3 Top 40 Hits From 1984 That Every 80s Kid Still Knows by Heart Today

The music throughout all of the 1980s will forever be timeless. The entire decade is full of great music, including these three Top 40 hits from 1984. They are all so good that almost every 80s kid likely still knows them by heart today.

“Leave A Tender Moment Alone” by Billy Joel

Billy Joel had plenty of Top 40 hits throughout the 1980s, including “Leave A Tender Moment Alone”. The song is part of Joel’s An Innocent Man album. Joel wrote all of the songs on An Innocent Man by himself, including “Leave A Tender Moment Alone”. 

“Leave A Tender Moment Alone” says, “But if that’s how I feel / Then it’s the best feeling I’ve ever known / It’s undeniably real / Leave a tender moment alone.”

Although “Leave A Tender Moment” remains a fan favorite, the song did not do as well as some of the other songs from An Innocent Man. The project starts with “Tell Her About It”, Joel’s second No. 1 single.

“Breakdance” by Irene Cara

Irene Cara is, of course, best known for singing “Flashdance… What a Feeling”, the title track of the hit 1983 Flashdance film. But Cara did have a few other successful singles, including “Breakdance”. The song, written by Cara along with Giorgio Moroder and Bunny Hull, is part of her sophomore album, What A Feelin’.

A song about the popular dance craze of the 1980s, “Breakdance” says, “Down by the corner, I keep getting the heat / Then my feet start moving to the rhythmic beat / Breakdancing, break out / Breakdancing, break out.”

“I grew up in neighborhoods where the kids basically pioneered hip-hop dancing and breakdancing,” Cara later told Songwriter Universe. “I lived in neighborhoods where kids were spinning on their heads on cardboard boards right in front of my building. So it wasn’t just me writing about something that was a fad…it was me writing about something that I lived through.”

“Breakdance” was Cara’s final hit single.

“Hello Again” by The Cars

The Cars’ “Hello Again” single is part of their Heartbeat City album. Band member Ric Ocasek is the sole writer of “Hello Again”.

“Hello Again” starts with, “Hello, hello again / Hello, hello again / You might have forgot / The journey ends / You tied your knots You made your friends.”

Heartbeat City is one of The Cars’ most successful albums. The record also includes “You Might Think”, “Magic”, and “Drive”, all big hits for The Cars. In 1987, The Cars had their last Top 40 single with “You Are The Girl”.

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