1981 in music

See also:

• Record labels established in 1981
• list of 'years in music'

Events

• January 10 - Revival of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Pirates of Penzance opens at Broadway's Uris Theatre, starring Linda Ronstadt and Rex Smith.
• January 24 - Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler is injured in a motorcycle crash that leaves him hospitalized for two months.
• February 14 - Billy Idol leaves the band Generation X to begin a solo career.
• February 15 - Blues guitarist Mike Bloomfield is found dead in San Francisco. The cause of death is ruled an accidental drug overdose.
• March 14 - Suffering from bleeding ulcers, Eric Clapton is admitted to United Hospital in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Clapton's 60 city tour of the US is cancelled.
• April 4 - British pop group Bucks Fizz wins the 26th Eurovision Song Contest, held at the RDS Simmonscourt Pavilion, Dublin, with the song "Making Your Mind Up".
• April 7 - Former Who manager Kit Lambert dies after falling down a flight of stairs in his mother's home in London. Lambert managed the band between 1964 and 1967.
• April 11 - Van Halen's lead guitarist Eddie Van Halen marries actress Valerie Bertinelli.
• April 17 - Eric Clapton is released from St. Paul's Hospital in Minnesota following a month-long treatment for bleeding ulcers.
• April 18 - Yes announces that they're breaking up. (They would however reunite frequently in years to come).
• April 20 - The Mamas & the Papas' John Phillips is sentenced to five years in jail after pleading guilty to drug possession charges. Phillips' sentence would be suspended after thirty days in exchange for 250 hours of community service.
• April 22 - Eric Clapton is taken to the hospital suffering from bruised ribs and a lacerated shin, following a car accident in Seattle, Washington.
• April 25 - Paul McCartney's backing band, Wings, breaks up
• April 27 - Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach have got married in London, England
• May 2 - Working as a local wedding singer 12 months previously, British vocalist Sheena Easton hits No .1 in the US with "Morning Train (9 to 5)".
• May 11 - Bob Marley dies of cancer in Miami.
• May 14 - Diana Ross signs with RCA Records (EMI internationally), leaving Motown Records, her label of two decades. The $20,000,000 deal is the most lucrative recording contract in history at that time.
• May 20 - Alice Cooper's daughter, Calico Cooper, is born.
• August 1 - MTV debuts on cable television in the United States, playing music videos 24 hours a day.
• August, UK - the success of Stars On 45 leads to a short-lived medley craze. The most successful imitator of the Stars On 45 format is, rather unexpectedly, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra whose "Hooked On Classics (Parts 1&2)" reaches number two in the charts.
• August 23 - The Violent Femmes are discovered by members of The Pretenders busking outside the Milwaukee venue where The Pretenders will be playing, and invited to play a 10-minute acoustic set as a second opening act that night.
• September 19 - Simon & Garfunkel perform a free reunion concert in New York City's Central Park attended by over 500,000 fans.
• September 25 - The Rolling Stones open their US tour in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• October 6 - Depeche Mode releases their first album Speak and Spell.
• November 18 - While sitting in Tom's Restaurant in New York City, Suzanne Vega composes the song "Tom's Diner".
• The organ at the famous Heinävesi Church in Finland is renewed, using locks from the original organ.
• Alice Cooper drastically changes his appearance, leaving behind his trademark make-up and donning a Military uniform.
• Synth pop enjoys mainstream popularity in the UK, with groups such as Ultravox, Depeche Mode, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and The Human League releasing hit singles and albums.
• Menudo's golden era (1981-1985) begins in Latin America, parts of Europe and Asia.
• Brad Whitford leaves Aerosmith and is replaced by Rick Dufay.
• U2 appears on the Tomorrow show with Tom Snyder, their first U.S. television appearance.
• Phil Collins releases his first solo album (although he won't leave the band Genesis until 1995).
• Hal Willner "invents" the modern tribute album with Amacord Nino Rota.

