Billboard 1989: The Rankdown (Winner Revealed)

[Glove Slap]

Well we definitely ended up with the most legendary top 2 from all the songs on the list. Glad Janet could finally score a very high rank in one of these.

[Butterflies & Hurricanes]

Smooth Criminal is good, but not song-of-the-year good

[Unhinged]

The Top 2

In all honesty I didn't see any other song taking this.

When I first started to get submissions it appeared that we might have a Madonna vs. Roxette Top 2 but MJ started to climb the list in a big way about half-way through but he just couldn't keep up with Madonna who was always way-out in first.

In the end it wasn't even close...

#2

Smooth Criminal

Michael Jackson

Total Points: 2282

Billboard Hot 100: 7

Billboard Top 100 of 1989: 93

From: Bad

The 7^th (and final US) single from Bad, "Smooth Criminal" was released in late October of 1988, reaching the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 January 7, 1989 (exactly 30 years ago this week) and its peak of No. 7 one week later.

It was his final Top 10 of the 80's having scored 17 of them from "Rock With You" through to "Smooth Criminal" and having only missed the Top 10 once with "Another Part Of Me" (and just barely at that).

30 years later and we still don't know if Annie is okay.

I say good-bye to my No. 1 as do rowellfarm490 and Az Paynter ...

@phillippe - 4
craziaskowboi - 71
singingrulebritannia - 22
God - 21
Butterflies & Hurricanes - 25
newpower - 11
gonecountry - 45
mamooshka - 7
tallen2001 - 2
Doc Indie Party Rock - 27
astorknight - 4
rgreen0625  - 3
Cody Wants Out... - 3
rowellfarm490 - 1
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 51
campbellssoup - 16
Sambalada - 7
Mic Technique - 25
Az Paynter - 1
Red - 3
Alex1901 - 4
Mirago  - 28 
Juanca - 7
House Lannister - 13
peacebone - 15
Glove Slap - 28
Unhinged - 1 

Following

Zach
Ky
filthy
@crapkuki23

#1

Like A Prayer

Madonna

Total Points: 2457

Billboard Hot 100: 1⁽³⁾

Billboard Top 100 of 1989: 25

From: Like A Prayer

Lead single from the album of the same name, "Like A Prayer" was released in March of 1989, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 April 22^nd holding its place for 3 weeks. Additionally, it hit No. 1 in over 20 countries.

The opening guitar riff is played by Prince in an uncredited appearance.

It's music video (which was condemned by the Vatican) proved to be highly controversial as it portrays Madonna as a witness to the murder of a girl by white supremacists. While a black man is arrested for the murder, Madonna hides in a church for safety seeking strength to go forth as a witness. The clip depicts a church and Catholic symbols such as stigmata. It also features a Ku Klux Klan-style cross burning, and a dream about kissing a black saint.

7 of you score p-p-p-p-perfect placements with this winning the rankdown!

Madonna's 3^rd (and final) 80's rankdown win...

@phillippe - 3
craziaskowboi  - 32
singingrulebritannia - 4
God - 1
Butterflies & Hurricanes - 17
newpower - 3
gonecountry - 2
mamooshka - 3
tallen2001 - 1
Doc Indie Party Rock  - 30
astorknight - 3
rgreen0625 - 2
Cody Wants Out...  - 26
rowellfarm490 - 5
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 41
campbellssoup  - 31
Sambalada - 1
Mic Technique - 2
Az Paynter  - 30
Red - 2
Alex1901 - 22
Mirago - 1
Juanca - 1
House Lannister - 1
peacebone - 3
Glove Slap  - 1 
Unhinged  - 2 

Following

Zach
Ky
filthy
@crapkuki23

That's it folks!

Hope you enjoyed the rankdown!

Thanks for participating and for all the wonderful conversation that took place about this awesome year in music!

Moving along to the Billboard 1980 Rankdown and submissions are now due January 19^th!

Stay tuned for the soon to be launched Billboard 1981 Rankdown as well.

