The #1's of the 1980's - A Decade Study

Ya'll, I've been excited to write this post since I came up with this "collection" idea at the beginning of the blog. In my opinion, the '80s are one of the greatest decades for music. There's not a single song on this list that could possibly be mistaken for belonging to any other time period. The '80s were revolutionary in so many musical ways, and the music is still so much fun to listen to even 40 years later.

As with the previous Decade Study posts, we will be focusing on the #1 charting songs on Billboard's Year End Hot 100 lists from each respective year of the decade.

1980 - Call Me by Blondie (written by D. Harry, G. Moroder)

The decade starts with an absolute BANGER from iconic new-wave band Blondie. Released as a single in February 1980, Call Me was also the theme to the 1980 film American Gigilo (starring Richard Gere). The song spent six consecutive weeks at #1 with Billboard, becoming Blondie's biggest single and second #1 hit, and has been certified Gold by the RIAA for selling one million copies. I love Blondie as a band - Debbie Harry's voice is one of those that's so unique, it's impossible to mistake for anyone else. This is a great song to drive to, dance to, work out to, you name it - if you want to get your heart pumping, "call on" Blondie. P.S. Yes I'm a little ashamed of that joke but I'm leaving it in so learn to deal please.

Color me your color, baby/Color me your car/Color me your color, darling/I know who you are/Come up off your color chart/I know where you're coming from/Call me on the line/Call me, call me any, anytime/Call me, I'll arrive/You can call me any day or night, call me

1981 - Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes (written by D. Weiss, J. DeShannon)

My mother swears I'm lying, but to paraphrase Gandalf the White, "I have no memory of this song." That being said, I dig Carnes's gravelly tone in her voice (even if as a performer I wince a little thinking what that did to her voice as she aged). Another unmistakably '80s bop, Carnes actually covered this 1974 Jackie DeShannon song on her album Mistaken Identity, released in March 1981. Bette Davis Eyes spent a total of nine weeks at #1 on the Billboard chart, won the Grammys for Song of the Year and Record of the Year, was ranked #12 on Billboard's Topo 100 Songs of their first fifty years, and is certified Gold by the RIAA for selling one million copies. According to Wikipedia, Davis herself (73 years old at the time) personally wrote letters to Carnes, DeShannon, and fellow songwriter Donna Weiss to thank them for "making her a part of modern times" and that her grandson actually looked up to her now, as well as sending each of them roses after their Grammy wins.

Her hair is Harlow gold/Her lips are sweet surprise/Her hands are never cold/She's got Bette Davis eyes/She'll turn the music on you/You won't have to think twice/She's pure as New York snow/She got Bette Davis Eyes/And she'll tease you, she'll unease you/All the better just to please you/She's precocious and she knows just what it takes to make a pro blush/She's got Greta Garbo's standoff sighs/She's got Bette Davis eyes

1982 - Physical by Olivia Newton-John (written by S. Kipner, T. Shaddick)

This is almost embarrassing, but I can't hear this song without picturing the episode of Glee where Sue Sylvester recreates this music video with Newton-John herself - it's so funny, you should at the very least look up that scene on YouTube. Released as a single in September 1981, Physical was included on Newton-John's twelfth studio album of the same name after being offered first to Tina Turner, who ended up turning it down. People immediately went CRAZY for this song - it stayed #1 with Billboard for 10 weeks, is certified Platinum by the RIAA for selling two million copies, and actually ended up cementing Newton-John as a pop star after she'd been riding the line before as more of a country pop star (weird, it's like I've heard that same story within the last decade...I think her name's Taylor or something?).

I'm saying all the things that I know you'll like, making good conversation/I gotta handle you just right, you know what I mean/I took you to an intimate restaurant, then to a suggestive movie/There's nothing left to talk about 'less it's horizontally/Let's get physical, physical/I wanna get physical, let's get into physical/Let me hear your body talk, your body talk/Let me hear your body talk/Let's get physical, physical/I wanna get physical, let's get into physical/Let me hear your body talk, your body talk/Let me hear your body talk

1983 - Every Breath You Take by The Police (written by G. Sumner)

