Schmaltzy romantic duets, a touch of New Wave, and all kinds of love for Diana Ross. It’s a week before Christmas–1982. The personal computer revolution is just beginning, the Reagan era is still kind of fresh, and the shadow of Thriller looms on the horizon. Casey Kasem’s countdown for the week of December 18th, 1982 is an eclectic assortment of sounds that suggest a pretty confused moment in cultural history.
December 18, 1982—The Week at a Glance
On Saturday December 11th, Swedish pop quartet ABBA beamed into Britain’s The Late, Late Breakfast Show from a television studio in Stockholm for what would be their final public performance for the next 35 years.
ABBA’s history is long. If you really want to know the whole story, go see Mamma Mia–not that it tells the story. It just seems like you might enjoy it.
But for now, you get one trivial tidbit. ABBA was originally called Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid, which I think is far catchier. They also hold the distinction of winning the inaugural Eurovision Song Contest in 1974, and pretty much embodying its sound for the next 50 years.
As long as I’m offending your sensibilities…
On Thursday, December 16th, a group called the United Freedom Front conducted coordinated bombings of the South African Airways offices in Elmont, New York and IBM offices located in Harrison, New York. The radical Marxist group would go on to cite IBM’s business dealings with the Apartheid government in South Africa as the motive for its attack.
One week after the attack, Time magazine responded in epically dystopian style by honoring “the computer” as 1982’s “Man of the Year”.
Highlights from Casey Kasem’s Top 40 for for the Week of December 18, 1982
Duet To Me One More Time
There are a few schmaltzy balladic duets clogging up the middle of the countdown with “Baby, Come To Me” by Patti Austin and James Ingram at #20, “You and I” by Eddie Rabbitt and Crystal Gayle at #18, and Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes on “Up Where We Belong.” The theme song from Richard Gere-Debra Winger film An Officer and a Gentleman reached #15 on this week’s playlist.
“Up Where We Belong” would ultimately top the Billboard 100 and score that year’s Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Original Song on behalf of its all-star songwriting team–Jack Nitzsche, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Will Jennings.
The most notable (and possibly the schmaltziest) duet actually comes from Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney. Their collaboration on “The Girl is Mine” reaches #4 on this week’s countdown.
But it was really only the smallest hint of what was to come. The duet was the lead single from the album Thriller, released just three weeks prior to this countdown. Jackson and McCartney reportedly wrote “The Girl is Mine” while watching cartoons together. It shows.
But it was a success, reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Still, it hardly hinted at the monumental charting performance of what was to come.
“The Girl Is Mine” was soon and dramatically eclipsed by the success and lasting importance of “Billy Jean”, “Beat It” and the title track of what would become the greatest selling album of all time.
MTV Makes Small Waves
You get the sense, from this week’s countdown, that MTV was still rising. Certainly, Thriller would play a huge part in that rise. But the experimental cable had yet to achieve total cultural dominance.
There was evidence that MTV was beginning to drive records into the Top 40 that didn’t necessarily fit into mainstream radio station programming…yet. New Wave is a clear presence here—“Goody Two Shoes” by Adam Ant at #27; “Africa” by Toto at #16; “Down Under” by Men At Work at #12, and “Steppin’ Out” by Joe Jackson at #6.
Still, Music Television was hardly the dominant force it would be on the charts just one year hence. New Wave fully crested in 1983. But here, in the closing week’s of 1982, the countdown is more of a mixed bag.
That bag also includes a solid handful of hits from ‘70s stadium stars—Billy Joel’s probably-Springsteen-inspired “Allentown” at #39; Peter Gabriel’s anxious “Shock the Monkey” at #37; and Don Henley’s cynical “Dirty Laundry” at #7.
Oh, and honorable mention goes to “Rock This Town”—making #9 on this week’s countdown, and representing that brief, glorious time when the Stray Cats singlehandedly spawned an early ‘80s rockabilly revival—however modestly it stretched and however briefly it reigned.
On another day, perhaps we’ll take more time to explore frontman Brian Setzer’s awesome resume.
But for now, on to the top song on our countdown.
Whoah, Here She Comes
Philadelphia’s hit-making blue-eyed soul duo Hall & Oates occupies the top spot on this week’s countdown with the moody “Maneater”. Drawn from their 11th studio album—H2O—“Maneater” chewed up the competition, giving Hall & Oates their fifth Billboard Hot 100 #1. And with five consecutive weeks at the top spot over Christmas and New Year’s of 1982, it stands today as their biggest hit.
Ostensibly about a predatory woman, John Oates has said that the song is really about New York City in the 80s. He explains that Maneater was written to capture the “greed, avarice, and spoiled riches” characteristic of the yuppie-infested metropolis.
