Welcome back as we continue this week’s Top 40 countdown! If you missed the previous songs, you can go back and check out Songs 40-31 and
Songs 30-21. A lot of times, this is the part of the countdown I love because there are great songs that may not have landed in the Top 10, which means that they don’t get much airplay on the ’80s radio stations and shows. This countdown does not disappoint.
If you’d like to listen to the song, you can click on the song title to get the YouTube video and click on the album cover to get the song on Amazon.
Now, let’s Return to the week ending November 8, 1986, and continue the countdown!
20. “I Am By Your Side” by Corey Hart
19. “When I Think of You” by Janet Jackson
18. “The Way It Is” by Bruce Hornsby & The Range
17. “All Cried Out” by Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam With Full Force
16. “Emotion in Motion” by Ric Ocasek
15. “Hip to be Square” by Huey Lewis & The News
14. “Love Will Conquer All” by Lionel Richie
13. “I’ll Be Over You” by Toto
12. “The Next Time I Fall” by Peter Cetera & Amy Grant
11. “Sweet Love” by Anita Baker
That wraps things up for today. As the numbers get smaller, the hits get bigger! So, come back tomorrow, and see what the Top 10 hits of the week are from this week in 1986.
We begin today’s list with the second single released from Billy Joel’s album, The Bridge, which happens to be my favorite Billy Joel album. This is a fun video featuring several cameos, including Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney and Joel’s then wife Christie Brinkley who is holding their baby daughter Alexa. The song would peak at #10.
Yet another smash hit by Genesis. This was the second single released from the classic Invisible Touch album. This song would reach #4 on the Hot 100 chart, and #1 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.
There were a lot of big fads in the ’80s. Yesterday, I had mentioned our love of ’50s and ’60s culture. There was also a big wave of Australia that hit the U.S. And of course, we had famous actors trying their hand in singing. Most were successful. There was Bruce Willis, Eddie Murphy, Jack Wagner, and of course Miami Vice’s Don Johnson. This was a huge hit for Johnson, hitting the Top 10, landing at #5.
I fell in love with this Canadian rock band in 1983 when I saw them perform at the US Festival. This would turn out to be one of my favorite songs by them. It was their most successful single in the U.S. landing at #27.
I don’t remember this song at all. Yet, it was a #20 hit, and came off of Steve Winwood’s huge album, Back in the High Life. It was the second single released from the album, right between “
Here’s another song I never heard of! What’s going on?!? Just kidding. If you have never heard of this song, you must have lived under a rock. This was the third single released off of the Bangles Different Light album. It as released in September 1986, and would hit number in December for four weeks, going into 1987. It would be the #1 song from 1987. This is the first song by an all-female group playing their own instruments to top the Billboard singles chart.
Three years after Frontiers, Journey finally released a new studio album, called Raised On Radio. Steve Smith was replaced on drums by Larry Londin, and this is the only Journey album without bassist Ross Valory. As anybody who has watched American Idol knows, Randy Jackson played bass for Journey, and he won’t let you forget it. Even though Journey was a mess at this point, I still loved this album. This was the third single released, and it peaked at #17.
This is a fun song by the British new wave group. It has become Wang Chung’s signature song. It would reach #2 on the chart, being held out of the top spot by “Walk Like an Egyptian”.
This was Billy Idol’s lead single from his Whiplash Smile album. This was originally a soul ballad from 1968, by William Bell, called “
I got so tired of both “Satisfaction” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” by The Rolling Stones that if I hear either of them ever again, it would be too soon. However, Aretha makes this song so awesome! I cannot get enough of anything by Aretha Franklin. This song is perfect for her. It also features Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards on guitars, and Aretha on paino. This version of the song was used for the Whoopi Goldberg film Jumpin’ Jack Flash.
We begin the countdown with Gregory Abbott’s debut into the Top 40. This lead single from Abbott’s debut album Shake You Down was his biggest hit, and would go on to hit the top of the charts. Gregory Abbott is still out there releasing music – most recently, 2019’s “
This was from Jones’ third studio album One to One. It didn’t hit the Top 40 in the U.K., peaking at #43. However on this chart, it would peak all the way up to #17.
This is one of my all-time favorite Talking Heads songs. Released as the lead single from their seventh studio album True Stories, it would peak at #25. The video is also a lot of fun, and won “Best Group Video” at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1987.
