The Top Hits of 1979 Trivia Quiz

Answer: My Sharona

When The Knack released this song in 1979, they were hailed as the "next big thing" in rock music, something of a cross between The Beatles and The Who. Sadly, or maybe not, depending on your point of view, The Knack never even came remotely close to replicating the success of either group. Although more a pop rock song than a punk song per se, it certainly presaged the development of the punk movement. Their follow-up song, "Good Girls Don't", was similar in style and peaked at Number 11 although it did climb to the top of the Canadian charts. Subsequent efforts yielded diminishing chart placements and by 1981, The Knack was knackered and they quietly folded their tent. About every ten years thereafter, the group would resurface, largely intact, to give it another go but further success eluded them in every instance.

"Dirty Diana" was a Number One hit in 1988 for Michael Jackson. "My, My, My" was a Number Ten hit for Johnny Gill in 1990 and "Younger Girl" was a minor Number 42 charter for The Critters in 1966.

Answer: Y.M.C.A.

It sure is hard to believe that this ditty has been around for over 30 years! It's been a staple at social functions where DJ's play ever since, dancers going through the gyrations of spelling out the title letters while they boogie. The dance debuted on, what else, Dick Clark's "American Bandstand".

Performed by The Village People, the group was assembled by French record producer Jacques Morali in 1977 primarily to attract "gay" audiences and that sub-culture conveniently obliged, especially in Greenwich Village in N.Y.C. Although there are no overt "gay" references in this or any other of The Village People's few hits, their songs became anthems for the gay community and the gay rights movement.

Lead singer, Vic Willis, left the group shortly after this hit and with the decline of disco, the group's fortunes waned very quickly in some respects but have prospered in others. They have not had a charting hit since 1979 but continue on as an entity with three original group members and are quite a popular attraction at special events. They've performed this song during New York Yankee games with the grounds crew doing the dance during the 5th inning infield raking. On New Year's Eve 2008, they did it during the half-time festivities of the Sun Bowl in El Paso, the audience entering the record books with 45,000 patrons doing the dance.

Two of the other songs listed were Village People numbers. "Macho Man" was their first hit in 1978 charting at Number 25 while "In The Navy", their follow-up to "Y.M.C.A.", peaked at Number Three in May 1979 and was the year's 50th ranked song. "Makin' It" was a Number Five hit for David Naughton and the 24th ranked song for that year.

Answer: I Will Survive

"I Will Survive" was easily the biggest hit for disco diva Gloria Gaynor and if Donna Summer was the "Queen of Disco", surely Gaynor was the genre's princess. She's continued to record dance style music well into the new millennium and occasionally makes an appearance on the Club Play/Dance charts but this hit will forever be regarded as her "piece de resistance".

The song became the only winner of the Best Disco Recording Grammy in 1979 because in recognition of the genre's rapid fall from grace, the category was dropped from the Award's roster the very next year. At the time, the song became an anthem for female-empowerment dealing as it does with a woman's professed ambition to make her own way after the break-up of a relationship. Later, it came to symbolize the efforts of anyone succeeding in the face of adversity. One last piece of trivia... whoever measures these types of things determined that this was the Number One karaoke song of the 1990s.

"Knock On Wood" was a disco Number One for Amii Stewart in 1979 and the 32nd ranked song for the year. Barbra Streisand recorded "No More Tears" in 1979. It also topped the Hot 100 for a week and ranked 41st for the year. "Gonna Get Along Without You Now" fit the general tenor of the lyric sample but was an old standard first recorded by Teresa Brewer in 1952 and revived by Patience and Prudence in 1957... obviously not a disco song!

Answer: Da Ya Think I'm Sexy

"Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" would be Rod Stewart's third biggest hit following 1976's "Tonight's The Night" and his debut solo hit in 1971 "Maggie Mae". It was also his last Number One solo hit and perhaps there was a reason for that. Many of his old fans detested the fact that "Rockin' Rod" deserted his blues/rock roots to record a disco song, of all things! Certainly, he didn't stay in the disco camp very long... he couldn't since the genre was all but dead a year later, but the foray into disco may have cost him some fan loyalty thereafter.

Stewart wrote the lyrics and Carmine Appice composed the synthed-up melody. Appice was the original percussionist for the late 1960s psychedelic band Vanilla Fudge and had joined Stewart in 1977. In 1978, The Rolling Stones had scored a Number One hit with "Miss You" that had something of a disco flavor to it and Appice recalls Stewart telling him that they had to do something along those lines. This was the result.

"Touch Me In The Morning" was a Number One hit for Diana Ross in 1973, "Touch Me (I Want Your Body)" was a Number Four hit in 1987 for Samantha Fox, while "Lovin, Touchin' Squeezin'" peaked at Number 16 for Journey in 1979. It was ranked at 82nd for the year.

