Favorite Songs of 1982

Caveat: If you reach this entry through a search engine while looking for some audio files or a comprehensive review of the year's music, I feel that it's only fair to let you know that I'm just going over the songs that I personally liked the very most from 1982 (as I lived through it then). So chances are that some or all of your favorites may not even be mentioned here!

1982 was a year full of memorable songs for me. Vangelis had his stirring monument to the noble and apparently dying institution of amateur sports with Chariots of Fire. My favorite Kenny Rogers song came out this year: his sweet Love Will Turn You Around. Journey's slow, mellow Still They Ride, although not one of their greatest hits, was still my favorite of theirs. Soft Cell's only major hit, Tainted Love, was a classic nevertheless (and extremely funny, intentionally or not). Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes teamed up to produce the beautiful love song Up Where We Belong. Dancer Toni Basil had her only big hit with her bubble gum/cheerleading tribute Mickey. My favorite Toto tune, Africa, came out late in the year, as did Men At Work's "geographical" contribution: Down Under (about Australia). The Who made their comeback after drummer Keith Moon's death with their emotional, happy You Better You Bet. Gypsy was another great Stevie Nicks song done under the banner of Fleetwood Mac. 1982 was the year I became aware of former Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel when he came out with his "shocking" and interesting Shock the Monkey. Supertramp's last good song of any consequence was their sad It's Raining Again. Robert Plant started his post-Led Zeppelin solo career sounding just like his old band with Burning Down One Side. The Split Enz "got me" on their side with their I Got You. Pat Benatar's Promises in the Dark was an initially slow-then-speeding up song that left me breathless at the end. Paul McCartney' Take It Away was a rare contribution of his that I liked. Billy Joel's sociopolitically-themed Nylon Curtain, (in my opinion) his last great LP, contained three great tracks: Allentown, Goodnight Saigon, and Pressure, my third favorite song from 1982. The west coast new wave band Missing Persons, featuring singer Dale Bozzio, hit the big time this year with Words and Destination Unknown, my #2 song from 1982. And while I lived back then during that year, there was one song that I could never get enough of: Genesis's screaming, keyboard-intensive, long jam session: Abacab.