MTV Top 20 Video Countdown (US)

by **azul120** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 4:22 am

Look what I found!

July 14, 1989 top 10 recap

And here's the list for posterity:

1) (~7-8) (+1) Madonna - "Express Yourself" (1 week at #1)
2) (~4-5) (+1) Bon Jovi - "Lay Your Hands On Me"
3) (?) (-2) Fine Young Cannibals - "Good Thing" (2 weeks at #1)
4) (3) (+4) Martika - "Toy Soldiers" (#4)
5) (?) (+1) Love and Rockets - "So Alive" (#5)
6) (~3) (+4) Prince - "Batdance" (#6)
7) (?) (+7) Simply Red - "If You Don't Know Me By Now" (#7)
8) (?) (+3) Bobby Brown - "On Our Own" (#8)
9) (?) (-5) The Doobie Brothers - "The Doctor" (#3)
10) (?) (+3) Rod Stewart - "Crazy About Her" (#10)

According to Adam Curry, both Madonna and Bon Jovi were up to 6 #1's as of this week.

by **mrpenpen** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 6:07 pm

Whoa! This is very cool. We could reconstruct a limited three-week stretch now since RS printed the weeks before and after (noting again that RS's "week of notations" were always one week off):

Week of 6/30/89

1. Fine Young Cannibals - "Good Thing"
2. Madonna - "Express Yourself"
3. Bon Jovi - "Lay Your Hands on Me"
4. Doobie Brothers - "The Doctor"
5. Tom Petty - "I Won't Back Down"

Week of 7/14/89

1. Martika - "Toy Soldiers"
2. Bon Jovi - "Lay Your Hands on Me"
3. Prince - "Batdance"
4. Madonna - "Express Yourself"
5. Love and Rockets - "So Alive"

I guess that puts the kibosh on "Crazy for You" hitting #1 as someone had previously suggested, since Madonna's 6 #1s at that time would have been Live to Tell, Papa Don't Preach, Open Your Heart, Who's That Girl, Like a Prayer and Express Yourself.

If accurate (always a big "if"), this also tells that Born to Be My Baby edged up to #1 between White Lion and U2 in February '89, since their only other five #1s at that time could have been You Give Love a Bad Name, Livin' on a Prayer, Wanted Dead or Alive, Bad Medicine, and I'll Be There For You. Great find!

by **azul120** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 7:25 pm

Yeah. Only that WAS 7/14 that I just found, as the factoid that Adam Curry dropped about "Express Yourself" reaching #4 on Billboard the week before happened on 7/7. Also, I'm guessing Tom Petty, who plunged out of the top 10 from 5, peaked at either #1 or #2 a couple weeks prior.

I'm guessing "Lay Your Hands On Me" knocked "Toy Soldiers" off the top spot, with "Batdance" following suit.

And a minor correction: I guess "The Doctor" did peak at #4, barring some extra info. Guess I got a little mixed up there.

I wonder how far "So Alive" made it on the countdown. Over the next few weeks it inched its way up to #3 on Billboard.

And I already knew "Crazy for You" only made it to #3. (Let's not forget the #1 recap MTV made.)

by **mrpenpen** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 11:52 pm

Oh I know it wasn't you - I think it was one of the Madonna fans that used to pop in periodically asking for complete chart runs.

I'm curious about the run for "I Won't Back Down" since that #5 spot is the only RS record we have, yet I think it wound up in the year-end top 10. Peaking at #2 seems more likely, but since videos were flying up and down the chart so fast I guess anything's possible.

"So Alive"'s peak unfortuantely falls in one of those RS summer-issue dead zones where we have no data for five straight weeks, but if we figure Bon Jovi for one week and Prince for (maybe) two, it's entirely possible that it got to #1 a week or two after that, although my best guess is that it was passed by "On Our Own" and only got to #2 or #3 since Bobby Brown was on quite a hot streak at the time.

by **azul120** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 1:53 am

I'm pegging "Batdance" as one of those one-week chart toppers. Only piece of info I have is that it went to the top 5 weeks following its debut.

"On Our Own" also leapfrogged "So Alive" on the Billboard charts, where it reached #2.

I'm sort of hoping that this thread, or at least something else that comes of it, eventually gets noticed by MTV, the way the 120 Minutes Archive did, leading to something like episodes being archived on mtvhive.com. There are a few 120 minutes eps. that are on there right now.

