This week in 1981

The Excellent 80s Rewind with Gary Thiel. Hello everyone and welcome to the latest edition. of the excellent 80s rewind i am gary teal and this week we're taking a trip back in time to visit the hits and headlines of this week in 1981

Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20 years to life for the murder of John Lennon. Charles Chapman becomes the first African-American to swim the English Channel. And Detroit singer Carl Carlton. was in his second week on the U.S. Top 100 with his second chart hit. Carl reached number six back in 1974 with his song Everlasting Love. This week in 1981,

His second hit was sitting at number 77, and it would go on to peak at number 22. It would also earn a Grammy nomination for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. This is Carl Carlton. with She's a Bad Mamma Jamma.

this week on the U.S. Pop Chart was the song that would go on to become the second number one hit of the 80s for the artist that would become the number one duo of the 80s. It was also their first song to receive heavy airplay on MTV. Daryl Hall and John Oates with the title track from their album, Private Eyes. This is the excellent 80s rewind, and while this next song failed to reach the top 40 in the U.S., it has become one of the best-known songs by the English band...

Squeeze. The song was written while the band was leaving England to begin an American tour. Lead vocals were provided by the band's new keyboard player, Paul Carrick, with Glenn Tilbrook and Elvis Costello singing on the second verse. It has since become a blue-eyed soul classic. This week in 1981, it was sitting just outside the top 50 and would soon peak at number 49. This is Squeeze with Tempted. Ladies rewind. 1981.

Rick James would take that song to number 16 in the U.S. It would also hit number 3 on the soul chart and number 1 on the dance chart. This week in 1981, the song sat just outside the U.S. top 40. Rick James with backing vocals by The Temptations with Superfreak. It's your Friday night all-request New Wave party. Hi, I'm Gary Teal, inviting you to join me every week for Friday Night New Wave.

It's three full hours of your 80s new wave requests. You can make your requests on our website, fnnw.live, and chat with other listeners from around the world. Or call us on our toll-free number, 888-5-WAVE-80. If you like 80s new wave music, this is the place to be. Friday nights at 8 U.S. Eastern Time on Wave 80. Listen at wave80hits.com. The Excellent 80s Rewind.

This week in 1981. The Irving, Texas band Point Blank formed in 1974, but it wasn't until they released their fifth album, American Excess, in 1981. that they would score their first and only U.S. Top 40 hit. It entered the Top 40 this week in 1981 and peaked the following week at number 39. This is Point Blank with Nicole. 1981.

reach as high as number 22 on the U.S. pop chart as the only top 40 hit for the New York City band Balance. This week in 1981, it was sitting just outside the top 30. Balance with Breaking Away.

This is the Excellent 80s Rewind. I'm Gary Thiel. And this week in 1981, Voyager 2 reached its closest approach to Saturn and took photos of Saturn's moon, Titan. John Hinckley Jr. pleads innocent. to attempting to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan. And New Jersey band Frankie and the Knockouts was peaking at number 27 with their second Top 40 hit. It was the follow-up to their Top 10 hit, Sweetheart. Here is Frankie and the Knockouts with You're My Girl. Excellent 80s Rewind 1981.

seventh top 10 hit in the accomplished career of the Electric Light Orchestra. This week in 1981, it was sitting just outside the U.S. top 20. From the album Time, it's ELO with Hold On Tight. If you're enjoying the awesome 80s music we play here on The Rewind, then I want to let you know about a great online radio station that plays nothing but great 80s hits 24-7. Wave 80 is 80s hit radio.

A throwback to those hit radio stations that played it all. Rock, pop, R&B, new wave? If it was on the charts in the 80s, Wave 80 plays it. Duran Duran, Madonna, The Police, Lionel Richie. Van Halen, Michael Jackson, Hall & Oates. The list is almost endless. Go to wave80hits.com to hear all of the great songs you remember and love. That's wave80hits.com. The 80s live here.

on Wave 80. The Excellent 80s Rewind with Gary Thiel. Entering the U.S. Top 20 this week in 1981 was a song that earned the singer the second of her four Grammy Awards. for best female rock vocal performance. The song would peak a few weeks later at number 17, and it would go all the way to number four in Canada. Here is Pat Benatar with Fire and Ice.

San Francisco musician Greg Kinn had been releasing records since 1976, but he didn't score his first U.S. Top 40 hit until five years later. Peeking at number 17 this week in 1981, it's the Greg Kinn Band. with the breakup song. This is the Excellent 80s Rewind, and this week in 1981, Jeff Schwartz of Illinois set the solo record for trampoline bouncing at 266 hours and 9 minutes.

raising $5,000 for cancer awareness in the process. Divers began recovering a safe found aboard sunken Italian liner Andrea Doria and another group of Bay Area musicians. were celebrating their very first U.S. Top 10 hit. It was their first single to feature their new keyboardist, Jonathan Cain, who had replaced longtime keyboard player Greg Rowling. The song ended up going all the way to number four in the U.S. and also hit number three in Canada. Here's Journey with Who's Crying Now.

80s Rewind.

would go on to spend six consecutive weeks at number three on the U.S. Pop Chart, making it both artists' most successful chart song. This week in 1981, it checked in at number four. Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty. with Stop Dragging My Heart Around. The top three are next. It's your Friday night all-request New Wave party. Hi, I'm Gary Teal, inviting you to join me every week for Friday Night New Wave.

It's three full hours of your 80s new wave requests. You can make your requests on our website, fnnw.live, and chat with other listeners from around the world. Or call us on our toll-free number, 888-5-WAVE-80. If you like 80s new wave music, this is the place to be. Friday nights at 8 U.S. Eastern Time on Wave 80. Listen at wave80hits.com. The Excellent 80s Rewind.

This week's Born in the 80s list includes Born this week in 1980, actor Macaulay Culkin. Born this week in 1981, actress Rachel Bilson. In 1982, singer Leanne Rimes and comedian John Mulaney. In 1987, actress Blake Lively and singer Amy McDonald. And born this week in 1988, NBA star Jeremy Lin. Happy birthday to all.

Coming in at number three this week in 1981 was the theme song from the TV series The Greatest American Hero, starring William Catt. The song would rise one more position to peak at number two. Here is Joey Scarberry with Believe It or Not. 80s Rewind 1981

That song would later become country hits for both Del Reeves and Conway Twitty. This version would hit number seven on the R&B chart, number six on the adult contemporary chart, and peak at number two this week in 1981. on the U.S. pop chart, the Pointer Sisters with Slow Hand. This is the Excellent 80s Rewind. I'm Gary Thiel. And this week in 1981, the number one album in the U.S. was Foreigner 4.

The number one TV show was Dallas on CBS. And the number one movie was Writers of the Lost Ark, starring Harrison Ford and Karen Allen. And the number one song in the U.S. this week in 1981 was the song that became the most successful duet of the rock era. It ended up spending nine weeks at number one.

and was the biggest hit in the careers of both Diana Ross and Lionel Richie. The song was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song, and it was also the number one R&B song of the week. From the movie of the same name, here are Diana Ross and Lionel Richie with Endless Love.

The number one song this week in 1981, Endless Love by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie. And that's going to do it for this week. Thank you so much for listening. This is Gary Thiel inviting you to tune in again next week when we'll visit the hits and the headlines of this week in 1985. Until then, have a great week. The Excellent 80s Rewind was written and produced by Gary Thiel for the Wave 80 Radio Network.