Chart Week: April 10, 1982
Song: “Genius of Love” – Tom Tom Club
Chart Position: #37, 12th week on the chart. Peaked at #31 for two weeks.

(Administrative note: this is the second RFTS entry from this chart week. The first is here.)

This entry is both about the song and about the radio station on which I heard it the most as a kid.

Tom Tom Club was a side project of married couple Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth, members of Talking Heads. In Tom Tom Club, they branched out from Talking Heads more avant-garde sound into dance-oriented music. Which made sense as they served as Talking Heads rhythm section, Frantz on drums and Weymouth on bass.

“Genius of Love” was the biggest song of Tom Tom Club’s career. It topped the the Billboard Disco chart and reached #2 on the Hot Soul Singles chart. More on that in a second.

That success on the Disco and Soul charts wasn’t enough to drive strong pop chart success. “Genius of Love” slowly simmered on the pop charts for three months before it finally cracked the Top 40. From its peak at #31, it dropped a massive 54 spots to #85 in early May and was gone soon after.

Yet the song made its mark. Thanks to its overall funkiness and its shoutouts to legends of the Black music world, it got serious airplay on Black radio. From that exposure, it became one of the most sampled songs of the 1980s, both in other dance and R&B songs, and in hip hop.

My early knowledge of the song came from its more obscure chart success. In the early ‘80s, my mom bounced around in her default radio stations. She would listen to pop stations, to adult contemporary stations, and to Kansas City’s only soul station, 103.3 KPRS.

KPRS was a whole new world to me when we moved to Kansas City from a small town in southeast Missouri. My parents had long listened to “Black” music, but it was to crossover artists like the Commodores, Earth Wind & Fire, Donna Summer, and so on that they heard on pop and disco stations. When we moved to Kansas City in 1980 and they began listening to KPRS, I was hearing all kinds of soul artists that I had never heard before.

More importantly, KPRS was truly a Black station. It was the first Black-owned radio station west of the Mississippi, and remains the oldest continuously Black-owned station in the country. All the DJs were Black. It featured a nightly news bulletin from the National Black Network, which certainly brought a different perspective than what the AM news-talk stations were providing. Biggest was how KPRS ran ads from Black-owned businesses you just didn’t hear on Q–104, KY–102, and ZZ–99. Harold Pener’s clothing store is the most memorable example. Listening to KPRS in the early 1980s opened my ears to a whole different world.

So how do we tie together “Genius of Love” with KPRS? Well, KPRS played very few white artists back in the day.[1] And often it was just individual songs by white artists they would play. Hall & Oates were an obvious cross-over point, but really only “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)” and “One on One” got serious airplay on KPRS. Teena Marie was white, but she was basically a Black artist and KPRS played many of her songs. And then “Genius of Love,” with its totally funky sound, got airplay.

KPRS used “Genius of Love” in a weird way, though. KPRS was an automated station for a long stretch of that era. Before the NBN news bulletin at five minutes to the hour, the computer would often select “Genius of Love” to fill in the gap before the news ran. If there were six minutes until the news, “Genius” would play once, jump back to the song’s midway point, and begin again. If there were two minutes until the news, the first two minutes would play before it abruptly cut off and the news began. The nights when the computer got confused and began playing it too early, over another song, and then re-started it multiple times to attempt to get the timing synced up always made me laugh. I didn’t really understand what was going on, but looking back this low-tech, high-tech moment is pretty charming.

Thus the song was cemented into my memory.

Chart Week: March 30, 1985
Songs: “Missing You” – Diana Ross, “Nightshift” – The Commodores
Chart Positions: #15, 18th week on the chart. Peaked at #10 for two weeks in April. #10, 10th week on the chart. Peaked at #3 the week of April 20.

Music fans know where I’m going with this entry. These two songs were both tributes to one of the greatest singers in American history.

Marvin Gaye was murdered by his father on April 1, 1984 following an argument between the two men. They had a long, troubled history together. Marvin Gay Sr. (note the difference in spelling of their last names) brutally beat his son often during his childhood. Their final altercation came when Marvin Jr. intervened in a fight between his parents. Marvin Sr. grabbed a gun and shot his son to death at the age of 44.

Marvin Gaye had one of the most amazing careers in American music. He broke out as an early star of Motown, both writing for other label acts and as a singer. He began with classic, wholesome songs like “Ain’t That Peculiar,” “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You),” and “Can I Get a Witness.” He had a long series of hits partnering with Mary Wells, Diana Ross, and most notably Tammi Terrell.

