American Top 40 1986 August 16th

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.

Well, I must not have had money to buy "D" batteries for my boom box in August of '86 because I do not remember half of these songs. But since Billy Joel is in the number 36 spot with "Modern Woman" it reminded me that I am supporting two movie files by other people from that summer: "Ruthless People" and "Short Circuit." I previously promised to share back until a ratio of 30. Currently, "Ruthless People" is at 7.9 and "Short Circuit" is 5.9 ("Buck Privates" with Abbott and Costello, currently at 27.4 is about to be discharged but they've been in longer. TGIF and FM are at the bottom of these five). So if you want any of these, get your red-hot links (that I forgot to include) in the notepad text (but they are in the notepad for June_7th,_1986) and someday you can be the only OTHER person who has a copy.

This question, "What singer holds the record for the most number one albums without ever having a number one single?" comes in from two different people who have had neither of either. Casey says the record of seven #1 albums and no singles goes to this boy from Jersey.

The band Glass Tiger claims the number 31 spot with their single, "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)" and Bryan Adams helps them be unforgettable by singing backup.

Not to be outdone, Run-DMC debuts at number 30 with "Walk This Way" which includes Aerosmith leads: singer Steven Tyler & guitarist Joe Perry.

Also, the group Journey (at number 17 with a song about "Suzanne") have added a new bass player named Randy Jackson.

A listener asks, "What group has had the longest gap between top 40 hits?" Casey lists the top three which includes a group in this week's countdown. They just made the record 18 years with the song at number 25.

"Yankee Rose" by David Lee Roth is at number 23. The AT40 staff discovered there really is a rose named "Yankee" (well, Yankee Doodle). When they called Mr. Roth for comment, he apparently knew nothing about it.

The song at number 18 is "Baby Love" by a solo artist who goes by only one name: Regina. Casey lists some of the 43 other previous one named performers who sacrificed so Regina could have that right, including 29 men, 12 women, and 2 Muppets?

The song at number 15 is "Friends And Lovers" by Carl Anderson & Gloria Loring. Casey says Loring is one of only four soap-opera stars ever to make the chart, including the one that hit number one in 1955 with, "The Ballad Of Davy Crocket."

The solo woman with the most number one songs to her credit is not Madonna, but she is only one single behind the leader as of this week when her hit, "Papa Don't Preach" became the most popular song in the land.

Meanwhile, back at number 36, Casey mentioned Billy Joel's 1972 live performance of "Captain Jack." If you've never heard this track from the Piano Man album, likely the best recording of it appears on Joel's "Songs In The Attic" album, and I've included it as a RocketMan extra, as well as the album's liner notes (go look up "liner notes" in your World Book Encyclopedia). The tracks on this album were chosen because they sounded much better performed live by Joel's regular touring band than their counterparts recorded in the studio with session musicians. In the liner notes, Joel explains, "Some songs have been excluded here because they pretty much sound the same. 'Piano Man' for instance, sounds pretty much the same live. However, 'Captain Jack' plays with much more power and conviction when a roaring Philadelphia audience sets off a kind of internal explosion and the adrenalin screams through our veins - when Doug, David and Russell push their amplifiers into ear-bleeding overdrive and Richie floors the organ pedal like the accelerator on a '64 Corvette - when I feel piano strings snapping and breaking under the fingers in my left hand and Liberty literally tries to smash his drums into shiny metal bits of shrapnel. When we play 'Captain Jack,' we are actually committing an act of pure brutality."

Enjoy.

40: Two Of Hearts - Stacey Q
39: Dreamtime - Daryl Hall
38: Take It Easy - Andy Taylor
37: Modern Woman (from "Ruthless People") - Billy Joel
36: Digging Your Scene - The Blow Monkeys
35: Hanging On A Heart Attack - Device
34: The Captain Of Her Heart - Double
33: Love Zone - Billy Ocean
32: Taken In - Mike & The Mechanics
LDD: Just As I Am - Air Supply
31: Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone) - Glass Tiger
30: Walk This Way - Run-D.M.C.
29: Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money) - Pet Shop Boys
28: Rumbleseat - John Cougar Mellencamp
27: Man Sized Love (From "Running Scared") - Klymaxx
26: Nasty - Janet Jackson
25: That Was Then, This Is Now - The Monkees
24: Stuck With You - Huey Lewis & The News
23: Yankee Rose - David Lee Roth
22: One Step Closer To You - Gavin Christopher
LDD: Truly - Lionel Richie
21: Invisible Touch - Genesis
20: Words Get In The Way - Miami Sound Machine
19: All The Love In The World - The Outfield
18: Baby Love - Regina
17: Suzanne - Journey
16: Danger Zone - Kenny Loggins
15: Friends And Lovers - Carl Anderson & Gloria Loring
14: You Should Be Mine (The Woo Woo Song) - Jeffrey Orborne
13: Sledgehammer - Peter Gabriel
12: Sweet Freedom (Theme From "Running Scared") - Michael McDonald
11: Love Touch (Theme From "Legal Eagles") - Rod Stewart
10: The Edge Of Heaven - Wham!
9: Take My Breath Away (Love Theme from "Top Gun") - Berlin
LDD: You Are So Beautiful - Joe Cocker
8: Rumors - Timex Social Club
7: Dancing On The Ceiling - Lionel Richie
6: Venus - Bananarama
5: We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off - Jermaine Stewart
4: Higher Love - Steve Winwood
3: Mad About You - Belinda Carlisle
2: Glory Of Love (Theme From "Karate Kid Part II") - Peter Cetera
1: Papa Don't Preach - Madonna