Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 32
A bit of a change-of-pace for this entry. The focus will not be on one song, or a couple songs, but rather an entire chart. This countdown was from Memorial Day weekend, 1988. In it, Casey counted down the top new artists of the 1980s. Which seems a little strange since there was a year-and-a-half left in the decade. But…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 31
Chart Week: April 10, 1982 Songs: “We Got the Beat” – The Go-Go’s; “I Love Rock ’n Roll” – Joan Jett and the Blackhearts Chart Positions: #2, 11th week on the chart. Would spend three weeks at #2. /#1, 10th week on the chart, fourth week at #1. Would spend seven weeks at #1. A two-fer, as a tidbit I…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 30
Chart Week: August 21, 1982 Song: “Love Is In Control (Finger on the Trigger)” – Donna Summer Chart Position: #12, 9th week on the chart. Peaked at #10 the week of September 25. My goodness this was a great week! As I was listening to parts of this countdown, song-after-song jumped out at me. I would settle on a song…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 29
Chart Week: August 31, 1985 Song: “Invincible (Theme from The Legend of Billy Jean)” – Pat Benatar Chart Position: #12, 15th week on the chart. Peaked at #10 the week of September 14. I’m cheating a little for this entry. Although I’m sure if I listened to the iHeart Radio classic AT40 station long enough I’d hear a countdown from…
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…