The Billboard '80s Singles

I have deep ties to music.  When I was a kid, Fantasia was one of my favorite movies (granted, it was mostly because it had dinosaurs, but I knew every piece by heart).  I played the piano until I was 12 and went onto play the clarinet until I got fed up with my high school band.  I’ve gone to concerts, I listen to the radio all the time, over half my time on YouTube is used finding new music videos, and I sing every Sunday at church (not always in the choir, much to the choir director’s chagrin.)

As much as I surround myself with music, though, I am not very educated about it.  Songs come on the radio and I have no idea who the band is or even what the title is.  The night after a concert, I have remembered the melody the orchestra played and could not tell what it comes from.

This gets embarrassing, so this year, I decided to do something about it.  On top of all the other crap I do, I decided to learn my music.  I want to get to the point where I can just listen to it and I will know what it is.

I started off doing classical music, and made some pleasant discoveries with Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky.  As much as I love them, though, these people don’t come up in most social conversation.  It wasn’t enough to study up on the dead guys, I also had to educate myself on modern music.

So I started with the ’80s.  What I decided to do was look up all the Billboard No. 1 Hits in that decade, listen to all of those and not only learn them, but rank them on how these songs affected me.  Let me tell you, that was exhausting.  It took me over two weeks to listen to all of them (I took frequent breaks from this project), and by the end of it, I don’t know if I can put myself through that again.

Anyways, I took the songs that were 9s and 10s for me and put them in some cohesive order.  I doubt that these are the best songs of the ’80s (except for my number 1 on the list; I am very attached to that song), but these were the best that made the Billboard list.  Here we go:

1)      “Jack & Diane” by John Cougar Mellencamp.  This doesn’t come close to being my high school experience but the nostalgia is there.  What gets me every time are the last two lines, which says everything about growing up.  I’m definitely bringing more to it than was likely intended, but so what?  I imagine this couple grew up and still love each other after putting in their all.

2)      “Got My Mind Set on You” by George Harrison.  There really isn’t a lot to this song, but the tune is catchy and will stick in my head all day long if I hear it.

3)      “Heaven Is a Place on Earth” by Belinda Carlisle.  This is cheesy but I would not mind if a woman said any of these words to me.  And Belinda Carlisle has a stellar voice.

4)      “Livin’ On A Prayer” by Bon Jovi.  One of the most relatable stories ever told.  How many of us are down on our luck, got no way to provide for ourselves, and just have to trust that somehow we’ll be taken care of?  It doesn’t matter how bad things get, though, the whole point of the song is that you can make it, and you don’t have to go it alone.

5)      “Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield.  If there is a song that captures jealousy better, I don’t know what it is.

6)      “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel.  I wonder what lyrics you could add to this in the two decades since this song came out.  This covered nearly everything in the world up to that time and a lot more news has happened since then.

7)      “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” by U2.  I wonder if there’s a song about somebody finding what they’ve looked for.  Oh, yes.  All those boring love ballads that made up half the ’80s.  Never mind.  Let’s keep the song about the search.

8)      “The Way You Make Me Feel” by Michael Jackson.  I have to eat some crow for all the smart remarks I’ve made about Michael Jackson.  The man had some incredible pipes.  His music videos are really odd to watch; he wears more makeup than a lot of female supermodels I see on magazine covers.  Still, I finally understand why he remained so popular for so long.  He was a born performer.

9)      “Shout” by Tears for Fears.  I actually like Korn’s cover of this song better, but Korn worked with great material.  There is lots of anger and raw passion exploding in the lyrics, and the music fits it perfectly.

10)  “Listen to Your Heart” by Roxette.  Today’s breakup songs tend to be about getting drunk and slashing your ex’s tires.  And I enjoy them a lot.  But it’s also nice to listen to one about actually fighting for a relationship when it’s absolutely worth being with that person.

I actually had a lot more number 9s, but I’m calling this good.  As I said, making this list was exhausting and I don’t really want reading it to become a huge chore either.  I will close with some honorable mentions: “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” by Poison; “Sweet Child ’o Mine” by Guns ’N Roses; “Walk Like An Egyptian” by The Bangles; “Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Bonnie Tyler; and “Another Brick In the Wall, Part II” by Pink Floyd.