The second half of the first half.
75 - "Family Man," Daryl Hall and John Oates
The Philly superduo had yet another smash in their 80s run with this cover of a song about a married-with-children guy and the prostitute that tries to tempt him that was originally written and performed by Mike "Tubular Bells" Oldfield. Both the urgent musical arrangement and Hall's strained lead vocals on the choruses convey the title chraracter's dilemma very effectively. This one fights it out with "Rich Girl" for the title of my favorite song of theirs.
74 - "Heart to Heart," Kenny Loggins
Once in a while, Kenny had a hit in the 80s that didn't come from a movie. This is one of them. It sounds a lot like Michael McDonald-era Doobie Brothers, so it's not a major revelation that the man himself co-wrote and played on it. The lyrics are about starting over. There's a sax solo. Not much more to be said.
73 - "My Love," Lionel Richie
The ex-Commodore continued his climb to solo superstardom with this nice ballad in which he declares that just the thought of his lady love "blows my mind." Lionel was pretty dependable in this department at the time.
72 - "Suddenly Last Summer," The Motels
Martha Davis and company borrow a Tennessee Williams title for this pretty rumination on summer romance. Okay, but "Only the Lonely" is so much better.
71 - "Tonight I Celebrate My Love," Roberta Flack and Peabo Bryson
Roberta and Peabo, taking it to the next level. Cheesy, but appealingly so.
70 - "(She's) Sexy + 17," The Stray Cats
First of three appearances for the leaders of the brief early-80s rockabilly revival. Still can't figure out why they used a plus sign instead of an ampersand, though.
69 - "Affair of the Heart," Rick Springfield
The Aussie heartthrob is here with the first single off the third album of his General Hospital-aided American breakthrough. It's an intense rocker in which he spends the verses talking about how hot the sex with the one he's singing about is, then insists in the choruses that the relationship "goes much deeper than that." One of his better songs, for sure.
68 - "It's a Mistake," Men at Work
I'm sure no one thought that this poppy ode to the end of the world would be these Aussies last Top Ten hit in America, but it was. I for one could have stood for a few more. Why didn't Business as Usual's "Be Good Johnny" become a bigger hit over here? I don't see why it couldn't have been.
67 - "The Other Guy," The Little River Band
Actually, upon another listen, this might be the closest thing to a good song these guys ever did. Still not much, but I give credit where credit is due.
66 - "Solitaire," Laura Branigan
Laura B. followed up her less-than-faithfully-translated version of Umberto Tozzi's Italian hit with a less-than-faithfully-translated version of a song by French singer-songwriter Martine Clemenceau. The song was originally about a man cutting himself off from a world he feels is headed for destruction. But after lyricist and future queen of soundtrack ballads Diane Warren got through with it, it became a more straightforward song about a woman left lonely by her roaming man. Still, it's very good, with Laura bringing the same drama she did to "Gloria." Oh, and the song was co-produced by a guy named Jack White. And no, it's not that one.
65 - "Too Shy," Kajagoogoo
These Brits are probably better known for their nonsensical name as much as this, their only American hit. But when you come from a town called Leighton Buzzard, I suppose they come by their strange taste in monikers honestly. The song itself is a fun New Wave confection, with a killer singalong chorus. It cannot be denied. Unfortunately, singer Limahl was fired shortly after this, and the band didn't last much longer afterward. But they did leave this beautiful corpse.
64 - "Rock This Town," The Stray Cats
The ownerless felines make their second appearance with their breakthrough hit. Artistically, they never topped it as far as I'm concerned.
63 - "Allentown," Billy Joel
Billy makes his first appearance on this list with this lament about a Pennsylvania city devastated by the closure of a steel mill. The song wasn't very hopeful, but the real Mayor of Allentown at the time would give Joel the key to the city. A solid, well-observed portrait of the decline of the American manufacturing economy.
62 - "Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair)," Sheena Easton
Sheena makes the list with this plea for her lover to get back in touch. Not sure why she felt the need to misspell "telephone," but still, good song.
