The Top Hits of 1980 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Call Me (Theme From "American Gigolo")

First, a few words concerning the resources I've used to determine the ratings applied to the songs in this quiz. I've used three resources: Joel Whitburn's "A Century of Pop Music", Fred Bronson's "Billboard's Hottest Hot 100 Hits" and a resource I've used exclusively in the past but that, unfortunately, cannot be identified. A friend had a small periodical, the authors of which assessed the top hits of each year in the same manner as Bronson but with some refinements. I photocopied their conclusions for each year that they surveyed from 1956 to 1985, but didn't keep a record of their methodology nor, unfortunately, their names. As such, I can't even Google them to learn more about their techniques but suffice to say, each week that a song is on the Hot 100 chart, points are earned, 100 for being Number One and 1 point for anchoring the chart as the Number 100 song. Their refinements pertained to bonus points based on an algorithm I can't recall. Anyway, the yearly rankings I quote are objective rankings based on statistics and not reflective of my subjective biases and lean primarily on the unknown third resource.

With that out of way, Blondie's "Call Me" edged out Kenny Roger's "Lady" by 74 points with each song garnering over 1900 points. Since their statistics were virtually identical, I went through the 25 Billboard charts that each song appeared in and discovered that Blondie's song had a significant edge in their relative chart positions when the songs rested between Number 10 and Number 40 on the Hot 100. That turned out to be the difference.

Blondie's first charting hit was the Number One "Heart of Glass" released in early 1979. Prior to this, they were just one of a myriad of New-Wave groups populating New York's underground music scene and were deemed to be sellouts by their peers when they actually achieved mainstream success. "Call Me" would be the groups' biggest hit but they did follow it up with two more Number Ones within the year; "The Tide is High" in January 1981 and "Rapture" two months later. Numerous pressures, both internal and external, resulted in the group disbanding from 1983 to 1997 with the members pursuing personal projects.

"Call Me", as noted in the parenthetical title, was the theme song for the movie "American Gigolo". Giorgio Moroder was producing the music for the movie and originally wanted Stevie Nicks to provide the lyrics and sing the song for the melody he had already composed. Contractually, Nicks was unavailable to become involved, so Debbie Harry, the lead singer for Blondie, was asked to step in and she completed the lyrics within a few hours. The song was Number One in the main markets of the U.S., the U.K. and Canada, and Number Four in Australia.

Answer: Lady

"Lady" was composed by Lionel Richie and it sounded like a Richie composition in every respect. At the time, I was curious why Rogers was singing the song and earning all the royalties when it would have easily merged into Richie's repertoire. The answer was simple... Rogers specifically asked Richie to write a song for him and this was it. Now that's a friend! The record was a hit in other markets but not quite as big as in the U.S., reaching Number Two in Canada, Number 12 in the U.K. and Number 15 in Australia.

Rogers started in show biz as a rock and roll wannabe while a teenager in the mid-1950s, without success. He dabbled in jazz and folk singing with the Kirby Stone Four before becoming a member of The New Christy Minstrels in the mid-1960s. He broke away with three other Christy colleagues to form the psychedelic/pop group The First Edition in 1967 and had his first taste of individual success as their lead singer. When they broke up in 1976, he established himself in the genres which netted him fame and fortune... country music delivered in such a way that it was palatable to the pop music market. He also appeared in a few TV movies, established a chain of restaurants, and espoused several philanthropic causes. He passed away of natural causes in March 2020.

Answer: Another One Bites the Dust

At 31 weeks, this song had the longest tenure on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the 1980-81 period and with that, became the third ranked song for 1980. Besides the U.S., it achieved Number One status in Canada, Israel and Spain while surprisingly, to me at least, it only reached Number Five in Australia and Number Seven in the U.K.

All the members of Queen would contribute writing credits to their musical catalogue and this diversity was considered to be a strength of the group by music critics in that Queen wasn't pigeon-holing themselves into one style of music. This song was a composition of bassist John Deacon but when Freddie Mercury first heard the initial basics of the song, thrust himself headlong into crafting the final version to suit his vocal strengths. Following Mercury's untimely death in 1991, Deacon, who was always the most reserved and private member of Queen, gradually withdrew from the group until being the first original member to leave in 1997.

