Billboard 1981: The Rankdown (Winner Revealed)

[Juanca]

Mar 8, 2019 4:21:37 GMT -5 craziaskowboi said:

Mar 7, 2019 8:22:09 GMT -5 Unhinged said:

#30

Angel Of The Morning

Juice Newton

Total Points: 1326

Billboard Hot 100: 4

Billboard Top 100 of 1981: 25

From: Juice

Originally offered to Connie Francis and later recorded by Merrilee Rush & The Turnabouts in 1968, "Angel In The Morning" found its most successful incarnation with Juice Newton, who took it to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week ending May 2, 1981. It would remain at its peak position for 4 weeks and was the first country music video aired on MTV, debuting the day the network launched.

Starting the day with a No. 1 loss, sorry craziaskowboi ...

craziaskowboi - 1

My cognizant life literally begins with this song. I was a toddler, maybe not even three years old yet, sitting in the back of my parents' Pontiac Sunbird coupe on my way to visit the doctor, and I remember four things:

1. It was late in the morning, and the sun was shining.

2. One of those giant keystone-shaped signs was pointing traffic to the ramp for the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

3. There was a dump truck parked alone in a parking lot next to the Turnpike sign.

4. This song was on the radio.

This was when I learned what a "song" was, and I've been listening to music ever since. That's what makes this song so special to me, and why I had to make it my #1. On a related note, geography and everything associated with it (travel, roads and highways, etc.) have become major hobbies of mine as well. It can all be traced back to my first memory.

I LOVE that!!!
My earliest musical memories go back to the 1970s, but I hear what you say.
There are some early 80s songs that bring me back to very special places in my mind and heart, and they become a big factor in my ranking of some songs, too.
Thanks for sharing!

[craziaskowboi]

Mar 8, 2019 22:44:40 GMT -5 Juanca said:

Mar 8, 2019 4:21:37 GMT -5 craziaskowboi said:

My cognizant life literally begins with this song. I was a toddler, maybe not even three years old yet, sitting in the back of my parents' Pontiac Sunbird coupe on my way to visit the doctor, and I remember four things:

1. It was late in the morning, and the sun was shining.

2. One of those giant keystone-shaped signs was pointing traffic to the ramp for the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

3. There was a dump truck parked alone in a parking lot next to the Turnpike sign.

4. This song was on the radio.

This was when I learned what a "song" was, and I've been listening to music ever since. That's what makes this song so special to me, and why I had to make it my #1. On a related note, geography and everything associated with it (travel, roads and highways, etc.) have become major hobbies of mine as well. It can all be traced back to my first memory.

I LOVE that!!!
My earliest musical memories go back to the 1970s, but I hear what you say.
There are some early 80s songs that bring me back to very special places in my mind and heart, and they become a big factor in my ranking of some songs, too.
Thanks for sharing!

Most of the songs I love can be attached to various fond memories, or even activities I enjoy, such as driving down the highway at night, or taking road trips. Likewise, many of the songs I dislike can be traced back to bad moments in my life. In these rankdowns, I rate the songs primarily on the memories they bring me, which is probably why I'm always at or near the bottom in terms of "closeness" to the rest of the group participating.

For example, "Oh Lord" by In This Moment was my #1 song in the 2017 Active Rock rankdown, but most people who participated in that rankdown panned it. I had to make it my #1, though, because I heard the song a bunch on a road trip I took to Missouri in the summer of 2017 to see the total solar eclipse. In fact, it was the first song I heard on the radio after the eclipse. Going the other way, "Never Let You Go" by Third Eye Blind brings back very heartbreaking memories for me, which is why I made it my #100 on the 2000 Alternative rankdown. The song was popular at a time when my love life ended up on the rocks. Sorry for tanking it, guys, but it hurts for me to listen to.

[craziaskowboi]

Mar 8, 2019 11:05:33 GMT -5 Unhinged said:

The Top 10 (alphabetical by song title):

Another One Bites The Dust - Queen
Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes
Celebration - Kool and The Gang
Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Pat Benatar
Kiss On My List - Daryl Hall and John Oates

9 To 5 - Dolly Parton
Rapture - Blondie
Stop Draggin' My Heart Around - Stevie Nicks w/Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
The Winner Takes It All - Abba
Urgent - Foreigner

2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 13, 21, 23, 48, 49.

5 in my top 10

6 in my top 20

10 in my top 50

0 in my bottom 50

0 in my bottom 20

0 in my bottom 10

Damn, this is good for my standards! Usually I have some random song in my 70s that ends up in the top 10, plus another song in my bottom half. But this time, everything in the top 10 is in my top half, and half of them are in my top 10. In fact, eight of the top 10 are in my top quartile. Sweeet.

[Juanca]

20. Morning Train (19): My favorite Sheena song this year, and just like the other 2 songs in this RD, a song that I still find pleasant to hear nowadays. Likely her song with most recurrent airplay back home.

19. Games People Play (6): Oh, noooo!!!! I've always loved this song! Its interesting and dynamic musicality that somewhat combines pop, dance, soft rock and progressive elements, in a well produced and well sung tune with strong melody and hooks. Robbed from the top 10!

18. The Tide Is High (2): :'( 7th top 10 loss. I was a HUGE Blondie fan at that time. This song was one of the yearend top 25 back home, and I loved the melody, Latin vibe, Debbie's attitude, and the instrumentation throughout the song. A classic 1980s with great recurrent airplay, and one of 5 songs that made Blondie one of my top 5 groups of the 1980s.

