80s0n8 Big 40 Countdown Schedule

Jack Armstrong (real name: John Larsh) worked at several radio stations in the US and Canada. He always opened with a clip of the Three Stooges' Moe Howard saying, "Quiet, numbskulls, I'm broadcasting!" The clip came from the 1940 short Micro-Phonies. Here is an excerpt:

 
11/16/1985:

40: WALK OF LIFE – DIRE STRAITS
39: LONELY OL' NIGHT – JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP
38: TONIGHT SHE COMES – THE CARS
37: OBJECT OF MY DESIRE - STARPOINT
36: SMALL TOWN – JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP
35: RUNNING UP THAT HILL – KATE BUSH
34: GIRLS ARE MORE FUN – RAY PARKER, JR.
33: WRAP HER UP – ELTON JOHN
32: SAY YOU, SAY ME – LIONEL RICHIE
31: SISTERS ARE DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES – EURYTHMICS AND ARETHA FRANKLIN
30: AND WE DANCED – THE HOOTERS
29: OH SHEILA – READY FOR THE WORLD
28: FORTRESS AROUND YOUR HEART – STING
27: I’M GONNA TEAR YOUR PLAYHOUSE DOWN – PAUL YOUNG
26: SO IN LOVE – ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVERS IN THE DARK
25: PERFECT WAY – SCRITTI POLITTI
24: PARTY ALL THE TIME – EDDIE MURPHY
23: I MISS YOU - KLYMAXX
22: ALIVE AND KICKING – SIMPLE MINDS
21: SOUL KISS – OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN
20: LOVIN’ EVERY MINUTE OF IT - LOVERBOY
19: SLEEPING BAG - ZZ TOP
18: ELECTION DAY - ARCADIA
17: ONE OF THE LIVING – TINA TURNER
16: ONE NIGHT LOVE AFFAIR – BRYAN ADAMS
15: LOVE THEME FROM “ST. ELMO’S FIRE” – DAVID FOSTER
14: SAVING ALL MY LOVE FOR YOU – WHITNEY HOUSTON
13: TAKE ON ME – A-HA
12: YOU ARE MY LADY – FREDDIE JACKSON
11: WHO’S ZOOMIN’ WHO – ARETHA FRANKLIN
10: LAY YOUR HANDS ON ME – THE THOMPSON TWINS
9: BE NEAR ME - ABC
8: NEVER – HEART
7: BROKEN WINGS – MR. MISTER
6: SEPARATE LIVES – PHIL COLLINS & MARILYN MARTIN
5: PART-TIME LOVER - STEVIE WONDER
4: HEAD OVER HEELS – TEARS FOR FEARS
3: "MIAMI VICE" THEME – JAN HAMMER
2: YOU BELONG TO THE CITY – GLENN FREY
1: WE BUILT THIS CITY - STARSHIP
 
Good 13
Okay 10
Bad 17

23: I MISS YOU - KLYMAXX

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19: SLEEPING BAG - ZZ TOP

She slips inside sleeping bags by the seashore

13: TAKE ON ME – A-HA
3: "MIAMI VICE" THEME – JAN HAMMER
1: WE BUILT THIS CITY - STARSHIP

I went with #13, the other two went with #3 and #1 (not sure who is which). I lose again. I'm still happy with only being four weeks off, especially during a time when there's a new chart-topper every week. But against those two, I still look like a fool!

#56 Kiss "Tears Are Falling"
#60 Talking Heads "And She Was"
#67 Morris Day "The Oak Tree"
#75 Rush "The Big Money"
#90 Motley Crue "Home Sweet Home"
#98 Oingo Boingo "Weird Science"

Shoulda made the 40

Won't reach the top 40
#50 Wang Chung "To Live And Die In LA"
#54 Prince "America"
#56 Kiss "Tears Are Falling"
#58 Gino Vannelli "Hurts To Be In Love"
#60 Talking Heads "And She Was"
#61 Roger Daltrey "After The Fire"
#63 Pointer Sisters "Freedom"
#64 Jack Wagner "Too Young"
#67 Morris Day "The Oak Tree"
#69 Rene & Angela "I'll Be Good"
#72 John Cafferty "Small Town Girl"
#73 James Taylor "Everyday"
#74 New Edition "Count Me Out"
#75 Rush "The Big Money"
#77 Maurice White "Stand By Me"
#78 Howard Jones "Like To Get To Know You Well"
#79 Cheech & Chong "Born In East LA"
#81 Christopher Cross "Charm The Snake"
#82 Katrina & The Waves "Que Te Quiero"
#85 Marillion "Kayleigh"
#86 Loverboy "Dangerous"
#87 Five Star "All Fall Down"
#89 9.9 "All Of Me For All Of You"
#90 Motley Crue "Home Sweet Home"
#91 INXS "This Time"
#92 John Parr "Love Grammar"
#93 Robert Palmer "Discipline Of Love"
#94 Lisa Lisa "Can You Feel The Beat"
#95 Cheap Trick "Tonight It's You"
#97 Quarterflash "Talk To Me"
#98 Oingo Boingo "Weird Science"
#100 Jane Wiedlin "Blue Kiss"
 
sadchild said:
11/16/1985:

This one's literally smack dab in the middle of the time I was a radio DJ. This should be fun.

