acroyear | Today's AT40 (Reply)

is...April 11th, 1981, and is a time I have very little memory of aside from being home watching CNN during both the Space Shuttle and Hinckley's shooting of President Reagan. Musically, I certainly know more about it now than I ever would have then, my only pop access being "Solid Gold".

I've done this one before, but not with # by # detail, so here we go again...

We review "last week" with

The Best of Times from Styx
Woman from John Lennon
Rapture from Blondie (short version that really cuts the guitar solo to shreds...bleh)

And here we go with...

Andy Gibb's ballad, Me Without You. Already we're into the both the disco-remnants and cheesy ballads (here, combined into one) that defined this era outside of the rare new wave hit...
EmmyLou Harris's cover of Mr. Sandman, adding nothing to the original except a little recording polish and a country twang slide-guitar. Of course, for the song itself (the original) it is more remembered by being featured in Back to the
Another John Lennon, Watching the Wheels (from his "last album", Casey not knowing Yoko would have enough material to finish Milk and Honey in '84).
Journey's The Party's Over, from the live album Captured, butdidn't make the Greatest Hits album. Casey's people aren't paying attention. They called it "the only live track on the countdown", but it was actually the obligatory studio "hit" to promote the album, a practice that would continue all the way to Heart's 1990 live album. Rolie had already left by this time, but Cain hadn't yet joined so keyboards were by Stevie Roseman.
Loverbody's Turn Me Loose. Guess there's more rock in this countdown than I expected (especially compared to the ballad hell that is 1982 at this month).
Phil Collins has "Missed Again", his first solo hit.
A Taste of Honey remakes Sukiyaki, the only Japanese song to ever make the top 40, and the title isn't even in the song nor has anything to do with it's original or these new English lyrics. Cheesy ballad, not worth remembering...nor was their last hit, the #1 1978 "Boogie Oogie Oogie". sheesh...
Kim Carnes debuts with the highest debut, Bette Davis Eyes, long before anybody would know it becomes the #1 song of 1981, the whole year (ONJ's Physical enters too late and makes the 1982 list instead, but not strong enough to outdo Ebony and Ivory for that year's best...).

Certainly one of the strangest videos of all time. Of course, most people wouldn't know the song was a cover, originally written in 1974. I sure didn't.
The Climax Blues Band's I Love You. Much more typical of this time of lame white rockers getting lost in the ballad scene, a-la Little River Band.
Another cheesy ballad, Champaign's How 'Bout Us. bleh. one of those that stayed on the adult contemporary playlist for ages.

Another huge hit, a hangover from 1980, Celebration, which remains in the on the playlist for FAR too many things. If I ever have to hire a DJ again, I swear I will tell him to leave this one behind or he's not getting paid.
It's a Love Thing, by The Whispers. I guess it would have to be, 'cause the song sucks. sheesh...Like Nirvana 10 years later, Kool and the Gang and EWF would have a lot of copycats.

sigh, another Freebird LDD...one that reminds me that I have heard this one before...
[odd - they skipped it, but it was The Who's You Better You Bet]
Frankie and the Knockouts (what a name...) with Sweetheart
I'm still skeptical that Paradise Theater is really a concept album, but Too Much Time On My Hands is still a pretty cool if overplayed song even for the corporate rock entity that Styx had become by then.
bleh. Steely Dan, with Time out of Mind. They've been ranted against before, they'll be ranted against later, but today I'll keep quiet.
REO Speedwagon's Take it on the Run, the first big ballad that would set their tone for years to come. I still don't get the "satanic" thing about them (or any other group, for that matter).
John Cougar's Ain't Even Done With The Night. As I've written before, who knew he actually had hits before Hurts So Good?
April Wine, with Just Between You And Me. See Climax Blues Band above as it's the same lost rocker ballad style.
Gino Vannelli (how's that for a lost name...) with Livin' Inside Myself, another that would stay on the adult contemporary "mellow" playlist for years to come.

ABBA's Winner Takes It All. I suppose I won't be able to escape seeing Mama Mia forever...
Yarbrough and Peoples with the long forgotten Don't Stop the Music. very strange stuff.
Barbara Streisand with another Barry Gibb duet (following up Guilty), What Kind of Fool. bleh.
Somebody's Knockin', country-crossover from Terry Gibbs.
The infamous 9 to 5 from Dolly Parton, the first hit to have a typewriter on it.
James Taylor with JD Souther, Her Town, Too. Pretty typical JT for the time period. As typical for these ancient ones, a song I had no memory of 'til I heard it again today.
Smokey Robinson's Bein' With You, another that would reign the mellow radio station rotation for years to come.
Neil Diamond's Hello Again...how many more ballads do we need? *sigh*
Juice Newton, of the "closely guarded secret" original first name (Wikipedia found it for me in seconds last time), and Angel of the Morning.
Eric Clapton says, I Can't Stand It, as he's slowly remembering what being a rocker was again.

And into the top ten...

The Police with the first version of Don't Stand So Close To Me, one that would stay very popular long after its AT40 time, thanks to the popularity of the video on MTV.
REO Speedwagon's even earlier top ballad (and former #1), Keep On Loving You
Steve Winwood's biggest hit before Higher Love, While You See A Chance
Don McLean's terribly boring cover of Roy Orbison's Crying. bleh.
Sheena Easton's Morning Train, in her pop pre-Prince days.
Grover Washington Jr with Bill Withers on Just the Two of Us, recently sampled into a Will Smith rap.
John Lennon's Woman falls from #2, but remains a great song forever, I think.
Styx's Best of Times holds here. I know I used to like this once, but today? Not really sure. Maybe heard it just too many times over the years, or just realizing that DeYoung never really quite achieved some of his more lofty goals over the years, and I think this song, good as it is, doesn't quite reach where he really aimed.
Rapture drops to #2. Strange stuff. I never quite ever really liked this, and I'm wondering if my general distaste for rap was pretty much always there from this song onward? (Weird Al's work being obvious exceptions, of course).
Hall & Oats start their run of the biggest duo of the 80s with Kiss on my List

And with that reliving (again), I'm out to mow the lawn and continue recovering from yesterday. g'day, all...

Today's AT40

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