Music ads from 1982

SXM's "40 Cassettes Turning 40" - Part Two

So the Classic Rewind (Ch 25) channel on SiriusXM recently ran a listener's poll to determine the best album rock album releases of 1981. Poll results were played in a countdown around Labor Day weekend. I'm not saying their list is wrong, but here's what I would have broadcast if they'd bothered to ask me. Included below is the album's peak position on the Billboard Rock Albums Chart.

Rank	Artist	Album	Chart	Song Played
40	X	Wild Gift	-	"White Girl"
39	Blue Oyster Cult	Fire of Unknown Origin	6	"Burnin' for You"
38	Jefferson Starship	Modern Times	3	"Find Your Way Back"
37	38 Special	Wild-Eyed Southern Boys	8	"Hold On Loosely"
36	Def Leppard	High 'n' Dry	18	"Bringin' on the Heartache"
35	Stevie Nicks	Bella Donna	3	"Edge of Seventeen"
34	Duran Duran	Duran Duran	-	"Girls on Film"
33	Adam and The Ants	Prince Charming	-	"Stand and Deliver"
32	Loverboy	Get Lucky	3	"Working for the Weekend"
31	Sammy Hagar	Standing Hampton	1	"There's Only One Way to Rock"

Rank	Artist	Album	Chart	Song Played
30	AC/DC	For Those About to Rock...	3	"For Those About to Rock..."
29	Tom Petty	Hard Promises	1	"The Waiting"
28	Psychedelic Furs	Talk Talk Talk	-	"Pretty in Pink"
27	Pretenders	Pretenders II	11	"Message of Love"
26	U2	October	28	"Gloria"
25	Electric Light Orchestra	Time	10	"Hold On Tight"
24	Todd Rundgren	Healing	15	"Compassion"
23	Joan Jett	I Love Rock 'n Roll	2	"I Love Rock 'n Roll"
22	Rush	Moving Pictures	4	"Tom Sawyer"
21	Split Enz	Waiata	33	"One Step Ahead"

Rank	Artist	Album	Chart	Song Played
20	The Moody Blues	Long Distance Voyager	1	"Gemini Dream"
19	Phil Collins	Face Value	2	"In the Air Tonight"
18	Rick Springfield	Working Class Dog	16	"Love is Alright Tonight"
17	Billy Squier	Don't Say No	3	"In the Dark"
16	Genesis	Abacab	1	"No Reply at All"
15	Elvis Costello	Trust	16	"From a Whisper to a Scream"
14	Van Halen	Fair Warning	2	"Unchained"
13	Journey	Escape	1	"Stone in Love"
12	The Tubes	The Completion Backward Principle	11	"Talk to Ya Later"
11	Kim Wilde	Kim Wilde	44	"Kids in America"

Rank	Artist	Album	Chart	Song Played
10	Styx	Paradise Theatre	1	"Rockin' the Paradise"
9	The Who	Face Dances	1	"Don't Let Go the Coat"
8	Daryl Hall & John Oates	Private Eyes	19	"Private Eyes"
7	The J. Geils Band	Freeze-Frame	1	"Centerfold"
6	Squeeze	East Side Story	10	"Tempted"
5	The Go-Go's	Beauty and the Beat	10	"Our Lips are Sealed"
4	The Rolling Stones	Tattoo You	1	"Start Me Up" & "Waiting on a Friend"
3	The Cars	Shake It Up	2	"Since You're Gone" & "Shake It Up"
2	Foreigner	4	1	"Juke Box Hero" & "Urgent"
1	The Police	Ghost in the Machine	2	"Spirits in the Material World" & "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic"

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SXM's "40 Cassettes Turning 40" - Part One

So the Classic Rewind (Ch 25) channel on SiriusXM recently ran a listener's poll to determine the best rock album releases of 1981. Poll results were played in a countdown around Labor Day weekend. Here are the results and yes I have beef. Included below is the album's peak position on the Billboard Rock Albums Chart.

