Okay, this took longer than I thought. But you know the holidays. Hope yours were as good as mine, but now, at last, we wrap up the last chart of 1987.
20 - "Seasons Change," Expose
19 - "Animal," Def Leppard
18 - "There's the Girl," Heart
17 - "Heaven is a Place on Earth," Belinda Carlisle
16 - "Could've Been," Tiffany
The second half begins with Miami girl group Expose and what would be their only #1, a sparkly ballad about wanting someone. Can't get into this. The lead singer's voice grates on me.
Def Leppard are back from last time with their lascivious slow burner that features the chorus "And I want/And I need/And I lust/Animal." This is the fine line between stupid and clever that Spinal Tap spoke of.
Next are heart with their last hit of the 80s, an unremarkable, synth-laden rocker in which Nancy Wilson takes on lead vocal chores to tell a guy that she knows that he's still in love with another woman. Still better than "All I Wanna Do is Make Love to You," though.
Then Belinda Carlisle returns from last time with a shimmery pop treasure about transcendent romance. Nothing wrong with this at all.
Rounding out this section is teen Tiffany Darwish with her second and last #1, a ballad about a romance that died before it reached its potential. It's actually a good song, but Tiff just didn't have what it took to do it justice. Apparently Mandy Moore covered it a few years ago. She probably did a little better, but still, I'd like to hear someone really good take a stab at it.
15 - "Hazy Shade of Winter," The Bangles
14 - "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)," Aerosmith
13 - "Candle in the Wind (Live)," Elton John
12 - "Tell it to My Heart," Taylor Dayne
11 - "Valerie," Steve Winwood
This group opens with The Bangles' stomping cover of a 1968 Simon and Garfunkel hit. The band recorded it with Rick Rubin, who produced the entire Less Than Zero soundtrack, and I must say, he did a great job in bringing out their rockier tendencies. I heard this version before the S&G one, and I have to say, I still prefer this. More energy and urgency.
Aerosmith are back from last time with their tale of a scenario that would be played out a few years later in the film The Crying Game. Whatever happened to Jaye Davidson, anyway? Anyway, in the absence of "The One I Love," this gets this week's Uneasy Rider.
Next is Sir Elton with a live-in-Australia version of his 1973 Marilyn Monroe tribute song. Ten years later, as we all know, he would record a new version with altered lyrics as a tribute to the late Diana, Princess of Wales. It became the biggest-selling single of all time. I guess I understand that. The original version off Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is still the best, of course.
Then Taylor Dayne returns with her first hit. I guess it's her best song, but that really doesn't say much.
This bunch is anchored by Steve Winwood, claiming to be "the same boy I used to be." No, you're not. You were much cooler whey you were wailing with the Spencer Davis Group.
Only ten songs left until the New Year. Grab your noisemakers and get ready to kiss the one you love.
10 - "Need You Tonight," INXS
Michael Hutchence attempts to be as slick a loverman as Barry White on this one. Obviously, he doesn't succeed, but he does all right for himself. It's too bad what happened to him.
9 - "Cherry Bomb," John Cougar Mellencamp
JCM is back with this song about wild teenage times. Earlier in the countdown, Casey recalled the time the "small town" of Chillicothe, Ohio petitioned him to play there. Eventuall he did, and to mark that occasion, Casey played "Small Town" as an extra.
8 - "Catch Me (I'm Falling)," Pretty Poison
No. You go ahead and hit the ground. The harder the better. This song sucks.
7 - "The Way You Make Me Feel," Michael Jackson
A slick strutter from the mighty MJ. Probably in my top 5 or 6 among his solo stuff. It was the third of five #1 singles from Bad a record for charttoppers from one album that was recently tied by Katy Perry. Apparently, she's got another one that's at #3 right now, so she could break the record. Well, at least my niece would be happy about that.
6 - "Don't You Want Me," Jody Watley
Not really, Jody. But other people did, apparently, so don't feel too bad.
5 - "Shake Your Love," Debbie Gibson
Debbie G. at her best. With a few tweaks of modern production, she could put this out now and it would fit right in on what passes for modern pop radio.
4 - "Got My Mind Set on You," George Harrison
I don't think I like this as much as I did at the time. A bit too slick. Still, I'd never turn it off or skip it.
3 - "Is This Love," Whitesnake
One of the least powerful power ballads ever. Limp and lifeless.
2 - "So Emotional," Whitney Houston
The spoken-word intro was a nice touch, and raises it just a little bit above the other uptempo hits she had during her streak.
And topping the list as the sun set on '87 was none other than...
1 - "Faith," George Michael
George's smash about patience and hope was on its third of four weeks at the top. This is pretty clearly the best thing he ever did. He just hit the sweet spot.
This week's NotCaseys were "Can't Stay Away from You" by Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine, "Just Like Heaven" by The Cure, "I Found Someone" by Cher, and "Never Gonna Give Your Up" by Rick Astley And Casey played two Long Distance Dedications. A woman dedicated Kenny Rogers' "Through the Years" to the longtime boyfriend who married her even though she got pregnant by another man while he was away. And another woman, dedicated Terry Jacks' "Seasons in the Sun" to the mother who still loves her enough to take care of her children while she's in prison.
At last, this is in the books. No 70s bonus this week. I will be covering the year-end show from the coming weekend, but I'm not sure when. Until, then, Happy New Year to anyone who's ever read this thing.
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