The duo hoped to capture some of that classic Motown sound. The composition knowingly borrows its signature bass-line lead in from the Supremes’ “You Can’t Hurry Love.”
On a personal note, I always thought that Stevie Wonder’s 1985 #1 hit, “Part-Time Lover” sounded unmistakably similar to “Maneater” even to the extent that you may not always know which one you’re hearing until the vocals kick in. Turns out this isn’t just my imagination.
Reflecting on his own hit a few years on, Wonder acknowledged that the melody was intentionally conceived as a tribute to The Supremes’ “You Can’t Hurry Love.”
And that brings us back around to this week’s countdown, on which Genesis frontman Phil Collins reaches #22 with a straight-ahead cover of…yup…”You Can’t Hurry Love.”
The takeaway? You can’t hurry love, but you can totally recycle it.
For good measure, Supreme supremo Diana Ross reaches #10 on this week’s playlist with “Muscles”, which was actually written and produced by Michael Jackson.
Sharif Don’t Like It
By 1982, punk had peaked, puked, parted, and paved the way for New Wave. In the aftermath, only the Clash survived…nay, thrived. The year saw the Clash delivering the biggest hit of their glorious run, and their only Top 10 in the U.S.
“Rock the Casbah” reaches #17 on this week’s countdown. It tells a bit of metafiction about a Middle Eastern theocracy in which Western Music is banned. A resistance forms as people gather in the temples to dance. When Sharif orders the fighter jets to destroy the resistance, they instead shower the resistance with rock music. A revolution is born.
Before you go looking for clips on the History Channel, none of that stuff happened in real life. But there is some serious historical context for the Clash’s biggest hit. 1979 marked the start of the Iranian Revolution, when Muslim students overthrew Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, installed Islamic theocrat Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and took 52 American citizens and diplomats hostage.
The so-called Iran Hostage Crisis dominated international headlines, sullied the final days of Jimmy Carter’s administration, and forever soured relations between Iran and the U.S. So naturally, this also marked the beginning of a total ban on Western music in Iran. While different regimes have imposed this rule with varying degrees of strictness, it remains the case today that Iranian rock fans can only purchase Western Music on the black market.
All of this to say there was some pretty good context for the success of “Rock the Casbah” in the U.S., which finally saw its hostages returned on January 20, 1981. Here in late ’82, the subject was clearly still on the minds of Americans.
Nonetheless, it’s fair to say that the song’s meaning has been, on more than one occasion, misunderstood or misappropriated. It ranked high on a list of the Best Conservative rock songs according to polemic Republican publication, The National Review. It also appeared on a list compiled by the Clear Channel corporation of songs that might be inappropriate or insensitive following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. And it’s said that Joe Strummer wept when learning that the title of his song was scrawled across a bomb that the U.S. military dropped during its 1991 Desert Storm Operation in Iraq.
So that the true meaning of the song is not lost on us, the accompanying MTV video centered around the exploits of a Hasidic Jew and an observant Muslim as they scarf hamburgers and share a beer in Austin, Texas.
Oh Toni–You’re So Fine.
Toni Basil’s “Mickey” ranks #2 on this week’s countdown.
Oh man. Where to start with Toni Basil? By the time she recorded and released her famous one-hit wonder in 1981, Basil was already a choreographer with a remarkable resume.
Born in Philadelphia before relocating to Las Vegas, Basil was head cheerleader in her graduating class from Las Vegas High School. I mention this only because it would be of great significance when she recorded her biggest hit some 20 years later.
But it should be noted that the alleged 80s one-hit wonder was scoring minor charting hits as far back as the ‘60s. Dig this Northern Soul slab—the title tune for the 1966 film Breakaway.
10 years later, she landed an invite to sing on the upstart comedy sketch show, Saturday Night Live. She performed an old swing tune called Wham Rebop Boom Bam. While I couldn’t find the whole video, this little clip is pretty wild.
It generated enough attention to help Basil book a sold-out engagement at the Roxy in L.A. six months later.
But major label representation alluded her until she returned her cheer squad roots for “Mickey”.
While the Toni Basil cut on this week’s countdown is version that everybody knows, “Mickey” is actually a cover of a song called “Kitty”. It was written by the accomplished bubblegum songwriting team—Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, and paired with otherwise entirely unknown power pop combo Racey.
Toni Basil changed the name of the song, added the cheerleading refrain, and choreographed a video in which she donned her actual high school cheerleading uniform. The result was a massive #1 hit and one of MTV’s defining early videos.
