All Those POLLS Ago: American Top Ten 7/4/1981

I have seen better top 10s.

Ray Parker needs love (just like I do).

Kim Carnes, easily, for me, but I find this live clip of the Oak Ridge Boys performing "Elvira" oddly mesmerizing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agnjMmoXm6k

I find those pink pants mesmerizing.

Gotta go with Scarbury on this one. That song is an incredible earworm.

Elvira was probably my favorite at the time ... Jesse's Girl and that Hall and Oates track are on my "run don't walk" out of the room if I hear them list.

It’s a really irritating batch of songs, sorry. No vote from me.

^^ new board description!!!

Stars on 45 sounds like an incredibly lazy way of constructing a hit record. Is that just a byproduct of the era, when home taping/copying was less prevalent?

Really? Wow. I don't need to hear many of them again, but Ray Parker, Jr. is a master of this kind of midtempo synth bop, "You Make My Dreams" is R&B new wave, and "Jessie's Girl" still punches.

I like "Jessie's Girl" and "A Woman Needs Love (Just Like I Do)" just fine, and I wouldn't run away from "You Make My Dreams." Those Stars on 45 tracks were a nuisance that I am grateful for having (mostly) been too young to have experienced. The placements of the Oak Ridge Boys and Kenny Rogers just assures me that my grandparents will still buying music in 1981.

UK top ten for the same week - no overlap despite half of the entries being US artists:

1. Michael Jackson - One Day In Your Life
2. The Specials - Ghost Town
3. Bad Manners - Can Can
4. Odyssey - Going Back To My Roots
5. Smokey Robinson - Being With You
6. Elaine Paige - Memory
7. Imagination - Body Talk
8. Kate Robbins and Beyond - More Than In Love
9. Red Sovine - Teddy Bear
10. Champaign - How 'Bout Us

I would've preferred "Ghost Town" over everything else in both polls.

I actually like Kim Carnes's "Bette Davis Eyes" quite a bit. Unknowingly, I was introduced to it through this sketch on Saturday Night Live: The Best of Eddie Murphy DVD - relevant part happens 30 second in:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0epZ9tjYdA

I thought it was a made up nonsense song until I heard the original in some restaurant and was like "holy shit, that's the Buckwheat song!"

I actually think George's song is a nice tribute to John and the only memorable track from that album, but it's not on the same level as his Beatle hits or All Things Must Pass either.

"Jessie's Girl" and "You Make My Dreams" are okay - catchy and harmless.

From all my years in the 80s listening to UK chart radio (Radio 1) the only two I recognise are Bette Davis Eyes and Jesse's Girl - though everyhit.com tells me All Those Years Ago was a hit (#13) and Jessie's Girl wasn't.

Gotta go with Scarbury on this one. That song is an incredible earworm.

I also know this one just from a single watch of the seinfeld episode where we hear George's answerphone message:

Believe it or not George isn't at home
Please leave a message at the beep
If I was here I'd pick up the phone
Where could I be?
Believe it or not I'm not home!

Pretty funny despite not knowing the song, and it's stuck in my head ever since so yes an incredible earworm.

Because the rest of the top 40 is awfully somnolent.

"Slow Hand" aside, you weren't kidding.

