Casey Kasem's American Top 40—October 31, 1981

The Reagan Era had only just begun. The charts marked the occasion by diving headlong into soft rock.

Manilow and Fogelberg, Air Supply and Al Jarreau–if this week’s countdown was a food, it would be a mayonnaise and Wonder Bread sandwich. But like any early 80s bagged lunch, the snacks are obviously better than the main course—a funk tune hiding at the bottom like a bag of Chips-Ahoy; a crunchy rocker peeking out like a fun-sized bag of Doritos.

You get the idea. It was the ‘80s. We only had processed foods and AOR radio.

But before we get to the countdown, a look back at the week in history…