Audio Samples of "Billboard's" #1 Pop Singles

[EricMontreal22]

Well I admit the song is still silly though it holds a special place for me (and I wasn't even born till 1980 so didn't hear it all the time on the radio). I love the baroque, over the top melody, the production etc... But yeah that middle part MAKES the song for me and I detest how the radio edit cut it out...

Here's Donna singing the full song (if you can bear it--the second part starts at the four minute mark) 2 and a half years back at the European Proms in Holland. I hate the outfit but the woman still sounds incredible, almost better than ever--like I said in the new CD release thread I'm very excited for her new CD in May--her first in 17 years)...

[Max]

Eric, thank you for sharing that video. As for my opinion on "MacArthur Park," I think that Donna Summer did a great job singing, but that the song itself has really, really stupid lyrics.

1978 (Part 2 of 2):

487. Three Times a Lady--The Commodores (2 weeks, August 12)

488. Grease--Frankie Valli (2 weeks, August 26)

489. Boogie Oogie Oogie--A Taste of Honey (3 weeks, September 9)

490. Kiss You All Over--Exile (4 weeks, September 30)

491. Hot Child in the City--Nick Gilder (1 week, October 28)

492. You Needed Me--Anne Murray (1 week, November 4)

493. MacArthur Park--Donna Summer (3 weeks, November 11)

494. You Don't Bring Me Flowers--Barbra Streisand & Neil Diamond (2 weeks, December 2)

495. Le Freak--Chic (6 weeks, December 9)

1979 (Part 1 of 3):

496. Too Much Heaven--The Bee Gees (2 weeks, January 6)

497. Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?--Rod Stewart (4 weeks, February 10)

498. I Will Survive--Gloria Gaynor (3 weeks, March 10)

499. Tragedy--The Bee Gees (2 weeks, March 24)

500. What a Fool Believes--The Doobie Brothers (1 week, April 14)

Comments:

*While "Three Times a Lady" was the first #1 hit for Lionel Richie and the Commodores, the group had previously scored top 10 hits with "Sweet Love," "Just to Be Close to You," "Easy," and "Brick House."

*The group known as A Taste of Honey named themselves after a song of the same name (which has been performed my many different artists, including the Beatles). Although the group won the 1978 Best New Artist Grammy Award (which, as Im-n-a-whirl previously stated, is often the kiss of death), A Taste of Honey scored just one more top 40 hit after "Boogie Oogie Oogie": a cover of Kyu Sakamoto's 1963 #1 hit, "Sukiyaki" (which peaked at #3 in 1981).

*Two consecutive number one singles--"Kiss You All Over" by Exile and "Hot Child in the City" by Nick Gilder--were both produced by Mike Chapman. Another thing that both singles had in common was the fact that the artists who performed them turned out to be one-hit wonders. (Well, to be technical, Exile was not a one-hit wonder because they had another Top 40 single: a song that happened to peak at #40.)

*As was mentioned eariler in this thread, Donna Summer's version of MacArthur Park was not the first time the song became a hit. Back in 1968, Richard Harris took his version of the song all the way to #2. Personally, I have never listened to this version; however, I can only imagine that it is horrible, given the fact that Summer's outstanding vocal performance is the only good thing about the record.

*It is quite common for songs that spend multiple weeks at #1 to have their time at the top interrupted, only to again (a week or two later) return to the number one spot. What makes "Le Freak" unique, however, was that its time at the top was interrupted not once, but twice. After first hitting #1 for the week ended December 9, 1978, the song dropped to #2. Then, it returned to #1 for the weeks ended December 23 & 30, but was displaced by "Too Much Heaven" for the following two weeks. Finally, beginning on the week ended January 20, 1979, "Le Freak" spent its final three weeks (all of which were consecutive) at number one.

*"Too Much Heaven" was the first of three number one singles the Bee Gees scored that could be found on their "Spirits Having Flown" album. The other two number #1 hits from that album were "Tragedy" and "Love You Inside Out" (the latter of which will be on the next installment of number one records).

*After "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?", Rod Stweart would not return to the top of the chart until 1994. This fact surprises me, since Stewart had some good songs during the 1980's, especially "Young Turks" and "Some Guys Have All the Luck."

*Disco was at the height of its popularity in early 1979, a period when perhaps the genre's two most enduring records--"Y.M.C.A." by the Village People and "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor--reached their peak chart positions. Surprisingly, "Y.M.C.A." only reached #2, as it was kept out of the top spot by "Le Freak" and "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?"

