Category: 1984

The Number One Songs of 1984 – Part Two

On By bigbadburchIn 198410 Comments

Yesterday I had a look at the first ten songs that hit number one in the year 1984. Today I’ll finish the list with the other ten. Part One is back this way if you want to catch up.

Prince And The Revolution – When Doves Cry

Right off the bat we get to the other song to stay on top for five weeks during the year. We also get to what was crowned the single of the year in many contexts, including being the best seller. It was also a soundtrack song to the film Purple Rain, landing Prince the rarity of having the number one album, song and movie all at the same time. Only Elvis and The Beatles can also brag about that.

When Doves Cry is a masterpiece of a song. Equal parts pop, synth and funk, this track has all the emotions in it. It’s fairly complex lyrical fare, revolving around a complicated childhood and a love affair. It’s considered one of Prince’s greatest tracks and it is the reigning winner, with a few qualifications to discuss later, of 1984.

Ray Parker Jr. – Ghostbusters

Up next is yet another soundtrack song, and no we’re not done with those. Movies and music were huge business in the 1980’s. Ray Parker Jr. got a lot of mileage off of his hit theme song for the smash movie, it stayed on top of the charts for three weeks.

Here is where I get to save a lot of time – I talked about this song earlier this year and I can just link that post here. Needless to say I love the song, I don’t often write about songs I don’t like in full posts. But I’m sure it will happen someday.

Tina Turner – What’s Love Got To Do With It

And now it’s on to a much deserved comeback and career-defining achievement. Tina Turner’s only number one hit came from her 1984 album Private Dancer and logged three weeks on top in September of ’84. This song also cleaned up at the Grammys, being the huge winner for 1984 songs at that awards show.

The song is smooth and deceivingly upbeat musically as the subject matter is pretty complex and a bit down. For Tina it was a smash success, the second best-selling single of the year, and launched her into a new phase of superstardom that was well-earned after all she’d been through. Quite the triumphant story here.

John Waite – Missing You

When I first looked over the list I honestly couldn’t remember this song, but it came back pretty quickly when I pressed play. This song occupies a unique spot on the 1984 number one list – it was the only song to be in the top spot for only one week. It would be John Waite’s only number one as a solo act – he would score another as the singer for Bad English a few years later on.

After looking back on it I don’t mind this song. I’m not all that into it, it’s a bit too soft rock for my tastes really. I’m literally writing about Exciter’s Violence And Force album for a future album post so this here isn’t totally my cup of tea. But it’s ok and a bit better than what I was expecting going in.

Prince And The Revolution – Let’s Go Crazy

Prince logs his second number one of the year, the only artist to pull that off in 1984. This spent two weeks on top and gave Prince the most weeks at number one for the year. The song is fun and fast and, like the title and its creator, crazy.

Stevie Wonder – I Just Called To Say I Love You

One of the world’s most innovate musicians took a career turn in the ’80’s to more commercial accessibility, and this song was the ultimate payoff. Crafted as a song for the movie The Woman In Red, this spent three weeks at the chart’s top. It didn’t just go number one in the US either – the world charts show bunch of 1’s in the chart positions list.

This is another one I remember being all over the place back then, no real getting away from it. I won’t call it my favorite song in the world but I do enjoy hearing it again, it does take me back to that glorious time.

Billy Ocean – Caribbean Queen

Billy Ocean would land the first of a handful of number one hits with this track. The funny thing was this song bombed originally in Europe with a different name, then won over the same audience after the reworked Caribbean theme caught hold in the US. This had two weeks topping the chart.

This may seem odd but I’m honestly enjoy Billy Ocean’s music quite a bit. There’s something maybe a bit more accessible or fuller about his songs and I’ve always had an ear for when he had a song on radio or TV. I clearly wasn’t the only one, Billy caught on with a hell of a lot of people given his solid run through the years.

