Promo posters as seen on "WKRP in Cincinnati" #100

Albums: Huey Lewis and The News - Huey Lewis and The News (Chrysalis, 1980), The Doors - Greatest Hits (Elektra, 1980), Twennynine With Lenny White - Twennynine With Lenny White (Elektra, 1980), Times Square soundtrack, (RSO, 1980), The Babys - On the Edge (Chrysalis, 1980)
Episode: Season 3, Episode 12, "Venus and the Man"
Original air date: Saturday, January 31, 1981


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Album on the turntable is Candi Staton - Candi Staton (Warner Bros., 1980)

Also seen on studio door, a picture of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Lennon was killed around the time this episode was filmed.

Embed from Getty Images
Photographed on November 2, 1980 by Jack Mitchell

Promo posters as seen on "WKRP in Cincinnati" #98

Albums: Huey Lewis and The News - Huey Lewis and The News (Chrysalis, 1980), The Babys - On The Edge (Chrysalis, 1980)
Episode: Season 3, Episode 14, "Ask Jennifer"
Original air date: Saturday, February 14, 1981


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Promo posters as seen on "WKRP in Cincinnati" #97

Albums: The Romantics - National Breakout (Nemperor, 1980)
Episode: Season 3, Episode 15, "Ask Jennifer"
Original air date: Saturday, February 14, 1981


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Promo posters as seen on "WKRP in Cincinnati" #96

Albums: Fleetwood Mac - Live (Warner Bros., 1980), Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Chance (Warner Bros., 1980)
Episode: Season 3, Episode 16, "I Am Woman"
Original air date: Sunday, February 21, 1981


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Counting down my Top 50 Albums of 1981: #25 - 1

A breakdown of my top albums from 1981

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	Title	Artist	Billboard	CashBox	Rolling Stone
25	Paradise Theater	Styx	1	1	2
24	Time	ELO	16	9	9
23	Tattoo You	The Rolling Stones	1	1	1
22	Yellowjackets	Yellowjackets	201
21	The Dude	Quincy Jones	10	14	16
20	Penthouse and Pavement	Heaven 17
19	Pages	Pages
18	The Completion Backward Principle	The Tubes	36	37	27

	Title	Artist	Billboard	CashBox	Rolling Stone
17	Private Eyes	Daryl Hall & John Oates	5	5	6
16	Come Morning	Grover Washington, Jr.	28	31	28
15	Voyeur	David Sanborn	45	43	48
14	Dare	The Human League	3	5	3
13	4	Foreigner	1	1	1
12	Shake It Up	The Cars	9	9	5
11	Songs in the Attic	Billy Joel	8	7	6
10	East Side Story	Squeeze	44	54	13

	Title	Artist	Billboard	CashBox	Rolling Stone
9	Freetime	Spyro Gyra	41	40	28
8	Kim Wilde	Kim Wilde	86	60
7	Apple Juice	Tom Scott	123	122
6	Love Life	Brenda Russell	107	94
5	Rit	Lee Ritenour	26	40	69
4	Breakin' Away	Al Jarreau	9	9	9
3	Beauty and the Beat	The Go-Go's	1	1	1
2	Washarama	The Judy's
1	Ghost in the Machine	The Police	2	3	2

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These are my personal top 50 albums released in 1981. The following criteria was used on a very slippery sliding scale:

• How often I enjoyed the album at the time of release
• How often I've enjoyed the album over the years since
• Overall quality of the album

Chart information is from the US Billboard, CashBox, and Rolling Stone album charts.

Counting down my Top 50 Albums of 1981: #50 - 26

A breakdown of my top albums from 1981

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	Title	Artist	Billboard	CashBox	Rolling Stone
50	Something Special	Kool & The Gang	12	10	19
49	Every Home Should Have One	Patti Austin	36	62	43
48	Working Class Dog	Rick Springfield	7	16	17
47	October	U2	104	102	25
46	Orange Express	Sadao Watanabe
45	Something About You	Angela Bofill	61	66	50
44	Face Dances	The Who	4	3	2
43	Crazy for You	Earl Klugh	53	59

	Title	Artist	Billboard	CashBox	Rolling Stone
42	Waiata	Split Enz	45	41	40
41	Prince Charming	Adam & The Ants	94	85	41
40	Face Value	Phil Collins	7	12	4
39	Long Distance Voyager	The Moody Blues	1	1	1
38	Trust	Elvis Costello	28	27	11
37	As Falls Wichita...	Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays	50	61	36
36	Chariots of Fire	Vangelis	1	1	1
35	Sons & Fascination/Sister Feelings Call	Simple Minds

	Title	Artist	Billboard	CashBox	Rolling Stone
34	Mecca for Moderns	The Manhattan Transfer	22	26	11
33	Healing	Todd Rundgren	48	51	21
32	Raise!	Earth, Wind & Fire	5	5	6
31	Don't Say No	Billy Squier	5	8	6
30	If I Should Love Again	Barry Manilow	14	14	26
29	Abacab	Genesis	7	8	7
28	Escape	Journey	1	1	5
27	Speak and Spell	Depeche Mode	192
26	Freeze-Frame	The J. Geils Band	1	1	1

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These are my personal top 50 albums released in 1981. The following criteria was used on a very slippery sliding scale:

• How often I enjoyed the album at the time of release
• How often I've enjoyed the album over the years since
• Overall quality of the album

Chart information is from the US Billboard, CashBox, and Rolling Stone album charts.

