In July, 1981 Ronald Reagan was President, a coal mine fire broke through the surface in Centralia, PA, Donkey Kong was released, MTV was days away from being launched, and aspartame, better known as NutriSweet, was approved for sale in the U.S. On the 28th of July that year, these were the top 10 Rock Albums on MGK’s Thursday Top 10 Countdown.

– Andre Gardner

• 10 - Precious Time - Pat Benatar

  Pat’s third album was her only release to top the charts, and it debuted this week at #10.

• 9 - Fair Warning - Van Halen

  The third album by Van Halen was their weakest-selling, that is, if you consider 2,000,000 copies sold “weak.”  After peaking at #5, it’s #9 on the countdown this week.

• 8 - Don't Say No - Billy Squier

  Billy Squier’s second solo album was his breakthrough.  Produced by Queen’s engineer, known as Mack, it stayed on the charts for almost two years. On July 28, 1981, it was the #8 rock album.

• 7 - Moving Pictures - Rush

  For their 8th album, Rush recorded more radio-friendly tracks, and that strategy worked.  This continues to be their biggest seller, and a favorite of a lot of Rush fans.  On this week’s countdown it was #7 and, on the official video, you can see Rush in the studio where they made many of their incredible albums, Le Studio in Quebec’s Laurentian Mountains.

• 6 - Zebop - Santana

  Carlos has employed quite a few lead singers over the course of his career, and on his 12th release, a dude named Alex Ligertwood handled the vocals.  He sounds so good on “Winning” from Zebop, #6 on the countdown.

• 5 - Face Value - Phil Collins

  Phil Collins was an instant solo success with the release of his debut solo work, Face Value, written largely around a divorce he was going through.  The album peaked here at #5 on July 28, 1981.

• 4 - Paradise Theater - Styx

  We’ll see these guys at our Big Gig on August 13! Their one and only album, to hit #1 was this one, and this week it drops to #4.

• 3 - Hard Promises - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

  Tom Petty threatened to withhold the master tape for his fourth album from his record company after finding out they wanted to raise the price of his album to fans. They backed down.  Score one for the artist!  The album was almost called Benmont’s Revenge, after the Heartbreakers’ keyboardist, but Tom settled on Hard Promises, reflecting his struggle with his record label.  The album peaked here at #3.

• 2 - Hi infidelity - REO Speedwagon

  The #2 rock album this week is from another band we’ll see rocking our Big Gig on August 13, REO Speedwagon, who not only topped the charts with this album, it was the biggest selling album of the entire year. It drops a place to #2 on this week’s countdown.

• 1 - Long Distance Voyager - Moody Blues

  At the top of the charts this week is the 10th albums by Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame members the Moody Blues, who reached #1 for the second time on July 28, 1981 with Long Distance Voyager.

   

Sign Up For The WMGK Classic Rock Notes Newsletter

Classic Rock & entertainment news, what's happening in Philly, exclusive contests, games and more sent right to your inbox.

Email *

Subscribe

By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.