In which I shuffle through some music files and listen to the first five songs from the years 1976-85 that randomly pop up.
"Say Say Say" by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson (1983, Columbia) A smash that spent 6 weeks atop the Billboard charts, most likely because Jackson had the Midas touch at the time. It's not a bad tune, but I've heard it enough for one lifetime. Also, when I was a high school senior, my jazz band played a cheesy arrangement of Say Say Say which the world could have done without.
"Happy Music" by Linda Williams (1979, Arista) A fun little disco tune. It would be totally generic if it weren't for the outstanding synth soling all over the thing.
"Love's a Heartache" by Leslie Smith (1982, Elektra) Smooth ballad with spot on vocals from Smith. The album from which this comes is fantastic and has already been given a turn on this blog, where it earned a grade of A-.
"Come to Me" by Bobby Caldwell (1978, Clouds) Another smooth ballad. This one from Caldwell's debut album featuring his stellar vocals atop soaring orchestration. Reminds me a lot of what Boz was doing at the time.
"The Lone Ranger" by Dan Siegel (1982, Elektra) A straight-up Dave Grusin smooth-jazz-meets-movie-soundtrack knock-off, complete with orchestration. However, Larry Carlton gets the spotlight, so it's not half-bad. (I hope blogger doesn't fine me for overuse of hyphens)
A look at the top ten albums in music industry magazines the week of February 16, 1980. Something for everyone here: prog rock, disco, R&B, soft rock, country, and plain ol' rock 'n' roll:
Billboard
CashBox
Record World
1
The Wall
Pink Floyd
The Wall
Pink Floyd
The Wall
Pink Floyd
2
Damn the Torpedoes
Tom Petty &
The Heartbreakers
Damn the Torpedoes
Tom Petty &
The Heartbreakers
Off the Wall
Michael Jackson
3
Off the Wall
Michael Jackson
Off the Wall
Michael Jackson
The Long Run
Eagles
4
The Long Run
Eagles
The Long Run
Eagles
On the Radio Greatest Hits Vols 1 & 2
Donna Summer
5
Phoenix
Dan Fogelberg
Phoenix
Dan Fogelberg
Damn the Torpedoes
Tom Petty &
The Heartbreakers
6
Kenny
Kenny Rogers
On the Radio Greatest Hits Vols 1 & 2
Donna Summer
Phoenix
Dan Fogelberg
7
On the Radio Greatest Hits Vols 1 & 2
Donna Summer
Kenny
Kenny Rogers
Kenny
Kenny Rogers
8
Tusk
Fleetwood Mac
Cornerstone
Styx
Cornerstone
Styx
9
Cornerstone
Styx
Tusk
Fleetwood Mac
In Through the Out Door
Led Zeppelin
10
September Morn
Neil Diamond
Freedom at Point Zero
Jefferson Starship
Freedom at Point Zero
Jefferson Starship
Exclusive MFD meta-analysis of the above charts:
The Wall(30 pts)
Off the Wall (25 pts)
Damn the Torpedoes (24 pts)
The Long Run (23 pts)
Phoenix (17 pts)
On the Radio (16 pts)
Kenny (13 pts)
Cornerstone (8 pts)
Tusk (5 pts)
(tie) Freedom at Point Zero and In Through the Out Door (2 pts)
Throughout 1979 and 1980, I would hop on my blue Sears 10-speed bicycle every Saturday morning and pedal down to Collins Music Center on 7th Street and pick up a copy of the KILT 40. If memory serves, I kept them for a while, but most likely trashed them as I transitioned to a listener of the FM stations. Here's a sample survey from January 16, 1980 (click any image to enlarge):
Did I gather up this particular survey? I can't say for sure, but more likely than not. I can't speak to DJ Sheila Mayhew or opening act Max Webster as I don't recall either. Plus, I probably hadn't heard Rush by 1980, for that matter. But I was peripherally aware of the Sam Houston Coliseum (1937 - 1998) in downtown Houston.
