Over the next few days, I plan to turn the clock back 40 years. I'll be listening to the "American Top 40" year-end countdown from 1981. I remember putting a tape recorder up to the radio in my bedroom and preserving parts of the countdown at age 11. (I'll be listening to a higher quality recording than that in the coming days, though.)
I still think 1981 was one of pop music's better years. It amuses me, though, that I once thought The Little River Band's "The Night Owls" was some sort of biker gang anthem. At the time, that was my idea of tough, rebellious rock.
One first impression that still holds up, though: Joey Scarbury's "Theme From 'The Greatest American Hero'" is still a captivating way of expressing wonder and gratitude for assuming a role you weren't anticipating.
