8 of the 80s: 6/27/13 (1981)...

Hey gang - it's time for another throwback to the 80's, and now I've got eight more nuggets from 1981, the year the Centers for Disease Control reported that five men in Los Angeles have a rare form of pneumonia (later to be diagnosed as AIDS)...

Kool & The Gang - "Celebration"
from the album Celebrate! (1980)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1
Songwriters: Robert Bell, Ronald Bell, George Brown, Robert Mickens, Claydes Smith, James JT Taylor, Dennis Thomas, Earl Toon, Eumir Deodato

In this week's bittersweet Supreme Court victories with DOMA and Prop 8 mixed with the decimation of the Voting Rights Act, we gotta take what we can get.

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The Little River Band - "The Night Owls"
from the album Time Exposure (1981)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #6
Songwriter: Graham Goble

This Aussie band's lead-off single from their last album with original lead singer Glenn Shorrock was a classic early-80s moment on the radio for me.

Neil Diamond - "America"
from the album The Jazz Singer (1980)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #8
Songwriter: Neil Diamond

As a perfect anthem for the fight for immigration rights in this country, this Neil classic boils down the dreams of people arriving in the US no matter where they're from.

The Go-Go's "Our Lips Are Sealed"
from the album Beauty And The Beat (1981)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #20
Songwriters: Terry Hall, Jane Wiedlin

I went and saw the Go-Go's last week in New York, and man, do they sound as good as ever. And Belinda look so damn fine I would question my sexuality if I didn't like dick so much.

Balance - "Breaking Away"
from the album Balance (1981)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #22
Songwriter: Peppy Castro

When I took the bus to school, WNBC would play this song constantly. No surprise, this wall of pop was meant for AM radio.

Bette Midler - "My Mother's Eyes"
from the album Divine Madness (1980)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #39
Songwriter: Tom Jans

A rare reflective moment from Bette's crazy live show, it nonetheless was cut from the movie even though it became the "soundtrack"'s big single.

L.T.D. - "Shine On"
from the album Shine On (1980)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #40
Songwriters: Jeffrey Osborne, Billy Osborne, Richard Kerr

The last single from the soul group's final album before brothers Jeffrey and Billy Osborne left for solo careers, one obviously more successful than the other.

ABBA - "Super Trouper"
from the album Super Trouper (1979)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #45
Songwriters: Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus

This was the iconic Swedish pop band's "life on the road" song, with the title referring to the giant spotlights used in their concerts.

That does it for tonight...tomorrow I'll have another Song of the Day and my top-100 songs of the week. Goodnight!