KILT
Song
Billboard 1/19/80
CashBox 1/19/80
Record World 1/19/80
1
Cruisin'
6
7
8
2
Do That to Me One More Time
2
2
4
3
Escape (The Piña Colada Song)
3
3
5
4
Coward of the County
4
4
3
5
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
18
22
21
6
I Call Your Name
86
88
-
7
Rock with You
1
1
1
8
We Don't Talk Anymore
7
6
10
9
Deja Vu
21
17
20
10
Yes I'm Ready
24
19
16
11
Romeo's Tune
25
25
26
12
The Long Run
11
13
7
13
Sara
15
14
14
14
Forever Mine
33
30
34
15
You Know That I Love You
36
35
36
16
Under My Thumb
-
-
100
17
Don't Do Me Like That
17
10
13
18
Rapper's Delight
95
-
60
19
Better Love Next Time
12
21
17
20
I Wanna Be Your Lover
13
15
19
KILT
Song
Billboard
CashBox
RW
21
99
55
56
53
22
Third Time Lucky
26
20
23
23
Ladies Night
8
5
9
24
Working My Way Back to You
48
42
42
25
Longer
35
32
32
26
Fool in the Rain
31
46
51
27
Wonderland
42
71
89
28
September Morn
39
49
52
29
It's My House
-
-
116
30
An American Dream
29
37
38
31
Why Me
32
27
29
32
Second Time Around
-
-
-
33
Daydream Believer
28
45
49
34
Voices
37
33
31
35
On the Radio
49
60
43
36
Jane
14
9
22
37
Lonely Eyes
46
43
46
38
Refugee
-
-
-
39
Him
72
68
63
40
Wait for Me
19
26
35
KILT
Song
Billboard
CashBox
RW
-
Too Hot
76
81
71
-
Kiss Me in the Rain
79
-
-
-
I Thank You
-
-
99
-
Back on My Feet Again
87
84
-
That would make a pretty good playlist, huh? I count at least five tunes that appear in Rhino's fantastic Radio Daze CD compilation series and a couple of tunes from Rubert Holmes and Kool & The Gang. Of the above tunes, the only 45 I purchased at the time was "Why Me" to which I still have an inexplicable attraction.
For the American Top 40 episode of July 2, 1983, Casey counted down "The Forty Top Acts of the Eighties - So Far." Casey never mentions the methodology for determining this list (he rarely ever did), but the way he repeatedly mentioned the number of Top 10 hits in the 1980's for artists, I'm guessing that statistic weighed heavily in the algorithm.
Rank
Act
Representative Song(s) Played
AT40 debut
Eventual '80s Rank*
40
Fleetwood Mac
Hold Me
6/19/82
-
39
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
I Love Rock 'N Roll
2/13/82
-
38
Donna Summer
On the Radio
1/26/80
-
37
The Police
Every Breath You Take
6/4/83
-
36
Elton John
Blue Eyes
8/14/82
8
Little Jeannie
5/10/80
35
Foreigner
Waiting for a Girl Like You
10/17/82
-
34
The Pointer Sisters
Slow Hand
6/27/81
-
33
The Little River Band
Night Owls
9/5/81
-
32
Pat Benatar
Heartbreaker
2/9/80
-
31
The J. Geils Band
Centerfold
11/28/81
-
30
Toto
Rosanna
5/8/82
-
29
The Rolling Stones
Start Me Up
8/29/81
-
Waiting on a Friend
12/12/81
28
Barbra Streisand
Woman in Love
9/13/80
-
27
John Lennon
(Just Like) Starting Over
11/1/80
-
26
Styx
The Best of Times
1/24/81
-
25
Men at Work
Who Can It Be Now?
