← Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia
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- [00:03]
Jack in the Box Advertiser
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- [00:35]
Chris Melanfi
Welcome back to Hit Parade, a podcast of pop chart history from Slate magazine about the hits from coast to coast. I'm Chris Melanfy, chart analyst, pop critic and writer of Slate's why Is this Song Number One? Series. On our last episode, we tried to get to the bottom of why so many pop critics call 1984 pop's greatest year. Was it the dance music? The power ballads and synth pop? The Madonna, Prince, Cyndi Lauper, Van Halen, Bruce Springsteen and Tina Turner hits? All of that and more. In part one, I walked through eight reasons why 1984 was a great pop year. And in part two, we're going to dive into the 20 songs that topped the Hot 100 in 1984. So maybe not all of the number one hits of 1984 are your favorite. There are a couple that even I, a deeply biased Gen Xer, think are just okay. But they do all exemplify what made the year unique. To kick us off, here's a fun piece of trivia. 1984 was the only year in which Michael Jackson, Prince And Madonna, the three titans of 80s pop, all scored number one hits. And Jackson's 1984 number one was on top right at the start of the year. With a little help from a former Beatle on the radio Show American Top 40, Casey Kasem counted it down.
- [02:18]
Casey Kasem
Well, now it's time for the number one song in the USA. It's the ninth number one for Michael Jackson and the 29th number one for Paul McCartney. The most popular song in the land for the sixth week in a row is by McCartney and Jackson. It's say say, say.
- [02:47]
Chris Melanfi
Say say was a sequel for Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson in several ways. McCartney had led off his 1982 album, Tug of War with his Stevie Wonder duet Ebony and ivory. Later in 1982, as Jackson was finalizing his thriller LP, he wanted some of that Paul and Stevie crossover magic. So he invited McCartney to record a duet called the Girl Is Mine. The Girl Is Mine, that yot rock semi ballad did pretty well, reaching number two in early 83. Later that year, McCartney was planning his own next LP, a follow up to Tug of War that he would call Pipes of Peace, and McCartney asked Jackson to return the favor by doing another duet, the ironic thing. Paul's album got the better, funkier and more R and B like song.
- [04:01]
Guest Speaker
You, you stay away so long girl I see you never what can I do girl to get through to you? I guess I love you baby Standing.
- [04:17]
Chris Melanfi
Here Unlike the Girl Is Mine say say say went all the way to number one on the Hot 100 and stayed there for six weeks, including two weeks at the start of 1984 with McCartney turning 40. It reflected our 1984 theme of veterans thriving with new sounds. But what say say say really reflected more than anything was how dominant Michael Jackson was over a year into his Thriller run, Next at number one in mid January, 84 was a major sonic.
- [04:59]
Casey Kasem
Change up and number one on Billboard's pop singles chart. A British band who formed in London 16 years ago back in 1968, and in 1984 they finally hit the top. Here's the number one song by yes, Owner of A Lonely Heart.
- [05:25]
Chris Melanfi
Talk about old dogs learning new tricks. Progressive rock band yes essentially reformed around Owner of A Lonely Heart, a song that was masterminded by two Trevors, Trevor Rabin, the South African singer and multi instrumentalist and producer. Trevor Horn, the man who had previously scored a top 40 hit with the Buggles video Killed the Radio Star.
- [06:03]
Guest Speaker
Video.
- [06:03]
Chris Melanfi
Killed the Radio, the song that Rabin and Horn co wrote, started with Rabin plus Yes bassist Chris Squire and drummer Alan White. It eventually attracted former yes vocalist John Anderson. With so many yes members back, the project in essence became yes and generated the biggest success of the band's career. Supported by a highly conceptual, Kafkaesque video of an office worker seeing visions and going mad. It was heavily rotated on MTV. Owner of a Lonely Heart topped the Hot 100 for two weeks and spurred Yes's album 90125 to 3 million in sales. As January turned to February, the Hot 100's penthouse remained in British hands, but the group that took over was much.
- [07:13]
Casey Kasem
More flamboyant and number one on the pop singles chart is a hit. That's the first number one for the English group featuring Michael Craig, Roy Hay, John Moss and lead singer George O'Dowd. The one and only Boy George, the most popular song in the USA is by Culture Club, Karma Chameleon.