Answer: Upside Down

Your other choices were Number One hits for Ross earlier in her career in 1970, 1973 and 1976. "Upside Down" was the fourth ranked Billboard hit for 1980. Besides being Diana Ross's biggest solo release, it also proved to be her last although, she did score another nine-week Number One hit as part of a duet with Lionel Richie in 1981 with "Endless Love". The record topped the local charts in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and all the Scandinavian countries while peaking at Number Two in the U.K. and Number Five in Canada.

"Upside Down" was composed by the team of Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, the creative force behind the disco group Chic. Ross had seen the group in concert with her daughters and impressed with the energy of the performance, asked them to spearhead her next recording. They produced and mixed the recording in their usual way but when Ross heard it, she was aghast, feeling that her vocal was being overwhelmed. Rodgers tried to tweak the mixing, unsatisfactorily in Ross's opinion, but balked at further remixing believing that the integrity of his production would be compromised. He suggested that she remix it herself and with the help of a Motown technician, she did just that until she was satisfied. By mutual consent, the Chic team and Ross never collaborated on a project again.

Answer: Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)

Pink Floyd were notorious in their reputation for devoting their creative energies in the production of albums and having no desire whatsoever in creating radio friendly singles. Since the formation of the band in 1965, they had recorded eleven Billboard charting LP's, including the all-time charting king "The Dark Side of the Moon", but they had generated but one charting single record, the Number 13 "Money" in 1973. Were it not for the intervention of their producer, Bob Ezrin, "Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)" never would have seen the Hot 100 chart either.

The group was in the midst of recording tracks for the album "Another Brick in the Wall", a project primarily conceived by bassist Roger Waters who, based on his own experiences, was critical of the abusive and rigid manner in which students were taught, particularly in private institutions. The track sharing the name of the album was to have three distinct parts and Part II dealt with the topic explicitly. Just 1:20 of the track was initially laid down and Ezrin thought it could be an excellent single if it were polished up and extended. He was rebuffed by Waters who said, "we don't do singles". While the band was elsewhere, he did some work on it by discofying it a bit, introducing a middle section by having a school choir sing a chorus, and then repeating the first part to complete that section. When Waters heard the finished product, he was thoroughly impressed and relented... Ezrin had his single!

Answer: Rock With You

In 1979, Michael Jackson made a giant career move when he left Motown and signed with the Epic label. Quincy Jones was tasked with the responsibility of producing Jackson's first album and although he admired Jackson's talent, he thought he sounded like a teenager when singing (at the age of 21) and was determined to have him sound more mature. He hired Rod Temperton, formerly the driving force behind the group Heatwave, to compose some material for the new album and rounded up a core of talented musicians to create the sound he wanted. Temperton wrote "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough", which topped the Hot 100 in October 1979, "Rock With You", and "Off The Wall", which wound up to be the album's title and reached Number 10 on the Hot 100 to boot. Jackson's debut with the label was a resounding success.

Although it was certainly a smash hit in the U.S., it didn't quite perform as well on the International scene. It stalled at Number Three in Canada, Number Four in Australia, Number Seven in the U.K. and oddly enough, Number 58 in Germany. It seems not to have charted at all in most other European or Asian markets. It was ranked seventh for 1980 by all three of my resources.

You may have noticed that the sixth ranked song for 1980 was omitted. It was "Do That To Me One More Time" by Captain and Tennillle. Unfortunately, the lyric repeatedly quoted the title, thus unsuitable for a lyrically oriented quiz. Also, although a fine song and obviously extremely popular, there was nothing otherwise notable about it to include in this section of the quiz.

Answer: A Woman in Love

All my resources agreed that "Woman In Love" was the eighth biggest hit of 1980. It was a Number One hit in virtually every market that had a national chart with only two exceptions that I could find... Number Two in New Zealand and Number 42 in Japan.

The enormous success of "Saturday Night Fever" in 1977 was due, in no small part, to the wonderful songs heard throughout the movie composed by the Gibb brothers, Barry, Robin and Maurice. Immediately, everyone wanted the brothers to write songs for them and Barbra Streisand and her team were no exception. I imagine it would be pretty tough to turn down a star of Streisand's magnitude so Barry Gibb rolled up his sleeves and ultimately composed all nine tracks that comprised Streisand's "Guilty" album. "Woman In Love" was the biggest hit of the bunch and in my humble opinion, I don't think Streisand ever delivered a more passionate and powerful reading of a song. As embellishment, a duet with Gibb of the album's title track, "Guilty", rose to Number Three and a second duet "What Kind Of Fool" went to Number Ten. Musically, the project was the zenith of Streisand's storied career.

