On this day in 1981: Mark Chapman pleaded guilty to the charge of murdering John Lennon in 1980. He was later sentenced to 20 years to life.
On this day in 1985: Bryan Adams started a two week run at #1 on the US singles chart with ‘Heaven’, his first #1 single in America.
“Heaven” was recorded in 1983 and was written by Adams and Jim Vallance. It first appeared on the “A Night In Heaven” soundtrack album the same year and was later included on Adams’ album ‘Reckless’ in 1984. It was released as the third single from Reckless and reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in June 1985, over a year and a half after the song first appeared on record. The single was certified Gold in Canada in 1985.
Heavily influenced by Journey’s 1983 hit “Faithfully” the song was written while Adams served as the opening act on that band’s Frontiers Tour, and features their drummer, Steve Smith. It provided Adams with his first #1 single and third top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The track placed #24 on Billboard magazine’s Top Pop Singles of 1985 year end chart.
Here’s a look at the Top 20 on the U.S. singles chart from this day back in 1985:
1 2 HEAVEN –•– Bryan Adams (A&M)-10 (1 Week at #1) (1)
2 6 SUSSUDIO –•– Phil Collins (Atlantic)-7 (2)
3 1 EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD –•– Tears For Fears (Mercury)-15 (1)
4 11 RASPBERRY BERET –•– Prince & The Revolution (Paisley Park)-6 (4)
5 12 A VIEW TO A KILL –•– Duran Duran (Capitol)-6 (5)
6 9 ANGEL –•– Madonna (Sire)-9 (6)
7 7 IN MY HOUSE –•– Mary Jane Girls (Gordy)-16 (7)
8 5 THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER –•– Howard Jones (Elektra)-14 (5)
9 10 WALKING ON SUNSHINE –•– Katrina & The Waves (Capitol)-14 (9)
10 13 THE SEARCH IS OVER –•– Survivor (Scotti Brothers)-10 (10)
11 4 SUDDENLY –•– Billy Ocean (Jive)-14 (4)
12 14 SMUGGLER’S BLUES –•– Glenn Frey (MCA)-12 (12)
13 8 EVERYTHING SHE WANTS –•– Wham! (Columbia)-14 (1)
14 16 WOULD I LIE TO YOU? –•– Eurythmics (RCA)-9 (14)
15 3 AXEL F –•– Harold Faltermeyer (MCA)-13 (3)
16 19 VOICES CARRY –•– ‘Til Tuesday (Epic)-11 (16)
17 20 YOU GIVE GOOD LOVE –•– Whitney Houston (Arista)-7 (17)
18 15 FRESH –•– Kool & The Gang (De-Lite)-14 (9)
19 22 THE GOONIES ‘R’ GOOD ENOUGH –•– Cyndi Lauper (Portrait)-6 (19)
20 23 EVERYTIME YOU GO AWAY –•– Paul Young (Columbia)-7 (20)
