Welcome back to the Fantastic 40:
My personal journal of the artists whose work dominated Billboard’s Top 40 for a calendar year between 1980 and 1991.
This time around, we’re looking at 1986.
What were the stories of 1986’s Fantastic 40?
The trend: The women take control.
Yes, there were as many solo men as solo women in the top quarter of 1986’s Fantastic 40. But with the passage of time, I’d venture to say far more listeners remember the contributions of:
No. 10: Whitney Houston
No. 3 Madonna
and No. 1 Janet: – Ms. Jackson if you’re nasty…
– than those of Lionel Richie, Billy Ocean or Robert Palmer.
In addition to the soloists, Miami Sound Machine, featuring the voice of Gloria Estefan, debuted at No. 4,
and the all-women group The Bangles broke out at No. 9.
New names:
Literally:
For what was once Jefferson Airplane and then Jefferson Starship, as Starship places 31st for the year, still mining hits from their CD “Knee Deep in the Hoopla.”
After a taste of success but no Fantastic 40 status in 1981, Steve Winwood roars back mid-decade at No. 22 with the initial singles from “Back in the High Life.”
The Pet Shop Boys come in at No. 17 on the strength of back-to-back Top 10 hits…
…while long-standing album artists Genesis finally become a consistent singles act with tracks from the Invisible Touch CD at No. 6.
Their hit touch extends to former frontman Peter Gabriel at No. 24,
Current guitarist and bassist Mike Rutherford and his group Mike and the Mechanics at No. 8,
…while long-standing album artists Genesis finally become a consistent singles act with tracks from the Invisible Touch CD at No. 6,
and Top 40 hits for two acts who didn’t make the Fantastic 40:
- Singer/drummer Phil Collins
- And former guitarist Steve Hackett’s group GTR.
Collins will return; GTR and Hackett never did.)
Final bows:
Say goodbye to Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band (34)- although Seger has a polarizing solo chart-topper later in the decade.
Also making a last appearance: Simple Minds (26),
Howard Jones (18)
Stevie Nicks (38)
Wham! (35)
Survivor (36)
and Journey (14).
Only in 1986:
It doesn’t get more 1986 than Mr. Mister:
With three consecutive Top 10s and then barely one more Top 40 hit before extinction.
See also: Nu Shooz (19)
Falco (23)
Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark (27),
The Outfield (29),
Glass Tiger (32),
and soloist Daryl Hall (37).
Several acts continued to chart but couldn’t pull enough hits together to return to a Fantastic 40:
Sade (33)
ZZ Top (25)
and Loverboy (21) among them.
Time and again:
Welcome back – not for the last time- to:
Cyndi Lauper (40),
Huey Lewis and the News (15)
and Van Halen (11).
John Cougar Mellencamp continues his hit streak with four singles from “Scarecrow” propelling him to No. 13,
while Heart continues its comeback at No. 16,
and Prince weighs in at No. 30.
And neither Billy Ocean (2)
nor Robert Palmer (5) are done with their smooth takes on pop/rock, R&B and adult contemporary ballad.
That triumvirate of Janet, Whitney and Madonna are far from through:
Indeed, they’re just getting rolling…
…to be continued…
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1986 turns up a novelty. Just the one act that I’ve never heard of and turns out they’re English; The Outfield. Highest UK chart placing #78 for Voices Of Babylon. Stranger still is that Your Love is certified Silver despite a peak of #83. Looks like it has been achieved almost entirely on the back of streaming. Had a listen expecting that I must have heard it somewhere along the way but no. On the basis of one listen I can’t say its an injustice they were overlooked at home. More that based on the other British acts in this year’s 40 its more of a question mark as to how they got into such company.
This is kind of stupid, but it makes me laugh:
https://www.tastefullyoffensive.com/2013/11/snl-josh-hutcherson-reenacts-the-outfields-your-love/
“Voices of Babylon” is a 10/10.
Who said that 1986 doesn’t deliver in terms of good music? Probably me at some point.
But lo! This is a year chock full of bangers.