- [07:41]
Chris Melanfi
As we discussed in our British Invasions episode of Hit Parade, Culture Club benefited hugely from the MTV explosion. Boy George was a charismatic and colorful frontman in Culture Club's videos. They scored six straight top 10 pop hits in America in 1983 and early 84, starting with the the light reggae of do you really want to hurt me?
- [08:18]
Guest Speaker
Do you really want to make me cry?
- [08:24]
Chris Melanfi
By January 1984, Boy George, in makeup and braids, was on the COVID of Newsweek magazine next to the equally androgynous Annie Lennox of Eurythmics under the headline Britain ROC America Again. Two weeks later, Culture Club were number one with George's thinly veiled lament about his clandestine gay relationship with his bandmate John Moss. Karma Chameleon was also fiendishly catchy. A blend of American R and B and even country music, the song reflected both how much American tastes had changed in the MTV era and how British pop had reinvented American musical idioms. After three weeks on top, Culture Club gave way to a harder rocking group from America. But funnily enough, their hit had more synthesizers on it than the British new wavers did.
- [09:41]
Casey Kasem
Now we're up to the new number one song. It's by the band, who appear in a new category in the 1984 Guinness Book of World Records for a single performance. This group was paid $1.5 million, the highest paid group for a single performance in history. And now they have the first number one record of their career. The most popular song in the land is by Van Halen. Jump.
- [10:18]
Chris Melanfi
In a way, Van Halen had Michael Jackson to thank for their pop breakthrough. It had been a year since Jackson's Beat it, featuring a searing guitar solo from Eddie Van halen, reached number one on the Hot 100. Beat it primed pop radio for Van Halen to score a number one of their own at the turn of 84, with both MTV and pop radio at peak. Synthesizer Leading off the next Van Halen album with a song that emphasized synths over guitar was a savvy move. Jump took just seven weeks to reach number one, the first 80s metal song to top the Hot One. As I discussed earlier, Van Halen's run of hits was a big turning point for metal in 1984, affirming that hard rock could go pop without losing its soul. After five weeks on top, Van Halen seeded the Penthouse to the first soundtrack one of 84, a heartland rocker from a guy who'd previously been more of a smooth west coaster.
- [11:58]
Casey Kasem
We have a new song at the top. It's the title song from a movie, the hottest dance movie so far this year, and it's the first number one for the man who sings it. The new number one song is by Kenny Lockins.
- [12:14]
Guest Speaker
Footlong.
- [12:24]
Chris Melanfi
We covered Kenny Loggins in depth in our yacht rock episode of Hit Parade. Over the years, his sound evolved greatly. Loggins got his start in the early 70s with guitarist and songwriting partner Jim Messina. Loggins and Messina leaned more toward country rock. But as a soloist in the late 70s, Loggins proffered a brand of smooth, jazzy California soft rock, often in collabor with doobie brother Michael McDonald, that helped to define yacht rock.
- [13:01]
Guest Speaker
This is it, make no mistake where you are, you're back Still a girl.
- [13:09]
Chris Melanfi
Now then in the 80s, Logan started dabbling in film music. I'm all right, his theme to the 1980 comedy Caddyshack, was less yachty and more twangy, closer to his old Loggins and Messina sound. Inspired by I'm Alright, Songwriter Dean Pitchford, who wrote the screenplay for Footloose and co wrote all of its songs, teamed with Loggins for a banger that was an 80s version of 50s rockabilly. It played in the blockbuster movie three times, all but ensuring it would become a hit. Footloose was the first indication that 1984 would be a big year for movie songs. And then right away, as Kenny Loggins was falling off his hot 100 perch, this happened.
- [14:35]
Casey Kasem
The song that replaces Footloose at the top is another movie song. The new number one song in the land is by Phil Collins, the title song from the movie against all od.
- [14:55]
Guest Speaker
How can I just let you walk away?
- [15:00]
Chris Melanfi
Genesis frontman Phil Collins was asked by filmmaker Taylor Hackford, director of the 1982 hit An Officer and a Gentleman, if he would write a song for his next movie. Collins offered Hackford a song that he had demoed during the making of his 1981 album Face Value, the moody and ruminative LP that had produced Collins sinister hit in the Air Tonight. Like that song, which was inspired by Collins's divorce, this other song was about heartbreak, with a chorus built around the phrase, take a look at me now. Hackford asked if Collins could work the film's title into the refrain. So as per the director's request, Collins sang, you coming back to me is against the Odds. And the song was titled Against All Odds. Parentheses Take a look at me now.
