# Best #1 single of the year retrospective: 1979 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 6, 2014, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1979/700562 "2014-10-06T17:14:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1979/700562/21 "2014-10-06T19:51:07Z")
Not a great selection, but I went with the oft-copied (yes, Ray Parker Jr. and Huey Lewis, I’m looking at you!) “Pop Muzik” by M. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1979/700562/22 "2014-10-06T19:53:40Z")
_M-m-m-my Sharona!_ I absolutely love this song. “Heart of Glass” would have been my second choice, followed by “Heartache Tonight” and “What a Fool Believes.” Odd thought: it’s the last year of the 1970s, and Springsteen has yet to appear on any of these lists. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1979/700562/23 "2014-10-06T19:57:58Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > _M-m-m-my Sharona!_ > > I absolutely love this song. > > “Heart of Glass” would have been my second choice, followed by “Heartache Tonight” and “What a Fool Believes.” > > Odd thought: it’s the last year of the 1970s, and Springsteen has yet to appear on any of these lists. The Boss would NEVER appear, for while he has number 1 singles elsewhere like Canada, a #1 eluded him in America. ---
**Author:** ![Abracadebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f04885/32.png) [@Abracadebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abracadebra)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1979/700562/24 "2014-10-06T19:59:07Z")
Michael Jackson, hands down. You can practically hear “Thriller” taking the shape it would be just three years later. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1979/700562/25 "2014-10-06T20:01:02Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Can we just _stop_ with the “this was a crappy year/No vote”-type comments? > > This theme was getting old in 1963, it’s tired now, and with another 30-odd polls to go before Smapti gets caught up, it will have moved beyond parody. > > Yes, we get it. You\* didn’t like disco. Or soul. Or soft rock. Or pre-Beatles top-40. Or rockabilly. Your status as one of the Cool Kids is assured, and we all bow down to your superior hard rockin’, new wavin’, alternative listenin’, punky taste. > > \*The royal “you”. I find these comments just as valuable as “I like song X” or “what a great year, hard to choose.” Some people like the music of the late 70s, some don’t. I dont. In fact, although I’m not usually quick to anger, I get quite enranged when these songs appear on my radio. I can understand how others could feel differently. No value judgment, just different tastes. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1979/700562/26 "2014-10-06T20:04:55Z")
“My Sharona” and “Pop Muzik” just weren’t very good songs. I voted for Blondie. I actually like that song, though it’s far from my favorite Blondie song, not even from that album. In fact, quickly heading to Wikipedia, It’s my least favorite song of all the ones I remember on\* Parallel Lines\*, which was a pretty damn good album. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1979/700562/27 "2014-10-06T20:23:07Z")
I looked at this year from a totally different direction: I remember one of my coworkers having her radio on, at the same station every day. And the song I kept hearing was: _I Will Survive._ ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1979/700562/28 "2014-10-06T20:26:34Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I find these comments just as valuable as “I like song X” or “what a great year, hard to choose.” > > Some people like the music of the late 70s, some don’t. I dont. In fact, although I’m not usually quick to anger, I get quite enranged when these songs appear on my radio. I can understand how others could feel differently. No value judgment, just different tastes. Yes, but the fact is that _every_ year is going to have these comments. Every single one of them will have the same comments attached - “this year sucks.” “I can’t vote for a single one of these.” “What was wrong with people that they liked style Y over style Z?” I’m not a big fan of 1979 or any of these years, but I am tired of reading the same… damned… thing… no matter the year. It’s boring. It’s repetitive. It brings nothing to the conversation, and I’m merely trying to hold off on another _thirty-plus_ threads containing the same damn comments. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1979/700562/29 "2014-10-06T20:32:39Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Can we just _stop_ with the “this was a crappy year/No vote”-type comments? No. We aren’t here to fluff whatever shows up. If it’s a good or decent year, I’ll say so. If I think the year sucks so bad that I can’t vote for anything (I’ve done that twice in the 1970s), I’ll say that too. If you have a problem with that, it’s your problem, not mine. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1979/700562/30 "2014-10-06T20:38:06Z")
I’m not saying “fluff whatever shows up”, just trying to get people to understand that thirty more threads full of comments of “this year sucks” on top of the past twenty threads saying “this year sucks” is boring and repetitive… truth be told, looking forward to the prospect of reading the same thing for 30 more threads just, uh… sucks. 😃 We get it. Every year has its detractors. Point is well taken, so much so that it doesn’t need to be made anymore. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1979/700562/31 "2014-10-06T20:46:04Z")
