All-4-One • I Swear

In July of 1994, the song "I Swear" made the second appearance on the Billboard Hot 100, but this time it sounded very different. Gary Baker and Frank J. Myers wrote a ballad that was first released by singer John Michael Montgomery, whose version of the song went to #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, and #44 on the Hot 100. But a few months later, the group All-4-One released their R&B version of the song, and soon it was the sound of the summer. You see, this time, the song made it to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, not for one week, but for eleven consecutive weeks. Today marks the 20th anniversary of the songs final week on top of the charts, but securing that Jamie Jones, Delious Kennedy, Alfred Nevarez, and Tony Borowiak defined the sound of the summer. This is "I Swear" by All-4-One.

Brings back memories, at least for me...

Top Songs of the Summer of 1983

Clockwise: Davie Bowie; Irene Cara; The Eurythmics; and The Police.

Thirty years ago, there were four songs that hit #1 for the sixteen weeks from the end of May to the end of August of 1983. And when looking at the songs, it is no wonder they topped the Billboard Hot 100. I actually owned three of the four songs, and enjoyed each and every one of them. I am starting with the #1 song for the week ending May 21. Although he was no longer Ziggy Stardust nor was he the Thin White Duke, David Bowie was still a superstar and had many, including myself, rushing to the record stores to buy whatever he was putting out. His 'Scary Monsters' album still remains a favorite of mine, as did the follow up, 'Let's Dance'. With producer Niles Rodgers, there was some magic going on, including in the title track. I not only remember buying and loving the album, but hearing this track everywhere in New York City. I was surprised to learn it was his second of only two #1 songs on the Billboard Hot 100. Enjoy the music video for "Let's Dance".

In 1983, you couldn't go anywhere and not feel the reach of the movie 'Flashdance'. The movie was a surprise hit, and people were lining up to see it. There was the fashion impact, with cut out sweatshirts, and the leg warmers were everywhere as well! And there was the soundtrack album, put together by Giorgio Moroder, who did an incredible job. There were two singles off the album, and both made it to #1 on the US Pop chart. The first was the soaring "Flashdance...What A Feeling", re-establishing Irene Cara's hold as queen of the soundtrack. She had already scored big with songs from the movie 'Fame'. With the new song, Cara spent six weeks at #1, from the week ending May 28th to July 2. I hope you love Irene Cara singing "Flashdance...What A Feeling".

Now I remember coming across much new music when I was in college, first hanging out with guys working at the radio station, and soon hanging out in the station itself. There I found an album called 'Outlandos d'Amour', by a band I hadn't heard about. They were The Police, featuring the amazing Sting, Stewart Copeland, and Andy Summers. I fell in love, and was ready to race to the mall to get whatever was coming out next. By the time 1983 hit, they were releasing their fifth album, sounding much more polished and finished than their punk roots every predicted. They still had an edge - after all, how can Sting not bring edge? The first single off 'Synchronicity' was the brooding "Every Breath You Take". The song kept The Police in the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for an astounding eight weeks, from the week ending July 9th to August 27th. I can't believe you haven't heard their ode to stalking, "Every Breath You Take", but perhaps it hasn't been recently.

There was another sweet surprise in 1983, with another new group to get to know. I hadn't really heard of the Eurythmics before, and neither Annie Lennox nor David Stewart were names that were familiar. That would quickly change, with one song at the end of summer. Out of nowhere, I saw the music video for "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" on MTV, back when they were all about music, not entitled teens and twenty-somethings. Everyone was blown away, not only for the music, which was great, but also the visuals, with Annie sporting an androgynous look. Annie was a startling talent on so many levels, with that incredible voice, an ability to look gorgeous one moment, and oddly striking the next. But for the week ending September 3, The Eurythmics spent one week at #1 with "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"

As our summer in kicking into high gear, you just have to wonder if thirty years from now, will people be able to look back at the #1 songs of 2013 with the same wonder we can look at 1983. Quite literally, from the week ending May 21, to the week ending September 3, 1983, these four incredible artists tied up the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for sixteen weeks, and on the minds of all paying attention to music. I hope you enjoyed revisiting the songs as much as I did.

Top Hits of 2002

Clockwise from top: Nickelback; The Calling; Nelly & Kelly Rowland; Ashanti; and Nelly.