Wham! – Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go

It was now go-go time for Wham!, as George Michael would kick off a stellar career with, well, a pretty goofy song and an extremely goofy video. It hung out at the top of the chart for three weeks and was the start of a run of three number one songs for the group as Michael morphed into a solo artist in the next year.

This song is, well, it’s certainly a song. I don’t mean to dump on it as it was intentionally crafted to be bubblegum pop as opposed to a song like Careless Whisper that has something deeper going on with it. The video might call for actual eye bleach depending on just how ’80’s you wanna get and it was an outlier even then. But overall I do enjoy Wham! And I can even jam out to this one now and again.

Hall and Oates – Out Of Touch

The dynamic pop duo would land their sixth and final number one hit with this snazzy dance number toward the end of 1984. The song got two weeks at the top.

I can again save a lot of time here since I wrote about this one not too long ago, so here’s that post.

Madonna – Like A Virgin

The year wrapped up with one hell of a bang, as Madonna landed the first of 44 singles at the top of the Billboard chart. Yes, 44. The Queen of Pop had arrived. Like A Virgin held the spot for one actual week in 1984 though the calendar shows two – Billboard didn’t do a last-week chart so positions were frozen for the holidays. It held on to the top spot for four weeks in 1985, so it matched When Doves Cry and Jump with five weeks at the top of the chart.

Even with such a long line of hits, Like A Virgin is extra iconic. It was both a catchy song and a provocative statement, the open sexuality of the song being a massive topic of conversation. 1984 went out with one hell of a bang and one of music’s biggest stars was on the big stage.

That does it for the number one songs of 1984. When Doves Cry is generally hailed as the “winner” of the year, though Madonna has a hell of an argument for that title. Tina Turner also came away with a ton of accolades for her signature song. There were a few last-time number ones, a few first timers and a hell of a lot of soundtracks.

1984 was curious chart-wise for a few reasons. When I did the top albums list that was one short section, with only five albums when other years see over twenty. The songs were a stable rotation of stuff up and down – many other years see songs bounce in and out of the top spot but that never happened once in 1984.

And none of these can be considered one hit wonders. Everyone had other hits on the charts and many of these folks had other number one hits. It was a true hit maker’s parade at the top of the Billboard in 1984.

That does it for this post. I will continue my year-long celebration of 1984 with more album and song discussions as the second half of the year winds along, and probably a few more special looks at other things from the year. Enjoy the ride, because we’re not ever getting the 1980’s back again.

Questions, comments or concerns? Use the comment form below or head to my contact page.

The Number One Songs of 1984 – Part One

On By bigbadburchIn 198411 Comments

It’s time to have a look at the songs that hit number one on the Billboard charts during 1984. It’s a pretty memorable selection overall so this will be fun to go through. There is a fair bit of trivia and whatnot to go through and it cuts through a fair cross section of music, while of course being mainly oriented toward pop.

There were twenty total number one songs so that makes it easy for me to divide this into two parts. Part two will arrive tomorrow.

Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson – Say Say Say

Up first is one of three holdovers from 1983. This song comes from Macca’s 1983 album Pipes Of Peace. The album itself wasn’t fawned over but this song was a massive hit, hanging out on the top of the chart for six weeks, two of those being in 1984. It of course doesn’t hurt that it had Michael Jackson on it, who had cemented himself as the King of Pop after the world-conquering run Thriller had been on.

Say Say Say is a pretty simple pop track, there isn’t a whole hell of a lot to it. I don’t find it all that interesting, though Jackson does add some spice to the song and is the worthwhile part of it. It honestly sounds more like a Jackson song that McCartney showed up on rather than the other way around. Nothing really wrong with it, but it was number one because of Michael and everyone knows it.

Yes – Owner Of A Lonely Heart

This next song from 1983 became the one and only chart topper for the progressive rock act. There’s a whole story behind this song but it’s too long and windy for here. Basically the band got back together with a few new members, one being Trevor Rabin, who brought this song with him. The band fussed over recording it for several months before finally nailing it down.