11 11 THIS LITTLE GIRL –•– Gary U.S. Bonds (EMI-America)-11 (11)
12 3 SUKIYAKI –•– A Taste Of Honey (Capitol)-18 (3)
13 8 AMERICA –•– Neil Diamond (Capitol)-11 (8)
14 16 HEARTS –•– Marty Balin (EMI-America)-7 (14)
15 15 IS IT YOU –•– Lee Ritenour (with Eric Tagg) (Elektra)-11 (15)
16 14 WHAT ARE WE DOIN’ IN LOVE –•– Dottie West (with Kenny Rogers) (Liberty)-15 (14)
17 20 GEMINI DREAM –•– The Moody Blues (Threshold)-5 (17)
18 32 SLOW HAND –•– The Pointer Sisters (Planet)-6 (18)
19 24 BOY FROM NEW YORK CITY –•– The Manhattan Transfer (Atlantic)-7 (19)
20 22 WINNING –•– Santana (Columbia)-13 (20)
21 23 MODERN GIRL –•– Sheena Easton (EMI-America)-9 (21)
22 25 TIME –•– The Alan Parsons Project (Arista)-12 (22)
23 26 QUEEN OF HEARTS –•– Juice Newton (Capitol)-6 (23)
24 17 BEING WITH YOU –•– Smokey Robinson (Tamla)-21 (2)
25 27 FOOL IN LOVE WITH YOU –•– Jim Photoglo (20th Century)-12 (25)
26 18 LIVING INSIDE MYSELF –•– Gino Vannelli (Arista)-16 (6)
27 29 SEVEN YEAR ACHE –•– Rosanne Cash (Columbia)-11 (27)
28 30 SWEET BABY –•– Stanley Clarke/George Duke (Epic)-10 (28)
29 19 TAKE IT ON THE RUN –•– REO Speedwagon (Epic)-16 (5)
30 21 NOBODY WINS –•– Elton John (Geffen)-9 (21)
31 31 I LOVE YOU –•– The Climax Blues Band (Warner Brothers)-20 (12)
32 34 STRONGER THAN BEFORE –•– Carole Bayer Sager (Boardwalk)-8 (32)
33 41 DON’T LET HIM GO –•– REO Speedwagon (Epic)-4 (33)
34 36 THE STROKE –•– Billy Squier (Capitol)-8 (34)
35 40 IT’S NOW OR NEVER –•– John Schneider (Scotti Brothers)-6 (35)
36 38 A LIFE OF ILLUSION –•– Joe Walsh (Asylum)-7 (36)
37 28 STILL RIGHT HERE IN MY HEART –•– The Pure Prairie League (Casablanca)-12 (28)
38 61 TOUCH ME WHEN WE’RE DANCING –•– The Carpenters (A&M)-3 (38)
39 39 JONES VS. JONES –•– Kool and the Gang (De-Lite)-8 (39)
40 42 TWO HEARTS –•– Stephanie Mills Featuring Teddy Pendergrass (20th Century)-8 (40)

What I'd keep:

Slow Hand
Gemini Dream
Seven Year Ache
Queen of Hearts
Time
Jones vs. Jones
The Stroke
A Life of Illusion
maaaaybe Being with You

Hall and Oates for me.

xxp Jesus, 1981 was the pits. It always stuck out as a weak year when you look at both the charts and Pazz & Jop. IIRC the music industry was at its lowest point, but beyond that it felt like most people weren't doing their best work. Between Reagan's election and Lennon's murder to end 1980, it was like everyone had the wind knocked out of them. (Underground scene was a big exception: great records everywhere by X, Black Flag, Minor Threat, the dB's, Mission of Burma, etc. In this context, you can see how the indie scene HAD to happen.)

"Being With You" is nice, one of his better solo singles.

Top 40 seemed like such a barren wasteland in 1981. Wasn't Eddie Rabbitt's "I Love A Rainy Night" a hit then? And Clapton's "I Can't Stand It"? I remember hearing those all the goddamn time. I dug "All Those Years Ago" mainly because it constituted something of a Beatles reunion (Paul on vocals, Ringo on drums), and I had the 7" of "Life Of Illusion" which I thought was very snappy.

Year-end 1981 countdown...