- [16:18]
Guest Speaker
So take a look at me now well, there's just an empty space and there's nothing left here to remind me Just a memory of your face Now.
- [16:35]
Chris Melanfi
Take a look at me now against all odds, the song went higher on the pop charts than Against All Odds the film did at the box office, all the way to number one. And veteran Phil Collins, more than a decade after he started drumming in Genesis, was on top of the charts and one of the biggest pop stars in America. The spring of 84 turned out to be a good time for ballads, including one of the biggest ballads of the decade.
- [17:10]
Casey Kasem
We're up to a song by the man who's been in the national spotlight continuously for the past six years, ever since he wrote and sang the Commodore's Three Times a Lady. And that spotlight continues to burn brighter every day. The number one song in the land is hello by Lionel Richie.
- [17:29]
Guest Speaker
I've been alone with you inside my mind.
- [17:35]
Chris Melanfi
By the time Lionel Richie chose hello as the third single from his Can't Slow down lp, the album had been lodged in the top ten for nearly four months and spun off two Top ten hits hits including the number seven hit Running with the Night and the leadoff number one All Night Long. Both of these were uptempo cuts, but Richie was famed for his ballads, yet he had never done a glossy music video for one of his slow songs. Hello changed that. Its clip was a melodrama about a theater teacher pining for his student, a blind woman. Both affecting and cheesy, the video was a first wave MTV classic.
- [18:40]
Guest Speaker
Hello, is it me you looking for? I can see it in your eyes.
- [18:52]
Chris Melanfi
To be sure. Hello went to number one primarily because Lionel Richie was on a hot streak, and the melody is one of his most memorable. Good luck getting it out of your head. But the video reinforced yet another theme in 1984, videos gave songs a whole other life as stories. This is how I see you. We'll be back momentarily.
- [19:42]
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- [20:18]
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- [20:52]
Guest Speaker
After Lionel Richie's song departed the penthouse, another Footloose soundtrack song took over the top spot just six weeks after Kenny Loggins. And this jam might have been even more Footloose than Footloose.
- [21:09]
Casey Kasem
In the last few years, Denise has continued to be successful on both the pop and soul charts. And now she has her first solo number one smash. The number one song in the USA is Let's Hear it for the Boy by Denise Williams.
- [21:35]
Guest Speaker
When teenagers lined up in early 1984 to see Footloose on the big screen, instantly everyone's favorite scene in the movie was the montage where Kevin Bacon teaches 18 year old Lummox Chris Penn how to dance. And the song that soundtracked that scene was the ebullient let's Hear it for the Boy. Its performer, Denise Williams, was a journey woman who'd been recording since the early 70s, and this was actually her second Hot 100 chart topper. Six years earlier she'd reached number one with her Johnny Mathis duet Too Much, Too Little, Too Late.
- [22:22]
Too much, too little, Too late to lie again with you Too much Too little, Too late to try again with you.
- [22:33]
Years later, Williams and Mathis duetted again on the theme to TV's Family Ties. So yeah, Denise Williams was a consummate professional. And despite the fact that let's Hear it for the Boy was a last minute addition to the Footloose soundtrack by writer Dean Pitchford, and the lyrics were a bit insulting to the narrator's boy, Williams sold it. Her joy shined through. Soundtrack songs weren't done at number one, but the next chart topper was another ballad, a gentle song by a woman who had branded herself as so unusual.
- [23:31]
Casey Kasem
She says, people used to throw rocks at me for my clothes. Now they want to know where I buy them. Doesn't that seem weird to you? Well, there's nothing weird about Cyndi Lauper's current hit song. The new number one song in the USA is by the colorful Cyndi Lauper. Time After Time.