Ahhh, the year I became aware of contemporary pop. My parents only listened to old country (Bob Wills, the Hanks, etc.), jazz and showtunes. My sister was a Shaun Cassidy fiend, but she bought the “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” single on the same trip that my parents bought the soundtrack to _Fiddler on the Roof_. I was eight, and got a handheld radio for Christmas or my birthday. Before then, I thought the only living composers were Elvis, teen glurge, and Rod Stewart doing disco. I lived in a strange world. When I got the radio, I had no idea what was going on, so I listened to anything while surfing the dial. As a result, this is probably the first batch of #1 hits I heard when they were contemporary (albeit, with no bass whatsoever). By the time this year was up, I was put off top 40 radio forever. I received a hand-me down console stereo the next year (which in retrospect, sounded incredible), I doubt any of the #1 singles from 1980 got played on it at all. I’m not gonna peek, but I think that’s true. If it’s not true: I prefer my crow chicken fried. So I’m not saying it’s a dismal year, but they certainly didn’t make the top 40 for folks like me. This was the year that I started to figure that out. I voted for Blondie because that’s the only one of the batch I’m likely to hear the final chorus of these days. If they weren’t there, it’d be M. If it wasn’t M, it’d have to be Anita Bell. She knew _exactly_ what she wanted, even if my 8 year old brain couldn’t fathom why she was into having her bell rung. Ahh, if I knew then what I know now… ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1979/700562/32 "2014-10-06T20:46:30Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I’m not saying “fluff whatever shows up”, just trying to get people to understand that thirty more threads full of comments of “this year sucks” on top of the past twenty threads saying “this year sucks” is boring and repetitive… truth be told, looking forward to the prospect of reading the same thing for 30 more threads just, uh… sucks. 😃 > > We get it. Every year has its detractors. Point is well taken, so much so that it doesn’t need to be made anymore. I get what you’re saying. Maybe future polls can have a “none of the above” option. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1979/700562/33 "2014-10-06T21:14:00Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I get what you’re saying. Maybe future polls can have a “none of the above” option. Nah, we’re not doing that, lest “None of the Above” win every single poll every single year. You _must_ choose. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1979/700562/34 "2014-10-06T21:22:11Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Nah, we’re not doing that, lest “None of the Above” win every single poll every single year. You _must_ choose. Ok, I won’t do this again, but…I now realize that I was an old fart as a teenager, complaining about current music. Anyway, I’d go with “Heartache Tonight.” “My Sharona” is a guilty pleasure. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1979/700562/35 "2014-10-06T21:25:29Z")
This one goes to Gloria, who has survived just like she promised. Love her and the inspirational boost she has given to LGBT people all these years. This is a personal sentiment on my part. “My Sharona”? Seriously? Ugh. That stupid crap song was annoying enough already in '79 when it was blasted everywhere endlessly, and it has not aged well at all. If I never hear it again, that’ll be too soon. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1979/700562/36 "2014-10-06T21:25:50Z")
While I’ve grown to respect Donna Summer over the years, it’s not for any of the songs on this list. Debbie Harry’s “only dogs can hear me” range hurt my ears even back then, and I personally can’t stand My Sharona. In the end I’ll take Michael Jackson over the Commodores and Doobie Brothers ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1979/700562/37 "2014-10-06T21:38:49Z")
I can only recall nine of these clearly. Of these “My Sharona” was the most brilliant, but I can’t listen to it anymore. Blondie still works well enough for me, particularly her vocals, and gets my vote. > [@JohnT](#): > > Can we just _stop_ with the “this was a crappy year/No vote”-type comments? No! ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1979/700562/38 "2014-10-06T21:50:35Z")
I cheated by voting for “Le Freak” for the second year in a row. If I had to pick another, it would probably have been “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough.” In the dreaded dead-ass last spot, there is a tie between “Pop Muzik” and “Escape (The Pina Colada Song).” They’re not absolutely horrible, but I would never voluntarily listen to them. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1979/700562/39 "2014-10-06T22:33:15Z")
I went with _My Sharona_, even though there are better songs. It’s straight ahead rock and roll, with no pretense of being anything else. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1979/700562/40 "2014-10-06T22:47:00Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Alright, who wants to own up to having voted for the Pina Colada Song? > > My own voting history on these polls will show that I love some extremely cheesy songs, but this is just plain beyond the pale. Why must you make people broadcast their shame? It wasn’t me. I already announced my vote when I gave y’all some Weird Al to listen to. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1979/700562.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1979/700562.md?page=3)