Radio & Records Top 82 of '82 CHR

In summing up the year, Joel Denver said the key words for contemporary hit radio (CHR) in 1982 were variety and creativity while observing the widening gulf between the album-oriented rock (AOR) and adult contemporary (A/C) genres. Praising the artists for their continued and expanded creativity, Denver said the variety of CHR - its ability to play the best of AOR, A/C, and black crossovers - was its strongest suit. (PDF)

Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR) was a term coined by Radio & Records magazine in the early Eighties to designate certain Top 40 stations holding onto the diverse hits-driven format, playing all genres as long as they were hits. From 1974-1981, I listened to WLS, an AM Top 40 station out of Chicago, but when we moved to the 62nd largest radio market in the country in 1981, I began listening to KWFM and KLPX, two album-oriented rock (AOR) stations. (I later discovered both stations along with KROQ were reporting AOR stations for Radio & Records.)

The chart below features the 82 most popular CHR hits from January through November 1982, according to the CHR radio stations reporting to Radio & Records. For comparison's sake, each song's year-end rankings from Billboard's Hot 100, Cash Box's Top 100 and WLS's Big 89 are also listed. For my tastes, this one leans more towards the softer Adult Contemporary than the harder Album Oriented Rock or edgier New Wave despite Denver's observations of diversity. Still a great playlist, though, don't you think?

R&R	title	artist	Hot 100	Cash Box	WLS
82	I.G.Y. (What A Beautiful World)	Donald Fagen		100
81	Love Will Turn You Around	Kenny Rogers	72	80
80	Crimson & Clover	Joan Jett & the Blackhearts	78	46
79	Waiting On A Friend	Rolling Stones	94	88
78	Hold On	Santana		61	54
77	Always On My Mind	Willie Nelson	22	31	55
76	Goin' Down	Greg Guidry	97
75	Without You	Franke & the Knockouts			63
74	Just Once	Quincy Jones featuring James Ingram
73	Gloria	Laura Branigan	75	26	42
72	Southern Cross	Crosby, Stills & Nash
71	What Kind Of Fool Am I	Rick Springfield			84
70	Key Largo	Bertie Higgins	17	41
69	Blue Eyes	Elton John	62	59
68	Should I Do It	Pointer Sisters	89
67	Don't Fight It	Kenny Loggins with Steve Perry		97	48
66	Spirits In The Material World	The Police		96
65	Mirror, Mirror	Diana Ross	86	53
64	Turn Your Love Around	George Benson	27	70	37
63	Shake It Up	The Cars	23	23	64
62	Maneater	Hall & Oates		22	76
61	Heart Attack	Olivia Newton-John		30
60	Man On Your Mind	Little River Band	92	81
59	Tainted Love	Soft Cell	11	50	67
58	Empty Garden (Hey, Hey Johnny)	Elton John	76	78
57	Keep The Fire Burnin'	REO Speedwagon	50	63
56	Heartlight	Neil Diamond		67
55	Time	Alan Parsons Project
54	You Could Have Been With Me	Sheena Easton	64	73
53	Love Me Tomorrow	Chicago			29
52	Truly	Lionel Richie		7	52
51	Vacation	The Go-Go's	87	39	74
50	Tonight I'm Yours (Don't Hurt Me)	Rod Stewart		98
49	Through The Years	Kenny Rogers	99	70
48	Cool Night	Paul Davis	52		24
47	I've Never Been To Me	Charlene	38	29	66
46	867-5309/Jenny	Tommy Tutone	16	38	35
45	Take It Easy On Me	Little River Band	41	85	9
44	Only Time Will Tell	Asia			49
43	Do You Believe In Love	Huey Lewis & the News	51	84	33
42	Centerfold	J. Geils Band	5	3	6
41	Caught Up In You	38 Special	53	64	60
40	Steppin' Out	Joe Jackson		32	30
39	You Can Do Magic	America	65	42	19
38	Even The Nights Are Better	Air Supply	37	55	50
37	You Make My Dreams	Hall & Oates
36	We Got The Beat	The Go-Go's	25	15	44
35	Who Can It Be Now?	Men At Work	30	13	21
34	The Other Woman	Ray Parker Jr.	26	20	57
33	The One You Love	Glenn Frey		75	43
32	Did It In A Minute	Hall & Oates	66	68
31	'65 Love Affair	Paul Davis	39	60	28
30	Heat Of The Moment	Asia	40	43	16
29	Only The Lonely	The Motels	29	49	32
28	Leader Of The Band	Dan Fogelberg	35	62	22
27	You Should Hear How She Talks About You	Melissa Manchester	18	25	17
26	Freeze-Frame	J. Geils Band	49	27
25	Take it Away	Paul McCartney	70	45	69
24	I Love Rock N Roll	Joan Jett & the Blackhearts	3	5	2
23	Wasted On The Way	Crosby, Stills & Nash	57	52	45
22	Love's Been A Little Hard On Me	Juice Newton	47	37	80
21	Gypsy	Fleetwood Mac		83
20	Up Where We Belong	Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes		9	12
19	Eye In The Sky	Alan Parsons Project	32	28	26
18	Chariots Of Fire	Vangelis	12	10	38
17	Somebody's Baby	Jackson Browne	68	33	41
16	Sweet Dreams	Air Supply	28	48	27
15	Abracadabra	Steve Miller Band	9	2	15
14	Make A Move On Me	Olivia Newton-John	84	35
13	Don't You Want Me	Human League	6	6	5
12	Hurts So Good	John Cougar	8	14	7
11	I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)	Hall & Oates	15	32	40
10	That Girl	Stevie Wonder	43	12	79
9	Hold Me	Fleetwood Mac	31	19	31
8	I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)	Michael McDonald	81	24	39
7	Jack & Diane	John Cougar	7	8	10
6	Eye Of The Tiger	Survivor	2	1	3
5	Ebony and Ivory	Paul McCartney with Stevie Wonder	4	4	18
4	Rosanna	Toto	14	18	8
3	Don't Talk To Strangers	Rick Springfield	20	17	14
2	Hard To Say I'm Sorry	Chicago	10	11	1
1	Open Arms	Journey	34	21	11

The two Joan Jett tracks, as well as Greg Guidry's song, are still absent from Spotify's library.

