The year 1981 was a pretty big one for great country tunes and soothing soft rock ballads. The following three songs that dropped in 1981 were quite successful that year, but they’ve somewhat fallen out of radio favor and have been forgotten by many modern-day listeners. Let’s change that, shall we? These songs have really aged well, all things considered.
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“Who’s Crying Now” by Journey
How about some serious soft rock goodness to kick off this list? “Who’s Crying Now” by Journey was released in mid-1981 and was a fast hit on the charts. This standout soft rock gem from Escape made it all the way to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. It also did fairly well in the UK. While “Don’t Stop Believin’” would be the real money-making single from that album, “Who’s Crying Now” also deserves more love, especially nowadays.
“A Little In Love” by Cliff Richard
How about a standout pop-rock track with a soft rock edge from crooner Cliff Richard? “A Little In Love” technically dropped in December 1980, but it didn’t start seriously charting until 1981. It also wasn’t released outside of the US until 1981, too. This is a solid piece of work from Richard, and it spent a whopping five months on the Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 17.
“Feels So Right” by Alabama
The 1980s were an interesting time for country music. In my opinion, the 1970s was really the golden age for the genre. But as music tastes and interests changed, country music still managed to evolve as creatively as rock music did in the early 1980s. One great example of 80s country music done right is “Feels So Right” by Alabama.
Released in mid-1981, this excellent piece of work from the album of the same name was a fast hit on the charts. It was a bit of a crossover hit for the band, too. “Feels So Right” topped the US and Canadian country charts, and also made it to No. 20 on the Hot 100 and even did well in the UK. However, I don’t hear this one out in the wild much nowadays, even on classic country radio. It’s a shame, because this jam really shouldn’t be on a list of forgotten or lost songs from 1981.
Photo by Rob Verthorst/Redferns
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