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List of years in music
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This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1983.

Trends[]

Events[]

January–April[]

  • January 1
    • ZTT Records is founded.
    • The Merchant Ivory film Heat and Dust is released. On the soundtrack, composed by Zakir Hussain, Ivory is featured on tanpura with Hussain (who also appeared in the film) on tabla.
  • January 8 – The UK singles chart is tabulated from this week forward by The Gallup Organization. In 1984 electronic terminals will be used in selected stores to gather sales information, and the old "sales diary" method will be gradually phased out over the next few years.
  • February 2 – "Menudomania" comes to New York as 3,500 screaming girls crowd Kennedy Airport to catch a glimpse of Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, who are playing six sold-out shows at the Felt Forum.
  • February 11The Rolling Stones concert film Let's Spend the Night Together opens in New York.
  • February 13Marvin Gaye performs The Star-Spangled Banner" before the NBA All-Star Game.
  • February 26Michael Jackson's Thriller album hits #1 on the US charts, the first of thirty-seven (non-consecutive) weeks it would spend there on its way to becoming the biggest-selling album of all time.
  • February 28U2 releases their 3rd album War which debuts at #1 in the UK and produces the band's first international hit single.
  • March 2Compact discs go on sale in the United States. They had first been released in Japan the previous October.
  • March 4Neil Young cancels the remainder of his tour after collapsing backstage in Louisville, Kentucky, after playing for seventy-five minutes.
  • April 5
    • A Generative Theory of Tonal Music by Fred Lerdahl and Ray Jackendoff is published.
    • US Interior Secretary James G. Watt causes controversy when he effectively bans the Beach Boys from a return performance at the Fourth of July festivities in Washington, announcing that Wayne Newton would perform instead. Watt claims that rock bands attract "the wrong element". That same week President Reagan, himself an avowed Beach Boys fan, presents Watt with a plaster foot with a hole in it, symbolizing that Watt had shot himself in the foot.
  • April 11Dave Mustaine is fired from Metallica just as the band is set to begin recording its début album. He is replaced by Kirk Hammett.
  • April 18Ellen Taaffe Zwilich becomes the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music.

May–August[]

  • May 16
    • Singer Anna Vissi marries composer Nikos Karvelas.
    • The Motown 25 Special airs on NBC, celebrating a quarter century of Motown Records. Michael Jackson unveils his moonwalk dance move during an performance of "Billie Jean".
  • May 28June 4 – The second US Festival is held at Glen Helen Park in California.
  • June 18–19 – Menudo's second visit to New York. The band plays four shows at Madison Square Garden and all 80,000 tickets sell out within three days of going on sale.
  • June 20Catalunya Ràdio begins broadcasting.
  • July 1 – Chilean Band Los Prisioneros debuted at the Miguel Leon Prado High School Song festival. They would personify the rebellion of young Chileans leading to protests which eventually ousted Augusto Pinochet[2]
  • July 19Simon and Garfunkel begin their North American summer tour in Akron, Ohio.
  • July 21Diana Ross performs a filmed concert in Central Park in heavy rain; eventually the storm forces her to postpone the rest of the concert till next day.
  • July 29Friday Night Videos is broadcast for the first time on NBC.
  • August 5David Crosby is sentenced by a judge in Dallas, Texas to five years in prison on drug and weapon possession charges.
  • August 16
    • Johnny Ramone suffers a near-fatal head injury during a fight over a girl in front of his East Village apartment.
    • Singer Paul Simon marries actress Carrie Fisher.
  • August 20 – The Rolling Stones sign a new $28 million contract with CBS Records, the largest recording contract in history up to this time.

September–December[]

  • September 1Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon of The Clash issue a press statement announcing that Mick Jones has been fired from the group.
  • September 4Phil Lynott performs his final show with Thin Lizzy in Nuremberg, Germany.
  • September 18 – The members of Kiss show their faces without their makeup for the first time on MTV, simultaneous with the release of their album Lick It Up.
  • September 20 – The first ARMS Charity Concert is held at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
  • November 26Quiet Riot's Metal Health album tops the US album charts, the first heavy metal album to hit #1 in America.
  • December 2
    • The Uday-Ustav Festival, a tribute to Uday Shankar, is staged at the instigation of Uday's younger brother, Ravi Shankar.
    • Michael Jackson's 14-minute music video for Thriller is premiered on MTV.
    • Phish plays first show.[3]
  • December 25 - Marvin Gaye gives his father, as a Christmas present, an unlicensed Smith & Wesson .38 special caliber pistol so that Gaye could protect himself from intruders.[4] A few months later, Gaye Sr would use it to shoot his son dead.
  • December 31 – The twelfth annual New Year's Rockin' Eve special airs on ABC, with appearances by Culture Club, Rick James, Laura Branigan, Barry Manilow, Mary Jane Girls and David Frizzell.

