Music Monday: 1981

Leon Stevens

Jan 22

There is a radio show on CBC here in Canada that occasionally does a feature called SYNTH: Songs You Need To Hear.

Now, I can't say to someone, "You'll like this song" (or book for that matter) because I can't presume that others will share my taste in music (or books), so it is safer to say, "You might like this" and if they don't like it, so be it.

Maybe you will find a new favorite.

CBC MUSIC, Central · Mornings with CBC Music

1981 was a weird year for musical tastes for my circle of friends. Radio was still the main source for discovering music, but as teenagers now in our second year, it was time to rebel.

But wait. Were there any good songs on the charts that you could admit you liked? John Lennon had a couple of hits that year with Starting Over and Woman, and he was a Beatle, so maybe.

Debbie Harry was pretty hot—although we all thought her name was Blondie, so that's what we called her—so you could watch her video without retribution. Dolly Parton had a hit (9 to 5) but it was too poppy, but she also had, well, we were teenagers, so you know. Joan Jett sang, I Love Rock and Roll (yeah, yeah she wore leather).

The Police released the album, Ghost in the Machine, The Cars, J. Geils Band, were big, along with Foreigner's Juke Box Hero, and Journey's Don't Stop Believing. And everyone listened to In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins.

Blue Öyster Cult's Don't Fear the Reaper was still in rotation, so Burning for You was heavy enough to play. Plus they used a umlaut in their name and it looked cool and a bit mysterious.

This was the year we discovered Sammy Hagar. Check out that hair.

On to our main act of the night. Diesel is a Dutch pop/rock group that became one of the relatively few Dutch acts to chart in the U.S. Sausalito Summernight hit #1 on the Canadian charts and we never heard from them again. they recorded another album, Unleaded, in 1982, but it was not a success.

Here's a song I have never heard.

But 1981 was just the start of our heavy metal journey. Judas Priest's Point of Entry was a disappointment, so British Steel was still on the turntable. AC/DC released their last good album, For Those About to Rock We Salute You. Iron Maiden and Kiss were also becoming favorites because our parents didn't like them.

-Leon

Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.

My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/