Billboard Number One Hits of 1983 Quiz

Answer: "Down Under"/Men at Work

"Down Under" introduced Americans to Vegemite sandwiches. In a "Billboard" interview Men at Work keyboardist Greg Ham related that the band is proud of their Australian roots. He added that the Australian press is not kind to Australians who forsake their heritage.

The original version of "Down Under" was a sparse arrangement using only flute and guitar. Producer Peter McIan added additional instruments to give the song a more commercial sound. Their first hit, "Who Can it Be Now?", was still in the top ten when "Down Under" entered the charts at number 79 and began climbing.

The band won a Grammy for Best New Artist and continued releasing hits with their next album, "Cargo". "Physical" topped the charts on November 21, 1981. "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" was a top five for Air supply in October, 1983. "Heart Attack" reached number three in November, 1982.

Answer: Africa

Sixteen-year-old David Paich got together with 13-year-old Jeff Porcaro and formed a Jimi Hendrix style band called Rural Still Life. That was the early nucleus of Toto. By the time they graduated from high school their band was headlining at high school functions. Jeff left to play with Sonny and Cher but David kept the band going. Jeff eventually became an in-demand session player and worked with Steely Dan on the "Katy Lied" LP. Meanwhile Paich and Porcaro were also working steadily as session players.

In 1973 they decided to form a band. They were signed as Toto to Columbia and soon had a hit with "Hold the Line". Despite the superb musicianship critics were not kind to the band. The boys persevered and released the number two "Rosanna" and finally had a number one with "Africa".

They garnered six Grammy awards after it was released and proved the critics wrong. "Rio" is a 1982 hit for Duran Duran, "Berlin" is a 1973 Lou reed release and "China" is a more recent Tori Amos song.

Answer: James Ingram

"Baby, Come to Me" is another of the string of hits made possible by the daytime drama "General Hospital". In 1982 "Baby, Come to Me" had peaked at number 73 and dropped off the charts. Enter music director for "General Hospital", Jill Phelps. She selected the song to be used during a love scene between the character of Luke and his new love interest after Laura left the show.

When it was used on the show the switchboards lit up asking about the song. "Baby, Come to Me" was then re-released with a new catalog number by Warner Brothers. Patti was a show biz veteran, starting at the Apollo at age five working with such greats as Sammy Davis and Bobby Darin and then doing numerous commercials. James Ingram was already familiar to the song's producer, Quincy Jones, who thought he would be perfect with Patti for "Baby, Come to Me".

The pair teamed up again for the "Best Friends" movie theme "How Do You Keep the Music Playing". Marvin Gaye charted the number three "Sexual Healing" in February, 1983. Joe Cocker teamed up with Jennifer Warnes for 1982's "Up Where we Belong". Neil Diamond had a number five with "Heartlight" in 1982.

Answer: Say, Say, Say

Jackson and McCartney co-wrote this hit. In an interview recorded for "Paul McCartney: The Beatles and Beyond" on the Mutual Radio Network, Paul related he didn't believe it was Michael on the line when he called him on Christmas Day. Jackson informed Paul that he was coming to London on a vacation and was interested in writing some material with him. Paul said he admired Michael's singing and dancing and quickly agreed.

They first recorded "The Girl is Mine" which peaked at number two on January 15, 1983, right behind "Down Under". "Say, Say, Say" fared better and reached number one. Paul went on later that year to produce his movie, "Give My regards to Broad Street" and Michael kept the hits from his "Thriller" album coming. "Ebony and Ivory" spent seven weeks at number one in 1982 for Paul and Stevie Wonder. "Billie Jean" was a solo number one for Michael in March, 1983.

Answer: Total Eclipse of the Heart

In an interview with Chas De Whalley for "Kerrang" magazine Bonnie explained that she had severed ties with managers Ronnie Scott and Steve Wolfe. She said that their production company would only let her sing songs that they had composed. Bonnie had been in a band called Mumbles that did material similar to Chaka Khan and Tina Turner but the team that managed her wanted to aim for the Nashville country album market.

She hit number three in 1978 with "It's a Heartache" but after seven unsuccessful follow-up efforts she let her contract expire. Bonnie admired Jim Steinman of "Bat Out of Hell" fame, but wasn't sure if he'd consider producing her.

They got together and he auditioned "Total Eclipse of the Heart" on his piano. He then compiled an array of outstanding musicians for a recording session including drummer Max Weinberg and Keyboardist Roy Bittan of the E Street Band and Rick Derringer.

