40 48 SPY IN THE HOUSE OF LOVE –•– Was Not Was – 6 (40)
A fun, groovy Don Was dance tune to kick off the countdown (though its followup single "Walk the Dinosaur" would become the bigger hit, of course)...
39 31 I’LL ALWAYS LOVE YOU –•– Taylor Dayne – 22 (3)
...followed by pop music's other Taylor with a solid pop love ballad in its final week on the countdown.
38 26 TIME AND TIDE –•– Basia – 16 (26)
Anyone here remember her? She had a couple of good singles to reach the top 40 on the Billboard chart, and she was one of the first Polish singers to do so (I think?). Very good/excellent.
37 40 SMALL WORLD –•– Huey Lewis & The News – 5 (37)
Huey Lewis-mania had kind of fizzled out by this point, I think, with this one barely squeaking into the top 40 and only two more top 40 singles after that in '91. It's pretty good pop/rock like you'd expect from Huey, though.
36 18 TRUE LOVE –•– Glenn Frey – 12 (13)
IIRC, the 80's on 8 VJ's described once this one as Glenn's attempt at Philly/Detroit soul, and that's not too far off the mark. Good/Very good.
35 43 FINISH WHAT YA STARTED –•– Van Halen – 6 (35)
Van Hagar playing their cool blues-y followup to "When It's Love" and getting paid to do Van Hagar things while the Rothtards seethe.
34 30 DANCE LITTLE SISTER –•– Terence Trent D’Arby – 9 (30)
Just didn't have the same catchiness as "Wishing Well" or "Sign Your Name", but it's still listenable enough. And then he dropped off the charts never to be seen again.
33 44 WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE –•– Guns N’ Roses – 3 (33)
An absolute Sludge classic. "YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE?!?"
32 41 DOMINO DANCING –•– Pet Shop Boys – 5 (32)
I remember Mr. Freeze mentioning where PSB claimed this song was inspired by the Miami freestyle genre, and it sure sounds like it. Great dance hit.
31 38 DOWNTOWN LIFE –•– Daryl Hall & John Oates – 6 (31)
Daryl and John's penultimate tune to reach the top 40, here at its peak placement. It's good, but I personally prefer "Everything Your Heart Desires" as far as their 1988 singles...
30 39 EDGE OF A BROKEN HEART –•– Vixen – 8 (30)
Another Sludge classic, IMO, but dang, we gotta Janet back in the band! Doesn't she ever get tired of cleaning teeth and playing golf???
29 24 DON’T WORRY BE HAPPY –•– Bobby McFerrin – 15 (1)
Ubiquitously goofy novelty tune that you most likely either love or hate. I personally enjoy it.
28 19 DON’T BE CRUEL –•– Cheap Trick – 15 (4)
The first of two songs this week bearing the title "Don't Be Cruel" as Robin, Rick, Tom, and Bun E. deliver a solid Elvis cover.
27 33 THE PROMISE –•– When In Rome – 10 (27)
Clive Farrington's one-hit-wonders with a great new wave hit. I think I saw where Clive's been working with some of the retro/synthwave acts over the past few years, which is pretty on brand for him.
26 32 WALK ON WATER –•– Eddie Money – 6 (26)
Solid AOR-lite pop/rock from the Money Man.
25 15 FOREVER YOUNG –•– Rod Stewart – 14 (12)
Sir Rod's iconic paean to youth off a damn good album in "Out of Order"...
24 25 A WORD IN SPANISH –•– Elton John – 8 (24)
...followed by Sir Elton's second single from "Reg Strikes Back". Not as good as "I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That", but still a decent song.
23 29 WAITING FOR A STAR TO FALL –•– Boy Meets Girl – 9 (23)
Awesome one-hit-wonder from Whitney's hit songwriters Merrill and Rubicam, who tried to convince her to record this one, too, before she passed on it. One of the best songs to come out of late '88, in fact.