*The lovely Gloria Gaynor is sometimes referred to as "The Queen of Disco" (although that reference has also been applied to Donna Summer), despite the fact that her only two top 40 hits were "I Will Survive" and a remake of the Jackson Five's "Never Can Say Goodbye" (which peaked at #9 in 1975). Regarding "I Will Survive," the song remains--to this day--one of rock and roll's most powerful feminist anthems.

*Although the Doobie Brothers had some great songs previously, the group was at its best once Michael McDonald became the lead singer in 1975.

[Im-n-a-whirl]

Yeeesh!

*shudder* What a rancid list this is!

The bass line on Boogie Oogie Oogie was actually a warm-up that was recorded and kept in. This song was a response to all the guys that would gawk at them during their gigs because they thought girls shouldn't be playing music.

I think Exile went on to find success on the country charts. I remember when that song came out, everyone thought it was pretty racy.

Gloria Gaynor's version of Never Can Say Goodbye was one of her best. She has a great voice.

Since we've already discussed MacArthur Park, I'm skipping that one, LOL.

Max, I disagree about the Doobie Brothers being better after McDonald joined the group. He is a good songwriter and a good vocalist but some of their finest work was pre-McDonald, IMO. China Grove, Rocking Down the Highway, Jesus is Just Alright, Another Park Another Sunday.... the list goes on for miles.

Both Neil Diamond and Streisand should be arrested and sentenced to 30 to life for recording You Don't Bring Me Flowers. How sappy can you get? Apparently, VERY sappy.

I believe the next segment will begin with Amii Stewart, who did an interesting remake of Knock on Wood.

[EricMontreal22]

Disco detractors often complain about its takeover of the charts but really most of the disco songs hold up a lot better than the other shmaltz that was on the charts around this time...

Can't wait for the next installment though with a bucnh of faves...

[Max]

Im-n-a-whirl, I totally agree with you about "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" being a dreadful song. Actually, I feel that most of Barbra Streisand's songs are pretty dreadful.

1979 (Part 2 of 3):

501. Knock on Wood--Amii Stewart (1 week, April 21)

502. Heart of Glass--Blondie (1 week, April 28)

503. Reunited--Peaches & Herb (4 weeks, May 5)

504. Hot Stuff--Donna Summer (3 weeks, June 2)

505. Love You Inside Out--The Bee Gees (1 week, June 9)

506. Ring My Bell--Anita Ward (2 weeks, June 30)

507. Bad Girls--Donna Summer (5 weeks, July 14)

508. Good Times--Chic (1 week, August 18)

509. My Sharona--The Knack (6 weeks, August 25)

510. Sad Eyes--Robert John (1 week, October 6)

511. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough--Michael Jackson (1 week, October 13)

512. Rise--Herb Alpert (2 weeks, October 20)

513. Pop Muzik--M (1 week, November 3)

514. Heartache Tonight--The Eagles (1 week, November 10)

Comments:

*1979 was a year of change in pop music: while disco was at the peak of its popularity during the first half of the year, the second half of 1979 saw a steep decline in that genre's popularity.

*Amii Stewart's disco remake of "Knock on Wood" was very different from the song's original version by Eddie Floyd. Note that while the original version did not do well on the charts (it only peaked at #28 back in 1966), it still receives heavy rotation on oldies stations.

*Although new wave music had been around since at least 1975, the year 1979 marked the first time that this genre sustained mass popularity. On this installment alone, you will notice three new wave #1 hits: "Heart of Glass" by Blondie, "My Sharona" by the Knack, and "Pop Muzik" by M.

*Two artists featured on this installment of number one hits waited a very long time for their first chart toppers: the duo of Peaches & Herb scored their first hit record in 1967, while Robert John's first chart appeareance happened way back in 1958.

*The Bee Gees scored their ninth #1 hit with "Love You Inside Out" (giving the group more number one hits than either the Rolling Stones or Elton John). Yet, after this song, the Bee Gees' career took a huge nose dive, as they would only score one additional top twenty hit with a song titled "One" (which peaked at #7 in 1989). Despite their lack of recent success, the Bee Gees did not disband until Maurice Gibb died in 2003.

*Spending six weeks at number one, "My Sharona" was the biggest hit of 1979. As a result of the song's incredible popularity, some people claimed that the Knack was the best musical group since the advent of the Beatles. Yet, despite--or perhaps because of--all of this adulation, a huge backlash movement against the group was launched which resulted in the group's massive decline in popularity. (Following "My Sharona," the group scored only two more top 40 hits.) As an interesting sidenote about the Knack, lead singer Doug Fieger is the brother of Michigan attorney/politician Geoffrey Fieger (who is best known as Dr. Jack Kevorkian's lawyer).

