RPM was a Canadian magazine that published the best-performing singles of Canada from 1964 to 2000. A total of sixteen singles reached number one on the RPM Singles Chart in 1981. The year began with "(Just Like) Starting Over" by John Lennon at the top spot and ended with Olivia Newton-John's "Physical" at the summit. Eleven of the sixteen artists earned their first Canadian chart-topper this year; those who did so prior to 1981 were John Lennon, Blondie, Styx, The Moody Blues, and Olivia Newton-John. Lennon became the only artist this year to attain the number-one spot with more than one single, and no Canadians topped their home county's chart this year.

The best-performing single of the year in Canada was "Stars on 45 Medley" (also known as "Medley") by Dutch novelty act Stars on 45. Because no RPM issues were published between 11 July and 22 August, it remained at number one for 12 weeks, preventing the second-most-successful single of the year, "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes, from taking the position. The song that spent the most published issues at number one, six, was "Endless Love" by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie, becoming Richie's first Canadian number-one hit and Ross's only chart-topper in Canada outside the Supremes. The singer who stayed at number one for the most weeks this year was John Lennon, whose singles "(Just Like) Starting Over" and "Woman" gave him seven weeks at the summit. The other acts that remained at number one for at least three weeks were Blondie, Kool & the Gang, and Juice Newton. +Key Indicates best-performing single of 1981

Chart history

Issue dateSongArtistReference3 January"(Just Like) Starting Over"John Lennon10 January17 January24 January31 January7 February"The Tide Is High"Blondie14 February21 February28 February7 March"The Best of Times"Styx14 March"Woman"John Lennon21 March28 March"Celebration"Kool & the Gang4 April11 April18 April"9 to 5"Dolly Parton25 April2 May"Morning Train (9 to 5)"Sheena Easton9 May16 May"Angel of the Morning"Juice Newton23 May30 May6 June"Stars on 45 Medley"Stars on 4513 June20 June27 June4 July11 July18 July25 July1 August8 August15 August22 August29 August"Gemini Dream"The Moody Blues5 September"Sausalito Summernight"Diesel12 September"Urgent"Foreigner19 September26 September"Endless Love"Diana Ross and Lionel Richie3 October10 October17 October24 October31 October7 November"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"The Police14 November"The Friends of Mr. Cairo"Jon and Vangelis21 November28 November5 December12 December19 December"Physical"Olivia Newton-John26 December

Notes

See also 1981 in music List of RPM number-one adult contemporary singles of 1981 List of RPM number-one country singles of 1981 List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 1981 List of Cashbox Top 100 number-one singles of 1981 List of Canadian number-one albums of 1981

References

External links Read about RPM Magazine at the AV Trust Search RPM charts here at Library and Archives Canada