40 34 STAY WITH ME TONIGHT –•– Jeffrey Osborne – 17 (30)
I was literally today years old when I found out Brian May played the guitar solo on this one. Solid R&B tune from Jeffrey "On the Wings of Love" Osborne.
39 53 HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN –•– Eurythmics – 2 (39)
Annie and Dave's second biggest hit after "Sweet Dreams". Great new wave.
38 39 THE DREAM –•– Irene Cara – 9 (38)
It doesn't exactly hit the heights of "Flashdance..." or "Fame", but it's decent enough for her.
37 42 GIVE IT UP –•– K.C. – 7 (37)
Harry Casey's final top 40 hit is pure disco bliss. Get out on the dancefloor and shake, shake, shake your booty to this one!
36 41 THIS WOMAN –•– Kenny Rogers – 4 (36)
Bro country sucks major dong, as does most country music from the 90's onward, but Kenny's brand of early 80's pop country that inspired it all is actually listenable. 6.5/10
35 38 BANG YOUR HEAD (METAL HEALTH) –•– Quiet Riot – 5 (35)
Time to crank a glam metal classic and bang your head along with Kevin and the QR boys! And to all you QR haters, I got a padded cell and a straightjacket waiting for ya!
34 28 TIME WILL REVEAL –•– Debarge – 17 (18)
El DeBarge and family with what was their biggest hit at the time before "Rhythm of the Night" came along and got people dancing. Here El is in tender love ballad mode, and it's a good one.
33 33 NIGHTBIRD –•– Stevie Nicks – 8 (33)
Her third single off of "The Wild Heart" was basically a sequel of sorts to "Edge of Seventeen". Not as good as the previous two singles from the album, but I like it enough.
32 44 GOT A HOLD ON ME –•– Christine McVie – 2 (32)
What's this? BOTH Fleetwood Mac ladies back to back on the countdown?!? Yep, and Christine beats out Stevie here with an absolute early 80's pop gem.
31 40 I WANT A NEW DRUG –•– Huey Lewis & The News – 4 (31)
A goddamned new wave pop rock classic that you're most likely getting stuck in your head right now.
30 32 SEND ME AN ANGEL –•– Real Life – 13 (30)
Highly underrated Australian new wave hit you probably forgot about. I, on the other hand, remember it well. 10/10
29 37 NEW MOON ON MONDAY –•– Duran Duran – 4 (29)
The first of two very good songs from "Seven and the Ragged Tiger" to appear on this weeks countdown...
28 15 SAY IT ISN’T SO –•– Daryl Hall & John Oates – 15 (2)
...followed by a monster classic from Daryl & John's "Rock 'n Soul Part 1" compilation.
27 17 THE CURLY SHUFFLE –•– Jump ‘N The Saddle – 10 (15)
I'm not sure how a "Three Stooges"-themed novelty tune actually cracked the top 15 on the Hot 100, but here we are. It has good comedy value, at least.
26 26 BABY I LIED –•– Deborah Allen – 17 (26)
A heartbreaking country pop ballad and her only top 40 hit. This one is actually more listenable than Kenny, with Deborah Allen sounding downright honest and believable in wanting her man back.
25 13 UNION OF THE SNAKE –•– Duran Duran – 14 (3)
And here's the other single from "Seven and the Ragged Tiger", on its way down from top 3. A Duran classic.
24 25 SO BAD –•– Paul McCartney – 7 (24)
Sir Paul with another one of his "silly love songs", and the followup single to his duet with Jacko. Not bad at all, but I've heard much better from him.
23 24 YAH MO B THERE –•– James Ingram & Michael McDonald – 9 (23)
If there were a shrine to yacht rock songs, this one would be in the holiest of holies alongside half of Steely Dan, Boz Scaggs, and Kenny Loggins's musical catalogs--it's that good.
22 27 NOBODY TOLD ME –•– John Lennon – 3 (22)
Recorded in '80 and only partially finished before Mark David Chapman and December 8th came along, Yoko finished it in '83 and gave us John's final solo hit, which is one good thing we can say about her, I guess.
21 31 GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN –•– Cyndi Lauper – 8 (21)
Another all-time pop classic and Cyndi's finest hour. You know you love this one!