Answer: Hot Stuff

"Hot Stuff" was an appropriately titled hit for Donna Summer at this stage of her career because that's what she was on the world's musical scene. She scored four Number One hits within a twelve month span from November 1978 to November 1979. Her rendition of "MacArthur Park" got the ball rolling followed by this hit which reached the top in June 1979. A month later, "Bad Girls" topped the charts for five weeks then in November, her duet with Barbra Streisand "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough" completed the run. With the demise of disco in 1980, she strayed into a more mainstream dance/pop style that kept her on the charts for the next decade but truly big hits eluded her. With the new millennium, she continues to crank out singles and albums but all her success has been exclusive to the Hot Dance/Club Play charts, scoring five Number One hits over the last decade in that arena.

Among your other choices, "Bad Girls", mentioned above, was ranked 5th for the year and should have been a more likely candidate for inclusion in this quiz had it had more suitable lyrics. "Good Times" was recorded by Chic and spent a week at Number One in 1979, ranking 21st for the year. "Ring My Bell" was the 13th ranked song in 1979 and the only big hit for Anita Ward. It topped the charts for a couple weeks.

Answer: Escape (The Pina Colada Song)

Rupert Holmes' three Top 40 songs were this one, "Answering Machine" which peaked at Number 32 and "Him" a Number Six hit, both in 1980.

Born in 1947 in England, the son of an American Air Force officer, he moved with his family to New York where he developed his interest in music. He played piano with a couple of pop groups in the early 1970s, The Buoys and The Cuff Links, but decided to focus his talents on song writing after composing The Buoys' Number 17 hit "Timothy" in 1971. Following his brief recording career, Holmes composed the Broadway musical "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" in 1986 and today devotes his time as a playwright.

The story in "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" is familiar to most, I'm sure. A girl takes out a personal ad looking for someone who shares her interests which include sipping on Pina Coladas. Holmes responds to the ad and when they arrange their initial rendezvous, he's surprised to discover that the other party is, in fact, his girlfriend. They have a good laugh over the irony of it all and presumably live happily ever after armed with the knowledge that they share so many interests that had remained hidden before. The moral, I suppose, is "communicate".

"Babe", by Styx, was a two week Number One song and the 20th ranked song for 1979. "Reunited" was a big hit for Peaches and Herb in 1979. It topped the charts for four weeks and was the ninth ranked song for the year. "Just The Two Of Us" was a Number Two hit in 1981 for Grover Washington Jr. and Bill Withers.

Answer: Fire

"Fire" was written by Bruce Springsteen. When he wrote this song in 1977, he was in the throes of a legal dispute with his former manager and was unable to record anything pending the results of the litigation. He had intended it for Elvis Presley and had sent him the song for his consideration but Elvis died before anything concrete could be negotiated. Finally, at the behest of their manager, The Pointer Sisters recorded it and it became their first truly big hit and the second biggest hit of their recording career after "Slow Hand".

"Lead Me On" was a Number Five hit in 1979 for Maxine Nightingale. That hit ranked 31st for the year. "Romeo And Juliet" was used as a convenient distracter since it is featured prominently in the lyrics. I'm sure some people may have thought that was the song's actual title. "Lost In Love" was a Number Three hit in 1980 for those masters of "pop schlock", Air Supply.

Answer: My Life

Following the enormous success of his album "The Stranger", Billy Joel faced the pressure of following it up with something to keep the momentum going. He succeeded... in spades! With "My Life" as its linchpin, the album "52nd Street" was an even greater success than its predecessor. Whereas "The Stranger" stalled at Number Two on the Album chart, "52nd Street" reached Number One and stayed there for eight weeks. It validated his star potential and marked him a musical force to be reckoned with, and he was for the next 30 years. The second singer heard on the recording was none other than Peter Cetera and critics thought the concept of adding another voice to the recording was brilliant. Another popular group at the time, Steely Dan, often used Michael McDonald in the same capacity - another voice to add texture to a song.

"Stumblin' In" was the 27th ranked hit of 1979. It peaked at Number Four on the Hot 100 and was performed by Suzi Quatro and Chris Norman. "Please Don't Go" was a Number One song in 1979 for two weeks and the eighth ranked song for the year. It was recorded by KC and the Sunshine Band and as a slow dance number, marked quite a departure for a band that had long been in the forefront of the disco movement. Maybe they were seeing the light. "I'll Never Love This Way Again" was the 16th ranked song of 1979 for Dionne Warwick despite only peaking at Number Five on the Hot 100.

