Since April, we’ve been calculating the “lost factor” of the biggest hits of the 1980s—those songs that made the Billboard top 100 countdowns for their respective years. So far, we’ve looked at 1982 (as pop music transitioned out of a doldrums), 1984 (a universally beloved year), and 1989 (as pop music headed for the “extremes”). This week, we’ve used our formula of year-end points divided by current weekly spins to calculate a top 100 for the decade. But for those readers still wanting to see the top 10 songs for the years not yet calculated individually, here they are.
1980: Listeners Chose “Escape” Over “Him”
- Rupert Holmes, “Him” (lost factor 51, spins previous week: zero)
- Isaac Hayes, “Don’t Let Go” (38, 0)
- Linda Ronstadt, “How Do I Make You” (33, 1)
- Andy Gibb, “Desire” (22, 2)
- Dirt Band, “An American Dream” (15, 2)
- Daryl Hall & John Oates, “Wait For Me” (13, 1)
- Neil & Dara Sedaka, “Should’ve Never Let You Go” (13, 2)
- Boz Scaggs, “Jojo” (12, 1)
- Charlie Dore, “Pilot of the Airwaves” (12, 2)
- Ray, Goodman & Brown, “Special Lady” (8, 7)
1981: No Good To Cry
- Don McLean, “Crying” (61, 0)
- Diana Ross, “It’s My Turn” (59, 0)
- Kenny Rogers, “I Don’t Need You” (57, 0)
- Gary U.S. Bonds, “This Little Girl” (43, 0)
- Cliff Richard, “A Little In Love” (40, 0)
- Stars On 45, “Medley” (26, 3)
- Neil Diamond, “Love On The Rocks” (25, 3)
- Pablo Cruise, “Cool Love” (21, 0)
- John Schneider, “It’s Now Or Never” (19, 0)
- Alan Parsons Project, “Time” (11, 5)
1982: When The “Fever” Breaks Quickly
- Buckner & Garcia, “Pac Man Fever” (59, 0)
- Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, “Hooked On Classics” (45, 0)
- Donna Summer, “Love Is In Control (Finger on the Trigger)” (42, 0)
- Air Supply, “Sweet Dreams” (37, 2)
- Charlene, “I’ve Never Been To Me” (32, 2)
- Vangelis, “Chariots Of Fire-Title” (30, 3)
- Olivia Newton-John, “Make A Move On Me” (17, 1)
- Commodores, “Oh No” (16, 2)
- Paul McCartney, “Take It Away” (16, 2)
- Little River Band, “Take It Easy On Me” (12, 5)
1983: All Alone Am I
- Laura Branigan, “Solitaire” (21, 2)
- Styx, “Don’t Let It End” (21, 2)
- Quarterflash, “Take Me To Heart” (18,0)
- Shalamar, “Dead Giveaway” (15, 1)
- Daryl Hall & John Oates, “Family Man” (11, 3)
- Bob Seger & Silver Bullet Band, “Shame On The Moon” (10, 9)
- Little River Band, “The Other Guy” (9, 4)
- Frank Stallone, “Far From Over” (8, 0)
- Toto, “I Won’t Hold You Back” (6, 5)
- Rick Springfield, “Affair Of The Heart” (6, 7)
1984: Fated For Obscurity
- Olivia Newton-John, “Twist Of Fate” (59, 0)
- Irene Cara, “Breakdance” (32, 0)
- Ray Parker, Jr., “I Still Can’t Get Over Loving You” (12, 2)
- Christopher Cross, “Think Of Laura” (9, 2)
- Jacksons, “State Of Shock” (8, 5)
- Billy Joel, “An Innocent Man” (7,4 )
- Daryl Hall & John Oates, “Adult Education” (5, 6)
- Tracey Ullman, “They Don’t Know” (4, 7)
- Julio Iglesias & Willie Nelson, “To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before” (4, 13)
- Rick Springfield, “Love Somebody” (4, 10)
1985: Time’s Not Nice To “Vice”
- Jan Hammer, “’Miami Vice’ Theme” (12, 6)
- Paul McCartney, “No More Lonely Nights” (7, 4)
- Pointer Sisters, “Neutron Dance” (6, 10)
- Kool & the Gang, “Misled” (5, 7)
- Julian Lennon, “Valotte” (4, 6)
- Billy Ocean, “Loverboy” (3, 21)
- Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin, “Separate Lives” (3, 15)
- Sheena Easton, “Strut” (3, 18)
- Daryl Hall & John Oates, “Method Of Modern Love” (3, 6)
- Billy Ocean, “Suddenly” (3,19)
1986: “Election Day” Marred By “Spies Like Us”
- Arcadia, “Election Day” (15, 1)
- Paul McCartney, “Spies Like Us” (9, 1)
- Regina, “Baby Love” (8, 2)