For this morning, I thought to venture back 10 years ago, and listen to the Top 5 songs for 2002. Remember, that was the second year of the George W. Bush administration, and the year after 9/11. There was still an air of worry, although most Americans were trying to push beyond it. The music reflects this, with a bigger sound, trying to flip into hyper-entertainment mode. Take, for example, the #5 song on the year-end chart according to Billboard, "Wherever you Will Go". This was the hit from the one-hit-wonders, The Calling. Vocalist Alex Band and guitarist Aaron Kamin were at the core of the band, who saw some changes during their time together. Their sound is an interesting blend of 90s Alternative Rock bands like Toad The Wet Sprocket, only amplifying the Pop elements. The song was, however, their only song to chart in the top 100. It was not a surprise when the band went into hiatus in 2005, and have yet to return to active duty. In 2002, this song was everywhere, and I am sure you will remember it the moment you hit play.

Cornell Hayes, Jr. began a solo career in 2000, only you might know him by another name. It seems Cornell's nickname was Nelly, and he claimed it as his professional moniker. He managed to have two #1 songs in 2002, and "Dilemma", the #4 song on the year-end chart, was one of them. The song featured Kelly Rowland, and was on the album 'Nellyville'. It was written by Nelly and Antoine Macon, Kenneth Gamble, and Bunny Sigler. The music video was a hot one, considering at the time, Nelly and Kelly were an item. Enjoy "Dilemma".

That is quickly followed by the second song from Nelly, "Hot In Herre". The song was written by Nelly, Pharrell Williams, and Chad Hugo, and seemed to be inescapable at the time. Pharrell and Hugo were better known as The Neptunes, the go-to Producers of the time. The song was everywhere, on television, the radio, and in the movies. It is a great song, but it began to feel like a stalker, following you everywhere. It was actually his first single off 'Nellyville', and was certified 'Gold' in sales. Enjoy the video of the #3 song on the chart, "Hot in Here".

The #2 song on the chart is a remarkable achievement, to be sure. "Foolish" went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard Hot R&B Song charts, and stayed there for ten weeks. The song was off the eponymous debut album from Ashanti, which went triple Platinum. In fact, four of her first five singles made it to the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10. The fifth song went to #15. It was a remarkable start to a recording career. This was Ashanti's first single, "Foolish".

The #1 song on the chart went to a Canadian band many had never heard of before this single dropped. Nickelback, with the distinctive lead vocals of Chad Kroeger, went to #1 with "How Your Remind Me", off the album 'Silver Side Up.' It sat at the top of the charts for 4 weeks, and at #1 on the Modern Rock chart for 13 weeks. The song is also the last Rock song to top the Billboard Hot 100. But it has many other distinctions as well. "How You Remind Me" was named the #1 most played song on U.S. radio of the 2000 decade by Nielsen Soundscan, being spun over 1.2 million times on U.S. airwaves since its release in 2001 to the end of 2009. Enjoy the video for the song Kroeger wrote about an ex-girlfriend.

Frank Sinatra • The First #1s

Frank Sinatra holds a unique circumstance that he shares with the Tommy Dorsey Band can claim that no one else ever can. Billboard magazine might have started publishing in 1984, but it wasn't until July 20, 1940, that the magazine started publishing the 'Musical Popularity Chart', monitoring radio play and sales numbers to rank the top music of the day. Eighteen years later, Billboard changed the name to 'The Hot 100', a chart that is still the focus of most of the music industry. And on that very first chart, it was a song released by Tommy Dorsey & his Orchestra that topped the charts.

Tommy Dorsey & his Orchestra, featuring Frank Sinatra.

"I'll Never Smile Again" was written by Ruth Lowe, who was dealing the with death of her young husband. The vocals on the track was a young Frank Sinatra, just finding his way in the music business. He was joined on the vocals by The Pied Pipers, singing the role of the chorus. It topped the charts for the first twelve weeks it was published.

They struck gold again in 1942, when "There Are Such Things" topped the Billboard chart. It was again a release by Tommy Dorsey & his Orchestra, with featured vocalist Frank Sinatra. It was a popular song by Stanley Adams, Abel Baer, and George W. Meyer, written in 1942.

By the end of 1942, Sinatra would part ways with Tommy Dorsey. Sinatra, who had a big following among the ladies, and in particular the young girls who found the young man very handsome. It didn't, however, end their time on the charts, for they had recorded many songs together. That included our next #1 song on the Billboard chart, the 1943 hit, "The Blue of the Evening Sky".

