RPM was a Canadian magazine that published the best-performing singles of Canada from 1964 to 2000. Twenty-five singles peak atop the RPM Singles Chart in 1988. "Faith" by George Michael held the top position from 1987 into 1988, and Chicago achieved the final number-one hit of the year with "Look Away". Eight musical acts peaked at number one in Canada for the first time this year: MARRS, Rick Astley, Terence Trent D'Arby, Midnight Oil, INXS, Cheap Trick, Tracy Chapman, and Bobby McFerrin. No Canadian acts topped the chart this year.
1988 was a successful year for British musical acts in Canada. Trinidadian-English singer Billy Ocean had the most successful single of the year with "Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car", which topped the chart for four weeks in April. However, it was George Michael who picked up the most number-one singles in 1988, topping the RPM Singles Chart with "Faith", "One More Try", "Monkey", and "Kissing a Fool". In total, Michael stayed at the summit for seven weeks. Meanwhile, a third English singer, Rick Astley, accumulated eight weeks at number one with three hits: "Never Gonna Give You Up", "Together Forever", and "It Would Take a Strong Strong Man", the most out of any artist during the year.
Along with "Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car" and "Together Forever", "Desire" by Irish band U2 was the joint-longest-running number-one track of 1988, staying at the top for four weeks in November and December. George Harrison, Tiffany, M|A|R|R|S, Elton John, and Phil Collins all stayed at number one for three weeks with their sole 1988 number ones. This year, only two female acts obtained a number-one hit: Tiffany and Tracy Chapman.
+Key Indicates best-performing single of 1988
Chart history
Issue dateSongArtistReference2 January"Faith"George Michael9 January16 January"Got My Mind Set on You"George Harrison23 January30 January6 February"Could've Been"Tiffany13 February20 February27 February"Pump Up the Volume"MARRS5 March12 March19 March"Never Gonna Give You Up"Rick Astley26 March2 April9 April"Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car"Billy Ocean16 April23 April30 April7 May"Wishing Well"Terence Trent D'Arby14 May21 May"Always on My Mind"Pet Shop Boys28 May4 June"Beds Are Burning"Midnight Oil11 June"One More Try"George Michael18 June25 June"Together Forever"Rick Astley2 July9 July16 July23 July"New Sensation"INXS30 July"The Flame"Cheap Trick6 August"Roll with It"Steve Winwood13 August"I Don't Wanna Go On with You Like That"Elton John20 August27 August3 September"Fast Car"Tracy Chapman10 September"Perfect World"Huey Lewis and the News17 September"Monkey"George Michael24 September1 October"It Would Take a Strong Strong Man"Rick Astley8 October"One Good Woman"Peter Cetera15 October"Don't Worry, Be Happy"Bobby McFerrin22 October29 October"A Groovy Kind of Love"Phil Collins5 November12 November19 November"Desire"U226 November3 December10 December17 December"Kissing a Fool"George Michael24 December"Look Away"Chicago31 December
Notes
See also 1988 in music
List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 1988
References
External links Read about RPM Magazine at the AV Trust Search RPM charts here at Library and Archives Canada