Artist · chart history
The Bongos
Band Hoboken United States Active 1980–1987
The Bongos formed in 1980 in Hoboken, United States and was active until 1987. The Bongos has 5 chart appearances on 4 radio countdowns from 3 stations on RockLists, spanning 1983–2003. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Numbers With Wings”, which appears on 3 lists with a best position of #77. The station that charted The Bongos most often is KROQ (Los Angeles, CA), with 2 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 1983.
The Bongos came out of Hoboken, New Jersey, and the arts scene across the river in New York City, and under Richard Barone's leadership they turned out some of the brightest, most jangling power pop of their day. Barone sang lead, James Mastro played electric guitar, and Frank Giannini and Rob Norris rounded out the band, which signed to RCA Records.
Their sound was taut and sparkling, all chiming guitars, clipped rhythms and melodies that seemed to hang in the air, with an arty edge, and college radio took them to heart. The Hoboken indie-pop scene grew up in their wake, and when MTV came along it carried them to a national audience.
The breakthrough was "Numbers with Wings", the title track of their 1983 EP, which won them a devoted cult following and a nomination at the very first MTV Video Music Awards. The same record carried "Barbarella", a jittery, playful companion piece. The band called it a day in 1987, but they rank among the handful of groups that pushed the alternative rock movement forward.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by The Bongos on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Numbers With Wings | 3 | #77 | – | 1983 | |
| 2 | Barberella | 1 | #31 | – | 1983 | |
| 3 | Barbarella | 1 | #98 | – | 1983 |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Every countdown appearance
| Year | # | Song | Countdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 944 | Numbers With Wings | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) |
| 2002 | 1212 | Numbers With Wings | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) |
| 1983 | 77 | Numbers With Wings | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1983 |
| 1983 | 98 | Barbarella | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1983 |
| 1983 | 31 | Barberella | 91X Top 91 Songs of 1983 |
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