40: WALK OF LIFE – DIRE STRAITS

I don't have a strong opinion about DS one way or another in general, but sweet Jeezus do I hate this song. Then, & now.

39: LONELY OL' NIGHT – JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP

I remember this being the lead-off track from the "Scarecrow" record, & not thinking it was anything special. But my program director/boss taught me that this was a case of a label sometimes releasing a weaker track first because they KNOW it's gonna be big anyway because there's so much interest in the artist's new album. And then later they can support the album with the stronger tracks when it needs a 2nd/3rd/4th wind. I reconnected with this person several years back on Facebook. Since then, he's gone to work for Taylor Swift, & became a Trump guy. Sad.

38: TONIGHT SHE COMES – THE CARS

Bonus track on the greatest hits, if I remember right.

36: SMALL TOWN – JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP

See above. Man, he was big at the time.

35: RUNNING UP THAT HILL – KATE BUSH

I was surprised this actually made the Top 40. My guess is it didn't get much higher than this. ( edit : checked Wiki...It got to #30 )

34: GIRLS ARE MORE FUN – RAY PARKER, JR.

No recollection of this song, but I own his greatest hits. I assume it's on there?

28: FORTRESS AROUND YOUR HEART – STING

Distinct memory of seeing this tour, & calling in a report to the station afterward ( the show was 3 hours away ) via pay phone. Absolutely ZERO memory of why we would do such a thing.

23: I MISS YOU - KLYMAXX

Still own the promo red heart-shaped 45 record of this one. I'm sure it's worth upwards of 5 American dollars on eBay.

20: LOVIN’ EVERY MINUTE OF IT - LOVERBOY

This one falls into the "Walk Of Life" category. Don't care one way or another about Loverboy in general, but Gawd I hated this one then ( & now, I'd assume - haven't heard it in forever ).

12: YOU ARE MY LADY – FREDDIE JACKSON

It always made me chuckle how he pronounces "lady" as "leh-day". So I've always called this song "You Are My Lehday".


37: OBJECT OF MY DESIRE - STARPOINT
34: GIRLS ARE MORE FUN – RAY PARKER, JR.
32: SAY YOU, SAY ME – LIONEL RICHIE
29: OH SHEILA – READY FOR THE WORLD
24: PARTY ALL THE TIME – EDDIE MURPHY
23: I MISS YOU - KLYMAXX
21: SOUL KISS – OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN
15: LOVE THEME FROM “ST. ELMO’S FIRE” – DAVID FOSTER
14: SAVING ALL MY LOVE FOR YOU – WHITNEY HOUSTON
12: YOU ARE MY LADY – FREDDIE JACKSON
11: WHO’S ZOOMIN’ WHO – ARETHA FRANKLIN


We didn't play any of the above ( although some DID make the cut on our sister Adult Contemporary AM station ). Admittedly, we were a rock-oriented Top 40 station, but it's a little unsettling to see these charts every week & noticing how we avoided playing so many black artists. Literally over 25% of the Top 40 we didn't play.
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MonoStereo said:
37: OBJECT OF MY DESIRE - STARPOINT
34: GIRLS ARE MORE FUN – RAY PARKER, JR.
32: SAY YOU, SAY ME – LIONEL RICHIE
29: OH SHEILA – READY FOR THE WORLD
24: PARTY ALL THE TIME – EDDIE MURPHY
23: I MISS YOU - KLYMAXX
21: SOUL KISS – OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN
15: LOVE THEME FROM “ST. ELMO’S FIRE” – DAVID FOSTER
14: SAVING ALL MY LOVE FOR YOU – WHITNEY HOUSTON
12: YOU ARE MY LADY – FREDDIE JACKSON
11: WHO’S ZOOMIN’ WHO – ARETHA FRANKLIN


We didn't play any of the above ( although some DID make the cut on our sister Adult Contemporary AM station ). Admittedly, we were a rock-oriented Top 40 station, but it's a little unsettling to see these charts every week & noticing how we avoided playing so many black artists. Literally over 25% of the Top 40 we didn't play.
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Not all of those artists are black.
 
sadchild said:
Won't reach the top 40

#50 Wang Chung "To Live And Die In LA"
I know this one got into at least mid-rotation on my station. Little surprised it didn't graze the Top 40. Loved that movie, too - even though it's pretty dated now.