Seriously, if all he had ever released were his songs with Terrell, he still might be the greatest Motown act this side of Stevie Wonder.[1]
“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “If This World Were Mine,” “If I Could Build My World Around You,” “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing,” “You’re All I Need To Get By.” As I often say in these pieces, many artists would kill to have one of those songs. Marvin had all those…and many more.

In the 1970s his music become both more introspective and worldly, embracing political causes and addressing social ills. What’s Going On was his magnum opus, and of the greatest albums of its, or any, time. “Mercy, Mercy Me (The Ecology),” “Trouble Man,” and the album’s title track changed the arc of Black music, opening doors for performers to do more than sing love songs or dance tracks. Thanks to the album’s success, both critically and commercially, Motown relaxed the control it forced upon many of its artists, notably Stevie Wonder, who was about to go on one of the greatest runs of music ever seen. Well, heard.

Marvin struggled in the late 1970s, between addiction, marital woes, tax issues, and so on. But he returned in late 1982 with the triumphant “Sexual Healing,” and seemed poised for a glorious third act to his career before his death.

A little over a year after his passing, two artists hit the top ten with songs that were tributes to him.

Diana Ross’ “Missing You” was based on conversations she had about her former collaborator with Lionel Richie, who produced the track. It’s a little over-the-top, but Diana was always a little over-the-top so it fits. It still felt honest and moving.

The Commodores’ track, which was split between honoring Gaye and Jackie Wilson, who had also died in 1984, is my favorite of the two tracks. I’ve always loved its warmth, its soul, and how it felt more open than Ross’ highly personal track. Ironically, “Nightshift” was the only Top 40 single the Commodores had after Richie’s departure. Vocals were split between Walter Orange, who handles lead vocals on “Brick House,” and Richie’s replacement, J.D. Nichols. I found it interesting that the band did not want to release the song as a single but were forced to by their record label. It only went to #3 and earned them a Grammy a year later. Sometimes the label is right.

Marvin Gaye was a musical giant. He created dozens of timeless tracks, he helped many other acts find success, and he changed the musical world for all that followed him. These two tracks were fitting tributes.

Chart Week: March 24, 1984
Song: “They Don’t Know” – Tracey Ullman
Chart Position: #30, 5th week on the chart. Peaked at #8 for two weeks in April/May.

It’s been a minute or two since I’ve done one of these. Part of that is because my AT40 workflow has changed. My normal, weekday routine is to turn on the iHeart Radio Classic American Top 40 station while making breakfast, eating lunch, and other moments during the day when I am in the kitchen alone. Those moments have disappeared with everyone stuck at home.

It also seems like the local, Sunday replays have been repetitive of countdowns I’ve heard on the streaming channel relatively recently, so I haven’t been listening to those much either.

Sunday I caught 30 minutes or so of the local broadcast while making French toast. Casey didn’t share a great tidbit about this song or its artist. But it is a song that I’ve always loved and think never got its due.

While she’s had a long, varied, and successful career, Tracey Ullman is probably most famous for her variety show that ran on Fox in the late 80s. And it is most famous for being the launching point for The Simpsons, which originated as shorts on her show. Ullman also sang, and she released two albums in the 80s.

This song appeared on her 1984 album You Broke My Heart in 17 Places and was written and originally performed by the wonderful, late Kirsty MacColl. It sounded so out of place in 1984, with its 60’s callbacks. But it was a delightful song that has made me happy every time I’ve ever heard it. And I think right now we could all use more happy songs.

Enjoy this campy video and watch for a pretty significant cameo near the end.

Lydia Loveless put her own twangy, Midwestern spin on the song for her 2014 album Somewhere Else.

Chart Week: February 11, 1984
Song: “I Still Can’t Get Over Loving You” – Ray Parker, Jr.
Chart Position: #16, 14th week on the chart. Peaked at #12 the week of February 4.

Ray Parker Jr. had a hell of a career. Before he formed his first band, he was in the touring bands for the Spinners, Stevie Wonder, and Barry White. Later he worked with The Carpenters, Rufus and Chaka Khan, The Supremes, Aretha Franklin, Deniece Williams, Bill Withers, The Temptations, Boz Skaggs, Tina Turner, Diana Ross, LaToya Jackson, and New Edition. If he never recorded a song on his own, that right there would have been a great, great career.

Beginning in 1978 with his band Raydio,[1] he had a total of 13 Top 40 hits. Five of them hit the top 10. He will, of course, always be remembered for his biggest hit, the 1984 #1 smash “Ghostbusters,” which was both nominated for an Oscar and was the basis of a lawsuit.[2]

Parker had a unique sound he carried through his career. It was a pleasing mix of R&B, pop, and soul. It was black without being too black, which back then was still a big deal for a black artist looking to get mainstream airplay. No one sounded like Ray Parker Jr. That is unless he was producing your music. Then your songs pretty much sounded like his.

