1984: The Year In Top 40 Hits (Week 17: April 28, 1984)
Steve Perry, Billy Joel, Real Life, Josie Cotton, and Talk Talk before they invented post-rock
(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.)
There’s just something about the end of April. Spring is at its height, and when I was living in west Texas, this was when the winds were finally starting to die down. We’re only about a month out from the start of summer, and in 1984, the Top 40 was starting to get really really good. There were nine new entries this week, the highest being “Love Will Show Us How” by Christine McVie, a song I have no memory of, at 54.
At #17, “Oh, Sherrie” by Steve Perry
Yes, once again I’ve already written about every song in the Top 10. Now, I’ve already spoken of my feelings for Journey as a band. To the displeasure of my editor, for whom they were a much-beloved first concert. But the visceral dislike I’ve had for their music is something I’ve had since I first heard their first hit “Wheel in the Sky” back in 1978. I can’t fully explain it, but it’s also entirely true that just looking over the song titles in their entry in Joel Whitburn’s Billboard Top 40 reference…