1	BETTE DAVIS EYES	KIM CARNES
2	ENDLESS LOVE	LIONEL RICHIE
3	LADY	KENNY ROGERS
4	STARTING OVER	JOHN LENNON
5	JESSIE'S GIRL	RICK SPRINGFIELD
6	CELEBRATE	KOOL & THE GANG
7	I LOVE A RAINY NIGHT	EDDIE RABBIT
8	9 TO 5	DOLLY PARTON
9	KISS ON MY LIPS	HALL & OATES
10	ARTHUR'S THEME	CHRISTOPHER CROSS
11	KEEP ON LOVING YOU	REO SPEEDWAGON
12	THE TIDE IS HIGH	BLONDIE
13	QUEEN OF HEARTS	JUICE NEWTON
14	BELIEVE IT OR NOT	JOEY SCARBURY
15	WOMAN	JOHN LENNON
16	PRIVATE EYES	HALL & OATES
17	LOVE ON THE ROCKS	NEIL DIAMOND
18	RAPTURE	DEBBIE HARRY & BLONDIE
19	BEING WITH YOU	SMOKEY ROBINSON
20	MORNING TRAIN	SHEENA EASTON
21	START ME UP	ROLLING STONES
22	JUST THE TWO OF US	BILL WITHERS & GROVER WASHINGTON JR.
23	SLOW HAND	POINTER SISTERS
24	STARS ON 45	STARS ON 45
25	EVERY WOMAN IN THE WORLD	AIR SUPPLY
26	THE BEST OF TIMES	STYX
27	MASTER BLASTER	STEVIE WONDER
28	MORE THEN I CAN SAY	LEO SAYER
29	URGENT	FOREIGNER
30	PASSION	ROD STEWART
31	STOP DRAGGIN' MY HEART AROUND	STEVIE NICKS WITH TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS
32	THE ONE THAT YOU LOVE	AIR SUPPLY
33	SUKIYAKI	A TASTE OF HONEY
34	A WOMAN NEEDS LOVE	RAY PARKER & RAYDIO
35	GUILTY	BARBRA STREISAND & BARRY GIBB
36	NO GETTING OVER ME	RONNIE MILLSAP
37	ANGEL OF THE MORNING	JUICE NEWTON
38	WHO'S CRYING NOW	JOURNEY
39	CRYIN'	DON MCLEAN
40	I DON'T NEED YOU	KENNY ROGERS
41	THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL	ABBA
42	HUNGRY HEART	BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
43	STEP BY STEP	EDDIE RABBIT
44	TAKE IT ON THE RUN	REO SPEEDWAGON
45	HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT	PAT BENETAR
46	LIVING INSIDE MYSELF	GINO VANELLI
47	ELVIRA	OAK RIDGE BOYS
48	I NEVER KNEW LOVE LIKE THIS BEFORE	STEPHANIE MILLS
49	LADY	COMMODORES
50	THE NIGHT OWLS	LITTLE RIVER BAND
51	FOR YOUR EYES ONLY	SHEENA EASTON
52	IT'S MY TURN	DIANA ROSS
53	YOU MAKE MY DREAMS	HALL & OATES
54	HEARTS	MARTY VALLEN
55	I'M COMIN' UP	DIANA ROSS
56	THE WANDERER	DONNA SUMMER
57	BOY FROM NEW YORK CITY	MANHATTEN TRANSFER
58	GIVIN' IT UP FOR YOUR LOVE	DELBERT MCCLINTON
59	TRYING TO LIVE MY LIFE WITHOUT 'YA	BOB SEEGER & THE SILVER BULLITT BAND
60	ALL THOSE YEARS AGO	GEORGE HARRISON
61	I LOVE YOU	CLIMAX BLUES BAND
62	YOU'VE LOST THAT LOVIN' FEELING	HALL & OATES
63	HELLO AGAIN	NEIL DIAMOND
64	WHIP IT	DEVO
65	AMERICA	NEIL DIAMOND
66	SWEETHEART	FRANKIE & THE KNOCKOUTS
67	HEY 19	STEELY DAN
68	WHILE YOU SEE A CHANCE	STEVIE WINWOOD
69	I'VE DONE EVERYTHING FOR YOU	RICK SPRINGFIELD
70	THE DO DO DO, THE DA DA DA	THE POLICE
71	I CAN'T STAND IT	ERIC CLAPTON
72	THIS LITTLE GIRL	GARY U.S. BONDS
73	TOO MUCH TIME ON MY HANDS	STYX
74	DREAMIN' MY LIFE AWAY	CLIFF RICHARD
75	HOLD ON TIGHT	ELO
76	DON'T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME	POLICE
77	TELL IT LIKE IT IS	HEART
78	TOGETHER	TIARA
79	SAME AULD LANG SYNE	DAN FOGELBERG
80	WHAT ARE WE DOING IN LOVE	DOTTIE WEST
81	I AIN'T GONNA STAND FOR IT	STEVIE WONDER
82	HOW ABOUT US	CHAMPAGNE
83	HARD TO SAY	DAN FOGELBERG
84	SOMEBODY'S KNOCKIN'	TERRY GIBBS
85	TIME	ALAN PARSONS PROJECT
86	I MADE IT THROUGH THE RAIN	BARRY MANILOW
87	THE BREAKUP SONG	GREG KIHN BAND
88	WHEN SHE WAS MY GIRL	FOUR TOPS
89	WE'RE IN THIS LOVE TOGETHER	AL JARREAU
90	A LITTLE IN LOVE	CLIFF RICHARD
91	COOL LOVE	PABLO CRUISE
92	WHAT KIND OF FOOL	BARBRA STEISAND & BARRY GIBB
93	WATCHING THE WHEELS	JOHN LENNON
94	BEACH BOYS MEDLEY	BEACH BOYS
95	AIN'T EVEN DONE WITH THE NIGHT	JOHN COUGAR
96	HER TOWN TOO	JAMES TAYLOR & J.D. SOUTHER
97	NEVER BE THER SAME	CHRISTOPHER CROSS
98	SUPER FREAK	RICK JAMES
99	SHARE YOUR LOVE WITH ME	KENNY ROGERS
100	TIME IS TIME	ANDY GIBB

