80s0n8 Big 40 Countdown Schedule

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

I want to hear "Polkas on 45".

 

[sadchild]

Welcome to the 21st century.... music ON DEMAND!

 

[scotchandcigar]

Welcome to the 21st century.... music ON DEMAND!

I wonder if he got a release from Hendrix for Hey Joe.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

I wonder if he got a release from Hendrix for Hey Joe.

Rules are different for parodies. I also think rules are different if you are only doing N seconds of the song. But knowing Al, he probably got a release from somebody.

 

[seasalt43]

sadchild said:
#83 Squeeze "Tempted

I thought this would have been in the low 30s or high 20s.

Agreed. It peaked at #49 on 9/12/81.

sadchild said:

#95 Loverboy "The Kid Is Hot Tonite

I thought this would have been close to 50 or so.

It peaked at #55 on 7/18/81.

 

[seasalt43]

Yeah I did some research on it when I wrote the song bio for the first release (for Genius).

“Stars On 45 Medley” was the product of former Golden Earring drummer/Dutch producer Jaap Eggermont being contacted by a record label asking him to recreate a spliced medley of old songs over a disco beat named “Let’s Do It In The 80s” from Canada that had become popular in European clubs.

Eggermont recruited several Dutch musicians to recreate several of the same 1960s hits that were combined on the original spliced medley, including a large number of Beatles songs. The final product was a 16 minute medley, but when radio DJs began playing their own shortened versions of the song, the record label made their own 4 minute edit consisting mostly of the Beatles songs.

“Stars On 45 Medley” topped the charts around the world, reaching #1 in the Netherlands and Belgium in early 1981, followed by the UK, Switzerland, Austria and Germany in the spring, then the US and New Zealand that summer.

This spurred an early 80’s medley craze with releases like “Hooked on Classics” (by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra), “The Beach Boys Medley”, “The Beatles Movie Medley” and “Empire Strikes Back (Medley)” & “Pop Goes the Movies Part I” (both by Meco), to name only a few acts who jumped on the bandwagon. In 1984, Weird Al parodied the entire concept with his accordion-driven medley of hits “Polkas On 45”.

Eggermont (under the names Stars On 45, Stars On and Starsound) also released several follow-up medleys over the next few years. While many found continued success overseas, only one of his later medleys reached the top 40 in the US.

Very interesting. It sounds like the blame can be placed on the record company. LOL.

 

[Jon]

I wonder if he got a release from Hendrix for Hey Joe.

You really don't need to ask anyone about parodying their song, the Supreme Court said as much a long time ago. Al just asks because he's a nice guy.

 

[sadchild]

Al just asks because he's a nice guy

But don't say no....

Free 'Weird Al' Yankovic!

In a career spanning more than 25 years, pop-music parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic hasn't exactly ranked among the music business' fiercest iconoclasts: He doesn't release his song parodies without the consent of the artists being parodied, and he's rarely used the Internet as more than a tool to...

www.npr.org

 

[sadchild]

1984. Struggling big time. Only two ideas. No confidence in either.

EARLIER
Madonna "Like A Virgin" 83/84
Yes "Owner Of A Lonely Heart"
Culture Club "Karma Chameleon"
Van Halen "Jump"
Kenny Loggins "Footloose"
Queen "Radio Gaga"
Lionel Richie "Hello"
Phil Collins "Against All Odds"
Cyndi Lauper "Time After Time"
Prince "When Doves Cry"
Tina Turner "What's Love Got"

Spoiler: TWO ROUGH CANDIDATES

Duran Duran "The Reflex"
Stevie Wonder "I Just Called"

LATER
Ray Parker Jr "Ghostbusters"
Prince "Let's Go Crazy"
John Waite "Missing You"
Chaka Khan "I Feel For You"
Billy Ocean "Caribbean Queen"
Hall & Oates "Out Of Touch"
Wham "Wake Me Up" 84/85

 

[sadchild]

To be honest, I think all three of us are wrong...

