1987 was a year of breakthroughs and comebacks on my chart. One of the biggest breakthroughs of the year was a teenager from Hawaii named Glenn Medeiros; although he got on the national charts as well with debut single “Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love For You“, he did explosively better on TKR, where all three of his singles from his debut album – the above title, “Watching Over You” and “Lonely Won’t Leave Me Alone”, all topped the TKR chart this year. Dweezil Zappa also charted in a major way this year with music from his debut album “Havin’ A Bad Day” and I remain a HUGE fan of his to this day. And then there was the dulcet soprano sax of Kenny G…G had flirted with success over the previous two years, charting with minor hits nationally, like “Love On The Rise” with Kashif the previous year, but “Songbird” was a left field, completely unexpected MONSTER hit all over the world, and the Seattle-based sax player would be a regular presence on the TKR chart for the next decade. George Michael officially went solo in 1986, and this year he also teamed up with the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin for one of his hits. Another major long-term breakthrough this year was a percussion-only vocal group from Canada called The Nylons. They had a national hit with a remake of Steam‘s legendary timefiller-turned-classic “Kiss Him Goodbye“, but they would be a true TKR powerhouse for the next several years as well, charting well into the next decade. And twin teen idols who had moved beyond that phase of their career returned with new music for the first time in over a decade – Andy and David Williams, now going by The Williams Brothers, and who had been a huge favorite of mine growing up with pre-TKR chart favorites like “Falling Falling Gone” and “Say It Again‘ hit the TKR chart officially for the first time this year and over the next four years would chart with track after track from their critically acclaimed albums “Two Stories”, “The Williams Brothers” and “Harmony Hotel” – loved them ALL. Benjamin Orr became the only member of superstar new wave band The Cars to hit #1 on the TKR chart with his hit solo single “Stay The Night“; neither Ric Ocasek nor Elliot Easton managed to make the TKR chart with their releases in years previous. although the latter’s solo effort, “Niagara Falls”, was an excellent disc; the band would break up the following year. Fast-rising Aussie superstar John Farnham would have his first couple of chart hits on TKR this year, including the song that was a MONSTER everywhere in the world…except the States…AGAIN…”You’re The Voice” was a solid hit on TKR, as was “Break The Ice” from the film “RAD“. Tiffany, Restless Heart, Richard Marx, Eric Martin, and others would also release debuts and/or breakthrough albums and begin to have an influence on my chart. And Def Leppard, whom I’d loved since their breakthrough in 1979 with their debut album “On Through The Night‘, returned with their first single from their first album in FOUR YEARS…”Women“, with it’s electrifying opening guitar chord, was an introduction to what would happen when fourth album “Hysteria” was released…and for the next decade, Da Leps would be permanent TKR chart residents…and frequently, inhabitants of the top spot as well. Richard Carpenter also returned to active status four years following the death of sister Karen with his first and so far only solo vocal album, “Time“, which featured a number of other acts as well, including Dusty Springfield and Scott Grimes, due to be a major presence in another year or two after Carpenter produced the teen actor’s debut album. Eric Carmen also made another return to the charts this year, as did the Bee Gees, with their first TKR hit in six years. And then there was also…gasp…New Monkees. No, not “The Monkees“, but “NEW Monkees” – and you know, even though the new TV show sucked big time, the album of music produced by band members and show stars Larry Saltis, Jared Chandler, Marty Ross, and Dino Kovas was pretty damn fine…and they were charting TKR hits long after most stations had pulled the bomb of a series…so there…the four also reunited in 2018 for a fan convention, performing most of the songs from their album at the reunion, and sounding better than ever…heh heh…
For some reason, the January charts are a day off in some cases, I don’t know if I was experimenting with dating them on Friday or what, but by February, it had returned to the Saturday dates. I’ve left all the dates below as Saturdays, so the dates in January don’t always correspond with the date listed at the top of the chart….::sigh::
JANUARY 3 1987
JANUARY 10 1987
JANUARY 17 1987
JANUARY 24 1987
JANUARY 31 1987
FEBRUARY 7 1987
FEBRUARY 14 1987
FEBRUARY 21 1987
FEBRUARY 28 1987
MARCH 7 1987
MARCH 14 1987
MARCH 21 1987
MARCH 28 1987
APRIL 4 1987
APRIL 11 1987
APRIL 18 1987
APRIL 25 1987
MAY 2 1987
MAY 9 1987
MAY 16 1987
MAY 23 1987
MAY 30 1987
JUNE 6 1987
JUNE 13 1987
JUNE 20 1987
JUNE 27 1987
JULY 4 1987
JULY 11 1987
JULY 18 1987
JULY 25 1987
AUGUST 1 1987
AUGUST 8 1987
AUGUST 15 1987
AUGUST 22 1987
AUGUST 29 1987
SEPTEMBER 5 1987
SEPTEMBER 12 1987
SEPTEMBER 19 1987
SEPTEMBER 26 1987
OCTOBER 3 1987
OCTOBER 10 1987
OCTOBER 17 1987
OCTOBER 24 1987
OCTOBER 31 1987
NOVEMBER 7 1987
NOVEMBER 14 1987
NOVEMBER 22 1987
NOVEMBER 28 1987
DECEMBER 5 1987
DECEMBER 12 1987
DECEMBER 19 1987
DECEMBER 26 1987
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