170px|thumbnail|right|[[Bon Jovi (pictured) earned their second Hot 100 number-one single with "Livin' on a Prayer", which stayed at the top position for four straight weeks.]]
These are the Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits of 1987. The longest running number-one singles of 1987 are "Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi and "Faith" by George Michael which each logged four weeks at number one. "Walk Like an Egyptian" was number one for the last two weeks of 1986 and the first two of 1987, and "Faith" attained three weeks at number one in 1987 and one week in 1988, giving both songs four weeks at the top.
That year, 16 acts earned their first number one song, such as Gregory Abbott, Billy Vera and the Beaters, Club Nouveau, Cutting Crew, U2, Kim Wilde, Atlantic Starr, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, Bob Seger, Los Lobos, Siedah Garrett, Whitesnake, Tiffany, Billy Idol, Bill Medley (his first as a solo artist after recording with The Righteous Brothers), and Belinda Carlisle. Madonna, George Michael, U2, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, Whitney Houston, and Michael Jackson were the only acts to hit number one more than once, with each of them hitting twice.
Chart history
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%;"
|+Key
|style="background-color:#FFFF99"|
|Indicates best-performing single of 1987
|}
An asterisk (*) by a date indicates an unpublished, "frozen" week, due to the special double issues that Billboard published in print at the end of the year for their year-end charts.
{| class="wikitable"
! width=31 align="center"|
!align="center"|Issue date
!align="center"|Song
!align="center"|Artist(s)
!align="center"|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor=EDEAE0 rowspan=2|617
|align="center"|January 3*
|bgcolor=#FFFF99 align="center" rowspan="2"|"Walk Like an Egyptian"
|align="center" rowspan="2"|The Bangles
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center"|January 10
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor=EDEAE0|618
|align="center"|January 17
|align="center"|"Shake You Down"
|align="center"|Gregory Abbott
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor=EDEAE0 rowspan=2|619
|align="center"|January 24
|align="center" rowspan="2"|"At This Moment"
|align="center" rowspan="2"|Billy Vera and the Beaters
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center"|January 31
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor=EDEAE0|620
|align="center"|February 7
|align="center"|"Open Your Heart"
|align="center"|Madonna
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor=EDEAE0 rowspan=4|621
|align="center"|February 14
|align="center" rowspan="4"|"Livin' on a Prayer"
|align="center" rowspan="4"|Bon Jovi
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center"|February 21
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center"|February 28
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center"|March 7
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor=EDEAE0|622
|align="center"|March 14
|align="center"|"Jacob's Ladder"
|align="center"|Huey Lewis and the News
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor=EDEAE0 rowspan=2|623
|align="center"|March 21
|align="center" rowspan="2"|"Lean on Me"
|align="center" rowspan="2"|Club Nouveau
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center"|March 28
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor=EDEAE0 rowspan=2|624
|align="center"|April 4
|align="center" rowspan="2"|"Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now"
|align="center" rowspan="2"|Starship
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center"|April 11
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor=EDEAE0 rowspan=2|625
|align="center"|April 18
|align="center" rowspan="2"|"I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)"
|align="center" rowspan="2"|Aretha Franklin and George Michael
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center"|April 25
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor=EDEAE0 rowspan=2|626
|align="center"|May 2
|align="center" rowspan="2"|"(I Just) Died in Your Arms"
|align="center" rowspan="2"|Cutting Crew
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center"|May 9
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor=EDEAE0 rowspan=3|627
|align="center"|May 16
|align="center" rowspan="3"|"With or Without You"
|align="center" rowspan="3"|U2
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center"|May 23
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center"|May 30
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor=EDEAE0|628
|align="center"|June 6
|align="center"|"You Keep Me Hangin' On"
|align="center"|Kim Wilde
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor=EDEAE0|629
|align="center"|June 13
