![]() “No More Tears (Enough is Enough)” took us into the holiday season. ![]() It managed just one week at the top of the charts before the Commadores’ affable ballad “Still” took over #1 for a week just before Thanksgiving.ĭonna Summer showed that 1979 was her year as she brought a pop icon to the top of the charts in her duet with Barbara Streisand. The Eagles redeemed rock ‘n’ roll with “Heartache Tonight” from the popular album of the same night. Englishman Robin Scott reportedly first released “Pop Muzik” as a straight ahead funk song until he was encouraged to re-record it using synthesizers, which were still fairly experimental. Many bubblegum bands of the 1960s like the Archies, the Lemon Pipers and the Monkees were primarily comprised of unnamed studio musicians. M was certainly not the first contrived group to reach the top spot on the charts. His peculiar sounding “Rise” was followed at the top of the charts two weeks later by one of the quirkier #1 hits ever: “Pop Muzik” by M. October brought us a surprise instrumental hit by Herb Alpert, who had led the Tijuana Brass to incredible success in the 1960s. Michael Jackson, on the other hand, showed that he was ready for the big time with his first #1 solo hit as an adult: “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough.” Robert unfortunately had a great radio voice but a terrible MTV face and never made it into the video era. “ Sad Eyes” was a sad song by Robert John and a comeback from his 1973 remake of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” which reached #3. Their follow-up hit, “Good Girls Don’t” reached #11 on the Billboard Hot and the Top Five on the Radio & Records Rock Tracks chart, but the Knack only barely made the Top 40 two times after that and disappeared. Touted as the “new” Beatles and bearing a few similarities, the Knack never quite made the grade. “ My Sharona” by the Knack was #1 as we started school at the end of August and remained at the top of the charts for six weeks. The next three #1 hits that took us through the rest of the summer were disco songs: Anita Ward’s “Ring My Bell,” Donna Summers’ “Bad Girls,” and Chic’s “Good Times.” Access to popular music in the Endless Mountains was still limited to a few AM radio stations, some outlying FM stations, American Bandstand and Soul Train.Īs we began our final summer of true freedom with no immediate plans yet for working full time or going to college, the Bee Gees and Donna Summer were duking it out at #1 with “Love You Inside Out” and “Hot Stuff.” Donna won out with the one hit of hers that really rocked as well as moved people to the dance floor. Our mode of dress was still evolving from hippy ’70s to disco-influenced fashions, even as we proclaimed that Disco Sucked.Īs a matter of fact, by the end of our junior year, disco music dominated the pop charts, even though there was plenty of hard and folk rock, weepy ballads, and a few crossover country songs to keep Top Forty radio interesting. Meanwhile, here in the rest of the economically recessed United States, those ready to graduate from high school or college into a new decade were anxious for the what the future might hold. ![]() American President Jimmy Carter and Soviet Prime Minister Leonid Breshnev signed the Salt II Treaty, and Nicaraguan President General Anastasio Somoza DeBayle fled to Florida to avoid capture by the the Sandinistas. Therefore, those of us in the Class of 1980 became seniors in June of 1979. The senior year for any graduating class of course begins with the graduation of the class before it. Meanwhile, disco superstar Donna Summer (above) hit #1 three times while we were seniors with “Hot Stuff,” “Bad Girls,” and “No More Tears.” Although their term of stardom was limited to 19, The Knack (top) had the longest run at #1 on the pop charts during the tenure of The Class of 1980 with “My Sharona.” The group’s only #1 song was on top for 6 weeks from August to October.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |