The Top Adult Contemporary Songs of the 80's

As the "Baby Boomers" have gotten older, the Adult Contemporary chart has replaced the "Hot 100" chart as the most important and most meaningful gauge of musical tastes.  This change occurred sometime around the mid-80's.  That is not to discount what Billboard calls the "Hot 100", for those songs still have influence and certainly popularity--it just means that now, you have to take songs that are successful on the AC chart more seriously than you do the "Hot 100" chart.  I build the relative strengths of each format into my formula for selecting The Top 5000 Songs of the Rock Era, which I published in 2000.


Here are the top AC songs of the 1980's:

 1.      "Cherish" by Kool & the Gang
2.      "Hello" by Lionel Richie
3.      "Don't Know Much" by Linda Ronstadt & Aaron Neville
4.      "Lost in Love" by Air Supply
5.      "If You Don't Know Me by Now" by Simply Red
6.      "Right Here Waiting by Richard Marx
7.      "Stuck On You" by Lionel Richie
8.      "You Are" by Lionel Richie
9.      "Greatest Love of All" by Whitney Houston
10.    "Careless Whisper" by Wham

11.    "Woman in Love" by Barbra Streisand
12.    "Lady" by Kenny Rogers
13.    "Never Gonna' Let You Go" by Sergio Mendes
14.    "Penny Lover" by Lionel Richie
15.    "Another Day in Paradise" by Phil Collins
16.    "Say You, Say Me" by Lionel Richie
17.    "Two Hearts" by Phil Collins
18.    "Magic" by Olivia Newton-John
19.    "The Rose" by Bette Midler
20.    "Glory of Love" by Peter Cetera
21.    "(I've had) The Time of My Life" by Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes

22.    "Truly" by Lionel Richie
23.    "I Don't Need You" by Kenny Rogers
24.    "Yesterday's Songs" by Neil Diamond
25.    "Ebony and Ivory" by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder
26.    "If Ever You're in My Arms Again" by Peabo Bryson
27.    "Chariots of Fire" by Vangelis
28.    "Islands in the Stream" by Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton
29.    "All Night Long" by Lionel Richie
30.    "After All" by Cher & Peter Cetera
31.    "The Search Is Over" by Survivor
32.    "The Living Years" by Mike & the Mechanics
33.    "Read 'Em and Weep" by Barry Manilow
34.    "Any Day Now" by Ronnie Milsap

35.    "One Good Woman" by Peter Cetera
36.    "Arthur's Theme" by Christopher Cross
37.    "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" by Chicago
38.    "Let Me Love You Tonight" by Pure Prairie League
39.    "Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer" by Kenny Rogers & Kim Carnes
40.    "Think of Laura" by Christopher Cross
41.    "That's What Friends Are For" by Dionne Warwick & Friends
42.    "We've Got Tonight" by Kenny Rogers & Sheena Easton

43.    "This is the Time" by Billy Joel
44.    "Separate Lives" by Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin
45.    "Saving All My Love for You" by Whitney Houston
46.    "I Wanna' Dance With Somebody" by Whitney Houston
47.    "Finer Things" by Steve Winwood
48.    "Suddenly" by Billy Ocean
49.    "What Kind of Fool" by Barbra Streisand & Barry Gibb
50.    "I Just Called To Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder
51.    "Endless Love" by Diana Ross & Lionel Richie
52.    "More Than I Can Say" by Leo Sayer
53.    "My Love" by Lionel Richie

54.    "Heartlight" by Neil Diamond
55.    "Angel of the Morning" by Juice Newton
56.    "Anything for You" by Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine
57.    "Drive" by the Cars
58.    "Got a Hold on Me" by Christine McVie
59.    "No Night So Long" by Dionne Warwick
60.    "Never Gonna' Give You Up" by Rick Astley
61.    "Baby, Come to Me" by James Ingram & Patti Austin
62.    "I Love a Rainy Night" by Eddie Rabbitt
63.    "Sara" by Starship

64.    "Even the Nights Are Better" by Air Supply
65.    "Everywhere" by Fleetwood Mac
66.    "Make Me Lose Control" by Eric Carmen
67.    "Words Get in the Way" by Miami Sound Machine
68.    "Comin' In and Out of My Life" by Barbra Streisand
69.    "Got My Mind Set on You" by George Harrison
70.    "How Am I Supposed To Live Without You" by Laura Branigan
71.    "All Time High" by Rita Coolidge 
72.    "Always On My Mind" by Willie Nelson
73.    "In Too Deep" by Genesis
74.    "Uptown Girl" by Billy Joel
75.    "You're the Inspiration" by Chicago

