Rant #1,981: Endless Love With a Slow Hand But Stop Draggin' My Heart Around

This is Rant No, 1,981, just 19 away from the magic 2,000 mark.

Bully for me, and for this blog.

Anyway, since this is the 1,981st Rant, I figured I would look back at 1981, and what songs people were listening to on the radio and buying in their local record stores.

This was an important period in music, when MTV was first having an impact on what music we listened to (and viewed), and it was also right before vinyl records gave way to CDs, so I thought it might be fun to look back at what was popular during this transitional period in pop music, and pop culture.

For the week of September 12, 1981, 36 years ago, the No. 1 song on Billboard's Hot 100 was "Endless Love" by two musical superstars who first reached the charts as the lead singers of other acts, Diana Ross (Supremes) and Lionel Richie (Commodores). This was one of the biggest records of the 1980s, with nine weeks in the top spot. It was also the title theme of the movie starring Brooke Shields and Martin Hewitt.

A very visual act, the Pointer Sisters, had the No. 2 record in America during this period, with "Slow Hand."

At No. 3 was one of those popular duets between rock superstars that infiltrated the charts at this time. "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," by Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac) and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, was at the third spot this week.

One of the most popular acts of the period had the No. 4 record in the country, with Foreigner's "Urgent," featuring Jr. Walker on saxophone, residing at that spot.

Country was just starting to go mainstream in the early 1980s, and Ronnie Milsap's "(There's) No Gettin' Over Me" at No. 5, rounded out the top five singles in the country.

Looking at the next five of the top songs in America, Juice Newton has the No. 6 song on the Hot 100 this week with "Queen of Hearts."

Journey had one of its most endearing hit singles this week, with "Who's Crying Now" at the No. 7 spot.

Lionel Richie was hot as a pistol during this period, and he scored another hit as part of the Commodores with "Lady (You Bring Me Up)," which was the No. 8 song on the chart.

A future No. 1 tune, Christopher Cross' "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)," rushed up the chart to the No. 9 spot. The song--the title theme of the movie "Arthur" starring Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli--would overtake the endless run of "Endless Love" for the week of Oct. 17.

Rounding out the top 10 songs of that week was another country tune, "Step By Step," by Eddie Rabbit, which inched up to No. 10 this week.

The highest debuting record on the chart for the week was Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band's "Tryin' To Live My Life Without You," which came into the Hot 100 at No. 61. It reached as high as No. 5 a few weeks later.

The "Biggest Mover" on the Hot 100 for that week was "Private Eyes" by Daryl Hall and John Oates, which jumped from No. 54 the previous week to No. 34 this week. This single would eventually hit the No. 1 spot in early November.

So there you have it. These were the 10 most popular songs in the country at the time, and while none of them--save "Urgent" and the last song I talked about, "Private Eyes"--were on my personal "must listen to" list, you cannot knock how popular these songs were during this period.

Speak to you again tomorrow.