Countdown Rewind: July 25, 1987 — A Chart That Refused to Pick a Lane

If someone asked me to describe the summer of 1987 using only one Billboard chart, I’d hand them this one.

The Top 40 for the week ending July 25, 1987 is all over the map—in the best possible way. Arena rock, dance-pop, R&B, synth-pop, hair metal, adult contemporary, movie themes, even an a cappella remake somehow found enough common ground to coexist on the same chart. Radio programmers must have needed whiplash insurance.

Heart continued its three-week stay at No. 1 with “Alone,” because apparently nobody in America was tired of Ann Wilson reminding us that she possessed one of the greatest voices in rock history. Sitting at No. 2 was Bob Seger’s “Shakedown,” a song that’s forever attached to Beverly Hills Cop II. Whether it’s one of Seger’s greatest songs is debatable. Whether it instantly makes you think of Eddie Murphy is not.

U2 climbed into the Top 3 with “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” while Whitney Houston held steady in the Top 5 with what might be one of the most impossible songs to hear without immediately wanting to sing along. Right behind her? George Michael’s “I Want Your Sex.” If there was any doubt that controversy sold records in 1987, Billboard settled that argument.

The middle of the chart is where things get wonderfully strange.

Pseudo Echo had America dancing to a remake of “Funkytown.” The Nylons somehow turned “Kiss Him Goodbye”into a Top 20 hit with nothing more than their voices. Suzanne Vega’s “Luka” was beginning its climb toward becoming one of the year’s most important songs, while Mötley Crüe proved you could write a song called “Girls, Girls, Girls”and still find yourself rubbing shoulders with Kenny G, Janet Jackson and Robbie Nevil.

And that’s before you even get to the future hits waiting in the wings.

Madonna’s “Who’s That Girl” had just entered the Top 40 and was moving quickly. Fleetwood Mac’s “Seven Wonders” was quietly climbing. Richard Marx was only getting started with “Don’t Mean Nothing,” and Los Lobos had just cracked the Top 30 with “La Bamba,” still weeks away from taking over the top spot.

Looking back now, one thing stands out: there really wasn’t a formula for a hit record. You could have a polished pop anthem, a hard rock single, a jazz instrumental, an R&B groove, or a movie soundtrack cut, and they all had a legitimate shot at sharing the same countdown. That’s something today’s charts—where streaming tends to reward similar sounds all at once—don’t always deliver.

Here’s how Billboard’s Hot 100 looked for the week ending July 25, 1987.

So…did Billboard get it right?

Would you have kept “Alone” at No. 1, or was another song on this chart more deserving of the top spot? Cast your vote for your favorite songs from this week’s Countdown Rewind Top 20 on Q106.5 and see how your countdown compares to Billboard’s.

Be sure to check back next week for another edition of Countdown Rewind.