One of his songs got knocked out of my initial top 20 1981 list, but this song remained in the top 10 and is one of the best early 80s funk tunes today.  It doesn’t hurt that its use in U Can’t Touch This further cemented this man’s musical legacy.  Coming in at #9 is Super Freak by Rick James.

We’ve reached the top 10 of my countdown of songs turning 40 years old and we begin smoothly.  Another Yacht Rock staple, this song is still heard in commericials, R&B stations, and had another lease on life thanks to Will Smith.  Our #10 song is Just the Two of Us by Grover Washington Jr & Bill Withers.

We wrap up the bottom half of the Top 20 Songs of 1981 countdown with a band that began to show a lot of maturity in their songwriting around this time.  While one other song from their Ghost in the Machine album enraptured me as a child, coming in at #11 is a song that has maintained longevity and remains a classic – Every Little Thing She Does is Magic by The Police.

Our next 1981 song in the countdown has had quite a history. It was involved with some unexpected controversy when its bassline was sampled and not initially credited by Vanilla Ice.  Later, the stories about its production helped raise its legendary status and today it’s still played and considered a classic.  Coming at #12 is Under Pressure by Queen & David Bowie.

Yacht Rock has certainly helped in the resurgence of both this duo and this song too.  It has been sampled by bands like Simply Red, the groove is extraordinarily contagious, and the dark mood help make this one of the duo’s best songs.  At #13 of the countdown of songs turning 40 years old is I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do) by Daryl Hall & John Oates.

In addition to Olivia Newton John, you can thank the next group for introducing America to Australian culture, including the vegemite sandwich.  There has not been a more popular US song featuring that term, and the song remains one of Colin Hay’s ultimate staples.  Landing at #14 is Down Under by Men at Work.