EVERY Billboard #1 hit discussion thread 1958-Present

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by alphanguy, Jan 29, 2016.

  1. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    Where did you two come from? I mean, where did you two live in 1984 that you've never heard this song? What kind of musical world were your heads in during that time?

    I was never a dance club guy either. I heard the song on MTV.
     
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  2. boyjohn

    boyjohn Senior Member

    I can see how someone may not have heard the song at time of release, because at the time there was still a lot of radio stations that refused to play any song that even had a hint of disco in it. But I still find it bizarre that someone hadn't heard the song in the years after, since it always pops up in lists of best dance songs, etc, and has been cited as influence by an incredible amount of artists.
     
  3. SITKOL'76

    SITKOL'76 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colombia, SC
    This is a classic, it'll come up again in this thread one day.
     
  4. John54

    John54 Senior Member

    Location:
    Burlington, ON
    I like it, but they had other songs I like more, like My Heart Goes Bang Bang and about two-thirds of the Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know album.
     
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  5. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    "Spin" is what they're best remembered for, but "Brand New Lover" in a lot of ways was a better song and practically the dictionary definition of a Stock Aitken Waterman hit (altho they didn't write it, the band did).
     
  6. boyjohn

    boyjohn Senior Member

    I prefer "In Too Deep", especially the 12" version.
     
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  7. alphanguy

    alphanguy Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Missouri
    You can't mention "You Spin Me Around" without seeing this. Amazingly accurate and hilarious at the same time!!

     
  8. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    I did think of that, yes.
     
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  9. AppleBonker

    AppleBonker Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle
    My brother won the Dead or Alive album on a radio station when he called in with the correct answer to a trivia question. We both found that rather hilarious, as I doubt he would have acquired it otherwise!
     
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  10. AppleBonker

    AppleBonker Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle
    I've never heard of or seen any of those films, either! :laugh: (OK, I have heard of Breaking All the Rules, I think it was one of those VHS tapes that floated around my local Blockbuster in the 90s).

    (I did see the Crying Game, but the song made no impression on me whatsoever. Meanwhile, I remember to this day Boy George's great cover of the title song, which I only heard on the radio a few times after seeing the film).
     
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  11. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    Strange how we're all waiting for this next song to drop. We all know what it is, and whom it's by, and who played and produced it...
     
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  12. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    Isn't it, now?
     
  13. Cheevyjames

    Cheevyjames Forum Resident

    Location:
    Graham, NC
    1984!

    I started listening to the radio around '81, maybe '82, but 1984 was the first year I really paid attention to what was going on. It's understandable that I still have a nostalgic fondness for songs from '84-'86. I think a lot of it definitely still holds up, but some of it is, I admit, just me enjoying music from my childhood when I first started obsessing over radio. Even looking through the list of 1984's #1 songs, I can stomach the songs I don't love. Mostly, though, I still really like most of these #1's My favorite #1 of the year is a hard choice. Let's Hear it for the Boy, Time After Time, When Doves Cry, Let's Go Crazy & Wake Me Up Before You Go Go are all great songs. I love the mood that Wham! puts me in, but right now, for sheer "song quality" I'll go with Time After Time as my fave #1 of the year. It's a fantastic song. Here's how I break them down:

    Keeps:

    Yes - Owner of a Lonely Heart
    Culture Club - Karma Chameleon
    Van Halen - Jump
    Phil Collins - Against All Odds
    Deniece Williams - Let's Hear It For the Boy
    Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time
    Duran Duran - Reflex
    Prince - When Doves Cry
    Ray Parker, Jr - Ghostbusters
    Tina Turner - What's Love Got to Do With It
    John Waite - Missing You
    Prince - Let's Go Crazy
    Wham! - Wake Me Up Before You Go Go
    Hall & Oates - Out of Touch

    Trashes:

    Kenny Loggins - Footloose
    Lionel Richie - Hello
    Stevie Wonder - I Just Called to Say I Love You
    Billy Ocean - Caribbean Queen
     
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  14. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    There were a few songs in 1984 that made the top on one or both of the "other" charts (which at this point were Cash Box and Radio & Records; Record World ceased publication in 1982) but not Billboard. To wit:
    - "Union Of The Snake" by Duran Duran (CB only)
    - "Thriller" by Michael Jackson (R&R only)
    - "99 Luftballoons" by Nena (CB only)
    - "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper (CB only)
    - "Dancing In The Dark" by Bruce Springsteen (CB / R&R - there, he did have a Number One as a writer/performer, just not in Billboard. So there.)
    - "Stuck On You" by Lionel Richie (R&R only)
    - "Hard Habit To Break" by Chicago (R&R only)
    - "Purple Rain" by Prince And The Revolution (CB / R&R)
    - "I Feel For You" by Chaka Khan (CB only)
    - "The Wild Boys" by Duran Duran (CB / R&R)

