Welcome to My Study Playlist Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lionel Richie

At the top of the countdown is "Hello," the third single from Lionel Richie's album "Can't Slow Down." It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on May 12 and stayed there for two weeks.

Originally rising to fame as a member of the Commodores, a group he formed as a student at the Tuskegee Institute, Richie started his solo career in 1982. In the years since, he's won four Grammies (including one for co-writing the charity song "We Are the World") and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song for "Endless Love" (1981).

Answer: Phil Collins

Another soundtrack song on my playlist,"Against All Odds" was released in February of 1984 and reached the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 on April 21, staying in that position for three weeks. It was nominated for a Best Original Son Oscar, losing to "I Just Called to Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder but did win a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male.

Phil Collins acted in his teens before becoming a professional drummer, including several years in the band Genesis for whom he became the lead singer when Peter Gabriel left for a solo career. After finding success, he dabbled once again in acting, mostly making cameo appearances but also taking the title role in "Buster" (1988).

Answer: Thompson Twins

Released in the US in November, 1983, "Hold Me Now" was the first single from the Thompson Twins album "Into the Gap" and reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100. The Thompson Twins were three non related musicians, Tom Bailey, Alannah Curry, and Joe Leeway, who took their name from a pair of detectives (Thompson and Thomson) in the "Tintin" comics. Formed in 1977 as a larger group, the three musicians who performed "Hold Me Now" performed together from 1981 through 1986 when Leeway left the group. Curry and Bailey performed and recorded as a duo through 1993.

Answer: Deniece Williams

Released on February 14, 1984, "Let's Hear it for the Boy" was the fourth single from the "Footloose" soundtrack, and the second (after the title track) to hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching that position on May 26 and holding the position for two weeks. "Let's Hear it for the Boy" was Williams's second Billboard Hot 100 chart topper, following her 1978 duet with Johnny Mathis "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late."

Answer: Rick Springfield

"Love Somebody" was the first single released from the soundtrack of Rick Springfield's movie "Hard to Hold." At the time, the Australian born Springfield was riding high in both acting (as Dr. Noah Drake on the soap opera "General Hospital") and music with a string of hits, including Billboard Hot 100 chart topper "Jessie's Girl" (1981) from his albums "Working Class Dog" (1981) and "Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet" (1982). As of 2024, Springfield continues to both act and record, and also hosts a show on Sirius XMks 80s on 8 channel.

As someone who's actually seen the movie, it should have been called "Hard to Watch" - I saw it with two friends, one with a crush on Springfield and one who liked any movie with a decent soundtrack. Let's just say I had different cinema standards.

Answer: Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson

Our number six song is an odd couple duet, recorded by Spanish pop singer Julio Iglesias and country legend Willie Nelson. The song was Iglesias's English language breakthrough and won the pair Duo of the Year from the Country Music Association.

Iglesias continued to record in both English and Spanish, and as of the time this quiz was written his most recent album was 2017's "Mexico & Amigos." Singer Enrique Iglesias is his son.

Willie Nelson wrote "Crazy" (1961) which became a hit for Patsy Cline and "On the Road Again" which first appeared on the soundtrack of "Honeysuckle Rose" (1979) in which he starred. Nelson is one of the founders of Farm Aid and campaigns for the legalization of marijuana.

Answer: The Cars

"You Might Think" was written by the Cars' lead singer Ric Ocasek. It was the first of six singles released from their album "Heartbeat City" in February, 1984. The song may be best known for its innovative music video which won the inaugural MTV Music Video Award for Video of the Year. In the video, Ocasek alternately appears in a movie theater sitting next to model Susan Gallagher and as characters such as King Kong, the Fly, and Robot Monster. He also appears as a jackhammer operator in Gallagher's mouth in a dentist office scene and as a submarine in her bathtub.

Ric Ocasek died of heart disease on September 15, 2019 at the age of 75.

Answer: Kenny Loggins

"Footloose" was the first of seven singles released from the soundtrack to the same named movie, and was one of two songs sung and co-written by Kenny Loggins for the movie. Released on January 11, 1984, it reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 on March 31 and stayed in that position for three weeks.

Another song from the "Footlose" soundtrack, "Let's Hear it for the Boy" by Denise Williams, took the top spot for two weeks, starting on May 26. Kenny Loggins was nominated for a Best Original Song Oscar for "Footloose", losing to Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called to Say I Love You" from "The Woman in Red."

Answer: Steve Perry

"Oh, Sherrie" was the first single from Steve Perry's first solo album "Street Talk." Released in March of 1984, it peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and was written for Perry's then girlfriend, Sherrie Swafford. Although it was a solo release, it has been included in some Journey compilation albums.

Steve Perry was the lead singer for Journey 1977-1987 and 1995-1998 and sang lead on hits "Open Arms" and "Don't Stop Believing." Outside of Journey, he has collaborated with Clannad, Jeff Golub, and Tommy Tokioka. He was one of the soloists on "We Are the World" (1985).

Answer: Cyndi Lauper

Written by Cyndi Lauper and Rob Hyman of the Hooters, "Time After Time" was released on March 37, 1984 as the second single from Lauper's debut album, "She's So Unusual." On June 9, it became her first single to top Billboard's Hot 100 and stayed there for two weeks. Lauper took the title from a TV listing for the 1979 movie "Time After Time" and initially meant to use it as a placeholder title and lyric. "Time After Time" was nominated for the Song of the Year Grammy Award in 1985.

Brooklyn-born Cyndi Lauper sang in cover bands and with a band called Blue Angel before releasing her first solo album in 1983 and on the strength of that won the 1985 Grammy Award for Best New Artist. As of 2024, she has released 11 studio albums, although her first two (her second was "True Colors") were her most successful. She's also acted, appearing onstage in "The Threepenny Opera" and several movies and TV shows including "Mad About You" and "Life with Mikey." In 2013 she became the first woman to win a Tony Award for Best Score as a solo composer (as opposed to being part of a songwriting partnership) for "Kinky Boots" and was nominated again in 2018 for "SpongeBob SquarePants." She has collaborated with the Hooters, the group founded by Rob Hyman and Eric Bazilian in 1980, several times since she and Hyman wrote "Time After Time."