1984: The Year In Top 40 Hits (Week #4: January 28, 1984)
The Romantics hit I rarely hear, Van Halen, Nena, and Real Life. Also, did you know Toni Basil had a second album? (Because I don’t think I did.)
Wrapping up the year’s first month, I ponder why some non-hits are remembered more than hits and I come to terms with liking the same band as a bunch of guys who really wanted to beat me up if only I wasn’t so much bigger than them. 11 new entries hit the chart, the highest being “Got A Hold On Me” by Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie at #44.
At #3, “Talking In Your Sleep” by The Romantics
Quick, name your favorite song by The Romantics. If you didn’t just yell “Hey!,” you probably weren’t a teenager in the 1980s. And even if you weren’t, you have undoubtedly heard the Detroit power poppers’ 1980 single “What I Like About You” literally hundreds of times on oldies radio, ’80s Hits streaming playlists, and TV ads. Hell, there was even a TV show named after it in the early 2000s. Basically, if The Romantics kept control of their publishing, they probably all own a nice house by now.
And yet, “What I Like About You” wasn’t a hit single, reaching a paltry #49 when it first came out. But the cheaply made…
