Chart Week: January 30, 1982
\nSong: \u201cWaiting for a Girl Like You\u201d – Foreigner
\nChart Position: #2, 17th week on the chart. Spent 10 weeks at #2.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
In late 1981 and early 1982, Foreigner became one of the unluckiest bands in the history of the chart.<\/p>\n
When the calendar flipped to 1982, there was a juggernaut topping the charts. Olivia Newton-John\u2019s \u201cPhysical\u201d 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. \u201cPhysical\u201d took over the top spot the week of November 21, 1981. A week later, Foreigner\u2019s \u201cWaiting for a Girl Like You\u201d slid past Hall & Oates\u2019 former #1 \u201cPrivate Eyes\u201d 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\u2019s what teenagers did in 1981, right? I was 10; I have no idea.[1]<\/a> It seemed inevitable that it would ascend to the chart\u2019s top position.<\/p>\n \u201cWaiting for a Girl Like You\u201d stayed in the #2 spot for all of December. And all of January. When \u201cPhysical\u201d finally fell to #4 the week of January 28, 1982, it wasn\u2019t Foreigner who took over the top spot, but Hall & Oates with \u201cI Can\u2019t Go for That (No Can Do).\u201d After that final week at #2, \u201cWaiting\u201d began losing steam. When \u201cCenterfold\u201d 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.<\/p>\n That ten week run at #2 without ever hitting #1 set a Billboard record that still stands. Missy Elliott tied it in 2002\u201303 with \u201cWork It.\u201d But the modern charts make no sense so I still call Foreigner the true hard luck champions.<\/p>\n Foreigner eventually reached #1 with another mega ballad, \u201cI Want to Know What Love Is.\u201d It spent two weeks at #1, keeping the far superior \u201cEasy Lover\u201d out of the top spot.<\/p>\n By the way, Thomas Dolby played the unforgettable synth lines that anchored \u201cWaiting for a Girl Like You.\u201d He never hit #1 either.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n First there was \u201cPhysical,\u201d and its 10 week reign. When \u201cCenterfold\u201d took over, it held the top spot for six weeks. \u201cI Love Rock \u2019N Roll\u201d was then #1 for seven weeks. After \u201cChariots of Fire\u201d was #1 for a week, \u201cEbony and Ivory\u201d held it down for seven weeks. \u201cDon\u2019t You Want Me\u201d was #1 for three weeks, followed by \u201cEye of the Tiger\u201d for six weeks. Finally things calmed down, with only \u201cJack & Diane\u201d spending more than three weeks at #1 in the back half of the year.<\/p>\n I spent an evening looking through all the 1980s charts while L had soccer practice. 1982\u2019s four songs with five or more weeks in the top spot – five if you count \u201cPhysical\u201d\u2019s 1981 weeks – was a record for the decade. In fact, no year from 1985\u20131989 had even a single song that spent five weeks at #1.<\/p>\n That shit changed when streaming was finally recognized.<\/p>\n Again, the miscellany that probably only interests us chart geeks.<\/p>\n
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