Playlist: 1981

[Warning: This Post Contains Many, Many Words Below the Cut.]

The flash object below the cut is a playlist of songs that were either Billboard or American Top 40 hits in 1981 (back when it was hosted by Casey Kasem, for those of you old enough to remember that). It's obviously not even close to all the hits on either chart, but it's a good cross-section of music I actually enjoyed listening to.

[If the embedded object does not show up or work, try this link.]

Me and 1981

1981 was the year I graduated grammar school and started high school, the year I hit full-blown puberty instead of merely showing signs of it, the year I got my first stereo, and (not coincidentally) the year I bought my first records with my own money.

As you can imagine, the songs popular in 1981 had a lot to do with forming my later musical taste, since it was the first year I was able to buy and play my own albums. Most of what I bought fell into one of two categories: stuff I heard featured on American Top 40, which I listened to every week, and stuff I was introduced to by my family, all of whom are audiophiles. On both sides.

With a couple of overlaps (I'll note where), there's only one song from any given artist on this list, and I tried to keep it to a reasonable length. Warning: the recording levels on these songs vary a bit; keep the volume control handy.

Annotated List of Songs

"Boy From New York City" (Manhattan Transfer)

I grew up listening in part to jazz and swing because my (maternal) grandfather was a big fan of both, but this one's my aunt Robin's fault. I got this album along with my stereo for my 8th-grade graduation present. This isn't my favorite song from the album, but it did crack the top 40, unlike most of the others.

"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (Queen)

And this would be from the first album I ever bought with my own money. I was introduced to Queen by my Dad, so I already liked them enough to spend my allowance on an album by them. I like virtually every song on the album (really there's only one I'm not fond of); this is one of the more fun ones.

"Time in a Bottle" (Jim Croce)

My mother liked Jim Croce (along with a few other guitarist/singers, come to think of it). I never owned this album myself, but this remains one of my favorite songs despite how long ago I first heard it.

"Working My Way Back to You" (The Spinners)

I was a fairly big fan of Motown songs growing up, which sometimes seems odd since I'm not generally a fan of modern R&B. As the '80s started, Motown bands often tended to go a little more towards R&B-influenced pop (Michael Jackson, The Pointer Sisters), which I also tend to like, but this one's pretty much old-school style.

"I Love a Rainy Night" (Eddie Rabbit)

Although I'm not generally a big fan of country or country/western, there are exceptions. The country/rock and country/pop fusion styles tend to be where they all are, and this is one of those.

"Private Eyes" (Hall and Oates)

Hall and Oates released a number of songs in the early 80s that turned out to be big hits. They were very hit or miss for me as a whole, but this one is one of the better ones. Though, like most of their songs, it goes on too long at the end. Imagine how much worse it was when it wasn't played live.

"Believe it or Not" [Theme from "Greatest American Hero"] (Joey Scarbury)

I actually watched "Greatest American Hero", and apparently am one of the few people who realized the song had a name judging from the fact that many years later, I managed to win a radio contest by identifying it correctly after several people failed. I don't remember what I won anymore. So, yeah, it's a little cheesy, but I have fond memories of it. Plus I had a crush on William Katt. Look, I was 12.

"The Voice" (Moody Blues)

I think it was my stepmother who owned the Moody Blues albums, though my dad liked them as well. As did I; my father and I have similar taste in music (though mine's somewhat broader). Anyhow... I didn't have to buy this one, because it was already in the house. They may actually be the first prog-rock band I ever heard and liked, since I first heard them several years before this song was a hit.

"In the Air Tonight" (Phil Collins)

I know this says "Genesis" on the list, but this was in the time period when Collins was releasing his own work as well as band work with them, and technically it's one of his solo works (which is why there's a later Genesis song). Phil Collins is freakin' awesome, and how often is the drummer also the lead singer? Not often, that's how often.

"Games People Play" (Alan Parsons Project)

Another good prog-rock artist (though at the time I don't think anyone was using that term). I was introduced to this song via the radio, though somewhere I believe I own this album... on audio tape. Remember audio tape? Yeah, I own a lot of stuff on audio tape that someday I should really figure out how to rip to MP3.