If there’s one thing other than Ghostbusting that Ray liked to sing about, it was getting a little on the side. On his very first hit, Raydio’s #8 song “Jack & Jill,” Jack goes out and finds some love when Jill can’t give him what he needs.

Raydio’s final top 10 hit, 1981’s “A Woman Needs Love (Just Like You Do),” was a bit of a sequel in which Parker wrote about Jill also not being faithful when Jack was out doing his thing. Casey Kasem said it could be a song in support of the Equal Rights Amendment, which was still fighting for passage in 1981. I’m not sure if that’s what the ERA was supposed to be about…

Parker’s first solo hit, 1982’s #4 “The Other Woman,” continued in that vein. So did other singles: “Let Me Go,” “It’s Our Own Affair,” and “Bad Boy.” Wikipedia doesn’t list Parker as having ever been married. Maybe he was onto something: he saw infidelity everywhere so why get locked down when one or both of you is just going to cheat?

Anyways…I heard this song somewhere about a year ago and a lyric near the end jumped out at me:

There’s no way to this thing’s through
No
I still can’t get over – not yet
I ain’t through loving you.
I’m gettin’ mad, girl
Don’t you ever try to leave- no no
It’ll be the last thing you’ll ever do

Holy shit, Ray! I know times were different, but, Jesus, even in the ‘80s I don’t think it was appropriate to threaten to kill your ex if she went off with some other dude. Especially when combined with him knocking the bust of his ex off the pedestal in this video. Kind of runs counter to the smooth, easy going persona Ray cultivated. Ever since I noticed that line last year I’ve had a hard time listening to any of Ray’s songs. And I’m hopeful that was just some dramatic account and he didn’t really threaten his exes when their relationships ended.

Elsewhere on the chart:
Debuting at #20 was “Thriller,” the biggest chart debut in over a decade. My first thought was, “That was some great marketing!” The video for “Thriller” premiered at midnight on December 2, 1983, yet the song was just debuting on the Hot 100 over two months later. Release the video, build buzz, release the single later and get a huge bump. Brilliant!

“Thriller” was, in fact, officially released as a single on January 23, 1984. But I know it was in high rotation on my local pop stations as soon as the video came out. So all that airplay counted for nothing and Michael, Quincy Jones, and Epic Records missed out on six weeks of potential massive sales and likely another #1 single.

Which doesn’t make sense, right? My best guess is that there was some kind of agreement with Paul McCartney well before “Thriller” was released that Michael would not release another single while “Say, Say, Say” was still climbing the charts. “Say Say Say” dropped from #1 the week of January 21, “Thriller” was released two days later. Maybe that was just a coincidence.

At #12 was the classic one-hit-wonder “99 Luftballons” by German artist Nena. During the countdown, Casey explained that different versions of the song had hit in different US markets. Some played the original, German version. Others were playing an updated version with English lyrics. To reflect that, Casey said they would be playing the English version in the following week’s show. I thought that was a nice touch.

I’m guessing Kansas City was an English version market, because I remember hearing it about a million times before I ever heard the German version. I could be wrong, though. It was 36 years ago.

Well crap. When I posted RFTS Vol. 37 last week I did so not realizing I had yet to post Vol. 36. So they are out of order. I apologize for the error.

Chart Week: January 30, 1988
Songs: “Push It,” Salt-N-Pepa; “Pump Up the Volume,” M/A/R/R/S
Chart Positions: #26, 11th week on the chart. Peaked at #19 the week of February 20. #25, 10th week on the chart. Peaked at #13 for three weeks in February/March.

When did my musical tastes shift away from both AT40 and the music featured on the program? As with most changes in preference, there was no zero hour – or song zero in this case – when a switch flipped and my musical journey was sent in a dramatically different direction.

But if you had to pinpoint a moment when things began to shift, I think December 1986 would be as good of a moment as any. That was when I bought both RUN-DMC’s Raising Hell and the Beastie Boys’ Licensed to Ill AND we moved to California, where I discovered that white suburban kids weren’t listening to Van Halen, Bon Jovi, Huey Lewis, Boston, Hall & Oates, etc. but rather the Beasties, LL Cool J, and dozens of West Coast rap acts I had never heard of. I hung onto my classic pop radio sensibilities for a couple more years, but the first great shift took place in late 1986/early 1987.

