Billboard #1 Soul Songs Of 1985 Rankdown (COMPLETE)

[SHOOTER]

Chile...are we gonna need to start revoking cookout passes?!

[jtd Thee Stallion]

It’s was going oh so well and then BOOM my top 3 are gone

[Deleted]

Well this set was...an adventure

[Soulsista]

Today's extra was the breakthrough hit on the pop chart in the US for this band, peaking at #5 on the Hot 100. It matched that peak on the soul chart.

Smooth Operator - Sade

[#LisaRinna]

winning!

[Juanca]

20. We Are The World (4): I assumed this was gonna be tank, so no surprises here, but I've always liked the melody of the song, the collage of personal vocal styles, and the instrumental. I don't mind the lyrics for a charity single (at least they're not saying a complicated phrase like "thank God it's them instead of you"), but I can see how this can be seen as an outsider in a Soul chart.

19. Don't Say No (20): i think this type of organ ballad production has aged like milk. The melody is a bit monotonous with the verses and choruses kinda blending in the first half of the song. It picks up with the strings and stronger vocals in the second half, but it ended up being one the most forgettable first-listens to me.

18. Caravan Of Love (16): Nice production, strong vocals and harmonies, very sexy vibe. The melody was a bit samey-samey though, with the verses and chorus being very similar. I like the song, but I liked others much more.

17. Save Your Love (12): This was a very interesting discovery. The verses after the rap reminded me a lot of a Eurythmics song, both in terms of production and vocals, and that made it stuck in my head since my first listen.

16. Mr. Telephone Man (11): A personal top 15 in '85, after Cool made my #1. I didn't know it was a Ray Parker tune, but yeah it has the same vibe as A Woman Needs Love. Nice melody and good memories.

15. Cherish (6): Huh??? This is too low! It was their last top 5 in my personal chart, a hit in Peruvian radio stations that has maintained a good recurrent airplay. I think it has passed the test of time -in either version. Great vocals and harmonies -and the ad-libs in the last minute- nd very nice melody throughout the song.

14. Gotta Get You Home Tonight (18): Again that organ ballad production that I'm not a big fan of, and the melody wasn't that appealing to me compared with other ballads that I found much more interesting in this list.

13. Rock Me Tonight (15): My favorite of this type of ballad. I could've ranked it as high as #12, but after several listens I found the other songs a bit more interesting.

12. Back In Stride (13): This had a very nice classic post-disco, funk instrumental that I found memorable in this list. I like other uptempo songs better, but it was a good discovery.

11. You Are My Lady (17): I don't mind seeing one of his songs this high. He's a pretty good vocalist, and I think at least one of these types of ballads deserved a high spot even if I'm not a big fan of that style.

[Soulsista]

Welcome back!

Two perfect rankings kick off the next set of reveals. Four people will lose a Top 5 while another 4 will lose a bottom 5.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Tags}Private Dancer SHOOTER mamooshka gonecountry rowellfarm490 #LisaRinna sergejdordij Ivy Leegue™ @antigonerising wyckyd Sambalada 🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 .indulgecountry Mirago annoymous1 jtd Thee Stallion stallie Jay D83 B-Boy @mirza Juanca peacebone craziaskowboi

[Soulsista]

10. Rhythm Of The Night - DeBarge

Written by Diane Warren, "Rhythm Of The Night" was featured on the soundtrack of the movie The Last Dragon. With a Top 5 peak on the Hot 100, it's their biggest pop hit.


Stats
Chart Entry: February 23, 1985
Peak Date: April 27, 1985
Weeks At #1: 1
Weeks In Top 10: 8
Weeks On Chart: 18
Hot 100 Peak: #3

Points: 235
Average: 11.21

Juanca - 2
mamooshka - 4
@mirza - 4
Mirago - 5

Jay D83 - 7
Ivy Leegue™ - 8
B-Boy - 8
#LisaRinna - 9
SHOOTER - 10
@antigonerising - 10

Soulsista - 11
wyckyd - 11
sergejdordij - 12
annoymous1 - 12
rowellfarm490 - 13
Sambalada - 15
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 15
jtd Thee Stallion - 15
stallie - 15
peacebone - 15

Private Dancer - 16
gonecountry - 16
.indulgecountry - 18
craziaskowboi - 18


We'll lose another #1 with the next reveal...4 more will lose a bottom 5.

[Soulsista]

9. Hangin' On a String (Contemplating) - Loose Ends

"Hangin' On a String" was their breakthrough hit in the US. Produced by Nick Martinelli, it's the first song by a British group to top the soul chart.


