List of number-one R&B albums of 1981 (U.S.)
Encyclopedia
These are the Billboard magazine R&B albums
to reach number-one in 1981.
See also: 1981 in music
, R&B number-one hits of 1981 (USA)
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...
to reach number-one in 1981.
See also: 1981 in music
1981 in music
See also:* Timeline of musical eventsThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1981.-January–April:*January 10 – A 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 –...
, R&B number-one hits of 1981 (USA)
R&B number-one hits of 1981 (USA)
These are the Billboard magazine R&B singles chart number one hits of 1981:See also: 1981 in music, List of number-one R&B hits -Chart comparisons:...
| Issue Date | Album | Artist |
| January 3 | Hotter Than July Hotter than July Hotter than July is the nineteenth album by Stevie Wonder, originally released on Motown's Tamla label on September 29, 1980. Despite the wide critical acclaim for Wonder's previous works such as Songs in the Key of Life and Innervisions, Hotter than July was his first album eligible for platinum... |
Stevie Wonder Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist... |
| January 10 | Hotter Than July | Stevie Wonder |
| January 17 | Hotter Than July | Stevie Wonder |
| January 24 | Hotter Than July | Stevie Wonder |
| January 31 | Hotter Than July | Stevie Wonder |
| February 7 | Hotter Than July | Stevie Wonder |
| February 14 | Hotter Than July | Stevie Wonder |
| February 21 | The Gap Band III The Gap Band III The Gap Band III is an album by The Gap Band, released in 1980 on Mercury Records. Contrary to the title, the album is actually the Gap Band's fifth album.-Reception:... |
The Gap Band |
| February 28 | The Gap Band III | The Gap Band |
| March 7 | The Two of Us The Two of Us (Yarbrough & Peoples album) The Two of Us is the debut album by the R&B duo Yarbrough & Peoples. It was released in 1980 on Mercury Records, and produced by Total Experience Records owner Lonnie Simmons.-Reception:... |
Yarbrough & Peoples |
| March 14 | The Two of Us | Yarbrough & Peoples |
| March 21 | The Gap Band III | The Gap Band |
| March 28 | The Gap Band III | The Gap Band |
| April 4 | The Gap Band III | The Gap Band |
| April 11 | The Gap Band III | The Gap Band |
| April 18 | Being with You Being with You (album) Being with You is a 1981 album by Smokey Robinson. It's one of the few Smokey Robinson solo albums that have been released in the CD format. It features the Billboard Top 10 title track "Being with You", which just missed the #1 Pop position, peaking at #2, making it Robinson's highest-charting... |
Smokey Robinson Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy... |
| April 25 | Being with You | Smokey Robinson |
| May 2 | Being with You | Smokey Robinson |
| May 9 | Being with You | Smokey Robinson |
| May 16 | Being with You | Smokey Robinson |
| May 23 | A Woman Needs Love A Woman Needs Love A Woman Needs Love is the fourth and final album by the group Raydio, led by guitarist/singer/songwriter Ray Parker, Jr. It again includes eight tracks, but this time, all of them were written and produced by Parker himself. The album, released in 1981, gave Raydio their biggest pop hit in the form... |
Raydio Raydio Raydio was an American funk and R&B vocal group formed in 1977, by Ray Parker Jr., with Vincent Bohnam, Jerry Knight, and Arnell Carmichael.-Career:... featuring Ray Parker Jr. Ray Parker Jr. Ray Erskine Parker, Jr. , is an American guitarist, songwriter, producer and recording artist. Parker is known for writing and performing the theme song to the motion picture Ghostbusters, for his solo hits, and performing with his band Raydio as well as the late Barry White.-Early life and... |
| May 30 | A Woman Needs Love | Raydio featuring Ray Parker Jr. |
| June 6 | Street Songs Street Songs (album) -Track listing:All tracks composed and arranged by Rick James; except where indicated# "Give It to Me Baby" # "Ghetto Life" # "Make Love to Me" # "Mr... |
Rick James Rick James James Ambrose Johnson, Jr. , better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. James was a popular performer in the late 1970s and 1980s, scoring four number-one hits on the U.S. R&B charts performing in the genres of funk and R&B... |
| June 13 | Street Songs | Rick James |
| June 20 | Street Songs | Rick James |
| June 27 | Street Songs | Rick James |
| July 4 | Street Songs | Rick James |
| July 11 | Street Songs | Rick James |
| July 18 | Street Songs | Rick James |
| July 25 | Street Songs | Rick James |
| August 1 | Street Songs | Rick James |
| August 8 | Street Songs | Rick James |
| August 15 | Street Songs | Rick James |
| August 22 | Street Songs | Rick James |
| August 29 | Street Songs | Rick James |
| September 5 | Street Songs | Rick James |
| September 12 | Street Songs | Rick James |
| September 19 | Street Songs | Rick James |
| September 26 | Street Songs | Rick James |
| October 3 | Street Songs | Rick James |
| October 10 | Street Songs | Rick James |
| October 17 | Street Songs | Rick James |
| October 24 | Breakin' Away | Al Jarreau Al Jarreau Alwin "Al" Lopez Jarreau is a seven-time Grammy Award winning jazz singer.- Background :Jarreau was born in Milwaukee, the fifth of six children. His web site refers to Reservoir, Inc., the name of the street where he lived. His father was a Seventh-Day Adventist Church minister and singer, and... |
| October 31 | Breakin' Away | Al Jarreau |
| November 7 | The Many Facets of Roger The Many Facets of Roger The Many Facets of Roger was the debut solo project by Dayton, Ohio-based funk visionary Roger Troutman, released a year after the singer made his debut as lead frontman of his family-based funk group, Zapp, and the group had made their breakthrough with the funk hit "More Bounce to the Ounce"... |
Roger Roger Troutman Roger Troutman was the lead singer of the band Zapp who helped spearhead the Funk movement and heavily influenced West Coast hip hop due to the scene's heavy sampling of his music over the years... |
| November 14 | Never Too Much Never Too Much (album) Never Too Much is the debut solo album by American R&B/soul singer Luther Vandross, released in 1981 . It peaked at number nineteen on the Billboard 200 , and went double platinum by the RIAA. The album earned Vandross two Grammy Award nominations in 1982—"Best New Artist" and "Best R&B Vocal... |
Luther Vandross Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross was an American singer-songwriter and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times... |
| November 21 | Something Special | Kool and the Gang |
| November 28 | Raise! Raise! Raise! is the eleventh studio album by Earth, Wind & Fire, produced by the band's leader Maurice White for Kalimba Productions, and released in 1981 on ARC/Columbia Records. Raise! has been certified platinum in the US by the RIAA. Raise! was the bestselling R&B album of 1982. The album featured... |
Earth, Wind and Fire |
| December 5 | Raise! | Earth, Wind and Fire |
| December 12 | Raise! | Earth, Wind and Fire |
| December 19 | Raise! | Earth, Wind and Fire |
| December 26 | Raise! | Earth, Wind and Fire |