Who Hit #1? “Cherish” vs. “Miss You Much”

Oh, how I missed MTV when I stayed at the YMCA. My room only had a black-and-white TV, no cable. 

I kept up with music thanks to the AM/FM clock radio I had packed to wake up for early job interviews. New York's airwaves in September 1989 were broader and funkier than northwest Ohio's, thumping with Latin, dance, and R&B. I liked it. 

After my first couple days in the city, I heard a familiar voice over big, syncopated beats. Janet Jackson had returned with "Miss You Much," produced by music partners Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. It sounded like home in my hot box of a room over a sketchy stretch of West 34th Street. 

Another distinctive voice pumped out of my clock radio too: Madonna, cherishing the joy a particular boy was bringing her. Sweet, like a 60s pop song, it sounded like a calculated pivot from the boldness of "Like A Prayer" and "Express Yourself" earlier in the year. 

It wasn't until I moved in with my roommate two months later that I caught up on all the videos I had missed. (Thank you, Rick Conant for having cable!)

Once again, Madonna's "Cherish" delivered for the boys:

Hot, wet "mermen" swam in a stylish black-and-white video directed by fashion photographer Herb Ritts. It was his first video, at Madonna's urging, but his iconic style easily transferred to moving images as well. 

A little "Pop Up" trivia: Most of the models were water polo players that had to be carried into the water because their solid rubber tails weighed 40 pounds each. 

Another tidbit, it was shot in black-and-white because the Malibu water was so cold that day, Madonna's already pale skin looked downright pasty in color. Makes sense -- remember the little kids teeth chattering in slow motion? 

Janet's "Miss You Much" video was also shot in B&W, part of a longer film for her upcoming "Rhythm Nation 1814" album. (When record companies had money to burn.)

Lots of athletic, of-the-moment dancing as you would expect from Ms. Jackson. The on-camera energy built to a climactic and now iconic chair routine that later inspired Britney Spears' "Stronger" video. 

Weirdly not on the "official" video on YouTube, here's the stand-alone. That's the end? No! 

Madonna gets points for the mermen, but "Miss You Much" still makes me jump out of my own chair and dance. Janet wins this one, keeping Madonna out of the top spot on Billboard this week in 1989 -- spending four weeks at #1.