If you were a music fan in the 80's, there's something for you on Professor of Rock's (Adam Reader) channel. His unapologetic championing of the era's music is admirable, albeit repetitive. If never watched another music related channel, you'd think that no good music was made after 1987 or so. You have to admire someone so devoted to his craft, even though his concept of "classic" music is so narrow in time and scope.
One of the recurring segments on his channel is a countdown of the top ten songs in the US on that date in music history. He also "re-ranks" the top ten in terms of total streams/views since they were released, to come up with a revised chart that reflects those song's long term impact. I'm not certain of his methods (streams and views on which platform? During which years? And if the goal is to gauge impact why don't sales count for anything?) but it makes for interesting debate material.
Recently, he covered the top ten from 39 years ago, the week of February 7, 1984. This is right up my alley. He claims that 1984 was the best ever year for music, and he may well be right. This was the first year that I followed the pop charts religiously, each week, for an entire calendar year. Looking over Billboard's list of the Top 100 Singles of 1984, I know nearly every one of those one hundred songs with the possible exception of two or three, and can sing or hum excerpts from each of them from memory from the place I'm sitting in now. It was a formative time in my beginnings as a music fan, so of course my memories will be hopelessly subjective, but that's OK. Some people claim that the best music ever made is the music you listened to when you were sixteen. That age might vary by a few years depending on who is making the claim, but I can't recall the number going as young as ten. The rational, I believe, is that high schoolers rely on music to shape their identity and personality, but once you hit your 20's and have matured into your (mostly) fully formed adult self, music as a consequence starts losing its ability to make a lasting impression.
There's a good argument to be made there, but my experiences fall well outside those parameters. In 1984, I followed the charts like they were sports. I clipped the CHUM charts from the newspaper each week as if they were the boxscores of games, I made a point of studying them and memorizing them, knowing the stats behind the songs (how many weeks at #1, in the top ten, etc.). I wrote about this at some length in a post from over twenty years ago. I had no money to buy records or tapes, the nearest music shop was a twenty minute walk from our house (too far for me to venture on my own). We didn't get MTV in Canada, and in February 1984, Much Music was about six months away from its initial launch. I learned the music by listening to the radio constantly, devouring nightly broadcasts and especially the countdown shows. I knew the top 40 each week but that's all I knew at the time. There was no "alternative", no niche genres to discover, but it was nevertheless my first attempt at a musical identity that was independent of the music my parents owned and listened to. And that's how a ten year old became more deeply versed in the minutiae of the pop charts than at any point in my life since.
Here is that top ten from thirty nine years ago:
10. Elton John, "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues"
9. Christopher Cross, "Think of Laura"
8. John Cougar Mellencamp, "Pink Houses"
7. Lionel Richie, "Running With the Night"
6. Genesis, "That's All"
5. Van Halen, "Jump"
4. Yes, "Owner of a Lonely Heart"
3. The Romantics, "Talking In Your Sleep"
2. Kool and the Gang, "Joanna"
1. Culture Club, "Karma Chameleon"
It's the fifth year of the decade, and the top ten is dominated by ... notable acts of the 70's, in various stages of adjusting to the challenges of being pop stars at the dawn of the music video era. We have prog rock bands figuring out how to write four minute manifestos for mainstream radio (Yes, Genesis), and 70's megastars reinventing themselves for a newer, younger audience that might not have known their earlier hits (Elton John, Kool and the Gang, Van Halen, Lionel Richie). Regarding that latter point, "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" was my first memory of Elton John as a contemporary pop star, "I'm Still Standing" was my favourite song of his (mainly thanks to its memorable video), and I didn't become familiar with his 70's megastardom hits until years later. Similarly, "Jump", "Joanna", and "Owner of a Lonely Heart" were my introduction to each of those acts.
These days, I think The Romantics are remembered for the sound of their debut album, but "Talking In Your Sleep" was their most successful song by far. Christopher Cross debuted in 79 and was a force at the top of the charts in the early 80's, but his music was a holdover from the mellower FM soft rock of the 70's. John Cougar Mellencamp also began his career in the 70's and found considerable success in the 80's, but his brand of heartland rock isn't characteristic of that decade. More than any other song on this list, "Pink Houses" could have been released as-is and found a willing audience in just about any decade since the 70's. That leaves us with just one absolutely no doubt quintessential unmistakably 80's act -- Culture Club. It should come as no surprise that they are #1 on the revised chart too unsurprisingly the retroactive #1 too (from least to most streams/views: Lionel Richie, Christopher Cross, Kool and the Gang, Mellencamp, Genesis, Romantics, Elton John, Yes, Van Halen, Culture Club).
Where were all the 80's giants? Michael Jackson was between "Thriller" singles. Hits from albums by Duran Duran and Cyndi Lauper were several weeks away from peaking. Tina Turner's triumphant comeback was a few months away. Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, and Prince would release decade defining albums only later in the year. With these unusual set of circumstances, the odds and sods 70's continuation acts were able to sneak in and take over the top of the pop charts.
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