1984: The Year In Top 40 Hits (Week 16: April 21, 1984)
A something-for-everyone week with Phil Collins, Julio and Willie, Deniece Williams, Modern English, and how Night Ranger (slightly) changed me
(Note: If you’re new here, you might want to read an introduction to this series to get caught up on what we’re doing. Glad you could make it.)
This is a week where it seemed like every major strain of popular music was in the Top 40, which is part of what I find so remarkable about 1984 musically. In the ’60s and ’70s, when Top 40 stations were aiming for a wider demographic, it was common to hear easy listening, country, and even occasional jazz songs among the pop, rock, and R&B hits. By the end of the ’80s, when national chains were starting to dominate radio, playlists had become much more narrow. There were eight new entries, the highest being the Nile Rodgers remix of Duran Duran’s “The Reflex” at #46. We will definitely get to that.
At #1, “Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)” by Phil Collins
A couple months ago, I went on at some length about how you just couldn’t escape Phil Collins for about five years there. But one thing I didn’t really focus on is that for the most part, you…