76.    "Groovy Kind of Love" by Phil Collins
77.    "Smooth Operator" by Sade
78.    "Shame on the Moon" by Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
79.    "Little Jeannie" by Elton John
80.    "These Dreams" by Heart
81.    "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper
82.    "Cherish" by Madonna
83.    "One More Night" by Phil Collins

84.    "Didn't We Almost Have It All" by Whitney Houston
85.    "Don't Wanna' Lose You Now" by Gloria Estefan
86.  "Nothing's Gonna' Stop Us Now" by Starship
87.    "Always" by Atlantic Starr
88.    "Love Is Forever" by Billy Ocean
89.    "It Might Be You" by Stephen Bishop
90.    "The Longest Time" by Billy Joel
91.    "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" by Whitney Houston
92.    "Here I Am" by Air Supply
93.    "The Old Songs" by Barry Manilow
94.    "The Next Time I Fall" by Peter Cetera and Amy Grant
95.    "America" by Neil Diamond
96.    "The One You Love" by Glenn Frey
97.    "The Way It Is" by Bruce Hornsby & the Range
98.    "Blue Eyes" by Elton John
99.    "The One That You Love" by Air Supply
100.  "Key Largo" by Bertie Higgins

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This Date in Rock Music History: April 14

1956:  Bobby Helms ("Jingle Bell Rock") signed with Decca Records.
1958:  The Champs celebrated a third week at #1 on the R&B chart with "Tequila".

1960:  Berry Gordy merged Tamla Records and Motown Records to form the famous Motown Record corporation.  (Note:  some websites claim Motown was founded on April 14, 1959.  Gordy founded Tamla on January 12, 1959 with an $800 loan from his family, according to the official website for the Motown Museum.  He started Motown records in September of 1959, according to many sources, including the book 'African-American Business Leaders:  A Biographical Dictionary' by John N. Ingham and Lynne B. Feldman, then merged the two together on this date in 1960, according to many sources, including the book 'Michael Jackson King of Pop' by Jean-Pierre Hombach.) 1962:  "Johnny Angel" spent a second week at #1 on this date; it was the big hit for Shelley Fabares.

1963:  The Beatles met the Rolling Stones for the first time after the latter gave a concert at the Crawdaddy Club at the Station Hotel (1 Kew Road) in Richmond, Surrey, England.










1965:  Millie Small sang her hit "My Boy Lollipop" on the television show Shindig!.  Other performers included Neil Sedaka, Jerry Lee Lewis and April & Nino.
1965:  The movie Girl Happy starring Elvis Presley opened in theaters.
1966:  The Beatles finished recording "Paperback Writer", a song they had started the previous night without rehearsal.
1966:  The Spencer Davis Group was at #1 in the U.K. with "Somebody Help Me".

1966:  Roy Orbison, the Walker Brothers and Lulu performed at the Colston Hall in Bristol, England.










1967:  The Bee Gees released the single "New York Mining Disaster 1941".










1967:  The final episode of Where the Action Is starring Paul Revere & the Raiders aired on ABC-TV.
1969:  The 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee special aired on NBC-TV.
1969:  The Beatles, or more specifically just John Lennon and Paul McCartney, recorded "The Ballad Of John And Yoko".
1969:  Barbra Streisand (Funny Girl) tied Katherine Hepburn (The Lion In Winter) for Best Actress at the Academy Awards.

1970:  CCR made their live debut in the U.K. at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

1970:  Stephen Stills broke his wrist in a car accident.




1973:  The man had a style all his own, and we loved him for it.  On this date, we were introduced to Barry White, as his first career single, "I'm Gonna' Love You Just A Little More, Baby", debuted on the chart.
1973:  Led Zeppelin moved into #1 on the U.K. Album chart with Houses of the Holy.
1973:  Diana Ross had the #1 album with the Soundtrack to "Lady Sings the Blues".






                          War had themselves a Top 10 with "The Cisco Kid"...


