The four songs that spent the most weeks in the top 10 in 1979
If the atmosphere in the early 1970s was a mix of residual counterculture optimism and newfound uncertainty, the vibe at the end was a different kind of mix – one of high energy and distraction to drown out the fact that the world was even more fractured than before.
At the start of the decade, few singer-songwriters were leading the charge and proving that uncertainty breeds some of the best kinds of art. Joni Mitchell’s Blue was the most obvious example of this, as was Carole King’s Tapestry – both of which proved that personal experience, intimacy, and exposing all of your insecurities in love and life were the defining pillars of the new movement.
As the years went by, more artists grew more comfortable with exploring different territories. While the start of the decade proved a little rocky in some genres, the end exploded with a vibrant array of mixed styles and sensibilities, the perfect soundtrack to a period of time that had arguably become even more uncertain than the years before.
Naturally, this unrest also birthed some of our best standalone musical genres and movements, too, like punk – The Clash, Sex Pistols, the Ramones, and more all spearheaded the fight for a better, more just society with music that was commanding, oftentimes aggressive, and filled with politically leaning lyrics to call attention to everything the generational youth were unwillingly subjected to at the time.
The four songs that spent the most weeks in the top ten in 1979
By 1979, it was clear that this innovative diversity was here to stay. After all, when you look at those who spent the most weeks at the top of the charts, it’s quite surprising that a few of them come from completely different ends of the spectrum.
For instance, the song that spent the most weeks in the top ten was Art Garfunkel’s ‘Bright Eyes’, with nine weeks in the top ten and six at number one. Second place couldn’t have held a more different atmosphere, with Blondie’s disco smash ‘Heart of Glass’ vying for Garfunkel’s position, followed by Cliff Richard’s ‘We Don’t Talk Anymore’ and The Boomtown Rats’ ‘I Don’t Like Mondays’.
Blondie’s milestone was especially telling of the new era, much to the displeasure of some of the more loyal fans and musicians in the more traditional rock spaces. Hotwiring off the explosion of disco, ‘Heart of Glass’ was the perfect marriage of all of the sonic elements that hooked the masses in, with a catchy pop-leaning melody and the perfect kind of infectious rhythm for nightclub communities.
Funnily enough, they didn’t release the song to make any broader, sweeping statement. Rather, Debbie Harry and Chris Stein needed something that felt a little different in the broader mix on Parallel Lines, and this heart-pounding disco number seemed like the perfect stand-in. As we now know, however, it ended up sparking a dominant trend towards the more energetic, bouncy rhythms in mainstream music.
However, over in rock, many major players were still pioneering it into the new era, with Pink Floyd’s The Wall becoming the biggest-selling rock record of the year. Clearly, therefore, all kinds of music had the chance to do well in ‘79, so long as it was good and actually had something meaningful to say.