17. Whip It (20): Definitely one of the most forward-sounding songs in this RD. Full synth pop with strong melody, synthpop hooks, vocal attitude. Another hit with good recurrent airplay back home.

16. Starting Over (18): Great melody, vocals, lyrics. Overall a very strong song, with that doo-wop-like chorus that sounded classic and timeless. Sad to see John Lennon not having a song in the top 10 :(

15. You Make My Dreams (36): I fluctuated quite a bit on where to rank this song. I originally had it in my top 25 bucket, but interestingly the more I heard this and other songs around it, the more I settled into ranking it in my 30s. I really like it, don't get me wrong, and I've used it in several road trips, but I opted to rank higher those songs that I felt were more dynamic.

14. Hungry Heart (40): Same as above. Although one extra point is that, unlike YMMD, I hadn't heard this song in the 80s, and only heard it in the 90s when I bought his GH compilation. Still a pretty strong song, so not mad at seeing in the top 20.

13. Don't Stand So Close To Me (52): I like The Police, but this is not in my top 5 songs from them. A good song that I might have slightly under-ranked, but I still don't consider as strong as many other songs in the RD.

12. Jessie's Girl (35): A good pop-rock song that has kept good recurrent airplay back home. I like the combo of subdued verses and rockier choruses, and the piano / guitar music combo. Rick did a pretty good job on this one.

11. I'm Coming Out (26): I wasn't a super fan of this song back in the day, but Mo Money Mo Problems made me rediscover it and like it much more than before. Kind of a post-disco jam.

So I have left:
1, 3, 5 --> sole top 10 survivors!
12, 14, 15, 17 --> any could've been in my top 10, tho
21, 22 --> any could've been in my top 20
33 --> mmm, I knew this could be in the top 10... I love the act, and like this song, but I think it's over-appreciated

[Juanca]

Mar 9, 2019 1:39:53 GMT -5 craziaskowboi said:

Mar 8, 2019 22:44:40 GMT -5 Juanca said:

I LOVE that!!!
My earliest musical memories go back to the 1970s, but I hear what you say.
There are some early 80s songs that bring me back to very special places in my mind and heart, and they become a big factor in my ranking of some songs, too.
Thanks for sharing!

Most of the songs I love can be attached to various fond memories, or even activities I enjoy, such as driving down the highway at night, or taking road trips. Likewise, many of the songs I dislike can be traced back to bad moments in my life. In these rankdowns, I rate the songs primarily on the memories they bring me, which is probably why I'm always at or near the bottom in terms of "closeness" to the rest of the group participating.

For example, "Oh Lord" by In This Moment was my #1 song in the 2017 Active Rock rankdown, but most people who participated in that rankdown panned it. I had to make it my #1, though, because I heard the song a bunch on a road trip I took to Missouri in the summer of 2017 to see the total solar eclipse. In fact, it was the first song I heard on the radio after the eclipse. Going the other way, "Never Let You Go" by Third Eye Blind brings back very heartbreaking memories for me, which is why I made it my #100 on the 2000 Alternative rankdown. The song was popular at a time when my love life ended up on the rocks. Sorry for tanking it, guys, but it hurts for me to listen to.

I think this is a very valid and honest way of approaching the RDs!!
Not like saying that country songs will always be in the bottom because that's a disliked genre and songs in this genre won't even be heard (SMH)
Cool!

[Doc Indie Party Rock]

Damn I lost my #1 song of the year. Guess I'll post my actual Top 100 of 1981 now.  This is actually one of my favorite years in music.  A lot of classic new Wave and  Album Rock songs make the cut. This year was packed with Cars songs from both "Candy-O" and "Panorama". I compiled this list about 10 years ago so some initial reactions have changed through the years. 


Doc Indie Party Rock 's TOP 100 songs of 1981.

100. Altered States - I Could Be Happy


99. The Cars - Panorama

98. Missing Persons - I Like Boys

97. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark  - Enola Gay

96. Electric Light Orchestra - Hold On Tight

95. John Cougar - This Time

94. AC/DC - Hell's Bells

93. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Electricity

92. Adam and The Ants - Prince Charming

91. The Cars - Down Boys


90. Sheena Easton - Morning Train (9 To 5)

89. Devo - Big Mess

88. Duran Duran - Careless Memories

87. Duran Duran - Girls On Film*(returns in 1982)

86. Devo - Working In The Coal Mine *(from Heavy Metal soundtrack)


85. The Pretenders - Message Of Love

84. The Cars - Running To You

83. Raydio feat. Ray Parker jr. - A Woman Needs Love(Just Like You Do)

82. Cheap Trick - Reach Out *(from Heavy Metal Soundtrack)

81. Devo - Through Being Cool


80. Pat Benatar - Fire and Ice

79. Prince - Uptown


78. Heart - Tell It Like It Is

77. AC/DC -  Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution

76. Touch - Don't You Know What Love Is

75. AC/DC - Problem Child

74. The Pretenders - Mystery Achievement

73. The Tubes - Talk To Ya Later

72. Don Felder - Heavy Metal (Takin' a Ride) *(from Heavy Metal Soundtrack)

71. AC/DC - Shoot To Thrill /What Do You Do For Money Honey
charted so much AC/DC that I made a double A-side single out of these two.


