Hello! Welcome back to 80s countdown top 5 recap. Every week SiriusXM’s 80s on 8 channel broadcasts a countdown from the “decade of excess” hosted by the original MTV VJs. (Remember music videos?)
The 80s countdown is based on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart for a given week somewhere between 1980 and 1989. Every week, it’s a different year and I will be providing fun feedback about the song and trivia tidbits about songs on the countdown. We’re calling it Nick’s Mix as a nod to the mixtapes we all made back in the day.
As 2024 draws to a close, I want to say thank you to Dan for allowing me to write about something I love: Music. Fun fact (they’re not just for the songs!): I went to Radio Broadcasting school. Just a tidbit from me. I didn’t start listening or appreciating music until around 1981 or 1982, but my love for music took off from there! And now here I am writing a column about the 80s countdown.
Without further ado, let’s kick off the 80s Countdown for the week of December 18, 1982, when Tootsie and E.T. The Extra Terrestrial were popular at the box office. Here are the top 5 songs from that week!
And remember: Dan has started building a community here on his new web site. Please check it out!
Number Five: It’s a Truly amazing song
“Truly” by Lionel Richie. This the first single from Lionel’s debut Album, Lionel Richie. The other two songs released as hits are “You Are” and “My Love.” I love “You Are” so much. It is one of my favorites from him. He won the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance.
FUN FACTS: He was the lead singer of the Commodores, and his daughter, Nicole Richie, is reality star.
It peaked at #1 and ended the year of 1982 as the 47th biggest hit of that year. Little did he know that in a couple of years, his career would skyrocket with his next album! If you have the opportunity to see Lionel Richie in concert, I highly recommend it. He is a great entertainer and is really funny! You can catch him on the ABC hit show, American Idol.
Number Four: Whose girl, is it? Let’s find out (this song is dedicated to Quincy Jones)
“The Girl is Mine” by Michael Jackson and Sir Paul McCartney. LEGENDS! These two make sweet music. First was “Say, Say, Say” and now this huge smash. There was no video for this song, though there was one for “Say, Say, Say.”
This song was overshadowed by the album’s second release, “Billie Jean.” I did not know that this was the first release from the Thriller album, and I suspect a lot of other people didn’t either.
This song is so good! I love when they talk/converse in this song.
Produced by Quincy Jones, who recently passed away, this duet peaked at #2. He produced this huge monster of an album as well.
In 2018, the 35th anniversary of the Thriller album, Will.I.Am from the Black-Eyed Peas remixed the song.
Number Three: Take a lover in the afternoon?
“Gloria” by Laura Branigan. I cannot tell you how much I love this amazing song. I included the video because if you have not heard this song or heard Laura before, you need too! True confession time: I sing along to this loudly and have been known to blast it in my car and at home. Sometimes I send audio recordings to my sisters, and this is always a pleaser. Listen to the beginning of this song. It gets you going!
The song peaked at #2 was originally a cover of an Italian version. “Self-Control,” “The Lucky One,” and “Solitaire” are great songs, but” this”Gloria” is her signature hit. Laura Branigan was nominated for a Grammy for Pop Vocal Performance. This song sold 2 million copies. I was one of those copies because I remember going to my record store to pick up the vinyl 45.
Laura passed away at the age of 52 in 2004 of a brain aneurysm.
FUN FACT: In 2019 the St. Louis Blues hockey team adopted the song as its unofficial victory song
Number Two: Oh, Mickey you’re so fine
“Mickey” by Toni Basil. What can I say about this song? One of my all-time favorites. But what song isn’t for me?! This former choreographer jumped onto the scene with a song that originally was called “Kitty.” I can’t even imagine that title. When I was 12 (that is when the song came out), I received a stuffed animal, and I named it Mickey. This song is just so fun and amazing to sing along to.
According to VH1, this the 6th best One-Hit Wonder song of all-time. What is a one-hit wonder? That’s actually widely debated, but the generally accepted is an artist who ONLY has one top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was last week’s number 1 song.
FUN FACT: The original song/cover was by a band named Racey.
… and the number one song this week in 1982
If you follow along with our weekly 80s Countdown tweets on Twitter/X, you’ll know that Dan J Kroll never reveals the top song. “I give away all the other 39 songs on the countdown. I don’t want to spoil the entire listening experience,” Dan has joked.
AND NOW here are some hints to the top song as explained by Dan J Kroll himself.
DRUMROLL PLEASE
If you guessed “Maneater,” by Daryl Hall and John Oates, you got it!
I love Hall and Oates. They have so many amazing songs. I have 3 of their albums and still listen as I love vinyl. If you do not have any songs, check them out. Out of Touch is my favorite.
Until the next record spins
Thanks for learning and reading about songs from December 1982. Happy Holidays to you all.
In the meantime, let me know what you think of this and ideas for a topic! And if you are on Twitter/X, be sure to join our live tweets every Friday night at 9pm Eastern/6pm Pacific using the hashtag #80sCountdown to be part of the fun! Next week it will be all about 1987. My first article in January will be all about Air Supply.
Nick
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