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Throwback Thursday: The top 10 songs this week in 1987

This week 28 years ago, 93,173 people attended Wrestlemania III, Vincent van Gogh's "Sunflowers" sold for the equivalent of $39.7 million, Bruce Willis' "Blind Date" was No. 1 at the box office, and the following songs were the most popular in the U.S., according to Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

10. "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)," Aretha Franklin and George Michael

This Grammy winner was Franklin's biggest adult-contemporary hit (it eventually hit No. 1). And it doesn't get more 1987 than George Michael as a duet partner. Just ask Elton John.

9. "Don't Dream It's Over," Crowded House

Hey now, hey now, this is still a great song. And my personal favorite written by a New Zealander, Neil Finn.

8. "The Final Countdown," Europe

Synthy testosterone at its best — and hopefully your favorite song to jog to.

7. "Come Go With Me," Expose

Nope, not a cover of the doo-wop classic. This one was even bigger (for obvious reasons) on the dance charts, where it hit No. 1. By the way, my favorite Expose fact is that one of the members in the early 1990s was named Kelly Moneymaker.

6. "Somewhere Out There," Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram

The theme to the animated movie "An American Tail" (of course!), this won Song of the Year at the 30th Grammy Awards (really). Co-Songwriter James Horner is the man also co-responsible for "My Heart Will Go On" from "Titanic."

5. "Mandolin Rain," Bruce Hornsby

"Mandolin Rain" was almost as popular as Hornsby's "The Way It Is," released a few months earlier. Bruce wrote this one with his brother, John. Aww.

4. "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight," Genesis

If this already didn't sound 1980s enough, it was also featured in a Michelob commercial.

3. "Let's Wait Awhile," Janet Jackson

Sexual abstinence, Janet style.

2. "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now," Starship

There was a magical time in 1987 when a romantic comedy about a store mannequin — yes, "Mannequin" —  was the most popular movie in the land. And, you know, Grace Slick totally had to be a part of it. Can you blame her?

1. "Lean On Me," Club Nouveau

Club Nouveau's take on the Bill Withers classic was No. 1 for two weeks. And Withers collected a 1987 Grammy for Best R&B song — 16 years after he wrote and recorded the original.

Jordan Bartel

Jordan Bartel

Jordan Bartel is the editor of Wknd, The Sun’s Friday entertainment magazine, and b, the Baltimore Sun Media Group’s free weekly for young adults. A San Diego native, Jordan graduated from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He was a features writer at the Carroll County Times and had been an editor at b since its founding in 2008. He was won MDDC Press Association and AP awards for feature writing.


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