# Best #1 single of the year retrospective: 1982 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 12, 2014, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1982/701114 "2014-10-12T16:35:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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 13, 2014, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1982/701114/41 "2014-10-13T04:34:14Z")
It’s 1982, and [well](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfIA5qAnaRw). ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2014, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1982/701114/42 "2014-10-13T04:35:39Z")
I was tempted to vote for Joan Jett just based on the sentiment the song expresses. But in the end, I couldn’t. It’s good, but a little on the obvious side, and it is a remake. I voted for “Jack and Diane” as overall the most fully realized song here, even though there are many Mellencamp songs I think are better. It is a bit overplayed, but still a pretty good achievement. Guilty pleasure: “Hard to Say I’m Sorry.” I don’t know why I like this song, as I generally can’t stand Peter Cetera’s voice. But something about the melody and the way it’s structured still gets to me. Overall, though, I’m completely puzzled at myself for even tolerating it. I don’t hate “Don’t You Want Me,” but I really think you have to be a child of the 1980s to see anything in particular in it. Like the rest of the songs here (except for those I actively despise), it’s kind of a non-entity for me. ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2014, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1982/701114/43 "2014-10-13T04:56:31Z")
I wonder how much good music came out in 82, cause this list is terrible. I reluctantly voted for Human League because its one song I might actually leave on if it came on the radio. This is why pop music is so terrible for me. Iron Maiden released Number of the Beast in 82 ffs! one of metals most revered albums and instead we get Jack and Diane? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2014, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1982/701114/44 "2014-10-13T05:26:18Z")
If it’s any consolation, rap wasn’t having singles success yet either, and country began a 10-year drought in 1982. But yes, Bruce Dickinson joining Iron Maiden was a huge moment in the history of heavy metal. Didn’t we also get Blizzard of Oz around this time too? ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2014, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1982/701114/45 "2014-10-13T05:37:35Z")
> [@DChord568](#): > > I voted for “Jack and Diane” as overall the most fully realized song here, even though there are many Mellencamp songs I think are better. It is a bit overplayed, but still a pretty good achievement. I also picked that one. in 1982 I was 16 years old, and finally starting to really pay attention to what music was out there. And John “Cougar” was making some good music. This song got my attention. That said, my favorite Mellencamp song is “Get a Leg Up” from a few years later. > [@Critical1](#): > > I wonder how much good music came out in 82, cause this list is terrible. I reluctantly voted for Human League because its one song I might actually leave on if it came on the radio. This is why pop music is so terrible for me. Iron Maiden released Number of the Beast in 82 ffs! one of metals most revered albums and instead we get Jack and Diane? Well, IMHO, 1982 was a great year for metal. Judas Priest released _Screaming for Vengeance_, and Iron Maiden released _The Number of The Beast_ (which you mentioned), two absolutely incredible, classic, genre-defining albums. But neither album produced a #1 single in the U.S., for obvious reasons. And Rush had their only Top 40 hit with “New World Man” in 1982. Which is odd in retrospect. The only Rush that gets played nowadays is the stuff from 1981’s “Moving Pictures” (and, occasionally, a couple songs from 1980’s “Permanent Waves”). I don’t think I’ve ever heard “New World Man” on the local classic rock station. As far as “Don’t You Want Me”, I despised that song when I was 16, and I despise it now. It’s always sounded like complete crap to me. McCartney? I idolize the guy. My aunts, who were teenaged girls in the 1960s, were huge Beatles fans, and went out of their way to expose me to Beatles music. So when Lennon was murdered, when I was 14, it had a huge impact on me, and prompted me to try even harder to learn to play and sing Beatles songs. Playing guitar and singing along with The Beatles _was_ my early teenage years. I loved McCartney’s Beatles songs, and I’m still, to this day, influenced by his bass playing. I enjoyed most of the stuff he did with Wings. But … post-Wings … I haven’t been able to get into his stuff. The “hit” songs have all seemed like … as somebody else put it, “glurge”. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2014, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1982/701114/46 "2014-10-13T05:38:10Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > If it’s any consolation, rap wasn’t having singles success yet either Rap had some success in 1982 but was still considered a novelty. One noteworthy rap release that year was “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2014, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1982/701114/47 "2014-10-13T08:24:54Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I love both Paul and Stevie, but both of them have recorded much better songs than the glurge that is “Ebony and Ivory.” A thousand times yes. Both are huge talents, and that song is (or should be) a huge embarrassment to both of them. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2014, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1982/701114/48 "2014-10-13T08:37:02Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > Rap had some success in 1982 but was still considered a novelty. One noteworthy rap release that year was “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. There was good stuff, but a successful rap song in 1982 made it to like, #50 on the Hot 100. Which is funny, because that early 80s rap is some of the best stuff ever done. ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2014, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1982/701114/49 "2014-10-13T08:44:50Z")
I went for **The Human League** but it was nearly tied with **Joan Jett**. The fact that _Don’t You Want Me_ relies heavily on synthesizers was the deciding factor for me. _I Love Rock & Roll_ is a kick-ass rock song but _Don’t You Want Me_ was pointing the way forwards (and it’s got a great instrumental hook). Plus, I like how it tells the same story from two different points of view. It was a good year actually. _Chariots of Fire_, _Eye of the Tiger_ and _Abracadabra_ could have been in the running. And _Ebony And Ivory_, _Hard To Say I’m Sorry_ and _Who Can It Be Now?_ are good songs, too. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2014, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1982/701114/50 "2014-10-13T08:45:42Z")
[QUOTE=Thudlow Boink] I love both Paul and Stevie, but both of them have recorded much better songs than the glurge that is “Ebony and Ivory.” [/QUOTE] > [@njtt](#): > > A thousand times yes. Both are huge talents, and that song is (or should be) a huge embarrassment to both of them. Everybody assumed Paul and Stevie would be at their peak form when it was announced they would collaborate on a song. They thought wrong. This has to be the most disappointing songs ever. While you can appreciate the sentiment, “Ebony and Ivory” is sappy beyond belief. And yet, somehow, it was a huge hit despite this. I will grant that it is marginally better than the future Sir Paul’s collaboration with Michael Jackson (“The Girl Is Mine”) later that year but that’s not saying much. Incidentally, they played the flip side to “Ebony and Ivory” a few times on the radio and I remember it being actually somewhat decent and closer to Wonder’s classic funky grooves from the 70s. However, I haven’t heard the B-side in many years and could be remembering it wrong. In fact, I don’t even know the title. Does anybody else recall hearing this song? ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2014, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1982/701114/51 "2014-10-13T09:05:50Z")
> [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](#): > > I went for **The Human League** but it was nearly tied with **Joan Jett**. The fact that _Don’t You Want Me_ relies heavily on synthesizers was the deciding factor for me. _I Love Rock & Roll_ is a kick-ass rock song but _Don’t You Want Me_ was pointing the way forwards (and it’s got a great instrumental hook). Plus, I like how it tells the same story from two different points of view I suppose it’s worth pointing out that Weird Al chose to parody “I Love Rock $ Roll” on his debut album the following year, and never touched 'Don’t You Want Me". ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2014, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1982/701114/52 "2014-10-13T10:15:09Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > I suppose it’s worth pointing out that Weird Al chose to parody “I Love Rock $ Roll” on his debut album the following year, and never touched 'Don’t You Want Me". It _is_ worth pointing out but it doesn’t make me regret my vote in the slightest. I’ve loved **Weird Al** ’s parodies for almost 30 years but, funny as they are, I consider them irrelevant when it comes to judging the original songs. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2014, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1982/701114/53 "2014-10-13T10:58:54Z")