70. Carl Carlton - She's A Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)

69. Ozzy Osbourne - Over The Mountain

68. The Cars - Up & Down

67. John Lennon - Woman

66. Electric Light Orchestra - The Fall *(from Xanadu Soundtrack)

65. Greg Kihn Band - The Breakup Song (they don't write 'em)

64. Blondie - The Tide Is High

63. Foreigner - Waiting For A Girl Like You

62. REO Speedwagon - Tough Guys

61. Depeche Mode - Just Can't Get Enough
A synthpop wonder.




60. Olivia Newton-John - Suspended In Time *(from Xanadu soundtrack)

59. Red Ryder - Lunatic Fringe

58. Rod Stewart - Passion

57. Stevie Winwood - While You See A Chance

56. The Pretenders - Talk Of The Town

55. Missing Persons - Mental Hopscotch
KROQ's #1 song of 1981.


54. Rick James - Superfreak

53. Spandau Ballet - To Cut A Long Story Short

52. Billy Squier - In The Dark

51. Journey - The Party's Over


50. Joey Scarbury- Believe It or Not

49. Jefferson Starship - Find Your Way back

48. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Night Watchman
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwPvvOe8FXc

47. U2 - I Will Follow

46. Adam and The Ants - Friends

45. Devo - Jerkin' Back 'n' Forth

44. Blondie - Rapture


43. The Who - You Better You Bet

42. Journey - Stone In Love

41. Michael Stanley Band - He Can't Love You


40. Adam and The Ants - Ant Music

39. Queen - Flash *(from Flash Gordon soundtrack)

38. Blue Öyster Cult - I'm Burning For You

37. Loverboy - The Kid Is Hot Tonight

36. The Cars - Gimmi Some Slack
...and now for the coolest band in the history of music. 


35. The Cars - Misfit Kid

34. .38 Special - Hold On Loosley

33. Pat Benatar - Treat Me Right

32. Rod Stewart - Young Turks

31. Journey - Who's Crying Now


30. The Rolling Stones - Start Me Up

29. REO Speedwagon - Take It On The Run

28. Styx - The Best Of Times

27. Foreigner - Urgent

26. Donnie Iris - Ah Leah


25. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers; - A Woman In Love (It's Not Me)

24. Adam and The Ants - Stand and Deliver

23. Olivia Newton-John & Cliff Richard - Suddenly

22. Steve Nicks and Tom Petty - Stop Dragging My Heart Around

21. Hall & Oates - Kiss On My List


20. Billy Squier - The Stroke

19. Rick Springfield - I've Done Everything For You

18. Kool & the Gang - Celebration

17. Loverboy - Turn Me Loose


16. The Police - De do do do, de da da da

15. Olivia Newton-John - Physical

14. Rush - Tom Sawyer

13. Styx- Too Much Time on My Hands

12. Hall & Oates- You Make My Dreams

11. Rush - Limelight


10. Pat Benatar - Hit Me With Your Best Shot

9. AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
from 1979, but I heard it all over the radio in 1981.

8. The Police - Don't Stand So Close to Me

7. The Cars - Let's Go
my favorite song of all time made three chart years. 1979, 1980 ans 1981, and outlived most songs from 'Panorama" too.

6. Daryl Hall & John Oates - Private Eyes

5. REO Speedwagon - Keep On Loving You
Power ballad heaven.


4. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - The Waiting


3. Kim Carnes - Bette Davis Eyes


2. AC/DC - Back In Black

1. Rick Springfield - Jessie's Girl

[craziaskowboi]

"Ah! Leah" is my favorite song of 1981, just so you all know.

[Doc Indie Party Rock]

a few thoughts on the last 20 songs we saw

#30. Angel Of The Morning - Juice Newton
I also enjoyed Juice Newton. If 1981 wasn't stacked with what was the biggining of the New Wave slaughter on pop I might have gotten more into her songs. I found this one to have that epic power ballad vibe. This one had some Bonnie Tyler vibes.

#29. Queen Of The Hearts - Juice Newton
This one was o.k. My dad wasn't a big fan of Country Western, but I remember this album in his collection which I inherited years later.

#28. The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em) - The Greg Kihn Band
This "Jeopardy" were the only Greg Kihn songs I remember. This one gets into the feel of things right away. I recall somwhere saying that the "ahahaha"'s were because he didn't want all the lyrics to rhyme or something like that.

#27. Slow Hand - The Pointer Sisters
I'm still pissed at Billboard for shutting "He's So Shy" out of 1980. "Slow Hand" hit the bulls eye with that smooth groove the guitars created.

#26. Keep On Loving You - REO Speedwagon
The grandfather of all Rock Power ballads. I loved this song from the start. The AOR bands like this one and Styx really knew how to inject the right amount of guitar for both Popsters and Rocksters. The Music Video is melted cheese, but this is the inspiration to classics like "Sister Christian", "Heaven" and "Miles Away".

#25. Treat Me Right - Pat Benatar
Pat could do no wrong with her Hi-Fi vocals. I charted three of her top 40 hits in 1981. This is hard rock heaven to me.

#24. Lady (You Bring Me Up) - The Commodores
This song is alright. I appreciated it more in my older years. Funny thing is this is probably my favorite Commodores jam.

#23. The Stroke - Billy Squier
Billy hit that bulls eye here with the Queen -like "We Will Rock You" vibe. I'm glad this did so well on this rankdown. I was afraid PULSE wouldn't be on board with the "Stroke Me Stroke Me" lyrics? Back then I used to think Kevin Cronin and Billy were the same person.

#22. While You See A Chance - Steve Winwood
Most of the songs from this set easily made my personal top 100 of 1981. Steve 's songs sounded so good cause he had musical back rounds on all genres. This song has a bit of jazz, blues, rock and Blue Eyed soul.

