Tag Archives: Whitney Houston

1988, Artists, Music, Top 40

Top 40 This Week – Week Ending November 5, 1988: Songs 10-1

5 Comments

Welcome back, as we wrap up this week’s Top 40 Countdown! This brought back a lot of fond memories for me. And I do love how there was quite a few different genres represented throughout this whole countdown. So, let’s Return to the week ending November 5, 1988, and see what were the most popular songs in the country

10. “What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy)” by Information Society

Awesome song that has that eary-mid ’80s sound. And yes that’s Leonard Nimoy’s voice as Mr. Spock from the Star Trek episode “Errand of Mercy”, which was the first time we saw the Klingons in the Star Trek universe.

 

9. “Red Red Wine” by UB40

Wow, my two least favorite ’80s songs are both on the same countdown! First there was “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”. And now there’s this Neil Diamond cover.

 

 

8. “Desire” by U2

Awesome rocker, which was U2’s first single off their Rattle and Hum album. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

 

7. “Never Tear Us Apart” by INXS

If you noticed that the last three bands in this countdown have an abbreviation/acronym as a band name, welcome to my brain.

 

 

6. “One Moment In Time” by Whitney Houston

It is in the middle of Fall, and this 1988 Olympic theme song is still going strong.

 

 

 

5. “Bad Medicine” by Bon Jovi

After Slippery When Wet launched Bon Jovi in the stratosphere, they did not let up, as they followed up with the incredible New Jersey album, with “Bad Medicine” as the lead single.

 

4. “The Loco-Motion” by Kylie Minoque

Kylie Minogue was the third act to make this song a top 5 hit, starting with LIttle Eva in 1962 and Grand Funk Railroad in 1974. This song was a locomotion for Minogue, as it started as a hit in her home country of Australia. Then it made it’s way to Europe and Asia, then came to the U.S. and Canada.

 

3. “Groovy Kind of Love” by Phil Collins

We have another cover here, as Phil Collins recorded this Mindbenders 1965/66 hit for the Buster movie soundtrack. Between this song, and “Two Hearts”, you would think the movie was going to be a blockbuster. However, I still haven’t seen it, and I don’t know anybody who ever has.

 

2. “Wild, Wild West” by The Escape Club

This song would go on to be a number one hit next week. The Escape Club the only British artist to have a No. 1 hit in the United States while never charting in the UK.

 

1. “Kokomo” by The Beach Boys

I think we can track the division in the country back to this song. I personally think it’s a fun song, although I did get very sick of it. But, a lot of people had this extreme hatred of this song. And seeing John Stamos on drums really sent them over the edge! This song would be their last hit on the Hot 100.

Well that wraps up the Top 40 this week. I hope you enjoyed it! The next time, we will hop back across the pond to the U.K. In the meantime, Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars.

1987, Artists, Music, Top 40

Top 40 Songs This Week (UK Edition) – July 12, 1987: Songs 10-1

Leave a comment

Welcome back as we conclude this week’s countdown! It has been fun getting back into this. There are some classic songs in this top 10. Again, you can click on the album cover to get the song from Amazon, and you can click on the song title to watch the video on YouTube. WARNING: If you click on the #3 song title, you can’t unsee or unhear that song! Now, let’s Return to the U.K. for the week ending July 12, 1987, and wrap up this week’s countdown!

10. “Misfit” by Curiosity Killed the Cat”

This has that classic 80s British pop sound. And yes, that is Andy Warhol in the video doing an impersonation of Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues”.

 

 

9. “You’re the Voice” by John Farnham

This is my favorite song of the countdown by far! I cannot believe that this didn’t even chart in the U.S. I had never heard of it until I bought Heart’s The Road Home album (1995). I instantly fell in love with the song, and looked more into it, and found out that it was an ’80s song by Australia’s John Farnham. There are several versions of this song, and every one of them is really good.

 

8. “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” by Whitney Houston

Whitney was beloved all over the world. It still breaks my heart whenever I hear her music. What a talent.

 

 

 

7. “Always” by Atlantic Starr

If you were to pick the top wedding songs of the ’80s, this would be on the list. This song hit #1 on all of the U.S. charts, and it landed at #3 in the U.K.