- Gloria Loring & Carl Anderson, “Friends And Lovers” (7, 12)
- Daryl Hall, “Dreamtime” (7, 0)
- El DeBarge, “Who’s Johnny” (7, 5)
- Thompson Twins, “King For A Day” (5, 0)
- Tina Turner, “Typical Male” (5, 6)
- Billy Ocean, “There’ll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)” (4, 20)
- Stevie Nicks, “Talk To Me” (4, 11)
1987: The Wrong End Of “The Final Countdown”
- Europe, “Carrie” (45, 1)
- Cyndi Lauper, “Change of Heart” (20, 2)
- Jets, “Cross My Broken Heart” (11, 1)
- Kool & the Gang, “Victory” (10, 0)
- Billy Idol, “To Be A Lover” (9, 4)
- Madonna, “Who’s That Girl” (7, 8)
- Herb Alpert, “Diamonds” (7, 3)
- Madonna, “Causing A Commotion” (6, 9)
- Huey Lewis & News, “Jacob’s Ladder” (6, 10)
- Robbie Nevil, “C’est La Vie” (6, 16)
1988: It Was A Contender, And A Bum, Too
- Tiffany, “Could’ve Been” (31, 3)
- Debbie Gibson, “Foolish Beat” (23, 3)
- Chicago, “I Don’t Wanna Live Without Your Love” (18, 3)
- Samantha Fox, “Naughty Girls (Need Love Too)” (15, 5)
- Daryl Hall & John Oates, “Everything Your Heart Desires” (15, 2)
- Steve Winwood, “Don’t You Know What The Night Can Do” (13, 1)
- Huey Lewis & News, “Perfect World” (9, 4)
- Peter Cetera, “One Good Woman” (8, 4)
- George Michael, “Monkey” (7, 8)
- Jets, “Rocket 2 U” (7, 5)
1989: “New Kids” And Old “Boys Club” Turfed Out
- Sheena Easton, “The Lover In Me” (60, 1)
- New Kids on the Block, “I’ll Be Loving You (Forever)” (38, 2)
- Prince, “Batdance” (29, 2)
- Milli Vanilli, “Girl I’m Gonna Miss You” (28, 3)
- Tiffany, “All This Time” (23, 0)
- Dino, “I Like It” (23, 2)
- Boys Club, “I Remember Holding You” (16, 0)
- Donny Osmond, “Soldier Of Love” (15, 3)
- New Kids on the Block, “Cover Girl” (14, 2)
- White Lion, “When The Children Cry” (10, 4)
A couple of years ago, “Him” by Rupert Holmes was in regular rotation on Westwood One Classic Hits, which seemed to have a thing for lost hits of 1980.
Also curious about the songs with 2 spins; might they have shown up on an American Top 40 rerun?
An “AT40” rerun would have added more than two spins–I can say that the research for the ’80s was spread over the course of several weeks, so there was not necessarily one year that would’ve been impacted by AT40. Also that I did spot check a number of songs over the course of several weeks and didn’t see major fluctuations.
Laura Branigan ended up becoming another artist who adjusted her sound or image after a few years or albums like Olivia Newton-John, Melissa Manchester, and Sheena Easton. After “Gloria,” “Solitaire,” and “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You,” she got funkier and edgier with “Self Control.”
With an fascinating video that’s a far cry from her earlier ones, “Self Control” ended up peaking at number four on the Billboard Hot 100, while “Solitaire” only peaked at number seven. The former seemed to have endured more and longer than the latter, yet “Gloria” gets more play than either of those two.
The funny also is that after “Self Control,” she would not have another top ten hit ever again, or at least a top twenty after “The Lucky One.” She had a lot of songs that came out, but “Gloria” makes it look like she’s a one-hit wonder when she’s not.
It’s sometimes the case that somebody’s breakthrough at radio is the one song that endures, e.g., “Jessie’s Girl.” But interesting that it’s the pre-gritty Laura that we remember now,
Surprised to see “Causing a Commotion” getting more spins than “Who’s That Girl.” Also, “Valotte” received at least five more spins than I thought it would.
Might be tempo helping “Commotion.” Also, there’s a lot of Soft AC/AC airplay these days for “La Isla Bonita,” which wouldn’t help its soundalike.