Bands formed[]

Bands disbanded[]

Bands reformed[]

Albums released[]

Biggest hit singles[]

The following songs achieved the highest chart positions in the charts of 1983.

# Artist Title Year Country Chart Entries
1 Culture Club "Karma Chameleon" 1983 United Kingdom UK 1 – September 1983, US BB 1 – February 1984, Canada 1 – December 1983, Netherlands 1 – September 1983, Sweden (alt) 1 – October 1983, Switzerland 1 – October 1983, Norway 1 – October 1983, Éire 1 – September 1983, New Zealand 1 for 6 weeks October 1983, Australia 1 for 5 weeks July 1984, Austria 3 – November 1983, Germany 3 – January 1984, South Africa 7 of 1984, Poland 8 – September 1983, Australia 8 of 1983, US CashBox 14 of 1984, POP 15 of 1984, Italy 16 of 1983, KROQ 25 of 1983, US BB 29 of 1984, RYM 49 of 1983, Scrobulate 71 of 80s, Germany 159 of the 1980s, OzNet 979
2 Michael Jackson "Billie Jean" 1983 United States UK 1 – January 1983, US BB 1 – January 1983, Canada 1 – February 1983, Switzerland 1 – March 1983, Republic of Ireland 1 – March 1983, Australia 1 for 5 weeks February 1984, Netherlands 2 – January 1983, Sweden (alt) 2 – March 1983, France 2 – January 1983, US CashBox 3 of 1983, Austria 3 – April 1983, Poland 3 – February 1983, Germany 3 – March 1983, Australia 4 of 1983, RYM 4 of 1983, POP 4 of 1983, Norway 6 – April 1983, Italy 8 of 1983, South Africa 15 of 1983, 15 in 2FM list, Scrobulate 16 of pop, Global 33 (5 M sold) – 1983, Acclaimed 33, Europe 40 of the 1980s, Party 53 of 2007, Rolling Stone 58, Germany 139 of the 1980s, OzNet 249, WXPN 620
3 Irene Cara "Flashdance...What a Feeling" 1983 United States US BB 1 – April 1983, US CashBox 1 of 1983, Canada 1 – May 1983, Canada RPM 1 for 3 weeks - June 1983, Sweden (alt) 1 – May 1983, France 1 – July 1983, France SNEP 1 - September 1983, Switzerland 1 – June 1983, Norway 1 – June 1983, Italy 1 for 9 weeks - November 1983, New Zealand 1 for 6 weeks - July 1983, Australia 1 for 7 weeks - June 1983, UK 2 – June 1983, Austria 4 – August 1983, Japan 1 for 2 weeks - August 1983, Germany 4 – June 1983, Netherlands 13 – April 1983, Belgium 20 - May 1983, Poland 21 – July 1983, US BB 6 of 1983, Japan 7 of all time (international songs), Australia 2 of 1983, POP 3 of 1983, South Africa 9 of 1983, Scrobulate 31 of gay, AFI 55, Germany 57 of the 1980s, RYM 121 of 1983, OzNet 243, RIAA 256, Oscar in 1983
4 David Bowie "Let's Dance" 1983 United Kingdom UK 1 – March 1983, US BB 1 – April 1983, Canada 1 – March 1983, Netherlands 1 – March 1983, Sweden (alt) 1 – April 1983, France 1 – March 1983, Switzerland 1 – April 1983, Norway 1 – March 1983, Éire 1 – April 1983, New Zealand 1 for 6 weeks April 1983, Austria 2 – May 1983, Germany 2 – April 1983, US CashBox 4 of 1983, Poland 5 – April 1983, KROQ 6 of 1983, US BB 15 of 1983, Italy 19 of 1983, Australia 24 of 1983, RYM 32 of 1983, Scrobulate 40 of 80s, POP 47 of 1983, Germany 172 of the 1980s, Belgium 258 of all time, Acclaimed 1445
5 The Police "Every Breath You Take" 1983 United Kingdom UK 1 – May 1983, US BB 1 – July 1983, US BB 1 of 1983, Canada 1 – May 1983, Éire 1 – June 1983, US CashBox 2 of 1983, Sweden (alt) 2 – June 1983, Norway 2 – June 1983, KROQ 3 of 1983, Poland 5 – June 1983, South Africa 5 of 1983, Netherlands 6 – May 1983, Switzerland 6 – July 1983, Austria 8 – August 1983, Germany 8 – June 1983, France 10 – May 1983, Australia 10 of 1983, Italy 10 of 1983, Virgin 12, Scrobulate 13 of 80s, US BB 16 of 1983, RYM 16 of 1983, Europe 33 of the 1980s, Acclaimed 38, OzNet 38, RIAA 44, POP 49 of 1983, Poland 68 of all time, TheQ 76, Rolling Stone 84, 90 in 2FM list, Belgium 110 of all time, WXPN 216

