Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 52
Chart Week: December 22, 1984 Song: “Bruce” – Rick Springfield Chart Position: #33, 6th week on the chart. Peaked at #27 for a week in January. As artists move through their careers they often jump from one record company to another. This can lead to uncomfortable situations when the artists break through and their previous employers attempt to capitalize. Rick…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 51
Chart Week: December 3, 1983 Song: “Love Is A Battlefield” – Pat Benatar Chart Position: #6, 11th week on the chart. Peaked at #5 the week of December 10. There’s no great story behind the song this week. Nope, this entry is simply an excuse to share one of the iconic videos of the 1980s. Pat Benatar enlisted director Bob…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 50
Chart Week: October 27, 1984 Song: “Purple Rain” – Prince & The Revolution Chart Position: #4, 4th week on the chart. Peaked at #2 for two weeks in November. (This ended up being a big coincidence, but not a bad choice for the 50th entry in this series!) One of my favorite things about listening to old AT40’s is when…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 49
Chart Week: October 23, 1982 Song: “Steppin’ Out” – Joe Jackson Chart Position: #32, 10th week on the chart. Peaked at #6 for three weeks in December. I’ve written many times about how my parents influenced the music I have listened to. I’ve also mentioned how my grandparents always had the radio tuned to the local station, which between farm…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 48
Chart Week: September 16, 1989 Song: “Friends” – Jody Watley with Eric B & Rakim Chart Position: #33, 14th week on the chart. Peaked at #9 the week of August 26. For some reason I’ve struggled with this entry. I’ve been working on it for two weeks but can never seem to find the right tone. I’m setting a timer…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 47
Chart Week: August 14, 1982 Song: “Someday, Someway” – Marshall Crenshaw Chart Position: #40, 6th week on the chart. Peaked at #36 for two weeks in August/September. Some one-hit wonders are easy to explain. There are the accidental hits, songs by unknown artists that get tied to popular movies or TV shows. There are novelty hits that piggyback on some…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 46
Chart Week: August 2, 1986 Song: “Your Wildest Dreams” – The Moody Blues Chart Position: #20, 16th week on the chart. Peaked at #9 for two weeks in July. Having a teenage crush on a teacher is kind of a rite of passage, the stuff dozens – perhaps hundreds – of trashy novels and movies have been based on over…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 45
Chart Week: July 3, 1982Song: “Hurts So Good” – John CougarChart Position: #5, 11th week on the chart. Peaked at #2 for four weeks in August. This entry is about how the biological information Casey Kasem shared on American Top 40 was not always accurate. John Cougar (Mellencamp) is the perfect artist to demonstrate this point, as he charted under…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 44
Chart Week: June 23, 1984Song: “Obscene Phone Caller” – RockwellChart Position: #39, 8th week on the chart. Peaked at #35 the week of June 30. I have always prided myself for knowing minor hits by artists who have been labeled as One Hit Wonders by the general public. Others find this trait annoying, but it’s kind of too late to…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 43
Chart Week: May 10, 1986 Song: “Be Good To Yourself” – Journey Chart Positions: #20, 5th week on the chart. Peaked at #9 the week of May 31. Remember when it used to be a surprise when new music arrived? At least for kids. Before the internet, before I had cable TV, and before I could read music magazines regularly,…