1980s Number Ones Trivia

1. In 1986, which Billboard Hot 100 Number One song was by Bangles?

From Quiz Number One Hits From The 1980s

Answer: Walk Like An Egyptian

Bangles also had a Number One Hot 100 hit in 1989 with "Eternal Flame." "Amanda" by Boston, "Human" by Human League, and "Sledgehammer" by Peter Gabriel were all number one Hot 100 songs in 1986.

From Quiz Number One Hits, 1980-1989

Answer: Lipps, Inc

For Lipps, Inc, "Funky Town" was a one-hit wonder. The other artists each had their own "only" Number One hits in the 1980s: "Do That To Me One More Time" (Captain & Tennille, first hit Number One at the end of 1979); "Lady" (Kenny Rogers); and "Another Brick In The Wall" (Pink Floyd)...all in 1980.

From Quiz Let's Hear It for the Girls: 80s Number 1 Hits

Answer: "Upside Down" - Diana Ross

All of these were hits in 1980 but only one got to number one. Diana Ross, former lead singer of the legendary Motown trio The Supremes, struck gold with the funky hit "Upside Down." The song also reached the top position in the Billboard Disco and R&B charts.

From Quiz No. 1 Hits of the 80s Vol.22

Answer: Mr. Mister

"Broken Wings" was a number one tune on the Billboard Hot 100 charts for Mr. Mister in the fall of 1985, spending two weeks at the top of the charts. It was the first single off their album called "Welcome to the Real World". It also reached number four in the U.K. The song was released during a time when the group was touring the U.S. as an opening act for Tina Turner.

From Quiz No. 1 Hits of the 80s Vol.21

Answer: We Built This City

The remnants of the 1960s Jefferson Airplane rose from the ashes to become first Jefferson Starship, and then merely Starship in the mid 1980s. Grace Slick and Mickey Thomas were still around and part of the group that gave us "We Built This City" of the 1985 album "Knee Deep in the Hoopla", with the song becoming a number one tune spending two weeks at the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts. Perplexingly, Blender magazine published a poll in 2004 which listed this song as "The Worst #1 Song Ever".

From Quiz No. 1 Hits of the 80s Vol.20

Answer: Jan Hammer

Jan Hammer came to us from Prague, in the Czech Republic, and has been recording tunes since 1968. Hammer was a close associate of Jeff Beck and worked with him in the 1970s. In the 1980s, the producers of the television series "Miami Vice" asked him to write music for the series, and the theme song evolved from that request. The song hit the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts in late 1985 for a one week stay, and Hammer was rewarded with two Grammy Awards for it. He continued to write for the show until 1988, and then branched out into feature films.

From Quiz No. 1 Hits of the 80s Vol.19

Answer: First song to be number one on four separate Billboard charts

"Part Time Lover" was a Stevie Wonder penned tune that spent a week at the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts in the fall of 1985. It also spent time at the top of the R&B, Dance and Adult Contemporary charts, becoming the first in history to become a number one tune on four different Billboard charts. It also hit number three in the U.K.

From Quiz No. 1 Hits of the 80s Vol.18

Answer: Touch

It was "Out of Touch" which gave Hall and Oates their sixth and final number one hit in the U.S. and their fourteenth consecutive Top 40 hit when it reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts in December 1984. The song was a cut from an album called "Big Bam Boom".

From Quiz No. 1 Hits of the 80s Vol.15

Answer: Barry and Robin Gibb

With the success of the BeeGees in the late 1970s, they were asked to write material for several artists. Streisand asked that they write a whole album for her and it subsequently became her album called "Guilty". This song was a number one hit from that album spending three weeks at the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts in the fall of 1980.

From Quiz No. 1 Hits of the 80s Vol.14

Answer: Dust

"Another One Bites the Dust" was a number one tune for Queen during the fall of 1980. It spent three weeks at the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts as well as number seven in the U.K. It also shot to the top of the charts in Canada, Argentina, Spain and Guatemala, as well as Top 10 placings in nine other countries. A truly international hit, the song came from the album called "The Game" and sold over 7 million copies worldwide.

