Jun. 5, 2014
Prince's mainstream takeover commenced in early June 1984. That's when the boldly bass-less "When Doves Cry"—a preview of the June 25 release Purple Rain—began its ascent. The same month, Princely hits from Sheila E. and the Time also registered on Billboard's Black Singles chart. While Prince was indeed dominant, serious R&B fans with wider scopes saw the year as a nonstop battle between him and former Time members Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (and often Monte Moir), whose blazing work with the S.O.S. Band, Change, Cherrelle, Thelma Houston, and Gladys Knight & the Pips filled airwaves as well.
Along with "Let's Go Crazy," "Purple Rain," and "Sex Shooter," Prince also scored when Chaka Khan updated "I Feel for You" with help from Grandmaster Melle Mel, Stevie Wonder, and the System's David Frank. The same year, Frank and System partner Mic Murphy, whether together or apart, assisted Mtume, Howard Johnson, Evelyn "Champagne" King and, last but not least, Angela Bofill. Like Chaka, the Pointers, and Houston, Bofill was established diva who surprisingly adapted to cutting-edge electronic sounds with excellent results.
There were some major warning flares. One was in Teddy Pendergrass' number five hit "Hold Me," a duet with an on-the-brink Whitney Houston. Strange how neither her image nor name appeared on the seven-inch sleeve, though the song was tacked to the end of her debut album, released the following February. Less obvious were charting singles from the New Edition-like Kids at Work, co-written by group members Teddy Riley and Timmy Gatling. Within a couple years, Riley would be a hot rap and R&B producer, while he and Gatling would also form Guy. Additionally, in late November, Sade casually slid into view with their supremely sophisticated first charting single.
Not to be missed: number 26, produced and arranged by disco dons Patrick Adams and Greg Carmichael with lead vocals from onetime ex-Coconut Fonda "Over Like a Fat Rat" Rae. In Nightmare on Elm Street 2, Jesse Walsh bumped his dresser to it. A few years later, Cathy Dennis' cover narrowly missed the top of the Hot 100.
Forty favorite singles that hit Billboard's Black Singles chart during 1984, followed by a Spotify playlist and month-based top-ten lists:
1. Prince - "When Doves Cry" [Warner, 6/9]
2. The S.O.S. Band - "Just the Way You Like It" [Tabu, 7/21]
3. Sheila E. - "The Glamorous Life" [Warner, 6/2]
4. Prince & the Revolution - "Let's Go Crazy" [Warner, 8/11]
5. The Pointer Sisters - "Automatic" [Planet, 1/28]
6. Teena Marie - "Lovergirl" [Epic, 10/27]
7. Stevie Wonder - "Love Light in Flight" [Motown, 12/1]
8. Change - "Change of Heart" [RFC, 4/14]
9. Luther Vandross - "Make Me a Believer" [Epic, 6/16]
10. Cherrelle - "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" [Tabu, 4/28]
11. The S.O.S. Band - "No One's Gonna Love You" [Tabu, 11/3]
12. Womack & Womack - "Baby I'm Scared of You" [Elektra, 5/12]
13. Chaka Khan - "I Feel for You" [Warner, 9/15]
14. Michael Jackson - "Thriller" [Epic, 2/18]
15. Jocelyn Brown - "Somebody Else's Guy" [Vinyl Dreams, 4/28]
16. Madonna - "Lucky Star" [Sire, 9/29]
17. The Time - "Jungle Love" [Warner, 9/22]
18. Cameo - "She's Strange" [Chocolate City, 2/18]
19. Dennis Edwards - "Don't Look Any Further" [Gordy, 2/11]
20. Real to Reel - "Love Me Like This" [Arista, 3/17]*
21. Thelma Houston - "You Used to Hold Me So Tight" [MCA, 11/10]
22. DeBarge - "Love Me in a Special Way" [Gordy, 3/3]
23. Dayton - "The Sound of Music" [Capitol, 3/31]*
24. Gladys Knight & the Pips - "When You're Far Away" [Columbia, 2/25]
25. World Premiere - "Share the Night" [Easy Street, 2/18]
26. Wish - "Touch Me" [KN, 12/22]
27. Apollonia 6 - "Sex Shooter" [Warner, 9/29]*
28. Hugh Masekela - "Don't Go Lose It Baby" [Jive Afrika, 6/26]
29. The System - "I Wanna Make You Feel Good" [Mirage, 3/3]
30. Mtume - "C.O.D. (I'll Deliver)" [Epic, 10/20]
31. New Edition - "Mr. Telephone Man" [MCA, 12/15]
32. Patrice Rushen - "Feels So Real (Won't Let Go)" [Elektra, 5/12]
33. Luther Vandross - "Superstar/Until You Come Back to Me" [Epic, 3/3]
34. Alicia Myers - "You Get the Best from Me (Say, Say, Say)" [MCA, 8/4]
35. Jeffrey Osborne - "Plane Love" [A&M, 1/21]
36. New Edition - "Cool It Now" [MCA, 9/8]
37. Glenn Jones - "Show Me" [RCA, 9/22]
38. Sade - "Hang On to Your Love" [Portrait, 11/24]
39. Angela Bofill - "Can't Slow Down" [Arista, 11/17]
40. Laid Back - "White Horse" [Sire, 2/18]
*These songs are not available on Spotify in the U.S. Favorites 41-43 appear in their place, at the end of the playlist.
