We’re now
officially into July, but this feature has been so popular that we’ll continue
this month with a few more. We’re still asking
questions about number one songs but now, they happened in the month of July during
the 1980’s. ALL of these songs made it
all the way to number 1, you most likely heard them on the radio hundreds of
times, so you probably know the answers instantly. OK, maybe not, but give it a shot anyway.
QUESTIONS:
1. This one-name musical dynamo was born
in 1958 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
During his teens, he taught himself how to play guitar, keyboards, drums
and any other instrument within reach. He
signed a contract with Warner Brothers Records with a clause which stated that he
would have creative control. 1979’s “For
You” was his debut effort. In his
dreams, his rain is always purple and for a time (when he was in a major
dispute with his record company), he refused to acknowledge his name and insisted
on being called ‘The Artist Formerly Known as ______” or “The Artist” and insisted
on using a non verbal symbol instead of his name. The song we’re looking for was his first number
one hit and lasted for 5 weeks at the top of the singles chart, but prior to
that, he’d had several songs in the Top 10, including “Little Red Corvette” and
“Delirious”, both in 1983. You know this
one, I know you do. Who is the artist
and what was his first number one?
2. This singer/songwriter was once a
member of a Long Island rock group called The Hassles in the late 1960’s, then
formed a power rock trio called Attila.
To help make ends meet, he became an amateur boxer (he won 22 of his 28
fights). He released his first solo
album, “Cold Spring Harbor” in 1972, but a dispute with his management led him
to temporarily move to Los Angeles where he played piano in cocktail bars. This number one hit single from 1980 was his
first chart topper, although he would have two more after it. In 1985, he married a famous supermodel, but
they eventually divorced, although he did write a couple of hit songs about
her. This performer is a six time Grammy
Award winner and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. [HINT]
That last sentence contains a clue to the song title we’re looking
for. Can you name this rock and roll
legend and his 1980 number one hit?
3. The genesis of this group began in
England and went through many changes and quite a few members until it was
finally down to three. The number one
song we’re looking for hit the top of the charts on July 19th,
1986. It was toppled the following week
by Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer”.
Ironically, Gabriel had been this groups’ former lead singer. Although this band hadn’t exactly been
‘invisible’ [HINT ALERT # 1] on the charts, this song was their first and only number
one single. Don’t shed any ‘tears’ [HINT
ALERT # 2] if you can’t get it, but if you don’t, maybe it’s time to hang up
your rock and roll shoes.
4. Every James Bond movie seemed to have
a hit theme song dating all the way back to “Goldfinger” by Shirley Bassey which
cracked the Top 10 in 1965. Paul
McCartney & Wings had a number 2 hit with “Live And Let Die” in 1973 as did
Carly Simon matched in 1977 with “Nobody Does It Better”. In 1981, Sheena Easton climbed to number 4
hit with “For Your Eyes Only”. Nancy
Sinatra (“You Only Live Twice” 1967), Rita Coolidge (“All Time High” 1983), Tom
Jones (“Thunderball” 1966) and others have had minor hits, but only one James
Bond theme has made it to number one and that’s the group whose name and hit
song we’re looking for. This group had
their first number one in 1984, although they’d been on the Top 10 singles
chart 4 previous times. In July 1985,
their James Bond theme was number one for two weeks before being pushed out of
the top spot by the Paul Young hit, “Everytime You Go Away”. This band was one of the most successful
groups in the 1980’s, having sold more than 100 million records. They took their name from a villain in the Jane
Fonda movie “Barberella”. Can you name
the band and their number 1 hit James Bond theme?
5. This number one was the first single released
from this superstar’s second album. It
was number one for two weeks, starting with the last week of June and remained
on top for the first week of July 1987.
By this point in her career, this performer had already hit number one
three times...first in 1985, then twice more the following year. She had two more number one’s in ’87,
including the song we’re looking for. It
had been written by a husband and wife songwriter/performing duo who called
themselves Boy Meets Girl. They had
previously written “How Will I Know” and submitted “Waiting For A Star To Fall”
as a followup, but the record company passed, so the duo recorded it themselves
and were rewarded with a Top 5 hit a few years later. This artist sadly has passed away, but was
honoured this month with a tribute at the BET Awards. Dance around your computer for a few minutes
[HINT ALERT] and you’ll probably come up with the title of the song. She sold over 170 million albums during her
lifetime and her name should come easily.
Who is she and what was her 1987 number one?
ANSWERS
1. Prince Rogers Nelson is the artist name we
needed. His number one song for 3 weeks in
July 1984 was “When Doves Cry”. Two
months later, Prince hit the top of the singles chart again with “Let’s Go
Crazy”. “When Doves Cry” by the way, was
credited to Prince and The Revolution.
In 2000, he announced that he would be using the name Prince once again.
2. Billy Joel is the cat of which we speak. His 1980 number one hit during the month of
July was “It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me” which first hit the top of the
singles chart on July 19 where it remained for 2 weeks. His second number one single, “”Tell Her
About It”, came in 1983 with his third and final chart topper, “We Didn’t Start
The Fire”, happening in 1989. His
marriage to supermodel Christie Brinkley lasted from 1985 until 1994. They had one daughter named Alexa Ray. In 1990, Billy’s song “The Downeaster Alexa”
made it as far as number 57 on the singles chart. Several years ago, Billy toured with Elton
John as ‘piano men’.
3. The number one hit from 1986 was “Invisible
Touch” from Genesis. The three members
of Genesis, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks all had separate solo
careers at the time and besides former member Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” number
one, Phil Collins solo hit “Take Me
Home” had made it to number seven around the same time. Collins also produced the Howard Jones hit,
“No One Is To Blame”, which climbed to number 4 two weeks before “Invisible
Touch” hit number one. Mike Rutherford’s
other band, Mike & The Mechanics had “All I Need Is A Miracle” (number 5 in
June of ‘86) and “Taken In” (highest chart position was number 32) on the
singles chart at the same time. Finally,
former Genesis member Steve Hackett and his band GTR charted “When The Heart
Rules The Mind”, which topped out at number 14.
4. It was Duran Duran who took “A View To A Kill”
to number 1 in July of 1985. The
previous year, they’d had “The Reflex” top the charts for 2 weeks. Their name came from the villainous character,
Dr. Durand Durand (played by actor Milo O’Shea) in the 1973 film,
“Barberella”. “A View To A Kill” was
Roger Moore’s final film as James Bond.
5. The late Whitney Houston had her first number
one in 1987 in July. The song was “I
Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me).
Husband and wife George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam wrote it. Whitney hit the top of the charts again in
late September with “Didn’t We Almost Have It All”. Whitney’s career took a downward spiral for
several years and just as she was making her comeback, she died on February 11,
2012 in Los Angeles. Whitney Houston’s
final film, “Sparkle” is due to be released next month.
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