Some songs hold a firm place in 1980s culture, and this one of them. You hear it, and you know the time period instantly. Years later, it can still be heard at weddings, clubs, parties, and it remains this guy’s biggest hit to date. Our #7 song is Jessie’s Girl by Rick Springfield.
As with prior countdowns, I emphasize that these are MY picks, and while some hold a higher place in others’ lists, some tunes have a personal connection that overrides others. This is the first of 2 such songs. I’m not ashamed to say that I marked out when Jeff Carlisi did the solo of this song during the Yacht Rock Revival a few years back. It is one of my all time favorite rock songs, coming in at #8 – Hold On Loosely by 38 Special.
One of his songs got knocked out of my initial top 20 1981 list, but this song remained in the top 10 and is one of the best early 80s funk tunes today. It doesn’t hurt that its use in U Can’t Touch This further cemented this man’s musical legacy. Coming in at #9 is Super Freak by Rick James.
We’ve reached the top 10 of my countdown of songs turning 40 years old and we begin smoothly. Another Yacht Rock staple, this song is still heard in commericials, R&B stations, and had another lease on life thanks to Will Smith. Our #10 song is Just the Two of Us by Grover Washington Jr & Bill Withers.
We wrap up the bottom half of the Top 20 Songs of 1981 countdown with a band that began to show a lot of maturity in their songwriting around this time. While one other song from their Ghost in the Machine album enraptured me as a child, coming in at #11 is a song that has maintained longevity and remains a classic – Every Little Thing She Does is Magic by The Police.
Our next 1981 song in the countdown has had quite a history. It was involved with some unexpected controversy when its bassline was sampled and not initially credited by Vanilla Ice. Later, the stories about its production helped raise its legendary status and today it’s still played and considered a classic. Coming at #12 is Under Pressure by Queen & David Bowie.