List of Hot Soul Singles number ones of 1981
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs is a chart published by Billboard that ranks the top-performing songs in the United States in African-American-oriented musical genres; the chart has undergone various name changes since its launch in 1942 to reflect the evolution of such genres. In 1981, it was published under the title Hot Soul Singles. During that year, 17 different singles topped the chart, based on playlists submitted by radio stations and surveys of retail sales outlets.[1]
In the issue of Billboard dated January 3, the number-one position was occupied by "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang, the single's third week in the top spot.[2] The song's run at number one extended to six weeks before it was displaced by "Fantastic Voyage" by Lakeside, the first chart-topper for the group.[3] It was the first of three consecutive debut number ones, as it was followed into the top spot by "Burn Rubber on Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)" by the Gap Band and "Don't Stop the Music" by Yarbrough and Peoples, each act's first single to reach the peak position.[4] A number of other artists reached number one for the first time later in the year. In May, Ray Parker Jr. & Raydio topped the chart for the first time with "A Woman Needs Love (Just Like You Do)",[5] and two months later Frankie Smith reached number one with "Double Dutch Bus", the only charting single of his career.[6] Smith's track was followed into the top spot by "I'm in Love", the first number one for Evelyn King, who for that single was not credited with her usual nickname of "Champagne".[7] In October, "Never Too Much" was the debut number one for Luther Vandross, who would go on to become one of the most successful black artists of the 1980s.[8][9] Finally, Roger, front man of the band Zapp, reached number one with his first solo chart entry, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine (Part 1)".[10][11]
The year's longest-running number one was "Endless Love" by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie, which spent seven consecutive weeks in the top spot beginning in August. It was the second of 1981's soul number ones to also top Billboard's all-genres singles chart, the Hot 100, following "Celebration" earlier in the year.[12] Ross and Richie also had the highest total number of weeks at number during 1981, ahead of five acts who each spent five weeks in the top spot. "Endless Love" was displaced from the top spot by "When She Was My Girl" by the Four Tops, former labelmates of Ross with the highly influential Motown label. It was the first number one since 1966 for the Tops, whose chart placings had declined after they left Motown in the early 1970s, with only one of their singles having made the top ten in the preceding seven years.[13][14] Kool and the Gang were the only act with multiple soul number ones in 1981, spending a single week atop the chart with "Take My Heart (You Can Have It If You Want It)" in November to add to the four weeks which "Celebration" spent at number one in January. The year's final number one was "Let's Groove" by Earth, Wind and Fire.
Chart history
† | Indicates best-charting R&B single of 1981[15] |
References
- Whitburn 1996, p. xii.
- "R & B Chart for January 3, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
- Whitburn 2004, p. 339.
- Whitburn 2004, pp. 223, 642.
- Whitburn 2004, p. 449.
- Whitburn 2004, p. 535.
- Whitburn 2004, p. 326.
- Whitburn 2004, p. 600.
- Ruhlmann, William. "Luther Vandross Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
- Whitburn 2004, p. 499.
- Prato, Greg. "Roger Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
- Whitburn 2004, pp. 333, 502.
- Whitburn 2004, pp. 212–213.
- Huey, Steve. "The Four Tops Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
- "Billboard.com - Year End Charts - Year-end Singles - Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs". December 11, 2007. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
- "R & B Chart for January 10, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for January 17, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for January 24, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for January 31, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for February 7, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for February 14, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for February 21, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for February 28, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for March 7, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for March 14, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for March 21, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for March 28, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for April 4, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for April 11, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for April 18, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for April 25, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for May 2, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for May 9, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for May 16, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for May 23, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for May 30, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for June 6, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for June 13, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for June 20, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for June 27, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for July 4, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for July 11, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for July 18, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for July 25, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for August 1, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for August 8, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for August 15, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for August 22, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for August 29, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for September 5, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for September 12, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for September 19, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for September 26, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for October 3, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for October 10, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for October 17, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for October 24, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for October 31, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for November 7, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for November 14, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for November 21, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for November 28, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for December 5, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for December 12, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for December 19, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
- "R & B Chart for December 26, 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
Works cited
- Whitburn, Joel (1996). Joel Whitburn's Top R & B Singles, 1942–1995. Record Research Incorporated. ISBN 978-0-89820-115-4.
- Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research Incorporated. ISBN 978-0-89820-160-4.