MUSIC | BILLBOARD HOT 100 | 1981 | LISTICLE

10 Top Billboard Hits from 1981

Here are the songs that were the biggest hits 45 years ago

Photo by blocks on Unsplash

1981 was forty-five years ago. The 70s were still a major influence on music that year. 80s pop stars like Madonna, Whitney Houston, and Van Halen still had a couple of years before they would make breakthroughs with major hits.

What were people listening to on the radio and what records were they buying? Every week, Billboard Magazine would rank the songs by those metrics on their famous list, the Billboard Hot 100. Then, at the end of the year, they would compile the data and release their top songs of the year.

Here are the ten top pop songs of 1981, according to the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Be warned, soft rock was pretty popular at the beginning of the1980s.

10. “Keep on Loving You” by REO Speedwagon

Kevin Cronin was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary songwriter for REO Speedwagon. Though he had been with them since 1972, they had never a #1 hit until “Keep on Loving You” was released on their 1980 album Hi Infidelity.

It was written by Cronin after he discovered his own wife’s infidelity. It was one of the first of many power ballads to hit #1 in the 1980s.

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9. "9 To 5" by Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton wrote the song “9 To 5” especially for the 1980 movie of the same name. When she was asked to be in the movie, she agreed as long as she could write and sing the theme song.

The song “9 To 5” was Parton’s first Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit. She wrote the song while on the set of the movie and even did the sound effects for the typewriter herself. She tapped on a surface with her acrylic nails to mimic the sound.

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8. “I Love a Rainy Night” by Eddie Rabbitt

Eddie Rabbit first wrote and recorded part of the song “I Love a Rainy Night” in the late 60s. But he waited until 1980 to finish it and release it on his album Horizon.

The song was a major crossover hit, topping three different Billboard charts at the same time. Besides the Billboard Hot 100, it also hit #1 on the Country Singles chart and the Adult Contemporary Singles charts.

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7. “Kiss on My List” by Daryl Hall & John Oates

Daryl Hall was actually helping out his girlfriend’s sister, Janna Allen, when he helped her co-write “Kiss on My List.”

She had never written a song before. Hall was hoping his record company would let Janna record the song, but when he submitted a demo performed by Hall & Oates, the record executives insisted that the only way that they would release the song was if Hall & Oates performed the song themselves.

It wound up being the groups second #1 hit after “Rich Girl.” It would spend three weeks at #1 and stay in the Top 40 for 20 weeks.

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6. “Celebration” by Kool & the Gang

Before I wrote this list, if you had asked me, I would have sworn that “Celebration” by Kool & the Gang had been released in the 70s. It is practically an anthem for disco music.

It would be the groups only #1 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Growing in popularity as the hostages held in Iran were released in January of 1981, it would be used on TV and parades to “celebrate” the occasion. This helped drive the song to #1 by February of that year.

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5. “Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield

Before settling on Jessie, Rick Springfield experimented with Gary’s Girl, and Randy’s Girl. Somehow, those just don’t have the same ring.

All I can say is that I am glad I was not Jessie and that Rick Springfield was not my friend. I don’t think I could compete with the sex symbol rock star if he really desired my girlfriend.

But still, the song about an unobtainable obsession resonated with the public and the song hit #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 on August 1st, 1981, the same day that MTV first launched.

Although MTV did not air the video on the first day, it did run it a couple of times during the first week.

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4. “(Just Like) Starting Over” by John Lennon

John Lennon was murdered before Billboard Hot 100 declared this the fourth biggest hit of 1981. He released “(Just Like) Starting Over” on the album Double Fantasy just over a month before he was killed on December 8, 1980.

The tragedy drove up sales and airplay and made the song a massive hit. Reaching the top spot at the end of December, the song would spend five consecutive weeks at #1 during the first part of 1981.

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3. “Lady” by Kenny Rogers

Again, if you had asked me before I made this list, I would have insisted that Kenny Rogers had released “Lady” prior to 1980. It seemed like he always had this song as part of his repertoire.

The song was actually written and produced by Lionel Richie in 1980. He first offered it to the Commodores, but when they turned it down, he allowed Kenny Rogers to record it.

It would become Rogers’ biggest hit, spending six weeks at #1 in 1981. Richie never regretted not doing it with the Commodores, however. He claimed the royalties from the song “bought him an estate.”

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2. “Endless Love” by Diana Ross & Lionel Richie

When director Franco Zeffirelli commissioned Lionel Richie to write “Endless Love” for the theme song to his 1981 movie by the same name, he originally asked for an instrumental.

When he later changed his mind, Lionel Richie added lyrics and vocals and recorded it with Diana Ross. It would end up being a massive hit for the duo, staying at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for nine weeks. Billboard would late it the greatest duet of all time.

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1. “Bette Davis Eyes” by Kim Carnes

“Bette Davis Eyes” was originally written and performed in1974 by Jackie DeShannon but was completely transformed by Kim Carnes in 1981 for her album Mistaken Identity.

On May 16, 1981, Kim Carnes’ performance of “Bette Davis Eyes” went #1 and would stay there for nine weeks. It was the Billboard song of the year in 1981 and won the Grammy for Song of the Year in 1982.

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If you are curious, here are the next ten songs from the list:

11. “Theme from The Greatest American Hero” by Joey Scarbury
12. “Morning Train (Nine to Five)” by Sheena Easton
13. “Being with You” by Smokey Robinson
14. “Queen of Hearts” by Juice Newton
15. “Rapture” by Blondie
16. “A Woman Needs Love (Just Like You Do)” by Raydio
17. “The Tide Is High” by Blondie
18. “Just the Two of Us” by Grover Washington, Jr. & Bill Withers
19. “Slow Hand” by The Pointer Sisters
20. “I Love You” by Climax Blues Band Source

In 1981, the 80s were still young and hadn’t quite given way to the mega-pop stars that would later rule the decade. Harder rock from the 70s was going strong and would transform and thrive in the 80s, but when it came to record sales and radio play, softer pop music seemed to fill the charts.

What are your favorite songs from the early part of the decade? Are they on this list? Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments.

As always, thanks for reading!

For another list from 1981: The 10 Highest Rated TV Shows from 1981

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