"Did I Hear You Say You Love Me" by Stevie Wonder

Born Steveland Morris in Michigan, Stevie Wonder started off his illustrious career in music in 1962. Billed as "Little Stevie Wonder," he was only 13 at the time of his first hit. Wonder has been racking up chart hits since the early 60s, scoring #1 smashes in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. In addition to countless awards and honors, he is ranked as the 6th most successful chart artist of all-time.

Wonder has amassed nine #1 hits, his most successful being a duet with Paul McCartney: 1982's "Ebony And Ivory" stayed at the top for seven weeks. His first #1 goes back to 1963 when "Fingertips - Pt 2" hit the top spot and secured a place in the R&R Hall of Fame. Wonder himself was inducted in 1989. His final #1 was in 1985 when "Part-Time Lover" claimed the top spot. His final Top 10 was the follow-up single, "Go Home," which hit #10.

Wonder maintained a bit of a chart presence in the 90s with songs like "Gotta Have You" and "For Your Love," which reached #92 and #53, respectively. "For Your Love" earned him two more Grammys. His final chart appearance was in 2005 when "So What The Fuss" peaked at #96, a song that also featured En Vogue and Prince. With that song, Wonder became one of the elite artists to have had a charting single for 5 decades in a row.

"Did I Hear You Say You Love Me" is a hidden gem in his catalogue that kicks off his 1980 release, "Hotter Than July."

"Onedayi'mgonnabesomebody" by The Time

The Time were a funky dance pop group from the 80s that most people remember from Prince's hit film, Purple Rain. Led by Morris Day, the group featured a boatload of talent that included Jesse Johnson and Jellybean, as well as Jimmy "Jam" Harris and Terry Lewis (who wrote many hits for others including Janet Jackson).

Despite this unusual concentration of talent, The Time only scored a few chart hits, including "Jungle Love" (#20), "The Bird" (#36), both of which were featured in Purple Rain, and "Jerk-Out" (#9) in 1990.

"Onedayi'mgonnabesomebody" captures that early 80s Minneapolis funk sound and could easily be mistaken for a lost Prince track. It comes from their 1982 album, "What Time Is It?"

"I'd Rather Go To Jail" by Mitch Ryder

Mitch Ryder and his band, The Detroit Wheels, tore up the late 60s with their garage rock and soul combination. Big ones included the Top 10 hits "Jenny Take A Ride!" (#10), "Devil With A Blue Dress On & Good Golly Miss Molly" (#4), and "Sock It To Me-Baby!" (#6).

Their fiery sound was never more evident than on "I'd Rather Go To Jail." This song from 1967 did not chart, but finds the band on top form. Their last chart appearance of the 60s was "(You've Got) Personality And Chantilly Lace," which stalled at #88 in 1968. But under the moniker Detroit, Ryder scored a minor comeback hit in 1983 when "When You Were Mine" (written by Prince) reached #87. 

"The One U Wanna C" by Prince

Prince had an extraordinary run on the charts, particularly through the 80s. He was the second most successful chart artist of the decade (second to Michael Jackson) and the top artist of 1984. There are too many classic hits to mention, but his #1's included "When Doves Cry," "Let's Go Crazy," "Kiss," "Batdance," and "Cream."

There's really no good reason why he suddenly fell out of fashion after his last big hit in 1994, when "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World" topped out at #3. Consider, for example, his underrated 2007 album, "Planet Earth." Filled with goodies like "Guitar," "Resolution," and this one, it should have been a big comeback for the versatile artist.

Prince passed away in 2016 at the age of 57 from accidental drug overdose.

"No Man's Woman" by Sinead O'Connor

Sinead O'Connor, the Irish siren who rose to fame with her breathtaking rendition of Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U" in 1990, has become more famous for her bizarre antics than her brilliant voice and powerful songwriting. 

Turns out, O'Connor was prescient about a lot of things, but people don't like to hear inconvenient truths. At the height of her fame in 1992, she ripped up a picture of the Pope in protest over child sex scandals during her performance on Saturday Night Live. She always kept her head shaved and championed women's rights. She sang about black lives matter decades before it became a mantra. She even got Frank Sinatra to threaten to "kick her in the ass" when she didn't want the National Anthem played before her performance. O'Connor said controversial things, got people talking, and challenged our most sacred institutions. You can't get more rock and roll than that!

O'Connor only managed one other chart appearance in the US before being ostracized into undeserved musical Purgatory. The follow-up to "Nothing Compares 2 U, " which spent 4 weeks at #1, was "The Emperor's New Clothes." It stalled at #60 in 1990. Both came from the best-selling album, "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got," which could have been mined for more hits with emotive tunes like "Three Babies" or "The Last Day Of Our Acquaintance." Prior to her commercial success, rocking songs like "Mandinka" and "I Want Your (Hands On Me)" should have been hits, too.

O'Connor followed "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got" in 1992 with "Am I Not Your Girl?" A great title, but I misguided collection of vocal standards that - while sung to blazes - are not particularly radio-friendly. But that's never really been this artist's goal. Nonetheless, it was surprising to me that O'Connor did not experience a big comeback in 2000 with the excellent and accessible record, "Faith And Courage." "No Man's Woman" is an anthem that should have burned up the chart.

"So Far So Good" by Sheena Easton

Sheena Easton woke up the 80s with her housewife anthem, "Morning Train (Nine To Five)". The song chugged right to #1 in early 1981. Her charting career lasted a solid decade, ending in 1991 with "What Comes Naturally" hitting #19.

Easton nearly hit the top twice more in 1987 and 1988. She had two consecutive #2 hits, her duet with Prince ("U Got The Look") and the Babyface penned "The Lover In Me".

Two songs that I think should have been bigger hits for Easton include her take on the Martha Reeves & the Vandellas song "Jimmy Mack" and this one, "So Far So Good". "So Far So Good" is a quintessential 80s tune that Easton contributed to the soundtrack of the 1986 film About Last Night. 
  

"Kelly's Eyes" by André Cymone

André Cymone played bass for Prince until striking out on a solo career in 1981 with his debut, "Living' In The New Wave". The album didn't chart, but it contained one of his best known songs, "Kelly's Eyes", which bubbled under at #107 in 1983.

After two other albums, "Survivin' in the 80's" (which reached #185) and "A.C." (which reached #121), Cymone maintained a successful career writing and producing songs for his wife, Jody Watley, and several other well-known artists.

He reignited his solo career with a new album called "The Stone" in 2014.

Prince (RIP)

I never dreamed I'd be writing a RIP tribute for Prince in 2016. The extraordinary songwriter and performer passed away on April 21 at the age of 57. In addition to his own impressive list of hits, he had written many more for other artists, including The Bangles, Sinead O'Connor, Cyndi Lauper, and Chaka Khan.

Prince was second only to Michael Jackson in being the most successful artist in the 80s, and also ranked #12 of the most successful in the 90s (Joel Whitburn, Top Pop Singles). His biggest hits included "When Doves Cry", "Let's Go Crazy", "Cream", "Kiss", and "Batdance", all of which went to #1 on the charts.

In remembrance, here is Prince at his finest, performing his smash hit "Purple Rain", which went to #2 in 1984.