Scenes 'n' Soundwaves Top 100 of 1981

The Scenes 'n' Soundwaves Top 100 of 1981. Though on the surface, 1981 may have seem like a bland year for music--after all, much of the AM Top 40 stations were either starting to turn to more Adult-oriented (read: mellow) music, or flip to talk, music-wise, it couldn't be harder from the truth. While, yes, much of what passed for a "hit" was skewed towards older demographics, there was still enough of everything to keep listeners glued to the radio. Forget that the industry was in some sort of slump, forget that it was now competing with video games for the young person's buck, music endured. But there was one development that literally rocked the music business that premiered in 1981: The birth of MTV. Mainstream rock music, despite being shunned by some Top 40 stations, thrived in 1981, coming mostly from arena rock; "AOR" (Album Oriented Rock) stations abounded, and while they were more structured and a far cry from the "free-form" FM rockers of a decade earlier, much of them dominated my list this year. And while music videos as promotional tools had been around for a while, now you could see them all together on one channel. And Billboard magazine finally added the "Top Rock Tracks" chart this year (later changed to Mainstream Rock Tracks), after simply listing albums played by FM radio stations for the prior 12 years or so. But I've always been one to listen across music genres, even though that mix was responsible for the dying AM Top 40 format as listened really just wanted to listen to one type of music, not all together. I think I bucked that trend, and still do, 40+ years later. Taking a look at my video montage, rock is alive and well as bands like Styx, Foreigner, Journey and REO Speedwagon peaked in 1981. But while that genre was healthy, others not so much. New wave music still really didn't breakthru to the masses, with the notable exceptions of Blondie and The Police; it would take another year before that would happen. Disco music faded further, but the dance clubs didn't, playing more new wave; but a change in that genre would soon come. This montage is based on my Top 100 songs that I had compiled at the end of 1981. Although I made a few substations for various reasons, this is essentially the list of my favorites of that year. If I had to redo it, it would look vastly different, but this is a good capture in time for me. Listed with each entry is its Billboard Hot 100 peak. Three songs did not make the Hot 100, but two appeared on the Rock Tracks chart. The other one didn't chart here at all, but hit top 10 in South Africa, despite listening to it on WPIX in New York City. If a song hit Billboard's Top 20 Year-end, that is listed. Also, if it landed in the top 20 on WABC's Top 77 of that year (that station's last year-end list; it changed format the following May), it is indicated as well. This video is for entertainment purposes only; I do not own any rights to the music, the copyright owner has the right to pull any songs at their discretion, and no monetization is expected from this video. Feel free to check out my music blog at https://sheldonsoundwaves.blogspot.com/