American Top 40 1987

Whatever you were doing in 1987 and whoever you were doing it with (or to), these are the songs you were doing it to, presented by the host who played the hits from coast to coast , Casey Kasem!

Events that shaped the Rock world in 1987

Worth The Wait: Sometimes Top 40 success takes a long time in coming. When it does, it sometimes hits big! Two bands -- the Grateful Dead and U2 -- got a taste of this in 1987. The Grateful Dead were Hippie-era icons, but never charted with a Top 40 hit during that time. The "Dead" sold plenty of albums back then. Over a decade and a half later Touch Of Grey became their first Top 40 hit, reaching the Top 10! This feat pales in comparison to that of U2, a British Invasion II-era group. U2's first album released in the U.S., War, sold well as an album in 1983, but failed to chart any hits on the Top 40. The following year, their song (Pride) In The Name Of Love made the Top 40, but had only modest success. This pattern changed drastically in '87 when their album The Joshua Tree went to number one! With it, two of its tracks -- With Or Without You and Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For reached number one on the Top 40. 1987 turned out to be a banner year for two bands hungry for success.

The "Post-Disco" Syndrome: After Disco faded from existence in the early 1980's, a danceable sound, popularized by Disco-era artists such as Michael Jackson and Prince, remained popular and took the place of Disco. It wasn't until the mid-1980's that a true replacement sound evolved that later became known as only "Dance" music. This new sound started to achieve mass popularity in 1987, as Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam reached number one with Head To Toe. Other artists with this new sound also did no worse than the Top 10. Among those were Jody Watley (Looking For A New Love), Debbie Gibson (Only In My Dreams, Shake Your Love), and Club Nouveau (Lean On Me, Why You Treat Me So Bad), just to name a few. This new dance sound went on to propel many artists to superstardom in the 1990's.

A Tribute To The "Shondells": Having 2 remakes of 2 of the same artist's songs chart on the Top 40 simultaneously was a rare feat in itself. But to have both of them hit number one during their chart run was a Rock history first! Two of Tommy James & The Shondells' biggest hits did just this in 1987. On September 26, both Tiffany's version of I Think We're Alone Now and Billy Idol's cover of Mony, Mony entered Billboard's Top 40. On October 24, I Think We're Alone Now reached number one where it stayed for 2 weeks. What replaced it? Mony, Mony did on November 7 which, too, spent 2 weeks at the top. After almost 2 decades, Tommy James and the Shondells get a very rare Top 40 tribute.

All of the songs that hit the weekly Top 40 pop charts in 1987, according to Billboard Magazine.

[ ]--Original Date of Entry Into Top 40
( )--Peak Position on ChartEvents that shaped the Rock world in 1987

