Welcome to My Poolside Playlist Quiz

Answer: The Police

"Every Breath You Take" was the top song of 1983, spending eight weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 from July 9 until August 27. According to Sting, he woke up in the middle of the night with one line of the song and wrote it in about half an hour. It's often perceived as romantic, but was written from the point of view of a stalker. The song won two Grammy Awards in 1984, for Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

"Every Breath You Take" comes from The Police's fifth and final studio album, "Synchronicity." Guitarist Andy Summers believed he should share the songwriting credit and after years of legal machinations, he and Sting came to a settlement in 2026.

Sting (lead vocals and bass), Stewart Copeland (drums), and Andy Summers (guitar) formed The Police in 1977. Before disbanding in 1986, their five albums produced several hit singles including "Roxanne," "Don't Stand So Close to Me," and "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic."

Answer: Eurythmics

"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" was the first US-released single (they'd previously released three in the UK) and breakout hit for Eurythmics. With Dave Stewart's driving synthesizer line, Annie Lennox's soaring vocals, and a surreal video which places the androgynously-styled, orange-haired Lennox in both a board room and a cow pasture, it made an impression and spent the week of September 3 at the top of the Billboard Hit 100. The lyrics reference the time when Stewart and Lennox's prior group, The Tourists, broke up and they despaired of reaching their dreams. This breakthrough hit was followed by several others, including "Here Comes the Rain Again," "Would I Lie to You," and "Missionary Man."

Eurythmics won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1984 and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. They have also been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005.

Answer: Donna Summer

Donna Summer, the Queen of Disco, released her 11th studio album in 1983 and the title track and first single, "She Works Hard for the Money," is was at its Billboard Hot 100 peak of number three this week. Summers was inspired to write this story of a working class woman struggling through her day by meeting a restroom attendant named Onetta Johnson at a Grammy after party in 1983. Johnson poses on the back of the album with Summer, wearing waitress uniforms.

Born Donna Gaines on December 31, 1948 in Boston, Donna Summer sang in a blues rock band called Crow and the German production of the musical "Hair" before releasing an album in Europe produced by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Belotte. The title track from her second albums, "Love to Love You Baby" became an international hit and reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100. In collaboration with Moroder and Belotte, she released a number of live and studio albums but became a victim of the backlash against disco. She continued to record and release music until her death from lung cancer on May 17, 2012.

Answer: Michael Sembello

Another Billboard Hot 100 number one from the "Flashdance" soundtrack, "Maniac" held that position for two weeks starting on September 10. Songwriter Dennis Matkosky initially wrote it about a serial killer moving in next door but rewrote it to fit the movie.

Singer Michael Sembello started working as a studio musician at age 17, including work on Stevie Wonder's "Songs in the Key of Life.' He wrote Diana Ross's 1981 hit "Mirror Mirror," and released five studio albums. He was also a studio artist on Stevie Wonder's "Songs in the Key of Life."

Answer: Duran Duran

Why would a band's eighth single end up on their debut album? Well, when it first released in 1981, Duran Duran's self titled debut album was a bit of a flop. After the success of "Rio," their US label rereleased the album with "Is There Something I Should Know" replacing "To the Shore." "Is There Something I Should Know" peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and the video featured clips from their previous videos.

Duran Duran was formed in Birmingham in 1978 by childhood friends John Taylor and Nick Rhodes (born Nicholas Bates). By 1980, their classic lineup of singer Simon LeBon, keyboardist Rhodes, bassist John Taylor, drummer Roger Taylor, and guitarist Andy Taylor was set. This lineup released three studio and one live album between 1981 and 1984, as well as pioneering the music video. They took a hiatus for side projects (John and Andy joined Robert Palmer and Tony Thompson to form The Power Station while the other three released "So Red the Rose" as Arcadia). When they reformed for 1987's "Notorious" it was as a trio of LeBon, Rhodes, and John Taylor. They went through a few more lineup changes before the classic lineup returned for 2004's "Astronaut." Andy Taylor left again during the recording of their next album, "Red Carpet Massacre." The band was elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.

Answer: Stevie Nicks

"Stand Back" is from Stevie Nicks's second solo album "The Wild Heart" and peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. She wrote it on her honeymoon in January of 1983 and has regularly performed it live since its release.

Stevie Nicks began her music career in a group called Fritz and then as half of the duo Buckingham Nicks, both with her then boyfriend, Lindsay Buckingham. They joined Fleetwood Mac in 1975 and during her time in the band, Nicks wrote several of their songs, including "Rhiannon," "Gypsy," and their only number one Billboard hit, "Dreams." While still a member of Fleetwood Mac, Nicks performed duets with other singers and released her first solo album, "Bella Donna," in 1981. She has been nominated for eight Grammy awards as a solo artist and won two Grammies on seven nominations as a member of Fleetwood Mac.

Answer: Irene Cara

"Flashdance...What a Feeling" was the title song for the movie "Flashdance" and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for 1983. Co-written by Giorgio Moroder, Keith Forsey, and the song's performer Irene Cara, the song spent 14 weeks in the Billboard Hot 100 top ten, including six weeks at number one. It also earned Cara a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal and was included in the National Recording Registry in 2023. Unfortunately, Cara did not initially receive her full royalties and had to sue the record company in 1985. She received a $1.5M settlement in 1993.

Irene Cara (1959-2022) began acting as a child, appearing on Broadway and as part of the Small Circus in the original cast of "The Electric Company" (1971). She played Coco Hernandez in the 1980 movie "Fame" and sang the title song (which also won an Academy Award). She released three studio albums and acted until 2011. She died of heart disease on November 25, 2022.

Answer: Men at Work

"It's a Mistake" is from Men at Work's second album, "Cargo" and peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100. It was less successful in their native Australia, peaking at number 34. Released in the latter years of the Cold War, it's an anti war song, sung from the point of view of a mid level officer wondering if a stand-off between his superiors and those of the other superpowers will lead to war.

Men at Work formed in Melbourne in 1979. Led by singer Colin Hey, they had several hits in the 1980s including "Who Can It Be Now?" and "Down Under." Grammy winners for Best New Artist in 1983, they became the first Australian act to have the number one single and numberone album on the Billboard charts when "Down Under" and "Business as Usual" respectively held those positions.

Answer: Sergio Mendes

At number nine, we have a cover song. "Never Gonna Let You Go" was originally recorded by Dionne Warwick in 1982 but Brazilian keyboardist Sergio Mendes recorded a more popular version a year later, with vocals by Joe Pizzulo and Leeza Miller. Mendez's version reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The song was written by husband and wife songwriters Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. They began writing together in the early 1960s and their hits include "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" (The Animals), "Just Once" (Quincy Jones and James Ingram), and "Somewhere Out There" (James Ingram and Linda Ronsdadt).

Answer: The Human League

Coming in at number ten and two spots from its peak on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart is "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" from the human League. The song also topped Billboard's Dance chart and went to number two in the UK. As well as being released as a single, the song appeared on the group's EP "Fascination."

The Human League are a Sheffield based band which formed in 1977 and has undergone a shifting lineup - only lead singer Phil Oakley has been with the group since the beginning. They had several hits in the 1980s, including "Don't You Want Me" (1982) and "Human" (1986), both of which hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.