The actual good-enough songs from that list, imo:

8	9 TO 5	DOLLY PARTON
10	ARTHUR'S THEME	CHRISTOPHER CROSS
16	PRIVATE EYES	HALL & OATES
18	RAPTURE	DEBBIE HARRY & BLONDIE
23	SLOW HAND	POINTER SISTERS
27	MASTER BLASTER	STEVIE WONDER
35	GUILTY	BARBRA STREISAND & BARRY GIBB
41	THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL	ABBA
48	I NEVER KNEW LOVE LIKE THIS BEFORE	STEPHANIE MILLS
49	LADY	COMMODORES
64	WHIP IT	DEVO
67	HEY 19	STEELY DAN
70	THE DO DO DO, THE DA DA DA	THE POLICE
81	I AIN'T GONNA STAND FOR IT	STEVIE WONDER
82	HOW ABOUT US	CHAMPAGNE
89	WE'RE IN THIS LOVE TOGETHER	AL JARREAU

No love for The Tide is High?

This was the station I listened to, and looking back at this list, it's not THAT bad. But because REO and Styx were local-ish, their shit was played all the time.

WLS-AM Chicago "Big 89 of 1981"

1. START ME UP-Rolling Stones
2. I LOVE YOU-Climax Blues Band
3. HOLD ON LOOSELY-.38 Special
4. THE NIGHT OWLS-Little River Band
5. IN THE AIR TONIGHT-Phil Collins
6. WHILE YOU SEE A CHANCE-Steve Winwood
7. JUST THE TWO OF US-Grover Washington Jr.
8. DON'T STOP BELIEVING-Journey
9. THE BEST OF TIMES-Styx
10. WAITING FOR A GIRL LIKE YOU-Foreigner
11. NICOLE-Point Blank
12. WHO'S CRYING NOW-Journey
13. WINNING-Santana
14. PRIVATE EYES-Daryl Hall & John Oates
15. FIND YOUR WAY BACK-Jefferson Starship
16. WITHOUT YOUR LOVE-Roger Daltrey
17. ARC OF A DIVER-Steve Winwood
18. WATCHING THE WHEELS-John Lennon
19. HEARTS ON FIRE-Randy Meisner
20. SWEETHEART-Franke & The Knockouts
21. KEEP ON LOVING YOU-REO Speedwagon
22. YOU BETTER, YOU BET-The Who
23. HE CAN'T LOVE YOU-Michael Stanley Band
24. HER TOWN TOO-James Taylor/J.D. Souther
25. KISS ON MY LIST-Daryl Hall & John Oates
26. HARD TO SAY-Dan Fogelberg
27. TAKE IT ON THE RUN-REO Speedwagon
28. THE BREAKUP SONG-Greg Kihn Band
29. NO TIME TO LOSE-Tarney/Spencer Band
30. TIME-Alan Parsons Project
31. BEING WITH YOU-Smokey Robinson
32. FOR YOU-Manfred Mann's Earth Band
33. WOMAN-John Lennon
34. TOO MUCH TIME ON MY HANDS-Styx
35. A LIFE OF ILLUSION-Joe Walsh
36. A LITTLE IN LOVE-Cliff Richard
37. DON'T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME-The Police
38. BETTE DAVIS EYES-Kim Carnes
39. URGENT-Foreigner
40. JESSIE'S GIRL-Rick Springfield
41. I DON'T NEED YOU-Kenny Rogers
42. I LOVE A RAINY NIGHT-Eddie Rabbitt
43. THE WAITING-Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
44. MAGIC POWER-Triumph
45. ARTHUR'S THEME-Christopher Cross
46. HEY NINETEEN-Steely Dan
47. TRYIN' TO LIVE MY LIFE WITHOUT YOU-Bob Seger
48. POOR MAN'S SON-Survivor
49. STEP BY STEP-Eddie Rabbitt
50. IN THE DARK-Billy Squier
51. THE TIDE IS HIGH-Blondie
52. AH! LEAH!-Donnie Iris
53. CELEBRATION-Kool & The Gang
54. ALL THOSE YEARS AGO-George Harrison
55. ENDLESS LOVE-Diana Ross & Lionel Richie
56. GAMES PEOPLE PLAY-Alan Parsons Project
57. THEME FROM GREATEST AMERICAN HERO-Joey Scarbury
58. NO REPLY AT ALL-Genesis
59. 9 TO 5-Dolly Parton
60. THE ONE THAT YOU LOVE-Air Supply
61. TREAT ME RIGHT-Pat Benatar
62. BURNIN' FOR YOU-Blue Öyster Cult
63. LIVING IN A FANTASY-Leo Sayer
64. GUILTY-Barbra Striesand
65. SLOWHAND-Pointer Sisters
66. THE VOICE-Moody Blues
67. DIRTY DEEDS DONE DONE DIRT CHEAP-AC/DC
68. EVERY LITTLE THING SHE DOES IS MAGIC-The Police
69. ROCK & ROLL DREAMS COME THROUGH-Jim Steinman
70. GOT TO ROCK ON-Kansas
71. MORNING TRAIN-Sheena Easton
72. LIVING INSIDE MYSELF-Gino Vanelli
73. I CAN'T STAND IT-Eric Clapton
74. JUST BETWEEN YOU & ME-April Wine
75. A WOMAN NEEDS LOVE-Ray Parker Jr. & Raydio
76. TIME OUT OF MIND-Steely Dan
77. DON'T LET HIM GO-REO Speedwagon
78. BACK IN BLACK-AC/DC
79. FIRE & ICE-Pat Benatar
80. SEARCHIN'-Santana
81. HELLO AGAIN-Neil Diamond
82. CENTERFOLD-J. Geils Band
83. EVERY WOMAN IN THE WORLD-Air Supply
84. ONE STEP CLOSER-Doobie Brothers
85. MY KINDA LOVER-Billy Squier
86. YOU SHOOK ME ALL NIGHT LONG-AC/DC
87. YOUNG TURKS-Rod Stewart
88. I'VE DONE EVERYTHING FOR YOU-Rick Springfield
89. THE PARTY'S OVER (HOPELESSLY IN LOVE)-Journey