Counting down my Top 81 of '81: Singles #40 - 1

A breakdown of my top singles from 1981

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	Title	Artist	Pop	AC	Rock*	R&B	Dance
40	"Burnin' for You"	Blue Öyster Cult	40		1
39	"Suddenly"	Olivia Newton-John & Cliff Richard	20	4
38	"All Those Years Ago"	George Harrison	2	1	6
37	"No Reply at All"	Genesis	29		2
36	"Don't Want to Wait Anymore"	The Tubes	35		22
35	"You Better You Bet"	The Who	18		1
34	"A Little in Love"	Cliff Richard	17	6
33	"In the Air Tonight"	Phil Collins	19		2
32	"Arc of a Diver"	Steve Winwood	48		11
31	"Bette Davis Eyes"	Kim Carnes	1	15	5		26

	Title	Artist	Pop	AC	Rock	R&B	Dance
30	"I've Done Everything for You"	Rick Springfield	8
29	"Nicole"	Point Blank	39		20
28	"Sweetheart"	Franke & The Knockouts	10	40	27
27	"Love You Like I've Never Loved Before"	John O'Banion	24
26	"Miss Sun"	Boz Scaggs	14	13
25	"Working in the Coal Mine"	Devo	43		53		30
24	"Draw of the Cards"	Kim Carnes	28
23	"Tom Sawyer"	Rush	44		8
22	"You Make My Dreams"	Daryl Hall & John Oates	5		35
21	"Hey Nineteen"	Steely Dan	10	11

	Title	Artist	Pop	AC	Rock	R&B	Dance
20	"Can You Feel It"	The Jacksons	77			30	1
19	"One Step Closer"	The Doobie Brothers	24	21
18	"Urgent"	Foreigner	4		1		32
17	"Watching the Wheels"	John Lennon	10	6	25
16	"Gemini Dream"	The Moody Blues	12		13		36
15	"How 'Bout Us"	Champaign	12	1		4
14	"Ah! Leah!"	Donnie Iris	29		19
13	"We're in This Love Together"	Al Jarreau	15	6		6
12	"Start Me Up"	The Rolling Stones	2		1		14
11	"Kiss On My List"	Daryl Hall & John Oates	1	16	54

	Title	Artist	Pop	AC	Rock	R&B	Dance
10	"My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone)"	Chilliwack	22		16
9	"Fashion"	David Bowie	70				21
8	"Time Out of Mind"	Steely Dan	22	13	13
7	"Is It You"	Lee Ritenour	15	15		27
6	"Tempted"	Squeeze	49		8
5	"Our Lips are Sealed"	The Go-Go's	20		15		10
4	"While You See a Chance"	Steve Winwood	7	17	2
3	"Living Inside Myself"	Gino Vannelli	6	5
2	"Just the Two of Us"	Grover Washington, Jr.	2	2		3
1	"Every Little Thing She Does is Magic"	The Police	3		1

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All chart positions are peak positions from Billboard charts for 1981. These are my personal top 81 singles of those that peaked on the Billboard charts in 1981. The list is solely my opinion. Using Joel Whitburn's book, Pop Annual 1955-2005, I started with the 408 singles that peaked on Billboard Magazine's Hot 100 chart in 1981. An initial pass through that list narrowed it down to 94 tunes, then listening, ranking, and editing began. The top 81 are presented this week, in order.

*Billboard started producing a Rock chart beginning with their March 21, 1981 edition.

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Other lists of singles from My Favorite Decade:

76 of '76	80 of '80
77 of '77	82 of '82
78 of '78	83 of '83
79 of '79	84 of '84
	85 of '85

Counting down my Top 81 of '81: Singles #81 - 41

A breakdown of my top singles from 1981

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	Title	Artist	Pop	AC	Rock*	R&B	Dance
81	"For Your Eyes Only"	Sheena Easton	4	6
80	"Celebration"	Kool & The Gang	1	34		1	1
79	"Hearts"	Marty Balin	8	9	20
78	"I Made It Through the Rain"	Barry Manilow	10	4
77	"I Love a Rainy Night"	Eddie Rabbitt	1	1
76	"Oh No"	Commodores	4	5		5
75	"Physical"	Olivia Newton-John	1	29		28	22
74	"Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)"	Christopher Cross	1	1	13
73	"Hold On Tight"	ELO	10		2

	Title	Artist	Pop	AC	Rock	R&B	Dance
72	"Say Goodbye to Hollywood"	Billy Joel	17	35	11
71	"Turn Me Loose"	Loverboy	35		6
70	"I Missed Again"	Phil Collins	19		8
69	"Sweet Baby"	Stanley Clarke & George Duke	19	16		6
68	"Her Town Too"	James Taylor & J.D. Souther	11	5	21
67	"De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da"	The Police	10
66	"The Old Songs"	Barry Manilow	15	1
65	"Hold On Loosely"	.38 Special	27		3
64	"Let's Groove"	Earth, Wind & Fire	3			1	3
63	"Ai No Corrida"	Quincy Jones	28			10	3
62	"Theme from The Greatest American Hero (Believe It or Not)"	Joey Scarbury	2	3

	Title	Artist	Pop	AC	Rock	R&B	Dance
61	"Cafe Amore"	Spyro Gyra	77	14
60	"Fantasy Girl"	.38 Special	52		30
59	"WKRP in Cincinnati"	Steve Carlisle	65	29
58	"And Love Goes On"	Earth, Wind & Fire	59			15	57
57	"Guilty"	Barbra Streisand & Barry Gibb	3	5
56	"Winning"	Santana	17		2
55	"Find Your Way Back"	Jefferson Starship	29		3
54	"Stop Draggin' My Heart Around"	Stevie Nicks with Tom Petty	3		2
53	"Being with You"	Smokey Robinson	2	4		1
52	"The Kid is Hot Tonite"	Loverboy	55		42
51	"Back in Black"	AC/DC	37		51

	Title	Artist	Pop	AC	Rock	R&B	Dance
50	"Take My Heart You Can Have It If You Want It)"	Kool & The Gang	17			1	16
49	"Private Eyes"	Daryl Hall & John Oates	1	33	33
48	"She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)"	Carl Carlton	22			2	20
47	"The Voice"	The Moody Blues	15	16	1
46	"Don't Stand So Close to Me"	The Police	10		11
45	"Just Once"	Quincy Jones with James Ingram	17	7		11
44	"Destroyer"	The Kinks	85		3
43	"The Stroke"	Billy Squier	17		3
42	"Jesse's Girl"	Rick Springfield	1		10
41	"Lady (You Bring Me Up)"	Commodores	8	13		5	53

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All chart positions are peak positions from Billboard charts for 1981. These are my personal top 81 singles of those that peaked on the Billboard charts in 1981. The list is solely my opinion. Using Joel Whitburn's book, Pop Annual 1955-2005, I started with the 408 singles that peaked on Billboard Magazine's Hot 100 chart in 1981. An initial pass through that list narrowed it down to 94 tunes, then listening, ranking, and editing began. The top 81 are presented this week, in order.

*Billboard started producing a Rock chart beginning with their March 21, 1981 edition.

Promo posters as seen on "WKRP in Cincinnati" #95

Albums: Todd Rundgren - Healing (Bearsville, 1981), The Clash - Black Market Clash (Epic, 1980), Steve Winwood - Arc of a Diver (Island, 1980), Rod Stewart - Foolish Behavior (1980, Warner Bros.)
Episode: Season 3, Episode 16, "I Am Woman"
Original air date: Sunday, February 21, 1981


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Promo posters as seen on "WKRP in Cincinnati" #94

Albums: Ultravox - Vienna (Chrysalis, 1980), Warren Zevon - Stand in the Fire (Asylum, 1980)
Episode: Season 3, Episode 16, "I Am Woman"
Original air date: Sunday, February 21, 1981


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Promo posters as seen on "WKRP in Cincinnati" #93

Albums: Commodores - Heroes (Motown, 1980), Neil Young - Hawks and Doves (Reprise, 1980), Ry Cooder - Borderline (Warner Bros., 1980), The Blues Brothers - Made in America (Atlantic, 1980), The Jim Carroll Band - Catholic Boy (Atco, 1980)
Episode: Season 3, Episode 17, "Secrets of Dayton Heights"
Original air date: Sunday, February 28, 1981


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Promo posters as seen on "WKRP in Cincinnati" #92

Albums: Steve Winwood - Arc of a Diver (Island, 1980)
Episode:  Season 3, Episode 17, "Secrets of Dayton Heights"
Original air date: Sunday, February 28, 1981


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Promo posters as seen on "WKRP in Cincinnati" #91

Albums: Randy Meisner
Episode:  Season 3, Episode 17, "Secrets of Dayton Heights"
Original air date: Sunday, February 28, 1981


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Promo posters as seen on "WKRP in Cincinnati" #90

Albums: Todd Rundgren - Healing (Bearsville, 1981), The Clash - Sandinista! (Epic, 1980)
Episode:  Season 3, Episode 17, "Secrets of Dayton Heights"
Original air date: Sunday, February 28, 1981


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Promo posters as seen on "WKRP in Cincinnati" #89

Albums: Neil Young - Hawks and Doves (Reprise, 1980)
Episode:  Season 3, Episode 18, "Out to Lunch"
Original air date: Sunday, March 14, 1981


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Promo posters as seen on "WKRP in Cincinnati" #88

Albums: Adam & The Ants - Kings of the Wild Frontier (Epic, 1980), The Scooters - Blue Eyes (EMI, 1981), Elvis Costello - Trust (Columbia, 1981)
Episode:  Season 3, Episode 19, "A Simple Little Wedding"
Original air date: Sunday, March 21, 1981


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