I'm breaking down the AT40 show of May 26, 1984 track by track. For an a look at #40-31, click here, for #30-21 click here.
#20: "It's a Miracle" by Culture Club. Guest host Charlie Van Dyke quotes Boy George as saying that Roy Hay is really the leader of the group. (Odd, because when I saw the group a few months ago, they were billed as "Boy George and Culture Club" and yes, they played this song.) This is one of the group's better singles; it peaked at #13 in only 8 weeks in the Top 40.
"A listener wants to know: what male artist and what female artist who started out on the country chart went on to have the greatest success on the pop chart? Well, the top man was a star from Tupelo, Mississippi and the top woman is a superstar from Locust Ridge, Tennessee. Details coming up."
#19: "Self Control" by Laura Branigan. Branigan's music never did much for me, but I seem to be in minority as this tune would work its way up to #4 by the end of June.
Charlie gives us the answers to the above listener questions: Elvis Presley and Dolly Parton.
#18: "Borderline" by Madonna. Charlie introduces this song by mentioning there are 7 solo female artists in today's countdown: Christine McVie, Tracey UIlman, Laura Branigan, Irene Cara, Cyndi Lauper, Deniece Williams, and Madonna. And there ain't no Madonna like '80s Madonna. Great tune - my favorite from Madonna's self-titled debut album. It peaked at #10.
#17: "Dancing in the Sheets" by Shalamar. The third song in today's countdown taken from the Footloose soundtrack album. This is a catchy tune that sounds terribly dated with its synths and drum machine. But it's not as if I'm going to let that keep from dancing right now. It's almost like I'm at the High Spot Drive-In:
This single is peaking here at #17.
Charlie teases that an upcoming song is recorded by an artist that lives in "a certain part of Los Angeles" then plays an excerpt from Frank Zappa's "Valley Girl."
"Every week, American Top 40 is heard in the 50 states and around the world on great radio stations like:"
#16: "I'll Wait" by Van Halen. Of the four singles released from the 1984 album, this is my least favorite. I like my VH with more guitar riffs. Nonetheless, this tune spent ten weeks on AT40, peaking slightly higher at #13.
#15: "Love Somebody" by Rick Springfield. Springfield lives in the San Fernando Valley and they need show content, so Charlie offers up information about the area and we treated to an excerpt from Bing Crosby's 1944 song, "San Fernando Valley." "Love Somebody" is one of Springfield's better singles, but one we rarely hear these days. It had peaked at #5 a few weeks earlier.
#14: "The Longest Time" by Billy Joel. At #14 for the third week in a row. This doo-wop tribute is one of the top four or five cuts on An Innocent Man and I still know every word and am egotistical enough to mistakenly believe I know all the vocal harmonies as well. I had seen Joel perform the song live the previous month.
and bought one of the ugliest sleeveless concert tees ever produced (yes, I wore it in public):
Anyhoo, "The Longest Time" would peak here at #14.
Charlie states: "Music historians usually identify 'New Wave' as having originated in England, but the first New Wave act to hit our Top 40 weren't British at all - they were Americans: a band out of Boston. Details, and their current hit, are coming up."
#13: "The Heart of Rock 'N' Roll" by Huey Lewis & The News. "The whole album has a clear, crisp sound and a new sheen of consummate professionalism that really gives the songs a big boost." -Patrick Bateman. I like it just fine, but the video hasn't aged well:
"The cheese is strong with this one." That may be, but this single would be one of 12 Top 10 hits for Huey and the boys.
Guest host Charlie Van Dyke claims The Cars are the first New Wave act to hit the Top 40 and plays an excerpt from "Just What I Needed" (#27, 1978). And I'm OK with The Cars getting that designation.
#12: "You Might Think" by The Cars. I wasn't a fan of this single nor its award-winning stalker video. But I dubbed a friend's copy of the LP, loved "Hello Again" and "Magic" and would just listen to those two tracks over and over; they're still two of my favorite Cars songs. But this tune would become one of the band's bigger hits; it had peaked at #7 earlier in May.
#11: "Head Over Heels" by The Go-Go's. While Beauty and the Beat is my favorite Go-Go's album, this is easily my favorite Go-Go's single and it's not even close (and the whole Talk Show album tends to be underrated).
--end of hour three--
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| Billboard, May 26, 1984, p. 60 |
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