A couple years ago I blogged about the biggest hits of all time that are not available on Spotify. The thing is, though -- and only really hardcore users notice this -- what's available on Spotify changes constantly. Copyright disputes come and go. New compilations of old songs are released, and others are removed from availability. Certain classic songs come and go from Spotify with no clear explanation. It's very hard to stay on top of all this.
My Pop Music Anthology is a website created to link you to all the most important pop songs in history ... on Spotify. So I'm constantly checking to see if previously unavailable songs have shown up. I've been busy lately, as all sorts of really deep cuts have been appearing. It looks like the folks at Spotify have been busy, too.
For that reason, I've decided to update my list one decade at a time. This time we'll just look at the 1980s. And as always, I have to say that I'm impressed that Spotify's list is so complete. We'll count down the 10 biggest pop hits of the 1980s that are not on Spotify. Then we'll take note of a few other significant songs that are currently unavailable.
UPDATE: Thanks to the help of some other very attentive fans, I have had to correct some errors in this post! Here's the updated list.
#10 - JIMMY HARNEN & SYNCH - Where Are You Now?
You will find a song on Spotify called "Where Are You Now" by Synch. It sure ain't this. The song I'm actually talking about peaked at #77 in the spring of 1986, then came back from the dead in 1989 to make it all the way to #10 on the Billboard Hot 100.
#9 - IRENE CARA - Breakdance
Despite the title, I can't imagine this was really one of the top tunes to breakdance to in 1984. It was more like a way of capitalizing on an existing trend. That was also the summer of the movie Breakin'. And it was the summer that my little brother, at the age of 9, became the best breakdancer in Rupert, Idaho.
#8 - SA-FIRE - Thinking of You
I think you have to be exactly my age to remember this #12-peaking hit from the spring of 1989. Sa-Fire fell into that category of dance artists who recorded one ballad and got significant radio play out of it.
#7 - REGINA - Baby Love
In 1986, everyone wanted to be Madonna, and Regina is probably the most obvious one. You could be forgiven for assuming this was a cut from the True Blue album; instead, it was Regina's one play for stardom, and after it peaked at #10, she was never heard from again.
#6 - PAUL McCARTNEY - Spies Like Us
Now we're into the range of songs you may remember but probably wish you didn't. I can only imagine that this #7-peaking atrocity is unavailable on Spotify because Paul McCartney insists on it.
#5 - MICHAEL McDONALD - Sweet Freedom
And suddenly, we're into the realm of, "Hey, what gives?" This song has never appeared on Spotify. I have no idea why. From the soundtrack of the film Running Scared, it also peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100.
#4 - DONNY OSMOND - Soldier of Love
You'll find a 12" remix of this song on Spotify, but that doesn't count in my book. Donny Osmond returned in a big way in 1989 and took this song to #2. It's a pretty crappy song, though. It just happened to sound like everything else on the radio that year.
#3 - MICHAEL DAMIAN - Rock On
The year 1989 is actually one of the worst for retention of old songs on Spotify. This is the first of three #1 smashes that you will not find. Well, you will find that Damian did a horrible re-recording years later. Don't bother with it.
#2.5 - GEORGE MICHAEL - I Want Your Sex
I'm not counting this one as a full entry on the list because it is there -- it's just that if you want to listen to it, you'll also have to hear "I Want Your Sex Part 2" -- and together they run nine minutes long. Is that really such a bad thing, though? (That said, I do have a gripe about "A Love Bizarre," below. Well, it's my blog, so I don't need to be totally consistent in my methodology!)
#2 - EDDY GRANT - Electric Avenue
It's a crime that this #2 smash from the summer of 1983 is not there. I seem to remember that it appeared for a little while, perhaps evading the radar of some exec in a suit. But you won't find it now -- nor will you find Eddy's other memorable song, the title theme from the movie Romancing the Stone.
#1 - TONI BASIL - Mickey
Basil is another artist who later re-recorded her own #1 hit, possibly due to a label dispute. (We know more about that these days as we watch Taylor Swift re-record everything she's ever done.) The newly rechristened "Hey Mickey" is on Spotify -- but it's not the hit. As I type this, over 2.7 million spins come from people who apparently don't care.
Occasionally I'll read comments on blogs like this about how awful the people at Spotify are for leaving out this song or that song. Don't blame them -- it's not their fault. Every song that appears on the streaming platform has to be cleared legally, and again, it's impressive how little is actually missing.
While we're talking about the 1980s, it's worth mentioning a few songs that weren't gigantic pop hits like these, but which are culturally significant and should be present as well.
First, a few classic R&B tracks:
SHEILA E. - A Love Bizarre
I find this one especially frustrating, because you can actually take your pick of three versions of this song on Spotify: the 12-minute album version (what?!), a live version from, of all sources, a Ringo Starr concert tour album (huh?!), and a misspelled version ("A Love Bizzare - Pt. 1"), the closest thing to what you're looking for, from NOW That's What I Call 80s Hits & Remixes. But because that entire collection is beat-mixed together, you have to hear Billy Ocean sing over the first note, and the track will end cold as the mix shifts into Cameo's "Word Up!"
S.O.S. BAND - Just Be Good to Me
This one used to be there -- I have no idea why it's gone missing, along with another classic of theirs, "The Finest."
VANITY 6 - Nasty Girl
For a long time before his death, Prince was not on Spotify, and neither were very many of his side projects. This is a classic one that still isn't there.
AFRO-RICAN - Give It All You Got (Doggy Style)
OK, you probably weren't missing that one, but it is also something of a classic.
Now for a few country songs:
RONNIE McDOWELL - Older Women
RONNIE MILSAP - She Keeps the Home Fires Burning
DWIGHT YOAKAM - Guitars, Cadillacs
If you were into country music back in the '80s, you might care that these are not available. But they all pale in comparison to ...
GARTH BROOKS - Much Too Young (to Feel This Damn Old)
This was Garth's first hit, so when I blog about the 1990s, you'll hear me complain a lot more. For many years, Brooks allowed none of his music onto any streaming platforms, and then he signed an exclusive deal with Amazon Music. I've always thought he was shooting himself in the foot, which is not something you expect a guy in a white hat and chaps to do.
And that brings us to what may be the single most important 1980s song that's missing from Spotify. It was there up until just recently ... what happened?
DE LA SOUL - Me, Myself & I
This hip hop classic was (and this is one juicy bit of trivia) the first top 40 hit not to be available as a 7" vinyl single since the introduction of that format. You could buy a 12" vinyl single containing the remixes. Or you could buy it on cassette single or maxi-single.