- [23:57]
Guest Speaker
Time After Time was the song Cyndi Lauper wrote to prove her mettle as a songwriter. Her label and her producer weren't convinced she could. She not only wrote a great one, with help from Rob Hyman from Philadelphia band the Hooters, she wrote A standard. Time After Time has been covered repeatedly over the last four decades, including by jazz legend Miles Davis. Lauper's first single from her album, she's so Unusual, Girls Just Want to have Fun had topped out at number two in the winter of 84. Stuck behind Van Halen's jump. When Time After Time went all the way to number one, it affirmed that Cindy's success was no fluke. And it meant that both Lauper and Madonna, her supposed rival, would each end 84 with a number one hit. But Madonna's was still to come. Next in the penthouse at the start of summer was the first chart topper by a British band that was arguably long overdue.
- [25:38]
Casey Kasem
The number one song in the Billboard singles chart is by that group from Birmingham, England. Like all bands throughout the rock era, they say they have their sources of inspiration. Nick Rhodes told us, for the Rolling Stones, it was Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley. For us it was David Bowie and Roxy Music. The most popular song in the land is by Duran Duran, the Reflex.
- [26:11]
Guest Speaker
By the time they finally reached number one, Duran Duran had been teen America's favorite band for nearly two years, since Hungry like the Wolf broke on MTV, then rock radio. Than the Hot 100 Wolf topped out at number three in early 1983. By 1984, though, Duran Duran were nearing Beatles levels of fame. After five straight top 20 US hits, the Human League, Eurythmics and Culture Club had all beaten them to number one. What finally got Duran Duran the Last Mile was commissioning producer extraordinaire Nile Rogers of Chic to remix a track on their 7 and the Ragged Tiger LP that needed a bit of extra oomph. Nile delivered. The Reflex is now a monument to Duran Duran's imperial moment, a song most famous for the frenzy it Inspired in the 21st century. You are much likelier to hear Hungry like the Wolf on the radio or Spotify. But in 1984 it affirmed that the takeover of the second British invasion was complete. As June turned to July, it looked like Bruce Springsteen, who was holding at number two, was about to score his first ever Number one hit with Dancing in the Dark.
- [28:13]
We can't start a fight without a spark this gun's for hire Even if we're just dancing in the dark But.
- [28:24]
Bruce was overlept by another legend who had other plans. He was going to own the summer and the year.
- [28:34]
Casey Kasem
The dance and disco chart, the soul chart and the pop chart are all topped off by the same artist. He's the man who's just made his feature film debut in the new movie called Purple Rain, and a song from that film is at the top of our chart. Here is Prince with the most popular song in the land, When Doves Cry.
- [29:06]
Guest Speaker
In the movie, he had no name. Everyone called him the Kid did on the album, which was credited to Prince and The revolution. He often worked alone, including When Doves Cry, on which he played all the instruments. The pop world had never seen a.
- [29:26]
Chris Melanfi
Phenomenon like Prince, an artist shrouded in.
- [29:30]
Guest Speaker
Mystery who turned visionary ideas into mass appeal.
- [29:34]
Chris Melanfi
Pop.
- [29:35]
Guest Speaker
It was something he'd been doing for years before the world finally began to take notice.
- [29:43]
Oh, maybe you're just like my mother she's never satisfied why do we scream at each other? This is what it sounds like when the doves cry.
- [30:03]
Rather like Duran Duran. When Prince topped the Hot 100, he was long overdue.
- [30:10]
Chris Melanfi
Long, long overdue.
- [30:12]
Guest Speaker
1984 was his sixth year as a major label recording artist. But when Prince finally rang the bell, it was with his best work. When doves Cry spent five weeks at number one, the most of any song during 1984. Six months later, Billboard would name it the year's top song. And he was not done yet. For one week in late July, Prince not only had the number one single and album in America, he also had the top movie. Purple Rain interrupted the box office run of the summer's biggest blockbuster, Ghostbusters. But by August, that film was back at number one. And now so was the music.
- [31:10]
Casey Kasem
The number one song is the title song from one of the hottest movies of the year. It's performed by a musician and singing star originally from Detroit, Michigan. The most popular song in the land is by Ray Parker Jr. Ghostbusters.
- [31:32]
Chris Melanfi
Something strange in your neighborhood. Ray Parker Jr. Was a prodigy.
- [31:40]
Guest Speaker
He'd started playing guitar in Stevie Wonder's band as a teenager. He began scoring hits in the late 70s with a band he called Radio.
- [31:51]
You're the only one I love and you can't change that you're the only one I need.
