4 No. 2 Hits That Prove How Hard It Was To Hit the No. 1 Spot in 1984

Certain years on the calendar hold a special place in music history. There’s no denying that 1984 stands out as one of those special years. Pop music reigned supreme over the cultural conversation that year, like few other times in history.

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Because there was so much competition on the charts, reaching No. 1 was no easy feat. These four tracks stalled at No. 2, but that doesn’t in any way diminish their achievement.

“Dancing In The Dark” by Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen has accomplished just about everything you can imagine as a musician over the course of his career. But the No. 1 spot on the pop charts has eluded him, at least as a recording artist. (Manfred Mann’s Earth Band did hit No. 1 with “Blinded By The Light”, which Springsteen wrote.) All the cards were lined up for him to top the charts with “Dancing In The Dark”. He modernized his sound, going heavy on the synthesizer. Springsteen even starred in a video, something he hadn’t bothered to do to that point. The song certainly set The Boss up for the massive success of the Born In The U.S.A. album. But it stalled out for several weeks at No. 2 on the pop charts.

“The Wild Boys” by Duran Duran

The Arena album was a smart placeholder for Duran Duran. They were technically taking a break after their 1983 album Seven And The Ragged Tiger, keeping themselves busy with side projects. But the world still wanted its Duran fix, so a live album served that purpose. They got together to record “Wild Boys” as a studio single to promote the record. Some might complain that the idea for the video came first before the song was written, somewhat emblematic of priorities at that time. But the band nonetheless came forth with a captivating track, all tribal drums and Simon Le Bon’s unhinged screams. But it ultimately came up short of providing their second US No. 1.

“Purple Rain” by Prince

Prince had been on the other end of this stick. His song “When Doves Cry” had been one of the songs sitting at No. 1 that prevented “Dancing In The Dark” from getting there earlier in ’84. When it came time to make its move, “Purple Rain”, the title track to Prince’s dazzling 1984 album and movie, made it to No. 2. But it couldn’t get past Wham’s “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” to the top spot. (The fact that two such wildly disparate songs were battling for the top spot should tell you everything you need to know about mid-80s pop.) Prince’s equivalent to The Beatles’ “Hey Jude”, “Purple Rain” need not have reached No. 1 to assure its place in pop history.

“Somebody’s Watching Me” by Rockwell

Rockwell didn’t have much staying power as an R&B crossover artist. He failed to score any more Top 40 hits after his first album arrived in 1983. But his first single blasted off when released at the end of that year. Rockwell’s real name was Kenneth Gordy. If that surname rings a bell, it’s because his father was Berry Gordy, head of Motown. Perhaps those connections helped Rockwell score the assistance of Michael and Jermaine Jackson on the song. Jermaine does backing vocals, while Michael essentially sings the refrain. All that firepower, along with Rockwell’s left-of-center vocal delivery, couldn’t quite get the song to the top.

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