On another note, now I've seen a little more of the graphics they were using at the time (at least the second half of 1989). What's curious is the animated "Hit Me!" dance graphics were also from 1989, and I haven't seen those yet.

by **sdizda** » Fri Sep 16, 2011 12:00 pm

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xgtk4x ... shortfilms

by **azul120** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 10:12 pm

Making an educated guess on the top 10 from the first week of November 1988 that was left uncovered:

1) (5) (+1) Phil Collins - "A Groovy Kind of Love" (1 week at #1)
2) (8) (+1) The Escape Club - "Wild Wild West" (#2)
3) (7) (-2) UB40 - "Red Red Wine" (2 weeks at #1)
4) (12) (+1) INXS - "Never Tear Us Apart" (#4)
5) (6) (+1) Bon Jovi - "Bad Medicine" (#5)
6) (6) (+2) U2 - "Desire" (#6)
7) (6) (+3) Cinderella - "Don't Know What You Got ('Til It's Gone)" (#7)
8) (11) (-4) Def Leppard - "Love Bites" (2 weeks at #1)
9) (3) (+3) George Michael - "Kissing a Fool" (#9)
10) (4) (+6) Duran Duran - "I Don't Want Your Love" (#10)

The week before was full of videos on their way down, with at least a couple pending vacancies in the top 10. Terence Trent D'Arby peaked at a paltry #30 over on Billboard, so he was likely out of the running. Duran Duran, meanwhile, appeared to be in heavy rotation, in addition to a fair push at MTV (including at least one recorded bumper for the top 20), so they would be likely beneficiaries of the current fallout. I also decided to give a nod to "Kissing a Fool" even though it wouldn't appear in the top 100 of the year (quota perhaps?), since it was still rising on Billboard.

Also, it's safe to assume that "Finish What Ya Started" from Van Halen debuted that very week at #15, from one of the pre-break flashbacks I had seen. ("Welcome to the Jungle" would debut 2 weeks later.)

by **mrpenpen** » Mon Sep 19, 2011 6:53 pm

Looks about right to me. The jump for Duran Duran seems a bit high in light of their slow-ish start, but the lower half of the chart was pretty soft and there's no other strong candidates for that slot as far as I can tell (maybe Information Society hung on in the top 10 for another week?). I'd expect George Michael got in to the top 10 as well but topped out at #8/7, around the same as Billboard.

There's a good chance "Look Away" debuted that week as well since it was at #3 five weeks later (according to RS).

by **azul120** » Mon Sep 19, 2011 7:46 pm

I have seen more than a few sudden jumpstarts in the past, and Duran Duran's somewhat slow start could possibly be attributed to there being a lot of traffic on the chart, partially in the form of videos going downward on the chart, which were usually separated by at least one position (and about half the preceding week's chart had a rising video followed by a falling one). Also, "Valerie" from Steve Winwood also had the 20-18-16-10 arc for its first few weeks on the chart.

by **mrpenpen** » Mon Sep 19, 2011 9:51 pm

Very true, there was a lot of droppers and "weak" climbers ahead of it so it's entirety possible.

Filling the rest of the gap until the next RS chart, the top 5 probably looked fairly close to this:

11/11
1. Wild Wild West
2. Groovy Kind of Love
3. Bad Medicine
4. Never Tear Us Apart
5. Desire

11/18
1. Wild Wild West
2. Bad Medicine
3. Desire
4. Don't Know What You Got
5. Groovy Kind of Love

11/25
1. Bad Medicine
2. Desire
3. Don't Know What You Got
4. Wild Wild West
5. I Don't Want Your Love

12/2
1. Desire
2. Bad Medicine
3. I Don't Want Your Love
4. Look Away
5. Walk on Water

Leading into the next RS-published chart of 12/9
1. Desire
2. I Don't Want Your Love
3. Look Away
4. Walk on Water
5. Bad Medicine

Van Halen, GnR and Poison were most likely lurking in the 6-10 range at that point, ready to turn over the entire top 5 by 12/23. The peak stretch of pop/hair metal popularity?

by **sdizda** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 6:03 am

From my old VHS:

http://www.123video.nl/playvideos.asp?MovieID=1058800

MTV Top 20 Video Countdown with Bill Bellamy (April 19, 1997)

by **azul120** » Mon Oct 03, 2011 4:45 am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qkd3hEx ... ideo_title

They did a special summer countdown special in late summer 1986.

