#1 mainstream rock tracks for 1982

Kookaburra

Here are the #1 mainstream rock tracks from 1982.

Everybody Wants You – Billy Squier, 6 weeks at #1 M, #32 pop

Heat of the Moment – Asia, 6 weeks at #1 M, #4 pop

I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll – Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, 5 weeks at #1 M, #1 for seven weeks pop. Not to be confused with I Love Rocky Road by Weird Al Yankovic

Eye Of The Tiger – Survivor, 5 weeks at #1 M. #1 for six weeks pop. From the movie Rocky III. cf. Weird Al’s The Rye or the Kaiser.

Down Under – Men At Work, 5 weeks at #1 M, #1 for four weeks pop.  I have the album. I noted here: “In June 2009, the band was sued for copyright infringement, the allegation being that the flute part was lifted from a 1932 Australian song called ‘Kookaburra,'” a song I learned in grade school. “(This is sad: “Greg Ham took the verdict particularly hard, feeling responsible for having performed the flute riff at the centre of the lawsuit and worried that he would only be remembered for copying someone else’s music, resulting in depression and anxiety. Ham’s body was found in his home on 19 April 2012 after he suffered a fatal heart attack at age 58.”

Centerfold – J Geils Band, 3 weeks at #1 M, #1 for six weeks pop. I have a greatest hits CD

Telephone number

867-5309/Jenny – Tommy Tutone, 3 weeks at #1 M, #4 pop . This song definitely has a story.

Think I’m In Love – Eddie Money, 3 weeks at number one M, #16 pop.

Dirty Laundry – Don Henley, 3 weeks at #1 M, #3 for three weeks pop. I have the album

You Got Lucky – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, 3 weeks at #1 M, #20 pop. I have the album.

Oh, Pretty Woman – Van Halen, 2 weeks at #1 M, #12 pop. The Orbison original was #1 pop in 1964; I have that too.

New World Man – Rush, 2 weeks at #1 M, #21 pop

Shock The Monkey– Peter Gabriel, two weeks at #1 M, #29 pop. Not only do I own the LP, but I also own the German CD with Schock Den Affen

All the rest were number one for just one week, Mainstream

Don’t Let Him Know – Prism, #39 pop. Co-written by Bryan Adams

No One Likes You – Scorpions, #65 pop

Stone Cold – Rainbow, #40 pop

Hurts So Good – John Cougar, #2 pop for four weeks. Own it on a greatest-hits CD under the name John Mellencamp.

Caught Up In You -38 Special, #10 pop

Mainstream and alternative rock #1s for 1991

So You Think You’re In Love

These are the mainstream and alternative rock #1s for 1991. There is some overlap. The mainstream tracks will be designated M and the alternative A.

Mysterious Ways– U2, 12 weeks at#1 M, 9 weeks at #1 A, #9 pop

All This Time – Sting, 7 weeks at #1 M, 2 weeks at number one A, #5 pop

Lift Me Up – Yes, 6 weeks at #1  M, #86 pop

Learning To Fly – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, 6 weeks at #1 M, #28 pop

Right Here, Right Now – Jesus Jones, 5 weeks at#1 A, #7 M, #2 pop

Kiss Them For Me – Siouxsie and the Banshees, 5 weeks at #1 A, #23 pop

So You Think You’re In Love – Robin Hitchcock and the Egyptians, 5 weeks at #1 A. This is a great pop song, yet it did not reach the pop charts.

Run Around – Van Halen, 4 weeks at #1 M

Dream Line – Rush, 4 weeks at #1 M

Top Of The World – Van Halen, 4 weeks at #1 M

The Other Side Of Summer – Elvis Costello, 4 weeks at #1 A. I only bought Mighty Like A Rose since COVID.

Teenage Wasteland redux

Rush  -Big Audio Dynamite II, 4 weeks at #1 A, #40 M, #32 pop. Samples Baba O’Riley by The Who

Highwire – The Rolling Stones, 3 weeks at #1 M, #57 pop

Losing My Religion – R.E.M., 3 weeks at #1 M, 8 weeks at #1 A, #4 pop

Get A Leg Up – John Mellencamp, 3 weeks at #1 M, #14 pop

Poundcake – Van Halen, 2 weeks at #1 M

Out In The Cold – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, 2 weeks at #1 M

See The Lights -Simple Minds, 2 weeks at #1 A, #10 M, #40 pop

Get The Message – Electronic, 2 weeks at #1 A

Until She Comes – the Psychedelic Furs, 2 weeks at #1 A

Give It Away  – Red Hot Chili Peppers, 2 weeks at #1 A, #73 pop. Grammy for Hard Rock Performance. I actually know this song better as Bedrock Anthem by Weird Al Yankovic

The Fly – U2, 2 weeks at number one A, #2 M, #61 pop

She Talks To Angels – the Black Crowes, 1 week at #1 M, #30 pop

Silent Lucidity – Queensryche, 1 week at #1 M, #9 pop

Heavy Fuel – Dire Straits, 1 week at #1 M, #22 A

Kinky Afro – Happy Mondays, 1 week at #1 A

Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana, 1 week at #1, #7 M, #6 pop. And of course, Weird Al’s Smells Like Nirvana

At the time, I was mostly listening to U2, Sting, Petty, R.E.M., plus the Black Crowes, BAD II, and Nirvana.

Ramblin' with Roger
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