Rank	Artist	Album	Chart	Song Played	Notes
40	The Kinks	Give the People What They Want	5	"Destroyer"
39	Triumph	Allied Forces	5	"Fight the Good Fight"
38	The Who	Face Dances	1	"You Better You Bet"
37	Santana	Zebop!	3	"Winning"
36	Eric Clapton	Another Ticket	1	"I Can't Stand It"
35	Pretenders	Pretenders II	11	"Talk of the Town"
34	Sammy Hagar	Standing Hampton	1	"There's Only One Way to Rock"
33	The Moody Blues	Long Distance Voyager	1	"The Voice"
32	Joe Walsh	There Goes the Neighborhood	2	"A Life of Illusion"
31	Rush	Exit...Stage Left	13	"Closer to the Heart"	live album, band also placed at #3

Rank	Artist	Album	Chart	Song Played	Notes
30	Blondie	Best of Blondie	-	"Dreaming"	greatest hits
29	Blue Oyster Cult	Fire of Unknown Origin	6	"Burnin' for You"
28	ZZ Top	El Loco	6	"Pearl Necklace"
27	U2	October	28	"Gloria"
26	Billy Squier	Don't Say No	3	"My Kinda Lover"
25	Journey	Captured	5	"Just the Same Way"	live album, band also placed at #1
24	Billy Joel	Songs in the Attic	15	"Ballad of Billy the Kid"	live album
23	Pat Benatar	Precious Time	2	"Promises in the Dark"
22	Bob Seger	Nine Tonight	4	"Hollywood Nights"	live album
21	Men at Work	Business as Usual	2	"Down Under"	released in US in 1982

Rank	Artist	Album	Chart	Song Played	Notes
20	Tom Petty	Hard Promises	1	"Woman in Love (It's Not Me)"
19	38 Special	Wild-Eyed Southern Boys	8	"Hold On Loosely"
18	Def Leppard	High 'n' Dry	18	"Bringin' on the Heartache"
17	Stevie Nicks	Bella Donna	3	"Stop Draggin' My Heart Around"
16	Ozzy Osborne	Diary of a Madman	8	"Over the Mountain"
15	Phil Collins	Face Value	2	"I Missed Again"	Genesis at #9
14	Van Halen	Fair Warning	2	"Mean Street"
13	J. Geils Band	Freeze-Frame	1	"Centerfold"
12	Loverboy	Get Lucky	3	"When It's Over"
11	The Police	Ghost in the Machine	2	"Every Little Thing She Does is Magic"

Rank	Artist	Album	Chart	Song Played	Notes
10	Joan Jett	I Love Rock 'n Roll	2	"Crimson and Clover"
9	Genesis	Abacab	1	"No Reply at All"	Phil Collins at #15
8	The Rolling Stones	Tattoo You	1	"Hang Fire"
7	Styx	Paradise Theatre	1	"Rockin' the Paradise"
6	Queen	Greatest Hits	11	"Don't Stop Me Now"	greatest hits, track not on US release
5	AC/DC	For Those About to Rock...	3	"Let's Get It Up"
4	The Cars	Shake It Up	2	"Shake It Up" & "Since You're Gone"
3	Rush	Moving Pictures	4	"Limelight" & "YYZ"	band also placed at #31
2	Foreigner	4	1	"Juke Box Hero" & "Waiting for a Girl Like You"
1	Journey	Escape	1	"Don't Stop Believin'" & "Who's Cryin' Now"	band also placed at #25

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So what would the countdown look like if I was in charge? Well, as much as I like Songs in the Attic, I don't think live albums should be on such a chart. And even though I absolutely adore Queen's Greatest Hits album, I don't believe 'best of' compilations have any place here, either. Tune in later this week for my version of the list. 

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Music ads for 1980 releases

List of Billboard #1 Rock Albums of 1984

Until the September 15, 1984 issue, Billboard published a weekly list of the 50 top rock albums.  176 albums made the rock albums chart in 1984; here's a chart of the six albums that hit the #1 spot that year:

Week Ending	Track	Artist
January 7	90125	Yes
January 14
January 21	Genesis	Genesis
January 28
February 4	1984	Van Halen
February 11
February 18
February 25
March 3
March 10
March 17
March 24
March 31
April 7	Against All Odds	Soundtrack
April 14	Heartbeat City	The Cars
April 21
April 28
May 5
May 12
May 19
May 26
June 2
June 9
June 16	Born in the U.S.A.	Bruce Springsteen
June 23
June 30	Heartbeat City	The Cars
July 7	Born in the U.S.A.	Bruce Springsteen
July 14
July 21	Heartbeat City	The Cars
July 28	Born in the U.S.A.	Bruce Springsteen
August 4	Heartbeat City	The Cars
August 11
August 18
August 25
September 1
September 8	Born in the U.S.A.	Bruce Springsteen
Chart discontinued

