Saturday, December 17, 2011

1984

The Top 150 Hits of… 1984

At Last… “Thriller”

I say “at last” because I’m talking about the song now. “Thriller” was the record 7th top 10 single from the album of the same name, and is another special case as far as chart performance. 1983 had belonged to Michael Jackson. The Thriller album had debuted in December of ’82 and was the undisputed best seller of the year, and of all time. Still, by the summer of ’83, the album was no longer #1. To renew interest, it was decided that a video would be made for the title track. And not just a video, a short film. I don’t need to tell you that it made history.

The video debuted on MTV on Dec. 2nd, and was presumably launched to radio around the same time. But release of the single was delayed by 7 weeks. The results were that A) without a single available, the album jumped back to #1 and B) when the single was finally released, it debuted on the Hot 100 at #20. At the time it was unusual to see a song debut in the top 40, let alone the top 20.

During those 7 weeks between the launch of the video and the release of the single, the song received saturation level airplay. It was #1 on KIIS FM’s (the biggest top 40 station in LA) playlist for several weeks. Airplay had begun to decline by the time the single was available. So while it sold a million copies, and is certainly one of the most famous songs in Jackson’s catalogue, it only peaked at #4 and was an unimpressive #78 on the year-end chart. This won’t do.

So for the sake of this chart, I’m going to pretend that the single was released at the same time as the video. In addition to its established 14 week chart run, I’m giving it 4 weeks at #1 (106 points). That moves it from #71 to a much more accurate #18.

If you’re a movie as well as music geek like I am, it may interest you to know that 1984 is the only year in which all 5 Oscar nominees for Best Song were also #1 hits. They are #s 4, 8, 9, 10, and 16 here. #9 won. In addition, Prince received an Oscar for the song score of Purple Rain.

