1980 Billboard Number One Hits: Every Hot 100 Chart-Topper

The 1980 Billboard Number One Hits list opened a new decade with a strange and fascinating mix: leftover disco, soft rock, pop-soul, movie songs, arena rock, country-pop, funk, and the first signs of the cleaner 1980s radio sound. KC and the Sunshine Band opened the chart year, Blondie owned the year-end chart with Call Me, Queen scored two very different No. 1 hits, and John Lennon closed the year with (Just Like) Starting Over.

This page follows the Billboard Hot 100 issue dates for 1980, shown here as reader-friendly weekly date ranges. Because Billboard chart weeks can cross calendar years, this list begins with the January 1980 handoff between KC and the Sunshine Band and Rupert Holmes, then continues into early 1981 with John Lennon’s (Just Like) Starting Over.

The Billboard Hot 100 ranks the most popular songs in the United States using radio airplay and sales. These are official Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 songs, not pop-only, rock-only, airplay-only, R&B-only, adult-contemporary-only, or “that song was definitely on the shag-carpet stereo” rankings.

1980 Billboard Number One Hits by Week

January 1 – January 5, 1980: Please Don’t Go – KC and the Sunshine Band
January 6 – January 12, 1980: Escape (The Piña Colada Song) – Rupert Holmes
January 13 – February 9, 1980: Rock with You – Michael Jackson
February 10 – February 16, 1980: Do That to Me One More Time – Captain & Tennille
February 17 – March 15, 1980: Crazy Little Thing Called Love – Queen
March 16 – April 12, 1980: Another Brick in the Wall, Part II – Pink Floyd
April 13 – May 24, 1980: Call Me – Blondie
May 25 – June 21, 1980: Funkytown – Lipps Inc.
June 22 – July 12, 1980: Coming Up – Paul McCartney
July 13 – July 26, 1980: It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me – Billy Joel
July 27 – August 23, 1980: Magic – Olivia Newton-John
August 24 – August 30, 1980: Sailing – Christopher Cross
August 31 – September 27, 1980: Upside Down – Diana Ross
September 28 – October 18, 1980: Another One Bites the Dust – Queen
October 19 – November 8, 1980: Woman in Love – Barbra Streisand
November 9 – December 20, 1980: Lady – Kenny Rogers
December 21, 1980 – January 24, 1981: (Just Like) Starting Over – John Lennon

Song-by-Song Notes on the 1980 Billboard No. 1 Hits

Please Don’t Go – KC and the Sunshine Band

KC and the Sunshine Band opened the 1980 Billboard Hot 100 chart year with Please Don’t Go. The ballad marked a softer turn for a group best known for disco-era dance hits like Get Down Tonight and That’s the Way (I Like It).

Its one-week placement at the top made it the first Hot 100 No. 1 of the new decade. Disco was fading commercially, but KC and the Sunshine Band still got one more early-1980 chart bow.

Escape (The Piña Colada Song) – Rupert Holmes

Rupert Holmes returned to No. 1 for one final week with Escape (The Piña Colada Song), after beginning its chart-topping run in late 1979. The song’s twist-ending story, soft-rock feel, and tropical-drink hook made it one of the most recognizable novelty-adjacent pop hits of the period.

It became both the final No. 1 of the 1970s and a brief No. 1 in the first month of the 1980s. That is a lot of mileage for a song about questionable communication skills and cocktails.

Rock with You – Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson spent four weeks at No. 1 with Rock with You, one of the smoothest singles from Off the Wall. The song blended disco, pop, and R&B into a polished sound that pointed directly toward Jackson’s 1980s dominance.

Its No. 1 run helped confirm that Jackson was not merely a former child star finding adult success. He was becoming one of the central pop artists of the new decade.

Do That to Me One More Time – Captain & Tennille

Captain & Tennille reached No. 1 with Do That to Me One More Time, a soft adult-pop ballad that became the duo’s second Hot 100 chart-topper. It was a gentler hit than their 1975 smash Love Will Keep Us Together.