Monthly top tens (based on entry dates):
January
The Pointer Sisters - "Automatic"
Jeffrey Osborne - "Plane Love"
George Kranz - "Trommeltanz"
Prince - "Let's Pretend We're Married"
Melba Moore - "Livin' for Your Love"
Barbara Mason - "Another Man"
Indeep - "The Record Keeps Spinning"
Rufus & Chaka Khan - "One Million Kisses"
Dreamboy - "Don't Go"
Rockwell - "Somebody's Watching Me"
February
Michael Jackson - "Thriller"
Cameo - "She's Strange"
Dennis Edwards - "Don't Look Any Further"
Gladys Knight & the Pips - "When You're Far Away"
World Premiere - "Share the Night"
Laid Back - "White Horse"
The Art of Noise - "Beat Box"
Starpoint - "It's All Yours"
Shalamar - "Dancing in the Sheets"
Womack & Womack - "T.K.O."
March
Real to Reel - "Love Me Like This"
DeBarge - "Love Me in a Special Way"
Dayton - "The Sound of Music"
The System - "I Wanna Make You Feel Good"
Luther Vandross - "Superstar/Until You Come Back to Me"
Howard Johnson - "Let This Dream Be Real"
Yarbrough & Peoples - "Don't Waste Your Time"
Shannon - "Give Me Tonight"
Bar-Kays - "Freakshow on the Dance Floor"
Bryan Loren - "Lollipop Luv"
April
Change - "Change of Heart"
Cherrelle - "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On"
Jocelyn Brown - "Somebody Else's Guy"
The Earons - "Land of Hunger"
Melba Moore - "Love Me Right"
The Pointer Sisters - "Jump"
Alisha - "All Night Passion"
O'Bryan - "Lovelite"
R.J.'s Latest Arrival - "Shackles"
Deniece Williams - "Let's Hear It for the Boy"
May
Womack & Womack - "Baby I'm Scared of You"
Patrice Rushen - "Feels So Real (Won't Let Go)"
Dan Hartman - "I Can Dream About You"
John Rocca - "I Want It to Be Real"
Smokey Robinson - "And I Don't Love You"
Dennis Edwards - "Aphrodisiac"
Force M.D.'s - "Let Me Love You"
Roger - "In the Mix"
Marcus Miller - "My Best Friend's Girlfriend"
Atlantic Starr - "Second to None"
June
Prince - "When Doves Cry"
Sheila E. - "The Glamorous Life"
Luther Vandross - "Make Me a Believer"
Hugh Masekela - "Don't Go Lose It Baby"
Kleeer - "Intimate Connection"
The Time - "Ice Cream Castles"
Ollie & Jerry - "Breakin...There's No Stopping Us"
Mtume - "You, Me, and He"
Ray Parker Jr. - "Ghostbusters"
Kashif - "Baby Don't Break Your Baby's Heart"
July
The S.O.S. Band - "Just the Way You Like It"
Lillo Thomas - "Your Love's Got a Hold on Me"
Jermaine Jackson - "Dynamite"
Change - "It Burns Me Up"
Bryan Loren - "Do You Really Love Me"
Debbie Deb - "When I Hear Music"
Carol Lynn Townes - "99 1/2"
The Brothers Johnson - "You Keep Me Coming Back"
Nuance - "Take a Chance"
Yarbrough & Peoples - "Be a Winner"
August
Prince & the Revolution - "Let's Go Crazy"
Alicia Myers - "You Get the Best from Me (Say, Say, Say)"
Patrice Rushen - "Get Off (You Fascinate Me)"
Stephanie Mills - "The Medicine Song"
Cherrelle - "Fragile...Handle with Care"
Janet Jackson - "Don't Stand Another Chance"
Peabo Bryson - "Slow Dancin'"
