1982

The Top 150 Hits of… 1982

Wha’ ‘appen?!?

That’s what I said when I compared my ’82 list to Billboard’s. Clearly the number of weeks at #1 was a key factor at the top of the chart. That’s the only explanation for “I Love Rock n’ Roll” and “Ebony and Ivory,” both of which spent 7 weeks at #1, being ranked above “Hurt So Good,” which spent 4 weeks at #2. But let’s look a little closer. “I Love…” spent 16 weeks in the top 40. “Hurt So Good” spent 16 weeks in the top 10. The former spent 20 total weeks on the chart. The latter spent 22 weeks in the top 40. I mean, come on! What kind of bonus points were these folks giving?

What gave me a clue as to what might be happening in the rest of the chart was looking at the chart runs of two songs: “Love Is in Control” by Donna Summer and “Think I’m in Love” by Eddy Money. They were on the chart simultaneously. For all but 4 of the 17 weeks they shared the chart, “Love” was ranked higher than “Think.” Yet Billboard’s year-end list had the latter at #58 and the former at #59. How was that even possible?!?! Here’s the only solution I can think of.

During the whole 14 weeks that “Love” was ahead of “Think,” it was only ahead by less than 10 places in any given week. During 2 of the weeks that the two songs switched relative places, “Think” was ahead of “Love” by as many as 60 places, #25 versus #85. For me, that’s a difference of 8 points. What if Billboard, at the time, used a simpler inverse point system in which #100 received 1 point, #99 received 2 points, all the way up to 100 points (and more) for #1? What if, for Billboard, that span of 60 places meant a difference of 60 points? That would explain it. What makes that kind of scale inaccurate is that 3 weeks at #68 (33x3) would be the same as a week at #2 (99). In the scale I use, a week at #2 (24) is the same as spending 3 weeks between #s 26 and 30 (8x3), which is much, much closer to being correct. Evidently Billboard thought better of their method later on, since our lists start looking much more similar starting in ’84.

Something that surprised me about the results of my list was where “Tainted Love” ended up (#35). It was on the Hot 100 for 43 weeks, 4 weeks more than “Bust a Move” needed to be the #1 song of 1989. I thought for sure it would sail into the top 10 like it almost did on Billboard’s list. Then I found out that it spent 11 weeks hovering between #s 91 and 100. In fact, its bottom 20 weeks were only worth 23.5 points. So it wasn’t nearly as impressive as I was expecting.

“Physical” was the #1 song of the decade. It rode the wave of the burgeoning fitness craze and was #1 for 10 weeks.

