Back to the 1980s

  August 15, 1987 - 34 Years Ago Today: John Cougar Mellencamp had the Hot Shot Debut at No. 62 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with his single, "Paper In Fire." This self-penned single was the rocker's 16th entry on the Hot 100 and it became his 15th Top 40 and 8th Top Ten when it peaked at No. 9 on October 3, 1987. The single also enjoyed a 5-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart. Backing vocal was provided by Crystal Taliefero.

  August 4, 1984 - 37 Years Ago Today: The Pointer Sisters re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart at No. 87 in its 17th week with their single, "I'm So Excited," taken from both "So Excited" and "Break Out", following its peak of No. 30 on November 27, 1982. This time around, the reissue of the new mix of this single became a Top Ten hit for the trio peaking at No. 9 on October 27, 1984, exactly 23 months following its original peak. It was reissued after the success of its two preceding singles, "Automatic" and "Jump (For My Love)," which peaked at No.'s 5 & 3, respectively. Between 1973-87, the Pointer Sisters scored 27 Hot 100 singles which included 16 Top 40's and 7 Top Tens. Two of their singles, 1978's "Fire" (written by Bruce Springsteen) and 1981's "Slow Hand" peaked at No. 2. "Slow Hand" is their best-charted single spending three weeks in the runner-up position. All three m...

August 11, 1984 - 37 Years Ago Today: Ray Parker, Jr. began a three-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with his single, "Ghostbusters." This self-penned single was the title song from the motion picture starring Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd. This was also Parker's fifth solo chart entry following his departure from the group, Raydio, which he formed in 1977 and scored 5 Top 30 hits including 3 Top Tens.  As a solo artist, Parker scored 9 charted singles which included 7 Top 40's, 2 Top 5's and this No. 1. The B-side to this single was the Instrumental version which earned Parker a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental. 

August 6, 1983 - 38 Years Ago Today: Stray Cats had the Hot Shot Debut at No. 51 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with their single, "(She's) Sexy + 17." This Brian Setzer-penned single was the rockabilly trio's third chart entry and their third Top Ten when it peaked at No. 5 on October 1, 1983. They scored two more singles on the Hot 100 including one additional Top 40.  Vocalist and guitarist, Setzer, formed his own successful swing band a couple of years following the Stray Cats dissolution and has charted one dozen albums including the Top Ten smash album, "The Dirty Boogie," which was released in 1998 and was certified double Platinum. 

  August 8, 1987 - 34 Years Ago Today: Michael Jackson had the Hot Shot Debut at No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with his single, "I Just Can't Stop Loving You." This self-penned song was the highly anticipated leadoff single from his upcoming album, "Bad," which was nearly a five-year wait from his previous album, "Thriller." The song and the album didn't disappoint on the chart as the single became the first of five consecutive No. 1's to be released from the album. It hit No. 1 on September 19, 1987 and the duet vocal was provided by Siedah Garrett. The female portion of the song by Garrett almost came accidentally as she appeared on the demo of the recording while rumored offers for the duet were going out to Barbra Streisand and Whitney Houston, who both turned down the song. Garrett wasn't even made aware that she would be the guest vocalist on the single until the day of the recording. "I Just Can't Stop Loving You,...

  August 8, 1981 - 40 Years Ago Today: Rick James debuted at No. 74 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with his single, "Super Freak (Part I)." The single was James' 6th chart entry on the Hot 100 and peaked at No. 16 on October 24, 1981. It was included as a medley of three songs on the Billboard Disco Top 80 Chart billed as "Give It To Me Baby/Super Freak/Ghetto Life" and spent three weeks at No. 1 and was certified Platinum. James was sentenced to five years in prison in 1994 for assaults on two women but was released in August 1996. He died of a heart attack on August 6, 2004, at the age of 56. 

