You might remember this past Monday that I did a post based on a post I had seen on the blog PopRockBopTilUDrop. Craig, the proprietor on that blog, said that the URL of his blog was based on the radio station he worked at, KIMN (pronounced “Kim”), which from the ’50’s through the ’80’s was Denver’s popular “950 KIMN.” I found a survey from September 21, 1984 on ARSA, so let’s check out their Top 10 from that day.
- The Pointer Sisters, “I’m So Excited” Originally released in 1982 (when it only reached #30), it was re-mixed and released again in 1984, reaching #9 on the Hot 100 and #25 on the Adult Contemporary chart. In Denver it stayed at #10 from the week before.
- Scandal featuring Patty Smyth, “The Warrior” Title track from their 1984 album, it was their only song to reach the Top 40, peaking at #7 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart.
- Stevie Wonder, “I Just Called To Say I Love You” A huge hit for Stevie, it reached #1 on the Hot 100, R&B and Adult Contemporary charts. This weekin Denver it jumped from #14 to #8 with a bullet.
- Huey Lewis & The News, “If This Is It” The fourth single off their hugely popular 1983 Sports album, it peaked at #6 on both the hot 100 and the Cash Box survey. It was down from #4 the week before.
- Lionel Ritchie, “Stuck On You” From 1983’s Can’t Slow Down album, it reached #3 on the Hot 100, #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and by virtue of the fact he wore a cowboy hat on the single sleeve, #24 on the Country chart. Down from #3 in Denver this week.
- Cyndi Lauper, “She Bop” The third single from her debut album She’s So Unusual, this reached #3 on the Hot 100 annd Cash Box surveys. It spent a second week at #5 on 950 KIMN’s survey this week.
- The Cars, “Drive” From the album Heartbeat City, it was sung by bassist Benajmin Orr and was their highest-charting single, reaching #3 nationally. It rose from #7 on KIMN, meaning it and Huey Lewis’s song switched positions.
- Prince, “Let’s Go Crazy” From the Purple Rain soundtrack, it was Prince’s second straight #1 after “When Doves Cry.” Up from #6 the previous week, swapping with Lionel Ritchie.
- Tina Turner, “What’s Love Got To Do With It” From Private Dancer, Tina’s first and only #1, it also reached #2 on the R&B chart. In Denver, it had slipped from #1, trading places with…
- John Waite, “Missing You” I was going to say that John Waite was a one-hit wonder, but since the definition of that is “only one Top 40 single ever,” I can’t, because his follow-up single, “Tears,” reached #37 (#8 on the Mainstream Rock chart). From his 1984 No Brakes album, which reached #10 in the US.
In 1988, KIMN changed its call letters to KYGO and began broadcasting country. The callsign re-emerged in 1995 on 100.3 FM. Currently it’s known as Mix 100 (“All The Hits”) with an Adult Top 40 format.
And that’s the Friday 5×2 for September 21, 2018.
I was a kid. I know all these songs — It’s probably close to the time I started caring about who sang what.
❤ Prince ❤
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Kid, as in junior high? I think I got really heavy into music when The Beatles arrived in the US, when I was almost 8… explains a lot, huh?
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Nope, definitely grade school then.
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What memories, i had just started my senior year of high school!
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I was a little further along…
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Some great songs in this group! Love the Pointer Sisters – they were always upbeat. Never was a Lionel fan but I’ll listen to Tina Turner any day of the week.
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I always thought Lionel looked better than he sang, which might have been enough, you never know…
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Yes, I agree!
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Great tunes
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This was a time when I was really keeping up with music and buying tons of cassettes (wish I had all that money back!). Of this song batch, “Missing You” is a big favorite. I had the John Waite cassette which I listened to a lot back then.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
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I had a whole bunch of music on cassette that, under pressure, I threw away before I could transfer it to mp3’s. I could kick myself for that.
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Memories! I especially love Patty Smyth and listen to her to this day. “The River Cried” and “Never Enough” are all time faves for me.
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There’s Patty Smyth who sang with Scandal and Patti Smith the “punk poet laureate.” They’re about 10 years apart. I crossed the two of them up initially…
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Yes! I meant Scandal Patty. 😀
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Love this flashback to the 80’s. My friends and I graduated in ’83 and in ’84 a dear friend moved to Colorado for school and we’d talk on the phone about the good ol’ days listening to those songs! I’m smiling as I remember dancing to “Let’s go crazy…!” 🙂
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High school or college? I’m assuming the former. That was a time when I didn’t listen to the radio much. By the time I heard many of these they were “golden oldies.”
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I know all these songs very well and danced to them often especially, “Let’s Go Crazy.” I never did care for the Lionel Ritchie song but there have been parodies of that song which were fun to listen to and watch
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I saw a picture of a sign posted on a lightpost that showed Lionel Ritchie with the caption “Hello, is it me you’re looking for?” Cracked me up. Wonder what he’s up to these days? Probably on one of those “oldies” cruises…
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