Guessing Game: The Top 160 of the 1980s

[Cerebro]

Remember at the end of my 1990s guessing game (http://pulsemusic.proboards12.com/index.cgi?board=personal&action=display&thread=1077395027) when I said that if I were ambitious enough I'd do one for the 1980s?

Well I was so I did.

The last game got such a good turn-out I figured I might just be insane enough to do it again.  I dusted off the "rough draft" of my 80s chart that I've had sitting around for several years, overhauled it, and now, here it is.

Same rules now as is the previous game.  The souce is my (projected) version of the pop chart for the years 1980 through 1989 (projected performance of the top songs, since I didn't actually keep a chart then).  All songs on the list topped either the Billboard chart, the R&R chart, both, or neither and just came very very close to doing so.  So keep that in mind when guessing your answers.  While my 1990s chart tended to favor R&R, this decade may tend to favor Billboard.  So, again, keep that in mind.

Why did I do a top 160 instead of a top 150 like before?  Simple.  Because 160 is 80 times 2 (it is an 80s chart, after all ;) ).  Well, there's that and the fact that song #160 is one of my personal faves so I kinda wanted it to make the list (Hey, I wrote this thing.  Why not have my cake and eat it too!).  Besides, there was so much great music in the 80s that I felt it deserved 10 extra songs.  This chart ended up way longer than the 90s chart (about 325 songs, like I said, many more hits that decade).  Rather than listing them all, I'll cut things off at #200 just to give you an idea of some of the songs that you won't be guessing during the game:

200  Paul Simon - Late In The Evening
199  Howard Jones - No One Is To Blame
198  Phil Collins - Sussudio
197  Fine Young Cannibals - She Drives Me Crazy
196  Expose' - Seasons Change
195  Bon Jovi - I'll Be There For You
194  Men At Work - Overkill
193  Def Leppard - Love Bites
192  Christopher Cross - Ride Like The Wind
191  Toto - Africa
190  Club Nouveau - Lean On Me
189  Stevie Wonder - Part-Time Lover
188  Dan Fogelberg - Longer
187  Billy Ocean - When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going
186  Lionel Richie - You Are
185  Madonna - Open Your Heart
184  Whitney Houston - Where Do Broken Hearts Go
183  Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Want To Have Fun
182  George Michael - Father Figure
181  George Harrison - Got My Mind Set On You
180  Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band - Shame On The Moon
179  U2 - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
178  Greg Kihn Band - Jeopardy
177  Janet Jackson - When I Think Of You
176  Will To Power - Baby, I Love Your Way/Freebird Medley (Free Baby)
175  Gloria Estefan - Don't Wanna Lose You
174  Billy Vera and The Beaters - At This Moment
173  Bruce Hornsby and The Range - The Way It Is
172  Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band - Shakedown
171  Milli Vanilli - Girl You Know It's True
170  Neil Diamond - Love On The Rocks
169  Whitney Houston - Saving All My Love For You
168  George Michael - Monkey
167  Aretha Franklin and George Michael - I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)
166  Simply Red - If You Don't Know Me By Now
165  Richard Marx - Hold On To The Nights
164  Madonna - Live To Tell
163  Bon Jovi - Bad Medicine
162  Escape Club - Wild, Wild West
161  Air Supply - All Out Of Love

Let's get this thing started!

160.  This British frontman-turned-solo artist is probably best known for his quirky videos which are chock full of bizarre visual effects.  With this song, he replaced his former group in the top spot, too.

159.  A hit by Steveland Hardaway that peaked at the end of the decade's first year.

158.  It's easy to figure out who the artist of this catchy tune is, because her name is mentioned about 30 times throughout the song (yes, I counted).

157.  This song is most prominently remembered because of it's use in one of the decade's signature cult films, The Breakfast Club.

156.  These Swedes would like you to put your head to your chest and hear the beating.

155.  This former Doobie seems to have memory problems...but only in the presence of others.

154.  The only act to ever have their Grammy revoked.  A lesson for us all:  if you're going to lip-synch, make sure that the recording you're synching to doesn't skip.  Their first song to top the R&R chart.

