This is an alphabetical artist list of every song to make the top 40 during
any given week during this year and its peak highest position reached on the
national charts in USA
What are your favorite songs on this list?
My personal favorites are listed at the very bottom :
hoknes@hotmail.com
Abba Chiquitita 1980 29
AC/DC You Shook Me All Night Long 1980 35
Air Supply All Out of Love 1980 02
Air Supply Lost in Love 1980 03
Al Stewart Midnight Rocks 1980 24
Ali Thomson Take A Little Rhythm 1980 15
Alice Cooper Clones (We're All) 1980 40
Ambrosia Biggest Part of Me 1980 03
Ambrosia You're the Only Woman (You & I) 1980 13
Amy Holland How Do I Survive 1980 22
Andy Gibb Desire 1980 04
Andy Gibb & Olivia Newton-John I Can't Help It 1980 12
Anne Murray Could I Have This Dance 1980 33
Anne Murray Daydream Believer 1980 12
Babys Back On My Feet Again 1980 33
Barbra Streisand Kiss Me In the Rain 1980 37
Barbra Streisand Woman In Love 1980 01
Barry Manilow I Don't Want to Walk Without You 1980 36
Barry Manilow When I Wanted You 1980 20
Benny Mardones Into the Night 1980 11
Bernadette Peters Gee Whiz 1980 31
Bette Midler The Rose 1980 03
Bette Midler When A Man Loves A Woman 1980 35
Billy Joel Don't Ask Me Why 1980 19
Billy Joel It's Still Rock and Roll to Me 1980 01
Billy Joel Sometimes a Fantasy 1980 36
Billy Joel You May Be Right 1980 07
Billy Preston & Syreeta With You I'm Born Again 1980 04
Blondie Atomic 1980 39
Blondie Call Me 1980 01
Blues Brothers Gimme Some Lovin' 1980 18
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band Against the Wind 1980 05
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band Fire Lake 1980 06
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band You'll Accomp'ny Me 1980 14
Bonnie Pointer I Can't Help Myself 1980 40
Boz Scaggs Breakdown Dead Ahead 1980 15
Boz Scaggs JoJo 1980 17
Boz Scaggs Look What You've Done to Me 1980 14
Brothers Johnson Stomp! 1980 07
Bruce Cockburn Wondering Where the Lions Are 1980 21
Bruce Springsteen Hungry Heart 1980 05
Captain & Tennille Do That To Me One More Time 1980 01
Carly Simon Jesse 1980 11
Carole King One Fine Day 1980 12
Cars Touch and Go 1980 37
Change A Lover's Holiday 1980 40
Charlie Daniels Band In America 1980 11
Charlie Daniels Band The Legend of Wooley Swamp 1980 31
Charlie Dore Pilot of the Airwaves 1980 13
Cheap Trick Voices 1980 32
Christopher Cross Never Be the Same 1980 15
Christopher Cross Ride Like the Wind 1980 02
Christopher Cross Sailing 1980 01
Chuck Mangione Give It All You Got 1980 18
Clash Train in Vain (Stand By Me) 1980 23
Cliff Richard Carrie 1980 34
Cliff Richard Dreaming 1980 10
Cliff Richard We Don't Talk Anymore 1980 07
Commodores Old-Fashion Love 1980 20
Commodores Wonderland 1980 25
Dan Fogelberg Heart Hotels 1980 21
Dan Fogelberg Longer 1980 02
Daryl Hall & John Oates How Does It Feel To Be Back 1980 30
Daryl Hall & John Oates Wait for Me 1980 18
Daryl Hall & John Oates You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling 1980 12
Devo Whip It 1980 14
Diana Ross I'm Coming Out 1980 05
Diana Ross Upside Down 1980 01
Dionne Warwick Deja Vu 1980 15
Dionne Warwick No Night So Long 1980 23
Dirt Band An American Dream 1980 13
Dirt Band Make a Little Magic 1980 25
Dolly Parton Starting Over Again 1980 36
Don Williams I Believe In You 1980 24
Donna Summer On the Radio 1980 05
Donna Summer The Wanderer 1980 03
Donna Summer Walk Away 1980 36
Doobie Brothers Real Love 1980 05
Dr. Hook Better Love Next Time 1980 12
Dr. Hook Girls Can Get It 1980 34
Dr. Hook Sexy Eyes 1980 05
Eagles I Can't Tell You Why 1980 08
Eagles The Long Run 1980 08
Eddie Rabbitt Drivin' My Life Away 1980 05
Electric Light Orchestra All Over the World 1980 13
Electric Light Orchestra I'm Alive 1980 16
Electric Light Orchestra Last Train to London 1980 39
Elton John (Sartorial Eloquence) Don't Ya Wanna Play This Game No More? 1980 39
Elton John Little Jeannie 1980 03
Eric Clapton & His Band Tulsa Time 1980 30
Felix Cavaliere Only a Lonely Heart Sees 1980 36
Firefall Headed For a Fall 1980 35
Fleetwood Mac Sara 1980 07
Fleetwood Mac Think About Me 1980 20
Foghat Third Time Lucky (First Time I Was a Fool) 1980 23
Frank Sinatra (Theme From) New York, New York 1980 32
Fred Knoblock Why Not Me 1980 18
Gary Numan Cars 1980 09
Genesis Misunderstanding 1980 14
George Benson Give Me the Night 1980 04
Harry Chapin Sequel 1980 23
Heart Even It Up 1980 33
Herb Alpert Rotation 1980 30
Irene Cara Fame 1980 04
Irene Cara Out Here on My Own 1980 19
Isaac Hayes Don't Let Go 1980 18
Isley Brothers Don't Say Goodnight (It's Time for Love) (Parts 1 & 2) 1980 39
J. Geils Band Come Back 1980 32
J. Geils Band Love Stinks 1980 38
Jackson Browne Boulevard 1980 19
Jackson Browne That Girl Could Sing 1980 22
Jacksons Lovely One 1980 12
James Last Band The Seduction (Love Theme from "American Gigolo") 1980 28
Jefferson Starship Jane 1980 14
Jermaine Jackson Let's Get Serious 1980 09
