Third week of July, windows down, the radio doing the thing it did best in the 1980s: playing the one song that everybody in town already knew by heart. Every summer had its record, the one blaring out of every open car and every backyard. Here is what sat at the very top of the Billboard Hot 100 the week of July 20, one year at a time, all the way through the decade.
The number one song on July 20, 1985 was "A View to a Kill" by Duran Duran, the only James Bond theme ever to top the Billboard Hot 100. It reached the summit that exact week and held it. Across the full decade the week of July 20 was owned by a rotating cast of giants: Billy Joel, Kim Carnes, The Police, Prince, and Genesis all sat at number one during that same third week of July at some point between 1980 and 1989.
The early 80s: 1980 to 1982
In 1980 the July 20 week belonged to Billy Joel and "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me," the first Billboard number one of his career, a song that argued against chasing trends while sitting on top of the chart that measured them. A year later, in July 1981, Kim Carnes still ruled with "Bette Davis Eyes," the smoky synth record that spent nine weeks at number one across that summer and became the year's biggest hit. By the third week of July 1982, The Human League had carried "Don't You Want Me" to the top, a British synth-pop import that would help kick the door open for the whole new wave invasion about to hit American radio.
The MTV years: 1983 to 1986
The Police smothered the summer of 1983. "Every Breath You Take" was number one the week of July 20 and stayed there for eight straight weeks, the single that defined that entire season on the dial.
In 1984 the week belonged to Prince and "When Doves Cry," pulled from the "Purple Rain" soundtrack, a record with no bass line that radio played anyway because nothing else sounded like it. Then 1985 handed the crown to Duran Duran and their Bond theme "A View to a Kill," which sat at number one just a week after the Live Aid concerts of July 13, 1985, the twin-stadium benefit at Wembley in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia that drew an estimated 1.5 billion television viewers. By July 1986, Genesis had reached number one with "Invisible Touch," Phil Collins scoring his band a chart-topper the same year he was everywhere as a solo act too. Collins had played Live Aid on both continents the summer before, crossing the Atlantic by Concorde to appear at Wembley and Philadelphia on the same day.
The late 80s: 1987 to 1989
Heart held the week of July 20, 1987 with "Alone," the power ballad that became the biggest hit of the Wilson sisters' career. In 1988 the number one that week was Richard Marx and "Hold On to the Nights," his first trip to the top and the softest corner of an otherwise loud summer. And in July 1989 the chart belonged to Martika and "Toy Soldiers," a former child actor turning a song about a friend's addiction into one of the most unlikely number ones of the decade's final year.
The honest bottom line
Pin a single calendar week and the number ones look almost random: a Bond theme, a Police obsession record, a former soap kid singing about toy soldiers. There is no tidy story in any one week of the chart. What the July 20 slice actually shows is how fast the center of pop radio moved in ten years, from Billy Joel's piano to Duran Duran's synths to Richard Marx's ballads. The affection holds anyway, because everyone who was alive for one of these summers remembers exactly which of these songs was theirs.
FAQ
What song was number one on July 20, 1985? "A View to a Kill" by Duran Duran, the James Bond theme from the film of the same name, and the only 007 theme ever to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
What was the number one song in July 1983? "Every Breath You Take" by The Police dominated July 1983, holding number one for eight consecutive weeks that summer.
Was Billy Joel number one in July 1980? Yes. "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" was number one the week of July 20, 1980, the first Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper of Billy Joel's career.
What number one song was a Bond theme in the 80s? "A View to a Kill" by Duran Duran, number one in July 1985, remains the only James Bond theme to top the American singles chart.
What was number one right after Live Aid? "A View to a Kill" by Duran Duran topped the chart the week of July 20, 1985, a week after the Live Aid benefit concerts of July 13, 1985.
How do you find the number one song for a specific week? Billboard dated each Hot 100 to a Saturday, so the number one for any week is the song sitting at the top of the chart nearest that date. These entries use the chart dated closest to July 20 each year.
July 1980-something, verified down to the chart line.
Part of This Week in 80s Music. Next stop on the calendar: the week of July 27.