#21. Who's Crying Now - Journey
I remember this one was huge on all Rock formats. You could hear this one on KLOS sandwiched between a Rush and AC/DC song.

part two:

#20. Morning Train (Nine To Five) - Sheena Easton
Probably my favorite 80's short haired hottie. This was the first time Sheena scored a top 10 hit on my personal chart. that melody was so irresistible.

#19. Games People Play - The Alan Parsons Project
I never flipped for this band like some of you do, but I did like this song. I liked "Eye In The Sky" even more.

#18. The Tide Is High - Blondie
I had heard this song 100's of times but never saw the MV until this time. Up til last year I charted just about everything Blondie, but this is probably her weakest to me. Still made my top 100 tho.

#17. Whip It - Devo
This was from 1980. Huge song and one of my favorite New Wave songs ever. In 1981 the band released another album titled 'New Traditionalists'. I charted a bunch of songs from it.

#16. (Just Like) Starting Over - John Lennon
Another song I started getting into years after it's initial release. I really like when it picks up pace. Almost like something Billy Joel would have released in 1983.

#15. You Make My Dreams - Hall & Oates
Another one of my favorite music acts from the 80's. This song is pure fun from start to finish. This duo could make the most simple melody sound epic and were kings of the fade out. The original Blue Eyed soul champs inspired one of my favorite modern bands. Fitz and The Tantrums. There is even a MV where they perform "Moneygrabber" together.

#14. Hungry Heart - Bruce Springsteen
This one is alright. Truth be told I didn't get into The Boss until "Dancing In The Dark". I charted everything from 'Born In The USA'.

#13. Don't Stand So Close To Me - The Police
Yes! My favorite Police song ever. The buildup to this song is perfect. It's funny but the songs mood is even a bit dark in the verses. Like the terror is growing inside him of how he feels for the girl, but than the tempo goes up. F U C K it. I'm in England and its the 80's. This is gonna be huge on the charts.

#12. Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield
Damn! So close too. One of my top 10 songs from the whole 80's era. Such a perfect combination of guitar melodies and lyrics. There is a live performance where Rick takes three of my all time favorites "Just What I Needed", "Stacey's Mom" and this song and fuses them together. Great stuff. he even throws "8675-309/ Jenny" in there for laughs. A timeless classic. The perfect party rock jam. What else could be my #1 song?

#11. I'm Coming Out - Diana Ross
At #98 for this year end list. You know how close this song came to missing the list? This was on the radio all the time. It's my favorite Diana Ross jam and the reason
"Mo Money Mo Problems" is my favorite gangsta rap song.

[Unhinged]

#10

Urgent

Foreigner

Total Points: 1610

Billboard Hot 100: 4

Billboard Top 100 of 1981: 37

From: 4

Released in early July of 1981, "Urgent" was a big success, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week ending September 5^th where it would remain for the remainder of the month. The song debuted at No. 2 on the Mainstream Rock chart and was No. 1 by its second week, July 25, 1981.

Thomas Dolby played the synthesizer on the song and Motown great Junior Walker provided the famous saxophone solo.

This placed inside the Top 50 on every list (with the exception of 2) and I start the day with a No. 1 loss...

singingrulebritannia - 11
God - 45
Butterflies & Hurricanes - 16
Sambalada - 82
Doc Indie Party Rock - 14
gonecountry - 37
mamooshka - 14
rowellfarm490 - 16
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 18
Mirago - 9
rgreen0625 - 9
Az Paynter - 34
newpower - 17
campbellssoup - 8
craziaskowboi - 9
tallen2001 - 24
Cody Wants Out... - 32
Red - 26
tim  - 98 
Juanca - 15
Unhinged - 1

Observing

Mic Technique
peacebone
Mylo13 💜
Alex1901

[Unhinged]

#9

The Winner Takes It All

ABBA

Total Points: 1682

Billboard Hot 100: 8

Billboard Top 100 of 1981: 23

From: Super Trouper

Peaking at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, "The Winner Takes It All" was the first single released from the album Super Trouper. Co-writer Björn Ulvaeus has denied that the song is about his and Agnetha Fältskog's divorce, saying the basis of the song "is the experience of a divorce, but it's fiction."

11 Top 10's fall with this leaving the rankdown, the most yet...

singingrulebritannia - 2
God - 4
Butterflies & Hurricanes - 37
Sambalada - 5
Doc Indie Party Rock - 40
gonecountry - 24
mamooshka - 5
rowellfarm490 - 4
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 23
Mirago - 7
rgreen0625  - 2 
Az Paynter - 5
newpower - 7
campbellssoup - 78
craziaskowboi - 49
tallen2001 - 10
Cody Wants Out... - 39
Red - 19
tim - 56
Juanca - 3
Unhinged - 20

Observing

Mic Technique
peacebone
Mylo13 💜
Alex1901

[Unhinged]

#8

9 To 5

Dolly Parton

Total Points: 1688

Billboard Hot 100: 1⁽²⁾

Billboard Top 100 of 1981: 9

From: 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs

Winning Grammy Awards for Best Country Song and Best Country Female Vocal Performance, "9 To 5" was a huge success, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week ending February 21, 1981. It was knocked out of the top spot the following week by "I Love A Rainy Night" only to return to No. 1 the week ending March 14^th for a final week at the summit.

The song was featured in the classic film of the same name (starring Parton, Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dabney Coleman).

