Billboard Number One Songs of 1980 Quiz

Answer: K C & The Sunshine Band

Harry Wayne Casey, aka K C, composed the song with Richard Finch and had the distinction of having the first number one song of the eighties. The tune deviated from their disco sound. In a 1979 interview with "Billboard Magazine" Casey told Paul Grein that he didn't intend to veer from his disco sound when he began recording the "Do You Wanna Go Party" album in 1979.

The title song only made it to number 50. In an effort to regain his top ten success "Please Don't Go" was released as a single from the LP.

It took 19 weeks to steadily make the climb from number 86 to number one. It was the last charted single for K C and the boys. In 1982 Casey was struck head-on in his car and spent over a year recuperating from severe injuries caused by a pinched nerve and a concussion.

In 1984 he reached number 18 with "Give it Up" on his own independent label, Meca Records. The Commodores were number one in November, 1979, with "Still". Led Zeppelin sang the "Please Don't Go" line in D'yer Mak'er from their 1973 album "Houses of the Holy" and The Spinners were "Working My Way Back To You" in the top five in March, 1980.

Answer: Michael Jackson

Quincy Jones produced Michael's first solo album since he had left Motown. Quincy had been impressed with Rod Temperton's "Boogie Nights" so he located the British Heat Wave keyboardist and solicited songs that might be right for Jackson to record. Temperton was in the middle of recording Heat Wave's third LP, but eventually consented to fly to LA.

He ended up contributing his compositions "Rock With You", "Burn This Disco" and the LP title cut "Off The Wall". In an interview with "Soul Teen" Michael related that he had enjoyed working with Quincy in "The Wiz" and although he initially wanted to produce the album himself, he believed working with Quincy would be a winning combination. Jackson's goal was to produce an album that would separate him from the sound of the Jackson Five. Stevie Wonder was number five behind Micheal that week with "Send One Your Love". Smokey had "Cruisin'" in the top five in February, 1980, and the Rolling Stones took "Emotional Rescue" to the top five in August, 1980.

Answer: Captain and Tennille

Toni Tennille composed this number one hit for her and the captain. The duo had recently left A&M Records after a string of pop hits and signed with Neil Bogart's Casablanca Records. Casablanca was looking to sign a middle-of-the-road artist to shake their disco image and Captain and Tennille fit the bill perfectly.

When a Casablanca VP was going over potential material with the duo Toni tried several pop style tunes and ended the session reluctantly playing "Do That to Me One More Time", believing it may make a good album cut at best. VP Bruce Bird immediately told them that it would be a smash hit.

It marked a change in direction for the pair who had been doing more bouncy material. They left Casablanca after Neil Bogart passed away and in 1986 Toni released an album of standards titled "More Than You Know" which followed up with a tour backed by big bands. Peaches and Herb had a number one in 1979 with "Reunited". Teri De Sario with K.C. recorded the top five "Yes, I'm Ready" and Billy Preston and Syreeta took "With You I'm Born Again" to the top five in April, 1980.

Answer: American Gigolo

Georgie Moroder composed the score for "American Gigolo" and asked Stevie Nicks if she would be interested in singing the title song from the score. She wasn't interested so Moroder asked Deborah Harry. She agreed to write the lyrics as well as record the theme.

When Deborah viewed video of the film she was inspired to compose the lyrics very quickly. Moroder had originally wanted the theme to reflect the fact that Gere was a machine or mechanical man, but Deborah insisted that "Call Me" would be more appropriate. Deborah was very comfortable during the recording process and completed her parts in a couple of hours, including the harmonies. Deborah told "Billboard" that she was pleased that the song provided a daring change from the formula of music that Blondie had been previously doing and the band would appeal to a wider audience.

Answer: Lipps Inc.

A young Steven Greenberg was a drummer by age 15 and by 20 he had written and produced his first record. Resisting pressure to join the family storage business, Steven formed a duo called Atlas and Greenberg and eventually had local success in Minneapolis with a song called "Rock It".

In the summer of 1979 Steven was looking for the right girl to sing in his recently formed group, Lipps Inc. He auditioned a 24-year-old police department secretary named Cynthia Johnson and loved her voice. Johnson had sung at the Mount Olivet Baptist Church and was also proficient on the sax.

Her sax skills helped her garner the Miss Black Minnesota USA title in 1976. After shopping demos, Casablanca records produced their "Mouth to Mouth" LP. "Funky Town" was inspired by Greenberg's boredom with Minneapolis and was the 2nd single release from the album.

It ended up going platinum but despite its success the only single they could follow up with was a re-release of "Rock It" which reached 84. Johnson and Greenberg chose to remain in Minneapolis rather than seek stardom in LA or New York so their fame was fleeting. Dr. Hook was number five the same day with "Sexy Eyes". Ray, Goodman & Brown had chart success the previous month with the number five "Special Lady" and The SOS Band had top five success in August, 1980, with "Take Your Time".