Before Sinatra joined Jimmy Dorsey & his Orchestra, he performed with Harry James & his Orchestra. In fact, he was under contract to him when Jimmy Dorsey approached Sinatra, but James released him to join Dorsey, a much bigger opportunity. In fact, they had recorded a song written in 1939 by Arthur Altman, with lyrics by Jack Lawrence. It was a mild hit, but that was about the time he was leaving. Once he was free of his contract with Dorsey, Sinatra's label re-released the song, only this time it was not by Harry James & his Orchestra. Instead, it was billed as Frank Sinatra, with Harry James. So here is the 1939/1944 release, "All Or Nothing At All".

That leaves his 1945 single, "Oh, What It Seems To Be", to be his first certified solo #1 song. The song was arranged by bandleader Nelson Riddle, the man who made magic with so very many great singers and musicians over his career, including the great recordings made by Linda Ronstadt in the 1980s. But 40 years before, he was wroking his magic with Frank Sinatra, among others.

Hope you enjoyed our celebration of Frank Sinatra's first five Billboard #1 songs

Billboard Top 5 • 1974

Clockwise: the Jackson 5; Redbone; Barbra Streisand; Terry Jacks; Love Unlimited Orchestra.

When I think back to 1974, I have to admit, it is a time that is a bit of a blur for me. As everyone I knew were coming into their own, and really discovering themselves. I spent much of my teenage years running away from myself, trying to ignore what I was feeling, and what I was thinking. I turned 14 that year, and while I tried to convince myself and others that I was feeling nothing, no sexual urges or waves of attraction, we all know that was not true. But it was 1974, and there were few positive images of gay people around, and certainly none in Smyrna, Delaware. So I remained "in hiding" and surrounded myself with music. One of the things I dealt with all this was my going to things like dances at the local VFW with a group of friends. And that year, we certainly couldn't escape the wonderful sound of The Jackson 5, who had the #5 song of 1974 with Dancing Machine. The song was just about the ultimate dance song, and had great vocals by Michael and Jermaine.



The #4 song had the most interesting back story, for it was written by Lolly Vasquez, a member of the band Redbone. He was Native American, as were the other members of the band. To the best of my thinking, they were the first Native American rock band to be successful. And they most certainly were, as Come and Get Your Love was the fourth-ranked song on the Billboard charts for the year.



Love Unlimited Orchestra had an interesting story of their own. It was a 40 piece orchestra brought together to back up the R&B vocals of a trio of women, and the bandleader/frontman, Barry White. He was also responsible for writing much of the music they performed. And in 1974, the song they were playing was the #3 song of the year, Love's Theme. It was off the Rhapsody In White album, and was playing non-stop on the radio.



In what seemed to be a year rife with songs with interesting stories behind them, the next might just take the cake. This song was an adaptation of the song Le Moribond by Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel, some consider the greatest troubadour of the twentieth century. With new lyrics written in English by American singer-poet Rod McKuen, it became a huge hit for Canadian Terry Jacks. Here he is performing the #2 song of 1974, Seasons In The Sun.



As one could only expect, I was, and continue to be, a huge fan of Barbra Streisand. I had fallen for her voice years before after listening to her albums with my sister Kathy. By this time, I had loved the albums Barbra Joan Streisand, Stoney End, What About Today?, and had begun collecting her early recordings as well. I also remember listen to the Live Concert At The Forum, and the thrill of hearing the live audience respond. So it was no surprise that I was all over the #1 song on the Billboard charts for 1974. The Way We Were was not only a great song, but it was the theme for a great movie, which had the iconic pairing of Barbra with the astoundingly handsome Robert Redford. The song was written by Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, and Marvin Hamlisch. It won both the Academy Award and the Golden Globe for Best Song for the year. Here is Barbra singing The Way We Were.



You can find all these songs on iTunes and Amazon. And they are all well-worth the price to enrich your collection.

60 Years Ago • Tony Bennett's Because Of You

Sixty years ago, Tony Bennett was in the middle of quite a role. This week in 1951, Bennett was on the third of eight consecutive #1 weeks atop the Billboard Sales chart with the beautiful song, Because Of You. The song was written by Arthur Hammerstein and Dudley Wilkinson, and first appeared in the movie I Was An American Spy. It was Bennett's first #1 song, the start of a long and storied career as a singer. The following clip shows you Tony Bennett singing Because of You on a television special in 1966, and he follows it up with Taking A Chance On Love, written by John Latouche and Ted Fetter for the 1940 Broadway musical, Cabin In The Sky. That production was noteworthy for it was the first time a production was mounted on Broadway with an all-minority cast. A few years later, it was recorded and released by Benny Goodman.

