Remember when....

Here's a snapshot of 1981

Factoids:

• President: Ronald Reagan
• Vice President: George Bush
• U.S. Population: 229,465,714
• Life expectancy: 74.1 years
• World population: 4.529 billion
• Federal spending: $678 billion
• Federal debt: $994.8 billion
• Median Household Income: $19,074 (in 2010 dollars)
• Unemployment: 7.6%
• Cost of a first-class stamp: 15 cents
• Miss America: Susan Powell (Elk City, Oklahoma)
• Miss USA: Kim Seelbrede (Ohio)
• AIDS is first identified
• IBM introduces first PC runing MS-DOS
• FDA approves Nutrasweet
• US-Iran agreement frees 52 hostages held in Tehran since 1979
• Sandra Day O'Connor nominated to Supreme Court as the first woman
• MTV debuts on cable television, running around the clock music videos
• John Hinkley Jr. attempts to assassinate President Reagan
• Prince Charles and Diana Spencer get married
• Pac-Man video game sweeps the nation
• Donkey Kong and Frogger video games debut
• Space shuttle Columbia is first launched
• US Agriculture Department declares ketchup and pickle relish as school lunch vegetables
• 1981 is MCMLXXXI
• Ronald Reagan fired 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers for ignoring his order
• Muhammad Ali has his last boxing fight
• Delorean cars begin production

Sports

• Baseball: World Series, LA Dodgers over NY Yankees 4-2
• Basketball: NBA Championship, Boston over Houston 4-2
• Basketball: NCAA Championship, Indiana over North Carolina 63-50
• Heisman Trophy: Marcus Allen, USC
• Hockey: Stanley Cup, NY Islanders over Minnesota 4-1
• Football: Super Bowl XV, Oakland defeats Philadelphia 27-10
• Football: NCAA Championship, Clemson 12-0-0
• Golf: US Open, David Graham
• Tennis: Wimbledon women, Chris Evert Lloyd defeats Mandlikova 6-2, 6-2
• Tennis: Wimbledon men, John McEnroe defeats B Borg 4-6, 7-6, 7-6, 6-4
• Horses: Kentucky Derby, Pleasant Colony

Popular Songs

• Don't Stop Believin' - Journey
• Let's Groove - Earth, Wind and Fire
• Super Freak - Rick James
• Give It To Me Baby - Rick James
• Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield
• Start Me Up - Rolling Stones
• Back In Black - AC/DC
• I Love You - Climax Blues Band
• Celebration - Kool and The Gang
• She's A Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked) - Carl Carlton
• Just The Two Of Us - Grover Washington Jr & Bill Withers
• Double Dutch Bus - Frankie Smith
• Waiting For A Girl Like You - Foreigner
• Endless Love - Lionel Richie and Diana Ross
• Fantastic Voyage - Lakeside
• In The Air Tonight - Phi Collins
• Hey Nineteen - Steely Dan
• Love T.K.O. - Teddy Pendergrass
• We're In This Love Together - Al Jarreau
• De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da - Police
• Lady (You Bring Me Up) - Commodores
• Urgent - Foreigner
• The Tide Is High - Blondie
• Fire and Ice - Pat Benatar
• Our Lips Are Sealed - Go Go's
• Same Old Lang Syne - Dan Fogleberg
• The Stroke - Billy Squier
• Who's Making Love - Blues Brothers
• Being With You - Smokey Robinson
• Don't Stand So Close To Me - Police
• Tempted - Squeeze
• Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me) - Gap Band
• Guilty - Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb
• Woman - John Lennon
• Winner Takes All - Abba
• Queen of Hearts - Juice Newton
• Controversy - Prince
• Rapture - Blondie
• 9 to 5 - Dolly Parton
• America - Neil Diamond
• Physical - Olivia Newton John
• Treat Me Right - Pat Benatar
• Elvira - Oak Ridge Boys
• The Old Songs - Barry Manilow
• Fashion - David Bowie
• No Reply At All - Genesis
• All Those Years Ago - George Harrison
• Slow Hand - Pointer Sisters
• 8th Wonder - Sugarhill Gang
• My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone) - Chilliwack

Billboard Number One Hits

• December 27, 1980 - January 30, 1981:
  (Just Like) Starting Over - John Lennon
• January 31 - February 6:
  The Tide Is High - Blondie
• February 7 - February 20:
  Celebration - Kool & The Gang
• February 21 - March 6:
  9 to 5 - Dolly Parton
• March 7 - March 20:
  I Love A Rainy Night - Eddie Rabbitt
• March 21 - March 27:
  Keep On Loving You - REO Speedwagon
• March 28 - April 10:
  Rapture - Blondie
• April 11 - May 1:
  Kiss On My List - Hall & Oates
• May 2 - May 15:
  Morning Train (Nine To Five) - Sheena Easton
• May 16 - July 17:
  Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes
• July 18 - July 24:
  Medley - Stars on 45
• July 25 - July 31:
  The One That You Love - Air Supply
• August 1 - August 14:
  Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield
• August 15 - October 16:
  Endless Love - Diana Ross & Lionel Richie
• October 17 - November 6:
  Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do) - Christopher Cross
• November 7 - November 20:
  Private Eyes - Hall & Oates
• November 21, 1981 - January 29,1982:
  Physical - Olivia Newton-John

Top Albums

• High Infidelity - REO Speedwagon
• Paradise Theatre - Styx
• Mistaken Identity - Kim Carnes
• Long Distance Voyager - The Moody Blues
• Precious Time - Pat Benatar
• Foreigner - Foreigner
• Bella Donna - Stevie Nicks
• Escape - Journey
• Tatoo You - Rolling Stones
• For Those About To Rock - AC/DC