Walk Like An Egyptian--Bangles [see 1986] (#1)
Everybody Have Fun Tonight--Wang Chung [see 1986] (#2)
Notorious--Duran Duran [see 1986] (#3)
Shake You Down--Gregory Abbott [see 1986] (#1)
The Way It Is--Bruce Horsby & The Range [see 1986] (#1)
C'Est La Vie--Robbie Nevil [see 1986] (#2)
Control--Janet Jackson [see 1986] (#5)
War--Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band [see 1986] (#8)
Stand By Me--Ben E. King [see 1986] (#9)
Don't Get Me Wrong--Pretenders [see 1986] (#10)
To Be A Lover--Billy Idol [see 1986] (#6)
Is This Love--Survivor [see 1986] (#9)
Land Of Confusion--Genesis [see 1986] (#4)
Victory--Kool & the Gang [see 1986] (#10)
At This Moment--Billy Vera & the Beaters [see 1986] (#1)
Love Is Forever--Billy Ocean [see 1986] (#16)
You Know I Love You...Don't You?--Howard Jones [see 1986] (#17)
Someday--Glass Tiger [see 1986] (#7)
Future So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades--Timbuk 3 [see 1986] (#19)
Hip To Be Square--Huey Lewis & the News [see 1986] (#3)
Next Time I Fall--Peter Cetera & Amy Grant [see 1986] (#1)
Open Your Heart--Madonna [see 1986] (#1)
All I Wanted--Kansas [see 1986] (#19)
You Give Love A Bad Name--Bon Jovi [see 1986] (#1)
Coming Around Again--Carly Simon [see 1986] (#18)
Change Of Heart--Cyndi Lauper [see 1986] (#3)
Touch Me (I Want Your Body)--Samantha Fox [see 1986] (#4)
Falling In Love--Miami Sound Machine (Uh-Oh) [see 1986] (#25)
You Be 'Illin'--Run·DMC [see 1986] (#29)
Keep Your Hands To Yourself--Georgia Satellites [see 1986] (#2)
Two People--Tina Turner [see 1986] (#30)
For Tonight--Nancy Martinez [see 1986] (#32)
Word Up--Cameo [see 1986] (#6)
This Is The Time--Billy Joel [see 1986] (#18)
We're Ready--Boston [see 1986] (#9)
Will You Still Love Me--Chicago [see 1986] (#3)
Talk To Me--Chico DeBarge [see 1986] (#21)
Human--Human League [see 1986] (#1)
Love You Down--Ready For The World [see 1986] (#9)
Stop To Love--Luther Vandross [see 1986] (#15)
Livin' On A Prayer--Bon·Jovi [1/10] (#1)
Ballerina Girl--Lionel Richie [1/10] (#7)
You Got It All--Jets [1/17] (#3)
Nobody's Fool--Cinderella [1/17] (#13)
Stay The Night--Benjamin Orr [1/17] (#24)
Jacob's Ladder--Huey Lewis & the News [1/17] (#1)
Big Time--Peter Gabriel [1/24] (#8)
Jimmy Lee--Aretha Franklin [1/24] (#28)
Somewhere Out There--Linda Ronstadt & James Ingram [1/24] (#2)
I'll Be Alright Without You--Journey [1/24] (#14)
Fight For Your Right To Party--Beastie Boys [1/24] (#7)
I Wanna Go Back--Eddie Money [1/24] (#14)
Respect Yourself--Bruce Willis [1/31] (#5)
Can't Help Falling In Love--Corey Hart [1/31] (#24)
Brand New Lover--Dead Or Alive [1/31] (#15)
Mandolin Rain--Bruce Hornsby & the Range [1/31] (#4)
Let's Wait Awhile--Janet Jackson [2/7] (#2)
Facts Of Love--Jeff Lorber & Karyn White [2/7] (#27)
Caught Up In The Rapture--Anita Baker [2/7] (#37)
Without Your Love--Toto [2/7] (#38)
Candy--Cameo [2/14] (#21)
Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now--Starship [2/14] (#1)
Come Go With Me--Exposé [2/14] (#5)
Let's Go--Wang Chung [2/14] (#9)
Final Countdown--Europe [2/21] (#8)
Tonight, Tonight, Tonight--Genesis [2/21] (#3)
Lean On Me--Club Nouveau [2/21] (#1)
Don't Dream It's Over--Crowded House [2/21] (#2)
We Connect--Stacey Q [2/21] (#35)
As We Lay--Shirley Murdock [2/28] (#23)
Midnight Blue--Lou Gramm [2/28] (#5)
Don't Need A Gun--Billy Idol [2/28] (#37)
That Ain't Love--REO Speedwagon [2/28] (#16)
Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)--Aretha Franklin & George Michael [3/7] (#1)
What You Get Is What You See--Tina Turner [3/7] (#13)
Don't Leave Me This Way--Communards [3/7] (#40)
The Finer Things--Steve Winwood [3/14] (#8)
Walking Down Your Street--Bangles [3/14] (#11)
Honeythief--Hipsway [3/14] (#19)
Sign O' The Times--Prince [3/14] (#3)
Stone Love--Kool & the Gang [3/14] (#10)
Dominoes--Robbie Nevil [3/14] (#14)
Skin Trade--Duran Duran [3/14] (#39)
Come As You Are--Peter Wolf [3/21] (#15)