by **azul120** » Wed Oct 19, 2011 11:21 pm

Sent an email suggestion/request to MTVHive.com to post classic eps. of the countdown, as well as stuff like 120 Minutes (which already has a handful of episodes featured) and Headbanger's Ball.

by **sdizda** » Fri Nov 18, 2011 12:23 pm

"MTV" Top 20 Video Countdown Promo
http://vimeo.com/24584035

by **azul120** » Sun Nov 20, 2011 7:02 am

Wow, awesome find! That must be the intro from 1987!

by **sdizda** » Thu Dec 15, 2011 1:20 pm

MTV Top 20 Video Countdown Graphics

http://90.146.8.18/en/archives/prix_arc ... ctID=11120

by **azul120** » Thu Dec 29, 2011 2:04 am

That's been around for awhile.

Just spotted a torrent of the Dr. Demento edition of the countdown from spring of '88.

by **sdizda** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 4:29 pm

MTV demented Top 20 Video Countdown
featuring Dr. Demento

Original air date: 1 April 1988

20: DEVO - "Satisfaction"
19: Weird Al - "Dare to be Stupid"
18: Wall of Voodoo - "Mexican Radio"
17: Camper Van Beethoven - "Take the Skinheads Bowling"
16: Doctor & the Medics - "Burning Love"
15: They Might Be Giants - "Don't Let's Start"
14: Kid Creole andd the Coconuts - "Endicott"
13: Kip Addotta - "Life in the Slaw Lane"
12: Hank Williams Jr. - "All my Rowdy Friends are Coming Over Tonight"
11: Surf M.C.'s - "Surf or Die"
10: Men Without Hats - "Safety Dance"
09: Utopia - "Feet Don't Fail Me Now"
08: Bobby Jimmy and the Critters - "Roaches"
07: Bad News - "Bohemian Rhapsody"
06: Fred Schneider - "Monster"
05: Jump 'N' The Saddle Band - "The Curly Shuffle"
04: Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper - "Elvis is Everywhere"
03: Julie Brown - "The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun"
02: Weird Al - "Eat it"
01: Barnes & Barnes - "Fish Heads"

by **azul120** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 7:50 pm

Here's a bumper with a-ha circa '86/'87:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-LCzftDmvI

by **sdizda** » Thu Feb 09, 2012 9:06 am

http://madonnachartdiary.wordpress.com/ ... pril-1989/

Madonna - Like a Prayer CHART RUN

Week of April 1, 1989:
MTV TOP 20 VIDEO COUNTDOWN: “Like a prayer” #20 (DEBUT)
Week of April 8, 1989:
MTV TOP 20 VIDEO COUNTDOWN: “Like a prayer” #11 (2 weeks)
Week of April 15, 1989:
MTV TOP 20 VIDEO COUNTDOWN: “Like a prayer” #3 (3 weeks)
Week of April 22, 1989:
MTV TOP 20 VIDEO COUNTDOWN: “Like a prayer” #1 (4 weeks/1 week at #1)
Week of April 29, 1989:
MTV TOP 20 VIDEO COUNTDOWN: “Like a prayer” #1 (5 weeks/2 weeks at #1)

Madonna - Express Yourself CHART RUN

Week of June 24, 1989:
MTV TOP 20 VIDEO COUNTDOWN: “Express yourself” #8
Week of July 1, 1989:
MTV TOP 20 VIDEO COUNTDOWN: “Express yourself” #7
Week of July 8, 1989:
MTV TOP 20 VIDEO COUNTDOWN: “Express yourself” #2
Week of July 15, 1989:
MTV TOP 20 VIDEO COUNTDOWN: “Express yourself” #1
Week of July 22, 1989:
MTV TOP 20 VIDEO COUNTDOWN: ”Express yourself” #4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKAahqbYbx4

by **azul120** » Fri Feb 10, 2012 12:20 am

Nice find!

The updater said that the weeks where Express Yourself was at 8 and 7 weren't necessarily during those dates. I would guess #8 was 6/17 and #7 was 6/24.

by **azul120** » Sat Feb 11, 2012 4:12 am

Just posted on the youtubes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AA9_AaD8IFM

Sadly, no way to get in touch.

by **sdizda** » Sat Feb 18, 2012 6:57 pm

MTV Top 20 Video Countdown with Daisy Fuentes (September 14, 1996)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQ0l7XTXgpo

by **sdizda** » Thu Mar 22, 2012 6:45 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADmvc1CMClw

by **sdizda** » Thu Mar 22, 2012 6:47 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AA9_AaD8IFM