This song would eventually peak at #10. The Pretenders were in a major transitional period at this point. This was the first single off of the Get Close album. A few years earlier, original members James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon died of drug overdoses. During the recording of this album, Chrissie Hynde found that Martin Chambers’ drumming had deteriorated, still struggling after losing his 2 best friends. So Hynde let him go, leaving her as the only original Pretenders member. The album turned out to be a success. Chambers reunited with The Pretenders for their 1994 album Last of the Independents (which produced the smash single “
This is easily my favorite Peter Gabriel tune. It would only peak at #26 on this chart, but was a #1 hit on the Mainstream Rock chart. This came of Gabriel’s smash album So. However, it will forever be linked with the iconic scene in the 1989 movie, Say Anything…, as John Cusack’s Lloyd Dobler is holding a boombox, over his head, with this song blaring outside of Diane Court’s (Ione Skye) bedroom.
This classic by the Canadian rock group, Glass Tiger, was starting to drop out of the countdown, falling from 28 to 35. But, it was a smash hit in Canada and in the U.S., hitting #1 and #2, respectively. And yes, that is fellow Canadian Bryan Adams on backing vocals.
This song by the English electronic band was climbing up the charts this week. It would go on to peak at #19 in the US, #11 in the UK, and it would break into the Top 10 in several other countries.
Yes, ‘Til Tuesday had other songs besides “
Here is another song on the way out of the countdown, dropping from 23 to 32 this week. But not before becoming a huge hit, peaking at #3, and becoming one of the highest selling singles of 1986. The song was ranked number twenty-seven in VH1’s 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the ’80s.
This 1961 Ben E. King hit song was re-released to coincide with the classic 1986 movie of the same name. It peaked at #4 in 1961 and peaked at #9 in 1986. In the ’80s, there was a lot of ’50s and ’60s nostalgia in movies, television, and music. There were many ’60s covers in the ’80s. And there were several re-releases, including this one.
Welcome back to this week’s Top 40 Countdown! If you missed the previous songs, you can go ahead and check out 
Bucks Fizz was a U.K. pop group that had enormous success in Europe from 1981-84. Although they had no hits in the U.S., they had a string of top 10 hits in the early ’80s. This song was their 6th Top 10 hit.
This song by the synth-pop group, would peak at #3 in the U.K. It did not chart on the Mainstream U.S. chart, but did hit #1 in the U.S. Dance Clubs. I love this band, and Alison Moyet’s voice is so mesmerizing for me.
This one is a bit familiar to everyone around the world. This was the opening track on Thriller, and the fourth single released. It would peak right here this week at #8 in the U.K., and reach #5 in the U.S.
I love me some play on words! I had never heard of this group before. This was The Australian group’s most successful single, peaking right here this week at #7.
Has anybody seen the Elton John movie, Rocketman? I haven’t seen it yet, but I heard it wasn’t that great. Anyway, this was one of Elton John’s biggest hits of the ’80s. It would peak at #5 in the U.K. and #4 in the U.S.
This was the third single released from Wham!’s debut album, Fantastic. I was not familiar with this song. If I had heard of it when it was first released, I would have made fun of it. I was in the beginning of my rocker phase, and Wham! singing about bad boys would have been funny to me.
Here’s another smash hit that is very familiar tom U.S. audiences. This is pretty much Irene Cara’s signature song. This is the theme song for the iconic ’80s movie Flashdance.
Here is a smash hit by the late, great David Bowie, from his iconic Let’s Dance album. This song was written by Bowie and Iggy Pop in 1977, and actually first appeared on 
Here is another music legend. This song was Rod Stewart’s final #1 single in the U.K. As the decade went on, Stewart was actually more popular in the U.S. He had a huge amount of success with his Out of Order album in the U.S. This song, from his Body Wishes album, peaked at #14 in the U.S.
And we wrap up this week’s countdown with what I consider one of the most overrated and overplayed songs of the ’80s. There were so many much better songs on their Synchronicity album. However, this is the one that became their signature song. It was a #1 hit in the U.S. for 8 straight weeks, and was #1 here in the U.K. for 4 straight weeks. I may think the song is overrated, but there’s no denying its success. And it does give me nostalgia for the ’80s. So there’s that.
The Midge Ure-led New Wave band never charted high in the U.S. However, this is a different story in the U.K. where they scored seven Top 10 albums and seventeen Top 40 singles. This song, from their 6th album Quartet, would peak at #18.
Mike Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist and composer. Scottish vocalist Maggie Reilly, who had collaborated with Mike Oldfield since 1980, performed the vocals on this song. While it did not chart in the U.S., this song was a smash hit all over the rest of the world, topping the charts in many countries. It would peak at #4 here. In the U.S., Mike Oldfield may be best known for his 1973 song, “
Kajagoogoo was a one-hit wonder in the U.S. with their smash, “Too Shy”. But, they had a few more hits in the U.K., including this one. This was the third single released from their debut album White Feathers. It would peak at #13 here.
This is the first of two Top 40 hits for the Scottish band H2O. It was released just ahead of their debut album, Faith. It would peak right here at #17. Their follow-up single “
Marillion is a very cool Prog-Rock band from England. Unfortunately, they were never able to get a break in the States. But, they did have many hits in the U.K.