This is a really cool song that I remember fondly from back then. It has the fit of a nice synth rock track from the era, though it does incorporate some noisy zaniness as well. I’m not familiar with Yes’s initial era so I didn’t feel “burned” by their pop turn, hell I wasn’t even alive for most of their 70’s stuff. So I can enjoy this one with no reservations about the band’s changes. This one held down the top spot for two weeks.

Culture Club – Karma Chameleon

This is the final song from 1983 on the list and also the only number one US hit for the British pop merchants. This song was massive and sold millions of copies, both of single and album. Culture Club were a relatively brief phenomenon and Boy George’s tabloid presence long outlived the music itself, but this band sold records like hotcakes back in the day. I’m sure one thing helped the other there, of course.

This one is a fun, upbeat new wave number with just a small twinge of country in it. The music video is also fun, filled with vibrant colors that catch attention. It’s probably fun to watch the video while on certain drugs but I wouldn’t know. The song spent three weeks at number one though it was a cultural moment that hung around for quite awhile after its run at the top. I also can’t imagine what people a lot younger than me think of it, especially the video, but hey it was the 1980’s and this is what we did.

Van Halen – Jump

And now we’re on to one I’m very, very familiar with. Van Halen turned gears a bit for their 1984 album and Eddie used synth lines to full effect, including as a foundation for this song. The recipe was a successful one and Van Halen rode this to their one and only number one single.

Jump hung out on the top of the chart for five weeks. Only one other song did five weeks at number one in 1984 and one other did six weeks bleeding into 1985, both obviously will be covered tomorrow.

I personally love this song. Van Halen and specifically this album got me really into rock music at a young age so this is kind of where things really kicked off for me. It’s easily my favorite of the number one list, though there are plenty of other worthy songs to go over.

Kenny Loggins – Footloose

This is the first of two songs from the film soundtrack that hit number one. It hung out on top for three weeks as soundtracks took over the top spot for awhile in this period of the year.

I don’t have a ton to say about this one. I honestly was never into the movie and I have no affinity for it. I do like Kenny Loggins’ music though and this song is fine, I get why it caught on like it did.

Phil Collins – Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)

Up next is a song from a different soundtrack, as Phil Collins cut a song for a film of the same name. The song was Phil’s first US number one hit, he would go on to have several more. This one did what seems to be a standard run of three weeks at the chart’s peak.

I only very, very vaguely recall the movie and I can only recall that I think it sucked. The song isn’t nearly that bad although it’s also maybe a bit meh. I’m not down on Phil Collins like a lot of people can be, I’m pretty sure he’s taken so much shit that it makes Nickelback hate look like child’s play. I even like some of Phil’s stuff, both with Genesis and his solo songs. But this one doesn’t quite move me the same way as other songs of his. It’s ok but not one I’d playlist or anything.

Lionel Richie – Hello

We get a brief respite from soundtrack songs as Lionel Richie jumped into the number one fray for two weeks with this slow jam. Richie was becoming quite the megastar during this time, by 1985 he’d be pretty well on top of the world and solidified himself as one of the best-selling artists of the 1980’s. He was all over the place back in the day and this was a time when there were only like three real TV channels, not the wall-to-wall coverage like we have today.

Hello is a quiet, soft ballad in the style Richie had taken up for his solo run. It was one of his biggest hits so obviously he got it right. He put together quite the concept piece for a video too, with full on acting and an actual story as opposed to just flashy images and clothing.

Deniece Williams – Let’s Hear It For The Boy

Back to the Footloose soundtrack here for the other number one hit from that record. This was Williams’ second of two number one hits and this one did two weeks on the top. Also of note are backing singers George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam, who would go on to form the writing and performing duo Boy Meets Girl. They would craft a pair of Whitney Houston’s number one hits a few years down the road.

Again not a whole lot to say here. It’s a fun, upbeat track and I remember this being on radio and TV all the time. A very easy, inoffensive song to play for most any occasion.