20 Years Ago • Mariah Carey's Emotions

Twenty years ago this week, the #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 was a fresh-faced Mariah Carey singing Emotions. It was not Carey's first of the year. In fact, it was her third #1. What is remarkable is that Carey had released her first album the year before, and had scored two #1's in 1990. This song, the first off her second album, made it five in a row for the talented singer. But 20 years ago this week, Mariah Carey was on top of the Billboard singles chart with Emotions.

Billboard Top 5 • Margie's Birthday!

Clockwise:Nat King Cole; Tony Bennett; Rosemary Clooney; Mario Lanza; and Les Paul & Mary Ford.

Well, yesterday was my cousin Margie's birthday, so I asked her to name the year, and I would do a post for her. She picked 1951, which is kinda exciting, as I hadn't covered it before! So, before I go any further, I thought I would give everyone a chance to meet my cousin, pictured below to the left of Eric Himan (and her sister Eileen on the right) from a show she went with me in January at the World Cafe Live! in Philadelphia, also featuring Levi Kreis and Jason Antone.



The first clip of the post will be the #5 song from 1951 according to the Billboard chart. The song is Be My Love, with lyrics by Sammy Cahn and music by Nicholas Brodzsky. The song first appeared in the 1950 movie The Toast of New Orleans, where it was sung by Kathryn Grayson and Mario Lanza. It was recorded by Lanza, and the following year made it to #1 on the chart. Like my beautiful cousin, Lanza was a Philadelphia native. Here is the version of the classically-trained tenor.



It is nigh-on impossible to resist Rosemary Clooney's cute and flirty recording of Come On-A My House. The song, written by Ross Bagdasarian and writer William Saroyan, was written in 1939, but was largely ignored until recorded by Clooney. There are reports that Rosemary did not like the song, which became a trademark of the singer.



The #3 song on the year-end chart belonged to the husband/wife team of Les Paul & Mary Ford, introduced by legendary Hollywood 'cowboy' Gene Autry. 1951 was a huge year for the pair, who sold over 5 million records, and had How High The Moon on top of the Pop chart for 9 weeks. The jazz standard was written in for the 1940 Broadway show, Two For The Show, with lyrics by Nancy Hamilton and music by Morgan Lewis. The duo combined the Jazz and Rock sound to give their own unique sound to the music they performed. Les Paul was a real innovator, manufacturing guitars that carried his name, as well as maintaining a strong career as a performer. Here is their song, How High The Moon.



The #2 song for the year was sung by the great American crooner, Tony Bennett. Because of You was written by Arthur Hammerstein and Dudley Wilkinson in 1940. It was Bennett's first #1 song, and it stayed atop the chart for 10 weeks, and sold over a million copies. Later, Bennett rerecorded the song for the 2006 album Duets: An American Classic. He sang it with the glorious voice of kd lang. The song also featured a beautiful trumpet solo by Chris Botti.



And finally, the #1 song for the year 1951 was recorded by the astounding Nat King Cole. Written by Sidney Lippman with lyrics by Sylvia Dee, Too Young went to #1 on the Billboard chart, and stayed there for five consecutive weeks. There were plenty of other versions of the song, including one by the King of Pop while still a member of the Jackson 5, and by Donny Osmond in 1972 on the Here's Lucy show.



So, it only seems appropriate that I end this tribute to my cousin Margie with the song Too Young, for it age is just a number, and the real age a matter for the mind, then Margie is indeed still far too young to remember any of these songs. So I will continue to celebrate Margie, including this photograph I took in her South Philly kitchen, with my sister Kathy and my niece, Mandy.

Billboard Top 5 of 1973

Clockwise: Roberta Flack, Marvin Gaye, Paul McCartney & Wings, Tony Orlando & Dawn, and Jim Croce.

When you look back at 1973, it was quite the tumultuous time in America, with national politics going through things no one ever thought possible. In January, President Richard Nixon held his second inauguration. Shortly thereafter, he announced the end of the involvement of US troops in Vietnam, a military action that had begun almost a decade earlier on the orders of President John F. Kennedy. But the honeymoon was soon over, as the Supreme Court ruled on Roe V. Wade, legalizing abortion in the US, and evidence was building in the Watergate Scandal. Vice-President Spiro Agnew was convicted of tax evasion, and Rep. Gerald Ford of Michigan was confirmed as his replacement. And in December, the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the list of psychiatric disorders. So perhaps it is with all this news coming 'round every corner, both political and social, that the musical tastes tended toward the escapism of fun Pop music. The #5 song from 1973 reached #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in March. McCartney wrote the song about Linda, his wife and bandmate. Here are Paul McCartney & Wings singing My Love.