Answer: What A Fool Believes

The Doobie Brothers had come a long way from their original roots by the time this song, the biggest of their career, was recorded. A straight-ahead rock band in the early 1970s, their focus changed in 1975 when Michael McDonald joined the group as lead vocalist. When the former lead vocalist, Tom Johnston, left the group due to ill health in 1978, the metamorphosis was complete... they were now a quintessential soft, pop/rock band. "What A Fool Believes" won Grammys for Record of the Year and Song of the Year while the album from which it was taken "Minute By Minute" won the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus. Those would be the only Grammys the band would ever win. Just in time, too. Following Johnston's departure, a few other founding members departed and following the recording of one further album, the band, with temporary replacements, announced they were embarking on a farewell tour and would disband in 1983. In 1989, much of the original group reunited with some moderately successful recordings during the early 1990s. By the middle of the decade, the group experienced numerous personnel shuffles and have been touring the oldies circuit and rock revivals ever since.

"What's Love Got To Do With It" was a big three week Number One hit in 1984 for Tina Turner marking her return to the big time. "While You See A Chance" should be recognized as a Number Seven hit for Stevie Winwood in 1981. Finally, "You're Only Lonely" was a Number Seven hit for J.D. Souther in 1979. It was ranked as the 51st biggest hit of the year.

Answer: Heart Of Glass

The group Blondie formed in 1976 in New York City as a "new wave" band. They first achieved success in the U.K. in 1978 when their cover of the old Randy and the Rainbows classic "Denise", (recorded as "Denis" by Blondie), peaked at Number Two. It seems that their brand of music attained popularity in Britain much quicker than it did across the pond. They had three more charting hits abroad before "Heart Of Glass" topped the U.K. charts in January 1979. Meanwhile, in America, "Heart Of Glass" became Blondie's first charting hit, reaching Number One on the Hot 100 a full three months later. Blondie's turn at the top was relatively meteoric. "Call Me", featured in the movie "American Gigolo", was their second Number One Billboard hit in 1980 and they followed it up with two more chart toppers in 1981; the reggae flavored "The Tide Is High" and what may be the first "rap" style Number One hit, "Rapture". The group broke up in 1982 under tragic circumstances. Guitarist Chris Stein became very seriously ill and lead singer Deborah Harry, his squeeze at the time, chose to pursue a part-time solo career and tend to him the rest of the time. Eventually, 16 years later, Stein had recovered sufficiently to resume performing and the original group reunited. Now recording and touring again, the group was inducted into the R&R Hall of Fame in 2006, 30 years after their formation.

"I Want You To Want Me" by Cheap Trick peaked at Number Seven on the Hot 100 in 1979 and was the 55th ranked song for the year. "I Almost Lost My Mind" was a non-sequitur distracter since the title fit in with the lyrics provided. For the record, it was a Number One hit for Pat Boone in 1956. Of course, Pat Benatar had a big Number Nine hit with "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" in 1980.

Answer: The Logical Song

Prior to "The Logical Song", Supertramp had two moderately successful charting hits; "Bloody Well Right" peaking at Number 35 in 1975 and the Number 15 "Give A Little Bit" in 1977. Their mammoth album "Breakfast In America" (18 million copies sold world-wide) yielded three single hits on its own; "The Logical Song" at Number Six, "Goodbye Stranger" at Number 15 and "Take The Long Way Home" at Number 10.

With a sound reminiscent of The Moody Blues or Yes, the group was founded in 1969 when a young Dutch millionaire offered to underwrite his friend Rick Davies' dream of establishing a progressive-rock band. Davies had several musical concepts he wished to investigate but after three years, the band had produced nothing that proved to be commercially viable and the sponsorship was withdrawn. With one other original member still aboard, Roger Hodgson, they recruited new members and started over again on their own. By 1974, with the release of the album "Crime Of The Century", the band started to achieve recognition with consumers and things were on a steady upswing thereafter, at least until 1983. At that point, Hodgson departed to pursue a solo career and although the band continues to persevere as of 2009, they haven't come remotely close to equaling the success of "Breakfast In America".

Your other choices have been discussed to some degree above except for "Lonesome Loser". It also peaked at Number Six on the Hot 100 in 1979 and was ranked at 49th for the year. It was released by The Little River Band.

Answer: Heartache Tonight

In an earlier question, it was noted that Billy Joel felt the pressure to duplicate the success of "The Stranger" with his follow-up album release. Unlike Joel, The Eagles were well-established but they were faced with the same onerous task... coming up with something to match their biggest album ever, "Hotel California". It took over three years to produce but their album "The Long Run" almost did it. Outside of their Greatest Hits albums, it would prove to be their second most popular album release. However, it took a toll. Striving for perfection, nerves became frayed, egos were damaged and subsequent to its release, the band broke up although they did reunite 15 years later in 1994. "Heartache Tonight" was the biggest single hit to come off the album. Most of The Eagles hits were written by Glenn Frey and Don Henley but they received collaborative support on this one from Bob Seger and J.D. Souther. When Frey first broke into the business, he was mentored by Seger so their relationship was long standing. Souther was also a good friend of Frey's, he being the first person Frey met when he moved to L.A. He often sat in with the group in live performances.