This placed inside the Top 55 on every list and 2 No. 1 placements fall with this leaving the rankdown ...sorry Sambalada and Az Paynter.

singingrulebritannia  - 47
God - 5
Butterflies & Hurricanes - 35
Sambalada - 1
Doc Indie Party Rock - 42
gonecountry - 20
mamooshka - 7
rowellfarm490 - 25
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 31
Mirago - 4
rgreen0625 - 52
Az Paynter - 1
newpower - 10
campbellssoup - 47
craziaskowboi - 21
tallen2001 - 5
Cody Wants Out... - 14
Red - 35
tim - 2
Juanca - 22
Unhinged - 8

Observing

Mic Technique
peacebone
Mylo13 💜
Alex1901

[Unhinged]

#7

Celebration

Kool & The Gang

Total Points: 1696

Billboard Hot 100: 1⁽²⁾

Billboard Top 100 of 1981: 6

From: Celebrate!

Moving along to the song that was No. 1 prior to "9 To 5" on the Billboard Hot 100, "Celebration" was the lead single from the album Celebrate! and also hit No. 1 on the Hot Dance Club Play and Hot Soul Singles charts.

This got 16 Top 25 placements and congratulations tallen2001 on your perfect rank!

singingrulebritannia - 21
God - 20
Butterflies & Hurricanes - 43
Sambalada - 6
Doc Indie Party Rock - 13
gonecountry - 53
mamooshka - 9
rowellfarm490 - 15
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 19
Mirago - 28
rgreen0625 - 53
Az Paynter - 20
newpower - 11
campbellssoup - 22
craziaskowboi - 23
tallen2001 - 7
Cody Wants Out... - 12
Red - 12
tim - 7
Juanca - 12
Unhinged - 19

Observing

Mic Technique
peacebone
Mylo13 💜
Alex1901

[Unhinged]

#6

Stop Draggin' My Heart Around

Stevie Nicks & Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Total Points: 1702

Billboard Hot 100: 3⁽⁶⁾

Billboard Top 100 of 1981: 59

From: Bella Donna

Peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of September 4, 1981, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" would spend the next 6 weeks at its peak position. Written by Tom Petty and Mike Campbell it was the debut single for Stevie Nicks and was the 25^th video to be played on MTV's launch date on August 1, 1981.

Time to say good-bye to your No. 1 God...

 

singingrulebritannia - 27
God - 1
Butterflies & Hurricanes - 14
Sambalada  - 69 
Doc Indie Party Rock - 5
gonecountry - 5
mamooshka - 4
rowellfarm490 - 20
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 56
Mirago - 5
rgreen0625 - 4
Az Paynter - 48
newpower - 20
campbellssoup - 18
craziaskowboi - 8
tallen2001 - 29
Cody Wants Out... - 7
Red - 18
tim - 34
Juanca - 14
Unhinged - 13

Observing

Mic Technique
peacebone
Mylo13 💜
Alex1901

[Unhinged]

#5

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

Pat Benatar

Total Points: 1707

Billboard Hot 100: 9

Billboard Top 100 of 1981: 46

From: Crimes Of Passion

"Hit Me With Your Best Shot" was released in September of 1980 as the second single from the album Crimes Of Passion. It was her first Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 9 the final chart week of 1980.

singingrulebritannia - 43
God - 25
Butterflies & Hurricanes - 7
Sambalada - 2
Doc Indie Party Rock - 3
gonecountry - 27
mamooshka - 8
rowellfarm490 - 17
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 34
Mirago - 6
rgreen0625 - 76
Az Paynter - 4
newpower - 8
campbellssoup - 35
craziaskowboi - 48
tallen2001 - 2
Cody Wants Out... - 2
Red - 10
tim - 14
Juanca - 33
Unhinged - 10

Observing

Mic Technique
peacebone
Mylo13 💜
Alex1901

[Unhinged]

#4

Kiss On My List

Hall & Oates

Total Points: 1708

Billboard Hot 100: 1⁽³⁾

Billboard Top 100 of 1981: 7

From: Voices

Third single from the album Voices, "Kiss On My List" was a big success, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April of 1981 where it remained for 3 weeks. It was the start of a string of hits the duo would send into the Top 10.

With the exception of one outlier, this placed inside the Top 40 on every list...

singingrulebritannia - 4
God - 91
Butterflies & Hurricanes - 18
Sambalada - 18
Doc Indie Party Rock - 17
gonecountry - 3
mamooshka - 10
rowellfarm490 - 18
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 7
Mirago - 10
rgreen0625 - 31
Az Paynter - 2
newpower - 14
campbellssoup - 21
craziaskowboi - 6
tallen2001 - 33
Cody Wants Out... - 20
Red - 8
tim - 36
Juanca - 21
Unhinged - 24

Observing

Mic Technique
peacebone
Mylo13 💜
Alex1901

[Unhinged]

#3

Rapture

Blondie

Total Points: 1776

Billboard Hot 100: 1⁽²⁾

Billboard Top 100 of 1981: 15

From: Autoamerican

In January 1981, "Rapture" was released as the 2^nd single from the album Autoamerican. It was their 4^th (and final) single to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it remained for 2 weeks. It was the first No. 1 song in the U.S. to feature rap vocals (performed by Deborah Harry).

When I started calculating the rankdown this looked like it could take the whole thing, until later submissions came in. Congratulations Mirago on your perfect rank!

singingrulebritannia - 9
God - 2
Butterflies & Hurricanes - 2
Sambalada - 8
Doc Indie Party Rock - 10
gonecountry - 9
mamooshka - 2
rowellfarm490 - 2
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 8
Mirago - 3
rgreen0625 - 15
Az Paynter - 76
newpower - 13
campbellssoup - 10
craziaskowboi - 4
tallen2001 - 53
Cody Wants Out... - 61
Red - 2
tim - 40
Juanca - 5
Unhinged - 11

Observing

Mic Technique
peacebone
Mylo13 💜
Alex1901

[Unhinged]

The Top 2

Here we are again at another Top 2 finale.