1973:  "The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia" by Vicki Lawrence was #1 for the second week in a row.  Gladys Knight & the Pips once again were at #2 with "Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye)".  The rest of the Top Ten as long titles were the order of the day--#3 "Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" by Dawn, #4 was "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)" by the Four Tops, the Carpenters moved into position #5 with "Sing", War had #6 with "The Cisco Kid", Anne Murray was at 7 with "Danny's Song", the Stylistics slipped to #8 with "Break Up to Make Up", Roberta Flack's former #1 "Killing Me Softly With His Song" was at #9 and Al Green cracked the top Ten with "Call Me (Come Back Home)". 
1973:  "Tie A Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Ole Oak Tree" by Tony Orlando & Dawn was #1 for the second week in a row on the Adult Contemporary chart.
1974:  Ladies and Gentlemen:  The Rolling Stones premiered at Ziegfeld Theater in New York City for invited guests.  The movie opened to the general public the following day at the Ziegfeld.  It was the first concert movie to feature quadrophonic sound.  (Note:  some websites claim the premiere was April 6, but it was the 14th for special guests and the 15th for the general public, according to 'New York Magazine'.)






1975:  Chicago released their single "Old Days".







 


1975:  Van McCoy released the single "The Hustle".  (Note:  one website shows the date of release as April 18, while another says the single was released in August.  "The Hustle" debuted on the Singles chart on April 19, 1975.  It is physically impossible for a song to be released by the record company, listened to and added to radio station playlists, reported to the trade papers, and printed and published by the trade papers, all in just two days, not to mention impossible to be included on the Singles chart if it has not yet been released as a single.)








1975:  Art Garfunkel began a six-week run at #1 in the U.K. with his beautiful song "Bright Eyes" from the movie Watership Down.  It would go on to become the biggest selling single of the year.  In the U.S., it has to settle for being one of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era.
1975:  The Rolling Stones announced that singer/guitarist Ron Wood would join them for their upcoming tour.  Wood joined the group as a full-time member later in the year.















1979:  Newcomer Rickie Lee Jones released the single "Chuck E's In Love".










          
                                         "Surrender" helped introduce us to Cheap Trick...

1979:  The Doobie Brothers had the top album with Minute By Minute.  The self-titled Dire Straits was second, switching places with Spirits Having Flown from the Bee Gees.  2 Hot!  from a new Peaches & Herb was fourth.  The rest of the Top 10:  Blondes Have More Fun from Rod Stewart, Gloria Gaynor with Love Tracks, Bad Company moved up to #7 with Desolation Angels, George Benson with Livin' Inside Your Love, the Allman Brothers Band were back with Enlightened Rouges and Cheap Trick found the Top 10 with their breakthrough album, Cheap Trick Live At Budokan.
1979:  "Crazy Love" by Poco spent a sixth of seven weeks it would reign as #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.  It was one of the top AC hits of the decade.






1979:  The Doobie Brothers took over at #1 on the Hot 100 with their first career #1--"What A Fool Believes".  Gloria Gaynor's former #1 "I Will Survive" was at 2, Amii Stewart moved up to #3 with "Knock On Wood", the debut from Dire Straits, "Sultans Of Swing", was at #4 and Frank Mills' catchy instrumental "Music Box Dancer" moved into the top five.  The rest of the Top 10:  The Bee Gees were at #6 with their former #1 "Tragedy", Peaches & Herb were headed that way, going from 15-7 with "Reunited", Blondie had song #8 with "Heart Of Glass", Suzi Quatro & Chris Norman had a top Ten record with "Stumblin' In" and the Little River Band was at #10 with "Lady".
1980:  Iron Maiden released their debut album.  (Note:  several websites claim the album was released on April 11.  While no credible sources exist for either date, our best research indicates that the album was released April 14.)
1980:  Gary Numan released The Touring Principle, the first rock videocassette available for purchase.




1980:  A bill was introduced in the New Jersey state assembly to make "Born To Run" by Bruce Springsteen the official state song.











1981:  Neil Diamond released the single "America" on the day the U.S. first Space Shuttle, Columbia, landed.
1983:  Pete Farndon of the Pretenders died from drugs in London at the age of 29.  Farndon had been fired from the group one year earlier because of his addiction.  Yet he hadn't learned.










1984:  Billy Idol released the single "Eyes Without A Face".  (Note:  some websites naively say the single was released May 29.  "Eyes Without A Face" debuted on the charts on May 5.  It is physically impossible for a song to be included on the Singles chart if it has not yet been released as a single.)
1984:  "Hello" by Lionel Richie led the way on the Adult Contemporary chart for the second out of an eventual six weeks at #1.