Jermaine Jackson You're Supposed to Keep Your Love for Me 1980 34
Jimmy Hall I'm Happy That Love Has Found You 1980 27
Jimmy Ruffin Hold on to My Love 1980 10
Joe Valino All Night Long 1980 19
John Cougar Mellencamp This Time 1980 27
John Lennon Just Like Starting Over 1980 01
John Stewart Lost Her in the Sun 1980 34
Johnny Lee Lookin' for Love 1980 05
Journey Any Way You Want It 1980 23
Journey Walks Like A Lady 1980 32
Kansas Hold On 1980 40
KC & The Sunshine Band Please Don't Go 1980 01
Kenny Loggins I'm Alright 1980 07
Kenny Loggins Keep the Fire 1980 36
Kenny Loggins This Is It 1980 11
Kenny Rogers Coward of the County 1980 03
Kenny Rogers Lady 1980 01
Kenny Rogers Love the World Away 1980 14
Kenny Rogers with Kim Carnes Don't Fall In Love With A Dreamer 1980 04
Kim Carnes More Love 1980 10
Knack Baby Talks Dirty 1980 38
Kool & The Gang Ladies Night 1980 08
Kool & The Gang Too Hot 1980 05
Korgis Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime 1980 18
Larry Graham One In A Million You 1980 09
Larsen-Feiten Band Who'll Be the Fool Tonight 1980 29
Led Zeppelin Fool in the Rain 1980 21
Leo Sayer More Than I Can Say 1980 02
Linda Ronstadt How Do I Make You 1980 10
Linda Ronstadt Hurt So Bad 1980 08
Linda Ronstadt I Can't Let Go 1980 31
Lipps, Inc. Funkytown 1980 01
Little River Band Cool Change 1980 10
Livingston Taylor First Time Love 1980 38
Manhattan Transfer Twilight Zone / Twilight Tone 1980 30
Manhattans Shining Star 1980 05
Meco The Empire Strikes Back 1980 18
Melissa Manchester Fire in the Morning 1980 32
Michael Jackson Off the Wall 1980 10
Michael Jackson Rock With You 1980 01
Michael Jackson She's Out of My Life 1980 10
Mickey Gilley Stand By Me 1980 22
Natalie Cole Someone That I Used To Love 1980 21
Neil Diamond September Morn' 1980 17
Neil Sedaka & Dara Sedaka Should've Never Let You Go 1980 19
Nicolette Larson (with Michael McDonald) Let Me Go, Love 1980 35
Nielsen/Pearson If You Should Sail 1980 38
O'Jays Forever Mine 1980 28
Olivia Newton-John Magic 1980 01
Olivia Newton-John & ELO Xanadu 1980 08
Pat Benatar Heartbreaker 1980 23
Pat Benatar Hit Me With Your Best Shot 1980 09
Pat Benatar We Live For Love 1980 27
Paul Davis Do Right 1980 23
Paul McCartney Coming Up (Live at Glasgow) 1980 01
Paul Simon Late in the Evening 1980 06
Paul Simon One-Trick Pony 1980 40
Peaches & Herb I Pledge My Love 1980 19
Pete Townshend Let My Love Open the Door 1980 09
Photoglo (Jim Photoglo) We Were Meant to Be Lovers 1980 31
Pink Floyd Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) 1980 01
Pointer Sisters He's So Shy 1980 03
Pretenders Brass in Pocket (I'm Special) 1980 14
Prince I Wanna Be Your Lover 1980 11
Pure Prairie League I'm Almost Ready 1980 34
Pure Prairie League Let Me Love You Tonight 1980 10
Queen Another One Bites the Dust 1980 01
Queen Crazy Little Thing Called Love 1980 01
Randy Meisner Deep Inside My Heart 1980 22
Ray Parker, Jr. & Raydio Two Places at the Same Time 1980 30
Ray, Goodman & Brown Special Lady 1980 05
Rick Pinette & Oak King of the Hill 1980 36
Rita Coolidge I'd Rather Leave While I'm In Love 1980 38
Robbie Dupree Hot Rod Hearts 1980 15
Robbie Dupree Steal Away 1980 06
Robert John Hey There Lonely Girl 1980 31
Rocky Burnette Tired Of Toein' the Line 1980 08
Rodney Crowell Ashes by Now 1980 37
Roger Daltrey Without Your Love 1980 20
Rolling Stones Emotional Rescue 1980 03
Rolling Stones She's So Cold 1980 26
Rufus & Chaka Do You Love What You Feel 1980 30
Rupert Holmes Answering Machine 1980 32
Rupert Holmes Him 1980 06
S.O.S. Band Take Your Time (Do It Right) (Part 1) 1980 03
Santana You Know That I Love You 1980 35
Shalamar The Second Time Around 1980 08
Smokey Robinson Cruisin' 1980 04
Smokey Robinson Let Me Be the Clock 1980 31
Spider New Romance (It's a Mystery) 1980 39
Spinners Cupid / I've Loved You for a Long Time 1980 04
Spinners Working My Way Back to You / Forgive Me, Girl 1980 02
Stacy Lattisaw Let Me Be Your Angel 1980 21
Stephanie Mills Never Knew Love Like This Before 1980 06
Steve Forbert Romeo's Tune 1980 11
Stevie Wonder Master Blaster (Jammin') 1980 05
Styx Why Me 1980 26
Sugarhill Gang Rapper's Delight 1980 36
Supertramp Dreamer 1980 15
Teri DeSario with K.C. Yes, I'm Ready 1980 02
Tom Johnston Savannah Nights 1980 34
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Don't Do Me Like That 1980 10
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Refugee 1980 15
Tommy James Three Times in Love 1980 19
Tommy Tutone Angel Say No 1980 38
Toto 99 1980 26
Utopia Set Me Free 1980 27
Vapors Turning Japanese 1980 36
Waylon Jennings Theme from "The Dukes of Hazzard" (Good Ol' Boys) 1980 21
Wayne Newton Years 1980 35
Whispers And the Beat Goes On 1980 19
Whispers Lady 1980 28
Willie Nelson On the Road Again 1980 20
ZZ Top I Thank You 1980 34
BILLY JOEL - DON'T ASK ME WHY (1980) hit #19
Don't Ask Me Why" is a
Billy Joel song released in 1980. The lyrics talk about
the oddities of life that have become obvious over time. It