As stated above, in the beginning it looked as if Blondie would score a repeat of 1980 with "Rapture," but as the submissions kept rolling in it was clear that these two songs would take top billing.

Gotta say that I am pleasantly surprised to see these two end up here. My personal favorite group of all time vs. one of the best songs released by a female artist ever.

#2

Bette Davis Eyes

Kim Carnes

Total Points: 1883

Billboard Hot 100: 1⁽⁹⁾

Billboard Top 100 of 1981: 1

From: Mistaken Identity

This enduringly popular smash was released in March of 1981 and would top the Billboard Hot 100 by the week ending May 16^th. It spent 9 non-consecutive weeks at the top and would tie with "Endless Love" as the longest running No. 1 of 1981.

"Bette Davis Eyes" was the No. 1 song of 1981 according to Billboard.

Juanca loses his No. 1 (so close!) and both Mirago and craziaskowboi score perfect ranks!

singingrulebritannia - 6
God - 18
Butterflies & Hurricanes - 6
Sambalada - 21
Doc Indie Party Rock - 4
gonecountry - 8
mamooshka - 3
rowellfarm490 - 13
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 11
Mirago - 2
rgreen0625 - 6
Az Paynter - 51
newpower - 5
campbellssoup - 34
craziaskowboi - 2
tallen2001 - 21
Cody Wants Out... - 5
Red - 6
tim - 10
Juanca - 1
Unhinged - 4

Observing

Mic Technique
peacebone
Mylo13 💜
Alex1901

#1

Another One Bites The Dust
Queen

Total Points: 1900

Billboard Hot 100: 1⁽³⁾

Billboard Top 100 of 1981: 65

From: The Game

This massive international hit was released as the 4^th single from the album The Game. The story goes that it was Michael Jackson, who after attending a Queen concert in Los Angeles, suggested to Freddie Mercury back stage that this be released as a single.

It peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October of 1980, remaining in place for 3 weeks and garnered Queen a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

It was claimed at the time that the chorus, when played in reverse, can be heard as "Decide to smoke marijuana", "It's fun to smoke marijuana", or "Start to smoke marijuana." This claim was later debunked by Queen's record label.

5 perfect ranks with this winning...congratulations mamooshka , rowellfarm490 , Mirago , newpower and Red !

singingrulebritannia - 10
God - 24
Butterflies & Hurricanes - 5
Sambalada - 3
Doc Indie Party Rock - 2
gonecountry - 6
mamooshka - 1
rowellfarm490 - 1
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 25
Mirago - 1
rgreen0625 - 27
Az Paynter - 12
newpower - 1
campbellssoup - 41
craziaskowboi - 13
tallen2001 - 9
Cody Wants Out... - 4
Red - 1
tim - 15
Juanca - 17
Unhinged - 3

Observing

Mic Technique
peacebone
Mylo13 💜
Alex1901

That's it folks!

Hope you enjoyed the rankdown!

Thanks for participating and for all the wonderful conversation that took place about this awesome year in music!

Moving along to the Billboard 1982 Rankdown and submissions are due March 23^rd!

The Billboard 1981 Rankdown

Another One Bites The Dust - Queen
Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes
Rapture - Blondie
Kiss On My List - Hall & Oates
Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Pat Benatar
Stop Draggin' My Heart Around - Stevie Nicks w/Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Celebration - Kool & The Gang
9 To 5 - Dolly Parton
The Winner Takes It All - Abba
Urgent - Foreigner
I'm Coming Out - Diana Ross
Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield
Don't Stand So Close to Me - The Police
Hungry Heart - Bruce Springsteen
You Make My Dreams - Daryl Hall and John Oates
(Just Like) Starting Over - John Lennon
Whip It - Devo
The Tide Is High - Blondie
Games People Play - Alan Parsons Project
Morning Train (Nine To Five) - Sheena Easton
Who's Crying Now - Journey
While You See a Chance - Steve Winwood
The Stroke - Billy Squier
Lady (You Bring Me Up) - Commodores
Treat Me Right - Pat Benatar
Keep On Loving You - REO Speedwagon
Slow Hand - Pointer Sisters
The Break Up Song - The Greg Kihn Band
Queen Of Hearts - Juice Newton
Angel Of The Morning - Juice Newton
Woman - John Lennon
Take It On The Run - REO Speedwagon
Hold On Tight - ELO
Master Blaster (Jammin') - Stevie Wonder
Too Much Time On My Hands - Styx
I Love A Rainy Night - Eddie Rabbitt
Watching The Wheels - John Lennon
Just The Two Of Us - Grover Washington Jr.
Ain't Even Done With The Night - John Cougar
Being With You - Smokey Robinson
Passion - Rod Stewart
De Do Do Do, de Da Da Da - The Police
Theme from "Greatest American Hero" (Believe It Or Not) - Joey Scarbury
All Those Years Ago - George Harrison
For Your Eyes Only - Sheena Easton
Endless Love - Diana Ross and Lionel Richie
Tell It Like It Is - Heart
Hey Nineteen - Steely Dan
Modern Girl - Sheena Easton
You've Lost That Loving Feeling - Daryl Hall and John Oates
Woman In Love - Barbra Streisand
Winning - Santana
A Little in Love - Cliff Richard
Seven Year Ache - Rosanne Cash
Time - Alan Parsons Project
Really Want To Know You - Gary Wright
The Best of Times - Styx
I Love You - The Climax Blues Band
A Woman Needs Love (Just Like You Do) - Ray Parker Jr. and Raydio
Smoky Mountain Rain - Ronnie Milsap
Suddenly - Olivia Newton-John and Cliff Richard
Somebody's Knockin' - Terri Gibbs
This Little Girl - Gary "U.S." Bonds
Lady - Kenny Rogers
More Than I Can Say - Leo Sayer
Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do) - Christopher Cross
Guilty - Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb
Hearts - Marty Balin
Sweetheart - Franke and The Knockouts
America - Neil Diamond
I Ain't Gonna Stand For It - Stevie Wonder
I Can't Stand It - Eric Clapton
Time Is Time - Andy Gibb
The Boy From New York City - The Manhattan Transfer
Same Old Lang Syne - Dan Fogelberg
Step By Step - Eddie Rabbitt
Cool Love - deleted Cruise
Crying - Don Mclean
It's My Turn - Diana Ross
(There's) No Gettin' Over Me - Ronnie Milsap
Giving It Up for Your Love - Delbert McClinton
Love On the Rocks - Neil Diamond
Sukiyaki - A Taste Of Honey
Stars On 45 Medley - Stars On 45
How 'Bout Us - Champaign
Miss Sun - Boz Scaggs
Living Inside Myself - Gino Vannelli
The One That You Love - Air Supply
Sweet Baby - Stanley Clarke and George Duke
I Made It Through the Rain - Barry Manilow
Elvira - Oak Ridge Boys
Beach Boys Medley - The Beach Boys
Every Woman In the World - Air Supply
What Kind Of Fool - Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb
Together - Tierra
It's Now Or Never - John Schneider
Hello Again - Neil Diamond
Feels So Right - Alabama
What Are We Doin' In Love - Dottie West
I Don't Need You - Kenny Rogers

