Top 100 Songs of the 1980s (60 - 51) Quiz

Answer: Please Don't Go

"Please Don't Go" by KC and the Sunshine Band spent a week on top and twenty weeks in the Top 40. The group was formed in 1973 in Miami, Florida by Harry Wayne Casey ("KC") and Richard Finch. They had four other number ones including "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty", "Get Down Tonight", "I'm Your Boogie Man" and "That's the Way (I Like It)".

"God Bless America" was written by Irving Berlin and recorded many times with Kate Smith's version probably the most legendary. Peaches and Herb took "Reunited" to number one for four weeks in 1979.

FUN FACT: "Please Don't Go" was remade by the band KWS and that version spent five weeks at number one in the U.K. in 1992.

Answer: Eddie Rabbitt and Crystal Gayle

"You and I" reached number seven on February 12th, 1983 and hung around the Hot 100 for an unusually long 29 weeks, 21 of those in the top 40. It was the last top 40 hit for both Crystal Gayle and Eddie Rabbitt. Crystal Gayle had phenomenal success on the country chart where she logged 18 number one hits and crossed over to the pop charts most notably as a solo artist with the number two smash "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" in 1977. Eddie Rabbitt also had a remarkable career on the country chart with 26 number one hits including crossover pop hits "I Love a Rainy Night" and "Drivin' My Life Away." Sadly, he passed away in 1998 at the age of 56 from lung cancer.

Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers sang the duet "Islands in the Stream". "Close My Eyes Forever" was a top ten hit for Ozzy Osbourne and Lita Ford. J. Lo and P. Diddy are so cool we're not permitted to say their full names.

FUN FACT: Crystal Gayle is the sister of country legend Loretta Lynn and the distant cousin to singer Patty Loveless.

Answer: Kiss on My List

"Kiss on My List" reached number one on April 11th, 1981 and became the first of five number one songs for the duo during the 1980s. It was the third and most successful song off their platinum-selling album "Voices". The single went gold and was the 7th biggest hit of 1981 according to Billboard's yearend survey.

"Family Man" was a top ten hit for Hall and Oates in 1983. Leo Sayer took "More Than I Can Say" to number two for five weeks at the end of 1980. "Confessions of a Mona Lisa" is pure malarky.

FUN FACT: Daryl Hall claims that Eddie Van Halen copied the synth part of "Kiss on my List" for Van Halen's pop hit "Jump".

Answer: White Nights

"Say You, Say Me" reached number one on December 21st, 1985 and became Lionel Richie's fourth solo number following his departure from the acclaimed group The Commodores. Because Motown Records didn't want the single to appear on the "White Nights" soundtrack (on another label), the single was released ten months earlier than the album it was featured on, "Dancing on the Ceiling". As a result the single was a big seller and was certified gold by the RIAA. It also crossed over to the Adult Contemporary chart where it stayed at number one for five weeks and the R&B chart where it held the top for two weeks.

The 1986 movie "Running Scared" featured Michael McDonald's hit "Sweet Freedom". The biggest hit off of the "Back to the Future" soundtrack was Huey Lewis and the News' tune "The Power of Love". The 1984 film "The Natural" features the Oscar-nominated score of Randy Newman.

FUN FACT: "Say You, Say Me" beat out "The Power of Love" and "The Color Purple's" "Miss Celie's Blues" to win the 1985 Best Original Song Academy Award.

Answer: Straight Up

"Straight Up" became Paula Abdul's first number one hit when it took over the top spot on February 11th, 1989. It went on to hit the top five on the R&B and dance charts in America and the pop charts in Britain and Germany. It came from the album "Forever Your Girl" which sold nearly 20 million copies worldwide and was number one on Billboard's album chart for ten weeks. "Straight Up" was named the fourth biggest hit of 1989 in Billboard's yearend survey.

"Cold Hearted" was Paula Abdul's third number one single in 1989. Janet Jackson took "Nasty" to the top five in 1986. "Let's Talk About Sex" was a top twenty tune by Salt-N-Pepa back in the early nineties.