Did anyone else think upon hearing this song for the first time, "Oh wow, what a sweet, romantic, loving song about a guy who always wants to look after his loved ones even after he's gone" and then realize with a screeching halt years later that it's actually about a creepy stalker? No? Just me? Cool. Included on their album Synchronicity, this song was released as a single in May 1983 and spent eight weeks at #1 with Billboard - in fact, this is The Police's ONLY Billboard #1. Every Breath You Take won the Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and has, for many, become the signature song for both The Police and their iconic lead vocalist, Sting. In fact, just 11 months ago in May 2019, Broadcast Music, Inc. recognized this song as the most played song in radio history. It's also been honored by Rolling Stone Magazine as #84 on their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list, #25 on Billboard's Hot 100 All Time Top Songs, Q Magazine's 2008 10 British Songs of the 1980s list, and certified Gold by the RIAA for selling one million copies. Sting himself has said the song took him thirty minutes total to write after he woke up with the line "every breath you take, every move you make" stuck in his head in the middle of the night, and has also said that at the time he didn't think anything of how "sinister" the lyrics could sound...ok, Sting, that makes me feel a little better that you didn't INTENTIONALLY write a song about stalking a woman, but still. All that aside, this song is a classic bop, and I still laugh hysterically when I come across any of the Vines that used it as background music, usually with a Canadian goose or a swan staring something down.

Every breath you take/Every move you make/Every bond you break, every step you take/I'll be watching you/Every single day/Every word you say/Every game you play, every night you stay/I'll be watching you/Oh, can't you see/You belong to me/How my poor heart breaks/With every step you take/Every move you make/Every vow you break/Every smile you fake, every claim you stake/I'll be watching you

1984 - When Doves Cry by Prince (written by P. Nelson)

Let me go ahead and get this statement out of the way - Prince was a musical genius. He just was. The Purple Rain album, if nothing else, proves this to be true. When Doves Cry was released in May 1984 as the lead single from that very album and ended up being Prince's first Billboard #1, staying there for 5 weeks. Since then, it's been honored by Rolling Stone Magazine as #52 on their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list, website Acclaimed Music as the 29th most celebrated song in pop music history, and the RIAA with a 3x Platinum certification for selling over 6 million copies. Both my husband and my mother LOVE this song, which has made research this week a lot of fun because every time it comes on (more often my husband then my mom since, you know, I'm around him more) they start to do the head bob - yeah, you know the one, because you probably do it unconsciously whenever you hear a song you love.

Dig, if you will, the picture/Of you and I engaged in a kiss/The sweat of your body covers me/Can you, my darling, can you picture this/Dream, if you can, a courtyard/An ocean of violets in bloom/Animals strike curious poses/They feel the heat, the heat between me and you/How can you just leave me standing/Alone in a world that's so cold/Maybe I'm just too demanding/Maybe I'm just like my father, too bold/Maybe you're just like my mother/She's never satisified/Why do we scream at each other/This is what it sounds like when doves cry

1985 - Careless Whisper by Wham! (written by A. Ridgeley, G. Michael)

Ok, this song invokes another pop culture image for me like Physical does, but decidedly different - instead of a scene from Glee, I can't not picture the animated ending credits from Deadpool of him riding various unicorns and eating chimichangas to this song's unmistakable saxophone solo in the background. Careless Whisper was released in July 1984 as a single from British pop duo Wham!'s album Make It Big. It became universally popular very quickly, spending 22 weeks on the Billboard chart (peaking at #1 in February 1985). It has sold over six million copies worldwide, and has been certified Platinum by the RIAA here in the US.

Time can never mend the careless whispers of a good friend/To the heart and mind, ignorance is kind/But there's no comfort in the truth, pain is all you'll find/Shoulda known better, yeah/I feel so unsure as I take your hand and lead you to the dance floor/As the music dies, something in your eyes/Calls to mind a silver screen and all its sad goodbyes/I'm never gonna dance again, guilty feet have got no rhythm/Though it's easy to pretend, I know you're not a fool/I should have known better than to cheat a friend and waste a chance that I'd been given/So I'm never gonna dance again the way I danced with you, oh

1986 - That's What Friends Are For by Dionne Warwick & Friends (written by B. Bacharach, C. Sager)

Though I wasn't very familiar with this song before research for this post, I'm now unsure how this song could possibly have even had the chance to flop just based off the host of talent involved - you have composition by the incomparable Burt Bacharach, as well as four musical powerhouses from the era: Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, Elton John, and Stevie Wonder. Originally performed by Rod Stewart in 1982 on the film soundtrack for Night Shift (starring Henry Winkler and Michael Keaton), Warwick & Co. covered this song and released it as a charity single to help raise money for AIDS research and prevention - in fact, it ended up raising $3 million for that cause. It was a HUGE hit, spending 23 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 (peaking at #1 in January 1986), winning the Grammy Awards for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and Song of the Year and has been certified Gold by the RIAA for selling over a million copies.

