Charlie's 80s Blog

This Day In 80s Music, October 29th

On this day in 1983: Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ marked its 491st week on the Billboard album chart in the U.S., surpassing the previous record holder, ‘Johnny’s Greatest Hits’ by Johnny Mathis. When it finally fell off of the chart in October 1988, ‘Dark Side’ had set a record of 741 weeks on the album chart.

Also on this day in 1983: ‘Islands In The Stream’ by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers went to #1 on the U.S. singles chart. The song was written by The Bee Gees and co-produced by Barry Gibb. It spent two weeks in the top spot.

The song reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States, giving both Rogers and Parton their second pop #1 hit (after Rogers’ ‘Lady’ in 1980 and Parton’s “9 to 5” in 1981). It also topped the Country and Adult Contemporary charts. It has been certified platinum by the RIAA for selling over two million physical copies in the U.S. In 2005 the song topped CMT’s poll of the best country duets of all time; Parton and Rogers reunited to perform the song on the CMT special.

Here’s a look at the complete Top 20 on the U.S. singles chart from this day back in 1983:

1 3 ISLANDS IN THE STREAM –•– Kenny Rogers with Dolly Parton (RCA)-10 (1 week at #1) (1)
2 1 TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART –•– Bonnie Tyler (Columbia)-16 (1)
3 5 ALL NIGHT LONG (All Night) –•– Lionel Richie (Motown)-7 (3)
4 4 TRUE –•– Spandau Ballet (Chrysalis)-13 (4)
5 6 ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER –•– The Fixx (MCA)-10 (5)
6 2 MAKING LOVE OUT OF NOTHING AT ALL –•– Air Supply (Arista)-14 (2)
7 7 KING OF PAIN –•– The Police (A&M)-10 (3)
8 8 DELIRIOUS –•– Prince (Warner Brothers)-9 (8)
9 10 TELEFONE (Long Distance Love Affair) –•– Sheena Easton (EMI-America)-11 (9)
10 15 UPTOWN GIRL –•– Billy Joel (Columbia)-6 (10)

11 19 SAY SAY SAY –•– Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson (Columbia)-3 (11)
12 12 SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER –•– The Motels (Capitol)-9 (12)
13 9 BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE –•– The Talking Heads (Sire)-14 (9)
14 21 CUM ON FEEL THE NOIZE –•– Quiet Riot (Pasha)-7 (14)
15 16 IF ANYONE FALLS –•– Stevie Nicks (Modern)-8 (15)
16 18 MODERN LOVE –•– David Bowie (EMI-America)-7 (16)
17 17 TONIGHT, I CELEBRATE MY LOVE –•– Peabo Bryson / Roberta Flack (Capitol)-17 (17)
18 11 THE SAFETY DANCE –•– Men Without Hats (Backstreet)-19 (3)
19 23 HEART AND SOUL –•– Huey Lewis & The News (Chrysalis)-8 (19)
20 26 LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD –•– Pat Benatar (Chrysalis)-6 (20)

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