This is a list of the U.S. Billboard magazine Hot 100 number-one singles of 1986. The longest running number-one singles of 1986 are "That's What Friends Are For" by Dionne and Friends and "Walk Like an Egyptian" by The Bangles, which each logged four weeks at number-one. "Walk Like an Egyptian" logged two weeks at number-one in 1986 and two more weeks at number-one in 1987, summing up to four weeks at the top. "Say You, Say Me" by Lionel Richie concluded another four week run that began in 1985. 1986 is the year with the third largest number of number-one songs, with 30 songs reaching the #1 spot.
That year, 20 acts earned their first number one song, such as Heart, Falco, Robert Palmer, Pet Shop Boys, Simply Red, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, Steve Winwood, Bananarama, Berlin, Janet Jackson, Boston, Bon Jovi, Amy Grant, Bruce Hornsby & the Range, and The Bangles. Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle, Michael McDonald, and Peter Cetera, already having hit number one with Gladys Knight & the Pips, Labelle, The Doobie Brothers, and Chicago, respectively, also earn their first number one songs as solo acts. Whitney Houston, Madonna, and Peter Cetera were the only acts to earn more than one number one song, with each of them hitting the top twice.
Chart history +KeyIndicates best-performing single of 1986
Issue date Song Artist(s)587"Say You, Say Me"Lionel Richie588"That's What Friends Are For"Dionne and Friends589"How Will I Know"Whitney Houston590"Kyrie"Mr. Mister591"Sara"Starship592"These Dreams"Heart593"Rock Me Amadeus"Falco594"Kiss"Prince and the Revolution595"Addicted to Love"Robert Palmer596"West End Girls"Pet Shop Boys597"Greatest Love of All"Whitney Houston598"Live to Tell"Madonna599"On My Own"Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald600"There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)"Billy Ocean601"Holding Back the Years"Simply Red602"Invisible Touch"Genesis603"Sledgehammer"Peter Gabriel604"Glory of Love"Peter Cetera605"Papa Don't Preach"Madonna606"Higher Love"Steve Winwood607"Venus"Bananarama608"Take My Breath Away"Berlin609"Stuck with You"Huey Lewis and the News610"When I Think of You"Janet Jackson611"True Colors"Cyndi Lauper612"Amanda"Boston 613"Human"The Human League614"You Give Love a Bad Name"Bon Jovi615"The Next Time I Fall"Peter Cetera and Amy Grant 616"The Way It Is"Bruce Hornsby & the Range617"Walk Like an Egyptian"The Bangles
Notes
Number-one artists + List of number-one artists by total weeks at number one Position Artist Weeks at No. 1 1 Whitney Houston 5 2 Dionne Warwick 4 Elton John Stevie Wonder Gladys Knight 6 Falco 3 Madonna Patti Labelle Michael McDonald Huey Lewis and the News Peter Cetera 12 Lionel Richie 2 Mr. Mister Prince and the Revolution Janet Jackson Cyndi Lauper Boston The Bangles 19 Starship 1 Heart Robert Palmer Pet Shop Boys Billy Ocean Simply Red Genesis Peter Gabriel Steve Winwood Bananarama Berlin The Human League Bon Jovi Amy Grant Bruce Hornsby & the Range
See also 1986 in music List of Billboard number-one singles Cash Box Top 100 number-one singles of 1986 List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of the 1980s
References
Additional sources Fred Bronson's Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits, 5th Edition () Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2008, 12 Edition () Joel Whitburn Presents the Billboard Hot 100 Charts: The Eighties () Additional information obtained can be verified within Billboards online archive services and print editions of the magazine.