 

 

6. “My Pretty One” by Cliff Richard

This song was the lead single off of Richard’s Always Guaranteed album. I like all of his songs when they appear on these countdowns, yet I still don’t own anything by him. I’ll have to rectify that. Or at least add him to some of my Spotify playlists.

 

5. “The Living Daylights” by a-ha

ha. a-ha. Yes, they had more than one hit song! Pretty good James Bond theme, and the first James Bond film to star Timothy Dalton.

 

 

4. “Wishing Well” by Terence Trent D’arby

This is one of those songs that I hated back in the day, but I appreciate it more now. I’m not loving it, but I like it a little bit more now.

 

 

3. “Star Trekkin'” by The Firm

3 words – What the Fuck?!?!?!

 

 

 

 

2. “Under the Boardwalk” by Bruce Willis

For an actor jumping into the music business, Bruce Willis is actually pretty respectable. This is a good cover of The Drifters’ 1964 hit.

 

 

1. “It’s a Sin” by Pet Shop Boys

A great way to finish the Top 40! This happens to be my favorite song by the British synthpop duo. it was a top 10 hit in the U.S., but was #1 in the U.K. for three weeks.

 

 

That wraps up this week’s U.K. countdown! I hope you enjoyed it. The next one will be back at stateside. In the meantime, Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars.

1986, Artists, Music, Top 40

Top 40 Songs This Week – April 5, 1986: Songs 30-21

Leave a comment

Welcome back as we continue the countdown! If you missed the previous songs, you can go back and check out songs 40-31. This has been a good countdown so far. So let’s Return to the week ending April 5, 1986, and continue the countdown.

30. “Overjoyed” by Stevie Wonder

I prefer Stevie Wonder’s music from the ’70s, but this is a pretty song. Love his voice!

 

 

 

29. “American Storm” by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band

This is one of my favorite Bob Seger songs. This is one of those misunderstood songs. It is not a patriotic song. It is about cocaine abuse. In an interview with the New York Times, Seger said, “I wrote it after reading ‘Wired,’ Bob Woodward’s biography of John Belushi. That was two and a half years ago, when there was a lot of publicity about cocaine abuse in show business. At the time, I thought that it was just a trend that would quickly die out and that the song would be out of date when it came time to record. But the situation has gotten worse. Maybe cocaine isn’t quite as fashionable on the East and West Coasts these days, but the plague has spread into the heartland — into the Middle West and the South. The key line in ‘American Storm’ is ‘You never feel the need.’ You never feel anything when you’re on drugs. You’re numb. You’re afraid to feel for one reason or another, and that’s why you turn to drugs. I want to see people not do that.”

 

28. “No Easy Way Out” by Robert Tepper

A great song from one of my favorite soundtracks – Rocky IV. And you know it’s good because it was featured in a Rocky training montage in the film.

27. “So Far Away” by Dire Straits

I’m not the biggest Dire Straits fan, so I wouldn’t mind if this song moved so far away from me.

 

 

 

26. “How Will I Know” by Whitney Houston

On the other hand, I loved Whitney. She could do no wrong with me in the ’80s. I wish that she did know that crack is indeed wack. One of our great artists gone way too soon.

 

 

 

25. “Kyrie” by Mr. Mister

Mr. Mister’s follow-up to the smash hit, “Broken Wings”, was another #1 smash hit. They did have two other U.S. top 40 hits after this, but nobody remembers those.

 

 

 

24. “I Think It’s Love” by Jermaine Jackson

I don’t remember this song. Not one of my favorite Jermaine tunes, but it’s OK.

 

 

 

23. “Your Love” by The Outfield

The Outfield has other great songs that rarely get played. However, despite the fact that I’ve heard this song a few million times in my life, I still love it.

 

 

 

22. “Sanctify Yourself” by Simple Minds

If only this song was also featured in a John Hughes film like their other hit song.

 

 

 

21. “What Have You Done For Me Lately” by Janet Jackson

I loved Janet Jackson. But, whenever I hear this song, this is the first thing that comes to mind [keep in mind that this is Eddie Murphy. So if you’re listening at work, make sure your headphones don’t pop out]:

 

 

That wraps up today’s list of songs. I’m really liking this countdown so far! What do you think. Do you have any favorite songs so far. Any surprises you forgot about? Come back tomorrow as we continue the countdown!