Cameo - "Hangin' Downtown"
The Jacksons - "Torture"
Next Movement - "All I Do"
September
Chaka Khan - "I Feel for You"
Madonna - "Lucky Star"
The Time - "Jungle Love"
Apollonia 6 - "Sex Shooter"
New Edition - "Cool It Now"
Glenn Jones - "Show Me"
Force M.D.'s - "Tears"
The Staple Singers - "Slippery People"
Aleem - "Release Yourself"
Ashford & Simpson - "Solid"
October
Teena Marie - "Lovergirl"
Mtume - "C.O.D. (I'll Deliver)"
Prince & the Revolution - "Purple Rain"
Midway - "Set It Out"
Deniece Williams - "Black Butterfly"
Evelyn "Champagne King" - "Just for the Night"
Eugene Wilde - "Gotta Get You Home Tonight"
Tom Browne - "Secret Fantasy"
Rick James - "You Turn Me On"
Dreamboy - "I Promise (I Do Love You)"
November
The S.O.S. Band - "No One's Gonna Love You"
Thelma Houston - "You Used to Hold Me So Tight"
Sade - "Hang On to Your Love"
Angela Bofill - "Can't Slow Down"
Midnight Star - "Operator"
Paul Hardcastle - "Rain Forest"
Junie Morrison - "Tease Me"
The Whispers - "Contagious"
Ray Parker Jr. - "Jamie"
Sheila E. - "The Belle of St. Mark"
December
Stevie Wonder - "Love Light in Flight"
Wish - "Touch Me"
New Edition - "Mr. Telephone Man"
The Limit - "Say Yeah"
Philip Bailey - "Easy Lover"
Nuance - "Loveride"
Skyy - "Dancin' to Be Dancin'"
George Benson - "20/20"
Gwen Guthrie - "Love in Moderation"
Ready for the World - "Tonight"
Along with "Let's Go Crazy," "Purple Rain," and "Sex Shooter," Prince also scored when Chaka Khan updated "I Feel for You" with help from Grandmaster Melle Mel, Stevie Wonder, and the System's David Frank. The same year, Frank and System partner Mic Murphy, whether together or apart, assisted Mtume, Howard Johnson, Evelyn "Champagne" King and, last but not least, Angela Bofill. Like Chaka, the Pointers, and Houston, Bofill was established diva who surprisingly adapted to cutting-edge electronic sounds with excellent results.
There were some major warning flares. One was in Teddy Pendergrass' number five hit "Hold Me," a duet with an on-the-brink Whitney Houston. Strange how neither her image nor name appeared on the seven-inch sleeve, though the song was tacked to the end of her debut album, released the following February. Less obvious were charting singles from the New Edition-like Kids at Work, co-written by group members Teddy Riley and Timmy Gatling. Within a couple years, Riley would be a hot rap and R&B producer, while he and Gatling would also form Guy. Additionally, in late November, Sade casually slid into view with their supremely sophisticated first charting single.
Not to be missed: number 26, produced and arranged by disco dons Patrick Adams and Greg Carmichael with lead vocals from onetime ex-Coconut Fonda "Over Like a Fat Rat" Rae. In Nightmare on Elm Street 2, Jesse Walsh bumped his dresser to it. A few years later, Cathy Dennis' cover narrowly missed the top of the Hot 100.