8/7/82
-
Down Under
11/27/82
24
REO Speedwagon
Keep On Loving You
12/27/80
-
23
Queen
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
1/12/80
-
22
Dan Fogelberg
Longer
1/19/80
-
21
Lionel Richie
Truly
10/23/82
6
Rank
Act
Representative Song(s) Played
AT40 debut
Eventual '80s Rank*
20
Kool & The Gang
Celebration
11/22/80
12
19
Billy Joel
It's Still Rock and Roll to Me
5/24/80
7
Allentown
12/18/82
18
Paul McCartney
Coming Up (Live at Glasgow)
5/10/80
21
17
John Cougar
Hurts So Good
5/22/82
10
16
Kim Carnes
Bette Davis Eyes
4/11/81
-
15
Eddie Rabbitt
I Love a Rainy Night
12/6/80
-
14
Blondie
Call Me
3/8/80
-
The Tide is High
11/29/80
13
Bob Seger
Against the Wind
5/10/80
-
12
Neil Diamond
Love on the Rocks
11/1/80
-
11
Stevie Wonder
That Girl
1/30/82
15
10
Juice Newton
Queen of Hearts
6/20/81
-
9
Rick Springfield
Jessie's Girl
5/9/81
17
8
Journey
Open Arms
1/23/82
18
Any Way You Want It
3/29/80
7
Christopher Cross
Ride Like the Wind
3/1/80
-
6
Michael Jackson
Billie Jean
1/29/83
1
Rock with You
11/24/79
5
Olivia Newton-John
Physical
10/17/81
22
4
Kenny Rogers
Lady
10/4/80
13
3
Air Supply
Lost in Love
3/8/80
23
2
Diana Ross
Upside Down
8/9/80
19
1
Daryl Hall & John Oates
Maneater
11/6/82
3
*according to the table found on page 819 of The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (7th ed.) by Joel Whitburn:
Heck, this thing might have cracked the top ten even if the entire single was only the electric piano intro on repeat for three minutes, but then the smooth groove hits and Michael McDonald's vocals and man-oh-man, I just can't help but sing along. It's the title track to a great album, but it's not even the best cut on the album (see below).
Good Times
Chic
Weeks in Hot 100: 19
Peaked: August 18
Album: Risqué (Atlantic)
U.S. charts:
Hot 100
1
Adult Contemporary
28
R&B
1
Disco
3
And there it is. That bass line. One of the most important, most sampled, most imitated bass lines of all time (see Bowie's "Let's Dance," Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust,' and, of course, "Rapper's Delight"). But then add Nile Rodgers' guitar scratching, soaring strings, and precise vocals and, baby, you got a stew goin'. Ranked #229 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
My Sharona
The Knack
Weeks in Hot 100: 22
Peaked: August 25
Album: Get the Knack (Capitol)
U.S. charts:
Hot 100
1
According to Billboard, this was the #1 song of 1979, but #8 was the best I could do for it. New wave power pop like nothing I'd ever heard before. The Knack got more out of a one note bass line than any other. The first New Wave #1? Could be. I like to tell people that my wife's nickname is Sharona and that the song was written about her. Apparently, the real Sharona is a real estate agent in L.A.
Got to be Real
Cheryl Lynn
Weeks in Hot 100: 18
Peaked: February 17
Album: Cheryl Lynn (Columbia)
U.S. charts:
Hot 100
12
R&B
1
Disco
11
There's absolutely nothing in this song that doesn't work: the bass and horns intro to the funky groove to the countermelody to the key change to the backing vocals, more horns, great vocals, and did I mention that groove. Never fails to get me moving. Written by Lynn, David Foster, and Toto keyboardist David Paich.
During the 1997-98 school year, I taught 8th grade English (holycowwasthatreally21yearsago?? Those kids are now in their mid 30s. Sheesh.). Not being much for classroom management, my classes were always a little loose (but test scores were fantastic - my administrators never could quite wrap their head around the dichotomy of noisy learning). One day, out of the blue, a student named Nick sang the intro to this song and, within seconds, the whole class joined in the singing, including myself. (It was probably just a few students and myself, but "whole class" makes for a better story.) That scene in room 104 always comes to mind when I hear this song now. (End of parentheticals).