The Billboard 1989 Rankdown

Madonna - Like A Prayer
Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal
Janet Jackson - Miss You Much
Roxette - The Look
Fine Young Cannibals - She Drives Me Crazy
Madonna - Express Yourself
The Cure - Lovesong
Tears For Fears - Sowing The Seeds Of Love
Neneh Cherry - Buffalo Stance
When In Rome - The Promise
Madonna - Cherish
Roxette - Listen To Your Heart
Paula Abdul - Straight Up 
Bangles - Eternal Flame
Bobby Brown - My Prerogative
Martika - Toy Soldiers
Paula Abdul - Cold Hearted
Love and Rockets - So Alive  
Donna Summer - This Time I Know It's For Real
B-52's - Love Shack
Young M.C. - Bust A Move
Cher - If I Could Turn Back Time
Guns N' Roses - Welcome To The Jungle
Guns N' Roses - Paradise City
Mike and The Mechanics - The Living Years
Bangles - In Your Room
Jody Watley - Real Love
Karyn White - Secret Rendezvous
Richard Marx - Right Here Waiting
Bobby Brown - Every Little Step
Edie Brickell and The New Bohemians - What I Am
Duran Duran - I Don't Want Your Love
Fine Young Cannibals - Good Thing
Tone Loc - Wild Thing
Don Henley - The End Of The Innocence
R.E.M. - Stand
Paula Abdul - Forever Your Girl
Def Leppard - Armageddon It
Taylor Dayne - Don't Rush Me
Soul II Soul - Keep On Movin' 
Prince - Batdance
Guns N' Roses - Patience
Skid Row - 18 And Life
Phil Collins - Two Hearts
Sheena Easton - The Lover In Me
Karyn White - The Way You Love Me
Bobby Brown - On Our Own
Anita Baker - Giving You The Best That I Got
Aerosmith - Love In An Elevator
Richard Marx - Satisfied
Boy Meets Girl - Waiting For A Star To Fall
Alice Cooper - Poison 
Babyface - It's No Crime
Tone Loc - Funky Cold Medina
Vanessa Williams - Dreamin'
Expose - What You Don't Know
Poison - Every Rose Has Its Thorn
Eddie Money - Walk On Water
New Kids On The Block - You Got It (The Right Stuff) 
Simply Red - If You Don't Know Be By Now
.38 Special - Second Chance
Gloria Estefan - Don't Wanna Lose You
Deon Estus - Heaven Help Me
Rick Astley - She Wants To Dance With Me  
Bon Jovi - Born To Be My Baby
Debbie Gibson - Lost In Your Eyes
Bobby Brown - Roni
Lita Ford - Close My Eyes Forever
Donny Osmond - Soldier Of Love  
Boys Club - I Remember Holding You  
Bobby Brown - Rock Wit'cha
Great White - Once Bitten, Twice Shy
Bon Jovi - I'll Be There For You
Bon Jovi - Lay Your Hands On Me
Breathe - How Can I Fall?
Jeff Healey Band - Angel Eyes
Milli Vanilli - Girl You Know It's True
Bad English - When I See You Smile
Warrant - Heaven
Bette Midler - Wind Beneath My Wings
Michael Damian - Rock On
Rod Stewart - My Heart Can't Tell You No 
Dino - I Like It
Natalie Cole - Miss You Like Crazy
Chicago - Look Away
Samantha Fox - I Wanna Have Some Fun
Sheriff - When I'm With You  
Milli Vanilli - Blame It On The Rain
New Kids On The Block - Hangin' Tough
Will To Power - Baby, I Love Your Way-Freebird
Tiffany - All This Time
Sa-fire - Thinking Of You
New Kids On The Block - Cover Girl
Milli Vanilli - Baby Don't Forget My Number
Cher and Peter Cetera - After All
Ann Wilson and Robin Zander - Surrender To Me
White Lion - When The Children Cry
New Kids On The Block - I'll Be Loving You (Forever)
Milli Vanilli - Girl I'm Gonna Miss You
Surface - Shower Me With Your Love

[mamooshka]

She performed this groundbreaking song at the Stonewall Inn in NYC to a surprised audience just a couple of days ago, on New Year's Eve. Another fun RD - thanks UH.

Attachment Deleted

[gonecountry]

Thanks Unhinged!

Janet got robbed, though I am 100% fine with LAP at the top.

SMH at all the love for The Look. What the damn hell?!?

All in all a pretty good Top 10. Heavy metal/hair bands got a bad rap- except for Bon Jovi as their 89 output was pretty weak.

