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[Closing Out 1988] -- It's time for another Flashback, but what to do in this space between the aftermath of holidays and the beginning of a new year? Well, as this topic is about looking back, I figure we could look back to the end of another year, perhaps 30 years ago. Here are a few things that occurred this week in 1988:
And if you would like to know what was topping the Billboard Hot 100 the week of December 25 - 31, 1988, you can read and hear more after the break. (Note: None of the bands pictured on the SMASH HITS magazine cover above appear in this week's Flashback.)
- Bulgaria stopped jamming Radio Free Europe after more than 3 decades
- USSR performed nuclear tests at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
- John Tarrant, the first Australian born Zen teacher, received Dharma Transmission
And if you would like to know what was topping the Billboard Hot 100 the week of December 25 - 31, 1988, you can read and hear more after the break. (Note: None of the bands pictured on the SMASH HITS magazine cover above appear in this week's Flashback.)
Flashback #1: "I guess it's over, baby | It's really over baby."
This week in 1988, Chicago was poised with "Look Away," the second single off their sixteenth studio album, Chicago 19, sitting in the #3 position on the Billboard Hot 100. The power ballad spent a total of 15 weeks on the chart, eventually peaking at #1. And became the band's largest selling single in their entire catalog.
Flashback #2: "Everybody's talkin' all this stuff about me."
Bobby Brown was not always the poster boy for crack cocaine and bad tabloid stories. At one time, he was one of the leads of New Edition, and then a top solo hitmaker. This was particularly true with the release of his second solo album, Don't Be Cruel (1988), which yielded five top 10 Billboard Hot 100 singles. One of those singles, "My Prerogative," hit the #2 position this week in 1988. It held this position for three of its 11 weeks on the chart on its way to peaking at #1 in early 1989.
Flashback #3: "Just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song."
Poison closed out the last two weeks of 1988, and rang in 1989, with a #1 hit. "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" was the third single off Poison's sophomore album, Open Up and Say... Ahh!, spent a total of 11 weeks on the chart, three of them in the top spot. It was also the band's only #1 hit in the US. Maybe that's why it is considered their signature tune (a status I would reserve for "Nothin' but a Good Time," also from Open Up and Say... Ahh!, but that's just me). "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" has also inspired a slew of parodies ... or maybe I just want to think that because I've written two or three mockups of this power ballad.
Once again, I remind you that the rule of three applies when doing Flashbacks. As I've made my three offerings, that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
I'll see you in seven!
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