a big AC hit earlier in the year, so apparently the author of the dedication listened to AC music as well as Pop. It was indeed fitting for the dedication. 6: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY – JANET JACKSON (4) - The first of many, many hits that Janet would place on the charts. However, this was one of my least favorite songs from her. I generally liked her later songs. 5: IF YOU LEAVE – ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK (9) - Of their four Top 40 hits, this was their only Top Ten (and is the only song of theirs that gets any recurrent airplay). I preferred their other three hits, my favorite being "So In Love", which, oddly enough, sounds a lot like this one. 4: WEST END GIRLS – THE PET SHOP BOYS (2) - This was an example of a band's first hit being their biggest, making it all the way to the top! It was a good one, but I preferred several others from them, including their next hit "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots Of Money)". 3: ON MY OWN – PATTI LaBELLE & MICHAEL McDONALD (11) - Wow! With a big jump like that, one would expect this one to hit #1 the following week, but not quite. It was nice enough to wait for the two above songs to have their turn at #1 and then made it three weeks later, spending as many weeks on top. Back in the day, I couldn't stand this song at all (overplay, as well as the fact that I didn't like the song in the first place), but it was one of those songs that ages like fine wine. I think it's a great song now. OPTIONAL EXTRA: WE DON'T HAVE TO TAKE OUR CLOTHES OFF - JERMAINE STEWART - I always got this song confused with "How Will I Know" by Whitney Houston, as the drum intros sounded alike. I never knew what song it was until the instruments kicked in. This was a good song with a good message. 2: LIVE TO TELL - MADONNA (5) - This song was a week away from becoming her third number one hit, and there was a lot more where that came from! Of her two number one song in 1986, this was my favorite by a decent margin (as I didn't care much for "Papa Don't Preach". 1: GREATEST LOVE OF ALL – WHITNEY HOUSTON (1) - One of Whitney's best songs ever, and it became popular in the LDD department. This is a song that I never got tired of and it still sounds as fresh as it did 30 years ago! Glad that it ended up as her biggest hit from her debut album (as far as weeks at #1 go). Speaking of which, this was the first time that a debut album generated more than two number one hits. And, of course Whitney was also in the midst of another streak, which was the longest consecutive string of number one songs - seven in all.
Coming up next week: It was announced earlier today that next week's show is another standalone - the June 4, 1983 show, which we haven't heard since 2009, but was run three times before, during each of the first three years of the series.
|
|
|
Post by FreakyFlyBry on Jun 4, 2018 10:26:12 GMT -5
Time to post my last 2 recycled commentaries... both previously aired in 2011 so easy to find both. American Top 40: The 80s - May 21, 2011 This week's presentation - May 24, 1986 Well, at least my back-up prediction was correct. But no 1984 yet. I realize they're probably trying to make up for overdoing that year so much last year, but they're doing so at the wrong time of year. The summer of ‘84 was what was overdone, not the spring. The summer has few shows to choose from as it is (without choosing a repeat). But there still are shows from then, so I guess it's not so bad. And who knows, they could throw a curveball and put on the show from May 19 next week, but I somehow doubt that they will. Oh well, 1986 was a great year in music anyway, so this show is a good one. Here is my commentary: Droppers: WHAT YOU NEED - INXS (39) - Though I'm not a big fan of them, this one was pretty good. Great song! Shame to see it fall off. ROCK ME AMADEUS - FALCO (36) - Pretty good, depending on which version it is. But that's not applicable here, as no version was played, because the song dropped out Great song! I prefer the version without the chronology myself, but it's a good song either way. LET'S GO ALL THE WAY - SLY FOX (35) - Good song - an 80s mix show essential. Agreed. STICK AROUND - JULIAN LENNON (34) - Good song - not sure if I prefer this or the Valotte singles (though I do like it better than the overplayed “Too Late For Goodbyes”.) wtf did this sound like again? 