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Blog post #850

Counting down my Top 79 of '79: Singles #43 - 27

A breakdown of my top singles from 1979

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	Title	Artist	Pop	AC	R&B	Disco
43	"Send One Your Love"	Stevie Wonder	4	1	5
42	"Street Life"	Crusaders	36		17	75
41	"Video Killed the Radio Star"	Buggles	40
40	"Shake Your Groove Thing"	Peaches & Herb	5		4	2
39	"Beautiful Girls"	Van Halen	84
38	"Big Shot"	Billy Joel	14
37	"Makin' It"	David Naughton	5	48		11
36	"I Want You Tonight"	Pablo Cruise	19
35	"Good Times Roll"	The Cars	41

	Title	Artist	Pop	AC	R&B	Disco
34	"Getting Closer"	Wings	20
33	"No More Tears (Enough is Enough)"	Donna Summer & Barbra Streisand	1	7	20	1
32	"Hold the Line"	Toto	5
31	"Dim All the Lights"	Donna Summer	2	44	13	54
30	"Goodbye Stranger"	Supertramp	15	32
29	"Goodnight Tonight"	Wings	5	30
28	"Chuck E.'s in Love"	Rickie Lee Jones	4	20
27	"Love is the Answer"	England Dan & John Ford Coley	10	1

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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.

Counting down my Top 79 of '79: Singles #79 - 62

A breakdown of my top singles from 1979

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	Title	Artist	Pop	AC	R&B	Disco
79	"Lady"	Little River Band	10	7
78	"Highway to Hell"	AC/DC	47
77	"Dance the Night Away"	Van Halen	15
76	"Hot Stuff"	Donna Summer	1		3	1
75	"Escape (The Pina Colada Song)"	Rupert Holmes	1	8
74	"Let's Go"	The Cars	14
73	"Heaven Knows"	Donna Summer with Brooklyn Dreams	4	17	10
72	"Suspicions"	Eddie Rabbitt	13	9
71	"In the Stone"	Earth, Wind & Fire	58		23

	Title	Artist	Pop	AC	R&B	Disco
70	"I Will Survive"	Gloria Gaynor	1	9	4	1
69	"(not just) Knee Deep"	Funkadelic	77		1	43
68	"Driver's Seat"	Sniff 'n' The Tears	15
67	"Sad Eyes"	Robert John	1	10
66	"Still"	The Commodores	1	6	1
65	"You Can't Change That"	Raydio	9	25	3
64	"Ships"	Barry Manilow	9	4
63	"The Gambler"	Kenny Rogers	16	3
62	"One Way or Another"	Blondie	24

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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.

AT40, May 26, 1984 [Part 1 of 4]

Let's travel back and take a look at the American Top 40 episode for May 26, 1984 track by track.

Your humble blogger's high school campus, ca. 1984.
It is scheduled for demolition next summer.

I didn't choose this episode at random. I graduated high school on the evening of May 25, 1984 (more on that here), stayed up most of the night at the beach (and other places) with friends, then spent the next day at Astroworld riding rides before seeing Billy Idol in concert that evening. After that, I most likely slept for the entirety of Sunday, so odds are very poor that I heard this episode when it originally aired.

While he wasn't present at my high school graduation (to my knowledge), Casey Kasem took the weekend off and did not host AT40 on this date. Filling in was "permanent sub" at the time, Charlie Van Dyke. During the 1980's, Van Dyke hosted the show a record 31 times. At the time, Van Dyke was working for KTAR in Phoenix.

Charlie Van Dyke

As was the custom back then, Charlie starts the show by counting down the top three songs from the preceding week. He only mentions last week's number 3 tune, "Against All Odds" by Phil Collins, over the introduction to the #2 song, "Let's Hear It For The Boy" by Deniece Williams. Next, Charlie plays last week's #1: "Hello" by Lionel Richie.  (Spoiler alert: "Hello" had been at #1 for two weeks at this point, but wouldn't make it to three.) Then it's on with the countdown:

#40: "Whisper to a Scream (Birds Fly)" by Icicle Works. The first of four debuts this week, Charlie intros this group by stating they are from Liverpool, England, as are acts such as Gerry and The Pacemakers, A Flock of Seagulls, and The Beatles. This only reached #37 in 4 weeks in the Top 40. Shoulda been a bigger hit. AT40 uses a less familiar (too me at least) version of the tune.

