The week of March 16, 1985, saw REO Speedwagon hanging on to the #1 spot of the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Can’t Fight This Feeling.‘
In the #2 spot that week was Glenn Frey’s ‘The Heat is On,’ the lead single from the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack.
Frey was a gun for hire on this track, paid $15,000 to play guitar and provide all vocals for the song, which was written by Harold Faltermeyer and Keith Forsey. Faltermeyer also penned the iconic ‘Axel F’ theme.
The week of March 2, 1985, saw George Michael’s (or Wham!’s) ‘Careless Whisper‘ holding on to the #1 spot. Right behind it was REO Speedwagon’s ‘Can’t Fight This Feeling,’ a week away from its own three-week stint in the top spot.
This was the band’s second #1 (following another power ballad, 1980’s ‘Keep On Lovin’ You’) and their last to reach even the top ten.
The week of February 16, 1985, gave us a classic pop hit, with Wham!’s ‘Careless Whisper’ spending its first of three weeks at #1.
The song was credited in the U.S. to “Wham! featuring George Michael” and in the UK to Michael as a solo artist, but it appeared on the duo’s sophomore album, Make It Big, and was released as that record’s second single. Interestingly, it was the only song on that album co-written by Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, yet it was the one attributed to Michael as a solo performer.
The week of February 2, 1985, found Foreigner atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘I Want to Know What Love Is.’
Foreigner’s ‘Waiting For a Girl Like You’ holds the record for the most weeks at #2 without ever reaching #1. That happened in 1981. Four years later, the band finally got over that hump and landed their first (and only) #1 hit with this undeniable power ballad.
The week of January 19, 1985, saw Madonna atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Like a Virgin.’
At #2 that week was the one hit single by General Hospital‘s Jack Wagner, ‘All I Need.’ Wagner’s tune, the title track from his debut album, stayed at #2 for two weeks, kept from the top spot by Madonna.
Meet Me In Montauk 