The chart below features peak positions from Billboard's Hot 100, Rock and Adult Contemporary (A/C) charts.

R&R	title	artist	Hot 100	Rock	A/C
82	I.G.Y. (What A Beautiful World)	Donald Fagen	26	17	8
81	Love Will Turn You Around	Kenny Rogers	13		1
80	Crimson & Clover	Joan Jett & the Blackhearts	7	6
79	Waiting On A Friend	Rolling Stones	13	8
78	Hold On	Santana	15	17	34
77	Always On My Mind	Willie Nelson	5		2
76	Goin' Down	Greg Guidry	17		11
75	Without You	Franke & the Knockouts	24
74	Just Once	Quincy Jones featuring James Ingram	17		7
73	Gloria	Laura Branigan	2		28
72	Southern Cross	Crosby, Stills & Nash	18	39	6
71	What Kind Of Fool Am I	Rick Springfield	21
70	Key Largo	Bertie Higgins	8		1
69	Blue Eyes	Elton John	12		1
68	Should I Do It	Pointer Sisters	13		19
67	Don't Fight It	Kenny Loggins with Steve Perry	17	4
66	Spirits In The Material World	The Police	11	7
65	Mirror, Mirror	Diana Ross	8
64	Turn Your Love Around	George Benson	5		9
63	Shake It Up	The Cars	4	2
62	Maneater	Hall & Oates	1	18	14
61	Heart Attack	Olivia Newton-John	3
60	Man On Your Mind	Little River Band	14		26
59	Tainted Love	Soft Cell	8	12
58	Empty Garden (Hey, Hey Johnny)	Elton John	13		18
57	Keep The Fire Burnin'	REO Speedwagon	7	2
56	Heartlight	Neil Diamond	5		1
55	Time	Alan Parsons Project	15		10
54	You Could Have Been With Me	Sheena Easton	15		6
53	Love Me Tomorrow	Chicago	22		8
52	Truly	Lionel Richie	1		1
51	Vacation	The Go-Go's	8	13
50	Tonight I'm Yours (Don't Hurt Me)	Rod Stewart	20	29
49	Through The Years	Kenny Rogers	13		1
48	Cool Night	Paul Davis	11		2
47	I've Never Been To Me	Charlene	3		7
46	867-5309/Jenny	Tommy Tutone	4	1
45	Take It Easy On Me	Little River Band	10		14
44	Only Time Will Tell	Asia	17	8
43	Do You Believe In Love	Huey Lewis & the News	7	12
42	Centerfold	J. Geils Band	1	1
41	Caught Up In You	38 Special	10	1
40	Steppin' Out	Joe Jackson	6	7	4
39	You Can Do Magic	America	8		5
38	Even The Nights Are Better	Air Supply	5		1
37	You Make My Dreams	Hall & Oates	5	35
36	We Got The Beat	The Go-Go's	2	7
35	Who Can It Be Now?	Men At Work	1	46
34	The Other Woman	Ray Parker Jr.	4		33
33	The One You Love	Glenn Frey	15		2
32	Did It In A Minute	Hall & Oates	9		29
31	'65 Love Affair	Paul Davis	6		5
30	Heat Of The Moment	Asia	4	1
29	Only The Lonely	The Motels	9	6	27
28	Leader Of The Band	Dan Fogelberg	9		1
27	You Should Hear How She Talks About You	Melissa Manchester	5		10
26	Freeze-Frame	J. Geils Band	4	8
25	Take it Away	Paul McCartney	10	39	6
24	I Love Rock N Roll	Joan Jett & the Blackhearts	1	1
23	Wasted On The Way	Crosby, Stills & Nash	9	9	2
22	Love's Been A Little Hard On Me	Juice Newton	7		4
21	Gypsy	Fleetwood Mac	12	4	9
20	Up Where We Belong	Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes	1		3
19	Eye In The Sky	Alan Parsons Project	3	11	3
18	Chariots Of Fire	Vangelis	1		1
17	Somebody's Baby	Jackson Browne	7	4	14
16	Sweet Dreams	Air Supply	5		4
15	Abracadabra	Steve Miller Band	1	4	28
14	Make A Move On Me	Olivia Newton-John	5		6
13	Don't You Want Me	Human League	4	1
12	Hurts So Good	John Cougar	2	1
11	I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)	Hall & Oates	1	28	12
10	That Girl	Stevie Wonder	4		10
9	Hold Me	Fleetwood Mac	4	3	7
8	I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)	Michael McDonald	4		8
7	Jack & Diane	John Cougar	1	3
6	Eye Of The Tiger	Survivor	1	1	27
5	Ebony and Ivory	Paul McCartney with Stevie Wonder	1	34	1
4	Rosanna	Toto	2	8	17
3	Don't Talk To Strangers	Rick Springfield	2	11	30
2	Hard To Say I'm Sorry	Chicago	1		1
1	Open Arms	Journey	2	35	7

In case you were wondering, 67% of these songs made the A/C chart while only 51% made the Rock chart. A surprising 23% made both charts.