I Love 1981!

Happy 80's day! (If you missed it, the Commander declared every Tuesday will be a tribute to the 80's in Luggage Land.) Today I picked 1981.

Here are some events that took place in 1981, do you remember?

• January 13 - Donna Griffiths, a schoolgirl in Pershore, Worcestershire, UK, begins an uncontrollable series of sneezes that end September 16, 1983 - after 978 days
• January 19 - United States and Iranian officials sign an agreement to release 52 American hostages after 14 months of captivity.
• January 20 - Ronald Reagan succeeds Jimmy Carter, becoming the 40th President of the United States. Minutes later, Iran releases 52 Americans held 444 days.
• February 24 - Shortly before 11 p.m. a powerful, magnitude 6.7 earthquake hits Athens, killing 16 people, injuring thousands and destroying several buildings, mostly in Corinth and the nearby towns of Loutraki, Kiato and Xylokastro.
• March 6 - After 19 years hosting the CBS Evening News, Walter Cronkite signs off for the last time.
• March 30 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C. hotel by John Hinckley, Jr.. Two police officers and Press Secretary James Brady are also wounded.
• May 13 - Pope John Paul II is shot and nearly killed by Mehmet Ali Ağca, a Turkish gunman, as he enters St. Peter's Square in Rome to address a general audience (2 days after Christmas in 1983, Pope John Paul goes to the prison to meet and forgive his would-be assassin).
• June 5 - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that 5 homosexual men in Los Angeles, California have a rare form of pneumonia seen only in patients with weakened immune systems (the first recognized cases of AIDS).
• July 29 - Lady Diana Spencer marries Charles, Prince of Wales.
• August 1 - MTV (Music Television) is launched
• gust 19 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan appoints the first female U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O'Connor.
• August 19 - Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, aka the pop duo Pet Shop Boys, meet for the first time by chance in an electronics shop in Chelsea, London.
• September 19 - Simon and Garfunkel perform The Concert in Central Park, a free concert in New York in front of approximately a half a million people.
• October 15 - The heavy metal band Metallica forms.
• November 16 - Luke and Laura marry on the U.S. soap opera General Hospital; it is the highest-rated hour in daytime television history.

And now, what you all have been waiting for- the music hits of 1981: (US #1 Singles)

• "(Just Like) Starting Over" - John Lennon (3 weeks in 1980+ 2 weeks in 1981)
• "The Tide Is High" - Blondie (1)
• "Celebration" - Kool & The Gang (2)
• "9 To 5" - Dolly Parton (2)
• "I Love A Rainy Night" - Eddie Rabbitt (2)
• "Keep On Loving You" REO Speedwagon (1)
• "Rapture" - Blondie (2)
• "Kiss On My List" - Daryl Hall & John Oates (3)
• "Morning Train (9 To 5)" - Sheena Easton (2)
• "Bette Davis Eyes" - Kim Carnes (9, best selling single of the year)
• "Stars on 45 Medley" - Stars On 45 (1)
• "The One That You Love" - Air Supply (1)
• "Jessie's Girl" - Rick Springfield (2)
• "Endless Love" - Diana Ross & Lionel Richie (9)
• "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" - Christopher Cross (3)
• "Private Eyes" - Daryl Hall & John Oates (2)
• "Physical" - Olivia Newton-John (6 weeks in 1981 + 4 weeks in 1982)

Click here for the 1981 UK charts.