My rules:

• Only one song per artist/group
• The song must be released that specific year
• Songs from live albums not allowed
• Restricted to only 20 songs

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A lot of wonderful music was released in 1980, here are my 20 chosen songs.

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Summertime in England – Van Morrison

The longest & best song on Van Morrison’s 1980 album, Common One. Although the album on which the song appeared was not critically or commercially successful, the song would be performed by Morrison in concert for almost two and one-half decades, taking on new meaning when performed live. A truncated version of the song with an early fade-out was also released as the B-side of the 1983 single “Cry for Home”.
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Spotify:

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The River – Bruce Springsteen

The title track of his fifth album, The River, and was a hit single in parts of Europe in 1981. It reached #25 in the Netherlands, and reached the top 10 in both Sweden and Norway. Its B-side was either “Independence Day” or “Ramrod”, depending on the country.
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Redemption Song – Bob Marley & the Wailers

The final track on Bob Marley & the Wailers’ ninth album, Uprising, produced by Chris Blackwell and released by Island Records. The song is considered one of Marley’s greatest works. Some key lyrics derived from a speech given by the Pan-Africanist orator Marcus Garvey entitled “The Work That Has Been Done”.
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He Stopped Loving Her Today – George Jones

The song has been named in several surveys as the greatest country song of all time. It was released in April 1980 as the lead single from the album I Am What I Am. The song was Jones’s first solo No. 1 single in six years. The melancholy song was written by Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman. The week after Jones’ death the song re-entered the Hot Country Songs chart at No. 21. As of November 13, 2013, the single has sold 521,000 copies in the United States. Since 2008 it has been preserved by the Library of Congress into the National Recording Registry.
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Heartattack and Vine – Tom Waits

From the album “Heartattack and Vine” (1980). The song takes its name from Hollywood and Vine in Hollywood. It refers to locations and details of Los Angeles (Cahuenga is a street and the local bus system was formerly known as the RTD).
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Pressing On – Bob Dylan

From “Saved”, his twentieth studio album, released on June 23, 1980, by Columbia Records.
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Spotify:

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Live – Toronto 1980:

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Ashes to Ashes – David Bowie

Written and recorded by David Bowie. It was the lead single from the 1980 album Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) and became Bowie’s second UK No. 1 single. It is also known for its innovative video, directed by Bowie and David Mallet, which at the time was the most expensive music video ever made.
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She´s So Cold – The Rolling Stones

Released on 19 September 1980 as the second single from the album Emotional Rescue.
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A Forest – The Cure

Co-produced by Mike Hedges and The Cure’s Robert Smith, it was released as a single from the band’s second album Seventeen Seconds in 8 April 1980. It was their debut entry on the United Kingdom chart, where it reached number 31. The accompanying music video was first shown on BBC’s Top of the Pops programme on 24 April 1980.
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Woman – John Lennon

Written and performed by John Lennon from his 1980 album Double Fantasy. The track was chosen by Lennon to be the second single released from the Double Fantasy album, and it was the first Lennon single issued after his death on 8 December 1980.
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Ace of Spades – Motorhead

Released in 1980 as a single and the title track to the album Ace of Spades.
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Refugee – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

It was released in January 1980 as the second single from their album Damn the Torpedoes. It peaked at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1980
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Love Will Tear Us Apart – Joy Division

It was written in August 1979, and debuted when the band supported Buzzcocks on their UK tour from September to November of that same year. It is one of the few songs in which singer Ian Curtis played guitar (albeit somewhat minimally) on live versions. His lyrics ostensibly reflect the problems in his marriage to Deborah Curtis, as well as his general frame of mind in the time leading up to his suicide in May 1980. The Single was released in June 1980.
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When You Were Mine – Prince

Written and released by Prince on his 1980 album, Dirty Mind.
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Once in a Lifetime – Talking Heads

From their fourth studio album, 1980’s Remain in Light. The song was written by David Byrne, Brian Eno, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, and Tina Weymouth, and produced by Brian Eno. It was named one of the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century by National Public Radio and is also included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
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Back in Black – AC/DC

Appearing as the first track on side two of their 1980 album of the same name. Known for its opening guitar riff, the song was AC/DC’s tribute to their former singer Bon Scott. His replacement Brian Johnson recalled to Mojo magazine in 2009 that when the band asked him to write a lyric for this song, “they said, ‘it can’t be morbid – it has to be for Bon and it has to be a celebration
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Police On My Back – The Clash

From “Sandinista!”, the fourth studio album by the English band the Clash. It was released on 12 December 1980 as a triple album containing 36 tracks, with 6 songs on each side
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Kid – Pretenders

Written by Chrissie Hynde that was released on the Pretenders 1980 debut album Pretenders. It was also released as a single and reached #33 in the UK.
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Start! – The Jam

The eleventh UK single release by the band The Jam and their second number-one, following “Going Underground”/”Dreams of Children”. Upon its release on 15 August 1980, it debuted at number three, and two weeks later reached number one for one week. Written by Paul Weller and produced by Vic Coppersmith-Heaven and The Jam, “Start!” was the lead single from the band’s fifth album Sound Affects. The single’s B-side is “Liza Radley”.
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The Tide is High – Blondie

“The Tide Is High” was covered by the American new wave band Blondie in 1980, in a reggae style that included horns and strings. It was released as the lead single from the band’s fifth studio album, Autoamerican (1980). It was Blondie’s third number one smash on the Billboard Hot 100 and their fifth in the UK.
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These came close:

• Kill The Poor – Dead Kennedys
• Geno – Dexys Midnight Runners
• I Lost it – Lucinda Williams
• Storm Windows – John Prine
• Big Chief – Professor Longhair
• Let My Love Open the Door – Pete Townshend
• Los Angeles – X
• Vienna – Ultravox
• My Perfect Cousin – The Undertones
• De doo doo,do da da da – The Police
• While You See A Chance – Steve Winwood
• They’ll Never Keep Us Down – Hazel Dickens
• I Got You – Split Eno

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Spotify Playlist:

Inspiration:

• My OCD brain
• Wikipedia
• Heartaches by the Number: Country Music’s 500 Greatest Singles,  written in 2003 by David Cantwell and Bill Friskics-Warren
• The Heart of Rock and Soul – The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made, by Dave Marsh, 1989
• 1001 Songs: You Must Hear Before You Die, by Robert Dimery, 2015
• 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, by Robert Dimery, 2010
• robertchristgau.com – Lists (Robert Christgau website)

-Egil