*"Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" was Michael Jackson's first number one hit since 1972. This song--as well as the 1980 #1 record "Rock with You"--came from Jackson's "Off the Wall" album, which undoubetdly was the album that turned Jackson into one of rock and roll's biggest superstars.

*GH began its nearly decade-long run as daytime's #1 show in 1979. Throughout the soap's time at the top, numerous singles became hits as a result of being featured on GH. The first pop hit to come out of GH was Herb Alpert's "Rise," which was played while Luke Spencer raped Laura Webber.

*"M" is perhaps the most unusual name ever given to an artist. In reality, M was just an alias for British singer Robin Scott, who got the idea after looking at a sign for the Metro (which was abbreviated with the letter M) in Paris. Unfortunately, M proved to be a one-hit wonder.

*The Eagles scored their fifth and final number one hit with "Heartache Tonight." After the group broke up in 1982 (only to reunite in 1994), members Don Henley and Glenn Frey went on to successful solo careers.

[Im-n-a-whirl]

This was about the time there was a huge backlash over disco. The Bee Gees went from chart topping gods to nothing in about a minute flat. Because of the backlash, a lot of talented people were dismissed as disco artists and were never heard from again and some of them undeservedly so. It didn't stop established artists like Donna Summer but she was later dismissed (somewhat) as disco artist as well.

My Sharona stood out because nothing sounded like it on the radio at that time. You either had disco or sappy love songs and that was pretty much it. It was up to artists like The Knack to give us something different.

This was also about the time People Magazine did a cover story on the sad state of music for that year. They cicted the much-anticipated return albums from the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac and Pink Floyd. All three bands faced the monumental task of following up hugely successful albums and none of them succeeded with the possible exception of Pink Floyd, whose The Wall was a follow up to Dark Side of the Moon, an album that I believe remains on the charts to this day. The Wall gave the band their only number one which is coming up soon. Fleetwood Mac tried to top Rumours with the horrendous Tusk and the Eagles' lame The Long Run was their effort following Hotel California. I don't know if these bands buckled under the pressure to match the success of their signature albums or if they all just simply lost their touch.

As Max pointed out, Rise shot to the top of the charts because it was played on GH. This was when GH, on life-support at the time, was reinvented by Gloria Monty, who came in and started kicking ass and taking names. If it weren't for her, there would be no GH now. Herb Alpert is actually the third artist who had a long drought between number ones, along with Robert John and Peaches & Herb. His last appearance at the top of the chart was in 1968 with This Guy's In Love With You.

I thought Pop Muzik was completely unnecessary.

Good Times was dance music per se, but more of a stylized version of it. They made good use of the bass guitar and Nile Rogers and Bernard Edwards went on to become visionary producers and songwriters mainly working with other artists.

I believe the next segment begins with Still by the Commodores, followed by that ill-advised duet between Streisand and Donna Summer, No More Tears. People can take only so much of Streisand, LOL.

[Max]

Im-n-a-whirl, aside from the fact that I actually like "Pop Muzik," I completely agree with the wonderful post you wrote above. You are so right when you stated that many artists--such as the Bee Gees--undeservedly got branded as "disco artists," and experienced the end to their careers as a result.

1979 (Part 3 of 3):

515. Still--The Commodores (1 week, November 17)

516. No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)--Barbra Streisand & Donna Summer (2 weeks, November 24)

517. Babe--Styx (2 weeks, December 8)

518. Escape (Pina Colada Song)--Rupert Holmes (3 weeks, December 22)

1980 (Part 1 of 2):

519. Please Don't Go--KC & the Sunshine Band (1 week, January 5)

520. Rock with You--Michael Jackson (4 weeks, January 19)

521. Do That to Me One More Time--The Captain & Tennille (1 week, February 16)

522. Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen (4 weeks, February 23)

523. Another Brick in the Wall--Pink Floyd (4 weeks, March 22)

524. Call Me--Blondie (6 weeks, April 19)

525. Funkytown--Lipps, Inc. (4 weeks, May 31)

526. Coming Up (Live at Glasgow)--Paul McCartney (3 weeks, June 28)

527. It's Still Rock and Roll to Me--Billy Joel (2 weeks, July 19)

528. Magic--Olivia Newton-John (4 weeks, August 2)

Comments:

*This installment of number one hits begins the journey into the 1980's, which is one of my very favorite times in pop music history. (The only period I enjoy more is rock and roll's first decade, spanning the mid-50's to the early-60's.) As for the year 1980 itself, it saw more changes in pop music than any year since 1964: disco died, while new wave and synthesizer pop took its place. Artists who were so popular just a short while ago failed to score any more hit records.

