The great eighties countdown week 7

I'm hoping we can get through this week's list without any more of its members dropping dead.  But even if it happens, at least the music lives on.

180- Take Your Time (Do It Right), S.O.S. Band, #3, 1980.  They never saw the top forty again, but I had a taste for the funk side of R&B.

179- Modern Love, David Bowie, #14, 1983.  The third of the three singles from Let's Dance to hit our top forty, and my favorite.

178- Free Falling, Tom Petty, #7, #1 mainstream rock, 1989.  One of Petty's best late-career tunes, with Jeff Lynne producing.

177- Poison, Alice Cooper, #7, 1989. I was surprised to see this charted so high; even though I wasn't following the charts as closely then, I don't recall it playing that much around here.

176- Feel It Again, Honeymoon Suite, #34, 1986.  A nifty Canadian hard-rock group, getting its name because what else would you call a band from Niagara Falls?

175- I Feel For You, Chaka Khan, #3, 1984.  Written by Prince, rapped by Grandmaster Melle Mel, harmonicas by Stevie Wonder.  How long were our conversations salted with variations of "Chaka Khan everybody everybody Chaka Khan"?

174- Snake Eyes, Alan Parsons Project, #67, #47 MSR, 1981.  My favorite from the lp A Turn Of A Friendly Card.  "Give me one minute more, and I'll walk right through that door..."  Two more for them ahead.

Yes, I know I did APP before.  But Laurie picks me out 4 random numbers for pictures, and this week she hit not one, but two repeat acts.

173- Karma Chameleon, Culture Club, #1, 1983.  Their second top dog, it was #1 in 13 nations.  If you could get past looking at Boy George, the video featuring the paddlewheeler was really cool.

172- Cherry Bomb, John Mellancamp, #8, #1 MSR, 1987.  The second highest of my 4 charters for John.  That's when a smoke was a smoke, and groovin' was groovin'..."

171- El Shaddai, Amy Grant, #1 Christian, 1982.  I listened to a lot of WBCL (local Christian station) when they weren't so "contemporary.  Age To Age was the best Christian lp ever IMHO.  When she went pop, and the station lost soft acts in favor of pop/rock, I lost a lot of interest in the music end.

170- That's All, Genesis, #6, 1983. "Why does it always seem to be/ me looking at you, you looking at me/ it's always the same, it's just the same, that's all..."

169- And The Cradle Will Rock, Van Halen, #55, 1980.  Have you seen Junior's grades...?

168- It's Different For Girls, Joe Jackson, non charting (#5 UK), 1980.  I've already told you my feelings on this Mr. Jackson.  I could put the chorus on infinite loop and listen for hours.

167- Mandolin Rain, Bruce Hornsby and the Range, #4, 1987.  This song had such widespread appeal it hit #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and #2 on mainstream rock.  Always chokes me up.

166- Sara, Starship, #1, 1985.  Songs like this tell me I was a bigger fan of these guys after they lost the "Jefferson" than I thought.

165- The Doctor, the Doobie Brothers, #9, #1 MSR, 1998.  The big comeback for the group that Michael McDonald abandoned, complete with the return of Tom Johnston.  One of the two songs that dominated the long-ago honeymoon trip.

164- Paperlate, Genesis, #32, 1982.  That's twice this week, and six more to go.

163- Lost In The 50s, Ronnie Milsap, #1 country, 1985.  Doo-wop country, what a combination.

162- Against The Wind, Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band, #5, 1980.  The other of the only two songs worth a darn the week we graduated.

161- Down Under, Men At Work, #1, 1981.  The first place we heard of combies, zombies, chundering, and the vegimite that might well cause it in Americans.

Thats it for this week.  Tune in next time for more of the best of the eighties.