1986, Artists, Music, Top 40

Top 40 Songs This Week – April 5, 1986: Songs 40-31

Leave a comment

Welcome to a new week of Top 40 music! This week, we are back to the U.S. charts. This week, we are hopping in the Delorian, and heading to 1986. At this time in 1986, I was beginning to head towards the end of my Sophomore year of high school. Academically, this was a horrible time for me. But, there was great music, TV, and movies to help get me by.
As usual, if you want to listen to the song/watch the video, you can click on the song title. If you want to purchase or listen to the song on Amazon, you can click on the album cover. Now, let’s Return to the week ending April 5, 1986, and start the countdown!

40. “Greatest Love At All” by Whitney Houston

This cover of George Benson’s 1977 hit enters the Top 40 this week. This would be one of many iconic Whitney songs.

 

 

39. “I Can’t Wait” by Nu Shooz

Time to hit the dance floor!

 

 

 

38. “Something About You” by Level 42

Level 42 had about 42 top 40 hits in the U.K. OK, I may be exaggerating a bit. They actually had 20, but 42 would have been cooler. However, in the U.S., they only had 2 hits in the U.S., with this being the first. Maybe we’ll catch more Level 42 songs when we head back to the U.K.

 

37. “I Do What I Do… (Theme From “9-1/2 Weeks”)” by John Taylor & Jonathan Elias

This song, from the soundtrack of 9 1/2 Weeks, which starred Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke, was John Taylor’s first solo singing performance during Duran Duran’s hiatus.

 

36. “For America” by Jackson Browne

I had never heard this song. It is a pretty good rocker. And it could be just as appropriate today as it was 32 years ago.

 

 

35. “If You Leave” by Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark

Iconic ’80s tune from an iconic ’80s movie – Pretty in Pink.

 

 

 

34. “Saturday Love” by Cherrelle & Alexander O’Neal

Here is another music discovery for me. I’m loving this R&B hit!

 

 

33. “Bad Boy” by Miami Sound Machine featuring Gloria Estefan

This was Miami Sound Machine and Gloria Estefan’s second English language hit, after “Conga”. This was the beginning of a long string of hits for Gloria Estefan.

 

 

32. “Live is Life” by Opus

Totally forgot about this one, from the Austrian group, Opus! na na na-na-na
The band name makes me miss the comic strip, “Bloom County”

31. “Take Me Home” by Phil Collins

Is it me, or does it seem like every released Phil Collins tune – either solo, or with Genesis – was iconic?

 

 

 

Well that wraps up today’s list of songs. Not too shabby! Come back tomorrow as we continue the countdown!

1987, Artists, Music, Top 40

Top 40 Songs This Week: August 8, 1987 – Songs 20-11

2 Comments

Welcome back everybody! If you missed the previous songs, you can check out songs 40-31 and 30-21. I don’t know about you, but I’m loving the countdown this week! And as usual, if you want to watch/listen to the YouTube video, you can click on the song title. If you’d like to listen to/purchase this song from Amazon, you can click onthe album cover. Now let’s Return to the week ending August 8, 1987, and continue the countdown!

20. “Seven Wonders” by Fleetwood Mac


I love all of Fleetwood Mac’s stuff, no matter who’s singing. But, Stevie Nicks is definitely my favorite. She takes the lead on this awesome song from Mac’s final studio album with the classic lineup, Tango in the Night.

19. “It’s Not Over (‘Til It’s Over)” by Starship


This is my favorite Starship song. And just as Fleetwood Mac had come out with their final album with the classic lineup, No Protection was Starship’s final album with Grace Slick. So, I guess it was over for her.

18. “Kiss Him Goodbye” by the Nylons


I had never heard this version of the song in my life, and I never heard of this group. But, I’m loving this! This a cappella group covers the classic Steam song, “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye,” here. And I think they do a helluva job!

17. “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” by Whitney Houston


This is Whitney’s second entry this week. This song was the first single released off of her second album, Whitney. This song proved that her debut album was no fluke.

