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Artists, Beats & Eats, Boston Celtics, Boxing, Football, Movies, Music, NBA, Podcast, Ronald Reagan, Sports, Super Bowl, Television, Toys

Episode 23: 1981 Year in Review

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On this episode of Return to the ’80s, Robert and Paul welcome Ty Ray, from the Beats and Eats podcast, to the show. The guys Return to 1981, and count down the year’s top songs, movies, and television shows. Also, find out what the biggest selling toys were in 1981, and reminisce on the big news stories of the year.

As this current decade comes to a close, come join us to Return to the greatest decade ever, and check out the awesome year of 1981!

10. “Keep On Loving You” by REO Speedwagon

9. “9 to 5” by Dolly Parton

Top 10 Movies of 1981

10. Time Bandits

9. The Four Seasons

8. For Your Eyes Only

7. Chariots of Fire

6. The Cannonball Run

5. Stripes

4. Arthur

3. Superman II

2. On Golden Pond

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark

8. “I Love a Rainy Night” by Eddie Rabbit

7. “Kiss On My List” by Hall & Oates

Hall & Oates March Madness

Top 10 Television Shows of 1981

10. One Day At a Time
9. M*A*S*H
8. ABC Monday Night Movie
7/6 tie Too Close for Comfort and The Dukes of Hazzard
5. Alice
4. Three’s Company
3. The Jeffersons
2. 60 Minutes
1. Dallas

6. “Celebration” by Kool & the Gang

5. “Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield

Toys

Barbie Perfume Maker
Star Wars figures
Rubik’s Cube

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. “(Just Like) Starting Over” by John Lennon

 

3. “Lady” by Kenny Rogers

Sports

NFL
Oakland Raiders beat the Philadelphia Eagles 27-10 – January 25, 1981 at the Louisiana Superdome

NBA
Boston Celtics beat the Houston Rockets 4-2

NHL
New York Islanders defeat the Minnesota North Stars 4-1

MLB
LA Dodgers beat the New York Yankees 4-1

News Events

January 20 52 Americans held hostage in Iran for 444 days freed

March 6 Walter Cronkite signs off of CBS Evening News

March 30 Reagan Assassination attempt

April 18 The Longest Game – Pawtucket Red Sox tie Rochester Red Wings 2-2 in 32 innings (game resumed 23rd June)

May 11 Cats premieres in London

May 13 Assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II

Jun 2 Barbara Walters asks Katharine Hepburn what kind of tree she would be

Jun 5 AIDS Epidemic officially begins when US Centers for Disease Control reports on pneumonia affecting five homosexual men in Los Angeles

Jun 12 Baseball players begin a 50 day strike, their 3rd strike

July 29 Royal Wedding

Aug 1 MTV premieres at 12:01 AM

Aug 3 13,000 Air Traffic Controllers (PATCO) begin their strike; US President Ronald Reagan offers an ultimatum to workers: ‘if they do not report for work within 48 hours, they have forfeited their jobs and will be terminated’

Sep 12 “The Smurfs” animated cartoon series by Hanna-Barbera first broadcasts in North America

Sep 25 Sandra Day O’Connor sworn in as 1st female supreme court justice

Dec 11 Muhammad Ali’s 61st & last fight, losing to Trevor Berbick

Dec 28 1st American test-tube baby, Elizabeth Jordan Carr is born in Norfolk, Virginia

Dec 31 CNN Headline News debuts

2. “Endless Love” by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie

1. “Bette Davis Eyes” by Kim Carnes

Contact

Ty Ray
Twitter – @BeatnEats

Check out Ty Ray and Nick Gelso’s awesome Beats and Eats podcast on:

iTunes (aka Apple Podcasts)
Stitcher
TuneIn
PlayerFM

 

Return to the ’80s

rtt80s.com
Find Return to the ’80s on Facebook
Twitter: @returntothe80s and Robert can be contacted at @mishouenglish
Email: returntothe80s@gmail.com

Also, you can subscribe to the Return to the ’80s podcast on

Apple Podcasts
Stitcher
Podbean
PlayerFM

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1982, Artists, Music, Top 40

Top 40 Songs This Week – November 27, 1982: Songs 30-21

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Welcome back to this week’s Top 40 Countdown!!! If you missed the first installment, you can go ahead and check out songs 40-31. With the help of MTV, there are a lot of classic songs from this time. And today’s selection has plenty of classics, and even some lost hits. So, let’s Return to the week ending November 27, 1982, and continue the countdown!