Top 50 UK singles of 1981, some wonderful stuff on here, also some appalling stuff.

1 	Don’t You Want Me 	Human League 
2 	Tainted Love 	Soft Cell
3 	Stand & Deliver 	Adam & The Ants 
4 	Prince Charming 	Adam & The Ants 
5 	This Ole House 	Shakin' Stevens 
6 	Vienna 	Ultravox
7 	One Day In Your Life 	Michael Jackson 
8 	Making Your Mind Up 	Bucks Fizz 
9 	Shaddup You Face 	Joe Dolce Music Theatre 
10 	Birdie Song 	Tweets
11 	You Drive Me Crazy 	Shakin' Stevens 
12 	Ghost Town 	Specials
13 	It's My Party 	Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin
14 	Being With You 	Smokey Robinson 
15 	Happy Birthday 	Altered Images 
16 	Hands Up (Give Me Your Heart) 	Ottawan
17 	Woman 	John Lennon 
18 	Stars On 45 	Star Sound 
19 	Begin The Beguine 	Julio Iglesias 
20 	Green Door 	Shakin Stevens 
21 	Imagine 	John Lennon
22 	Jealous Guy 	Roxy Music 
23 	Kids In America 	Kim Wilde 
24 	Japanese Boy 	Aneka 
25 	Daddy's Home 	Cliff Richard 
26 	Chi Mai (Lloyd George TV theme) 	Ennio Morricone 
27 	Hooked On Classics 	Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
28 	Souvenir 	OMD
29 	Can Can 	Bad Manners 
30 	Antmusic 	Adam & The Ants 
31 	Do The Hucklebuck 	Coast To Coast 
32 	Hold On Tight 	ELO 
33 	More Than In Love 	Kate Robbins And Beyond
34 	Love Action (I Believe In Love) 	Human League 
35 	Body Talk 	Imagination 
36 	Stars On 45 (Vol 2) 	Star Sound 
37 	Lately 	Stevie Wonder 
38 	In the Air Tonight 	Phil Collins 
39 	Under Pressure 	Queen & David Bowie 
40 	Going Back To My Roots 	Odyssey
41 	Under Your Thumb 	Godley & Crème 
42 	Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic 	Police 
43 	Happy Birthday 	Stevie Wonder 
44 	Kings Of The Wild Frontier 	Adam & The Ants 
45 	I Surrender 	Rainbow 
46 	Pretend 	Alvin Stardust 
47 	How 'Bout Us 	Champaign 
48 	Endless Love 	Diana Ross & Lionel Richie 
49 	Four From Toyah (EP) 	Toyah 
50 	Let's Groove 	Earth Wind & Fire

