Hey Everybody! Welcome back to this week’s Top 40 Countdown! If you missed the previous songs, you can go back and check out songs 40-31, 30-21 and 20-11. When I began this week, I had no idea that this would be one of the best, if not THE best countdown I’ve covered so far. Let’s see if this streak continues today. Let’s Return to the week ending January 19, 1985, and wrap up the countdown.
We start the top 10 with one of the most iconic sax riffs of the ’80s. This is one of the few Wham! songs co-written by Andrew Ridgeley (the other member of Wham!, kids).
One of the most patriotic songs ever. Right President Reagan. Only if you consider a song about how Vietnam veterans were mistreated, to be patriotic. Oops.
One of my favorite Pat Benatar songs. It was the lead single off of her Tropico album and earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
Madonna was at the top of her game here as one of the biggest ’80s icons.
Well that wraps up this week’s countdown. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have. Until next time, Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars.
Welcome back as the countdown continues. If you missed the first 10 songs, you can go back and check them out. In the early ’80s, radio was quite diverse. Disco was still winding down, and there were a lot of singer/songwriter, rock, and pop tunes. In the late ’80s, the Top 40 countdowns were still diverse. There was a good combination of pop, rock, and R&B. And today’s list is no exception. So, let’s go back to the good ole days, and Return to the week ending August 8, 1987, and go on with the countdown.
Often imitated, but never duplicated! This pioneering female freestyle group had an incredible start, landing four top 10 hits from their debut album, Exposure. And this was one of them.
Often, the question comes up, Can you name a song with the same name as its artist? This, Night Ranger, and Danger Danger are always my go-to’s. This song has that classic ’80s pop sound.
We wrap up today with a classy song. This song was written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager. I love both Dionne Warwick’s and Jeffrey Osborne’s voices. And together, they sound great.
Well, we’re halfway through the countdown. What do you think so far? Do you have any favorites, or are there any surprises that you had forgotten about? Let me know.
I see you on the street and you walk on by
You make me want to hang my head down and cry
If you gave me half a chance you’d see
My desire burning inside of me
Last Song: “This Time” by Bryan Adams from Cuts Like a Knife (1983)
Great job Jim (@JimVilk)!!! I think about her all the time
She’s my fantasy
An image burnin’ in my mind
Callin’ out to me
Welcome back as we continue the countdown! If you missed the previous articles, you can check out songs 40-31, 30-21, and 20-11. Well, this has been an incredible week of music – especially the previous 10 songs. And now we have reached the top 10, which has some more classic music I think you’ll enjoy. So, let’s Return to the week ending May 28, 1983, and find out what were the biggest hits that week.
Next up is another song from a debut album of an ’80s powerhouse. This song was the second single released from Culture Club’s Kissing to Be Clever album (after “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me“). This song is one of my favorite Culture Club songs.
Easily my favorite Branigan tune! I love all her music, but this is #1 for me. What an incredible talent she was. I was so upset when she died on August 26, 2004. This song was the lead single from the Branigan 2 album. This debuted on the charts the same week her breakthrough hit, “Gloria“, dropped off the charts.
Once again, we have another classic ’80s tune. This was Thomas Dolby’s only top 40 hit in the U.S. It peaked right here at #5. One more thing before we move on to the next song. Science!
Men At Work were extremely hot in the early ’80s. This was in the heart of their big run. The second single from their second album, Cargo, would peak at #3.
I think everybody here may have possibly heard of this song, maybe. We all know that Eddie Van Halen famously plays the guitar solo here. But, you may not know this fun fact: there were a few members of Toto who played on this song – Steve Lukather (guitar, bass guitar), Steve Porcaro (synthesizer), and Jeff Porcaro (drums).
Now it’s the part of the countdown where we see what was topping the other charts this week:
This song was my introduction to David Bowie. Bowie has always reinvented himself. This was during his pop period. I liked this song a lot, and there are so many great songs on the Let’s Dance album, that I like even more.
We have now arrived at the #1 song this week. And what a way to end! My big ’80s crush – Irene Cara. This is her signature song, but she has so many other great ones that get overlooked. I love her voice and music. Even though this song gets all the airplay, I still love it.
Well that wraps up this week’s countdown. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have. I’m going to try to keep this going next week by Returning to the year that The Empire Strikes Back came out. Then the following week – the week the new Star Wars movie is coming out – we are going to Return to (yes we’re going there) 1977! So, that’s something to look forward to. In the meantime, Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars.