Top songs of 1982

What was the number one song of 1982?

The number one song of 1982 was “Physical” by Olivia Newton-John, the top song on Billboard's year-end Hot 100 for 1982. It spent 10 weeks at number one on the weekly chart, starting with the chart dated November 21, 1981.

“I Love Rock 'n' Roll” by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and “Ebony and Ivory” by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder were each number one for 7 weeks of 1982, the most of any song that year.

Born in 1982? The birthday number one finder shows the song at number one in the exact week of your birthday, and the number one on every birthday since.

Chart data: Billboard Hot 100, as compiled on Wikipedia (number ones of 1982, year-end Hot 100 of 1982).

How many songs reached number one in 1982?

15 songs reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in 1982. Counting “Physical”, which was already at number one when the year began, 16 songs held the top spot across the year's 52 weekly charts.

Of the songs that first reached number one in 1982, “I Love Rock 'n' Roll” by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts stayed there longest: 7 weeks in total, from the chart dated March 20, 1982.

Weeks at No. 1 counts every week the song spent at the top, including weeks in other years; the number in brackets is the weeks on charts dated 1982. Dates are chart issue dates.

Which artists had more than one number one in 1982?

Daryl Hall and John Oates was the only act with more than one number one in 1982, counting lead and featured credits: “I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)” and “Maneater”.

What were the biggest songs of 1982?

The five biggest songs of 1982 on Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 were “Physical” by Olivia Newton-John, “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor, “I Love Rock 'n Roll” by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, “Ebony and Ivory” by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder and “Centerfold” by The J. Geils Band.

The year-end chart ranks songs by how they performed on the weekly Hot 100 across Billboard’s chart year, so a song that peaked late in the year can rank lower than its weekly peak suggests, or count toward the next year’s list. The top 30 below show each song’s length where we could match the recording.

Numbers 31 to 100

31. “Hold Me” Fleetwood Mac
32. “Eye in the Sky” The Alan Parsons Project
33. “Let's Groove” Earth, Wind & Fire
34. “Open Arms” Journey
35. “Leader of the Band” Dan Fogelberg
36. “Leather and Lace” Stevie Nicks and Don Henley
37. “Even the Nights Are Better” Air Supply
38. “I've Never Been to Me” Charlene
39. “'65 Love Affair” Paul Davis
40. “Heat of the Moment” Asia
41. “Take It Easy on Me” Little River Band
42. “Pac-Man Fever” Buckner & Garcia
43. “That Girl” Stevie Wonder
44. “Private Eyes” Daryl Hall & John Oates
45. “Trouble” Lindsey Buckingham
46. “Making Love” Roberta Flack
47. “Love's Been a Little Bit Hard on Me” Juice Newton
48. “Young Turks” Rod Stewart
49. “Freeze-Frame” The J. Geils Band
50. “Keep the Fire Burnin'” REO Speedwagon
51. “Do You Believe in Love” Huey Lewis and the News
52. “Cool Night” Paul Davis
53. “Caught Up In You” .38 Special
54. “Why Do Fools Fall In Love?” Diana Ross
55. “Love in the First Degree” Alabama
56. “Hooked On Classics” Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
57. “Wasted on the Way” Crosby, Stills & Nash
58. “Think I'm in Love” Eddie Money
59. “Love Is in Control (Finger on the Trigger)” Donna Summer
60. “Personally” Karla Bonoff
61. “One Hundred Ways” Quincy Jones featuring James Ingram
62. “Blue Eyes” Elton John
63. “Our Lips Are Sealed” The Go-Go's
64. “You Could Have Been with Me” Sheena Easton
65. “You Can Do Magic” America
66. “Did It in a Minute” Daryl Hall & John Oates
67. “I Ran (So Far Away)” A Flock of Seagulls
68. “Somebody's Baby” Jackson Browne
69. “Oh No” Commodores
70. “Take It Away” Paul McCartney
71. “It's Gonna Take a Miracle” Deniece Williams
72. “Love Will Turn You Around” Kenny Rogers
73. “Don't Stop Believin'” Journey
74. “Comin' In and Out of Your Life” Barbra Streisand
75. “Gloria” Laura Branigan
76. “Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)” Elton John
77. “Yesterday's Songs” Neil Diamond
78. “Crimson and Clover” Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
79. “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” The Police
80. “Here I Am” Air Supply
81. “I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)” Michael McDonald
82. “Get Down on It” Kool & the Gang
83. “Any Day Now” Ronnie Milsap
84. “Make a Move on Me” Olivia Newton-John
85. “Take My Heart (You Can Have It If You Want It)” Kool & the Gang
86. “Mirror Mirror” Diana Ross
87. “Vacation” The Go-Go's
88. “(Oh) Pretty Woman” Van Halen
89. “Should I Do It” The Pointer Sisters
90. “Hot in the City” Billy Idol
91. “Kids in America” Kim Wilde
92. “Man on Your Mind” Little River Band
93. “What's Forever For” Michael Murphey
94. “Waiting on a Friend” The Rolling Stones
95. “Do I Do” Stevie Wonder
96. “Working for the Weekend” Loverboy
97. “Goin' Down” Greg Guidry
98. “Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)” Christopher Cross
99. “Through the Years” Kenny Rogers
100. “Edge of Seventeen” Stevie Nicks

Chart data: Billboard Hot 100, as compiled on Wikipedia (number ones of 1982, year-end Hot 100 of 1982).

What songs should go on a 1982 mix CD?

A 1982 mix that fits one 80-minute CD holds 19 of the year's biggest songs, opening with “Physical” by Olivia Newton-John and closing with “Hard to Say I'm Sorry” by Chicago, for 77:50 of music.

We built it from the year-end top 30 and every number one of 1982, taking songs in year-end order until the disc was full, then sequenced it to follow the year: the number ones in the order they reached the top, with the year’s other big hits placed between them. With a 2-second gap before each track it runs 78:28, under the 79 minutes we fill a CD to.

Lengths are the recordings matched in Deezer’s catalog. Single edits, album versions and remasters can run a little longer or shorter, so check your own playlist before you burn it.

Turn 1982 into a CD. Send us this list, or your own 1982 songs, and we burn it to a real audio CD, test-play it and post it. It makes a good gift for a birth year, a graduation year or a wedding year.

To change the songs, paste the list into the playlist length calculator to keep it under 80 minutes, then print an insert with the CD case template. Our guide to making a mixtape covers sequencing, and nostalgic gift ideas has more ways to give a year as a present.

What was popular music like in the 1980s?

Popular music in the 1980s was led by pop stars built for music video, with synth-pop, arena rock, dance-pop and big ballads sharing the top of the chart. MTV launched in August 1981, and acts such as Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince and Whitney Houston became the decade's biggest names.

From 1980 to 1989, 231 songs reached number one on the Hot 100, and 1 song stayed there for 10 weeks or more. Of those 231, “Physical” by Olivia Newton-John spent the most weeks at number one: 10 in total. Michael Jackson had the most number ones that reached the top in these years, with 9. The typical number one of these years ran 4:13 (the median of the 202 with a known length).