First doesn’t always equal best. Here are some 80s pop songs that were not only artists’ final No. 1 hits, but arguably some of the greatest No. 1 hits of the decade.
“What’s Love Got To Do With It” by Tina Turner
This hit was both Tina Turner‘s last No. 1 and her only No. 1. At the time, this song actually made Turner the oldest solo female artist ever to top the charts at 44 years old.
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“What’s Love Got To Do With It” took the reins of Turner’s comeback, during which she released the album Private Dancer in 1984. Just before that, Turner had gone through a messy divorce with Ike Turner, who abused her for much of their relationship. Before being signed to Capitol Records, which wasn’t willing to put much money behind her anyway, Turner was only performing in small clubs. Then, she achieved mega-commercial success with this song, which allowed her to turn a new leaf in her career.
“True Colors” by Cyndi Lauper
“True Colors” was the second of two Cyndi Lauper songs to go No. 1. “Time After Time” was her first in 1984. The song was not only a huge commercial success, but also ended up being a huge anthem for the LGBTQ+ community.
“You kind of look back at it and you feel like, ‘Oh my God, it was just a blink ago,’” she told Billboard when the song turned 35. “But it turned out to be more than just this healing song that I heard that Billy and Tom wrote, or a sophomore album. It turned out to be a whole kind of movement. And that’s amazing.”
“Physical” by Olivia Newton-John
Released as the lead single from Olivia Newton-John’s album of the same name, “Physical” was a massive hit and the bestselling single of the 80s in the United States. It was also Newton-John’s last No. 1.
In fact, this song spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, making Newton-John the only Australian artist to have a No. 1 single that long at the time.
Photo by: Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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