American Top 40 1984 April 21st

American Top 40 with Casey Kasem aired on radio from July 4, 1970 until August 6, 1988. This recording is a rebroadcast from internet radio.

In this countdown (of which Baby George would approve):

"It's My Life" by Talk Talk, debuts at number 40 as does "Runaway" by Bon Jovi (at number 39), "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper (at number 36), "I'll Wait" by Van Halen (at number 33) and "Sister Christian" by Night Ranger (at number 32).

Casey tells whatever became of Motown Records' first successful solo artist, Mary Wells.

A listener wants to know what number one song has had the longest title. Casey says this forty-letter titled song was about a small piece of clothing.

I usually don't include personal stories but four days before this countdown aired, I had taken my first girlfriend to Kansas City, Missouri, to see Billy Joel while he was on his "Innocent Man" tour. She was my Uptown Girl, I was her Downtown Man. and Christie Brinkley was in the front row filming with her camcorder. Mr. Joel's hit, "The Longest Time" is at number 25.

The biggest mover in the countdown is "Let's Hear It For The Boy" by Deniece Williams (from number 38 to 23) and the biggest dropper is "Radio Ga-Ga" by Queen (from number 18 to 35).

Casey answers the question, "In the rock era, how many songs from the movies have hit number one and then won the Oscar for best song?" Casey lists the nine songs that did just that.

Casey tells how "Weird" Al Yankovic (at number 15 with his song "Eat It") earned his fame and made his own luck by sending his songs to the superintendent of silliness, Dr. Demento.

Lionel Richie is at number 3 with his song "Hello" so Casey lists three number one songs with "Hello" in the title: one by Satchmo, one by the Fab Four, and one by the band whose lead singer's anagram was "Mr. Mojo Risin."

This is the week Michael Jackson's album "Thriller" fell from the number one spot for the last time after spending a total of 37 non-consecutive weeks at number 1 on the album chart. It was pushed out of the number one spot five different times by different albums and Casey lists them all.

LW#1: Footloose - Kenny Loggins
40: It's My Life - Talk Talk
39: Runaway - Bon Jovi
38: Come Back And Stay - Paul Young
37: Borderline - Madonna
36: Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper
35: Radio Ga-Ga - Queen
34: Holding Out For A Hero - Bonnie Tyler
33: I'll Wait - Van Halen
32: Sister Christian - Night Ranger
31: No More Words - Berlin
30: Dancing In The Sheets - Shalamar
29: Show Me - The Pretenders
LDD: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - Roberta Flack
28: A Fine Fine Day - Tony Carey
27: Oh Sherrie - Steve Perry
26: Breakdance - Irene Cara
25: The Longest Time - Billy Joel
24: Leave It - Yes
23: Let's Hear It For The Boy - Deniece Williams
22: Authority Song - John Cougar Mellencamp
21: I Want A New Drug - Huey Lewis & The News
20: Head Over Heels - Go-Go's
19: Don't Answer Me - Alan Parsons Project
18: Tonight - Kool & The Gang
17: Girls Just Want To Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
16: Girls - Dwight Twilley
15: Eat It - "Weird" Al Yankovic
14: Jump - Van Halen
13: To All The Girls I've Known Before - Willie Nelson
12: Adult Education - Daryl Hall & John Oates
11: You Might Think - The Cars
10: They Don't Know - Tracey Ullman
9: Here Comes The Rain Again - Eurythmics
8: Love Somebody - Rick Springfield
7: Somebody's Watching Me - Rockwell
6: Automatic - Pointer Sisters
LDD: I Made It Through The Rain - Barry Manilow
5: Miss Me Blind - Culture Club
4: Hold Me Now - Thompson Twins
3: Hello - Lionel Richie
2: Footloose - Kenny Loggins
1: Against All Odds - Phil Collins