Top songs of 1980

What was the number one song of 1980?

The number one song of 1980 was “Call Me” by Blondie, the top song on Billboard's year-end Hot 100 for 1980. It spent 6 weeks at number one on the weekly chart, starting with the chart dated April 19, 1980.

“Call Me” by Blondie and “Lady” by Kenny Rogers were each number one for 6 weeks of 1980, the most of any song that year.

Born in 1980? The birthday number one finder shows the song at number one in the exact week of your birthday, and the number one on every birthday since.

Chart data: Billboard Hot 100, as compiled on Wikipedia (number ones of 1980, year-end Hot 100 of 1980).

How many songs reached number one in 1980?

16 songs reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in 1980. Counting “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)”, which was already at number one when the year began, 17 songs held the top spot across the year's 52 weekly charts.

Of the songs that first reached number one in 1980, “Call Me” by Blondie stayed there longest: 6 weeks in total, from the chart dated April 19, 1980.

Weeks at No. 1 counts every week the song spent at the top, including weeks in other years; the number in brackets is the weeks on charts dated 1980. Dates are chart issue dates.

Which artists had more than one number one in 1980?

Queen was the only act with more than one number one in 1980, counting lead and featured credits: “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and “Another One Bites the Dust”.

What were the biggest songs of 1980?

The five biggest songs of 1980 on Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 were “Call Me” by Blondie, “Another Brick in the Wall, Part II” by Pink Floyd, “Magic” by Olivia Newton-John, “Rock with You” by Michael Jackson and “Do That to Me One More Time” by Captain & Tennille.

The year-end chart ranks songs by how they performed on the weekly Hot 100 across Billboard’s chart year, so a song that peaked late in the year can rank lower than its weekly peak suggests, or count toward the next year’s list. The top 30 below show each song’s length where we could match the recording.

Numbers 31 to 100

31. “Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer” Kenny Rogers & Kim Carnes
32. “Sailing” Christopher Cross
33. “Longer” Dan Fogelberg
34. “Coward of the County” Kenny Rogers
35. “Ladies' Night” Kool & the Gang
36. “Too Hot” Kool & the Gang
37. “Take Your Time (Do It Right)” The S.O.S. Band
38. “No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)” Barbra Streisand & Donna Summer
39. “More Love” Kim Carnes
40. “Pop Muzik” M
41. “Brass in Pocket” The Pretenders
42. “Special Lady” Ray, Goodman & Brown
43. “Send One Your Love” Stevie Wonder
44. “The Second Time Around” Shalamar
45. “We Don't Talk Anymore” Cliff Richard
46. “Stomp!” The Brothers Johnson
47. “Heartache Tonight” Eagles
48. “Tired of Toein' the Line” Rocky Burnette
49. “Better Love Next Time” Dr. Hook
50. “Him” Rupert Holmes
51. “Against the Wind” Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
52. “On the Radio” Donna Summer
53. “Emotional Rescue” The Rolling Stones
54. “Rise” Herb Alpert
55. “All Out of Love” Air Supply
56. “Cool Change” Little River Band
57. “You're Only Lonely” JD Souther
58. “Desire” Andy Gibb
59. “Let My Love Open the Door” Pete Townshend
60. “Romeo's Tune” Steve Forbert
61. “Daydream Believer” Anne Murray
62. “I Can't Tell You Why” Eagles
63. “Don't Let Go” Isaac Hayes
64. “Don't Do Me Like That” Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
65. “She's Out of My Life” Michael Jackson
66. “Fame” Irene Cara
67. “Fire Lake” Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
68. “How Do I Make You” Linda Ronstadt
69. “Into the Night” Benny Mardones
70. “Let Me Love You Tonight” Pure Prairie League
71. “Misunderstanding” Genesis
72. “An American Dream” The Dirt Band
73. “One Fine Day” Carole King
74. “Dim All the Lights” Donna Summer
75. “You May Be Right” Billy Joel
76. “Should've Never Let You Go” Neil & Dara Sedaka
77. “Pilot of the Airwaves” Charlie Dore
78. “Hurt So Bad” Linda Ronstadt
79. “Off the Wall” Michael Jackson
80. “I Pledge My Love” Peaches & Herb
81. “The Long Run” Eagles
82. “Stand by Me” Mickey Gilley
83. “Heartbreaker” Pat Benatar
84. “Déjà Vu” Dionne Warwick
85. “Drivin' My Life Away” Eddie Rabbitt
86. “Take the Long Way Home” Supertramp
87. “Sara” Fleetwood Mac
88. “Wait for Me” Daryl Hall & John Oates
89. “Jojo” Boz Scaggs
90. “September Morn” Neil Diamond
91. “Give Me the Night” George Benson
92. “Broken Hearted Me” Anne Murray
93. “You Decorated My Life” Kenny Rogers
94. “Tusk” Fleetwood Mac
95. “I Wanna Be Your Lover” Prince
96. “In America” Charlie Daniels Band
97. “Breakdown Dead Ahead” Boz Scaggs
98. “Ships” Barry Manilow
99. “All Night Long” Joe Walsh
100. “Refugee” Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Chart data: Billboard Hot 100, as compiled on Wikipedia (number ones of 1980, year-end Hot 100 of 1980).

What songs should go on a 1980 mix CD?

A 1980 mix that fits one 80-minute CD holds 17 of the year's biggest songs, opening with “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” by Rupert Holmes and closing with “Upside Down” by Diana Ross, for 78:22 of music.

We built it from the year-end top 30 and every number one of 1980, taking songs in year-end order until the disc was full, then sequenced it to follow the year: the number ones in the order they reached the top, with the year’s other big hits placed between them. With a 2-second gap before each track it runs 78:56, under the 79 minutes we fill a CD to.

Lengths are the recordings matched in Deezer’s catalog. Single edits, album versions and remasters can run a little longer or shorter, so check your own playlist before you burn it.

Turn 1980 into a CD. Send us this list, or your own 1980 songs, and we burn it to a real audio CD, test-play it and post it. It makes a good gift for a birth year, a graduation year or a wedding year.

To change the songs, paste the list into the playlist length calculator to keep it under 80 minutes, then print an insert with the CD case template. Our guide to making a mixtape covers sequencing, and nostalgic gift ideas has more ways to give a year as a present.

What was popular music like in the 1980s?

Popular music in the 1980s was led by pop stars built for music video, with synth-pop, arena rock, dance-pop and big ballads sharing the top of the chart. MTV launched in August 1981, and acts such as Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince and Whitney Houston became the decade's biggest names.

From 1980 to 1989, 231 songs reached number one on the Hot 100, and 1 song stayed there for 10 weeks or more. Of those 231, “Physical” by Olivia Newton-John spent the most weeks at number one: 10 in total. Michael Jackson had the most number ones that reached the top in these years, with 9. The typical number one of these years ran 4:13 (the median of the 202 with a known length).