Last month, we looked at 1970. Now I'm jumping a little more than a decade ahead to see what songs were hot in 1981.
 |
| No one was bigger than Daryl and John in 1981. (Paul Natkin // Getty) |
The honor for top artist of 1981 goes to Daryl Hall & John Oates. Hall & Oates had three songs on the chart, including number one singles Kiss On My List (14th overall) and Private Eyes (18th). The dynamic duo led a group of five acts with three songs on the year-end tally. Diana Ross was responsible for the third biggest song of the year with the Lionel Richie duet Endless Love, and John Lennon had three posthumous hits that were successful enough to be considered among 1981's best.
What stands out in the 1981 list is the variety of artists and music that comprised the year in popular music. The song of the year was the Rick Springfield classic Jessie's Girl; wrapping up the top five were Kim Carnes' Bette Davis Eyes, the aforementioned Ross and Richie ballad, Queen of Hearts by Juice Newton and the Theme from Greatest American Hero from Joey Scarbury.
Some of my personal favorite songs on the list are Dolly Parton's 9 to 5, Celebration by Kool & The Gang, Physical from the late great Olivia Newton-John, Steely Dan's Hey Nineteen, and the Rick James smash Super Freak. There are a myriad of other songs that I do enjoy; I think that's how I feel a lot of the time about music from the early '80s. I don't have many particular favorites, but there are so many that I definitely turn the volume up and sing along to when they come on.
Now here's that playlist for anyone's listening pleasure:
