In 1987, Billboard magazine published a chart ranking the top-performing songs in the United States in the adult contemporary music (AC) market.
[3] Several years later, however, it was used in the NBC sitcom Family Ties to soundtrack the romance between Alex P. Keaton and his girlfriend Ellen Reed,[4][5] after which it was re-released and went to number one on both the AC chart and Billboard's pop singles listing, the Hot 100.
Two songs featured in films also topped the chart in 1987: "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship from the soundtrack of Mannequin,[8] and "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes from Dirty Dancing.
[9] "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" was one of three songs to tie for the longest unbroken run at number one during the year with four weeks in the top spot, along with "Ballerina Girl" by Lionel Richie and "Little Lies" by Fleetwood Mac.
Whitney Houston topped the chart with "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" in July and "Didn't We Almost Have It All" in September, and Steve Winwood reached number one with "The Finer Things" in April and "Back in the High Life Again" in August.