is more characteristic of a track that would have appeared
on Joel's earlier albums in that it has a lighter folk sound
as compared to the harder, more rock oriented tracks found
throughout the album. The background track contains all
acoustic and Latin percussion instruments performing in an
Afro-Cuban rhythmic style. An eclectic, instrumental "Latin
Ballroom" piano solo, played over the bridge section after
the second verse, is also featured in part of the song.
"Don't Ask Me Why" spent two weeks at number one on the
Adult Contemporary chart and went to number nineteen on
the
Billboard Hot 100.
William Martin "Billy" Joel (born May
9, 1949) is an American
pianist,
singer-songwriter, and
composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano
Man," in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling
recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in
the United States, according to the
RIAA]
He also has the third best-selling album in the United
States with his
Greatest Hits Vol. 1 & 2.
Joel had Top 40 hits in
the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, achieving 33 Top 40 hits in the
United States, all of which he wrote himself. He is also a
six-time
Grammy Award winner, a 23-time Grammy nominee and has
sold over 150 million records worldwide. He was inducted
into the
Songwriter's Hall of Fame (1992), the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1999), and the
Long Island Music Hall of Fame (2006). In 2008,
Billboard magazine released a list of the Hot 100
All-Time Top Artists to celebrate the US singles chart's
50th anniversary, with Billy Joel positioned at No. 23. With
the exception of the 2007 songs "All
My Life" and "Christmas
in Fallujah," Joel stopped recording pop/rock material
after 1993's
River of Dreams, but he continued to tour
extensively until 2010
The song is performed by the
Electric Light Orchestra and
Olivia Newton-John. Newton-John sings the primary
vocals, with ELO (Jeff Lynne) adding "parenthetic" vocals in
the style of their other songs on the Xanadu
soundtrack, along with providing the instrumentation. A rare
collaboration for ELO, the single reached no.1 in several
countries and was the band's only UK #1 single when it
peaked there for two weeks in July 1980. The song peaked at
#8 on the
Billboard Hot 100 in the US. This was the first song
beginning with the letter 'X' to ever chart on the
Billboard Hot 100 and it remained the only one until
2010's "X" by Xzibit.
Olivia Newton-John,
AO,
OBE (born 26 September 1948) is an
English-Australian singer and actress. She is a
four-time
Grammy award winner who has amassed five No.
1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100
singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums.
Eleven of her singles (including two platinum)
and 14 of her albums (including two platinum and
four double platinum) have been certified gold
by the RIAA. Her music has been successful in
multiple formats including pop,
country and
adult contemporary and has sold an estimated
over 100 million albums worldwide. She
co-starred with
John Travolta in the film adaptation of the
Broadway musical
Grease, which featured one of the most
successful
film soundtracks in Hollywood history.
Newton-John has been a long-time activist for
environmental and animal rights issues.
Since surviving breast cancer in 1992, she has
been an advocate for health awareness becoming
involved with various charities, health products
and fundraising efforts. Her business interests
have included launching several product lines
for Koala Blue and co-owning the Gaia Retreat &
Spa in Australia
DIANA ROSS - UPSIDE DOWN (1980) hit #1
Upside Down" is a hit song by
Diana Ross released on the
Motown label. It was the first single taken from her
1980 album
diana and hit number one on the
Billboard Hot 100 on September 6, 1980. It also hit
number one on the Billboard
Disco/Dance and
R&B charts. The single was also a big hit
internationally, topping the singles charts in Sweden,
Italy, Norway and Switzerland, while reaching #5 in Canada.
It also rose to #2 on the
UK Singles Chart, marking the highest peak performance
from Ross as a solo artist since "I'm
Still Waiting" in 1971. The song listed at
#62 on Billboard's "Greatest Songs of All Time".
The song was written by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers (of
the band
Chic) with
Aretha Franklin in mind to record. When Franklin turned
down the offer to record the album Motown passed the
material and project to
Ross.
However, in a 2011 interview, Nile Rodgers said "Diana
Ross was the first big star we ever worked with and we took
it very seriously." Rodgers and Edwards interviewed her for
several days. "This was the first time in her life somebody
cared about who she was; what she was - everyone previously
had treated her the way we had treated Sister Sledge - they
got her in and said 'Sing this'. We (took a more personal
approach)."
