This week’s song is an unusual entry for me, for several reasons. On November 8 1986, the new Number One song on the Billboard “Hot 100” was “Amanda” (audio-only video up top) by American rock band Boston. The song was the first single from the band’s third studio album, Third Stage.
Throughout all the 1980s “Weekend Diversion” posts I’ve done, I usually had at least some recollection of the song I was talking about. This week is not one of those times: I have absolutely no recollection whatsoever of ever hearing the complete song until I was researching this post and listened to the video up top. Moreover, I’d never heard even part of it until a brief clip of the chorus was included in a video I saw on either Instagram or YouTube—I don’t even remember that much precisely. I have some theories about why that may be.
First, in 1986 I was listening to pop oriented radio stations, and not rock oriented ones. It’s entirely possible that it just wasn’t played on whatever station I was listening to at the time. I bought and loved the band’s first two albums, Boston (1976) and also Don’t Look Back (1978), but the enormous time—eight years—between the band’s second album and Third Stage meant I kind of forgot about the band, and by the time the album was released my music taste had moved in a different direction. That may be the biggest reason I don't know this week's song.
All of which means that I don’t have any personal story or history connected with this song. Obviously that happens all the time for songs that weren’t big hits, but this is one of the very few times it was true of a Number One song, especially one from my adult years. Mind you, these days that’s true more often than not; pop music and I have both changed.
The song was written by American musician Tom Scholz. Scholz is the founder and only constant original member of Boston. He will turn 80 in March. The song “Amanda” had no music video, which is why the video up top is audio-only, but it’s from the band’s YouTube Channel—which I subscribed to some years back, mostly for their earlier songs. Obviously, I suppose.
“Amanda” reached Number 25 in Australia, Number One in Canada (Gold), 32 in New Zealand, 84 in the UK, and Number One on the USA’s “Billboard Hot 100” and on their “Mainstream Rock Airplay” charts.
The album Third Stage reached Number 35 in Australia, Number One in Canada (3x Platinum), 37 in the UK, and Number One on the USA’s ”Billboard 200”. It was certified 4x Platinum in the USA. The album didn’t chart in New Zealand.
This series will return in two weeks, on November 22, with a song I knew and loved back in the day.
Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1986” series:
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 1 – January 18, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 2 – February 15, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 3 – March 1, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 4 – March 15, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 5 – March 22, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 6 – March 29, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 7 – April 19, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 8 – May 3, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 9 – May 10, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 10 – May 17, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 11 – June 7, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 12 – June 14, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 13 – July 5, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 14 – July 12, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 15 – July 19, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 16 – July 26, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 17 – August 2, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 18 – August 16, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 19 – August 30, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 20 – September 6, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 21 – September 13, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 22 – September 20, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 23 – October 11, 2026
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