Cyndi Lauper – Time After Time

Up next is this pop ballad from Lauper, who found her first number one with this and kept the spot for two weeks. She would hit the top again but not for several years, though she had a lot of other hits that were not far off of the top. And she’s an artist that many people might not realize is as successful as she truly is, she’s had quite the career.

This is a song I do really like and one again I remember fondly from 40 years ago. It’s a nice ballad with some tempo and atmosphere to it and it’s a very sweet and affirming message. Always nice to hear this song.

Duran Duran – The Reflex

We’ll close out part one of the list with one of two songs to go number one for the iconic British new wave group. The song spent the customary two weeks on the chart before giving way to what became the single of the year. This was also part of a two-song “block” that prevented Bruce Springsteen from having a number one single, a feat the Boss hasn’t accomplished with work he has performed to this day.

The Reflex is a crazy ass song, in fact this is a dance remix that is different from what is on the studio album. This isn’t my favorite Duran Duran song but I don’t have anything bad to say about it, just not my cup of tea really.

That wraps up part one. Tomorrow I’ll kick things off straight away with the top song of 1984, a few other titanic cuts including Tina Turner’s massive comeback and Stevie Wonder’s best-charting song, and also what actually counts as the most successful charting song of 1984. Oh, and after nearly three years of writing this blog, I’ll finally get to talk about Wham! Looking forward to it.

For questions, comments or concerns, use the comment form below or head to my contact page.

The Billboard Number One Albums of 1984

On By bigbadburchIn 198411 Comments

This being the 40th anniversary of 1984 and all of the great music that came from that year, I want to go a bit beyond just looking at albums from then and get into some other stuff. I will be looking at albums again today but in a different context – today I’m going to discuss all of the albums that topped the Billboard 200 chart in 1984.

If I were doing this for most any other year, I’d be up against it. Many years feature between 15 and 20 albums that hit the top chart spot, sometimes even more. It can be absolute carnage up there, especially now with several different genres commanding attention and shorter attention spans leading to more albums going number one, then heading off down the Billboard slide afterward.

But my cup runneth over with luck – in 1984, only five albums reached the top of the Billboard chart. It was the lowest amount for any year in Billboard history and is not something likely to ever be repeated. Seeing the very short list will shed light on exactly why that is, two artists basically dominated the number one spot that year and it’s glaringly obvious who those are, to anyone who was around at that time.

Michael Jackson – Thriller

Of no surprise to anyone, the King of Pop dominated the charts in the early going in 1984. Released in late 1982, Thriller spent 37 total weeks on the top of the chart. Here 40 years later in the year of our lord 2024, the album is still on the chart and has been for 612 weeks. Oh, and it’s the best-selling album in history.

The thing is that Thriller doesn’t relate to the music of 1984, at least in terms of my evaluation of the year, with it obviously having been released in 1982. Now, Michael Jackson certainly does relate to 1984 and the whole of the ’80’s – this guy was THE star and he was still grabbing the spotlight even with an album over a year old. All seven of the album’s singles had been released by the end of 1983, but the title track and its crazy video were omnipresent through 1984. Jackson was on top of the world in a way very few stars ever had been.

For the purposes of my year-long look at 1984, Thriller won’t be a part of it for obvious reasons. But I am certain to discuss the album at some point in time.

Footloose – The Soundtrack

Finally on the chart issued April 21, the King of Pop’s reign was over. It was a movie soundtrack that took the crown. Footloose the movie was about a dancing ban in a small Midwest town, and that would put a focus on the movie’s music. The movie did respectably well at the time and is fondly remembered by many, but the soundtrack was the true star of the show. It would spawn six top 40 hits, two of them going to the top of the Billboard 100.

The Footloose song by Kenny Loggins was the prime hit, and Let’s Hear It For The Boy, performed by Deniece Williams, joined it as a Billboard number one. Almost Paradise, performed by Mike Reno of Loverboy and Ann Wilson of Heart, hit number seven on the charts. The Jim Steinman-penned and Bonnie Tyler-performed Holding Out For A Hero charted at 34 in the US, but would take the top spot in the UK.