- [32:00]
By the early 80s, Parker was a solo hit maker. And when he was asked to write a song for a 1984 sci fi comedy starring Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd, Parker realized there weren't too many words that rhymed with Ghostbusters. So he turned that word into a call and response chant. He also may have borrowed the song's.
- [32:27]
Chris Melanfi
Hook from an early 84 hit by.
- [32:30]
Guest Speaker
Huey Lewis and the News.
- [32:32]
I want a new drug One that won't make me sick One that won't make me crash my car make me feel free, free, free.
- [32:43]
Lewis and Parker would later settle out of court over the similarities between Ghostbusters and I Want a New Drug. But Ghostbusters remains an indelible comic film theme 40 years later, appearing in a string of Ghostbusters sequels and pulled out every Halloween on the radio and on Spotify. I Ain't afraid of no ghosts.
- [33:26]
Chris Melanfi
As summer turned to fall and Ghostbusters.
- [33:30]
Guest Speaker
Finally began to ebb at the multiplex, Parker's theme song succumbed to the year's Most improbable number one hit.
- [33:39]
Casey Kasem
This is Casey Kasem on American Top 40 in Hollywood. Now we're up to the new number one song, and it's by the star who's waited 24 years for a number one song. Today, she's finally hit the top. Here now is 44 year old Tina Turner what's Love Got To Do With.
- [33:59]
Guest Speaker
It.
- [34:04]
My favorite factoid about Tina Turner's monumental comeback hit is this it was not intended for her. Penned by the British Terry Britton and.
- [34:16]
Chris Melanfi
The Scottish Graham Lyle, what's Love Got.
- [34:20]
Guest Speaker
To Do with it was first recorded.
- [34:22]
Chris Melanfi
By English quartet Bucks Fizz.
- [34:25]
Guest Speaker
The male female foursome came very close to releasing their technopop version, and they only shelved it when they learned that Tina was covering the song.
- [34:40]
Got to Do Got To Do with.
- [34:42]
Progressive Insurance Advertiser
It.
- [34:49]
Guest Speaker
This transatlantic tale is a microcosm of the Tina Turner story. Nearly a decade past her separation from the abusive Ike Turner and mostly counted out by the American music business, Tina traveled the world to find the material that would revive her career. Turner's Private Dancer LP was produced entirely in England, and its hits had a cosmopolitan flair. As I said at the top of our show, Tina's what's Love Got To Do with it was in a class all its own, globally minded, tech savvy, but infused with soul that made it quintessentially 1984.
- [35:49]
If I tend to look dazed, I read it someplace.
- [35:54]
I've got calls to we'll be right.
- [36:04]
Amazon Advertiser
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- [36:32]
Carvel
Hi, it's Carvel from Slate's how to Podcast. Are you ready for a fresh start in 2025? To celebrate the new year, Slate is offering an extended free trial of Slate plus, exclusively on Apple Podcasts. As a Slate plus member, you'll get ad free listening on every Slate show. Solve life's toughest problems on how to get advice you actually want to follow on Dear Prudence. Keep your pulse on the Zeitgeist with culture gabfest and navigate the big questions of life with death, sex and money all uninterrupted. Plus, starting this month, how to is releasing bi weekly bonus episodes exclusively for Slate plus members. That means more advice, more experts, and more stories to help you tackle life's challenges head on. Don't miss out. Try Slate plus for free now on Apple Podcasts or visit slate.com howtoplus to get access wherever you listen.
- [37:27]
Felix Salmon
Hello Slate listeners. This is Felix Salmon from Slate Money. I'm sure you've been seeing the headlines from Los Angeles. The wildfires there, the insurance situation there, the prisoners working on the ground as firefighters. So what's really happening and what are the implications of all of this? We just had an episode of Slate Money. It's called the Dire Costs of the LA Fires. My co hosts Emily Peck and Elizabeth Spires and I talk through questions like why people are so fixated on the celebrity homes that have been destroyed.
- [38:04]
Chris Melanfi
I think people are focusing on celebrities right now partly because the bigger macro problems are really overwhelming and terrifying.
- [38:11]
Felix Salmon
Where California needs to go from here and and how we should be thinking about the use of inmates as firefighters and whether this choice given to inmates is really a choice at all.
- [38:23]
Casey Kasem
It's an offer you can't refuse.
- [38:25]
Felix Salmon
Listen to the Dire Costs of the LA fires on Slate Money today.
