February 1981 -- Peak Country & Awesome Tracks

By Feb 1981, disco had officially died, new wave was taking a break, and the British new wave hadn't arrived yet.  In this gap, an amazing amount of adult contemporary and country music was on the charts, alongside a healthy dose of real rock records, yacht rock, and solid R&B.

Country crossover was so popular that Don McLean and the Eagles joined the bandwagon.  Joining them were Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, and Eddie Rabbitt (all #1 pop hits); Ronnie Milsap and Fred Knoblock.  The DJs even called the Stevie Wonder record an imitation of a country ballad, which I'd never considered.

"Heartbreak Hotel" was noted as being weird...but my first thought was that it sounded like the title track from "Thriller."  "Lady" was called "moody" which I'd also never thought about, but he was right.

Even with all the rock records, one stands out -- Back in Black, debatably the hardest rock songs to make the top 40 in the decade...and there it sits with 2 Neil Diamond records, Barry Manilow, Barbra Striesand and Abba.

And while I've never calculated it, this may be the top 40 with the most 5-star songs for me, eight!

Guilty, it's my turn, reo speedwagon, hello again, lady, a little in love, smokey mountain rain, and same auld lang syne.  And another 11 four-star songs. 

Back in 1981, I would've put Tierra as a clear 5-star, but I don't care for it so much anymore.  Ah Leah's down a bit too.  By contrast, I would've put Blondie, Heart, McLean, the Police, and ac/dc as among the worst songs of the year....but they've all climbed, especially Blondie.

Top song is hard to pick, but I'm going with Sir Cliff Richard.

1 3 CELEBRATION –•– Kool and the Gang (De-Lite)-16 (1 week at #1) (1)
2 1 THE TIDE IS HIGH –•– Blondie (Chrysalis)-13 (1)
3 4 I LOVE A RAINY NIGHT –•– Eddie Rabbitt (Elektra)-14 (3)
4 8 9 TO 5 –•– Dolly Parton (RCA)-11 (4)
5 6 PASSION –•– Rod Stewart (Warner Brothers)-12 (5)
6 2 (Just Like) STARTING OVER –•– John Lennon (Geffen)-15 (1)
7 5 EVERY WOMAN IN THE WORLD –•– Air Supply (Arista)-16 (5)
8 17 WOMAN –•– John Lennon (Geffen)-4 (8)
9 9 IT’S MY TURN –•– Diana Ross (Motown)-16 (9)
10 11 GIVING IT UP FOR YOUR LOVE –•– Delbert McClinton (Capitol)-10 (10)

11 12 HEY NINETEEN –•– Steely Dan (MCA)-11 (11)
12 14 SAME OLD LANG SYNE –•– Dan Fogelberg (Full Moon)-9 (12)
13 19 KEEP ON LOVING YOU –•– REO Speedwagon (Epic)-11 (13)
14 16 MISS SUN –•– Boz Scaggs (with Lisa Dal Bello) (Columbia)-11 (14)
15 7 LOVE ON THE ROCKS –•– Neil Diamond (Capitol)-15 (2)
16 18 THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL –•– Abba (Atlantic)-12 (16)
17 22 THE BEST OF TIMES –•– Styx (A&M)-3 (17)
18 21 I AIN’T GONNA STAND FOR IT –•– Stevie Wonder (Tamla)-9 (18)
19 20 TOGETHER –•– Tierra (Boardwalk)-14 (19)
20 27 CRYING –•– Don McLean (Millenium)-3 (20)

21 23 SEVEN BRIDGES ROAD –•– The Eagles (Asylum)-8 (21)
22 13 GUILTY –•– Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb (Columbia)-15 (3)
23 25 HEARTBREAK HOTEL –•– The Jacksons (Epic)-10 (23)
24 28 A LITTLE IN LOVE –•– Cliff Richard (EMI-America)-9 (24)
25 32 HELLO AGAIN –•– Neil Diamond (Capitol)-2 (25)
26 10 I MADE IT THROUGH THE RAIN –•– Barry Manilow (Arista)-12 (10)
27 31 SMOKY MOUNTAIN RAIN –•– Ronnie Milsap (RCA)-11 (27)
28 29 KILLIN’ TIME –•– Fred Knoblock and Susan Anton (Scotti Brothers)-12 (28)
29 34 GAMES PEOPLE PLAY –•– The Alan Parsons Project (Arista)-10 (29)
30 36 TREAT ME RIGHT –•– Pat Benatar (Chrysalis)-4 (30)

31 15 TIME IS TIME –•– Andy Gibb (RSO)-12 (15)
32 24 HUNGRY HEART –•– Bruce Springsteen (Columbia)-14 (5)
33 33 HE CAN’T LOVE YOU –•– The Michael Stanley Band (EMI-America)-12 (33)
34 26 DE DO DO DO, DE DA DA DA –•– The Police (A&M)-16 (10)
35 30 TELL IT LIKE IT IS –•– Heart (Epic)-12 (8)
36 35 LADY –•– Kenny Rogers (Liberty)-19 (1)
37 50 HEARTS ON FIRE –•– Randy Meisner (Epic)-3 (37)
38 44 AH LEAH –•– Donnie Iris (MCA)-9 (38)
39 39 WHO’S MAKING LOVE –•– The Blues Brothers (Atlantic)-8 (39)

40 45 BACK IN BLACK –•– AC/DC (Atlantic)-6 (40)