Air Supply "Lost in Love"

You wouldn't expect someone who was considered popular in school to be a fan of the soft rock group Air Supply, yet that perfectly summed up my brother. Our family's summer vacation in 1990 included a trek to Walt Disney World in Florida, but my brother wanted to skip the entire vacation in order to see his beloved Air Supply at a nearby food and music festival in Hammond, Indiana. Despite his protests, my dad ruled that my brother couldn't stay home to see the band famous for singing "Lost in Love". While in Florida, my brother exacted revenge on our eardrums by recording a karaoke version of Kenny Rogers' "Lady".

Bruce Willis "Respect Yourself"

The year 1987 not only saw actor Patrick Swayze transition from actor to singer with "She's Like The Wind", but Bruce Willis also turned up with a hit song on the radio. The star of Moonlighting released an album that contained a remake of "Under the Boardwalk" as well as The Staple Singers' "Respect Yourself". "Under The Boardwalk" was a minor hit, but "Respect Yourself" (which featured The Pointer Sisters) became into a Top 5 hit on the Hot 100.

The Righteous Brothers "Unchained Melody"

How did a popular song from 1965 return to the charts in 1990?  You can thank Demi Moore, Patrick Swayze and the movie Ghost.  The movie's soundtrack put the love song back on the radio and even induced The Righteous Brothers to record an updated version of the tune.  "Unchained Melody" topped the Adult Contemporary Chart for two weeks during the summer of 1990.  Ditto.

Patrick Swayze - "She's Like The Wind"

Most 80's movies featured soundtracks loaded with radio-ready pop songs, and the "Dirty Dancing" soundtrack was no exception.  It spawned three big hits during the summer of 1987 including a song from Patrick Swayze, one of the movie's lead characters.  Swayze originally wrote "She's Like The Wind" for the 1984 movie "Grandview, USA", but it was never used.  He dusted off the song and presented it to the "Dirty Dancing" producers who liked it and included it in their film's soundtrack.  The song shot to #1 on the Adult Contemporary charts and received increased airplay following Swayze's 2009 death.