- [38:36]
Chris Melanfi
One thing I like to say about 1984 was it made everybody better. Mid tier pop stars were spurred by the competition to write masterpieces. The next number one was a shining example, the only solo chart topper from a former member of the Babies. As Casey Kasem explained, The Babies had.
- [39:01]
Casey Kasem
Eight chart hits and three top 40s. Then in 1981, the group broke up. The former leader, bassist and lead singer of the Babies is in our countdown with his first top 40 solo hit and this week becomes number one, the new number one song in the USA. John Waite missing youg.
- [39:29]
Chris Melanfi
Legend has it that John Waite wrote Missing you, the song with the most unreliable narrator in rock ballad Hill Mystery, a guy claiming he's not missing you at all about MTV VJ Nina Blackwood. In a later interview, Waite confessed that it was quote, about her and a bunch of other women. Whoever inspired John Waite, he pulled something cathartic and profoundly relatable from the depths of his soul. Wait didn't come close to number one again. As a soloist, he seemed to work best in groups. Within five years, John Waite joined a new supergroup with Neil Schoen of Journey called Bad English, which scored a 1989 number one hit, the Hair metal adjacent power ballad When I see you smile.
- [40:49]
Guest Speaker
When I see you smiling, I can face the world.
- [41:00]
Chris Melanfi
So John waite's voice graced two hot 100 number ones. But missing you remains John Waite's moment of greatness. A radio perennial and his biggest streaming song, it was yet another 1984 example of an artist reinventing himself. Missing you was number one for a solitary week before giving way to another unstoppable freight train of a song by Prince. The only artist in 1984 who repeated.
- [41:35]
Casey Kasem
At number one number one on the album chart is Purple Rain by Prince and the Revolution. And from that number one LP comes a song that this week hits number one on the dance and disco chart and hits the top of the pop chart. Here's Prince and his band the Revolution, making a habit at being number one. Let's Go Crazy Dearly beloved, we are.
- [42:00]
Chris Melanfi
Gathered here today to get to this thing called life. Even while When Doves Cry was number one for the entire month of July, Let's Go Crazy was enjoying just as much exposure. TV ads and trailers for Purple Rain, the movie prominently featured the feverishly exuberant song and were hard to miss all summer.
- [42:31]
Casey Kasem
In his first motion picture.
- [42:38]
Chris Melanfi
Before he created the music, so let's Go Crazy was an inevitable number one. So complete was Prince's chart command by September 84 that While Crazy was number one, a song he wrote and produced for Sheila E. The Glamorous Life peaked at number seven. At the same time, if you listen closely, you can hear Prince's guide vocal on the track. Barely a month later, while let's Go Crazy was still in the top five, Prince's title track from Purple Rain also leapt into the top 10. It would peak at number two behind a certain Go Go hit we'll discuss momentarily.
- [43:35]
Guest Speaker
Purple Rain, Purple Rain.
- [43:44]
Chris Melanfi
Still, by repeating at number one with let's Go Crazy, Prince affirmed his status as the culture shifting performer of 1984. Next, for the third time in just six months, a movie soundtrack song was replaced by another soundtrack song. And this song is far better remembered than the movie it came from.
- [44:17]
Casey Kasem
It's been 21 years and two months since this record breaking artist first hit number one with a song called Fingertips. And two weeks ago, he moved into the number one spot with his most recent number one song. The most popular song in the USA is I Just called to say I love you by Stevie Wonder.
- [44:43]
Chris Melanfi
Critics mostly savaged Gene Wilder's 1984 comic romance film the Woman in Red. But millions of people around the world loved the song Stevie Wonder recorded for that film. Among the song's fans were the members of the motion picture academy at the Oscars. Five months later, this happened.
- [45:10]
Guest Speaker
And the winner is.
- [45:13]
Chris Melanfi
Stevie Wonder. This was the only field of best original song Oscar nominees in history to include five number one songs. And I just called to say I love you triumphed over Footloose against all odds. Let's hear it for the boy and ghostbusters now. Was it the best song in that bunch?
- [45:50]
Guest Speaker
No chocolate covered candy hearts to be give away.
