As I was driving back to my folks’ this evening, the radio station I was listening to was highlighting all the songs that were #1 on this weekend through the 1980s. Since these were the songs of my elementary and middle school days, I particularly enjoyed singing along. It is either an excellent memory booster to reach for lyrics of songs you haven’t heard in ages or a complete waste of valuable brain space. I’m going with option a.

Because I would like you to have excellent brains, too, I’m sharing the 10 songs that hit the top spot of the pop singles list the first week of each August during the 1980s. To make it a challenge for you, I’m arranging them alphabetically, and should you feel up to it, you can guess their order from 1980 to 1989.

“Every Breath You Take” by The Police

“Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor

“Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker, Jr.

“Glory of Love” by Peter Cetera

“I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” by U2

“Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield

“Magic” by Olivia Newton-John

“Right Here Waiting” by Richard Marx

“Roll with It” by Steve Winwood

“Shout” by Tears for Fears

I’ll be back tomorrow with the answers.