As I’ve previously shared, I’ve got my dad to thank for introducing me to music as a young kid and starting me on the path to an addiction that only grew in intensity as the years went on.

Though I started my own small collection of singles early, 1981 is the year that it really started to grow. I played a more active role in shopping for the 45s I wanted (the record departments at Sears and Montgomery Wards were my main sources), picked up the local Chicago radio station surveys whenever I could, and began to listen regularly to the weekly countdowns, including American Top 40.

My dad was buying current singles right along side me, though our tastes didn’t always dovetail. Today, some of the hits that I summarily dismissed I now consider favorites. Rod Stewart’s “Young Turks” is one of those tunes, and I can’t believe there was a time I didn’t care for his story about teen runaways, Billy and Patti. There are synths! And I’ve got a lot of love for Stewart’s ad-libs at the end too (“Time, time, time, time is on your side, is on your side, is on your side!“).

“Young Turks” peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week in December 1981, where it stayed put for a total of four weeks. “Don’t ever let ’em change your point of view,” unless you’re a super-young turk who’s totally wrong.

Kenny Ortega choreographed the music video for “Young Turks,” reportedly the first clip on MTV to feature breakdancing.

Purchase Rod Stewart – “Young Turks” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.