20 21 MIDDLE OF THE ROAD –•– Pretenders – 8 (20)
Solid rocker from Chrissie Hynde and Co. "I got a kid, I'm 33!"
19 23 WRAPPED AROUND YOUR FINGER –•– Police – 5 (19)
Sting, Andy, and Stewart's final top 40 hit together. Great dark-sounding tune, and I've always loved the candlestick-strewn music video here for some reason.
18 22 99 LUFTBALLONS –•– Nena – 9 (18)
Sprechen sie Deutsch, Sludgers? Regardless of which language version you listen to this one's another new wave classic.
17 9 TWIST OF FATE –•– Olivia Newton-John – 14 (5)
Olivia and Travolta reunite for the movie "Two of a Kind", and here's that soundtrack's biggest hit. Very good/Excellent.
16 16 HOLIDAY –•– Madonna – 15 (16)
Madge's first top 40 hit and already well on her way to stardom. I love this one.
15 19 AN INNOCENT MAN –•– Billy Joel – 8 (15)
Title track from his '83 release, and quite good. That whole album was Joel paying homage to his favorite doo-wop and soul artists from the 50's and 60's, and it worked beautifully.
14 18 LET THE MUSIC PLAY –•– Shannon – 13 (14)
One of the earliest examples of freestyle dance-pop, and her only top 40 hit. Good/Very good.
13 7 SAY SAY SAY –•– Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson – 17 (1)
Ah, here's that Michael Jackson duet! Three weeks removed from the top of the chart and one of the better duets of the 80's.
12 14 I STILL CAN’T GET OVER LOVING YOU –•– Ray Parker Jr. – 13 (12)
Ray channelling his creepy stalker-"I'll be watching you" side with his lyrics here. Decent R&B tune, but lets see you try that in real life, Ray! Bet he'd be getting slapped with a restraining order faster than he could say "Ghostbusters!"
11 20 Jump –•– Van Halen – 4 (11)
No introduction needed. Just go ahead and jump, Sludgers!
10 12 PINK HOUSES –•– John Cougar Mellencamp – 9 (10)
I wonder whatever became of the person who won the MTV contest that came with this song? Or the house, for that matter? Is there still a pink house somewhere in Bloomington, Indiana? Questions, questions. 8/10 for the song, by the way...
9 11 THINK OF LAURA –•– Christopher Cross – 9 (9)
Cross wrote it as a tribute to one Laura (a college student who died from a stray bullet during a gang turf war) but it quickly became associated with another Laura (the "General Hospital" character). Not exactly his best output, but decent.
8 10 THAT’S ALL –•– Genesis – 11 (8)
Surprisingly, this was their first top 10 hit. Deservedly so, though, as it's one of Phil's finest moments.
7 8 RUNNING WITH THE NIGHT –•– Lionel Richie – 11 (7)
Sandwiched in between a pair of #1 hits, Lionel sings about going out partying with his lady and gets a very solid rock-inflected R&B top ten.
6 4 I GUESS THAT’S WHY THEY CALL IT THE BLUES –•– Elton John – 15 (4)
The classic John/Johnstone/Murray/Olson with Stevie Wonder on harmonica, and it resulted in one of Sir Elton's 80's best.
5 5 BREAK MY STRIDE –•– Matthew Wilder – 21 (5)
His "signature" hit which would be followed by one more top 40 entry before becoming a "Why wasn't he bigger?" story. This one is just so catchy and fun! 10/10
4 6 JOANNA –•– Kool & The Gang – 14 (4)
Highest charting hit on "In the Heart", stopped from #1 only by that Sir Paul/Jacko duet. "Cherish" would suffer a similar fate the following year, which is a shame because both are great R&B love songs.
3 3 TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP –•– The Romantics – 18 (3)
A nice rockin' groove and a music video full of nightie-clad models gave the Detroit group its biggest hit here, though I was personally shocked when I first found out "What I Like About You" fell short of the top 40, as classic as it is.
2 1 OWNER OF A LONELY HEART –•– Yes – 14 (1)
The British prog legends go AOR with Trevor Horn at the producer's helm and come up with a stone cold classic.
1 2 KARMA CHAMELEON –•– Culture Club – 10 (1)
Sing along with Boy George, everybody! Their only #1 and, yep, another all-time classic.
