List of number-one singles of 1981 (Canada)

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 the number-one spot 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 date	Song	Artist	Reference
3 January[A]	"(Just Like) Starting Over"	John Lennon	[1]
10 January[A]
17 January[A]
24 January			[2]
31 January			[3]
7 February	"The Tide Is High"	Blondie	[4]
14 February			[5]
21 February			[6]
28 February			[citation needed]
7 March	"The Best of Times"	Styx	[citation needed]
14 March	"Woman"	John Lennon	[7]
21 March			[7]
28 March	"Celebration"	Kool & the Gang	[8]
4 April			[9]
11 April			[9]
18 April	"9 to 5"	Dolly Parton	[10]
25 April			[11]
2 May	"Morning Train (9 to 5)"	Sheena Easton	[12]
9 May			[13]
16 May	"Angel of the Morning"	Juice Newton	[14]
23 May			[15]
30 May			[16]
6 June	"Stars on 45 Medley"[17]	Stars on 45	[18]
13 June			[19]
20 June			[20]
27 June			[21]
4 July			[22]
11 July[B]
18 July
25 July
1 August
8 August
15 August
22 August
29 August	"Gemini Dream"	The Moody Blues	[23]
5 September	"Sausalito Summernight"	Diesel	[24]
12 September	"Urgent"	Foreigner	[25]
19 September			[26]
26 September	"Endless Love"	Diana Ross and Lionel Richie	[27]
3 October			[28]
10 October			[29]
17 October			[30]
24 October			[31]
31 October			[32]
7 November	"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"	The Police	[32]
14 November	"The Friends of Mr. Cairo"	Jon and Vangelis	[33]
21 November			[34]
28 November			[35]
5 December			[36]
12 December			[37]
19 December	"Physical"	Olivia Newton-John	[38]
26 December			[39]

Notes[]

See also[]

• 1981 in music
• Hot 100 number-one hits of 1981 (USA) by Billboard magazine
• Cashbox Top 100 number-one singles of 1981 by Cash Box

References[]

External links[]

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