Forty favorite singles that hit Billboard's Black Singles chart during 1984, followed by a Spotify playlist and month-based top-ten lists:
1. Prince - "When Doves Cry" [Warner, 6/9]
2. The S.O.S. Band - "Just the Way You Like It" [Tabu, 7/21]
3. Sheila E. - "The Glamorous Life" [Warner, 6/2]
4. Prince & the Revolution - "Let's Go Crazy" [Warner, 8/11]
5. The Pointer Sisters - "Automatic" [Planet, 1/28]
6. Teena Marie - "Lovergirl" [Epic, 10/27]
7. Stevie Wonder - "Love Light in Flight" [Motown, 12/1]
8. Change - "Change of Heart" [RFC, 4/14]
9. Luther Vandross - "Make Me a Believer" [Epic, 6/16]
10. Cherrelle - "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" [Tabu, 4/28]
11. The S.O.S. Band - "No One's Gonna Love You" [Tabu, 11/3]
12. Womack & Womack - "Baby I'm Scared of You" [Elektra, 5/12]
13. Chaka Khan - "I Feel for You" [Warner, 9/15]
14. Michael Jackson - "Thriller" [Epic, 2/18]
15. Jocelyn Brown - "Somebody Else's Guy" [Vinyl Dreams, 4/28]
16. Madonna - "Lucky Star" [Sire, 9/29]
17. The Time - "Jungle Love" [Warner, 9/22]
18. Cameo - "She's Strange" [Chocolate City, 2/18]
19. Dennis Edwards - "Don't Look Any Further" [Gordy, 2/11]
20. Real to Reel - "Love Me Like This" [Arista, 3/17]*
21. Thelma Houston - "You Used to Hold Me So Tight" [MCA, 11/10]
22. DeBarge - "Love Me in a Special Way" [Gordy, 3/3]
23. Dayton - "The Sound of Music" [Capitol, 3/31]*
24. Gladys Knight & the Pips - "When You're Far Away" [Columbia, 2/25]
25. World Premiere - "Share the Night" [Easy Street, 2/18]
26. Wish - "Touch Me" [KN, 12/22]
27. Apollonia 6 - "Sex Shooter" [Warner, 9/29]*
28. Hugh Masekela - "Don't Go Lose It Baby" [Jive Afrika, 6/26]
29. The System - "I Wanna Make You Feel Good" [Mirage, 3/3]
30. Mtume - "C.O.D. (I'll Deliver)" [Epic, 10/20]
31. New Edition - "Mr. Telephone Man" [MCA, 12/15]
32. Patrice Rushen - "Feels So Real (Won't Let Go)" [Elektra, 5/12]
33. Luther Vandross - "Superstar/Until You Come Back to Me" [Epic, 3/3]
34. Alicia Myers - "You Get the Best from Me (Say, Say, Say)" [MCA, 8/4]
35. Jeffrey Osborne - "Plane Love" [A&M, 1/21]
36. New Edition - "Cool It Now" [MCA, 9/8]
37. Glenn Jones - "Show Me" [RCA, 9/22]
38. Sade - "Hang On to Your Love" [Portrait, 11/24]
39. Angela Bofill - "Can't Slow Down" [Arista, 11/17]
40. Laid Back - "White Horse" [Sire, 2/18]
*These songs are not available on Spotify in the U.S. Favorites 41-43 appear in their place, at the end of the playlist.
Monthly top tens (based on entry dates):
January
The Pointer Sisters - "Automatic"
Jeffrey Osborne - "Plane Love"
George Kranz - "Trommeltanz"
Prince - "Let's Pretend We're Married"
Melba Moore - "Livin' for Your Love"
Barbara Mason - "Another Man"
Indeep - "The Record Keeps Spinning"
Rufus & Chaka Khan - "One Million Kisses"
Dreamboy - "Don't Go"
Rockwell - "Somebody's Watching Me"
February
Michael Jackson - "Thriller"
Cameo - "She's Strange"
Dennis Edwards - "Don't Look Any Further"
Gladys Knight & the Pips - "When You're Far Away"
World Premiere - "Share the Night"
Laid Back - "White Horse"
The Art of Noise - "Beat Box"
Starpoint - "It's All Yours"
Shalamar - "Dancing in the Sheets"
Womack & Womack - "T.K.O."