Its one-week run gave the duo a final major Hot 100 peak and fit neatly into the early-1980 adult-contemporary side of the chart.

Crazy Little Thing Called Love – Queen

Queen reached No. 1 with Crazy Little Thing Called Love, a rockabilly-inspired single written by Freddie Mercury. The song’s throwback feel, clean guitar sound, and Elvis-like swagger made it one of Queen’s most radio-friendly American hits.

Its four-week run gave Queen its first U.S. Hot 100 No. 1. The band would return later in the year with a very different kind of chart-topper.

Another Brick in the Wall, Part II – Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd spent four weeks at No. 1 with Another Brick in the Wall, Part II, the unlikely disco-touched protest single from The Wall. The children’s chorus and “we don’t need no education” hook made it instantly memorable and controversial in some circles.

It remains Pink Floyd’s only Hot 100 No. 1. For a band known for album-length concepts, topping the singles chart with an anti-school anthem was both unexpected and very Pink Floyd.

Call Me – Blondie

Blondie spent six weeks at No. 1 with Call Me, the Giorgio Moroder-produced theme from the film American Gigolo. The song’s mix of new wave, rock, disco, and soundtrack glamour made it one of 1980’s most powerful crossover records.

Call Me was Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 song of 1980. It also showed how Blondie could move between punk roots, disco, pop, reggae, and new wave without sounding like a tourist.

Funkytown – Lipps Inc.

Lipps Inc. spent four weeks at No. 1 with Funkytown, one of the last major disco-era chart-toppers. Its synthesizer riff, dance-floor pulse, and futuristic feel helped it survive the anti-disco backlash better than many songs from the same period.

The song became a permanent party record and a reminder that disco did not vanish overnight. It just changed clothes and found a synth.

Coming Up – Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney reached No. 1 with Coming Up. In the United States, radio favored the live version recorded by Paul McCartney and Wings in Glasgow, which became the hit version listeners knew best.

Its three-week run gave McCartney another solo-era chart-topper and helped bridge his 1970s success into the new decade. The studio version was quirky; the live version had the crowd behind it.

It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me – Billy Joel

Billy Joel earned his first Hot 100 No. 1 with It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me. The song commented on fashion, trends, and music-industry labels while delivering a compact pop-rock hit.

Its two-week run gave Joel a major singles-chart milestone after years of album and radio success. The message was simple: new wave haircut or not, a hook is still a hook.

Magic – Olivia Newton-John

Olivia Newton-John spent four weeks at No. 1 with Magic, from the film Xanadu. The movie itself had a mixed reputation, but the soundtrack produced major hits and kept Newton-John firmly in the pop spotlight.

The song’s smooth production and dreamy atmosphere made it one of 1980’s most successful soundtrack singles. Sometimes the movie stumbles and the song roller-skates away cleanly.

Sailing – Christopher Cross

Christopher Cross reached No. 1 with Sailing, a soft-rock ballad that helped define the smooth adult-pop sound later nicknamed yacht rock. The song’s airy arrangement and gentle vocal made it one of the year’s signature mellow hits.

Its one-week stay at No. 1 was part of Cross’ enormous debut-album run. Softness was not weakness in 1980; it was a chart strategy.

Upside Down – Diana Ross

Diana Ross spent four weeks at No. 1 with Upside Down, produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic. The song’s sleek disco-funk groove gave Ross one of her biggest solo hits.

Its success showed that disco-related sounds could still thrive when adapted with elegance, groove, and a great vocal. Chic’s fingerprints were all over the dance floor.

Another One Bites the Dust – Queen

Queen returned to No. 1 with Another One Bites the Dust, a bass-driven funk-rock single written by John Deacon. The song spent three weeks at No. 1 and became one of Queen’s biggest American hits.

Its groove crossed rock, pop, dance, and R&B audiences, giving Queen a second No. 1 in the same year. Few bands could top the chart with rockabilly revival and then come back with a bassline built like a stealth machine.