40: MANIC MONDAY – THE BANGLES (29) - Great song! One of their best (and I think y'all know what one of their worst is, IMO!) Great song! Agreed, one of their best (Though I do like the song you hate from them) 39: YOUR WILDEST DREAMS – THE MOODY BLUES (debut) - Great song! Possibly my favorite of their Top 40 hits. Agreed - definitely a worthy comeback, it was good to see this bring them back to the top 10 after a 14-year wait. (though their 1981 singles made top 10 R&R) 38: WHERE DO THE CHILDREN GO – THE HOOTERS (debut) - This song was pretty good, but I preferred their uptempos. Apparently, so did many other people, as this song did not stick around long - it debuted at #38 this week and fell out the following week - 1986's only “one-week wonder”. Agreed. I've heard the other 2 hits from time to time, but this one I've only heard on AT40 and Rick Dees (and on the latter, there are more chances to hear this as it spent 4 weeks on R&R) 37: LIKE NO OTHER NIGHT - 38 SPECIAL (debut) - Great song! We heard one of my three favorites by them last week and this week, we hear another. Will we hear the other one next week? Not unless it's an extra or LDD, as the song is from January, 1984. I like this one, but prefer several others from them, despite many of their songs from this era sounding the same (including one we'll never hear on this show though I have heard it many times on Casey's Top 40 as I have several 1989 shows to hear "Second Chance" on, as that sounds VERY different from their usual fare) 36: AMERICAN STORM – BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND (24) - Great song! This one should have peaked higher than it did! Not bad but he's had better. 35: TUFF ENUFF – THE FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS (debut) - Though I'm generally not a big fan of southern rock, this one was actually pretty good. Agreed, this is pretty good. 34: HARLEM SHUFFLE – THE ROLLING STONES (19) - This song was OK, but I prefer many others by them. Agreed, definitely not one of their very best but still decent. 33: VIENNA CALLING - FALCO (38) - Interesting song, but I can see why it didn't do as well as “Rock Me Amadeus”. Agreed, and I feel it only really hit because of Rock Me Amadeus. I guess that could potentially justify VH1 calling him a one-hit wonder. 32: WHO'S JOHNNY (“SHORT CIRCUIT” THEME) – EL DEBARGE (40) - Great song! I liked the video, as well. Good song! One of his best. 31: RAIN ON THE SCARECROW – JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP (37) - OK song, but not one of my favorites by him. Agreed. He's always good at social commentary songs, including this one. LDD: CHERISH – KOOL & THE GANG - Good song - this one became a somewhat popular Long Distance Dedication request. Great song! Their best ballad. OPTIONAL EXTRA: MAD ABOUT YOU - BELINDA CARLISLE - Good song, though I hated the hell out of it when it was popular (due to overplay). And I must say, it was much better than her hit with the Go-Go's that we heard on last week's countdown. Great song but I prefer her 1987-88 singles. 30: KISS – PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION (17) - Meh, don't care for this one. Good song, but he's had better. It's too bad we'd never hear the Tom Jones/Art of Noise cover on here as Shadoe had taken over by then. 29: ALL THE THINGS SHE SAID – SIMPLE MINDS (31) - Is it me, or did their three 1986 songs sound somewhat similar? Anyway, of those songs, this would be my least favorite. Yes, they did. But they're all good anyway. Can't judge their 90's hits as both are "wtf did this sound like again?" for me. 28: I WANNA BE A COWBOY – BOYS DON'T CRY (33) - Good song. One of several one-hit wonders on this week's countdown. Agreed - a definite 80's mix show essential! 27: MOTHERS TALK – TEARS FOR FEARS (30) - This song was better than I remember it being. Still, my favorite TFF song is “Advice For The Young At Heart”, which charted at AC radio in the spring of 1990. Out of their top 40 hits, this would have to be my least favourite, but I like all of their top 40 hits. 26: TOMORROW DOESN'T MATTER TONIGHT - STARSHIP (28) - Great song! This one was quite underrated, IMO. Good song, and agreed it was underrated, especially following up 2 #1's! 25: HOLDING BACK THE YEARS – SIMPLY RED (32) - This one was one of my favorite songs in the world when I first heard it, but then it got way overplayed. To this day, I'm still rather burned out on it, though it's good to hear it every now and again. I still prefer their other hits, including their AC-only hits (i.e. “It's Only Love”, “You've Got It”) I like this one to this day, among my favourites from them. 24: ROUGH BOY – ZZ TOP (22) - Great song! This was possibly my favorite song by them. Their Afterburner album was sort of a departure from their usual rock sound. It was different to hear a ballad from them, that's for sure! I prefer their uptempos generally though. 23: NEVER AS GOOD AS THE FIRST TIME - SADE (20) - This one was pretty good, but I preferred most of their other songs. Agreed. 22: NO ONE IS TO BLAME – HOWARD JONES (27) - Great song! Likely my favorite song by him - one of the songs I associate most with the summer of 1986. Definitely one of his best songs - at least in my top 5 favourites from them. 21: A DIFFERENT CORNER – GEORGE MICHAEL (26) - No. Just no. I like this one but prefer most of his other hits. OPTIONAL EXTRA: LIKE A ROCK - BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND - Good song, but I preferred his song on the countdown this week. I prefer this one, probably because of the car commercials that used this song. 20: NOTHIN' AT ALL - HEART (25) - Good song, but they've had better. Agreed. 19: THERE'LL BE SAD SONGS (TO MAKE YOU CRY) – BILLY OCEAN (23) - Great song! One of his best! Agreed. 