Looking For A New Love--Jody Watley [3/21] (#2)
Smoking Gun--Robert Cray Band [3/21] (#22)
(I Just) Died In Your Arms--Cutting Crew [3/21] (#1)
Light Of Day--Barbusters [3/21] (#33)
What's Going On--Cyndi Lauper [3/21] (#12)
I Will Be There--Glass Tiger [3/21] (#34)
Can'tcha Say (You Believe In Me) / Still In Love--Boston [3/28] (#20)
La Isla Bonita--Madonna [3/28] (#4)
Serious--Donna Allen [3/28] (#21)
With Or Without You--U2 [4/4] (#1)
Lady In Red--Chris DeBurgh [4/4] (#3)
Ship Of Fools (Save Me From Tomorrow)--World Party [4/4] (#27)
Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You--Glen Medeiros [4/4] (#12)
Heat Of The Night--Bryan Adams [4/11] (#6)
Talk Dirty To Me--Poison [4/11] (#9)
Big Love--Fleetwood Mac [4/11] (#5)
Right On Track--Breakfast Club [4/11] (#7)
I Know What I Like--Huey Lewis & the News [4/11] (#9)
Se La--Lionel Richie [4/18] (#20)
You Keep Me Hangin' On--Kim Wilde [4/18] (#1)
The Right Thing--Simply Red [4/18] (#27)
Always--Atlantic Starr [4/25] (#1)
If She Would Have Been Faithful--Chicago [4/25] (#17)
Wanted Dead Or Alive--Bon·Jovi [4/25] (#7)
Get That Love--Thompson Twins [4/25] (#31)
Day·In Day·Out--David Bowie [4/25] (#21)
Meet Me Half Way--Kenny Loggins [4/25] (#11)
You Can Call Me Al--Paul Simon [4/25] (#23)
Heartbreak Beat--Psychedelic Furs [5/2] (#26)
Diamonds--Herb Alpert [5/2] (#5)
In Too Deep--Genesis [5/2] (#3)
Head To Toe--Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam [5/2] (#1)
Fascinated--Company B [5/9] (#21)
Just To See Her--Smokey Robinson [5/9] (#8)
Songbird--Kenny G [5/16] (#4)
Lessons In Love--Level 42 [5/16] (#12)
I Wanna Dance With Somebody--Whitney Houston [5/16] (#1)
Don't Disturb This Groove--System [5/16] (#4)
Jammin' Me--Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers [5/23] (#18)
Alone--Heart [5/23] (#1)
Point Of No Return--Exposé [5/30] (#5)
Something So Strong--Crowded House [5/30] (#7)
Shakedown--Bob Seger [5/30] (#1)
Every Little Kiss--Bruce Hornsby & The Range [5/30] (#14)
Sweet Sixteen--Billy Idol [5/30] (#20)
Endless Nights--Eddie Money [5/30] (#21)
I'll Still Be Loving You--Restless Heart [5/30] (#33)
Funkytown--Pseudo Echo [6/6] (#6)
Rock The Night--Europe [6/6] (#30)
Soul City--Partland Brothers [6/6] (#27)
Heart And Soul--T' Pau [6/6] (#4)
Girls, Girls, Girls--Mötley Crüe [6/13] (#12)
Kiss Him Goodbye--Nylons [6/13] (#12)
Rhythm Is Gonna Get You--Miami Sound Machine [6/13] (#5)
I'd Still Say Yes--Klymaxx [6/20] (#18)
The Pleasure Principle--Janet Jackson [6/20] (#14)
I Want Your Sex--George Michael [6/20] (#2)
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For--U2 [6/20] (#1)
Happy--Surface [6/20] (#20)
Cross My Broken Heart--Jets [6/27] (#7)
Wot's It To Ya--Robbie Nevil [6/27] (#10)
Only In My Dreams--Debbie Gibson [6/27] (#4)
Moonlighting--Al Jarreau [7/4] (#23)
Back In The High Life Again--Steve Winwood [7/4] (#13)
Luka--Suzanne Vega [7/4] (#3)
Flames Of Paradise--Jennifer Rush (with Elton John) [7/4] (#36)
Hearts On Fire--Bryan Adams [7/4] (#26)
Seven Wonders--Fleetwood Mac [7/4] (#19)
Rock Steady--Whispers [7/11] (#7)
Don't Mean Nothing--Richard Marx [7/11] (#3)
Who's That Girl--Madonna [7/18] (#1)
It's Not Over (Till It's Over)--Starship [7/18] (#9)
La Bamba--Los Lobos [7/18] (#1)
Why You Treat Me So Bad--Club Nouveau [7/18] (#39)
One For The Mockingbird--Cutting Crew [7/18] (#38)
Can't We Try--Dan Hill & Vonda Shepard [7/25] (#6)
Living In A Box--Living In A Box [7/25] (#17)
Hypnotize Me--Wang Chung [7/25] (#36)
Since You've Been Gone--Outfield [7/25] (#31)
Love Power--Dionne Warwick & Jeffrey Osborne [7/25] (#12)
Give To Live--Sammy Hagar [8/1] (#23)
Doing It All For My Baby--Huey Lewis & The News [8/1] (#6)
When Smokey Sings--ABC [8/1] (#5)
Mary's Prayer--Danny Wilson [8/1] (#23)
Here I Go Again--Whitesnake [8/8] (#1)
I Just Can't Stop Loving You--Michael Jackson [8/8] (#1)
Wipe Out--Fat Boys with the Beach Boys [8/8] (#12)
Didn't We Almost Have It All--Whitney Houston [8/8] (#1)