*A couple of years after "Still" became a number one hit, Lione Richie left the Commodores to pursue a solo career. Following Richie's departure, the group was able to achieve only one more successful song: "Nightshift" (#3 in 1985), which was a tribute to the late Jackie Wilson and Marvin Gaye.

*"No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" was played during one of the most famous scenes in GL history: the 1980 scene where Roger Thorpe chased Rita Bauer through the "Hall of Mirrors." This is a soap scene that I have always wanted to see, but have never done so.

*My favorite Styx song--1983's "Mr. Roboto"--sounded far different than the group's biggest hit, "Babe."

*One of the most successful disco groups of the 1970's--KC & the Sunshine Band--scored the first number one hit of the 1980's with "Please Don't Go." This record perfectly foreshadowed disco's death in 1980, given the fact that it had nothing at all to do with the disco genre.

*Although Queen is primarily known as a 1970's group, their only number one hits came in 1980. Their first number one hit was the retro-sounding "Crazy Little Thing Called Love." Queen's second and final number one was the hard-rocking "Another One Bites the Dust," which will be featured in the next installment of chart toppers.

*While Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall" enjoyed heavy critical acclaim, it is not a song that I like.

*One of the most popular songs of 1980 was "Call Me" by Blondie, which was the theme to the Richard Gere movie "American Gigolo." Blondie was not actually producer Giorgio Moroder's first choice to perform the movie's theme song; that distinction belonged to Stevie Nicks, who declined Moroder's offer.

*The one and only hit for Lipps, Inc. (prounced "lip-synch") was "Funkytown," which also happened to be #1 on the day I was born. Although "Funkytown" is often considered disco's "swan song," two other disco records later topped the chart: "Upside Down" by Diana Ross and "Celebration" by Kool & the Gang.

*"Coming Up (Live at Glasgow)" was incorrectly credited to Paul McCartney as a solo effort despite the fact that McCartney's group, Wings, also performed on this song. Interestingly, a "non-live" version of "Coming Up" was performed solely by McCartney; this version, however, was not the version that reached number one.

*Surprisingly, Billy Joel has only had three #1 hits: 1980's "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me," 1983's "Tell Her About It," and 1989's "We Didn't Start the Fire." Joel's first successful record, 1974's "Piano Man," only peaked at #25.

*"Xanadu" was an incredibly bad film that employed heavy use of cheesy special effects. One of the film's stars was Olivia Newton-John, whose #1 hit--"Magic"--was featured on the movie's soundtrack. (She contributed additional songs to the soundtrack as well.)

[Im-n-a-whirl]

This is definitely not my favorite era for music. A lot of this stuff was pure dreck, IMO.

The irony of the Styx track is that out of all their great songs, Babe was their first number one and their biggest hit. I actually thought Lady was the better song, along with scores of others.

Escape the Pina Colada Song is absolutely horrendous. I feel sick just mentioning it. The premise behind the song is actually stupid and more than likely would never happen in real life, unless you were a gullible idiot, LOL.

Another Brick in the Wall Part ONE is what makes the whole song great, but of course, it's the second part that was the hit. Pink Floyd is a band whose music I can only take in limited doses with a very few exceptions.

I hated Call Me. I thought Blondie could (and has) done far better than that.

And speaking of "you can do better," that statement also applies to Coming Up Live at Glasgow. And he went on to record far worse songs (like Say, Say, Say) unfortunately.

Ewwww, did you have to mention Xanadu? Yeck! She became progressively worse too, recording the upcoming Physical, in which she made yet another vain attempt to sexify her image. There are some who should not even bother and Newton-John falls into that category. The image she has (the pure as the driven snow one) is the one she should've stuck with because it worked for her.

Considering the huge disco backlash, I was surprised that Funkytown became a hit. It's actually not bad.

Billy Joel has some wonderful songs. It's Still Rock & Roll to Me is not one of them.

Considering that Queen thought Freddie Mercury had lost his mind when he presented them with the Bohemian Rhapsody travesty, it was nice to hear his fun side on Crazy Little Thing Called Love. The "ready Freddie" lyric is cute.

