80s0n8 Big 40 Countdown Schedule

[sadchild]

May 26, 1984.
40: WHISPER TO A SCREAM (BIRDS FLY) – ICICLE WORKS
39: MAGIC – THE CARS
38: DANCE HALL DAYS – WANG CHUNG
37: NO MORE WORDS - BERLIN
36: DANCING IN THE DARK – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
35: LOVE WILL SHOW US HOW – CHRISTINE McVIE
34: MODERN DAY DELILAH – VAN STEPHENSON
33: EYES WITHOUT A FACE – BILLY IDOL
32: MY EVER CHANGING MOODS – THE STYLE COUNCIL
31: IT’S MY LIFE – TALK TALK
30: WHO’S THAT GIRL - EURYTHMICS
29: ALMOST PARADISE – MIKE RENO AND ANN WILSON
28: STAY THE NIGHT - CHICAGO
27: RUN RUNAWAY - SLADE
26: THEY DON’T KNOW – TRACY ULLMAN
25: ROCK YOU LIKE A HURRICANE - SCORPIONS
24: YOU CAN’T GET WHAT YOU WANT (TIL YOU KNOW WHAT YOU WANT) – JOE JACKSON
23: FOOTLOOSE – KENNY LOGGINS
22: JUMP (FOR MY LOVE) – THE POINTER SISTERS
21: THE AUTHORITY SONG – JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP
20: IT’S A MIRACLE – CULTURE CLUB
19: SELF CONTROL – LAURA BRANIGAN
18: BORDERLINE - MADONNA
17: DANCING IN THE STREETS - SHALAMAR
16: I’LL WAIT – VAN HALEN
15: LOVE SOMEBODY – RICK SPRINGFIELD
14: THE LONGEST TIME – BILLY JOEL
13: THE HEART OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL – HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS
12: YOU MIGHT THINK – THE CARS
11: HEAD OVER HEELS – THE GO-GO’S
10: HOLD ME NOW – THOMPSON TWINS
9: BREAKDANCE – IRENE CARA
8: SISTER CHRISTIAN – NIGHT RANGER
7: THE REFLEX – DURAN DURAN
6: TO ALL THE GIRLS I’VE LOVED BEFORE – JULIO IGLESIAS & WILLIE NELSON
5: OH, SHERRIE – STEVE PERRY
4: AGAINST ALL ODDS – PHIL COLLINS
3: TIME AFTER TIME – CYNDI LAUPER
2: HELLO – LIONEL RICHIE
1: LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE BOY – DENIECE WILLIAMS

 

[Aaron]

Great countdown.. 34 good ones.

 

[HecticArt]

20 or 21. That's a big countdown for me.

 

[MonoStereo]

Boy, is this one in my wheelhouse. I like/love around 75% of those songs.

 

[scotchandcigar]

Definitely over 30 for me.

 

[seasalt43]

May 26, 1984.
40: WHISPER TO A SCREAM (BIRDS FLY) – ICICLE WORKS
39: MAGIC – THE CARS
38: DANCE HALL DAYS – WANG CHUNG
37: NO MORE WORDS - BERLIN
36: DANCING IN THE DARK – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
35: LOVE WILL SHOW US HOW – CHRISTINE McVIE
34: MODERN DAY DELILAH – VAN STEPHENSON
33: EYES WITHOUT A FACE – BILLY IDOL
32: MY EVER CHANGING MOODS – THE STYLE COUNCIL
31: IT’S MY LIFE – TALK TALK
30: WHO’S THAT GIRL - EURYTHMICS
29: ALMOST PARADISE – MIKE RENO AND ANN WILSON
28: STAY THE NIGHT - CHICAGO
27: RUN RUNAWAY - SLADE
26: THEY DON’T KNOW – TRACY ULLMAN
25: ROCK YOU LIKE A HURRICANE - SCORPIONS
24: YOU CAN’T GET WHAT YOU WANT (TIL YOU KNOW WHAT YOU WANT) – JOE JACKSON
23: FOOTLOOSE – KENNY LOGGINS
22: JUMP (FOR MY LOVE) – THE POINTER SISTERS
21: THE AUTHORITY SONG – JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP
20: IT’S A MIRACLE – CULTURE CLUB
19: SELF CONTROL – LAURA BRANIGAN
18: BORDERLINE - MADONNA
17: DANCING IN THE STREETS - SHALAMAR
16: I’LL WAIT – VAN HALEN
15: LOVE SOMEBODY – RICK SPRINGFIELD
14: THE LONGEST TIME – BILLY JOEL
13: THE HEART OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL – HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS
12: YOU MIGHT THINK – THE CARS
11: HEAD OVER HEELS – THE GO-GO’S
10: HOLD ME NOW – THOMPSON TWINS
9: BREAKDANCE – IRENE CARA
8: SISTER CHRISTIAN – NIGHT RANGER
7: THE REFLEX – DURAN DURAN
6: TO ALL THE GIRLS I’VE LOVED BEFORE – JULIO IGLESIAS & WILLIE NELSON
5: OH, SHERRIE – STEVE PERRY
4: AGAINST ALL ODDS – PHIL COLLINS
3: TIME AFTER TIME – CYNDI LAUPER
2: HELLO – LIONEL RICHIE
1: LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE BOY – DENIECE WILLIAMS

