Monday, November 18, 2024

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

A breakdown of my top singles from 1981





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





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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