The next segment starts with Sailing by Christopher Cross, whose Ride Like the Wind is far more deserving of being a number one single than anything else he recorded. Like Herb Alpert before him, he also had a song become a huge hit because of airplay on GH: Think of Laura.

[EricMontreal22]

I'm pretty sure that Enough is Enough scene from GL is on youtube--it *was* for a while anyway (and was on wost.org before that back when it was free).

Hahah I'm not gonna defend disco too much more but it should be pointed out that even with "disco sucks" and the death of it, you still had disco elements in hit songs. Funkytown is unabashedly a disco song (as was Michael Jackson's Off the Wall stuff), Call Me has huge disco elements (and was co written and produced by Donna Summe'rs Giorgio Moroder. In fact the song--which I personally love especially it's full 7 minute version with a great break down section--was more of a Deborah Harry track than Blondie with most of the instruments being done by Moroder and his crew. It was written for Moroder's hit film score of the movie American Gigolo and originally the song was going to be done with Stevie Nicks. When Blondie came in Deborah Harry re-wrote the lyrics in her typical fashion)

Donna Summer's insane success in 1979 was due to a few factors--one of which I think was Moroder's smart move to make the Bad GIrls double album more rock-tinged disco (she actually won tyhe Grammy that year for best rock vocalist for Hot Stuff--Gaynor getting the disco grammy). It did lead to a fight between Donna and her label, Casablanca. Because they rush released Enough is Enough, when Donna's third Bad Girls single, DIm All the Lights (the first single she had written all by herself) was climbing the charts, Donna felt that it caused Lights to stall at number 2 and that Enough is Enough should have been held off a bit longer. This was one of several factors that caused Donna to sign to Geffen Records (for a then record sum) where she recorded her 1980 release, the new wave Wanderer album--which got her best reviews but was the start of her declining record sales--and ended her partnership with Moroder (Casablanca still had the rights to release more Donna and in a bit of mean spiritedness released Walk Away, from Bad Girls, at the same time to try to confuse buyers).

[EricMontreal22]

Oh and I admit--I LOVE the Xanadu soundtrack--at least the ELO half (and that title song--yes I know, embarassing but...) The soundtrack actually sold very well and can be seen as more of a hit than the movie. (The current Broadway parody version though is brilliantly funny I think)

[Max]

Eric, thanks for explaining that "Call Me" was more of a solo effort by Deborah Harry as opposed to a group effort by Blondie. I never before knew that.

Im-n-a-whirl, I completely concur with you regarding the fact that 1980 was a disappointing year for pop music. Thankfully, things dramatically improve in 1981. I also have a challenge for you: to the best of my knowledge, the all-audio time sweep (that you are so familiar with) ended with "I Love a Rainy Night" by Eddie Rabbitt. Since this next installment of number one hits ends with Sheena Easton's "Morning Train (Nine to Five)," I wonder if you will continue to correctly predict which song begins each following installment. Given your vast knowledge, I fully expect that you will get all your predictions correct through at least the end of the 1980's.

1980 (Part 2 of 2):

529. Sailing--Christopher Cross (1 week, August 30)

530. Upside Down--Diana Ross (4 weeks, September 6)

531. Another One Bites the Dust--Queen (3 weeks, October 4)

532. Woman in Love--Barbra Streisand (3 weeks, October 25)

533. Lady--Kenny Rogers (6 weeks, November 15)

534. (Just Like) Starting Over--John Lennon (5 weeks, December 27)

1981 (Part 1 of 2):

535. The Tide Is High--Blondie (1 week, January 31)

536. Celebration--Kool & the Gang (2 weeks, February 7)

537. 9 to 5--Dolly Parton (2 weeks, February 21)

538. I Love a Rainy Night--Eddie Rabbitt (2 weeks, February 28)

539. Keep on Loving You--REO Speedwagon (1 week, March 21)

540. Rapture--Blondie (2 weeks, March 28)

541. Kiss on My List--Daryl Hall & John Oates (3 weeks, April 11)

542. Morning Train (Nine to Five)--Sheena Easton (2 weeks, May 2)

Comments:

*Keonepax himself stated that the biggest challenge he faced when putting together these videos was making one song flow smoothly into the next. Specifically, he pointed out that getting "Sailing" to flow smoothly into "Upside Down" was perhaps the most difficult task he encountered.

*Christopher Cross was the winner of the 1980 Best New Artist Grammy Award. Unlike many other unlucky recipients of this award, his career lasted at least a couple of years. My favorite song of his is definately not "Sailing" (which is a song that I don't care for); rather, it is his other #1 hit, "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)."

