The Human League hit the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart with their signature hit “Don’t You Want Me” on July 3, 1982. The track was included on their third studio album, “Dare,” and was initially released to radio on November 27, 1981. When “Don’t You Want Me” ascended to the top of the chart, it took over for “Ebony and Ivory,” the collaborative single by Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney. The Human League held on at the top for three weeks before their track was succeeded by Survivor’s 1980s anthem “Eye of the Tiger.”In Peter Buckley’s “Rough Guide to Rock,” singer Phil Oakey said the band’s primary focus on the track, as with all their songs, was melody: “What we’re concerned about is tunes and to a lesser degree rhythm and lyrics, but really tunes—just the same as ABBA, or Michael Jackson or Rod Stewart.”