Bands formed

• See Musical groups established in 1981

Bands disbanded

• Amon Düül II
• Bay City Rollers
• The Buzzcocks (they reform in 1989)
• City Boy
• Cluster (they reform in 1989)
• Josef K
• Generation X
• Good Rats
• Ian Dury and the Blockheads
• Klaatu
• Luv' (they reform in 1989, 1993 and 2005)
• MFSB
• Raydio
• Rockpile
• The Slits
• Starland Vocal Band
• Steely Dan (They reform in 1993)
• Throbbing Gristle
• Toots & the Maytals (they reform in the early 90s)
• Wings

Albums released

• Abacab - Genesis
• Alles ist gut - D.A.F.
• Almost Blue - Elvis Costello and the Attractions
• Amy Grant in Concert - Amy Grant
• And Don't the Kids Just Love It - Television Personalities
• Another Ticket - Eric Clapton
• Anthem - Toyah
• Architecture & Morality - Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
• As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls - Pat Metheny
• As Far as Siam - Red Rider
• Atomkraft? Nein, Danke! - Earthstar
• Bad Religion (EP) - Bad Religion (debut album)
• Bad Reputation - Joan Jett
• Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks - Hanoi Rocks
• The Baron - Johnny Cash
• Beauty and the Beat - The Go-Go's
• Being with You - Smokey Robinson
• Bella Donna - Stevie Nicks
• The Best of Blondie - Blondie
• Best of the Blues Brothers - The Blues Brothers
• The Best of Top of the Pops '81 - Top of the Poppers
• Beyond the Valley of 1984 - Plasmatics
• Big City - Merle Haggard
• Black & White - The Pointer Sisters
• Black President - Fela Kuti
• The Blasters - The Blasters
• Block to Block - De Press
• Bobby & the Midnites - Bobby and the Midnites
• Boonoonoonoos - Boney M.
• Breaker - Accept
• Breakin' Away - Al Jarreau
• Buchenwald - Whitehouse
• Bucks Fizz - Bucks Fizz
• Burning Blue Soul - The The
• Business as Usual - Men at Work (Australia, debut album)
• Captured - Journey
• The Catherine Wheel - David Byrne
• Chances Are - Bob Marley & The Wailers
• ChangesTwoBowie - David Bowie
• Chariots of Fire - Vangelis
• Children of Paradise - The Greatest Hits of Boney M. - Vol. 2 - Boney M.
• Christmas Album - Boney M.
• Circle of Love - Steve Miller Band
• Coconut Telegraph - Jimmy Buffett
• A Collection of Great Dance Songs - Pink Floyd
• The Completion Backward Principle - The Tubes
• Computer World - Kraftwerk
• Connections & Disconnections - Funkadelic
• Controversy - Prince
• Come an' Get It - Whitesnake
• Cool Night - Paul Davis
• Coup de Grâce - Mink DeVille
• Cowboy Jubilee - Riders in the Sky
• Crumbling the Antiseptic Beauty - Felt
• Curiosum - Cluster
• Dad Loves His Work - James Taylor
• Damaged - Black Flag
• Dance - Gary Numan
• Dangerous Acquaintances - Marianne Faithfull
• Dare - The Human League
• Dark Continent - Wall of Voodoo
• Dead Ringer - Meat Loaf
• Dead Set - Grateful Dead
• Deaf - You've Got Foetus On Your Breath
• Deceit - This Heat
• Dedicated to Peter Kürten - Whitehouse
• Dedication - Gary U.S. Bonds
• Denim and Leather - Saxon
• Deuce - Kurtis Blow
• DEV-O Live - Devo
• Diary of a Madman - Ozzy Osbourne
• Difficult to Cure - Rainbow
• Directions - Miles Davis
• Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap - AC/DC
• Discipline - King Crimson
• Document and Eyewitness - Wire
• Don't Say No - Billy Squier
• Don't Stop - Billy Idol
• Drama of Exile - Nico
• Dreamtime - Tom Verlaine
• Duran Duran - Duran Duran
• Earthshaker - Y&T
• East Side Story - Squeeze
• El Loco - ZZ Top
• The Electric Spanking of War Babies - Funkadelic
• El Rayo-X - David Lindley
• Entre Lajeunesse et la sagesse a.k.a. French Record - Kate and Anna McGarrigle
• Escape - Journey
• Escape Artist - Garland Jeffreys
• Exit...Stage Left (live album) - Rush
• Extended Play (EP) - The Pretenders
• Evangeline - Emmylou Harris
• Face Dances - The Who