- [46:00]
Chris Melanfi
Let's get this out of the way. Yes, I too have seen and enjoyed the scene in the hipster record store movie high fidelity where Jack Black's store clerk shames a would be customer who wants to buy Stevie Wonders I just called to say I love you for his daughter. Can I have it then? No.
- [46:23]
Apple Advertiser
No, you can't.
- [46:24]
Chris Melanfi
Why not?
- [46:25]
Guest Speaker
Well, it's sentimental, tacky crap, that's why not. Do we look like the kind of store that sells I just called to say I love you Go to the mall.
- [46:32]
Chris Melanfi
So sure. I just called to say I love you is both the least respected Stevie Wonder number one and the most beloved. I'll just leave you with a quote from my colleague Michelangelo Matos, who just this week ranked Stevie Wonder's greatest songs. As a critic for Rolling Stone, he ranked I just called a respectable 29th. And he says that tune is durable. The biggest earworm Wonder ever composed itself some kind of feat. Whether you resist or admire this song, it will taunt you. You unquote.
- [47:15]
Guest Speaker
I just call to say I love you I just call.
- [47:26]
Chris Melanfi
After three weeks, superstar Stevie Wonder was replaced on top by an artist who'd never been near number one before.
- [47:36]
Casey Kasem
When it was first written, the title of this song was European Queen. The singer Billy Ocean, at the request of his American label, also recorded a version where the word European was changed to Caribbean. And that's the version that was released here in the usa. Well, whatever her address, the queen that Billy sings about has taken him to the top. The new number one song in the land is by Billy Ocean. Not European, not American, not African, but Caribbean Queen.
- [48:12]
Chris Melanfi
Bathed in disco strings, Caribbean Queen offered further evidence that America still loved dance floor bangers. And it brought Trinidadian singer Billy Ocean back from the pop wilderness. He'd scored his only prior top 40 hit eight long years earlier. His Motown pastiche love really hurts without you hit number 22 in 1976. In 1984, Ocean hooked up with a new producer, Keith diamond, who offered a sleek, urbane electro funk sound that was indebted to Thriller era Michael Jackson. Ocean's breakthrough single offered the suppleness of Jackson's Billie Jean in a cosmopolitan package. After Caribbean Queen, Billy Ocean proved exceedingly adaptable. He spent the rest of the 80s scoring hit after hit, including two more number ones, 1986's There'll be sad songs to make you cry and 1988's get outta my Dreams, get into my car.
- [49:53]
Guest Speaker
Get out of my dreams, get into my car.
- [50:05]
Chris Melanfi
They were all outgrowths of Caribbean Queen, which yet again exemplified 1984 as the year of reinvention. Ocean held the top spot for two weeks in the fall of 80 before giving it up to a duo whose lead singer was going to dominate the second half of the 80s.
- [50:28]
Casey Kasem
It's by the English duo of George Michael and Andrew Ridgely, who call themselves Wham. A song that's been to number one in Britain, Australia and Holland and now it's hit the top of the pop chart here in the usa. The new number one song in the land is by Wham. Wham. Wake me up before you go go.
- [50:57]
Chris Melanfi
As chronicled in both our George Michael episode of Hit Parade and the recent Netflix documentary on Wham, America was basically the last country to succumb to the charms of Andrew Ridgeley and his dynamic songwriting partner George Michael. Back in 1983. It took Wham three singles to crack the Hot 100 and even then, Bad Boys only reached number 60. By the summer and fall of 84, Wham were arguably the biggest group on the British charts, even over Duran Duran, Culture Club and Frankie Goes to Hollywood. So it was just a matter of time before the Yanks caught on. It is perhaps appropriate that such an American sounding Motown indebted song was what broke Wham. Here Go Go was the first of three straight American number ones for WHAM going into 1980 and it signaled that the second British invasion was entering its next phase, moving from new romantic and new wave sounds to sophista pop. After three weeks on top, George Michael and Andrew Ridgely gave way to another blue eyed soul duo. But unlike Wham, these men were delivering their final number one.
- [53:05]
Casey Kasem
And on the pop singles chart, the number one song is the sixth number one for the duo, who had their first number one back in 1977 with Rich Girl. The most popular song in the land is by Daryl hall and John Oates. Out of touch, shake it up is.
- [53:23]
Guest Speaker
All that we know.