30. “I’m So Excited” by The Pointer Sisters

Awesome Pointer Sisters jam that does as advertises, and gets you excited. This is also a go-to for caffeine pill junkies everywhere.

29. “Rock the Casbah” by The Clash

This was the first of 2 Top 40 hits by The Clash. According to Songfacts, when this became a hit, Joe Strummer considered leaving The Clash. He couldn’t justify singing rebellious songs when the band was rich and successful. In their early years, when they were struggling, their music was sincere, but he felt they were becoming a joke.

When the band broke up in 1985, it was speculated that their plan all along was to break up once they had conquered America, a feat that was achieved by “Rock the Casbah” becoming such a huge hit along with “Should I Stay or Should I Go?.”

28. “You and I” by Eddie Rabbitt with Crystal Gayle

This classic country crossover hit ranked number 7 on CMT’s 100 Greatest Duets in Country Music. Rabbitt had several crossover hits in the early ’80s. Sadly, he passed away in 1998 of lung cancer.

27. “Missing You” by Dan Fogelberg

Previously unreleased, producers just assumed this would be a hit, and included it on Fogelberg’s Greatest Hits album. Luckily, they were right, and it peaked at #23 on the U.S. charts, and #29 in Canada.

26. “I.G.Y. (What a Beautiful World)” by Donald Fagen

This was the first single as a solo artist for the former Steely Dan frontman. His album, The Nightfly, was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

25. “The Look of Love (Part 1)” by ABC

as the band’s highest charting hit in the UK, peaking at No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart. It would peak at #18 on the U.S. charts. On the album, this song is listed as “The Look Of Love (Part One),” with the last track being a short version of the song called “The Look Of Love (Part Four).” What happened to parts two and three? They appear on the 12″ single along with the others. Part Two is an instrumental, and Part Three is a remix.

24. “Love Me Tomorrow” by Chicago

Chicago was fading away after having incredible success in the ’70s. Then producer David Foster came along, and kicked them back into high gear, giving them a huge comeback with Chicago 16. This was the second single released from the album. Most of their hits in the ’80s were ballads, including this one. However, I would highly recommend listening to any of their full albums. They have so much more great music that you may not know about.

23. “You Don’t Want Me Anymore” by Steel Breeze

Forgotten hit of the ’80s. This was released from their self-titled debut album. It would be the first of 2 hits for the band (“Dreamin’ Is Easy” was the other). This was a staple on MTV in the early days. Then again, in those early days, any music video was a staple.

22. “Jack & Diane” by John Cougar

This little ditty would be John Cougar/John Cougar Mellencamp/John Mellencamp’s signature song. It was at the top of the charts for 4 weeks.

 

21. “Who Can It Be Now” by Men At Work

This Men At Work song was first released as a single in Australia in June 1981. After it was more than a year old, it found it’s way to the U.S. and became a #1 hit in October of 1982.

 

 

That concludes today’s list. Come back tomorrow as we check out songs 20-11.

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Artists, Music, Remember That Song?

Remember That Song: 10/27/17

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Can you name the artist and song:

All alone ain’t much fun
So you’re looking for the thrill
And you know just what it takes and where to go

Last Song: “You And I” by Eddie Rabbitt and Crystal Gayle from the album Radio Romance (1982)
Great job Martin (@mcmaenza)!!!

And I remember our first embrace
That smile that was on your face
The promises that we made

If you’d like to purchase this song from Amazon, click on the album cover below:

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1981, Artists, Music, Top 40

Top 40 Songs This Week – October 17, 1981: Songs 10-1

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Welcome back as we wrap up this week’s Top 40. If you missed the previous songs, you can go back and check out songs 40-31, 30-21, and 20-11. This has been a great week of music so far. And there are some classics here today. And don’t forget, you can click on the song title to get to the YouTube video to listen to the song. Now, let’s Return to the week ending October 17, 1981, and wrap up this week’s countdown.

10. “The Night Owls” by The Little River Band

We begin the top 10 with a decent rock song. This is off of The Little River Band’s Time Exposure album. The album was produced by George Martin. This was the band’s last album with Glen Shorrock on lead vocals until 1988, and with lead guitarist David Briggs.

9. “Hard To Say” by Dan Fogelberg

This was Dan Fogelberg’s third Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. This song is notable for featuring the late (I still can’t believe I’m saying that) Glenn Frey.

