American Top 40- The 80’s- Week of August 8, 1981. Pretty strong week- I knew most of the songs until a few at the bottom of the chart.
1 1 JESSIE’S GIRL –•– Rick Springfield (RCA)-20 (2 weeks at #1) (1) A
2 14 ENDLESS LOVE –•– Diana Ross and Lionel Richie (Motown)-5 (2) C
3 3 THEME FROM “GREATEST AMERICAN HERO” (Believe It Or Not) –•– Joey Scarbury (Elektra)-14 (3) C
4 4 I DON’T NEED YOU –•– Kenny Rogers (Liberty)-9 (4) C
5 5 ELVIRA –•– The Oak Ridge Boys (MCA)-13 (5) D
6 6 SLOW HAND –•– The Pointer Sisters (Planet)-11 (6) A
7 8 BOY FROM NEW YORK CITY –•– The Manhattan Transfer (Atlantic)-12 (7) B
8 9 HEARTS –•– Marty Balin (EMI-America)-12 (8) C
9 10 QUEEN OF HEARTS –•– Juice Newton (Capitol)-11 (9) B
10 2 THE ONE THAT YOU LOVE –•– Air Supply (Arista)-13 (1) C
11 13 (There’s) NO GETTIN’ OVER ME –•– Ronnie Milsap (RCA)-7 (11) B-
12 7 BETTE DAVIS EYES –•– Kim Carnes (EMI-America)-20 (1) A+
13 11 YOU MAKE MY DREAMS –•– Daryl Hall and John Oates (RCA)-15 (5) A
14 17 LADY (You Bring Me Up) –•– The Commodores (Motown)-8 (14) B
15 15 TIME –•– The Alan Parsons Project (Arista)-17 (15) B
16 16 TOUCH ME WHEN WE’RE DANCING –•– The Carpenters (A&M)-8 (16) B-
17 20 IT’S NOW OR NEVER –•– John Schneider (Scotti Brothers)-11 (17) C
18 18 THE STROKE –•– Billy Squier (Capitol)-13 (18) A
19 19 SWEET BABY –•– Stanley Clarke/George Duke (Epic)-15 (19) B
20 22 URGENT –•– Foreigner (Atlantic)-6 (20) A
21 23 IN THE AIR TONIGHT –•– Phil Collins (Atlantic)-11 (21) A+
22 30 WHO’S CRYING NOW –•– Journey (Columbia)-4 (22) C+
23 28 COOL LOVE –•– Pablo Cruise (A&M)-6 (23) C
24 24 DON’T LET HIM GO –•– REO Speedwagon (Epic)-9 (24) C
25 38 STOP DRAGGIN’ MY HEART AROUND –•– Stevie Nicks (with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) (Modern)-3 (25) B
26 31 FIRE AND ICE –•– Pat Benatar (Chrysalis)-4 (26) B
27 27 THE BREAKUP SONG (They Don’t Write ‘Em) –•– The Greg Kihn Band (Beserkley)-12 (27) A+
28 12 GEMINI DREAM –•– The Moody Blues (Threshold)-10 (12) B
29 39 REALLY WANNA KNOW YOU –•– Gary Wright (Warner Brothers)-6 (29) C+
30 35 FEELS SO RIGHT –•– Alabama (RCA)-10 (30) C
31 32 DOUBLE DUTCH BUS –•– Frankie Smith (WMOT)-13 (31) A+
32 34 DON’T GIVE IT UP –•– Robbie Patton (Liberty)-5 (32) C
33 33 ROCK AND ROLL DREAMS COME THROUGH –•– Jim Steinman (with Rory Dodd) (Cleveland International)-11 (33) C
34 36 LOVE ON A TWO WAY STREET –•– Stacy Lattisaw (Cotillion)-8 (34) C
35 37 DON’T WANT TO WAIT ANYMORE –•– The Tubes (Capitol)-8 (35) C+
36 40 YOU’RE MY GIRL –•– Franke and the Knockouts (Millennium)-6 (36) C
37 41 EVERLASTING LOVE –•– Rex Smith/Rachel Sweet (Columbia)-7 (37) C
38 50 STEP BY STEP –•– Eddie Rabbitt (Elektra)-3 (38) B-
39 46 HOLD ON TIGHT –•– ELO (Electric Light Orchestra) (Jet)-3 (39) B-
40 49 THAT OLD SONG –•– Ray Parker, Jr. and Raydio (Arista)-5 (40) B
slicethelife 
The Stroke was a good single…it was different sounding at the time.
I worked at a printing place for a couple of years as a graphic artist in the 90s…a group of middle age women would come in with their Rick Springfield newsletter for me to design every month…they tried to convert me…I joked with them… “Springsteen” ladies not Springfield. They were crazy over him.
I never heard another Springfield song I liked but I did like “Jessie’s Girl”- the Bryan Adams- “Summer Of ’69” syndrome. or is it The Osmonds- Crazy Horses” syndrome.
Take your pick! The only two I remember are Jessie’s Girl and I’ve Done Everything For You. Yea I wasn’t a fan of him…the ladies loved him though that is for sure.
Remember- The call me Bruce? I swear back in 2012 when my wife and I were in Deadwood, Colorado- we saw him out on the street. he was in town doing a concert. I wish I had called him Bruce.
Oh I do remember that! You should have…for all of us. He seems like a nice enough guy.
These days, he’s starting to look like Alice Cooper. Did you see his turn on Supernatural?
No I didn’t
He played a rocker that gets taken over by a demon, basically. 😄
The one on this list that makes want to hurl is Everlasting Love. Rex Smith…OY. Talk about cheese with hair. And, I got so sick of Endless Love.
The Jim Steinman piece…I still have that 45. He is the man behind Meatloaf’s epic music.
I loved Springfield (or Springthorpe) but, he is not aging well.
Wow. The Carpenters. I forgot they were still around this late. She would be dead two years later.
I do miss the days of the mixture of music on the radio…country, soul, pop, rock.
I loved “Jessie’s Girl.” “Working Class Dog” and its follow-on, “Success Hasn’t Spoiled Me Yet,” were both solid pop albums. Believe it or not, I had some of Springfield’s stuff from the ’70s as well (“Take a Hand” was one of my favorites). I was enough of a fan girl to buy 2nd row seats for my cousin and myself to his concert when Springfield came to town in 1983. 🙂
I was surprised to find out a while back that he had a hit early in the 70’s- then a big gap between hit and then he came back to the charts.
I’m shocked you gave “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” a B. It’s a definite A+ for me, and is one of my favorite songs of all time. Is it because you’re not fond of Stevie Nicks?
I also love “Urgent”, thanks in large part to Junior Walker’s great sax.
Reason- you got it- Stevie Nicks voice for the most part I find annoying…