Woman in Love – Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand reached No. 1 with Woman in Love, written by Barry and Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees. The song became one of her biggest pop ballads and continued the Gibb brothers’ influence on late-1970s and early-1980s pop.

Its three-week run gave Streisand another major Hot 100 peak during a career already filled with film, stage, and recording milestones.

Lady – Kenny Rogers

Kenny Rogers spent six weeks at No. 1 with Lady, a Lionel Richie-written ballad that became one of Rogers’ biggest pop crossover hits. The song blended country, pop, and adult-contemporary appeal with Richie’s smooth songwriting style.

Its six-week run tied Blondie’s Call Me for the longest Hot 100 reign of the 1980 chart year. It also set the stage for Lionel Richie’s own solo dominance in the early 1980s.

(Just Like) Starting Over – John Lennon

John Lennon closed the 1980 Billboard Hot 100 year with (Just Like) Starting Over, which carried into January 1981. The song came from Double Fantasy and had a 1950s-inspired pop feel that matched its theme of renewal.

Lennon was killed on December 8, 1980, shortly before the song reached No. 1. Its chart-topping run became inseparable from public grief and renewed attention to his final recordings.

Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Stories of 1980

Call Me Was Billboard’s Year-End No. 1

Blondie’s Call Me spent six weeks at No. 1 and finished as Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 song of 1980. Its connection to American Gigolo and Giorgio Moroder’s production helped make it one of the year’s defining hits.

Queen Was the Only Act With Two No. 1 Hits

Queen topped the Hot 100 twice in 1980 with Crazy Little Thing Called Love and Another One Bites the Dust. The two songs sounded wildly different, showing the band’s unusual range on American pop radio.

Disco Was Fading, But Dance Music Was Not Gone

Funkytown, Upside Down, Call Me, and Rock with You all carried dance and disco-related energy into the new decade. Disco as a label was losing steam, but the groove was still working overtime.

Soundtracks Had Major Chart Power

Call Me came from American Gigolo, while Magic came from Xanadu. Soundtrack singles would become even more important across the 1980s, and 1980 helped set the pattern.

John Lennon Closed the Year

(Just Like) Starting Over ended the 1980 chart year and continued into 1981. Because of Lennon’s death in December 1980, the song became one of the most emotionally loaded No. 1 hits of the era.

1980 Billboard Number One Hits Trivia

Call Me by Blondie was Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 song of 1980.
Call Me and Lady each spent six weeks at No. 1, the longest runs of the 1980 chart year.
Queen was the only act with two Hot 100 No. 1 songs in 1980.
Please Don’t Go by KC and the Sunshine Band was No. 1 on the first Billboard Hot 100 issue of 1980.
Escape (The Piña Colada Song) was the final No. 1 of the 1970s and briefly returned to No. 1 in January 1980.
Another Brick in the Wall, Part II gave Pink Floyd its only Hot 100 No. 1.
It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me gave Billy Joel his first Hot 100 No. 1.
Sailing helped define the soft-rock sound later nicknamed yacht rock.
(Just Like) Starting Over closed 1980 and carried into the 1981 Billboard chart year.

Why the 1980 Billboard Number One Hits Matter

The 1980 Billboard Number One Hits list shows a chart caught between decades. The late-1970s sounds of disco, soft rock, adult-contemporary ballads, and pop-soul were still present, while the sharper, glossier 1980s sound was beginning to take shape.

The year also gave important career moments to Michael Jackson, Blondie, Queen, Billy Joel, Diana Ross, Kenny Rogers, Christopher Cross, and John Lennon. Several of these songs became much larger than their chart dates, carrying through movies, radio formats, oldies playlists, and pop-culture memory.

For chart fans, 1980 was a true handoff year: piña coladas, funk towns, rock walls, yacht decks, Queen basslines, and a bittersweet John Lennon farewell all shared the same No. 1 lane.