*Barbra Streisand's fifth and final number one hit, "Woman in Love," featured uncredited vocal back-up performed by Barry Gibb. Gibb co-wrote and co-produced the song as well.

*Although Kenny Rogers is very talented, most of his songs--including "Lady"--are way too sappy for my tastes.

*In a post a while back, Im-n-a-whirl stated that John Lennon was the Beatle whose solo career she least enjoyed. I must say that I feel this way as well. However, the one solo effort by Lennon that I do like was the retro-sounding "(Just Like) Starting Over." This song first reached #1 on December 27, 1980--just 19 days after Lennon's assassination--making it the fourth posthumous number one record of the rock era.

*Kool & the Gang's party classic, "Celebration," was the last disco song to reach #1. However, it was not the last disco hit ever. To the best of my knowledge, that distinction belongs to "Let's Groove" by Earth, Wind & Fire, which reached #3 in December 1981.

*Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" was the title song from the movie of the same name that starred Parton, Jane Fonda, and Lily Tomlin. The success of this song posed a problem for Sheena Easton, who also had a record out that happened to have the same title. To avoid confusion, Easton renamed her song "Morning Train (Nine to Five)," which then hit #1 three months after the Parton track.

*There have been many great country songs that have become big pop hits over the years. One of my favorites happens to be Eddie Rabbitt's biggest hit, "I Love a Rainy Night."

*Some people consider "Rapture" by Blondie to be the first rap song to reach #1. (However, there are others--including myself--who don't believe that "Rapture" is a rap song. In this case, the first rap hit to peak at #1 was Vanilla Ice's 1990 single, "Ice Ice Baby.") Personally, I think that the lyrics to this song were incredibly stupid. In stark contrast to "Rapture," I really did enjoy Blondie's retro-sounding "The Tide Is High."

*After scoring a couple of hits in 1976 & 77 (including the #1 song, "Rich Girl"), Hall & Oates fell on hard times for the next few years. In late 1980, the duo had a comeback hit with a cover version of the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin'." Shortly afterward, Hall & Oates reached number one with "Kiss on My List."

*One of my favorite songs of 1981 would have to be the upbeat "Morning Train (Nine to Five)," sung by Scottish artist Sheena Easton. Despite possessing an incredibly powerful voice, Easton never again had a number one hit.

[Im-n-a-whirl]

Upside Down was a reinvention of sorts of Diana Ross. Nile Rogers and Bernard Edwards of Chic wrote and produced the album.

Thank you God, no more Barbra Streisand!

I remember being shocked when Lennon was killed. I didn't like a lot of the album though, including Just Like Starting Over. Of course, after he died, the song that really got wore out was Imagine. Later on, his son Julian (for whom Paul McCartney wrote Hey Jude) would have a few hits, most notably Vallotte. Unfortunately he was never able to top that one and his career faded out after that.

I hated The Tide is High as much as I hated Call Me. But I did like Rapture. It was quite unusual for the time. There really is a Fab Five Freddy and he is legendary in DJ and dance music circles.

9 to 5... loved the movie, hated the song. She is a good songwriter though, but you wouldn't know it by listening to this.

Celebration was written to... celebrate! Kool and the Gang were celebrating getting their first hit (Ladies Night) and they originally objected to the "woo hoo's" in this song, but sometimes the gods know best (in this case, the producers) and they were left in.

The strumming guitar of I Love a Rainy Night actually sounds like windshield wipers slapping on a windshield, which of course, was intentional.

Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon has a very unusual voice. They have some wonderful songs and Keep On Loving You is one of them.

The Sheena Easton track was fresh and lively. So what was she thinking when she recorded Sugar Walls?

The next segment will begin with Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes, who has a gravelly voice similar to Rod Stewart and Bonnie Tyler. You are correct, Max. The audio time sweep does end with I Love a Rainy Night. But somewhere along the way, my brother and I actually considered continuing that time sweep, so I do have charts going through the 80's and 90's.

[Max]

Im-n-a-whirl, great gob on correctly predicting that "Bette Davis Eyes" starts off this installment of number one hits! Also, you are so right regarding the observation that both Kim Carnes and Bonnie Tyler sound like female versions of Rod Stewart.