Now, I think that Marvin Gaye is a gifted and strong songwriter. Still, I am not sure how the next song made it this high on the charts, no matter how much I love it. Let's Get It On made it to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September for 2 weeks, topped the Soul chart for 8 weeks, and became the most successful single to come out of Motown. The song was sexually charged, and performed perfectly by Gaye, blending earnest feelings with hyped up desire. While I would think the materials was a bit too much for many, it was just right in 1973.



Coming off the success of First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Roberta Flack was riding in rarefied air, to be sure. She was first known for her gorgeous duets with Donny Hathaway, but soon came into her own as a soloist with a stunning voice. She sang with Donny on Where Is The Love, which sent to #5 on the chart, but soon released Killing Me Softly With His Song, which brought her back to #1, this time for an impressive 5 weeks.



A boy from South Philadelphia, Jim Croce was singer/songwriter of note, parlaying his own music into a string of hits in the early 70s. He was certainly in line to reach superstar status, and in July he had his first #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100, Bad, Bad Leroy Brown. The song spent two weeks atop the chart, and was also nominated for a few Grammy Awards. Unfortunately, it was the only #1 Croce knew, for he was killed in a plane crash in September of the year, and his next success with Time In A Bottle came after his death.



The success of the top song for the year comes as no surprise to anyone who was alive that year. In a time of war in foreign lands, a war much of the country did not understand or support, when Tony Orlando & Dawn sang Tie A Yellow Ribbon 'Round The Old Oak Tree in support of the prisoners of war and soldiers still needing to come home, the public flocked to buy the single. It went to #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in April, and spent four weeks on top. In 2008, Billboard ranked the song as the 37th biggest song of all time in its issue celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Hot 100.

Billboard Top 5 of 1972

Clockwise from top left: Roberta Flack, Gilbert O'Sullivan, Sammy Davis Jr., Harry Nilsson, and Don McLean.

Traveling back to 1972, I am afraid I don't have a great deal of insight to offer for it. You see, I was 12, and living in the small town of Smyrna, Delaware. I was going to middle school, and my music was either listening to stuff with my sister Kathy, or listening to the radio when the family was in the car. But that does mean I had some awareness of the top songs of the day, and I do remember all 5 in the top 5 tonight, starting with the #5 song, The Candy Man. Of course, the song was originally a part of the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, sung by a store owner to some kids. The the most famous version, also the most popular, was by Sammy Davis, Jr., and released in 1972. Here is The Candy Man.



The #4 song has an interesting and a bit sordid past. Without You was written by Pete Ham and Tom Evans of the British rock band Badfinger, and recorded on their 1970 album, No Dice. It was never released as a single. Legend has it that while at a party, folk singer Harry Nilsson heard the song, and loved it so much, he wanted to do his own cover of it. He did, and it was party of his late 1971 release, Nilsson Schmilsson. Released as a single, Without You held the #1 position on the US Billboard charts for 4 weeks in a row, and for 5 weeks on the British charts. In a strange tiwst of fate, both Ham and Evans were caught up in financial and legal struggles with management, and committed suicide, Ham in 1975, and Evans in 1983. But the legacy of Without You lives on, both in Nilsson's cover, and a later cover by Maria Carrey.



The #3 song seems an unlikely entry into the Billboard chart at all, let alone in the top 5 for the year. That, however, is exactly the case. No matter how surprising, Don McLean's American Pie caught the ear and the heart of those who listened, and it stormed up the charts to #1. The album tract was 8:33 in length, far too long for radio play. So there were edits made, the single was 4:31, and in a world of the three minute song, it was still long. But folk-rocker McLean's homage to rockers Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper and the plane crash marked the day "the music died," certainly spoke to the public, who kept it at #1 on the Billboard Pop chart for four weeks. And, by the way, just for the record, the day the music died was February 3, 1959.



Before 1972, Gilbert O'Sullivan was an Irish singer/songwriter who was doing fairly well on the British charts, but fairly unknown elsewhere. That all changed when he released the #2 song for 1972, Alone Again (Naturally). The song was everywhere, and was at #1 on the Pop charts for five consecutive weeks. And while O'Sullivan had success with the follow-up single, Clair, they were the highpoint of his success in the US. While he continued to make music and have an impact of the British charts, he was never able to recapture that lightning in the US.