1. Physical – Olivia Newton- John 464.5
2. Eye of the Tiger – Survivor 413.5
3. Hurt So Good – John (Cougar) Mellencamp 400.5
4. Centerfold – J. Geils Band 389.5
5. Waiting for a Girl Like You – Foreigner 387.5
6. Abrakadabra – Steve Miller Band 383.5
7. Gloria – Laura Branigan 365.5
8. Don’t You Want Me – The Human League 352.5
9. I Love Rock n’ Roll – Joan Jett and the Blackhearts 340.5
10. Ebony and Ivory – Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder 339
11. Hard to Say I’m Sorry – Chicago 340.5
12. I Can’t Go for That – Daryl Hall and John Oates 331.5
13. Jack and Diane – John (Cougar) Mellencamp 326.5
14. Harden My Heart – Quarterflash 326
15. Rosanna – Toto 311.5
16. Don’t Talk to Strangers – Rick Springfield 299.5
17. Who Can It Be Now? – Men at Work 297
18. Chariots of Fire – Vangelis 285
19. Eye in the Sky – Alan Parsons Project 280
20. Let’s Groove – Earth, Wind and Fire 275
21. Up Where We Belong – Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes 267.5
22. We Got the Beat – The Go-Go’s 267.5
23. Open Arms – Journey 267
24. Hold Me – Fleetwood Mac 260.5
25. 867-5309/Jenny – Tommy Tutone 257.5
26. Shake It Up – The Cars 253.5
27. The Sweetest Thing – Juice Newton 243.5
28. You Should Hear How She Talks About You – Melissa Manchester 242.5
29. Heart Attack – Olivia Newton- John 237.5
30. Always on My Mind – Willie Nelson 235.5
31. Leather and Lace – Stevie Nicks and Don Henley 235.5
32. Sweet Dreams – Air Supply 235
33. Turn Your Love Around – George Benson 234
34. Key Largo – Bertie Higgins 231.5
35. Tainted Love – Soft Cell 230.5
36. Let It Whip – The Dazz Bnad 230.5
37. The Other Woman – Ray Parker Jr. 228.5
38. That Girl – Stevie Wonder 221.5
39. Even the Nights Are Better – Air Supply 218.5
40. Young Turks – Rod Stewart 217.5
41. You Can Do Magic – America 214.5
42. I Keep Forgettin’ – Michael McDonald 211.5
43. Heat of the Moment – Asia 210
44. Freeze-Frame – J. Geils Band 208.5
45. I’ve Never Been to Me – Charlene 204.5
46. Only the Lonely – The Motels 201
47. ’65 Love Affair – Paul Davis 200
48. Why Do Fools Fall in Love – Diana Ross 196
49. Trouble – Lindsey Buckingham 191.5
50. Heartlight – Neil Diamond 185.5
51. Somebody’s Baby – Jackson Browne 185
52. Leader of the Band – Dan Fogelberg 184.5
53. Keep the Fire Burnin’ – REO Speewagon 179.5
54. Love’s Been a Little Bit Hard on Me – Juice Newton 176.5
55. Take It Easy on Me – Little River Band 168.5
56. Pac-Man Fever – Buckner and Garcia 166.5
57. Wasted on the Way – Crosby, Still & Nash 166.5
58. Do You Believe in Love – Huey Lewis and the News 163
59. Make a Move on Me – Olivia Newton- John 160.5
60. Muscles – Diana Ross 158.5
61. Take It Away – Paul McCartney 156
62. Cool Night – Paul Davis 154.5
63. I Ran (So Far Away) – A Flock of Seagulls 153
64. Hooked on Classics – The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra 152.5
65. Did It in a Minute – Daryl Hall and John Oates 151.5
66. Don’t Stop Believin’ – Journey 149.5
67. Coming In and Out of Your Life – Barbra Streisand 148.5
68. Love Is in Control – Donna Summer 147
69. Caught Up in You – 38 Special 146.5
70. Yesterday’s Songs – Neil Diamond 145.5
71. Crimson and Clover – Joan Jett and the Blackhearts 143.5
72. Vacation – The Go-Go’s 142.5
73. Making Love – Roberta Flack 136.5
74. Mirror, Mirror – Diana Ross 134.5
75. Get Down on It – Kool and the Gang 132
76. Love Will Turn You Around – Kenny Rogers 131
77. Blue Eyes – Elton John 128.5
78. It’s Gonna Take a Miracle – Deniece Williams127.5
79. Break It to Me Gently – Juice Newton 127
80. You Could Have Been with Me – Sheena Easton 126
81. Think I’m in Love – Eddie Money 124.5
82. Waiting on a Friend – The Rolling Stones 124
83. Love in the First Degree – Alabama 123.5
84. Take My Heart – Kool and the Gang 123
85. Personally – Karla Bonoff 119.5
86. What’s Forever For – Michael Murphey119
87. Empty Garden – Elton John 118.5
88. One Hundred Ways – Quincy Jones feat. James Ingram 118
89. Edge of Seventeen – Stevie Nicks 115.5
90. Nobody – Sylvia 112.5
91. (Oh) Pretty Woman – Van Halen 112.5
92. You Don’t Want Me Anymore – Steel Breeze 112.5
93. Through the Years – Kenny Rogers 111.5
94. Spirits in the Material World – The Police 110.5
95. Do I Do – Stevie Wonder 110.5
96. Should I Do It – The Pointer Sisters 109
97. Any Day Now – Ronnie Milsap 108.5
98. Man on Your Mind – Little River Band 107.5
99. Someone Could Lose a Heart Tonight – Eddie Rabbitt 104.5
100. I Wouldn’t Have Missed It for the World – Ronnie Milsap 104.5
101. The One You Love – Glenn Frey 103.5
102. Bobbie Sue – Oak Ridge Boys102.5
103. Hold On – Santana 102.5
104. Southern Cross – Crosby, Still & Nash 102
105. A Penny for Your Thoughts – Tavares 102
106. Body Language – Queen 101.5
107. Gypsy – Fleetwood Mac 101.5
108. Goin’ ‘Down – Greg Guidry 100.5
109. The Beatles Movie Medley – The Beatles 98.5
110. Hot in the City – Billy Idol 96.5
111. Kids in America – Kim Wilde 96.5
112. Working for the Weekend – Loverboy 94.5
113. Play the Game Tonight – Kansas 94.5
114. Love Is Alright Tonight – Rick Springfield 93.5
115. Still They Ride – Journey 93.5
116. Out of Work – Gary U.S. Bonds 92.5
117. American Music – The Pointer Sisters 91.5
118. Take Me Down – Alabama 90.5
119. Theme from Magnum P.I. – Mike Post 89.5
120. Only Time Will Tell – Asia 88
121. Pressure – Billy Joel 88
122. Come Go with Me – The Beach Boys 87
123. Take Off – Bob and Doug McKenzie 86.5
124. Run for the Roses – Dan Fogelberg 85.5
125. On the Wings of Love – Jeffrey Osborne 85.5
126. Love Me Tomorrow – Chicago 85
127. Love Come Down – Evelyn “Champagne” King 84.5
128. Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah) – Joan Jett and the Blackhearts 84.5
129. What Kind of Fool Am I – Rick Springfield 84.5
130. Let Me Tickle Your Fancy – Jermaine Jackson83.5
131. American Heartbeat – Survivor 83
132. Forget Me Nots – Patrice Rushen 82.5
133. Somewhere Down the Road – Barry Manilow 81.5
134. Tonight I’m Yours – Rod Stewart 81.5
135. She’s Got a Way – Billy Joel 80.5
136. Under Pressure – Queen and David Bowie 80.5
137. All Our Tomorrows – Eddie Schwartz 80
138. Fantasy – Aldo Nova 78
139. Heart Like a Wheel – Steve Miller Band 78
140. Daddy’s Home – Cliff Richard 77.5
141. Still in Saigon – Charlie Daniels Band 77
142. Find Another Fool – Quarterflash 76.5
143. Without You (Not Another Lonely Night) – Franke & the Knockouts 75.5
144. Be My Lady Jefferson Starship 75
145. When All Is Said and Done – ABBA 74.5
146. If the Love Fits Wear It – Leslie Pearl 74.5
147. Everybody Wants You – Billy Squire 73.5
148. And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going – Jennifer Holliday 72
149. Nobody Said It Was Easy – Le Roux 71.5
150. Early in the Morning – The Gap Band 71.5

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Year-End_Hot_100_singles_of_1982