March
Real to Reel - "Love Me Like This"
DeBarge - "Love Me in a Special Way"
Dayton - "The Sound of Music"
The System - "I Wanna Make You Feel Good"
Luther Vandross - "Superstar/Until You Come Back to Me"
Howard Johnson - "Let This Dream Be Real"
Yarbrough & Peoples - "Don't Waste Your Time"
Shannon - "Give Me Tonight"
Bar-Kays - "Freakshow on the Dance Floor"
Bryan Loren - "Lollipop Luv"
April
Change - "Change of Heart"
Cherrelle - "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On"
Jocelyn Brown - "Somebody Else's Guy"
The Earons - "Land of Hunger"
Melba Moore - "Love Me Right"
The Pointer Sisters - "Jump"
Alisha - "All Night Passion"
O'Bryan - "Lovelite"
R.J.'s Latest Arrival - "Shackles"
Deniece Williams - "Let's Hear It for the Boy"
May
Womack & Womack - "Baby I'm Scared of You"
Patrice Rushen - "Feels So Real (Won't Let Go)"
Dan Hartman - "I Can Dream About You"
John Rocca - "I Want It to Be Real"
Smokey Robinson - "And I Don't Love You"
Dennis Edwards - "Aphrodisiac"
Force M.D.'s - "Let Me Love You"
Roger - "In the Mix"
Marcus Miller - "My Best Friend's Girlfriend"
Atlantic Starr - "Second to None"
June
Prince - "When Doves Cry"
Sheila E. - "The Glamorous Life"
Luther Vandross - "Make Me a Believer"
Hugh Masekela - "Don't Go Lose It Baby"
Kleeer - "Intimate Connection"
The Time - "Ice Cream Castles"
Ollie & Jerry - "Breakin...There's No Stopping Us"
Mtume - "You, Me, and He"
Ray Parker Jr. - "Ghostbusters"
Kashif - "Baby Don't Break Your Baby's Heart"
July
The S.O.S. Band - "Just the Way You Like It"
Lillo Thomas - "Your Love's Got a Hold on Me"
Jermaine Jackson - "Dynamite"
Change - "It Burns Me Up"
Bryan Loren - "Do You Really Love Me"
Debbie Deb - "When I Hear Music"
Carol Lynn Townes - "99 1/2"
The Brothers Johnson - "You Keep Me Coming Back"
Nuance - "Take a Chance"
Yarbrough & Peoples - "Be a Winner"
August
Prince & the Revolution - "Let's Go Crazy"
Alicia Myers - "You Get the Best from Me (Say, Say, Say)"
Patrice Rushen - "Get Off (You Fascinate Me)"
Stephanie Mills - "The Medicine Song"
Cherrelle - "Fragile...Handle with Care"
Janet Jackson - "Don't Stand Another Chance"
Peabo Bryson - "Slow Dancin'"
Cameo - "Hangin' Downtown"
The Jacksons - "Torture"
Next Movement - "All I Do"
September
Chaka Khan - "I Feel for You"
Madonna - "Lucky Star"
The Time - "Jungle Love"
Apollonia 6 - "Sex Shooter"
New Edition - "Cool It Now"
Glenn Jones - "Show Me"
Force M.D.'s - "Tears"
The Staple Singers - "Slippery People"
Aleem - "Release Yourself"
Ashford & Simpson - "Solid"
October
Teena Marie - "Lovergirl"
Mtume - "C.O.D. (I'll Deliver)"
Prince & the Revolution - "Purple Rain"
Midway - "Set It Out"
Deniece Williams - "Black Butterfly"
Evelyn "Champagne King" - "Just for the Night"
Eugene Wilde - "Gotta Get You Home Tonight"
Tom Browne - "Secret Fantasy"
Rick James - "You Turn Me On"
Dreamboy - "I Promise (I Do Love You)"
November
The S.O.S. Band - "No One's Gonna Love You"
Thelma Houston - "You Used to Hold Me So Tight"
Sade - "Hang On to Your Love"
Angela Bofill - "Can't Slow Down"
Midnight Star - "Operator"
Paul Hardcastle - "Rain Forest"
Junie Morrison - "Tease Me"
The Whispers - "Contagious"
Ray Parker Jr. - "Jamie"
Sheila E. - "The Belle of St. Mark"
December
Stevie Wonder - "Love Light in Flight"
Wish - "Touch Me"
New Edition - "Mr. Telephone Man"
The Limit - "Say Yeah"
Philip Bailey - "Easy Lover"
Nuance - "Loveride"
Skyy - "Dancin' to Be Dancin'"
George Benson - "20/20"
Gwen Guthrie - "Love in Moderation"
Ready for the World - "Tonight"