[Red]

Jan 2, 2019 9:02:41 GMT -5 Unhinged said:

Sambalada - 88

Thankfully, the other part of my far and away top two won, to no surprise whatsoever. Unlike in other years, where I was fine with Madonna winning but not over the moon about it, this particular Madonna song is the one that deserves it the most. There was a single ranking outside of the top 35. Good lord, lol.

Another great job, as always, Unhinged. Now, let's see if I can motivate myself to do 1980...

[House Lannister]

Jan 2, 2019 9:14:42 GMT -5 Unhinged said:

#6

Express Yourself

Madonna

Total Points: 2151

Billboard Hot 100: 2⁽²⁾

Billboard Top 100 of 1989: 55

From: Like A Prayer

The song was later involved in some controversy with singer Lady Gaga who was accused of using elements from "Express Yourself" for her 2011 No. 1 hit "Born This Way," but we won't get into that, it's reductive...

I see what you did there.

Had no idea that Sowing the Seeds was political commentary on Maggie Thatcher.

Is that the end? No!

No clue that the guitar riff on Like a Prayer was by Prince! Glad to see that it won though for more reasons other than I picked it at number 1.

That video cost her a sponsorship with Pepsi. The choir you hear is by Andrae Crouch.

[newpower]

Great winner: excellent song and epic video. I didn't know The Look was so popular. It's one of my favorites by Roxette. Also, FYC Top 5 is more than I expected.
As always, great job Unhinged . Thanks!

[singingrulebritannia]

Dec 31, 2018 13:28:53 GMT -5 singingrulebritannia said:

On a side-note, "Straight Up" was only 7 points behind "Cherish"...wow, that's close, and very intriguing. Now I'm deeply curious to see how many points #10 has. If my spontaneous edit that just as easily could've not happened at all was the reason Paula missed the top 10, I will be shook to my core.

Dec 31, 2018 10:05:42 GMT -5 Unhinged said:

#13

Straight Up

Paula Abdul

Total Points: 1927

Jan 2, 2019 8:17:22 GMT -5 Unhinged said:

#10

The Promise

When In Rome

Total Points: 1967

So it ended up being a gap of 40. I only had "Straight Up" at, like, #26 before the edit, so to answer my own question, no I didn't change what was #10.

Chronologically, it had been 3 rankdown years since a top 10 of mine won...so, that's nice.

[Ky]

I'm so glad that This Time I Know It's For Real (my #1 song of the year) made top 20. That was pretty unexpected, just like #s 5 and 7-10 were. Great rankdown. I wish Janet would've snuck in to #2 over her brother.

[Alex1901]

Solid expected winner. I underranked this. Thanks for hosting!

[gonecountry]

Looking forward to the 1980 rankdown. There was some classics I was unaware of (or had forgotten) and a few cheesy tunes that I am ashamed to admit I love (Him by Rupert Hines). IMO, there is about 10% pure garbage. Otherwise, it is very interesting to see what a transition year that 1980 was - in between the disco year and the English Invasion (part 2) of 1982/1983.

I'll leave you with a new favorite from 1980

[Doc Indie Party Rock]

I'm gonna mesh in my own top 10 of the year with these last reveals. Also some of these are actual missing numbers on my list


#10.
The Promise - When In Rome
Out of the actual songs left here this would have been in my top 3. I also charted this one in 1988. "The Promise" is a true 80's ONE HIT WONDER.  the second single "Heaven Knows" was horrible, but  In 1990 "Sight Of Your Tears" was released. That sounded more like something I would chart. In fact I did.

Sight Of Your Tears


10.

photo upload free

Live On Video (Trans-X) - Don't Stop  (DOC #1)
My actual #10 is from a New Wave band you all have heard of, but were singing under a different name. Pascal Languirand was the man behind the classic "Living On Video". In 1989 together with his wife "Lady D." they formed the short lived Hi-NRG duo  Live On Video. The name of the band was a direct hint as to who they really were., but you will also recall his unique vocals. The title of the song "Don't Stop" was another hint. If you are a fan of "Living On Video" check out "Don't Stop" and "Fascination"





#9. Buffalo Stance - Neneh Cherry (HOT 100 #3) (DOC #20)
Contrary to what some of you might think. I actually enjoyed this song a lot. Remember that missing #100 on my actual YE list of 1989. Cool chorus, and very melodic.