It wasn’t just my tastes that were changing, though. The pop chart was changing, too. Where in the early-to-mid 1980s the Hot 100 was filled with New Wave, rock, and straight pop acts, in 1987 it began to shed those sounds and move in a more mellow direction. There were more adult contemporary and R&B influenced artists on the charts. As my likes were shifting more toward a youthful, cutting edge, hip hop direction, AT40 was skewing toward a softer sound aimed at aging Baby Boomers.

But there were two songs on the chart in early 1988 that showed I was onto something and that the charts would eventually catch up.

At #26 was Salt-N-Pepa’s infectious “Push It,” a song even people who hated rap loved. By early 1988 I was seriously into hip hop, and while I enjoyed “Push It,” I also dismissed it a bit. S-n-P was no Public Enemy, Too Short, or Ice-T. At the same time I realized the song was opening doors. There were girls dancing to it in the hallways and singing along to it in their cars. “Push It” could be the gateway track for those cuties to stop judging us affluent, suburban, white guys for listening to “Black” music. Not bad for a song that began as a B-side.

One spot higher was another pivotal track in the shifting musical landscape. M/A/R/R/S was a one-off collaboration between 4AD label mates Colourbox and A.R. Kane. Built upon no fewer than 30 samples – most notably Eric B. & Rakim’s legendary “I Know You Got Soul,” which gave this track its title – “Pump Up the Volume” became one of the first British House tracks to crack the charts in either the UK or US. It topped the pop charts in Britain, New Zealand, Holland, Italy, and Canada along with the US Dance chart. It opened the doors for a flood of House and House-derivative artists to dominate both clubs and radio through the early 1990s. “Pump Up the Volume” was the only single M/A/R/R/S ever released. It’s impact was extraordinary. I kept the cassette-single in my car for a long, long time.

Were these the songs that shifted the top 40 for good? Certainly not. The charts went several interesting and odd ways in the 1990s before hip hop finally took over in the early 2000s. But these two songs were distant, early warnings of changes to come.

A quick reminder to update your bookmarks. Thebrannanblog.net will disappear in the next week or so. Make sure you are pointed to dsnotebook.me.

Chart Week: January 30, 1982
Song: “Waiting for a Girl Like You” – Foreigner
Chart Position: #2, 17th week on the chart. Spent 10 weeks at #2.

Chart geeks like me love the little tidbits that give the history of the charts added context. Highest debut, most hits by one artist in the top ten, biggest drop from #1, etc. I love all that shit.

In late 1981 and early 1982, Foreigner became one of the unluckiest bands in the history of the chart.

When the calendar flipped to 1982, there was a juggernaut topping the charts. Olivia Newton-John’s “Physical” was in its 8th week at #1. It would remain there through the week of January 23, a nice, round ten weeks in the top spot. “Physical” took over the top spot the week of November 21, 1981. A week later, Foreigner’s “Waiting for a Girl Like You” slid past Hall & Oates’ former #1 “Private Eyes” into the #2 spot. It was a massive song, made for slow skates at roller rinks and probably for teenagers necking to in their cars. Because that’s what teenagers did in 1981, right? I was 10; I have no idea.[1] It seemed inevitable that it would ascend to the chart’s top position.

“Waiting for a Girl Like You” stayed in the #2 spot for all of December. And all of January. When “Physical” finally fell to #4 the week of January 28, 1982, it wasn’t Foreigner who took over the top spot, but Hall & Oates with “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do).” After that final week at #2, “Waiting” began losing steam. When “Centerfold” knocked Hall & Oates from the top spot a week later, Foreigner fell to #3. Three weeks later, like a balloon losing all its air, the song was out of the Top 40.

That ten week run at #2 without ever hitting #1 set a Billboard record that still stands. Missy Elliott tied it in 2002–03 with “Work It.” But the modern charts make no sense so I still call Foreigner the true hard luck champions.

Foreigner eventually reached #1 with another mega ballad, “I Want to Know What Love Is.” It spent two weeks at #1, keeping the far superior “Easy Lover” out of the top spot.

By the way, Thomas Dolby played the unforgettable synth lines that anchored “Waiting for a Girl Like You.” He never hit #1 either.

As I scrolled through the 1982 charts, I noticed that there were a lot of huge #1 hits in the front half of the year. I define huge as spending five weeks or more at the top of the charts.

First there was “Physical,” and its 10 week reign. When “Centerfold” took over, it held the top spot for six weeks. “I Love Rock ’N Roll” was then #1 for seven weeks. After “Chariots of Fire” was #1 for a week, “Ebony and Ivory” held it down for seven weeks. “Don’t You Want Me” was #1 for three weeks, followed by “Eye of the Tiger” for six weeks. Finally things calmed down, with only “Jack & Diane” spending more than three weeks at #1 in the back half of the year.