Four tunes dropped from the Top 40 this week:

• "A Fine Fine Day" by Tony Carey (dropping from 33 to 54)
• "White Horse" by Laid Back (26 to 51)
• "Miss Me Blind" by Culture Club (25 to 52)
• "Tonight" by Kool & The Gang (20 to 49)

#39: "Magic" by The Cars. The second of the four debuts, this would go on to peak at #12 on July 7.  I only liked two songs from the Heartbeat City album - "Hello Again" and this song. It's a great tune for driving around with the windows down. To be honest, I was driving a 1973 Ford Maverick with no A/C at the time, so windows up wasn't really an option. We'll hear from The Cars again a little later in the countdown.

#38: "Dance Hall Days" by Wang Chung. Another debut. Charlie states this is the group's second Top 40 hit and you could knock me over with a feather because I have no memory of "Don't Let Go" charting. I always liked this song when it came on the radio, especially the mysterious way the vocals were put way down in the mix. However, I wouldn't pick up the album until 2013. My mistake. This single would spend 10 weeks in the Top 40, peaking at #16.

"American Top 40 is heard in the 50 states and around the world on great radio stations like:"

• WKXY - Sarasota Florida
• KSTC - Sterling, Colorado
• Armed Forces Radio

#37: "No More Words" by Berlin. The biggest dropper in the countdown, falling 13 spots. I liked this one enough not to switch the radio station when it came on, but not enough to buy a copy. I still haven't heard the entire Love Life album.

#36: "Dancing in the Dark" by Bruce Springsteen. Not only debuting in the Top 40, this song debuts in the Hot 100 this week here at #36. Guest host Charlie Van Doren tells the oft-repeated story of Springsteen appearing on the covers of Time and Newsweek magazines in October 1975. 

Bruce released this single and suddenly all us new wavers were Springsteen fans. "Hey! You can dance to this thing!" This tune would later spend four weeks at #2, being kept out of the top spot by "The Reflex" and "When Doves Cry."

Note: this week would start an incredible 97 week run of singles on the Billboard Hot 100 from the Born in the USA album:

click chart to enlarge

"Coming up: a story about a modern version of the most famous haircut in history."

#35: "Love Will Show Us How" by Christine McVie. If I had been paying attention in 1984, I would have found somebody with a copy of this album and dubbed a cassette tape. The singles, this one included, are catchy as hell.

#34: "Modern Day Delilah" by Van Stephenson. Charlie recaps the biblical tale of Sampson and Delilah briefly before playing this tune, which I have no memory of hearing in 1984 and maybe only a few times since, including today. It spent 10 weeks on the chart, peaking at #22.

#33: "Eyes Without a Face" by Billy Idol. Did I mention I saw Billy Idol in concert on May 26, 1984? I thought I might have. The song is good, but the bridge/guitar solo is great (and terribly truncated for this AT40). It was Idol's first top 10 tune, peaking at #4 during it's 14 week chart run. It brings back memories of a school band trip we took to Southern California not long after graduation. It never rained while we were there.

Your humble blogger performing at Disneyland, June 1984

#32: "My Ever Changing Moods" by The Style Council. Proving that Culture Club didn't have a monopoly on Motown-derived tunes. I dig it but, like the aforementioned "Modern Day Delilah," this didn't get much airplay in the Houston market. The group's only Top 40 hit, this single spent 6 weeks on AT40, peaking at #29.

--end of hour one--

#31: "It's My Life" by Talk Talk. "It's My Life" is not only my favorite Talk Talk song, it's one of my favorite songs of the '80s. Unfortunately, it's also the group's only US Top 40 single. I liked it from the get-go and bought the album not long after hearing this single for the first time. It peaked here at #31 in only 6 weeks in the Top 40. You know what I going to say about that: too low and too few.

Billboard, May 26, 1984, p. 60

More to come...

MFD Random Five #34

In which I click the shuffle icon on the iTunes app and listen to the first five songs that pop up from the years 1976-85.

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1. "I Want Your Love" by Chic (1979, Atlantic)
   As longtime blog readers know, Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards hold lofty, elevated status around this house. If they made bobbleheads of those two, I'd own 'em and buy extras to give as gifts. My only complaint with this simmering, building disco tune is that I shuffled into the shorter three and a half minute single edit instead of the full seven minute version.


