Steve Winwood owned the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of August 30, 1986, with ‘Higher Love,’ the lead single of his fourth solo album, Back in the High Life.
Surprisingly, this is the first Steve Winwood song featured on the blog (though I did use a Traffic song in a post about Avengers: Endgame in 2019). Winwood has had a very successful career, as a member of three popular bands as well as a solo artist. I just haven’t found the right time to write about him.
The two songs atop the Billboard Hot 100 the week of August 16, 1986, had reversed positions from the week before. Peter Cetera’s ‘Glory of Love‘ was now in the #2 spot while Madonna ascended to #1 with ‘Papa Don’t Preach.’
Looking up at them was former Go-Go’s lead singer Belinda Carlisle, whose debut single as a solo artist peaked at #3. ‘Mad About You’ was the first of three top five singles for Carlisle.
The week of August 2, 1986, was a battle of the Peters, with Peter Cetera’s ‘Glory of Love’ overtaking Peter Gabriel’s ‘Sledgehammer‘ to claim the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.
‘Glory of Love’ would spend another week atop the chart before ceding #1 to the world’s hottest star at the time, Madonna. More on that in a couple of weeks.
The week of July 19, 1986, found a trio of songs atop the Billboard Hot 100 that I’ve already covered: Genesis’ ‘Invisible Touch,’ Peter Gabriel’s ‘Sledgehammer,’ and Janet Jackson’s ‘Nasty.’
At #4 that week was Kenny Loggins’ ‘Danger Zone,’ the first of eight singles from the blockbuster soundtrack to the blockbuster movie Top Gun. Second single ‘Take My Breath Away,’ by Berlin, ended up making the bigger splash, reaching #1 and winning the Academy Award for Best Song. But this one was no slouch, peaking at #2 later that July.
The week of July 5, 1986, found Billy Ocean holding on to the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘There’ll Be Sad Songs.’ At #2, a week before its own one-week stint at #1, was Simply Red’s ‘Holding Back the Years.’
This was the first of two #1 hits for the English pop/soul band. Their second, a cover of ‘If You Don’t Know Me By Now,’ topped the chart in 1989.
Meet Me In Montauk 