Sunday morning I caught an “encore presentation” of an American Top 40 countdown. You know the show where Casey Kasem would spend three hours on a Sunday morning, counting down Billboard’s hits.
I suppose there was another way, even then, to find out the number one song than to stay glued to the radio all morning long. That’s how I spent my Sunday mornings though, begrudgingly missing a section of the show each week for church.
Did you listen to the Top 40 growing up? Do you listen now (I hear Seacrest is doing it now?)? For funsies, go look at rockonthenet.com/archive/ and tell me what the number one song was when you were ten. The week of my birthday, 1983, it was “Maniac” from Flashdance.
28 replies on “Open Thread: Monday Night Flashback”
It seems that the #1 on my 10th birthday would have been (Just Like) Starting Over (John Lennon), but then I got birthday money, so the next week the #1 was Tide is High (Blondie) (see, I bought a Blondie album for my birthday so I’m sure that brought them to #1 -_-).
I did listen to the Top 40 countdowns at time so that I’d be in the loop on pop culture, but I was never terribly into mainstream pop music. There was a British countdown-style show on the radio that I would record to hear some different stuff, and we had a really good local alternative station that I listened to throughout the 70s/80s/bits of early 90s. I worked in music stores for quite a while, and all of that trivia I’d acquired actually came in handy regularly :)
1983 – Billy Joel’s “Tell Her About It”. And I was *this close* to having it be “Safety Dance” by Men without Hats! I loved that song! I’m posting that one instead, because frankly it’s hilarious.
Oops, that was the song from when I was born. When I was 10 (1993), it was Mariah Carey’s Dreamlover. I was never the type to go along with mainstream pop culture even then, so I actually have no idea what that song even sounds like. I stand by my above choice.
Whatever they were smoking when that video was made, I want some.
’96 – “One Sweet Day”
Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men
I love to look at stuff like this, especially internationally. In the Netherlands it was Los Del Rio with Macarena (do you PMagoneers know that one? Please know that one. It will be stuck in your head from now on).
Do I know the Macarena?! It haunted my middle school life for soooo long…
And now it will totally be stuck in my head forever. Aah!
Ha ha!
I mean, oops, sorry. Of course.
Oh, and for my 10th birthday? Meredith Brooks’ “Bitch”. It was the only acceptable way to say that word, singing that song. We used the “but it’s art!” argument to my mom.
Oh man, I like a lot of the top 10s that year. jfbsgjhdk.
http://youtu.be/4LEsuk_dtLY
I used to listen to it every weekend up thourgh 7th grade. I was certain if I listened often enough, wrote down things often enough, then I’d have the magic key to having other kids like me through the virtue of popular culture. I didn’t recognize that my affect and behavior was far enough off the norm. I was sure that it was class issues- we didn’t have tv at the time or anything that was very costly at all- not disability ones that were getting in the way.
My heart goes out to you reading this, because I was a very painfully shy, poorer, smart kid, and I definitely was the subject of some pretty bad girl-on girl bullying during grade 6 and 7. I too listened to the top 40 every week (even though classical music was my first and only musical love at the time) in the hopes of fitting in. Radio has a huge part in my life -if I am at home doing school work I listen to CBC all day and my dissertation is on radio in Canada in the 1940s- but that place it holds in my life was, in my youth, a painful and awkward one.
The number on song on my birthday when I was 10 was Two Hearts by Phil Collins. I missed Straight Up by Paula Abdul by two weeks. I remember the countdown and the request and dedication letters. So cheesy, but so great. I had an internal bet with myself of whether the person was going to request I Will Always Love You by Whitney. 9 times out of 10 I was right.
Well I had to go somewhere else to find it, but apparently it was Annie’s Song, by John Denver. And damn what a blast from the past, digging through the information.
I’m pretty sure I can still remember the words to pretty much all of the Billboard number ones from 1974.
Ugh, apparently the week I turned 10 the #1 song was “Dreamlover” by Mariah Carey. But when I was born it was “Total Eclipse of the Heart” which is much better.
When I turned 15 it was BNL’s “One Week.” Good luck getting that out of your head.
I looked up the song from when I was 10 and it is extremely bad so I looked up what was number one when I was born and it also sucks. They are both terrible-no- good- very-bad ear worms so I wont inflict them on ya’ll by mentioning them by name.
Dude, I freaking loved Casey Kasem as a kid. My church was super early, so I didn’t have to miss any of it, which was nice.
My 10 year old song is Aerosmith’s “I don’t want to miss a thing.” Gross. That song was (and is) way over played. Good band though.
I hate to bring sad news into the open thread, but many of you may know or have followed Tashi and Wash’s struggle with his brain cancer. It looks like the end is very very near, and both could use some good thoughts tonight. If you can spare a couple bucks to help with his final expenses, that would also be greatly appreciated. http://www.fundly.com/thecommunecares
Thank you for sharing this with us.
Thanks for sharing. I was wondering about them this weekend when I wasn’t in a position to look.
In a desperate act of procrastination I just read the comments on Jezebel’s MRA article. Â Someone please hold me. Â I need happy gifs.
Have a zen cat:
Oh Gosh, I looked and now I can’t tear my eyes away.
My number one hit when I turned 10 was Cheap Trick’s “The Flame.” (Note – beware of clicking the song titles; it took me to a spammy page rather than anything having to do with the song).
OT: I had pho for the first time tonight and I’m obsessed. I want pho all day every day.
Also all the beers were $3 or less and cocktails were $4.95 (like, all the time, this was not a happy hour thing).If you are in/around Philly, and you like pho/authentic Vietnamese food, go to Pho Xe Lua Viet Thai. Do itttttt.
I love Pho! (And Will Farrell) I think that I actually went to that restaurant when I was at an academic conference in Philly a few years ago.
Another member of the pho obsession club here! Ways pho has changed my life:
1. Mutual love of pho is one of the founding pillars of my relationship with my boyfriend.
2. One of my new food aspirations is to make my own pho this winter.
3. Screw backpacking through Europe, when I have time/money for vacation I am (completely seriously) going to Vietnam and eating pho at the source.
Be careful with that stuff, it’s addictive :-P