This Week In 1984

Pop Goes The World

It’s still very hard for me to believe that the decade of the 1980s was 40 years ago. How is that even possible? I turned 10 in 1980 so I observed those years first through the eyes of a child and then at the end with the slightly cynical view of a full-blown teenager.

Throughout that time I listened to a lot of music and spent my allowance on quite a few records. Each week the Billboard top 10 would appear in the Roanoke Times and I would faithfully clip the list from the paper and underline the singles and albums that I had. I did this for many years but only the lists from 1984 have survived. The clippings were kept in a Ziploc bag and are now as yellow and curled as the last few slices of cheese at the end of a cocktail party.

This week in 1984 there were a number of hits that have stood the test of time and a few that haven’t faired so well. It helps to read the next portion of this column in your best DJ voice. If you don’t have one, ask someone who does to read it to you.

At number 10 the week ending Aug. 10, 1984, was “If Ever You’re In My Arms Again” by Peebo Bryson. What I remember most about this song is its soaring chorus. I still hear it played occasionally on the local radio station and I always say, “Oh, yeah. That guy. What was his name? Peekaboo? Booboo?” I’m listening to it now and it’s just the kind of string-heavy song that Phil Dunphy from the TV show “Modern Family” would have listened to after a bad breakup in high school.

At number nine was “Sunglasses at Night” by Canadian Corey Hart. The title sounds like dubious fashion advice. The song is almost all synthesizer with a moody background bassline. I never quite understood why he sounded so angry. Look, if you want to wear your sunglasses at night, that’s your business. The Blues Brothers wore their sunglasses at night all the time.

Number eight was “Sad Songs (Say So Much) by Elton John. So much alliteration and too much synthesizer! It’s not a bad song, but just kind of OK. It’s not a stadium rocker like “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” or “Bennie and the Jets.” Sir Elton is at his best when he’s seated at a piano singing his heart out and it’s the heart I think that is missing from this song.

“Missing You” by John Waite was at number seven. This was never one of my favorites, but it got a lot of airplay on “Night Tracks,” the poor man’s MTV on Superstation TBS back in the early 80s.

The song at number six was “I Can Dream About You” by Dan Hartman, a track from the movie “Streets of Fire,” which was billed as “a rock n’ roll fable” with overblown songs by Meat Loaf’s right hand man, John Steinman. The movie tanked at the box office, but the soundtrack produced some pretty popular tunes like this one. It sounds like the kind of blue-eyed soul that Hall & Oats specialized in for much of the decade.

At number five was Lionel Richie’s “Stuck On You,” a slightly country- fied single that really showcases Richie’s smooth as silk vocals. I’ve never met the man, but in every one of his songs, Richie manages to make himself sound like the nicest guy on the planet. Like you could just walk up to him with a bag of Funyuns, offer him some, and then have a conversation about ladybugs.

“When Doves Cry” from Prince’s juggernaut “Purple Rain” soundtrack came in at number four. One of his signature hits, it’s a lush lost love song for a very troubled time. Most of Prince’s songs were hit-the-dance-floor bangers, but this one is introspective and beautifully orchestrated, the kind of song to listen to while watching raindrops glide down a fogged up car window.

The Jacksons’ “State of Shock” was at number three. This duet between Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson is just straight up gross. The two men basically shout at each other for the duration of the song. The lyrics read like a transcript of conversations at a sleazy bar on singles night. But this song was part of my record collection as evidenced by the line drawn under in. What was I thinking?

At number two was Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got To Do With It.” Turner’s big-time comeback in the early 80s made her a superstar all over again and this song was a huge hit for her. It charted all over the world and eventually went to number one in the U.S. I think when most people think of this song, they remember the music video in which Turner not only showed off her amazing vocal skills but also her shapely long legs.

The number one song this week back in 1984 was “Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker Jr. The movie of the same name was the blockbuster summer hit that year and the song remained a staple on the radio until the end of the year and it is still popular to play at Halloween parties today. It also made the query “Who you gonna call?” a catchphrase and Parker a gazillion bucks, even though he had to share some of that cash with Huey Lewis, who accused Parker of stealing the melody from Lewis’s “I Want A New Drug.”

Well, there you have it, folks. The Top 10 songs from this week in 1984. Do you remember these songs? Do you still listen to them? Do you feel old just knowing these songs are 40 years old? Boy, I sure do.