• Face Value - Phil Collins
• Fair Warning - Van Halen
• Faith - The Cure
• Fancy Free - The Oak Ridge Boys
• Fire of Love - The Gun Club
• Fire of Unknown Origin - Blue Öyster Cult
• Flowers of Romance - Public Image Ltd.
• The Fool Circle - Nazareth
• For Those About to Rock We Salute You - AC/DC
• For Those Who Think Young - Rough Trade
• 4 - Foreigner
• The Fox - Elton John
• Freelancing - James Blood Ulmer
• Freetime - Spyro Gyra
• Freeze Frame - The J. Geils Band
• Fresh Fruit in Foreign Places - Kid Creole and the Coconuts
• Friday Night in San Francisco - Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucía
• From the Lions Mouth - The Sound
• Get Lucky - Loverboy
• Ghost in the Machine - The Police
• Give the People What They Want - Jimmy Cliff
• Give the People What They Want - The Kinks
• Go for It - Stiff Little Fingers
• Gonna Ball - Stray Cats
• Gosh It's... - Bad Manners
• Greatest Hits - Queen
• Happy Birthday - Altered Images
• Hard Promises - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
• Hardware - Krokus
• Healing - Todd Rundgren
• Heartbreak Radio - Rita Coolidge
• Heaven Up Here - Echo & the Bunnymen
• High 'n' Dry - Def Leppard
• Higher Plane - Al Green
• Hit and Run - Girlschool
• Hooligans - The Who
• Honi Soit - John Cale
• Hoy-Hoy! - Little Feat
• I Could Rule the World If I Could Only Get the Parts - The Waitresses
• I Love Rock 'n' Roll - Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
• Icehouse - The Flowers a.k.a. Icehouse
• If I Should Love Again - Barry Manilow
• In Concert Volume Two - Amy Grant
• In God We Trust, Inc. - Dead Kennedys
• In My Eyes (EP) - Minor Threat
• In Our Lifetime - Marvin Gaye
• In the Garden - Eurythmics
• In the Pocket - Commodores
• Individuellos - La Düsseldorf
• The Innocent Age - Dan Fogelberg
• Insect and Individual Silenced - Nurse with Wound
• Intensities in 10 Cities (live) - Ted Nugent
• It Must Be Magic - Teena Marie
• The Jacksons Live! - The Jacksons
• Jane Siberry - Jane Siberry
• Joy - The Minutemen
• The Judgement of Paris - Kevin Dunn and the Regiment of Women
• Juice - Juice Newton
• Juju - Siouxie & the Banshees
• Jumpin' Jive - Joe Jackson
• Killers - Iron Maiden
• Kim Wilde - Kim Wilde
• King Cool - Donnie Iris
• Kiss Me Deadly - Generation X as Gen X
• Kix - Kix
• Koo Koo - Debbie Harry
• La Folie – The Stranglers
• Land Speed Record - Hüsker Dü
• Law and Order - Lindsey Buckingham
• Let Them Eat Jellybeans - Various Artists from Alternative Tenticles Records
• Magnetic Fields - Jean-Michel Jarre
• Level 42 (debut) - Level 42
• Long Distance Voyager - The Moody Blues
• Long Play Album a.k.a. Stars on Long Play - Stars on 45
• The Lounge Lizards - The Lounge Lizards
• Love Is Only Feeling - Donovan
• Love Songs - Cliff Richard
• Lustwandel - Hans-Joachim Roedelius
• Made in America - The Carpenters
• Magic, Murder and the Weather - Magazine
• Magic Window - Herbie Hancock
• Magnetic Fields - Jean-Michel Jarre
• Maiden Japan (EP) - Iron Maiden
• The Man with the Horn - Miles Davis
• Marauder - Blackfoot
• Mark of the Mole - The Residents
• Mask - Bauhaus
• Material - Moebius & Plank
• Mecca for Moderns - The Manhattan Transfer
• Minor Threat (EP) - Minor Threat
• Mistaken Identity - Kim Carnes
• Mob Rules - Black Sabbath
• Modern Times - Jefferson Starship
• Mondo Bongo - The Boomtown Rats
• Movement - New Order
• Moving Pictures - Rush
• M.S.G. II - Michael Schenker Group
• Music from "The Elder" - Kiss
• My Life in the Bush of Ghosts - David Byrne & Brian Eno
• The Nature of the Beast - April Wine
• Never Too Much - Luther Vandross
• New Traditionalists - Devo
• Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports - Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports
• Nightclubbing - Grace Jones