153.  Third and final chart topper for this duo, who's name could easily be a sound effect in the classlc Batman TV series.

152.  This British rock act would like to sweeten the deal.  But if you ask me, the action they're suggesting is only likely to attract ants.

151.  Yet, another British artist, and a former member of groups (Blind Faith and Traffic).  This song peaked higher than most of his other hits.

[mst3k]

Let's get started with:

160) Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer

[Cerebro]

mst3k said:

Let's get started with:

160) Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer

And that's a good one to start with, too.

[mst3k]

159) All I can think of is Stevie Wonder's "Master Blaster," but I think his real last name is Morris...

[Keith3000]

All I can say is this game will be way harder than the '90s one, especially at this stage! Here are some guesses...

157. Simple Minds - Don't You Forget About Me
156. Roxette - Listen To Your Heart
155. Michael McDonald - I Keep Forgetting (?)
154. Milli Vanilli - Girl, I'm Gonna Miss You
152. Def Leppard - Pour Some Sugar On Me (?)

[mst3k]

...and the rest:

158. Chaka Khan - I Feel For You
153. Wham! - Everything She Wants
151. Steve Winwood - Higher Love

[Cerebro]

Hey, look at that!  All correct guesses.  Yes, mst3k, I too though Stevie Wonder's last name was Morris.  I pulled Steveland Hardaway out of Daniel Shaywaub's compendium.  I assume his facts have been accurately researched.  Next ten:


150.  The first top 10 hit for these New Jersey rockers.

149.  I suppose if you listen to enough of the songs described in the title, you'll do what the subtitle says you'll do.

148.  This one-hit wonder with an almost avian name appears to have a great deal of respect for one of the world's formost classical pianists and composers.

147.  Another one-hit wonder by an act who's name could also be attributed to an army of people armed with scissors, knives, and other sharp-edged implements.

146.  A hit by the same artist as #149.  A song that's probably about the person who rules that body of water south of Florida.

145.  One of the decade's most prolific songwriters.  This one-word song title implies that he probably won't lie to you.

144.  Remember Stella Soliel's top 30 hit from a couple of years ago?  Well, the title of this song is only half as long.

143.  The only R&R chart topper for the Divine Miss M.

142.  This cover launched the flame-haired teen who sings it to super-stardom almost overnight.

141.  A song by a hugely successful artist about a girl wanting the love and support of her father in the midst of an out-of-wedlock pregnancy.

[SPro]

141. Madonna - Papa Don't Preach

[mst3k]

150. Bon Jovi - You Give Love A Bad Name
149. Billy Ocean - There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)
148. Falco - Rock Me Amadeus
146. Billy Ocean - Caribbean Queen
145. Lionel Richie - Truly
144. Prince - Kiss
142. Tiffany - I Think We're Alone Now

[mst3k]

147. Cutting Crew - I Just Died In Your Arms
143. Bette Midler - The Rose

(Anybody else gonna guess too?)

[Cerebro]

Gee, and Keith thought this would be harder than the 90s game. All answers have been guessed correctly.

Next:


140. The name of this act is something you'd probably see printed on signs at construction sites. The title of the song...well, could be that they were in the middle of telling a knock-knock joke.

139. Hands down, the most successful duo of the decade. The were definitely in touch with the pop music audience of the time.

138. Three of the four Beatles had solo chart toppers during the decade (sorry, Ringo). Two of them topped R&R twice (but Billboard only once). This is the first of the two to score a second number one.

137. The name of this act could also describe an albino legless reptile.

136. This foreign act topped the chart at, almost exactly, the middle part of the decade.

135. A song remade as a dance song just a couple of years ago. That remake pulled an R&R oddity when two different versions of it charted concurrently.

134. A small pool of water, typically man-made, where you might toss in a quarter in the hopes that your desire will become a reality.