But like I said, Toni Basil has an amazing resume, one that far predates and succeeds her one major pop music achievement. .
For starters, you can look for her as a prostitute on psychedelic drugs in a New Orleans graveyard in the 1969 cult classic Easy Rider. As an actress, Basil also appeared in Five Easy Pieces, The Monkees/Jack Nicholson collaboration Head, and even an episode of Laverne and Shirley.
She also appeared as a dancer in ‘60s time capsule films like Shindig, Pajama Party, and Elvis Presley’s Viva Las Vegas.
But that’s nothing compared to her career as a choreographer. Basil got her start providing choreography for the now-legendary T.A.M.I. Show concert film featuring performances by the Rolling Stones, Beach Boys, Supremes, Miracles, James Brown and, like, a ton of other crazy acts.
Basil’s additional choreography credits include American Graffiti, The Rose starring Bette Midler (with whom she formed a long-term working relationship), Peggy Sue Got Married, and not one, but two Legally Blonde films.
Just before her own MTV breakout, she choreographed the performances for David Bowie’s Diamond Dogs tour as well as a handful of Talking Heads videos including “This Must Be the Place.”
Basil also choreographed (and briefly cameoed in) Quentin Tarantino’s meta-fiction about the Manson murders—Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. For a sense of just how deeply Basil’s career in showbiz runs, she personally knew two of the Manson murder victims—Sharon Tate and Jay Sebring.
A Sea Was Stormin’
While we’re on the regrettable subject of murder, we should acknowledge the inclusion on this week’s countdown of the final charting hit for soul legend and trouble man Marvin Gaye.
“Sexual Healing” reaches #8 on this week’s countdown. It would top the R&B charts and reach #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Marvin’s last of 18 Top 10 hits.
On April 1, 1984, the singer acted to intervene in an altercation between his parents. His father, Marvin Gaye, Sr., shot his son twice in the chest. Marvin Gaye, Jr. died at age 45.
The Top 40 for December 18, 1982 in Order
LW#2: GLORIA – LAURA BRANNIGAN
LW#1: MICKEY – TONI BASIL
40: SHAME ON THE MOON – BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND
39: ALLENTOWN – BILLY JOEL
38: HEART OF THE NIGHT – JUICE NEWTON
37: SHOCK THE MONKEY – PETER GABRIEL
36: LET’S GO DANCIN’ – KOOL & THE GANG
35: WHAT ABOUT ME – MOVING PICTURES
34: A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS – TAVARES
LDD: JUST REMEMBER I LOVE YOU – FIREFALL
33: LOVE IN STORE – FLEETWOOD MAC
32: EVERYBODY WANTS YOU – BILLY SQUIER
31: I DO – THE J. GEILS BAND
30: YOU GOT LUCKY – TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS
29: ON THE WINGS OF LOVE – JEFFREY OSBORNE
28: BE MY LADY – JEFFERSON STARSHIP
27: GOODY TWO SHOES – ADAM ANT
26: HEART TO HEART – KENNY LOGGINS
EXTRA: COME SEE ABOUT ME – THE SUPREMES
25: HAND TO HOLD ON TO – JOHN COUGAR
24: HEART ATTACK – OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN
23: MISSING YOU – DAN FOGELBERG
22: YOU CAN’T HURRY LOVE – PHIL COLLINS
21: THE OTHER GUY – LITTLE RIVER BAND
20: BABY, COME TO ME – PATTI AUSTIN WITH JAMES INGRAM
19: THE LOOK OF LOVE – ABC
18: YOU AND I – EDDIE RABBITT WITH CRYSTAL GAYLE
17: ROCK THE CASBAH – THE CLASH
16: AFRICA – TOTO
15: UP WHERE WE BELONG – JOE COCKER & JENNIFER WARNES
14: HEARTBREAKER – DIONNE WARWICK
13: SHADOWS OF THE NIGHT – PAT BENETAR
12: DOWN UNDER – MEN AT WORK
11: IT’S RAINING AGAIN – SUPERTRAMP
10: MUSCLES – DIANA ROSS
9: ROCK THIS TOWN – STRAY CATS
8: SEXUAL HEALING – MARVIN GAYE
LDD: OUT HERE ON MY OWN – IRENE CARA
7: DIRTY LAUNDRY – DON HENLEY
6: STEPPIN’ OUT – JOE JACKSON
5: TRULY – LIONEL RICHIE
4: THE GIRL IS MINE – MICHAEL JACKSON & PAUL McCARTNEY
3: GLORIA – LAURA BRANIGAN
2: MICKEY – TONI BASIL
1: MANEATER – DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES