Welcome back! After a short rest, Don's Top 10 returns, this time to Sunday, December 27, 1981. These were the national top 10 singles:

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  • 10

    "Trouble" by Lindsey Buckingham

    (#11 last week) There's no Fleetwood Mac on the survey this week, but Stevie Nick's latest ("Leather & Lace") just fell out of the top 10, & now bandmate Lindsey Buckingham is here. Great song, except for the very weird intro (a-2, a-3, a-4). Another Mac'er, Mick Fleetwood, plays the drums, but only barely here. Apparently, they fought during the session; Fleetwood walked out, and a 4-second loop of his drumming was used multiple times in the final recording. Trouble, indeed.

  • 9

    "Harden My Heart" by Quarterflash

    (#10 last week) First of three top 20 hits for a Portland, Oregon band originally called Seafood Mama. Very catchy. They recorded a different version of this song as Seafood Mama, with more sparse instrumentation but a more dramatic vocal.

     

  • 8

    "Don't Stop Believin" by Journey

    (#9 last week) This was a hit when first out, for sure, but it has become one of the most enduring songs in the history of pop music! "The Sopranos", "Rock Of Ages", too many sports teams to mention...the list goes on and on.

  • 7

    "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" by Diana Ross

    (#7 last week) A pretty surprising remake of a 50s doo-wop classic from the Queen of Motown, notable for another reason: Ms. Ross wasn't on Motown anymore, having left for RCA Records, starting with this single, her followup to the #1 smash "Endless Love".

  • 6

    "Oh No" by The Commodores

    (#4 last week) Underplayed gem, the followup to "Lady (You Bring Me Up)". Lionel Richie's last hit with the band. In the soundtrack for "The Last American Virgin". This was a bigger hit, peaking at #4, than "Lady", (surprisingly, only a #8-peaker), but "Lady" has endured a lot more.

  • 5

    "Young Turks" by Rod Stewart

    (#6 last week) Rod The Bod surprised with a new synthpop sound here. The phrase "Young Turks" is never heard in the actual song, the chorus instead centering on the phrase "young hearts be free tonight", leading to the song frequently being misidentified as "Young Hearts" or "Young Hearts Be Free". The song was co-written by Carmine Appice, drummer for the late 60s rock band Vanilla Fudge.

  • 4

    "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" by Daryl Hall & John Oates

    (#5 last week) Not only was this a pop smash, it was a soul smash, & on the dance chart & even the adult contemporary chart! Talk about multi-format appeal. Hall actually said at the time, "I'm the head soul brother in the U.S. Where to now?"

     

  • 3

    "Let's Groove" by Earth, Wind & Fire

    (#3 last week) A Grammy-nominated million-selling smash, this was surprisingly the band's last big hit, even though they successfully updated their sound here.

  • 2

    "Waiting For A Girl Like You" by Foreigner

    (#2 last week; 5th week at #2) Nationally, this song was stuck in the #2 position for a record 10 weeks, which must have driven the band crazy. The very distinctive synthesizer was performed by a then-unknown Thomas "She Blinded Me With Science" Dolby. It's included in the Broadway musical "Rock Of Ages".

     

  • 1

    "Physical" by Olivia Newton-John

    (#1 last week; 7th week at #1) ***WARNING***EXPLICIT VIDEO "Physical" may have been the biggest hit of lovely Livvy's long career, but it caused quite a backlash at the time due to the suggestive lyrics. Many stations banned it, but it stayed at the top nationally & locally for 10 long weeks, suggesting the public wasn't as offended as some in radio. Newton-John only had three more hits after this one, though.

     

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