22 28 GIVING YOU THE BEST THAT I GOT –•– Anita Baker – 7 (22)
Speaking of Detroit soul earlier, here's some from Anita Baker. Very good/excellent.
21 13 LOVE BITES –•– Def Leppard – 13 (1)
"If you've got love in your sights...". 'Nuff said. 10/10
20 27 I DON’T WANT YOUR LOVE –•– Duran Duran – 4 (20)
Simon and the Durans with a very groovy dance hit!
19 11 DON’T BE CRUEL –•– Bobby Brown – 16 (8)
Time for some new jack swing, and the second "Don't Be Cruel" song this week. I love this one.
18 20 DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU GOT (TILL IT’S GONE) –•– Cinderella – 10 (18)
Keifer and Co. with the second hair ballad of the countdown. A goddamn classic.
17 23 LOOK AWAY –•– Chicago – 7 (17)
Cheap Trick chose to record their second Diane Warren offering "The Flame" over this and Europe chose to release their own material, so post-Cetera Chicago ended up recording it. Great pop rock ballad.
16 16 ANOTHER LOVER –•– Giant Steps – 12 (16)
"The world don't need another lover!" Highly underrated one-hit-wonder!
15 22 KISSING A FOOL –•– George Michael – 5 (15)
George with his sixth and final top 40 hit from "Faith". Here he goes with a jazzy lounge number and does a damn fine job of it.
14 12 CHAINS OF LOVE –•– Erasure – 15 (12)
Oh my god, CRANK THIS ONE NOW!!! It's THAT damn good!
13 21 BABY, I LOVE YOUR WAY/FREEBIRD –•– Will To Power – 9 (13)
Vocals here are great, but overall I never really cared for this medley of covers all that much.
12 17 HOW CAN I FALL? –•– Breathe – 9 (12)
Lovely British sophisti-pop ballad from a group that had another even better hit ballad before it ("Hands to Heaven").
11 6 DON’T YOU KNOW WHAT THE NIGHT CAN DO? –•– Steve Winwood – 12 (6)
Winwood's second "Roll With It" single, and a quite good tune.
10 5 WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND (PURE ENERGY) –•– Information Society – 17 (3)
A new wave classic so good I just had to make a thread about it a few months ago. Crank this one as soon as you're done listening to that Erasure hit. Pure energy!
9 4 RED RED WINE –•– UB40 – 28 (1)
Meh-to-decent reggae take on Neil Diamond that I can enjoy every so often.
8 14 DESIRE –•– U2 – 6 (8)
Bono and Co. were becoming international superstars by the time their first "Rattle and Hum" single hit. Good/very good.
7 8 NEVER TEAR US APART –•– INXS – 13 (7)
Fourth and final of INXS' "Kick" singles, and it's a fairly good'un.
6 9 ONE MOMENT IN TIME –•– Whitney Houston – 9 (6)
Written for and released on a compilation of songs for the Seoul Olympics, which by this point had ended months earlier. 7/10
5 10 BAD MEDICINE –•– Bon Jovi – 7 (5)
"Your love is like bad medicine!" Sing along with the Jove, as he is just a few weeks away from #1 here...
4 7 THE LOCO-MOTION –•– Kylie Minoque – 11 (4)
...then do the Loco-Motion with Kylie on this classic dance cover...
3 1 GROOVY KIND OF LOVE –•– Phil Collins – 10 (1)
...then listen to Phil Collins' cover of a 60's love song, recorded for the soundtrack to his movie "Buster". Personally, I prefer "Two Hearts" from that one.
2 3 WILD, WILD WEST –•– The Escape Club – 12 (2)
Surprisingly this one never even charted in their native UK. But it sure hit here in the States, and I'm glad it did, because it's another classic. 10/10
1 2 KOKOMO –•– The Beach Boys – 10 (1)
I used to hate this one as a kid, but it's grown on me over the years, even as cheesy as it is.
