Flashback: 4/25/81

 Hello again everyone. Had a little difficulty getting this old laptop fired up this morning (it's pushing nine years old, which is in computer ages, is Methuselah-esque), and I desperately need a different laptop, but I was able to accomplish getting it started without crashing every ten minutes, so here we are, hoping my 'puter holds on for dear life.

This week, we're going back to when my mother was alive, MTV hadn't launched into our living rooms yet, and the Space Shuttle had just completed her maiden voyage. We're going back to 1981 for this week's flashback. These were the Top 40 songs in the USA for the week ending April 25, 1981:

40. Say You'll Be Mine by Christopher Cross. Funny how his stock, which was on the rise in 1981, suddenly tumbled after 1984 when MTV began to get more and more mainstream.

39. Wasn't That A Party by The Rovers. As a little kid, I fell in love with this song because I thought the lyrics were funny. Of course I didn't know it was about drinking too much and having a hangover as a result. Man do those suck!

38. A Woman Needs Love (Just Like You Do) by Ray Parker, Jr. and Raydio. Some people will say that Parker is only known for his 1984 smash, "Ghostbusters." I disagree. He had several hits up until then, including this one.

37. Mister Sandman by Emmylou Harris. Yes, it's a remake of the 1954 song performed by the Chordettes, among others. No it is not to be confused with Metallica's 1991 classic "Enter Sandman."

36. What Are We Doing In Love? by Dottie West & Kenny Rogers

35. Turn Me Loose by Loverboy. Yes, "Working For The Weekend" is this group's signature hit, but this, their maiden top 40 hit, might be second.

34. The Party's Over (Hopelessly In Love) by Journey

33. Hold On Loosely by 38 Special. Hold on loosely, but don't let go. Some sage advice from the offspring of Lynyrd Skynyrd.

32. Love You Like I've Never Loved Before by John O'Banion

31. Don't Stop The Music by Yarbrough & Peoples. As I would eventually learn, this group had nothing to do with popular racecar driver at the time Cale Yarborough.

30. Sukiyaki by A Taste Of Honey

29. I Missed Again by Phil Collins. I actually remember hearing this for the first time during a TV commercial for the NBA, several years later.

28. It's A Love Thing by The Whispers

27. I Love You by Climax Blues Band. The song that went out for many a long-distance dedication on American Top 40 way back when.

26. How 'Bout Us? by Champaign. When I first heard of the group, my seven-year old brain thought it was the drink that adults drank. I didn't know at the time it shared the same name as the University of Illinois.

25. Watching The Wheels by John Lennon. His follow-up to "Woman" which reached #1, his last one which unfortunately he didn't see. 

24. You Better You Bet by The Who. Funny story regarding this song. It came out on a compilation cassette along with many other songs of that era. As a little kid I liked the song, and wondered who actually sang it, as if to think, "This song is sung by The who?" Little did I know that I had answered my own question.

23. Sweetheart by Franke & The Knockouts

22. Time Out Of Mind by Steely Dan. After this song, hey kinda went away, until they won a shock Grammy in 2001.

21. Just Between You And Me by April Wine

20. Ain't Even Done With The Night by John Mellencamp. Of course, at this time he actually went by John Cougar.

19. Too Much Time On My Hands by Styx. Sort of sounds like me, too much time on my hands.

18. Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes. Probably the first music video I remember watching, which I think was during an episode of "American Bandstand." That was a bit of a tradition on Saturdays for me way back then, watching "American baseball, eating a hamburger from McDonald's (when they were like $0.39), and watching the baseball game of the week on NBC.

17. Take It On The Run by REO Speedwagon. Love this song. Intersetingly enough, this group is from Champaign, Illinois, just like the university.

16. Living Inside Myself by Gino Vanelli. If I'm not mistaken, and my memory is pretty good, I want to say that this song was the basis for a radio jingle in the Raleigh, North Carolina area around 1990 for Mitchell's Hair Styling. I remember hearig it on G105 in Raleigh at that time.

15. Crying by Don McLean. The man best known for "American Pie" with his version of the Roy Orbison classic.

14. Keep On Loving You by REO Speedwagon

13. Somebody's Knockin' by Terri Gibbs

12. Her Town Too by James Taylor & J.D. Souther

11. I Can't Stand It by Eric Clapton

10. Don't Stand So Close To Me by The Police. I imagine certain teachers should listen to this particular song. Right, Debra LaFave?? 

  9. The Best Of Times by Styx. I'm hoping for more of those as this summer goes on. I know, it's only spring, but you're talking to a Floridian here, summer lasts nine months.

  8. Woman by John Lennon. See Number 25...

  7. While You See A Chance by Steve Winwood. For some reason, I always would get this song with Electric Light Orchestra's "All Over The World" from the year before.

  6. Rapture by Blondie. Classic song and a classic video to boot.

  5. Angel Of The Morning by Juice Newton. I kinda fell in love with Juice after this song. I was only seven though and it wouldn't last.

  4. Just The Two Of Us by Grover Washington, Jr. with Bill Withers. Seventeen years before Will Smith's remake would also be popular. No, Withers didn't slap Washington after this was recorded.

  3. Being With You by Smokey Robinson. When I first downloaded this to my Spotify, I somehow got the Spanglish version.I have no idea why.

  2. Morning Train by Sheena Easton. She had her 64th birthday yesterday, so Happy Birthday Sheena!

...and the number one song for this week forty-two years ago was...

  1. Kiss On My List by Daryl Hall & John Oates. I heard on TikTok the other day that this song actually helped inspire Van Halen's 1984 mega-hit "Jump." I also found out that Van Halen actually asked Hall to be their lead singer after DLR left. He declined. And people want to ban TikTok? Jeez.

There is your flashback for this week. Hopefully, if I feel up to it, I'll have another blog entry for this weekend. Until then, take good care of yourself, and each other.

RIP Jerry

CT