16. “Back in the High Life Again” by Steve Winwood


Even though Steve Winwood had been around for a while, this was the first time I was aware of him. Even though I was more into hard rock in these days, I did like all of Winwood’s music. He also gets a little help from James Taylor on backing vocals in this song.

15. “The Pleasure Principle” by Janet Jackson


Janet was staying strong as this was the sixth single released from her classic Control album.

14. “Rock Steady” by The Whispers


Seven years after the Whispers had cracked the top 20, with “And the Beat Goes On”, they had an incredible comeback with this awesome hit.

13. “Only in My Dreams” by Debbie Gibson


And so begins Paul’s huge ’80s crush!

12. “Don’t Mean Nothing” by Richard Marx


In the previous song, while I was crushing on Debbie, I forgot to mention that “Only in My Dreams” was her debut single. And now we have another debut single. Richard Marx was already a great songwriter. But, he went on a great run, in the late ’80s, as a performer.

11. “La Bamba” by Los Lobos


This is the song that I mumble and struggle to the lyrics…until the chorus. Then I can sing the shit out of it at the top of my lungs!

That wraps up today’s list. I would love to hear what you think of these songs, and these countdowns in general. We will wrap up the countdown on Friday.

1987, Artists, General, Music, Top 40

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

2 Comments

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.

Artists, Music, Remember That Song?

Remember That Song: 12/21/16

Leave a comment

Can you name the artist and song:

Be yourself
Give your free will a chance
You’ve got to want to succeed

Last Song: “How Will I Know” by Whitney Houston from the album Whitney Houston (1985)

I say a prayer with every heart beat
I fall in love whenever we meet

Artists, Music, Remember That Song?

Remember That Song: 8/10/16

2 Comments

Can you name the artist and song:

Staring at your photograph
And I know it won’t be long
And I know you’re coming back

Last Song: “The Greatest Love of All” by Whitney Houston from the album Whitney Houston (1985)

Great job Andy (@andytorah)!!!

I never found anyone who fulfilled my needs
A lonely place to be
And so I learned to depend on me

Artists, Music, Remember That Song?

Remember That Song: 10/29/15

4 Comments

Can you name the artist and song:

When you’re close to me
I can feel your heart beat
I can hear you breathing near my ear

Last Song: “Saving All My Love For You” by Whitney Houston from the album Whitney Houston (1985)

But each time I try
I just break down and cry
‘Cause I’d rather be home feeling blue

1988, Artists, Music, Top 40

Top 40 Songs This Week – May 21, 1988: Songs 20-11

2 Comments

Hi Everybody! Welcome back to this week’s countdown! If you missed the previous songs, you can go ahead and check out songs 40-31 and 30-21. In addition to more hits from this week in 1988, we have a Long Distance Dedication today! Now, let’s Return to the week ending May 21, 1988, and move on with the countdown.

 20. “My Girl” by Suave

This is a cover of The Temptation’s classic 1964 hit. This was Suave’s first and biggest hit. There’s a good reason why we haven’t heard much else from him. Suave, whose real name is Waymond Anderson, was sentenced to life in prison in 1993 for arson murder. He torched a crack house near the USC campus, which resulted in the death of a drug addict. He is still in prison. However, new information has been presented that he was in Jackson, Mississippi, visiting his sister the day of the murder. A minister in Jackson also said that he saw Suave in church that day. There were witnesses that implicated Suave, but they have since changed their stories saying that they were placed under duress by the police. This sounds like it could be a Dateline special.

19. “Where Do Broken Hearts Go” by Whitney Houston

This was the fourth single to be released from Whiteney’s second album, Whitney. Initially, Houston did not want to record the song. But, Arista Records CEO Clive Davis believed the song would go to number one if she recorded it, so she obliged. I suppose that Clive Davis did know what he was doing pre-American Idol.
“Where Do Broken Hearts Go” did indeed become a number one hit – Houston’s seventh consecutive one in the U.S.

18. “Circle in the Sand” by Belinda Carlisle

I love the Go-Go’s, and I love Belinda Carlisle’s solo work just the same. She has a unique voice. Fun fact: Thomas Dolby played the keyboard for this song.