FUN FACT: The popular black and white video for "Straight Up" featured comedian and talk show host Arsenio Hall.

Answer: Flowers on Mother's Day

"I Just Called to Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder spent three weeks at number one in October, 1984. The song was an international phenomenon, hitting number one in over ten countries including the U.K., France, Australia, and New Zealand. This was the eighth of ten number one songs Stevie Wonder charted with on the Billboard Hot 100. His legendary career began when he was 13 with the number one smash "Fingertips - Pt 2". He had both critical and popular success in the 1970s with classic Grammy award winning albums "Innervisions" and "Songs in the Key of Life". His popular success continued into the 1980s with lighter pop fare including "That Girl" and "Part-Time Lover".

FUN FACT: "I Just Called to Say I Love You" won both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Answer: Hard to Say I'm Sorry

"Hard to Say I'm Sorry" took the top spot on September 11th, 1982 where it stayed for two weeks. It spent 18 weeks in the top 40, 12 of those in the top ten. It was sung by the group's then lead singer Peter Cetera who later left the group in 1985. It came at a time when the band was moving away from its harder rock sound of the 1970s and was finding a new fan base with softer sounding ballads. As a result this song was also popular with the adult contempory crowd where it hit number one on that chart and stayed there for three weeks.

Chicago took "Hard Habit to Break" to the top five in 1984. "Don't Stop Believin'" was a top ten hit for Journey in 1981. Elvis Presley took "Good Luck Charm" to number one in 1962.

FUN FACT: The song was preceded and followed at number one by the Steve Miller Band's hit "Abracadabra".

Answer: I'm So Excited

During the 1980s "I'm So Excited" became one of only a handful of records to reach the top 40 on two separate occasions. Like "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" the song was featured in the 1982 film "Summer Lovers" and got as high as number 30 in its first chart run. Two years later the song was re-released and became an even bigger hit reaching number nine. The point total from its two chart runs made it the 53rd biggest hit of the decade.

"Jump (For My Love)" hit the top five for the Pointer Sisters in 1984. Bananarama had their first top ten hit with "Cruel Summer" in 1984. "Sugar, Sugar" was a number one song for the Archies in 1969.

FUN FACT: In a list of 365 records by the Recording Industry Association of America called "Songs of the Century", "I'm So Excited" came in at number 264.

Answer: Keep On Loving You

"Keep On Loving You" hit number one on March 21st, 1981. It was the first of two number one hits for REO Speedwagon, their second one coming in 1985 with "Can't Fight This Feeling". "Hi Infidelity" sold nine million copies and spawned four top 40 hits including "Take It on the Run", "In Your Letter", and "Don't Let Him Go". REO Speedwagon's pop chart career fizzled by the end of the 1980s and by the 2000s the band was seen on tour playing both their classic rock tunes from the 1970s and their more mainstream hits from the 1980s.

"The Best of Times" was a number three hit for Styx in 1981. The Talking Heads had new wave success with "Psycho Killer" in 1977.

FUN FACT: "Keep On Loving You" was the 17th video shown on MTV when the station began broadcasting on August 1st, 1981.

Answer: Monica

"Footloose" hit number one on March 31st, 1984 and remained there for three weeks. The song spent 23 weeks on the Hot 100 chart with 11 of those weeks in the top ten (the most weeks any song spent in the top ten in 1984.) The song went platinum and was named by Billboard as the fourth biggest hit of 1984. "Footloose" also hit number one in Australia and New Zealand and reached number five in the U.K.

It came from the "Footloose" movie soundtrack which spent ten weeks at number one and went platinum nine times over. The album also tied the record for the movie soundtrack with the most top 40 hits. It produced an incredible seven top 40 hits including the number one song "Let's Hear It For The Boy" and the top ten ballad "Almost Paradise".

FUN FACT: "Footloose" was nominated for Best Original Song in 1984. Sadly it lost to none other than song number 55 "I Just Called to Say I Love You". Damn those Libra suns!

Thank you so much to everyone who has been playing this continuing series. It's fun going down memory lane. We're halfway to number one. I wonder who will come up on top? Look for songs 50 to 41 coming soon!