Of the other two choices you were faced with, "It's A Heartache" was a Number Three hit for Bonnie Tyler in 1978 while "Heartbreaker" was Pat Benatar's charting debut in 1979. It rose to Number 23 on the Hot 100.

Answer: Sultans Of Swing

Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits wrote "Sultans Of Swing" based on a real life experience. One rainy night in Ipswich, England, Knopfler was walking the streets when he heard music emanating from a local pub. The place was virtually deserted but the not-very-good band was earnestly plying their trade even though the few patrons paid no heed whatsoever. At the end of the evening, the group leader said, to no one really, "Thank you and goodnight... we are the sultans of swing". He wrote the song early in 1977 and that summer, they recorded it as a demo. They didn't land a record contract until well over a year later then made this their debut release. As noted, it peaked at Number Four on the Hot 100 and climbed to Number Eight on the U.K. chart. Not bad!

The group was reasonably successful during the early 1980s even when Knopfler briefly left the group to explore solo opportunities but truly made their mark with the enormously successful LP "Brothers In Arms" in 1985. It spawned their only Billboard Number One "Money For Nothing". The band then took a six year hiatus from recording while Knopfler again worked solo while also doing production work for others. By the time the band reconvened in 1991, all momentum was lost and their 1990s albums charted poorly. Effectively, the group broke up for good in 1993.

"Baker Street" was a 1978 release for Gerry Rafferty. It peaked at Number Two. "Lowdown" was a Number Three hit for Boz Scaggs in 1976. "Rock And Roll Music" was an original Chuck Berry classic in 1957. It was covered by The Beach Boys in 1976 for a Number Five Billboard hit.

Answer: Chuck E.'s In Love

When Rickie Lee Jones debuted with her eponymousLY titled album featuring "Chuck E's In Love", she was immediately anointed as Joni Mitchell's successor. Her pop/R&B/jazz fusion style was infectious. The trouble with Jones was that she never stood still musically. Each subsequent album took a musical u-turn from its predecessor so that whatever following she gained with each release, she lost with fans who didn't appreciate her new direction. Although she has remained active through the years, she has had only four songs crack the Hot 100 and most of her albums barely eke onto the Billboard Hot 200 chart. It appears that she is content to be a "niche" artist.

"Chuck E's In Love" was written about Chuck E. Weiss, a musician friend of Jones' who's been a staple on the L.A. blues scene for decades.

"Every 1's A Winner" by Hot Chocolate peaked at Number Six on the Hot 100 and was ranked 61st for 1979. Bobby Caldwell's Number Nine hit "What You Won't Do For Love" was ranked 78th that year. "He's So Shy" was a 1980 Number Three hit for The Pointer Sisters in 1980.

Answer: Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)

This song was written by Roger Waters. He found school boring and thought that teachers were more concerned about class control than actually teaching. It was his notion that people, when pushed, tend to build metaphoric walls around them for protection. A disinterested, dictatorial teacher was just another brick in his personal wall.

I doubt if any other group has had more of an impact on the world of music with such a paucity of Billboard Top 40 hits than did Pink Floyd. Their only hits were this one and the Number 13 "Money" in 1973. But their concept albums were a different issue and it was their input in that realm that truly made them great. I dare say that "Dark Side Of The Moon" with an incredible 741 weeks on the album charts is a record that will never, ever be approached! Books have been written about Pink Floyd and their exploits... I need say no more!

Back in September 2005, I had the idea of arbitrarily taking the Top Ranked hits based on Billboard chart performance and doing a quiz featuring lyrical hooks from those songs. I started with 1956, the first year I had those statistics, and intended to conclude the series with the hits from 1969. I was having so much fun that I decided to extend the series to include the 1970s. But now the time has come to close the curtain. I've nothing against music from the 1980s... I have more vinyl from that decade than any other. But it's not MY music and without a vested interest, I know that compiling the questions and researching interesting information will prove to be too onerous. That said, it's not beyond the realm of possibility that an occasional quiz of 1980s music of special personal interest might emanate from my keyboard. But in reality, it's time to return to my roots and start exploring other quiz alternatives. I want to thank everyone who's taken a stab at my concoctions with a special note of appreciation for those kind patrons who've taken the time to provide feedback and support.
Rick