3 Rock Star Women Who Earned No. 1 Albums in 1981

The year: 1981. The chart: Billboard Top 200. The characters: rock star women who knew how to connect with fans. The result: success. Okay, thank you for enduring the stereotypical cop television show opening. What we’re trying to say here is that 1981 was a great year for music, and it was one largely dominated by fantastic rock star women.

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And it’s those songwriters and performers who we wanted to highlight here. We wanted to showcase three artists who were so compelling in their medium that they garnered No. 1 albums in 1981. Want to know who we’re talking about? Well, let’s dive in below. These are three rock star women who earned No. 1 albums in 1981.

‘Mistaken Identity’ by Kim Carnes (1981)

The Los Angeles-born Kim Carnes rose to fame thanks to her partnership in 1980 with country star Kenny Rogers. A year later, she released her breakout LP, Mistaken Identity, which stayed at the top spot on the Top 200 for four weeks and featured her breakout solo single, “Bette Davis Eyes”, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Mistaken Identity was Carnes’ sixth LP, proving that if you stick with it, good things will happen.

‘Precious Time’ by Pat Benatar (1981)

The New York City-born Pat Benatar released her third studio album, Precious Time, in 1981. And life wasn’t the same for the artist afterwards. The work marks the sole release from Benatar to hit No. 1 on the Top 200. Talk about a milestone! And here’s another: this album’s lead single, “Fire And Ice”, won Benatar a Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance in 1982. Indeed, she struck oil with this release!

‘Bella Donna’ by Stevie Nicks (1981)

The Phoenix-born Stevie Nicks rose to fame and fortune in the rock band Fleetwood Mac. But that group couldn’t quite contain the bonfire that was this icon among rock star women, and so, Nicks went out solo. She went on to release several albums on her own in the 1980s. Her debut solo release, Bella Donna, proved her viability as an artist outside the band, garnering Nicks her first solo No. 1 LP. Not only was the album a success, but it led to four Top 40 singles for Nicks, too. Well done!

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