1984:  Thriller by Michael Jackson topped the Album chart for the 37th week, a record that still stands.  The "Footloose" Soundtrack was second with 1984 from Van Halen and Can't Slow Down from Lionel Richie right behind.  Huey Lewis & the News completed a great Top Five with Sports.  The rest of the Top 10:  Culture Club with Colour By Numbers, the Eurythmics' album Touch, the Scorpions crawled in at #8 with Love At First Sting, the Pretenders' amazing album Learning to Crawl at #9 and Cyndi Lauper remained 10th with She's So Unusual.

1985:  Phil Collins released the song "Sussudio".











1989:  The Fine Young Cannibals released the single "Good Thing".

1990:  Thurston Harris ("Little Bitty Pretty One" from 1957) died of a heart attack in Pomona, California at the age of 58.
1990:  Madonna had the #1 song in the U.K. with "Vogue".
1990:  Tommy Page had his first and only #1 with "I'll Be Your Everything".  Jane Child was at 2 with "Don't Wanna' Fall In Love", Lisa Stansfield remained at #3 with "All Around The World", Sinead O'Connor was headed for the top with "Nothing Compares 2 (sic) U (sic)" and Taylor Dayne fell from #1 to #5 with "Love Will Lead You Back".









                       Dayne ruled the AC chart...


1990:  Taylor Dayne spent a fourth week at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Love Will Lead You Back".
1993:  Paul McCartney began a 24-date tour of North America at the Sam Boyd Silver Bowl in Las Vegas, Nevada.
1995:  Burl Ives ("Holly Jolly Christmas") died of cancer of the mouth in Anacortes, Washington at the age of 85.
2002:  Phil Selway of Radiohead ran in the London Marathon, raising $26,628 for the Samaritans.
2004:  Sophie B. Hawkins ("As I Lay Me Down") won a lawsuit against a man selling pirated copies of her new album Wilderness.
2004:  Usher was on top of the Album chart for the third week in a row with Confessions.
2006:  The Beatles announced they would digitally remaster their back catalog and sell the music online.
2008:  Brian May, elite guitarist for Queen, was named chancellor of John Moore University in Liverpool, England.

2009:  George Harrison was recognized with a posthumous star (Why don't they ever do these things on time?) on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles.  Sir Paul McCartney was there to witness the event, joining Olivia Harrison and son Dhani.  Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks and Tom Petty also were on hand.

2013:  George Jackson, singer and songwriter who wrote "Old Time Rock & Roll" for Bob Seger and "One Bad Apple" for the Osmonds; died April 14, 2013 in Ridgeland, Mississippi at age 68.  Jackson also wrote songs recorded by Wilson Pickett, Clarence Carter, Johnnie Taylor, and many others.  (Note:  the oft-wrong 'Allmusic.com' states that Jackson died in Jackson, Mississippi.  The correct place of death is Ridgeland, according to the newspaper 'The New York Times'.)
Born This Day:
1942:  Tony Burrows, who sang lead for Edison Lighthouse, White Plains, the Pipkins and Brotherhood of Man (all four groups were in the British Top Ten at once in 1970), was born in Exeter, Devon, England.
1944:  Michael Brewer of Brewer & Shipley ("One Toke Over The Line") was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

1945:  Ritchie Blackmore, elite guitarist of Deep Purple, Rainbow and Blackmore's Night, was born in Weston-super Mare, Somerset, England.  
1946:  Patrick Fairley of Marmalade ("Reflections Of My Life") was born in Glasgow, Scotland.
1948:  Larry Ferguson, keyboardist of Hot Chocolate, was born in Nassau, the Bahamas.
1949:  Dennis Bryon of Amen Corner, who worked with the Bee Gees in the 70's and 80's, was born in Cardiff, Wales.
1949:  June Millington of the group Fanny ("Butter Boy" from 1975) was born in Manilla, the Phillipines.
1962:  Joey Pesce, keyboardist of 'Til Tuesday ("Voices Carry")

1974:  Shawntae Harris (Da Brat) was born in Joliet, Illinois.  (Note:  some websites report Harris was born in Chicago, Illinois.  Although no credible sources exist for either city, our best information is that Harris was born in Joliet.)