Matt OsbornAs we steamroll into March, it is certainly looking like March of 1987 is going to be a heck of a lot better than March 2020. So by all means, take a break from the current reality and take a look back with us to This Week . . . 33 Years Ago.
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.
Music
Singles Chart – Top 10
They did it – after a few weeks of sitting tight behind Bon Jovi, Huey Lewis & The News finally overtake “Livin’ On a Prayer” and get their 3rd #1 song with “Jacob’s Ladder” (“The Power of Love” and “Stuck With You” are the previous 2.) It is also their last #1 hit. They’ll have two more Top 10 hits this year and another in ’88 so don’t worry. We haven’t seen the last of Mr. Lewis.
Meanwhile, Ms. Jackson has the biggest jump from #10 to #3 while Bruno peaked last week at #5 and starts to drop, along with Bon Jovi and the Jets. Dropping out this week are the Beasties and the Georgia Satellites. Neither will see the Top 10 singles chart again – though one of the two will continue to have major success for the next two decades. You get one guess.
In their place, we have a cover than every ’80s church or elementary kid likely still knows hand motions too – and the theme from Mannequin. I told you 33 years ago this week beats this actual week.
- Jacob’s Ladder – Huey Lewis & The News – ⬆ 1
- Somewhere Out There – Linda Ronstadt & James Ingram – ⬆ 2
- Let’s Wait Awhile – Janet Jackson – ⬆ 7
- Livin’ On A Prayer – Bon Jovi – ⬇ 3
- Lean On Me – Club Nouveau – ⬆ 7
- Also jumping 7 spots this week straight into the Top 5 is “Lean On Me” by Club Nouveau. A cover from the great Bill Withers classic, this Club Nouveau version, complete with the “We be jammin!” addition that everybody in the world was singing along to, will take over the chart in the coming weeks. It’ll also get Bill Withers a Grammy next year for Best R&B song. Two years from now, both the Withers and Club Nouveau versions will be featured heavily in the Morgan Freeman classic of the same name.
- Mandolin Rain – Bruce Hornsby & The Range – ⬆ 3
- Respect Yourself – Bruce Willis – ⬇ 2
- Big Time – Peter Gabriel
- You Got It All – The Jets – ⬇ 6
- Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now – Starship – ⬆ 3
- Our 2nd entry into the Top 10 is another destined to top it. Coming off two straight #1’s in 1985 with “We Built This City” (which features an all-time great video) and “Sara,” Starship returns to the charts with the theme from Mannequin. We covered the release of the movie in Week 7. The song will be nominated next year for an Oscar and will forever bring back mores of a young Andrew McCarthy.
Speaking of singles, the debut of this new medium happened this week.
I remember they hit the stores and my Pop was not too sure about them. Growing up on ’45s, he knew that you could use the record to make a mixtape but you still had the ’45 if the tape got damaged. But with a cassette single, he asked, “But you got no backup if the tape breaks?” Why I remember these things is odd.
Albums Chart – Top 5
In the album charts this week, the Beasties stay at #1 for a 2nd straight week. And there is absolutely no change to the Top 5. Stirring content I know. To make up for it though, we’ve got your weekly sample from the multiple Licensed to Ill singles that never made it to the Top 10 singles chart, and a few album cuts that were released back in ’86 that were out of the singles charts by the start of ’87.
- Licensed to Ill – Beastie Boys
- Slippery When Wet – Bon Jovi
- The Way It Is – Bruce Hornsby & The Range
- Invisible Touch – Genesis
- Control – Janet Jackson
Movies
Box Office Top 10
Again, the music scene is a little slow. And bad news. So is the box office. Lethal Weapon keeps its hold on the top spot while another new release from last week cracks the Top 10.
- Lethal Weapon
- Platoon
- A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
- Tin Men
- Released by Disney under its Touchstone Pictures subsidiary (which released the family-friendly Disney company’s PG-13 and R movies unhindered from the kid-centric Disney moniker), Tin Men starred Richard Dreyfuss, Danny DeVito, and Barbara Hershey. It made about $25 million at the box office but I can’t say I’ve ever seen it. Here’s the trailer.
- Radio Days – ⬆ 6
- Angel Heart – ⬇ 2
- Some Kind of Wonderful – ⬇ 1
- Outrageous Fortune – ⬇ 3
- Mannequin – ⬇ 1
- Hoosiers – ⬇ 3
Television
To television we go and here we sit on a Friday night in March 1987. What are we watching? Emmanuelle Lewis, J.R., and Sonny and Tubbs baby!
- 7pm – 8pm
- ABC: Webster/Mr. Belvedere
- CBS: Nothing is Easy/The Popcorn Kid
- NBC: Roomies/Amazing Stories
- 8pm – 9pm
- ABC: The ABC Friday Night Movie
- CBS: Dallas
- NBC: Miami Vice
- 9pm – 10pm
- ABC: The ABC Friday Night Movie
- CBS: Falcon Crest
- NBC: Stingray
Not the greatest, but it is a Friday for goodness sakes. Hopefully, you were hanging out at the arcade at the mall instead of sitting in front of the TV. But if I was home, I’d imagine it would have been Webster, Mr. Belvedere, Miami Vice, and then Dallas (that of course was taped with the ol’ VCR).
Sports . . . Entertainment
In just a few weeks, the biggest sports extravaganza of all-time, Wrestlemania III, will take place in the Pontiac Silverdome. Leading up to it, we have this coming up this Saturday Night on NBC.
If you have the WWE Network, I’d highly suggest you watch it there. If not though, YouTube. Because Jesse Ventura remains undefeated.
There, see. This week in 1987 is much better than this week in 2020. And 1987 is only gonna get better. Be sure to check out the new DN33 Jukebox later this week with all the music mentioned here plus more. And as always, be sure to share if you like what you see!
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 | Week Five | Week Six | Week Seven | Week Eight | Week Nine | Week Ten |
Acknowledgments:
Embedded tweets come from various Twitter accounts dedicated to all things ’80s (not just 1987), including a special thanks OldSchool80s, LandofThe80s, and RetroNewsNow. All provide fantastic content. We follow all of them and recommend you do too!
Duck Newton
