Hey, hey, baby, how you doin’, come on in here. Got some hot chocolate on the stove waitin’ for ya as we wrap up this week’s Top 40 Countdown! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have. If you missed the previous songs, you can check out Songs 40-31,
Songs 30-21 and 20-11.
Remember, if you want to listen to the songs and see the YouTube video, you can click on the song title, and if you’d like to get the song on Amazon, you can click on the album cover.
Now let’s wrap up the countdown from the week ending November 8, 1986!
But first things first, let me hang up that coat…

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10. “The Rain” by Oran “Juice” Jones

If there’s anybody who has taken more pleasure in catching his woman stepping out on him as Oran “Juice” Jones has, I’ve yet to see it. This was a one-hit wonder for Jones. It reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart for two weeks, making it the first #1 R&B hit issued by the then newly created Def Jam record label. Not to shabby. If you want to have a little extra fun with this, check out Pamala’s answer to this song with her own – “Walking in the Rain (Yes You Saw Me)“.

9. “Word Up” by Cameo

This great funky song was Cameo’s biggest hit. In the music video, that’s LeVar Burton as a police detective trying to arrest the band.

8. “Typical Male” by Tina Turner

This was the lead single from Tina’s Break Every Rule album. This would just miss the top of the charts, as it was held to the #2 spot by “When I Think of You” by Janet Jackson and “True Colors” by Cyndi Lauper.

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

“Shot through the heart and your to blame! You give love a bad name!” And so begins Bon Jovi’s launch into superstardom. This was the lead single from the classic Slippery When Wet album. This #1 smash hit was actually originally written by Desmond Child for Bonnie Tyler under the title “If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man)” with different lyrics. The song flopped, but Desmond Child thought he had something good here. So, he re-wrote the song with Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, and the rest is history. Child talked about this on a recent episode of the Eddie Trunk Podcast, which I highly recommend

6. “Take Me Home Tonight” by Eddie Money

This was the lead single from the album Can’t Hold Back by the late, great Eddie Money. And if you’re going to have parts of the song “Be My Baby” by The Ronettes in it, why not include the real deal, and have the legendary Ronnie Spector sing on it?! Pure gold! This song would peak at #4.

5. “True Blue” by Madonna

Madonna was already locked in as an ’80s icon by this point, and the hits kept on coming. This song would peak at #3. This was the third single released from the True Blue album. The album did pretty well itself only becoming the world’s top-selling album of 1986, as well as the best-selling album of the ’80s by a female artist. With estimated sales of over 25 million copies worldwide, True Blue remains one of the best-selling albums of all time. All five singles released from the album reached the top five on the Billboard Hot 100, with “Live to Tell”, “Papa Don’t Preach”, and “Open Your Heart” peaking at number one.

4. “Human” by The Human League

This was the first single released by the British synth-pop band’s album Crash. It became their second #1 hit after 1981’s “Don’t You Want Me“.

3. “True Colors” by Cyndi Lauper

This title track was the first single released from Cyndi Lauper’s sophomore album. No sophomore slump here as the song spent two weeks in the number one spot. It was her last single to do so.

2. “I Didn’t Mean to Turn You On” by Robert Palmer

This may be a little known fact, but this Robert Palmer hit is actually a cover. It was originally done by Cherrelle in 1984. Palmer’s version was a bigger pop hit, peaking right here at #2. But, Cherrelle’s version was a big R&B hit, peaking at #6 on the Dance Club chart and #8 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Black Singles chart. Personally, I prefer Cherrelle’s version. But, I like Palmer’s version too. And he still had the robot girl models in his videos at this point.

1. “Amanda” by Boston

This power ballad by the ’70s rock icons, Boston, was the first single released from their Third Stage album. It was Boston’s biggest hit, topping the charts for two weeks. It took 8 years between singles, but it was worth it!

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That wraps up this week’s countdown. I have to say that this was a great one! What did you think? Any favorite songs here? Any lost gems that you had forgotten about, or any newly discovered gems? It feels like it’s been 8 years since I did one of these. Was it worth it? Please let me know. And until next time, “Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars.”