List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 1981

Template:Short description Template:Italic title These are the Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits of 1981. The longest running number-one single of 1981 is "Physical" by Olivia Newton-John which stayed at the top of the chart for six weeks in 1981 and then for four additional weeks in 1982, with a total of 10 weeks at number-one. This also makes "Physical" the longest running number-one single of the 1980s.

That year, 10 acts hit number one for the first time, such as Kool & the Gang, Dolly Parton, Eddie Rabbitt, REO Speedwagon, Sheena Easton, Kim Carnes, Stars on 45, Air Supply, and Rick Springfield. Lionel Richie, already having hit number one with The Commodores, also receives his first number one song as a solo act. Blondie and Daryl Hall and John Oates were the only acts to hit number one more than once, with both acts hitting twice.

Chart history

"9 to 5" by Dolly Parton reached the top spot for two non-consecutive weeks on February 21 and March 14, 1981, sandwiched with two weeks of "I Love a Rainy Night" by Eddie Rabbitt. Sheena Easton's No. 1 hit "9 to 5" was retitled "Morning Train" to avoid confusion.

Key

The yellow background indicates the No. 1 song on Billboard's 1981 Year-End Chart of Pop Singles.

An asterisk (*) by a date indicates an unpublished, "frozen" week, due to the special double issues that Billboard published in print at the end of the year for their year-end charts.

Template:Abbr	Issue date	Song	Artist(s)	Template:Abbr
495	January 3*	"(Just Like) Starting Over"	John Lennon	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	January 10			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	January 17			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	January 24			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
496	January 31	"The Tide Is High"	Blondie	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
497	February 7	"Celebration"	Kool & the Gang	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	February 14			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
498	February 21	"9 to 5"	Dolly Parton	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
499	February 28	"I Love a Rainy Night"	Eddie Rabbitt	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	March 7			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
re	March 14	"9 to 5"	Dolly Parton	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
500	March 21	"Keep On Loving You"	REO Speedwagon	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
501	March 28	"Rapture"	Blondie	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	April 4			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
502	April 11	"Kiss on My List"	Daryl Hall and John Oates	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	April 18			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	April 25			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
503	May 2	"Morning Train (Nine to Five)"	Sheena Easton	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	May 9			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
504	May 16	"Bette Davis Eyes"	Kim Carnes	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	May 23			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	May 30			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	June 6			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	June 13			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
505	June 20	"Medley: Intro 'Venus'/Sugar, Sugar/No Reply/I'll Be Back/Drive My Car/Do You Want to Know a Secret/We Can Work It Out/I Should Have Known Better/Nowhere Man/You're Going to Lose That Girl/Stars on 45"	Stars on 45	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
re	June 27	"Bette Davis Eyes"	Kim Carnes	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	July 4			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	July 11			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	July 18			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
506	July 25	"The One That You Love"	Air Supply	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
507	August 1	"Jessie's Girl"	Rick Springfield	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	August 8			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
508	August 15	"Endless Love"	Diana Ross and Lionel Richie	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	August 22			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	August 29			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	September 5			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	September 12			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	September 19			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	September 26			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	October 3			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	October 10			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
509	October 17	"Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)"	Christopher Cross	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	October 24			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	October 31			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
510	November 7	"Private Eyes"	Daryl Hall and John Oates	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	November 14			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
511	November 21	"Physical"	Olivia Newton-John	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	November 28			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	December 5			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	December 12			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	December 19			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	December 26			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Number-one artists

List of number-one artists by total weeks at number one

Position	Artist	Weeks at No. 1
1	Kim Carnes	9
	Diana Ross
	Lionel Richie
4	Olivia Newton-John	6
5	Daryl Hall and John Oates	5
6	John Lennon	4
7	Blondie	3
	Christopher Cross
9	Kool & the Gang	2
	Eddie Rabbitt
	Dolly Parton
	Sheena Easton
	Rick Springfield
14	REO Speedwagon	1
	Stars on 45
	Air Supply

See also

• 1981 in music
• Cashbox Top 100 number-one singles of 1981
• List of Billboard number-one singles
• List of Billboard 200 number-one albums of 1981
• List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of the 1980s

Sources

• Fred Bronson's Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits, 5th Edition (Template:ISBN)
• Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2008, 12 Edition (Template:ISBN)
• Joel Whitburn Presents the Billboard Hot 100 Charts: The Eighties (Template:ISBN)
• Additional information obtained can be verified within Billboard's online archive services and print editions of the magazine.