This Week . . . 33 Years Ago: Week Five, January 26 – February 1

Every week, we’ll take a step back to this week 33 years ago to remember just how great it was as we review the top music and movie charts, as well as anything else that happened in TV, sports, the news, you name it.

Holy good heavens, January is already over. It was New Year’s Eve just a few days ago. Time keeps marching on and so does our look back on 1987 and This Week . . . 33 Years Ago.

Music

Singles Chart – Top 10

As we head into February, Billy Vera holds onto his #1 spot for a second week, but Madonna threatens in her 2nd week in the Top 10. Meanwhile, Janet Jackson’s “Control” peaked last week at #5 and has started to slide, as has “C’est La Vie,” which peaked last week at #2. Two new singles this week at #9 and #10, including a future #1, and Survivor and Kool & the Gang drop out. Kool & the Gang will have one more Top 10 hit this year, but “Is This Love” is Survivor’s last taste of the Top 10 chart.

1. At This Moment – Billy Vera and the Beaters
2. Open Your Heart – Madonna – ⬆ 2
3. C’est La Vie – Robbie Nevil – ⬇ 1
4. Land of Confusion – Genesis – ⬆ 2
5. Change of Heart – Cyndi Lauper – ⬆ 3
6. Control – Janet Jackson – ⬇ 1
7. Some Day – Glass Tiger
8. Shake You Down – Gregory Abbott – ⬇ 5
9. Livin’ On A Prayer – Bon Jovi – ⬆ 6
   • Up 6 from last week and rocketing into the Top 10 is Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On A Prayer.” You may have heard of it. The 2nd cut off of Slippery When Wet, “Livin’ On A Prayer” follows up the band’s 1st #1 song “You Give Love a Bad Name.” You won’t be shocked that this will be their 2nd soon enough and will also be the #1 song of all of 1987, eventually selling over 3,000,000 copies. Which is roughly the amount of times 9-year-old me watched this video on mTV.

10. Touch Me (I Want Your Body) – Samantha Fox – ⬆ 2
    • And in the “probably not appropriate for a 9-year-old boy” category, we have Samantha Fox’s 1st of 3 career Top 10 singles in the US. I did not know that she was from England and had an even more successful music and modeling career there. What I did know is that my mom did not like her posters that they sold at Spencers at University Mall. Peaking in a few weeks at #4, this will be Fox’s only single in the Top 10 for 1987. Her other two will show up next year.

Albums Chart – Top 5

Another week, another #1 spot for Bon Jovi. And they’re not going anywhere for a bit thanks to the rise of “Livin’ On A Prayer.” Meanwhile, Springsteen drops 4 spots this week and out of the Top 5, making way for a newcomer that shows a true change from early-80’s rock to the heavy metal, hair band rock that would close out the decade.

1. Slippery When Wet – Bon Jovi
2. Different Light – The Bangles – ⬆ 2
3. Third Stage – Boston
4. Night Songs – Cinderella – ⬆ 2
   • Released in August of last year, Night Songs is Cinderella’s debut album that will go on to sell over 3 million copies. A lot of that success can likely be attributed to the #1 album up there, as Cinderella was opening for Bon Jovi on its Slippery When Wet Tour from mid-’86 until the latter part of this year. Night Songs would have 3 singles, only one of which would crack the top 15. That’d be “Nobody’s Fool,” which topped out at #13. Here it is – and as you can see, the hair is getting bigger and bigger. The greatest decade!

5. The Way It Is – Bruce Hornsby & The Range

Movies

Box Office Top 10

It’s a weird week this week on the movie charts – two kids movies that were released in 1986 and had previously spent time at the top of the charts in late ’86 shoot back to the top for some reason. And I can’t seem to figure out why. Who knows. What we do know though is three movies jump in the Top 10, and Wanted: Dead or Alive, The Mosquito Coast, and Brighton Beach Memoirs head out. Just like even today, It’s the slow season for new movies. It’ll pick up soon.

1. An American Tail – ⬆ 16
   • See what I mean? Up 16 spots from #17 last week, An American Tail has a resurgence all the way to #1. Released back in November, it debuted and peaked at #2 before steadily falling over the last 10 weeks. But #1 it is this week. You may remember the main character Fievel. There’s me below – Christmas ’86, with a very large plush of him and some Pound Puppy. Cute huh? You’ll also remember the theme song for the movie – “Somewhere Out There” by Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram. I remember it mostly because in the Spring of ’88, one of my 5th grade classmates played it on the piano and won the school’s talent contest, beating out me and two other guys who lip-synched the heck out of Poison’s “Every Rose Has Its Thorn.” We were robbed.

2. Lady and the Tramp – ⬆ 14
   • I mean, again, another cartoon up 14 spots. What in the world?
3. Platoon – ⬇ 1
4. Critical Condition – ⬇ 3
5. Crocodile Dundee
6. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home – ⬇ 3
7. The Golden Child – ⬇ 3
8. The Color Purple – ⬆ 11
9. The Bedroom Window – ⬇ 2
10. Little Shop of Horrors – ⬇ 4

Television

We haven’t gotten into television but will take a few weeks coming up to go over the nightly schedules for each network, which at this point only consisted of NBC, CBS, and ABC (Fox would not be widespread until the 1987-1988 TV season this fall). For now though, marvel at the coming week’s TV Guide cover.

Sports (or . . . Sports Entertainment)

The beginning of a nice run here for the duo in pink and black, the Hart Foundation. Formed in 1985, the Anvil and the Hitman would win the WWF tag titles two times and get inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2019. Thanks to interference by the referee Danny Davis, the Harts would hold the titles here for 10 months.

And that’ll do it for January 1987. One month already down but plenty more to go. Stay tuned for next week where we continue our look at music, movies, and more during This Week . . . 33 Years Ago.

If you missed any of the past weeks in review, click below and catch up. And if you’re liking them, be sure to share through the social media of your choice below or to the side.

Past This Week . . . 30 Years Ago Reviews:

1987: Week One | Week Two | Week Three | Week Four |