8. “Who’s Crying Now” by Journey

download-1This was the first single released from the legendary Escape album. This began the hugely successful commercial run of Journey, 2017 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees. Do hear more about Journey, check out the first episode of the Return to the ’80s Podcast:

7. “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” by Stevie Nicks (with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)

This was the first single from Stevie Nicks’ debut solo album, Bella Donna. It was written by Tom Petty and Mike Campbell, inteneded to be a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers song. However, Jimmy Iovine, who was also working for Stevie Nicks at the time, arranged for her to sing on it. This was a good call, because these two unique voices sound great together.

6. “Private Eyes” by Daryl Hall and John Oates

How could a song with a handclap in the chorus be bad? This classic Hall & Oates tune was a staple on MTV. It would go on to be a #1 hit, holding that top position for 2 weeks.

5. “Step by Step” by Eddie Rabbitt

This country-crossover hit was also the #1 song on the country chart this week, and would peak right here at #5 on the Billboard 100.

4. “For Your Eyes Only” by Sheena Easton

This was the theme song of the 12th James Bond movie of the same name. Easton is the only artist (to date) to be seen singing the theme song to a Bond movie during its opening titles. This song was also nominated for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards in 1982.

3. “Start Me Up” by The Rolling Stones

This song was my introduction to The Rolling Stones. I didn’t have MTV yet, but I did see the song on the television show, Solid Gold. The basic track of this song was written during the 1978 sessions for the Rolling Stones’ album Some Girls. It was at first cut as a reggae-rock track named ‘Never Stop’, but after dozens of takes the band stopped recording it and it was shelved. In 1981, with the band looking to tour, engineer Chris Kimsey proposed to Mick Jagger that archived songs could be put in the set. It was re-worked to the classic that we now know, and was recorded for the Tattoo You album.

2. “Endless Love” by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie

This is Lionel Richie’s third entry on this countdown. This was recorded as the title track of the film adaptation of Scott Spencer’s novel Endless Love. The song ended up being a bigger hit than the movie, reaching number 1 on the Hot 100, where it stayed for nine weeks from August 15 to October 10, 1981.

Before we reveal the #1 song, let’s see what was topping some of the other charts this week.

The #1 R&B song this week was “When She Was My Girl” by The Four Tops.

Topping the Dance charts was “Do You Love Me” by Patti Austin.

The #1 album this week was Tattoo You by The Rolling Stones

And the #1 Adult Contemporary tune is also the #1 song on the top of the pop charts this week…

1. “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)” by Christopher Cross

And we have another movie soundtrack song. Coming off his mega-successful self-titled debut album, Christopher Cross followed up with this smash hit. This would be a #1 hit for 3 weeks. The song also won the Oscar for Best Original Song. Although his music was still great, Christopher Cross’ popularity faded away quickly once everybody started getting their MTV. This was definitely his high point.

Well that wraps up this week’s countdown. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have. Let me know your thoughts on this list, and on any part of the countdown. We’ll count down a different year in the near future. In the meantime, Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars.

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Artists, Music, Remember That Song?

Remember That Song: 7/13/16

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Can you name the artist and song:

My love, tell me what it’s all about
You’ve go something that I can’t live without
Happiness, is so hard to find
Hey baby, tell me what is on your mind

Last Song: “I Love a Rainy Night” by Eddie Rabbitt from Horizon (1980)

Great job Brent (@jonbrent13)!!!

I love to feel the rain on my face
Taste the rain on my lips
In the moonlight shadow

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Artists, Music, Remember That Song?

Remember That Song: 7/28/15

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Can you name the artist and song:

I’ll be there just wrapped around you
I can’t hold back
What I feel inside
It’s just a fact

Last Song: “Drivin’ My Life Away” by Eddie Rabbitt from Horizon (1980)

Great job Jim (@JimVilk)!!!

Those windshield wipers
Slappin’ out a tempo
Keepin’ perfect rhythm
With the song on the radio
Gotta keep rollin’

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1983, Artists, Music, Top 40

Top 40 Songs This Week – June 18, 1983: Songs 10-1

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Welcome back as we wrap up this week’s Top 40 Countdown. There have been some flat-out classics so far this week, and today is no different. You can go back and check out songs 40-31 30-21, and 20-11. Well, I think this has been one of the better Top 40 weeks, so let’s Return to the week ending June 18, 1983, and finish the countdown.