Touch Of Grey--Grateful Dead [8/15] (#9)
Lies--Jonathan Butler [8/15] (#27)
I Heard A Rumor--Bananarama [8/15] (#4)
Jam Tonight--Freddie Jackson [8/15] (#32)
Who Found Who--Jellybean featuring Elisa Fiorillo [8/15] (#16)
I Need Love--L.L. Cool J [8/15] (#14)
One Heartbeat--Smokey Robinson [8/15] (#10)
Lost In Emotion--Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam [8/22] (#1)
Carrie--Europe [8/22] (#3)
Jump Start--Natalie Cole [8/22] (#13)
U Got The Look--Prince [8/29] (#2)
Paper In Fire--John Cougar Mellencamp [8/29] (#9)
Who Will You Run To--Heart [8/29] (#7)
Making Love In The Rain--Herb Alpert [8/29] (#35)
Casanova--Levert [9/5] (#5)
Let Me Be The One--Exposé [9/5] (#7)
Never Let Me Down--David Bowie [9/5] (#27)
Fake--Alexander O'Neal [9/5] (#25)
You Are The Girl--Cars [9/12] (#17)
Little Lies--Fleetwood Mac [9/12] (#4)
Victim Of Love--Bryan Adams [9/12] (#32)
Causing A Commotion--Madonna [9/19] (#2)
Something Real (Inside Me, Inside You)--Mr. Mister [9/19] (#29)
In My Dreams--REO Speedwagon [9/19] (#19)
Bad--Michael Jackson [9/19] (#1)
I Think We're Alone Now--Tiffany [9/26] (#1)
Breakout--Swing Out Sister [9/26] (#6)
Mony Mony--Billy Idol [9/26] (#1)
It's A Sin--Pet Shop Boys [9/26] (#9)
Don't Make Me Wait For Love--Kenny G [9/26] (#15)
Don't Look Down (The Sequel)--Go West [9/26] (#39)
Where The Streets Have No Name--U2 [10/3] (#13)
I've Been In Love Before--Cutting Crew [10/3] (#9)
Brilliant Disguise--Bruce Springsteen [10/3] (#5)
I've Had The Time Of My Life--Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes [10/10] (#1)
Holiday-- The Other Ones [10/10] (#29)
Notorious--Loverboy [10/10] (#38)
Heaven Is A Place On Earth--Belinda Carlisle [10/10] (#1)
Should've Known Better--Richard Marx [10/17] (#3)
The One I Love--R.E.M. [10/17] (#9)
I Won't Forget You--Poison [10/17] (#13)
Come On, Let's Go--Los Lobos [10/17] (#21)
Hourglass--Squeeze [10/17] (#15)
We'll Be Together--Sting [10/24] (#7)
Boys Night Out--Timothy B. Schmitt [10/24] (#25)
Betcha Say That--Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine [10/24] (#36)
Shake Your Love--Debbie Gibson [10/24] (#4)
Let's Work--Mick Jagger [10/24] (#39)
Don't You Want Me--Jody Watley [10/24] (#6)
Faith--George Michael [10/31] (#1)
Catch Me (I'm Falling)--Pretty Poison [10/31] (#8)
Sugar Free--Wa Wa Nee [10/31] (#35)
Love Will Find A Way--Yes [10/31] (#30)
Is This Love--Whitesnake [11/7] (#2)
Skeletons--Stevie Wonder [11/7] (#19)
Valerie--Steve Winwood [11/7] (#9)
So Emotional--Whitney Houston [11/7] (#1)
That's What Love Is All About--Michael Bolton [11/7] (#19)
Dude (Looks Like A Lady)--Aerosmith [11/14] (#14)
I Do You--Jets [11/14] (#20)
Got My Mind Set On You--George Harrison [11/14] (#1)
Tell It To My Heart--Taylor Dayne [11/14] (#7)
Cherry Bomb--John Cougar Mellencamp [11/14] (#8)
Animal--Def Leppard [11/21] (#19)
Need You Tonight--INXS [11/21] (#1)
Candle In The Wind--Elton John [11/28] (#6)
There's The Girl--Heart [11/28] (#12)
The Way You Make Me Feel--Michael Jackson [11/28] (#1)
The Power Of Love--Laura Branigan [11/28] (#26)
Hazy Shade Of Winter--Bangles [12/5] (#2)
Crazy--Icehouse [12/5] (#14)
I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man--Prince [12/5] (#10)
I Don't Mind At All--Bourgeois Tagg [12/5] (#38)
Seasons Change--Exposé [12/5] (#1)
True Faith--New Order [12/5] (#32)
I Want To Be Your Man--Roger [12/12] (#3)
Hungry Eyes--Eric Carmen [12/12] (#4)
Could've Been--Tiffany [12/12] (#1)
Tunnel Of Love--Bruce Springsteen [12/19] (#9)
Motortown--The Kane Gang [12/19] (#36)
I Live For Love--Natalie Cole [12/19] (#13)
Don't Shed A Tear--Paul Carrack [12/19] (#9)
Pop Goes The World--Men Without Hats [12/19] (#20)
Say You Will--Foreigner [12/26] (#6)
Honestly--Stryper [12/26] (#23)
Everywhere--Fleetwood Mac [12/26] (#14)
What Have I Done To Deserve This--Pet Shop Boys & Dusty Springfield [12/26] (#2)
Push It--Salt·N·Pepa [12/26] (#19)