Few things in life have influenced me as much as Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 did. For a good chunk of the 1980s, Sunday morning meant listening to Casey count down the top 40 pop hits in the country.
Since I am middle-aged, nostalgia is kind of what I live for. Thus I spend far too much time listening to old countdowns, either AT40 replays on my local radio station on Sundays, on the iHeart Radio channel dedicated to old AT40’s, or to the “Big 40 Countdown” on SiriusXM.
I often write about what I hear on these old countdowns. Here is a full list of my Reaching for the Stars series:
“(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)” – Beastie Boys
“Killin’ Time” – Fred Knoblock and Susan Anton, “Smoky Mountain Rain” – Ronnie Millsap, “I Made It Through the Rain” – Barry Manilow
“I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues” – Elton John
“Allentown” – Billy Joel
“Kyrie” – Mr. Mister
“Little Red Corvette” – Prince
“Time After Time” – Cyndi Lauper
“Stomp!” – The Brothers Johnson
“Eyes Without a Face” – Billy Idol
“Play the Game Tonight” – Kansas
“18 and Life” – Skid Row
“We’re Not Gonna Take It” – Twisted Sister
“We Don’t Need Another Hero” – Tina Turner, “Power of Love” – Huey Lewis & The News, “St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion)” – John Parr
“Heartbeat” – Don Johnson
“Whenever I Call You ‘Friend’” – Kenny Loggins (with Stevie Nicks)
“Strut” – Sheena Easton
“Penny Lover” – Lionel Richie
“Human” – The Human League
“The Belle of St. Mark” – Sheila E.
“Let the Music Play” – Shannon
“Down Under” – Men at Work
“The Rubberband Man” – The Spinners
“Beat’s So Lonely” – Charlie Sexton
“How Deep Is Your Love” – Bee Gees
“We Are the World” – USA for Africa
“West End Girls” – Pet Shop Boys
“19” – Paul Hardcastle
“Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” – Elton John and Kiki Dee
“Invincible (Theme from The Legend of Billy Jean)” – Pat Benatar
“Love Is In Control (Finger on the Trigger)” – Donna Summer
“We Got the Beat” – The Go-Go’s; “I Love Rock ’n Roll” – Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
Top New Artists of the 1980s
“Stand Back” – Stevie Nicks
“Maneater” – Daryl Hall and John Oates
“Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy” – Sammy Hagar
“Push It,” Salt-N-Pepa; “Pump Up the Volume,” M/A/R/R/S
“Waiting for a Girl Like You” – Foreigner
“I Still Can’t Get Over Loving You” – Ray Parker, Jr.
“They Don’t Know” – Tracey Ullman
“Missing You” – Diana Ross, “Nightshift” – The Commodores
“Genius of Love” – Tom Tom Club
“One On One” – Daryl Hall & John Oates
“Be Good To Yourself” – Journey
“Obscene Phone Caller” – Rockwell
“Hurts So Good” – John Cougar
“Your Wildest Dreams” – The Moody Blues
“Someday, Someway” – Marshall Crenshaw
“Friends” – Jody Watley with Eric B and Rakim
“Steppin’ Out” – Joe Jackson
“Purple Rain” – Prince & The Revolution
“Love is a Battlefield” – Pat Benatar
“Bruce” – Rick Springfield
“Undercover of the Night – The Rolling Stones
Reaching for the Stars, Bonus Tracks
“Coward of the County” – Kenny Rogers
“I Know There’s Something Going On – Frida
“867-5309/Jenny” – Tommy Tutone
“In the Navy” – The Village People
“Fantasy” – Aldo Nova
“If She Knew What She Wants” – The Bangles
“I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)” – Whitney Houston
“Don’t Want to Wait Anymore” – The Tubes
“Breakin…There’s No Stopping Us” – Ollie and Jerry
“And We Danced” – The Hooters
“The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” – Gordon Lightfoot
“Here You Come Again” – Dolly Parton
“More Than I Can Say” – Leo Sayer
“The Boys of Summer” – Don Henley
“Do What You Do” – Jermaine Jackson
“Carry On Wayward Son” – Kansas
“We Don’t Talk Anymore” – Cliff Richard
“A Little Bit of Love (Is All It Takes)” – New Edition
“Cars” – Gary Numan
“Music Box Dancer” – Frank Mills
“Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2” – Pink Floyd
“Angel of the Morning” – Juice Newton
“Baker Street” – Gerry Rafferty
“Heaven In Your Eyes” – Loverboy
“Somebody’s Baby” – Jackson Browne
“Separate Lives” – Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin
“Heartbreaker” – Dionne Warwick
“Don’t Shed a Tear” – Paul Carrack
“I Wanna Be Your Lover” – Prince
“Falling” – LeBlanc and Carr
“Stars On 45 III (A Tribute To Stevie Wonder) (Medley)” – Stars On 45,“Pop Goes the Movies (Part 1) (Medley)” – Meco
“Whirly Girl” – Oxo
“I Want You To Want Me” – Cheap Trick
“Buffalo Stance” – Neneh Cherry
Summer 1984 Review
“For Your Eyes Only” – Sheena Easton
“General Hospi-tale” – The Afternoon Delights
“On the Dark Side” – John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band
“I.G.Y. (What A Beautiful World)” – Donald Fagen
“Automatic Man” – Michael Sembello
“Never Too Much” – Luther Vandross
“Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” – Darlene Love
“Centipede” – Rebbie Jackson
“Nobody Told Me” – John Lennon
“I’ve Never Been To Me” – Charlene
“Back On The Chain Gang” – The Pretenders
“Don’t Dream It’s Over” – Crowded House
Reaching for the Stars: The First 100
“Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” – Michael Jackson
“I Want Your Sex” – George Michael
“Cry” – Godley & Creme
“I’m Alright” – Kenny Loggins
“Alive Again” – Chicago