From Quiz No. 1 Hits of the 80s Vol.13

Answer: Upside Down

Of the four listed, the only number one tune was "Upside Down" a 1980 classic that spent four weeks at the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts in the fall of 1980, and reached number two in the U.K. The song was the first release from a self titled album called "Diana". The song was written co-written by Nile Rodgers with Aretha Franklin in mind. Franklin turned down the material for the album, declined to record it, and the songs were then passed on the Ross, who took full advantage.

From Quiz No. 1 Hits of the 80s Vol.12

Answer: Sailing

"Sailing" was a number one tune for Christopher Cross off his debut album of the same name. It spent a week at the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts in the summer of 1980. It won the Grammy Award as "Song of the Year". Cross in perhaps best remembered for his rendition of "Arthur's Theme" from the 1981 film starring Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli.

From Quiz No. 1 Hits of the 80s Vol.11

Answer: Olivia Newton-John

"Magic" was a number one hit for Olivia Newton-John in 1980. It spent four weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts in the summer that year. The song was included in the soundtrack of the 1980 motion picture "Xanadu". It also reached the top of the charts in Canada, and was a top ten hit in both Australia and New Zealand. The other songs with the same title listed were from the 1970s and '80s (Pilot, The Cars) and the Bruce Springsteen song off the album of the same name, recorded in 2007.

From Quiz No. 1 Hits of the 80s Vol. 8

Answer: Funkytown

It was the song "Funkytown" that Lipps. Inc used to propel themselves to the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts for a four week stay in the spring of 1980. The song also reached number one in Germany, Austria, Norway, The Netherlands and Switzerland. It reached number two in the U.K. It is generally recognized as one of the last major hits of the disco era.

From Quiz No. 1 Hits of the 80s Vol. 7

Answer: Call Me

"Call Me" was indeed the main theme from the 1980 motion picture "American Gigolo" Blondie, led by Deborah Harry, took this tune to the top of the U.S. Billboard charts for a six week stay in the spring that year. It ultimately became the group's biggest U.S. hit, and it hit the top in the U.K. as well. The song appears on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" at number 283.

From Quiz No. 1 Hits of the 80s Vol. 6

Answer: Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)

Although Pink Floyd had been around since 1967, they achieved their greatest success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, first with an album called "Dark Side of the Moon", and then with their masterpiece "The Wall". That's the album "Another Brick in the Wall" came from. It was Pink Floyd's biggest hit going to number one in close to a dozen countries worldwide. It stayed at the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts for four weeks in the spring of 1980. The lyrics of Part II, which is the more popular piece of the song, deal with the rigidity of education in general and boarding schools in particular. The song was actually banned in South Africa for this reason.

From Quiz No. 1 Hits of the 80s Vol. 5

Answer: Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Surprising as it may seem, "Crazy Little thing Called Love" was the first Queen classic to make it to the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts. With songs like "Bohemian Rhapsody", and "We Are The Champions" among others, you would have thought they would have made it before, but not so. In fact, up until 1980, they had only one number one in their native U.K., and that was 1975's "Bohemian Rhapsody". "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" spent four weeks at the top of the Billboard charts, but only went to number two in the U.K. As an aside, the band reportedly has claimed that the whole song was recorded in about half an hour.

From Quiz No. 1 Hits of the 80s Vol. 4

Answer: Do That To Me One More Time

It was "Do That to Me One More Time" that spent a week at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts in the winter of 1980. It propelled The Captain and Tennille to the number one spot on the charts for the first time since their 1975 debut hit "Love Will Keep Us Together". Of course, in between those two hits, they had a number of top ten singles such as "Lonely Nights (Angel Face)", a cover of the 1960s hit by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles called "Shop Around", and the aforementioned "Muskrat Love".