Magic" is a hit 1980 song performed by
Olivia Newton-John, from the
soundtrack to the film
Xanadu. The song was #1 on the
Billboard Hot 100 charts for four weeks beginning on 2
August 1980. It also reached a high of #4 on the Australian
charts and #32 in the UK.
The B-sides depend on the label: "Fool Country" (also from
Xanadu but not on the OST) is the B-side of the MCA
release; "Whenever You're Away From Me" (with
Gene Kelly) is the B-side of the Jet release.
"Magic"
became Newton-John's biggest Adult Contemporary hit to date,
and her biggest pop hit until "Physical"
ruled the Hot 100 for ten weeks beginning in November 1981.
Billboard magazine ranked "Magic" as the third most
popular single of 1980, behind only "Call
Me" by
Blondie and "Another
Brick in the Wall, Part II" by
Pink Floyd.
Olivia Newton-John,
AO,
OBE (born 26 September 1948) is an English-Australian
singer and actress. She is a four-time
Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten
other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1
Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles (including
two platinum) and 14 of her albums (including two platinum
and four double platinum) have been certified gold by the
RIAA. Her music has been successful in multiple formats
including pop,
country and
adult contemporary and has sold an estimated over 100
million albums worldwide. She co-starred with
John Travolta in the film adaptation of the Broadway
musical
Grease, which featured one of the most successful
film soundtracks in Hollywood history.
Newton-John has been a long-time activist for
environmental and animal rights issues. Since surviving
breast cancer in 1992, she has been an advocate for health
awareness becoming involved with various charities, health
products and fundraising efforts. Her business interests
have included launching several product lines for Koala Blue
and co-owning the Gaia Retreat & Spa in Australia.
KENNY LOGGINS - I'M ALRIGHT (1980) hit #7
Kenneth Clark "Kenny"
Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American singer and
songwriter. He is known for
soft
rock music beginning during the 1970s, and later for writing and
performing for movie soundtracks in the 1980s. Originally a part of the
duo
Loggins and Messina, he became a solo artist and has written songs
for other artists
During the 1990s, Loggins continued
his album career, including the popular 1994 children's
album
Return to Pooh Corner, which included the title
single, a reworking of "House
at Pooh Corner", written for his newborn son Luke.
During 1991, Loggins recorded and produced
Leap of Faith, which included the single "Conviction
of the Heart". Former vice president
Al Gore billed this song as "the unofficial anthem of
the environmental movement". On
Earth Day 1995, Loggins performed at
The National Mall in
Washington, D.C. before a live audience of 500,000.
JEFFERSON STARSHIP - JANE (1980) hit #14
Jefferson
Starship is an American rock band formed in the early 1970s. The
band has undergone several major changes in personnel and genres through
the years while retaining the same Jefferson Starship name. The current
Jefferson Starship, led by co-founder
Paul Kantner, more closely resembles its original mix of psychedelic
and electric folk music than the pop-driven tunes it was widely known
for in the early to mid-1980s. It is not to be confused with
Starship, a spin-off of the group featuring former co-lead singer
Mickey Thomas that also periodically tours. The latter group is most
frequently identified with the 1980s pop tunes of the Jefferson
Starship.
In October 1978 Balin too left the group, leaving Kantner
and company to find a new lead singer in
Mickey Thomas (who had sung lead on
Elvin Bishop's "Fooled Around and Fell in Love"). Thomas
joined the group in April 1979. Barbata had been seriously
injured in a car accident in October 1978 and was replaced
by
Aynsley Dunbar, who had previously played with
Journey.
After the 1979 release of
Freedom at Point Zero (which spawned the hit single
"Jane" (#14)), the new lineup toured, augmented by
saxophonist Steve Schuster. (Schuster, along with horn
player David Farey, had played on Jefferson Starship's 1978
tour, and he had also appeared on Freedom At Point Zero.)
ELTON JOHN - LITTLE JEANNIE (1980) hit #3
Little Jeannie" (spelled "Little Jeanie" on the cover
of the single) is a song by
Elton John and
Gary Osborne, recorded by John and released as a single
in
1980 from John's album
21 at 33. It reached number three on the
Billboard
pop chart in the United States, becoming the singer's
biggest U.S. hit since 1976's "Don't
Go Breaking My Heart" (a duet with singer
Kiki Dee), and his highest-charting solo hit since
1975's "Island
Girl". It became John's fifth number one on the U.S.
adult contemporary chart, and was certified Gold by the
RIAA.In
Canada, it reached number one on the
RPM 100 national singles chart.
The song can be
described as an uptempo ballad. In the US, it would be
Elton's highest-charting single co-written with Gary
Osborne, while in the UK, where the song only reached number
33, "Blue
Eyes" would eventually hold that honour.
Despite its impressive performance in the US charts,
Elton has rarely performed "Little Jeannie" live, doing so
only on his 1980 tour and during 2000's
One Night Only concerts
Sir Elton Hercules John,
CBE (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25 March
1947) is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer,
pianist and occasional actor. He has worked with lyricist
Bernie Taupin as his songwriter partner since 1967; they
have collaborated on more than 30 albums to date.
Since its release, the song has continued to infiltrate
public consciousness due to its use in
television advertisements by popular brands such as
Heinz,
McDonald's,
State Farm,
Ford and
Samsung, and its prominent appearance in the comedy film
Caddyshack released the same year of the song. The
song is also played multiple times, in the television series
Chuck. It was also featured during the middle of
The Simpsons episode "Viva
Ned Flanders" and in the closing scene of the episode "Burns,
Baby Burns", as well as at the ending of the episode "The
C Word" of the TV series
House. It was voted the 80th best hard rock song of
all time by
VH1
viewers.
