Tag Archives: Surface

1987, Artists, General, Music, Top 40

Top 40 Songs This Week: August 8, 1987 – Songs 40-31

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It’s been far too long. At long last, we Return to the Top 40 countdown. This week, we’ll go back 30 years, and see what the 40 most popular songs were. At this time, I was getting ready to start my senior year of high school. I have a ton of great memories, and I loved the music back then. So, let’s Return to August 8, 1987, and check out songs 40-31 today. You can click on the song title to watch the video, and you can click on the album cover to buy/listen to the song from Amazon.

40. “Didn’t We Almost Have It All” by Whitney Houston


She did have it all, then lost it. And we lost one of the greatest voices of our generation. This is a beautiful, sad song.

39. “Wipe Out” by The Fat Boys and The Beach Boys


For all the haters of Beach Boy ’80s songs, I bet you’re begging for Kokomo now!

38. “Funkytown” by Pseudo Echo


In my opinion, this is one cover song that is as good as the original. This version is a little more rock than disco.

37. “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” by Michael Jackson and Siedah Garrett


A much overlooked tune from Jackson’s Bad album. A very nice duet.

36. “Mary’s Prayer” by Danny Wilson


No, Danny Wilson is not a person. It is a Scottish pop group. This is one of those songs that I had forgotten about until I just heard it for the first time in a while.

35. “Happy” by Surface


Finally, a Happy song I approve of! This R&B tune is way better than Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”, which is a million times better than the recent song “Happy” by Pharrell.

34. “Here I Go Again” by Whitesnake


When you hear the words ’80s Rock, this is one of the first songs that come to mind. Great song, and great video. So many of us teenage boys really wanted to be that car.

33. “Since You’ve Been Gone” by The Outfield


Future candidate of the Return to the ’80s podcast’s segment, ‘Play This, Not That.’ Sure, “Your Love” is a great song, but The Outfield has many other great songs, which never get played. This was one of them. It reached #11 and never gets played.

32. “Give to Live” by Sammy Hagar


This hit was off of the Red Rocker’s album I Never Said Goodbye, his only solo album released while he was with Van Halen. This is one of my favorites by him.

31. “Don’t Disturb This Groove” by The System


I love me some late ’80s R&B, and this is no exception.

And unfortunately, I will have to disturb this groove by stopping the countdown for today. We will be back with songs 30-21.

What do you think of this countdown so far? What were you doing this week in 1987? I’d love to hear from you.

1989, Artists, Music, Top 40

Top 40 Songs This Week – March 25, 1989: Songs 10-1

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Hi Everybody! Welcome back to this week’s countdown! If you missed the previous posts, you can check out songs 40-31, 30-21, and 20-11. Well, there are no more hair bands the rest of the way. But, we do have some of the best ballads of the year right here in this top 10. Now, let’s Return to the week ending March 25, 1989, and wrap up the countdown.

10. “You’re Not Alone” by Chicago


This is one of my favorite songs on the great album that is Chicago 19. I love Bill Champlin’s vocals in every song he does.

“You’re Not Alone” on Amazon

9. “Roni” by Bobby Brown

Bobby Brown was white hot at this time. This ballad was the third single released from his incredible Don’t Be Cruel album. This hit, written by Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, would peak at #3 on the Hot 100.

“Roni” on Amazon

8. “Walk the Dinosaur” by Was (Not Was)


Boom boom acka-lacka lacka boom
Boom boom acka-lacka boom boom
 Oh man, I feel like I shouldn’t like this song, but I think it’s so much fun. I do like a lot of funk songs though. And this song does stay with you. Now, Open the door, get on the floor /
Everybody walk the dinosaur

“Walk the Dinosaur” on Amazon

Now is the part of the countdown where we see what was topping some of the other charts this week:

The #1 Country song was “New Fool at an Old Game” by Reba McEntire.

Topping the R&B chart was “Closer Than Friends” by Surface.

“I’ll Be You” by The Replacements topped the Rock charts (not to be confused with “I’ll Be There For You” by The Rembrandts).

The top Adult Contemporary tune was our #16 hit on the Hot 100 – “You Got It” by Roy Orbison.

The best album in the country this week was Electric Youth by Debbie Gibson.

Finally, the #1 Dance song is our #7 song on the Hot 100 this week…

7. “She Drives Me Crazy” by The Fine Young Cannibals

I never cared for this song. It got so much airplay that it drove me crazy. But, if given the choice to listen to this either song, or most current songs on the radio today, I would pick this one.

“She Drives Me Crazy” on Amazon

6. “Lost In Your Eyes” by Debbie Gibson

Even though my music taste leans heavily towards rock, I have never hidden my love for Debbie Gibson on this site. This is her signature hit. Even people, who look down on her, do like this song. This had been a #1 hit for three straight weeks.

Lost In Your Eyes on Amazon

5. “My Heart Can’t Tell You No” by Rod Stewart

Since it seems like all Rod Stewart has done for well over a decade was release his Great American Songbook series, I always forget how good he really is. His 1988 album, Out of Order, is outstanding. This song, from that album, is a nice ballad and was the highest charting song from that album. It peaked at #4.

“My Heart Can’t Tell You No” on Amazon

4. “The Look” by Roxette

I love this Swedish duo so much!! This song was their global breakthrough hit. It would hit number 1 in several countries, including the U.S. This is a really good rock song from Roxette’s awesome Look Sharp! album.

“The Look” on Amazon

3. “Girl You Know It’s True” by Milli Vanilli


This was a huge pop hit at the time. I didn’t hate it, but it’s not something I would be able to listen to on a regular basis. This was the song that exposed Milli Vanilli as lip synchers. While “performing” this song at a concert in Connecticut, the album began skipping and repeating on the same lyric. This was a huge scandal at the time, which destroyed Milli Vanilli. If this happened today, it would be called just another Friday.

“Girl You Know It’s True” on Amazon

2. “Eternal Flame” by The Bangles


This classic love ballad is one of The Bangles’ signature songs. With this song and “Walk Like an Egyptian“, the Bangles became only the third girl group to score multiple number-ones in the United States, after the Supremes and the Shirelles.

“Eternal Flame” on Amazon

1. “The Living Years” by Mike + The Mechanics

What a way to finish the countdown! This is easily my favorite song by Mike + The Mechanics, and one of my favorite songs of the decade. Paul Carrack sings lead vocals on the song. This is an emotional song about a tumultuous father/son relationship and the son’s regret of the unresolved issues after his father died. After all, It’s too late when we die / To admit we don’t see eye to eye

The lyrics are great and the music is great.

“The Living Years” on Amazon

Well, that wraps up this week’s countdown. I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane. The next countdown will be earlier in the decade to more of the classic ’80s music we all know and love. Until then, Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars.