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Number One! I’ve always loved the sound of that.
It’s
such a catchy
term in our culture: the #1 movie or book, your best friend, your favorite restaurant
or store and of course, the ultimate, the #1 hit single! Ever since I can remember
I’ve been obsessed with music charts. On Sundays growing up in Joliet,
Illinois I would rush home after church to listen to Casey Kasem’s Top
40 on the radio, diligently writing down each hit in my composition notebook,
completely mesmerized
by the time we hit #1! There was also this awesome record store in town called
The Crow’s Nest that would have these free pink photocopied flyers of the
chart listings from the local radio station that I would collect obsessively.
I was hooked! So I thought I would share my obsession with the #1 hit singles
from my favorite decade, the 80’s, here with you at fredflare.com. Over
the next 11 weeks I’ll be reminiscing while presenting the best of the
best
of the decade of decadence. I’m sure you’ll see ones that you think
are missing – and it’s true, there are some great hits that will
be absent – but they just didn’t have the power needed to make it
all the way to #1. That’s what it takes to be a true chart topper! Enjoy!
XXOO Chris |
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1984
No, I am not going to start this year’s
retrospective by talking about George Orwell’s apocolyptic vision or by
discussing the debut of the Cosby Show or even Mary Lou Retton’s winning
streak, for that matter. Instead I’m going to mention the famed and fascinating
institution of… high school! 1984 began my freshman year at an all-boys
Catholic high school where the nuns roamed free, football players ruled and all
the freshmen endured a week of Homecoming initiation antics. Feel bad for me
yet? At my new school, each freshman was assigned a senior "master" to
do his bidding. My master was Isaac James, a hugely popular and gigantic football
player. Just my luck! To insure my loyalty to Joliet Catholic High, Isaac forced
me to stand in a toilet and sing the school song in front of a bathroom full
of roaring seniors. Was this my early foray into rock stardom? Hardly. Just a
scared, fat kid being humiliated by giant bully jocks! But what I loved most
about high school was my entry into arts and literature. With novels like To
Kill a Mockingbird and A Catcher in the Rye I began to see there was more to
the world that Joliet, Illinois. My world was definitely changing. I was also
beginning to notice an odd feeling come over me, one I certainly chose to keep
to myself at an all-boys Catholic high school. It was my growing attraction for
the very jocks that tormented me… Yikes! I’ll never forget how amazing
fellow freshman Troy Smith looked prancing down the halls of Catholic High in
his Scorpions tee and parachute pants. What was I to do?.. Well, I did what every
other all-American boy in my situation did… fall in love with Madonna.
Yep, once she kicked that lamppost in her bright orange pumps in the Borderline
video, my life was changed forever. Well, "Time After Time" I told
myself "Let’s Go Crazy" and I might as well "Jump",
but "Hello", I was 14 and still "Like A Virgin". Here’s
1984. It was major!
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the #1's
Against All Odds (Take a Look At Me Now) - Phil Collins
Caribbean Queen -
Billy Ocean
Footloose - Kenny Loggins
Ghostbusters - Ray Parker, Jr.
Hello - Lionel Richie
I Just Called to Say I Love You - Stevie Wonder
Jump - Van Halen
Karma Chameleon - Culture Club
Let's Go Crazy - Prince & The Revolution
Let's Hear It For the Boy - Deniece Williams
Like A Virgin - Madonna
Missing You - John Waite
Out Of Touch - Hall & Oates
The Reflex - Duran Duran
Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper
Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go - Wham
What's Love Got To Do With It - Tina Turner
When Doves Cry - Prince & The Revolution |
