Year of Surprises on the Charts WAS IT A HIT OR A VISS ?! By PAUL GREIN (single). Exposure in a hit movie ( "Rocky IV ") also brought the Godfather of Soul back into the top five for the first time since 1965. 6. "Graceland," Paul Simon, Warner Bros., and "The Other Side Of Life," Moody Blues, Thresh - old /PolyGramr,When these two '60s veterans stumbled with their last albums ( "Hearts And Bones" and "The Present," respectively), most probably assumed their hit -making days were over. But both returned to the top 10 this year, the Moodys with a top 10 single, Simon without. 7. "Raising Hell," Run -D.M.C., Profile. Rap has ROBERT PALMER: Addicted to hits. been steadily growing in popularity since the late PAUL McCARTNEY: Pressed for '86 chart success. '70s, but this year it went over the top. This album hat can you say about a year in reached No. 3 on the pop chart in September, when 3. "Astra," Asia, Geffen. This supergroup logged which the Monkees place seven it challenged Madonna and Lionel Richie for No. 1. nine weeks at No. 1 with its 1982 debut album, and albums on the chart simulta- 8. "Riptide," Robert Palmer, Island /Atlantic. also cracked the top 10 with its 1983 followup. But neously? In which James Brown Palmer had been on the brink of the Big Time for so it peaked at No. 67 in January with its third -and lands his first top five pop hit in long that many figured he'd missed his chance. But final -release. W more than 20 years? In which he made it a this year with top 10 album and a pair 4. "Manilow," Barry Manilow, RCA. Manilow's first Ben E. King's original 1961 re- of top two singles. album for RCA did well in some international terri- cording of "Stand By Me" becomes a smash single 9. "Friends And Lovers," Gloria Loring & Carl An- tories. It even spawned a top 10 dance hit in the all over again? derson, Carrere /Epic (single); "The Tonight Show U.S. But it didn't do much to restore the singer's You could say that it's been another year of sur- Band /Doc Severinsen," Amherst, and "The Art Of presence at pop radio. In fact, this was his lowest - prises in pop music. Excellence," Tony Bennett, Columbia. This is the charting full -length album to date. Every year, many hits come out of left field and sort of old- fashioned MOR music that isn't sup- 5. "Destiny," Chaka Khan, Warner Bros. Khan's do much better than expected. And, inevitably, oth- posed to sell records anymore. Apparently nobody previous album, "I Feel For You," went platinum er records do much less than expected, given an told the record buyers who snapped up these re- and produced the biggest hit of her career in the act's track record and reputation. leases. Grammy- winning title track. This followup paled by Here's a recap of some of the biggest chart sur- 10. "Falco 3," A &M. Novelty singles have long comparison, peaking at No. 67. prises of 1986. First the good news: the albums - been a pop music staple, so it's not surprising that 6. "Something To Talk About," Anne Murray, Cap- or in a few cases, singles -that did better than ex- the rap -edged "Rock Me Amadeus" reached No. 1 itol. Since 1978, Murray had quietly collected eight pected. on the Hot 100. What is surprising is that Falco's gold albums with her patented blend of pop, coun- 1. "Then And Now ... The Best Of The Mon - album did so well -peaking at No. 3 in April. try and adult contemporary. This year she decided kees," Arista. This compilation peaked at No. 21 in Inevitably, some of the year's surprises weren't to spike up her image and go after a platinum al- September, spearheading a Monkees revival that so pleasant. Herewith, the disappointments. bum and acceptance by the MTV audience. The re- has been nothing short of phenomenal. By Novem- 1. "Press To Play," Paul McCartney, Capitol. sult: an album that fell short of gold. The moral: If it ber, seven Monkees albums were on the chart si- Maybe you can't go home again. McCartney's first ain't broke, don't fix it. multaneously. Every dormant pop act of the last 20 album back on Capitol following a six -year stint at 7. "Eye Of The Zombie," John Fogerty, Warner years must have taken heart: You can go home CBS stalled at No. 30, becoming his lowest- charting Bros. Fogerty's prior album, "Centerfield," hit No. again. solo album to date. 1 and went double platinum. No one expected this 2. "Third Stage," Boston, MCA. Is this any way to 2. "Enough Is Enough," Billy Squier, Capitol. followup to do that well, but shouldn't it have run a career? Boston waited more than eight years Squier's three previous albums climbed high on the climbed higher than No. 26? between its second and third albums, and then pop chart. "Don't Say No" and "Emotions In Mo- 8. "Three Hearts In The Happy Ending Machine," didn't even bother to make a video for its comeback tion" both reached No. 5; "Signs Of Life" hit No. Daryl Hall, RCA. "Dreamtime" was a top five single, single, "Amanda." We wouldn't recommend this 11. But this album stopped at No. 61 in November. so why is this album listed among the year's disap- strategy to other acts, but it didn't seem to hurt pointments? Because it's hard to imagine Hall being Boston any: In November, both album and single satisfied with a solo album that peaked at No. 29. were No. 1. 9. "Ruthless People" soundtrack, Epic. This album 3. "Control," Janet Jackson, A &M, and "Heart- featured the cream of the CBS roster -Joel, Jagger, beat," Don Johnson, Epic. What are the odds of the Springsteen -yet it generated only about one - kid sister an of exiled pop superstar landing a No. 1 fourth of the sales of Columbia soundtrack, "Top album and three top five singles? Probably about as Gun," which featured such "lesser lights" as Kenny good as the odds of TV's reigning male fashion Loggins and Miami Sound Machine. plate being taken seriously as a recording act. Jack- 10. "David Foster," Atlantic, and "22B3," Device, son and Johnson both defied the odds to score big Chrysalis. Foster is one of the most successful pro- breakthroughs. ducers of the '80s, and Holly Knight, who fronts De- 4. "Stand By Me," Ben E. King, Atlantic, and vice, is one of the decade's top songwriters. In their "Twist And Shout," the Beatles, Capitol (singles). first go -round as recording artists, they were some- King's classic was a top five hit 25 years ago; the what less successful. Fortunately, they always have Beatles' record climbed to No. 2 in 1964. Both their day jobs. made it back to heavy rotation in 1986, thanks to There you have it: another year's surprise hits their exposure in hit motion pictures. THE MONKEES: Hey, hey, we're back on the charts. and misses. Until next year, may all your surprises 5. "Living In America," James Brown, Scotti Bros be hits. Y-46 BILLBOARD DECEMBER 27, 1986 www.americanradiohistory.com.