1981 was a titanic singles year. Look at the P&J finishers:

https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pjres81.php

Four of his top five albums are all-time

In fact, there are very few duds on that albums list.

xp I actually own a bunch of these, mostly via compilations:

1 BETTE DAVIS EYES KIM CARNES
4 STARTING OVER JOHN LENNON
5 JESSIE'S GIRL RICK SPRINGFIELD
6 CELEBRATE KOOL & THE GANG
9 KISS ON MY LIPS HALL & OATES
12 THE TIDE IS HIGH BLONDIE
15 WOMAN JOHN LENNON
16 PRIVATE EYES HALL & OATES
18 RAPTURE DEBBIE HARRY & BLONDIE
19 BEING WITH YOU SMOKEY ROBINSON
21 START ME UP ROLLING STONES
22 JUST THE TWO OF US BILL WITHERS & GROVER WASHINGTON JR.
27 MASTER BLASTER STEVIE WONDER
31 STOP DRAGGIN' MY HEART AROUND STEVIE NICKS WITH TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS
42 HUNGRY HEART BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
53 YOU MAKE MY DREAMS HALL & OATES
55 I'M COMIN' OUT DIANA ROSS
56 THE WANDERER DONNA SUMMER
60 ALL THOSE YEARS AGO GEORGE HARRISON
64 WHIP IT DEVO
67 HEY 19 STEELY DAN
68 WHILE YOU SEE A CHANCE STEVIE WINWOOD
70 DE DO DO DO, DE DA DA DA THE POLICE
75 HOLD ON TIGHT ELO
76 DON'T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME POLICE
81 I AIN'T GONNA STAND FOR IT STEVIE WONDER
93 WATCHING THE WHEELS JOHN LENNON
95 AIN'T EVEN DONE WITH THE NIGHT JOHN COUGAR
98 SUPER FREAK RICK JAMES

1. START ME UP-Rolling Stones
5. IN THE AIR TONIGHT-Phil Collins
6. WHILE YOU SEE A CHANCE-Steve Winwood
7. JUST THE TWO OF US-Grover Washington Jr.
14. PRIVATE EYES-Daryl Hall & John Oates
17. ARC OF A DIVER-Steve Winwood
18. WATCHING THE WHEELS-John Lennon
22. YOU BETTER, YOU BET-The Who
25. KISS ON MY LIST-Daryl Hall & John Oates
31. BEING WITH YOU-Smokey Robinson
33. WOMAN-John Lennon
37. DON'T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME-The Police
38. BETTE DAVIS EYES-Kim Carnes
40. JESSIE'S GIRL-Rick Springfield
43. THE WAITING-Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
46. HEY NINETEEN-Steely Dan
51. THE TIDE IS HIGH-Blondie
53. CELEBRATION-Kool & The Gang
54. ALL THOSE YEARS AGO-George Harrison
68. EVERY LITTLE THING SHE DOES IS MAGIC-The Police
76. TIME OUT OF MIND-Steely Dan
78. BACK IN BLACK-AC/DC
86. YOU SHOOK ME ALL NIGHT LONG-AC/DC

2 Tainted Love Soft Cell
6 Vienna Ultravox
12 Ghost Town Specials
14 Being With You Smokey Robinson
17 Woman John Lennon
21 Imagine John Lennon
22 Jealous Guy Roxy Music
32 Hold On Tight ELO
37 Lately Stevie Wonder
38 In the Air Tonight Phil Collins
39 Under Pressure Queen & David Bowie
42 Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic Police
43 Happy Birthday Stevie Wonder
50 Let's Groove Earth Wind & Fire

I went to a New Pornographers show a few years back and as I got in my car to drive home, "Jessie's Girl" came on the radio and it hit me hard - it is the ur-text for the New Pornos formula.

xp Alfred's right - GREAT singles, but not a lot of them showed up in the Billboard (?) year-end Top 40 posted above.

