The Infinite Dial

Is there a connection between songs that endure with radio listeners and the years that they're released?

I've been thinking about this because the syndicator of "American Top 40" has been working up to its 40th anniversary (on July 4) by sending out daily e-mails, one for each year, featuring Billboard's top 10 songs of the year.

So here's 1983, an incredible comeback year for CHR.

1 - Police, "Every Breath You Take" -- Perhaps the most-enduring record of its time at AC, Greatest Hits, and Classic Rock formats. Would still test at Hot AC, if most weren't finally moving away from the '80s.
2 - Irene Cara, "Flashdance (What A Feeling)" -- Still tests at AC, Greatest Hits;
3 - Michael Jackson, "Billie Jean" -- Never fell off the grid completely during his years of exile from radio, but it's bigger than ever posthumously. You'll hear it at least three times this Friday on the anniversary of his death.
4 - Men At Work, "Down Under" -- Endures at AC, now starting to get played at Greatest Hits.
5 - Bonnie Tyler, "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" -- Still playable at AC.
6 - Hall & Oates, "Maneater" -- 1982 really, but Billboard was on a December-November schedule. Still played at AC, Greatest Hits.
7 - Lionel Richie, "All Night Long (All Night)" -- Playable sometimes for AC. Might get a little help from being part of the new Enrique Iglesias song, "I Like It."
8 - Michael Jackson, "Beat It" -- Hadn't endured like "Billie Jean," but back now.
9 - Laura Branigan, "Gloria" - Spotty. Tests in at AC or Greatest Hits occasionally.
10 - Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton, "Islands In The Stream" -- The first truly lost song in the top 10. Not even an automatic for Classic Country.

That's a pretty good batting average, and that top 10 doesn't even include the Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)," which matches the Police for durability, or Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun."

Now consider the not so golden year of 1988, when Top 40 was increasingly challenged by Urban and Rhythmic Top 40:

1 - George Michael, "Faith" -- No "Every Breath You Take," but still does OK at AC, Greatest Hits
2 - INXS, "Need You Tonight" -- OK at those formats and the one playable INXS at Classic Rock. Has evaporated at Hot AC as the '80s are phased out there.
3 - George Harrison, "Got My Mind Set On You" -- A seeming gimme for Greatest Hits stations trying to move into the '80s, but rarely a hit.
4 - Rick Astley, "Never Gonna Give You Up" -- Like "Together Forever," still gets some AC airplay.
5 - Guns 'N' Roses, "Sweet Child O' Mine" -- Still a smash at Classic Rock, a signature for Bob- and Jack-FMs and would still test for any Adult Top 40 that was comfortable including it.
6 - Whitney Houston, "So Emotional" -- Exciting at the time, lost now.
7 - Belinda Carlisle, "Heaven Is A Place On Earth" -- A sentimental fave for a lot of Greatest Hits PDs, but not a reliable tester.
8 - Tiffany, "Could've Been" -- Never returned to the radio after recurrent, particularly after the follow-up project faded.
9 - Breathe, "Hands To Heaven" -- Another song that has mostly disappeared.
10 - Steve Winwood, "Roll With It"--Even "Higher Love," one of the great common denominator records of that era doesn't test that well these days.

It's worth noting that if you tried this exercise for 1987, the two most enduring records would be "Livin' On A Prayer" and "Here I Go Again." In other words, the three best records from those years were the three that most challenged the boundaries of the Top 40 format. And when Top 40 found more than three hair band records to play, it wasn't necessarily a good thing.

I'll take a more empirical look at this some other time. But it makes sense at first blush that there would be so many enduring songs from the class of 1983. Rock radio was faltering. Urban Cowboy had finally passed. Adults were returning to Top 40 (as, for that matter, were teens). And there was, of course, the newly influential MTV to help reinforce all these songs.(Even though "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Brown Eyed Girl" do just fine without having had a video, it would be interesting now to look at the most played '80s gold and see how many were thought of as hit videos at the time.)

All of those things add up to a lot of traffic for the format. Songs can overcome a weak year for their home format or not being heard at the time at all -- e.g., "What I Like About You." But since so much of an oldie's endurance is based on the shared experience, it makes sense that an experience that more people shared would linger more.