80s0n8 Big 40 Countdown Schedule

Good 25
Okay 3
Bad 12

Great countdown!! My favorite year of pop!!

Interesting bit o' trivia: All of the songs in the top 6 are identical to last week! No changes!

BEST
38: SHE'S A BEAUTY - THE TUBES
34: LAWYERS IN LOVE - JACKSON BROWNE
33: PUTTIN' ON THE RITZ - TACO
31: FAMILY MAN - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES
24: SAVED BY ZERO - THE FIXX
22: ROCK OF AGES - DEF LEPPARD
21: I'M STILL STANDING - ELTON JOHN
19: HOT GIRLS IN LOVE - LOVERBOY
16: CUTS LIKE A KNIFE - BRYAN ADAMS
12: 1999 - PRINCE
11: SWEET DREAMS (ARE MADE 0F THIS) - EURYTHMICS
8: IS THERE SOMETHING I SHOULD KNOW - DURAN DURAN
7: OUR HOUSE - MADNESS
6: COME DANCING - THE KINKS
5: WANNA BE STARTIN' SOMETHIN' - MICHAEL JACKSON
2: ELECTRIC AVENUE - EDDY GRANT
1: EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE - THE POLICE

WORST
29: I'LL TUMBLE 4 YA - CULTURE CLUB
23: TIME (CLOCK OF THE HEART) - CULTURE CLUB

2: ELECTRIC AVENUE - EDDY GRANT
1: EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE - THE POLICE


We all guessed the correct #1. I also guessed the correct #2 because I knew it'd be a 3-way tie this week.

Probably repeating myself here but my summer of '83 was all about taping songs off the radio and playing them on my boombox at the neighborhood rope swing. I was expecting "Safety Dance" but it's at #42 and climbing. Also was expecting "Human Nature" but it debuts this week at #48. Other songs on my rope swing mixtapes that aren't in the top 40: "Space Age Whiz Kids" (#60) and "Ewok Celebration" (#63).
 
British singer/guitarist/keyboardist Martin Briley released six singles, 1981-94. The Salt In My Tears was his only hit. It reached #36 on the Hot 100 in July 1983. Here is School For Dogs, the B-side of his October 1984 single Dangerous Moments. This was produced by Phil Ramone.

 
Interesting bit o' trivia: All of the songs in the top 6 are identical to last week! No changes!
You would find the week of 1983/04/02 interesting. 1-11 are exactly the same as the week before. #12 is different and #13 is also the same. "Beat It" moved from 15 to 14 to put some pressure on the logjam, The #11 song that week was "Come On Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners which did not suffer from being stuck at #11 for a week shooting up to #4 the week after.
 
An amazing bit of trivia, IRBS! I didn't know that! Not counting the last week of each year, when the Hot 100 chart is usually "frozen," the only other week I can find where the top ten was unchanged from the previous week is August 19, 1978: Three Times A Lady, Grease, Last Dance, Miss You, Hot Blooded, Boogie Oogie Oogie, Love Will Find A Way, Copacabana, Magnet & Steel and An Everlasting Love.

I found one chart where the top eight songs were unchanged from the previous week: October 26, 1946. Number one was Rumors Are Flying by Marjorie Hughes and the Frankie Carle Orchestra. Marjorie is Carle's daughter – and she's still alive. She's 97.

 
US Bubbling Under The HOT 100 For Week Ending 23rd July, 1983


TW

LW

Artist

Title

Record Company

Week on Chart

Hot 100 Debut

Peak

Other Charts

101

-

Talking Heads

Burning Down The House

Warner Bros.

1

7/30/83, #84

9

#6 US Rock

102

109

The Plimsouls

A Million Miles Away

Warner Bros.

2

7/30/83, #88

82

103

103

Dionne Warwick

All The Love In The World

Arista

2

-

101

#10 UK, #16 AC

104

101

U2

Two Hearts Beat As One

Island

4

-

101

#18 UK, #2 IRE

105

106

Yello

I Love You

Elektra

2

-

103

#41 UK, #16 Dance

106

107

Jennifer Warnes

Nights Are Forever

Warner Bros.

4

-

105

#8 AC

107

-

Lindsey Buckingham

Holiday Road

Warner Bros.

1

8/6/83, #92

82

108

110

Juluka

Scatterlings Of Africa

Warner Bros.

2

-

106

109

108

Shor Patrol

Loverboy

Arista

2

-

108

110

-

Gary Moore

Falling In Love With You

Mirage

1

-

110

Chart drops or busters:


TW LW Title/Artist
-- 102 Deniece Williams "Do What you Feel"
-- 104 Joe Cocker "Threw It Away"
80 105 ZZ Top "Sharp Dressed Man"


Comments:
  • "A Million Miles Away", "Nights Are Forever" and "Holiday Road" are soundtrack songs.
  • The week before (7/13/83 - Jul 19, 2021) and after (7/30/83 - Aug 1, 2022) were featured in the past.
Playlist:
 
Last edited:
You would find the week of 1983/04/02 interesting. 1-11 are exactly the same as the week before. #12 is different and #13 is also the same. "Beat It" moved from 15 to 14 to put some pressure on the logjam, The #11 song that week was "Come On Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners which did not suffer from being stuck at #11 for a week shooting up to #4 the week after.
One would always expect "Beat It" to precede "Come on Eileen".
 