August 15, 1987 - 34 Years Ago Today: Swing Out Sister debuted at No. 92 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with their single, "Breakout." The single was appropriately titled considering it was the group's debut single on the Hot 100 from their debut album, "It's Better To Travel," which was certified Gold. The single peaked at No. 6 on November 14, 1987 and also enjoyed a two-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard AC Chart. The follow-up single, "Twilight World," peaked at No. 31. Following this album, the trio was reduced to a duo and they scored two more singles on the Hot 100 but even though their final charted single, "Am I The Same Girl," only peaked at No. 45 on the Hot 100, it went to No. 1 on the Billboard AC Chart. "Breakout" was written by Andy Connell, Corinne Drewery and Martin Jackson. Please click the following link to view the accompanying video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIOJdMdS56k

August 15, 1981 - 40 Years Ago Today: Diana Ross & Lionel Richie began a nine-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with their single, "Endless Love." This was the title track from the motion picture starring Brooke Shields. It also enjoyed a seven-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard R&B Chart and a three-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard AC Chart becoming Ross's biggest hit and longest-running No. 1 with and without the Supremes. The single was written by Lionel Richie and remains his longest-running No. 1 single as well and was his first hit outside of the Commodores and his biggest-selling hit with the exclusion of "We Are The World," which Richie co-wrote with Michael Jackson and was certified 4X Platinum. "Endless Love" was certified Platinum and was also recorded by Mariah Carey & Luther Vandross in 1994 peaking at No. 2. Diana Ross also recorded a solo version of the song for her RCA debut album, "Why Do Fools Fall In...

August 13, 1983 - 38 Years Ago Today: Juice Newton had the Hot Shot Debut at No. 65 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with her single, "Tell Her No." This Rod Argent-penned single was a cover of the Zombies hit which reached No. 6 in 1965. Newton took her single version to No. 27 on October 1, 1983 making it her 7th and final Top 40 hit. Between 1976-89, Juice Newton charted 26 hits on the Billboard Country Singles Chart. Please click the following link to view the accompanying video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAVTjy8i2zQ

August 12, 1989 - 32 Years Ago Today: Richard Marx began a three-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with his single, "Right Here Waiting. This was the singer/songwriter's 6th consecutive Top 3 single and third consecutive No. 1. The single also enjoyed a 6-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard AC Chart. In a recent interview, Marx relayed a story that he originally offered the song to Barbra Streisand who turned it down. He said, "she left a message on my phone machine saying, 'Hi Richard, it's Barbra. I love the melody but don't like the lyrics. I won't be right here waiting for anyone." Marx laughed after telling the story and said he still has the tape with Barbra's reply because he found it to be very funny. Following Marx's last charted single in 1998, he went on to write several hits for other artists including "This I Promise You," which was a Top 5 hit for *NSync and "Dance With My Father," for Luther Van...

"Cool Places" is a 1983 new wave song recorded by American pop band Sparks in collaboration with the Go-Go's rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Jane Wiedlin. The song was released as the lead single from Sparks's 1983 album In Outer Space. At the time, Sparks were at their most popular in the US, their two previous albums having dented the lower reaches of the Billboard 200 album chart. The single peaked at No. 49 on the Hot 100 in April 1983. The song's success followed the success of their previous single and only other Hot 100 entry "I Predict". The music video for the track (directed by Graeme Whifler) received some MTV airplay. Sparks recorded "Lucky Me, Lucky You" with Jane Wiedlin for the same parent album. Wiedlin also helped promote the album on tour and appeared at a few gigs to perform the duets. Wiedlin's band, the Go-Go's, performed the song on their 2006 tour, employing a more rock-driven style. The song continues ...

  Official promo video for the first single from Jane Wiedlin's second solo album Fur (EMI-Manhattan Records, 1988). "Rush Hour" was Jane's first (and only) Top 40 hit outside of the Go-Go's, peaking at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1988.

This was the first single Men at Work released, and it became a huge hit. The group started as an acoustic duo with singer Colin Hay and guitarist Ron Strykert. After a few years playing pubs in Australia, they were discovered by an American who worked for CBS records and signed them.  

August 11, 1984 - 37 Years Ago Today: Donna Summer debuted at No. 59 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with her single, "There Goes My Baby." This Benjamin Nelson-Lover Patterson-George Treadwell-penned song was the leadoff single from Summer's 12th album, "Cats Without Claws," which was a commercial disappointment becoming her lowest charted studio album peaking at No. 40 on the Billboard 200 Chart after scoring 11 Gold and one Platinum and two multi-Platinum albums. This was Summer's first studio album not to receive a certification from the RIAA selling approximately 300,000 copies in total. The single was a cover of The Drifters' No. 2 hit from 1959. Summer peaked at No. 21 and the follow-up single, "Supernatural Love," co-written by Summer with husband, Bruce Sudano with producer, Michael Omartian, peaked at a disappointing No. 75. The latter single peaked at No. 39 on the Billboard Dance/Disco chart. To my ears, "There Goes My Baby,...