Stats
Chart Entry: May 4, 1985
Peak Date: July 13, 1985
Weeks At #1: 1
Weeks In Top 10: 8
Weeks On Chart: 21
Hot 100 Peak: #43

Points: 263
Average: 10.04

peacebone - 1
B-Boy - 2
rowellfarm490 - 3
Private Dancer - 5
gonecountry - 5
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 5
Jay D83 - 5

@antigonerising - 6
wyckyd - 6
Sambalada - 7
Soulsista - 9
.indulgecountry - 10

stallie - 11
Ivy Leegue™ - 12
craziaskowboi - 12
jtd Thee Stallion - 13
mamooshka - 14
sergejdordij - 14
SHOOTER - 15
@mirza - 15

annoymous1 - 16
#LisaRinna - 17
Mirago - 19
Juanca - 19


The next reveal will see the loss of 2 more #1s...and the final #20.

[SHOOTER]

I under-ranked this a bit; it's a jam!

[peacebone]

I mean, seeing how these results had been going had me terrified I'd be losing "Hangin' on a String" in the bottom 5...so I'll take a top 10 finish?

There are few songs out there that just feel as...delectable and sensual to me as it does. So funky and groovy, and it also feels like such a perfect song to listen to late at night to me.

[Soulsista]

8. Fresh - Kool & The Gang

In addition to topping the soul chart, "Fresh" also hit #1 on the dance chart while reaching the Top 10 on the Hot 100 and AC charts as well as on Cash Box.


Stats
Chart Entry: March 16, 1985
Peak Date: May 18, 1985
Weeks At #1: 1
Weeks In Top 10: 8
Weeks On Chart: 19
Hot 100 Peak: #9

Points: 279
Average: 9.38

@antigonerising - 1
Juanca - 1
sergejdordij - 5
stallie - 5

mamooshka - 6
rowellfarm490 - 6
Ivy Leegue™ - 6
B-Boy - 6
Soulsista - 7
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 7
gonecountry - 8
#LisaRinna - 8
annoymous1 - 9
peacebone - 9
craziaskowboi - 9
Mirago - 10

Sambalada - 11
SHOOTER - 12
jtd Thee Stallion - 12
wyckyd - 13

@mirza - 17
Jay D83 - 18
.indulgecountry - 19
Private Dancer - 20


Another #1 will be lost with the next reveal...3 others will lose a bottom 20.

[Soulsista]

7. Part Time Lover - Stevie Wonder

With this song, Stevie became the first artist to hit #1 on 4 different Billboard charts with the same song (Hot 100, soul, dance, AC). It also topped the charts in Belgium, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Portugal, and Spain.


Stats
Chart Entry: September 7, 1985
Peak Date: October 19, 1985
Weeks At #1: 6
Weeks In Top 10: 11
Weeks On Chart: 20
Hot 100 Peak: #1 (1 week)

Points: 286
Average: 9.08

sergejdordij - 1
mamooshka - 2
@mirza - 2
craziaskowboi - 3
rowellfarm490 - 5
Ivy Leegue™ - 5
Juanca - 5

#LisaRinna - 7
jtd Thee Stallion - 7
Soulsista - 8
@antigonerising - 8
annoymous1 - 8
Jay D83 - 8
peacebone - 8
Mirago - 9

B-Boy - 11
gonecountry - 13
SHOOTER - 14
wyckyd - 14
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 14
Private Dancer - 15

Sambalada - 16
.indulgecountry - 17
stallie - 18


We break the 300-point mark with another #1 loss...and 3 more bottom 5 losses.

[B-Boy]

RIP to “Gotta Get You Home Tonight” and “Hanging On A String”.

I can’t get enough of “Fresh”. It’s playing in my head as I type.

The Last Dragon is the first thing I think of when I hear “Rhythm Of The Night”.

[Soulsista]

6. Nightshift - The Commodores

This tribute to Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson was easily the biggest pop hit for The Commodores following the exit of Lionel Richie. The song also marked the band's final Top 40 appearance on the Hot 100. Fantasia sampled it in her song "Lose To Win".


