Tag Archives: Joe Cocker

1983, Artists, Music, Top 40

Top 40 Songs This Week (UK Edition) – March 6, 1983: Songs 20-11

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The countdown continues! If you missed the previous songs, you can go back and check out songs 40-31 and 30-21. Today, there are plenty more songs that I’m not familiar with, and a couple of songs I know, which both happen to be duets. As usual, you can click on the song title to see the YouTube video, and you can click on the album cover if you would like to get the song from Amazon. Now, let’s Return to the weeke of March 6, 1983, and continue this week’s U.K. countdown!

20. “Genetic Engineering” by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

This song peaked right here at #20, ending the band’s run of four consecutive Top 10 hits in the UK. If the synthesized talking sounds familiar to you, it is taken from a Speak & Spell. Even though this is totally different from “If You Leave”, I like this.

 

19. “Up Where We Belong” by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes

This song, from the film An Officer and a Gentleman, was a world wide smash hit. With this song, Cocker and Warnes were awarded the Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. This song won also both the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.

 

18. “High Life” by Modern Romance

This song makes me want to party on a tropical vacation.

 

 

 

17. “Hey Little Girl” by Icehouse

This song by the Australian group, Icehouse, peaked right here at #17. It was also a top 40 hit in the U.S. peaking at #31. I was not into New Wave back then, so this never crossed my radar.

 

 

16. “Change” by Tears for Fears

This was the band’s fourth single. It would eventually become the second hit from their debut LP The Hurting and second UK Top 5 chart hit. This is one of those songs that I didn’t think I knew, but remembered it when I just played it now.

 

15. “Get the Balance Right!” by Depeche Mode

This was the seventh single released by new wave legends, Depeche Mode. This is another song that I would not have cared for back in the day, but I love it now.

 

 

14. “She Means Nothing to Me” by Phil Everly and Cliff Richard

Cool song by two old school legends.The late Phil Everly was one of The Everly Brothers, and Cliff Richard was having a great career until The Beatles exploded on the scene. But he had a strong comeback later on. Cliff Richard is the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart history, behind the Beatles and Elvis Presley.

 

13. “The Tunnel of Love” by Fun Boy Three

Very cool song! Fun Boy Three never made it big in the U.S., and were only around for a few years. But, they sound really good.

 

 

12. “Communication” by Spandau Ballet

I totally forgot about this one! I guess that can happen when the only song radio stations have been playing for the past 35 years is “True”. This was a top 20 hit in the U.S. as well. and it is way better than “True”!

 

11. “Baby Come to Me” by Patti Austin and James Ingram

Here’s one we all know! Upon it’s initial release, this song topped out at #73 on the U.S. charts. Then the song became the love theme for the character Luke Spencer on the popular daytime soap General Hospital. The song then became a #1 hit in the U.S., as well as a worldwide hit. It peaked right here at #11 in the U.K.

That wraps up today’s list of songs. I loved today’s countdown! What will tomorrow bring? Come back tomorrow, and find out what the biggest hits in the U.K. were this week in 1983. I guarantee you will know at least 1 song that will be in the top 10. Just look at the time period, and you know what album had been out.

1982, Artists, Music, Top 40

Top 40 Songs This Week – November 27, 1982: Songs 10-1

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Welcome back to this week’s Top 40 Countdown!!! If you missed the previous songs, you can go ahead and check out songs 40-31, 30-21 and 20-11. We are down to our top 10 songs. We have some true classic songs coming up, so let’s get to it. Let’s Return to the week ending November 27, 1982, and wrap up this week’s countdown.

10. “Muscles” by Diana Ross

This song earned Diana Ross her twelfth Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. Oh BTW, this was written and produced by someone you may or may not heard of – Michael Jackson.

 

9. “The Girl is Mine” by Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney

Speaking of Michael Jackson, this was the first single released from his up and coming album, Thriller. At least he got the worst song out of the way! It wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t for all that yapping at the end.