133. This teen could've been a huge star. But after this hit, she practically disappeared off the face of the planet.

132. A former Miracle who would like nothing more than to be in the company of someone else.

131. What this superstar would see every time he'd spot a reflection of himself.

[insect2]

135) Bryan Adams - Heaven

[insect2]

138) John Lennon - Just Like Starting Over
136) Foreigner - I Want To Know What Love Is

[insect2]

139) Hall And Oates - Out of Touch

[insect2]

137) Whitesnake - Is This Love
132) Smokey Robinson - Is This Love

EDIT: I meant to say 132, not 131

[insect2]

133) Tiffany - Could've Been

[mst3k]

insect2 said:

132) Smokey Robinson - Is This Love

Right artist, but the song is "Being With You." :)

[mst3k]

140. Men At Work - Who Can It Be Now?
134. Terence Trent D'Arby - Wishing Well
131. Michael Jackson - Man In The Mirror

[Cerebro]

mst3k said:

Right artist, but the song is "Being With You."  :)

Yes. "Being With You" is it.

The only incorrect guess has been #138. I asked for the second number one. Besides that #140, #134, and #131 remain.

[mst3k]

Then #138 is "Woman" by John Lennon.

[Cerebro]

mst3k said:

Then #138 is "Woman" by John Lennon.

Yeah, it is.  And it seems you got the remaining clues in before I made my last post.  Well done.

Moving on:


130.  This act scored their first number one at the end of the 70s and, this, their second number one, only a couple of years later.  With success like that, it certainly wasn't the worst of times for them.

129.  A hit from late in the decade from a movie (in which the artist also starred).  The title of the movie describes a place where there is a lot of sand.

128.  The longest reigning number one of the decade (on the Billboard chart) for an artist so successful, she needed a bodyguard the following decade.

127.  This British artist typically writes all of his own songs, but he's had a few successful covers, including a cover of a mid-60s song by the Supremes and this other song from the same year, orginally recorded by The Mindbenders.

126.  A song from a TV series about a clutzy super-hero.  Clutzy because, well, he misplaced the instruction manual for his costume.

125.  The video for this song took a lot of flack, especially from the churches.  It, prominently, featured burning crosses among other questionable imagery.

124.  In 1996, Maxi Priest hit the chart with a song bearing this same title.  Maybe both artists shared the same hair-stylist, too.

123.  A nun's headwear made of kevlar would, most certainly, be one of these (Yes, it's a bad pun on the song's title.  Just go with it.).

122.  A few years ago, many thought that this artist had died.  They got him mixed up with another artist of the same name...the vocalist from Mike and The Mechanics.  This artist is just fine.  He's not old enough to die yet.

121.  The only chart topper by this Latin-American artist on which her backing band receives equal artist billing.

[mst3k]

123. Chicago - Hard Habit To Break (LOL)

I know the rest of 'em but I'll let other people have a chance. :)

[Keith3000]

128. Olivia Newton-John - Physical
127. Phil Collins - Groovy Kind Of Love
125. Madonna - Like A Prayer
122. Paul Young - Everytime You Go Away
121. Gloria Estefan & The Miami Sound Machine - Anything For You

[Cerebro]

Keith3000 said:

128. Olivia Newton-John - Physical
127. Phil Collins - Groovy Kind Of Love
125. Madonna - Like A Prayer
122. Paul Young - Everytime You Go Away
121. Gloria Estefan & The Miami Sound Machine - Anything For You

mst3k gets #123. Keith's only incorrect answer is #128. So that leaves: 130, 129, 128, 126, and 124.

[SPro]

129. Bette Midler - Wind Beneath My Wings
128. Whitney Houston - How Will I Know (?)

[insect2]

mst3k said:

Right artist, but the song is "Being With You."  :)

Duh, that's what I wrote.

[insect2]

126) Joey Scarbury - Believe It Or Not

[Cerebro]

SPro said:

129. Bette Midler - Wind Beneath My Wings
128. Whitney Houston - How Will I Know (?)

129 is a yes. 128 is the right artist, wrong song.

[Cerebro]

insect2 said:

126) Joey Scarbury - Believe It Or Not

Correct. 130, 128, and 124 remain.

[Keith3000]

Cerebro said:

Keith's only incorrect answer is #128.

I misunderstood your clue for #128; I thought you meant the song that spent the most time at #1...that was "Physical", though I couldn't see the bodyguard connection, lol...

Do you mean the #1 song that spent the most weeks on the Hot 100?