Welcome back to this week’s countdown! If you missed them, you can check out songs 40-31, 30-21 and 20-11. Personally, I think there have been better lists, but there are some classics here today. So, let’s Return to the week ending December 13, 1986, and wrap up this week’s countdown.

10. “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King

25 years after Ben E. King hit it big with this 1961 hit, he ran up the charts with the same song again. He had a little help with the classic hit movie Stand By Me.

9. “Shake You Down” by Gregory Abbott

This was the first single released from Gregory Abbott’s debut album. It would also be his biggest hit. I never cared for this song. I don’t mind it as much now.

8. “Notorious” by Duran Duran

Duran Duran is making yet another run up the charts despite losing band members Roger and Andy Taylor. After a string of success, Roger was too exhausted to continue on with another album. And Andy left due to creative differences. The trio of Simon Le Bon, John Taylor, and Nick Rhodes continued on, and put out this classic song.

7. “To Be a Lover” by Billy Idol

Riiiiight! It’s time for some Billy Idol! This was his first single released off of his Whiplash Smile album.

6. “You Give Love a Bad Name” by Bon Jovi

This is the song that launched Bon Jovi into the stratosphere, making them a household name. This was the first single released off of the legendary Slippery When Wet album. It became the band’s first #1 hit.

5. “Everybody Have Fun Tonight” by Wang Chung

Everybody Wang Chung tonight! Whatever that means. This is a fun song though.

4. “The Next Time I Fall” by Peter Cetera & Amy Grant

Peter Cetera proved that “The Glory of Love” was no fluke for his solo career. This duet was a #1 hit. This song also brought Christian Music artist, Amy Grant, into the secular music world. This is one of my favorite duets of the ’80s.

3. “Hip to Be Square” by Huey Lewis & The News

This isn’t one of my favorite Huey Lewis songs, but it’s not bad either.

2. “Walk Like an Egyptian” by The Bangles

Anybody who has ever listened to music has heard this song. It was a staple on MTV and it was played on the radio almost as often as Taylor Swift is these days. Well, let’s not get too carried away. It may have been a tiny fraction of that. But still, it was a lot. However, I still liked the song, and I still like it, and don’t turn the station when it comes on. One cool thing about this song is that each band member got to sing a verse.

Before we find out what the #1 song is, let’s see what was topping some of the other charts this week in 1986.

Country – “Hell And High Water” by T. Graham Brown

R&B – “Love You Down” by Ready For The World

Rock – “I Want to Make the World Turn Around” by the Steve Miller Band

Dance – “Brand New Lover” by Dead or Alive

Album – Live/1975-85 by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

And the top Adult Contemporary song is also our number one song on the mainstream chart this week…

1. “The Way It Is” by Bruce Hornsby & The Range

Ugh! I’ll try not to let this ruin the countdown for me. I do appreciate how he had a different sound from most music at the time, but I just don’t like it. One thing is for sure – it was this song was a smash hit for Brice Hornsby, and that’s just the way it is.

Well, that wraps up this week’s countdown. I thought it was a pretty solid week of music. I hope you feel the same. Until next time, “Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars.”

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