Top hits on record[]

  1. The First Picture of You The Lotus Eaters
  2. Relax Frankie Goes to Hollywood

Published popular music[]

Births[]

  • January 13William Hung, American musician
  • January 18Samantha Mumba, Irish singer and actress
  • January 19Hikaru Utada, singer and songwriter
  • January 20Mari Yaguchi, Japanese singer (Morning Musume) and host
  • January 24Frankie Grande, American actor, singer, and dancer
  • January 25Andrée Watters, Canadian singer
  • February 1Andrew VanWyngarden, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (MGMT)
  • February 5Baby K, Singaporean-Italian singer-songwriter
  • February 8Jim Verraros, American singer
  • February 10Bless, Canadian rapper
  • February 19Mika Nakashima, Japanese singer and actress
  • March 3Katie White, singer (The Ting Tings)
  • March 8Piano Squall, pianist
  • March 9Mayte Perroni, Mexican singer and actress
  • March 10Carrie Underwood, singer
  • March 14Taylor Hanson (Hanson)
  • March 15Florencia Bertotti, Argentine actress and singer
  • March 19Ana Rezende (Cansei de Ser Sexy)
  • March 29Luiza Sá (Cansei de Ser Sexy)
  • March 30Hebe Tian, member of the Taiwanese girl-group S.H.E
  • April 4Tei, Korean ballad singer
  • April 16Marié Digby, American singer
  • May 8Matt Willis, British musician (Busted) and presenter
  • May 11Holly Valance, singer and actress
  • May 14Anahi, Mexican singer and actress
  • June 2Brooke White, American singer
  • June 17
    • Connie Fisher, British actress and singer
    • Lee Ryan, British singer
  • June 27Evan Taubenfeld, American guitarist, singer, and songwriter
  • June 30
    • Patrick Wolf, singer/songwriter
    • Cheryl, member of Girls Aloud
  • July 1
    • Leeteuk, singer
    • Marit Larsen, Norwegian musician (M2M)
  • July 2Michelle Branch (The Wreckers)
  • July 3
    • Steph Jones, American singer-songwriter
    • Matt Papa, American singer-songwriter
  • July 4
    • Ben Jorgensen, American singer, guitarist, member of Armor For Sleep
    • Andrew Mrotek, American drummer (The Academy Is...)
  • July 7Ciara Newell, Irish singer (Bellefire)
  • July 9Lucia Micarelli, violinist and actress
  • July 10Heechul, singer
  • July 11Marie Serneholt (A*Teens)
  • July 18Aaron Gillespie, drummer (Underoath)
  • July 21Eivør Pálsdóttir, Faroese singer and composer
  • July 24Morgan Sorne, American singer-songwriter and multi-media artist
  • August 7Christian Chávez, Mexican singer and actor
  • August 14Sunidhi Chauhan, playback singer
  • August 18
    • Danny!, American record producer/recording artist
    • Mika, British singer
  • August 28Alfonso Herrera, Mexican singer and actor
  • August 30Jun Matsumoto, Japanese singer and actor
  • September 14Amy Winehouse, English singer (died 2011)
  • September 17Jennifer Peña, American singer and actress
  • September 26Samantha Hammel, American producer, actress and singer
  • September 30T-Pain, American rapper & singer-songwriter
  • October 7Flying Lotus, American rapper and producer, founded Brainfeeder
  • October 10Alyson Hau, Hong Kong radio DJ
  • October 22Plan B, English hip hop rapper
  • October 24Adrienne Bailon, American singer and actress
  • October 26Houston, American R&B singer
  • October 29
    • Amit Sebastian Paul, Swedish singer (A-Teens)
    • Richard Brancatisano, Australian actor/musician
  • October 30Diana Karazon, Jordanian singer
  • November 7Forrest Kline, American singer and songwriter (Hellogoodbye)
  • November 10Miranda Lambert, American country musician
  • November 14
    • Lil Boosie, American rapper
    • Chelsea Wolfe, American singer-songwriter
  • November 16
    • Fallon Bowman, South African–born guitarist (Kittie)
    • K, South Korean singer
  • November 28 – Tyler Glenn, American alternative singer (Neon Trees)
  • December 17Kosuke Saito, Japanese DJ
  • December 29Jessica Andrews, American country music singer
  • December 31Sayaka Ichii, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)