Long before Shaquille O’Neal came out with his Shaq Attaq sneaker line (which you would need to take out a second mortgage in order to afford), this jazz-funk band, Shakatak, went on a string of hits in the U.K. This song would peak right here at #15.
The legendary Bob Marley recorded this song in 1978. It was released on his posthumous 1983 album Confrontation. According to Wikipedia, the title and lyrics refer to the black U.S. cavalry regiments, known as “Buffalo Soldiers”, that fought in the Indian Wars after 1866. Marley linked their fight to a fight for survival, and recasts it as a symbol of black resistance.
The soulful Youngstown, Ohio native didn’t score very big in his home country. But, he had a big hit with this song in the U.K., where it peaked at #6. I like this song a lot. It has a “
Shalamar had limited success in the States, unfortunately. They should have been way bigger. But, our friends in the U.K. appreciated them! This song did do pretty well in the U.S., peaking at #22. But, it landed all the way up to #8 in the U.K. This was off of Shalamar’s album, The Look, which would be the final album with Jody Watley as part of the group as she would embark on a successful solo career.
Here is another song that was moderately successful in the States (charting at #30 on the Billboard Hot 100, #21 on the Soul singles chart and #4 on the Adult Contemporary chart), but shot up the charts in the U.K., peaking right here at #11.
There is almost no information out there about this song, and it is not available on Amazon. But, I really like this one a lot. The Truth released several singles before their debut album in 1985. And this was one of those songs. This actually sounds like a 1979/80 ELO song.
The synth-pop group followed up their smash hit, “What’s on Your Mind (Pure Energy)” with another Top 10 hit. In that previous song, they had sampled Leonard Nimoy’s voice from the Star Trek episode “Errand of Mercy”. In this song, they sampled William Shatner as James T. Kirk saying “It is useless to resist us” from the Star Trek episode, “Mirror, Mirror”, and James Doohan as Scotty saying “Let’s Go See!” from the Star Trek episode, “Wolf in the Fold”. They did not have any other top 10 hits after this song. Maybe they needed to sample Doctor McCoy saying “I’m a doctor, not a ____”.
Yes, Rick Astley had other songs besides “Never Gonna Give You Up” and “Together Forever”. Somebody better inform the ’80s radio stations and shows that are out there.
My second ’80s crush of this countdown! This was the first song released from Samantha’s third album, I Wanna Have Some Fun. I always loved her music. And 16-18 year old me really appreciated that every one of her songs at that time were about sex or love…but mostly sex. Pretty much the pop version of the band Kiss.
This was one of Sheena Easton’s biggest hits in the U.S., peaking at #2. After having a strong run throughout the early ’80s, this would be her final Top 10 hit. This song was written by Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, Antonio “L.A.” Reid and Daryl Simmons, who were quite the powerhouse at that time.
This awesome ballad would be Tiffany’s final Top 10 hit. I personally think she is very underrated. She has a very cool and unique voice, and puts a lot of emotion into her songs. And she is another ’80s artist who is still out there recording new music….most recently, 2018’s Pieces of Me.
Speaking of unique voices, here is another awesome power ballad. White Lion had a really good run in the late ’80s/early ’90s before they called it quits.
2-3-4!!! Bon Jovi was not slowing down one bit at this time. This was the 2nd single released from the New Jersey album, and was the 2nd of 5 Top 10 songs from that album alone. That was the most top 10 hits for any hard rock album.
Thanks Wikipedia for letting us know that the title is a reference to the phrase “doin’ the wild thing,” a euphemism for sex. Duh!!!! This song would peak at #2. It is a lot of fun. I do like rap with guitar and heavy drums. As usual, if a rap song has a great rock sound to it, that means it was stolen. In this case, it used an uncredited sample of Van Halen’s “Jamie’s Cryin'”. There was a lawsuit that was settled out of court.
This was the third song released from Paula Abdul’s Forever Your Girl album (after “Knocked Out” and “The Way That You Love Me”), but this is the one that shot her up to superstardom. This was the first week the song topped the charts, and would stay here for 3 weeks. She had a long string of hits in a short time after this. And the former Laker Girl already had a huge career as a choreographer in many, many music videos and blockbuster movies.
We’ll start off today’s songs with a little synth-pop action. There is no mistaking that this is an 80s song. Erasure had some awesome hits in the U.S. in the late 80s. And they were even bigger in the U.K., as they had 24 straight Top 40 hits there. And by 2009, 34 of their 37 chart-eligible singles and EPs had made the UK Top 40, with 17 climbing into the Top 10. They are still very active, and are constantly releasing new albums. The latest was 2018’s World Beyond.
This was the fourth single released from Taylor Dayne’s awesome debut album, Tell It to My Heart. This joins a list of songs about not rushing, such as this, “We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off”, and “Keep Your Hands to Yourself”.