|align="center"|"Always"
|align="center"|Atlantic Starr
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor=EDEAE0|630
|align="center"|June 20
|align="center"|"Head to Toe"
|align="center"|Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor=EDEAE0 rowspan=2|631
|align="center"|June 27
|align="center" rowspan="2"|"I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)"
|align="center" rowspan="2"|Whitney Houston
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center"|July 4
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor=EDEAE0 rowspan=3|632
|align="center"|July 11
|align="center" rowspan="3"|"Alone"
|align="center" rowspan="3"|Heart
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center"|July 18
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center"|July 25
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor=EDEAE0|633
|align="center"|August 1
|align="center"|"Shakedown"
|align="center"|Bob Seger
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor=EDEAE0 rowspan=2|634
|align="center"|August 8
|align="center" rowspan="2"|"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"
|align="center" rowspan="2"|U2
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center"|August 15
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor=EDEAE0|635
|align="center"|August 22
|align="center"|"Who's That Girl"
|align="center"|Madonna
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor=EDEAE0 rowspan=3|636
|align="center"|August 29
|align="center" rowspan="3"|"La Bamba"
|align="center" rowspan="3"|Los Lobos
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center"|September 5
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center"|September 12
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor=EDEAE0|637
|align="center"| September 19
|align="center"|"I Just Can't Stop Loving You"
|align="center"|Michael Jackson with Siedah Garrett
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor=EDEAE0 rowspan=2|638
|align="center"|September 26
|align="center" rowspan="2"|"Didn't We Almost Have It All"
|align="center" rowspan="2"|Whitney Houston
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center"|October 3
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor=EDEAE0|639
|align="center"|October 10
|align="center"|"Here I Go Again"
|align="center"|Whitesnake
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor=EDEAE0|640
|align="center"|October 17
|align="center"|"Lost in Emotion"
|align="center"|Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor=EDEAE0 rowspan=2|641
|align="center"|October 24
|align="center" rowspan="2"|"Bad"
|align="center" rowspan="2"|Michael Jackson
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center"|October 31
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor=EDEAE0 rowspan=2|642
|align="center"|November 7
|align="center" rowspan="2"|"I Think We're Alone Now"
|align="center" rowspan="2"|Tiffany
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center"|November 14
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor=EDEAE0|643
|align="center"|November 21
|align="center"|"Mony Mony"
|align="center"|Billy Idol
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor=EDEAE0|644
|align="center"|November 28
|align="center"|"(I've Had) The Time of My Life"
|align="center"|Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor=EDEAE0|645
|align="center"|December 5
|align="center"|"Heaven Is a Place on Earth"
|align="center"|Belinda Carlisle
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor=EDEAE0 rowspan=3|646
|align="center"|December 12
|align="center" rowspan="3"|"Faith"
|align="center" rowspan="3"|George Michael
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center"|December 19
|align="center"|
|-
|align="center"|December 26
|align="center"|
|}
Number-one artists
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ List of number-one artists by total weeks at number one
! Position
! Artist
! Weeks at No. 1
|-
| rowspan=2| 1
| George Michael
| rowspan=2| 5
|-
| U2
|-
| rowspan=2| 3
| Bon Jovi
| rowspan=2| 4
|-
| Whitney Houston
|-
| rowspan=3| 5
| Heart
| rowspan=3| 3
|-
| Los Lobos
|-
| Michael Jackson
|-
| rowspan=9| 8
| The Bangles
| rowspan=9| 2
|-
| Billy Vera and the Beaters
|-
| Madonna
|-
| Club Nouveau
|-
| Starship
|-
| Aretha Franklin
|-
| Cutting Crew
|-
| Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam
|-
| Tiffany
|-
| rowspan=11| 17
| Gregory Abbott
| rowspan=11| 1
|-
| Huey Lewis and the News
|-
| Kim Wilde
|-
| Atlantic Starr
|-
| Bob Seger
|-
| Siedah Garrett
|-
| Whitesnake
|-
| Billy Idol
|-
| Bill Medley
|-
| Jennifer Warnes
|-
| Belinda Carlisle
|}
See also
- 1987 in music
- List of Billboard number-one singles
- 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 Billboard's online archive services and print editions of the magazine.