• 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs - Dolly Parton
• Nine Tonight - Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
• No Sleep 'til Hammersmith (live) - Motörhead
• Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret - Soft Cell
• October - U2
• Odyshape - The Raincoats
• Of Skins and Heart - The Church
• Offramp - Pat Metheny Group
• Only a Lad - Oingo Boingo
• Paradise Theatre - Styx
• Party - Iggy Pop
• Party Mix! - The B-52's
• Penis Envy - Crass
• Penthouse and Pavement - Heaven 17
• Performance - Ashford & Simpson
• Physical - Olivia Newton-John
• Pirates - Rickie Lee Jones
• Place without a Postcard - Midnight Oil
• Play Me Out - Helen Reddy
• The Plimsouls - The Plimsouls
• Point of Entry - Judas Priest
• Positive Touch - The Undertones
• The Poet - Bobby Womack
• Prayers on Fire - The Birthday Party
• Precious Time - Pat Benatar
• Present Arms - UB40
• Present Arms in Dub - UB40
• Pretenders II - The Pretenders
• Prince Charming - Adam and the Ants
• Private Eyes - Hall & Oates
• A Product of ... (Participation) - Thompson Twins (debut)
• Public Service (EP) - Various Artists
• The Punch Line - Minutemen
• Punk's Not Dead - The Exploited (debut)
• Quarterflash - Quarterflash
• Quiero Ser - Menudo
• Rage in Eden - Ultravox
• Raise! - Earth, Wind & Fire
• Re-ac-tor - Neil Young and Crazy Horse
• Reckoning - Grateful Dead
• Red - Black Uhuru
• Red Mecca - Cabaret Voltaire
• Reflections - Gil Scott-Heron
• Rock until You Drop - Raven
• 7 - Madness
• Shake It Up - The Cars
• She Shot Me Down - Frank Sinatra
• Shot of Love - Bob Dylan
• Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar - Frank Zappa
• Signals, Calls, and Marches (EP) - Mission of Burma
• Six Pack (EP) - Black Flag
• Slates - The Fall
• Snaz (live) - Nazareth
• Solid Gold - Gang of Four
• Something Special - Kool & the Gang
• Somewhere in England - George Harrison
• Songs in the Attic - Billy Joel
• Sonic Attack - Hawkwind
• Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call - Simple Minds
• Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash - The Replacements (debut)
• Speak & Spell - Depeche Mode
• Special Forces - Alice Cooper
• Standing Hampton - Sammy Hagar
• Standing Together - Midnight Star
• Stands for Decibels - The dB's
• Stray Cats - Stray Cats
• Step by Step - Eddie Rabbitt
• Still - Joy Division
• Stop and Smell the Roses - Ringo Starr
• Street Songs - Rick James
• Strictly Personal - The Romantics
• Take It Off - Chic
• Take No Prisoners - Molly Hatchet
• Talk Talk Talk - The Psychedelic Furs
• Tattoo You - The Rolling Stones
• Ten Out of 10 - 10cc
• There Goes the Neighborhood - Joe Walsh
• There Must Be a Better World Somewhere - B.B. King
• Three Quartets - Chick Corea
• Time - Electric Light Orchestra
• The Time - The Time
• Tin Drum - Japan
• Tinseltown Rebellion - Frank Zappa
• To the Bone - Kris Kristofferson
• Tom Tom Club - Tom Tom Club
• Tonight I'm Yours - Rod Stewart
• Too Fast for Love - Mötley Crüe
• Too Late the Hero - John Entwistle
• Torch - Carly Simon
• Trio - Trio
• Trust - Elvis Costello & the Attractions
• Turn Back - Toto
• Underneath the Colours - INXS
• The Visitors - ABBA
• Waiata - Split Enz
• Wanted Dread and Alive - Peter Tosh
• Welcome to Hell - Venom
• What's THIS For...! - Killing Joke
• Why Do Fools Fall in Love - Diana Ross
• Wild-Eyed Southern Boys - 38 Special
• Wild Gift - X
• Wild Things (EP) - The Creatures
• Word of Mouth - Jaco Pastorius
• Wünsche fliegen übers Meer - Die Flippers
• Working Class Dog - Rick Springfield
• You Are What You Is - Frank Zappa
• You Want It You Got It - Bryan Adams
• You're the Guy I Want to Share My Money With - Laurie Anderson, William S. Burroughs and John Giorno
• Zebop! - Santana