The #1 song had an interesting story, starting with the writer. Ewan MacColl wrote the song for folk star Peggy Seeger. MacColl was in lover with Peggy, who was the half-sister to folk-rocker Pete Seeger. Unfortunately, MacColl was still married to another. He was married to Jean Newlove, and together they had a daughter, the wonderful and talented Kirsty MacColl. Later, MacColl and Seeger married. MacColl wrote First Time Ever I Saw Your Face for Seeger in 1957, but it remained relatively unnoticed until a cover by Roberta Flack was released in 1972. Flack slowed down the temp, making for a much more sensually-charged performance. In fact, it was a part of Flack's 1969 release, First Take, but shot to fame when it was included on the soundtrack of the Clint Eastwood film, Play Misty For Me. It was atop the Billboard Pop chart for six weeks in a row, and won the Grammy Awards for Best Song for MacColl and Record of the Year for Flack.



It has been said by his family that Ewan MacColl never really liked the song, First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, even though it was his most popular song. What that means, I don't know. But I do know that MacColl and Seeger remained together until MacColl passed in 1989. While the song was the first #1 for Roberta Flack, it was certainly not her last. I guess that just goes to show was a crazy business the music industry it.

Billboard Top 5 of 1984

It was an interesting year, 1984. Things were settling in for me as I settled in to life in New York City. Bill & I started the year in an apartment in Spanish Harlem, just west of Amsterdam Boulevard on 109th Street. I had made the move from intern to Master Carpenter at Circle Repertory Theatre Company, working just off Sheridan Square in Greenwich Village. I finished up my first season there with a production of Lanford Wilson's Balm In Gilead, a tense and biting urban drama. It was co-produced by Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and had a magnificent cast. It was directed by John Malkovich and featured Gary Sinise, Laurie Metcalf, Jeff Perry, James McDaniel, Glenne Headly, and Giancarlo Esposito. After an extended run in the theater over the summer, the show moved to the Minetta Lane Theatre, also in the West Village. In the Fall, Bill & I moved to a new apartment in Park Slope, Brooklyn. I loved that neighborhood.

The Billboard Top 5 was quite eclectic in 1984, including the #5 song, the progressive rock band Yes and Owner Of A Lonely Heart, from the album 90215. It is interesting, but the UK band scored their best chart position in the US, hitting #1 on the Pop and Mainstream Rock charts. With the highly recognizable vocals of singer Jon Anderson, and Steve Squire's guitar work, it was classic Yes music put through the Pop strainer of producer Trevor Horn. It was the only Pop #1 on the US charts for the band, who were known more for their edgy rock than hitting the Top 40 airwaves.



Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael made for pretty pictures and catchy pop, especially when sharing the stage under the name Wham! With the perky Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, Wham! managed to top most of the charts around the globe, including taking the #1 spot on the US Pop Chart. The #4 song of the year was the first single off their second album, Make It Big. Should anyone have glucose-tolerance issues, beware before you hit the play below. If not, be warned, the catchy tune will live in your mind for days.



When Culture Club made it across the ocean, it was with the song Karma Chameleon. Boy George was leading the band, his gender-bending appearance mesmerizing audiences around the world. The song, from the Kissing To Be Clever album, topped the US pop charts, firmly establishing the band as a new force on the music scene, and the song was the #3 song of the year.



Movie theme songs had been losing power on the chart, but not for singer.songwriter Ray Parker, Jr. His song Ghostbusters, for the hit movie of the same name, spent three weeks atop Billboards Hot 100 chart. Jaunty and catchy, the song was an instant hit. It was in the middle of a controversy in a matter of months, when Huey Lewis & The News released their new single, I want A New Drug. Shortly thereafter, a lawsuit was filed, claiming Parker has plagiarized Lewis' song, and the case was settled out of court. It certainly didn't slow the song up, as it was the #2 song of 1984.



Claiming the #1 song of the year honors was someone cheered far and wide, both for her awesome talent as well as an amazing comeback story. Tina Turner was part of the highly touted Ike and Tina Turner Revue. Ike and Tina were married, but with the fame came indulgences that left Ike out of control, and Tina running for her life. So when she released the album Private Dancer, the critics and the buying public couldn't get enough of her first since the 70s. What's Love Got To Do With It? was the first single off the album, and was the top single of 1984.

The Making of a Billboard

I saw this clip on Out.Com, and was immediately fascinated by it. I am not sure if I have just never paid attention, but in less than 60 seconds, this clip shows you how a billboard is born. I could not stop watching!