2 years after the release of the legendary Hysteria album, Def Leppard was still dominating the charts. This was the sixth single released off of the album, and had landed at #3.
This is one of those songs that did not look familiar to me at all. But once I heard the chorus, it all came back to me. This is a cute, fun R&B song. It would peak at #13 on this chart, and it was a #1 hit on the Billboard R&B singles chart.
In a decade full of incredible duets, this was one of my favorites. It doesn’t hurt that it is Ann Wilson from Heart and Robin Zander from Cheap Trick that are singing it. Also, it was written by Richard Marx, who knows his way around a power ballad. This was featured on the soundtrack to the 1988 film Tequila Sunrise starring Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell.
The second boy band entry on today’s list. I hate to admit it, but this song is kind of catchy. And the New Kids are local to me, so I won’t trash them. You can’t argue with their success. But, I’d rather watch an episode of Blue Bloods, starring Donnie, instead. They have been touring in recent years, and it sounds like they have been very successful tours. If anybody is willing to admit that they have seen them, please let me know how they are singing these songs. I don’t know if it would be cool and fun, or just weird.
Off of the Rattle and Hum album, this is not one of my favorite U2 songs.
This was the lead single from Karyn White’s debut, self-titled album. Even though I was definitely more into rock in these days, I still liked Karyn White a lot for some reason. This song was written and produced by Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, Antonio “L.A.” Reid and Daryl Simmons, and it was the first of four Top 10 singles from Karyn White.
80s CRUSH ALERT!!!! This would be Debbie’s biggest hit, staying at the top of the charts for 3 straight weeks. This was the first single released from her Electric Youth album, ensuring that there would be no sophomore slump. And this was the third song on today’s list for the teen crowd.
This was the debut single for Edie Brickell & New Bohemians. This was the beginning of the end of the ’80s. It could have easily blended in with the ’90s and the singer/songwriters from that period.
This is the song that will live in music-world infamy, as it was the song that was playing when Milli Vanilli were exposed as lip synchers. Up to that point, they were wildly popular, and even won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist (which they had to return). The sin wasn’t just that they were lip synching, but they were lip synching to somebody else’s vocals. Milli Vanilli get all the attention for the scandal. But, what I want to know is, what ever happened to the real singers, and how ugly could they have been in order to not be allowed to be seen?! They had a lot of great hits, so you would think they would have come out of the shadows, and performed for real.
This song did not sound familiar at all to me. It was actually Breathe’s debut single. It was released in the UK in early 1986. However, it did not chart very high at all, peaking at #77. But, after Breathe’s international success with “Hands to Heaven” and “How Can I Fall?”, “Don’t Tell Me Lies” was reissued, and became much more successful the second time around. It would become their third top 10 hit in the U.S., peaking at #10.
This is a song that I had forgotten about, but remembered when I just started playing it. It sounds very similar to “Wild Wild West”. It would peak right here at #28.
This was the highest charting single of Rod Stewart’s awesome Out of Control album, peaking at #4. It had originally been written for Barbara Mandrell to cover, but Rod Stewart took it instead. This song also features Duran Duran and Power Station guitarist, Andy Taylor.
As the decade was coming to a close, Duran Duran’s sound started changing a bit. Some of it may be due to the musical climate, and some of it may also be that they were now without Andy Taylor. This was Warren Cuccurullo’s first full album with Duran Duran after Andy Taylor’s departure.
This is my favorite Guns N’ Roses tune. “Welcome to the Jungle” and “Sweet Child o’ Mine” rocked. But, they got way overplayed for me. But, I never got sick of this song at all. Each band member really stands out in this song.
Here is another song that I had forgotten about. I wish this got more airplay. It would be Steve Winwood’s fourth and final #1 hit on the Adult Contemporary chart, and would peak at #11 on this chart. The music video was directed by famed director, David Fincher.
This is the second time we see Bobby Brown this week. This is a slower tempo song. It would reach all the way up to #3. The song was written by Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds.
I bought the 45 of this song as soon as it was released. There was no need of that. You could not turn on the radio, or put on MTV, without hearing this song. I got so sick of this. This is another one that I like more now after I haven’t listened to it in a while. It was featured on the Buster soundtrack. Between this song, and “A Groovy Kind of Love” from that movie, I would have thought the movie would have been a smash hit. I don’t know a single person who has seen it, and I’m not even sure if it was released in the U.S.
This world-wide smash hit would top the U.S. charts next month. This is a very moving song, with Paul Carrack on vocals, as it addresses a son’s regret over unresolved conflict with his now-deceased father. It would be nominated for four Grammy awards in 1990, including Record and Song of the Year, as well as Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and Best Video.
Return to the 80s 