#8. Sowing The Seeds Of Love - Tears For Fears (HOT 100 #2) (DOC #10)
This is another missing number from my YE chart. With a peak of #10 this was my #66 song on my 1989 list. "Break It Down Again" from 1992 was the last time I charted the band in my top 10. This year I also charted "I Love You But I'm Lost".

8.



Guns N' Roses - Welcome To The Jungle (HOT 100 #7) (DOC #1)
My actual #8 was this Hair Metal scream fest. Thank goodness this band hung around to combat Nirvana and all its grunge clones. 




#7. Lovesong - The Cure (HOT 100 #2) (DOC #1)
Damn! I was hoping this one would win. It's my last surviving Top 10 song, and an actual top 10 song on my 1989 chart. It's a shame that after such an epic discography this was their only top 10 on HOT 100. This is my actual #9 song for 1989.

This is were I ranked
7. Bad English - When I See You Smile  (HOT 100 #1) (DOC #1)

#6. Express Yourself - Madonna
Here is a song by Madonna I never really cared for, which is odd because it has some similar vibes to "Freedom 90". I think I felt the song was way too slow for its own good. 

6.

bleed me dry new vegas

Johnny O - Fantasy Girl (DOC #1)
My #6 song was the highest Freestyle song I charted that year. Ironically by early 1990, Freestyle was devolving into a more housey sound that I didn't dig on, but this song was still 100% freestyle, and a huge club hit. This isn't the official music video but a promotional one that he made years later. Johnny Ortiz throwing some vintage dance moves while two guys are supossably playing guitar is  the real fantasy here.



#5. She Drives Me Crazy - Fine Young Cannibals
Another one that rubbed me the wrong way. Nice vocals but the song didn't work for me at all.

this slot is reserved for 

5.



Skid Row - 18 And Life (HOT 100 #4) (DOC #2)
Gone are the days when you could find Metal ballads this epic on the charts. In 1990 Skid Row returned to my top 10 with the Powerballad "I Remember You".  I always thought Sebastian Bach vocals were even more powerful that Axel Rose's. Tis a shame both these amazing vocalists were victims to alcohol. It really killed off their vocals.




#4. The Look - Roxette 
Another of my top hits of 1989. Nice to see it make top 5 here.

4.



Tom Petty - I Won't Back Down (HOT 100 #12) (DOC #1)
My actual #4 song is reserved for Tom Petty. The song clicked with me the moment I heard it and raced up my charts to #1 for 4 weeks.



#3. Miss You Much - Janet Jackson
Not bad, but I was more into early 80's Janet. The songs that didn't become top big and overplayed.

3.



Warrant - Heaven (HOT 100 #2) (U.S. ROCK #3) (DOC #1)
My #3 song is the timeless Powerballad from Warrant. Their only HOT 100 top 10 hit. This was the #1 song on Pirate Radio's 1989 rock countdown. People might say what they want to now, but this will always be the strongest era for hard rock music on the HOT 100 pop charts.  Jani Lane was one of my favorite rock vocalists ever, and this song is my favorite Rock ballad ever. yes, even more than "Lips Of An Angel" 





#2. Smooth Criminal - Michael Jackson (DOC #7)
A great Michael Jackson. One of my favorites. His mini orgasms really hit the spot on this song. I would have preferred Michael beating out Madonna this one time. This was my actual #50 on my year end list. The highest position I had given a Michael Jackson song since 1983's "Thriller".

2.

free web image hosting

JWB Hits The Beat -One Day In My Life (Hi-Energy) (DOC #1 2 x)
My actual #2 song was a German Hi- NRG song under the artist name JWB Hits the Beat. IT was sung by Jörg W. Büsing. No. Not George W. Bush.  :kii:  it it goes to the synth melody of Lime's "Babe We're Gonna Love Tonight". "One Day In MY Life" went to my #1 two times in 1989 with a break in between of two months. The reason was I had only heard it on KROQ a few times. Yes KROQ played this song. Later that year I got a cassette with the entire song and it rose to #1 again. The lyrics are peculiar. It s about a guy riding on a train and hooking up with a woman who turns out to be a guy. :o hence the title "One Day In My Life". The way the synths are played also gives the song the effect of sounding like a train in motion. 