17. “Make It Real” by The Jets

I enjoyed The Jets back in the day. This is a really good ballad. It would be the group’s fifth and final Top 10 hit.

16. “Dreaming” by Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark

OMD had that classic ’80s New Wave sound. This song was released as a single from their greatest hits album, and would be their last single before the band split up.

15. “Angel” by Aerosmith

As with all the other singles released from Aerosmith’s huge comeback album, this song was overplayed beyond belief. It is a good ballad that I would enjoy more if it wasn’t played so much.

14. “Together Forever” by Rick Astley

I feel like this is a continuation of “Never Gonna Give You Up“. The music sounds the same. And if he’s never gonna give, never gonna give, never gonna give you up [damn earworm!], then that means that you will be Together Forever. So, this all makes sense now – 27 years later! The songs ARE related!

13. “Pink Cadillac” by Natalie Cole

This is a Bruce Springsteen song that was originally released on the B-side of “Dancing in the Dark“. In 1988, Natalie Cole covered the song and ran away with it, making it a Top 10 single. I was never a big fan of this song. I also get confused between this song and Aretha Franklin’s “Freeway of Love.”

Long Distance Dedication

We have now arrived at a staple of American Top 40 – The Long Distance Dedication. Most of us have had childhood friends that we have long lost touch with – either because they moved away, or we moved away. Robert sent in a letter that most of us can relate to. He says,

Dear Casey,

Good friends are important to all of us – and I have two of the best. In 1981 I moved to Frankfurt, Germany with my military family. I was nervous: no friends, a new school AND a new country. I clearly remember my first day of seventh grade. I slowly walked to the bus stop and stood away from everyone. There was not a soul I knew. As the bus pulled up I reluctantly boarded and took a seat by myself. I kept my eyes forward – scared to say anything – until I heard a voice ask me if it was alright to sit next to me. I looked up, said “Yes” and my life was changed forever. I was too nervous to notice that someone else was standing away from the group and not talking – and now he was sitting next to me. His name was LeRoyce and he had just moved to Germany as well. We continued our conversation all the way to school. As fate would have it, we had a few classes together and we got to know each other even better. We spent hours together and I met his younger brother Marvin. The three of us became inseparable. We helped each other through the hard times of growing up. We survived junior high and high school together – never letting each other down. Naturally, high school ended and we were forced to go our separate ways and create our own lives. Unfortunately, after graduation we lost touch. It was not until 12 years later that I made a good attempt to locate LeRoyce and Marvin. I was successful! I found that they were both living in Louisville, Kentucky. I got a hold of them, booked a flight and our reunion was set. I cannot describe the absolute joy of being back together with my best friends. We had a great time and vowed to not let so much time pass between our get togethers. We now meet every summer, rotating between Louisville and my home in Nebraska. In fact, they will be here in July. One bond we have always shared was music. We spent countless hours listening to our favorite songs. One of those songs never fails to remind me of them every time I hear it. Casey, would you please play When Doves Cry by Prince for LeRoyce and Marvin – it was one of our favorite songs and it always reminds me of those great times we spent together. We still listen to it every time we reunite now.

OK, Robert. Here is your long distance dedication:

http://www.mojvideo.com/video-prince-when-doves-cry/63806cee6342494500af

That was “When Doves Cry”, the 1984 classic by Prince from the Purple Rain soundtrack.

Now, on with the countdown.

12. “Wishing Well” by Terence Trent D’Arby

I was never much of a fan of this song. Despite that fact, MTV and radio constantly played it. I don’t hate it as much now, but I’m still not a fan. “Wishing Well” was a #1 hit. It did take a while though, as it was on the charts for 17 weeks before topping the charts.

11. “Piano In the Dark” by Brenda Russell Featuring Joe Esposito

Well, this song gets my vote for song of the day. I loved this song when it came out, and I still do. “Piano in the Dark” was in heavy rotation as I was sorting mail at the post office. This would be Brenda Russell’s biggest hit, peaking at number 6 on the Hot 100. It also earned Russell two Grammy Award nominations in 1989, including one for Song of the Year.

That’s it for today. We will wrap up the countdown on Friday. As always, please let me know what you think of the countdown so far, and if you have any memories from 1988 that you’d like to share..