1981 (Part 2 of 2):

543. Bette Davis Eyes--Kim Carnes (9 weeks, May 16)

544. Medley: Intro Venus/Sugar Sugar/No Reply/I'll Be Back/Drive My Car/Do You Want to Know a Secret/We Can Work It Out/I Should Have Known Better/Nowhere Man/You're Going to Lose that Girl/Stars on 45--Stars on 45 (1 week, June 20)

545. The One That You Love--Air Supply (1 week, July 25)

546. Jessie's Girl--Rick Springfield (2 weeks, August 1)

547. Endless Love--Diana Ross & Lionel Richie (9 weeks, August 15)

548. Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)--Christopher Cross (3 weeks, October 17)

549. Private Eyes--Daryl Hall & John Oates (2 weeks, November 7)

550. Physical--Olivia Newton-John (10 weeks, November 21)

1982 (Part 1 of 2):

551. I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)--Daryl Hall & John Oates (1 week, January 30)

552. Centerfold--The J. Geils Band (6 weeks, February 6)

553. I Love Rock 'n' Roll--Joan Jett & the Blackhearts (7 weeks, March 20)

554. Chariots of Fire--Vangelis (1 week, May 8)

555. Ebony and Ivory--Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder (7 weeks, May 15)

Comments:

*One of the fans of Kim Carnes' "Bette Davis Eyes" was none other than Bette Davis herself. In fact, the actress was grateful that the song made her well known among contemporary audiences.

*"Medley: Intro Venus/Sugar Sugar/.../Stars on 45" is not only the longest title of any #1 hit, it also has the longest title of any song to ever chart on the "'Billboard' Hot 100." While Stars on 45 no doubt wanted to shorten this title, they had to make it so long in order to fulfill the copyright requirements of the songs originally performed by the Beatles. (And aside from "Venus," "Sugar Sugar," and "Stars on 45," all of the songs in this medley were Beatles songs.)

*Air Supply was the duo of Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock. Air Supply enjoyed major popularity in the early-80's, and--interestingly enough--most of their biggest hit singles had the word "love" in the title: witness "Lost in Love," "All Out of Love," "The One That You Love," and "Making Love Out of Nothing at All."

*In 1981, GH was at the peak of its popularity. Therefore, it was fitting that Rick Springfield (who portrayed Dr. Noah Drake) scored his biggest hit with "Jessie's Girl" that same year. Although Springfield never again had a number one song, he did score top ten hits with "I've Done Everything for You," "Don't Talk to Strangers," "Affair of the Heart," and "Love Somebody." However, a 1988 accident while riding an all-terrain vehicle pretty much put an end to Springfield's musical career.

*On Saturday, August 1, 1981--the very same day that "Jessie's Girl" first peaked at #1--the MTV cable network made its debut. The first video played on MTV was "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles. Surprisingly, that song's exposure on the network did not lead to chart success. "Video Killed the Radio Star" only peaked at #40, and it reached that position back in 1979.

*Spending nine weeks at number one, "Endless Love" by Diana Ross & Lionel Richie became Motown's biggest hit to date. The song nearly reached number one again, when Luther Vandross & Mariah Carey took their version of "Endless Love" to #2 in 1994.

*My favorite song performed by Hall & Oates has to be "Private Eyes." The song has a cute video whereby Hall & Oates--and their backup band--are wearing trench coats in an effort to dress like private investigators.

*"Physical" by Olivia Newton-John was the biggest hit of the entire decade, having spent ten weeks at the top spot. (I must say, however, that while "Physical" was a very good song, there were many other 1980's songs far more deserving of the title "most popular song of the decade.") Like "Private Eyes," "Physical" had a very memorable video: as the song begins, Olivia Newton-John goes into a gym full of fat men; after she finishes her shower, she comes back into the gym, only to see nothing but muscular hunks.

*In late-1981 and early-82, Foreigner had a number two song with "Waiting for a Girl Like You." What makes this song noteworthy was that it spent ten long weeks at the runner-up position, which was a new record at the time. For nine of those ten weeks, the #1 spot was held by "Physical." On the tenth week that "Waiting for a Girl Like You" spent at #2, the number one song was "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" by Hall & Oates. Fortunately for Foreigner, the group would finally reach the #1 spot in 1985 with "I Want to Know What Love Is."

*One of the greatest party songs of all-time--"Centerfold" by the J. Geils Band--happened to come from one of the greatest party albums of all-time: "Freeze Frame."

*Instrumentals were very popular during rock and roll's early years. However, as time went by, their popularity declined. In the 1980's, only two instrumentals peaked at number one: "Chariots of Fire" by Vangelis (featured on this installment) and 1985's "Miami Vice Theme" by Jan Hammer.