Answer: (Just Like) Starting Over

"Double Fantasy" was named after a flower John saw in a Bermuda botanical garden. John and Yoko took a vacation in Bermuda just before Sean's fifth birthday and John was inspired to start writing songs again after a five-year hiatus as a live-at-home dad.

He began recording "Double Fantasy" upon his return even though he didn't even have a record deal. Although some labels requested advance copies of the recording, David Geffen agreed to release the album without even auditioning it. "(Just Like) Starting Over" opened with a ring from Yoko's own wishing bell.

In an interview with "Playboy" magazine John related that the style was in the vein of the fifties because that was the era he grew up in. "Double Fantasy" was released on November 17th and "(Just Like) Starting Over" steadily climbed the charts to number one. "Woman" reached Number two on the US charts, "Watching the Wheels" peaked at number 10 in the US and "Walking on Thin Ice" made it to number 58.

Answer: Another One Bites the Dust

When Freddy Mercury's friend Michael Jackson heard Queen's "The Game" album he told Freddy the single cut should be "Another One Bites the Dust". The single ended up being the third release from the album and turned out to be their biggest selling hit to date. What was unusual about the song was that it was written by bass player John Deacon, not Freddy Mercury. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "Play the Game" had been released and were getting airplay but clubs and deejays were giving "Another one Bites the Dust" a lot of exposure, helping to drive it to be released as a single.

It was certified platinum, took only seven weeks to get to the top spot and stayed on the charts for 31 weeks. The number seven "You're My Best Friend" was also composed by bass player John Deacon. "Bohemian rhapsody" reached number 11 in the US in 1975 and "We Will Rock You" hit number 2 on the US charts.

Answer: Lady

Kenny always endeavored to record in a variety of styles. He admired Lionel Ritchie because Lionel and The Commodores had placed songs on Adult Contemporary, Pop and Country charts. Prior to a Commodores 96-date tour, Kenny and Lionel were able to meet in Las Vegas and Kenny recorded two songs that Lionel had demo recordings of, "Lady" and "Goin' Back to Alabama".

The songs were recorded with a small rhythm, string and horn section over an 8 1/2-hour session. It was the first time Lionel Ritchie had one of his compositions recorded by another artist. Shortly after the song was released, Lionel left the Commodores and signed on with Kenny's manager, Ken Kragen, as a solo artist. "Lady" was also the first song of the eighties to chart in four categories; Billboard Hot 100, Black, Country and Adult Contemporary.

It was Kenny's only hit as a solo artist, although he went on to have a number one duet with Dolly Parton with "Islands in the Stream". "Coward of the County" reached number three on the Billboard charts in 1979, "Lucille" hit number five in 1977 and "The Gambler" reached number 16 in 1978.

Answer: Sailing

Texas native Christopher Geppert was a drummer growing up and learned the guitar from his musician father. In the seventies he sent demos to a variety of labels without success until he managed to get an audition for Warner brothers and got a record deal.

His debut album, "Christopher Cross", was recorded in 1978 and featured such notables as Michael McDonald, Don Henley, Nicolette Larson, and JD Souther as backup singers and musicians. The fact that such noted musicians were involved with a new talent started some pre-release buzz about the recording, but the LP was shelved for a while.

In a "Billboard" interview, producer Michael Omartian said that they decided to wait to release the album when there was nothing interesting happening on the charts.

There were predictions that New Wave music was going to dominate the music scene and Cross' music didn't suit that trend. Waiting was a wise move. "Sailing" went to number one and swept the Grammy Awards that year with five wins. "Never Be The Same" made it to number 15. "Ride Like the Wind" was actually the first cut from the album but only managed to hit number two. "Arthur's Theme(The Best that You Can Do)" was not released until 1981.

Answer: Magic

The public loved the soundtrack from "Xanadu" but didn't feel the same way about the movie. Two years after achieving fame in "Grease" Olivia was paired with Gene Kelly in the magical fantasy movie. In an interview with Allison Steele in "After Dark" Magazine, Olivia related that she wanted to do another musical since "Grease" brought so much pleasure to the audience.

She believed that "Xanadu" would also provide an enjoyable escape for viewers. She added that playing a muse opposite Kelly made her nervous.

While the movie turned out to be a box-office flop, Olivia did reap the benefit of a great Jeff Lynne produced soundtrack as well as finding a mate. She married dancer and "Xanadu" stand-in Matt Lattanzi in 1985. "Suddenly" was a duet with Olivia and Cliff Richard which peaked at number 20.

The title song, "Xanadu", only reached number eight for Olivia in the US. "Upside Down" was a number one for Diana Ross on September 6, 1980.