I don't mind when
Rolling Stone magazine comes out with a new list, in fact I rather enjoy it. So here we go again with a list they're calling the "100 Best Singles of 1984: Pop's Greatest Year." The fact they call 1984 "pop's greatest year" is laughable because we all know that honor goes to
1982. Still, they've turned out a pretty good list and one of the few Rolling Stones lists that doesn't have Bob Dylan in the top spot. "A" for effort, "B" for the list itself.
The byline lists thirteen contributors and I'd be surprised if more than half of those were alive in 1984. I can't imagine the inherent difficulties of putting together such a list such as a cooperative exercise, but they kept the guidelines simple: "To be considered, the song had to be released in 1984 or have significant chart impact in 1984, and charted somewhere on the Billboard Hot 100." Sure, I don't agree with quite a few of the staff's picks, but isn't that the point?
Below is the bottom half of that list, complete with the song's peak on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and it's year-end rank according to Joel Whitburn's
Pop Annual. If a song peaked in a year other than 1984, that is notated by the year in superscript next to the year-end rank (ex. 98
83 means that song peaked on the Hot 100 in 1983). A pointless exercise for sure, but I was curious and thought I'd share the results with you. To add a personal touch, I've picked a favorite from each group of ten below and marked that title with an asterisk.
You can find the entire annotated list, complete with videos, here:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-best-singles-of-1984-pops-greatest-year-20140917
RS | Title | Artist | Hot 100 |
Year |
100 | Sunglasses at Night | Corey Hart | 7 | 67 |
99 | The Warrior | Scandal feat. Patty Smyth | 7 | 62 |
98 | You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) | Dead or Alive | 11 | 11185 |
97 | Lights Out* | Peter Wolf | 12 | 94 |
96 | Mother's Talk | Tears for Fears | 27 | 17986 |
95 | People are People | Depeche Mode | 13 | 12085 |
94 | Runaway | Bon Jovi | 39 | 214 |
93 | State of Shock | The Jacksons feat. Mick Jagger | 3 | 31 |
92 | Girls with Guns | Tommy Shaw | 33 | 188 |
91 | White Horse | Laid Back | 26 | 163 |
RS | Title | Artist | Hot 100 |
Year |
90 | Cover Me | Bruce Springsteen | 7 | 68 |
89 | Oh Sherrie* | Steve Perry | 3 | 36 |
88 | Stuck on You | Lionel Richie | 3 | 34 |
87 | Jump (for My Love) | The Pointer Sisters | 3 | 32 |
86 | Wrapped Around Your Finger | The Police | 8 | 78 |
85 | Run to You | Bryan Adams | 6 | 7785 |
84 | So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry) | R.E.M. | 85 | 409 |
83 | Swept Away | Diana Ross | 19 | 130 |
82 | Nobody Told Me | John Lennon | 5 | 53 |
81 | Somebody Else's Guy | Jocelyn Brown | 75 | 350 |
RS | Title | Artist | Hot 100 |
Year |
80 | Boys Do Fall in Love | Robin Gibb | 37 | 206 |
79 | That's All | Genesis | 6 | 58 |
78 | You Might Think | The Cars | 7 | 61 |
77 | Out of Touch* | Hall & Oates | 1 | 13 |
76 | Tenderness | General Public | 27 | 17785 |
75 | Uptown Girl | Billy Joel | 3 | 2583 |
74 | Taxi | J. Blackfoot | 90 | 430 |
73 | Bringin' on the Heartbreak | Def Leppard | 61 | 291 |
72 | We're Not Gonna Take It | Twisted Sister | 21 | 140 |
71 | Sidewalk Talk | Jellybean | 18 | 14086 |
RS | Title | Artist | Hot 100 |
Year |
70 | No Parking (on the Dance Floor) | Midnight Star | 81 | 385 |
69 | Ghostbusters | Ray Parker, Jr. | 1 | 8 |
68 | Hot for Teacher | Van Halen | 56 | 275 |
67 | Like a Virgin | Madonna | 1 | 1 |
66 | I Guess That's Why They Call it the Blues | Elton John | 4 | 41 |
65 | Self Control | Laura Branigan | 4 | 38 |
64 | Break My Stride | Matthew Wilder | 5 | 43 |
63 | Legs | ZZ Top | 8 | 71 |
62 | Obsession | Animotion | 6 | 7685 |
61 | Owner of a Lonely Heart* | Yes | 1 | 12 |
RS | Title | Artist | Hot 100 |
Year |
60 | Pink Houses | John Cougar Mellencamp | 8 | 77 |
59 | Love is a Battlefield | Pat Benatar | 5 | 4883 |
58 | Centipede | Rebbie Jackson | 24 | 153 |
57 | Rock You Like a Hurricane | Scorpions | 25 | 158 |
56 | Smalltown Boy | Bronski Beat | 48 | 24685 |
55 | Rebel Yell* | Billy Idol | 46 | 236 |
54 | Say, Say, Say | Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson | 1 | 483 |
53 | Eat It | "Weird Al" Yankovic | 12 | 96 |
52 | I Didn't Mean to Turn You On | Cherrelle | 79 | 372 |
51 | I Can Dream About You | Dan Hartman | 6 | 57 |
1984 was a heckuva year. High school graduation, college freshman orientation, the fact that those two happened just a few days apart. The music was good, maybe great - my favorite musical decade will always be 1974-1983 and 1982 is unquestionably the year to rule them all, in a purely musical sense of course.
ReplyDeleteMy favorites in each batch of ten run slightly more ROCK! than yours... kinda:
94 Runaway-Bon Jovi
88 Stuck on You-Lionel Richie
73 Bringin' on the Heartbreak-Def Leppard
68 Hot for Teacher-Van Halen
55 Rebel Yell-Billy Idol
I'll add a caveat that Def Leppard's "Bringin' On The Heartbreak" must include "Swith 625" coda or it is off the list with runner-up "Tenderness" taking it's place.
Even though I know that Prince dominates fully half the Top 10 songs on the list, I can't wait to see the soft rock kid™'s take on the whole shebang across two more posts. I'll be checking in from Vegas.
1984 is part of a solid three year block of key music for me. It starts in 1982, carries through 1983 and rounds up here. Tons of memorable stuff here. Definitely the peak of my music listening to date.
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