Rise
Herb Alpert
Weeks in Hot 100: 25
Peaked: October 20
Album: Rise (A&M)
U.S. charts:
Hot 100
1
Adult Contemporary
1
R&B
4
Disco
17
If there's such a thing as a laid back disco tune, this is it. This song became popular as I was learning to play trumpet and I was hooked immediately. I even bought the sheet music so I could play along with Herb. It came with the lyrics which I've never heard sung other than by myself:
Of all the songs here in the top ten, this record was the first I purchased. Heck, I had lawn mowing earnings burning a hole in my pocket, so why not?
I Want You to Want Me
Cheap Trick
Weeks in Hot 100: 19
Peaked: July 21
Album: Cheap Trick at Budokan (Epic)
U.S. charts:
Hot 100
7
One of the great live singles and great love song to boot. A power pop song that rocks so hard that it needs two guitar solos, a drum break, and a live version that is miles ahead of the studio version. This song reminds me of my childhood friend Robert - we rode our bikes and threw the Frisbee a lot in the summer of '79.
Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
Michael Jackson
Weeks in Hot 100: 21
Peaked: October 13
Album: Off the Wall (Epic)
U.S. charts:
Hot 100
1
R&B
1
Disco
2
One of the great album openers. Check your pulse if you can sit still during this one because the force got a lot of power. Just when you think it can't get any better, an instrumental bridge kicks in at 2:40 with a guitar solo over horns and there's so much going on I don't know what to listen to and it doesn't really matter. Just listening to the syncopated cowbell part gets me going.
What a Fool Believes
The Doobie Brothers
Weeks in Hot 100: 20
Peaked: April 14
Album: Minute by Minute (Warner Bros.)
U.S. charts:
Hot 100
1
Adult Contemporary
22
Disco
40
According to the creators of the term "yacht rock," this is the ultimate yacht rock song, scoring a perfect 100 on their Yachtski Scale. All that is well and good, but this had quite the pedigree before that. In addition to topping the charts, it won three Grammy awards, including two top awards at the end of the broadcast:
Record of the Year
Song of the Year
Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocals
Never heard the Jim Burgess 12" disco remix? Treat yo self:
I have tickets to see Michael McDonald in July and if he doesn't play both this song and "Minute by Minute" I can't be held responsible for my actions.
We are Family
Sister Sledge
Weeks in Hot 100: 19
Peaked: June 16
Album: We are Family (Cotillion)
U.S. charts:
Hot 100
2
Adult Contemporary
30
R&B
1
Disco
1
I always call this song "the best Chic single of all-time" and that's tongue-in-cheek but it's really not, is it? The single version gets me dancing every time, but the 8:20 full version is spectacular because Bernard Edwards lays down a great bass solo. How could bass playing be both understated and funky at the same time? Check out his work at the break about 3:55 into the title track. It's one of the few overplayed '70s tunes that could be played every hour and it probably wouldn't bother me. To that short list, please add...
September
Earth, Wind & Fire
Weeks in Hot 100: 17
Peaked: February 10
Album: The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1 (Columbia)
All chart positions are peak positions from Billboard charts. These are my personal top 79 singles of those that peaked on the Billboard charts in 1979. The list is solely my opinion. Using Joel Whitburn's book, Pop Annual 1955-1999, I started with the 475 singles that peaked on Billboard Magazine's Hot 100 chart in 1979. An initial pass through that list narrowed it down to 105 tunes, then listening, ranking, and editing began. The top 79 are presented here, in order.
JB and I are in complete agreement. But his tweet got me thinking about other albums with that kind of longevity, then I heard my 80 year old high school campus is mercifully scheduled for demolition, and because brains work in strange ways, I put those two seemingly unrelated thoughts together and came up with this question:
Were there any albums that had singles in Billboard's Hot 100 for the entirety of my senior year in high school, August 1983-May 1984?
Well, I found one album that met the criteria (a personal favorite at that!) and four others that came dang close. Granted, a lot of this success is due to timing and luck, but that's the music biz. This may or may not have any interest to you, but I did the research and compulsively created a timeline graphic, so here it is:
So what was I doing around the time of this AT40 episode's broadcast? My brace-faced, cowlick-headed, 95-pound-soaking-wet self was smack dab in the middle of 8th grade. I was involved in several school activities including band, speech and drama club, tennis team, plus I was more than a little girl crazy. Being a preacher's kid, I also had church activities to attend. Did I mention girls? And the Winter Olympics were going on, so I'm sure I was watching that, as well (anything to avoid homework.)