According to cowriter
Steve Perry, the song was heavily influenced by Irish
rock band
Thin Lizzy and more particularly by bassist leader
Phil Lynott. In July 1979, Journey was touring with Thin
Lizzy across the
United States when Lynott, Perry and Schon decided to
share rhyme scheme exercises during a hanging out in
Miami. The "basic" work on "the
guitar-vocal-guitar-vocal interchange thing that happened
between Phil and his lyrics and the guitarist and his
arrangements, inspired the Any Way You Want It sorta give
and take thing. It's guitar-voice, guitar-voice, more
guitar-guitar-guitar-voice. It be voice-voice and back and
forth and that's something that Neal and I think just
instinctually picked up by hanging out with him" commented
Perry. Schon and Perry would then rework on the song in the
band bus, with Schon on acoustic guitar and Perry for vocals
Lynott's contribution later influenced other songs built on
the same scheme such as "Stone
In Love".
JOHN LENNON - JUST LIKE STARTING OVER (1980) hit #1
"(Just Like) Starting Over" is a song written and
performed by
John Lennon for his album,
Double Fantasy. The
B-side was
Yoko Ono's "Kiss
Kiss Kiss". It was released as a single on 24 October
1980 and reached number one in both the USA and UK two weeks
after he was
murdered.
This was the first single released from
Double Fantasy, and the first new recording Lennon
had released since 1975. It was chosen by Lennon not because
he felt it was the best track on the album, but because it
was the most appropriate following his five year absence
from the recording industry. He referred to it during
production as the "Elvis/Orbison"
track, as he "tongue in cheek" impersonated their vocal
styles. The uplifting bell at the intro of the song serves
as the antidote to the
morose bell sound which opens Lennon's
first solo album, Lennon seeing it as his having come
full circle.
Although its origins were in unfinished older
compositions like "Don’t Be Crazy" and "My Life", it was one
of the last songs to be completed in time for the Double
Fantasy sessions. “We didn’t hear it until the last day
of rehearsal,” producer Jack Douglas said in 2005. Lennon
finished the song while on holiday in Bermuda, and recorded
it at
The Hit Factory in New York City just weeks later.
It is his biggest solo American hit, staying at number 1
for five weeks. (When Lennon was shot in New York City on 8
December 1980 the single was at number 3 in the US and
reached the summit for the week ending 27 December, making
it the fourth posthumous number one song on the US chart.)
In the UK it had peaked at number 8 in the charts and had
fallen to position number 21 before Lennon's death propelled
it to number 1, making an unprecedented number 21 to number
1 move. It was infamously bumped from the
Christmas Number One Single rank by the
St Winifred's School Choir's "There's
No One Quite Like Grandma," finishing at
number 2 on that list. By 6 January 1981 there were
three Lennon songs in the UK top 5, a feat never achieved
before or since. Billboard's All Time Top
Songs listed it at number 53
GARY NUMAN - CARS (1980) hit #9
Cars" is a 1979 song by UK artist
Gary Numan, and was released as a
single from the album
The Pleasure Principle. It reached the top of the
charts in several countries, and today is considered a
New Wave staple. In the UK charts, it reached number 1
in 1979, and in 1980 hit number 1 in Canada two weeks
running on the
RPM national singles chart and rose to number 9 on
the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100. It debuted on the American Top
40 on 29 March 1980, and spent a total of 17 weeks in the
AT40. "Cars" was released under the 'Atco' label, with the
catalog number of 7211.
The song was the first release
credited solely to Gary Numan after he dropped the band name
Tubeway Army, with which he had released four singles
and two
LPs, including the number one UK hit "Are
'Friends' Electric?", and its parent album,
Replicas. Musically, the new song was somewhat
lighter and more pop-oriented than its predecessors, Numan
later conceding that he had chart success in mind: "This was
the first time I had written a song with the intention of
'maybe it could be a hit single'; I was writing this before
'Are "Friends" Electric?' happened."
"Cars" is based on two musical sections: a
verse/instrumental break and a
bridge. The recording features a conventional rock
rhythm section of
bass guitar and
drums, although the rest of the instruments used are
analog synthesizers, principally the
Minimoog (augmenting the song's recognisable bass
riff) and the
Polymoog keyboard, providing austere synthetic string
lines over the bass riff. The bridge section also includes a
tambourine part. Numan's vocal part is sung in an almost
expressionless, robotic style. There is no
"chorus" as such.
KC & THE SUNSHINE BAND - PLEASE DON'T GO (1980) hit #1
Please Don't Go" is a song recorded and released in
1979 on the
KC and the Sunshine Band album
Do You Wanna Go Party. The song was the band's first
love
ballad, in which the subject pleads obviously for a
second chance. Shortly after the song's one-week run at
number one, the group broke up and
Harry Wayne Casey went solo. The song was a number-one
hit on the Australian
ARIA Charts, the band's fifth and final number-one hit
on
Billboard Hot 100 charts, and the first
number-one hit of the 1980s.
The song is incorrectly noted
by some sources as being the last number one hit of the
1970s and the first of the 1980s on the
Billboard Hot 100. In fact, it was only the number one
song for the chart week of January 5, 1980, making it the
first #1 single of the 1980s. It was both preceded and
followed at number one by "Escape
(The Piña Colada Song)" by
Rupert Holmes, which dropped to number two for the week
that "Please Don't Go" was number one. The B-side, "I Betcha
Didn't Know That", peaked at #25 on the R&B Singles Chart.
