Music · Ranked by Billboard

Billboard Hot 100, July 29, 1989, the Top 20 Songs That Week

By

Bob and Kyle

List

20 songs

Video

2:54

Updated

October 31, 2026

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Prince's Batdance, Madonna's Express Yourself, Martika's Toy Soldiers and Bobby Brown's song from Ghostbusters II were all in the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 for July 29, 1989. Here's that week's top 20, counted down to #1.

The Billboard Hot 100 for July 29, 1989 has one song standing still and everything else on the move. 14 songs climbed, every one of them to its highest spot yet, and 5 fell.

It's been a busy month at the top of the chart. Four songs in this top 20 spent a week at the very top in July 1989, a new one each week, starting with Milli Vanilli's Baby Don't Forget My Number on July 1. So who has it this week?

Hot 100 #20 to #16, July 29, 1989, Two Recent #1s Slide

Two songs that were #1 this month are falling through the bottom of the top 20. Good Thing by Fine Young Cannibals dropped 9 places to #16, the biggest fall in the top 20, three weeks after it hit #1 on July 8. Milli Vanilli's Baby Don't Forget My Number fell 7 to #17, four weeks after it hit #1 on July 1.

Billboard Hot 100 July 29 1989, #20 to #16

This week	Song	Last week	Peak	Weeks on chart
20	Hey Baby Henry Lee Summer	21	20	11
19	I'm That Type Of Guy LL Cool J	22	19	8
18	Secret Rendezvous Karyn White	20	18	10
17	Baby Don't Forget My Number Milli Vanilli	10	1	14
16	Good Thing Fine Young Cannibals	7	1	13

The other three are climbing, and all three still had their best week ahead. Hey Baby by Henry Lee Summer and LL Cool J's I'm That Type Of Guy both came in from outside the top 20, to #20 and #19. Karyn White's Secret Rendezvous rose 2 to #18. It's one of two songs in this top 20 written by LA Reid, Babyface and D. Simmons, and the other one is at #5.

Hot 100 #15 to #11, July 29, 1989, Cold Hearted Climbs 6

Three songs in this stretch hit their all-time peak this week. Rod Stewart's Crazy About Her climbed 4 to #11, Roxette's Dressed For Success climbed 3 to #14, and Who Do You Give Your Love To? by Michael Morales edged up 1 to #15. None of the three got any higher. Michael Morales wrote and produced his song himself, and it's in its 14th week, tied with Baby Don't Forget My Number for the longest run in the top 20.

Billboard Hot 100 July 29 1989, #15 to #11

This week	Song	Last week	Peak	Weeks on chart
15	Who Do You Give Your Love To? Michael Morales	16	15	14
14	Dressed For Success Roxette	17	14	10
13	Cold Hearted Paula Abdul	19	13	6
12	What You Don't Know Expose	8	8	11
11	Crazy About Her Rod Stewart	15	11	12

Paula Abdul's Cold Hearted is the one with somewhere to go. It jumped 6 places to #13 in only its sixth week, and its best week was still five weeks off, on September 2, the latest peak date of any song here. Cold Hearted is certified Platinum. Exposé's What You Don't Know is headed the other way, down 4 to #12 after peaking at #8 on July 15.

Hot 100 #10 to #6, July 29, 1989, Richard Marx Jumps 8

Three songs cracked the top 10 this week. Right Here Waiting by Richard Marx made the biggest jump in the top 20, up 8 places to #10 in only its fourth week, and Marx wrote it himself. Dino's I Like It rose 4 to #9, and Great White's Once Bitten Twice Shy rose 3 to #8. All three had their best week two weeks later, on August 12.

Billboard Hot 100 July 29 1989, #10 to #6

This week	Song	Last week	Peak	Weeks on chart
10	Right Here Waiting Richard Marx	18	10	4
9	I Like It Dino	13	9	12
8	Once Bitten Twice Shy Great White	11	8	12
7	Lay Your Hands On Me Bon Jovi	9	7	9
6	If You Don't Know Me By Now Simply Red	3	1	13

Once Bitten Twice Shy and I Like It go back a ways. Both first charted the week of May 13, 1989, at #94 and #89. Further up, Bon Jovi's Lay Your Hands On Me climbed 2 to #7, its all-time peak, and Simply Red's If You Don't Know Me By Now, #1 on July 15, slipped 3 to #6. If you're picking one song in this stretch to keep climbing, it's Right Here Waiting, the newest song in the top 20 and the fastest riser.