[Az Paynter]

I am perfectly on board for the Queen win; I don't mind 'Bette Davis Eyes' but I hate Kim's voice on it. That rasp is not a pleasant sound for me.

[Alex1901]

Oh good Bette Davis Eyes didnt win. I probably would've put it in my 50s or 60s.

[Red]

Okay, so, yeah, I underranked "The Winner Takes It All". I would consider putting it top five now. Out of every song here, it's the one that has really stuck with me all over again. Well, that and "Smoky Mountain Rain". Pleasantly surprised "Kiss on My List" was so high. Thought it would get the classic H&O treatment.

Love the top three. Wish I could say that "I could have had a top two perfecto", but "Rapture" was over 100 points behind the eventual #2, so...that wasn't happening. I was right about "Bette Davis Eyes" being a dark horse, but I wasn't prepared for "Another One Bites the Dust" to not have any tankers whatsoever. I mean, I'll take it, of course. "Another One" isn't one of my absolute favorite Queen songs, but even "merely" upper tier Queen will almost always be #1 for me in a rankdown like this, even against a few tough competitors.

As always, a great job hosting, Unhinged. Just one more RD to go until we get to the really tough one. :kii:

[singingrulebritannia]

Ok I was literally asleep through the entire finale lol

The top 4 were all in my top 10, so the day is saved.


For some reason I never said this before now despite me definitely thinking of making the post. The song I was most surprised to see in the top 10 was "Celebration". It's the type of song so omnipresent and broad that it doesn't even feel anymore like an artist/group brought into the world. It's the exact type of song that even though I like it I could understand if someone finds it to be corny obnoxious vacuous fluff. So I'm shocked that there weren't even any bottom 40 rankings.

Also, whenever Bette Davis Eyes comes up, I have to post:

[Mirago]

Mar 11, 2019 13:10:49 GMT -5 singingrulebritannia said:

Also, whenever Bette Davis Eyes comes up, I have to post:

Who knew what magic mashing up Better Davis Eyes and Waiting for a Star to Fall might create?

[Mirago]

That Queen track changed the Game. :kii:   It sounds like disco, funk, rhythm and rock all in one, not easy to accomplish. Can you imagine they had reservations about releasing it?


28-10-9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. This is the closest I've been yet in an 80s rankdown so I fully endorse this Awesome top 10!
Thanks Unhinged .

[mamooshka]

That was great, Unhinged. Lots of nail-biting moments ... but these are all worthy top placements. 

Looking forward to 1982.

Attachment Deleted

[newpower]

I was off the interwebs the last 10 days so I missed the reveals but what a great top 10. Pleasantly suprised to see Hall & Oates that high.
Thanks again for hosting Unhinged , excellent job as always.

[gonecountry]

Thanks Unhinged, great rankdown!

[Doc Indie Party Rock]

#10. Urgent - Foreigner
Kinda surprised to see this one make the top 10 here. Not complaining and if we ever do 70's, I would expect that same kinda love for "Hot Blooded",Double Vision" and "Feels Like The First Time". and that's just the tip of the "Cold As Ice" berg.

#9.The Winner Takes It All - ABBA
It's no "Dancin' Queen", but I see it has held up surprisingly good through the years.

#8. 9 To 5 - Dolly Parton
This song among all my rock and New wave classics of 1981 might seem like an oddball, but what do I love besides party rock? Music with an ultra fun vibe.

#7. Celebration - Kool & The Gang
party dance music. Love this one. I'll sandwich this one in between "Ladies Night" and "Get Down On It" as my Kool & the Gang fav.