Biggest hit singles

The following songs achieved the highest chart positions in the charts of 1981.

#	Artist	Title	Year	Country	Chart Entries
1	Kim Carnes	Bette Davis Eyes	1981		US BB 1 - April 1981, Canada 1 - April 1981, France 1 - June 1981, Switzerland 1 - June 1981, Norway 1 - June 1981, Germany 1 - June 1981, Australia 1 for 5 weeks May 1982, Grammy in 1981, US CashBox 2 of 1981, Austria 2 - July 1981, South Africa 2 of 1981, Sweden (alt) 4 - May 1981, Italy 5 of 1981, Australia 6 of 1981, UK 10 - May 1981, Holland 16 - May 1981, RYM 16 of 1981, Germany 18 of the 1980s, OzNet 45, Scrobulate 66 of 80s, RIAA 268, Acclaimed 738
2	Soft Cell	Tainted Love	1981		UK 1 - August 1981, Canada 1 - November 1981, France 1 - August 1981, Australia 1 for 3 weeks January 1983, Austria 2 - December 1981, Switzerland 2 - November 1981, Germany 2 - January 1982, Scrobulate 2 of 80s, Australia 3 of 1982, Sweden (alt) 4 - October 1981, RYM 4 of 1981, Holland 5 - October 1981, South Africa 5 of 1982, US BB 8 - May 1982, US BB 15 of 1982, POP 18 of 1982, Germany 37 of the 1980s, KROQ 38 of 1982, Virgin 41, US CashBox 50 of 1982, Party 142 of 2007, Acclaimed 163, Belgium 242 of all time, OzNet 451, WXPN 745
3	Phil Collins	In the Air Tonight	1981		Holland 1 - February 1981, Sweden (alt) 1 - February 1981, Austria 1 - April 1981, Switzerland 1 - April 1981, UK 2 - January 1981, France 2 - March 1981, Germany 2 - March 1981, Canada 3 - June 1981, Norway 4 - March 1981, OzNet 7, Poland 12 - August 1982, Europe 13 of the 1980s, RYM 15 of 1981, POP 16 of 1981, US BB 19 - July 1981, Australia 23 of 1981, Italy 23 of 1981, US BB 27 of 1981, Germany 44 of the 1980s, Scrobulate 60 of pop, TheQ 87, Belgium 230 of all time, Acclaimed 1238
4	John Lennon	Woman	1981		UK 1 - January 1981, Canada 1 - January 1981, Éire 1 - February 1981, New Zealand 1 for 5 weeks February 1981, US BB 2 - January 1981, Switzerland 2 - March 1981, Austria 4 - March 1981, Norway 5 - February 1981, France 7 - March 1981, Germany 7 - February 1981, US CashBox 16 of 1981, Sweden (alt) 18 - February 1981, Holland 21 - March 1981, RYM 22 of 1981, US BB 30 of 1981, Italy 34 of 1981, POP 34 of 1981, Virgin 59, OzNet 139, Germany 213 of the 1980s
5	Stars On 45	Stars On 45	1981		US BB 1 - May 1981, Holland 1 - January 1981, Austria 1 - May 1981, Switzerland 1 - May 1981, Germany 1 - March 1981, New Zealand 1 for 7 weeks June 1981, Australia 1 for 4 weeks June 1982, UK 2 - April 1981, Australia 2 of 1981, Germany 5 of the 1980s, Sweden (alt) 7 - June 1981, US CashBox 13 of 1981, Italy 54 of 1981