61 - "Goody Two Shoes," Adam Ant
Stuart Goddard began his musical career as part of the same punk scene that produced the Sex Pistols, then found fame in his native Britain as the flamboyantly-dressed, war-painted Adam Ant, leader of the band Adam and the Ants. After several U.K hits, Adam broke up the band and went solo, and this, his first single on his own (although two of the Ants were involved in the song), became his first American hit. It's a jumpy, spirited New Waver in which Mr. Ant coyly inquires of an acquaintance "Don't drink, don't smoke - what do you do?" Great fun, and a good excuse to dance insanely.
60 - "Heartbreaker," Dionne Warwick
The classy diva and future Psychic Friend's last major hit on her own, aided by the Bee Gees, who proved they could still help others score hits even as their own recording fortunes declined. Solid stuff.
59 - "Heartlight," Neil Diamond
Once again, it's Neil with his achingly sincere tribute to a fictional space alien. Well, at least it's more fun than the E.T. Atari video game. Plus, it didn't cause the near-collapse of an entire industry.
58 - "(Keep Feeling) Fascination," The Human League
Frosty-yet-fun synth-pop from these natives of England's Steeltown, Sheffield. The women in this band seemed to pioneer the sexy-bored look that's been adopted by fashion models ever since. Maybe it's just me, but I don't find that attractive at all. Looking like you'd rather be anywhere but where you are just doesn't appeal to me.
57 - "Twilight Zone," Golden Earring
Nearly a decade after they hit the U.S. charts with "Radar Love," they returned with this spooky, espionage-themed dance-rocker that was inspired by Robert Ludlum's novel The Bourne Identity The same source that made Matt Damon an action hero got these guys a second source of royalties from classic-rock radio. Anyway, I really like this song, and I'd put it just above "Radar Love."
56 - "Don't Let it End," Styx
The Bob Seger of Chicago cracked the Top Ten with this ballad about not wanting a relationship to die. It was from the album Kilroy Was Here, a concept record about a future where rock music is outlawed. I wouldn't mind if this song was outlawed, but not the whole album, because it also contains the unspeakably awesome "Mr. Roboto."
55 - "Wanna be Startin' Somethin'," Michael Jackson
MJ again, this time with a boisterous dancefloor burner which goes after those who start rumours. He originally wrote this for La Toya (!), but eventually wised up and kept it for himself. It's pretty damn great in and of itself, but then expands upon that with two eccentric touches: that out of nowhere "Yee Haw!" and the nonsensical chant at the end (borrowed from Manu Dibango's 1972 hit "Soul Makossa") "Mama-say-mama-sa-mama-coo-sa." As a kid, I used to think it was "What I say, what I saw, what Michael saw." Would have made marginally more sense.
54 - "King of Pain," The Police
The second-biggest hit from Sting and the boys' biggest LP, Synchronicity. Mournfully metaphorical, but still catchy enough to be a pleasant listen.
53 - "Is There Something I Should Know," Duran Duran
A strong single from these Brits in the year of their American breakthrough. I remember at the time watching a beauty pageant where the question portion of the competition was introduced by a chorus of dancers singing "Please please tell us now/Is there something we should know?" I don't know why that has stuck with me. And no, I don't think it was the Miss America pageant that Vanessa Williams won. That would have been too perfect.
52 - "You Can't Hurry Love," Phil Collins
The leader of one trio makes his first appearnce in the American Top Ten by covering a hit by another threesome. And somehow, I don't hate it. Phil still had a certain charm at this point. It would wear off later.
51 - "Rock the Casbah," The Clash
The punk pioneers, once referred to as "the only band that matters", went all the way to #3 with this funky tale of rebellion, a chart height they never achieved in their native U.K. despite having many more Top 40 hits there. Certainly not their best song (I'd probably pick "Clampdown"), but it was definitely a kick to hear this on the radio between Dan Fogelberg and The Little River Band.
The NotCaseys were "If Anyone Falls" by Stevie Nicks, "Cuts Like a Knife" by Bryan Adams, "In a Big Country" by Big Country, and "Modern Love" by David Bowie.
With the holidays out of the way, next week should return to the regular Sunday-Monday routine. It'll be the second half of this list, so be sure to come back then to find out what the most popular songs of 1983 were.
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