Hot 100 #5 to #2, July 29, 1989, Batman and Ghostbusters II

Two movie songs sit in the top five, and both are climbing. Prince's Batdance, from Batman, moved up 2 to #2 in its seventh week, and Prince wrote and produced it. Bobby Brown's On Our Own, from Ghostbusters II, moved up 1 to #5. Both are certified Platinum, and both had their best week still ahead, on August 5.

Billboard Hot 100 July 29 1989, #5 to #2

This week	Song	Last week	Peak	Weeks on chart
5	On Our Own (From "Ghostbusters II") Bobby Brown	6	5	8
4	So Alive Love And Rockets	5	4	11
3	Express Yourself Madonna	2	2	9
2	Batdance (From "Batman") Prince	4	2	7

So Alive by Love And Rockets, up 1 to #4, has made the longest climb in the top 20, from a #94 debut on May 20. Madonna's Express Yourself is going the wrong way, down 1 to #3 after peaking at #2 on July 15. Express Yourself also had the highest debut of any song here, at #41 on June 3.

The #1 Song on July 29, 1989, Martika's Toy Soldiers

1. Toy Soldiers

Martika

Last week

1

Peak

1

Weeks on chart

11

Toy Soldiers by Martika held #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 dated July 29, 1989, its second week at the top. It debuted at #69 on May 20 and first hit #1 on July 22, in its 10th week on the chart. Martika wrote it with M. Jay, who produced it, and it's certified Gold.

The case against Toy Soldiers is one spot down. Prince's Batdance climbed to #2, it's certified Platinum to Toy Soldiers' Gold, and its best week was still ahead, on August 5. Martika has the #1, and Prince has the momentum. Prince fans, make your case.

How the Billboard Hot 100 for July 29, 1989 Is Ranked

The positions, last week, peak and weeks on the chart all come from the Billboard Hot 100 dated July 29, 1989. These are its top 20 songs, in Billboard's order, and the songwriter, producer and label credits come from billboard.com too. Peak is the highest spot a song had reached as of that week, which is why Good Thing shows a #1 peak while sitting at #16.

Each song links to its recording on Spotify, matched by title and artist, and we pick the original studio recording where there's a choice. Simply Red's If You Don't Know Me By Now and Rod Stewart's Crazy About Her link to their 2008 remasters.

Billboard Hot 100 July 29, 1989 Video Chapters

1. 0:00 #20 to #16
2. 0:40 #15 to #11
3. 1:18 #10 to #6
4. 1:55 #5 to #2
5. 2:25 The #1 Song

Questions About the Billboard Hot 100 for July 29, 1989

What was the #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 on July 29, 1989?

Toy Soldiers by Martika was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 dated July 29, 1989, its second week at #1, in its 11th week on the chart.

Where was Batdance on the Billboard Hot 100 on July 29, 1989?

Batdance by Prince, from Batman, was #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 dated July 29, 1989, up from #4 the week before, in its seventh week on the chart.

What song climbed the most in the Billboard top 20 on July 29, 1989?

Right Here Waiting by Richard Marx climbed the most in the Billboard Hot 100 top 20 dated July 29, 1989, up 8 places from #18 to #10 in its fourth week. Good Thing by Fine Young Cannibals fell furthest, from #7 to #16.

Which songs in the July 29, 1989 top 20 had already been #1?

Four songs in the Billboard Hot 100 top 20 dated July 29, 1989 had been #1. Baby Don't Forget My Number by Milli Vanilli hit #1 on July 1, Good Thing by Fine Young Cannibals on July 8, If You Don't Know Me By Now by Simply Red on July 15 and Toy Soldiers by Martika on July 22.

Sources

• Billboard Hot 100, week of July 29, 1989
• Billboard Hot 100

Cover art © the artists and their labels, shown to identify each song.