Chronological table of US and UK Number One hit singles

Chronological table of US and UK Number One hit albums

Published popular music

• "9 To 5" w.m. Dolly Parton from the film Nine to Five
• "All Those Years Ago" w.m. George Harrison
• "Allentown" w.m. Billy Joel
• "Allergies" w.m. Paul Simon
• "America" w.m. Neil Diamond from the film The Jazz Singer
• "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" w. Tom Eyen m. Henry Krieger from the musical Dreamgirls
• "Arthur's Theme" w.m. Carole Bayer Sager, Burt Bacharach, Christopher Cross & Peter Allen from the film Arthur
• "At This Moment" w.m. Billy Vera
• "Baby, Come To Me" w.m. Rod Temperton
• "Being With You" w.m. William "Smokey" Robinson
• "Believe it or Not (Theme From The Greatest American Hero')" w. Stephen Geyer m. Mike Post
• "The Best of Times" w.m. Dennis DeYoung
• "Bette Davis Eyes" w. Donna Weiss m. Jackie DeShannon
• "Black Limousine" w.m. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood
• "Bruce" w.m. Rick Springfield
• "Chariots of Fire" w. Jon Anderson m. Vangelis
• "Dynasty theme song" m. Bill Conti
• "The First Time it Happens" w.m. Joe Raposo, from the film The Great Muppet Caper
• "Good Thing Going (Going Gone)"     w.m. Stephen Sondheim
• "Hill Street Blues theme song" m. Mike Post
• "Key Largo"     w.m. Bertie Higgins & Sonny Limbo
• "Memory w. Trevor Nunn & T. S. Eliot m. Andrew Lloyd Webber. Introduced by Elaine Paige in the musical Cats.
• "One of the Girls" w. Fred Ebb m. John Kander introduced by Lauren Bacall in the musical Woman of the Year

Classical music

• Milton Babbitt - Don for four-hand piano, Ars Combinatoria for small orchestra
• George Crumb - Gnomic Variations for piano
• Peter Maxwell Davies - Piano Sonata
• Joël-François Durand - String Trio
• Lorenzo Ferrero
  • Balletto
  • Arioso II
• Bengt Hambraeus - Voluntary on a Swedish Hymn Tune from Dalecarlia
• George Lloyd - Tenth Symphony (for brass)
• Steve Reich - Tehillim
• Roger Sessions - Concerto for Orchestra (recorded by Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and for which the composer receives the Pulitzer Prize for Music)
• Robert Simpson - Quintet for clarinet and Strings; Symphony No. 8
• Stanislaw Skrowaczewski - Clarinet Concerto

Opera

• Lorenzo Ferrero - La figlia del mago
• Conrad Susa and Richard Street - Black River
• Karlheinz Stockhausen – Donnerstag aus Licht