Stats
Chart Entry: January 19, 1985
Peak Date: March 16, 1985
Weeks At #1: 4
Weeks In Top 10: 9
Weeks On Chart: 22
Hot 100 Peak: #3

Points: 302
Average: 8.42

Ivy Leegue™ - 1
stallie - 2
gonecountry - 3
wyckyd - 3
sergejdordij - 4
Mirago - 4
jtd Thee Stallion - 4
#LisaRinna - 5
craziaskowboi - 5

SHOOTER - 6
annoymous1 - 7
@mirza - 7
peacebone - 7
mamooshka - 9
Sambalada - 10
Juanca - 10

🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 11
Soulsista - 12
rowellfarm490 - 12
@antigonerising - 12
.indulgecountry - 15

Jay D83 - 16
B-Boy - 18
Private Dancer - 19


The top 5, in chronological order:

Missing You - Diana Ross
You Give Good Love - Whitney Houston
Freeway Of Love - Aretha Franklin
Saving All My Love For You - Whitney Houston
Oh Sheila - Ready For The World

Will we see an all-female top 4? Will we see an all-Whitney top 2? Will Diana or Aretha come out on top? Or will Ready For The World surprise everyone?

Find out when the Billboard #1 Soul Songs Of 1985 Rankdown concludes tomorrow!

[Private Dancer]

Using the powers of my crystal ball and the mirror mirror on the wall...

This is how I see it

5. Ready For The World
4 Missing You
3. Freeway Of Love
1 and 2 will both be Whitney

I'm glad Oh Sheila is in the top 5 that's song slaps! And I'm suprised Missing You is as high as it is. It's not Diana's best.

[gonecountry]

my guesses
5 Oh Sheila - Ready For The World
4 Missing You - Diana Ross
3 You Give Good Love - Whitney Houston
2 Freeway Of Love - Aretha Franklin
1 Saving All My Love For You - Whitney Houston

Would not be sad to see Aretha zooming all the way to #1.

[jtd Thee Stallion]

I absolutely adore Lose to Win. Such a great sample

[Jay D83]

'Sheila' has been around for far too long, and I wouldn't have been upset if Nippy's side hoe anthem missed the top 10, too.

[#LisaRinna]

Oh yes still winning hunties!

[annoymous1]

That's a good top 5

[Deleted]

Part Time Lover deserved top 5 but I'm not mad at this top 5 at all tbh

[Soulsista]

Today's extra is the first hit for this funnyman. Written and produced by Rick James, it peaked at #8 on the soul chart and #2 on the Hot 100.

Party All The Time - Eddie Murphy

[craziaskowboi]

Nov 19, 2020 12:14:08 GMT -5 Soulsista said:

13. Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake) - Freddie Jackson

craziaskowboi - 10

At work today, I got to listen to a classic American Top 40 with Casey Kasem from July 13, 1985. This song debuted that week at #35.

After another listen to it, I think I underranked it a bit, and I now have it on my list of songs to buy.

[Private Dancer]

Nov 20, 2020 13:20:39 GMT -5 gonecountry said:

my guesses
5 Oh Sheila - Ready For The World
4 Missing You - Diana Ross
3 You Give Good Love - Whitney Houston
2 Freeway Of Love - Aretha Franklin
1 Saving All My Love For You - Whitney Houston

Would not be sad to see Aretha zooming all the way to #1.

Who's zoomin who?

[.indulgecountry]

Rooting for an Aretha or Whitney win here. <3

[Soulsista]

Welcome back!

We kick off our final set of reveals with a perfect ranking. Someone will lose a #1 while 3 others will lose a bottom 5.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Tags}Private Dancer SHOOTER mamooshka gonecountry rowellfarm490 #LisaRinna sergejdordij Ivy Leegue™ @antigonerising wyckyd Sambalada 🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 .indulgecountry Mirago annoymous1 jtd Thee Stallion stallie Jay D83 B-Boy @mirza Juanca peacebone craziaskowboi

[Jay D83]

Let's gooooooooo!

[Soulsista]

5. Oh Sheila - Ready For The World

This Prince-sounding track was their breakthrough hit on the Hot 100. It also topped the dance chart and hit #1 in Canada.


Stats
Chart Entry: July 20, 1985
Peak Date: September 21, 1985
Weeks At #1: 2
Weeks In Top 10: 8
Weeks On Chart: 19
Hot 100 Peak: #1 (1 week)

Points: 308
Average: 8.17

rowellfarm490 - 1
mamooshka - 3
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 3
peacebone - 3
Soulsista - 4
Private Dancer - 4
SHOOTER - 4
Ivy Leegue™ - 4
B-Boy - 4
jtd Thee Stallion - 5

sergejdordij - 6
Sambalada - 6
annoymous1 - 6
Mirago - 8
Juanca - 8
craziaskowboi - 8
@antigonerising - 9

Jay D83 - 13
.indulgecountry - 14
stallie - 14
gonecountry - 15

#LisaRinna - 18
wyckyd - 18
@mirza - 18


Two people will lose their #1 with the next reveal...and two others will lose a bottom 5.

[Private Dancer]

Oh Sheila such a good song. I know next is Diana's Missing You