Hot Black Singles #1 Hits 1985

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrkEDe6Ljqs

that is a lot of goodness! Nightshift v hanging on a string v you give good love v oh Sheila?

want to urge everybody to put "Back in Stride" in your life if it isn't there already and think hard about your vote

one of my most favorite songs of all time and so fucking deep emotionally, God dammit Frankie Beverly you are good as anybody ever was & I put that on my bandana-bedecked mic stand

love the Ray Parker Jr. episode of Unsung where he talks about writing "Mr. Telephone Man" and sings it at the piano

NIGHTSHIFT

love Part Time Lover but NIGHTSHIFT is all time

i've been listening to the old folks R&B station in D.C. a lot lately and i'm forever hearing Frankie Beverly songs that i'm not familiar with that are awesome

I taped so many of these off the radio. Good times.

Voted "Oh Sheila" because it's the jam.

the thing about nightshift is that that kind of song is so rarely pulled off anywhere near that well (for example see the song that preceded it at #1), the tone it strikes is so dead on. still get chills every time when they bring it home in that song.

also if 'we are the world' is recorded a year later (maybe six months later) there's no way aretha and whitney aren't on it right?

Nothing touches Loose Ends.

The year was much better than the number ones indicate.

40 faves (every song peaked in '85): http://survivalthemes.tumblr.com/post/3472841046/1985s

i've been listening to the old folks R&B station in D.C. a lot lately and i'm forever hearing Frankie Beverly songs that i'm not familiar with that are awesome

All we get up here is "Joy and Pain," "Southern Girl," "Running Away," and "Before I Let Go." Love all of those and "Twilight" (an amazing '85 B-side) but I can take or leave the rest.

All of the above would get my vote. Wonder how many people remember the 2 Eugene Wilde songs? Commodores slightly over Loose Ends.

This Nick Martinelli/David Todd freak definitely remembers the Wilde songs (as well as the Loose Ends one, obv).

man if yall get the Maze Live in New Orleans album you may have a moment like I did where I was like "oh...fuck...one of the best bands ever"

steven fucking tyler otm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waSM0rXDLys

It's really my favorite Maze song

don't see how this can be other than "Rock Me Tonight."

Loose Ends, Maze, and Stevie are next.

Freddie Jackson, a beloved second-tier purveyor of R&B ballads, needs love, and this was his moment.

Loose Ends > Fresh > Oh Sheila

Midnight Star were dope, but this is an album too late for them.

Loose Ends

Love "Mr. Telephone Man" - written by Ray Parker Jr. Different sound for New Edition than their earlier singles but it totally works for them and great tune.

lots of songs I love on this list. going with Oh Sheila.

René & Angela - Save Your Love (For #1)

This sounds bizarrely like this!?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKdrqyroDlI

tbh, there are some jams here but overall it feels like one of the weaker lists so far

andy k OTM

damn, Andy this top ten is fab:

1. Loose Ends - “Hangin’ on a String (Contemplating)” [MCA]
2. Prince & the Revolution - “Raspberry Beret” [Warner Bros.]
3. René & Angela - “I’ll Be Good” [Capitol]
4. Starpoint - “Object of My Desire” [Elektra]
5. Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam - “I Wonder If I Take You Home” [Columbia]
6. Scritti Politti - “Perfect Way” [Warner Bros.]
7. Teena Marie - “Lover Girl” [Epic]
8. Mary Jane Girls - “In My House” [Gordy]
9. Wish - “Touch Me (All Night Long)” [Personal]
10. Prince & the Revolution - “Pop Life” [Warner Bros.]

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oh man mr telephone man is great and of course the maze track but gotta go with nightshift.

this was such a big year for me b/c i had my radio alarm clock set to a station that played this format so most mornings i would wake up groggy-eyed, an hour or so before i was used to getting up at and somehow part-time lover and some of these others convinced me that i could make it into the shower and get into my day

i was living the r&b version of tales of a seventh grade nothing

am lost on the love for 'hangin on a string' tho, which i don't even remember from then

see object of my desire as being more of the dark horse here.

it's so dark a horse that it's not even an option

if "object of my desire" were an option, i would definitely vote for it!

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

if "object of my desire" were an option, i would definitely vote for it!

otm, amazing jam