Don’s Top 10 From March 15, 1987

Back to Sunday, March 15, 1987. Mets fans were freaking out: Doc Gooden admitted to a coke habit & was out indefinitely. Talk about a bummer after a world championship. But, hey, good music! Here's the local top 10 album list, for a change of pace.

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10
"Different Light" by The Bangles
(#4 last week) My favorite 80s artists! Every one of their songs is soooo catchy, filled with jangly guitars & melody. This video for "Walking Down Your Street" features Little Richard & Randy Quaid.
9
"Night Songs" by Cinderella
(New to top 10) It sure helps when you open on tour for Bon Jovi! This album peaked at #3; the single "Nobody's Fool", #13.
8
"Rapture" by Anita Baker
(#8 last week) This latest single from the LP "Rapture", "Caught Up In The Rapture", did great on the R&B & Adult Contemporary chart, but not so much at top 40 radio. Pretty tune.
7
"Invisible Touch" by Genesis
(#5 last week) Tonight Tonight Tonight" was the 4th single from the LP. The video borrows a bit from the movie "Blade Runner".
6
"Give Me A Reason" by Luther Vandross
(#7 last week) Luther's first #1 R&B chart single since "Never Too Much" in 1981, & his biggest pop chart crossover to date.
5
"Control" by Janet Jackson
(#6 last week) Fans of the group America perked up their ears when "Let's Wait Awhile"was released from the "Control" album: the opening notes sound like they were lifted from America's 1975 hit "Daisy Jane". The song was interpreted as an anthem to sexual abstinence as it was a hit at the height of the AIDS epidemic.
4
"The Way It Is" by Bruce Hornsby & The Range
(#3 last week) Speaking of borrowing from an earlier song, "Mandolin Rain" appears to be partly inspired by the R&B song "You Don't Miss Your Water" by William Bell, due to it employing the same hook (heard at the beginning of both songs), & by a amazingly similar swing feel (albeit with different chords).
3
"Graceland" by Paul Simon
(#10 last week) This title track from the album was just named "Record Of The Year" at the Grammys, kind of a surprise because the single had not been a hit on top 40 radio (up to that point).
2
"Licensed To Ill" by The Beastie Boys
(#2 last week) By 1987, rap was going rock...& suburban. The album "Licensed To Ill" was the first rap album to make it to #1 nationally. This party jam has definitely endured!
1
"Slippery When Wet" by Bon Jovi
(#1 last week; 9th week at #1) The story goes that Jon bon Jovi did not like the original recording of this song, which can be found as a hidden track on "100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong". Richie Sambora convinced him the song was good, and they reworked it with a new bass line, different drum fills and the use of a talk box to include it on their "Slippery When Wet" album. Smart move.

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