This is a definitely a sweet spot in chart history. MTV's influence can be seen too. I'm not sure if I remember #40. #32 is a personal favorite. It was a UK top five hit.

I stumbled across this playlist for this week's Hot 100 (from 100 to 1). It's been fun a listen.

 

[sadchild]

Good 12
Okay 12
Bad 16

6: TO ALL THE GIRLS I’VE LOVED BEFORE – JULIO & WILLIE

3: TIME AFTER TIME – CYNDI LAUPER

My pick

2: HELLO – LIONEL RICHIE



1: LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE BOY – DENIECE WILLIAMS

At least one of the other two picked this one

Will never make the top 40
#45 Queen "I Want to Break Free"
#46 Nik Kershaw "Wouldn't It Be Good"
#48 Dan Fogelberg "Believe in Me"
#53 Yarbough & People "Don't Waste Your Time"
#56 Shannon "Give Me Tonight"
#58 INXS "Original Sin"
#61 Cameo "She's Strange"
#62 Weird Al "King of Suede"
#66 LaToya Jackson "Heart Don't Lie"
#70 Duke Jupiter "Little Lady"
#71 James Ingram "There's No Easy Way"
#73 Psychedelic Furs "The Ghost In You"
#78 Dwight Twilley "Little Bit Of Love"
#79 Kim Carnes "I Pretend"
#80 Paul Young "Love of the Common People"
#85 Alabama "When We Make Love"
#86 Shakin' Stevens "I Cry Just A Little Bit"
#88 Bar-Kays "Freakshow On The Dance Floor"
#90 Bon Jovi "She Don't Know Me"
#91 Dennis Edwards "Don't Look Any Further"
#92 Temptations "Sail Away"
#93 Kenny Rogers "Eyes That See in the Dark"
#94 Hagar, Schon, Aaronson, Shrieve "Whiter Shade Of Pale"
#95 Bananarama "Robert De Niro's Waiting"
#96 Debarge "Love Me In A Special Way"
#98 Re-Flex "Hurt"
#99 Frank Stallone "Darlin'"
#100 Poco "Days Gone By"

 

[Aaron]

The Nik Kershaw song at #46 is one of my favorites.

 

[Jon]

32 out of 40.

 

[HecticArt]

#45 Queen "I Want to Break Free"
#46 Nik Kershaw "Wouldn't It Be Good"

Seems just about right for these two. Should have been higher in my book though.

#62 Weird Al "King of Suede"

I'm surprised it broke 100. It got almost no airplay compared to his other stuff.

#95 Bananarama "Robert De Niro's Waiting"

I would have thought this would have made it closer to 50.

 

[sadchild]

#95 was Bananrama's peak here in the US, but it was top 10 in UK, Germany, Ireland and Switzerland!

 

[seasalt43]

Will never make the top 40
#45 Queen "I Want to Break Free"
#46 Nik Kershaw "Wouldn't It Be Good"

Both of these tracks had 40 potential. Both were top 5 UK hits.

#56 Shannon "Give Me Tonight"

"Give Me Tonight" was the follow-up to "Let the Music Play". It was a #1 Dance hit.

#58 INXS "Original Sin"

This track was produced by Nile Rogers.

#61 Cameo "She's Strange"

"She's Strange" was a #1 R&B hit and cracked the UK top 40.

#66 LaToya Jackson "Heart Don't Lie"

A dreadful song with an equally horrible video.

#71 James Ingram "There's No Easy Way"

"There's No Easy Way" was the follow-up to "Yah Mo B There".

#79 Kim Carnes "I Pretend"

I'm not sure if this track had top 40 potential, but was an enjoyable listen.

#85 Alabama "When We Make Love"

'When We Make Love" was a #1 country hit.

#86 Shakin' Stevens "I Cry Just A Little Bit"

Shakin's Stevens was huge in the UK. This tracked reached #3 there.

#88 Bar-Kays "Freakshow On The Dance Floor"

This song was featuring the Breakin' soundtrack and was a #2 R&B hit.

