Tag Archives: tb80s

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Song of the Day #5,769: ‘Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)’ – Phil Collins

Forty years ago today, Phil Collins’ power ballad ‘Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)’ reached #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the first of three weeks. The song was written for the Taylor Hackford film Against All Odds, and is probably the most memorable thing about it.

Collins was nominated for the Best Song Oscar for this song, the first of three career nominations. He would eventually win for his work on 2000’s animated Tarzan, but he lost this one to Stevie Wonder’s ‘I Just Called to Say I Love You.’

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Song of the Day #5,748: ‘Footloose’ – Kenny Loggins

Footloose (1984) is one of the great soundtrack movies, a kind of film we were treated to far more often in the 80s. Think Top Gun, Flashdance, Dirty Dancing, and any number of John Hughes movies.

Six of this soundtrack’s nine songs reached Billboard’s Top 40, and three reached the top ten. Of those, two made it to #1 — Deniece Williams’ ‘Let’s Hear it for the Boy‘ and the title track by Kenny Loggins, today’s featured Throwback Weekend song.

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Song of the Day #5,727: ‘Thriller’ – Michael Jackson

The week of March 10, 1984, was a great one on the Billboard Hot 100.

In the top spot you had Van Halen’s ‘Jump,’ followed by Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.’ Rounding out the top three was Nena’s ’99 Luftballons,’ a rare hit not in the English language.

What a great mix of songs. What a great decade!

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Song of the Day #5,706: ‘Jump’ – Van Halen

Throwing back to the week of February 18, 1984, we find Culture Club atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Karma Chameleon.’

At #2, and on its way to a five-week stint at #1, was Van Halen’s ‘Jump.’ This was the rock band’s only #1 single, and the only top ten single of the David Lee Roth era. The Sammy Hagar incarnation would reach the top five twice over the next several years.

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Song of the Day #5,685: ‘Karma Chameleon’ – Culture Club

The week of January 28, 1984, saw Yes on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Owner of a Lonely Heart,’ a song I’ve already featured on the blog.

At #2 was a song I’m surprised I haven’t featured yet, Culture Club’s ‘Karma Chameleon.’ This song would reach #1 the following week and spend three weeks atop the chart. It was Culture Club’s only #1 hit in the U.S., though two others hit #2 (bonus points if you can name them in the comments).

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