80s
Favorite 100 Songs of the 80s: (#5) Billy Ocean – Caribbean Queen

One must give Billy Ocean a lot of credit. Back in the 80’s he (or perhaps Jive Records) was pretty savvy marketing dude. In 1984 he recorded a song using several titles over different parts of the world, changing literally just one word for each. It’s confirmed he released African Queen and European Queen. Who knows, maybe there’s also an Indonesian Queen, Mediterranean Queen and Macedonia Queen floating around somewhere.
I really don’t care if he had 16 different versions of the same song. The only edition that matters is Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run). It’s genuinely one of my most preferred songs from the 1980s—- my favorite decade of music.
There’s many things about Caribbean Queen I’ve always enjoyed, but what I always loved most is the record doesn’t try to be anything more than what it is. For me, it’s simply a delightful blend of pop and soul. I’ve written this a time or two throughout this countdown and it’s worth reiterating —not every track needs to carry a meaningful, thought-provoking memorandum for the masses to be a celebratory track. Sometimes it’s cool to just take 3 minutes and 15 seconds from the burdens of life and have a foolishly good time with a song like this.
It’s such an infectiously fun and catchy tune, you can’t help but feel cozy each time it comes on.
Oh, and good luck not dancing along to Caribbean Queen—let me know how that works out for you.
Cleary the critics agreed. Billy Ocean won the 1985 Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance with Caribbean Queen, beating out Jeffrey Osborne, James Ingram and Stevie Wonder.
Amazing single aside, I regularly overlook how insanely underrated Billy Ocean was. When fans take nostalgic trips down memory lane to the 80s we reminisce over Michael, Prince, Madonna, Whitney, Lionel, Bruce, Phil and others, but Billy Ocean is rarely mentioned. Counting Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run ßI’m so sick of adding that), Ocean had seven Top 10 hits from the 80s: Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car (peaked at No. 1), There’ll Be Sad Songs To Make You Cry (1), When The Going Gets Tough (2), Lover Boy (2), Suddenly (4) and Love Zone (10).
Billy Ocean was a winner, and Caribbean Queen was his greatest triumph.
Chart Success: Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run) rose to number-one on the Billboard Hot 100. It stayed on top for two weeks before getting bumped by Wham’s Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go. It spent a total of 26 weeks on the chart and finished 1984 ranked 51st on the year-end Billboard Hot 100.
Great Lyrics: I wish I had the power to telepathically know a girl’s name and phone number simply by blinking my eye, but that shit has never worked for me.
“She dashed by me in painted on jeans
And all heads turned ’cause she was the dream
In the blink of an eye I knew her number and her name yeah
Ah she said I was the tiger she wanted to tameCaribbean queen
Now we’re sharing the same dream
And our hearts they beat as one
No more love on the run”
Fun Fact: They say 1984 was arguably the greatest year ever for pop music. I’d love to meet a few of the schmucks who’d argue against it. All seven of Billboard’s top songs from 1984 appear in this countdown, including four in my top ten. In total 17 of the top 40 songs from 1984 have appeared (or will) on this countdown. That’s 43% of my top 40 from one year!
80s
Favorite 100 Songs of the 80s: (#63) Europe – The Final Countdown

I was roughly 15-years old at the time this song came out and at once it became my essential training song. Back in those days I felt reasonably confident I was just a few short years away from making my debut as a WWF superstar and the future tag team partner of Mr. Wonderful Paul Ordnoff (I always wanted to be a heel). While visualizing my worldwide squared circle supremacy, I went as far to envision “The Final Countdown” as my theme song while strutting down to the ring—greeted by a rousing course of boos.
In reality this song wasn’t really intended to get aspiring athletes fired up. Inspired by David Bowie’s “Space Oddity”, it’s actually about taking a trip to Venus and leaving planet Earth behind—or something like that.
Who really gives a shit anyway?
Whether Europe intended so or not is irrelevant. “The Final Countdown” became the backbone of sports anthems at arenas everywhere and remains so over 30 years later.
They keyboard riff at the beginning is one of the coolest things I’ve heard in my life. It deserves to be on my countdown for that alone. Everything about “The Final Countdown” is outstanding. It’s on the National Honor Society of all 80s music that’s gloriously cheesy.
Chart Success: It reached number-eight on the Billboard Top 100 and remained on the chart for 18 weeks. It didn’t finish in the 1986 year-end Billboard Top 100, which is clearly some bullshit. It did finish number-one on the Netherlands year-end charts and third in France because both countries are way cooler.
Great Lyrics: If I had paid better attention as a 15-year old, I’d have put the curling bar down and wondered what the fuck this song is even about.
“We’re heading for Venus (Venus)
And still we stand tall
‘Cause maybe they’ve seen us (seen us)
And welcome us all, yeah
With so many light years to go
And things to be found (to be found)
I’m sure that we’ll all miss her so”
Fun Fact: On of the all-time bogus fabrications is that Europe is a one-hit wonder with this song. It even made VH-1’s list of 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders. “The Final Countdown” wasn’t even their biggest hit on the album! “Carrie” reached as high as number-three on the charts, and “Rock the Night” was a third hit that cracked the Billboard Top 30.
80s
Favorite 100 Albums of the 80s: (#86) Culture Club – Kissing To Be Clever

