Welcome back to the WLS Musicradio 89 survey from May 17, 1980. (Click HERE if you missed the first part of our look back.) Today, we're featuring the survey's flip-side features as well as the Forty-fives.
Having read (nearly all) of Chrissie Hynde's Reckless: My Life As A Pretender (before abandoning it), I prefer WLS's concise Bio with one exception: Nick Lowe produced only one single (The Kinks cover "Stop Your Sobbing") before deciding the band "wasn't going anywhere" and moving on to produce Carlene Carter, Johnny Cash, and Rockpile, in short order. Chris Thomas came in to produce the rest of the Pretenders. While the Pretenders' self-titled debut was rising up the Thirty-threes at number 5 this week, their single "Brass In Pocket (I'm Special)" was also at number 5 and moving up the list of Forty-fives.
There are five debuts on this week's Forty-fives. Coming in at number 45 is Dan Fogelberg's "Heart Hotels". In its ten-week run on the station's list of singles, it would peak at number 30 and somehow end up at number 40 on the Big 89 of '80 year-end countdown. Right above "Heart Hotels" is Bette Midler's "The Rose" at number 44. In a strong twenty-three-week stay on the Forty-fives, "The Rose" would rise to number 2, good enough to land the number 25 position on the Big 89. "Breakdown Dead Ahead" debuts at number 42 this week and will stall at number 25 on a short ten-week stay. Despite the popularity of Andy Gibb and Olivia Newton-John, their duet topped out at number 27 during a seven-week jaunt on the chart. "I Can't Help It" debuts at number 41 this week. The week's highest debut spent the previous week as the only EXTRA on the WLS Forty-fives. "Pilot Of The Airwaves" lands at number 37 this week, taxiing towards a peak at number 20 during a twelve-week flight.
Dan Fogelberg is one of three artists to have a pair of singles on the list of Forty-fives this week, with the debut of "Heart Hotels" at number 45 and "Longer" slipping four spots down to number 34. The single had peaked at number 3, and after a nineteen-week trek up then down the Forty-fives, would land at number 4 on the Big 89 of '80.
Linda Ronstadt slips seven positions this week to number 28 with "How Do I Make You", a high-intensity cry for attention. The plea would spend fourteen weeks on the list, peaking at number 16. Jumping up thirteen spots this week in a four-way tie for the biggest move on the Forty-fives is Ronstadt's devastating cover of "Hurt So Bad" at number 22. I love her voice in this sad song, which peaked at number 13 during its fourteen-week chart life and wound up at number 71 on the Big 89.
Former Number One song "Rock With You" nears the end of its twenty-four-week stay on the Forty-fives, down five to number 36 this week. On the Big 89 of '80, "Rock With You" placed at number 54. "Off The Wall" slips six to number 30 after peaking at number 21 during a relatively brief thirteen-week journey.
While looking over the Forty-fives' list and remembering friends from eighth grade and freshman year, I realized there were two groups of songs that stood out as the soundtrack to a lot of good times. I used to love to rollerskate, but stopped for reasons I do not recall right around the time my own children learned to skate. Now I go and support my grandkids as they enjoy skating. The six songs pictured above were among my skating jams in 1979 and 1980. Since we discussed "Rock With You" above, let's start with Shalamar's "The Second Time Around", down two this week to number 35. "And The Beat Goes On" by The Whispers drops five spots to number 33 this week. Dropping four spots this week as it cools off is Kool & the Gang's "Too Hot" at number 29. "Stomp!" moves up one spot to number 21 on its way to a peak of number 20. Another huge-mover this week is "Funkytown", up thirteen to number 14 on its way to number 3 in a few weeks.
So those were my skating jams, and these are my jukebox jams, some of the songs I would play on the four local jukeboxes I fed quarters to during 1979 and 1980. There was the jukebox at the Base's teen center, the jukebox at Garcia's Pizza, where I ate lunch once a week, the jukebox in our high school cafeteria, maintained by the student council, and the jukebox at Pizza Hut, where my Dad briefly worked and would call me in to wash dishes for a few bucks on weekends sometimes. Heart's "Even It Up" rocks in at number 40, down one from last week. Tom Petty's "Refugee" is down four to number 24 and is also the song featured in this week's Etcetera, Etc. feature below. The single comes in at number 69 on the Big 89. Journey's "Anyway You Want It" is down one from its peak at number 17 last week and wound up at number 47 on the Big 89. The song still explodes from the speakers when it comes on. "Heartbreaker" from Pat Benatar also explodes out of the box, and it slips two to number 12 before showing up at number 20 on the Big 89. A sure-fire cafeteria sing-along erupted whenever Pink Floyd's "Another Brick In The Wall (Part II)" was played. This former Number One is down two spots to number 4 this week and will wind up at number 8 on the Big 89. "Call Me" is Number One again this week and will make it to number 10 on the Big 89 of '80.
For my single spotlight this week, I have a really good one. Coming in at number 23 this week, jumping up thirteen spots from last week, is The Clash's "Train In Vain (Stand By Me)", one of the greatest singles ever released and a shoo-in with its B-side "London Calling", for the Hideaway Jukebox. Long known as the hidden track on the band's London Calling double-album, the single was added to unsuspecting stations across the nation, including WLS, where it would eventually peak at number 15. "Train In Vain" would ultimately end up at number 23 on the Big 89 of '80.
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