August 11, 1984 - 37 Years Ago Today: Bruce Springsteen had the Hot Shot Debut at No. 52 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with his single, "Cover Me." This self-penned song was Springsteen's second single release from his No. 1 album, "Born In The U.S.A.," which eventually produced 7 Top Tens tying the record with Michael Jackson's "Thriller." "Cover Me," peaked at No. 7 on October 20, 1984 and was certified Gold. Bruce Springsteen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. Please click the following link to view the accompanying video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r13kXZKe4IA

August 11, 1984 - 37 Years Ago Today: Billy Ocean debuted at No. 85 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with his single, "Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run)." This Ocean/Keith Diamond-penned song was the R&B singer's second chart entry on the Hot 100 following his No. 22 peak of "Love Really Hurts Without You," which was his 1976 debut. Following that, he had a series of failed singles and a couple which "bubbled under" the Hot 100. "Caribbean Queen," changed the course of his career when it began a two-week run at No. 1 on November 3, 1984 and was certified Gold. It also topped the Billboard R&B Chart for 4 weeks, the Billboard Dance/Disco Chart for a single week and hit No. 7 on the Billboard AC Chart. It began a string of 11 Top 40 hits which included 7 Top Tens and 3 No. 1's through 1989. Four of the singles topped the R&B Chart and three topped the AC Chart. Please click the following link to view the accompanying video...

August 10, 1985 - 36 Years Ago Today: Air Supply debuted at No. 84 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with their single, "The Power Of Love (You Are My Lady)." This Mary Applegate-Cindy DeRouge-Gunther Mendel-Jennifer Rush-penned song was their 12th of 13 charted singles and it peaked at No. 68 on August 24, 1985. "Power Of Love" had charted four times but only hit the Top 40 twice. Jennifer Rush who was a co-writer on the song peaked at No. 57 in 1986, Laura Branigan was the first artist to have a moderate hit with her single version when it peaked at No. 26 in 1988 and finally Celine Dion took her single version to No. 1 for four weeks in 1994 and also topped the Billboard AC chart and was certified Platinum. Please click the following link to view the accompanying video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me_BhryXKZ8

August 9, 1980 - 41 Years Ago Today: Stacy Lattisaw debuted at No. 87 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with her single, "Let Me Be Your Angel." This was the 13-year-old R&B singer's chart debut and also her first of 3 Top 40's when it peaked at No. 21 on November 22, 1980. She recorded her first album at the age of 12 and between 1979-89, she scored 22 hits on the Billboard R&B Chart. Please click the following link to view the accompanying video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0e-GyFfF1k

I'm Only Human: "Human" is a song recorded by British synthpop band The Human League, and released as the first single from their 1986 album Crash. The track, which deals with the subject of infidelity, was written and produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.[4] The song topped the charts of the United States and Canada upon release, while also reaching number five in Germany and number eight in the band's native United Kingdom. Ryan's Hope: Ryan's Hope is an American soap opera created by Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer, originally airing for 13 years on ABC from July 7, 1975 to January 13, 1989. It revolves around the trials and tribulations within a large Irish-American family in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Loving (TV series):  Loving is an American television soap opera that ran on ABC from June 26, 1983, to November 10, 1995, a total of 3,169 episodes.[2] The serial, set in the fictional town of Corinth, Pennsylvania,...

August 9, 1986 - 35 Years Ago Today: Janet Jackson had the Hot Shot Debut at No. 60 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with her single, "When I Think Of You." This Jimmy Jam Harris-Terry Lewis-Janet Jackson-penned song was the third single release from her third studio and breakthrough No. 1 album, "Control," and it went all the way to No. 1 for two weeks beginning October 11, 1986 and was certified Gold. The quintuple-Platinum certified album released six singles including five Top 5's and the final single, "The Pleasure Principle" which peaked at No. 14. Michael's kid sister was entering superstar territory which was cemented with her follow-up album, 1989's "Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814," which was only the third album in history to deliver 7 Top Ten singles (7 Top 5's to be exact) following older brother, Michael's "Thriller," and Bruce Springsteen's "Born In The U.S.A." Janet Jackson was indu...