Re: the album list, most of those aren't bad at all, but it still feels a bit of a letdown. Like the top ten albums are good albums - I have all of those albums - but except for Wild Gift, I don't think they're unqualified successes, musically speaking. Many of them don't strike me as the best work of any of those artists, or if they do, I'm not completely sold on the artist and their work in general.

If the P&J Top top 25 was actually the year-end top 25 for Billboard, I'd imagine a Golden Age of Top 40 radio.

I kind of agree that there are few "best" efforts, but on the other hand none of them is the weakest album by that artist, and they're all solid. And I'd rank Pirates as Rickie Lee Jones's best album, and one of the best of the decade.

^^ this. Thanks, ILM!

and, yes, the UK chart was on some ungodly trip

I mean... I guess I know what I can't vote for...

what was wrong with the US pop charts in 1981 becomes clear when you look at that year’s R&B number ones.
compare & contrast the seven of ‘em that made the Hot 100 year-end 100:

Stevie Wonder • Master Blaster (R&B #1 in 1980)
Kool & the Gang • Celebration (R&B #1 in 1980)
Smokey Robinson • Being With You
A Taste Of Honey • Sukiyaki
Ray Parker Jr. & Raydio • A Woman Needs Love
Diana Ross & Lionel Richie • Endless Love
Four Tops • When She Was My Girl


…to the 11(!) that didn’t make that list (I included their Hot 100 peak positions)

Lakeside • Fantastic Voyage (#55)
Gap Band • Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me) (#84)
Yarbrough & Peoples • Don’t Stop The Music (#19)
Chaka Khan • What Cha’ Gonna Do For Me (#53)
Rick James • Give It To Me Baby (#40)
Frankie Smith • Double Dutch Bus (#30)
Evelyn King • I’m In Love (#40)
Luther Vandross • Never Too Much (#33)
Roger • I Heard It Through The Grapevine (#79)
Kool & the Gang • Take My Heart (#17)
Earth, Wind & Fire • Let’s Groove (#3, this one would make its impact on the 1982 list tho)

quite some sloppiness in that yaar-end list btw: I mean. “Celebrate”? “I’m Comin’ Up”? ‘Debbie Harry & Blondie’? and that “Together” song is by Tierra, not ‘Tiara’.

That Four Tops song is sad.

At least the seeds for the future were there, if not high up the charts: Funky Four Plus One's "That's the Joint" and Prince's Controversy.

Or rather Funky 4 + 1. P&J spells it all out for some reason.

with the sound, solid exception of the Ray Parker one, none of the songs in the top 10 under consideration meant much to me at the time (I knew six, don’t think I heard “Jessie’s Girl” and “I Don’t Need You” until later, “Elvira” and the Scarbury song are complete unknowns).

that UK top 10 otoh is so much closer to my heart, hardly any duds, and it has “Ghost Town”! “Going Back To My Roots”!! and “Body Talk”!!!

fwiw, my own personal top 10 for that very same week (coincidentally the last one of its kind I would ever compile):
1 DAF • Der Mussolini
2 Marine • Life In Reverse
3 Grace Jones • I’ve Seen That Face Before (Libertango)
4 Coati Mundi • Que Pasa/Me No Pop I
5 Michael Jackson • One Day In Your Life
6 UB40 • Don’t Let It Pass You By / Don’t Slow It Down
7 Pigbag • Papa’s Got A Brand New Pigbag
8 Theatre of Hate • Rebel Without A Brain / My Own Invention
9 Smokey Robinson • Being With You (former #1)
10 The Jam • Funeral Pyre

(also at 12: ESG • You’re No Good and at 14: Carol Jiani • Hit ‘n’ Run Lover - “Ghost Town”! “Going Back To My Roots”!! and “Body Talk”!!! were all top-10 bound with a bullet as well)

also, I can’t hate on “Bette Davis Eyes” - totally ridiculous song, boogie oogie synthie new wave woogie. whoever came up with that “she’s ferocious and she knows just what it takes to make a pro blush” couplet deserves to be Jackie DeShannon.

I am also fine with Bette Davis Eyes, apart from her nails-down-a-chalkboard voice

I love the Synare - it's not an instrument I generally like, but here and especially the Flying Lizards' "Money" I think it's great.