 

8. “Steppin’ Out” by Joe Jackson

Love this song by Joe Jackson! It peaked at #4, and was Jackson’s highest charting hit in the U.S. This song received a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year in 1983 but lost to “Rosanna” by Toto, which is fine by me.

 

7. “Maneater” by Daryl Hall and John Oates

This song, from Hall & Oates’ eleventh studio album, H2O, was a smash hit, hitting #1 and staying there for four straight weeks. This was a staple on MTV.

 

 

6. “Mickey” by Toni Basil

This iconic ’80s tune was Toni Basil’s only hit. But, boy was it ever a hit, reaching the top of the charts. The legendary Cheerleader video is considered the very first choreographed dance video.

 

5. “Heartlight” by Neil Diamond

Unfortunately, I am all too familiar with this song. My mom is the biggest Neil Diamond fan, so this was my life. I do like his early stuff a lot. But, I didn’t care much for his easy listening music. This song was written by Diamond, Carole Bayer Sager and her then-husband Burt Bacharach. They were inspired by the blockbuster movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which Diamond, Bayer Sager and Bacharach had all seen together.

 

4. “Up Where We Belong” by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes

This classic duet is from the film, An Officer and a Gentleman (which I have yet to see). The movie’s producer, Don Simpson, demanded “Up Where We Belong” be cut from An Officer and a Gentleman, saying, “The song is no good. It isn’t a hit.” (Sounds like a Trump tweet. Oh shit, here come the comments and emails!). It’s a good thing Simpson was a movie producer, and not a music producer. The song was a #1 hit in the US for three weeks, won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and the Academy Award for Best Original Song. It also won the BAFTA Film Awards for Best Original Song in 1984. Cocker and Warnes also won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1983.

3. “Heart Attack” by Olivia Newton-John

This is one of those new songs that was placed on a Greatest Hits album. And this song definitely belongs there! I love this ONJ song! It was the first single released off of Olivia’s Greatest Hits Vol. 2, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

 

2. “Gloria” by Laura Branigan

I have always loved Laura Branigan’s voice, and I had a huge crush on her. I was devastated when she died in 2004 from a brain aneurysm. This was Branigan’s signature song. It peaked right here at #2, and remained her for three weeks.

 

1. “Truly” by Lionel Richie

“Hello” seems to get all the love out of Lionel Richie’s ballads. But, this one is my favorite. This was also Richie’s debut solo single. It was the first single released off of his self-titled debut album. The song won a Grammy Award for Richie in the category Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. Not a shabby start for a solo career.

That wraps up this week’s countdown. I hope you enjoyed it. Did you have any favorite songs this week? Are there any that you got sick of hearing? I’d love to hear from you. Until next time, Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.

R.I.P

R.I.P. Joe Cocker (May 20, 1944 – December 22, 2014)

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Rock icon, Joe Cocker, died today at the age of 70 after a battle with lung cancer. He came into prominence in 1968 with his groundbreaking remake of the Beatles’ “With a Little Help from My Friends,” followed by his legendary performance of the song at Woodstock.

But, most of us younger folks (I love saying that) first heard of Joe Cocker from his classic duet with Jennifer Warnes – “Up Where We Belong.” The song was featured on the soundtrack for the movie, An Officer and a Gentleman. It became an international smash hit, and won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo, as well as an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Joe Cocker even came into our living rooms through our television sets in beginning in 1988, as his classic “With a Little Help from My Friends” was the theme song for The Wonder Years.

In a BBC article, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr said it all:

Sir Paul said he would be “forever grateful” to Cocker for turning With A Little Help From My Friends into a “soul anthem”.

The former Beatle said: “I knew him through the years as a good mate and I was so sad to hear that he had been ill and really sad to hear today that he had passed away.

“He was a great guy, a lovely guy who brought so much to the world and we’ll all miss him.”

Other musicians to have paid tribute to Cocker include Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, who tweeted: “Goodbye and God bless to Joe Cocker.”