  • I would be surprised if the Talking Head songs did not make top 40. It made top 10. Interesting to see it on the bubbling chart.
  • U2 was very eclectic following in 1983. While I heard the songs at various places, I did not hear on top 40 radio.
  • Surprised "Holiday Road" did not do better.
 
1988 is a tough year!

EARLIER
Michael Jackson "Man In The Mirror"
George Michael "One More Try"
Tiffany "Could've Been"
Terence "Wishing Well"
Rick Astley "Together Forever"
Debbie Gibson "Foolish Beat"

Whitney Houston "Where Do Broken"
Michael Jackson "Dirty Diana"
George Michael "Monkey"
Cheap Trick "The Flame"
Richard Marx "Right Here Waiting"

LATER
Steve Winwood "Roll With It"
Guns N Roses "Sweet Child O Mine"
George Michael "Kissing A Fool"
Def Leppard "Love Bites"
Beach Boys "Kokomo"
 
July 30, 1988

40: MAKE IT REAL - THE JETS
39: HERE WITH ME - REO SPEEDWAGON
38: IN YOUR SOUL - COREY HART
37: NOBODY'S FOOL - KENNY LOGGINS
36: NOTHIN' BUT A GOOD TIME - POISON
35: ALL FIRED UP - PAT BENATAR
34: IF IT ISN'T LOVE - NEW EDITION
33: I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE SOMEWHERE- THE MOODY BLUES
32: I'LL ALWAYS LOVE YOU - TAYLOR DAYNE
31: FOOLISH BEAT - DEBBIE GIBSON
30: LOST IN YOU - ROD STEWART
29: WHEN IT'S LOVE - VAN HALEN
28: PERFECT WORLD - HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS
27: NITE AND DAY - AL B. SURE!
26: SIMPLY IRRESISTABLE - ROBERT PALMER
25: SWEET CHILD O' MINE - GUNS 'N ROSES
24: PARADISE - SADE
23: LOVE CHANGES EVERYTHING - CLIMIE FISHER
22: RAG DOLL - AEROSMITH
21: LOVE WILL SAVE THE DAY - WHITNEY HOUSTON
20: FAST CAR - TRACY CHAPMAN
19: MERCEDES BOY - PEBBLES
18: THE TWIST - THE FAT BOYS AND CHEBBY CHECKER
17: THE COLOUR OF LOVE - BILLY OCEAN
16: MONKEY - GEORGE MICHAEL
15: JUST GOT PAID - JOHNNY KEMP
14: DO YOU LOVE ME - THE CONTOURS
13: I DON'T WANNA LIVE WITHOUT YOUR LOVE - CHICAGO
12: PARENTS JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND - DJ JAZZY JEFF & THE FRESH PRINCE
11: THE FLAME - CHEAP TRICK
10: I DON'T WANNA GO ON WITH YOU LIKE THAT - ELTON JOHN
9: RUSH HOUR - JANE WIEDLIN
8: 1-2-3: GLORIA ESTEFAN & MIAMI SOUND MACHINE
7: NEW SENSATION - INXS
6: SIGN YOUR NAME - TERENCE TRENT D'ARBY
5: MAKE ME LOSE CONTROL - ERIC CARMEN
4: POUR SOME SUGAR ON ME - DEF LEPPARD
3: HANDS TO HEAVEN - BREATHE
2: HOLD ON TO THE NIGHT - RICHARD MARX
1: ROLL WITH IT - STEVE WINWOOD
 
Man, I was all over the place! 88 is hard...

CORRECT ORDER
Tiffany "Could've Been" uncharted [Feb 88]
...
Michael Jackson "Man In The Mirror" [Mar 88]
...
Whitney Houston "Where Do Broken" uncharted [Apr 88]
Terence "Wishing Well" uncharted [May 88]
Gloria Estefan "Anything For You" #71
George Michael "One More Try" #61
Rick Astley "Together Forever" #66
Debbie Gibson "Foolish Beat" #31
Michael Jackson "Dirty Diana" #51
Cheap Trick "The Flame" #11
Richard Marx "Hold On To The Nights" #2 (incorrectly put "Right Here Waiting")

Steve Winwood "Roll With It" #1
George Michael "Monkey" #16
Guns N Roses "Sweet Child O Mine" #25
Bobby McFerrin "Don't Worry Be Happy" #83
Def Leppard "Love Bites" uncharted [Oct 88]
...
Beach Boys "Kokomo" uncharted [Nov 88]

green: my candidates
white: on my list and the hot 100
brown: on the hot 100 but missing from my list
orange: on my list but not on hot 100
 
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