2. "Don't Tell Me No" by The Cars (1980, Elektra)
   The Cars could write some catchy hooks, unfortunately, they didn't include any in this single from the very mediocre Panorama album. And the lyrics:

   It's my transition, it's my play
   It's my phone call to beta ray
   It's my hopscotch, light the torch
   It's my downtime, feel the scorch, well

   Saywhatnow? I don't think I'm alone in my opinion: this song was released as a single but failed to chart.


3. "Loud Music in Cars" by Billy Bremner (1981, Stiff)
   Guitarist for Rockpile cuts a solo single and guess what? It sounds like Rockpile/Nick Lowe/Dave Edmunds stuff. And that's okay with this guy. This thing shuffles along with a decent verse but the George Harrison-esque chorus comes along and I'm hooked.


4. "A Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" by The Kinks (1978, Arista)
   I feel bad about not liking any Kinks record, but with a title like that, I expect a rocker, not maudlin navel-gazing.


5. "For Your Eyes Only" by Sheena Easton (1981, Warner Bros.)
   James Bond theme music written by Bill "Gonna Fly Now" Conti. And I gotta confess - I like the thing. The atmospheric production, Easton's vocals, all of it. I didn't tolerate many ballads in '81 as a transitioned to a New Waver wannabe, but I more than tolerated this tune. I'm also reminded of an ill-advised Maynard Ferguson cover (click at your own risk). According to the Wiki, "Easton is the only artist (to date) to be seen singing the theme song to a Bond movie during its opening titles."
   
   

AT40, August 4, 1979 [Part 1 of 4]

Let's travel back and take a look at the American Top 40 episode for August 4, 1979 track by track:

As was the custom back then, Casey starts the show by playing the top three songs from the preceding week: "Good Times" by Chic, "Ring My Bell" by Anita Ward, and "Bad Girls" by Donna Summer. Disco in full effect!  Then it's on with the countdown, with Casey stating there are five debut records this week:

#40: "Born to Be Alive" by Patrick Hernandez. The first of the five debut records, this fun, hard driving dance tune had already topped the Disco charts back on July 14. An international hit, this topped the charts in no fewer than 14 countries. It would spend a total of 11 weeks on AT40, eventually peaking at #16 on September 29.

#39: "Hot Summer Nights" by Night. This is a cover of a 1978 Walter Egan single (he got to #55 on the Hot 100 with it). To this listener, the band sounds like a bad combination of Quarterflash and John Stewart. Your mileage may vary, but I'll take a pass. Debuting this week, it would get as high as #18 in its 8 weeks in the Top 40.

Before taking a commercial break, Casey teases an upcoming tune with the following: "In the history of the rock era, Japanese singing star Kyo Sakamoto has been the only Oriental recording artist ever to hit the American charts. But no more. Coming up is the second: Japan's number one recording act."

Over the intro to the next song, Casey recognizes the following AT40 stations:

• WDXY - Sumter, South Carolina
• WEEO - Waynesboro, Pennsylvania
• WFTQ - Worcester, Massachusetts

#38: "Highway Song" by Blackfoot. Being born and raised in the South, you'd think I'd like Southern Rock a lot more than I do. I'm tempted to call Blackfoot a "poor man's Skynyrd," but I'm pretty sure someone has beaten me to that line. Debuting on AT40 this week,this single would spend 6 weeks on AT40, peaking at #26.

#37: "Kiss in the Dark" by Pink Lady. The hottest Japanese act at the time. Harmless disco fluff sung phonetically. But when I think of this duo, I always think of their ill-advised variety show co-hosted by comedian Jeff Altman (warning: inappropriate cultural stereotypes, offensive references, and all-around bad writing ahead for those brave or foolish enough to click the play icon below):

This song, the duo's only Top 40 hit, peaked here at #37 in 3 weeks in the Top 40.

"Coming up, a Long Distance Dedication from Betsy in Anchorage, Alaska to her little sister, the only person who stood by her in her fight with drugs."

#36: "Heaven Must Have Sent You" by Bonnie Pointer. A cover of a Holland-Dozier-Holland soul song that was a 1966 hit for The Elgins.  Sounds a lot like The Supremes' Where Did Our Love Go (another Holland-Dozier-Holland song). One of those innocuous tunes that, while I won't seek it out, I won't change the station should it ever come on. Spending a remarkable 15 weeks on the chart, this single would make it to #11 in mid-October.