Musical theater

• Barnum     London production opened at the Palladium on June 11 and ran for 655 performances
• Bring Back Birdie Broadway production
• Cats (Andrew Lloyd Webber) - London production opened at the New London Theatre on May 11 and ran for 8949 performances
• Dreamgirls Broadway production opened on December 20 at the Imperial Theatre and ran for 1522 performances
• March of the Falsettoes     off-Broadway production
• Merrily We Roll Along - Broadway production opened at the Alvin Theatre on November 16 and ran for 16 performances
• The Pirates of Penzance     Broadway revival
• Song and Dance     London production
• Woman of the Year     Broadway production opened at the Palace Theatre on March 29 and ran for 770 performances

Musical films

• The Great Muppet Caper
• The Jazz Singer
• Pennies from Heaven

Births

• January 5 - Carmen Monarcha, operatic soprano
• January 29 - Jonny Lang, blues artist
• January 31 - Justin Timberlake, former member of boy band *NSYNC
• February 11 - Kelly Rowland, Destiny's Child
• February 27 - Josh Groban, David Foster prodigy
• March 9 - Chad Gilbert, New Found Glory
• March 11
  • Russell Lissack, Bloc Party
  • LeToya Luckett, Destiny's Child
• April 1
  • Theresa Sokyrka, Canadian Idol 2 runner-up
  • Hannah Spearritt, S Club 7
• May 3 - Farrah Franklin, Destiny's Child
• June 8 - Alex Band, The Calling
• June 21 - Brandon Flowers, The Killers
• July 21 - Blake Lewis, American Idol 6 runner-up
• 31 July - Matt Shadows, Avenged Sevenfold
• August 8
  • Vanessa Amorosi, rock singer
  • Bradley McIntosh, S Club 7
• August 28 - Iracema Trevisan, Cansei de Ser Sexy
• September 4 - Beyoncé Knowles, Destiny's Child
• September 14 - Ashley Roberts, The Pussycat Dolls
• September 26 - Christina Milian, singer
• October 1 - Jamelia, British singer
• October 13 - Kele Okereke, Bloc Party
• October 15 - Nick White, Tilly and the Wall
• October 31 - Frank Iero, My Chemical Romance
• November 1 - LaTavia Roberson, Destiny's Child
• November 17 - Sarah Harding, Girls Aloud
• November 20 - Kimberley Walsh, Girls Aloud
• November 26 - Natasha Bedingfield, British singer
• December 2 - Britney Spears
• December 11 - Zacky Vengeance, Avenged Sevenfold
• December 13 - Amy Lee, Evanescence

Deaths

• January 23 - Samuel Barber
• January 25 - Adele Astaire, US dancer, actress and singer
• February 1
  • Geirr Tveitt, Norwegian composer
  • Ernst Pepping, composer
• February 9 - Bill Haley, rock and roll pioneer, heart attack
• February 15 - Mike Bloomfield, blues guitarist
• April 5
  • Bob Hite, Canned Heat, heart attack
  • Maurice Zbriger, violinist, composer and conductor
• April 7 - Kit Lambert, former manager and producer for The Who
• April 8 - Bert Shevelove, librettist
• April 14 - Ivan Galamian, violin teacher
• April 28 - Steve Currie, 33, bassist for T.Rex
• May 11 - Bob Marley
• July 16 - Harry Chapin, US singer, automobile accident
• August 18 - Robert Russell Bennett, composer and arranger
• September 15 - Chick Bullock, US singer
• October 13 - Marius Casadesus, violinist and composer
• October 15 - Elsie Randolph, English actress, dancer and singer
• October 29 - Georges Brassens, singer-songwriter
• November 27 - Lotte Lenya, actress and singer, wife of Kurt Weill
• December 13 - Cornelius Cardew, avant-garde composer
• December 27 - Hoagy Carmichael

Awards

Grammy Awards

• Grammy Awards of 1981

Country Music Association Awards

Eurovision Song Contest

• Eurovision Song Contest 1981

Charts

List of No. 1 Hits

• Hot 100 No. 1 Hits of 1981