#1. Like A Prayer - Madonna
A great song, which I also charted. In fact it comes in at my #85. Sandwiched right in between my Brtiny Fox song and another song by the man who holds my actual #1 of 1989.

1.



Alice Cooper - Poison (HOT 100 #7) (DOC #1)
Nothing was gonna compete with this Heavy Metal comeback not even a two time #1 Hi-NRG song. "Poison" with its' Leather and Lace perfect lyrics shot up to my #1 and domintated my chart for seven weeks. What more can I say to praise this song? Long live Heavy Metal.

[Doc Indie Party Rock]

Unhinged

Once again this was loads of fun. I love discovering new never before music other members post. looking forward to 1980. I was too young to compile charts for 1980, but I'll dream up a list of 100 songs you all would know I would have charted.

[Sambalada]

Okay wow flawless winner. Didn't even realize she had won that much. Thank you for doing this again Unhinged!

[Juanca]

10. The Promise (5): I learned about this song only in the early 00s, as a friend DJ included it in one of his 1980s mixes. It was love at first listen! And it's accompanied me at several important life moments, from road trips to farewells to tough times. I'm very glad it made it to the top 10, although I was hoping it could be in the top 10.

9. Buffalo Stance (55): I only heard this in the late 90s, probably after 7 Seconds was a global hit and everyone was talking about her other popular song. This is not my preferred genre, but I can totally see its appeal. I'm not mad about it making it to the top 10, although I would've preferred it leaving at #10 -in any case I AM happy my only bottom 75 song left now

8. Sowing the Seeds of Love (19): A personal weekly #2. I really liked the uniqueness of this song, with the multiple melodies, diverse musical arrangements, complex production, and of course strong vocals. Even the slight mess that happens in the middle of the song is okay, as Curt Smith reemerges at the right time to bring melody back. A non-conventional song that was a breath of fresh air in 1989, and a well deserving top 10 in this RD.

7. Lovesong (4): Well, now this does suck. Three of the most interesting songs are leaving far too early! This has such hypnotizing and haunting melody, instrumentation, vocals... One of The Cure's most inspired moments. The fact that it worked pretty well as an Adele ballad is also testament to the strength of this song. This was another big hit back home, a personal #2, and one of my all-time favorite TC songs.

6. Express Yourself (11): This was a big hit back home, although we only played the original album version. I know everyone talks about how much of funk influence this has--but for Latinos, this also had a lot of Latin vibe with the brass and percussion sounds. I liked it enough when I first heard it, but I liked the Shep Pettibone remix much, much better. Plus, let's pause for a moment and remember how this was the MOST EXPENSIVE video at that time --and it was a big moment to witness that masterpiece of video.



5. She Drives Me Crazy (25): This was the song that I felt like a shoulda-been-Bee-Gees comeback hit lol. This was a big hit back home and a personal chart-topper. It still sounds good and cool, with the guitar and drum beats, and vocal melodies -I wouldn't consider it top 5 yearend material, but at least it's not a typical pop song.

4. The Look (18): Their first big hit back home, and first personal chart-topper. A strong pop-rock song that highlighted the strengths of Per and Margie. Not my favorite Roxette song, but still a very good, timeless song. Although I would've preferred seeing LTYH in the top 10, I'm glad they managed to have one top 10 in this RD. As I shared before, this was a HUGE album era, as they managed to have 5 big hits back home (and 6 personal chart-toppers).

3. Miss You Much (16): I almost had this in my top 10, but in the end I decided to give some extra support to a few other songs that indeed needed it much more. Unfortunately this wasn't played back home, but I still consider it a classic and one of the best of its genre, with another amazing video --although I still like Rhythm Nation more. Good to see three legends in the top 5, though!!

2. Smooth Criminal (7): As I shared in the 1988 RD, I didn't care much for IJCSLY, Bad, TWYMMF, or even MITM at that time. The first two barely scraped my top 5, the third barely scraped my top 10, and the latter didn't even make it to my chart. However, everything changed when one day I was watching a videoclip show, and they debuted the extended version of the video for this song :o Luckily the show was repeated, and I recorded the video in a Betamax tape, so that I could play it on repeat. I even took a cassette recorder and recorded the song from the TV. I LOVED everything about it. The beat, melody, harmonies, the mysterious verses and more epic choruses, and all the music that comes after the second chorus and into the bridge --brass, bass, synths, drumbeat, sirens-- and then all the MJ vocal runs in the last minute or so that just work perfectly for the song. This was by far my favorite song off Bad, and its only personal chart-topper this era, even when back home it was just a minor hit less popular than IJCSLY. ALSO, it's worth remembering the video and the film Moonwalker, with the anti-gravity leaning choreography, and other multiple effects. This was another example of how much thought went behind video production back in the day...


