Music Virgins No More

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Music Virgins No More

A podcast based on the pre-pubescent memories of Top 40 radio between 1979–1982.

03/03/2025

Co-host John delivered the London Free Press for eight years from ages 8 to 16. It was during this time every Friday that he first noticed the Top 10 lists by RPM Magazine (Canada's version of the USA's Billboard Magazine). Pictured is the August 22, 1980, full page of the Entertainment section. The following day, John began his own music charts that ran for an incredible 106 weeks!

What are your favourites from August 1980?

27/02/2025

An incredible 43 years ago, co-host John compiled weekly Chart #80 (of 106 or 75% he ultimately created)! The interesting aspect of the Singles rankings was over the next three weeks there would be three different songs holding down #1: "Tonight I'm Yours" concludes a four-week run this week; "Love Is Like A Rock" the Rod Conqueror for a single week - one of only four songs staying on the top for only a week; then being dethroned by "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" that would remain in the #1 position for the following eight weeks!

What are your favourites?

14/02/2025

Happy Valentine's Day! ♥️ A check of co-host John's weekly music charts reveals only 11 songs had the word "love" in the title . . . including Eddie Money's "I Think I'm In Love" which was the final #1 single on Chart #106 on August 28, 1982! What is your favourite love song?

1. Cliff Richard - A Little In Love
2. Air Supply - All Out Of Love
3. Huey Lewis & The News - Do You Believe In Love?
4. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - I Love Rock & Roll
5. Meat Loaf - I'm Gonna Love Her For Both Of Us
6. Rick Springfield - Love Is Alright Tonight
7. Donnie Iris - Love Is Like A Rock
8. Billy Squier - My Kind Of Lover
9. Soft Cell - Tainted Love
10. Roger Daltry - Without Your Love
11. Eddie Money - Think I’m In Love

30/01/2025

Just a few of the books co-host John bought in the early 1980s as a teenager slowly discovering Paul McCartney and Wings … his #1 group on Chart #1! Stay tuned for the podcast’s launch 🚀 date soon!

28/01/2025

Like physical books vs. eBooks ... there’s no comparison to holding and singing along to the lyrics included in the gate fold or record sleeve of an LP, like U2’s WAR.

23/01/2025

This week ending January 23, 1982 - 43 years ago! - these were the tunes co-host John was spinning on his bedroom record player! Of note: Although it was a quiet week on the Albums chart there was a lot of movement on the Singles chart, including a new #1 - "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell. The previous week's runner-up ("Working For The Weekend" by Loverboy) could not take over the top spot. Unfortunately, this week's #2 ("Harden My Heart" by Quarterflash) was destined for the same fate! However, they were in good company, as over 106 weeks a total of 24 songs only reached #2, including two more by Loverboy, and two by Queen! What are your favourites today?

Editing of the new podcast episodes is coming along and we hope to have a launch date soon! Stay tuned!

15/01/2025

As editing continues on the podcast episodes, be warned that co-host John does a lot of the talking. 😱😀🤣 Getting there!

09/01/2025

Great News: The Podcast is in the final editing stages and will be ready for your listening enjoyment by late Spring (or sooner). Recently, co-host John prompted an A.I. Image Generator to create nine pictures of him when he was 14, making up 106 weekly music charts alone in his childhood bedroom on his portable typewriter. Here are the crazy results. As co-host Jason commented, "It's like they were there!"

07/01/2025

For the week ending January 9, 1982, co-host John’s #1 Single would be the Best Selling Digital Track from the 20th Century: Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” which remained in the top spot for the fourth (of five) consecutive weeks. During this run three songs couldn’t manage to dethrone Journey: “Take Off” (Bob & Doug McKenzie), “Under Pressure” (Queen), and “Working For The Weekend” (Loverboy). However, one of the three new debut songs would topple Journey on January 23rd.

On the Albums chart, Foreigner’s “4” remained in the top spot with little movement below it. Of note: the album bumped out of the Top 10 was AC/DC’s “For Those About To Rock” after only three weeks. This was quite surprising when you consider that two weeks earlier the band’s previous two LPs ended the 1981 year-end chart at #3 - “Back In Black” and #4 – “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”.

What were your favourites?

01/01/2025

To start off 2025, we look back at co-host John’s 1985 year-end Singles and Album lists. Here is what he was listening to 40 years ago … some classics, some not-so classics now! What are your favourites?

#1985

12/12/2024

🤘

11/12/2024

To answer Monday's Pop Quiz . . . here were co-host John's Top Singles for 1980! A great playlist to create 44 years down the road!