So there you have it, it seems like some Billboards are painted, while I thought in this day and age, everything was printed and pasted into shape. But the actual process shown in the clip is way more cool. I think the billboard was loosely-based on the top photograph, although I have no way of really knowing. But I hope you enjoyed it.

Billboard Top 5 of 1983

It was an interesting year for me. I had finished my internship at the Actor's Theater of Louisville at the end of 1982, officially sealing off my college career. I returned home to work for a bit, getting money together as I went to move to New York City to try my hand at working in the theater. To be honest, I am not sure I would have made the move alone, so moving in with Bill, there to work on a graduate degree at Columbia, certainly made it easier to take such a large step 'on my own.' He was also working an internship at the Circle Repertory Theater Company in the literary department. Shortly after moving at the end of April, Bill heard of an opening, and told me about it. I went in to interview with the Production Manager, Kate Stewart, and soon was working another internship, earning $50 a week, with the hopes of getting a real job in the fall. I started work on the production of the Sam Shepard's Fool For Love, with the original off-Broadway cast including Ed Harris and Kathy Baker, and a replacement cast with Will Patten and an unknown actor named Bruce Willis as an understudy. I began work taking care of the wardrobe, but my role expanded to also include set maintenance. By the start of the fall subscription series, I was hired on as the Master Carpenter, and I was totally stoked. I was on the staff of the theater whose roster included Marshall W. Mason and Lanford Wilson, along with designer John Lee Beatty, all nestled neatly in Greenwich Village, while living with Bill in an apartment in Spanish Harlem. We had no money, but it was a great time of my life.

The fifth most popular song on the Billboard chart from 1983 was the punchy electro-pop song by Eddy Grant, Electric Avenue. Grant lived in England, having moved there with his family from Guyana when just a child. He started making music in the 60s, but didn't start a solo career until the late 70e, and went on to have the platinum-selling song which became a hit worldwide.



The band Toto came together in 1977, made up of some the the best studio musicians of the period. Their rock music was a smooth blend of pop and rock, making seamless records tailored to fit each member of the band. Africa was the second hit from the Triple-Platinum album Toto IV, Rosanna being the first in 1982. Both songs soared on the charts and Africa landed at #4 for 1983.



With torn sweatshirts with cut out necklines, the movie Flashdance made a huge impact on popular culture in terms of fashion, but that was not all. It also contributed several chart-topping songs to the mix, including the #3 song of the year, Michael Sembello's Maniac. Sembello was a songwriter of note, working for some of the top names in the industry, including Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, and Barbra Streisand, among others, before releasing a solo album. One cut, Maniac, was added to the soundtrack to Flashdance, and the combination of great song in a hit movie brought the song to #3 on the Billboard chart for the year.



The New Wave of rock music was still in full bloom, and it earned the #2 spot on the year-end chart when Australian rockers Men At Work with their quirky song, Down Under. The song was the second hit for the band, the first coming in 1982 with Who Can It Be Now?. Down Under spent four weeks atop the US charts, an impressive feat for the band.



Bonnie Tyler had her first hit on US radio in 1977 with the song It's A Heartache, and had to wait six years to get her second. The song, Total Eclipse of the Heart, was penned by Jim Steinman, who to many was the King of Bombast, having written several hits for Meatloaf with histrionics normally reserved for opera. But paired with Tyler, Steinman mined musical gold, and helped the singer avoid the tag of one-hit-wonder forever.

Billboard Top 5 of 1982

What a big year for me 1982 was. I had finished my college studies, and in the fall, did a 4 month internship at the Actor's Theater of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky. After spending a couple of years as the Technical Director of the college theater, I was the intern in the shop to build sets for a renown regional theater, and I loved it. The down side, however, was that I had to pack light for the trip, and not bring my music with me. Instead, I had an alarm clock/radio unit that was my only source of tunes, so I heard plenty of the Billboard top 5, starting with Open Arms by Journey. I was a huge fan of Journey, and thought that Steve Perry had one of the most amazing voices from the period. It was so clean, strong and brilliant, you just had to listen to him. Here they are singing the fifth most popular song of the year.



In late 1981, the Australian band Men At Work released their debut album, Business As Usual. It took a few months to really catch on, but with the help of the first single, Who Can It Be Now?, the quirky New Wave music was soon a steady part of the pop music diet, starting with the fourth most popular song of 1982.



