Throwing back to the week of February 15, 1986, we find Whitney Houston atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘How Will I Know,’ in the first of its two weeks at #1.
In the second spot was Billy Ocean with (deep breath) ‘When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going.’ Like yesterday’s featured artist, Hot Chocolate, Ocean is a British artist I didn’t realize was British (at least not until I wrote about ‘Caribbean Queen’ in late 2024).
America was in a horny mood the week of February 14, 1976. The #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 that week was Paul Simon’s ‘50 Ways to Leave Your Lover‘ (his only solo chart-topper) while Donna Summer’s ‘Love to Love You Baby‘ sat at #2.
And in the #3 spot, its peak position, was British soul band Hot Chocolate’s ‘You Sexy Thing.’
Petula Clark held the #1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 the week of February 8, 1966, with ‘My Love,’ enjoying its second of two weeks in the pole position.
Clark wasn’t a fan of the song after recording it and asked the studio not to release it as a single. They ignored her wishes and ‘My Love’ ended up as her second #1 hit in the States, following 1964’s ‘Downtown.’
Throwing back to the week of February 7, 1956, we find a trio of repeats atop the Billboard Hot 100: The Platters’ ‘The Great Pretender,’ Dean Martin’s ‘Memories Are Made of This,’ and Kay Starr’s ‘Rock and Roll Waltz.’
In fourth place that week was another kind of throwback, to the sort of songs that populated the chart in the early 50s. ‘Lisbon Antigua’ is an instrumental track conducted by Nelson Riddle, based on a 1930s Portuguese tune called ‘Lisboa Antiga.’
The week of Feb. 1, 1986, found Dionne Warwick & Friends hanging on to the #1 spot for the third straight week with ‘That’s What Friends are For.’
Behind it at #2, where it would spend two weeks, is one of the most glaring examples of trying to make lightning strike twice — Survivor’s ‘Burning Heart.’
Meet Me In Montauk 