It was the first number one for the girl from Skewen, South Wales. "Love is a Battlefield" charted at number five for Pat Benetar on December 10, 1983. "Let's Hear it for the Boy" was a top five in 1984 for Deneice Williams.

Answer: Flashdance

Although not too many listeners had ever heard of Michael, he had been around the music business for a while before he had a hit with the song from "Flashdance". An in-demand session player, Michael had already worked with some of the biggest names in the business as well as composing some hits for Donna Summer, Diana Ross, Art Garfunkel and many more.

When he was only 17 he became Stevie Wonder's guitar player for seven years and his collaboration with Wonder on "Saturn" had earned him a Grammy. One of Michael's other passions is horror films.

He composed "Maniac" to describe a villain who hacked off heads for the "Halloween" series. He had forgotten that "Maniac" was on a tape he submitted to Phil Ramone and when Ramone called to tell him he loved it, he realized he'd have to change the lyrics. Sembello gave the song a revision along with Dennis Matkosky and it became the second song from the film to reach number one. Irene Cara hit number one earlier in 1983 with "Flashdance, What a Feeling".

Answer: Dexy's Midnight Runners

In a 1982 interview with Lesley White for "The Face" guitarist Kevin Rowland said that if "Come on Eileen" wasn't a hit he would try to find another way to make a living. Rowland had originally thought of entering the priesthood but started forming bands when he was a youngster in Britain.

The first incarnation of the band in 1978 sported an image inspired by the movie "Mean Streets". The group had a number one hit with "Geno". After the hit Rowland changed the look of the band to overalls, sweat bands and sandals.

He changed the sound from a brass laden style to added fiddles and had his second number one with "Come on Eileen", knocking Michael Jackson from the top spot. "Time" was a top five for Culture Club in May, 1983. Kajagoogoo's top five was "Too Shy" in July, 1983 and After the Fire saw top five success in April, 1983 with "Der Kommissar".

Answer: Every Breath you Take

Sting composed "Every Breath You Take". The song tied the Bee Gees "Night Fever" at eight weeks as number one. It was also Billboard's number one single of the year. In an interview with Christopher Connelly of "Rolling Stone" Andy Summers of The Police said that "Every Breath you Take" was one of the most difficult songs from the "Synchronicity" album to record.

A synthesizer section was abandoned in favor of a smaller guitar based ensemble to provide the more appropriate backing for the song. Sting added that it was not meant to be a love song, but a nasty song about obsession and jealousy.

Other hits from the same album include "King of Pain", "Synchronicity II" and "Wrapped Around your Finger". After the success of the album each member of the band started pursuing individual endeavors. "Don't Stand so Close to Me" and "De Do Do Do De Da Da Da" both peaked at number ten in 1981 and "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" made it to number three the same year.

Answer: Tell Her About It

"Tell Her About It" was one of several hits from the "Innocent Man" album. Billy was recovering from a motorcycle accident he had while doing the "Nylon Curtain" album. By the time he started recording "Innocent Man" he was recovered and took an upbeat approach to the project.

The video featured Billy performing "Tell Her About It" on the "Ed Sullivan Show". "Uptown Girl" also came from the same album and was Billy's ode to his future wife Christie Brinkley. It peaked at number three and was Billy's first hit to dent the UK charts. Billy married his "Uptown Girl" on board a 145-foot yacht after the album was released. "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" hit the top spot in 1980. "Honesty" peaked at number 24 in 1979 and "You May Be Right" was a 1980 number seven.

Answer: David Stewart

While recuperating from a broken leg as a youngster Dave Stewart was given a guitar. When he got out of the hospital he saw a performance by the madrigal band Amazing Blondel and ran off with them to be a roadie. He formed a band called Longdancer and was one of the first bands signed to Elton John's new label, Rocket Records.

While touring he chanced to have dinner in London and was served by an unemployed Scottish singer named Annie Lennox. Instead of ordering, Dave asked her to marry him and they became inseparable.

They formed a group called Tourists and after touring and recording without success they called it quits while in Thailand. They soon regrouped in London and formed Eurythmics, recording "Sweet Dreams Are Made of This" in an abandoned warehouse on an 8-track machine.

They recorded the music tracks and then had to wait for a nearby factory to shut down to lay down the vocals. Thomas Dolby had his 1983 chart hit with the number five "She Blinded me with Science". Peet Coombs is a musician who was dining with Dave when he met Annie. Gordon Sumner is Sting's real name.