This week marks the thirtieth anniversary of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Though that probably isn't important to you if you're not from Canada. Or even if you're that country's Prime Minister. But I'm mentioning it because this week's chart is from that very year, 1982. So while we were patriating our Constitution, let's see what our Southern neighbours were rocking out to.
40 - "If I Had My Wish Tonight," David Lasley
39 - "Shanghai Breezes," John Denver
38 - "Run for the Roses," Dan Fogelberg
37 - "Let's Hang On," Barry Manilow
36 - "Making Love," Roberta Flack .
35 - "Pac-Man Fever," Buckner and Garcia
34 - "One Hundred Ways," Quincy Jones with James Ingram
33 - "Still in Saigon," The Charlie Daniels Band
32 - "Stars on 45 III: A Tribute to Stevie Wonder," Stars On
31 - "Genius of Love," The Tom Tom Club
We begin with a concentrated burst of male solo MOR in positions 40-37. David Lasley is a songrwriter and session singer with a list of credits several miles long, but his only moment in the spotlight came with this ballad about hoping for love. It isn't much, and Lasley's voice comes off as a cross between Barry Gibb and Kenny Loggins. He was better off in the background. John Denver had his last Top 40 hit with this song about how the wind reminds him of his lover half a world away. Actually, it's pretty good, and probably would have been a much bigger hit had it come out seven or eight years earlier. Though I'm not sure what he was doing in China. Could he have been personally apologizing for the way things are there? Hmmm. Dan Fogelberg is here with his painfully earnest tribute to the horses who grow up to run in the Kentucky Derby. Not a big fan of the song, but I watch the race every year. It really is the most exciting two minutes in sports. And Barry Manilow scored one of his last few hits with this okay but completely unnecessary cover of a 1965 Four Seasons hit. Surely there were better ways for Barry to spend his recording budget.
Next we have a couple slices of lite R&B. Roberta Flack had her last solo Top 40 hit with this ballad about how love can exist without sex. Appropriately, it was the theme song to a movie about a woman who marries a man who comes to realize that he's gay. Kate Jackson was in it, as was the guy who played Ned in Slap Shot. Beyond that, I don't know much about it. And Quincy and James are back from last time with their mushy romantic counsel. Slick, but lacking.
Then we have a couple of variations of rock. Buckner and Garcia return from our last visit with their hit about video gamedom's preemininent dot-chomper. The novelty wears off with every listen. And Charlie Daniels and company had their last pop hit with this tune about the trauma suffered by a Vietnam veteran years after returning home. An affecting song, but I did find it strange how the opening guitar line reminded me of Blondie's "Call Me." Somehow, I doubt that was intentional.
We close this section with a couple of dance tunes. The Dutch group that had topped the U.S. chart a year earlier with a medley of (mostly) Beatles covers had their second and last American hit by giving the same treatment to one of Motown's biggest stars. The soundalike they hired isn't bad, and I always enjoy hearing classics like "Master Blaster," "I Wish," "Superstition," and the eight others featured here. But the medley doesn't really flow together the way the first one did. And Tom Tom Club, a group formed by the Talking Heads' husband-and-wife rhythm section of Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz, had their only pop hit with this rubbery strut about a very good lover. And also about the power of music ("James Brown!") It didn't get any higher than this, but it has endured as a classic, and has been sampled numerous times. An absolute member of my Top 100 of the decade.
30 - "Mama Used to Say," Junior
29 - "Theme from Magnum, P.I.," Mike Post
28 - "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)," Elton John
27 - "Don't You Want Me," The Human League
26 - "That Girl," Stevie Wonder
25 - "Baby Makes Her Blue Jeans Talk," Dr. Hook
24 - "Hang Fire," The Rolling Stones
23 - "Open Arms," Journey
22 - "The Other Woman," Ray Parker, Jr.
21 - "Always on My Mind," Willie Nelson
We begin with some male solo R&B. Brit Norman Giscombe, billed simply as Junior, had what would be his only American pop hit with this sprightly pop-funk variation on the theme explored by "Que Sera Sera." Nothing spectacular, but I like the way he sings the word "Mama" in the choruses. Stevie Wonder returns from last time with his hit about a really hot lady that he likes a lot. It's better than I remember. And Ray Parker, Jr. had his first Raydio-free hit with a rock-tinged tune about cheating. Was this admission of his penchant for doing untetthical things a foreshadowing of what he'd do to Huey Lewis a couple years later? No. It'd be convenient, but no.
Three other solo men are here. TV theme king Mike Post is here with his opening music for the hit Hawaiian-set Tom Selleck vehicle. Never really watched it, so the song doesn't really stir any memories in me. What I will say is I like the more urgent guitar parts much better than the rest of it. Elton John's hit at this time was a tribute ballad to his late friend John Lennon. It's very heartfelt, and the metaphor of a garden left to die because its tender isn't coming back is very effective. I can see why Elton finds it too painful to play live very often. And Willie Nelson had his biggest hit with this version of a song about romantic regret that had already been recorded numerous times since it was written in 1972, most notably by Elvis. I'd have to say I prefer the one the Pet Shop Boys did six years after this, but there's nothing at all wrong with what Willie does with it. It's a very commercial arrangement, but the heart and sincerity of his singing shines through.
Then there are a couple of dance numbers. English synth-poppers The Human League had their first American hit with this memorable #1. In the first verse, Philip Oakey plays the role of an impresario who discovers a woman "working as a waitress in a cocktail bar," makes her a star, and falls in love with her. But now he learns she wants to leave him, and he ominously warns that if she does, he could destroy her career. In the second verse, Susan Sulley plays the waitress-turned-celebrity, who defiantly declares that she could have made it on her own, and then says that even though she had a good time with the Oakey character and still has feelings for him, she needs to go out on her own. A fun litlle mini-melodrama, catchily delivered. And Dr. Hook had their last hit with this still-sounds-like-disco-to-me number about a woman who performs a seemingly impossible feat with her dungarees. Somehow, I don't think they mean that her pants actually speak words. It's probably some sort of reference to her ass. But it'd be pretty cool if they meant it literally. I'd strike up a conversation with a pair of Levis. Wouldn't you?
We close the first half with a couple of rock bands. The Stones are here with a strutting rocker about being unemployed and uninterested. Apparently, this was a commentary on the economic decline of Britain during this time, which caused many people to lose hope and give up. Maybe not as biting as earlier socially-aware tracks like "Mother's Little Helper" and "Street Fighting Man," but still pretty solid. And Journey return from last time, ready to embrace. No thanks, guys.
Tomorrow: a woman who's been around, two guys who act fast, and finding love through graffiti.
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