My Two Cents: Number One Exactly 30 Years Ago: "Father Figure" by George Michael (1988)

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Hello, one and all.

The late George Michael was on a major hot streak with his first solo effort after breaking up the duo, Wham! in 1986. His second solo number one was "Father Figure" stayed atop the Hot 100 for two weeks. It was a mid-tempo, torch ballad that had a good five minute length and was played as such on radio.

His album "Faith" would yield two more number ones: "One More Try" and "Monkey", the latter given a raw, new jack swing remix by Jimmy Jam Harris and Terry Lewis who were responsible for Janet Jackson's ascension to the top of the charts, both pop, dance and R&B.

At age 53, Michael would die on Christmas Day of myocrditis. He was an avid philanthropist giving to AIDS charities and to LGBT organizations like GLAAD. He would become an enduring pop/soul icon.

The Billboard Top Five: February 27, 1988

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The Pet Shop Boys and Dusty Springfield would hold at the second peak with their "tri-et", "What Have I Done to Deserve This". Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant comprise the duo and it would mark the 60s UK songstress' return to the charts. 1988 was a year of many 60s and 70s artists in comeback mode.

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Screen star Patrick Swayze would have his one and only hit with "She's Like The Wind", off his "Dirty Dancing" movie and soundtrack. It was a duet with singer Wendy Fraser. He would go on to star in box office smashes "Ghost", "Point Break" and "To Wong Foo". Sadly, he passed away in 2009 of pancreatic cancer.

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UK blue-eyed soul singer Rick Astley made a bid for the top of the charts with his dance/pop debut "Never Gonna Give You Up". It marked the singer's first chart effort and even gave him a fan base in black/R&B/hip-hop music. The song would also become a sort of YouTube novelty when it would used to mask illegally copyrighted material on the video sharing site.

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Another comeback story; Raspberries' former lead singer, Eric Carmen with "Hungry Eyes"; also off the "Dirty Dancing" movie soundtrack. Peaked at number four - but, Carmen had another hit poised to break into the 40. His ode to 60s music, "Make Me Lose Control".

Thank you and Happy belated Valentine's Day.

My Two Cents: Number One Exactly 30 Years Ago: "Seasons Change" by Exposé (1988)

Expose Video

Hello, one and all.

A Miami, Florida female club trio scored their first, and only number one with their Latin freestyle ballad, "Seasons Change". They formed in 1984 with three women who were brough together by club DJ Lewis A. Martineé who scored their first hit that year with "Point Of No Return", but with a whole different lineup. The three eventual women that would comprise the group were Jeanette Jurado, a California native, along with NYC native Ann Curless and Italy-born Gioia Bruno, who would remix "Point Of No Return" and have it hit the top ten on the pop and dance charts. As with many dance artists, a ballad would often become their biggest hit and then, once the next bubbly dance track was released, it would score higher on the dance charts than the pop.

Latin freestyle dance was a burgeoning genre that showed its chops when artists like Shannon, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam, Nu Shooz, Debbie Gibson and The Cover Girls would score pop hits after finding big success on the club/dance charts. In 1987, the genre went full tilt with many acts hitting the charts regularly. Exposé, along with Lisa Lisa had had massive success with both their dance hits and slower ballads; often also climbing high on the R&B charts as well. But, as the 1980s were drawing to a close, a more predominate force began to emerge on the music charts. A genre we now know as rap/hip-hop.

They would spend only one week at the top.

The Billboard Top Five: February 20, 1988

Pet Shop Boys/Dusty Springfield Video

The UK EDM duo of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, better known as The Pet Shop Boys scored their biggest hit since "West End Girls" in 1986, with, "What Have I Done To Deserve This", a sort of "tri-et" with 60s pop superstar Dusty Springfield. The song scored high also on the dance charts. Springfield had long passed away in 1999.

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Teen mall popster, Tiffany dropped to number three with the lilting ballad, "Could've Been" after two weeks on the throne. She would score a top ten with her Beatles' switch-the-pronoun cover hit, "I Saw Him Standing There".

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Pop superstar and former "Wham-er", George Michael would followup his iconic smash, "Faith" with the torchy soul ballad, "Father Figure". The pop superstar icon was one of many who had passed on in 2016, including David Bowie, Glenn Frey of the Eagles and also, The Purple One: Prince.

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Ohio rocker Eric Carmen who scored his biggest hit at number two in 1976 with "All By Myself" would enjoy a massive comeback courtesy of the mega-smash "Dirty Dancing" soundtrack with the dance-y mid-tempo dance cut, "Hungry Eyes". The film's star, the late Patrick Swayze, along with singer Wendy Fraser were climbing with the film's love theme, "She's Like The Wind".

Until next time.

My Two Cents: Number One Exactly 40 Years Ago: "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" by Andy Gibb (1978)

Hello, one and all.

Bee Gee-mania was at full tilt in the last of the 1970s decade with the three brothers who were UK/Australian dominating the charts, thanks to the John Travolta disco drama, "Saturday Night Fever" which its soundtrack kept going strong even three months into 1978. Then...a first. One of their own brothers, who was point in fact, not a member of the trio, would score his second consecutive number one smash besting his brothers from the top spot with what can be best described as a rock/disco hybrid song.

Youngest brother, Andrew Roy Gibb; known professionally as Andy Gibb, would become a star in his own right with his second number one hit from his debut LP, "Flowing Rivers". "I Just Want To Be Your Everything" was one of the biggest smash hits of 1977 and now, with some assistance with Eagle guitar god, Joe Walsh in a guitar solo that added a power ballad feel to the song.  "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" spent a cool two weeks at the top and then...the unthinkable! But, more on that in the next 40+ post.

Gibb enjoyed several hits between 1977 to 1980 with his brothers writing his songs and he able to sell his sweet "boy-next-door" persona. The 1980s weren't kind to him though, and it would be brought to his fans' and the public's attention that he was heavily addicted to alcohol and drugs and was a problem to many when he would book gigs. His family made a valiant effort to intervene, but just as it seemed that he was on the verge of a comeback - it would be too late. Gibb would die just five days after turning 30 years old: 03/10/88. The result of myocarditis, believed to have been caused by his drug/alcohol habits.

Four years of hits, he still remains a pop icon in a family of rock icons.

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The Billboard Top Five: March 4, 1978.

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His brothers, Maurice, Barry and Robin were knocked to the number two spot with "Stayin' Alive", which had four sweet weeks at the top and the whole month of February.

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Toronto native, Dan Hill, a singer/songwriter/musician made waves with his co-penned Barry (not Gibb) Mann hit, "Sometimes When We Touch". The soft rock artist took his ballad to number three - and stayed there.

Samantha Sang Video

Speaking of Bee Gees, Barry Gibb would spearhead the career of Aussie singer, Samantha Sang, with this disco-ey ballad "Emotion". A song that Gibb sings background vocals on and automatically got pegged as an instant Bee Gees hit. Finally...

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More proof of the Bee Gee power hold that they had on the charts as "Night Fever", another "Saturday Night Fever" track, gets into the top five and dare we guess where this disco ditty was headed?

Until next month...

R.I.P. Andrew Roy Gibb. 1958 - 1988