Popular Movies

• Raiders of the Lost Ark
• Chariots of Fire
• On Golden Pond
• Reds
• Atlantic City
• Superman II
• Arthur
• Stripes
• The Cannonball Run
• For Your Eyes Only
• The Four Seasons
• Time Bandits
• Any Which Way You Can

Academy Awards

• Host: Johnny Carson
• Best Picture: Ordinary People
• Best Director: Robert Redford (Ordinary People)
• Best Actor: Robert DeNiro (Raging Bull)
• Best Supporting Actor: Timothy Hutton (Ordinary People)
• Best Actress: Sissy Spacek (Coal Miner's Daughter)
• Best Supporting Acress: Mary Steenburgen (Melvin and Howard)
• Cinematography: Geoffrey Unsworth and Ghislain Cloquet (Tess)
• Best Original Song: Fame
• Best Original Score: Michael Gore (Fame)

Grammy Awards

• Record of the Year: Sailing (Christopher Cross)
• Best Song: Sailing (Christopher Cross)
• Best Album: Christopher Cross (Christopher Cross)
• Pop Male Vocalist: Kenny Loggins (This Is It)
• Pop Female Vocalist: Bette Midler (The Rose)
• Best New Artist of the Year: Christopher Cross
• Rock Male Vocalist: Billy Joel (Glass Houses)
• Rock Female Vocalist: Pat Benatar (Crimes of Passion)

Emmy Awards

• Drama Series: Hill Street Blues
• Lead Actor, Drama: Daniel Travanti (Hill Street Blues)
• Lead Actress, Drama: Barbara Babcock (Hill Street Blues)
• Drama Special: Playing for Time
• Comedy: Taxi
• Lead Actor, Comedy: Judd Hirsch (Taxi)
• Lead Actress, Comedy: Isabel Sanford (The Jeffersons)
• Limited Series: Shogun
• Informational Series: Steve Allen's Meeting of Minds
• Informational Special: The Body Human
• Children's Entertainment Series: Captain Kangaroo
• Game Show: $20,000 Pyramid
• Talk Show: Donahue

Nobel Prizes

• Chemistry
  • Roald Hoffmann (US) and Kenichi Fukui (Japan), for applying quantum-mechanics theories to predict the course of chemical reactions
• Literature
  • Elias Canetti
• Peace
  • Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
• Physiology or Medicine
  • Roger W. Sperry, David H. Hubel (both US), and Torsten N. Wiesel (Sweden), for studies vital to understanding the organization and functioning of the brain
• Physics
  • Nicolaas Bloembergen, Arthur L. Schawlow (both US), and Kai M. Siegbahn (Sweden), for developing technologies with lasers and other devices to probe the secrets of complex forms of matter

Pulitzer Prizes

• Fiction: A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
• Drama: Crimes of the Heart, Beth Henley
• History: American Education: The National Experience 1783 - 1876, Lawrence Cremin
• National Reporting: John Crewdson, New York Times, for coverage of illegal aliens
• Local Reporting: Longview Daily News, for coverage of Mt. St. Helens
• Public Service: Charlotte Observer, for series on "Brown Lung: A Case of Deadly Neglect"

Tony Awards

• Best Play: Amadeus
• Best Musical: 42nd Street
• Best Actor in a play: Ian McKellen (Amadeus)
• Best Actress in a play: Jane Laportaire (Piaf)
• Best Actor in a musical: Kevin Kline (Pirates of Penzance)
• Best Actress in a musical: Lauren Bacall (Woman of the Year)

Most Popular Books

• Fiction:
  • "Noble House" by James Clavell
  • "The Hotel New Hampshire" by John Irving
  • "Cujo" by Stephen King
  • "An Indecent Obsession" by Colleen McCullough
  • "Gorky Park" by Martin Cruz Smith
• Nonfiction
  • "Beverly Hills Diet" by Judy Mazel
  • "The Lord God Made Them All" by James Herriot
  • " 'Never Say Diet' Book" by Richard Simmons
  • "A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
  • "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Most Popular Television Shows

• Dallas
• 60 Minutes
• Dukes of Hazzard
• M*A*S*H
• Love Boat
• Private Benjamin
• The Jeffersons
• Alice
• Three's Company
• House Calls
• One Day At A Time

People Magazine's Most Intriguing People of 1981

• Ted Turner
• Bryant Gumbel
• Mick Jagger
• Thomas Sowell
• Barbara Mandrell
• John McEnroe
• Princess Diana Spencer
• Tom Selleck
• Sandra Day O'Connor
• Elizabeth Taylor
• Elizabeth McGovern
• Lena Horne
• Ronald Reagan
• Harrison Ford
• Fernando Valenzuela
• Lech Walesa
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Other fun 1981 stuff:

Video: President Reagan 1981 Inaugural Address

Video:  1981 Primitive Internet Report

Video:  CNN Year-end, News Year In Review

Video:  First Shuttle Launch; Columbia

Video:  1981 Commercials #1

Video:  1981 Commercials #2

Video:  1981 Commercials #3

Video:  1981 Commercials #4

Video:  1981 Brook Shields in Calvin Klein Jeans Commercial

Video:  Johnny Carson plays Walter Cronkite

Video:  Jerry Seinfeld HBO Debut in 1981

Video:  1981 Solid Gold Dancers

1981 Magazine Covers

1981 Advertisements

Images from 1981

Wikipedia link to "Events of 1981"

1981 Calendar from TimeAndDate.com

 

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This page was last updated on Tuesday, August 10, 2010 4:44 PM