The Number One Hits of 1988

A few days ago, I posted a song from 1888, which was one of the earliest recordings of music EVER recorded on record. In this video, we get to hear what recorded music sounded like 100 years later in 1988. Wow!! What a difference!! It's incredible that 100 years earlier, the idea of recording sound onto a record was a completely new possibility. For years there were very few recordings. And then there were more and more, and eventually it was possible that one song could quickly be copied onto hundreds and thousands of record albums. 

Over the next 100 years, music would also be recorded on 45s, reel to reels, cassette tapes, 8-tracks, and eventually CDs. Compact Discs were just beginning to grow in popularity about 100 years after the first ever recording of music. I remember the first ones sold in stores came in long cardboard boxes.

Before the possibility of recorded music, the average person probably didn't know nearly as many songs as we know today. Thanks to Thomas Edison's invention of the record, people were able to expand the music library in their mind (as well as having their own music library in their home).

I was a teenager in 1988. Music was a huge part of my life (it still is, but as a teenager, I was even more obsessed). When I think about it, it's awesome that the mind has the ability to retain so many songs in its memory. I remember every single song in this video, and, some of these songs reminds me of certain people or events in my teen years. How can music be that powerful? During our school years we take so many history classes and I forget so many years for historical events. I even forget names. But, music I never forget. 

This must have been the year I was really getting into going to concerts, because I saw some of the bands / singers in this video on tour that year when they came to Dallas: INXS, George Michael, Debbie Gibson, and Guns N Roses. INXS and Guns N Roses were at the same concert. Isn't that wild? I was an INXS fan, not a Guns N Roses fan, but by the time Guns N Roses played that night, I loved them too. "Sweet Child of Mine" is one of the funnest songs you can sing with friends in a car. 

George Michael was a huge crush of mine. I had no idea he was gay. I remember years later when I was at the end of my teen years, a gay friend of mine tried to convince me that George Michael was gay. Someone he was friends with knew George Michael and knew FER SURE that he was gay. I was sure he was wrong. How could a man that sang to every woman in America "I will be your father figure...." and "I want your sex..." be gay?Well, years later I found out that indeed he is gay. My gaydar didn't work on George Michael. I still love every bit of music from that album in 1988. My crush is gone, but I still like him as a musician and nice guy.

When you see Michael Jackson in this video, isn't it hard to believe that he is gone? That's still hard for me to believe. Makes my heart sink whenever I think of it.

1988 was the year everyone mixed up Tiffany and Debbie Gibson. Teenagers who were willing to admit that they liked soft pop music still often felt like they had to choose one or the other to be a fan of, as if they were on separate teams. I chose Debbie Gibson. I remember the concert was at Six Flags. Times Two opened up for her. Debbie Gibson and I were both wearing biker shorts and mini skirts. Out of the Blue! ;-)

Here's a list of the songs in the video:

32 songs hit #1 in 1988. Here are the number ones, featuring their music videos:

January 9 - "So Emotional" - Whitney Houston
January 16 - "Got My Mind Set on You" - George Harrison
January 23 - "The Way You Make Me Feel" - Michael Jackson
January 30 - "Need You Tonight" - INXS
February 6 - "Could've Been" - TlFFANY
February 20 - "Seasons Change" - Exposé
February 27 - "Father Figure" - George Michael
March 12 - "Never Gonna Give You Up" - Rick Astley
March 26 - "Man in the Mirror" - Michael Jackson
April 9 - "Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car" - Billy Ocean
April 23 - "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" - Whitney Houston
May 7 - "Wishing Well" - Terence Trent D'Arby
May 14 - "Anything for You" - Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine
May 28 - "One More Try" - George Michael
June 18 - "Together Forever" - Rick Astley
June 25 - "F00LlSH BEAT" - DEBBlE GlBS0N
July 2 - "Dirty Diana" - Michael Jackson
July 9 - "The Flame" - Cheap Trick
July 23 - "Hold on to the Nights" - Richard Marx
July 30 - "Roll With It" - Steve Winwood
August 27 - "Monkey" - George Michael
September 10 - "Sweet Child o' Mine" - Guns N' Roses
September 24 - "Don't Worry, Be Happy" - Bobby McFerrin
October 8 - "Love Bites" - Def Leppard
October 15 - "Red Red Wine" - UB40
October 22 - "Groovy Kind of Love" - Phil Collins
November 5 - "Kokomo" - The Beach Boys
November 12 - "Wild, Wild West" - The Escape Club
November 19 - "Bad Medicine" - B0N J0VI
December 3 - "Baby, I Love Your Way / Freebird Medley" - Will to Power
December 10 - "Look Away" - Chicago
December 24 - "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" - Poison

Each of these songs topped the charts in the U.S.

Thank you to idolwatcher0 for posting this 1988 number 1 hits video on YouTube! And thank you to all these musicians for making my teen years so much fun!