    Sort of reminds me of the UK chart #1's reviews where a lot of people dismiss songs that made #1 in NME and/or Melody Maker but did not top the "Official Charts" (which in this period were compiled by Gallup). "Oh, that wasn't a 'real' #1" is the usual cry. Similar to what a lot of those weaned on Billboard believe thanks to the 1-2 punch of Joel Whitburn and Casey Kasem-hosted American Top 40.
     
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  15. Cheevyjames

    Cheevyjames Forum Resident

    Location:
    Graham, NC
    Here are the songs that stalled at #2 in 1984:

    Hall & Oates - Say it Isn't So (Carried over from '83). Behind McCartney & Jackson's Say Say Say - 1 wk
    Kool & the Gang - Joanna. Behind Karma Chameleon - 1 wk
    Nena - 99 Luftballons (German version). Behind VH Jump - 1 wk
    Rockwell - Somebody's Watching Me. Behind VH Jump - 1 wk & Footloose - 2 wks
    Springsteen - Dancing in the Dark. Behind Duran's Reflex - 1 wk & When Doves Cry - 3 wks
    Prince - Purple Rain. Behind Wham's Wake Me Up - 2 wks.
    Duran Duran - Wild Boys - behind Hall & Oates' Out of Touch - 1 wk & OUR NEXT #1 - 2 wks

    Judging purely by time spent at #2, Dancing in the Dark would be the winner at 4 weeks. My favorite of these songs is definitely Purple Rain. It's an incredible song and probably my favorite Prince song. The melody and guitar solo are phenomenal.

    I also REALLY love 99 Luftballons. I get the sense that these days it's not very loved, but I don't care. I think it's a fantastic song.

    Because it rules:

     
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  16. The Slug Man

    The Slug Man Forum Resident

    Location:
    North Carolina
    Keeps:

    Yes - Owner of a Lonely Heart
    Culture Club - Karma Chameleon
    Van Halen - Jump
    Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time
    Prince - When Doves Cry
    Tina Turner - What's Love Got to Do With It
    John Waite - Missing You
    Prince - Let's Go Crazy
    Billy Ocean - Caribbean Queen
    Wham! - Wake Me Up Before You Go Go

    Indifferent:

    Deniece Williams - Let's Hear It For the Boy
    Hall & Oates - Out of Touch

    Trashes:

    Phil Collins - Against All Odds
    Kenny Loggins - Footloose
    Duran Duran - Reflex
    Lionel Richie - Hello
    Ray Parker, Jr - Ghostbusters
    Stevie Wonder - I Just Called to Say I Love You

    All in all, musically 1984 was a good year. It was in the hard rock/metal arena as well (Iron Maiden's Powerslave, Whitesnake's Slide It In, Metallica's Ride The Lighting, Van Halen's 1984, Scorpions' Love At First Sting, Deep Purple's Perfect Strangers, Mercyful Fate's Don't Break The Oath)
     
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  17. mbrownp1

    mbrownp1 Forum Resident


    Let The Music Play got massive radio play in Suburban DC and in Southern New England.
     
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  18. AppleBonker

    AppleBonker Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle
    It's time again for me to pick a song from the current year I would have liked to see get to #1 (but didn't!).

    It was an interesting year for the Lennons, with one of John's last hits, Nobody Told Me, and his son Julian's first, Valotte. Both are on my list of faves. Paul McCartney also had one of his last big hits in No More Lonely Nights.

    [​IMG]

    Some others I liked: Eyes Without a Face, several Cars hits (Magic, You Might Think, Drive), 99 Luft Ballons, the Go Go's Head Over Heels, Tracey Ullman's They Don't Know, Cum On Feel the Noize, Here Comes the Rain Again, and Authority Song.

    The Bangles released two great singles that went nowhere: Hero Takes A Fall and Going Down to Liverpool. Neither was a hit. Even having Spock in the Liverpool video, or Susanna Hoffs in a french maid's outfit in the Hero video :love:, was enough to give them a hit! As much as I like these songs (especially Hero), I can't justify elevating them from so low to the top. A pity, as I think this was their best period.

