Late July, the deepest part of summer, when a song stopped being a song and became the weather. The last week of July on the radio was where the season's biggest records dug in and refused to leave. Here is what was number one the week of July 27 in each year of the 1980s, one chart at a time.
The number one song the week of July 27, 1984 was "When Doves Cry" by Prince, pulled from the "Purple Rain" soundtrack and built with no bass line at all. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks that summer and became the biggest single of 1984. Across the full decade, this same late-July week belonged at various points to Prince, Survivor, The Police, and Peter Gabriel.
The early 80s: 1980 to 1982
Billy Joel closed out July 1980 still at number one with "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me," the piano man's first trip to the top. A year later, in the last week of July 1981, the soft-rock duo Air Supply reached number one with "The One That You Love," their lone American chart-topper in a run of otherwise close calls. Then July 1982 handed the week to Survivor and "Eye of the Tiger," the "Rocky III" theme that punched its way to number one and stayed there for six straight weeks, the definition of a summer that would not let go.
The MTV years: 1983 to 1986
The Police were unmovable in late July 1983 with "Every Breath You Take," deep into an eight-week run at number one. In 1984 Prince took the week with "When Doves Cry," a record so strange and so total that radio played it on loop despite its missing low end, and the timing was no accident: the "Purple Rain" film opened in theaters nationwide on July 27, 1984, the exact week the single sat at number one. The last week of July 1985 belonged to British soul singer Paul Young and "Everytime You Go Away," his one American number one. And in July 1986, Peter Gabriel reached the top with "Sledgehammer," a song that knocked his own former band Genesis out of number one, since "Invisible Touch" had been sitting there the week before. It would be the only number one of Gabriel's career.
The late 80s: 1987 to 1989
Heart held the last week of July 1987 with "Alone," the third and final week of a power ballad that became the biggest hit of their career. In 1988 Steve Winwood ruled with "Roll With It," a horn-driven throwback that spent four weeks at number one and gave the former Traffic and Spencer Davis Group singer his second solo chart-topper. And in July 1989, Martika sat at the summit with "Toy Soldiers," the former child performer scoring a haunting number one about a friend lost to addiction.
The honest bottom line
Late July is where the chart shows its stubborn streak. This is the stretch where a record stopped climbing and simply parked: "Eye of the Tiger" for six weeks, "Every Breath You Take" for eight, "When Doves Cry" for five. Radio in the 1980s did not chase novelty in high summer the way it did in spring. It found the song of the season and rode it into the ground, and that is exactly why these particular records are welded so hard to the memory of a specific July.
FAQ
What song was number one on July 27, 1984? "When Doves Cry" by Prince, from the "Purple Rain" soundtrack. It held number one for five weeks and was the top-selling single of 1984.
What was the number one song in late July 1982? "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor, the theme from "Rocky III," which reached number one in late July and stayed there for six consecutive weeks.
Did Air Supply ever have a number one song? Yes. "The One That You Love" reached number one the week of July 25, 1981, the only Air Supply single to top the Billboard Hot 100.
What Peter Gabriel song was number one in 1986? "Sledgehammer," which reached number one the week of July 26, 1986, replacing "Invisible Touch" by his former band Genesis.
Why did the same songs stay number one for weeks in summer? Summer sales and airplay concentrated on a handful of blockbuster singles, so late-July records like "Eye of the Tiger" and "Every Breath You Take" held the top spot for many weeks at a time.
Did Purple Rain come out the same week When Doves Cry was number one? Yes. The "Purple Rain" film opened in theaters nationwide on July 27, 1984, the same week its lead single "When Doves Cry" by Prince sat at number one on the Hot 100.
Reconstructed from the record, not from nostalgia.
Part of This Week in 80s Music. Back up one week to the week of July 20.