Don’s Top 10 for March 17, 1985

(#8 last week) The first of two in the top 10 this week from the "Beverly Hills Cop" soundtrack (it was also the 4th top 10 single from the Pointers' album "Break Out"), I always liked this peppy number. Hard to believe, it almost caused an international incident. The communist Soviet government thought it was a song about nuclear war & banned it!

(#19 last week) At the same time this was a hit, a previous hit of his was up for an Oscar: "Against all Odds". But Collins wasn't asked to sing his own hit song by the fuddy-duddy academy, instead recruiting stage veteran Ann Reinking to perform it!

(#17 last week) The official music video for this song was directed by the legendary helmsman Sam Peckinpah. Too bad it's disappeared from the internet. Harmonica on the song is by "Toots" Thielemans, who was also on another 1985 hit, Billy Joel's "Leave A Tender Moment Alone". This was the 2nd top 10 single from Julian's album "Valotte", & for a brief moment it seemed he'd achieve stardom like his dad. But it was fleeting.

(#15 last week) A surprise Lionel Richie-less comeback for the Alabama soulsters, 3 years after their last hit with Richie, "Oh No". It's basically a soul version of "Rock & Roll Heaven".

(#9 last week) Teena Marie (real name: Mary Brockert) was affectionately nicknamed by R&B fans, among other things, "Lady T", "Vanilla Child" & "The Ivory Queen Of Soul". Even though she was not African-American, she was such a convincing R&B artist she only crossed over to the pop chart in a big way only once, with this song.

(#5 last week) That's the New Jersey Mass Choir (along with then "Dreamgirl" Jennifer Holliday, & the Thompson Twins) backing up Foreigner. It's #476 on Rolling Stone's list of the Top 500 Rock Songs Of all Time.

(#2 last week) More "Beverly Hills Cop" music. Glenn Frey gets 80s neat, both sartorially & musically.

(#4 last week) The hit that gave Madonna her nickname. Catchy tune, but the lyrics don't make me miss the 80s, to be honest. Yeah, sure, it's a "joke". Whatever. I'm afraid it was taken literally by far too many. Greed is good, Gordon Gekko! :-(

(#3 last week) It took REO 10 years to get their first big hits, then 4 more years for their next. Yet after 14 years, they had the same lineup, a rarity.

(#1 last week; 4th week at #1) Michael came up with the melody to this song while riding the bus during his time as a movie usher. In the U.K., this was released by "George Michael", his first solo hit, but Wham! had finally broken through in America just 3 months earlier, years after stardom overseas, & the record company wanted to keep the momentum going, so here it was "Wham! Featuring George Michael". At least poor Andrew Ridgely got a co-writing credit.