Music Charts Archive

Weekly national charts, as the trade papers printed them

When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going

69 chart weeks across 4 charts, peaking at No. 1
Chart Peak Weeks Bulleted Run
Billboard Hot 100 2 23 12 11/30/85 – 5/3/86
R&R Adult Contemporary 2 14 10 12/6/85 – 3/14/86
R&R CHR / Top 40 1 13 8 12/6/85 – 3/7/86
Billboard R&B Singles 6 19 11 12/7/85 – 4/12/86

Billboard Hot 100

23 weeks, 11/30/85 to 5/3/86. Each column is a published week — click one for that chart.

R&R Adult Contemporary

14 weeks, 12/6/85 to 3/14/86. Each column is a published week — click one for that chart.

R&R CHR / Top 40

13 weeks, 12/6/85 to 3/7/86. Each column is a published week — click one for that chart.

Billboard R&B Singles

19 weeks, 12/7/85 to 4/12/86. Each column is a published week — click one for that chart.

Tallest is No. 1, and the height is scaled by how many places the chart ran to that week, so No. 30 on a top-30 is the floor and No. 30 on a top-50 is the middle. A green column is a bulleted week — on the airplay charts, airplay gained; on the Hot 100, among the week’s greatest airplay and sales gains — which is not the same as a rise, so a green column can sit lower than the one before it. Weeks at the peak carry their position in red. A run longer than the page scrolls sideways; no week is left out of the drawing.