*"Ebony and Ivory" marked a real low point (in terms of quality) in the careers of both Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder. I am truly baffled over how this song ever made it to number one in the first place, and am even more puzzled over how it managed to spend seven long weeks at the top.

[Im-n-a-whirl]

This is an "eh" list for me. Nothing spectacular and nothing really awful (except Ebony & Ivory, which was astoundingly awful). So I don't have a lot of comments. 80's music for me was too slick and too groomed - and too superficial.

I admit, I liked Stars on 45 because I was on a major Beatles trip at the time!

As for Hall & Oates, I much prefer their signature blue-eyed soul sound and not this poppy crap.

The next segment begins with the Human League's Don't You Want Me.

[Max]

Im-n-a-whirl, even though I love 80's music, I can completely understand your desire not to comment much on these songs: once this time sweep enters the 1990's (a decade with very few good songs), I will have far fewer comments myself.

1982 (Part 2 of 2):

556. Don't You Want Me--The Human League (3 weeks, July 3)

557. Eye of the Tiger--Survivor (6 weeks, July 24)

558. Abracadabra--The Steve Miller Band (2 weeks, September 4)

559. Hard to Say I'm Sorry--Chicago (2 weeks, September 11)

560. Jack and Diane--John Cougar (4 weeks, October 2)

561. Who Can It Be Now?--Men at Work (1 week, October 30)

562. Up Where We Belong--Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes (3 weeks, November 6)

563. Truly--Lionel Richie (2 weeks, November 27)

564. Mickey--Toni Basil (1 week, December 11)

565. Maneater--Daryl Hall & John Oates (4 weeks, December 18)

1983 (Part 1 of 3):

566. Down Under--Men at Work (4 weeks, January 15)

567. Africa--Toto (1 week, February 5)

568. Baby, Come to Me--Patti Austin & James Ingram (2 weeks, February 19)

Comments:

*An incredibly dynamic record, "Don't You Want Me" by the Human League happens to be one of my very favorite songs of the 1980's. The popularity of this song was responsible for starting a "mini British Invasion" whereby other new wave UK artists such as Dexys Midnight Runners, the Eurythmics, and Culture Club were able to become successful in America.

*Five years after Bill Conti's theme from the first "Rocky" movie went to number one, heavy exposure in "Rocky III" propelled "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor to the top of the chart. The band's second biggest hit--"Burning Heart" (which peaked at #2 in 1986)--happened to be featured in "Rocky IV."

*"Hard to Say I'm Sorry" was Chicago's first top 40 hit in over three years. The song marked a big musical departure for the group, as horns (which were so common on their 1970's songs) were discarded and replaced with synthesizers. In 1985, lead singer Peter Cetera left the group in order to pursue a solo career. Nevertheless, Chicago would again return to the #1 position with 1988's "Look Away."

*Back when John Mellencamp was known as John Cougar, he scored his only #1 hit with "Jack and Diane." However, I happen to think that another 1982 song of his--"Hurts So Good" (which peaked at #2)--was a superior recording.

*Men at Work was a talented group that reached the peak of its popularity in late-82 and early-83. While "Who Can It Be Now?" featured a great saxophone solo, the group's masterpiece was definitely "Down Under," which was a tribute to their native Australia.

*Featured in the film "An Officer and a Gentleman," "Up Where We Belong" was the winner of the 1982 Academy Award for Best Original Song. Interestingly, vocalist Jennifer Warnes is far better known for her duets than her solo recordings: after "Up Where We Belong," she returned to #1 in 1987 (in a duet with Bill Medley) with "(I've Had) The Time of My Life." She also partnered with B.J. Thomas to sing "As Long As We've Got Each Other," which served as the theme song to the sitcom "Growing Pains."

*The video for "Mickey" was one of the most memorable from MTV's early years, as it featured Toni Basil leading a group of cheerleaders. Despite being a talented singer and choreographer, Basil became a one-hit wonder.

*Spending four weeks at number one, "Maneater" was the biggest hit of Hall & Oates' career. Although "Maneater" is a good song, I personally consider "Rich Girl," "You Make My Dreams," "Private Eyes," "Say It Isn't So," and "Out of Touch" to all be better Hall & Oates recordings.

*"Baby, Come to Me" fizzled out at #73 (in early 1982) when the recording was initially released. However, after getting exposure on GH, the song re-entered the chart and soared to number one. Fred Bronson, the author of "The 'Billboard' Book of Number One Hits," had a great quote regarding the chart experience of this song: "'Baby, Come to Me' was already dead when 'General Hospital' resuscitated it."