The soundtrack album hung on to the number one spot for two months, finally bested in late June. Movie soundtracks were big business in the ’80’s and Footloose was a monster even among them. It was certified nine times platinum in the US and has a host of other platinum and gold certifications around the world.

I do not have any plans to discuss this soundtrack further as I look back on 1984 – nothing against it, but a lot of it wasn’t really my jam beyond the Bonnie Tyler song and I have plenty else to talk about.

Huey Lewis and the News – Sports

1984 was often about an album hitting the top spot and hanging around for awhile, but in this lone instance, the album hit number one and was dethroned the next week, though the album did spend a total of 160 weeks on the chart.

But that is no shade to Huey Lewis and his band. Sports was the group’s breakthrough – after a gold record on their prior album, this one would catch fire and wind up 7 times platinum. Four of these songs would hit the top ten of the singles charts, stuff like If This Is It and The Heart Of Rock & Roll were commonplace on airwaves during this time, and for years afterward. It was catchy and pleasing music that just about everyone could get into and a lot of people did.

I will be covering Sports at some point this year, I’m not sure exactly when that will be.

Bruce Springsteen – Born In The USA

Just after Independence Day in the US, The Boss arrived with a transformative album that would define his career and sell like hotcakes. The July 7th chart was the first of four consecutive weeks at number one for this record, which would then again claim the spot for a few weeks in early 1985.

The album would offer up seven singles, all of which went top ten in the Billboard 100. Famously, none of these or any of Springsteen’s other singles would ever hit the top spot on the singles chart, but success is relative.

And success was here in droves – the album was the best-selling record from 1984, moving over 30 million units eventually. (distinct of course from the best seller in 1984, which was Thriller) Bruce has recorded several heralded albums, but Born In The USA is the one that is the first mention when he is discussed. We can wax poetic about many of his works before and after, but this is where the conversation with Bruce Springsteen comes or goes.

There is a lot to say about this record – in term of Springsteen’s shift to pop rock, themes of working class struggles and triumphs, and the misplaced political implications behind the title track. And I will get into all of that – here soon, when I discuss the album in detail, which is coming up in the next month.

Born In The USA would reign atop the Billboard 200 for a month, then the rest of the year would be defined by someone we can only call “the artist.”

Prince and the Revolution – Purple Rain

Springsteen would be bounced out of the top chart spot on the chart released August 4 of ’84. The replacement album would reign supreme for the rest of the year, 22 weeks, then the first 2 weeks of 1985 before the favor was returned by Springsteen.

Purple Rain was not just an album, but also the soundtrack to Prince’s first feature film of the same name. The movie was a hit, raking in ten times the amount of money spent on it, while the soundtrack was an absolute monster smash. The album has gone on to sell 25 million copies across the world, with 13 platinum certs in the US. Prince joined the rare company of Elvis and The Beatles by having the number one film, album and song all at the same time.

Prince’s landmark offering saw him slide more into the pop world, but also utilizing a grand scope of band composition and arrangement. A handful of Prince’s signature songs can be found here, including the title track and the mega-hit When Doves Cry. The controversial Darling Nikki is also featured in both the film and on record – it would be the song that kicked off the PMRC and the “Filthy Fifteen.”

Prince ruled the roost for the back half of 1984, and Purple Rain was the Billboard chart champion for most weeks at number one. I will do a write-up on this one, but be warned – I have always planned it to be the final post for the 1984 anniversary thing, so it’s not coming ’till the end of the year.

That covers the number one albums of 1984. A bit down the line I’ll look at a few records that were blocked out of the top spot by the stone cold lock these few releases had on the year. I’ll also dive into the number one songs of the year, a spot open to a lot more variety. And I’ll have some more companion pieces dealing with various things in 1984 as we go along. Enjoy the weekend.