I spent an evening looking through all the 1980s charts while L had soccer practice. 1982’s four songs with five or more weeks in the top spot – five if you count “Physical”’s 1981 weeks – was a record for the decade. In fact, no year from 1985–1989 had even a single song that spent five weeks at #1.

That shit changed when streaming was finally recognized.

Again, the miscellany that probably only interests us chart geeks.

Chart Week: January 15, 1983
Song: “Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy” – Sammy Hagar
Chart Position: #27, 6th week on the chart. Peaked at #13 for two weeks in February/March.

One of the disappointments of the iHeart Radio Classic American Top 40 channel is that only so many of the old countdowns have been digitized and, thus, countdowns are often repeated. Sometimes I’ll hear the same one twice in a week or so. Which bums me out, as there are so many countdowns from the nearly 20 years Casey did them and we only get to hear a handful.

I’ve never paid that close attention to the countdowns that are played on our local station each weekend. Last weekend, though, I heard a countdown I know I heard a year ago. So, apparently, there is a limited pool that has been syndicated as well. Double bummer.

I know I heard this countdown a year ago because in January 2019 I wrote down an anecdote Casey shared about Sammy Hagar but never got around to sharing it with you. Hearing it again last Sunday is an obvious sign from the Music Gods that I should share it now.

Casey began by telling his listeners of Sammy’s love for fast cars. Sammy owned a Porsche, a Trans Am, and even a Ferrari. One night after a show in San Francisco he was driving to his home north of the city in his BMW. As he drove, he got more anxious about getting home, so he drove faster and faster. Soon he was traveling way beyond the speed limit. “It was a crazy thing to do, and I knew it,” Casey quoted Sammy.

Moments later, Sammy saw red and blue lights of the California High Patrol in his rearview mirror. “I’ve never been so scared in my life,” said Sammy.

It turned out that the officer who pulled Sammy over had a young son who was a music fan. He asked his dad to keep an eye out for Sammy in his bright red Trans Am, and if he ever saw him, to get his autograph. The officer called in Sammy’s license, learned it was the Red Rocker at the wheel, and when he reached Sammy’s window said, “Hey, buddy, where’s your Trans AM?” He also told Sammy that he could take him to jail he was driving so fast.

The two men had a conversation, Sammy swore to be more careful, and signed an autograph for the officer’s son. “To Don,” it read, “your dad’s ok.”

“And Sammy has been watching the speed limit ever since,” Casey closed before playing Hagar’s latest hit.

I’m sure this story, if I heard it back when I was 11, delighted me. But now all I hear is bullshit.

Sammy was just anxious to get home, that’s why he was speeding? More like it was late, the roads were wide open, and he decided to have some fun.

I also find it hard to believe Sammy’s blood was clean of any stimulants or depressants.

Being that scared implies he had never been pulled over before. I scoff at this, as well.

And he’s been sticking to the speed limit ever since? The ultimate bullshit. We were a little over a year from Sammy hitting the charts with “I Can’t Drive 55.”

Classic record label A&R PR bullshit.

I will confirm that the CHP could be extremely friendly back in the ‘80s. My family moved to the Bay Area in late 1986. My stepdad had been out there for a few months, commuting every Sunday and Thursday night. He took possession of our new home in mid-December and my mom and I flew out on the Saturday before Christmas. Our flight was late, our bags didn’t make it, and SFO was a madhouse. By the time we left the airport my stepdad was good and pissed. We got off the San Mateo bridge, turned north on I–880, and headed to our new home. Anxious to get home, he kept driving faster and faster. Soon he saw red and blue lights in the rearview mirror and pulled over.

When the officer approached he said he had my stepdad going 70 from the moment he got off the bridge. That was apparently very fast in 1986. My stepdad handed over his Missouri driver’s license with a sheepish look on his face.

The officer took a look and exclaimed, “Raytown, Missouri?!? I grew up there. Slow it down,” and he handed the license back and sent us on our way.

Believe it or not, this was Sammy’s biggest solo hit. Here is the rather odd official video for the song. I say odd because for the first minute or so we never see Sammy’s face. Until we saw he was actually singing I thought that was a choice to hide how they were playing the album track over live video to make it sound better. But Sammy was a decent singer and turns out the audio is the live track.

For some extra fun, here is Sammy performing the song with Daryl Hall on the Live From Daryl’s House series.

Chart Week: November 6, 1982
Song: “Maneater” – Daryl Hall and John Oates
Chart Position: #36, 4th week on the chart. Peaked at #1 for three weeks in December and January.