 

[sadchild]

August 4, 1984

40: WHEN YOU CLOSE YOUR EYES - NIGHT RANGER
39: LEAVE A TENDER MOMENT ALONE - BILLY JOEL
38: 10-9-8 - FACE TO FACE
37: DYNAMITE - JERMAINE JACKSON
36: ALL OF YOU - JULIO IGLESIAS & DIANA ROSS
35: THE REFLEX - DURAN DURAN
34: SHE BOP - CYNDI LAUPER
33: THE WARRIOR - SCANDAL FEATURING PATTY SMYTH
32: TURN TO YOU - THE GO-GO'S
31: THE GLAMOROUS LIFE - SHEILA E.
30: ALIBIS - SERGIO MENDES
29: IF THIS IS IT - HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS
28: LIGHTS OUT - PETER WOLF
27: ROMANCING THE STONE - EDDY GRANT
26: ROCK ME TONITE - BILLY SQUIER
25: SEXY GIRL - GLENN FREY
24: SHE'S MINE - STEVE PERRY
23: MISSING YOU - JOHN WAITE
22: I'M FREE (HEAVEN HELPS THE MAN) - KENNY LOGGINS
21: SELF CONTROL - LAURA BRANIGAN
20: MAGIC - THE CARS
19: ROUND AND ROUND - RATT
18: ALMOST PARADISE - MIKE RENO AND ANN WILSON
17: SUNGLASSES AT NIGHT - COREY HART
16: PANAMA - VAN HALEN
15: IF EVER YOU'RE IN MY ARMS AGAIN - PEABO BRYSON
14: DOCTOR! DOCTOR! - THOMPSON TWINS
13: JUMP (FOR MY LOVE) - THE POINTER SISTERS
12: LEGS - ZZ TOP
11: EYES WITHOUT A FACE - BILLY IDOL
10: I CAN DREAM ABOUT YOU - DAN HARTMAN
9: BREAKIN'…THERE'S NO STOPPING US - OLLIE AND JERRY
8: STUCK ON YOU - LIONEL RICHIE
7: SAD SONGS (SAY SO MUCH) - ELTON JOHN
6: INFATUATION - ROD STEWART
5: WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT - TINA TURNER
4: DANCING IN THE DARK - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
3: STATE OF SHOCK - THE JACKSONS
2: GHOSTBUSTERS - RAY PARKER, JR.
1: WHEN DOVES CRY - PRINCE

 

[Aaron]

Great group of pop songs. 32 for me.

 

[Jon]

30 out of 40. Not bad. '84 was a banner year.

 

[sadchild]

Good 11
Okay 13
Bad 14

38: 10-9-8 - FACE TO FACE

TIL they were from my home state. Rare to hear about NH acts getting anywhere.

35: THE REFLEX - DURAN DURAN

The good news is I didn't pick Stevie Wonder (uncharted). The bad news is I got my butt whooped.

9: BREAKIN'…THERE'S NO STOPPING US - OLLIE AND JERRY

No recollection of ever hearing this back in the 80s.

8: STUCK ON YOU - LIONEL RICHIE

7: SAD SONGS (SAY SO MUCH) - ELTON JOHN

Selling out says so much.



2: GHOSTBUSTERS - RAY PARKER, JR.

My friend's old roommate went with this.

1: WHEN DOVES CRY - PRINCE

My friend's kid went with this.

#75 M+M "Black Stations/White Stations"

Interesting lyrics

A voice inside my car told me today
There was a song of love they would not play
She was black, he was white
A voice inside my car told me today
Black stations, white stations break down the doors
Stand up and face the music, this is 1984

A bunch of new entries in the...

Will never get into the to 40
#46 Teddy Pendergrass & Whitney Houston "Hold Me"
#53 Chris DeBurgh "High on Emotion"
#59 Quiet Riot "Mama, Weer All Crazee Now"
#60 Joe Jackson "Happy Ending"
#64 Newcleus "Jam On It"
#69 Genesis "Taking It All Too Hard"
#73 Scorpions "Still Loving You"
#74 Queen "It's A Hard Life"
#75 M+M "Black Stations/White Stations"
#76 Style Council "You're the Best Thing"
#77 Carol Lynn Townes "99 1/2"
#78 Elvis Costello "The Only Flame in Town"
#79 Cherelle "I Didn't Mean To Turn You On"
#80 Irene Cara "You Were Made for Me"
#81 Giorgio Moroder "Reach Out"
#82 INXS "I Send a Message"
#83 Van Stephenson "What the Big Girls Do"
#85 Coyote Sisters "Straight from the Heart (Into Your Life)"
#86 Bus-Boys "Cleanin' Up the Town"
#88 Grandmaster Melle Mel "Beatstreet"
#89 Patrice Rushen "Feels So Real (Won't Let Go)"
#90 Karen Kamon "Loverboy"
#91 Jocelyn Brown "Somebody Else's Guy"
#93 Johnny Mathis "Simple"
#94 Ronnie Milsap "She Loves My Car"
#96 Juice Newton "A Little Love"
#99 Yes "It Can Happen"
#100 Bon Jovi "She Don't Know Me"

 

[scotchandcigar]

38: 10-9-8 - FACE TO FACE

TIL they were from my home state. Rare to hear about NH acts getting anywhere.

