Flashback: August 28, 1987

 Good morning again everyone. Well as promised, I would have a flashback entry for you, and for this week, we're going back to one of my favorite years musically in my opinion, 1987. I have been on a late-80s kick lately in my Spotify listening, so it was only natural that I decided to make this one within the years of 1985-1989. So, without further ado here were the Top 40 songs according to Radio & Records magazine for the week ending August 28, 1987:

40. Victim Of Love by Bryan Adams. Not one of his biggest hits, but this did at least chart.

39. Fake by Alexander O'Neal. Remember "GLOW?" That outfit shot a couple of vignettes to this song. Now it could be used to describe about half the women here in the Tampa Bay area. JUST KIDDING...

38. Back To Paradise by 38 Special. This song was featured in the soundtrack to "Revenge of the Nerds Part II." I'm still awaiting my revenge since God almighty was I a dork back then.

37. Never Let Me Down by David Bowie. I've yet to meet a person that hasn't if we're being totally and brutally honest.

36. Making Love In The Rain by Herb Alpert. Something I want to experience but haven't done yet.

35. Casanova by Levert

34. Let Me Be The One by Expose. I had a crush on Expose back then, especially Gioia. I think I mentioned that before on a previous flashback entry.

33. Living In A Box by Living In A Box. I understand that $430/month (which was the rent of the first apartment I had in 1999) now covers probably enough room for a box to live in, and that's just in Tampa. I'd hate to see what It's like in New York or Los Angeles.

32. Heart And Soul by T'Pau. If memory serves me correct, they got the name of this band from an episode of "Star Trek." On a side note, one of my classmates from junior high said that the hairstyle my cousin was rocking back then resembled that of the lead singer of T'Pau. Hilarious.

31. Give To Live by Sammy Hagar

30. Jump Start by Natalie Cole. She left us far too soon. RIP.

29. I Want Your Sex by George Michael. This song was banned by practically every radio station in North Carolina (fricking Mayberry complex), but not MTV. And it was actually a descent song. So TarHeelia, you were wrong to ban this.

28. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. When I was a thirteen-year-old, I would visualize former professional wrestler Nikita Koloff singing the opening lines to this song for some reason. On a related note, no I haven't found what I'm looking for.

27. Wipe Out by The Fat Boys with The Beach Boys. This was the first of two songs by Fat Boys that would make the top 40 as a collaboration with an artist from the 1960s, The next year, they would hit with a remake of Chubby Checker's "Twist."

26. Lies by Jonathan Butler

25. Who Will You Run To? by Heart. Well, not naming names, but Seattle is a possibility. Seattle is where Heart hails from.

24. Paper In Fire by John Mellencamp

23. U Got The Look by Prince. I loved this song for the sheer fact that Sheena Easton collaborated on this. 

22. Luka by Suzanne Vega. A really sad song when you actually hear the lyrics, it dealt with a child being abused.

21. Mary's Prayer by Danny Wilson

20. One Heartbeat by Smokey Robinson. A nice track off his comeback album.

19. Touch Of Grey by The Grateful Dead. Something almost every Gen-Xer can relate to.

18. Lost In Emotion by Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam. Remember the summer of '87, when Lisa Lisa was the biggest thing going? Good times.

17. It's Not Over (Til It's Over) by Starship. No, it isn't. I'm keeping the faith, slight as it might be.

16. I Need Love by LL Cool J. Yes, I do and have been doing so for decades.

15. Love Power by Dionne Warwick & Jeffrey Osborne. I'm kinda surprised this track actually got that high on the chart being it was the final top 40 hit for Warwick before she went off to the Psychic Friends Network.

14. I Heard A Rumour by Bananarama. I heard way too many of them growing up; that was an unofficial pastime in St. Pauls, NC--spreading rumors. Probably still is.

13. Who Found Who by Jellybean f/Elisa Fiorillo. I remember from his hit "Sidewalk Talk" that featured Madonna. Elisa Fiorillo had a solo hit in 1990 with "On The Way Up" (NOT available on Spotify by the way). Don't remember this one though.

12. Rock Steady by the Whispers. Another 60s artist who decided to make a comeback that year.

11. Carrie by Europe. That group's biggest power ballad. No, it wasn't about the girl who got doused in blood at her prom. Sorry to disappoint, horror geeks.

10. Can't We Try by Dan Hill & Vonda Shepard. I only heard of two Vondas in my lifetime, Shepard and a girl I grew up with in St. Pauls named Vonda Warren. No idea what happened to her; she's probably married and is now a grandmother now.

  9. When Smokey Sings by ABC. How about that, a song by Smokey Robinson and a song about him in the same chart. Remarkable.

  8. Don't Mean Nothing by Richard Marx. And thus, a legend was created.

  7. Doin' It All For My Baby by Huey Lewis & The News. I remember this song had a memorable video that played off the bride of Frankenstein.

  6. Only In My Dreams by Debbie Gibson. Speaking of legends being created, this song launched another one. By the way, I preferred Tiffany over her just for the fact that Tiff had red hair. Sorry, Deb.

  5. Here I Go Again by Whitesnake. Before this year, this song was remembered fondly by me, after March not so much. If you've paid attention to what has gone on with me this year much, you'd know why...

  4. Who's That Girl by Madonna. "Quienes esta nina?" was the first exposure I really had to the Spanish language, other than counting to ten when I was a little kid.

  3. Didn't We Almost Have It All by Whitney Houston. Hate to say, but I've never even come close to having it all.

  2. I Just Can't Stop Loving You by Michael Jackson. I never really cared for this song, probably because it was sappy. Siedah Garrett (who was featured on this track) parlayed this song to hosting duties on "America's Top Ten" a couple of years later.

...and the number one song on this date 35 years ago was...

  1. La Bamba by Los Lobos. Featured in the biopic of Richie Valens played by Lou Diamond Phillips of the same name. Also, the basis of a hilarious promo by the Rock on the late great Eddie Guererro in the early 2000s for you wrestling geeks.

That's my flashback segment for this week. I hope to get some more writing done either later tonight or early tomorrow, which is the beginning of the college football season (IT'S HERE ALREADY?!) Until next time, take care. 

CT