Mix actually did a story on the making of the song. With regards to the Synare, producer/engineer Val Garay says “Craig Krampf bought that thing, and he brings it to the rehearsal and every song we rehearsed he’d be playing the stupid thing and I was like, ‘Craig, get rid of that thing!’ It was the most annoying thing I’d ever heard in my life. But he was relentless and he kept at it..."

now playing, climbing the r&b charts that very week:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TETznfG-O-s
Cheryl Lynn • Shake It Up Tonight

(produced by Ray Parker, Jr.!)

Agree with those above who view the American Top 100 for the year as some kind of nadir. Maybe five songs where I wouldn't switch the station, and "Jessie's Girl" in Boogie Nights.

never knew (love like) this (before):

Smokey Robinson liked Kim Carnes' cover of his song "More Love" so much that he wrote a song specifically for her. Robinson's people convinced him to release the song himself, and that song, "Being With You," peaked at #2 behind "Bette Davis Eyes."

Voted for Kim Carnes, without much enthusiasm. If this had polled the Top 20 that week, I'd have voted "Hearts" by Marty Balin; the top 40, either Alan Parsons or Gino Vannelli.

I remember having a conversation with a friend in the late 90s that songs like "Theme from the Greatest American Hero" had basically vanished from the culture - this kind of faceless "inspirational, sensitive" anthem, soft but still "rock". I remember he mentioned a current hit that he said was a return to this genre which has escaped my brain. Did these qualities migrate to some other genre?

Re: Stars on 45

I wrote this before but it's appropriate now:

My OCD tendencies asserted themselves big time in my pre-adolescence and I found myself writing down Casey Kasem's American Top 40 which aired every weekend on the local Top 40 radio station. I was ignorant of the fact that I could skip the show (and miss the Long Distance Dedications!) and pick up a subscription to Billboard where I would get that chart all the way to 100 and a bunch of other charts as well.

I like to tell the story about how during this time thanks to AC/DC "Back in Black" and Billy Squier "The Stroke" that I discovered loud guitar (my tag line below is an homage to that discovery). I also like to punctuate said story that with AC/DC and Billy Squier as gateway drugs, it was either become a metalhead or a stripper and all my friends say I made the right choice.

Aside from just discovering bombast, I also discovered a love of pop hits that didn't sound like everything else. Now, it may be odd that a medley of Beatles songs would stand out for *not* sounding like everything else, but compare it to the rest of the early '80s pop radio and you will maybe agree that it was very unique.

So I kinda liked the song as an atypical earworm and as such I rooted for it and sure enough, it made it to #1. Only for one week (6/20/1981)! But it made it.

Can you guess the song it supplanted that would retake it's mantle the following week? Would you believe... "Bette Davis Eyes?"

Epilogue: I was in Illinois and I hit a local record store. I decided to record an Amoeba-influenced "What's In My Bag" clip for my adoring fans on social media. The clip runs over 16 minutes and you can see what album YouTube has me holding...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1VzOQ_9qn4

So even nearly 40 years later, I cannot escape that song. And strangely enough, I still don't want to.

But I realize I am likely alone here.

Unchained is from 1981 so the year was good.

From this top 10: Yes on Carnes, Springfield, Hall & Oates, Stars on 45, Parker, Scarbury, Rogers

Getting major K-Tel vibes from this thread

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0XjQRV7CIQ

Unchained is from 1981 so the year was good.

Hell yeah

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Fucking grim year, by charts.

what the actual fuck is that medley and why

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Kenny doesn’t need us and we have no need for Kenny

Top four seems about right.

The Stars on 45 medley is a lame watered-down version of the actual bootleg mix that inspired it, which you can listen to right here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2b_z9umnGo

Bad sound quality near the end, but that’s a minor quibble. I’m sure there’s better versions out there. Anyway, this one has real Beatles samples and not re-recorded imitation vocals like Stars on 45 had. It really slaps, as the kids say.

I'm struggling with the idea that "Bette Davis Eyes" is better than "You Make My Dreams" and "Jessie's Girl" combined.

Nah, the math doesn't work that way in one-choice elections. Votes were probably split.

I voted for JG, but YMMD would have been my #2 choice.

That Ray Parker Jr thing is amazing. Not sure I've heard the central theme of the lyrics addressed before, for starters. (It's the one title I didn't recognise.)