The song was also an international chart hit, reaching #1
in Australia and Canada and charting in Belgium (#8),
Germany (#20), Ireland (#5), the Netherlands (#7), New
Zealand (#3), Norway (#4) and the UK (#3).
ROCKY BURNETTE - TIRED OF TOEIN' THE LINE (1980)
Tired of Toein' the Line" is the name of a song
written and performed by
Rocky Burnette. The song became an international hit
when released as a single in
1980. The song's lyrics detail an imminent breakup.
By
peaking at number eight on the
Billboard Hot 100, "Tired of Toein' the Line" tied "You're
Sixteen" as the highest-charting Hot 100 single from a
member of the Burnette family. The single was also #1 in
Australia.
In 1988, British singer
Shakin' Stevens released a cover version of the song on
his album "A Whole Lotta Shaky
Rocky Burnette was born in
Memphis, Tennessee, and became part of the early 1980s
revival of the
rockabilly style. He released his first album, Son of
Rock 'n' Roll, on
EMI America in 1979. In the summer of 1980, his
single "Tired of Toein' the Line" became a
Top Ten
hit in the United States. The
song was also popular internationally, becoming a #1 hit
in Australia and peaking at #3 in South Africa. It reached
#58 in the
UK Singles Chart.[2]EMI
America's financial problems interfered with promotion
efforts for the follow-up singles (several of which became
hits in other countries), and Burnette's second album,
Heart Stopper, was not successful.
In 1981, Burnette toured
Europe with the final version of his late father's
The Rock and Roll Trio. He also used the band on his
next album, Get Hot or Go Home! on
Enigma Records. It also sold poorly, and Enigma dropped
Burnette and the Trio rather than release a follow-up.
QUEEN - ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST (1980) hit #1
Another One Bites the Dust" is a song by the English
rock band
Queen. Written by
bass guitarist
John Deacon, the song featured on the group's eighth
studio album
The Game (1980). The song was a worldwide
hit, charting number one on the US
Billboard Hot 100, number two on the
R&B charts and the Disco Top 100, and number seven in
the
UK Singles Chart. The song is credited as Queen's best
selling single, with sales of over 7 million copies. This
version was ranked at number 34 on Billboard's All Time
Top 100. American author and music journalist
Nicholas Schaffner described the musical style of the
song as being
funk rock in his 1982 book The British Invasion: From
the First Wave to the New Wave.
The bass line was
inspired by the song "Good
Times" by the
disco group
Chic. In an interview with
New Musical Express,
Chic co-founder
Bernard Edwards stated, "...that Queen record came about
because that Queen bass player... spent some time hanging
out with us at our studio".
In the early 1980s, "Another One Bites the Dust" was one
of many popular rock songs that Christian evangelists
alleged contained subliminal messages through a technique
called
backward masking. It was claimed that the chorus, when
played in reverse, will be heard as "decide to smoke
marijuana" or "It's fun to smoke marijuana". A
spokeswoman for Hollywood Records (Queen's current US label)
has denied that the song contains a
backward message.
In 1979, Ross commissioned
Chic founders
Nile Rodgers and
Bernard Edwards to create material for a new album after
taking her daughters to see the band in concert, following
the success of Ross's final
Ashford & Simpson-composed and produced LP,
The Boss . Rodgers got the idea for "I'm Coming Out"
after noticing three different
drag queens dressed as Diana Ross at a New York club
called the GG Barnum Room. The lyrics hold an additional
meaning to Ross, as she was leaving Motown Records and
"coming out" from under the thumb of Berry Gordy.
The song was a hit, peaking at number five on the U.S.
Pop Singles chart. It is also notable for being the
first song usually performed at Ross' performances and
concerts since 1980.
Rodgers convinced his neighbor, producer
Meco Monardo, to contract the
horns for the album in return for a commitment by
Rodgers to co-produce Monardo's then-upcoming album of music
from
The Empire Strikes Back. Monardo, a former
first-call session player who had a string of hits in the
late 1970s with
disco versions of film music, also played
trombone on the album and is featured in a solo towards
the end of "I'm Coming Out":
KENNY ROGERS - LADY (1980)
Lady" is the title of a song written by
Lionel Richie and recorded by American
country artist
Kenny Rogers. It was released in September 1980 as the
only single from the album,
Kenny Rogers Greatest Hits. It is listed at
#47 on Billboard's All Time Top 100.
The song was
written and produced by
Lionel Richie, recorded in 1980, and ranks among Kenny
Rogers's biggest hits. Rogers once told an interviewer, "The
idea was that Lionel would come from R&B and I'd come from
country, and we'd meet somewhere in pop." The success
of "Lady" also boosted Richie's career. The production work
on the song was his first outside the
Commodores and foreshadowed his success as a solo act
during the 1980s. Rogers was also a featured vocalist on "We
Are the World," co-written by Richie. Richie performed
the song himself on his 1998 album,
Time, and he and Rogers performed the song as a duet
on Richie's 2012 release "Tuskegee"
Since his breakup with the First Edition, Rogers had
tasted considerable success as a solo act, with nine No. 1
entries on the
Billboard magazine
Hot Country Singles chart (prior to the release of
"Lady"), plus several Top 10 hits on the
Billboard Hot 100 and
Adult Contemporary Singles charts. "Lady,"
according to music historian Fred Bronson, would prove to be
an important record for both Richie and Rogers. It became
the first record of the 1980s to chart on all four of
Billboard magazine's singles charts - country, Hot 100,
adult contemporary and
Top Black Singles. It reached No. 1 on three
of those charts in late 1980, including a six-week run on
the Hot 100 and one week on the Hot Country Singles chart.