I was hoping to turn on the local AT40 replay last weekend and hear a countdown from a Thanksgiving weekend past that would stir up some holiday-themed memories. Alas the station that plays the countdowns had already switched to Christmas music, and the countdown was one of the special Christmas shows that Casey did late in his life. He sounded very old and ill in the few seconds I listened.

With that not helping me, and the Sirius countdown from 1988, I decided to hop back a few weeks to a countdown I bookmarked just in case I needed something. Turns out it was perfect.

I strongly connect songs to times of year. If I heard a song at the pool in the summer of 1983, I will always think of that as a summer song. Thus, despite having singles scattered all through the calendar, I always think of Hall and Oates as a fall band. That’s because my three favorite songs of theirs were huge hits in three consecutive holiday seasons. “Out of Touch” was dominating in 1984. An uncle from New York rode with my mom and I out to central Kansas for Thanksgiving that year, and he had a copy of H&O’s Big Bam Boom that we listened to over-and-over. Christmas 1983 saw the peak of “Say It Isn’t So,” my favorite Hall and Oates track.

Thanksgiving 1982 kicked off that run. I remember that being a year when my mom and I drove out to her parents overnight, something we did on occasion. I would get home from school, watch some TV, make dinner, attempt to nap but fail, and when my mom got home from her second job around 10:30 she would make a pot of coffee, pack up the car, and hit the road around midnight. There was less traffic, AM radio reception was better meaning we could listen to good music the whole way, and we would arrive at my grandparents’ right around breakfast time. I would doze throughout the night while my mom powered away in the driver’s seat.

As the Kansas City radio stations would fade out the signal from WLS in Chicago was always easy to find on those chilly autumn nights. Many of my earliest radio memories are of listening to WLS and the various St. Louis pop stations we could receive after dark when we lived in southeast Missouri. So listening to WLS was like finding an old friend. They were playing basically the same music as Q–104 and ZZ–99 in Kansas City, but there was something about hearing those songs from Chicago that made them seem bigger, more important, and even more universal. The whole world could be hearing these songs, not just weird kids in Kansas City.

I know we heard “Maneater” several times on that six hour drive. That loping bass line grabbing my attention even if I was drifting off with my head against the window. I swear I remember NBC using it as bumper music during its Thanksgiving Day football game, which I thought was pretty cool, too.

By Thanksgiving week “Maneater” was in the top ten, about a month before it topped the chart. This countdown I heard a couple weeks back was the song’s first week in the top 40. Casey commented about it surely being another big hit for the Philly duo. He was pretty smart, that Casey.

I remember a few friends of mine not liking “Maneater.” They claimed the song was literally about a woman that would eat men. “That’s disgusting!” Eleven year old boys aren’t always the brightest humans. I knew, thanks to listening to Casey, that the song wasn’t about a modern cannibal, but rather about the pressures of living in New York City. I think I tried to argue this with some kids on the bus one day, but was told I was an idiot. I’m not saying I understood metaphor and allegory all that well; I was just going along with what I heard on the radio. Those other kids, though, clearly hadn’t developed their literary minds yet to take songs any way other than literally.

One more memory from that weekend that isn’t related to the song at all. I borrowed a friend’s Dungeons & Dragons basic players manual for the break. You know, the one with the red cover that you had to start with. I say borrowed when, in fact, I kind of snuck out of school with it on Wednesday. I had borrowed it during the day and, conveniently, decided not to swing by his locker as we left the building for the holiday. My goal was to copy every page and then give it back to him on Monday. I indeed spent that weekend at my grandparents’ home in central Kansas doing exactly that. I was frustrated because I didn’t have the different sided dice I needed to roll up characters. I was nervous when I gave it back to him on Monday. He told me he had been pissed when we left school, but he was cool with my by Monday. This was all extra dumb because a month later I got the D&D basic game for Christmas.

Oh, one more quick thing: this was the year I nearly got arrested before Thanksgiving for throwing snowballs at cars and hitting an unmarked police car. Good times!

Here’s to hoping you, or even better your kids, make some musical memories this week they will still be thinking about in 30 years.

Chart Week: September 17, 1983
Song: “Stand Back” – Stevie Nicks
Chart Position: #35, 16th week on the chart. Peaked at #5 the week of August 20.

First a piece of housekeeping. I noticed this morning that I mis-numbered my last entry, for some reason skipping from 31 to 34. I have updated that post to correctly show it as entry #32 in the Reaching for the Stars collection. I regret the error.

I’ve been sitting on this one for a couple weeks, it being a remnant from my recent readings on Prince.

