Top 40 Songs This Week – October 4, 1980: Songs 30-21

Hi Everybody. welcome back to this week’s countdown! If you missed the first 10 songs, you can go ahead and check them out. If you enjoy soft rock music, then today’s the day for you! I had only heard of the first two songs you’ll hear. The rest were new to me. Let’s Return to the week ending October 4, 1980, and continue the countdown.

30. “On the Road Again” by Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson has been churning out hits for almost 60 years! And this is one of his most recognizable of the bunch. In 1980, Nelson appeared in his first leading movie role in the film Honeysuckle Rose. In the movie, he played an aging musician. Again, this movie came out 34 years ago! Willie is still going strong today, releasing one or two albums a year.

One interesting fact about this song: Willie was approached by the executive producer of Honeysuckle Rose on a plane ride, and was asked to write the theme song for the movie. So, he picked up a barf bag, and quickly wrote the song on it.

29. “Emotional Rescue” by The Rolling Stones

This isn’t the greatest Rolling Stones song in the world, but it’s not the worst either.

28. “Someone That I Used to Love” by Natalie Cole

This song is a sad ballad. It sounds like it could be featured in a romantic comedy after a couple breaks up and one of them is walking in the rain.

27. “Midnight Rocks” by Al Stewart

This is a good folk-rock song. I thought it sounded like it could have been an Alan Parsons Project song. I then found out that from 1975-1978, Al Stewart’s music was produced by Alan Parsons. So, you can still hear the influence here.

26. “Dreamin'” by Cliff Richard

In the late ’50s through early ’60s, Cliff Richard was very successful. Then came the Beatles. Then he disappeared for a while. But Richard was making a big comeback here. I really like this song! It would go onto be a top 10 hit in the U.S. and in the U.K.

25. “You’re the Only Woman (You & I)” by Ambrosia

Ambrosia was pretty big in the mid-late ’70s. But, this was the beginning of the end for them. This song would go on to reach #13 on the Hot 100 chart, and #5 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

24. “How Do I Survive” by Amy Holland

This pop-disco song was from Amy Holland’s debut album. It helped earn her a Grammy Nomination for Best New Artist. She lost to Christopher Cross (who happened to pretty much own the Grammys that year). Amy Holland’s album was produced by Michael McDonald, who I am a huge fan of now. They would get married three years later, and they are still married today.

23. “No Night So Long” by Dionne Warwick

This is a nice soft rock song by Dionne Warwick, who at the time, was the host of the brand new show Solid Gold.

22. “One in a Million You” by Larry Graham

Here is another soft rock song that I like. He sounds like Boz Scaggs in this song. Larry Graham was the bass player for Sly & the Family Stone and frontman for Graham Central Station.

21. “The Wanderer” by Donna Summer

This sounded familiar to me when I heard it. This was Donna Summer’s first single released from the album of the same name. This was her first album with Geffen Records. With this album, the Queen of Disco was starting to move away from disco.

That wraps up today’s list. How are you liking this so far? The hits will keep on coming tomorrow.

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