18: CRUSH ON YOU – THE JETS (21) - Meh, not quite my cup of tea. I like this, one of my favourites from them. The Aaron Carter remake, however, is "No. Just no." 17: ADDICTED TO LOVE – ROBERT PALMER (10) - This was OK, but one of the most overplayed songs of 1986. Great song! Definitely one of his best. 16: MOVE AWAY – CULTURE CLUB (18) - Great song! One of their best and most underrated. I like this, much better than their previous few singles... shame it was their last top 40 hit, but at least Boy George had a couple more after this. 15: YOUR LOVE – THE OUTFIELD (6) - Good song, but I preferred “All The Love In The World”, from later on that summer. Great song! A definite 80's mix show essential. I'm surprised they had as many hits as they did considering this is the only one anyone plays anymore. 14: IS IT LOVE – MR. MISTER (15) - Good song, though not quite their best. Agreed, I prefer their #1's. 13: BE GOOD TO YOURSELF – JOURNEY (16) - Good song, but my least favorite release from Raised On Radio. Probably the same here. 12: SOMETHING ABOUT YOU – LEVEL 42 (13) - Great song! As I've mentioned before, I like their two Top 40 hits about the same. Same here. 11: WHY CAN'T THIS BE LOVE – VAN HALEN (3) - Good song. I definitely preferred the Van Hagar era. I like songs from throughout their career, this is definitely one of their best. 10: ALL I NEED IS A MIRACLE – MIKE & THE MECHANICS (14) - Good song, though I prefer “Taken In”, which would hit the chart two months later. Great song! One of my favourites from them. OPTIONAL EXTRA: IF SHE KNEW WHAT SHE WANTS - THE BANGLES - Wow! This was indeed an unexpected extra, since it was their most obscure hit. And, IMO, it was their best hit ever. Not bad, but I prefer most of their other top 40's. 9: I CAN'T WAIT – NU SHOOZ (12) - No, actually, I CAN wait - to ever hear this song again. I find it quite annoying. I like this one, but I hate the Mann song "Buzzin'" from earlier this year that sampled this. Thankfully that never got higher than #39 (and I doubt it was heard on Rick Dees or Ryan Seacrest as they used either a dartboard chart or a chart where old songs refuse to go away.) 8: BAD BOY – MIAMI SOUND MACHINE (8) - Great song! One of their only upbeat songs that I really like. I generally like their upbeat stuff mostly, but prefer a few others over this. 7: TAKE ME HOME – PHIL COLLINS (7) - Great song! This was usually the last song he sang at concerts. A fitting choice, I'd say Great song - surprised it charted so late after the rest of the singles from the same album AND after a soundtrack song from him! LDD: SOMEWHERE – BARBRA STREISAND - Interesting choice for a LDD, since it never hit the Top 40 chart. It was, however, a big AC hit earlier in the year, so apparently the author of the dedication listened to AC music as well as Pop. It was indeed fitting for the dedication. No. Just no. 6: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY – JANET JACKSON (4) - I fell asleep at this point in the show, which is probably just as well, since I was never a big fan of this song at all. I'm listening now and wide awake (there were a few songs earlier that I fell asleep during the first hour but I already knew how they sounded). The song's great but I prefer her 1989-95 music generally as well as a few later songs. 5: IF YOU LEAVE – ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK (9) - Nor did I particularly like this song, either (and I was still asleep). Great song! Definitely an 80's mix show essential. 4: WEST END GIRLS – THE PET SHOP BOYS (2) - I woke up in the middle of this song. It was a good one, but I preferred their next release, “Opportunities”. Great song! One of their best. 3: ON MY OWN – PATTI LaBELLE & MICHAEL McDONALD (11) - This song tied “Who's Johnny” for the biggest mover of the week, but this one was definitely more impressive. Despite its huge jump, it would have to wait for another month before hitting #1, where it would spend three weeks. No. Just no. 2: LIVE TO TELL - MADONNA (5) - This song was also poised to hit #1, but it would also be held at bay. The number one song was indeed that strong. Good song, and it would be a deserving #1 when it did hit. Still, prefer many others from her. 1: GREATEST LOVE OF ALL – WHITNEY HOUSTON (1) - And here is that #1 song. This was a great one - definitely one of her best and very worthy of being #1. Definitely one of her most classic songs, and one I felt was deserving of #1. The #1 streak would continue for another two years after this. Chicago update: We'd almost be getting to the release of Peter Cetera's solo hit "Glory of Love", which we should be hearing on the next 1986 show, probably on its rise towards #1 as I see possibly July 26, 1986 being aired. Predictions for next week: Well, this would have been a perfect week to do 1984, but unless they're a week off next week, they can't do that one, since the one closest to next week would be May 26, and Charlie Van Dyke hosted that one, so that show is apparently out of the question. So my prediction for next week is May 30, 1987, with June 2, 1984 as my back-up prediction. I'm hoping for 1987 too, but I think they'll throw us a curveball and give us 1980 again.
|
|