Answer: Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Queen took "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" to Number One in the U.S., Canada, Australia and Netherlands, to Number Two in their homeland of the U.K., New Zealand and Ireland.

Although the group had significant success in the North American markets with 27 Hot 100 hits, seven top 10's and the two Number ones highlighted in this quiz, they were, not surprisingly, much more popular in the U.K. How about 22 top 10's with three Number One's, "Bohemian Rhapsody" twice (the initial release in 1975 and then with its re-release in December 1991 upon Freddie Mercury's demise) and another song, "Innuendo", which failed to crack the Hot 100 in the U.S.

"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" is pretty basic musically and some analysts consider it a rockabilly number, reminiscent of the 1950s with Presley influences. Mercury composed the song, the concept coming to him while bathing in a Munich hotel between recording sessions. He admitted he only could play three chords on the guitar and that may account for its lack of musical complexity. It was one of the few songs that he would play guitar on in concerts.

Answer: Magic

The enormous popularity of Olivia Newton-John's "Magic" was largely confined to North America as it only reached Number One in Canada and the U.S. It topped out at Number Four in both New Zealand and Australia, Number Five in South Africa, Number 12 in Sweden and in the U.K., it could best be described as a minor hit at Number 32. The movie it was featured in was "Xanadu" and the title song by Newton-John and The Electric Light Orchestra charted at Number Eight on the Hot 100. To many movie reviewers and the general public, the only good component of the movie was the music score.

The song was written and the record produced by John Farrar, a fellow Australian with whom she had a lengthy and productive professional relationship. When she first got into show business, she was part of a duet singing act with Pat Carroll whom Farrar married in 1969. The act broke up at that time and maybe as consolation for being a contributing influence, Farrar wrote and produced all of Newton-John's earlier hits such as "Have You Never Been Mellow", "You're The One That I Want", both Number One hits and the Number Three "Hopelessly Devoted To You", among many others. At the time, "Magic" was the biggest hit of her career but it would be eclipsed a year later with "Physical" which topped the Hot 100 for ten weeks! Farrar also produced that hit composed by the team of Kipner and Shaddick.

Answer: It's Still Rock and Roll to Me

All your other choices were Billy Joel songs but weren't Number One hits: "My Life" reached Number Three on the Hot 100 in 1979, "Don't Ask Me Why" was the single released after "It's Still Rock And Roll To Me" and struggled to a Number 19 position and "An Innocent Man" was a Number 10 hit in 1984. Along with its Hot 100 Number One status, it achieved the same chart position in Canada but didn't fare nearly as well in other major markets... Number Ten in Australia, Number 11 in Ireland and Number 14 in the U.K.

The song was a double-barreled response to criticisms directed his way by some music critics who one, considered him just a pop crooner, and two, tended to compartmentalize new songs into separate categories rather than just "rock and roll" music. Certainly, the album from which it was taken, "Glass Houses", was more rock oriented than his previous two albums, "The Stranger" and "52nd Street". Whether it succeeded in changing the opinions of those critics is unknown, but the music was good!

Answer: Coming Up (Live at Glasgow)

"It's coming up, it's coming up
Coming up (like a flower)
Coming up (yeah)"

Those were the lines following those quoted in the question.

This was an unusual hit in that there were two versions of the song kicking around. The original studio version was created with McCartney playing all the instrumental parts himself with his wife, Linda, providing back-up vocal support. In that version he utilized a vari-speed tape recorder to speed up his vocals. The second version was the "live" version recorded in concert in Glasgow, quite obviously. The studio version was released in the U.K. and by the third week following its release, it had already vaulted up to Number Two on the charts. Unfortunately, it rose no higher.

Meanwhile, it seems that the original version was also the first one that charted in Billboard, but stories diverge on events that followed. Side A was the studio version with Side B the "live" version and one story suggests that DJ's preferred the B side and started playing it exclusively. The alternate story suggests that Columbia Records felt that American audiences preferred the real sound of McCartney's voice rather than the jigged up one and started to release the record with the sides reversed. Apparently, McCartney was quite displeased with Columbia's arbitrary decision and John Lennon, who liked the song, thought the studio version far superior. Regardless, it proved to be an even bigger hit in the U.S. (and Canada) reaching Number One in both countries. I'm uncertain as to what version was released elsewhere but it also peaked at Number Two in Oz and New Zealand.