1. Like A Prayer (1): YES!!! This was my clearest yearend #1 for this RD. It was a multi-week #1 in my personal chart, and my song of the year. It was also a big hit back home, but unfortunately didn't make it to the top 10 of the year. I was already a Madonna stan, so when our #1 radio station announced that the new Madonna song was coming, I was super excited. When I first heard the song, I was astonished. I had been surprised before by Live To Tell and Papa Don't Preach, but this was something else. From the intro with that Prince guitar and the shut door to the church choir followed by M singing practically a cappella? I mean, she had been criticized for not being a good singer and she faced that with an ambitious vocal challenge? Well, she pulled it off!! The song itself was different for the typical pop song, with very subdued verses that focus on Madonna's ability to connect emotionally with her vocals. Then the crescendo after the second chorus that in a sort of mysterious manner keeps evolving and then transforms into that mix of disco-inspired gospel background chorus with percussion and bass upfront, and then we are practically taken to church... BRAVO!! At the same time, this was the first moment I remember of TOTAL expectation of what she was going to come up with, musically and visually. Even the TV commercial announcing the Pepsi 2' commercial (!!) was epic, and of course the Pepsi commercial was epicness realized (below). At the same time, the video (below) was an event, and it was so much!! After this, backlash started. Talk shows (eg Cristina) would dedicate time to talk about Madonna's heresy (!). I was LOVING it because, despite my strong catholicism at that time, I GOT her message. LAP totally cemented M as a unique mature star, both musically and visually. I'm glad I had the chance to live those moments Oh, by the way, Prince is not only heard in the intro of LAP. The single version of LAP (the only version played by one of our pop stations) had a different ending with additional synth sounds and much more of Prince's guitar (some of this guitar is of course also heard in the ending track of LAP Act of Contrition)





Thanks, Unhinged for another interesting RD!! (although I'd likely make one final post here tomorrow...)

[Zeebz]

“Like A Prayer” is immaculate, thrilled to see it come out on top. Far and away my favorite song from this year.

Thanks for hosting, Unhinged! Loved following along even if I didn’t get the chance to participate :)

[mamooshka]

Like her or not, Madonna broke countless cultural barriers early in her career, re-defined social norms and ultimately paved the way for many artists of this generation. Nearly every move she made at the time was met with public rebuke, panned by critics, censured by the right-wing establishment and condemned by the church. Fortunately, she didn’t break or cave in to the pressure. The evolution of pop music and art over the last 30 years would have been markedly different without her influence.

Attachment Deleted

[Unhinged]

^She’s easily the most influential female pop artist of the last 40 years.

[Juanca]

I'd just add that it wasn't that easy to be a teenage fan of Madonna either. My parents were wondering why I liked a singer that didn't sing that well, dressed like that, and was so controversial. At school, the cool guys were into AC/DC or Depeche Mode, maybe Joan Jett, but when I once shared my love for M I was met with mockery and laughter I'm glad I was able to witness her ascend, success, controversies, and alongside her the evolution of pop culture. Incredible memories!! Seriously nothing compares to that moment in pop history :)

[Juanca]

I'll share a few additional songs that (I believe) haven't been mentioned yet, but were hits back home and in my personal chart. (I managed to take a few pictures of my notebooks from 1989 when I visited Lima a month and a half ago, so I've been able to remember songs that made an impact in my chart...)

- Be With You (The Bangles): This was the 3rd single off Everything, and a mid-size hit back home. This song quickly became a favorite rock song for me --and their last personal chart-topper! I LOVED the high-energy rock vibe of this song as well as the harmonies throughout the song, and the more melodic, pop, string-laden bridge with more tender vocals. I also liked that Debbi -the drummer- had a chance to have a single with her pretty decent ocals. As I shared before, it's hard for me to choose A favorite Bangles single, but this is a frontrunner --I go back and forth from EF to WLAE to BWY. I was very surprised this peaked at such a low #30 --should've been much bigger!


