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#1 Song in America, August 1981

By
Home Inspector with King of the House Home Inspection, Inc. Home Inspector Lic #207

Last night I was at a big outdoor barbecue and there was an excellent cover band. Most of the hits I have written about in my series "This day in History" involved songs and events from the 1960's and the 1970's. The cover band played a memorable tune that took me back to the 1980's.

This song, the original, was written and performed by an individual whom many people knew more as a soap opera actor than as a singer -- at least initially. The fact is, this Australian born performer had been working on music since his 13th birthday.

Back in 1981, the first week of August, when the song topped the charts, MTV made it's debut. Nobody knew if music TV was going to be a hit or not. Everybody knew that the Hot 100 was big on radio, but there was some doubt about the viability of a 24 hour network dedicated to rotating music videos.

It was helpful for this performer that his song, being #1 on the Billboard chart, dominated MTV programing at the time of the network debut. The artist went on to win a Grammy for best male vocal performance.

The story of the song is pretty interesting. The performer was taking a class in stained glass, along with a buddy. In the course of the class, he met his friend's girlfriend. The theme of the song was a combination of lust and unrequited love and longing for his friend's girlfriend. Some years later, Oprah tried to track down this girl, so we could all see just how special she might be, but the search hit a dead end. We will probably never see the girl who was the apple of the singer's eye.

If you are a soap opera fan, this performer was a regular on General Hospital.

To go back in time, to 1981, and see the original performer sing his original song, you need to change channels. You probably already know who shot JR, so the best thing for you to do is get to the music right away. Simply click on the play button at the front of the TV to be transported back in time to see this #1 hit from 1981.

 

 

Posted by

Steven L. Smith

If you enjoy nostalgia and music of yesteryear, click on Elvis' gold record to visit This Day In History. To explore The Stories Behind The Music blog posts click on the electric guitar. 

 

        

 

 

 

 

Comments (4)

Ken and Leslye Huebsch
3x Individual Agent of the Year, Luxury Homes, First-Time Buyers, Residential Resales, New Construction - Harrisburg, PA
Realtors - Harrisburg Homes for Sale 717.514.1793

Oh gosh... You just took me back! That was the year I graduated high school. I remember all this vividly!...

I'm going to say Rick Springfield..?

Aug 14, 2011 08:06 AM
Ken and Leslye Huebsch
3x Individual Agent of the Year, Luxury Homes, First-Time Buyers, Residential Resales, New Construction - Harrisburg, PA
Realtors - Harrisburg Homes for Sale 717.514.1793

Ha!!! I did not watch the video first!! Got it right on the first try. My husband would be proud of me; but then roll his eyes that I remembered Rick Springfield..

Aug 14, 2011 08:08 AM
Donald Hester
NCW Home Inspections, LLC - Wenatchee, WA
NCW Home Inspections, LLC

Steve,

I was not a huge Springfield fan but he sure was popular for a time.

Aug 14, 2011 05:27 PM
Steven L. Smith
King of the House Home Inspection, Inc. - Bellingham, WA
Bellingham WA Home Inspector

Don,

I was in country when he came along and only know this one song.

Aug 15, 2011 02:53 AM