"Lady" also peaked at number forty-two on the
Top Black Singles chart. As a country entry,
"Lady" was Rogers' 10th chart-topping hit in a career that
saw him collect 20 No. 1 songs between 1977 and 2000. On the
Hot 100, it was his only solo chart-topping song, although
Rogers would have a duet No. 1 three years later (1983's
"Islands
in the Stream" with
Dolly Parton). On the Adult Contemporary Singles chart,
"Lady" was Rogers' second (of eight) songs that reached the
chart's summit.
BLONDIE - CALL ME (1980)
Call Me" is a song by the American
New Wave band
Blondie. Released in 1980, "Call Me" topped the singles
charts in both the US (where it became the band's biggest
selling single and second #1) and the UK (where it became
their fourth no.1 hit). It was
Billboard's #1 hit of the year for 1980.
The song was
the main theme song of the film
American Gigolo. European
disco producer
Giorgio Moroder originally asked
Stevie Nicks from Fleetwood Mac to help compose and
perform a song for the soundtrack, but she declined (as a
recently signed contract with
Modern Records prevented her from working with Moroder).
It was at this time that Moroder turned to
Debbie Harry and
Blondie. Moroder presented Harry with a rough
instrumental track called "Man Machine." Harry was asked to
write the lyrics and melody, a process that Harry states
took only a few hours. Harry stated that the song is about
driving, and that "When I was writing it, I pictured the
opening scene, driving on the coast of California." The
completed song was then recorded by the band, with Moroder
producing. The bridge of the original English language
version also includes Harry singing "Call Me" in Italian
("Amore, chiamami") and French ("Appelle-moi, mon cheri").
The single was released in the United States in February
1980. It peaked at #1 for 6 consecutive weeks, and was
certified Gold (for one million copies sold) by the
RIAA. It also spent four weeks at number two on the U.S.
dance chart. The single was also #1 on Billboard
magazine's 1980 year-end chart. It was released in the UK
two months later, where it became Blondie's fourth UK no.1
single in little over a year. The song was also played on a
British Telecom advert from the 1980s. Twenty-five years
after its original release, "Call Me" was ranked at #283 on
the
list of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
In 1981, the song was also nominated for a Grammy Award for
Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The song
lists at #44 on Billboard's All Time Top 100
PAUL McCARTNEY - COMING UP (1980) hit #1
Album: McCartney
II (1980)
A few weeks after John Lennon died on December 8th 1980 my Beatles
kick was in full gear and my grandpa borrowed The Beatles Sgt Pepper and
McCartney II from the Frances Morrison public library on vinyl and I
listened to them for the first time in January 1981 at age 9. This
was the very first time I ever heard any songs by Paul McCartney and the
first time I heard any of the songs from Sgt Pepper.
Coming Up" is a song written and performed by
Paul McCartney. It is the opening track on his second
solo album
McCartney II, released in
1980. Like the rest of the album, the song had a
minimalist synthesized feel to it. It featured vocals sped
up by using
vari-speed tape machine. McCartney played all the
instruments and shared harmonies with his wife
Linda McCartney.
John Lennon liked the song, crediting it for driving him
out of retirement to resume recording.
A live version of the song was recorded in
Glasgow,
Scotland on 17 December 1979 by
Wings during their
tour of the UK. This version had a much fuller sound and
was included as one of the two songs on the B-side of the
single; the other B-side was also a Wings song,
"Lunchbox/Odd Sox", that dated back to the
Venus and Mars sessions. Both B-sides were credited
to Paul McCartney & Wings. In the US,
Columbia Records promoted the live version which
subsequently received more airplay than the studio version.
McCartney was unaware Columbia planned to promote the live
version, otherwise he might have pushed for the A-side,
which he thought was the stronger version. An executive from
Columbia Records explained the switch by stating "Americans
like the sound of Paul McCartney's real voice."
In the US, "Coming Up" reached number one on the
Billboard Hot 100 and was certified Gold by the
Recording Industry Association of America for sales of
over one million copies. Although the live version received
more airplay, Billboard listed the A-side on the Hot
100 for the first 12 weeks on the chart, including three
weeks at number one, before switching to the more popular
B-side for the remaining nine weeks on the chart
QUEEN - CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE (1980) hit #1
Crazy Little Thing Called Love" is a song by the
rock band
Queen. Written by
Freddie Mercury in 1979, the track featured on their
1980 album
The Game, and also appears on the band's compilation
album,
Greatest Hits. The song peaked at number two in the
UK Singles Chart in 1979, and hit number one on the
Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. on 23 February
1980, remaining there for four consecutive weeks. It topped
the Australian
ARIA Charts for seven weeks
Having composed "Crazy
Little Thing Called Love" on guitar, Mercury played rhythm
guitar while performing the song live, which was the first
time he played guitar in concert. Queen played the song live
between 1979 and 1986, and a live performance of the song is
recorded in the albums
Queen Rock Montreal and
Queen at Wembley. Since its release, the song has
been covered by a number of artists. The song was played
live on 20 April 1992 during
The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, performed by
Robert Plant with Queen. The style of the song was
described by author Karl Coryat as
rockabilly in his 1999 book titled The Bass Player
Book
The "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" single hit number two in the
UK Singles Chart in 1979, and became the first U.S. number-one hit
for the band, topping the
Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks. The song also topped the
Australian
ARIA charts for
seven consecutive weeks from 1 March to 12 April 1980. Some copies
contain an alternate b-side; Spread Your Wings (live)
THE ROLLING STONES - EMOTIONAL RESCUE (1980) hit #3
Album:
Emotional Rescue (1980)
I received Tattoo You for Xmas 1981 at age 10 and then quickly
followed up with Big Hits for my 11th birthday on January 15th 1982 and
then sometime afterwards got More Hot Rocks and Aftermath. At age
11 these was the only songs I knew of the Stones but to this date would
say More Hot Rocks is my favorite Stones album. I was given a new
copy of Undercover for Xmas 1983 when it came out. Other than
those albums I have not appreciated any other Stones albums except hit
compilations. I saw The Rolling Stones in concert in Regina, SK in
2006 with Valerie I was dating plus my mother and sister and friends Dan
and Debbie. I sold my unique Regina concert t-shirt on ebay in
2007 for $56.00
Recorded between June and
October 1979, "Emotional Rescue" is a
disco-influenced number, somewhat similar to the band's
1978 hit "Miss
You". The song is notable as one of the earliest songs
by the group to show the growing rift between Jagger and
Richards. Although Richards plays guitar and added
backing vocals towards the end of this track, he is
noted to not have liked the direction in which Jagger was
trying to take the band with disco-like compositions,
although this may have been exaggerated by the press and
Richards' hard-rock-oriented image.
