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My Favorite Cheesy ’80s Top 40 Songs from My Childhood
I know that some people will probably frown upon this list and that for a few, it may ruin my credibility. Thus, I feel like I should explain what this list is all about. Before I really got into music when I was 13, I didn’t buy much music but would enjoy whatever I heard on Top 40 radio or MTV. This isn’t about ironic post-modern appreciation, but about songs I genuinely liked a lot when I was a little kid and my tastes hadn’t been developed yet and which I still enjoy to this day. I typically shy away from lists like these featuring massively popular recordings and artists because my feeling is that they get enough attention as it is, but for one week, I thought that this would be a nice change of pace.
Juice Newton – “Queen of Hearts”
The song that inspired this list, this was a cover of a Dave Edmunds tune released several years before on his Repeat When Necessary album. Thus, it’s no surprise that the arrangement is quite similar to the original version and only slightly slicker. Plus, for an early ’80s mainstream country-rock hit, this is more “country” than most of what’s been on country radio for at least the last 20 years, so I’ll defend it for that reason, too. Mainly, though, it’s on here because this was my favorite song when I was 6.
Denise Williams – “Let’s Hear It for the Boy”
I didn’t have MTV until 1987 or so. Thus, I first saw music videos on weekly countdown shows. I remember this one from 1984 when I was 9 years old and it made an impression maybe because I wanted to be the little boy in the video?
Madonna – “Borderline”
Although not my favorite ’80s Madonna single, this is the first one that really made an impression partly because of its video, which I first also saw on the same program as my #2 pick back in 1984.
Sheila E – “The Glamorous Life”
Of course, now I know that this was written by Prince and was fairly representative of the unbelievable string of hits he churned out like clockwork back in his mid ’80s heyday both for himself and for others ranging from The Time to Vanity 6 to this gem for Sheila Escovedo, drummer extraordinaire and Alejandro Escovedo‘s niece. Also, I’m not the only indie-rocker who loves this song, as Corin Tucker covered it in her live set last year! Since you probably know the original, here’s the version we saw Tucker play last year at the First Unitarian Church here in Philadelphia.
The Fat Boys – “Wipeout”
The first album I ever bought was the Ghostbusters soundtrack. Admittedly, I bought it mainly because I loved the movie. I think it saw it 7 times in the theater when it came out. The music didn’t leave much of an impression on me, though. The second album I bought was The Fat Boys’ Crushin, which featured this big hit. At the time, I didn’t know that it featured Brian Wilson‘s angelic backing vocals or really much of anything about The Beach Boys, who would many years later become one of my favorite bands. Say what you will about the late Eugene Landy (and one can say many awful things about him), but he not only probably saved Brian’s life on several occasions, but he someow made him sing amazingly in the ’80s despite the so-so quality of his recorded material then. And this song has a ridiculous video, too!
Fleetwood Mac – “Little Lies”
Years before I knew that they started as a British blues band led by Peter Green and later morphed into the mid to late ’70s hit machine that’s still known to most fans today with Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie, I loved this Stevie song from 1987’s Tango in the Night album. I could’ve just as easily put in Christine’s amazing “Everywhere”, but was reminded of this one on last week’s episode of No Reservations when Anthony Bourdain‘s friend Zamir made a totally off-the-cuff reference to this song!
Belinda Carlisle – “Heaven is a Place on Earth”
Yes, songwriter Diane Warren is a hack, but admittedly she can crank out really catchy songs on occasion like this one from The Go-Go’s‘ vocalist’s second solo Lp. Check out the ridiculous, Diane Keaton-directed video, too!
Laura Branigan – “Gloria”
Although this song has nothing to do with it and came out several years earlier, it still makes me think of Hurricane Gloria, which struck the Eastern seaboard in 1985.
Neneh Cherry – “Buffalo Stance”
Long before I knew that one day the production team behind this record, The Wild Bunch (referenced in this song’s lyrics), would comprise future members of Massive Attack and that an album track called “Manchild” from Raw Like Sushi would be a blueprint for trip-hop and furthermore long before I knew she was a former member of both The Slits and Rip, Rig and Panic, I remember watching this video on MTV all the time in the spring of ’89.
Nu Shooz – “I Can’t Wait”
It’s no wonder that this 1986 hit has been sampled by everyone from Vanessa Williams to Girl Talk given its groove.