Deaths[]

  • January 5Amy Evans, operatic soprano and actress, 98
  • January 7Edith Coates, operatic mezzo-soprano, 74
  • January 28Billy Fury, singer, 42 (heart attack)
  • January 31Lorraine Ellison, soul singer, 51
  • February 4Karen Carpenter, singer and drummer, 32 (cardiac arrest due to anorexia nervosa)
  • February 8
    • Charles Kullman, operatic tenor, 80
    • Alfred Wallenstein, cellist, 84
  • February 12Eubie Blake, pianist, 96
  • February 18Leopold Godowsky, Jr., violinist and chemist, 82
  • February 22 – Sir Adrian Boult, conductor, 93
  • February 23Herbert Howells, organist and composer, 90
  • February 28Winifred Atwell, pianist, 69
  • March 6Cathy Berberian, singer and composer, 57
  • March 7
    • Igor Markevitch, Ukrainian composer and conductor, 70
    • William Walton, British composer, 80
  • April 4Danny Rapp (Danny and the Juniors), 41 (suicide by gunshot)
  • April 5Cliff Carlisle, country and blues singer, 79
  • April 13Dolo Coker, jazz pianist and composer, 55
  • April 14Pete Farndon (The Pretenders), 30 (drug overdose)
  • April 17Felix Pappalardi, producer and bassist, 43 (gunshot)
  • April 23Earl Hines, jazz pianist, 79
  • April 30
    • Muddy Waters, blues singer and guitarist, 70 (heart attack)
    • George Balanchine, choreographer, 79
  • May 23
    • George Bruns, film composer, 68
    • Finn Mortensen, composer and music critic, 61
  • May 25Paul Quinichette, saxophonist, 67
  • June 2Stan Rogers, folk musician, 33
  • June 25Alberto Ginastera, Argentine composer, 67
  • July 4Claus Adam, cellist, 66
  • July 5Harry James, bandleader, 67
  • July 12Chris Wood, rock musician, 39
  • July 23Georges Auric, composer, member of Les Six, 84
  • July 27Jerome Moross, composer, conductor and orchestrator, 69
  • July 30Howard Dietz, lyricist, 86
  • August 2James Jamerson, bassist, 47
  • August 3Helge Bonnén, pianist and composer, 87
  • August 6Klaus Nomi, singer, 39 (complications from AIDS)
  • August 13Zdeněk Liška, film composer, 61
  • August 14Omer Létourneau, pianist, organist, composer and conductor, 92
  • August 17Ira Gershwin, lyricist, 86
  • August 24Arkady Filippenko, composer, 71
  • September 5John Gilpin, dancer, 53 (heart attack)
  • September 24Isobel Baillie, operatic soprano, 88
  • September 25Paul Jacobs, pianist, 53 (complications from AIDS)
  • October 16
    • Øivin Fjeldstad, violinist and conductor, 80
    • George Liberace, violinist and arranger, 72
  • November 3Alfredo Antonini, conductor, 82
  • November 7Germaine Tailleferre, composer, only female member of Les Six, 88
  • November 15John Grimaldi, English keyboard player and songwriter (Argent), 28
  • November 19Tommy Evans, bassist of the rock group Badfinger, 36 (suicide)
  • December 6Lucienne Boyer, singer, 80
  • December 11Simon Laks, Polish composer and violinist, 82
  • December 28Dennis Wilson, American singer, songwriter and drummer, 39 (drowned)
  • date unknown
    • Antonio Mairena, Andalusian flamenco singer, 73 or 74
    • Pat Smythe, Scottish-born jazz pianist, 59 or 60

Awards[]

Grammy Awards[]

  • Grammy Awards of 1983

Country Music Association Awards[]

Template:Empty section

Eurovision Song Contest[]

Charts[]

US no. 1 hits[]

  • Hot 100 no. 1 hits of 1983

US top 40 hits[]

  • Billboard Top 40 of 1983

See also:

  • 1983 in music (UK)
  • Record labels established in 1983

References[]

  1. Bobbie Johnso (October 19, 2006). "CDs, downloads ... and now band launches the memory-stick single". The Guardian. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  2. http://phish.net/setlists/?d=1983-12-02
  3. "The Domestic Dispute that ended the life of Marvin Gaye". trutv.com. Retrieved June 18, 2012.