#56 Kiss "Tears Are Falling"
Yet another example of them getting close-but-no-cigar during the "no makeup" era.

#61 Roger Daltrey "After The Fire"
I know this one made heavy rotation on our station. It must've been a Top 10 rock radio hit. I always liked this song.

#73 James Taylor "Everyday"
Makes the Buddy Holly original sound like friggin' Cannibal Corpse. Gawd, how I hate James Taylor.

#75 Rush "The Big Money"
Another one we played the snot out of because it was a big rock radio tune. I always preferred the 2nd single from this record - "Manhattan Project".

#81 Christopher Cross "Charm The Snake"
I remember how his 3rd album came out, & just absolutely BOMBED. This made entry level/light rotation on our station for MAYBE 2 weeks, & was never heard of again.

#85 Marillion "Kayleigh"
This one made mid-level rotation for us, but never completely caught fire.

#90 Motley Crue "Home Sweet Home"
Great example of "Huge on MTV/whiffs on radio". An issue that radio never figured out, by & large.

#91 INXS "This Time"
I always loved this song, & couldn't figure out why it wasn't as big as the other singles from "Listen Like Thieves".

#95 Cheap Trick "Tonight It's You"
A rare example of me liking the single version better than the album track. It's perfectly tightened up for radio, & I was always surprised this didn't get them back into the Top 40. They'd have to wait another couple albums before their record label issued a "bring Tom back, use outside writers, & we'll support the band again" decree.

#97 Quarterflash "Talk To Me"
See Christopher Cross.
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IdRatherBeSkiing said:
Not all of those artists are black.
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Wait...Olivia Newton-John is WHITE?!?!?!?!?!?

Poorly worded on my part. That was just a list of the songs we didn't play, & when I collect that list in my mind every week I'm always taken aback by how many acts on there are non-white. Didn't realize it at the time, but when I see it every week now I always think "hoo boy".
 
MonoStereo said:
Wait...Olivia Newton-John is WHITE?!?!?!?!?!?

Poorly worded on my part. That was just a list of the songs we didn't play, & when I collect that list in my mind every week I'm always taken aback by how many acts on there are non-white. Didn't realize it at the time, but when I see it every week now I always think "hoo boy".
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Well, to be fair, MTV took a lot of crap for not playing black artists until Michael Jackson's Thriller got big, then they couldn't avoid it.
 
MonoStereo said:
Wait...Olivia Newton-John is WHITE?!?!?!?!?!?

Poorly worded on my part. That was just a list of the songs we didn't play, & when I collect that list in my mind every week I'm always taken aback by how many acts on there are non-white. Didn't realize it at the time, but when I see it every week now I always think "hoo boy".
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Is it cause or effect? You said yourself the same songs were on your sister station which was more adult contemporary and you were more rock top 40. Whiney Houston would not fit on a rock station (or the RRHOF but that is another topic). Most of the black artists in the 70s & 80s pre-rap were not rock oriented. It could just the effect of them not being rockers that caused them not to be played. The fact that they were in the top 40 indicates this was not a widespread phenomenon.
 
Wow... "Weird Science" only peaked at #45. I'm kinda shocked that Oingo Boingo never had a Top 40 hit. As a matter of fact, they only had two Hot 100 singles, the other being "Just Another Day" (#85). At least they get a ton of recognition on 1st Wave.
 
IdRatherBeSkiing said:
Is it cause or effect? You said yourself the same songs were on your sister station which was more adult contemporary and you were more rock top 40. Whiney Houston would not fit on a rock station (or the RRHOF but that is another topic). Most of the black artists in the 70s & 80s pre-rap were not rock oriented. It could just the effect of them not being rockers that caused them not to be played. The fact that they were in the top 40 indicates this was not a widespread phenomenon.
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Absolutely - which is why I included the "admittedly, we were a rock oriented Top 40" disclaimer above.

But we DID play a fair amount of more AC style, wimpier stuff. All those Chicago power ballads got played, etc.

It's just something I've noticed since I've been commenting on the chart threads here that I never noticed back then. And knowing the kind of guy the program director became later in life, it does make me kinda stop & go "huh".
 
MonoStereo said:
Absolutely - which is why I included the "admittedly, we were a rock oriented Top 40" disclaimer above.

But we DID play a fair amount of more AC style, wimpier stuff. All those Chicago power ballads got played, etc.

It's just something I've noticed since I've been commenting on the chart threads here that I never noticed back then. And knowing the kind of guy the program director became later in life, it does make me kinda stop & go "huh".
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I still think there is a difference between a power ballad from a rock group and a R&B style pop song but maybe, as you suggest, your PD had other thought patterns too.
 
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