Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 28
Chart Week: July 24, 1976 Song: “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” – Elton John and Kiki Dee Chart Position: #8, 4th week on the chart. Peaked at #1 for four weeks in August. What a song. I could stop right there, throw up the video, and that would be enough. A quarter-century after its release it was a Saturday night…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 27
I figure most of my readers are taking it easy on this holiday week. So I will slow the pace here a bit, get caught up on some things, and otherwise take advantage of the lazy week. Chart Week: June 29, 1985 Song: “19” – Paul Hardcastle Chart Position: #27, 5th week on the chart. Peaked at #15 for two…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 26
Our Internet was out almost all day yesterday, so my web time was greatly reduced. Fortunately I had some notes pulled together for this post, which I was able to hammer out between other activities. Chart Week: April 26, 1986 Song: “West End Girls” – Pet Shop Boys Chart Position: #3, 7th week on the chart. Peaked at #1 the…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 25
Chart Week: April 20, 1985 Song: “We Are the World” – USA for Africa Chart Position: #1, 5th week on the chart. Spent four weeks at #1. Ah, the 1980s celebrity/cause single. It seems like there were tons of these but a check of Wikipedia shows there really weren’t that many original songs written for this or that benefit. I…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 24
Chart Week: February 25, 1978 Song: “How Deep Is Your Love” – Bee Gees Chart Position: #10, 23rd week on the chart. Peaked at #1 for three weeks in December 1977 and January 1978. The most amazing chart stretch of my life was the Bee Gee’s run in the late ‘70s. They absolutely owned the charts thanks largely to the…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 23
Chart Week: March 1, 1986 Song: “Beat’s So Lonely” – Charlie Sexton Chart Position: #26, 12th week on the chart. Peaked at #17 for three weeks in March/April. One-hit-wonders come in all size, shapes, sounds, and types. Charlie Sexton may be one of the cruelest examples of a OHW. Sexton was a bit of a musical prodigy, trained in his…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 22
Chart Week: November 6, 1976 Song: “The Rubberband Man” – The Spinners Chart Position: #15, 9th week on the chart. Peaked at #2 for three weeks in December. As promised, our first journey into the 1970s. This is the perfect jam to make that deeper run into the chart history. As I’ve said many times in the past, my parents…
Some Notes
A couple smaller things smashed into one post today. First, there’s just too much information out there. I know this is, like, a devastatingly deep and original opinion, but that’s why I have a blog, people. Wait, I’m not talking about the general flood of information we swim through each day. I’m talking about the maddening process of trying to…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 21
Chart Week: February 12, 1983 Song: “Down Under” – Men at Work Chart Position: #1, 15th week on the chart. Spent four non-consecutive weeks at #1 in January and February. If you’ve paid very close attention to my music posts over the years, you may recall that I kicked around a project in which I would find the best single…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 20
I’m on nephew duty the next couple days so I’ll go ahead and post this late on a Sunday to kick off the week. Chart Week: January 28, 1984 Song: “Let the Music Play” – Shannon Chart Position: #18, 12th week on the chart. Peaked at #8 the week of February 25. Reached #1 on the US Dance Club Songs…