Never heard of them.

23 for me.

 

[HecticArt]

22. That's pretty good for me.

#59 Quiet Riot "Mama, Weer All Crazee Now"

I thought this would have been around 30 or so.

#73 Scorpions "Still Loving You"

I'm surprised this wasn't a top 20 song. It was everywhere, all the time.

 

[hwkn]

30 this week.

 

[MonoStereo]

August 4, 1984

This would've been juuuuuuuuuuuuuust right before my start in radio, so I don't have a lot to add. I like a LOT of these songs, though.

38: 10-9-8 - FACE TO FACE

I remember this song, but I had NO idea it cracked the Top 40. Apparently, this was the peak. I also just learned by the time they got to their 3rd ( & last ) album, they had switched to a more country/rock sound. Their main writer would continue in that vein as a songwriter, having some success.

37: DYNAMITE - JERMAINE JACKSON

I always liked this song. I think I might still have that album on vinyl around here. I think that's the album that had "Do What You Do" ( which I also liked ) on it, too.

34: SHE BOP - CYNDI LAUPER

One of the writers of this tune ( Gary Corbett ) just passed away. He was mainly a keyboard player - toured with KISS & a buncha others in the 80's.

32: TURN TO YOU - THE GO-GO'S

Shame the album this song is from ( "Talk Show") kinda flopped & did them in for awhile. It's a GREAT record.

26: ROCK ME TONITE - BILLY SQUIER

I just had a conversation a couple days ago with someone about whether the video for this song ruined his career like the internet would have you believe. It was a Top 20 hit, & a huge rock radio song - exactly where you would expect a backlash if there was one. It probably didn't help him long-term, but the hype that it was some career-ender is just that.

24: SHE'S MINE - STEVE PERRY

I had completely forgotten all about this song. Hadn't heard it in forever.

16: PANAMA - VAN HALEN

Hard to beat a lyric like "Got an on-ramp comin' thru my bedroom".

10: I CAN DREAM ABOUT YOU - DAN HARTMAN

I saw "Streets Of Fire" in a shitty old theater in New Orleans. No idea why. I remember talking to an old black guy before the movie who was going to see the latest "Star Trek" movie because "Spock's my man".

9: BREAKIN'…THERE'S NO STOPPING US - OLLIE AND JERRY

I wonder if there's been any hits by someone named "Ollie" since.

8: STUCK ON YOU - LIONEL RICHIE

I've never been huge on Lionel's solo stuff, or Alabama ( the group and the state ) in general. But I always kinda liked this song.

And it turns out I had more to say about the chart than I thought. That's kinda my brand.

 

[Channel98]

Cyndi Lauper's She Bop was about masturbation. I know this will shock those of you who thought it was about dancing. The lyrics: "I've been thinking of a new sensation. I'm picking up good vibrations. Do I wanna go out with a lion's roar? Yeah, I wanna go south and get me some more.....I can't stop messin' with the danger zone."

In 1985, Tipper Gore, wife of Senator (and future Vice President) Al Gore, co-founded the Parents Music Resource Center. The PMRC put out a "Filthy Fifteen" list of objectionable songs. It included She Bop, Prince's Darling Nikki, Sheena Easton's Sugar Walls, Judas Priest's Eat Me Alive and AC/DC's Let Me Put My Love Into You. At the PMRC's urging, the Recording Industry Association of America agreed to start putting "Parental Advisory" warning labels on records that contain "explicit lyrics." Walmart and Walmart.com have always refused to sell albums that have the warning label.

Here is a live performance of She Bop from the 2015 Front & Center DVD, recorded July 10, 2013 at the Beacon Theatre in New York City during the 30th Anniversary celebration tour of the She's So Unusual album. Cyndi was 60.

 

[Channel98]

I want to hear "Polkas on 45".

Happy to oblige. It includes polka versions of Hey Jude, My Generation, Jumpin' Jack Flash, Smoke On The Water and several other rock songs.