  1. Say Say Say – Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson 388.5
  2. When Doves Cry – Prince 330.5
  3. What’s Love Got to Do with It – Tina Turner 329
  4. Against All Odds – Phil Collins 316.5
  5. Jump – Van Halen 309.5
  6. Hello – Lionel Richie 307.5
  7. Owner of a Lonely Heart – Yes 307.5
  8. Footloose – Kenny Loggins 304.5
  9. I Just Called to Say I Love You – Stevie Wonder 298
  10. Ghostbusters – Ray Parker Jr. 290
  11. Missing You – John Waite 289.5
  12. Karma Chameleon – Culture Club 284.5
  13. I Feel for You – Chaka Khan 280
  14. Dancing in the Dark – Bruce Springsteen 278.5
  15. Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go – Wham! 275
  16. Let’s Hear It for the Boy – Deniece Williams 271
  17. Say It Isn’t So – Daryl Hall and John Oates 271
  18. Thriller – Michael Jackson 160 + 106 = 266
  19. Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run) – Billy Ocean 265.5
  20. Talking in Your Sleep – The Romantics 264.5
  21. Girls Just Want to Have Fun – Cyndi Lauper 261
  22. The Reflex – Duran Duran 259.5
  23. Time After Time – Cyndi Lauper 257
  24. Let’s Go Crazy – Prince 254.5
  25. Somebody’s Watching Me – Rockwell (feat. Michael Jackson) 250
  26. Break My Stride – Matthew Wilder 247.5
  27. Hold Me Now – Thompson Twins 245.5
  28. Jump (for My Love) – The Pointer Sisters 245
  29. Hard Habit to Break – Chicago 244.5
  30. Joanna – Kool and the Gang 240.5
  31. Self Control – Laura Branigan 235
  32. Oh, Sherrie – Steve Perry 227.5
  33. Stuck on You – Lionel Richie 227.5
  34. She Bop – Cyndi Lauper 227.5
  35. 99 Luftballoons – Nena 225
  36. I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues – Elton John 225
  37. Drive – The Cars 222
  38. Union of the Snake – Duran Duran 221.5
  39. Here Comes the Rain Again – Eurythmics 218
  40. Eyes Without a Face – Billy Idol 214.5
  41. Twist of Fate – Olivia Newton-John 212.5
  42. The Glamorous Life – Sheila E. 212
  43. The Heart of Rock ‘n’ Roll – Huey Lewis and the News 210
  44. I Can Dream About You – Dan Hartman 205.5
  45. Purple Rain – Prince 203.5
  46. The Warrior – Scandal 202.5
  47. Sunglasses at Night – Corey Hart 201.5
  48. Automatic – The Pointer Sisters 201.5
  49. Borderline – Madonna 194.5
  50. To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before – Willie Nelson and Julio Iglesias194
  51. Strut – Sheena Easton 193
  52. Running with the Night – Lionel Richie 192
  53. That’s All – genesis 191.5
  54. Sister Christian – Night Ranger 190.5
  55. Better Be Good to Me – Tina Turner 190
  56. All Through the Night – Cyndi Lauper 188.5
  57. I Want a New Drug – Huey Lewis and the News 188
  58. State of Shock – The Jacksons with Mick Jagger 186.5
  59. Sad Songs (Say So Much) – Elton John 185
  60. Infatuation – Rod Stewart 183
  61. If This Is It – Huey Lewis and the News 181.5
  62. If Ever You’re in My Arms Again – Peabo Bryson 177
  63. Let the Music Play – Shannon 177
  64. Lucky Star – Madonna 176.5
  65. Love Somebody – Rick Springfield 175.5
  66. Miss Me Blind – Culture Club 175.5
  67. Almost Paradise – Mike Reno and Ann Wilson 175
  68. Cover Me – Bruce Springsteen 170.5
  69. Penny Lover – Lionel Richie 170.5
  70. Legs – ZZ Top 169.5
  71. You Might Think – The Cars 168.5
  72. Adult Education – Daryl Hall and John Oates 159
  73. I’m So Excited – The Pointer Sisters 157
  74. Breakdance – Irene Cara 154.5
  75. I Can’t Hold Back – Survivor 153
  76. They Don’t Know – Tracy Ullman152.5
  77. Church of the Poisoned Mind – Culture Club 152.5
  78. On the Dark Side – John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band 149.5
  79. Nobody Told Me – John Lennon 147.5
  80. Desert Moon – Dennis DeYoung 144
  81. Major Tom (Coming Home) – Peter Schilling 141.5
  82. Undercover of the Night – The Rolling Stones 139.5
  83. Cruel Summer – Bananarama 139
  84. Breakin’… There’s No Stopping Us – Ollie and Jerry 138
  85. Head Over Heels – The Go-Go’s 137
  86. Blue Jean – David Bowie 137
  87. An Innocent Man – Billy Joel 136.5
  88. Wrapped Around Your Finger – The Police 136.5
  89. Think of Laura – Christopher Cross 136
  90. Pink Houses – John (Cougar) Mellencamp 133.5
  91. I Still Can’t Get Over Loving You – Ray Parker Jr. 127.5
  92. Got a Hold on Me – Christine McVie 127.5
  93. Magic – The Cars 127
  94. Round and Round – Ratt 126.5
  95. Tonight – Kool and the Gang 124.5
  96. New Moon on Monday – Duran Duran 124.5
  97. The Longest Time – Billy Joel 123
  98. Time Will Reveal – DeBarge 122.5
  99. Some Guys Have All the Luck – Rod Stewart 121.5
  100. Doctor! Doctor! – Thompson Twins 121.5
  101. Dance Hall Days – Wang Chung 120
  102. Give It Up – KC 119
  103. Lights Out – Peter Wolf 119
  104. Holiday – Madonna 117.5
  105. Why Me? – Irene Cara 117
  106. Dancing in the Sheets – Shalamar 114.5
  107. Rock Me Tonight – Billy Squier 112.5
  108. When You Close Your Eyes – Night Ranger 111.5
  109. Yah Mo Be There – James Ingram and Michael McDonald 110.5
  110. Dynamite – Jermaine Jackson 109.5
  111. I’ll Wait – Van Halen 107.5
  112. The Language of Love – Dan Fogelberg 105.5
  113. It Ain’t Enough – Corey Hart 105
  114. Stay the Night – Chicago 105
  115. Panama – Van Halen 103.5
  116. Authority Song – John (Cougar) Mellencamp 102.5
  117. You Can’t Get What You Want – Joe Jackson 102.5
  118. What About Me – Kenny Rogers, Kim Carnes and James Ingram 102.5
  119. If I’d Been the One – 38 Special 101.5
  120. Read ‘em and Weep – Barry Manilow 101
  121. Stay with Me Tonight – Jeffrey Osborne 100.5
  122. In a Big Country – Big Country 100
  123. Modern Day Delilah – Van Stephenson 100
  124. It’s a Miracle – Culture Club 99.5
  125. Girls – Dwight Twilley 98.5
  126. Middle of the Road – The Pretenders 98
  127. Synchronicity II – The Police 97.5
  128. Don’t Answer Me – The Alan Parsons Project 97
  129. Walking on a Thin Line – Huey Lewis and the News 95.5
  130. Sexy Girl – Glenn Frey 94.5
  131. The Politics of Dancing – Re-Flex 93
  132. Are We Ourselves? – The Fixx 92.5
  133. Run, Runaway – Slade 92.5
  134. Baby I Lied – Deborah Allen 91.5
  135. Almost Over You – Sheena Easton 91.5
  136. Who Wears These Shoes – Elton John 91.5
  137. Alibis – Sergio Mendes 91.5
  138. No Way Out – Jefferson Starship 91.5
  139. All of You – Diana Ross and Julio Iglesias 90.5
  140. Go Insane – Lindsey Buckingham 90.5
  141. Swept Away – Diana Ross 90
  142. Eat It – Weird Al Yankovic 88.5
  143. We Are the Young – Dan Hartman 87.5
  144. Bop ‘Til You Drop – Rick Springfield 87.5
  145. No More Words – Berlin 85.5
  146. The Lucky One – Laura Branigan 84.5
  147. Come Back and Stay – Paul Young 84.5
  148. There Goes My Baby – Donna Summer 83.5
  149. A Fine Fine Day – Tony Carey 83.5
  150. The Curly Shuffle – The Jump ‘n the Saddle Band 83.5

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Year-End_Hot_100_singles_of_1984

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