But I’m puzzled by the absence of one artist: wasn’t 86 the Year of Bon Jovi?
Not really. Yes, they broke through near the end of the year. But 1987 is really their year!
Ain’t that the truth!
It was a pretty good year though. Cyndi Lauper, ZZ Top, Janet Jackson… all bangers! Personally, I didn’t care for that iteration of Van Halen, but Robert Palmer, Prince, and Sade all had solid, hip stuff.
Great year for music; singles and LPs. My brief record store experience ended in the late summer of 1986, but that coincided with the Janet Jackson record release, which I thought was really catchy upon a few listens to the promo. “I hope it does well”, I thought. WOWSA!
Someday by Glass Tiger is a strange obsession for me. It’s stellar pop music, as is OMD’s If You Leave and (Forever) Live & Die (beautiful harmonies). That Pretty In Pink LP was on the Top 20 LP wall for some time. The “designed by Miami Vice set directors” LP cover of Patti LaBelle’s solo album seemed out of place on the wall (and the hit song still does).
As I get older, Seger’s Like A Rock resonates more.
Ironically, I was not instantly hooked on the Pet Shop Boys and my very straight, and heavy metal leaning, younger brother scored their next LP. Ditto for for Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s debut. Hmmm!
Genesis usually merited an instant radio station change when their songs were played (a few exceptions). Hard to see them here twice, even with the accompanying Steve Winwood snap and songs. Higher Love is a most definite 10!
Where da full list?
Another six hour playlist created. Thanks Chuck!!!
Ooh … this caught me by surprise. I had my full list ready for Tuesday considering that’s when the past few weeks’ installments ran …
The fantastic 40 of 1986
1. Janet Jackson
2. Billy Ocean
3. Madonna
4. Miami Sound Machine
5. Robert Palmer
6. Genesis
7. Lionel Richie
8. Mike and the Mechanics
9. The Bangles
10. Whitney Houston
11. Van Halen
12. Mr. Mister
13. John Cougar Mellencamp
14. Journey
15. Huey Lewis and the News
16. Heart
17. Pet Shop Boys
18. Howard Jones
19. Nu Shooz
20. Billy Joel
21. Loverboy
22. Steve Winwood
23. Falco
24. Peter Gabriel
25. ZZ Top
26. Simple Minds
27. Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark
28. Simply Red
29. The Outfield
30. Prince
31. Starship
32. Glass Tiger
33. Sade
34. Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
35. Wham!
36. Survivor
37. Daryl Hall
38. Stevie Nicks
39. Run-DMC
40. Cyndi Lauper
The fantastic 40 of 1986 including collaborations (marked with an *)
1. Janet Jackson
2. Billy Ocean
3. Madonna
4. Miami Sound Machine
5. Robert Palmer
6. Genesis
7. Lionel Richie
8. Mike and the Mechanics
9. The Bangles
10. Whitney Houston
11. Michael McDonald*
12. Van Halen
13. Mr. Mister
14. John Cougar Mellencamp
15. Journey
16. Peter Cetera*
17. Huey Lewis and the News
18. Heart
19. Stevie Wonder*
20. Pet Shop Boys
21. Howard Jones
22. Nu Shooz
23. Billy Joel
24. Loverboy
25. Steve Winwood
26. Falco
27. Peter Gabriel
28. Elton John*
29. ZZ Top
30. Simple Minds
31. Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark
32. Simply Red
33. The Outfield
34. Prince
35. Starship
36. Glass Tiger
37. Sade
38. Tina Turner*
39. Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
40. Patti LaBelle*
I like “Falling in Love(Uh-Oh)” a lot. It was the fourth single, so maybe everybody had a copy of Miami Sound Machine’s ninth album Primitive Love, which is why it stalled at #23, despite being brilliant. Ninth? Wow. The more you know.
Ninth! Still processing this surprising information.
“Falling in Love(Uh-Oh) is a great outlier. It reminds me of Madonna’s “True Blue”. Both songs, to my ears, could have been on the Grease soundtrack.