RPM was a Canadian magazine that published the best-performing singles of Canada from 1964 to 2000. In 1986, forty-one songs peaked at number one on the magazine's chart. Lionel Richie's "Say You, Say Me" was the first chart-topper of the year while Bruce Hornsby and the Range stayed at number one into 1987 with "The Way It Is". Only twelve musical acts had peaked at number one in Canada before this year: Lionel Richie, Corey Hart, Billy Ocean, Mr. Mister, Starship, Madonna, George Michael, Huey Lewis and the News, Cyndi Lauper, The Human League, and Elton John and Stevie Wonder (credited as "Friends" on "That's What Friends Are For").
Two Canadian acts—Corey Hart and Glass Tiger—reached number one during 1986, and four singers peaked atop the chart with multiple singles: Whitney Houston, Billy Ocean, Madonna, and Peter Cetera. Of these four, Madonna attained both the most number-one hits (three) and the highest total of weeks at number one (five). Cetera spent three weeks at number one while Houston and Ocean each topped the chart for two weeks. The best-performing record of the year was "The Power of Love" by American singer Jennifer Rush, which topped the listing on the issues of 29 April and 3 May. Besides Houston, Ocean, and Rush, the other acts that peaked atop the magazine's chart for more than one week were Lionel Richie, Mr. Mister, Glass Tiger, Patti LaBelle, Michael McDonald, Peter Gabriel, Timex Social Club, and Chris de Burgh.
+Key Indicates best-performing single of 1986
Chart history
Issue dateSongArtistReference4 January"Say You, Say Me"Lionel Richie11 January18 January"Everything in My Heart"Corey Hart25 January"That's What Friends Are For"Dionne Warwick and Friends1 February"Rock Me Amadeus"Falco8 February"I Miss You"Klymaxx15 February"When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going"Billy Ocean22 February"Conga"Miami Sound Machine1 March"How Will I Know"Whitney Houston8 March"Kyrie"Mr. Mister15 March22 March"Sara"Starship29 March"Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)"Glass Tiger5 April12 April"Secret Lovers"Atlantic Starr19 April"Bop"Dan Seals26 April"The Power of Love"Jennifer Rush3 May10 May"Let's Go All the Way"Sly Fox17 May"West End Girls"Pet Shop Boys24 May"Live to Tell"Madonna31 May7 June"Greatest Love of All"Whitney Houston14 June"A Different Corner"George Michael21 June"On My Own"Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald28 June5 July"There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)"Billy Ocean12 July"I Can't Wait"Nu Shooz19 July"Who's Johnny"El DeBarge26 July"Sledgehammer"Peter Gabriel2 August9 August"Papa Don't Preach"Madonna16 August23 August"Glory of Love"Peter Cetera30 August6 September"Mad About You"Belinda Carlisle13 September"Higher Love"Steve Winwood20 September"Friends and Lovers"Gloria Loring and Carl Anderson27 September"Stuck with You"Huey Lewis and the News4 October"Rumors"Timex Social Club11 October18 October"Spirit in the Sky"Doctor and the Medics25 October"The Lady in Red"Chris de Burgh1 November8 November"True Colors"Cyndi Lauper15 November"Human"The Human League22 November"True Blue"Madonna29 November"Two of Hearts"Stacey Q6 December"Amanda"Boston13 December"The Next Time I Fall"Peter Cetera and Amy Grant20 December"Stand by Me"Ben E. King27 December"The Way It Is"Bruce Hornsby and the Range
Notes
See also 1986 in music List of number-one albums of 1986 (Canada) List of RPM number-one adult contemporary singles of 1986 List of RPM number-one country singles of 1986 List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1986 List of Cash Box Top 100 number-one singles of 1986
References
External links Read about RPM Magazine at the AV Trust Search RPM charts here at Library and Archives Canada