Long Distance Dedication: "Lean on Me" by Bill Withers (#1, 1972).

Dear Casey, a year and a half ago I got a divorce and came back to live in Alaska with my family. I found life here to be different - there were hardly any people between the ages of 21 and 28 in the small town where I lived. So, I became friends with some 18 year olds. The drug scene is still in full swing here. I had never even seen drugs before, but I quickly became involved. They really messed me up. I became depressed and I didn't care what I did. I started seeing a doctor for my depression and my family treated me as if I was crazy. The only person to stand by me and give me support was my little sister. She got me involved in some hobbies and helped me realize that this is my life; that I should live it for myself in my own way and not for my friends. Since then, I've moved to Anchorage and I'm attending beauty college. I truly believe if my little sister hadn't stood by me and let me know I was loved, I would still be messing up my life. She was always there for me to lean on. So I would like to dedicate "Lean On Me" to my sister, Beverly, to let her know I will always be here if she needs someone as she was for me.

#35: "Let's Go" by The Cars. A great New Wave rocker and easily the best tune on The Cars' second album, Candy-O. During the years 2011-2016, I was the local high school's baseball announcer and scoreboard operator, so I got to pick all the pre-game and between inning music. I usually came up with new playlists every year and tried to keep things current, but this song always made the cut. On this date, it was ascending the charts and would eventual make it as high as #14 in 9 weeks on AT40.

#34: "Morning Dance" by Spyro Gyra. My love for this jazz fusion/smooth jazz/instrumental pop group can't be overstated. And although I wouldn't buy my first SG album for a few more years, this song was my first exposure to them. Casey gives a brief overview of the band name origin over the intro (group leader Jay Beckenstein like the word Spirogira, a genus of green algae, when he heard it in biology class). Not to be confused with British prog band Spirogyra. This song would top the Adult Contemporary chart and would peak at #24 on the pop chart on August 25.

Casey then gives the Universal City, California address where listeners can write to request their free copy of the AT40 Worldwide Listening Directory, a listing of stations that carry AT40.

AT40 Archives: "Cat's in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin.   At the time, Casey was counting down the #1 songs of the 1970's, so we're treated to three former #1's during this countdown; this is the first. From December 1974, this was the 121st number one single of the decade. I never liked this song from the get-go, but once I became a parent, I despised it even more.

--end of hour one--

#33: "Lonesome Loser" by Little River Band. The fourth of the five debut singles, and while this isn't my favorite LRB tune, I like it better now than I did in 1979. When "Lonesome Loser" hit the airwaves in '79, I was an awkward, angst-ridden teenager who often mistakenly thought of himself as a loser.  I certainly didn't want to reminded that I was a lonesome loser by the radio. This would go on top peak at #6 in 14 weeks in the Top 40.

#32: "Goodbye Stranger" by Supertramp. The highest debuting song of the week (it would eventually peak at #15) and for good reason: it's a great tune. From the electric piano to the fantastic guitar solo to the falsetto vocals, I dig it. AT40 edits the crap out of it for this episode, playing only 3:10 of its 5:49 length, so I don't even get the guitar solo.

"We're counting down to a foreign group who are the most profitable business enterprise in their entire country. They make a bigger net profit than Volvo, Saab, or Ingmar Bergman. Details and their current hit are coming up." Place your bets. Answer tomorrow.

#31: "Shadows in the Moonlight" by Anne Murray. One of the top Adult Contemporary artists of My Favorite Decade, this was one of Murray's AC chart toppers. I was never enough of a Murray fan to ever purchase any vinyl, but I remember usually enjoying her tunes on the radio. In addition to topping the AC chart, this song was also #1 on the country chart. Over here on AT40, however, it had already peaked at #24 the week prior to this show and was on a rather speedy descent, dropping all the way from #31 here to #94 the next week.

Billboard, August 4, 1979, p. 56

More to come...

Promo posters as seen on "WKRP in Cincinnati" #2

Albums: The Cars - Shake It Up (Elektra, 1981), Midnight Star - Standing Together (SOLAR, 1981)
Episode: Season 4, Episode 9, "The Consultant"
Original air date: Wednesday, December 30, 1981

Classic album cover art #3

The Cars - Candy-O (1979)

Painting by Alberto Vargas