August 9, 1980 - 41 Years Ago Today: Olivia Newton-John with Electric Light Orchestra debuted at No. 79 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with their single, "Xanadu." This was title track and the fourth of five Top 20 singles released from the motion picture starring Newton-John. It peaked at No. 8 on October 11, 1980 and followed Newton-John's "Magic," which was currently in its 2nd of a 4 week run at No. 1, ELO's "I'm Alive," peaked at No. 16 on July 12, 1980, ELO's "All Over The World," debuted one week prior to this release and eventually peaked at No. 13 on October 4, 1980, and finally, "Suddenly," which was a duet between Newton-John & Cliff Richard debuted at No. 79 on October 25, 1980 and reached No. 20 on January 17, 1981. Newton-John's tracks, "Magic" and "Suddenly" were written by John Farrar and ELO's tracks including "Xanadu," were written by Jeff Lynne. Please click th...

  August 7, 1982 - 39 Years Ago Today: Michael McDonald had the Hot Shot Debut at No. 69 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with his single, "I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)." This was the leadoff single from his solo debut album, "If That's What It Takes." It was written by McDonald and Ed Sanford. Its similarity to the earlier song "I Keep Forgettin'," by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, recorded in 1962 by Chuck Jackson, resulted in Leiber and Stoller also being given a songwriting credit. It was McDonald's second single entry on the Hot 100 outside the Doobie Brothers following 1980's "Let Me Go, Love," which was a Top 40 duet with Nicolette Larson. "I Keep Forgettin'," featured McDonald's sister, Maureen, on background vocals. It peaked at No. 4 on October 23, 1982 and was his second of eight Hot 100 singles, six of which were Top 40's including three Top Tens including his 1986 No. 1 hit d...

August 4, 1984 - 37 Years Ago Today: Laura Branigan debuted at No. 62 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with her single, "The Lucky One." This was the second charted single from her Platinum-certified album, "Self Control," and it followed the title track which peaked at No. 4. "The Lucky One," was written by Bruce Roberts and became Branigan's 5th Top 20 single. It also peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard AC Chart as well as becoming a Top Ten hit on the Billboard Dance Songs Chart which was referred to as the Billboard Dance/Disco Top 80 at the time. The song was featured in the TV movie "An Uncommon Love," starring Barry Bostwick. Sadly, Laura Branigan died of a brain aneurysm on August 26, 2004, at the age of 52. Please click the following link to view the accompanying video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRg0mSg4Htg

August 4, 1984 - 37 Years Ago Today: Prince & The Revolution had the Hot Shot Debut at No. 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with the single, "Let's Go Crazy." This self-penned song was the second single release from the motion picture soundtrack, "Purple Rain," which Prince starred and it became the second consecutive single from the soundtrack to reach No. 1 on September 29, 1984 when it began a two-week run at the top. It also spent a single week at No. 1 on the Billboard R&B Chart and was certified Gold. Meanwhile, the leadoff single, "When Doves Cry," was in its 5th and final week at No. 1 on this very date. Four of the five singles from the No. 1 soundtrack album peaked inside the Top Ten while the 5th and final Hot 100 single, ""Take Me With You," peaked at No. 25 the following spring. Prince was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. Sadly, Prince Rogers Nelson died on April 21, 2016, at the age of 57. Plea...

  August 4, 1984 - 37 Years Ago Today: The Pointer Sisters re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart at No. 87 in its 17th week with their single, "I'm So Excited," following its peak of No. 30 on November 27, 1982. This time around, the reissue of the new mix of this single became a Top Ten hit for the trio peaking at No. 9 on October 27, 1984, exactly 23 months following its original peak. It was reissued after the success of its two preceding singles, "Automatic" and "Jump (For My Love)," which peaked at No.'s 5 & 3, respectively. Between 1973-87, the Pointer Sisters scored 27 Hot 100 singles which included 16 Top 40's and 7 Top Tens. Two of their singles, 1978's "Fire" (written by Bruce Springsteen) and 1981's "Slow Hand" peaked at No. 2. "Slow Hand" is their best-charted single spending three weeks in the runner-up position. All three members - Anita Pointer, June Pointer and Ruth Pointer are credited...