This is one of those tidbits of music trivia that I’m angry I didn’t know 35 years ago. I did not know until about three or four years ago that Prince inspired this song and then helped Stevie Nicks record it. Which I totally should have known. Last New Year’s Day, while we were taking down Christmas decorations and listening to the Top 100 songs of 1983, Casey mentioned Prince’s role in the creation of the song, so it’s not like this was some obscure fact that got unearthed decades later.

Anyway, the story goes that Stevie and her new husband, Kim Anderson,[1] were driving up the California coast on January 29, 1983, the day they were married. As they drove they heard Prince’s “Little Red Corvette” on the radio. The song stuck in Stevie’s head, especially the layers of synthesizers Prince built the song on. She began humming along to it, her writer’s brain began buzzing, and soon she was singing her thoughts into a tape recorder.

Weeks later when she was recording the song, she called Prince and told him how he had inspired her. Soon he was zipping over to the studio, joined in on the session playing synthesizers, and then disappeared as if nothing had happened. Duane Tudahl’s book suggests that Stevie and Prince hung out on at least one more occasion in 1983, so they were friendly beyond that one somewhat random moment. I kind of love that Prince hung out with and was inspired by so many people from the classic rock world when he was in his prime.[2] He’s seen as this super-funky, far left field artist, especially in his early days. But as much as James Brown inspired him, so too did the more mainstream stuff that dominated FM radio in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s.

Just another song to add to the immense number of hits that Prince was responsible for, directly or indirectly, in the mid–1980s. This one just happened to be one of Stevie Nick’s four top five solo hits of the decade.

Bonus video for the absolutely massive The Hold Steady track “Stevie Nix.” “Loooord to be 17 forever…”

1. Assuming this wasn’t the Kim Anderson who played basketball at Missouri and later coached the Tigers.  ↩
2. The song “Purple Rain” was famously inspired by how he saw fans react to Bob Seger’s live shows.  ↩

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 in the spring of 1988, Casey’s reign as host of AT40 was about to come to an end. I don’t think it would be announced until later in the summer, but by May Casey knew that he would be leaving as host of the show he created in 1971 because of a contract dispute. So I’m wondering if he chose to do this countdown as a way of beginning his good bye process.

Regardless of it’s origin, it was a fun countdown to listen to. Partially because I can’t remember ever hearing a countdown like it that went away from the weekly top 40 format, other than in the end-of-year countdowns.

But it also struck me as compelling because I tuned in just after it began and something jumped out as me as odd and kept me listening for the next couple hours, even as I ran errands and picked up kids from school.

Before we jump into the list, a note on methodology. Well, Casey never really explained the methodology but I gathered that this list of artists was made based on their performance on the Billboard singles chart. And it was limited to artists that charted for the first time in the 1980s. So, as Casey pointed out in the final half hour, no Bryan Adams, who charted in 1976 (!), and no Prince, the Police, John Cougar Mellencamp, or Pat Benatar, who all charted in 1979.

I turned the countdown on in the mid–30s. I believe the first artist I heard was The Jets at #36. Then came #35. Casey said this Irish band, after years of building a loyal fanbase on “college and alternative radio,” had blown up the previous year to become the biggest band in the world.

Obviously this was U2. And I thought it funny that the “biggest band in the world” was checking in at #35. In a way that makes sense, as they had only cracked the Top 40 once before 1987, and that was “Pride (In The Name of Love)” which peaked at 33. But as you will see, the two #1’s and #13 single they had in ’87 challenges what some bands that would come later in the countdown would have.

I knew some of the bands that charted higher would make me laugh, or in some cases react with outrage. So here are the rest of the artists from that countdown, with some commentary.

(By the way, worth noting that about an hour of the time I was listening to this countdown was while I was pulling the poison ivy or whatever vines off our trees. Although the steroids the Mrs. put me on have helped some, I’m still itchy as hell. Thanks for asking.)

34 Night Ranger.

Right away we have a “Really?” Night Ranger had a few hits, but were they really bigger than U2 in 1987? They did have six top 20 hits, but none that got past #5. For each act Casey had a little blurb about their success before playing one of their songs. The blurb for Night Ranger was Jack Blades saying that they had reached the point where they could put out an album and know it would sell a million copies and they would tour it for a year. Simpler times.

33 Belinda Carlisle

OK, she was pretty big. One of two artists who will appear both as a solo artists and as part of a group.

32 Lisa Lisa

I loved LL, but bigger than U2? Suspect.

31 Debarge

Come on, man…

30 Howard Jones

I liked HoJo, but mercy.

29 Corey Hart

Not a one-hit wonder.

28 Go-Go’s

Belinda appears again. This seems low for one of the most influential bands of the decade.

