A breakdown of my top singles from 1984
Miss Me Blind
Culture Club
Weeks in Hot 100: 16
Peaked: April 21
Album: Colour by Numbers (Virgin/Epic)
| U.S. Billboard charts: |
|
| Hot 100 | 5 |
| Adult Contemporary | 12 |
| R&B | 8 |
| Dance | 10 |
The song that made me a Culture Club fan and still my favorite CC tune. Tasty vocal harmonies, easy to dance to, fuzzy guitar solo that has a nice shape followed by that hooky break about 3:15 in.
New Moon on Monday
Duran Duran
Weeks in Hot 100: 16
Peaked: March 17
Album:
Seven and the Ragged Tiger (Capitol)
| U.S. charts: |
|
| Hot 100 | 10 |
| Rock | 4 |
On my first listen to
Seven and the Ragged Tiger, this was the only song I liked. (Let's be honest, "The Reflex" was kinda boring until Nile Rodgers got a hold of it.). This one doesn't get much play anymore and that's a shame because that chorus has at least three hooks that I can count.
Magic
The Cars
Weeks in Hot 100: 17
Peaked: July 7
Album: Heartbeat City (Elektra)
| U.S. charts: |
|
| Hot 100 | 12 |
| Rock | 1 |
I only like two songs from the
Heartbeat City album - "Hello Again" and this song. It's a great tune for driving around with the windows down, stereo blasting. To be honest, in 1984 I was driving a 1973 Ford Maverick with no A/C at the time, so windows up wasn't really an option.
Let's Go Crazy
Prince
Weeks in Hot 100: 19
Peaked: September 29
Album: Purple Rain (Warner Bros.)
| U.S. charts: |
|
| Hot 100 | 1 |
| Rock | 19 |
| R&B | 1 |
| Dance | 1 |
What a fantastic album opener. The synth organ builds under Prince's pseudo-intellectual rambling, then the drums kick in and you start to move, then that guitar riff comes through your speakers and you're all in. That synth lick is every bit as good and memorable as what he wrote for "1999." And the sweet guitar solos just give you a taste of what's to come. I distinctly remember a trip down Interstate 45 on a hot afternoon in October 1984 where all I listened to was "Let's Go Crazy" for two hours straight, singing at the top of lungs. I hope the other travelers appreciated the marathon performance, because my voice was shredded by the time I reached my destination.
The Reflex
Duran Duran
Weeks in Hot 100: 21
Peaked: June 23
Album: Seven and the Ragged Tiger (Capitol)
| U.S. charts: |
|
| Hot 100 | 1 |
| Rock | 35 |
| Dance | 15 |
This thing is fantastic and it's all due to Nile Rodgers' remixing skills. If there is one song that immediately takes me back to high school graduation, it is this one. In May 1984, this song was just about all I played in my car, had the 12" single, waited for the manic concert video on MTV, etc. I specifically remember dancing to this song at a post-graduation party in the park about 1 AM after spending a few hours at the beach.
Pride (In the Name of Love)
U2
Weeks in Hot 100: 15
Peaked: December 15
Album: The Unforgettable Fire (Island)
| U.S. charts: |
|
| Hot 100 | 33 |
| Rock | 2 |
Easily my all-time favorite U2 track and has been since the get-go. The lyrics aren't historically accurate and that doesn't even bother me. Such passion.
I Feel for You
Chaka Khan
Weeks in Hot 100: 26
Peaked: November 24
Album: i Feel for You (Warner Bros.)
| U.S. charts: |
|
| Hot 100 | 3 |
| R&B | 1 |
| Dance | 1 |
You betcha! Written by Prince, rap by Melle Mel, harmonica solo by Stevie Freakin' Wonder. And Chaka delivers as usual. Amazing. Dancing now as I attempt to type.
Head Over Heels
The Go-Go's
Weeks in Hot 100: 10
Peaked: May 19
Album: Talk Show (I.R.S.)
| U.S. charts: |
|
| Hot 100 | 11 |
| Rock | 33 |
| Dance | 49 |
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). I don't know what I like more, the bass licks, the piano pounding, or Belinda's vocals.
Hold Me Now
Thompson Twins
Weeks in Hot 100: 21
Peaked: May 5
Album: Into the Gap (Arista)
| U.S. charts: |
|
| Hot 100 | 2 |
| Adult Contemporary | 8 |
| Rock | 9 |
| Dance | 1 |
Reminds me of driving in my car listening to the
Into The Gap cassette during the spring of my senior year in high school. When I listen now, I still try (and usually fail) to hit the high falsetto notes during the last chorus - "Oh, will you stay with me?" - just like I did all those years ago.
It's My Life
Talk Talk
Weeks in Hot 100: 14
Peaked: May 19
Album: It's My Life (EMI)
| U.S. charts: |
|
| Hot 100 | 31 |
| Rock | 23 |
| Dance | 1 |
Not only my favorite Talk Talk song, it's one of my favorite eighties songs (it's also the group's only US Top 40 single). I had a cassette dub of the group's debut album,
The Party's Over, and I bought the LP of
It's My Life. Not long after I had purchased the album, I was at a high school pool party near graduation. They had a Houston rock radio station playing (probably 101 KLOL) and I was stopped in my tracks when I heard the single "It's My Life" played alongside Ozzy and AC/DC. Never heard it again on that station, but I was pleasantly surprised that afternoon. The single peaked at #31 in only 6 weeks in the Top 40. You know what I going to say about that: too low and too few.
All chart positions are peak positions from Billboard charts for 1984. These are my personal top 84 singles of those that peaked on the Billboard charts in 1984. The list is solely my opinion. Using Joel Whitburn's book, Pop Annual 1955-2005, I started with the 434 singles that peaked on Billboard Magazine's Hot 100 chart in 1984. An initial pass through that list narrowed it down to 106 tunes, then listening, ranking, and editing began. The top 84 are presented this week, in order.
Other lists of singles from My Favorite Decade:
