Charlie's 80s Blog

This Day In 80s Music, August 22nd

On this day in 1987: Madonna went to #1 on the U.S. singles chart with ‘Who’s That Girl’, her sixth U.S. #1 and also a #1 in the U.K. The track was from the soundtrack album of the motion picture of same name. It would spend one week in the top spot.

Featuring instrumentation from drums, bass, and stringed instruments, “Who’s That Girl” continued Madonna’s fascination with Hispanic culture by incorporating Spanish lyrics and using the effect of double vocals. Critical reception was mixed to positive; some critics compared it to Madonna’s previous single, “La Isla Bonita”, while others found it forgettable. “Who’s That Girl” became Madonna’s sixth single to top the Billboard Hot 100, while peaking atop the charts in countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, Netherlands, Ireland and Belgium. It was also nominated for Best Song From A Motion Picture at the 1988 Grammy Awards and Best Original Song at the 1988 Golden Globe Awards.

The music video portrayed a different persona of Madonna, rather than her film character for which it was released. Like the song, it incorporated Hispanic culture and portrayed her dressed in Spanish style as a young lady in search of a treasure. 

Here’s a look at the complete Top 20 on the U.S. Singles Chart from this day back in 1987:

1 2 WHO’S THAT GIRL –•– Madonna (Sire)-7 (1) (1 Week at #1)
2 5 LA BAMBA –•– Los Lobos (Slash)-9 (2)
3 4 LUKA –•– Suzanne Vega (A&M)-12 (3)
4 7 DON’T MEAN NOTHING –•– Richard Marx (Manhattan)-11 (4)
5 3 I WANT YOUR SEX –•– George Michael (Columbia)-12 (2)
6 1 I STILL HAVEN’T FOUND WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR –•– U2 (Island)-11 (1)
7 9 ONLY IN MY DREAMS –•– Debbie Gibson (Atlantic)-16 (7)
8 11 ROCK STEADY –•– The Whispers (Solar)-12 (8)
9 6 HEART AND SOUL –•– T’Pau (Virgin)-17 (4)
10 16 I JUST CAN’T STOP LOVING YOU –•– Michael Jackson & Siedah Garrett (Epic)-3 (10)

11 14 IT’S NOT OVER (‘Til It’s Over) –•– Starship (Grunt)-9 (11)
12 20 CAN’T WE TRY –•– Dan Hill & Vonda Shepard (Columbia)-12 (12)
13 15 LOVE POWER –•– Dionne Warwick & Jeffrey Osborne (Arista)-7 (13)
14 8 CROSS MY BROKEN HEART –•– The Jets (MCA)-12 (7)
15 13 BACK IN THE HIGH LIFE AGAIN –•– Steve Winwood (Island)-13 (13)
16 25 DIDN’T WE ALMOST HAVE IT ALL –•– Whitney Houston (Arista)-4 (16)
17 22 LIVING IN A BOX –•– Living In A Box (Chrysalis)-10 (17)
18 24 WHEN SMOKEY SINGS –•– ABC (Mercury)-8 (18)
19 23 DOING IT ALL FOR MY BABY Huey Lewis & The News (Chrysalis)-6
20 26 HERE I GO AGAIN –•– Whitesnake (Geffen)-8 (20)

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