- Baby Can I Hold You (Tracy Chapman): Interestingly, back home Fast Car was only a very minor hit. However, BCIHY became a BIG hit, like radio-#1 big, and a song with good recurrent airplay in 80s radio stations. This made it to #2 in my personal chart, and I still like its more traditional AC style. She'd get another #2 peak in my personal chart years later with Give Me One Reason, but I can see I like her 3 hits almost equally.


- The First Time (Robin Beck): In previous years, songs like When You Were Mine, Dress You Up, Should I Stay or Should I Go were first played in TV commercials and then in radio stations. This song's story was similar but different. It was originally recorded FOR Coca Cola TV commercial in 1987, and then I guess it became so popular that it was actually released as a single in the US and in end-88 in the UK, where it became a #1 single. Back home the story was a bit different, as the our TV commercial was obviously a Spanish version. The TV commercial was also very popular in 1988 and further popularized the phrase "Coca Cola mas y mas". Soon after Robin Beck's song became a radio hit, reaching the top 5 also in my personal chart. To make things even more interesting, famous Mexican actress and singer Rocio Banquellis (star of one of the most famous soap operas ever "Los Ricos Tambien LLoran" that turned Veronica Castro into a global star) recorded a Spanish version of the song, "Primera Vez", which would also become a big hit in Spanish-only radio stations back home (and in several Latin American countries). So yeah, this was overall quite a major success back home.




- Whispers (Elton John): This song was promoted as the debut single off Sleeping with the Past. It was his biggest hit since I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That, reaching top 5 back home, and runner-up in my personal chart (behind Cold Hearted) in November '89. A good AC ballad, played almost like a bolero -which I really liked. I'd prefer Sacrifice over this one, but I still liked the sophisticated, elegant sound of it, perfect for sunsets


- I Beg Your Pardon (Kon Kan): This song had two lives back home. Initially it was played by our 3rd most popular pop station, and it barely made it to the 20s in its chart. Several months later, our #1 pop station played it and this time people responded much better to it, making it reach the top. I also only paid attention to it a bit late, but then it made it to the top of my personal chart for 2 non-consecutive weeks in October and November '89. This song introduced me to the original I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, which I also really liked. The song was original with the use of samples and all, but also with a mix of fun and moody emotions as the nostalgic vocals juxtapose the more energetic music, with a new wave / synth pop vibe that I was very fond of, and still am. I know Doc Indie Party Rock mentioned it already, but I had to mention it as it was one of the biggest hits of the year back home -and would've been in my top 20 had it made it to this RD. I also wanted to highlight that the extended version of the song also got good enough rotation in radio stations -and I loved hearing these long versions!



- Harry Houdini (Kon Kan): After the success of IBYP, radio stations played HH --and this became an even bigger hit nationwide. I think it had a more typical pop song structure and song, with a more catchy instrumentation (that keyboard!) and hooks. I also really liked it and took it to the top of my personal chart in December '89. I also loved the solid female background vocals especially at the end of the song --but I have to say that I also liked the Barry Harris' vocals, as it projected this melancholic and warm vibe that worked well for KK songs. It's worth noting that beyond the original, the extended version was also popular, and not only in like weekend night shows but also daytime shows that would randomly play the extended version -which I liked even more than the original! They would still have a few other hits in the 1990s, but will talk about them in the respective Rankdowns :)

[Unhinged]

Jan 4, 2019 21:00:50 GMT -5 Juanca said:

I'd just add that it wasn't that easy to be a teenage fan of Madonna either. My parents were wondering why I liked a singer that didn't sing that well, dressed like that, and was so controversial. At school, the cool guys were into AC/DC or Depeche Mode, maybe Joan Jett, but when I once shared my love for M I was met with mockery and laughter I'm glad I was able to witness her ascend, success, controversies, and alongside her the evolution of pop culture. Incredible memories!! Seriously nothing compares to that moment in pop history :)

That’s interesting. When I was a teenager (13-19) it was the years ‘94 - ‘00 and I have to say that it was cool to like Madonna at that time. I guess by then she had earned more respect but I never got side eye for saying I liked Madonna. Maybe it was the friends I hung around with but even the dudes didn’t slag Madonna much. It was much more difficult being an MJ stan (and still can be), for obvious reasons.