Popular Songs Of 1976, Vol. 1

If my last few "Popular Songs Of..." posts haven't made you feel old yet, then this three-parter is sure to! Because these are the top songs of forty – count them, forty – years ago! If you remember these songs when they came out, you are old. It's time to face the facts. If you remember hearing them on the oldies or mix stations (like I do), then you are getting old (after all, '80s songs are the "new oldies" these days). Fair warning: There will be disco music, but not in excessive amounts. Everything in moderation. Enjoy?  ~  JH

1)  Wings  ~  “Silly Love Songs”

2)  Johnnie Taylor  ~  “Disco Lady”

3)  Glen Campbell  ~  “Country Boy (You Got Your Feet in L.A.)”

4)  The Four Seasons  ~  “December 1963 (Oh, What A Night)”

5)  Starland Vocal Band  ~  “Afternoon Delight”

6)  Wild Cherry  ~  “Play That Funky Music”

7)  The Manhattans  ~  “Kiss And Say Goodbye”

8)  Charley Pride  ~  “My Eyes Can Only See As Far As You”

9)  Paul Simon  ~  “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover”

10)  Elton John & Kiki Dee  ~  “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”

11)  The Miracles  ~  “Love Machine”

12)  Walter Murphy  ~  “A Fifth Of Beethoven”

13)  Merle Haggard  ~  “Cherokee Maiden”

14)  Hot Chocolate  ~  “You Sexy Thing”

15)  Seals & Crofts ft. Carolyn Willis  ~  “Get Closer”

16)  Daryl Hall & John Oates  ~  “Sara Smile”

17)  Barry Manilow  ~  “I Write The Songs”

18)  Queen  ~  “Bohemian Rhapsody”

19)  Elvin Bishop  ~  “Fooled Around And Fell In Love”

20)  Dorothy Moore  ~  “Misty Blue”

21)  Marty Robbins  ~  “Among My Souvenirs”  (That is an incredibly ugly shirt.)

22)  Nazareth  ~  “Love Hurts”

23)  Dr Hook  ~  “A Little Bit More”

24)  The Commodores  ~  “Sweet Love”

25)  Tammy Wynette  ~  “Till I Can Make It On My Own”

Popular Songs Of 1986, Vol. 4

Alright, let's finish this thing! One last batch of tunes, for old time's sake...literally. Without further ado, here's the final score of Popular Songs of 1986. Ready...set...enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Phil Collins  ~  “Take Me Home”

2)  Anita Baker  ~  “Sweet Love”

3)  The Moody Blues  ~  “Your Wildest Dreams”

4)  Run-DMC & Aerosmith  ~  “Walk This Way”

5)  Elton John  ~  “Nikita”

6)  Heart  ~  “Never”

7)  Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark  ~  “If You Leave”

8)  Lionel Richie  ~  “Love Will Conquer All”

9)  Toto  ~  “I’ll Be Over You”

10)  Pet Shop Boys  ~  “West End Girls”

11)  The Forester Sisters  ~  “Just In Case”

12)  Steve Winwood  ~  “Higher Love”

13)  Mike & The Mechanics  ~  “Silent Running”

14)  Madonna  ~  “True Blue”

15)  Billy Ocean  ~  “When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going”

16)  Alabama  ~  “Touch Me When We’re Dancing”

17)  Peter Gabriel  ~  “Sledgehammer”

18)  James Brown  ~  “Living In America”

19)  Starship  ~  “Sara”

20)  Atlantic Starr  ~  “Secret Lovers”

Popular Songs Of 1986, Vol. 3

And now for something completely expected...Part 3 (of 4) of the most Popular Songs of 1986. There's plenty of good stuff to be heard here. So dive right in, and enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Genesis  ~  “Invisible Touch”

2)  The Jets  ~  “Crush On You”

3)  INXS  ~  “What You Need”

4)  The Bangles  ~  “Manic Monday”  (Fun fact: This memorable song was penned by none other than Prince.)

5)  Eddie Money ft. Ronnie Spector  ~  “Take Me Home Tonight”

6)  John Cougar Mellencamp  ~  “R.O.C.K. In The U.S.A. (A Salute To ’60s Rock)”

7)  Reba McEntire  ~  “Whoever’s In New England”

8)  Lionel Richie  ~  “Dancing On The Ceiling”

9)  Boston  ~  “Amanda”

10)  Randy Travis  ~  “Diggin’ Up Bones”

11)  Sade  ~  “The Sweetest Taboo”

12)  Simple Minds  ~  “Alive And Kicking”

13)  The Judds  ~  “Rockin’ With The Rhythm Of The Rain”

14)  Huey Lewis And The News  ~  “Stuck With You”

15)  Michael McDonald  ~  “Sweet Freedom”

16)  Dream Academy  ~  “Life In A Northern Town”

17)  Cameo  ~  “Word Up!”

