We’ve been doing a fairly good job of conquering our knowledge of the decade of the ’80s in recent trivia games! Recently, we had our very first first place virtual game when we tackled the subject of ’80s movies – and Wednesday night, we also got first place in the top of ’80s music! We’ve been doing virtual games since April, 2020 and have a lot of close calls, so we definitely appreciate the little victories!

We had an all-Michigan player lineup – with two of us being “trolls” from SE Michigan (me and Kimberly – and the other two being my older brother Mike and his wife Melanie from da U.P. Though my husband didn’t really sit in on this game, he did chime in with help on a “hair bands” mystery round question after I yelled the question to him downstairs! Here were the questions as presented to us:

1. Beginnings – What is the title of Cyndi Lauper’s 1983 debut album, which was the first debut from a woman to achieve four top-five hits on the Billboard Hot 100? Kim said she had a high school teacher who made “bootleg” tapes of popular albums that students were able to check out from the library, and this was one of them. My brother joked, “Is he still in prison?” Easy one for all of the teams.

2. Duets – Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney came together for what duet that was released on McCartney’s album Pipes of Peace? Another easy one for everyone.

3. Going Solo – Name both members of The Go-Go’s who had top ten hits in the 1980s as solo artists. I think everyone knew the “Heaven is a Place on Earth” singer, but not sure if everyone knew the second singer…

4. Names – What is the name of the girl usually referred to as “Jessie’s Girl”? It appears spray painted on a brick wall behind the band in the song’s music video and is later mentioned in the lyrics of “Tonight” by Rick Springfield. Miss. We came up with a girl’s name that was close (we joked that it was a “cousin” of the right name), but not the right one. One of only a couple of misses… Nice reminiscing about having seen a Rick Springfield concert at Pine Knob in the 1980s (Corey Hart opened for him at the show). Doesn’t get more ’80s than that!

5. Bands – What post-punk/new wave band, led by brother duo Richard and Tim Butler had hits with “Love My Way” and the song that inspired the title of the 1986 film Pretty in Pink? Speaking of bootlegs, a friend of mine from high school made a taped copy of this album for me, which kind of helped introduce me to “alternative” music in the ninth grade (yes we got this one).

6. Lyrics – What three words complete the following lyrics from Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart”? (One word per blank)“I don’t know what to do I’m always in the dark. We’re living in a ______ and giving off ___.”

7. Country – Beginning with the 1980 single “Tennessee River,” what band or artist released 21 consecutive #1 hits on the Hot Country Singles chart in the 1980s? We remembered a similar question about this before…

8. Rap – What song by the Stop the Violence Movement was the first ever #1 on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart, where it stayed for 10 weeks? Nope, our second miss of the night.

9. Double Threats – What soap opera star hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1989 with a cover version of the song “Rock On,” which was featured in the film Dream a Little Dream?

10. Covers – Originally recorded in 1975 by the Arrows, what song was later made famous by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts in 1982? A bit of discussion, but we came up with the right song.

Mystery – Hair Bands

ID the “hair bands” recording songs with the following lyrics in the 1980s:

M1. “You know I call you; I call you on the telephone; I’m only hoping that you’re home”

M2. “I count the falling tears; They fall before my eyes”

M3. “Ricky was a young boy; He had a heart of stone; Lived nine to five and worked his fingers to the bone”

M4. “He’s gonna be your Frankenstein; I’ve got one thing you’ll understand; He’s not what you’d call a glamorous man”Mike helped with this last one, helping us avoid a third miss (thanks sweetie)!

Unsure how many points we had going into the final, but we were in first – playing under the name New Squids on the Block.

Final – Same Name

The week of October 22, 1988 marked the first time ever that the Billboard Hot 100 featured two different songs with identical titles occupying consecutive chart positions within the top ten. The #8 song that week was the first of eight top ten hits an R&B artist achieved after “going solo,” while the #9 song was a cover version of a #1 hit from 1956.What is the title of those songs?

Nice teamwork here…We got this and held onto our lead, ending in first! Woot! We’ll be eyeing upcoming trivia topics and will likely do another game soon. As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, Vince Neil!