And I never thought I'd feel this way/And as far as I'm concerned/I'm glad I got the chance to say that I do believe in you/And if I should ever go away/Well, then close your eyes and try/To feel the way we do today and then, if you can remember/Keep smiling, keep shining/Knowing you can always count on me for sure/That's what friends are for/For good times and bad times/I'll be on your side forevermore/That's what friends are for

1987 - Walk Like an Egyptian by The Bangles (written by L. Sternberg)

Though I've loved this song from the first time I heard it in a Joe's Crab Shack when I was around four years old, I do have one burning question - what in the actual hell does this song mean? No, really, what is this song about? Does anyone actually know? Do The Bangles even know? All I was able to find is that this song is just, at its core, a dance song and meant to be catchy...so I guess that's all we get for now. This was the band's third single released from their 1986 album Different Light, and while being very popular throughout its life, it's interesting to note that this song was actually suggested by Clear Channel Communications to radio statioins to exercise caution before playing in 2001 following the 9/11 attacks in New York City, as well as the BBC stating that this song "may need to be avoided" during the Gulf War. Apart from that slight unpleasantness in its history, the song spent four weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 (peaking at #1 in October 1986) and has been certified Gold by the RIAA for selling over one million units. You know you're lying to yourself if you don't do some sort fo little dance whenever this song comes on - it's an absolute bop to the highest degree.

All the paintings on the tomb/They do the sand dance, don't you know/If they move too quick, oh way oh/They're falling down like a domino/All the bazaar men by the Nile/They go the money on a bet/Gold crocodiles, oh way oh/They snap their teeth on your cigarette/Foreign types with the hookah pipes say way oh, way oh, way oh, way oh/Walk like an Egyptian

1988 - Faith by George Michael (written by G. Michael)

Yes, yes, YES, my favorite George Michael song of all time. It's on a list of MUST GET UP AND DANCE REGARDLESS whenever it comes on and I'm not even sorry about it. This is the title track of Faith, which was Michael's first solo album after Wham!, released in October 1987. It held the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks and has been certified Gold by the RIAA for selling over 500,000 copies. I don't even know what else to say about this song - it's one that you just have to listen to to appreciate. Therefore, that's my advice for you: stop what you're doing right now, go to your preferred method of music streaming, and just listen to it. You won't be sorry for one second. You may even just play it on repeat all day, and you know what? That's just fine.

Well, I guess it would be nice if I could touch your body/I know not everybody has got a body like you/Oh, but I gotta think twice before I give my heart away/And I know all the games you play because I play them, too/Oh, but I need some time off from that emotion/Time to pick my heart up off the floor/Oh, when that love comes down without devotion/Well, it takes a strong man, baby, but I'm showing you the door/'Cause I gotta have faith/I gotta have faith/Because I gotta have faith, faith/I got to have faith, faith, faith

1989 - Look Away by Chicago (written by D. Warren)

We leave this crazy, amazing, musical decade with a power ballad from American rock band Chicago. Released as a single in September 1988 from their album Chicago 19, Look Away ended up becoming Chicago's best selling single of their career. It became the #1 charting song on Billboard's Year End Hot 100 list for 1989 despite not charting at #1 the whole year (it spent two weeks at #1 in December 1988), but stayed on the list so long that it earned the honor anyway, and is also the only #1 single in Chicago's post-Peter Cetera existence. It's been certified Gold by the RIAA for selling over 500,000 copies and is for a lot of people, myself included, one of those songs where you may not recognize it at first but once that classic 80's chorus kicks in you go, "Oh, I DO know this song!"

When you called me up this morning, told me 'bout the new love you found/I said, "I'm happy for you, I'm really happy for you"/Found someone else, I guess I won't be coming around/I guess it's over, babe, it's really over, babe, whoa/And from what you said, I know you've gotten over me/It'll never be the way it used to be/So if it's gotta be this way/Don't worry, baby, I can take the news okay/But if you see me walking by, and the tears are in my eyes/Look away, baby, look away/And if we meet on the street someday and I don't know what to say/Look away, baby, look away/Don't look at me,I don't want you too see me this way

I hope you had a great time head banging down memory lane this week and picturing wild hair, neon clothes, and great music. See ya'll next week!