#91 Dennis Edwards "Don't Look Any Further"
#92 Temptations "Sail Away"

It's interesting to see former Temptations member, Dennis Edwards, next to the group on the chart.

#95 Bananarama "Robert De Niro's Waiting"

Robert De Niro's Waiting" was the follow-up to Cruel Summer.

#98 Re-Flex "Hurt"

"Hurt" was the follow-up to the "The Politics of Dancing"

 

[hwkn]

33 this week.

 

[MonoStereo]

The Nik Kershaw song at #46 is one of my favorites.

Such a great tune. And ironically, we heard it yesterday as we pulled into the recycling center. I think it was on 80's on 8, too. Before the countdown started, I guess. It would've been right around 9am Central.

 

[sadchild]

'When We Make Love" was a #1 country hit.

It's interesting that in 80/81/82 there's a lot of big country hits in the top 40, but around 83/84 it drops markedly. Those same country artists rarely made the 40 for the rest of the decade whereas before they were all over it. I believe that's the "MTV effect", causing a shift in pop music.

Rock is in the same boat. Rock was all over the top 40 starting around 88 and then fell away somewhere in the late 90s/early '00s, I think. In 2012, when Fun's "We Are Young" hit #1, Billboard wrote:

Until this week, no rock group had led (the pack on the Hot 100) at all since Coldplay topped the June 28, 2008, Hot 100 with "Viva La Vida."

And while Coldplay is a rock band, "Viva" IMO is barely rock, if at all - more like alt-pop. And "We Are Young" is a great song, but it uses a beat made by a hip-hop producer (that same beat almost went to Kanye and Jay-Z). Plus, Fun probably would never have topped the Hot 100 without being featured in that Chevy Superbowl ad. If that hadn't happened, it might have made the top 40? It was sitting at #41 prior to the ad, and that earlier success was thanks to Glee covering it.

Two weeks ago, the song had rocketed 41-3 following its exposure in Chevrolet's Sonic Super Bowl ad on Feb. 5.

I wonder if any have since? Bryan Adams once sang, "the kids wanna rock". Not anymore they don't. They want trap-pop with mumbling rappers, proud sluts, and warped beats with off-time synthetic hi-hats :/

/endrant /getoffmylawn

 

[scotchandcigar]

I think rock topping the top 40 during the grunge era was the exception, not the rule. Most of the 80s was led by dance songs, so even then it was rare to have a rock song up there.

The Billboard pop charts are a product of the same entertainment fracturing we see elsewhere. The preteens who determine the rankings aren't going to abandon Lil Nas X or Taylor Swift for the Black Keys.

There was a time when we had no choice but to all listen to the same music. Not any more.

 

[sadchild]

I think rock topping the top 40 during the grunge era was the exception

I would add in the end of the 80s.

Hot 100 9/24/88

GNR, Robert Palmer, Def Leppard, Cheap Trick, Joan Jett, Van Halen, Poison, Rod Stewart, INXS, Escape Club, Europe ... all in the top 40

Hot 100 4/8/89

Roxette, Fine Young Cannibals, REM, Poison, Bon Jovi, 38 Special, Def Leppard, Living Colour, GNR, Metallica, Winger ... all in the top 40

Hot 100 10/28/89

Roxette, Motley Crue, Aerosmith, Bad English, Cure, B-52s, Rolling Stones, Poco, Richard Marx, Alice Cooper, Warrant, Kix, Living Colour, Bon Jovi ... all in the top 40

If there's a song on the 40 this week 5/29/21, I don't recognize it. Sad!

There was a time when we had no choice but to all listen to the same music. Not any more.

Very true. Same with TV. There was a time America watched Ed Sullivan or SNL and that was the talk of the town. Now there's a billion options.

 

[scotchandcigar]

I would add in the end of the 80s.

Hot 100 10/28/89

Roxette, Motley Crue, Aerosmith, Bad English, Cure, B-52s, Rolling Stones, Poco, Richard Marx, Alice Cooper, Warrant, Kix, Living Colour, Bon Jovi ... all in the top 40

If there's a song on the 40 this week 5/29/21, I don't recognize it. Sad!

The current billboard 200 has Black Keys and St. Vincent in the top 20, plus some country guys. But yeah, it's not like '89. But that's because MTV was the primary influence then.

 

[Channel98]

On this week's Hot 100, five songs debuted in the top ten: Good 4 U by Olivia Rodrigo (#1), my.life by J. Cole, 21 Savage & Morray (#2), amari by J. Cole (#5), pride.is.the.devil by J. Cole & Lil Baby (#7) and 95.south by J. Cole (#8). J. Cole obviously loves periods and hates capital l;etters – and he has 12 songs in the top 40! But it's a refreshing change from the past five years when almost every song in the top 40 was by Drake.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

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