Mick wrote the song on an electric piano and from the
beginning it was sung in
falsetto (similar to
Marvin Gaye's lead vocal on his 1977 hit "Got
to Give It Up"). When the song was brought into the
studio they kept the electric piano and falsetto lead. With
Ronnie Wood on bass and
Charlie Watts on drums they worked out the song. They
then added the
saxophone.
Bass guitarist
Bill Wyman plays
synthesizer on the record, while Jagger and
Ian Stewart play
electric piano. Jagger said the song was about "a girl who's in some sort
of manhood problems", not that she was going crazy but she's
"just a little bit screwed up and he wants to be the one to
help her out". Released as the album's lead single on 20 June 1980,
"Emotional Rescue" was well received by some fans. Other
fans of the Rolling Stones' work took note of the change in
direction and were disappointed by it. Reaching #9 on the
UK Singles Chart and #3 in the US., "Emotional Rescue"
became popular enough to feature on all of the band's later
compilation albums.
THE ROLLING STONES - SHE'S SO COLD (1980) hit #26
Album:
Emotional Rescue (1980)
I received Tattoo You for Xmas 1981 at age 10 and then quickly
followed up with Big Hits for my 11th birthday on January 15th 1982 and
then sometime afterwards got More Hot Rocks and Aftermath. At age
11 these was the only songs I knew of the Stones but to this date would
say More Hot Rocks is my favorite Stones album. I was given a new
copy of Undercover for Xmas 1983 when it came out. Other than
those albums I have not appreciated any other Stones albums except hit
compilations. I saw The Rolling Stones in concert in Regina, SK in
2006 with Valerie I was dating plus my mother and sister and friends Dan
and Debbie. I sold my unique Regina concert t-shirt on ebay in
2007 for $56.00
Recording on the song started in
early 1979. The single peaked at #33 in the
UK Singles Chart and #26 on the US
Billboard Hot 100 chart in November 1980.
Emotional Rescue is the 15th
British and 17th American studio album by
The Rolling Stones, released in 1980. Upon
release, it topped the charts in both the US and
UK.
Recorded throughout 1979, first in
Nassau, Bahamas (Compass Point), then
Paris (Pathe Marconi), with some end-of-year
overdubbing in
New York City, Emotional Rescue was
the first Rolling Stones album recorded
following
Keith Richards' exoneration from a
Toronto drugs charge that could have landed
him in jail for years. Fresh from the
revitalization of
Some Girls, Richards and
Mick Jagger led the Stones through dozens of
new songs, some of which were held over for
Tattoo You, picking only ten for
Emotional Rescue.
The song, built on a heavy
reggae feel, is an ode to reggae legend
Bob Marley; Wonder had been performing with Marley a few
times in concerts (and actually billed him as an opening
act) on his US tour in the fall of that year. Lyrics mention
Marley, joining as "children of
Jah",
and the
end of the civil war in Zimbabwe. The
song was the leading single from Wonder's
Hotter than July album. It was a major hit, spending
seven weeks at number one on the Billboard R&B
singles chart, reaching number five on Billboard's
pop singles chart in the fall of 1980 and peaking at number
two on the
UK Singles chart. It can be played as a follow on segue
to Marley's hit "Jamming",
and some critics believe it was designed as an extension of
that song. The song is also significant for the difficult
vocal maneuvers Wonder showcased especially on the line, "I
bet you if someone approached you yesterday/to tell you that
you would be jammin'/you would not believe it/they would be
jammin' thought that you'd be jammin'". The song also
includes the "hotter than July" line
The song exhibits
a
Latin feel. The main section is in 12/8 meter; this
section employs an unusual 6-over-4 polyrhythmic groove,
with the piano and bass playing 6 beats per measure and the
melody (and parts of the drum kit) playing 4 beats per
measure. The result is that most of the instruments appear
to be playing quarter-note-triplets against the swing of the
melody and drum kit. Drummer
John Bonham plays a shuffle beat similar to the "Purdie
shuffle" rhythm attributed to session drummer
Bernard Purdie, along with a
samba-style breakdown. A master drum track shows that
the samba breakdown (2:25) was recorded separately.
Lyrically, the song is about a man who's supposed to meet
a woman on a certain street corner. When the woman does not
appear, he is filled with sorrow at being stood up. By the
final verse, he realizes that he has not gone to the right
place, making him "just a fool waiting on the wrong block,"
as Plant sings.