Top songs of 1984

What was the number one song of 1984?

The number one song of 1984 was “When Doves Cry” by Prince, the top song on Billboard's year-end Hot 100 for 1984. It spent 5 weeks at number one on the weekly chart, starting with the chart dated July 7, 1984.

“Jump” by Van Halen and “When Doves Cry” by Prince were each number one for 5 weeks of 1984, the most of any song that year.

Born in 1984? 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 1984, year-end Hot 100 of 1984).

How many songs reached number one in 1984?

19 songs reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in 1984. Counting “Say Say Say”, which was already at number one when the year began, 20 songs held the top spot across the year's 52 weekly charts.

Of the songs that first reached number one in 1984, “Like a Virgin” by Madonna stayed there longest: 6 weeks in total, from the chart dated December 22, 1984, with 4 of those weeks on charts dated after 1984.

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 1984. Dates are chart issue dates.

Which artists had more than one number one in 1984?

No act had more than one number one in 1984, counting lead and featured credits: each of the 20 songs at number one that year was by a different act.

What were the biggest songs of 1984?

The five biggest songs of 1984 on Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 were “When Doves Cry” by Prince, “What's Love Got to Do with It” by Tina Turner, “Say, Say, Say” by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson, “Footloose” by Kenny Loggins and “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)” by Phil Collins.

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. “Oh Sherrie” Steve Perry
32. “Stuck on You” Lionel Richie
33. “I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues” Elton John
34. “She Bop” Cyndi Lauper
35. “Borderline” Madonna
36. “Sunglasses at Night” Corey Hart
37. “Eyes Without a Face” Billy Idol
38. “Here Comes the Rain Again” Eurythmics
39. “Uptown Girl” Billy Joel
40. “Sister Christian” Night Ranger
41. “Drive” The Cars
42. “Twist of Fate” Olivia Newton-John
43. “Union of the Snake” Duran Duran
44. “The Heart of Rock & Roll” Huey Lewis and the News
45. “Hard Habit to Break” Chicago
46. “The Warrior” Scandal
47. “If Ever You're in My Arms Again” Peabo Bryson
48. “Automatic” The Pointer Sisters
49. “Let the Music Play” Shannon
50. “To All the Girls I've Loved Before” Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson
51. “Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)” Billy Ocean
52. “That's All” Genesis
53. “Running with the Night” Lionel Richie
54. “Sad Songs (Say So Much)” Elton John
55. “I Want a New Drug” Huey Lewis and the News
56. “Islands in the Stream” Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton
57. “Love Is a Battlefield” Pat Benatar
58. “Infatuation” Rod Stewart
59. “Almost Paradise” Mike Reno and Ann Wilson
60. “Legs” ZZ Top
61. “State of Shock” The Jacksons
62. “Love Somebody” Rick Springfield
63. “Miss Me Blind” Culture Club
64. “If This Is It” Huey Lewis and the News
65. “You Might Think” The Cars
66. “Lucky Star” Madonna
67. “Cover Me” Bruce Springsteen
68. “Cum on Feel the Noize” Quiet Riot
69. “Breakdance” Irene Cara
70. “Adult Education” Daryl Hall & John Oates
71. “They Don't Know” Tracey Ullman
72. “An Innocent Man” Billy Joel
73. “Cruel Summer” Bananarama
74. “Dance Hall Days” Wang Chung
75. “Give It Up” KC and the Sunshine Band
76. “I'm So Excited” The Pointer Sisters
77. “I Still Can't Get Over Loving You” Ray Parker Jr.
78. “Thriller” Michael Jackson
79. “Holiday” Madonna
80. “Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us” Ollie & Jerry
81. “Nobody Told Me” John Lennon
82. “Church of the Poison Mind” Culture Club
83. “Think of Laura” Christopher Cross
84. “Time Will Reveal” DeBarge
85. “Wrapped Around Your Finger” The Police
86. “Pink Houses” John Cougar Mellencamp
87. “Round and Round” Ratt
88. “Head over Heels” The Go-Go's
89. “The Longest Time” Billy Joel
90. “Tonight” Kool & the Gang
91. “Got a Hold on Me” Christine McVie
92. “Dancing in the Sheets” Shalamar
93. “Undercover of the Night” The Rolling Stones
94. “On the Dark Side” John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band
95. “New Moon on Monday” Duran Duran
96. “Major Tom (Coming Home)” Peter Schilling
97. “Magic” The Cars
98. “When You Close Your Eyes” Night Ranger
99. “Rock Me Tonite” Billy Squier
100. “Yah Mo B There” James Ingram and Michael McDonald

Chart data: Billboard Hot 100, as compiled on Wikipedia (number ones of 1984, year-end Hot 100 of 1984).

What songs should go on a 1984 mix CD?

A 1984 mix that fits one 80-minute CD holds 19 of the year's biggest songs, opening with “Say, Say, Say” by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson and closing with “Missing You” by John Waite, for 77:37 of music.

We built it from the year-end top 30 and every number one of 1984, 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 78:15, 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 1984 into a CD. Send us this list, or your own 1984 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).