YEAR RELEASED: 1982
NOTABLE TRACKS “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me”, “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya”, “Time (Clock of my Heart)”, “Take Control”
ALBUM MVP: “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me”
WHY I LOVED IT: This was the Culture Club’s debut album and to call it a guilty a pleasure is an understatement. Let’s keep things real here—back in late 1982 as an 11-year old it wasn’t exactly manly to like groups like Culture Club, featuring a lead singer literally dressed like a girl. It was a different world in those days and Boy George’s appearance was far more unique than would be so today. More importantly the group’s sound was a far cry from most groups I enjoyed then, such as Styx, Journey and REO Speedwagon. Despite all that I really enjoyed this album, probably more than I should’ve. Even as a pre-adolescent teen I found “Do You Really Want To Hurt” as kind of heartbreaking. It got re-popularized years later thanks to Adam Sandler’s The Wedding Singer movie. Now that I think about it Sandler deserves a lot of Culture Club credit to a newer generation because he featured “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya’ in his Billy Madison movie. I loved “Time (Clock of my Heart)”. It was chic back then to ridicule groups like Culture Club but don’t allow prejudice to stand in the way of quality music. It doesn’t get anymore 80’s than Culture Club, man—and I love it.
COMMERCIAL SUCCESS: The album reached No.14 on the United States Billboard Top 100 and enjoyed even more success around the world—reaching number-two in Canada, New Zealand and France while peaking at three on Sweden and Norwegian charts. “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me” and “Time (Clock of my Heart)” were both monster singles, each reaching number-two on the Billboard Hot 100. “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya” was the group’s third top 10 hit from the album, peaking at nine.
FUN FACT: Courtesy of Songfacts.com on their hit single “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me: “This was Culture Club’s first single released in the United States. It was a huge and unlikely hit for the British band, who embarked on an American tour in 1983 to gain traction in that country. The song crossed over to Adult Contemporary radio, where most listeners had no idea the lead singer dressed like a girl. MTV, whose library was mostly British bands when they launched, had acclimated their US audience to guys in makeup, so Culture Club wasn’t so shocking on the channel and the group developed a huge audience of young people who liked the sound and the look.
The “look” was authentic: Boy George had been wearing makeup and women’s clothes since his school days, and while he exaggerated it for publicity, it was his preferred style. In a 1983 Trouser Press interview, the singer explained: “I wear my hair this way ’cause it makes my face look longer, my hat because it makes me look taller, black clothes because they make me look thinner, and makeup because it makes me look prettier.”
80s
Favorite 100 Albums of the 80s: (#80) Phil Collins – …But Seriously

YEAR RELEASED: 1989
NOTABLE TRACKS: “Another Day in Paradise”, “I Wish It Would Rain Down”, “Something Happened on the Way to Heaven”, “Do You Remember”, “Hang In Long Enough”
ALBUM MVP: “Another Day in Paradise”
WHY I LOVED IT: This was Collins’ fourth studio solo album after leaving Genesis and you can make a strong case it was the most refined of his four. “Another Day in Paradise” may not my favorite Phil Collins tune but it’s easily in my top five. It addresses social issues, something I don’t recall Collins abundantly speaking to before this track. It deservedly won a Grammy. “I Wish It Would Rain Down” is a sappy, gloomy love song that gives you all the feels. As a whole I’m not sure this is one of the archetypal 80’s cheesy pop albums we often associate the decade with. There’s a lack of good natured fun and a bit more substance on this effort, at least in my opinion. Having said that there is that one constant, where few if any 80s pop albums had the mega production that always seemed to accompany something Phil Collins put out.
COMMERCIAL SUCCESS: “…But Seriously” is barely eligible to be considered an 80’s album, being released just before decade’s end on November 20, 1989. This is the most commercially successful album of Collins career, as it sold over four million copies in the United States, reached number-one on the Billboard 200 and stayed there for three weeks, and produced a mind-blowing four top-five hits. “Another Day in Paradise” reached number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 and won the 1991 Grammy for Record of the Year. “I Wish It Would Rain Down” peaked at three on the Billboard Hot 100 while “Something Happened on the Way to Heaven” and “Do You Remember” both maxed out at four. “Hang In Long Enough” even got in on the action, hitting No. 23 on billboard.
FUN FACTS: From Heavy.com: “Phil Collins net worth is a staggering $250 Million. His royalties around his eight solo studio albums that have sold 33.5 Million units in the US, and about 150 million worldwide make him one of the best-selling artists in the world. Collins is also one of three artists to have sold 100 million + records both as solo artists and as principal members of a band, the list includes Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney. He has won seven Grammy Awards, six Brit Awards, an Oscar, and a Disney Legend Award.
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