10/12/2024

Monday POP Quiz: Can you put these songs in the same Top 5 spots co-host John did for his 1980 year-end chart? The answer will be posted tomorrow. Leave your guesses in the comment section below!

a) Another Brick In The Wall (Pt II) - Pink Floyd
b) Call Me - Blondie
c) Another One Bites The Dust - Queen
d) Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Queen
e) It's Still Rock And Roll To Me - Billy Joel

01/11/2024

43 years ago this week these were the songs and albums co-host John was spinning on his bedroom turntable. Chart #63 is significant for another reason. Here is John to explain:

“I had always been a fan of the group Foreigner via my older brother’s record collection. When their fourth album was released, I loved the first single, “Urgent“ and soon purchased the new LP simply titled, “4”. Unfortunately for them that same week two other highly anticipated albums were released: Meat Loaf’s “Dead Ringer” and ELO’s concept album, “Time” that both entered higher on my album chart. Meat Loaf’s follow up to “Bat Out Of Hell” quickly hit number one in its second week and soon after, Foreigner was stuck at number #2 for five straight weeks. However, during the final week of October Lou Gramm and Co. finally took over the top spot and remained there for the following 20 weeks! It would turn out to be my #1 album of 1981, and land at #2 at the end of the decade behind, “Born In The USA” by Bruce Springsteen.

Last month Foreigner was finally elected into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame!”

What are your favourites from these charts? Leave a comment below and have a rocking great day! Foreigner

09/10/2024

An amazing 44 years ago today, co-host John’s Week #8 (of 106) chart(s) revealed little movement. Here’s is what he remembers about that time:

“Looking back I’m still curious about Pat Benatar’s single, You Better Run, the lead single off her album, Crimes Of Passion, which would go no higher than #6 on my chart. For trivia buffs: the song was the second video aired on MTV in 1981 after Video Killed The Radio Star by The Buggles. I had been a huge fan of her first album, In The Heat Of The Night, with the songs Heartbreaker and I Need A Lover. As a 13-year-old boy, I was also a big admirer of the cover, although my minister dad wasn’t. One night as I was doing homework he saw the album propped up on my desk and asked, “Who is that hussy?” As for Crimes Of Passion, I remember first seeing it in a store while on a family trip in the USA – the cover was a bit tamer. I’m not 100% sure, but I think I bought it and smuggled it across the border when the vacation was over. Now you would think with all the publicity surrounding the release of You Better Run – her first album was still very high in the charts and the video was being prominently played on the new music channel – the song would have charted higher than #42 on Billboard and #76 on Canada’s RPM Magazine charts. It was her next single that would become her signature song for decades to come: Hit Me With Your Best Shot written by Toronto’s own, Eddie Schwartz.

06/09/2024

An amazing 44 years ago, co-host John was on Chart #3 (of 106) of his personal favourite singles and groups. The Top 15 songs remain as awesome today in 2024 as they did in 1980! One song that is of particular interest debuted at #13. Here's John to tell the story:

Entering at #13 was Paul Simon’s 'Late In The Evening' – a story-song of this happy-go-lucky guy’s life with music. First, he’s a baby when he hears a radio playing in another room and his mother laugh, 'the way some ladies do.' Next, he’s older out on the street with his boys and hears music coming from a pool hall. As a listener I’m with him; he’s having a great time with his friends and 'all the girls out on the stoops' . . . but then he confused me with the next verse:

Then I learned to play some lead guitar
I was underage in this funky bar
And I stepped outside to smoke myself a "J"

Smoke myself a “J”?

I’ll admit I was a sheltered 14-year-old preacher's kid and had ZERO idea what the line meant. It would be years later until I figured out he was singing about smoking a joint in some back alley!

Have a great weekend!

30/08/2024

This week in music history from August 1980! Co-host John's Chart #2 (of 106) had Queen's "Play The Game" still in the top spot. Elsewhere, The Rolling Stones' "Emotional Rescue" was #1 on Canada's RPM Magazine's national chart, on London's CJBK, and on Toronto's powerhouse CHUM. In the USA, Christopher Cross' "Sailing" hit #1 for a single week - Diana Ross' "Upside Down" took over the following week. What are your favourites from 44 years ago?

21/08/2024

What a difference 43 years makes! In 1981 co-host John attended his first concert - The Monks - at Centennial Hall in London, ON. He recalls smuggling in a camera that he was TERRIFIED security would confiscate when he snapped two quick pictures. Last week, he went to see The Struts and like everyone else in the sold-out crowd took numerous photos (and video) on their cell phones throughout the show. And when we say 'numerous' . . . in John's case it was apparently 1900 action pics! Here are a few for your viewing pleasure - the surviving Monks shots and a couple of The Struts!

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http://johnschlarbaum.com/podcast/

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For the week of January 26, 1980, Canada had a new #1 single titled, “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugar Hill Gang. Co-host John was 13 and delivering the London Free Press. On Fridays it printed RPM Magazine’s national Top 10 albums and singles, which John would cut out for future reference. Although he’d never heard the song that had incredibly jumped from #10 to #1, John knew he had to have it for his growing record collection. Within days John’s minister father picked up the 45 in the city and it was soon being played regularly. John immediately liked the song, obviously not understanding its cultural significance at the time. For those wondering what a young John would look like trying to decipher the (then) RAPid lyrics, we present this short video … and apologize to the Sugar Hill Gang in advance! Enjoy and have a fantastic day! #1 #podcastlife #recordcollection #love #music #podcaster #podcasting #podcastersofinstagram #podcasts #1 #nostalgic #funny #funnyvideos #records

Kids these days with their fancy music streaming services don’t know the hypnotic entertainment of staring endlessly at this album’s ultra cool laser etched LP. Have a rocking day!

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