Now, on with the countdown:
#10: "Desire" by Andy Gibb. Before he was host of TV's "Solid Gold," Andy Gibb was steadily hitting the Top 40 singing songs written and produced by big brother Barry. This song must not have been played much on the radio station in the Houston market because I have very little memory of it, especially since it was a #4 hit. Go figure. Sounds more like a Bee Gees tune than an Andy Gibb single, but that's splitting hairs, isn't it?
#9: "On the Radio" by Donna Summer. This followed a familiar formula for Donna's tunes at the time in that it starts slow then goes double time (see also: "Last Dance," "Dim All the Lights," and "No More Tears (Enough is Enough)"). A new Summer tune was always welcome in my neck of the woods. Around this time, we learned how to disco dance in PE class. I always danced with a girl named Tiffany and, I must say, we were awesome disco dancers (for 13 year olds).
#8: "Longer" by Dan Fogelberg. I disliked this song when it was on the charts because I thought it was girly and schmaltzy. Now that I'm a lot older and slightly more mature, I think it is one of the most beautiful ballads this side of The Beatles' "Yesterday." Casey gives a mention to Jerry Hey for the flugelhorn solo (pronouncing his name "hī" when I always assumed it was pronounced "hā).
American Top 40 is heard in the 50 states and around the world every week on great radio stations like
#7: "Sara"by Fleetwood Mac. When I reviewed a Fleetwood Mac greatest hits album back in 2011 over at The CD Project, I said I wasn't a fan of this song. Just last year, I put that same CD in my truck and listened to "Sara" on repeat for at least a week. So, I'm exercising my right to change my mind. This is top-notch Stevie Nicks. This single would peak here at #7, where it held for 3 weeks.
#6: "Yes, I'm Ready" by Teri DeSario with K.C. I didn't know it at the time, but this is a cover of a 1965 Barbara Mason tune. Despite a fairly catchy chorus, I can't muster up more than a "meh" for this remake. It was popular at the time, peaking at #2 and spending 2 weeks atop the Adult Contemporary chart.
Before playing the next tune, Casey shares the story of Quincy Jones' life-threatening brain aneurysm in 1974. Of course, Q lived on to become one of the biggest record producers of all-time, including...
#5: "Rock With You" by Michael Jackson. After four weeks at #1, this single fell to the #5 spot. A fantastic dance cut, but then again I like the entire Off the Wall album. In 8th grade, I had a crush on a brunette that loved this song so of course I had to love it as well.
#4: "Cruisin'" by Smokey Robinson. Peaked here at #4. So smooth, so soulful, so good. As disco began to fade away, we were treated to quite a few soul ballads in the early '70s tradition. This might be the best of them. Maybe Smokey's strongest vocal ever?
Before we continue, Casey tells us what's atop the other charts:
#3: "Coward of the County" by Kenny Rogers. I'll admit knowing all the words to this story song because it was all over the radio. Now I view it as more of a novelty tune and grates on me as such.
#2: "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" by Queen. I liked this when it was released because there was nothing else like it on the radio (which you can say about most Queen tunes now that I think about it). But when The Stray Cats brought back rockabilly full-time, I couldn't stand it. Fickle much, Mark? Dr. Brian May was usually only afforded short 2 or 4 measure solos, but he gets a full 8 on this one. After this week at #2, it would spend the following 4 weeks at #1 before being unseated by Pink Floyd. #1: "Do That to Me One More Time" by The Captain & Tennille. My sister was a huge C&T fan and, because she was older than me, she got to choose what LPs we listened to. As a result, I know the words to every C&T song released between 1975-1980, including this one. I'm not wild about this song, but man-oh-man did Toni T. have some golden pipes.