From Quiz No. 1 Hits of the 80s Vol. 3

Answer: You

"Rock With You" was the second release and a number one single off the album called "Off The Wall". It spent four weeks at the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts in the winter of 1980. It was written by Rod Temperton, a member of the group called Heatwave. Temperton would also go on to write the song "Thriller" for Jackson as well.

From Quiz No. 1 Hits of the 80s Vol.1

Answer: KC and the Sunshine Band

"Please Don't Go" was the first song to hit number one on the U.S. Billboard charts in the 1980s when it spent a week at the top of the charts in January 1980. KC and the Sunshine Band, based in Miami Florida, sent this song to the top of the charts as the fifth and final number one tune of their careers. It was a departure from the disco sound that had been so successful for a good part of their run. Shortly after the release of this song, Harry Casey (KC) left the group to attempt a solo career.

From Quiz No. 1 Hits of the 80s, Part II!

Answer: two

In all, seven of the nine tracks on "Thriller" charted, but only two made it to the top: "Billie Jean" and "Beat It". And while "Say, Say, Say" (with Paul McCartney) was a No. 1 song, it did not appear on "Thriller" ("The Girl Is Mine", however, did).

From Quiz Number One Hits From The 1980s

Answer: Kim Carnes

"Bette Davis Eyes" was the only Hot 100 number one song by Kim Carnes. The other artists all had number one hits in 1981: "Morning Train (Nine To Five)" by Sheena Easton, "The Tide Is High" by Blondie, and "I Love A rainy Night" by Eddie Rabbitt.

From Quiz Number One Hits, 1980-1989

Answer: The One That You Love

"The One That You Love" reached Number One in 1981. Although not getting to Number One, the other listed Air Supply songs did very well. "All Out Of Love" (1980) and "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All" (1983) charted at Number Two, and "Lost In Love" (1980) hit Number Three.

From Quiz Let's Hear It for the Girls: 80s Number 1 Hits

Answer: "Bette Davis Eyes" - Kim Carnes

Only one of these is a real song, though the artists all had hit songs in 1981. The smash hit "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes was the Billboard number one song of that year, and went on the win the Grammy award for "Best Song" in 1982. The song was originally written and recorded by songwriter Jackie DeShannon in 1974 but did not gain any traction until Carnes added her signature husky, soulful vocals to it on her album "Mistaken Identity."

From Quiz No. 1 Hits of the 80s Vol.23

Answer: The Way It Is

It was "The Way It Is" which propelled Bruce Hornsby and the Range to the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts for a one week stay in the fall of 1986. It also made it to the top of the charts in Canada and The Netherlands and was a Top 20 tune in many other countries. The song's lyrics dealt with welfare lines, racial segregation and the U.S. Civil Rights Act.

From Quiz No. 1 Hits of the 80s Vol.22

Answer: Love

"You Give Love a Bad Name" was the first release from the "Slippery When Wet" album and it climbed to the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts for one week in the fall of 1986. The song was originally written for the group Loverboy, but Jon and the band decided to record it for themselves. It was the group's first number one hit.

From Quiz No. 1 Hits of the 80s Vol.21

Answer: Separate Lives

"Separate Lives" was the song sung by Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin, which went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in the fall of 1985 and spent one week there. "Say You, Say Me" was also a number one tune, but was by Lionel Richie, and although in the film, was not included on the soundtrack.

From Quiz No. 1 Hits of the 80s Vol.20

Answer: When I Think of You

Jackson's 1986 release of "When I Think of You" provided her with the first of many number one hits through the rest of the 1980s and into the 1990s. This song spent two weeks at the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts in the fall of 1986. Of the others mentioned "Nasty" was the highest Hot 100 charting single, reaching a peak of number three on the charts.

From Quiz No. 1 Hits of the 80s Vol.19

Answer: Top Gun

Of course, the song was from "Top Gun" a 1986 motion picture starring Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis among others. It was recorded by the California group called Berlin and was their biggest hit. It spent one week at the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts in the summer of 1986, as well as becoming a number one tune in the U.K. later that year. It also won an Academy Award for Best New Song.

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Last Updated Apr 13 2024 5:51 AM

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