I went with Abracadabra. It’s not a classic light-weight song in the way “Sugar Sugar” is, but it’s close. It isn’t a song I’ve heard toooo many times, and I still get a kick out of the arrangement. It has little tricky parts. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2014, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1982/701114/54 "2014-10-13T13:20:07Z")
> [@Critical1](#): > > I wonder how much good music came out in 82, cause this list is terrible. Tons of good music came out that year, just like most every year. It just wasn’t terribly popular ;). Or at least didn’t rise up the charts in the U.S. - for example The Clash’s _Combat Rock_ came out that year and while hardly their best work it produced hit singles better than anything on this list. Wall of Voodoo’s _Call of the West_, Elvis Costello’s _Imperial Bedroom_, Bad Brains, The Descendants, X, The (English) Beat - plenty of decent work being produced. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2014, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1982/701114/55 "2014-10-13T15:33:44Z")
Memory: my brother and I in the back seat of the car, singing “Centerfold” until my mother can’t stand it any longer. She turns on the radio and gets “Centerfold”. We beg her to let it play and she did. I could have voted for some of these other songs, but 12 year old Dung Beetle wants that one. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2014, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1982/701114/56 "2014-10-13T17:07:07Z")
Unsurprisingly, my tastes are outside the mainstream - I picked Chicago - “\*Hard To Say I’m Sorry” \* because it is their turn. More for their whole body of work than this one song, but better that than a one-hit wonder. And I cannot take a colloboration between giants like McCartney and Wonder that produces a piece of glurgey fluff like _Ebony and Ivory_. Especially after Joe Piscopo and Eddie Murphy [blitzing the parody](http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCUQtwIwAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bing.com%2Fvideos%2Fwatch%2Fvideo%2Febony-and-ivory-classic-snl%2F1700cec0f8b4b79b5c191700cec0f8b4b79b5c19-1233198514934%3Fcpkey%3D1700cec0f8b4b79b5c191700cec0f8b4b79b5c19-1233198514934%257CJoe%2BPiscopo%257C%257C%257C%26q%3DJoe%2520Piscopo&ei=3AU8VNII6vjwAf-ngYAG&usg=AFQjCNEWa67bhi37lDRR03K7Y8WpBS_DNw&sig2=cWr6N2sGi_B36v5xMtm9uQ&bvm=bv.77161500,d.b2U). “On our latest, we wanted some songs the young people will enjoy. That’s why we calle3d our latest collection, _Songs the Young People Will Enjoy._” Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2014, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1982/701114/57 "2014-10-13T17:48:05Z")
Sort of off-topic, but I just saw that Joan Jett will be in a Lifetime movie on Saturday called **Bad Driver**. Bring on the hair bands! ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2014, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1982/701114/58 "2014-10-13T19:11:57Z")
Oh Mickey, you’re so fine You’re so fine, you blow my mind Hey Mickey, Hey Mickey That song rules. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2014, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1982/701114/59 "2014-10-13T19:36:22Z")
“Centerfold” for nostalgic value. I lived in Boston when J. Geils was just starting out and saw them early. And saw them at a Blues Festival about 10 years ago also. “Jack and Diane” is probably a better, artier song, but “Centerfold” is fun. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1982/701114/60 "2014-10-13T19:49:52Z")
I’m going to be on the side that '82 had a good variety in the Pop chart and relative to other years previous it had a relatively low sample of true clunkers. Speaking of which, what was McCartney trying to prove with a series of lame-ass duets with R&B superstars? And was Lionel Richie going for a record of how many consecutive years he could make crossover to pop #1 with a smarmy ballad? Meanwhile we’ve got rockers, we’ve got New Wave, films score instrumental\* and\* movie theme song, “Blue Eyed Soul”, up’n’comers _and_ fully dues-paid veterans finally getting theirs, hell, we’ve even got multiple Australians. A poll will come at some point when y’all will look longingly to this year. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1982/701114.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1982/701114.md?page=4)