10. “Family Man” by Hall & Oates

Well, here’s a blast from the past. Hall & Oates were a staple of the ’80s music scene. But, this song is often overlooked. This song is actually a cover, originally done by Mike Oldfield (with Maggie Reilly on vocals) in 1982. Hall & Oates made it their own, and made it a big hit, topping out at #6 on the charts.

9. “Affair of the Heart” by Rick Springfield

Just like Hall & Oates, Rick Springfield had a great hot streak in the early-to-mid ’80s. This song, Springfield’s first single from his Living in Oz album, would be his fourth top 10 hit, peaking right here at #9. It was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance in 1984, but lost to Michael Jackson’s “Beat It”.

8. “There’s Always Something There to Remind Me” by Naked Eyes

This synthpop song just screams ’80s! But, did you know that this was a cover? It was originally written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David in the ’60s. The original recorded version was released by Lou Johnson in 1964. Sandie Shaw also released a version of this song that same year, and it was a #1 hit in the U.K., Canada, and South Africa.
The 1964 versions and this ’80s version were each a product of their time. I like all the versions, but of course, I prefer Naked Eyes.

7. “Don’t Let It End” by Styx

This is a nice ballad by one of my favorite bands – Styx. This song is from their divisive album, Kilroy Was Here. This was the beginning of the end of the original run of Styx, but you wouldn’t know it here.

6. “My Love” by Lionel Richie

Lionel Richie immediately proved that he could have a successful career post-Commodores, with his incredible self-titled debut album. This ballad was the third single released from that album, and was his third top 10 hit in a row. Kenny Rogers, who often collaborated with Richie, provided the backing vocals on this song.

5. “Overkill” by Men At Work

Men At Work is just pure ’80s. They were on a hot streak at this time. The combination of Colin Hay’s voice and Greg Ham on sax, gave Men At Work a very unique sound. Everyone knows “Down Under“, but this is one of their better songs as well.

4. “Electric Avenue” by Eddy Grant

Electric Avenue Single Cover Speaking of unique sounding, this song was a worldwide smash hit. The song’s title refers to Electric Avenue, a market street in the Brixton area of London. You could not escape this song when it was first released, but man was it fun!

3. “Let’s Dance” by David Bowie

All week we have been hearing from artists who had been around for a while, but were introduced to me with the ’80s tunes in the countdown this week. This is another one. I remember first hearing this song on the radio while eating breakfast before school. This song was from the album of the same name, and was part of many of David Bowie’s reinventions. This is a great song from a great album.

2. “Time (Clock Of the Heart)” by Culture Club

Culture Club followed their world-wide smash hit debut, “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me”, with this song. I like this one better. Culture Club was one of those bands that I didn’t care much for back then, but enjoy much more now.

Before we uncover this week’s #1 song, lets see what was topping some of the other charts this week:

The number one country song this week was – “You Can’t Run From Love” by the gone too soon Eddie Rabbitt

Topping the R&B charts was “Juicy Fruit” by Mtume. I never heard of the song or the band.

Sitting on top of the rock charts was this week’s #14 song, “Every Breath You Take” by The Police

The number one adult contemporary song was our #13 song this week – “Never Gonna Let You Go” by Sergio Mendes

For the 17th, and final consecutive week, the #1 album was the legendary Thriller by Micahel Jackson

The #1 dance song brings us to our Hot 100 number one song this week:

1. “Flashdance…What a Feeling” by Irene Cara

What a Feeling! and what a way to end the countdown! A few years earlier, Irene Cara hit it big with the theme song for Fame. Somehow, she outdid herself with this classic from the movie, Flashdance. This song won all kinds of awards, including the Academy Award for Best Original Song, the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, and the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. This is a well deserved #1 hit.

Well, that wraps up this week’s countdown. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have. This has got to be one of the best countdowns we’ve covered so far. 1983 was such an incredible and pivotal year of music. Do you agree? We’ll be back with another countdown in the coming weeks. In the meantime, Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars.

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Music, Remember That Song?

Remember That Song: 11/28/12

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Can you name the artist and song:

I can show you I can show you some of the people in my life
It’s driving me mad just another way of passing the day
I, I get so lonely when she’s not there

Last Song: “I Love a Rainy Night” by Eddie Rabbitt:
Great job Wednesday’s Child!!

I love to hear the thunder
Watch the lightning
When it lights up the sky
You know it makes me feel good

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