A breakdown of my top singles from 1980
Biggest Part of Me
Ambrosia
Weeks in Hot 100: 19
Peaked: June 7
Album: One Eighty (Warner Bros.)
| U.S. Billboard charts: |
|
| Hot 100 | 3 |
| Adult Contemporary | 3 |
| R&B | 35 |
Had this 45.I liked this song from the get-go. Tight harmonies, Fender Rhodes, lots of hooks, Ernie Watts on sax - that's the ticket.
I'm Alright
Kenny Loggins
Weeks in Hot 100: 22
Peaked: October 11
Album: Caddyshack soundtrack (Columbia)
I had this 45 single,too. It was the first song that I would listen to over and over, analyzing the arrangement and production gimmicks. It's pretty much a one chord song, it's everything else that makes it good. That and the Eddie Money cameo.
I'm Coming Out
Diana Ross
Weeks in Hot 100: 23
Peaked: November 15
Album: Diana (Motown)
| U.S. charts: |
|
| Hot 100 | 5 |
| R&B | 6 |
| Dance | 1 |
Written and produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, ain't no song like a Chic song, no matter who is singing. And here we're treated to a seminal performance from Diana Ross. Taking it up a notch is a wild trombone solo by Meco Monardo, the guy responsible for the disco versions of Star Wars music.
Lady
Kenny Rogers
Weeks in Hot 100: 25
Peaked: November 15
Album: Greatest Hits (Liberty)
| U.S. charts: |
|
| Hot 100 | 1 |
| Adult Contemporary | 1 |
| Country | 1 |
Kenny and Lionel -
two great tastes that taste great together. I love this tune and that's saying something as I didn't care much for ballads as a 14 year old. But as a young, amorous high school freshman hearing this tune, I had visions of finding that special lady of my own and singing this to her. Didn't find that woman until a few years later, so those visions never materialized. Sorry, ladies - your loss.
Steal Away
Robbie Dupree
Weeks in Hot 100: 23
Peaked: July 12
Album: Robbie Dupree (Elektra)
| U.S. charts: |
|
| Hot 100 | 6 |
| Adult Contemporary | 5 |
Yes, it's a complete rip-off of The Doobie Brothers' What A Fool Believes, but no matter - if you're gonna lift someone else's groove, that's not a bad one to choose. Still a sweet tune today.
Magic
Olivia Newton-John
Weeks in Hot 100: 23
Peaked: August 2
Album: Xanadu soundtrack (Jet/MCA)
| U.S. charts: |
|
| Hot 100 | 1 |
| Adult Contemporary | 1 |
A great summer song, this thing topped the charts for most of August 1980. This song is so good it makes me want to watch
Xanadu (again). Could possibly be my favorite ONJ song - I caught her in concert a few years back and this song and stuff from
Grease were certainly the highlights of the show for me.
Cars
Gary Numan
Weeks in Hot 100: 25
Peaked: June 7
Album: The Pleasure Principle (Beggars Banquet)
| U.S. charts: |
|
| Hot 100 | 9 |
| Dance | 56 |
"Cars" has been heard so many times over the years it seems almost innocuous now, but back then it was like nothing I'd ever heard before. Does it sound dated now? Absolutely. Does it matter? Not in the least. I've read that Numan himself isn't overly fond of the tune, but I would imagine he's become fond of the royalties.
Rapper's Delight
Sugarhill Gang
Weeks in Hot 100: 12
Peaked: January 12
Album: Sugarhill Gang (Sugar Hill)
| U.S. charts: |
|
| Hot 100 | 36 |
| R&B | 4 |
| Dance | 14 |
Still know all the lyrics. The 5 minute version is the one I heard most often, although the original was 15. Legend has it that the entire 15 minute version was recorded in one take. If any rap song deserves a legend, it's this one.
The 12" was a staple at most parties during 8th grade, alongside "The Breaks" by Kurtis Blow. In fact, an impromptu recreation broke out at out 10 year high school reunion - I deny any responsibility.
Give Me the Night
George Benson
Weeks in Hot 100: 23
Peaked: September 27
Album: Give Me the Night (Warner Bros.)
| U.S. charts: |
|
| Hot 100 | 4 |
| Adult Contemporary | 26 |
| R&B | 1 |
| Dance | 2 |
Written by Rod Temperton, performed by Benson, produced by Quincy Jones. How this didn't hit #1 on the Hot 100 is beyond me. Back in 1980 when I would record songs directly from radio, "Give Me The Night" was one that would get recorded every time I heard it. This meant it might appear 4-5 times on a single cassette tape. (mondegreen at that time: give me the knife)
I saw Benson perform in
Dallas in 1990. I'm racking my brain to remember if he played this tune. Surely he did, right?
This Is It
Kenny Loggins
Weeks in Hot 100: 23
Peaked: February 9
Album: Keep the Fire (Columbia)
| U.S. charts: |
|
| Hot 100 | 11 |
| Adult Contemporary | 17 |
| R&B | 19 |
A beautiful, uplifting classic. Loggins gets more than a little help from Michael McDonald. This smooth single won the Grammy award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, and deservedly so. Kenny himself describes the cut as a "life song" when
he tells the touching story of its writing.
All chart positions are peak positions from Billboard charts. These are my personal top 80 singles of those that peaked on the Billboard charts in 1980. The list is solely my opinion. Using Joel Whitburn's book, Pop Annual 1955-1999, I started with the 470 singles that peaked on Billboard Magazine's Hot 100 chart in 1980. An initial pass through that list narrowed it down to 119 tunes, then listening, ranking, and editing began. The top 80 are presented here, in order.