    [​IMG]

    The most iconic song of the year was Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, and it probably deserved to be #1, but I just don't like it enough to give it the boost. Another close call for me is Middle of the Road, but it looks like the Pretenders will once again miss out, just like last year.

    So the song I've decided to give the kick upstairs is Pink Houses by John Cougar Mellencamp. This song seemed to be everywhere in early 1984, making it all the more surprising that it didn't become his second #1. It eventually topped out at just 8, but certainly deserved better, especially given how it has lasted.

    [​IMG]

    Pink Houses has a twin from later in the year: Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA. Like Houses, Born seemed like a bigger hit than it was (it only got to 9 on the charts), and both have been embraced as celebrations of the US thanks to rah-rah choruses that seem to overwhelm the far more trenchant aspects of the rest of the lyrics. Born in the USA was about a Vietnam veteran and his trouble readjusting to civilian life after his experiences in that war. But the anthemic chorus so overwhelmed the rest of the message that even the Ronald Reagan presidential campaign sought to use it in his campaign appearances (they were rebuffed).

    Pink Houses, too, was used for a time in a presidential campaign: the John McCain campaign of 2008. Mellencamp requested they stop, and they did.



    Mellencamp says that the song was originally inspired one day when he was driving home from the airport. On the highway, he passed by an old black man sitting in front of a small pink house, holding a cat. The man seemed utterly unbothered by the traffic whizzing by his house, and when Mellencamp drove by, they waved at each other.

    That black man features prominently in the first verse of the song. The song goes on to give us little snapshots of Americans, some happy and some not, who have had to live with the diminished prospects that have come with the dimming of the American dream. Another song Pink Houses recalls is Little Boxes, a folk song from the fifties that took a satirical look at the suburbanization of America. That song painted the new prefab houses and neighborhoods, symbols of New Frontier upward mobility, as monotonous prisons, with Americans being squeezed into 'little boxes, all the same'. By the eighties, whatever promise that the Levittowns had made was squandered as blue collar mobility stagnated. But, sings Mellencamp with Little Boxes pique, we still had those 'little Pink Houses for you and me'.

    [​IMG]

    Mellencamp has never liked the third verse of the song, feeling he should have made it more meaningful. I can see what he was aiming at: another attempt to show the differences between the 'winners' and 'losers' (most of us being the latter). But I agree that the way he expressed it was not nearly as eloquent as the first two verses; the final rhyming couplet is somewhat of a clunker, just when he should have presented the coup-de-grace. But it does not detract much from the overall effect. The final chorus comes roaring in, and he spits out the final 'Pink Houses' refrain with extreme passion, the 'yeah yeah' refrain in particular. He expresses what he intended even without saying it in the lyrics.

    1984 was a transitional year in pop music dominated by synths and beats, but for my money, the iconoclastic heartland rocker John Cougar Mellencamp presented an essential voice raised in protest to the "greed is good" ethos. And Pink Houses was the best summation of his philosophy to date. It certainly deserved a top spot on the charts that year!
     
  19. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    The '80s are seen as a truly vacuous period on the pop charts, but by '84 even the Top 10 was littered with socially conscious songs, from the hits by Mellencamp and Springsteen to an upcoming #1 hit released toward the end of '84 from a band whose social commentary had previously been pretty tongue in cheek.

    I think The Human League dropping "The Lebanon" early in '84 might have had something to do with spawning cuts like "The War Song" later in the year, showing that synth pop and New Romantic acts were perfectly capable of delivering socially and politically aware tunes. Although "The Lebanon" stiffed on the US charts, I still remember the first time I heard it in '84 and being really impressed that a fully-contemporary electronic pop song could carry all of the blistering commentary of something like "Ohio" from a decade before.
     
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  20. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    No. He said we are doing a year roll-up before he announces the final #1 hit of 1984.
     
  21. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    Which I seemed to recall he was holding off on as it spilled over to '85.
     
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  22. Hoover Factory

    Hoover Factory Old Dude Who Knows Things

    Location:
    Spokane, WA
    Alphanguy said, “Let's go ahead and do our year end review now, since the next song will take us all the way to the end of January of 1985. ”
     
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  23. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    Must've been the way I read that. . . .
     
  24. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    And the song was released on October 31!
     
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  25. John54

    John54 Senior Member

    Location:
    Burlington, ON
    I've already mentioned Hollow Horse by the Icicle Works, I completely agree with Eyes Without a Face by Billy Idol, and here's another song that deserved to hit the top in '84 -

    The Boomtown Rats, Dave:

     

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