Coming in as the third most popular song of the year is Up Where We Belong, sung by Jennifer Warnes & Joe Cocker from the soundtrack of the movie An Officer And A Gentleman. It was written by the greatly talented Jack Nitzsche, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Will Jennings. Warnes became known for have a deft touch with movie theme songs, but her best was this, dueting with the amazing Cocker.



Daryl Hall & John Oates were on quite a roll in the 80s, and had the number 2 song of 1982 with a catchy song Maneater. It was their first single from the album H2O, and while certainly classic pop, it might be one of my least favorite of their songs. But, with the #2 song of the year, here are Hall & Oates.



J. Geils Band was built around guitarist John Geils, who preferred to have his music served with a steady helping of rock and blues. While having been met with critical success, big-time commercial success alluded them until they took a more pop sound, including the mega-hit Centerfold.

Billboard Top 5 of 1981

It was an interesting year, that is for sure. In the fall of 1980, my college adviser suggested I would be good for me to further explore my new chosen major, theater. Well, actually it was an English major with a mass media minor, but only because the school didn't offer a theater major. Anyway, to do this, she arranged for me to design the set for the a production at the Reading Community Players, a local amateur theater group. The show was Witness for the Prosecution. It was directed by a good-looking 'older' man, who worked for the city, had a show on public access TV, with a strong desire to go to graduate school with the goal to be a playwright. We laughed, worked and tlaked together, and spent much of 1981 doing the same. We worked on a second show for the Players, Steambath, a play which took place in a New York City steambath, complete with a working shower onstage and a Hispanic attendant who also happened to shower naked, and be, in reality, God. Two years later, Bill and I moved to New York City together.

On the radio, it was hard to escape the #5 song on the Billboard year-end chart, Dolly Parton's 9 to 5, from the movie of the same name. Parton, who was a cross between a kewpie doll and a blow-up doll, with a heart of a drag queen, was a Country music queen who did what many thought no longer possible, and parlayed her inherent talent to create hit songs that not only scored on the Country charts, but also crossed over to the Pop charts as well. It didn't hurt it was the theme song of a hit movie of the same name, starring Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.



Talk about parlaying a career move into a Pop hit, Australian Rick Springfield had been making music for over a decade, but took a detour when he was cast as the heartthrob doctor on a soap opera, General Hospital. In the wake of playing Dr. Noah Drake, he released the album Working Class Dog, and the single, Jessie's Girl. Both gave him success he had never seen before.



Five years after their first hit song, Sara Smile, Daryl Hall and John Oates returned to the top of the charts with the catchy Pop song, Kiss On My List. From the album Voices, it was the third song released from the album, and the first to go to #1. According to Billboard, it was the #3 song for the year.



Coming in at #2, the next entry was unusual and a bit quirky, much like the performing behind it. Kim Carnes sang with a gruff edge and an ear for rock, and made the song written by Donna Weiss and 60s star Jackie DeShannon, Bette Davis Eyes appeared on her album Mistaken Identity.



Born in England and raised in Australia, the woman topping the year-end Billboard chart was no stranger to success, having spent much of the 70s singing her way to the top. Olivia Newton-John was a little bit Country, and a little bit Pop, but in 1981, she was also a little bit Disco when she put out Physical, a sexy and rollicking dance song that was Billboard's #1 for 1981.

Billboard Top Holiday Songs - #1

To continue with the Christmas celebrations, here is Burl Ives taking the #1 spot on the chart with A Holly, Jolly Christmas. He recorded the song in 1964. It was written by Johnny Marks, who also wrote Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer and the #2 song, Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree. It was part of the soundtrack for the 1964 CBS/Rankin-Bass television special, Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Billboard Top Holiday Songs - #2

To continue with the Christmas celebrations, here is Brenda Lee taking the #2 spot on the chart with Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree. She recorded and released the song in 1958. It was written by Johnny Marks, who also wrote Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer and the #1 song.

Billboard Top Holiday Songs - #3

To continue with the Christmas celebrations, here is Mariah Carey taking the #3 spot on the chart with All I Want For Christmas Is You. She recorded and released the song in 1994. It is the 'youngest' song in the Top 10.

Billboard Top Holiday Songs - #4

To continue with the Christmas celebrations, here is Andy Williams taking the #4 spot on the chart with It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. He recorded this version of the song in 1963. It is an was not released as a single until the following year.

Billboard Top Holiday Songs - #5

To continue with the Christmas celebrations, here is Nat King Cole taking the #5 spot on the chart with The Christmas Song. He released this version of the song in 1946. It is an immortal song written by Mel Tormé and Bob Wells in 1944.