Fifty years ago, I made my first appeared on the Earth. In celebration, we are going to take a look at the year-end Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for each year of my life and see what songs resonated with me at the time and if they continue to do so to this day.
We continue our look back at the music of my lifetime with 1985, the year I wrapped up fifth grade, moved to sixth grade, did the Super Bowl Shuffle, and turned 11. 31 songs of the Hot 100 are familiar to me now, with only fifteen of them appearing in my collection in one way or another.
#97: Don Henley – All She Wants to Do Is Dance
iTunes stats: N/A
The sixth solo single from the Eagles drummer peaked at #9 on the Hot 100.
#92: Bruce Springsteen – Born in the USA
iTunes stats: 15 plays
Ranked as the 275th greatest song of all time by Rolling Stone, the track broke the top ten, hitting #9 in January of 1985.
#88: David Lee Roth – California Girls
iTunes stats: 22 plays
Roth’s first solo single after leaving Van Halen, this version matched the original by the Beach Boys, topping out at #3.
#75: Katrina and the Waves – Walking on Sunshine
iTunes stats: 14 plays
Hitting #9 on the Hot 100 in 1985, the song was briefly banned in the southern US after Hurrican Katrina in 2005.
#74: Bryan Adams – Summer of ’69
iTunes stats: N/A
Peaking at #5 on the charts, the song was ranked at #70 on Blender’s list “The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born” in 2005
#67: Bruce Springsteen – Glory Days
iTunes stats: 14 plays
The fifth of a record-tying seven singles from the Born in the USA album to hit the top five, it stalled out at #5 in the summer of 1985.
#61: Harold Faltermeyer – Axel F
iTunes stats: 18 plays
The instrumental theme to Beverly Hills Cop, the track reached #3 on the Hot 100.
#58: Madonna – Material Girl
iTunes stats: N/A
Spending two weeks at #2, the second single from Like a Virgin gave Madonna two simultaneous top five hits.
#57: Tina Turner – We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)
iTunes stats: N/A
Turner peaked at #2 with this hit from the soundtrack to Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, which also earned her a Golden Globe and Oscar nominations.
#56: Animotion – Obsession
iTunes stats: 16 plays
The band’s first single reached #6 on the Hot 100.
#53: Don Henley – The Boys of Summer
iTunes stats: N/A
The track, which earned Henley a Grammy in 1986, hit #5 on the Hot 100 and topped the Top Rock Tracks chart for five weeks.
#51: Prince & the Revolution – Raspberry Beret
iTunes stats: 5 plays
Peaking at #2 in 1985, the song re-entered the Hot 100 at #33 in 2016 following Prince’s death.