- [53:26]
Chris Melanfi
By 1984, Daryl hall and John Oates weren't just the top duo on the charts, Billboard ranked them as the biggest hitmakers of the first half of the 80s. In 84 alone, they'd added three more top 10s to their roster, including not just out of Touch, but also Adult Education and say It Isn't so. Like prior hall and Oats singles, out of Touch was several things at once. Mechanized rock cross with R and B and club music and a booming production sound. For the radio and video mix, the duo used a remix by cutting edge producer Arthur Baker, who made the beat even more prominent.
- [54:28]
Guest Speaker
You're out of touch, I'm out of time.
- [54:39]
Chris Melanfi
Daryl hall and John Oates. Heavily hybridized sound had helped define the 80s as the decade of sonic crossover. So it's appropriate that they took their final victory lap at the end of 84. Though they would decline in popularity in the late 80s, hall and Oates had left their mark. Out of touch was number one through mid December 84. Then a week before Christmas, the year's last number one made it official. Madonna, the biggest pop star of 1985 and beyond, had fully arrived.
- [55:20]
Casey Kasem
Back in New York City, Madonna quit dancing and devoted herself entirely to music. Breaks began to come her way. She got a recording contract. Her records began to hit. And today, seven years after leaving home, Madonna has made it to the top. And she did it her way. The new number one song in the land is by Madonna, Like a Virgin.
- [55:54]
Chris Melanfi
Like A Virgin sums up everything that made 1984 unique. Produced by chic mastermind Nile Rogers, Virgin harked back to the disco era, but had the muscular sound of new wave rock and the cracking urban beats of hip hop. It toyed with sexual and gender roles like Prince, was kitschy like Cyndi Lauper, and gave steeliness crossed with vulnerability a la Tina Turner. Its video, an instant MTV classic, codified Madonna's image as a provocateur and fashion icon.
- [56:36]
Guest Speaker
Made me feel shiny and new.
- [56:54]
Chris Melanfi
Like A Virgin would set a template for the sound of pop in the second half of the 80s and arguably for decades beyond. Who knew that Madonna, who had only just cracked the top 40 for the first time one year earlier with Holiday, would redefine what was possible in mass appeal chart bound music at the end of the 20th century? Well, she knew Madonna never lacked for confidence. This week I've been thinking a lot about Madonna because MTV just broadcast the 202024 edition of its annual live pop culture extravaganza, the Video Music Awards, on the very first VMAs 40 years ago this week, Madonna delivered what many agree was the awards show's. Most iconic live performance, coming down off the top of a 17 foot wedding cake in a disheveled bridal gown. Besides being a spectacle, lest we Forget, in that VMAs performance, Madonna was actually debuting the song Like a Virgin, which hadn't been released yet. I encourage you to go back and watch it if you haven't in a while. Madonna is charmingly nervous, her voice wobbling. She really was singing at least partially live. She loses a shoe, tumbles over and accidentally exposes her derriere. The performance is shambling, insouciant, vulgar, winning. You can't take your eyes off her. And by the way, the song, the song matters. Madonna knew she had a great one and that after gradually climbing the charts, she was about to become indelible. It really is the pivot point for the next 40 years of pop. Ever since that moment, you might say, all of culture has existed in the shadow of 1984. I hope you enjoyed this episode of Hit Parade. Our show was written, edited and narrated by Chris Melanfi. That's me. My producer producer is Kevin Bendis. Kevin also produced the latest installment of our monthly Hit Parade the Bridge shows, which are available exclusively to Slate plus members. In our latest Bridge episode, I welcome back Michelangelo Matos, author of the definitive book about 1984 Music Can't Slow down, he and I dive even further into what made that epochal year in pop unique. To sign up for Slate plus and hear not only the Bridge but all our shows the day they drop, visit slate.com hitparade + Derek John is executive producer of Narrative Podcasts and we had help from Joel Meyer. Alicia Montgomery is VP of Audio for Slate Podcasts. Check out their roster of shows@slate.com podcast podcasts. You can subscribe to Hit Parade wherever you get your podcasts, in addition to finding it in the Slate Culture feed. If you're subscribing on Apple Podcasts, please rate and review us while you're there. It helps other listeners find the show. Thanks for listening and I look forward to leading the Hit Parade back your way. Until then, keep on marching on the one. I'm Chris Melanfi.
- [61:20]
Guest Speaker
It.