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…
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…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 19
Chart Week: December 22, 1984 Song: “The Belle of St. Mark” – Sheila E. Chart Position: #34, 9th week on the chart. Peaked at #34 for three weeks over December and January. One last 1984 countdown to close out the year. And, holy crap, what a countdown it was! The summer of ’84 gets all the glory, but this week…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 18
Chart Week: November 15, 1986 Song: “Human” – The Human League Chart Position: #2, 10th week on the chart. Peaked at #1 the week of November 22. I only got to listen to a few minutes of the local countdown two Sundays ago. I felt obligated, though, to write about it as that was the last old AT40 we will…
Reaching For the Stars, Vol. 17
Chart Week: November 3, 1984 Song: “Penny Lover” – Lionel Richie Chart Position: #18, 5th week on the chart. Peaked at #8 for two weeks in December. Usually these entries are about great songs, forgotten songs, or just songs that have some kind of special meaning to me. This week is a little different: this song was selected purely for…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 16
Chart Week: October 13, 1984 Song: “Strut” – Sheena Easton Chart Position: #31, 8th week on the chart. Peaked at #7 the week of November 24. To me, at least, it seems like Sheena Easton’s career was longer than it actually was. She exploded onto the scene in 1981 with the world-wide smash “9 to 5 (Morning Train),” which went…