#6. Stop Draggin' My Heart Around - Stevie Nicks & Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
This one has become more and more one of my favs from 1981. Tom and Stevie sound great together. Another rock classic that was deservingly overplayed on hard rock radio format.

#5. Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Pat Benatar
Look at all those top 10's. Am I glad I love female rock vocals even more. This is like female anthem over here. The chicks over here hit back.

#4. Kiss On My List - Hall & Oates
With this one ending up so high my hopes are super positive "I Can't Go For That (no Can Do)"

#3. Rapture - Blondie
Another song that would end up higher on my top 100 if I would redo it. Especially since I learned the rap and can sing along. Here's is the classic Italo Disco cover from Elena Ferretti singing under her famous alias Sophie. the rap is done by Mauro Farina.


#2. Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes
Kim had more hits in the 80's than she is remembered for. This is surely my favorite tho. It needed her "smoky" vocals to work tho. Those claps effects were all over the charts in 70's and 80's. "Let's Go" The Cars and Devo "Whip It" ,and Hall & Oates "Private Eyes" also put those claps to good use.

#1. Another One Bites The Dust - Queen
A great #1 song. I still feel it did most of its damage in 1980 and #65 is embarrassing. I'm sure Billboard questioned themselves after that decision was made. This is one of those songs when you have to break the rules and give it its deserving slot in a year end countdown. I'm glad we did as a team.


This was a massive year in music, but I can't wait to see how 1982 turns out. Thanks to Unhinged and looking forward to the next blast into the past.

[rowellfarm490]

Wow, cool! I didn't think "Another One Bites the Dust" would be able to pull it off. I figured there was bound to be some low rankers for it, as there usually are for my #1 song in these 80s rankdowns. I'm glad to be proven wrong!

Thanks for hosting Unhinged ! I'll be looking forward to 1982. I don't think my expected #1 will be quite as fortunate there though.

[craziaskowboi]

Wow, I had four perfect rankings in this rankdown!

[Juanca]

10. Urgent (15): Oh! Foreigner in the top 10? :o Great to see their succeeding with one of their best songs (although I still think IWKWLI deserved a much higher spot in 1985!). Love the rock energy, the unexpected sax bridge, and of course the strong vocals. This ended in the yearend top 10 back home, and has maintained pretty good recurrent airplay. Back in the early 80s I was amused at how this and Rod Stewart's Passion were all about repeating a two-syllable word as the main hook

9. The Winner Takes It All (3): :'( One of my top 3 Abba songs for sure (currently my #1, but sometimes I love couple other songs a bit more). I see this as Agnetha's most heartfelt, poignant and powerful vocal. The melody, albeit a bit simple, is strong enough to carry the outstanding lyric and main vocals. Background vocals and piano (especially in the outro) are the icing on the cake. Outstanding song and one of my favorite 1980s songs. By the way, they didn't record a version in Spanish... probably the best version in Spanish was by Pimpinela in the late 1990s


8. 9 To 5 (22): Another pretty good country pop song this year. Although this was only my 4th highest this year, it's still great to see one country song in a yearend top 10! Super fun.

7. Celebration (12): And this is even more fun!! A classic 1980s party song, and just behind Ladies Night in terms of my favorite K&TG songs. Great to see it in the top 10! By the way, I was so excited in 1992 when I heard that Kylie was doing a cover. It seemed so promising... but ended up so disappointing!! No one should ever do a cover anymore. Period. I did like their 1991 remix, though. Great way to update the sound to the new decade :)


6. Stop Draggin' My Heart Around (14): I wasn't a big fan of this song in the 1980s, but I grew to like it with time. Now it's one of my favorites from Stevie. Plus, both sound excellent together, and the sound is just classic rock ballad bliss.

5. Hit Me With Your Best Shot (33): I assumed this was going to be top 5, especially as I learned that this was a bar classic in the US. Lol. This has always sounded a bit cringy to me. Not in my top 5 Pat Benatar songs, but I won't complain at Pat having a yearend top 5.

4. Kiss On My List (21): A strong pop classic from H&O. Not in my top 3 of their songs, but they have pretty good songs, so that's not a bad thing

3. Rapture (5): Another GREAT song from Blondie!! I've always loved the music, dynamics, uniqueness, vocals of this song. From the music (sax, percussion, bells, guitars!!) to the vocals (from high-octave melodic singing, to attitudinal rapping). A great example of the richness of 1980s music, and of Blondie of course!
It was nice to hear Erasure sampling not only Abba, but also Erasure with this decent 1997 cover

However, my favorite recreation of this song was the glorious 2005 mashup with Riders on the Storm, which I took to the top of my personal chart


2. Bette Davis Eyes (1): YAY!!! Glad to see this in the top 2!! This synth pop tune sounded so cool and forward-looking back in 1981. Bette's vocals can be tricky (like, go cough and expectorate!), but I thought her smoky voice gave sexiness and mysteriousness to the song, plus the way she sang with different inflections gave a lot of personality to the song. The claps were an added bonus.
To me, this is one of the best covers ever. Such a 180 over the original 1974 standard by Jackie DeShannon


1. Another One Bites the Dust (17): I would've likely ranked it a bit higher if I made this RD after watching Bohemian Rhapsody Musically and vocally this is great. The melody feels a bit weak for a Queen song. For dance Queen, give me Gaga :) In any case, this is a well-deserved top 10 song, and a song that should've never been so low in the yearend Hot 100 (!). Great winner anyway!

Thanks, Unhinged, for another great rankdown!