27 Bon Jovi

New Jersey came out in the fall of 1988. They would be much higher had this list been done at the proper end of the decade. Speaking of, I’ve been dabbling with my Best of the Decade list for months. It’s time to get serious about it.

26 Pet Shop Boys

I forget that they weren’t just an arty band, but had four top 10 hits after their #1 smash “West End Girls,” the only one I really liked.

25 Loverboy

The kid is hot tonight!

24 Joan Jett & the Blackhearts

When you have one of the biggest songs of the decade, you can ride it a long way. Had only two other top ten songs with a handful that barely dented the back half of the chart.

23 Exposé

Say what now? I think I owned their debut album but I only remember two songs. But, goddamn, they had a great run. The four singles off their debut charted 5–5–7–1. Then the singles off their second album, which was released in 1989 after this list, went 8–10–9–17. I had no idea. Respect.

22 Tears for Fears

A vote for good music, this. It helps to have your first three singles go 1–1–3.

21 Thompson Twins

Another that seems high. Four top 11 songs, but none higher than #3. I’d push them down the list.

20 George Michael

The other artist to chart twice. Faith was in the midst of its run, having already produced two #1’s, with three more to come. Do this list later in the year and George is probably #2 on the whole damn thing.

19 Human League

Again, one massive hit and a few minor ones add up.

18 Billy Idol

You will all be pleased to hear that Casey played the live version of “Mony Mony” to represent Billy’s work.

17 Bangles

Two huge hits, including the biggest song of 1987, and you push up against the top 15. Still seems a little high given their overall output.

16 Miami Sound Machine

This one kind of amazed me. Casey pointed out they were one of the biggest selling acts in the world before they began singing in English and charting. I don’t think that had anything to do with this placement, though. Looking at their output, this ranking makes no sense. They had a steady run of 10–8–5–25–5–36–6 before this countdown. But that really doesn’t seem to merit #16 on the list.

15 Laura Brannigan

“Glory-Gloriaaaaaaaaa!” But, again, this kind of makes no sense. Three top ten hits and two other top 20’s. I’m starting to think Casey’s staff was just making these up as they went.
“What about Laura Branigan, we haven’t included her yet?”
“Shit, I don’t want to have to re-do the whole thing. Just put her in the next spot.”

14 Irene Cara

The female Kenny Loggins. Two massive, timeless, title tracks from two different movies. Four other top 40 hits were the icing on the pie.

13 Eurythmics

Funny how a group that got laughed at by many for their first video became one of the biggest acts of the decade. A vote for good music here.

12 Janet Jackson

Five top-five hits off one album is epic. Another artist who jumps higher if we go to the end of the decade and include the first two singles from Rhythm Nation.

11 Men at Work

Had two #1 singles – including one of the iconic songs of the decade – along with #3 and #6 hits. Two other minor hits. Then they disappeared. Perhaps the ultimate ‘80s band.

10 Wham!

I only liked two Wham! songs (“Everything She Wants” and “Freedom”), so this seems high to me. Then I looked and saw they had three #1’s and two #3’s in their brief run. Since this was a singles-driven countdown, #10 makes sense.

9 Christopher Cross

Here’s the “Holy shit!” entry of the list. Dude was huge for about three years then completely disappeared.

8 Survivor

It keeps happening, but here is the clearest case of how one blockbuster song followed by a series of singles that peppered the top ten can elevate a band. “Eye of the Tiger” is one of the biggest songs of the decade. The rest of their songs, most with second lead singer Jimi Jamison, were big in the moment if largely forgettable. But “Tiger” was so big it really drags those five other top 20 hits a long way.

7 Cyndi Lauper

The breakout star of the summer of 1984 had a really good run through the late 80s. Eight top ten hits in under seven years is great work.

6 Culture Club

This seems high to me, too. But a #1, two #2’s, their first five singles all hit the top ten, followed by three that hit the top 20. I suppose that’s more impressive than Men at Work’s accomplishments.

5 Whitney Houston

For several artists Casey played little audio clips from interviews. Whitney in 1988 did not sound like the Whitney who would be a reality TV famous/infamous a decade-and-a-half later.

4 Duran Duran

For awhile they were bigger than the Beatles. At least in terms of sales; never in terms of influence or quality. Nine top tens and some of the most unforgettable videos of the decade made them iconic.

3 Air Supply

These wankers had a shitload of terrible songs that people bought the fuck out of. If I ever do my breakdown of the best weekly Top 10’s of the decade, they will always be the element that drags a week down.

2 Huey Lewis & the News

God damn, Huey! 1982–1989: #7, #36, #41, #8, #6, #6, #6, #18, #1, #1, #3, #1, #9, #6, #3, #25.

1 Madonna

Was there any doubt?