Answer: Funkytown

Lipps, Inc. only had one hit... but what a hit it was. It peaked at Number Two in the U.K. and Sweden, Number Three in Ireland, and Number Five in South Africa. If your country wasn't counted among those four, then "Funkytown" was likely a Number One hit where you lived since it is reported to have reached that lofty perch in 28 countries!

Lipps, Inc. was organized by songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Steven Greenberg in Minneapolis in 1979. Originally, the "group" was just him, essentially a studio act designed to produce disco songs. For "Funkytown", he enlisted a young singer and musician he had met earlier, Cynthia Johnson. Winner of the 1976 Miss Black Minnesota contest, she had been a member of Prince's back-up band, The Time. Other musicians were recruited shortly thereafter. For their follow-up, the group re-released an earlier song that was a local hit, "Rock It". It stumbled to Number 64 on the Hot 100 and that would be that. Later songs became popular in the disco havens of Europe but as that genre faded, so did the group and they disbanded by the middle of the decade. For the record, "Funkytown" was Greenberg's name for New York City.

Answer: Cruisin'

"Cruisin'" was Smokey Robinson's second biggest solo Hot 100 hit after "Being With You", his Number Two hit in 1981. Somehow, I just presumed he had a lengthy roster of hits as a solo artist but in fact, he just had nine. He was far more prolific as the leader of The Miracles!

Robinson added the lyrics to a melody Marvin Tarpley, a Miracles colleague, presented to him but it took Robinson five years to complete the task. Surprisingly, it was not a success internationally although it did top the New Zealand charts. A cover of "Cruisin'", recorded by Huey Lewis and Gwyneth Paltrow and released in late 2001, failed to chart at all in the U.S. but reached Number One in both New Zealand and Australia. I happened to be touring both countries at the time and can attest to its popularity... it was on the car radio constantly as we traveled.

Answer: The Rose

Singer/songwriter Amanda McBroom was listening to the radio while driving and heard a song written by Danny O'Keefe, of "Goodtime Charlie's Got The Blues" fame, that contained the line "Your love is like a razor". When she got home, she composed "The Rose" based on that one lyrical hook. She would sing the song occasionally in her act but otherwise had no further aspirations with it.

About a year later, a friend got wind of a movie that was about to go into production about Janice Joplin that was to be entitled "The Rose" and suggested she submit her composition with hopes that it might be the title song. It was rejected outright by the producers of the movie but sat among the balance of the rejects where it was spotted by the movie's music supervisor, Paul Rothchild. He took a shine to it, shared it with Bette Midler, who loved it, and together, convinced the reluctant producers to use it.

This was another record that performed nicely on the North American charts, Number Two in Canada, Number Three on the Hot 100, but was less popular elsewhere, only reaching Number Six in Australia and Number 24 in N.Z. and failing to crack the U.K. charts altogether. But 26 years later, Westlife recorded a cover of the song that raced up the chart to Number One in the U.K. but made no impression whatsoever abroad!

Answer: More Than I Can Say

Knowledgeable and alert readers would have recognized that "More Than I Can Say" was the only Leo Sayer song among your choices, all the others being big hits for Rick Astley later in the decade. It was a consistent Top Five hit in all the major English language markets, achieving Number One status in Australia, peaking at Number Two in the U.S., U.K. and Ireland, Number Three in Canada, and Number Five in N.Z.

Older listeners might have heard the song about twenty years earlier, especially those in the British Isles. The song was written in 1959 by Sonny Curtis and Jerry Allison, members of The Crickets, Buddy Holly's bandmates. As The Crickets, they recorded it in 1959 shortly after Holly's death and although it failed to chart in the U.S., it was a modest Number 42 hit in the U.K. in early 1960, according to the Guiness British Hit Singles guide. A year later, Bobby Vee recorded an almost exact cover of the song as the B-Side of "Stayin' In". Both versions are available on YouTube and their similarity is striking! The A-Side rose to Number 33 on the Hot 100 and "More Than I Can Say" garnered enough airplay and sales to peak at Number 61. In the U.K., a different story was written... "Stayin' In" was totally ignored and "More Than I Can Say" soared to Number Four! One wonders how much the previous successes of the song in the U.K. played into Sayer's decision to record his cover.