Can you name the artist and song:
Someone’s always tryin’
To start my baby cryin’
Talkin’, squealin’, lyin’
Last Song: “Rock Me Tonite” by Billy Squier from Signs of Life (1984)
Great job Adora (@Adora2000) and Erwin (@erwin_green)!!!
Breathe an emotion, set it dancin’ in my ear
Bring on the rhythm when I hold you near
Can you name the artist and song:
Take your passion
And make it happen
Last Song: “Christmas Is The Time To Say I Love You” by Billy Squier (single only) (1981)
Memories of the year that lays behind us
Wishes for the year that’s yet to come
And it stands to reason that good friends in season
Make you feel that life has just begun
If you’d like to get this song from Amazon, click on the album cover below:
Can you name the artist and song:
If you wanna see other guys
Baby, I could let it slide
Last Song: “Everybody Wants You” by Billy Squier from Emotions in Motion (1982)
Great job Adora (@Adora2000)!!!
You see ’em coming at you every night
Strung on pretension, they fall for you at first sight
If you’d like to get this song from Amazon, click on the album cover below:
Can you name the artist and song:
But now is a new time
There is a new place
Where dreams just can’t come true
It started the day when I left you
Last song: “The Stroke” by Billy Squier from Don’t Say No (1981)
Great job sweetpurplejune and Joel (@jeverson21)!!!
Do your fancy dances
You can’t stop
If you’d like to get this song from Amazon, you can click on the album cover below
Welcome back to another week of some Top 40 music! This time, we Return all the way back to 35 years ago this week. Christmas season had just started, and I was 12 years old. I was past the age of getting kids toys. Instead, it was a time of home video games (in my case, Intellivision), and music. Instead of listening to my parents’ albums, I was beginning to get my own music. I would get cassettes for my birthday and Christmas, and I was constantly listening to the radio. So, the songs this week really bring me back. I hope you feel the same. So let’s Return to the week ending November 27, 1982, and begin this week’s Top 40 countdown.
This was the Australian group’s first number one single in their home country, spending 6 weeks at the top of the charts. It was so successful, that it came over to the U.S., and became a hit there too.
That will wrap things up today. We will continue on with the countdown tomorrow. Where were you at this point in 1982? Did you have any favorite songs here?
Follow @returntothe80sCan you name the artist and song/lyrics:
I wonder where you are
I wonder if you
Think about me
Once upon a time
In ____ _______ ______
Last Song: “Everybody Wants You” by Billy Squier from the album Emotions in Motion (1982)
Great job Scooter (@sneely71)!!!
You crave attention, you can never say “no”
Throw your affections anyway the wind blows
Hi Everybody! Welcome back to this week’s Top 40 Countdown. Today, we will cover songs 20-11. If you missed the previous songs, you can go back and check out songs 40-31, 30-21. and 20-11.
I don’t know about you, but I think this has been a fantastic week of music so far. And I’m sure you will all enjoy the top 10 this week! Once again, if you want to listen to the song, just click on the song title. Now let’s Return to the week ending September 25, 1982, and wrap up the countdown.
This song was the lead single off of Donna Summer’s self-titled 1982 album. The album was produced by Quincy Jones, and Jones and Rod Temperton who wrote Micahel Jackson’s “Rock with You”, were also the writers on this song.
Great, classic rock song by John Cougar (pre-Mellencamp). This song, off of his American Fool album, could not quite grab the top spot, as it peaked at #2.
A great song associated with a great movie – Fast Times at Ridgemont High. This was the highest-charting single of Browne’s career, topping out at #7. It would also be his last Top 10 single. But, what a way to go out!
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We now arrive at the debut of Men at Work. This was their first hit, off of their debut album, Business as Usual. This song was inspired by Colin Hay having been hounded by bill collectors prior to making it big.
Now, time for som Prog Rock. I love this song. It really brings me back to the early ’80s. The heart of the band was Alan Parsons (duh) and Eric Woolfson. Other than that, they brought in session musicians. Before they started the band, Alan Parsons was an assistant engineer for the Beatles’ last two albums, Abbey Road and Let It Be, and in 1973 he engineered Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. Not too shabby!
Perhaps best known for her 1978 hit, “Don’t Cry Out Loud”, this song was Melissa Manchester’s biggest hit. It peaked right here at #5 this week. It earned Manchester the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for the year 1982, besting nominated performances by superstars Linda Ronstadt and Olivia Newton-John as well as Juice Newton and Laura Branigan. Quite a feat. Another cool fact about this song is that two members from the band Toto played on this song – Steve Lukather (guitar) and Jeff Porcaro (drums).
This began my love of the band Survivor. “Eye of the Tiger” was easily my favorite song at the time. As much as I love Rocky III, this song made it even better.
It’s so crazy that Survivor is one of my all-time favorite bands, and Jimi Jamison, the band’s lead singer through most of the ’80s, had followed me on Twitter before he died. And what’s just as amazing is that Survivor’s original lead singer (who also performed this song), Dave Bickler, also follows me. Aaaand we have interacted!
So we interacted, AND he is recording new music! 12 year old me would have never thought that this would happen.
This was Chicago’s big comeback. They had not had a hit since 1978’s “No Tell Lover”. The Chicago 16 album was Chicago’s first album with Warner Bros. Records, and their first with legendary producer, David Foster. They changed their sound, and became commercially successful again.
Before we get to the top 2 songs of the week, let’s check out what was topping some of the other charts this week:
The Number-One Country tune was one we have already seen in this countdown – “What’s Forever For” by Michael Martin Murphey
Topping the R&B charts was another song we’ve already seen in this countdown – “Jump to It” by Aretha Franklin
The rockingest song in the country this week was “Everybody Wants You” by Billy Squier
Number one on the Dance charts was “Love Come Down” by Evelyn King
And the number one Album this week contains 2 songs that are in the Top 10 this week – John Cougar’s American Fool
We already heard one song in this top 10 from John Cougar. Now it’s time for a little ditty about Jack & Diane. This was Cougar’s biggest hit, topping the chart for 4 weeks. John said that the clapping in this song wasn’t supposed to be included in the finished song. It was recorded with the clapping in order to help keep tempo and then it was to be removed. However, he realized the song did not work without it.
We finish the countdown with The Steve Miller Band, which may be great news to some. However, The Steve Miller Band is one of those bands that I can’t quite warm up to. Being a rock fan, I guess I’m supposed to like them. But, I can only enjoy their songs for about a minute before I lose interest. This song isn’t horrible though, so it definitely does not ruin a great week of music.
Well that wraps up this week’s countdown. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have. I know these countdowns are popular, so I will try to do them more often. Hopefully, it won’t be long before we see the next one.
In the meantime, Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars.
Rocktober continues!! Can you name this Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominated artist 😉 and song:
When I’m alone in my room sometimes I stare at the wall
and in the back of my mind I hear my conscience call
Last Song: “The Stroke” by Billy Squier
Great job Cooly!!
Follow @returntothe80sCan you name the artist and song and complete the lyrics:
Love’s the only thing that keeps me here
You’re the reason that I’m hanging on
My heart’s staying _____ __ _____ _______
Last Song: “Everybody Wants You” by Billy Squier
Great job Kickin’ it Old School (@OldSchool80s)
Never miss a play, though you make quite a few
You give it all away when Everybody Wants You
Return to the 80s 