18)  Mike & The Mechanics  ~  “All I Need Is A Miracle”

19)  Baltimora  ~  “Tarzan Boy”

20)  Miami Sound Machine  ~  “Bad Boy”

21)  Kenny Loggins  ~  “Danger Zone”

Popular Songs Of 1986, Vol. 2

Here's Part 2 (of 4) of the most Popular Songs of 1986. In this installment, you'll find both instantly recognizable songs (by name and/or by artist) as well as a number of songs that you might not instantly recollect, until you click and listen and then it's like, "Oh...yeah, I know THIS song! I LOVE this song!" In other words, you will probably...enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Whitney Houston  ~  “Greatest Love Of All”

2)  Mr. Mister  ~  “Kyrie”

3)  Heart  ~  “These Dreams”

4)  Janet Jackson  ~  “When I Think Of You”

5)  Glass Tiger  ~  “Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone)”

6)  Madonna  ~  “Live To Tell”

7)  Level 42  ~  “Something About You”

8)  Belinda Carlisle  ~  “Mad About You”

9)  Falco  ~  “Rock Me Amadeus”

10)  Bananarama  ~  “Venus”

11)  The Judds  ~  “Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout The Good Ol’ Days)”

12)  Howard Jones  ~  “No One Is To Blame”

13)  Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine  ~  “Conga”

14)  Dire Straits  ~  “Walk Of Life”

15)  Cyndi Lauper  ~  “True Colors”

16)  The Bellamy Brothers  ~  “Too Much Is Not Enough”

17)  The Outfield  ~  “Your Love”

18)  Anne Murray  ~  “Now And Forever (You And Me)”

19)  John Cougar Mellencamp  ~  “Small Town”

20)  Genesis  ~  “Throwing It All Away”

21)  Force MD’s  ~  “Tender Love”

Popular Songs Of 1986, Vol. 1

Let me take you back in time to 30 years ago. The year was 1986. The music was awesome. Whether it was pop, rock, R&B, or country, there were plenty of good songs to suit all tastes. I can only hope that I have represented this mammoth year in music well with this post and its three follow-ups. If I've missed anything significant, I'm sure you'll tell me about it. But wait till you've seen all 4 installments, just in case your favorite made one of the later editions. Oh, yeah...please...enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Dionne Warwick ft. Elton John, Gladys Knight, & Stevie Wonder  ~  “That’s What Friends Are For”

2)  Mr. Mister  ~  “Broken Wings”

3)  Lionel Richie  ~  “Say You, Say Me”

4)  Survivor  ~  “Burning Heart”

5)  Klymaxx  ~  “I Miss You”

6)  Robert Palmer  ~  “Addicted To Love”

7)  Whitney Houston  ~  “How Will I Know”

8)  The Judds  ~  “Have Mercy”

9)  Patti LaBelle ft. Michael McDonald  ~  “On My Own”

10)  Gloria Loring & Carl Anderson  ~  “Friends & Lovers”

11)  Billy Ocean  ~  “There’ll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)”

12)  Peter Cetera  ~  “The Glory Of Love”

13)  Janet Jackson  ~  “What Have You Done For Me Lately”

14)  Randy Travis  ~  “On The Other Hand”

15)  Berlin  ~  “Take My Breath Away”

16)  Simply Red  ~  “Holding Back The Years”

17)  George Strait  ~  “Nobody In His Right Mind Would’ve Left Her”

18)  Madonna  ~  “Papa Don’t Preach”

19)  Bon Jovi  ~  “You Give Love A Bad Name”

20)  The Human League  ~  “Human”

Popular Songs Of 1996, Vol. 4

Last but not least...the 4th and final installment of Popular Songs of 1996. If it makes you feel any better, there's not as many of them in this post. I had to run out of good ones at some point, right? Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Shania Twain  ~  “(If You’re Not In It For Love) I’m Outta Here!”

2)  Alanis Morissette  ~  “You Learn”

3)  Madonna  ~  “You Must Love Me”

4)  Jewel  ~  “You Were Meant For Me”

5)  Bone Thugs-n-Harmony  ~  "Tha Crossroads"

6)  Faith Hill  ~  “It Matters To Me”

7)  Natalie Merchant  ~  “Wonder”

8)  R.E.M. ft. Patti Smith  ~  “E-Bow The Letter”

9)  Butthole Surfers  ~  “Pepper”

10)  Tonic  ~  “If You Could Only See”

11)  Beck  ~  “Where It’s At”

12)  George Strait  ~  “Blue Clear Sky”

13)  Garbage  ~  “Stupid Girl”

14)  Red Hot Chili Peppers  ~  “Aeroplane”

15)  The Wonders  ~  “That Thing You Do!”