See also: 1980 in music, other events of 1981, 1982 in music, 1980s in music and the 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
• 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 was ruled an accidental drug overdose
• March 14 - Suffering from bleeding ulcers, Eric Clapton is admitted to United Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota. Clapton's 60 city tour of the US is canceled.
• 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 and the Papas' John Phillips is sentenced to five years in jail after 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
• May 11 - The musical Cats begins its 8949 performance run on London's West End.
• August 1 - MTV debuts on cable television, 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.
• September 19 - Simon and Garfunkel perform a free reunion concert in New York City's Central Park attended by over 500,000 fans.
• November 18 - While sitting in Tom's Restaurant in New York City, Suzanne Vega composes the song "Tom's Diner".

• Menudo's golden era (1981-1985) begins in Latin America, parts of Europe and Asia.
• 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)
• Joe Walsh leaves the Eagles
• Culture Club forms
• Hunters & Collectors forms
• Sonic Youth forms
• Throbbing Gristle split up
• Social Distortion's career starts

Albums released

Alphabetized by artist

• Wild-Eyed Southern Boys - .38 Special
• The Visitors - ABBA
• For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) - AC/DC
• Breaker - Accept
• Hard N' Heavy - Anvil
• Playing With A Different Sex - The Au Pairs
• Prayers On Fire - The Birthday Party
• Damaged - Black Flag
• The Mob Rules - Black Sabbath
• Red - Black Uhuru
• Autoamerican - Blondie
• Best of Blondie - Blondie
• The Ascension - Glenn Branca
• My Life in the Bush of Ghosts - David Byrne & Brian Eno
• Made in America - Carpenters
• Face Value - Phil Collins
• Special Forces - Alice Cooper
• Trust - Elvis Costello & the Attractions
• Penis Envy - Crass
• Faith - The Cure
• Olympia 81 - Dalida
• High 'N' Dry - Def Leppard
• Breaking the Chains - Dokken
• Duran Duran - Duran Duran
• Shot of Love - Bob Dylan
• In the Garden - Eurythmics
• 4 - Foreigner
• The Electric Spanking of War Babies - Funkadelic
• Handful Of Earth - Dick Gaughan
• The Beauty and the Beat - The Go-Go's
• Amy Grant In Concert - Amy Grant
• In Concert Volume Two - Amy Grant
• Private Eyes - Daryl Hall & John Oates
• Standing Hampton - Sammy Hagar
• Bangkok shocks, Saigobn Shakes...Hanoi Rocks - Hanoi Rocks
• White Lace & Black Leather - Helix
• Dare - Human League
• Killers - Iron Maiden
• Maiden Japan EP - Iron Maiden
• Freeze Frame - J. Geils Band
• I Love Rock 'N Roll - Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
• The Fox Album - Elton John
• Captured - Journey
• Escape - Journey
• Point of Entry - Judas Priest
• Discipline - King Crimson
• Give The People What They Want - The Kinks
• Music From The Elder - KISS
• Kix - Kix
• Hardware - Krokus
• Computer World - Kraftwerk
• Get Lucky - Loverboy
• Chances Are - Bob Marley and the Wailers
• Quiero Ser - Menudo
• Too Fast For Love - Mötley Crüe
• No Sleep Till' Hammersmith - Motörhead
• M.S.G. II - The Michael Schenker Group
• One Night at Budokan - The Michael Schenker Group
• The Michael Schenker Group - The Michael Schenker Group
• Place Without a Postcard - Midnight Oil
• Minor Threat and In My Eyes - Minor Threat
• Physical - Olivia Newton-John
• Fiyou on the Bayou - The Neville Brothers
• Bella Donna - Stevie Nicks
• Movement - New Order
• Intensities In Ten Cities - Ted Nugent
• Great gonzos : the Best Of Ted Nugent - Ted Nugent
• Fancy Free - The Oak Ridge Boys
• Only a Lad - Oingo Boingo
• Architecture and Morality - Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
• Blizzard Of Ozz - Ozzy Osbourne
• Diary Of A Madman - Ozzy Osbourne
• A Collection of Great Dance Songs - Pink Floyd
• Ghost In The Machine - The Police
• Controversy - Prince
• Talk, Talk, Talk - Psychedelic Furs
• Flowers of Romance - Public Image Ltd.
• Quarterflash - Quarterflash
• Difficult to Cure - Rainbow
• Rock Till You Drop - Raven
• As Far as Siam - Red Rider
• Share Your Love - Kenny Rogers
• Tattoo You - The Rolling Stones
• For Those Who Think Young - Rough Trade
• Moving Pictures - Rush
• Shock Tactics - Samson
• Denim And Leather - Saxon
• Non-Stop Erotic Caberet - Soft Cell
• East Side Story - Squeeze
• Don't Say No - Billy Squier
• Teddy Boys Don't Knit - Vivian Stanshall
• Burning Blue Soul - The The
• The Time - The Time
• Tom Tom Club - Tom Tom Club
• October - U2
• Never Too Much - Luther Vandross
• Fair Warning - Van Halen
• Welcome to Hell - Venom
• Come an' Get It - Whitesnake
• Face Dances - The Who
• Earthshaker - Y&T

Chronological Table of US and UK Number One Hit Singles

Other significant singles of the year

• 9 To 5 (Morning Train) Sheena Easton #1
• Bad Habits Billy Field
• Bettie Davis Eyes Kim Carnes #1
• Counting The Beat Swingers #1
• You Weren't In Love With Me Billy Field #1
• I Love A Rainy Night Eddie Rabbit
• If You Leave...Can I Come Too Mentals
• Too Many Times Mentals
• Hip, Shake, Jerk The Quick
• Cool World Mondo Rock
• "O Superman" - Laurie Anderson

Published popular music

• "9 To 5" w.m. Dolly Parton from the film 9 To 5
• "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 Ron 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
• "One Of The Girls" w. Fred Ebb m. John Kander introduced by Lauren Bacall in the musical Woman Of The Year

Classical music

• Bengt Hambraeus - Voluntary on a Swedish Hymn Tune from Dalecarlia
• Steve Reich - Tehillim
• Stanislaw Skrowaczewski - Clarinet Concerto

Opera

Musical theater

• Barnum     London production opened at the Palladium on June 11 and ran for 655 performances
• Cats (Andrew Lloyd Webber) - London production
• Dreamgirls Broadway production opened on December 20 at the Imperial Theatre and ran for 1522 performances
• March of the Falsettoes      off-Broadway production
• Pirates Of Penzance     Broadway revival
• Song and Dance     London production
• Woman Of The Year     Broadway production

Musical films

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

Births

• January 2 - Jamelia, British singer
• March 9 - Chad Gilbert, New Found Glory
• November 17 - Sarah Harding,Girls Aloud
• November 20 - Kimberley Walsh,Girls Aloud
• November 26 - Natasha Bedingfield, British singer
• December 2 - Britney Spears
• December 13 - Amy Lee, Evanescence

Deaths

• January 23 - Samuel Barber
• January 25 - Adele Astaire, US dancer, actress and singer
• February 9 - Bill Haley, dies of heart attack
• February 15 - Mike Bloomfield, blues guitarist
• April 5 - Bob Hite , Canned Heat, heart attack
• April 7 - Kit Lambert, former manager for The Who
• April 8 - Bert Shevelove , librettist
• May 11 - Bob Marley
• August 18 - Robert Russell Bennett, composer and arranger
• September 15 - Chick Bullock , US singer
• October 15 - Elsie Randolph , English actress, dancer and singer
• 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