"Urgent" (Foreigner)

I guess Foreigner was one of the earlier hard rock artists I was into, since when I looked up their discography I realized by 1981 I'd probably known who they were for at least two or three years. Though I guess some of their earlier stuff wasn't quite "hard rock". Anyhow, this song is.

"Burnin' for You" (Blue Oyster Cult)

What I mostly remember about Blue Oyster Cult back in 1981 is that I was fascinated by their symbol for some strange reason. Oh, and, yeah, I loved the hell out of this song.

"Jessie's Girl" (Rick Springfield)

Speaking of crushes (well, back up there)... I had a huge one on Rick Springfield, not only from seeing the video of this song (one of the earliest music videos I ever saw!) but also his run on General Hospital. Yes, I used to watch General Hospital... a looooong time ago. But only in the summer and on school holidays, because, um, we didn't have a VCR.

"Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" (Stevie Nicks/Tom Petty)

Stevie Nicks is an ex-Fleetwood Mac member who likes long skirts. Tom Petty is a weirdo with cool songs. Together, they fight crime! (Okay, no. But it'd probably have been funny if they did.)

"Don't Stand So Close to Me" (The Police)

I think that the album this was from was like the third or fourth one I bought in that summer between 8th grade and high school. Pretty early, at least. I first heard it at a friend's house. I don't know why I remember that. Also one of the earlier videos I saw, come to think of it.

"Super Freak" (Rick James)

Some people will recognize the opening bit of this song because it was later sampled by MC Hammer. I thought it was weird when "U Can't Touch This" came out, because, of course, I'd heard the Rick James song first. Because I'm old.

"Start Me Up" (Rolling Stones)

I hope people no longer associate this song with Windows (*cough*Sell-out!*cough*). Anyhow, I did not have to buy this album, because my father is a Rolling Stones fan. Besides, they played it on the radio approximately every 7 minutes on some station or another.

"You Better, You Bet" (The Who)

Speaking of bands whose albums I did not have to buy because my father always beat me to it. I think he actually owned everything they put out. I wonder if he ever rebought things from this era on CD, or if he still listens to the audio tapes.

"Too Much Time on my Hands" (Styx)

This was not Styx's only hit in '81, but it was the song I like the most from that selection. Styx was extremely popular in my high school group of friends, and was frequent music accompaniment to our D&D weekends. Yes, we were a bunch of geeks. Smart geeks. With good taste in music.

"No Reply at All" (Genesis)

This song, unlike the earlier one, actually was from a Genesis release called Abacab. I think the title song of it also became a hit in '82, so if I can find it, I may include it then; it's probably my second-favorite Genesis album.

"The Stroke" (Billy Squier)

Although I did eventually get into metal, back in '81 Billy Squier was probably the "hardest" hard rock I'd heard. This song used to make the guys in my group of friends snigger. I was pretty innocent back then so it took me a while to catch on to the fact that it's dirty, dirty, dirty. (Though by today's standards, it's mild, mild, mild.)

"Under Pressure" (Queen/David Bowie)

I guess by today's practices, I should make that "Queen feat. David Bowie". Anyhow, it gets included despite the earlier Queen song because it was... um. What do you call it when it's a solo artist and a band doing a duet? Is it still a duet? Also, like an earlier song, the beginning of this was sampled by a "rap artist" later on, only he sucked, so I'm not going to mention who; if you don't already know, you don't want to. Trust me.

"Don't Stop Believin'" (Journey)

Last, but not least, the song that got me putting this list together when I came across a reference to it and decided it'd been far too long since I heard it. I bought this on audio tape, and remember thinking the album cover was super-cool. The album produced more than one hit in '81, but this one remains my favorite song on the album, and one of my favorite songs of all time.

So... that's it! It probably took you as long to read this as it took to listen to the list, because I'm wordy like that. ^_^

[Incidentally, I mostly remembered the lyrics for all the songs on this list, despite not having heard some of them for years. I can retain 30+ years of song lyrics, but I can't remember most of my German. Stupid memory.]

[Okay, now I'm really done.]